Research advances of microplastics and potential health risks of microplastics on terrestrial higher mammals: a bibliometric analysis and literature review.

Microplastics (MPs) have become increasingly serious global problems due to their wide distribution and complicated impacts on living organisms. To obtain a comprehensive overview of the latest research progress on MPs, we conducted a bibliometric analysis combined with a literature review. The results showed that the number of studies on MPs has grown exponentially since 2010. Recently, the hotspot on MPs has shifted to terrestrial ecosystems and biological health risks, including human health risks. In addition, the toxic effects, identification and quantification of MPs are relatively new research hotspots. We subsequently provide a review of MPs studies related to health risks to terrestrial higher mammals and, in particular, to humans, including detection methods and potential toxicities based on current studies. Currently, MPs have been found existing in human feces, blood, colon, placenta and lung, but it is still unclear whether this is associated with related systemic diseases. In vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that MPs cause intestinal toxicity, metabolic disruption, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity through oxidative stress, apoptosis and specific pathways, etc. Notably, in terms of combined effects with pollutants and neurotoxicity, the effects of MPs are still controversial. Future attention should be paid to the detection and quantification of MPs in human tissues, exploring the combined effects and related mechanisms of MPs with other pollutants and clarifying the association between MPs and the development of pre-existing diseases. Our work enhances further understanding of the potential health risks of MPs to terrestrial higher mammals.

Curcumin Attenuates Pulmonary Inflammation in Lipopolysaccharide Induced Acute Lung Injury in Neonatal Rat Model by Activating Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ (PPARγ) Pathway.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of curcumin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced neonatal acute lung injury (ALI) and the possibly associated molecular mechanisms. MATERIAL AND METHODS ALI neonatal animal model was established by using LPS. Curcumin and/or peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) inhibitor BADGE (bisphenol A diglycidyl ether) were administrated to animals. Lung edema was evaluated by PaO2 and lung wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) measurements. EMSA was used to determine the PPARγ activity. Levels of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), secretory receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin 6 (IL6), and transforming growth factor b1 (TGFß1) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were examined by ELISA. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression levels of HMGB1, RAGE, heme oxygenase 1 (HO1), TNFα, IL6, and TGFß1 in lung tissue. RESULTS Curcumin administration significantly improved lung function by increasing PaO2 and decreasing W/D in neonatal ALI rats. Curcumin treatment upregulated the PPARγ activity and expression level of HO1 which were suppressed in lung tissue of neonatal ALI rats. Elevated levels of HMGB1, RAGE, TNFα, IL6, and TGFß1 in both lung tissue and BALF from neonatal ALI rats were decreased dramatically by curcumin treatment. PPARγ inhibitor BADGE administration impaired curcumin's alleviation on lung edema, inhibitory effects on inflammatory cytokine expression and recovery of PPARg/HO1 signaling activation. CONCLUSIONS Curcumin alleviated lung edema in LPS-induced ALI by inhibiting inflammation which was induced by PPARγ/HO1 regulated-HMGB1/RAGE pro-inflammatory pathway.

[Short-term clinical outcomes of neonates of secundiparous mothers: a single-center cohort study].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short-term clinical outcomes of neonates of secundiparous mothers, and to provide a reference for the clinical practice after the change in birth policy. METHODS: A cohort study was performed for the parturients and their neonates born in Yongkang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in Zhejiang, China between June 2015 and April 2016. According to the parity of the mother, the neonates were divided into primiparous group and secundiparous group. The short-term clinical outcomes of neonates were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 4 091 neonates who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled, and there were 2 023 neonates in the primiparous group and 2 068 in the secundiparous group. In the secundiparous group, most mothers (57.16%) were aged 26-34 years, and 16.49% were aged above 35 years. Compared with the primiparous group, the secundiparous group had a significantly higher rate of births by cesarean section (42.55% vs 25.06%; P<0.05). The percentages of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS; 8.6% vs 3.4%) and transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN; 7.2% vs 2.6%; P<0.05) in hospitalized neonates from the secundiparous group were significantly higher than in those from the primiparous group. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly parturient women are not the major population of secundiparous parturients. The neonates of secundiparous mothers have a higher rate of births by cesarean section, which might be associated with increased percentages of NRDS and TTN in hospitalized neonates from the secundiparous mothers.

