Cost-effectiveness analysis of mecapegfilgrastim and recombinant human granulocyte stimulating factor for primary prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and economics of mecapegfilgrastim and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in the primary prevention of chemotherapy-related neutropenia in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 181 patients with NSCLC who received intermediate risk chemotherapy were collected from the information system of a tertiary hospital in China. Patients were categorized into two groups: those treated with mecapegfilgrastim (n = 91) and those treated with rhG-CSF (n = 90). The clinical efficacy rates of neutropenia prevention were used as effect indicators, and a cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. Logistic regression, generalized linear regression, and bootstrap methods were used for sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference between the mecapegfilgrastim and rhG-CSF groups in clinical efficacy rates (98.9 vs. 97.8%). However, the total cost in the mecapegfilgrastim group was significantly higher than that in the rhG-CSF group (16,341.6 CNY vs. 14,371.1 CNY, p = 0.03). The cost-minimization analysis shows that mecapegfilgrastim is not cost-effective. The sensitivity analyses confirm that these results are robust. CONCLUSION: Compared with rhG-CSF, mecapegfilgrastim is not a cost-effective strategy for NSCLC patients in neutropenia prevention in China.

[Preparation and Tumor Targeting Analysis of Cell Membrane Nanovesicles Derived from Breast Cancer Cells].

Objective: To prepare cell membrane nanovesicles (NVs) derived from breast cancer cells, to explore their basic characteristics, tumor cell endocytosis, and in vivo distribution in a tumor-bearing mouse model, and to investigate their tumor targeting properties. Methods: 4T1 breast cancer cells were cultured in vitro. The cell membrane of 4T1 cells was isolated through ultracentrifugation and NVs were formulated with a liposome extruder. The size distribution of NVs was determined by way of dynamic light scattering, and the morphology properties of the NVs were examined with transmission electron microscope. The stability of NVs was analyzed by measuring the diameter changes of NVs submerged in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The biocompatibility of NVs was investigated by measuring the viability of dendritic cells treated with NVs at different concentrations (5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 mg·L -1) by CCK-8 assay. Fluorescence microscopy was used to analyze the cellular uptake of NVs by breast cancer cells. A mice model of breast cancer model was established with mice bearing subcutaneous xenograft of 4T1 cells. The mice were treated with Cy5.5-labeled NVs injected via the tail vein and the in vivo distribution of NVs was analyzed with an imaging system for small live animals. Results: The results showed that NVs derived from 4T1 breast cancer cells were successfully prepared. The NVs had a mean diameter of 123.2 nm and exhibited a hollow spherical structure under transmission electron microscope. No obvious change in the size of the NVs was observed after 7 days of incubation in PBS solution. CCK-8 assay results showed that the viability of dendritic cells treated with NVs at different concentrations was always higher than 90%. Fluorescence microscopic imaging showed that NVs could be efficiently internalized into breast cancer cells. in vivo biodistribution analysis revealed that breast cancer cell-derived NVs showed higher distribution in tumor tissue than the NVs prepared with normal cells did. Conclusion: We successfully prepared cell membrane NVs derived from 4T1 breast cancer cells. These NVs had efficient cellular uptake by breast cancer cells and sound tumor targeting properties.

Liposomal 9-Aminoacridine for Treatment of Ischemic Stroke: From Drug Discovery to Drug Delivery.

Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal part in the pathogenesis of stroke. Orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1 is involved in the inflammatory response of microglia and macrophages. In this study, we discovered an old drug, 9-aminoacridine (9-AA), as a novel NR4A1 activator from our in-house FDA-approved drug library, which exhibited anti-inflammatory activities through an NR4A1/IL-10/SOCS3 signaling pathway and modulated the microglia activation. To improve the druggability of 9-AA, different liposomal formulations were screened and investigated. 9-AA-loaded liposome (9-AA/L) was prepared to reduce the adverse effect of 9-AA. Furthermore, 9-AA-loaded PEG/cRGD dual-modified liposome (9-AA/L-PEG-cRGD) was obtained, which displayed prolonged circulation, improved biodistribution, and increased brain accumulation. In the transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rat model, 9-AA/L-PEG-cRGD significantly reduced brain infarct area, ameliorated ischemic brain injury, and promoted long-term neurological function recovery. This "from drug discovery to drug delivery" methodology provides a potential therapeutic strategy using the liposomal 9-AA, the NR4A1 activator to suppress neuroinflammation for treatment of ischemic stroke.

