Structurally Diverse Macrolactams from an Antarctic Streptomyces Species.

Twelve new polyenic macrolactams, cyclamenols G-R (1 and 3-13), together with the known analogue cyclamenol A (2), were isolated from Streptomyces sp. OUCMDZ-4348. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, quantum chemical calculations, chemical derivatizations, and Mosher's methods. The sequenced genome of OUCMDZ-4348 revealed the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of cyclamenols. It was proposed that the polycyclic natural products, cyclamenols H-R, might be formed from cyclamenols A and G through nonenzymatic intramolecular cycloadditions and oxidative cyclizations.

Biological mechanism of ZnO nanomaterials.

Modern nanotechnology has made zinc oxide nanomaterials (ZnO NMts) multifunctional, stable, and low cost, enabling them to be widely used in commercial and biomedical fields. With its wide application, the risk of human direct contact and their release into the environment also increases. This review aims to summarize the toxicity studies of ZnO NMts in vivo, including neurotoxicity, inhalation toxicity, and reproductive toxicity. The antibacterial and antiviral mechanisms of ZnO NMts in vitro and the toxicity to eukaryotic cells were summarized. The summary found that it was mainly related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by oxidative stress. It also discusses the potential harm to body and the favorable prospects of the widespread use of antibacterial and antiviral in the future medical field. The review also emphasizes that the dosage and use method of ZnO NMts will be the focus of future biomedical research.

Antibacterial Gilvocarcin-Type Aryl-C-Glycosides from a Soil-Derived Streptomyces Species.

Seven new gilvocarcin-type aryl-C-glycosides (1-7) and six known analogues (8-13) were isolated from the soil-derived Streptomyces sp. OUCMDZ-945. Their structures including absolute configurations were determined based on detailed spectroscopic analysis, chemical methods, ECD curves, and quantum chemical calculations. Compound 1, which we named digilvocarcin A, is the first reported bis-gilvocarcin derivative possessing a novel cyclobutane moiety. This dimeric skeleton was confirmed to be formed from gilvocarcin V (8) through a light-induced [2 + 2] cycloaddition. Compounds 1, 2, 5-8, and 11 showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus ATCC 43300 (MIC values: 0.25-64 µg/mL).

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis in pediatric and young patients.

Oral mucositis is one of the most frequent complications after chemotherapy, occurring in approximately 52 to 80% of children receiving treatment for cancer. Recently, it has been suggested that the use of low-energy laser could reduce the grade of oral mucositis and alleviate the symptoms. In 2014, Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology has recommended low-level laser therapy in prevention of mucositis for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients because of its beneficial effects in majority of recent studies. However, the recommendation was made for adult patients, not pediatric patients. Data about the effect of low-level laser therapy in pediatric patients is limited. This study aims to synthesize the available clinical evidences on the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM). A meta-analysis was performed using trials identified through the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine (CBM), Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Data on occurrence, duration, and severity of oral mucositis were collected. All randomized controlled studies and clinical controlled studies comparing LLLT to routine qualified prevention or treatment during or after chemotherapy were critically appraised and analyzed. We found 8 qualified clinical trials with a total of 373 pediatric patients; the methodological quality was acceptable. After prophylactic LLLT, the odds ratio for developing OM was significantly lower compared with placebo(OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.87, P = 0.01), the odds ratio for developing grade III OM or worse was statistically significantly lower compared with placebo (OR = 0.30, 95% CI (0.10, 0.90), P = 0.03), and the OM severity was statistically significantly lower compared with placebo (SMD = - 0.56, 95% CI (- 0.98, - 0.14), P = 0.009). For therapeutic LLLT, the OM severity was significantly reduced compared to routine care (SMD = - 1.18, 95% CI (- 1.52, - 0.84), P < 0.00001). Oral pain was also reduced after LLLT over routine care (MD = - 0.73, 95% CI (- 1.36, - 0.11), P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Prophylactic LLLT reduces mucositis and severe mucositis and decreases the average severity of oral mucositis in pediatric and young patients with cancer. Therapeutic LLLT also reduces the average severity of oral mucositis and oral pain. Further research should investigate the optimal parameter of LLLT in pediatric and young patients, and studies with higher methodological quality should be performed. What is known: • Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) was recommended by Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology; however, evidences about LLLT on oral mucositis in pediatric and young patients were insufficient and lack supportive synthesized data. • Recently, there have been several new RCTs or CCTs for pediatric patients or young adults. What is new: • Prophylactic LLLT reduces the occurrence of mucositis and severe mucositis and decreases the average severity of oral mucositis in pediatric and young patients. • Therapeutic LLLT reduces the average severity of oral mucositis and oral pain.

