Inhibition of palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC12 sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin through ROS-mediated mechanisms.

Platinum-based therapies have revolutionized the treatment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). However, high rates of disease recurrence and progression remain a major clinical concern. Impaired mitochondrial function and dysregulated reactive oxygen species (ROS), hallmarks of cancer, hold potential as therapeutic targets for selectively sensitizing cisplatin treatment. Here, we uncover an oncogenic role of the palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC12 in regulating mitochondrial function and ROS homeostasis in HGSOC cells. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ovarian cancer data revealed significantly elevated ZDHHC12 expression, demonstrating the strongest positive association with ROS pathways among all ZDHHC enzymes. Transcriptomic analysis of independent ovarian cancer datasets and the SNU119 cell model corroborated this association, highlighting a strong link between ZDHHC12 expression and signature pathways involving mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and ROS regulation. Knockdown of ZDHHC12 disrupted this association, leading to increased cellular complexity, ATP levels, mitochondrial activity, and both mitochondrial and cellular ROS. This dysregulation, achieved by the siRNA knockdown of ZDHHC12 or treatment with the general palmitoylation inhibitor 2BP or the fatty acid synthase inhibitor C75, significantly enhanced cisplatin cytotoxicity in 2D and 3D spheroid models of HGSOC through ROS-mediated mechanisms. Markedly, ZDHHC12 inhibition significantly augmented the anti-tumor activity of cisplatin in an ovarian cancer xenograft tumor model, as well as in an ascites-derived organoid line of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Our data suggest the potential of ZDHHC12 as a promising target to improve the outcome of HGSOCs in response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Lung-PNet: An Automated Deep Learning Model for the Diagnosis of Invasive Adenocarcinoma in Pure Ground-Glass Nodules on Chest CT.

BACKGROUND. Pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs) on chest CT representing invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) warrant lobectomy with lymph node resection. For pGGNs representing other entities, close follow-up or sublobar resection without node dissection may be appropriate. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an automated deep learning model for differentiation of pGGNs on chest CT representing IAC from those representing atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH), adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA). METHODS. This retrospective study included 402 patients (283 women, 119 men; mean age, 53.2 years) with a total of 448 pGGNs on noncontrast chest CT that were resected from January 2019 to June 2022 and were histologically diagnosed as AAH (n = 29), AIS (n = 83), MIA (n = 235), or IAC (n = 101). Lung-PNet, a 3D deep learning model, was developed for automatic segmentation and classification (probability of IAC vs other entities) of pGGNs on CT. Nodules resected from January 2019 to December 2021 were randomly allocated to training (n = 327) and internal test (n = 82) sets. Nodules resected from January 2022 to June 2022 formed a holdout test set (n = 39). Segmentation performance was assessed with Dice coefficients with radiologists' manual segmentations as reference. Classification performance was assessed by ROC AUC and precision-recall AUC (PR AUC) and compared with that of four readers (three radiologists, one surgeon). The code used is publicly available (https://github.com/XiaodongZhang-PKUFH/Lung-PNet.git). RESULTS. In the holdout test set, Dice coefficients for segmentation of IACs and of other lesions were 0.860 and 0.838, and ROC AUC and PR AUC for classification as IAC were 0.911 and 0.842. At threshold probability of 50.0% or greater for prediction of IAC, Lung-PNet had sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and F1 score of 50.0%, 92.0%, 76.9%, and 60.9% in the holdout test set. In the holdout test set, accuracy and F1 score (p values vs Lung-PNet) for individual readers were as follows: reader 1, 51.3% (p = .02) and 48.6% (p = .008); reader 2, 79.5% (p = .75) and 75.0% (p = .10); reader 3, 66.7% (p = .35) and 68.3% (p < .001); reader 4, 71.8% (p = .48) and 42.1% (p = .18). CONCLUSION. Lung-PNet had robust performance for segmenting and classifying (IAC vs other entities) pGGNs on chest CT. CLINICAL IMPACT. This automated deep learning tool may help guide selection of surgical strategies for pGGN management.

