Paclitaxel-loaded lignin particle encapsulated into electrospun PVA/PVP composite nanofiber for effective cervical cancer cell inhibition.

Electrospun composite nanofibrous scaffolds have been regarded as a potential carrier for local drug delivery to prevent tumor recurrence. Herein, a model drug (paclitaxel) was creatively loaded into lignin nanoparticles (PLNPs) and then encapsulated into the polymer of poly (vinyl alcohol)/polyvinyl pyrrolidone which has been fabricated into a composite nanofibrous membrane (PVA/PVP-PLNPs) for use as a drug carrier using the electrospinning technique. The fabricated PVA/PVP-PLNPs membranes exhibited good particle distribution, mechanical properties, thermal stability and biocompatibility. In vitro experiments showed that combining lignin nanoparticles by electrospinning not only improved the drug release profile, but also enhanced the hydrophilicity of nanofibrous membranes which was beneficial to cell adhesion and proliferation. Cellular experiments demonstrated that PVA/PVP-2%PLNPs membrane showed good cell inhibition ability, and the cell survival rate was only 21% at day 7. It indicates that the as-prepared PVA/PVP-PLNPs composite nanofibers are promising candidates for local anticancer therapy.

3D nanofiber sponge with dimethyloxaloglycine-loaded Prussian blue analogue microspheres to promote wound healing.

The fabrication of functional wound dressing for effective hemostasis, anti-inflammation as well as angiogenesis is of vital importance. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber sponge with dimethyloxaloglycine (DMOG) loaded mesoporous spheres of derivatives of Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) was prepared (3D-PBAFeCo-DMOG). The nanostructure, composition, and mechanical properties of 3D-PBAFeCo-DMOG were characterized, showing regular nanostructure and good mechanical property. The behavior ofin vitrodrug release showed the DMOG could achieve long-term and stable release by encapsulating in PBAFeComicrospheres and nanofibers.In vitrocoagulation experiments showed that 3D-PBAFeCo-DMOG had effective hemostasis and clotting capacities. In addition, the antioxidant capacity and cell compatibility of 3D-PBAFeCo-DMOG were confirmed. These results indicate that 3D-PBAFeCo-DMOG nanofiber sponge, as a controlled drug release system, may provide a new strategy for promoting angiogenesis and wound healing for clinical applications.

Rational Design of Bioactive Materials for Bone Hemostasis and Defect Repair.

Everyday unnatural events such as trauma, accidents, military conflict, disasters, and even medical malpractice create open wounds and massive blood loss, which can be life-threatening. Fractures and large bone defects are among the most common types of injuries. Traditional treatment methods usually involve rapid hemostasis and wound closure, which are convenient and fast but may result in various complications such as nerve injury, deep infection, vascular injury, and deep hematomas. To address these complications, various studies have been conducted on new materials that can be degraded in the body and reduce inflammation and abscesses in the surgical area. This review presents the latest research progress in biomaterials for bone hemostasis and repair. The mechanisms of bone hemostasis and bone healing are first introduced and then principles for rational design of biomaterials are summarized. After providing representative examples of hemostatic biomaterials for bone repair, future challenges and opportunities in the field are proposed.

Designing biomimetic scaffolds for skin tissue engineering.

There is a general increase in the number of patients with non-healing skin wounds, imposing a huge social and economic burden on patients and healthcare systems. Severe skin injury is an important clinical challenge. There is a lack of skin donors, and skin defects and scarring after surgery can lead to impaired skin function and skin integrity. Researchers worldwide have made great efforts to create human skin organs but are limited by the lack of key biological structural features of the skin. Tissue engineering repairs damaged tissue by incorporating cells into biocompatible and biodegradable porous scaffolds. Skin tissue engineered scaffolds not only have appropriate physical and mechanical properties but also exhibit skin-like surface topography and microstructure, which can promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. At present, skin tissue engineering scaffolds are being developed into clinical applications that can overcome the limitations of skin transplantation, promote the process of wound healing, and repair skin tissue damage. This provides an effective therapeutic option for the management of patients with skin lesions. This paper reviews the structure and function of skin tissue and the process of wound healing, and summarizes the materials and manufacturing methods used to fabricate skin tissue engineering scaffolds. Next, the design considerations of skin tissue engineering scaffolds are discussed. An extensive review of skin scaffolds and clinically approved scaffold materials is presented. Lastly, some important challenges in the construction of skin tissue engineering scaffolds are presented.

Association of serum total 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentration and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancies-specific mortality in patients with hyperlipidemia in the United States.

