Investigation, Analysis, and Management Application of Mental Resilience and Psychosomatic State of the Medical Team Against COVID-19.

Objective: In the initial stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, frontline medical staff faced numerous psychological pressures, such as shortages of medical supplies, lack of treatment experience, and high risk of infection. This study plans to understand the mental resilience and psychosomatic status of first-line anti-epidemic medical team members to provide a reference for managing their mental health status and the improvement of mental resilience. Methods: From March 3 to March 5, 2020 a medical team serving as a first-line medical rescue group in Wuhan was chosen as the research subject, with 160 cases. The staff status questionnaire and the Chinese Version of the mental resilience scale were used simultaneously in a mobile phone questionnaire survey on the selected subjects using a cluster sampling method, which refers to the sampling strategy considering an independent cluster as a unit. (Chinese Version of the CD-RISC). Results: The participants were frontline medical staff against COVID-19. A total of 156 samples were effective, with a 97.5% effective sample rate. The 156 cases investigated included 77 males (49.4%) and 79 females (51.6%), with an average age of 36.50±8.50. There were 22 (14.1%) cases with a junior college diploma or less, 97 (62.2%) cases with a bachelor's degree, and 37 (23.7%) cases with a master's degree or higher. Conversely, men were more tenacious than women (Cohen's d = 0.319, t = 1.997, P = .048). In terms of the psychosomatic state influence score, women had a greater psychosomatic influence than men (F = 3.076, P = .006). Conclusion: The anti-epidemic task significantly impacts the psychosomatic state of first-line medical personnel, who may require improved social and psychological support. Women experience more stress than men. Frontline medical personnel should seek social support and learn positive stress management techniques. When facing medical emergencies, medical decision-makers also need to pay attention to strengthening the psychosocial support of frontline personnel.

Application for Ecological Restoration of Contaminated Soil: Phytoremediation.

Nowadays, with the rapid development of industry and agriculture, heavy metal pollution is becoming more and more serious, mainly deriving from natural and man-made sources [...].

Enhanced removal of Co(II) and Ni(II) from high-salinity aqueous solution using reductive self-assembly of three-dimensional magnetic fungal hyphal/graphene oxide nanofibers.

Layer-structured graphene oxide excellent carrier for modifications; however, its poor recoverability and stability preclude its application in wastewater treatment fields. Herein, three-dimensional magnetic fungal hyphal/graphene oxide nanofibers (MFHGs) were assembled by a reductive self-assembly (RSA) strategy for the efficient capture of Co(II) and Ni(II) from high-salinity aqueous solution. The RSA strategy is inexpensive, eco-friendly and easy to scale up. The obtained MFHGs enhanced the dispersity and stability of graphene oxide and exhibited excellent magnetization and large coercivity, leading to satisfactory solid-liquid separation performance and denser sediment. The results of batch removal experiments showed that the maximum removal capacity of MFHGs for Ni(II) and Co(II) was 97.44 and 104.34 mg/g, respectively, in 2 g/L Na2SO4 aqueous solution with a pH of 6.0 at 323 K, and the effects of initial pH and ionic strength on Co(II) and Ni(II) removal were explored. Yield residue analysis indicated that the high porosity and oxygen-containing functional groups of MFHGs remarkably improved their Co(II)- and Ni(II)-removal capacities. According to the analysis, hydroxyl groups and amine groups participated in the chemical reaction of Co(II) and Ni(II) removal, and cation-exchange chemical adsorption was dominant during the Co(II)- and Ni(II)-removal process. Based on the attributes of MFHGs, a continuous-flow recycle reactor (CFRR) was proposed for emergency aqueous solution treatment and exhibited satisfactory removal efficiency and regeneration performance. The combination of MFHGs and the proposed CFRR is a promising water treatment strategy for rapid treatment applications.

Oxygen Reduction Reaction in the Field of Water Environment for Application of Nanomaterials.