Near-Infrared-Induced Cationic Polymerization Initiated by Using Upconverting Nanoparticles and Titanocene.

A new near-infrared (NIR)-sensitized photoinitiating system for free-radical-promoted cationic polymerization of oxirane and vinyl monomers such as cyclohexene oxide, and n-butyl vinyl ether (BVE), and N-vinyl carbazole (NVC) is described. A three-component photoinitiating system consists of upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs), titanium-complex free radical photoinitiator (Irgacure 784, titanocene), and diphenyl iodonium hexafluorophosphate (Ph2 I+ PF6 - ). Upon NIR laser irradiation at 980 nm, the radicals generated from titanocene by the visible light emitted by UCNP abstract hydrogen or add to the monomer, forming electron donor radicals that can be oxidized by iodonium salt to initiate cationic polymerization.

Adsorptive decontamination of Cu2+-contaminated water and soil by carboxylated graphene oxide/chitosan/cellulose composite beads.

Graphene adsorbents have been applied to remove diverse pollutants from aqueous systems. However, the mechanical strength of most graphene adsorbents is low and the fragile graphene sheets are released into the environment. In this study, we prepared carboxylated graphene oxide/chitosan/cellulose (GCCSC) composite beads with good mechanical strength for the immobilization of Cu2+ from both water and soil. The proportional limit of GCCSC beads was 3.2 N, a much larger value than graphene oxide beads (0.2 N). The largest pressure for GCCSC beads recorded before brittle failure was 26 N. The Cu2+ adsorption capacity of GCCSC beads was 22.4 mg/g in aqueous systems at initial Cu2+ concentration of 40 µg/mL, which is competitive with many efficient adsorbents. The partition coefficient (PC) for the Cu2+ adsorption onto GCCSC beads was 1.12 mg/g/µM at Ce of 0.83 mg/L and qe of 14.3 mg/g. The PC decreased to 0.055 mg/g/µM at Ce of 26.0 mg/L and qe of 22.4 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics of Cu2+ on GCCSC beads were moderately fast and required approximately 3 h to reach equilibrium with a k2 of 0.0021 g/(mg·min). A lower temperature and higher pH slightly increased the adsorption capacity of GCCSC beads. The ionic strength did not influence the adsorption. The porous structure of GCCSC beads blocked the direct contact between soil and the graphene surface; thus, a high Cu2+ immobilization efficiency was achieved by GCCSC beads applied to soil. The implications for the design of high-performance graphene adsorbents for water and soil remediation are discussed.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Exosomes and Microvesicles in Human Saliva for Lung Cancer.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived microparticles present in most body fluids, mainly including microvesicles and exosomes. EV-harbored proteins have emerged as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and prediction of different cancers. We successfully isolated microvesicles and exosomes from human saliva, which were further characterized comprehensively. Salivary EV protein profiling in normal subjects and lung cancer patients was systematically compared through utilizing LC-MS/MS-based label-free quantification. 785 and 910 proteins were identified from salivary exosomes and microvesicles, respectively. According to statistical analysis, 150 and 243 proteins were revealed as dysregulated candidates in exosomes and microvesicles for lung cancer. Among them, 25 and 40 proteins originally from distal organ cells were found in the salivary exosomes and microvesicles of lung cancer patients. In particular, 5 out of 25 and 9 out of 40 are lung-related proteins. Six potential candidates were selected for verification by Western blot, and four of them, namely, BPIFA1, CRNN, MUC5B, and IQGAP, were confirmed either in salivary microvesicles or in exosomes. Our data collectively demonstrate that salivary EVs harbor informative proteins that might be used for the detection of lung cancer through a noninvasive way.

