[Ban on New year's Fireworks Reduces Severe Hand Injuries: A Nationwide Multicentre Study On The Prohibition Of Pyrotechnics Due To Covid-19 Restrictions]. / Verbot von Feuerwerkskörpern reduziert schwere Handverletzungen an Silvester: Eine deutschlandweite Multicenter-Studie des Pyrotechnikverbots im Rahmen der Covid-19-Maßnahmen.

BACKGROUND: Injuries caused by explosions or pyrotechnic devices can lead to severe hand injuries with potential long-term consequences for both the affected individual and the healthcare system. The implementation of a nationwide ban on fireworks during the New Year festivities was only temporarily enforced as part of the protective measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. These two exceptional years provide an opportunity for evaluation as a model experiment to demonstrate the impact of a fireworks ban on the frequency of explosion-related hand injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a multicentre study, five German hand trauma centres retrospectively collected and analysed all pyrotechnic-related injuries that occurred within seven days around the New Year celebration between 2017 and 2023. RESULTS: Severe hand injuries from explosions were significantly less frequent at New Year celebrations during the pandemic period compared with data collected in the years before and after Covid-19. After the return to regular sales laws and celebrations in December 2022, a significant increase in injuries was observed, surpassing even the pre-Covid period. Epidemiological data confirmed a high proportion of minors and male victims. The highest number of injuries was observed on New Year's Eve and the first day of January, with adults mainly being injured during the festivities, while children and adolescents were mainly injured during the first days of January. CONCLUSIONS: A national ban proved to be an effective method to prevent severe hand injuries caused by explosive devices and their lifelong consequences. The data obtained in this multicentre study can serve as a basis for informed policy action.

Impact of exercise on markers of B cell-related immunity: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: B cells represent a crucial component of adaptive immunity that ensures long-term protection from infection by generating pathogen-specific immunoglobulins. Exercise alters B cell counts and immunoglobulin levels, but evidence-based conclusions on potential benefits for adaptive immunity are lacking. This systematic review assessed current literature on the impact of acute exercise and exercise training on B cells, immunoglobulins, and markers of secretory immunity in human biofluids. METHODS: According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase were searched on March 8, 2023. Non-randomized controlled trials and crossover trials investigating the impact of acute exercise or exercise training on B cell counts and proportions, immunoglobulin levels, salivary flow rate, or secretory immunoglobulin A secretion rate were included. Quality and reporting of exercise training studies was assessed using the Tool for the Assessment of Study Quality and reporting in Exercise. Study characteristics, outcome measures, and statistically significant changes were summarized tabularly. RESULTS: Of the 67 eligible studies, 22 applied acute exercise and 45 applied exercise training. All included outcomes revealed significant alterations over time in acute exercise and exercise training context, but only a few investigations showed significant differences compared to control conditions. Secretory and plasma immunoglobulin A levels were most consistently increased in response to exercise training. CONCLUSION: B cell-related outcomes are altered by acute exercise and exercise training, but evidence-based conclusions cannot be drawn with high confidence due to the large heterogeneity in populations and exercise modalities. Well-designed trials with large sample sizes are needed to clarify how exercise shapes B cell-related immunity.

Investigation of the Formation, Characterization, and Oxidative Catalytic Valorization of Humins.

The industrial use of biomass, e.g., for the production of platform chemicals such as levulinic acid, became increasingly important in recent years. However, the efficiency of these processes was reduced by the formation of insoluble solid waste products called humins. Herein, the formation of humins from various carbohydrates was investigated under different process conditions, in order to obtain information about the structure and the formation mechanism. During this process, new potential structural fragments of humins were identified. Subsequently, the produced humins were oxidatively converted to low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids with the use of polyoxometalate catalysts. The experiments showed that the use of sugars in acetic acid and ethanol only lead to the formation of a small amount of humins, which were also structurally most suitable for conversion to carboxylic acids. The main products of the oxidative valorisation of these humins were acetic acid, formic acid, and CO2, respectively, and our results indicate that certain functional groups were converted preferentially. These findings will help to improve processes for the valorisation of biomass by enabling an overall more efficient use of thermo-sensitive feedstock such as carbohydrates.

Preoperative exercise and prehabilitation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this narrative review is to give an overview about the effects of multimodal prehabilitation and current existing and prospectively planned studies. The potential efficacy of exercise in the context of prehabilitation ranges from preoperatively improving patients' functional capacity to inducing cellular mechanisms that affect organ perfusion via endothelial regeneration, anti-inflammatory processes and tumour defense. RECENT FINDINGS: Current studies show that prehabilitation is capable of reducing certain postoperative complications and length of hospital stay in certain patient populations. These findings are based on small to mid-size trials with large heterogeneity, lacking generalizability and evidence that prehabilitation has positive effects on long term survival. SUMMARY: The concept of prehabilitation contains the features, namely preoperative exercise, nutritional intervention and psychological support. Preoperative exercise holds potential molecular effects that can be utilized in the perioperative period in order to improve patients' postoperative outcome. Future multimodal prehabilitation trials must specifically clarify the clinical impact of this concept on patients' quality of life after major cancer surgery and cancer-specific survival.

