Errate: Enhanced Patient Comfort and Satisfaction with Early Oral Feeding after Thoracoscopic Lung Cancer Resection.

The published grant number was "OFJH2021008", while the correct should read "DFJH2021008". Reference: Yinghong Wu, Huiling Liu, Minghao Zhong, Xiyi Chen, Zhiqiong Ba, Guibin Qiao, Jiejie Feng, Xiuqun Zeng: Enhanced Patient Comfort and Satisfaction with Early Oral Feeding after Thoracoscopic Lung Cancer Resection. Med Sci Monit, 2023; 29: e941577. DOI: 10.12659/MSM.941577.

Microplastics release from face masks: Characteristics, influential factors, and potential risks.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have been used popularly and disposed of improperly, leading to the generation of a large amount of microplastics. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive insight into the characteristics of mask-derived microplastics, the influential factors of microplastics release, and the potential risks of these microplastics to the environment and organisms. Mask-derived microplastics were predominantly transparent fibers, with a length of <1 mm. The release of microplastics from masks is mainly influenced by mask types, use habits, and weathering conditions. Under the same conditions, surgical masks release more microplastics than other types of masks. Long-term wearing of masks and the disinfection for reuse can promote the release of microplastics. Environmental media, UV irradiation, temperature, pH value, and mechanical shear can also influence the microplastics release. The risks of mask-derived microplastics to human health via inhalation cannot be neglected. Future studies should pay more attention to the release of microplastics from the masks with alternative materials and under more weathering conditions.

Functional study of a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase MsLPMO3 from Morchella sextelata in the oxidative degradation of cellulose.

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) can improve the effectiveness with which agricultural waste is utilized. This study described the potent AA9 family protein MsLPMO3, derived from Morchella sextelata. It exhibited strong binding to phosphoric acid swollen cellulose (PASC), and had the considerable binding ability to Cu2+ with a Kd value of 2.70 µM by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). MsLPMO3 could also act on PASC at the C1 carbon via MALDI-TOF-MS results. Moreover, MsLPMO3 could boost the hydrolysis efficiency of corncob and wheat bran in combination with glycoside hydrolases. MsLPMO3 also exhibited strong oxidizing ability for 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP), achieving the best Vmax value of 443.36 U·g-1 for pH 7.4 with a H2O2 concentration of 300 µM. The structure of MsLPMO3 was obtained using AlphaFold2, and the molecular docking results elucidated the specific interactions and key residues involved in the recognition process between MsLPMO3 and cellulose. Altogether, this study expands the knowledge of AA9 family proteins in cellulose degradation, providing valuable insights into the mechanisms of synergistic degradation of lignocellulose with cellulases.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with hemophilic syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis: A rare case report.

BACKGROUND: Malignant schwannoma is a rare tumor in the peripheral nervous system, accounting for approximately 5% to 10% of systemic soft tissue sarcomas. Especially, malignant schwannoma occurring in the broad ligament of the uterus with hemophilic syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis is extremely rare in clinical practice. Here, we report the first case of an patient diagnosed with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) of the broad ligament of the uterus with hemophilic syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis, and share our reference clinical diagnosis and treatment experience. CASE SUMMARY: A patient was diagnosed with MPNST of the uterus harboring hemophilic syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis. She received combination, and repeated imaging revealed further encountered rare complications (hemophilia syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis) after two cycles of chemotherapy. Thereafter, combined treatment with pazopanib, gemcitabine, and dacarbazine was initiated. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to death at hospital after two weeks. CONCLUSION: This report firstly provided reference clinical practice for a patient with MPNST of the uterus harboring hemophilic syndrome and bone marrow fibrosis. Our case raises a reminder about the tolerance and safety of combination therapy, especially in young women.

Enhanced Patient Comfort and Satisfaction with Early Oral Feeding after Thoracoscopic Lung Cancer Resection.