Visualized concentration sensors based on fluorescence indication in a dye-doped polymer microwire.

We demonstrate visualized microwire sensors based on fluorescence indication for detecting the concentrations of the aqueous solutions. The single Rhodamine (RhB) doped polymer microwires (PMWs) which are excited by the waveguiding excitation method are used as the sensory area. According to the fluorescent microimages of the PMWs, stable periodic oscillations could be observed in the RhB-doped PMWs. The fluorescent period which is dependent on the concentration is further analyzed by image processing and information extraction algorithms. Corresponding to a 1.0% change, the period length change of the visualized sensor reaches ∼380 nm, ∼270 nm, and ∼300 nm in NaCl, KCl, and sucrose solutions, respectively. The dection limits of the three solutions are estimated to be around 1.5 × 10-4%. The dye-doped PMW sensors by fluorescence indication and image analysis proposed here realize the direct visualized detection in concentration sensing, making it possible to avoid the challenges of stability and weak signal detection and offer a potentially stable and cost-effective approach for micro/nanofiber sensor application.

Comparison between radical surgery and chemoradiotherapy in patients with cervical esophageal cancer: a propensity score matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of radical surgery (RS) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for cervical esophageal cancer (CEC) was estimated using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database after 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM). METHODS: This retrospective study used SEER data of CEC patients between 2004 and 2015. The prognostic effects on cancer-specific survival (CSS) were evaluated using multivariate cox regression analysis following radical surgery or CRT before and after PSM. The subgroup analysis of CSS is carried out according to T stages. RESULTS: A total of 440 patients met the eligibility criteria. Three hundred and fifty-six(80.9%)patients underwent chemoradiotherapy, and eighty-four (19.1%) patients underwent radical surgery. There were significant differences between patients of radical surgery and CRT groups with regard to the tumor grade, histology and N stage. After PSM, 80 matched pairs (A total of 160 patients) were selected. Multivariable cox regression analysis revealed no difference in the CSS of patients that underwent either radical surgery or CRT before [hazard ratio (HR): 0.955, 95% CI: 0.704-1.295, P = 0.766] and after PSM (HR: 0.767, 95% CI: 0.512-1.149, P = 0.198). Subgroup analysis revealed no significant difference in CSS between patients with radical surgery and CRT groups for all T stages (T 1-4, all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This analysis revealed that the prognostic outcomes in patients with cervical esophageal cancer were comparable between radical surgery and CRT.

Efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence organic light-emitting device based on an exciplex.

An exciplex with significant thermally activated delayed fluorescence properties was realized, comprising diphenyl-[3'-(1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazol-2-yl)-biphenyl-4-yl]-amine as a donor and 2,4,6-tris[3-(diphenylphosphinyl)phenyl]-1,3,5-triazine as an acceptor. A very small energy difference between the singlet and triplet levels and a large rate constant of the reverse intersystem crossing were attained simultaneously, contributing to the efficient upconversion of triplet excitons from the triplet state to the singlet state and thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission. A high-efficiency organic light-emitting device based on the exciplex was fabricated, which exhibited a maximum current efficiency, power efficiency, external quantum efficiency, and exciton utilization efficiency of 23.1 cd/A, 24.2 lm/W, 7.32%, and 54%, respectively. The efficiency roll-off of the exciplex-based device was slight, as illustrated by a large critical current density of 34.1 mA/cm2. This efficiency roll-off was ascribed to triplet-triplet annihilation, as confirmed by the triplet-triplet annihilation model. We proved the high binding energy of the excitons and excellent charge confinement within the exciplex by performing transient electroluminescence measurements.

[Study on homeostasis and circadian rhythm of attention performance of different chronotypes in sleep deprivation].

