Polysialic acid-based nanoparticles for enhanced targeting and controlled dexamethasone release in pulmonary inflammation treatment.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are life-threatening conditions characterized by severe inflammation and respiratory failure. Despite the use of dexamethasone (Dex) in treatment, challenges such as poor solubility and systemic side effects persist, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic approaches. This study introduces an innovative nanoparticle delivery system based on chitosan (CS) and polysialic acid (PSA), engineered via electrostatic assembly, to improve the targeted delivery of Dex to inflamed lung tissues.

Association between metabolic phenotypes of overweight/obesity and cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women.

Background And Aim: Obesity and metabolic abnormalities were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is unclear how metabolic weight phenotypes relate to cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women. This study aimed to explore the relationships in postmenopausal women.

Re-intensification of flash drought in western China over the past decade: Implications of fluctuating wetting trend.

Climate changes and human activities have led to a rise of frequency and intensity of the global flash droughts, resulting in severe consequences for ecosystems, agriculture, and human societies. However, research dedicated to flash droughts in the dryland of western China is relatively limited, leaving their evolutionary characteristics and development processes of these phenomena unclear. To bridge this gap, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of flash droughts in western China from 1981 to 2020, based on the standardized evapotranspiration stress index.

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy for unilateral breast cancer in Chinese female population: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Due to differences in socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, the characteristics and prognosis of Asian female patients choosing contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) are likely to be different from Western patients. To fill the research gap of CPM in Asian populations, this study aims to explore the application trend, survival benefits, decision-making factors, and satisfaction of CPM based on the Chinese patients undergoing CPM.

Methods: The 0-III stage unilateral breast cancer (UBC) patients who received breast surgery in the Chinese PLA General Hospital from 2005 to 2017 were selected.

miR-1-3p Inhibits Osteosarcoma Cell Proliferation and Cell Cycle Progression While Promoting Cell Apoptosis by Targeting CDK14 to Inactivate Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common bone malignancy and is diagnosed frequently in children and young adults. According to previous RNA sequencing, miR-1-3p is downregulated in OS clinical samples. Nevertheless, the functions of miR-1-3p in OS cell process and the related mechanism have not been revealed yet.

Predicting the recurrence-free survival of phyllodes tumor of the breast: a nomogram based on clinicopathology features, treatment, and surgical margin.

Background: Grading based on histopathologic indicators cannot accurately assess the prognosis of phyllodes tumor (PT) of the breast. This article aimed to investigate the correlation between PT prognosis and clinicopathological features, treatment, and surgical margin.

Methods: The clinicopathological data of patients with pathologically confirmed PT at our institution were retrospectively collected.

Simulation of future land use/cover change (LUCC) in typical watersheds of arid regions under multiple scenarios.

The rapid development of the social economy has promoted a continuous increase in the intensity and scale of land use by humans, which has seriously affected the sustainable development of the region. It is important to understand the land use/cover change (LUCC) in the arid region and its future development trends and to make reasonable planning recommendations for the sustainable development of the ecological environment. This study validates the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model in a typical arid region, the Shiyang River Basin (SRB), and analyzes the applicability of the model in arid regions.

Smoke analysis of a new surgical system that applies low-temperature plasma.

Background: The high-frequency electrotome (ES), which is widely used in surgical procedures, generates surgical smoke that is potentially hazardous to operating personnel. Previous research shows that the PlasmaBlade (PB) may be able to overcome this problem. The present study set out to analyze potentially hazardous surgical smoke generated during electrosurgery by the ES, the PB, and.

A Monte Carlo simulation-based health risk assessment of heavy metals in soils of an oasis agricultural region in northwest China.

In recent years, heavy metal contamination of soils has been increasing, posing a major threat to food security, human health, and soil ecosystems. This study analyzed the spatial characteristics, contamination sources, risks of heavy metals by collecting topsoil samples from farmland in an oasis agricultural region in northwest China. The results found that soil heavy metals in farmland were at a moderate contamination level.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of bilateral breast cancer: a single-center cohort study based on Chinese data.

Background: The incidence of bilateral breast cancer (BBC) is low, accounting for 5% of patients with breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of synchronous bilateral breast cancer (SBBC) and metachronous bilateral breast cancer (MBBC) in the Chinese population.

Methods: Patients with BBC, including SBBC and MBBC, were selected from 6,162 breast cancer patients who underwent surgery at the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital between January 2007 and December 2019.

Surgical management and prognosis of phyllodes tumors of the breast.

Background: Regardless of histological grade, phyllodes tumors (PTs) exhibit the potential of local recurrence. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends wide local excision (WLE) with a 1 cm margin or more for borderline/malignant PTs but excisional biopsy for benign PTs. However, the treatment of benign PTs remains controversial and the clinicopathologic risk factors for the local recurrence is still unclear.

The association between platelet-lymphocyte ratio and the risk of all-cause mortality in chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have high levels of inflammatory mediators. These inflammatory mediators contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has recently been recognized as a novel inflammatory marker and has been shown to be associated with the prognosis in CKD patients.

Surgical management in phyllodes tumors of the breast: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Information is still controversial in the studies regarding the current optimal surgical management of phyllodes tumors (PTs) of the breast. Local recurrence (LR) may occur with an upgraded in the pathological grade, influencing the prognosis of patients with PT. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association of LR risk with margin status and margin width which could have significant implications on the surgical management of PT.

Probabilistic risk assessment of heavy metals in urban farmland soils of a typical oasis city in northwest China.

Previous studies lacked quantitative evaluation studies of the probability of ecology and human health risks from soil heavy metals. This study assessed heavy metal risk level by collecting topsoil samples from a typical oasis city (Wuwei) in northwest China and then quantitatively evaluating the ecological risk from heavy metals by incorporating the uncertainty of health risk model parameters into the risk assessment. This study found that anthropogenic activities have influenced the accumulation of heavy metals in the study area and that the risk of contamination of soil heavy metals was characterized as light to moderate contamination and low ecological risk.