Exploring competencies: a qualitative study of Chinese nurse managers.

AIM: To identify core competencies needed in the transition of nurse managers on the way to excellence. BACKGROUND: There is growing recognition of the importance of nurse managers in hospitals. Most managers still learn through their failures and few studies have described the perceptions of nurse managers in China. It is vital to understand what competencies Chinese nurse managers should have in order to establish suitable training programmes and improve their management skills. METHOD: A phenomenological approach that included in-depth interviews with 12 nurse managers in six Chinese hospitals was conducted. RESULTS: The transition to management included four phases: the adaptive phase, the running-in and stable phase, the stagnation phase and the maturation phase. CONCLUSION: In order to fulfil their clinical responsibilities, nurse managers need to develop multifaceted competencies, specifically in communication and stress management. Ideally, nurse managers should progress through the four phases mentioned above to achieve excellence. IMPLICATIONS: There is a requirement for utilising various methods for nurse managers in adapting new roles, improving communication and relieving stress.

Effect of the gradient of complex refractive index at boundary of turbid media on total internal reflection.

We analyze the existence of non-uniformity at the boundary of turbid media, and develop a gradient complex refractive index multilayered model in terms of this fact. Our model reveals the physics mechanism of the discrepancies between experimental data above the critical angle and the fitting curve with Fresnel's Formula. Also, from the perspective of the energy flow, reflectance R is obtained by the simplified models. We get complex refractive indexes and reflectance curves by fitting experimental data of 20% and 30% Intralipid solutions and rutile TiO2 powder suspension with two different methods. Compared with Fresnel's Formula, our model can fit experimental data better.

Analysis of reflectance curve of turbid media and determination of the non-surface complex refractive index.

Based on the theory of Goos-Hänchen shift and its continuity near the critical angle, we introduce the concept of penetration depth below the critical angle, and obtain the general formula of reflectance using the gradient complex refractive index multilayered model. Compared with the fitting curve with Fresnel's Formula, our calculated results are more consistent with experimental results of Intralipid solution and the suspension of rutile TiO(2) powder. Combining the change of penetration depth near the critical angle with our model, we also reveal the essence of a simple method used to obtain the non-surface complex refractive index of turbid media.

Phylogenetic indices and temporal and spatial scales shape the neighborhood effect on seedling survival in a mid-mountain moist evergreen broad-leaved forest, Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China.