Difference of chronotypes makes influence to cognitive performance of individuals in routine duties. In this paper, 55 subjects with different chronotypes were subjected to continuous sleep deprivation for 30 h by using the constant routine protocol, during which core body temperature was measured continuously, and subjective sleepiness self-rating and the performance of selective attention were measured hourly. The results showed that the phase difference of core body temperature has no significant difference, yet the amplitude and term difference among the three chronotypes are significant. There was an advance in phase between subjective sleepiness self-rating and core body temperature, and the self-rating sleepiness of evening type came the latest, and the self-rating sleepiness of morning type dissipated the fastest. The response time of selective attention showed a 2 h phase delay with subjective sleepiness self-rating. And the analysis of core body temperature showed that the later the chronotype was, the greater the phase delay was. The correct rate of selective attention of different chronotypes were inconsistent with delay of subjective sleepiness self-rating and core body temperature. We provide reference for industry, aviation, military, medical and other fields to make a more scientific scheduling/ shifting based on cognitive performance characteristics of different chronotypes.

Study on the difference in exciton generation processes for a single host and exciplex-type co-host.

We distinctly reveal the difference in the exciton generation processes in phosphorescent organic light-emitting devices with an exciplex-type co-host and a single host. Excitons in the co-host consisting of 4,4,4-tris(N-carbazolyl)-triphenylamine and 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)benzene are created via efficient energy transfer from the exciplex to the phosphorescent dopant. In contrast, excitons in the single host of 4,4,4-tris(N-carbazolyl)-triphenylamine are formed by the combination of holes and electrons trapped by the phosphorescent dopants. The optimized device utilizing the co-host system exhibits highly superior performance relative to the single-host device. The maximum external quantum efficiency and maximum luminance are 14.88% and 90,700cd/m2 for the co-host device, being 1.6 times and 3.6 times the maximum external efficiency and maximum luminance for the single-host device, respectively. Significantly, the critical current density, evaluating the device efficiency roll-off characteristic, is as high as 327.8mA/cm2, which is highly superior to 120.8mA/cm2 for the single-host device, indicating the notable alleviation in efficiency roll-off for the co-host device. The significant improvement in device performance is attributed to eliminating the exciton quenching resulting from the captured holes and the efficient energy transfer from the exciplex-type co-host to the phosphorescent emitter incurred by the reverse intersystem crossing process.

Effect of different resumption strategies to flatten the potential COVID-19 outbreaks amid society reopens: a modeling study in China.

BACKGROUND: The effect of the COVID-19 outbreak has led policymakers around the world to attempt transmission control. However, lockdown and shutdown interventions have caused new social problems and designating policy resumption for infection control when reopening society remains a crucial issue. We investigated the effects of different resumption strategies on COVID-19 transmission using a modeling study setting. METHODS: We employed a susceptible-exposed-infectious-removed model to simulate COVID-19 outbreaks under five reopening strategies based on China's business resumption progress. The effect of each strategy was evaluated using the peak values of the epidemic curves vis-à-vis confirmed active cases and cumulative cases. Two-sample t-test was performed in order to affirm that the pick values in different scenarios are different. RESULTS: We found that a hierarchy-based reopen strategy performed best when current epidemic prevention measures were maintained save for lockdown, reducing the peak number of active cases and cumulative cases by 50 and 44%, respectively. However, the modeled effect of each strategy decreased when the current intervention was lifted somewhat. Additional attention should be given to regions with significant numbers of migrants, as the potential risk of COVID-19 outbreaks amid society reopening is intrinsically high. CONCLUSIONS: Business resumption strategies have the potential to eliminate COVID-19 outbreaks amid society reopening without special control measures. The proposed resumption strategies focused mainly on decreasing the number of imported exposure cases, guaranteeing medical support for epidemic control, or decreasing active cases.

Backpropagation neural network assisted concentration prediction of biconical microfiber sensors.