Water pollution has caused the ecosystem to be in a state of imbalance for a long time. It has become a major global ecological and environmental problem today. Solving the potential hidden dangers of pollutants and avoiding unauthorized access to resources has become the necessary condition and important task to ensure the sustainable development of human society. To solve such problems, this review summarizes the research progress of nanomaterials in the field of water aimed at the treatment of water pollution and the development and utilization of new energy. The paper also tries to seek scientific solutions to environmental degradation and to create better living environmental conditions from previously published cutting edge research. The main content in this review article includes four parts: advanced oxidation, catalytic adsorption, hydrogen, and oxygen production. Among a host of other things, this paper also summarizes the various ways by which composite nanomaterials have been combined for enhancing catalytic efficiency, reducing energy consumption, recycling, and ability to expand their scope of application. Hence, this paper provides a clear roadmap on the status, success, problems, and the way forward for future studies.

Evaluation of the Effects of Lime-bassanite-charcoal Amendment on the Immobilization of Cadmium in Contaminated Soil.

The effects of amendments, such as lime, bassanite, sodium phosphate, steel slag and charcoal, and their compounds on the immobilization of cadmium (Cd) are investigated. The lime-bassanite-charcoal compound shows the best remediation performance compared to other agents in conducted experiments. The optimum condition for lime-bassanite-charcoal application in contaminated soil is lime-bassanite-charcoal with a mass ratio of 1:1/3:2/3, a dose of 2% of the soil weight, and a liquid-to-solid ratio of 35%-40%; additionally, the agents should be added before water addition. The highest Cd removal rate was 58.94% (±1.19%) with a ∆pH of 0.23, which is much higher than the rates reported in previous studies. The compound amendment was used in a field experiment, demonstrating a Cd removal efficiency of 48.78% (±4.23), further confirming its effectiveness.

MMP-13 is involved in oral cancer cell metastasis.

The oral cancer cell line OC3-I5 with a highly invasive ability was selected and derived from an established OSCC line OC3. In this study, we demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinases protein MMP-13 was up-regulated in OC3-I5 than in OC3 cells. We also observed that expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers including Twist, p-Src, Snail1, SIP1, JAM-A, and vinculin were increased in OC3-I5 compared to OC3 cells, whereas E-cadherin expression was decreased in the OC3-I5 cells. Using siMMP-13 knockdown techniques, we showed that siMMP-13 not only reduced the invasion and migration, but also the adhesion abilities of oral cancer cells. In support of the role of MMP-13 in metastasis, we used MMP-13 expressing plasmid-transfected 293T cells to enhance MMP-13 expression in the OC3 cells, transplanting the MMP-13 over expressing OC3 cells into nude mice led to enhanced lung metastasis. In summary, our findings show that MMP-13 promotes invasion and metastasis in oral cancer cells, suggesting altered expression of MMP-13 may be utilized to impede the process of metastasis.

Biomarker discovery for neuroendocrine cervical cancer.

Neuroendocrine cervical cancer is an aggressive but rare form of cervical cancer. The majority of neuroendocrine cervical cancer patients present with advanced-stage diseases. However, the limited numbers of neuroendocrine tumor markers are insufficient for clinical purposes. Thus, we used a proteomic approach combining lysine labeling 2D-DIGE and MALDI-TOF MS to investigate the biomarkers for neuroendocrine cervical cancer. By analyzing the global proteome alteration between the neuroendocrine cervical cancer line (HM-1) and non-neuroendocrine cervical cancer lines (CaSki cells, ME-180 cells, and Hela cells), we identified 82 proteins exhibiting marked changes between HM-1 and CaSki cells, and between ME-180 and Hela cells. Several proteins involved in protein folding, cytoskeleton, transcription control, signal transduction, glycolysis, and redox regulation exhibited significant changes in abundance. Proteomic and immunoblot analyses indicated respective 49.88-fold and 25-fold increased levels of transgelin in HM-1 cells compared with that in other non-neuroendocrine cervical cancer cell lines, implying that transgelin is a biomarker for neuroendocrine cervical cancer. In summary, we used a comprehensive neuroendocrine/non-neuroendocrine cervical cancer model based proteomic approach for identifying neuroendocrine cervical cancer markers, which might contribute to the prognosis and diagnosis of neuroendocrine cervical cancer.

Proteome reference map of Drosophila melanogaster head.

