Optical properties of He^(+)-implanted and diamond blade-diced terbium gallium garnet crystal planar and ridge waveguides

Terbium gallium garnet(Tb_(3)Ga_(5)O_(12),TGG)crystal can be used to fabricate various magneto-optical devices due to its optimal Faraday effect.In this work,400-keV He^(+)ions with a fluence of 6.0×10^(16)ions/cm^(2)are irradiated into the TGG crystal for the planar waveguide formation.The precise diamond blade dicing with a rotation speed of 2×10^(4)rpm and a cutting velocity of 0.1 mm/s is performed on the He^(+)-implanted TGG planar waveguide for the ridge structure.The darkmode spectrum of the He^(+)-implanted TGG planar waveguide is measured by the prism-coupling method,thereby obtaining the relationship between the reflected light intensity and the effective refractive index.The refractive index profile of the planar waveguide is reconstructed by the reflectivity calculation method.The near-field light intensity distribution of the planar waveguide and the ridge waveguide are recorded by the end-face coupling method.The He^(+)-implanted and diamond blade-diced TGG crystal planar and ridge waveguides are promising candidates for integrated magneto-optical devices.

Clinical practice guideline for transurethral plasmakinetic resection of prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia(2021 Edition)

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is highly prevalent among older men, impacting on their quality of life, sexual function, and genitourinary health, and has become an important global burden of disease. Transurethral plasmakinetic resection of prostate (TUPKP) is one of the foremost surgical procedures for the treatment of BPH. It has become well established in clinical practice with good efficacy and safety. In 2018, we issued the guideline “2018 Standard Edition”. However much new direct evidence has now emerged and this may change some of previous recommendations. The time is ripe to develop new evidence-based guidelines, so we formed a working group of clinical experts and methodologists. The steering group members posed 31 questions relevant to the management of TUPKP for BPH covering the following areas: questions relevant to the perioperative period (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) of TUPKP in the treatment of BPH, postoperative complications and the level of surgeons’ surgical skill. We searched the literature for direct evidence on the management of TUPKP for BPH, and assessed its certainty generated recommendations using the grade criteria by the European Association of Urology. Recommendations were either strong or weak, or in the form of an ungraded consensus-based statement. Finally, we issued 36 statements. Among them, 23 carried strong recommendations, and 13 carried weak recommendations for the stated procedure. They covered questions relevant to the aforementioned three areas. The preoperative period for TUPKP in the treatment of BPH included indications and contraindications for TUPKP, precautions for preoperative preparation in patients with renal impairment and urinary tract infection due to urinary retention, and preoperative prophylactic use of antibiotics. Questions relevant to the intraoperative period incorporated surgical operation techniques and prevention and management of bladder explosion. The application to different populations incorporating the efficacy and safety of TUPKP in the treatment of normal volume (< 80 ml) and large-volume (≥ 80 ml) BPH compared with transurethral urethral resection prostate, transurethral plasmakinetic enucleation of prostate and open prostatectomy;the efficacy and safety of TUPKP in high-risk populations and among people taking anticoagulant (antithrombotic) drugs. Questions relevant to the postoperative period incorporated the time and speed of flushing, the time indwelling catheters are needed, principles of postoperative therapeutic use of antibiotics, follow-up time and follow-up content. Questions related to complications incorporated types of complications and their incidence, postoperative leukocyturia, the treatment measures for the perforation and extravasation of the capsule, transurethral resection syndrome, postoperative bleeding, urinary catheter blockage, bladder spasm, overactive bladder, urinary incontinence, urethral stricture, rectal injury during surgery, postoperative erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation. Final questions were related to surgeons’ skills when performing TUPKP for the treatment of BPH. We hope these recommendations can help support healthcare workers caring for patients having TUPKP for the treatment of BPH.

Influence of reproductive tract obstruction on expression ）f epididymal proteins and their restoration after patency

Vasectomy is a simple and reliable method of male contraception. A growing number of men after vasectomy request vasectomy reversal due to various reasons. The pregnancy rate is lower than the patency rate after vasovasostomy and the pregnancy rate is time dependent. In this study, we evaluated the influence of reproductive tract obstruction on expression of epididymal proteins and their restoration after patency. Adult male Wistar rats were studied 30, 60 and 120 days after vasectomy, 30 days after vasovasostomy or after sham operations. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, mass-spectrometric technique, multidatabase search, Western blotting and real-time PCR were used to analyze the expression regulation of epididymal proteins. Total integrated intensity and total spot area of autoradiograms showed a consistent downward trend with time after obstruction, and this trend remained after patency. The intensity of the autoradiographic spots in three patency groups showed three trends： a downward trend, similar intensity and an upward trend compared with the correspondent obstruction group, respectively. Further verified experiments on human epididymis 2 （HE2）, fertilization antigen-1 （FA-1）, clusterin and PH20 demonstrated that compared with the correspondent obstruction group, the translation levels of HE2 and the mRNA transcription levels of HE2 showed an upward trend in patency groups, especially in the groups of obstruction for 60 days where the expression levels of HE2 were significantly upregulated after patency （P〈O.05）. Reproductive tract obstruction provokes a disregulation of gene expression in the epididymis and this disregulation remained after patency. Successful reversal may recover some proteins and the recovery is time dependent, Obstruction differentially alters mRNA transcription of different proteins and the content of proteins seemed to be easier to be influenced than the gene transcription.