The response of the optical microfiber sensor has a big difference due to the slight change in fiber structure, which greatly reduces the reliability of microfiber sensors and limits its practical applications. To avoid the nonlinear influences of microfiber deformation and individual differences on sensing performance, a backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is proposed for concentration prediction based on biconical microfiber (BMF) sensors. Microfiber diameter, cone angle, and relative intensity are the key input parameters for detecting the concentration of chlorophyll-a (from ∼0.03 mg/g to ∼0.10 mg/g). Hundreds of relative intensity-concentration data pairs acquired from 32 BMF sensors are used for the network training. The prediction ability of the model is evaluated by the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and the fitness value (F). The prediction performance of BPNN is compared with the traditional linear-fitting line method. After training, BPNN could adapt to the BMF sensors with different structural parameters and predict the nonlinear response caused by the small structural changes of microfiber. The concentration prediction given by BPNN is much closer to the actual measured value than the one obtained by the linear fitting curve (RMSE 1.84×10-3 mg/g vs. 4.6×10-3 mg/g). The numbers of training data and hidden layers of the BPNN are discussed respectively. The prediction results indicate that the one-hidden-layer network trained by more training data provides the best performance (RMSE and fitness values are 1.63×10-3 mg/g and 97.91%, respectively) in our experiments. With the help of BPNN, the performance of the BMF sensor is acceptable to the geometric deformation and fabrication error of microfiber, which provides an opportunity for the practical application of sensors based on micro/nanofibers.

Energy losses and fluorescent efficiency of RhB-doped polymer microfibers via optical waveguiding excitation.

We demonstrate the dependencies of energy losses and fluorescent efficiencies on doping concentrations for rhodamine B (RhB)-doped polymer microfibers (PMFs) under optical waveguiding excitation. Compared with the four doping concentration groups (2.0 mg/g, 2.4 mg/g, 2.8 mg/g, and 3.2 mg/g), the 2.4 mg/g concentration group has the largest energy loss rates (∼0.102dB/µm and ∼0.036dB/µm for the excitation light and the fluorescence, respectively) and the highest fluorescence ratio at the coupling point. Further analysis demonstrates that the fluorescent emitting efficiency at the output end is approximately exponentially decaying with the propagation distance. The fluorescent emitting efficiency is also related to the doping concentration, which obtains the optimal fluorescent propagation effect at the doped PMF with a concentration of 2.8 mg/g. This work may provide a helpful reference for waveguiding circuit integration and active device design based on dye-doped micro/nanofibers.

Improving the color-rendering index of a tandem warm white organic light-emitting device by employing a simple fabrication process.

We realized an efficient spectra-stable tandem white organic light-emitting device (WOLED) with pleasurable warm white emission and an extremely high color-rendering index (CRI) simultaneously by connecting a fluorescent blue unit and a phosphorescent dual-color unit via an easy-fabrication charge generation unit (CGU). Over a wide range of driving current density, the tandem warm white OLED exhibited general CRI (Ra) value exceeding 85 and special CRI (R9) value close to 57. In addition, Duvs are within the tolerance for CRI measurements, ensuring validity and logicality of the calculated results concerning Ra and R9. The obtained tandem OLED showed the maximum efficiencies of 38 cd/A and 22.9 lm/W, and still maintained high efficiencies of 35.5 cd/A and 17.2 lm/W at the luminance of 1000 cd/m2. Moreover, we studied the origins of both extreme color stability in dual-color OLED and extremely efficient electron injection within the CGU. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report regarding quantitative values of both R9 and the Duv for a high-Ra tandem WOLED.

SFPEL-LPI: Sequence-based feature projection ensemble learning for predicting LncRNA-protein interactions.

