On the Association Between Demographic Structural Change and the Effectiveness of Nurse Staffing Policy for Inpatient Care: Evidence from Taiwan.

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of demographic changes on the effectiveness of hospital nurse staffing policy, measured by the cumulative response of inpatient care quality to adjustments in hospital nurse staffing levels in Taiwan. Methods: The research design utilized in this study aligns with the observational time-series methodology, and a total of 99 monthly time-series observations were collected from multiple databases administered by the Taiwan government over the period from January 2015 to March 2023. Specifically, the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive and autoregressive distributed lag models were employed to investigate the association between age distribution and nurse staffing policy effectiveness. Results: The time-varying impulse responses of the unplanned 14-day readmission rate after discharge to changes in nurse staffing levels indicate a positive association between patient-to-nurse ratios and unplanned 14-day readmission rates across various types of hospitals. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of hospitals' nurse staffing policy is observed to diminish with population aging, particularly evident in medical centers and regional hospitals. Conclusion: Policymakers should establish lower mandated patient-to-nurse ratios, grounded in practical nurse workforce planning, to address the needs of an aging society and enhance inpatient care quality through improved nurse staffing in hospitals.

Effects of different slopes on hip and ankle biomechanics of replaced and non-replaced limbs of patients with total knee arthroplasty during incline ramp walking.

Although knee biomechanics has been examined, hip and ankle biomechanics in incline ramp walking has not been explored for patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the hip and ankle joint kinematic and kinetic biomechanics of different incline slopes for replaced limbs and non-replaced limbs in individuals with TKA compared to healthy controls. Twenty-five patients with TKR and ten healthy controls performed walking trials on four slope conditions of level (0°), 5°, 10° and 15° on a customized instrumented ramp system. A 3x4 (limb x slope) repeated analysis of variance was used to evaluate selected variables. The results showed a greater peak ankle dorsiflexion angle in the replaced limbs compared to healthy limbs. No significant interactions or limb main effect for other ankle and hip variables. The peak dorsiflexion angle, eversion angle and dorsiflexion moment were progressively higher in each comparison from level to 15°. The peak plantarflexion moment was also increased with each increase of slopes. Both the replaced and non-replaced limbs of patients with TKA had lower hip flexion moments than the healthy control limbs. Hip angle at contact and hip extension range of motion increased with each increase of slopes. Peak hip loading-response internal extension moment increased with each increase in slope and peak hip push-off internal flexion moment decreased with each increase of slope. Our results showed increased dorsiflexion in replaced limbs but no other compensations of hip and ankle joints of replaced limbs compared to non-replaced limbs and their healthy controls during incline walking, providing further support of using incline walking in rehabilitation for patients with TKA.

Two new saponins from the rhizomes of Paris yunnanensis Franch.

The phytochemical investigation on the rhizomes of Paris yunnanensis Franch. resulted in the discovery and characterisation of six compounds, including two new saponins named parisyunnanosides M-N (1-2), and four known ones (3-6). The structures of isolated compounds were determined by spectroscopic data analysis and chemical methods. Compound 2 is a pregnane-type saponin with a special α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acid moiety at C-17, which is first discovered in genus Paris. The anti-inflammatory activity of the isolated compounds was assessed in vitro. The results demonstrated that compounds 3 and 4 could significantly inhibit the production of NO which was induced by LPS in RAW 264.7 cells with IC50 values of 0.67 ± 0.17 µM and 0.85 ± 0.12 µM, respectively.

Water decoction of Pericarpium citri reticulatae and Amomi fructus ameliorates alcohol-induced liver disease involved in the modulation of gut microbiota and TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Introduction: Alcohol consumption alters the diversity and metabolic activities of gut microbiota, leading to intestinal barrier dysfunction and contributing to the development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is the most prevalent cause of advanced liver diseases. In this study, we investigated the protective effects and action mechanism of an aqueous extraction of Pericarpium citri reticulatae and Amomi fructus (PFE) on alcoholic liver injury. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were used to establish the mouse model of alcoholic liver injury and orally administered 500 and 1,000 mg/kg/d of PFE for 2 weeks. Histopathology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, Western blotting, qRT-PCR, and 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing were used to analyze the mechanism of action of PFE in the treatment of alcohol-induced liver injury. Results: Treatment with PFE significantly improved alcohol-induced liver injury, as illustrated by the normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total triglyceride, and cholesterol levels in ALD mice in a dose-dependent manner. Administration of PFE not only maintained the intestinal barrier integrity prominently by upregulating mucous production and tight junction protein expressions but also sensibly reversed the dysregulation of intestinal microecology in alcohol-treated mice. Furthermore, PFE treatment significantly reduced hepatic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and attenuated oxidative stress as well as inflammation related to the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. The PFE supplementation also significantly promoted the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the ALD mice. Conclusion: Administration of PFE effectively prevents alcohol-induced liver injury and may also regulate the LPS-involved gut-liver axis; this could provide valuable insights for the development of drugs to prevent and treat ALD.