BACKGROUND The study aimed to compare the patient-reported outcomes in patients who underwent early vs conventional feeding after thoracoscopic lung cancer resection. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study enrolled 211 patients who underwent thoracoscopic lung cancer resection at a tertiary hospital between July 2021 and July 2022. Patients were randomly assigned to the conventional group or the early feeding group. There were 106 patients in the early feeding group and 105 patients in the conventional group. The conventional group received water 4 h after extubation and liquid/semi-liquid food 6 h after extubation. In contrast, the early feeding group received water 1 h after extubation and liquid/semi-liquid food 2 h after extubation. The primary outcomes were the degree of hunger, thirst, nausea, and vomiting. The secondary outcomes were postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and chest tube drainage. RESULTS No differences were found between the 2 groups in the degrees of postoperative nausea, vomiting, or pain after extubation for 1, 2, 4, and 8 h. Postoperative complications, duration of chest tube drainage, and duration of hospital stay were also similar (P=0.567, P=0.783, P=0.696). However, the hunger and thirst scores after extubation for 2 h and 4 h decreased and were lower in the early feeding group (both P<0.001). No patients developed choking, postoperative aspiration, gastrointestinal obstruction, or other complications. CONCLUSIONS Early oral feeding after thoracoscopic lung cancer resection is safe and can increase patient comfort postoperatively.

Defect Engineering of Nanomaterials for Catalysis.

Defect chemistry is a branch of materials science that deals with the study of the properties and behavior of defects in crystalline solids [...].

Cross-Link-Dependent Ionogel-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Slippery and Antireflective Properties.

Given the ability to convert various ambient unused mechanical energies into useful electricity, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are gaining interest since their inception. Recently, ionogel-based TENGs (I-TENGs) have attracted increasing attention because of their excellent thermal stability and adjustable ionic conductivity. However, previous studies on ionogels mainly pursued the device performance or applications under harsh conditions, whereas few have investigated the structure-property relationships of components to performance. The results indicate that the ionogel formulation-composed of a crosslinking monomer with an ionic liquid-affects the conductivity of the ionogel by modulating the cross-link density. In addition, the ratio of cross-linker to ionic liquid is important to ensure the formation of efficient charge channels, yet increasing ionic liquid content delivers diminishing returns. The ionogels are then used in I-TENGs to harvest water droplet energy and the performance is correlated to the ionogels structure-property relationships. Improvement of the energy harvesting is further explored by the introduction of surface polymer brushes on I-TENGs via a facile and universal method, which enhances droplet sliding by means of ideal surface contact angle hysteresis and improves its anti-reflective properties by employing the I-TENG as a surface covering for solar cells.

CBX2-mediated suppression of SIAH2 triggers WNK1 accumulations to promote glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Previous studies have highlighted the poor prognosis of liver cancer, and treatment effects are overall limited. We aimed to confirm the biological roles of SIAH2 in liver cancer and provide potential therapeutic targets. Differential analysis was conducted based on public datasets and found that SIAH2 expressed lowly in HCC samples relative to normal tissues, which was demonstrated in tumor samples via immunohistochemistry (IHC). Besides, SIAH2 overexpression could significantly suppress HCC proliferation. SIAH2 deficiency induced cell proliferation, migration and self-renewal abilities in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, SIAH2 could interact with WNK1, and trigger the ubiquitination and degradation of WNK1 proteins. In addition, low SIAH2 depended on elevated WNK1 proteins to drive HCC malignant features, including proliferation, migration and stemness. Meanwhile, we further found that CBX2 could regulate SIAH2 expressions. CBX2 cooperated with EZH2 to mediate the H3K27me3 enrichment on the promoter region of SIAH2 to suppress its transcriptional levels. High CBX2/EZH2 levels in HCC correlated with poor prognosis of patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) further implicated that WNK1 correlates tightly with glycolytic process in HCC samples. WNK1 overexpression was found to notably enhance glycolytic activity, whereas WNK1 deficiency could significantly suppress the HCC glycolysis activity. Lastly, the subcutaneous tumor model further demonstrated that targeting WNK1 was effective to inhibit the in vivo tumor growth of SIAH2low HCC. Collectively, down-regulated SIAH2 expressions induced by CBX2/EZH2 could drive progression and glycolysis via accumulating WNK1 proteins, indicating that CBX2/SIAH2/WNK1 axis is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic vulnerability for human HCC.

Defect Engineering To Tailor Metal Vacancies in 2D Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks: An Example in Electrochemical Sensing.