Recent Development of Thermoelectric Polymers and Composites.

Thermoelectric materials can be used as the active materials in thermoelectric generators and as Peltier coolers for direct energy conversion between heat and electricity. Apart from inorganic thermoelectric materials, thermoelectric polymers have been receiving great attention due to their unique advantages including low cost, high mechanical flexibility, light weight, low or no toxicity, and intrinsically low thermal conductivity. The power factor of thermoelectric polymers has been continuously rising, and the highest ZT value is more than 0.25 at room temperature. The power factor can be further improved by forming composites with nanomaterials. This article provides a review of recent developments on thermoelectric polymers and polymer composites. It focuses on the relationship between thermoelectric properties and the materials structure, including chemical structure, microstructure, dopants, and doping levels. Their thermoelectric properties can be further improved to be comparable to inorganic counterparts in the near future.

A Promising Emodin-Loaded Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid)-d-α-Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate Nanoparticles for Liver Cancer Therapy.

PURPOSE: Emodin (EMO) has multi-targets and multi-way antitumor effect, which was limited by the instability and poor solubility of EMO. The aim of this study was to formulate EMO-loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolide)-d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (PLGA-TPGS) nanoparticles (EPTN) to increase the liver targeting of EMO for cancer therapy. METHODS: EMO/coumarin-6-loaded PLGA-TPGS nanoparticles (ECPTN) and EMO-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (EPN) were also prepared as comparison. The cellular uptake of ECPTN by HepG2 and HCa-F cells was investigated using Confocal laser scanning microscopy. The apoptosis of HepG2 cells handled with EPTN was assayed by flow cytometry. The liver targeting property of ECPTN in mice was evaluated using the drug concentration determined by RP-HPLC and the freezing slices were investigated via fluorescence inversion microscopy. The blood samples were obtained from vein intubation to illustrate the pharmacokinetics process of EPTN. The tumor-bearing mice model was established to elucidate the in vivo therapeutic effect of EPTN. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that ECPTN could be internalized by HepG2 and HCa-F cells respectively. The ratio of apoptosis cells was increased after dealing with EPTN. The detection indexes of drug concentration and fluorescence inversion microscopy images indicated ECPTN had an excellent effect on liver targeting property than EMO solutions (EMS). The pharmacokinetics process of EPTN showed obvious sustained-release effect than EMS. Compared with EPN, the in vivo antitumor activity of EPTN against tumor cells were better. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, EPTN could be used in the treatment of liver cancer acted as a kind of promising intravenous dosage forms.

Acellular Endocardium as a Novel Biomaterial for the Intima of Tissue-Engineered Small-Caliber Vascular Grafts.

We aimed to investigate whether acellular endocardium can be used as a useful biomaterial for the intima of engineered small-caliber vascular grafts. Fresh endocardium was harvested from the swine left atrium and was decellularized by digestion with the decellularization solution of Triton X-100 and SDS containing DNase I and RNase A. Surface morphological characteristics and Young's modulus were evaluated. To analyze the effect of mechanical characteristics on cell adhesion, the decellularized endocardium was stiffened with 2.5% glutaraldehyde. Small-caliber vascular grafts were constructed using decellularized endocardium treated with or without glutaraldehyde as the intima. CD34+ cells were seeded onto the luminal surface of the vascular grafts and linked to bioreactors that simulate a pulsatile blood stream. Acellular endocardium had distinct surface morphological characteristics, which were quite different from those of other materials. The compliance of acellular endocardium was higher than that of other materials tested by Young's modulus. CD34+ cells formed a monolayer structure and adhered to the inner face of the acellular endocardium. The glutaraldehyde treatment stiffened the acellular endocardium but had little impact on the surface morphological characteristics or static adhesiveness of the cells. Data from the bioreactor study showed that the detachment of the cells from the surface of glutaraldehyde-treated acellular endocardium increased dramatically when the pressure was equal or higher than 40 mm Hg, while the cells on the untreated acellular endocardium remained well and formed confluent monolayers and tight junctions under the same pressure. Acellular endocardium has distinct structures and mechanical characteristics that are beneficial for CD34+ cell adhesion and retention under dynamic fluid perfusion. Thus, it can be used as a useful biomaterial for the construction of the intima of engineered small-caliber vascular grafts.