Mechanisms involved in reproductive toxicity caused by nickel nanoparticle in female rats.

Nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) are associated with reproductive toxicity. However, the mechanisms of reproductive toxicity are unclear. Our goal was to explore further reproductive toxicity induced by nickel nanoparticle and mechanisms involved in this process, including the role of oxidative stress and apoptosis. According to the one-generation reproductive toxicity standard, rats were exposed to nickel nanoparticles by gavage and we selected indicators including ultrastructural, reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidant and antioxidant enzymes, and cell apoptosis-related factors. Ultrastructural results of ovaries showed mitochondrion swelling, disappearance of mitochondrial cristae, and enlargement of the endoplasmic reticulum in the exposure groups. NiNPs had significantly decreased the activity of SOD and CAT, and had increased the levels of ROS, MDA, and NO in comparison with the control groups. The mRNA expressions of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 and the expressions of Fas, Cyt c, Bax, and Bid protein on the ovaries significantly increased. At the same time, the expressions of Bcl-2 protein were significantly decreased. Based on these results, oxidative stress and cell apoptosis may play the important roles in inducing reproductive toxicity after NiNPs treatment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1674-1683, 2016.

Value of brain tissue oxygen saturation in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: a clinical study.

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) is one of the major causes of pre-term mortality and morbidity among very-low-birth-weight infants (VLBWI) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Some of the neonates pass away despite admission and care in intensive care units (ICUs). The present clinical trial seeks the application value of elevating oxygen saturation in the brain cells of pre-term neonates born with NRDS. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to monitor the neonates' microscopic cerebral oxygenation levels do determine hemoglobin concentration in brain tissues, whereas the pulse oximetry was used to measure oxygenation levels among the patients. In statistical analyses, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and descriptive statistics was deployed in the Jupyter Notebook environment using Python language. High saturation of oxygen in the brain tissues result in important biological and physiological processes, including enhanced oxygen supply to cells, reduced severity of NRDS, and balancing oxygen demand and supply. The correlations of oxygen saturation with systemic saturation of oxygen, the saturation of oxygen in brain tissues, the association between brain-specific and systemic saturation, and the impact of these outcomes on clinical practices were deliberated. Also, the pH gas values, the saturation of oxygen in neonates' brain tissues, metabolic acidosis, the effect of acid-base balance and cerebral oxygen supply, and the oxygenation of brain tissues and the pH values emerged as important variables of oxygenation of brain tissues in pre-term neonates. Oxygen saturation in brain cells influence vital physiological and biological processes. Balancing acid-base saturation or levels is needed despite the challenging achievement. Oxygenation of brain tissues improve the brain's overall functioning.

[Analysis of needlestick and sharps injuries among medical staff in upper first-class hospital].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of needlestick and sharps injuries among the medical staff in an upper first-class hospital and its risk factors and to provide a basis for the infection control department of hospital and health administration department to establish the policies for safe injection. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 800 healthcare professionals in an upper first-class hospital in Nanjing, China to investigate the incidence of needlestick and sharps injuries in the past year. A total of 641 persons completed the questionnaire, including 239 doctors, 348 nurses, and 54 other healthcare workers. The obtained data were subjected to chi-square test and logistic analysis. RESULTS: Needlestick and sharps injuries occurred in 373 of 641 healthcare professionals, with an incidence rate of 58.19%. There were significant differences in the incidence of needlestick and sharps injuries among the medical staff of different types or in different departments (P < 0.01). The syringe needles, glass, scalp infusion needles, and suture needles were the major medical apparatus that caused needlestick and sharps injuries; the incidence rate of injury caused by suture needles in doctors (48.21%) was significantly higher than that in nurses (6.72%) (P < 0.01), and the incidence rates of injuries caused by syringe needles, scalp infusion needles, and glass in nurses (71.15%, 59.68%, and 49.04%) were significantly higher than those in doctors (46.43%, 6.25%, and 16.96%) (P < 0.01); compared with nurses, the doctors had higher incidence rates of injuries due to body fluid or tissue sample collection, wound flushing, suture, and cutting (P < 0.05); compared with doctors, the nurses had higher incidence rates of injuries due to injection, intravenous infusion, heparin cap sealing, intravenous infusion line connection, and venous or arterial blood collection (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Needlestick and sharps injuries are common in medical staff. The results of the study on risk factors provide a basis for the infection control department of hospital and health administration department to establish the policies for safe injection.

