Analysis of Factors Related to Physical Activity Levels Among Lung Cancer Survivors Who Underwent Nonsurgical Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study.

AIM(S): The study aimed to investigate the current status of physical activity (PA) levels and associated factors among lung cancer survivors who have undergone nonsurgical treatments. BACKGROUND: PA has been incorporated as a nonpharmacological intervention in the rehabilitation programmes of cancer patients, playing a crucial role in alleviating symptom burden and enhancing the quality of life among lung cancer survivors. Understanding the potential influencing factors of PA levels aids in formulating targeted intervention strategies. DESIGN: A multicentre cross-sectional study. METHODS: Convenience sampling was utilised to survey lung cancer survivors from the respiratory and oncology departments of 12 hospitals across Eastern, Central and Western China, spanning from June 2023 to January 2024. Social demographic characteristics, disease-related features, health behaviour abilities, psychological factors and levels of PA were collected through a combination of clinical case systems used to record patients' treatment and medical conditions and self-reported questionnaires. Additionally, measurements of grip strength and the 6-min walk test were conducted for patients. Descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were conducted. RESULTS: Only 109 patients (16.2%) achieved high PA levels. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated differences in age, residential location, employment status, religion, lung cancer stage, grip strength, albumin concentration, blood urea, Anderson symptom, depression and health behaviour capacity among lung cancer survivors with varying PA levels. CONCLUSIONS: Significant associations were observed between age ≥ 75 years, residing in urban areas, unemployment, absence of religious beliefs, Stage IV lung cancer, lower grip strength, lower albumin concentration, higher blood urea, higher Anderson symptom scores, lower health behaviour capacity scores, higher depression scores and lower PA levels among lung cancer survivors. These potential factors should be considered when developing PA intervention plans. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study offers insights for developing subsequent PA intervention programmes. In clinical practice, healthcare professionals should continuously educate patients about the benefits of exercise and help them incorporate PA into their daily lives. Additionally, emphasising multidisciplinary collaboration involving physical therapists, nutritionists and mental health experts is crucial for ensuring safe and effective PA, thereby improving patients' quality of life. REPORTING METHOD: Our study complies with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Checklist: cross-sectional studies. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: At the phase of collecting data, participants were recruited to fill the questionnaires. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2300072609.

Investigation of Exercise Interventions on Postoperative Recovery in Lung Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Study Using Web Crawling Technology.

Background: Rapid recovery after lung cancer surgery is challenging. Exercise is a low-cost, effective method to expedite recovery. Despite numerous exercise interventions, many fail to consider patient perspectives, leading to low adherence and short-term effects. Understanding lung cancer patients' perspectives on postoperative exercise and exploring their exercise-related concerns and needs are crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of exercise-based rehabilitation programs. Objective: This study aims to analyze lung cancer patients' perspectives on postoperative exercise in their daily lives, exploring their concerns and needs related to postoperative exercise to help healthcare professionals develop personalized exercise plans. Methods: An internet crawling technique collected online inquiries from Baidu webpages about postoperative physical activity in lung cancer patients, using "lung cancer", "surgery", and "exercise" as keywords. The data was encoded, categorized, and analyzed using a large-scale semantic analysis platform in natural language processing and information retrieval to examine term frequency, sentiment tendencies, and attributes in the inquiry texts. Results: Initially, 2727 queries were retrieved; after screening, deduplication, and cleansing, 201 unique queries were identified. Queries related to "modes of exercise" constituted the largest proportion. The most frequently occurring words in the word frequency analysis were "lung", " cancer", "should", "can", "long", "early", and "surgery", "exercise", "respiratory". Postoperative lung cancer patients demonstrate significant interest in whether they should engage in exercise, as well as in the appropriate types and duration of such activities, indicating a strong need for detailed guidance and knowledge related to exercise. The sentiment analysis showed a positive score of 87.5% and a negative score of 12.5%, indicating that postoperative lung cancer patients view exercise positively and have an enthusiastic attitude towards it. Among the positive sentiment attributes, "good" was the most frequently mentioned term, whereas "bad" and "surprising" were the most prevalent terms within the negative sentiment attributes. Conclusion: Postoperative physical activity receives limited attention from lung cancer patients, who emphasize their preferences for exercise modalities. Their inquiries often reflect psychological concerns, such as fear and helplessness caused by symptoms. Understanding patients' perspectives on postoperative physical activity within their real-life contexts can help integrate psychological support into exercise plans. This integration could guide healthcare professionals in developing more personalized postoperative exercise regimens for lung cancer patients.

