EASIX is an effective marker in predicting mortality of traumatic brain injury patients.

BACKGROUND: The Endothelial Activation and Stress Index (EASIX) is a novel marker of endothelial injury and correlates with survival of various patients. The endothelial dysfunction plays an important role on the pathophysiological process of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study was designed to explore the prognostic value of EASIX on TBI patients. METHODS: 358 TBI patients hospitalized in the West China hospital between October 2018 and October 2022 were enrolled for this study. The EASIX was calculated based on the formula: lactate dehydrogenase (U/L) × creatinine (mg/dL)/platelets (109 cells/L). The univariate and multivariate logistic regression with forward method was performed to explore the association between EASIX and mortality. A prognostic model was developed combining significant risk factors in the multivariate logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare the predictive accuracy of the EASIX and the developed model. RESULTS: The 30-day mortality of enrolled 358 TBI patients was 51.1%. Non-survivors had higher EASIX than survivors (p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression confirmed seven risk factors for mortality of TBI including injury mechanism (p = 0.010), GCS (p < 0.001), glucose (p < 0.001), EASIX (p = 0.017), subdural hematoma (p = 0.012), coagulopathy (p = 0.001). The AUC of EASIX, SOFA, GCS was 0.747, 0.748 and 0.774, respectively. The AUC of developed predictive model was 0.874 with the sensitivity of 0.913 and specificity of 0.686. CONCLUSIONS: The EASIX is a reliable marker for predicting mortality of TBI patients. The predictive model incorporating EASIX is helpful for clinicians to evaluate the mortality risk of TBI patients.

Collagen and derivatives-based materials as substrates for the establishment of glioblastoma organoids.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a common primary brain malignancy known for its ability to invade the brain, resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, tendency to recur frequently, and unfavorable prognosis. Attempts have been undertaken to create 2D and 3D models, such as glioblastoma organoids (GBOs), to recapitulate the glioma microenvironment, explore tumor biology, and develop efficient therapies. However, these models have limitations and are unable to fully recapitulate the complex networks formed by the glioma microenvironment that promote tumor cell growth, invasion, treatment resistance, and immune escape. Therefore, it is necessary to develop advanced experimental models that could better simulate clinical physiology. Here, we review recent advances in natural biomaterials (mainly focus on collagen and its derivatives)-based GBO models, as in vitro experimental platforms to simulate GBM tumor biology and response to tested drugs. Special attention will be given to 3D models that use collagen, gelatin, further modified derivatives, and composite biomaterials (e.g., with other natural or synthetic polymers) as substrates. Application of these collagen/derivatives-constructed GBOs incorporate the physical as well as chemical characteristics of the GBM microenvironment. A perspective on future research is given in terms of current issues. Generally, natural materials based on collagen/derivatives (monomers or composites) are expected to enrich the toolbox of GBO modeling substrates and potentially help to overcome the limitations of existing models.

A near-infrared light-activated nanoprobe for simultaneous detection of hydrogen polysulfide and sulfur dioxide in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Ischemia-reperfusion-induced cardiomyocyte mortality constitutes a prominent contributor to global morbidity and mortality. However, early diagnosis and preventive treatment of cardiac I/R injury remains a challenge. Given the close relationship between ferroptosis and I/R injury, monitoring their pathological processes holds promise for advancing early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Herein, we report a near-infrared (NIR) light-activated dual-responsive nanoprobe (UCNP@mSiO2@SP-NP-NAP) for controllable detection of hydrogen polysulfide (H2Sn) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) during ferroptosis-related myocardial I/R injury. The nanoprobe's responsive sites could be activated by NIR and Vis light modulation, reversibly alternating for at least 5 cycles. We employed the nanoprobe to monitor the fluctuation levels of H2Sn and SO2 in H9C2 cardiomyocytes and mice, revealing that H2Sn and SO2 levels were up-regulated during I/R. The NIR light-activated dual-responsive nanoprobe could be a powerful tool for myocardial I/R injury diagnosis. Moreover, we also found that inhibiting the initiation of the ferroptosis process contributed to attenuating cardiac I/R injury, which indicated great potential for treating I/R injury.

Covalent pendulous anthraquinone polymers coupled on graphenes for efficient capacitance storage in both alkaline and acidic media.

Novel crystalline covalent organic polymers (COPs) were constructed by reacting 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone with 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol or tris(4-formylphenyl)amine (TPDA or TADA). After they were covalently bonded to amine-functionalized graphene oxides, the resulting mesoporous COPs@graphene composites demonstrated efficient capacitance storage performance in both alkaline and acidic media. In particular, the as-synthesized TPDA@graphene displayed a reversible specific capacitance of 522 F g-1 in a 6.0 mol L-1 aqueous KOH electrolyte, superior to the previously reported COPs with inconspicuous capacitance storage properties in alkaline media. Its specific capacitance also reached 390 F g-1 in 2.0 mol L-1 H2SO4. The impressive capacitance storage properties of this composite can be ascribed to its unique structure with abundant pendulous anthraquinone redox groups and better electrical conductivity enhanced by the coupled graphenes.

Effect of the Chain Density and Chain Length on the pH-Responsibility of Poly(acrylic acid) Grafted Cotton.

With the development of material science, pH-responsive fabric emerges as a novel material in recent years. Effect of chain density and chain length on the conformation transition of surface-anchored polymers is a fundamental problem which relates to their functionality. In this work, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was grafted onto cotton fabrics through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique. The chain length of PAA was modulated by monomer concentration, and the grafting density was regulated by the density of amino groups on the fabric surface. Contact angle analysis, IR measurement and water uptake observation were employed to study the pH-responsive behavior of the PAA modified cotton. Fabrics with polymers of a larger molecular weight and optimal grafting density exhibited better pH-responsibility. This study provided a structure-property fundamental understanding on the important parameters influencing the pH-resoonsibility of PAA modified cotton fabric.

[Air negative charge ion concentration and its relationships with meteorological factors in different ecological functional zones of Hefei City].

Air negative charge ion concentration (ANCIC) has a close relationship with air quality. The observations on the ANCIC, sunlight intensity, air temperature, and air relative humidity in different ecological functional zones of Hefei City from 2003 to 2004 showed that the diurnal change pattern of ANCIC was of single peak in sightseeing and habitation zones, dual peak in industrial zone, and complicated in commercial zone. Different ecological functional zones had different appearance time of their daily ANCIC extremum. The diurnal fluctuation of ANCIC was in the order of commercial zone > industrial zone > habitation zone and sightseeing zone. The annual change pattern of ANCIC in these zones was similar, being the highest in summer and lowest in winter, and the mean annual ANCIC was 819, 340, 149 and 126 ions x cm(-3), respectively. The most important meteorological factor affecting the ANCIC in Hefei City was air relative humidity, followed by sunlight intensity and air temperature. There was an exponential relationship between ANCIC and air relative humidity.