Two-dimensional conductive metal-organic frameworks (2D conductive MOFs) with π-d conjugations exhibit high electrical conductivity and diverse coordination structures, making them constitute a desirable platform for new electronic devices. Defects are inevitable in the self-assembly process of 2D conductive MOFs. Arguably, defect engineering that deliberately manipulates defects demonstrates great potential to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of this family of novel materials. Herein, a facile and universal defect engineering strategy is proposed and demonstrated for metal vacancy regulation of metal benzenehexathiolato (BHT) coordination polymer films. Controllable metal vacancies can be produced by simply tuning the proton concentration during the confined self-assembly process at the liquid-liquid interface. This facile but universal defect design strategy has been proven to be effective in a class of materials including Cu-BHT, Ni-BHT, and Ag-BHT for physicochemical regulation. To further demonstrate the feasibility and practicality in electrochemical applications, the elaborately fabricated Cu-BHT films with abundant Cu vacancies deliver competitive performance in electrocatalytic sensing of H2O2. Mechanistic analysis revealed that the Cu vacancies act as effective active sites for adsorption and reduction of H2O2, and the tuned electronic structure boosts the electrocatalytic reaction. The developed advanced sensing platform confirms the excellent commercial potential of Cu-BHT sensors for H2O2. The findings provide insights into the molecular structure design of 2D conducting MOFs by defect engineering and demonstrate the commercial potential of Cu-BHT electrochemical sensors.

Metasurface absorber with ultra-thin thickness designed for a terahertz focal plane array detector.

Terahertz (THz) refers to electromagnetic waves with frequency from 0.1 to 10 THz, which lies between millimeter waves and infrared light. This paper proposes an ultra-thin metasurface absorber which is perfectly suited to be the signal coupling part of terahertz focal plane array (FPA) detector. The absorptance of the proposed metasurface is higher than 80% from 4.46 to 5.76 THz (25.4%) while the thickness is merely 1.12 µm (0.018 λ). Since the metasurface absorber will be applied to terahertz FPA detector which requires planar array formation, it is divided into meta-atoms. Each meta-atom consists of the same unit cell layout, and air gaps are introduced between adjacent meta-atoms to enhance the thermal isolation, which is crucial for FPA detector to obtain desired imaging results. Due to the symmetrical layout of meta-atoms, absorptance keeps stable for different polarized waves, moreover, good absorptance could also be achieved for incidence angles range of ± 30 °. Spectral measurements show good agreement with the simulation. As a result, features of ultra-thin thickness, polarization insensitivity, and high absorptance make the proposed metasurface absorber well suited to highly efficient coupling of terahertz signals in FPA detector.

Predictive value of the presence of Prevotella and the ratio of Porphyromonas gingivalis to Prevotella in saliva for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Imbalance of oral salivary microbiota has been linked to the pathogenesis of a variety of systemic diseases, and oral bacterial species have been shown to be useful biomarkers for systemic diseases.This study aimed to characterize the alterations of oral microbiota in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of oral microbial biomarkers for ESCC. Methods: The relative abundance of flora in saliva samples was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing, and differences in the species present in samples from ESCC patients and healthy controls (HCs) were identified by analyzing species diversity and performing LEfSe analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the characteristic bacteria individually and in combination. Results: Differences in bacterial diversity indexes were observed for the saliva of ESCC patients versus HCs (P<0.05), but principal coordinate analysis did not detect a significant difference in the composition of oral microbiota between ESCC patients and HCs (P>0.05). LEfSe analysis showed that Leptotrichia, Porphyromonas (Pg), Streptococcus, Rothia, Lactobacillus and Peptostreptococcus were more abundant in ESCC patient saliva than in HC saliva, whereas Haemophilus, Alloprevotella (All), Prevotella_7, Prevotella (Pre), Prevotella_6, Pasteurellaceae and Pasteurellales were significantly less abundant in ESCC patient saliva (P<0.05). From ROC curve analysis, Pg could detect ESCC with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.599, sensitivity of 62.2%, and specificity of 70%, whereas the ratio of Pg/Pre had an AUC of 0.791, sensitivity of 93.3%, and specificity of 62.3%. Moreover, the combination of the Pg/Pre and Pg/All ratios showed further improved diagnostic performance for ESCC (AUC=0.826) and even good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of early ESCC (68.2% and 86%, respectively; AUC=0.786). Conclusion: This study shows that Pg in saliva can be used as a characteristic marker of ESCC, and the ratios of Pg/Pre and Pg/All offered significantly improved diagnostic performance, especially for early ESCC.

Correlation Between the Number of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopies and Nosocomial Infection/Colonization of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Objective: The present study aims to explore the effects of different numbers of fiberoptic bronchoscopic examinations on the nosocomial infection/colonization of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Methods: The data of 129 patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a grade 3A hospital were retrospectively analyzed, and CRE nosocomial infection/colonization situations in patients with fiberoptic bronchoscope application times of 1, 2, 3, and ≥4 were statistically analyzed. Results: The incidence of nosocomial infection/colonization of CRE increased significantly when the number of fiberoptic bronchoscopic examinations was ≥3. Conclusion: Nosocomial infection/colonization of CRE is highly correlated with an increased number of fiberoptic bronchoscopic examinations.