How should regulatory schemes be optimized to enhance deterrence against medical insurance fraud by enrollees? Evidence from a discrete choice experiment in China.

Medical insurance fraud (MIF) poses a substantial global financial challenge, necessitating effective regulatory strategies, especially in China, where such measures are in a critical developmental phase. This study investigates the effectiveness of various regulatory components in deterring MIF among enrollees and explores preference heterogeneity among individuals with different characteristics, utilizing a discrete choice experiment survey. Grounded in deterrence theory, our conceptual framework incorporates five attributes: intensity of economic penalties, restrictions on medical insurance benefits, deterioration of social reputation, and certainty and celerity of penalties. Employing a D-efficiency design, 24 choice sets were generated and blocked into three versions. A multistage stratified sampling method was adopted to collect data from the basic medical insurance enrollees in Shanghai. The survey was conducted from September to October 2022. The sample representativeness was further improved via the entropy balancing approach. Data from the final sample of 1034 respondents were analyzed using mixed logit models (MIXLs), incorporating interactions with individual characteristics to assess preference heterogeneity. Results reveal that escalating economic penalties, suspending insurance benefits, listing individuals as unfaithful parties, ensuring penalty certainty, and expediting enforcement significantly enhance the deterrent effect. We observed preference heterogeneity across different demographics, including age, gender, education, health status, and employment status. The study underscores the pivotal role of economic penalties in deterring MIF, while also acknowledging the significance of non-economic measures such as enforcement efficiency and social sanctions. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers to tailor and strengthen regulatory schemes against MIF, contributing to the advancement of more effective and precise healthcare policies.

Concomitant use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines during pregnancy and associated risk of congenital malformations: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Despite the frequent co-administration of antidepressants and benzodiazepines, the association between such concomitant use during pregnancy and the risk of congenital malformations remains inadequately explored. This study aims to examine the association between concomitant use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines during the first trimester and organ-specific congenital malformations. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study using Taiwan's National Birth Certificate Application database, the Maternal and Child Health database, and Taiwan's National Health Insurance database. Pregnant people aged 15-50 years with singleton births between Jan 1, 2004, and Dec 31, 2018, were included. Use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines was defined as at least one prescription during the first trimester, and concomitant use was defined as the overlapping prescription of both drugs with an overlapping prescription period. The primary outcomes were overall congenital malformations and eight organ-specific malformations, consisting of the nervous system, heart, respiratory system, oral cleft, digestive system, urinary system, genital system, and limb malformations. Logistic regression models with propensity score fine stratification weighting approach were used to control for measured confounders. Analyses controlling for confounding by indication and sibling comparison analyses were done to address unmeasured confounders. No individuals with lived experience participated in the research or writing process. FINDINGS: The cohort included 2 634 021 singleton pregnancies, and 8599 (0·3%) individuals were concomitant users of antidepressants and benzodiazepines during the first trimester (mean age at delivery was 31·8 years [SD 5·2] for pregnancies with exposure to antidepressants and benzodiazepines vs 30·7 years [SD 4·9] for pregnancies without exposure). All study participants were female, and information about ethnicity was not available. Absolute risk of overall malformations was 3·81 per 100 pregnancies with exposure, compared with 2·87 per 100 pregnancies without exposure. The propensity score-weighted odds ratios (weighted ORs) did not suggest an increased risk for overall malformations (weighted OR 1·10, 95% CI 0·94-1·28), heart defects (1·01, 0·83-1·23), or any of the other organ-specific malformations, except for digestive system malformations, for which the weighted OR remained statistically significant after adjustment (1·63, 1·06-2·51). The absence of an increased risk for overall congenital malformations associated with concomitant use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines was supported by the analyses controlling for confounding by indication and sibling-matched comparisons. INTERPRETATION: The findings of this study suggest that the concomitant use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines during the first trimester is not associated with a substantial increase in risk for most malformation subtypes. However, considering other potential adverse effects of using both medications concomitantly, a thorough assessment of the risks and benefits is crucial for clinical decision making. FUNDING: National Science and Technology Council.