Exploring factors associated with postoperative physical activity and sedentary behavior in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To comprehensively analyze the factors associated with different intensities of physical activity and sedentary behavior in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients in the early postoperative period, providing a basis for clinically tailored personalized intervention measures. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed, and 915 patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer completed a questionnaire survey on demographics, disease, health-related fitness, and psychosocial factors. Physical activity levels and sedentary behaviors were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0. RESULTS: The physical activity level of walking amounted to 1265.4 ± 1025.8 MET-min/week, potentially influenced by factors such as region, depression, health behavior capacity, and lactate dehydrogenase. The moderate-intensity physical activity level stood at 529.8 ± 976.5 MET-min/week, subject to influences like regional lymph node staging, body mass index, and albumin levels, among other factors. The high-intensity physical activity level was 111.1 ± 731.0 MET-min/week, potentially affected by region, grip strength, health behavior capacity, and other factors. Sedentary time averaged 5 ± 3 h/day, potentially influenced by work conditions, red blood cell values, and other factors. CONCLUSION: In patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer, early postoperative walking activities predominate, with less engagement in high-intensity physical activity and prolonged sedentary time. Physical activity and sedentary behavior may be influenced by various factors such as geography, physiology, psychology, and health-related fitness. To enhance the quality of life of patients with lung cancer in the early postoperative period, tailored intervention measures should be devised based on the circumstances of the individual patients.

Social support, health behavior self-efficacy, and anxiety on physical activity levels among lung cancer survivors: a structural equation modeling.

PURPOSE: The study aims to investigate the relationship among social support, health behavior self-efficacy, anxiety, and the physical activity (PA) levels of lung cancer survivors, and to analyze whether health behavior self-efficacy and anxiety mediate the relationship between social support and PA levels. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 1128 lung cancer survivors from 16 Chinese hospitals, we collected demographic data and administered the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices Scale (SRAHP), Anxiety Scale (AS), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). SPSS 25.0 was used for descriptive analyses, while the structural equation model in SPSS AMOS 24.0 was used to identify the direct, indirect, and total effects among variables. RESULTS: There were significant correlations among SSRS, SRAHP, AS, and PA (P < 0.01). Model outcomes revealed a positive association between social support and health behavior self-efficacy (ß = 0.732, P < 0.001). Health behavior self-efficacy positively correlated with PA levels (ß = 0.228, P < 0.001) and negatively with anxiety (ß=-0.252, P = 0.001). Moreover, health behavior self-efficacy was found to partially mediate the relationship between social support and PA (ß = 0.174, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This study revealed a positive correlation between social support and health behavior self-efficacy, and between health behavior self-efficacy and PA levels among lung cancer survivors. Additionally, health behavior self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and PA levels. In future clinical practice, medical and nursing staff should assess social support and health behavior self-efficacy in lung cancer survivors to inform personalized PA interventions.

Regulating Macrophage Polarization in High Glucose Microenvironment Using Lithium-Modified Bioglass-Hydrogel for Diabetic Bone Regeneration.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with a proinflammatory microenvironment, causing poor vascularization and bone regeneration. Due to the lack of effective therapy and one-sided focus on the direct angiogenic properties of biomaterials and osteogenesis stimulation, the treatment of diabetic bone defect remains challenging and complex. In this study, using gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) as a template, a lithium (Li) -modified bioglass-hydrogel for diabetic bone regeneration is developed. It exhibits a sustained ion release for better bone regeneration under diabetic microenvironment. The hydrogel is shown to be mechanically adaptable to the complex shape of the defect. In vitro, Li-modified bioglass-hydrogel promoted cell proliferation, direct osteogenesis, and regulated macrophages in high glucose (HG) microenvironment, with the secretion of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor to stimulate osteogenesis and neovascularization indirectly. In vivo, composite hydrogels containing GelMA and Li-MBG (GM/M-Li) release Li ions to relieve inflammation, providing an anti-inflammatory microenvironment for osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Applying Li-modified bioglass-hydrogel, significantly enhances bone regeneration in a diabetic rat bone defect. Together, both remarkable in vitro and in vivo outcomes in this study present an opportunity for diabetic bone regeneration on the basis of HG microenvironment.