Excretion characteristics of nylon microplastics and absorption risk of nanoplastics in rats.

Ingestion of environmental microplastics (MPs) by animals is receiving a great health concern, because of its potential adverse effects on organisms. Most ingested MPs will be excreted, while the health threats depend largely on the excretory dynamics. Although the excretion characteristics of MPs in invertebrates and fishes have been studied, information on the excretion of MPs in mammals remains lacking, especially for the fibrous MPs. Here, fibrous and granular MP and nanoplastic (NP) of nylon polymer (polyamide 66, PA66) were exposed in rats by oral in the first day, then the excretion behavior of ingested PA66 in rats was quantified using mass quantification of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) together with the microscope observation. Although most of the ingested PA66-MP or PA66-NP was excreted within 48 h, the three forms of PA66 were not completely cleared by the rats even after seven days excretion. The excretion of PA66 in rats was well-described by a first-order kinetics model, and the calculated half-lives of elimination of PA66 polymer in rats are 19.9 h (fibrous PA66-MP), 23.7 h (granular PA66-MP), and 36.9 h (PA66-NP), indicating rats excrete smaller MPs more slowly than the bigger ones. This was further confirmed by the particle size distribution of granular PA66-MP observed in feces. Besides, approximately 30% of the ingested PA66-NP were failed to be detected in feces, while the occurrence of PA66-NP in rat serum induced by PA66-NP ingestion was found. This indicates that PA66-NP can pass through the gut barrier and entered the blood circulation. Therefore, the health risks of ingested MPs, especially for the NPs, deserve further attention.

An analysis of risk factors for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infection.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the high-risk factors of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection of hospitalised patients in high-risk departments. METHODS: This study is a multicentre, retrospective study. CRE screening positive patients from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018 of high-risk departments in five tertiary first-class teaching hospitals in Beijing collect the patients' CRE test specimen information, CRE infection information and outcomes. The patients were divided into a colonisation group and an infection group for comparative analysis. A logistic regression model was established to explore the risk factors of CRE infection. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to invasive procedures and the type of the infection. RESULTS: In total, 344 patients were included in this study, including 85 (24.71%) colonisation and 259 (75.29%) infection; 36.09% CRE colonisation converted to infection, and the mean conversion time from colonisation to infection was 6.5 (4.0, 18.8) days. Renal disease, granulocytosis, invasive procedures and the time from hospital stay to positive CRE were the risk factors for CRE infection. The subgroup analysis showed that the rate of CRE infection in the invasive group was higher than in the non-invasive group (P < 0.001), and the rate of exacerbation or death in the invasive group was also higher than in the non-invasive group (P = 0.019). The average length of ICU and hospitalisation in the healthcare-associated infection group were significantly higher than those in the community infection group, but there was no difference in the proportion of final exacerbation or death between them (P = 0.727). CONCLUSION: Kidney disease, granulocytosis, invasive procedures and CRE detection time are the risk factors for CRE infection. Carrying out CRE screening in patients as early as possible and taking effective intervention measures in time to avoid adverse consequences is all important.

Immunotoxicity responses to polystyrene nanoplastics and their related mechanisms in the liver of zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae.

Nanoplastics in aquatic environments may induce adverse immunotoxicity effects in fish. However, there is insufficient evidence on the visible immunotoxicity endpoints in the larval stages of fish. The liver plays an important role in systemic and local innate immunity in the fish. In this study, the hepatic inflammatory effects of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastic particles (NPs: 100 and 50 nm) and micron PS particles on transgenic zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae were estimated using fluorescent-labeled neutrophils, macrophages, and liver-type inflammatory binding protein (fabp10a). Particles with smaller size induced higher aggregations of neutrophils and apoptosis of macrophages in the abdomen of the larvae, corresponding to greater hepatic inflammation in the larvae. NPs increased the expression of fabp10a in the larval livers in a dose- and size-dependent manner. PS particles of 50 nm at a concentration of 0.1 mg·L-1 increased the expression of fabp10a in the larval liver by 21.90% (P < 0.05). The plausible mechanisms of these effects depend on their distribution and the generation of reactive oxygen species in the larvae. Metabonomic analysis revealed that the metabolic pathways of catabolic processes, amino acids, and purines were highly promoted by NPs, compared to micron PS particles. NPs also activate steroid hormone biosynthesis in zebrafish larvae, which may lead to the occurrence of immune-related diseases. For the first time, the liver was identified as the target organ for the immunotoxicity effects of NPs in the larval stage of fish.