Role of atmospheric rivers in shaping long term Arctic moisture variability.

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) reaching high-latitudes in summer contribute to the majority of climatological poleward water vapor transport into the Arctic. This transport has exhibited long term changes over the past decades, which cannot be entirely explained by anthropogenic forcing according to ensemble model responses. Here, through observational analyses and model experiments in which winds are adjusted to match observations, we demonstrate that low-frequency, large-scale circulation changes in the Arctic play a decisive role in regulating AR activity and thus inducing the recent upsurge of this activity in the region. It is estimated that the trend in summertime AR activity may contribute to 36% of the increasing trend of atmospheric summer moisture over the entire Arctic since 1979 and account for over half of the humidity trends in certain areas experiencing significant recent warming, such as western Greenland, northern Europe, and eastern Siberia. This indicates that AR activity, mostly driven by strong synoptic weather systems often regarded as stochastic, may serve as a vital mechanism in regulating long term moisture variability in the Arctic.

Temporal variations in absorption and translocation of heavy metal(loid)s in pak choi (Brassica rapa L.) under open-field and greenhouse cultivation.

Elucidating the absorption and translocation of heavy metal(loid)s by common vegetables across different growth environments and stages is crucial for conducting accurate environmental risk assessments and for associated control. This study investigated temporal variations in the absorption and translocation capacities of pak choi (Brassica rapa L.) for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in polluted soils during the plant growth cycle under greenhouse and open-field cultivation modes. Results showed high root metal(loid) bioconcentration factors and root-to-shoot translocation factors for Cd (0.25 and 1.44, respectively) and Zn (0.26 and 1.01), but low values for As (0.06 and 0.88) and Pb (0.06 and 0.87). The Cd concentration in the aerial edible parts peaked during the early slow growth period, whereas other heavy metal(loid)s peaked during the later stable maturity period. Root bioconcentration and root-to-shoot translocation factors did not significantly differ between cultivation modes. However, greenhouse cultivation exhibited lower average Cd and Zn concentrations in the edible parts and cumulative uptake amounts of most metal(loid)s than open-field cultivation during the typical harvest period spanning days 60 and 90. Short-term transitioning from open-field to greenhouse cultivation may reduce health risks associated with heavy metal(loid) intake via pak choi consumption. These findings facilitate sustainable agricultural practices and food safety management.

Revealing the Optical Transition Properties of Interlayer Excitons in Defective WS2/WSe2 Heterobilayers.

Manipulation of physical properties in multidimensional tunable moiré superlattice systems is a key focus in nanophotonics, especially for interlayer excitons (IXs) in two-dimensional materials. However, the impact of defects on IXs remains unclear. Here, we thoroughly study the optical properties of WS2/WSe2 heterobilayers with varying defect densities. Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) characterizations reveal that the low-energy IXs are more susceptible to defects compared to the high-energy IXs. The low-energy IXs also show much faster PL quenching rate with temperature, faster peak width broadening rate with laser power, shorter lifetime, and lower circular polarization compared to the low-energy IXs in the region with fewer defects. These effects are attributed to the combined effects of increased electron scattering, exciton-phonon interactions, and nonradiative channels introduced by the defects. Our findings aid in optimizing moiré superlattice structures.

Breaking down barriers: rationalisations and motivation to stop among Chinese male smokers under cigarette dependence.