Guiding properties of proton-implanted Nd^(3+)-doped phosphate glass waveguides

We report on the fabrication and properties of an optical waveguide in Nd^(3+)-doped phosphate glass.The planar waveguide was obtained by 550-ke V proton implantation with a dose of 8.0×10^(16)ions/cm^(2).The proton–glass interaction was simulated by the stopping and range of ions in matter(SRIM software).The characteristics of the waveguide including the refractive index profile and the near-field intensity distribution were studied by the reflectivity calculation method and the end-face coupling technique.The optical waveguide demonstrated multi-mode behavior at the wavelength of 632.8 nm.The propagation features of the proton-implanted Nd^(3+)-doped phosphate glass waveguide shows its potential to operate as an integrated photonic device.

Percent free prostate-specific antigen is effective to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese men with prostate-specific antigen between 10.1 and 20.0 ng ml^-1

Percent free prostatic-specific antigen （%fPSA） has been introduced as a tool to avoid unnecessary biopsies in patients with a serum PSA level of 4.0-10.0 ng ml^-1, however, it remains controversial whether %fPSA is effective in PSA range of 10.1-20.0 ng ml^-1 in both Chinese and Western population. In this study, the diagnostic performance of %fPSA and serum PSA in predicting prostate cancer （PCa） and high-grade PCa （HGPCa） was analyzed in a multi-center biopsy cohort of 5915 consecutive Chinese patients who underwent prostate biopsy in 22 hospitals across China from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. The indication for biopsy was PSA〉4.0 ng ml^-1 or/and suspicious digital rectal examination. Total and free serum PSA determinations were performed by three types of electrochemiluminescence immunoassays with recalibration to the World Health Organization standards. The diagnostics accuracy of PSA, %fPSA and %fPSA in combination with PSA （%fPSA ＋ PSA） was determined by the area under the receivers operating characteristic curve （AUC）. %fPSA was more effective than PSA in men aged ≥60 years old. The AUC was 0.584 and 0.635 in men aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0-10.0 ng ml^-1 and 10.1-20.0 ng ml^-1, respectively. The AUC of %fPSA was superior to that of PSA in predicting HGPCa in patients ≥60 years old in these two PSA range. Our results indicated that %fPSA is both statistically effective and clinical applicable to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese patients aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0-10.0 ng ml^-1 and 10.1-20.0 ng ml^-1.

Can the lower urinary tract storage symptoms be completely resolved after plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate？

The aim of this study was to determine whether the lower urinary tract storage symptoms of benign prostatic obstruction （BPO） could be completely resolved after plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate （PKEP） and the possible predictors of persistent symptoms. Two hundred and sixty-seven cases of BPO performed PKEP from July 2008 to June 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Five-year postoperative data were collected and compared with the preoperative data. According to the urodynamic results, the patients were divided into involuntary detrusor contraction （IDC） group （n = 95） and no IDC group （n = 172） preoperatively; the patients with IDC were divided into IDC-persistent group （n = 33） and IDC-resolved group （n = 62） after PKER The predictors of persistent IDC were analyzed. Compared with the preoperative data, the 5-year postoperative data showed that the IDC rate was lower （P --- 0.000）, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score （OABSS） was lower （P = 0.000）, maximum cystometric capacity （MCC） was larger （P= 0.000）, Prostate volume （PV） was smaller （P= 0.000）, and prostate-specific antigen （PSA） was lower （P= 0.000）. Compared with the no IDC group, the IDC group showed that the age was older （P = 0.016）, MCC was smaller （P = 0.004）, PSA was higher （P = 0.016）, and Chronic Inflammation rate was higher （P = 0.004）. Compared with IDC-resolved group after PKER IDC-persistent group showed that the age was older （P = 0.019）, MCC was smaller （P = 0.000）, PSA was higher （P = 0.013）, and Chronic Ihflammation rate was higher （P = 0.032）. The present study shows that the storage symptoms are still needed to be focused on after PKER The advanced patient age, MCC, PSA, and chronic inflammation may be the important clinical predictors of persistent IDC.