Hydrosoluble collagen based biodegradable hybrid hydrogel for biomedical scaffold.

Hydrogel scaffolds are explored as efficient methods to repair damaged organs or tissues. In this study, we developed a hybrid hydrogel system based on collagen (Col) and PEG-derived polymer (PEGF) for biomedical scaffold. The Col-PEGF hybrid hydrogel, in which different materials were combined and sequential interpenetrating networks were built, achieved significantly enhanced mechanical strength and viscoelasticity compared with the corresponding Col hydrogel or PEGF hydrogel. Degradation test indicated that Col enabled the hybrid hydrogel to be broken down via enzymatic degradation while PEGF contributed to the anti-degradation of the hydrogel. This balanced biodegradability of Col-PEGF hydrogel would be advantageous to the application for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Moreover, the Col-PEGF hybrid hydrogel with micron-sized pores and variable moisture performed good biocompatibility to NIH-3T3 cells, and supplied a favorable environment for cell growth and proliferation. Therefore, the Col-PEGF hydrogel will provide a promising biomedical scaffold for the therapy of tissue defects.

Dual-Responsive Alginate Hydrogels for Controlled Release of Therapeutics.

In this work, with the drug oxytetracycline (OTC) released, cell cytotoxicity and antimicrobial studies of dual-responsive sodium alginate and N-Isopropylacrylamide hydrogels (SA/pNIPAAm) with enclosed OTC were investigated. The molecular OTC release was explored with different acid-base conditions and temperature conditions. In order to characterize cell cytotoxicity and antimicrobial efficacy, time-dependent OTC release analysis of different acid-base conditions was performed in SA/pNIPAAm hydrogels. OTC@SA/pNIPAAm hydrogels showed excellent time-dependent antimicrobial efficacy, in which the IC50 values were 50.11 µg mL-1, 34.27 µg mL-1, and 22.39 µg mL-1 among three consecutive days, respectively. Meanwhile, the human cells showed excellent viability at the IC50 dosage of OTC@SA/pNIPAAm (50.11 µg mL-1). OTC@SA/pNIPAAm performed in this study indicated that SA/pNIPAAm may serve as drug carriers for sustainable release at a specific concentration and for being employed as substrates for decreasing drug toxicity. Besides, pH-responsive and thermos-responsive SA/pNIPAAm may lead to the better selectivity of drug release in the ideal location or site. Finally, the results demonstrate that the designed, dual-responsive, biocompatible OTC@SA/pNIPAAm hydrogels showed excellent antimicrobial efficacy and may potentially be found to have enormous applicability in the field of pharmaceutics.

In situ formed collagen-hyaluronic acid hydrogel as biomimetic dressing for promoting spontaneous wound healing.

Wound dressing is distinctly important to wound healing, because it can not only protect wound from external disturbance, but also provide an ideal environment for wound closure. However, most of wound dressings need additional active ingredients to assist the repair process. In order to develop new dressings that can present spontaneous healing activity, herein, an injectable hydrogel consisted of collagen I and hyaluronic acid has been designed to mimic extracellular matrix for vascular cells growing and wound closure. The preparation of hydrogel (COL-HA) was realized through in situ coupling of phenol moieties of collagen I-hydroxybenzoic acid (COL-P) and hyaluronic-acid-tyramine (HA-Tyr) through horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The physical structure and properties were characterized, and the biological performances were analyzed. COL-HA hydrogel presented porous structure that contributed to the exchange of gas, medium and nutrition. Human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC) and fibroblasts (COS-7) cultured within this hydrogel showed significant proliferation behaviors. More importantly, a certain level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was observed in HMEC cultured hydrogel, which led to the possibility of vascular regeneration. For the full-thickness wound, the healing ratio and validity of wound treated with COL-HA hydrogel were higher than commercial drug and individual COL-P hydrogel, HA-Tyr hydrogel groups, since collagen and hyaluronic acid made joint efforts to improve wound repair.