BACKGROUND: Smoking rationalisation beliefs are a huge barrier to quitting smoking. What types of rationalisations should be emphasised in smoking cessation interventions? Although past literature has confirmed the negative relationship between those beliefs and motivation to stop smoking, little is known regarding the importance and performance of those beliefs on motivation with varying cigarette dependence. The study aimed to ascertain rationalisations that are highly important for motivation yet perform poorly in different cigarette dependence groups. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from November 19 to December 9, 2023 in Guiyang City, China. Adult male current smokers were enrolled. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesis. The multi-group analysis was used to determine the moderating effect of cigarette dependence, and the importance-performance map analysis was utilised to assess the importance and performance of rationalisations. RESULTS: A total of 616 adult male current smokers were analysed, and they were divided into the low cigarette dependence group (n = 297) and the high cigarette dependence group (n = 319). Except for risk generalisation beliefs, smoking functional beliefs (H1: -ß = 0.131, P < 0.01), social acceptability beliefs (H3: ß = -0.258, P < 0.001), safe smoking beliefs (H4: ß = -0.078, P < 0.05), self-exempting beliefs (H5: ß = -0.244, P < 0.001), and quitting is harmful beliefs (H6: ß = -0.148, P < 0.01) all had a significant positive influence on motivation. Cigarette dependence moderated the correlation between rationalisations and motivation. In the high-dependence group, the social acceptability beliefs and smoking functional beliefs were located in the "Concentrate Here" area. In the low-dependence group, the social acceptability beliefs were also situated in there. CONCLUSIONS: Social acceptability beliefs and smoking functional beliefs showed great potential and value for improvement among high-dependence smokers, while only social acceptability beliefs had great potential and value for improvement among low-dependence smokers. Addressing these beliefs will be helpful for smoking cessation. The multi-group analysis and the importance-performance map analysis technique have practical implications and can be expanded to other domains of health education and intervention practice.

Entecavir vs. tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients with severe acute exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of different nucleos(t)ide analogs in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) with severe acute exacerbation (SAE) remained unclear. Thus, this study aimed to compare the short-term efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and entecavir (ETV) in patients having CHB with SAE. METHODS: We analyzed consecutive patients with treatment-naive CHB receiving TDF (n = 36) or ETV (n = 65) for SAE. The primary endpoint was overall mortality or receipt of liver transplantation (LT) by 24 weeks. The secondary endpoints are the comparison of ETV vs. TDF influences on renal function and virological and biochemical responses at 4, 12, 24, and 48 weeks. RESULTS: The baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. By 24 weeks, 8 (22%) patients in the TDF group and 10 (15%) patients in the ETV group had either died (n = 15) or received LT (n = 3) (P = 0.367). Cox-regression multivariate analysis revealed age (P = 0.003), baseline international normalized ratio of prothrombin time (P = 0.024), and early presence of hepatic encephalopathy (P = 0.003) as independent factors associated with mortality or LT. The two groups of patients achieved comparable biochemical and virological responses at 48 weeks. No significant difference was found in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between the TDF and the ETV groups. However, a significant reduction in the eGFR at 48 weeks, as compared with the baseline, was found in each group. CONCLUSION: TDF and ETV achieved similar short-term clinical outcomes and treatment responses in CHB patients with SAE.

Improving iPSC Differentiation Using a Nanodot Platform.

Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is an extremely complex process that has proven difficult to study. In this research, we utilized nanotopography to elucidate details regarding iPSC differentiation by developing a nanodot platform consisting of nanodot arrays of increasing diameter. Subjecting iPSCs cultured on the nanodot platform to a cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation protocol revealed several significant gene expression profiles that were associated with poor differentiation. The observed expression trends were used to select existing small-molecule drugs capable of modulating differentiation efficiency. BRD K98 was repurposed to inhibit CM differentiation, while iPSCs treated with NSC-663284, carmofur, and KPT-330 all exhibited significant increases in not only CM marker expression but also spontaneous beating, suggesting improved CM differentiation. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the gene regulation responsible for modulating differentiation efficiency. Multiple genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling were correlated with a CM differentiation efficiency, while genes involved in the cell cycle exhibited contrasting expression trends that warrant further studies. The results suggest that expression profiles determined via short time-series expression miner analysis of nanodot-cultured iPSC differentiation can not only reveal drugs capable of enhancing differentiation efficiency but also highlight crucial sets of genes related to processes such as extracellular matrix remodeling and the cell cycle that can be targeted for further investigation. Our findings confirm that the nanodot platform can be used to reveal complex mechanisms behind iPSC differentiation and could be an indispensable tool for optimizing iPSC technology for clinical applications.

[Effects of Questionnaire-Based Psychological Survey Methods on the Evaluation Results in a Patient Cohort].