Density dependence and habitat filtering have been proposed to aid in understanding community assembly and species coexistence. Phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors was used as a proxy for assessing the degree of ecological similarity among species. There are different conclusions regarding the neighborhood effect in previous studies with different phylogenetic indices or at different spatiotemporal scales. However, the effects of density dependence, neighbor phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat filtering on seedling survival with different phylogenetic indices or at different temporal and spatial scales are poorly understood. We monitored 916 seedlings representing 56 woody plant species within a 4-ha forest dynamics plot for 4 years (from 2020 to 2023) in a subtropical mid-mountain moist evergreen broad-leaved forest in the Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested whether and how four phylogenetic indices: total phylogenetic distance (TOTPd), average phylogenetic distance (AVEPd), relative average phylogenetic distance (APd'), and relative nearest taxon phylogenetic distance (NTPd'), three temporals (1, 2, and 3 years), and spatial scales (1, 2, and 4 ha) affect the effect of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival. We found evidence of the effect of phylogenetic density dependence in the 4-ha forest dynamics plot. The effects of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival were influenced by phylogenetic indices and temporal and spatial scales. The effects of phylogenetic density dependence and habitat filtering on seedling survival were more conspicuous only at 1-year intervals, compared with those at 2- and 3-year intervals. We did not detect any effects of neighborhood or habitat factors on seedling survival at small scales (1 and 2 ha), although these effects were more evident at the largest spatial scale (4 ha). These findings highlight that the effects of local neighborhoods and habitats on seedling survival are affected by phylogenetic indices as well as temporal and spatial scales. Our study suggested that phylogenetic index APd', shortest time scale (1 year), and largest spatial scales (4 ha) were suitable for neighborhood studies in a mid-mountain moist evergreen broad-leaved forest in Gaoligong Mountains. Phylogenetic indices and spatiotemporal scales have important impacts on the results of the neighborhood studies.

Subjective Toxicity Profiles of Children With Cancer During Treatment: A Latent Class Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents may experience a variety of subjective adverse events (AEs) caused by cancer treatment. The identification of distinct groups of patients is crucial for guiding symptomatic AE management interventions to prevent AEs from worsening. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of children with cancer experiencing similar patterns of subjective toxicities and evaluate differences among these subgroups in demographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 356 children in China with malignancies who received chemotherapy within the past 7 days using the pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. A latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify subgroups of patients with distinct profiles of symptomatic AE occurrence. RESULTS: Nausea (54.5%), anorexia (53.4%), and headache (39.3%) were the top 3 AEs children experienced. Nearly all participants (97.8%) experienced ≥1 core AEs, and 30.3% experienced ≥5 AEs. The LCA results identified 3 subgroups ("high gastrotoxicity and low neurotoxicity" [53.2%], "moderate gastrotoxicity and high neurotoxicity" [23.6%], and "high gastrotoxicity and high neurotoxicity" [22.8%]). The subgroups were differentiated by monthly family per-capita income, time since diagnosis, and Karnofsky Performance Status score. CONCLUSIONS: Children experienced multiple subjective toxicities during chemotherapy, especially gastrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Heterogeneity was found in the LCA in the patients' toxicities. The prevalence of toxicities could be distinguished by the children's characteristics. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The results showing different subgroups in our study may assist clinical staff in focusing on patients with higher toxicities to provide effective interventions.

Scale-dependent responses of ecosystem service trade-offs to urbanization in Erhai Lake Basin, China.

Urbanization is an important factor affecting ecosystem services (ESs) and their trade-offs. However, little is known about the responses of ES trade-offs to urbanization at different scales. Here, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model was used to evaluate water yield (WY), water purification (WP), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ) in Erhai Lake Basin using earth observation data, and the percentage of urban land (PUL), population density (POP), gross domestic product (GDP), and night light index (NLI) were used as urbanization indicators. We quantified the ES trade-offs using the root mean square error and analyzed spatiotemporal changes in urbanization indicators, ESs, and their trade-offs. Finally, we characterized the relationship between urbanization and ES trade-offs using correlation analysis and curve regression at the grid and town scales. From 2000 to 2020, values of PUL/GDP/NLI/POP were high in the south and low in the north; specifically, they were 15, 8, 2, and 0.42 times higher in the south than in the north, respectively. The urban expansion area in the Erhai Basin from 2000 to 2020 resulted in a 123.24% and 77.03% increase in WY and WP, respectively, and a 32.38% and 100% decrease in CS and HQ, respectively. The trade-offs between WY and CS and between WY and HQ increased, and other ES trade-offs decreased. Urbanization was significantly correlated with most ES trade-offs at the grid scale, but not at the town scale. There was a significant positive correlation between all urbanization indicators and the trade-off between CS and WP (p < 0.05), and the magnitude of the correlation increased with scale. The relationship between ES trade-offs and urbanization was mostly U-shaped and inverted U-shaped at the grid scale, but N-shaped and inverted N-shaped at the town scale. This study provides information that could be used for multi-scale urban planning.

