Design and analysis of a continuum robot for transnasal skull base surgery

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Design and analysis of a continuum robot for transnasal skull base surgery Via The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery Abstract Background The traditional surgical instruments for transnasal endoscopic skull base surgery have poor flexibility and continuum robot has attracted extensive attention for its high dexterity and safety. Methods A new type of micro continuum surgical robot is designed. On the basis of kinematic analysis, a superposition method is proposed to analyze the reachable configuration space of the system, and the workspace is analyzed. The results obtained by superposition method can provide reference for the selection of joint parameters. At last, the static model of the system is established considering friction and coupling between two segments. Results The simulation results show that the workspace can meet the requirements of surgery. And the validity of the static model is verified by numerical simulation and experiment, which lays a foundation for the establishment of the driving force transmission system and precise control of the robot. Conclusions The research results of this paper contribute to the real-time control and movement of robot. The proposed continuum robot provides convenient conditions for the clinical application. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

COVID-19: Post-vaccine Smell and Taste Disorders: Report of 6 Cases

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader COVID-19: Post-vaccine Smell and Taste Disorders: Report of 6 Cases Via ear nose throat Ear Nose Throat J. 2021 Sep 1:1455613211033125. doi: 10.1177/01455613211033125. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Post-vaccine olfactory and gustatory disorders are very rare and were reported in patients who received influenza vaccines. In this article, we report 6 cases of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine olfactory and gustatory disorders in patients with negative nasal swabs. Precisely, olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions were reported in 5 and 1 patients, respectively. Sense disorders occurred after the first injection of AstraZeneca (n = 4) or the second injection of Pfizer (n = 2) vaccines. In 4 cases, the olfactory or gustatory disorder was confirmed with psychophysical evaluations. The duration of chemosensory dysfunction ranged from 4 to 42 days. None of the patient reported mid- or long-term olfactory or gustatory disorder. The occurrence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in adults benefiting from COVID-19 vaccines is still rare but has to be known by otolaryngologists. PMID:34467793 | DOI:10.1177/01455613211033125 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

A Novel Concept for Surgical Management of a Traumatic Comminuted Cricoid Fracture

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader A Novel Concept for Surgical Management of a Traumatic Comminuted Cricoid Fracture Via ear nose throat Ear Nose Throat J. 2021 Sep 1:1455613211040579. doi: 10.1177/01455613211040579. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The cricoid plays 2 key roles: phonation and maintenance of the airway frame, both of which are lost in cases of comminuted cricoid fractures. The management of these 2 functions becomes a challenge in planning surgical treatment. We report the treatment course in a case of traumatic comminuted cricoid fracture that was resolved with good airway and phonatory funct ions. A 25-year-old man fell down the stairs and complained of respiratory discomfort and hoarseness of voice. A computed tomography scan showed comminuted cricoid fracture; therefore, surgery was performed to restore the patient's airway and phonation functions. We found that the airway was maintained by the anterior part and that the phonation depended on the posterior part of the cricoid. This novel concept helped clarify the treatment goal in this case of comminuted cricoid fractures. Furthermore, it is important that the anterior part of the cricoid is reconstructed with sufficient internal diameter, while the posterior part of the cricoid is reconstructed in the correct position. PMID:34467797 | DOI:10.1177/01455613211040579 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Role of lncRNA BCYRN1 in trophoblast cell physiology and pathogenesis of preeclampsia

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Role of lncRNA BCYRN1 in trophoblast cell physiology and pathogenesis of preeclampsia Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1137. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10571. Epub 2021 Aug 6. ABSTRACT Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play a key role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). The present study investigated the role of the lncRNA brain cytoplasmic RNA 1 (BCYRN1) in PE. A total of 30 patients with severe PE (SPE) and 30 patients with mild PE (MPE) were recruited, whilst 30 healthy pregnant individuals were enrolled as controls. Placental tissues of enrolled subjects were collected after delivery. The clinical data of pregnant women and newborns were recorded before the correlation between BCYRN1 expression and clinical characteristics was analyzed. Furthermore, HTR-8/SVneo cells were transfected with BCYRN1 overexpression plasmids and BCYRN1 small interfering (si)RNA. Cell Counting Kit-8, Transwell, flow cytometry and tube formation assays were used to detect the function of BCYRN1 in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Reverse transcription-quan titative PCR was used to detect BCYRN1 expression in placental tissues and HTR-8/SVneo cells. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin. BCYRN1 expression was lower in placenta with mild PE compared with in normal placenta, and was in turn lower in placenta with severe PE. BCYRN1 was negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure and 24-h urinary protein in patients with PE. BCYRN1 siRNA inhibited cell viability, migration, invasion and tube forming abilities whilst increasing apoptosis. By contrast, BCYRN1 overexpression conferred opposite effects. The levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin expression in the cells and placental tissues were next measured. Cells overexpressing BCYRN1 were further treated with the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV939. Wnt1 and β-catenin expression were elevated when BCYRN1 was overexpressed, but were decreased after BCYRN1 knockdown. XAV939 attenuated the effect of BCYRN1 overexpression on HTR-8/SVneo cells. Overall , the resulted indicated that upregulation of BCYRN1 increased trophoblast viability and prevented apoptosis by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway to delay PE onset. PMID:34466147 | PMC:PMC8383326 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10571 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