LncRNA-protein interactions play important roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation, poly-adenylation, splicing and translation. Identification of lncRNA-protein interactions helps to understand lncRNA-related activities. Existing computational methods utilize multiple lncRNA features or multiple protein features to predict lncRNA-protein interactions, but features are not available for all lncRNAs or proteins; most of existing methods are not capable of predicting interacting proteins (or lncRNAs) for new lncRNAs (or proteins), which don't have known interactions. In this paper, we propose the sequence-based feature projection ensemble learning method, "SFPEL-LPI", to predict lncRNA-protein interactions. First, SFPEL-LPI extracts lncRNA sequence-based features and protein sequence-based features. Second, SFPEL-LPI calculates multiple lncRNA-lncRNA similarities and protein-protein similarities by using lncRNA sequences, protein sequences and known lncRNA-protein interactions. Then, SFPEL-LPI combines multiple similarities and multiple features with a feature projection ensemble learning frame. In computational experiments, SFPEL-LPI accurately predicts lncRNA-protein associations and outperforms other state-of-the-art methods. More importantly, SFPEL-LPI can be applied to new lncRNAs (or proteins). The case studies demonstrate that our method can find out novel lncRNA-protein interactions, which are confirmed by literature. Finally, we construct a user-friendly web server, available at http://www.bioinfotech.cn/SFPEL-LPI/.

Analysis of glycerophospholipid metabolism after exposure to PCB153 in PC12 cells through targeted lipidomics by UHPLC-MS/MS.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that have neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, hepatotoxicity and immunotoxicity in both animals and humans. Few studies have focused on the changes to endogenous glycerophospholipid metabolism caused by PCB153. To evaluate the relationships between exposure to PCB153 and specific endogenous glycerophospholipid metabolism, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was implemented in this study. Twenty-two endogenous glycerophospholipids in PC12 cells were analyzed after exposure to PCB153 at dosages of 0.05 µg mL-1, 0.5 µg mL-1 or 20 µg mL-1 for 120 h. PC(14:0/14:0), PE(16:0/18:1), PE(16:0/18:2), PS(18:0/18:1) and PI(16:0/18:1) were identified as potential biomarkers under the rules of t-test (P) value < 0.05 and variable importance at projection (VIP) value > 1. It was also found that the alterations at 0.05 µg mL-1 and 20 µg mL-1 PCB153 were similar at 120 h, while 0.5 µg mL-1 PCB153 presented an opposite trend. Additionally, significant upregulation of PC, PE and PS with the same fatty acid chains of 18:0/18:2 was found after exposure to 0.05 µg mL-1 and 20 µg mL-1 PCB153 at 120 h. This study revealed that PCB153 exposure modulated 22 endogenous glycerophospholipids in PC12 cells and provided the basis for the further study of PCB153 on the effects of glycerophospholipids on PC12 cells.

Determination of synephrine in feeds by a novel quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe solid-phase extraction method combined with UHPLC-MS/MS.

To detect and quantify synephrine in feed, an effective analytical method based on quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe solid-phase extraction coupled to ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed with isotopic internal standards. Pretreatment was performed using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe solid-phase extraction with primary secondary amine and C18 sorbent as sorbents in combination with Oasis MCX column clean-up to extract and purify feed samples. Tandem mass spectrometry detection in positive ion mode was conducted in positive multiple reaction monitoring mode in addition to the quantitative internal standard method. Two transitions of synephrine at m/z 168.1/150.0 and 168.1/135.0 were selected, and m/z 168.1/135.0 was determined as the quantification ion pair. D9 -Terbutaline was selected as an internal standard, for which m/z 235.1/153.0 was selected as the quantification ion pair. Good linearity was shown for synephrine in the range of 0.5-50 µg/L, and the correlation coefficient exceeded 0.999. The recoveries in three different feed samples at three spiked levels were 81.42-112.08%, and the relative standard deviations were not greater than 14.66%. The method proposed in this study was reliable and highly effective, and its sensitivity, accuracy, and precision are suitable for determining synephrine residues in feed samples.

Energy attenuations in single microfiber and double-loop cavity supported by optical substrate.

We report on the characterization of energy losses in single-silica microfiber and double-loop microcavity deposited on MgF2 substrate. When the bending radius is less than ∼37 µm, the bending loss rate of a 1.4 µm diameter microfiber exceeds its propagation loss (∼0.039 dB/µm), which becomes the main source of energy attenuation. Furthermore, we measured the transmission energy losses during the assembling process of a double-loop cavity. The transmission loss in a double-loop cavity varies by adjusting the shape of the cavity. It is also found that a ∼30 µm radius cavity has a similar bending loss to that of a curved microfiber with the two bending radii of ∼60 µm, which demonstrates that the cavity can provide a more compact structure than a curved microfiber in integrated photonic circuits. By further bending the input end of a cavity, the output energy can be greatly attenuated, which indicates that the double-loop cavity is no longer suitable for integration.