Objective To assess the influences of self-and interviewer-administered methods on the scores of anxiety and depression questionnaires among the patients with sports injuries.Methods A total of 532 participants with sports injuries treated in the Sports Medicine Center of West China Hospital,Sichuan University from November 2022 to May 2023 were included.They were randomly assigned to either the interviewer-administered group (n=270) or the self-administered group (n=262) to complete the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) and the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) scales.The total scores and prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were compared between the two groups.Results There was no statistically significant difference in gender,occupation,or surgical site between the two groups (all P>0.05).The self-administered group had higher scores of GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales than the interviewer-administered group (P<0.001,P<0.001).A greater proportion of participants in the self-administered group than in the interview-administered group met the criteria for mild to moderate anxiety and depression (P<0.001,P=0.002).The prevalence rates of moderate to severe anxiety (GAD-7≥10) and depression (PHQ-9≥10) showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.761,P=0.086).Conclusion This study demonstrates that the participants in the self-administered group are more likely to report mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression than those in the interviewer-administered group.

Asymmetric Organocatalytic 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition of Azomethine Ylides with ß-Substituted Cyclic Enones.

The enantioselective and diastereoselective control of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions to ß-substituted cyclic enones has been developed. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of phthalazinium dicyanomethanides with cyclic dienones affords chiral tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]phthalazine derivatives 3 through vinylogous iminium ion activation by combining a cinchona-based primary amine C3 and a chiral camphorsulfonic acid additive. Conversely, with a weaker 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzoic acid additive, the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of phthalazinium dicyanomethanides with ß-substituted cyclic enones leads to chiral hexahydroisoindolo[1,2-a]phthalazin-10(8H)-one derivatives 4 with excellent stereocontrol via endo-dienamine activation.

Clinical application of CT-assisted body surface localization combined with intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization in thoracoscopic lung nodule resection: a single-centre retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Today, the detection rate of lung nodules is increasing. Some of these nodules may become malignant. Thus, timely resection of potentially malignant nodules is essential. However, Identifying the location of nonsurface or soft-textured nodules during surgery is challenging. Various localization techniques have been developed to accurately identify lung nodules. Common methods include preoperative CT-guided percutaneous placement of hook wires and microcoils. Nonetheless, these procedures may cause complications such as pneumothorax and haemothorax. Other methods regarding localization of pulmonary nodules have their own drawbacks. We conducted a clinical study which was retrospective to identify a safe, accurate and suitable method for determining lung nodule localization. To evaluate the clinical value of CT-assisted body surface localization combined with intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization in thoracoscopic lung nodule resection. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the clinical data of 120 patients who underwent lung nodule localization and resection surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, from January 2020 to January 2022. Among them, 30 patients underwent CT-assisted body surface localization combined with intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization, 30 patients underwent only CT-assisted body surface localization, 30 patients underwent only intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization, and 30 patients underwent CT-guided percutaneous microcoil localization. The success rates, complication rates, and localization times of the four lung nodule localization methods were statistically analysed. RESULTS: The success rates of CT-assisted body surface localization combined with intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization and CT-guided percutaneous microcoil localization were both 96.7%, which were significantly higher than the 70.0% success rate in the CT-assisted body surface localization group (P < 0.05). The complication rate in the combined group was 0%, which was significantly lower than the 60% in the microcoil localization group (P < 0.05). The localization time for the combined group was 17.73 ± 2.52 min, which was significantly less than that (27.27 ± 7.61 min) for the microcoil localization group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CT-assisted body surface localization combined with intraoperative stereotactic anatomical localization is a safe, painless, accurate, and reliable method for lung nodule localization.

Mid-term outcomes of endoscopic vein harvesting in coronary artery bypass grafting: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) is an alternative technique to obtain the saphenous vein for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We aimed to evaluate the early and mid-term outcomes of patients with EVH in CABG. METHODS: This cohort study included consecutive isolated CABG patients in Nanjing First Hospital from July 2020 to December 2022 using propensity score matching methods. Patients were classified to EVH group and open vein harvesting (OVH) group according to the vein harvesting methods. The primary outcome was the all-cause death, and the secondary outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) including cardiovascular death, heart failure, myocardial infarction and revascularization and asymptomatic survival in the follow-up. RESULTS: Totally 1247 patients were included in the study with 849 in OVH group and 398 in EVH group. Patients with EVH were more female, diabetes, higher body mass index, more multi-vessel and left main diseases. 308 pairs were formed after the matching. There was no significant difference in the rates of in-hospital death (EVH vs. OVH, 2.3% vs. 1.3%, P = 0.543). During the 3 years follow-up, EVH grafts were considered not inferior to OVH grafts, no differences were found in all-cause death [8.5% vs. 5.0%, hazard ratio (HR) 1.565, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77-3.17, P = 0.21], MACEs (8.1% vs. 7.1%, HR 1.165, 95CI: 0.51-2.69, P = 0.71) and asymptomatic survival (66.7% vs. 72.5%, HR 1.117, 95%CI: 0.65-1.92, P = 0.68). CONCLUSIONS: EVH grafts were considered comparable to OVH grafts in patients following CABG in the 3 years follow-up.