Expanding the Chemical Diversity of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Two Marine-Derived Enterocin- and Wailupemycin-Producing Streptomyces Strains.

To expand the chemical diversity of secondary metabolites produced by two marine-derived enterocin- and wailupemycin-producing Streptomyces strains, OUCMDZ-3434 and OUCMDZ-2599, precursor feeding and solid fermentation strategies were used. Two new compounds, wailupemycins Q (1) and R (2), were isolated from the extracts of liquid and solid fermentation of OUCMDZ-3434. Furthermore, during the fermentation of OUCMDZ-3434, p-fluorobenzoic acid was added as the key biosynthetic precursor, which resulted in the isolation of eight new fluorinated enterocin and wailupemycin derivatives (3-10) and 10 previously reported analogues (11-20). From the solid fermentation extract of OUCMDZ-2599, a new sulfur-containing compound thiotetromycin B (21) and its known analogue thiotetromycin (22) were identified. Moreover, the solid fermentation strategy effectively activated the biosynthesis of siderophores (23-25) of strain OUCMDZ-2599. Compound 3 showed moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus with MIC values of 4 µg/mL. Compounds 23-25 were significantly capable of binding Fe(III).

A Predictive Model of Severe Cytokine Release Syndrome After Coadministration of CD19- and CD22-Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy in Children With B-Cell Hematological Malignancies Based on Patient-Reported Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy-related severe cytokine release syndrome (sCRS) has seriously affected the life safety of patients. OBJECTIVE: To explore the influencing factors of sCRS in children with B-cell hematological malignancies and build a risk prediction model. METHODS: The study recruited 115 children with B-cell hematological malignancies who received CD19- and CD22-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. A nomogram model was established based on symptomatic adverse events and highly accessible clinical variables. The model discrimination was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The calibration of our model was evaluated by the calibration curve and Hosmer-Lemeshow test. The bootstrap self-sampling method was used to internally validate. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of the children experienced sCRS. Indicators included in the nomogram were tumor burden before treatment, thrombocytopenia before pretreatment, and the mean value of generalized muscle weakness and headache scores. The results showed that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.841, and the calibration curve showed that the probability of sCRS predicted by the nomogram was in good agreement with the actual probability of sCRS. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated that the model fit the data well (χ2 = 5.759, P = .674). The concordance index (C-index) obtained by internal validation was 0.841 (0.770, 0.912). CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram model constructed has a good degree of discrimination and calibration, which provides a more convenient and visual evaluation tool for identifying the sCRS. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Incorporation of patient-reported outcomes into risk prediction models enables early identification of sCRS.

Translation Into Simplified Chinese and Cultural Validation of the Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Using Cognitive Interviewing.

BACKGROUND: The original English Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcome version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) captures symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer clinical trials from the perspective of pediatric patients. A Chinese version was needed to encourage the use of the Pediatric PRO-CTCAE among Chinese pediatric oncology patients. OBJECTIVE: This study translated and linguistically validated a simplified Chinese version of the Pediatric PRO-CTCAE for oncological patients aged 7 to 18 years. METHODS: Following the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy translation methodology, 130 questions were translated into Chinese. Semistructured cognitive interviews investigated the comprehensibility and clarity of terms for symptoms, attributes, and response options. Two rounds of interviews were conducted with 48 native Chinese-speaking children aged 7 to 18 years who were undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment. RESULTS: Most items, response options, and recall periods were well understood by children across the age range in round 1. Nineteen items posed comprehension difficulties for 9 participants and were revised and retested without further difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: The Pediatric PRO-CTCAE was successfully developed and linguistically validated among Chinese oncology patients. The results indicated that the Chinese Pediatric PRO-CTCAE was semantically and conceptually equivalent to the English version. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The availability of the simplified Chinese Pediatric PRO-CTCAE will facilitate the generation of patient-reported outcome data about symptomatic AEs for children with cancer in China and thus improve our understanding of children's experience of treatment-related symptoms.

