Clinical Effects of Treatment for Lung Cancer with Double Points Cryoablation through Percutaneous Puncture Guided by Computed Tomography

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical effects of the application of double points cryoablation through percutaneous puncture for advanced lung cancer patients. METHODS Forty-one patients diagnosed with stage III-IV pulmonary carcinoma were selected for the study. The patients were found to have from 1 to 3 foci of carcinoma, and in each case the disease was limited to one lung. The study patients were divided randomly into 3 groups. There were 16 cases receiving routine chemotherapy and radiotherapy in group I, 13 cases treated with cryoablation at a single point in group II, and 12 cases treated with cryoablation at 2 points simultaneously in group III. The patients in the 2 cryoablation groups also received the same treatment as the patients did in group I. The clinical effects were evaluated within 6 months after treatment, and the survival rate was followed-up for 3 years. RESULTS The clinical effects were improved significantly after treatment in group II and in group III compared with those in group I （P 〈 0.05）, including an enhanced regressive rate of 21%, postponed tumor progression of 50.58% and a clinical benefit rate of 92%. The effective rate of regression in group III was higher than that in group II, 43.59% （P 〈 0.05）, and the 3-year survival rate was 37.25%. Significant differences in side effects were not found between the 2 cryoablation groups. CONCLUSION Cryosurgery ablation at 2 points, simultaneously, and directed at I foci might improve the effects of treatment and the prognosis of lung cancer patients, when used in combination with routine treatment.

A Survey of Transoral Robotic Mechanisms:Distal Dexterity,Variable Stiffness,and Triangulation

Robot-assisted technologies are being investigated to overcome the limitations of the current solutions for transoral surgeries,which suffer from constrained insertion ports,lengthy and indirect passageways,and narrow anatomical structures.This paper reviews distal dexterity mechanisms,variable stiffness mechanisms,and triangulation mechanisms,which are closely related to the specific technical challenges of transoral robotic surgery(TORS).According to the structure features in moving and orienting end effectors,the distal dexterity designs can be classified into 4 categories:serial mechanism,continuum mechanism,parallel mechanism,and hybrid mechanism.To ensure adequate adaptability,conformability,and safety,surgical robots must have high flexibility,which can be achieved by varying the stiffness.Variable stiffness(VS)mechanisms based on their working principles in TORS include phase-transitionbased VS mechanism,jamming-based VS mechanism,and structure-based VS mechanism.Triangulations aim to obtain enough workspace and create adequate traction and counter traction for various operations,including visualization,retraction,dissection,and suturing,with independently controllable manipulators.The merits and demerits of these designs are discussed to provide a reference for developing new surgical robotic systems(SRSs)capable of overcoming the limitations of existing systems and addressing challenges imposed by TORS procedures.

Boosting CO_(2) photoreduction by synergistic optimization of multiple processes through metal vacancy engineering

The photoreduction of greenhouse gas CO_(2) using photocatalytic technologies not only benefits en-vironmental remediation but also facilitates the production of raw materials for chemicals.Howev-er,the efficiency of CO_(2) photoreduction remains generally low due to the challenging activation of CO_(2) and the limited light absorption and separation of charge.Defect engineering of catalysts rep-resents a pivotal strategy to enhance the photocatalytic activity for CO_(2),with most research on met-al oxide catalysts focusing on the creation of anionic vacancies.The exploration of metal vacancies and their effects,however,is still underexplored.In this study,we prepared an In2O3 catalyst with indium vacancies(VIn)through defect engineering for CO_(2) photoreduction.Experimental and theo-retical calculations results demonstrate that VIn not only facilitate light absorption and charge sepa-ration in the catalyst but also enhance CO_(2) adsorption and reduce the energy barrier for the for-mation of the key intermediate*COOH during CO_(2) reduction.Through metal vacancy engineering,the activity of the catalyst was 7.4 times,reaching an outstanding rate of 841.32μmol g(-1)h^(-1).This work unveils the mechanism of metal vacancies in CO_(2) photoreduction and provides theoretical guidance for the development of novel CO_(2) photoreduction catalysts.