Analysis of the Risk Factors for Nosocomial Bacterial Infection in Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Infection surveillance and risk factor analysis are among the most important prerequisites for the prevention and treatment of nosocomial bacteria infections, which are the demands for both infected and non-infected patients. PURPOSE: To explore the risk factors for nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19, and further to provide a theoretical basis for scientific prevention and control of nosocomial bacterial infection. METHODS: Between 10 January 2020 and 9 March 2020, we collected data of 212 patients with COVID-19 and then explored the influence of age, gender, length of stay, use of ventilator, urinary catheterization, central venous catheterization, white blood cell (WBC) count and procalcitonin on the nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19 by a retrospective study. RESULTS: There were 212 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 31 cases had nosocomial bacterial infections, with an incidence of 14.62%. The most common types of nosocomial bacterial infections were lower respiratory tract (12 cases, 38.71%), which was the most frequent site, followed by urinary tract (10 cases, 32.26%), blood stream (7 cases, 22.58%), upper respiratory tract (1 case, 3.23%) and gastrointestinal tract infection (1 case, 3.23%). The incidence of nosocomial bacterial infection was significantly correlated with age, arteriovenous catheterization, urinary catheterization, WBC count and procalcitonin. Moreover, multivariate analysis confirmed that WBC (OR 8.38, 95% CI 1.07 to 65.55), procalcitonin (OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.39 to 17.33) and urinary catheterization (OR 25.38, 95% CI 5.09 to 126.53) were independent risk factors for the nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Understanding the risk factors for nosocomial bacterial infection of patients with COVID-19 and strengthening the monitoring of various susceptible factors are helpful to control the occurrence of nosocomial bacterial infection in the COVID-19 isolation wards.

Mechanisms underlying nickel nanoparticle induced reproductive toxicity and chemo-protective effects of vitamin C in male rats.

The purpose of this research is to go a step further study on the reproductive toxicities and the underlying mechanisms induced by nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs), and the possible protective action of vitamin C. Animal experiment was designed according to the one-generation reproductive toxicity standard, and rats were exposed to NiNPs through gavage. Ultrastructural, reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidant and antioxidant enzymes, and cell apoptosis-related factors in the testicular tissue were analyzed. In contrast with the control group, the activity of surperoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and gonad-stimulating hormone (GSH) was reduced, while the content of nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and ROS was increased in the NiNPs treated animals. As the doses of NiNPs increase, the mRNA of apoptotic related factor Caspase-9, Caspase-8 and Caspase-3 showed an obviously upregulation. Protein expression of Bcl-2-associated X Protein (Bax) and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) was significantly unregulated. After addition of antioxidants-vitamin C, the toxicity was reduced. Injured testicular tissue indicated that NiNPs exposure could damage the reproductive system. Our results suggest that NiNPs induce significant reproductive toxicities. The cellular apoptosis might be induced by caspase family proteinases, but the regulator factor (factor associated suicide (Fas), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bax, BH3-interacting domain death agonist (Bid) and AIF protein) might not be involved in this process. Thus, the mechanism of reproductive toxicity of NiNPs on rat testes involves in the induction of oxidative stress, which further results in cell apoptosis. Antioxidants-vitamin C shows a significant inhibition on the reproductive toxicities induced by NiNPs.