Fabrication and characterization of collagen-heparin-polypyrrole composite conductive film for neural scaffold.

In this work, a conductive film consisted of polypyrrole-heparin-collagen (PHC film) was fabricated as a potential neural scaffold. Heparin was initially modified with pyrrole, which was further polymerized with pyrrole monomer under the catalysis of ferric trichloride. Then collagen was added and crosslinked through amide bond, as well as physical interaction with pyrrole through hydrogen bond. In this system, heparin and collagen contributed to improving the biocompatibility, because they were the major component of the extracellular matrix. Additionally, heparin was verified to promote nerve cells growth. The physicochemical properties of PHC film were verified, including structure, morphological analysis, degradation, swelling, electrical properties and so on. Combined with the promotion results of pheochromocytoma cells growing, this PHC film is expected to be a promising alternative for nerve regeneration.

Arylpyrrole and fipronil analogues that inhibit the motility and/or development of Haemonchus contortus in vitro.

Due to widespread drug resistance in parasitic nematodes, there is a need to develop new anthelmintics. Given the cost and time involved in developing a new drug, the repurposing of known chemicals can be a promising, alternative approach. In this context, we tested a library (n = 600) of natural product-inspired pesticide analogues against exsheathed third stage-larvae (xL3s) of Haemonchus contortus (barber's pole worm) using a whole-organism, phenotypic screening technique that measures the inhibition of motility and development in treated larvae. In the primary screen, we identified 32 active analogues derived from chemical scaffolds of arylpyrrole or fipronil. The seven most promising compounds, selected based on their anthelmintic activity and/or limited cytotoxicity, are arylpyrroles that reduced the motility of fourth-stage larvae (L4s) with significant potency (IC50 values ranged from 0.04 ±â€¯0.01 µM to 4.25 ±â€¯0.82 µM, and selectivity indices ranged from 10.6 to 412.5). Since the parent structures of the active compounds are uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation, we tested the effect of selected analogues on oxygen consumption in xL3s using the Seahorse XF24 flux analyser. Larvae treated with the test compounds showed a significant increase in oxygen consumption compared with the untreated control, demonstrating their uncoupling activity. Overall, the results of the present study have identified natural product-derived molecules that are worth considering for chemical optimisation as anthelmintic drug leads.

Bisamides and rhamnosides from mangrove actinomycete Streptomyces sp. SZ-A15.

Four new bisamides 1-4, and two new rhamnosides (5, 6), along with four known compounds 7-10, were isolated from a scale culture of the mangrove-derived actinomycete Streptomyces sp. SZ-A15. All structures were determined through analysis of the UV, IR, HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra as well as by comparison with literature data. BRD4 inhibition of all isolated compounds was evaluated. As for the ability to inhibit protein BRD4, compound 9 exhibited moderate activity with the value of 78.4 ± 2.2% at 10 µM.

Physapubescin B Exhibits Potent Activity against Human Prostate Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo.

The present data showed that a natural compound isolated from the plant Physalis pubescens L. (Solanaceae), physapubescin B, exhibited antitumor activity against prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo. Treating prostate cancer cells with physapubescin B resulted in the accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase, which was associated with reduced Cdc25C levels and increased levels of CyclinB1, P21 as well as p-Cdk1 (Tyr15). Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was increased in physapubescin B-treated PC-3 cells. Furthermore, the physapubescin B-induced decrease of Cdc25C protein expression together with the G2/M phase cell cycle arrest were significantly abrogated by antioxidant NAC and GSH. Our data also demonstrated that physapubescin B exhibited strong in vivo antitumor efficacy in human prostate cancer PC3 xenograft. In conclusion, our results provide clear evidence that physapubescin B exhibits antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo and deserves further development as an anticancer agent.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of various α-substituted benzylpyrroles based on the structures of insecticidal chlorfenapyr and natural pyrrolomycins.