Drosophila melanogaster has been used as a genetic model organism to understand the fundamental molecular mechanisms in human biology including memory formation that has been reported involving protein synthesis and/or post-translational modification. In this study, we employed a proteomic platform based on fluorescent 2DE and MALDI-TOF MS to build a standard D. melanogaster head proteome map for proteome-proteome comparison. In order to facilitate the comparison, an interactive database has been constructed for systematically integrating and analyzing the proteomes from different conditions and further implicated to study human diseases related to D. melanogaster model. In summary, the fundamental head proteomic database and bioinformatic analysis will be useful for further elucidating the biological mechanisms such as memory formation and neurodegenerative diseases.

Proteomic analysis of a drosophila IBMPFD model reveals potential pathogenic mechanisms.

IBMPFD, Inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget's disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia, is a hereditary degenerative disorder due to single missense mutations in VCP (Valosin-Containing Protein). The mechanisms of how mutations of VCP lead to IBMPFD remain mysterious. Here we utilize two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) combined with mass spectrometry to study the IBMPFD disorder at the protein level. With this set-up, we are able to employ comparative proteomics to analyze IBMPFD disease using Drosophila melanogaster as our disease model organism. Head proteome of transgenic D. melanogaster expressing wild type VCP is compared, respectively, with the head proteome of transgenic mutant type VCPs that correspond to human IBMPFD disease alleles (TER94(A229E), TER94(R188Q), and TER94(R152H)). Of all the proteins identified, a significant fraction of proteins altered in TER94(A229E) and TER94(R188Q) mutants belong to the same functional categories, i.e. apoptosis and metabolism. Among these, Drosophila transferrin is observed to be significantly up-regulated in mutant flies expressing TER94(A229E). A knock-down experiment suggests that fly transferrin might be a potential modifier in IBMPFD disease. The molecular analysis of IBMPFD disease may benefit from the proteomics approach which combines the advantages of high throughput analysis and the focus on protein levels.

Proteomic analysis of gemcitabine-induced drug resistance in pancreatic cancer cells.

Currently, the most effective agent against pancreatic cancer is gemcitabine (GEM), which inhibits tumor growth by interfering with DNA replication and blocking DNA synthesis. However, GEM-induced drug resistance in pancreatic cancer compromises the therapeutic efficacy of GEM. To investigate the molecular mechanisms associated with GEM-induced resistance, 2D-DIGE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry were performed to compare the proteomic alterations of a panel of differential GEM-resistant PANC-1 cells with GEM-sensitive pancreatic cells. The proteomic results demonstrated that 33 proteins were differentially expressed between GEM-sensitive and GEM-resistant pancreatic cells. Of these, 22 proteins were shown to be resistance-specific and dose-dependent in the regulation of GEM. Proteomic analysis also revealed that proteins involved in biosynthesis and detoxification are significantly over-expressed in GEM-resistant PANC-1 cells. In contrast, proteins involved in vascular transport, bimolecular decomposition, and calcium-dependent signal regulation are significantly over-expressed in GEM-sensitive PANC-1 cells. Notably, both protein-protein interaction of the identified proteins with bioinformatic analysis and immunoblotting results showed that the GEM-induced pancreatic cell resistance might interplay with tumor suppressor protein p53. Our approach has been shown here to be useful for confidently detecting pancreatic proteins with differential resistance to GEM. Such proteins may be functionally involved in the mechanism of chemotherapy-induced resistance.

Environmental impact and site-specific human health risks of chromium in the vicinity of a ferro-alloy manufactory, China.

Previous studies often neglected the direct exposure to soil heavy metals in human health risk assessment. The purpose of this study was to assess the environmental impact and site-specific health risks of chromium (Cr) by both direct and indirect exposure assessment method. Results suggested that total Cr was shown a substantial buildup with a significant increase in the industrial and cultivated soils (averaged 1910 and 986 mg kg(-1), respectively). The Cr contents of vegetables exceeded the maximum permissible concentration by more than four times in every case. Human exposure to Cr was mainly due to dietary food intake in farming locations and due to soil ingestion in both industrial and residential sites. Soil ingestion was the main contributor pathway for direct exposure, followed by inhalation, and then dermal contact. The highest risks of vegetable ingestion were associated with consumption of Chinese cabbage. The results also indicated that plant tissues are able to convert the potentially toxic Cr (VI) species into the non-toxic Cr (III) species. The analyses of human health risks indicated that an important portion of the population is at risk, especially in the industrial site.

Mitochondrial proteomics analysis of tumorigenic and metastatic breast cancer markers.