Background: Vitamin D (VD) plays an important role in decreasing the risk of adverse events for various metabolic diseases. However, for patients with hyperlipidemia, the relationship between the main VD storage within the body known as serum 25-hydroxy-VD [25(OH)VD] and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancies-specific mortality is still unclear. Materials and methods: A total of 6740 participants above the age of 20 years with hyperlipidemia who completed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2007 and 2016 and were followed up until 2019 were included in the study. The weighted Cox proportional hazards regression model and weighted competing risk regression model were used to evaluate the risk for all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy-related mortality in relation to the serum 25(OH)VD. The model was adjusted according to age, gender, race, body mass index, lipids status, medication usage, the Charlson comorbidity index and healthy eating index. The last restricted cubic spline (RCS) method was used to present the relationship between hazard ratios (HR) associated with diverse cause-specified modalities and the serum 25(OH)VD levels. Results: Serum 25(OH)VD was identified as an independent factor for mortality. Lower serum 25(OH)VD under the threshold of 25.6 and 25.2 ng/ml were significantly associated with a higher risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities, respectively. However, no association was found between malignancy-specific mortality and serum 25(OH)VD. Conclusion: Serum 25(OH)VD were identified as an independent factor associated with risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities in patient with hyperlipidemia. Moreover, lower serum 25(OH)VD than 25.6 and 25.2 ng/mL were, respectively, associated with a gradual increase in a risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with hyperlipidemia, and therefore regular monitoring of VD levels and correction of VD deficiency is recommended in those patients.

Clonal Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant and Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Clonal Complex in a Chinese Hospital.

The emergence of high antimicrobial-resistant and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) clones in clinics has become a cause of concern in recent years. Despite the global spread of the clonal complex (CC) 258, hvKp of other non-CC258 subgroups also emerged. Here, by performing a retrospective study from July 2019 to August 2020 in a Chinese hospital, we obtained 25 K. pneumoniae isolates belonging to CC15. By antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genome sequencing and analysis, we obtained the resistant phenotypes and genotypes of these isolates. Twenty-one isolates (84%) were carbapenem-resistant, and eighteen were blaKPC-2 positive. In addition, ten isolates were identified as putative hvKp and seven were carbapenem-resistant hvKp. Nine isolates carried the pLVPK-like virulence plasmid, which contains the fragment including rmpA2, peg-589, iutA, and iucABCD. Another isolate carried iucA. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to four lineages, and the putative hvKp isolates were identified in three of these. Two independent sublineages of putative hvKp were caused by the acquisition of pLVPK-like virulence plasmid. Based on comparative genomic analysis, the number of pairwise single nucleotide polymorphisms amongst the four sublineages, Lineage 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b, were 1-43, 2-13, 129-279, and 3-4, respectively, indicating clonal transmission of Lineage 1a, 1b, and 2b. These results indicate that multiple lineages of CC15 carbapenem-resistant hvKp have emerged in the hospital and caused nosocomial transmission, and that the spreading of virulence plasmids among classic K. pneumoniae subtypes might become more common and happen more easily. These findings highlight the importance of surveillance of local epidemics of non-CC258 subgroups in hospitals.

Can the Federal Baldrige Survey Measure Workforce Well-being in an Academic Health Center?

INTRODUCTION: Experts suggest health care institutions switch focus from measuring burnout to measuring positive organizational psychology. Concerns include burnout being a late sign of organizational decline. The Baldrige survey is promoted by the U.S. Department of Commerce to measure positive worksite conditions (e.g., workforce wellbeing of industries, including health care and education). For years, the survey has been completed by managers within organizations, but now the same survey is promoted for completion by an organization's workforce. We tested the structure of the Baldrige survey when completed by an academic health care workforce. In addition, we tested whether the results in an academic worksite correlate with an example metric of an organizational mission. METHODS: In 2015, our academic health center surveyed faculty and staff with the Baldrige survey. The validity of the Baldrige was tested with confirmatory factor analyses. Within the School of Medicine, responses for the Baldrige's concepts were correlated against a measure of organizational outcome: graduates' assessments of Departmental educational quality. RESULTS: The structure of the Baldrige survey did not validate when assessed by a workforce (RMSEA = 0.086; CFI = 0.829; TLI = 0.815). None of its concepts correlated with learner reported educational quality. CONCLUSIONS: The Baldrige survey, when administered to a workforce rather than managers, did not appear to measure workforce well-being within an academic health care center. We discourage use of the current survey for this purpose.