SNAI2 is induced by transforming growth factor-β1, but is not essential for epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader SNAI2 is induced by transforming growth factor-β1, but is not essential for epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1124. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10558. Epub 2021 Aug 4. ABSTRACT Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular process in which epithelial cells lose their epithelial traits and shift to the mesenchymal phenotype, and is associated with various biological events, such as embryogenesis, wound healing and cancer progression. The transcriptional program that promotes phenotype switching is dynamically controlled by transcription factors during EMT, including Snail (SNAI1), twist family bHLH transcription factor (TWIST) and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1). The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying EMT in squamous epithelial cells. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical staining identified Slug (SNAI2) as a transcription factor that is induced during transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-mediated EMT in the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. The effect of SN AI2 overexpression and knockdown on the phenotypic characteristics of HaCaT cells was evaluated. Filamentous actin staining and western blot analysis revealed that the overexpression of SNAI2 did not induce the observed EMT-related phenotypic changes. In addition, SNAI2 knockdown demonstrated almost no impact on the EMT phenotypes induced by TGF-β1. Notably, DNA microarray analysis followed by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes upregulated by TGF-β1 were significantly enriched in cell adhesion and extracellular matrix binding, whereas the genes downregulated in response to TGF-β1 were significantly enriched in the cell cycle. No enriched gene ontology term and biological pathways were identified in the differentially expressed gene sets of SNAI2-overexpressing cells. In addition, the candidates for master transcription factors regulating the TGF-β1-induced EMT were identified using transcription factor enrichment analysis. In c onclusion, the results of study demonstrated that SNAI2 does not play an essential role in the EMT of HaCaT cells and identified candidate transcription factors that may be involved in EMT-related gene expression induced by TGF-β1. These findings may enhance the understanding of molecular events in EMT and contribute to the development of a novel therapeutic approach against EMT in cancers and wound healing. PMID:34466140 | PMC:PMC8383325 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10558 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Tumor microenvironment is not an 'innocent bystander' in the resistance to treatment of head and neck cancers (Review)

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Tumor microenvironment is not an 'innocent bystander' in the resistance to treatment of head and neck cancers (Review) Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1128. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10562. Epub 2021 Aug 5. ABSTRACT Head and neck cancers are still one of the most common types of cancer in the world. They rank in the leading sixth place in terms of incidence globally, and the incidence continues to rise. The mortality rates remain at high levels. Pathological subclassification places squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) in the first place concerning the histological forms of head and neck cancers; a tumor with extremely aggressive behavior and high mortality rates. The tumor microenvironment is a very complex ecosystem of cellular and non-cellular components, characterized by unique features, that contribute to the appearance of immunosuppression and diminished anticancer immunity, impacting patient prognosis and treatment outcome. Despite many important advances in therapy, resistance to therapy represents a difficult challenge in HNSCC patien ts. Tumor progression, metastasis, and response to therapy are all influenced by the complex ecosystem represented by the tumor microenvironment and by the interactions between cellular and non-cellular components of this system. Therefore, the tumor microenvironment, in the light of recent data, is not an innocent bystander. In the last few years, there has been a sustained effort to characterize the tumor microenvironment, to identify targets of response and identify other mechanisms of tumor-specific immune responses, or to discover other biomarkers of response. There is an urgent need to understand how to properly select patients, the therapy sequence, and how to use feasible biomarkers that can help to identify the patient who may obtain the most benefit from available therapies. PMID:34466142 | PMC:PMC8383332 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10562 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

MicroRNA-9 inhibits the proliferation and migration of malignant melanoma cells via targeting sirituin 1

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader MicroRNA-9 inhibits the proliferation and migration of malignant melanoma cells via targeting sirituin 1 Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1135. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10569. Epub 2021 Aug 6. ABSTRACT [This retracts the article DOI: 10.3892/etm.2017.4595.]. PMID:34466145 | PMC:PMC8383330 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10569 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.