Hybrid photon-plasmon nanowire lasers.

Metallic and plasmonic nanolasers have attracted growing interest recently. Plasmonic lasers demonstrated so far operate in hybrid photon-plasmon modes in transverse dimensions, rendering it impossible to separate photonic from plasmonic components. Thus only the far-field photonic component can be measured and utilized directly. But spatially separated plasmon modes are highly desired for applications including high-efficiency coupling of single-photon emitters and ultrasensitivity optical sensing. Here, we report a nanowire (NW) laser that offers subdiffraction-limited beam size and spatially separated plasmon cavity modes. By near-field coupling a high-gain CdSe NW and a 100 nm diameter Ag NW, we demonstrate a hybrid photon-plasmon laser operating at 723 nm wavelength at room temperature, with a plasmon mode area of 0.008λ(2). This device simultaneously provides spatially separated photonic far-field output and highly localized coherent plasmon modes, which may open up new avenues in the fields of integrated nanophotonic circuits, biosensing, and quantum information processing.

Research on the metabolic regulation mechanism of Yangyin Qingfei decoction plus in severe pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae in mice.

Introduction: With amazing clinical efficacy, Yangyin Qingfei Decoction Plus (YQDP), a well-known and age-old Chinese compound made of ten Chinese botanical drugs, is utilized in clinical settings to treat a range of respiratory conditions. This study examines the impact of Yangyin Qingfei Decoction (YQDP) on lung tissue metabolic products in severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (SMPP) model mice and examines the mechanism of YQDP in treating MP infection using UPLC-MS/MS technology. Methods: YQDP's chemical composition was ascertained by the use of Agilent 1260 Ⅱ high-performance liquid chromatography. By using a nasal drip of 1010 CCU/mL MP bacterial solution, an SMPP mouse model was created. The lung index, pathology and ultrastructural observation of lung tissue were utilized to assess the therapeutic effect of YQDP in SMPP mice. Lung tissue metabolites were found in the normal group, model group, and YQDP group using UPLC-MS/MS technology. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent test (ELISA), the amount of serum inflammatory factors, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), was found. Additionally, the protein expression of PI3K, P-PI3K, AKT, P-AKT, NF-κB, and P-NF-κB was found using Western blot. Results: The contents of chlorogenic acid, paeoniflorin, forsythrin A, forsythrin, and paeonol in YQDP were 3.480 ± 0.051, 3.255 ± 0.040, 3.612 ± 0.017, 1.757 ± 0.031, and 1.080 ± 0.007 mg/g respectively. YQDP can considerably lower the SMPP mice's lung index (p < 0.05). In the lung tissue of YQDP groups, there has been a decrease (p < 0.05) in the infiltration of inflammatory cells at varying concentrations in the alveoli compared with the model group. A total of 47 distinct metabolites, including choline phosphate, glutamyl lysine, L-tyrosine, 6-thioinosine, Glu Trp, 5-hydroxydecanoate, etc., were linked to the regulation of YQDP, according to metabolomics study. By controlling the metabolism of porphyrins, pyrimidines, cholines, fatty acids, sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, ferroptosis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, enrichment analysis suggested that YQDP may be used to treat SMPP. YQDP can lower the amount of TNF-α and IL-6 in model group mice as well as downregulate P-PI3K, P-AKT, and P-NF-κB expression (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A specific intervention effect of YQDP is observed in SMPP model mice. Through the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathways, YQDP may have therapeutic benefits by regulating the body's metabolism of α-Linoleic acid, sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, arachidonic acid, and the production of unsaturated fatty acids.

Uniportal VATS lobectomy versus thoracotomy lobectomy for NSCLC larger than 5 cm: A propensity score-matched study.