A novel oleanolic acid-loaded PLGA-TPGS nanoparticle for liver cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third most common cause of cancer death. Oleanolic acid (OA) is a natural triterpenoid, has many important biological actions, including antitumor effect, but its poor solubility often leads to poor pharmacodynamics. The aim of our work is to make OA-loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolide)-d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (PLGA-TPGS) nanoparticles (OPTN) to improve its efficacy to liver cancer and characterize it. METHODS: OPTN were prepared by ultrasonic emulsification-solvent evaporation technique using PLGA with or without the addition of TPGS (OPN). The coumarin-6-loaded nanoparticles were used as a fluorescence marker. The nanoparticles were characterized for surface morphology, surface charge, particle size, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug-release, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity by human liver cancer cell line HepG2 cells, and therapeutic effect in vivo. KEY FINDINGS: The prepared nanoparticles were found to be spherical in shape. The in vitro drug-release profile of both nanoparticle formulations showed a biphasic release pattern. There was an increased level of uptake and cytotoxicity of OPTN in the HepG2 cells compared with that of OPN. The treatment of OPTN group was better than OPN and FS groups in vivo. CONCLUSION: The results showed advantages of OPTN in terms of sustainable release and efficacy in liver cancer chemotherapy compared with OPN. OPTN could be acted as a novel and new dosage form to be used in cancer treatment study.

Computer-Assisted Porcelain Laminate Veneer Preparation: A Scoping Review of Stereolithographic Template Design and Fabrication Workflows.

Computer-assisted preparation of porcelain laminate veneers (PLVs) using stereolithographic templates has been developed to enhance the accuracy of tooth preparation. However, the digital workflows involved in guided PLV preparation remain inconsistently defined across various practices. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to examine publications on computer-assisted PLV preparation to identify the key stage of digital workflows involved in designing and fabricating stereolithographic templates, as well as to highlight the limitations of various template designs. This scoping review aimed to identify publications on digital workflows for designing and fabricating stereolithographic templates in computer-assisted porcelain laminate veneer preparation. A systematic search on MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus identified English-language articles published from 2014 to March 2024. Eligible articles focused on digitally designed and fabricated tooth reduction templates for porcelain laminate veneers, excluding conventional tooth preparation procedures for tooth reduction assessment. Seven clinical reports were included, demonstrating various 3D data acquisition techniques for virtual patient generation. All articles described virtual diagnostic wax-ups on digital casts, with two using a virtual articulator. Only five articles documented chair-side mock-ups with resin trial restorations to evaluate planned dental esthetics. Additionally, virtual tooth preparation prior to templates design was included in only four articles. The templates were designed using different software and ranged from simple designs with access windows to complex stacked templates with rotary instrument sleeved windows. Each template design had limitations affecting tooth reduction accuracy. All articles reported printing templates in clear acrylic resin using different technologies. In conclusion, the review highlights a lack of standardization in the digital workflow for designing stereolithographic templates for PLVs. Establishing a sound protocol for designing the tooth reduction templates is essential to ensure the accuracy and consistency of veneer preparation.

Remodeling Microenvironment for Implant-Associated Osteomyelitis by Dual Metal Peroxide.