Distribution of soil available nutrients and their response to environmental factors based on path analysis model in arid and semi-arid area of northwest China.

The study on the distribution of soil available nutrients and their response to the natural environment can provide valuable data and theoretical guidance for supporting human agricultural activities, especially in arid and semi-arid area where the ecological environment is extremely fragile. Based on the soil sampling and survey data set, this study established the path analysis model of SANs (soil available nutrients, including ammonium nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK)) with topography, climate and vegetation in order to explore how environmental factors interact to affect the content of SANs. Then, we combined Pearson correlation analysis and statistical analysis to explore the distribution of SANs under different environmental conditions and the response of vegetation growth to climate changes, in order to further reveal the availability of soil nutrients.

Assessing the sustainability of ecosystems over fourteen years of cultivation in Longnan City of China based on emergy analysis method.

Currently, the contradiction between the limited resources of China's cultivated ecosystems and population growth is becoming increasingly evident, and the negative impacts on the environment and human activities need to be curbed. Therefore, it is crucial to quantify the sustainability of cultivated ecosystems and determine these driving factors that affect their development. This study used the emergy method to quantify the input/output flow and sustainable development of the cultivated land ecosystem in Longnan City, combined with the logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition analysis (LMDI) method to evaluate the driving factors of sustainable development in the region.

Tall cell carcinoma with reversed polarity: case report with gene sequencing and literature review.

Tall cell carcinoma with reversed polarity (TCCRP) is an extremely rare type of invasive breast cancer with only 17 literatures and 75 cases reported. Knowledge on TCCRP is still scanty. The present study reported 2 cases of TCCRP, analyzed their clinicopathological characteristics, and used whole exome sequencing to perform genetic testing.

Inverted-T pattern reduction mammoplasty in bilateral breast ptosis: cosmetic and oncological outcomes.

Background: Breast ptosis is directly caused by Cooper's ligament laxity, with the decline of nipple areola complex (NAC) and mammary parenchyma. Breast cancer with ptosis is always a knotty problem that can hardly be repaired by classic breast conservation surgery (BCS) ending up with a pleasing appearance. We analyzed our 12 years' experience of performing inverted-T pattern techniques to treat bilateral breast ptosis, with or without breast cancer.

Comparative healing of swine skin following incisions with different surgical devices.

Background: Electrosurgical technology is widely used in surgical dissection and hemostasis, but the generated heat creates thermal injury to adjacent tissues and delays wound healing. The plasma blade (PB) applies pulsed radiofrequency (RF) to generate electrical plasma along the edge of a thin, flat, insulated electrode, minimizing collateral tissue damage. This study aimed to evaluate wound healing in swine skin following incision with a new surgical system that applies low-temperature plasma (NTS-100), a foreign PB, conventional electrosurgery (ES), and a scalpel blade.

Heavy metal pollution levels, source apportionment and risk assessment in dust storms in key cities in Northwest China.

In this study, the potential hazards of heavy metals in dust storms were investigated by collecting dust storm samples, measuring their heavy metal concentrations, and using index evaluation, spatial analysis, positive matrix factorization (PMF) model and risk assessment model. Heavy metals in dust storms were contaminated by anthropogenic sources leading to their concentrations being higher than the background values. The enrichment factors and geoaccumulation indices showed that the heavy metals came from both natural and anthropogenic sources, Cu, Ni, Zn and Pb are strongly influenced by anthropogenic sources.

Predicting the spatial pollution of soil heavy metals by using the distance determination coefficient method.

Identifying the spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations is a prerequisite for soil contamination assessment and control. In this study, soil surface samples (0-20 cm) were collected in Wuwei, China, and heavy metal concentrations were determined. The LUR (land use regression) model was used to simulate the spatial distribution of seven heavy metal concentrations in the study area, considering various factors, and the results were compared with ordinary kriging (OK) interpolation.

PIK3CA mutation confers resistance to chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer by inhibiting apoptosis and activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a malignant subtype of breast cancer, the main treatments for which are chemotherapy and surgery. is an oncogene that encodes the p110α subunit of class IA PI3K to regulate cell proliferation and apoptosis. Some reports have observed neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) to have poor pathological complete response (pCR) rates in TNBC with PIK3CA mutation.

A new buffer selection strategy for land use regression model of PM in Xi'an, China.

In order to calculate the spatial distribution of high-resolution air-pollutant levels, the land use regression (LUR) model can be an effective method due to the comprehensive consideration of various factors. Traditional LUR models mostly use predefined buffers, which have the disadvantage of not matching high-resolution data well. In order to get a better-fitting model, a few researches have proposed new buffer selection methods.

Using composite fingerprints to quantify the potential dust source contributions in northwest China.

Dust storms have a profound impact on the atmospheric environment, global climate change, and human health, so it is of great importance to strengthen related research. The main areas of occurrence and frequency of dust storms in northwestern China were distinguished by measuring the concentration of geochemical elements in the topsoil and atmospheric dust samples, combined with the HYSPLIT backward trajectory model, MODIS true-color satellite images, and PM real-time monitoring data. On this basis, the composite fingerprints method was used to establish an end-member model between the concentration of dust storm samples and topsoil samples, and then to trace the sand and dust sources in northwest China and quantify their source contributions.

Air pollution characteristics and human health risks in key cities of northwest China.

Air pollution events occur frequently in northwest China, which results in serious detrimental effects on human health. Therefore, it is essential to understand the air pollution characteristics and assess the risks to humans. In this study, we analyzed the pollution characteristics of criteria pollutants in six key cities in northwest China from 2015 to 2018.