On the basis of the structures of chlorfenapyr and dioxapyrrolomycin, a series of 2-benzylpyrroles with a hydroxyl, an alkyloxy, an acyloxy, an alkylsulfanyl, or an oxime moiety at the α-position of benzyl were designed and synthesized. Their insecticidal, acaricidal, and fungicidal activities were extensively investigated. The structure-activity relationship showed that benzylpyrroles bearing shorter α-alkyloxy groups gave better activities against most of the insect species; the alkylation of pyrrole usually gave increased activity. Among all compounds, (4-bromo-2-(α-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-4-chlorobenzyl)-1-(ethoxymethyl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile) (5'j) exhibited the most outstanding insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm (IC50=10 mg L⁻¹), diamondback moth (0.07 mg L⁻¹), corn borer (50 mg L⁻¹), and mosquito (0.04 mg L⁻¹), which are very close to those of chlorfenapyr (5, 0.08, <25, and <0.025 mg L⁻¹, respectively). In addition, some compounds also exhibited a broad or selective fungicidal spectrum.

Design, Synthesis, Acaricidal Activity, and Mechanism of Oxazoline Derivatives Containing an Oxime Ether Moiety.

Two series of novel 2,4-diphenyl-1,3-oxazolines containing an oxime ether moiety were designed and synthesized via the key intermediate N-(2-chloro-1-(p-tolyl)ethyl)-2,6-difluorobenzamide. The bioassay results showed that the target compounds with an oxime ether substituent at the para position of 4-phenyl exhibited excellent acaricidal activity against Tetranychus cinnabarinus in the laboratory. Moreover, all of the target compounds had much higher activities than etoxazole, as the ovicidal and larvicidal activities of the target compounds I-a-I-l and II-a-II-n against T. cinnabarinus were all over 90% at 0.001 mg L-1, but etoxazole gave only 30% and 40% respectively at the same concentration. The activity order of compounds with regard to acaricidal activity in vivo was almost consistent with their affinity activity with sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) of Blattella germanica in vitro, hence, it was supposed that the acaricidal mechanism of action of the target compounds was that they can bind with the site of SUR and therefore inhibit chitin synthesis. Moreover, the eminent effect of the compound II-l, [2-(trifluoromethyl)benzaldehyde O-(4-(2-(2,6-difluorophenyl)-4,5-dihydrooxazol-4-yl)benzyl) oxime], against Panonychus citri and T. cinnabarinus in the field indicated that II-l exhibited a promising application prospect as a new candicate for controlling spider mites in the field.

4-(N,N-Dimethylamino)pyridine hydrochloride as a recyclable catalyst for acylation of inert alcohols: substrate scope and reaction mechanism.

4-(N,N-Dimethylamino)pyridine hydrochloride (DMAP·HCl), a DMAP salt with the simplest structure, was used as a recyclable catalyst for the acylation of inert alcohols and phenols under base-free conditions. The reaction mechanism was investigated in detail for the first time; DMAP·HCl and the acylating reagent directly formed N-acyl-4-(N',N'-dimethylamino)pyridine chloride, which was attacked by the nucleophilic substrate to form a transient intermediate that released the acylation product and regenerated the DMAP·HCl catalyst.

The trifluoromethyl transformation synthesis, crystal structure and insecticidal activities of novel 2-pyrrolecarboxamide and 2-pyrrolecarboxlate.

Two series of 2-phenylpyrroles: 3-bromo-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-cyanopyrrole-2-carboxamide (5a-5d) and 3-bromo-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-cyanopyrrole-2-carboxylate (6a-6c) were synthesized by a novel trifluoromethyl transformation. The result of insecticidal bioassays indicated that 6a-6c had moderate larvicidal activity against oriental armyworm and 6b also had good acaricidal activity, so 3-bromo-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-cyanopyrrole-2-carboxylate derivatives were expected to become lead compounds for new pesticides.