Hydrogels as Soft Ionic Conductors in Flexible and Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

Flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted increasing interest since their advent in 2012. In comparison with other flexible electrodes, hydrogels possess transparency, stretchability, biocompatibility, and tunable ionic conductivity, which together provide great potential as current collectors in TENGs for wearable applications. The development of hydrogel-based TENGs (H-TENGs) is currently a burgeoning field but research efforts have lagged behind those of other common flexible TENGs. In order to spur research and development of this important area, a comprehensive review that summarizes recent advances and challenges of H-TENGs will be very useful to researchers and engineers in this emerging field. Herein, the advantages and types of hydrogels as soft ionic conductors in TENGs are presented, followed by detailed descriptions of the advanced functions, enhanced output performance, as well as flexible and wearable applications of H-TENGs. Finally, the challenges and prospects of H-TENGs are discussed.

Biomechanical Energy Harvesters Based on Ionic Conductive Organohydrogels via the Hofmeister Effect and Electrostatic Interaction.

The recent use of cryoprotectant replacement method for solving the easy drying problem of hydrogels has attracted increasing research interest. However, the conductivity decrease of organohydrogels due to the induced insulating solvent limited their electronic applications. Herein, we introduce the Hofmeister effect and electrostatic interaction to generate hydrogen and sodium bonds in the hydrogel. Combined with its double network, an effective charge channel that will not be affected by the solvent replacement, is therefore built. The developed organohydrogel-based single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator (OHS-TENG) shows low conductivity decrease (one order) and high output (1.02-1.81 W/m2), which is much better than reported OHS-TENGs (2-3 orders, 41.2-710 mW/m2). Moreover, replacing water with glycerol in the hydrogel enables the device to exhibit excellent long-term stability (four months) and temperature tolerance (-50-100 °C). The presented strategy and mechanism can be extended to common organohydrogel systems aiming at high performance in electronic applications.

Utility of feeding jejunostomy in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing esophagectomy with a high risk of anastomotic leakage.

BACKGROUND: Feeding jejunostomy is widely used for enteral nutrition (EN) after esophagectomy; however, its risks and benefits are still controversial. We aimed to evaluate the short-term and long-term outcomes of feeding jejunal tube (FJT) in patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who were deemed high-risk for anastomotic leakage. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 716 patients who underwent esophagectomy with (FJT group, n=68) or without (control group, n=648) intraoperative placement of FJT. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used for the adjustment of confounding factors. Risk level for anastomotic leakage was determined for every patient after PSM. RESULTS: Patients in the FJT group were at higher risk of anastomotic leakage (14.9% vs. 11.3%), and had a statistically non-significant increase of postoperative complications [31.3% vs. 21.8%, odds ratio (OR) =1.139, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.947-1.370, P=0.141] after PSM. Medical expenditure, length of postoperative hospital stay, and short-term mortality were similar between the FJT and control groups. Placement of FJT appeared to accelerate the recovery of anastomotic leakage (27.2 vs. 37.4 d, P=0.073). Patients in FJT group achieved comparable overall survival (OS) both before [hazard ratio (HR) =0.850, P=0.390] and after (HR =0.797, P=0.292) PSM. CONCLUSIONS: FJT showed acceptable safety profile along with potential benefits for ESCC patients with a high presumed risk of anastomotic leakage. While FJT does not impact OS, placement of FJT should be considered in esophagectomy patients and tailored to individual patients based on their leak-risk profile.

Utilization of coal fly ash in China: a mini-review on challenges and future directions.

The rapid economic development in China places a large demand for energy, and as a result, thermal power plants in China are producing an enormous amount of coal fly ash (CFA) which causes severe environmental pollution. This paper briefly describes the current production and utilization status of CFA in China and identifies the challenges confronting sustainable CFA utilization as the Chinese economy is being transformed. These issues include a regional imbalance in supply and demand, reducing demand in the real estate industry as well as stricter laws for environmental protection. Viable directions for future CFA utilization are proposed, for example, production of CFA-based ceramic tiles, recovery of elemental resources, agricultural melioration, treatment of wastewater and flue gas, and production of high-volume CFA concretes. This paper has some guiding significance for sustainable and cleaner utilization of CFA in China and even worldwide. Graphical abstract.