Mitochondria are key organelles in mammary cells responsible for several cellular functions including growth, division, and energy metabolism. In this study, mitochondrial proteins were enriched for proteomics analysis with the state-of-the-art two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and matrix-assistant laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry strategy to compare and identify the mitochondrial protein profiling changes between three breast cell lines with different tumorigenicity and metastasis. The proteomics results demonstrate more than 1,500 protein features were resolved from the equal amount pooled from three purified mitochondrial proteins, and 125 differentially expressed spots were identified by their peptide finger print, in which, 33 identified proteins belonged to mitochondrial proteins. Eighteen out of these 33 identified mitochondrial proteins such as SCaMC-1 have not been reported in breast cancer research to our knowledge. Additionally, mitochondrial protein prohibitin has shown to be differentially distributed in mitochondria and in nucleus for normal breast cells and breast cancer cell lines, respectively. To sum up, our approach to identify the mitochondrial proteins in various stages of breast cancer progression and the identified proteins may be further evaluated as potential breast cancer markers in prognosis and therapy.

Cr (VI) remediation by indigenous bacteria in soils contaminated by chromium-containing slag.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr) is a toxic element causing serious environmental threat. Recently, more and more attention is paid to the bio-remediation of Cr (VI) in the contaminated soils. Cr (VI) remediation by indigenous bacteria in soils contaminated by chromium-containing slag at a steel-alloy factory in Hunan Province, China, was investigated in the present study. The results showed that when sufficient nutrients were amended into the contaminated soils, total Cr (VI) concentration declined from the initial value of 462.8 to 10 mg kg(-1) at 10 days and the removal rate was 97.8%. Water soluble Cr (VI) decreased from the initial concentration of 383.8 to 1.7 mg kg(-1). Exchangeable Cr (VI) and carbonates-bound Cr (VI) were removed by 92.6% and 82.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, four Cr (VI) resistant bacterial strains were isolated from the soil under the chromium-containing slag. Only one strain showed a high ability for Cr (VI) reduction in liquid culture. This strain was identified as Pannonibacter phragmitetus sp. by gene sequencing of 16S rRNA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) analysis indicated that Cr (VI) was reduced into trivalent chromium. The results suggest that indigenous bacterial strains have potential application for Cr (VI) remediation in the soils contaminated by chromium-containing slag.

Potential-pH diagram for "Leucobacter sp. Ch-1-Cr-H(2)O" system.

Laboratory experiments were used to investigate the effects of initial pH and applied potential on the growth of Leucobacter sp. Ch-1 and Cr (VI) reduction and establish the pH-Eh diagram for Leucobacter sp. Ch-1-Cr-H(2)O system. The results showed that the preferred initial pH for Leucobacter sp. Ch-1 growth was from 7.0 to 11.0. At this pH range, 56.2-99.5% of Cr (VI) was reduced by Ch-1 strain. The applied potentials from -700 to 0 mV, from -800 to +300 mV and from -800 to +400 mV at 7.0, 9.0 and 11.0 of initial pH values were favorable for the bacterial growth. The corresponding ranges of applied potentials for bio-reduction of Cr (VI) were from -200 to 0 mV, from -800 to +200 mV, and from -700 to +100 mV at above initial pH values. In the potential-pH diagram, the region of initial pH and Eh for Cr (VI) bio-reduction was included in the region for Leucobacter sp. Ch-1 growth and the stable region of Cr(OH)(3), which implied that Cr (VI) could be reduced to trivalent chromium existing in the forms of Cr(OH)(3) precipitate under the presence of Leucobacter sp. Ch-1 in alkaline condition. The results suggest that Leucobacter sp. Ch-1 has potential application for remediation of Cr (VI) contamination sites.

[The use of local flap in repairing deeply burned wound of extremities].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss a method for reconstruction of deeply burned of extremities' functional regions with local skin flaps. METHODS: Ninety-eight cases (with 126 place) of deeply burned wound of extremities were reconstructed with fasciocutaneous flaps. RESULTS: The survival rate of 162 flaps was 93.2%. The movement of 112 joints (88.9%) was restored to normal, and the movement of 14 joints was mild limitation, none of the cases was severe obstacle. CONCLUSIONS: The method is simple and with satisfactory results, which can decrease the rate of disability suffered from burn.