Implant-associated osteomyelitis (IAOM) is characterized by bone infection and destruction; current therapy of antibiotic treatment and surgical debridement often results in drug resistance and bone defect. It is challenging to develop an antibiotic-free bactericidal and osteogenic-enhanced strategy for IAOM. Herein, an IAOM-tailored antibacterial and osteoinductive composite of copper (Cu)-strontium (Sr) peroxide nanoparticles (CSp NPs), encapsulated in polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) (CSp@PEGDA), is designed. The dual functional CSp NPs display hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) self-supplying and Fenton catalytic Cu2+ ions' release, generating plenty of hydroxyl radical (•OH) in a pH-responsive manner for bacterial killing, while the released Sr2+ promotes the in vitro osteogenicity regarding cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, extracellular matrix calcification, and osteo-associated genes expression. The integration of Cu2+ and Sr2+ in CSp NPs together with the coated PEGDA hydrogel ensures the stable and sustainable ion release during short- and long-term periods. Benefitted from the injectablity and photo-crosslink ability, CSp@PEGDA is able to thoroughly fill the infectious site and gelate in situ for bacterial elimination and bone regeneration, which is verified through in vivo evaluation using a clinical-simulating IAOM mouse model. These favorable abilities of CSp@PEGDA precisely meet the multiple therapeutic needs and pave a promising way for implant-associated osteomyelitis treatment.

Combined influence of the nanoplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure on microbial community in seawater environment.

Nanoplastics (NPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are recognized as persistent organic pollutant (POPs) with demonstrated physiological toxicity. When present in aquatic environments, the two pollutants could combine with each other, resulting in cumulative toxicity to organisms. However, the combined impact of NPs and PAHs on microorganisms in seawater is not well understood. In this study, we conducted an exposure experiment to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of NPs and PAHs on the composition, biodiversity, co-occurrence networks of microbial communities in seawater. Exposure of individuals to PAHs led to a reduction in microbial community richness, but an increase in the relative abundance of species linked to PAHs degradation. These PAHs-degradation bacteria acting as keystone species, maintained a microbial network complexity similar to that of the control treatment. Exposure to individual NPs resulted in a reduction in the complexity of microbial networks. Furthermore, when PAHs and NPs were simultaneously present, the toxic effect of NPs hindered the presence of keystone species involved in PAHs degradation, subsequently limiting the degradation of PAHs by marine microorganisms, resulting in a decrease in community diversity and symbiotic network complexity. This situation potentially poses a heightened threat to the ecological stability of marine ecosystems. Our work strengthened the understanding of the combined impact of NPs and PAHs on microorganisms in seawater.

A General and Convenient Peptide Self-Assembling Mechanism for Developing Supramolecular Versatile Nanomaterials Based on The Biosynthetic Hybrid Amyloid-Resilin Protein.

Self-assembling peptides are valuable building blocks to fabricate supramolecular biomaterials, which have broad applications from biomedicine to biotechnology. However, limited choices to induce different globular proteins into hydrogels hinder these designs. Here, an easy-to-implement and tunable self-assembling strategy, which employs Ure2 amyloidogenic peptide, are described to induce any target proteins to assemble into supramolecular hydrogels alone or in combination with notable compositional control. Furthermore, the collective effect of nanoscale interactions among amyloid nanofibrils and partially disordered elastomeric polypeptides are investigated. This led to many useful macroscopic material properties simultaneously emerging from one pure protein material, i.e. strong adhesion to any substrates under wet conditions, rapidly self--assembling into robust and porous hydrogels, adaptation to remodeling processes, strongly promoting cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, he demonstrated this supramolecular material's robust performance in vitro and vivo for tissue engineering, cosmetic and hemostasis applications and exhibited superior performance compared to corresponding commercial counterparts. To the best of his knowledge, few pure protein-based materials could meet such seemingly mutually exclusive properties simultaneously. Such versatility renders this novel supramolecular nanomaterial as next-generation functional protein-based materials, and he demonstrated the sequence level modulation of structural order and disorder as an untapped principle to design new proteins.

Effect of leaves damaged by Dendrolimus punctatus and insect frass on soil priming effect.