Distinct distribution patterns of exercise-induced natural killer cell mobilization into the circulation and tumor tissue of patients with prostate cancer.

The mobilization and activation of natural killer (NK) cells have been proposed as key mechanisms promoting anti-oncogenic effects of physical exercise. Although mouse models have proven that physical exercise recruits NK cells to tumor tissue and inhibits tumor growth, this preclinical finding has not been transferred to the clinical setting yet. In this first-in-human study, we found that physical exercise mobilizes and redistributes NK cells, especially those with a cytotoxic phenotype, in line with preclinical models. However, physical exercise did not increase NK cell tumor infiltrates. Future studies should carefully distinguish between acute and chronic exercise modalities and should be encouraged to investigate more immune-responsive tumor entities.

CO2/CH4 and He/N2 Separation Properties and Water Permeability Valuation of Mixed Matrix MWCNTs-Based Cellulose Acetate Flat Sheet Membranes: A Study of the Optimization of the Filler Material Dispersion Method.

The main scope of this work is to develop nano-carbon-based mixed matrix cellulose acetate membranes (MMMs) for the potential use in both gas and liquid separation processes. For this purpose, a variety of mixed matrix membranes, consisting of cellulose acetate (CA) polymer and carbon nanotubes as additive material were prepared, characterized, and tested. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as filler material and diacetone alcohol (DAA) as solvent. The first main objective towards highly efficient composite membranes was the proper preparation of agglomerate-free MWCNTs dispersions. Rotor-stator system (RS) and ultrasonic sonotrode (USS) were used to achieve the nanofillers' dispersion. In addition, the first results of the application of the three-roll mill (TRM) technology in the filler dispersion achieved were promising. The filler material, MWCNTs, was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and liquid nitrogen (LN2) adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K. The derivatives CA-based mixed matrix membranes were characterized by tensile strength and water contact angle measurements, impedance spectroscopy, gas permeability/selectivity measurements, and water permeability tests. The studied membranes provide remarkable water permeation properties, 12-109 L/m2/h/bar, and also good separation factors of carbon dioxide and helium separations. Specifically, a separation factor of 87 for 10% He/N2 feed concentration and a selectivity value of 55.4 for 10% CO2/CH4 feed concentration were achieved.

Effect of a Single Bout of Aerobic Exercise on Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites and Inflammatory Markers in Prostate Cancer Patients-A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

The kynurenine (KYN) pathway gains growing research interest concerning the genesis, progression and therapy of solid tumors. Previous studies showed exercise-induced effects on metabolite levels along the KYN pathway. Modulations of the KYN pathway might be involved in the positive impact of exercise on prostate cancer progression and mortality. The objective of this trial was to investigate whether a single-physical exercise alters tryptophan (TRP) metabolism and related inflammatory markers in this population. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 24 patients suffering from prostate cancer. While the control group remained inactive, the intervention group performed a 30-min aerobic exercise on a bicycle ergometer at 75% of individual VO2peak. Before (t0) and directly after the exercise intervention (t1) KYN, TRP, kynurenic acid, quinolinic acid as well as various inflammation markers (IL6, TNF-α, TGF-ß) were measured in blood serum. At baseline, the present sample showed robust correlations between TRP, KYN, quinolinic acid and inflammatory markers. Regarding the exercise intervention, interaction effects for TRP, the KYN/TRP ratio and TGF-ß were observed. The results show for the first time that acute physical exercise impacts TRP metabolism in prostate cancer patients. Moreover, baseline associations underline the relationship between inflammation and the KYN pathway in prostate cancer.

Evidence for Allele-Specific Levels of Enhanced Susceptibility of Wheat mlo Mutants to the Hemibiotrophic Fungal Pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae pv. Triticum.

Barley mlo mutants are well known for their profound resistance against powdery mildew disease. Recently, mlo mutant plants were generated in hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) with the help of transgenic (transcription-activator-like nuclease, TALEN) and non-transgenic (targeted induced local lesions in genomes, TILLING) biotechnological approaches. While full-gene knockouts in the three wheat Mlo (TaMlo) homoeologs, created via TALEN, confer full resistance to the wheat powdery mildew pathogen (Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici), the currently available TILLING-derived Tamlo missense mutants provide only partial protection against powdery mildew attack. Here, we studied the infection phenotypes of TALEN- and TILLING-derived Tamlo plants to the two hemibiotrophic pathogens Zymoseptoria tritici, causing Septoria leaf blotch in wheat, and Magnaporthe oryzae pv. Triticum (MoT), the causal agent of wheat blast disease. While Tamlo plants showed unaltered outcomes upon challenge with Z. tritici, we found evidence for allele-specific levels of enhanced susceptibility to MoT, with stronger powdery mildew resistance correlated with more invasive growth by the blast pathogen. Surprisingly, unlike barley mlo mutants, young wheat mlo mutant plants do not show undesired pleiotropic phenotypes such as spontaneous callose deposits in leaf mesophyll cells or signs of early leaf senescence. In conclusion, our study provides evidence for allele-specific levels of enhanced susceptibility of Tamlo plants to the hemibiotrophic wheat pathogen MoT.