The Use of the Nursing Interventions Classification in Identifying the Workload of a Nursing Team in a Pediatric Oncology Center.

The activities/interventions performed by the nursing team and the time required for their performance have become a widely discussed topic due to their impact on the quality of patient safety and staff working conditions. Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) was used as a more accurate indicator as it identified activities/interventions. This study analyzed the workload distribution of nursing team in a pediatric oncology center.

Management in the paediatric wards facing novel coronavirus infection: a rapid review of guidelines and consensuses.

OBJECTIVES: Relevant guidelines and consensuses for COVID-19 contain recommendations aimed at optimising the management in paediatric wards. The goal of this study was to determine the quality of those recommendations and provide suggestions to hospital managers for the adjustment of existing hospital prevention and control strategies, and also to offer recommendations for further research. DESIGN: A rapid review of the guidelines and consensuses for the management in paediatric wards facing COVID-19. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, UpToDate, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Wanfang database and relevant websites such as medlive.cn, dxy.cn, the National Health and Health Commission and the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention were systematically searched through late May 2020. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool was then used to assess the quality of the selected articles and summarise the relevant evidence concerning management in paediatric wards. RESULTS: A total of 35 articles were included, composed of 3 consensus guidelines, 25 expert consensuses and 7 expert opinions. Of the 35 papers, 24 were from China, 2 from the USA, 1 from Spain, 1 from Brazil, 1 from Saudi Arabia and 6 from multinational cooperative studies. Scores for the six domains of the AGREE II tool (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigour of development, clarity of presentation, applicability and editorial independence) were 98.57%, 53.57%, 17.92%, 69.62%, 26.96% and 50.35%, respectively. Recommendations for nosocomial infection and control, human resource management as well as management of paediatric patients and their families were summarised. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the quality of rapid guidelines and consensuses for the management in paediatric wards affected by COVID-19 is unsatisfactory. In the future, it will be necessary to develop more high-quality guidelines or consensuses for the management in paediatric wards to deal with nosocomial outbreaks in order to fully prepare for emergency medical and health problems.

Upregulation of microRNA-143 reverses drug resistance in human breast cancer cells via inhibition of cytokine-induced apoptosis inhibitor 1.

Cytokine-induced apoptosis inhibitor 1 (CIAPIN1), originally termed anamorsin, is an anti-apoptotic molecule that acts as a downstream effector of the receptor tyrosine kinase-Ras signaling pathway. Overexpression of CIAPIN1 contributes to multidrug resistance (MDR) and microRNA (miR)-143 is typically considered a tumor suppressor in breast cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of miR-143 as a treatment for drug-resistant breast cancer via the downregulation of CIAPIN1 in vitro. The expression levels of miR-143 were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the expression levels of CIAPIN1 were detected via western blot analysis. Bioinformatic analyses was additionally conducted to search for miR-143, which may potentially target CIAPIN1. Luciferase reporter plasmids were created and used to verify direct targeting. In addition, Taxol-induced drug-resistant (TDR) breast cancer cell proliferation was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay in vitro. The present study identified an inverse association between miR-143 and CIAPIN1 protein expression levels in breast cancer MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-453 TDR cells. Specific targeting sites for miR-143 in the 3'-untranslated region of the CIAPIN1 gene were identified, which exhibit the ability to regulate CIAPIN1 expression. It was revealed that the repression of CIAPIN1 via miR-143 suppressed the proliferation of breast cancer TDR cells. The findings of the present study verified the role of miR-143 as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer MDR via inhibition of CIAPIN1 translation.