Insect herbivory in the forest canopy leads to a large amount of damaged leaves and frass input to soil, with consequence on soil carbon cycle. However, the influence of damaged leaves and frass from insect canopy herbivory on the soil priming effect is unclear. We examined the effects of leaf litter, leaf damage caused by Dendrolimus punctatus, and insect frass on soil priming effect by using the 13C natural abundance technique. The results showed that the addition of leaf litter, damaged leaves, and frass significantly increased native soil organic carbon mineralization, producing a positive priming effect. Moreover, significant differences were observed among treatments. The accumulative priming effect induced by frass was the largest, followed by damaged leaves, and that of leaf litter was the smallest. The priming effect was positively correlated with total P, condensed tannin, total phenolic content, and the ratio of condensed tannin to P (condensed tannin/P), and negatively correlated with C/N, lignin/N, C/P, and lignin/P in the early stage of incubation. There was a significant negative correlation between the priming effect and lignin content in the later stage of incubation. Our results indicated that damaged leaves and frass increased the magnitude of positive priming effect, which was influenced by different factors at different incubation stages. Our results would strengthen the understanding in the effects of insect herbivory on soil carbon cycling in forests, and improve the accuracy of the assessment of its effects on forest carbon sink.

Responses of nitrogen and phosphorus resorption of understory plants to microscale soil nutrient hetero-geneity in Chinese fir plantation.

We compared the interspecific differences in leaf nutrient resorption of two dominant understory species (Lophatherum gracile and Oplimenus unulatifolius), and analyzed the correlations between the intraspecific efficiency of leaf nutrient resorption and nutrient properties of soil and leaves in Chinese fir plantation. The results showed high soil nutrient heterogeneity in Chinese fir plantation. Soil inorganic nitrogen content and available phosphorus content varied from 8.58 to 65.29 mg·kg-1 and from 2.43 to 15.20 mg·kg-1 in the Chinese fir plantation, respectively. The soil inorganic nitrogen content in O. undulatifolius community was 1.4 times higher than that in L. gra-cile community, but there was no significant difference in soil available phosphorus content between the two communities. Both leaf nitrogen and phosphorus resorption efficiency of O. unulatifolius was significantly lower than that of L. gracile under the three measurement bases of leaf dry weight, leaf area, and lignin content. Resorption efficiency in L. gracile community expressed on leaf dry weight was lower than that expressed on leaf area and lignin content, while resorption efficiency expressed on leaf area was the lowest in O. unulatifolius community. The intraspecific resorption efficiency was significantly correlated with leaf nutrient contents, but was less correlated with soil nutrient content, and only the nitrogen resorption efficiency of L. gracile had significant positive correlation with soil inorganic nitrogen content. The results indicated that there was significant difference in the leaf nutrient resorption efficiency between the two understory species. Soil nutrient heterogeneity exerted a weak effect on the intraspecific nutrient resorption, which might be attributed to high soil nutrient availability and potential disturbance from canopy litter in Chinese fir plantation.

Electroactive, Antibacterial, and Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid) Nanofibrous Air Filters for Healthcare.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) hold great potential in the field of biodegradable filters for air purification but are largely limited by the relatively low electret properties and high susceptibility to bacteria. Herein, we disclosed a facile approach to the fabrication of electroactive and antibacterial PLA NFMs impregnated with a highly dielectric photocatalyst. In particular, the microwave-assisted doping (MAD) protocol was employed to yield Zn-doped titanium dioxide (Zn-TIO), featuring the well-defined anatase phase, a uniform size of ∼65 nm, and decreased band gap (3.0 eV). The incorporation of Zn-TIO (2, 6, and 10 wt %) into PLA gave rise to a significant refinement of the electrospun nanofibers, decreasing from the highest diameter of 581 nm for pure PLA to the lowest value of 264 nm. More importantly, dramatical improvements in the dielectric constants, surface potential, and electret properties were simultaneously achieved for the composite NFMs, as exemplified by a nearly 94% increase in surface potential for 3-day-aged PLA/Zn-TIO (90/10) compared with that of pure PLA. The well regulation of morphological features and promotion of electroactivity contributed to a distinct increase in the air filtration performance, as demonstrated by 98.7% filtration of PM0.3 with the highest quality factor of 0.032 Pa-1 at the airflow velocity of 32 L/min for PLA/Zn-TIO (94/6), largely surpassing pure PLA (89.4%, 0.011 Pa-1). Benefiting from the effective generation of reactive radicals and gradual release of Zn2+ by Zn-TIO, the electroactive PLA NFMs were ready to profoundly inactivate Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The exceptional combination of remarkable electret properties and excellent antibacterial performance makes the PLA membrane filters promising for healthcare.

