pH-Responsive Charge Convertible Hyperbranched Poly(ionic liquid) Nanoassembly with High Biocompatibility for Resistance-Free Antimicrobial Applications.

As a potential alternative to antibiotics, hyperbranched poly(ionic liquid)s (HPILs) have demonstrated significant potential in combating bacterial biofilms. However, their high cation density poses a high risk of toxicity, greatly limiting their in vivo applications. In this study, we constructed a biocompatible HPIL (HPIL-Glu) from a hyperbranched polyurea core with modified terminals featuring charge-convertible ionic liquids. These ionic liquid moieties consist of an ammonium-based cation and a gluconate (Glu) organic counter. HPIL-Glu could form a homogeneous nanoassembly in water and exhibited a pH-responsive charge conversion property. Under neutral conditions, Glu shielded the positively charged surface, minimizing the toxicity. In a mildly acidic environment, Glu protonation exposes cationic moieties to biofilm eradication. Comprehensive antimicrobial assessments demonstrate that HPIL-Glu effectively kills bacteria and promotes the healing of bacteria-infected chronic wounds. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to HPIL-Glu does not induce antimicrobial resistance.

Mediating role of psychological flexibility in the effect of obsessive-compulsive symptoms on sleep quality among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Front-line nurses suffered unprecedented mental distress and severe insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Present study aimed to explore the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and sleep quality and examine the potential mediating role of psychological flexibility between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and sleep quality. A total of 496 nurses from a Chinese large-scale Class 3 A Comprehensive Hospital were included in an online cross-sectional survey and completed the revised obsessive-compulsive inventory (OCI-R), Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). As predicted, obsessive-compulsive symptoms were negatively associated with psychological flexibility and sleep quality, and psychological flexibility was positively associated with sleep quality. In addition, the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and sleep quality was partially mediated by psychological flexibility, which can provide some reference for the treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and insomnia, and lead to improvements in clinical and psychotherapy planning.

Effectiveness of Internet-delivered self-help acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT) on nurses' obsessive-compulsive symptoms and sleep quality: A randomized controlled trial with 3-month follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Frontline nurses suffered unprecedented mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's essential to explore new and more accessible alternatives to improve the availability of psychological treatments. This study aimed to investigate the influence of online self-help iACT linear intervention and iACT loop intervention on sleep quality (SQ), obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), and psychological flexibility (PF) in nurses. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a hospital in China. 602 participants were randomly assigned to the iACT linear intervention, iACT loop intervention, or wait list control group, and required to complete the questionnaires of OCS, PF and SQ. The linear mixed effects analysis (LMM) was used to analyze the impact of the intervention on outcome variables. RESULTS: LMM analyses demonstrated that both two intervention had significant improvement on OCS (t = -38.235, p < 0.001), PF (t = 28.156, p < 0.001), as well as SQ (t = -16.336, p < 0.001). There were significant differences between the linear group and loop group on the PF in T2 (t = -8.271, p < 0.001), T3 (t = -8.366, p < 0.001), T4 (t = -8.302, p < 0.001), with the iACT loop model (Cohen's d = 1.652) showing a slight advantage over the iACT linear model (Cohen's d = 1.134). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that two interventions positively impact OCS, PF, and SQ. Compared to the iACT linear psychotherapy model, the iACT loop model shows greater effectiveness in enhancing PF, making it helpful to promote significant improvements in psychotherapy planning.

Osteogenic and anti-inflammatory potential of oligochitosan nanoparticles in treating osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis is commonly developed via hematogenous spreading or direct inoculation of bacteria from orthopedics trauma. Pathogens-induced bone destruction impedes the penetration of antibiotics to the infection site, and the severe inflammation further compromises the traditional treatment outcome. In this work, vancomycin-loaded oligochitosan nanoparticles (Van-NPs) with antibacterial, antibiofilm, antioxidant as well as bone regenerative properties are prepared using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a crosslinker, and employed for the treatment of osteomyelitis. Van-NPs exhibit strong interactions with dissociative S. aureus and biofilms due to the positive zeta potential, the additional effect between vancomycin (Van) and oligochitosan (OCS) further contributes to an enhanced antibacterial and antibiofilm outcome. The in vitro osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs is facilitated by the antioxidant ability of Van-NPs and the TPP-induced activation of ERK1/2 and p38 signaling pathways. Moreover, the combination of Van-NPs with PLGA-PEG-PLGA gel (Gel/Van-NPs) achieves successful localized treatment of osteomyelitis in terms of enhanced bacteria elimination, inflammatory modulation, and accelerated bone regeneration. Therefore, Gel/Van-NPs may serve as a promising biomaterial for the optimal treatment of osteomyelitis.