Study of the corrosion behavior of N80 and TP125V steels in aerobic and anoxic shale gas field produced water at high temperature.

In this study, the corrosion behavior of N80 and TP125V steels was delved firstly into produced water from shale gas fields containing CO2-O2. Moreover, the localized corrosion of these steels was investigated to elucidate the effects of aerobic and anoxic on steel corrosion. The results indicated that the corrosion rates of N80 and TP125V steels under aerobic conditions were lower compared to those in the presence of CO2-O2. Specifically, at temperature of 100 °C and with dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 4 mg/L in the CO2-O2 environment, the N80 and TP125V steels exhibited the highest corrosion rate, with values of 0.13 mm/y and 0.16 mm/y, respectively, as determined by specific weight loss measurements. Conversely, these rates decreased to 0.022 mm/y and 0.049 mm/y under aerobic conditions. Furthermore, severe localized corrosion of N80 and TP125V steels with a DO concentration of 4 mg/L was also observed in the CO2-O2 environment. Finally, it was evident that pitting corrosion is the predominant type of corrosion affecting N80 and TP125V steels in the produced water from shale gas fields.

The highly efficient photodegradation of 4-bromophenol by TiO2/g-C3N4 nano photocatalyst with LED visible light.

Since traditional photocatalysts have suffered from higher charge carrier recombination and moderate photocatalytic efficiency, developing photocatalysts is crucial for water treatment objectives. Hence, the various ratios of TiO2 on g-C3N4 (CN) to form nano photocatalysts were synthesized by the solvothermal method. The 30%TiO2/CN showed the best performance to degradation and debromination of 4-bromophenol (4-BP) solution completely (kobs = 6.6 × 10-2 min-1) under visible light emitted by LED (420 nm) in 30 min. Remarkably, the photocatalyst showed superior stability and reusability, maintaining its efficiency after four cycles of 4-BP degradation. The dominant ROS participating in 4-BP degradation were ●O-2 and photogenerated holes (h+), as investigated by free radical scavenging tests. The optical properties analysis revealed that the introduction of TiO2 to the bulk CN decreases electron-hole recombination and improve photocatalytic performance by facilitating electrons transfer through the TiO2 nanoparticles in a chain. The findings of this study showed that the TiO2/CN photocatalyst is a promising catalyst for the degradation of 4-BP. It exhibits a higher rate constant and photocatalytic efficiency compared with previous studies conducted under visible light irradiation.

Isaridin E Protects against Sepsis by Inhibiting Von Willebrand Factor-Induced Endothelial Hyperpermeability and Platelet-Endothelium Interaction.

Endothelial hyperpermeability is pivotal in sepsis-associated multi-organ dysfunction. Increased von Willebrand factor (vWF) plasma levels, stemming from activated platelets and endothelium injury during sepsis, can bind to integrin αvß3, exacerbating endothelial permeability. Hence, targeting this pathway presents a potential therapeutic avenue for sepsis. Recently, we identified isaridin E (ISE), a marine-derived fungal cyclohexadepsipeptide, as a promising antiplatelet and antithrombotic agent with a low bleeding risk. ISE's influence on septic mortality and sepsis-induced lung injury in a mouse model of sepsis, induced by caecal ligation and puncture, is investigated in this study. ISE dose-dependently improved survival rates, mitigating lung injury, thrombocytopenia, pulmonary endothelial permeability, and vascular inflammation in the mouse model. ISE markedly curtailed vWF release from activated platelets in septic mice by suppressing vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 and soluble N-ethylmaleide-sensitive factor attachment protein 23 overexpression. Moreover, ISE inhibited healthy human platelet adhesion to cultured lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), thereby significantly decreasing vWF secretion and endothelial hyperpermeability. Using cilengitide, a selective integrin αvß3 inhibitor, it was found that ISE can improve endothelial hyperpermeability by inhibiting vWF binding to αvß3. Activation of the integrin αvß3-FAK/Src pathway likely underlies vWF-induced endothelial dysfunction in sepsis. In conclusion, ISE protects against sepsis by inhibiting endothelial hyperpermeability and platelet-endothelium interactions.