Mechanochemically accessing a challenging-to-synthesize depolymerizable polymer.

Polymers with low ceiling temperatures (Tc) are highly desirable as they can depolymerize under mild conditions, but they typically suffer from demanding synthetic conditions and poor stability. We envision that this challenge can be addressed by developing high-Tc polymers that can be converted into low-Tc polymers on demand. Here, we demonstrate the mechanochemical generation of a low-Tc polymer, poly(2,5-dihydrofuran) (PDHF), from an unsaturated polyether that contains cyclobutane-fused THF in each repeat unit. Upon mechanically induced cycloreversion of cyclobutane, each repeat unit generates three repeat units of PDHF. The resulting PDHF completely depolymerizes into 2,5-dihydrofuran in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst. The mechanochemical generation of the otherwise difficult-to-synthesize PDHF highlights the power of polymer mechanochemistry in accessing elusive structures. The concept of mechanochemically regulating the Tc of polymers can be applied to develop next-generation sustainable plastics.

Is there association between severe multispace infections of the oral maxillofacial region and diabetes mellitus?

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify the impact of diabetes on the final outcome (length of hospital stay and development of complications) in patients with severe multispace infections in the head and neck. Furthermore, it intends to characterize significant clinical features of these patients compared with nondiabetics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 117 patients who received treatment for multispace infections of the head and neck region from 2007 through 2010 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth Hospital. The study identified diabetic patients and compared them with nondiabetic patients. Demographics, etiology of infection, clinical parameters (time from first onset of symptoms to hospital admission, number of spaces affected, and distribution of involved spaces), and laboratory values (bacteriology, admission blood glucose level, admission white blood cell count, and percentage of neutrophils on admission) were analyzed for clinical significance. Statistical analyses of the results between groups were performed using the Student t test, χ(2) test, variance analysis, logistic regression analysis, and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Admission blood glucose level was the only factor influencing the complications in multispace infections in the oral-maxillofacial region. Compared with nondiabetic patients, diabetics had infections that involved more spaces, longer hospital stays, and more frequent complications. Some diabetic patients died. The disease status (with or without diabetes) was associated with clinical outcomes (length of hospital stay and complications) in the therapy procedures. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies uncontrolled diabetes mellitus as an important indicator of clinical features and outcomes in treating multispace infections of the oral-maxillofacial region.

Raspberry-Shaped Microgels Assembled at the Oil-Water Interface by Heterocoagulation of Complementary Microgels.

Raspberry-shaped particles have attracted increasing interest due to their tunable surface morphologies and physicochemical properties. A variety of covalent and noncovalent strategies have been developed for the fabrication of raspberry-shaped particles. However, most of these strategies are complex or require precise control of solution conditions. In this work, we develop a direct approach for the fabrication of noncovalent raspberry-shaped microgels. Our strategy works through the electrostatically driven heterocoagulation of binary microgels with complementary functional groups at the oil-water interface. By introducing hexanoic acid (HA) into the oil phase, stable inverse water-in-oil (w/o) Pickering emulsions could be stabilized solely by HA-swollen microgels or self-assembled raspberry-shaped microgels. Furthermore, the formation mechanism and the interfacial properties of interfaces laden with raspberry-shaped microgels were investigated. The results indicate that HA can effectively improve the hydrophobicity and interfacial activity of microgels. In addition, raspberry-shaped microgels achieve high coverage on the droplet surface, resulting in the elastic interface and excellent stability of emulsions. We envision that these results will not only fill a knowledge gap in the field of soft matter interfacial self-assembly, but also will shed light on the rational design of raspberry-shaped soft colloids and the on-demand control of interfacial rheology. In addition, we expect that our results will contribute to wider applications of microgel-stabilized emulsions, including cascade catalysis, microreactor, and in vivo drug delivery.