BACKGROUND: The performance of uniportal VATS lobectomy (uVATS) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) larger than 5 cm is uncertain due to a lack of evidence. Here, we present a retrospective, propensity-score matched cohort study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of uVATS for patients with locally advanced NSCLC. METHODS: The data of patients with NSCLC larger than 5 cm diameter who underwent curative resection via uVATS or thoracotomy lobectomy between January 2015 and December 2020 was collected. Propensity-score matching was utilized to control the observable biases. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients underwent uVATS lobectomy, while 38 received thoracotomy lobectomy. No conversion to open surgery or perioperative death occurred. uVATS lobectomy achieved similar total lymph node dissection counts compared to thoracotomy and even yielded a higher amount of lymph node dissection in pTNM stage II patients. The long-term overall and recurrence-free survival rates were also similar between the two groups. Results from the propensity-score matching generated cohort agreed with those from the full cohort. CONCLUSIONS: uVATS lobectomy is feasible and effective for curative lobectomy for NSCLC larger than 5 cm in diameter in selected patients. Further validations from well-designed prospective studies are required for uVATS lobectomy for patients with locally advanced NSCLC.

The sustained attention characteristics of flight crews on exempt and non-exempt flights.

We analyzed the characteristics of sustained attention changes in flight crews during exempt and non-exempt flights. Fourteen pilots (aged 30-43 y) participated in this study, with seven involved in each flight type, all of which were intercontinental (China to North America). Pilots completed continuous performance tests (CPT) at the required flight stages without compromising safety while on duty. No significant differences in sleep and sustained attention emerged between the exempt and non-exempt flight crews. Pilots' fatigue was highest in the early morning hours. Their general stability of efficiency increased during the day and decreased at night. Non-exempt flight crews appeared to sacrifice reaction rate to improve accuracy. Exempt crews appeared to increase their test proficiency. The task stability time of the non-exempt flight crews was better than that of the exempt ones. Short-term stability was better for exempt inbound flights rather than for outbound ones. Pilots were more prone to error runs as their total time awake increased, especially on non-exempt flights. The addition of crew members to exempt flights, allowance for more in-flight rest shifts, and over-stop rest on non-exempt flights may alleviate pilot fatigue and preserve alertness.

Reconstruction of the hourly fine-resolution apparent temperature (Humidex) with the aerodynamic parameters.

Apparent temperature is the preferred measure of hotness or coldness expressed to depict the human sense. Spatially explicit measurement of the hourly apparent temperature is essential for capturing the threats to bioclimatic comfort and preventing potential mortality/morbidity risk from heat or cold. However, existing apparent temperature products only provide daily observations at the spatial resolution of several dozen kilometers, resulting in some substantial underestimations for some life-threatening thermal stresses highly localized in space and time. Furthermore, some data-driven models lack mechanical constraints on the turbulent exchange between the surface and the atmosphere, making some unsatisfactory accuracy. Here, we propose Humidex reconstruction model incorporating atmospheric dynamics theory and aerodynamic parameters (i.e., heat and momentum roughness lengths for natural surfaces and three urban canopy geometry parameters for artificial surfaces), capable of developing an hourly dataset at fine-grained spatial resolution (0.01° × 0.01°). In this study, a total of 2952 h in four seasons were selected to test the seasonal performance of this model, taking the Yangtze River Delta as an example. The results show that the Humidex products from this model generally outperform the existing comparable products, with the hourly population root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 1 to 2 °C in winter and autumn and 2-3 °C in spring and summer. Moreover, the constraint of aerodynamic parameters can reduce RMSE with a significant margin for each season, up to 2 °C, especially in areas with dense woodlands or buildings. In addition, the results demonstrate the excellent performance of this model in capturing short-lived thermal health threats, which are easily overlooked when observed data only provides a daily variation. This indicates that the model can allow researchers and practitioners investigate the fine-grained spatial and temporal evolution of thermal stress and its impact on public health, tourism, learning, and work performance.