Molecular mechanisms underlying nickel nanoparticle induced rat Sertoli-germ cells apoptosis.

This study was done on SD rat Sertoli-germ co-cultured cells (Sertoli-germ cells) with nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs). A series of investigations were performed to observe the role of Ni NPs on the apoptosis of Sertoli-germ cells and to explore the long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA) functions on key signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms. We found that Ni NPs had an apoptotic effect on Sertoli-germ cells. Ni NPs-induced apoptosis in Sertoli-germ cells involves the LOC102551356, Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (Igfbp3), and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. The specific mechanism may be: during the process of Ni NPs-induced apoptosis in Sertoli-germ cells, the expression of LOC102551356 is up-regulated, and LOC102551356 activates the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway through targeted regulation of the target gene Igfbp3 in the P53-reduced apoptosis pathway. The results of this study will be important for the safety evaluation of Ni NPs in the future, and could provide an approach for the prevention or alleviation of the toxicity induced by Ni NPs.

Wogonin inhibits the proliferation of myelodysplastic syndrome cells through the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

The present study aimed to assess the effects of the flavonoid, wogonin, and its underlying mechanism on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in SKM-1 cells. In the present study, wogonin inhibited the cell proliferation of SKM­1 cells in a dose­ and time­dependent manner, with the concentration required to yield a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 212.1 µmol/l at 24 h, and 43.4 µmol/l at 72 h. Furthermore, wogonin induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and induced the apoptosis of the SKM­1 cells, which possibly accounted for the antiproliferative effects of wogonin. Notably, the data in the present study revealed that wogonin upregulated the expression of p21Cip1 and p27Kip1, and downregulated the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin­dependent kinase 4, causing a G0/G1 phase arrest, halting cell cycle progression, and inducing apoptosis in the MDS cells, which was mediated by the mitochondrial pathway through a modulation of the ratio of Bcl­2 to Bax. Therefore, the present study suggests that wogonin may be a logical therapeutic target in the treatment of MDS.

Risk factors for surgical site infection in a teaching hospital: a prospective study of 1,138 patients.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) in a teaching hospital. METHODS: A prospective study was initiated to investigate risk factors for SSI at a university-affiliated tertiary care center from July 2013 to December 2014. The chi-square test for categorical variables was used to determine the significance of association, whereas the multivariate logistic regression model was used to examine independent risk factors for SSI. RESULTS: A total of 1,138 patients met the inclusion criteria, in whom 36 cases of infection occurred during the hospitalization period and two cases occurred after discharge. Univariate analysis showed that SSI was associated with the type of operation, wound classification, volume of blood loss, blood transfusion, American Society of Anesthesiology score before surgery, risk index, duration of surgery, diabetes, cancer, gastrointestinal catheter, urinary catheter, postoperative drainage, and preprocedural white blood cell count. Multivariate analysis identified six independent parameters correlating with the occurrence of SSI: diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 6.400; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.582-15.866; P=0.000); cancer (OR 2.427; 95% CI 1.028-5.732; P=0.043); preprocedural white blood cell count more than 10×10(9)/L (OR 6.988; CI 3.165-15.425; P=0.000); wound classification (clean contaminated [OR: 7.893; CI: 2.244-27.762; P=0.001]; contaminated [OR: 7.031; CI: 1.652-29.922; P=0.008]; dirty [OR: 48.778; CI: 5.418-439.164; P=0.001]); operative duration more than 120 minutes (OR 4.289; CI 1.773-10.378; P=0.001); and postoperative drainage (OR 3.957; CI 1.422-11.008; P=0.008). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that all these risk factors could be regarded as potential indicators of SSI and that relevant preventive measures should be taken to reduce SSI and improve patient outcomes.