Perioperative nutritional risk and its influencing factors in patients with oral cancer: a longitudinal study

IntroductionWe aimed to investigate the nutritional risk status and dynamic changes in patients with perioperative oral cancer at different stages and analyze the factors influencing nutritional risk and the correlation among body mass index, nutrition-related symptoms, and nutritional risk.MethodsIn total, 198 patients with oral cancer who were hospitalized in the Head & Neck Surgery Departments of a tertiary cancer hospital in Hunan Province, China, from May 2020 to January 2021, were selected as participants. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 scale and Head and Neck Patient Symptom Checklist were used to assess patients on admission day, 7 days post-surgery, and 1 month post-discharge. Multivariate analysis of variance, paired t-test, and generalized estimating equation were used to analyze the trajectory and influencing factors of nutritional risk in patients with perioperative oral cancer. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation among body mass index, symptoms, and nutritional risk.ResultsThe nutritional risk scores of patients with oral cancer at the three time points were 2.30 ± 0.84, 3.21 ± 0.94, and 2.11 ± 0.84, respectively, and the differences were significant (p < 0.05). The incidences of nutritional risk were 30.3, 52.5, and 37.9%, respectively. The factors influencing nutritional risk included education level, smoking status, clinical stage, flap repair, and tracheotomy (β = −0.326, 0.386, 0.387, 0.336, and 0.240, respectively, p < 0.05). Nutritional risk was negatively correlated with body mass index (rs = −0.455, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with pain, loss of appetite, sore mouth, bothersome smells, swallowing difficulty, taste changes, depression, chewing difficulty, thick saliva, and anxiety (rs = 0.252, 0.179, 0.269, 0.155, 0.252, 0.212, 0.244, 0.384, 0.260, and 0.157, respectively, p < 0.05).ConclusionThe incidence of nutritional risk in patients with perioperative oral cancer was high, and the trajectory of nutritional risk changed over time. Strengthening the nutritional monitoring and management of postoperative patients or those with low education level, advanced-stage cancer, flap repair, tracheotomy, and low body mass index; strengthening tobacco control management; and controlling nutrition-related discomfort symptoms in perioperative oral cancer patients are necessary

A Surface Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Selective Extraction and Liquid Chromatographic Determination of 4-Methylimidazole in Environmental Samples

A newly designed surface molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was developed using 4-methylimidazole as the template and ethylenediaminepoly (styrene-divinylbenzene) particles as the support material. The resulting MIP material was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectrum, surface area, pore-size and thermal property measurements. Static adsorption, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography were combined to study the adsorption characteristics and selective recognition performance of the polymer for 4-methylimidazole and its structural analogues. It was shown that the maximum binding capacities of 4-methylimidazole on the MIP and the non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were 416 and 227 µmol g −1 respectively. The binding process could be described by pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 40 minutes. Compared with the corresponding NIP, the MIP exhibited much higher adsorption performance and selectivity for the template. After the separation of a mixture of 4-methylimidazole, benzimidazole and nitrophenol on the MIP–SPE and the NIP–SPE columns, the recoveries of 4-methylimidazole on the MIP–SPE and NIP–SPE columns were 96–102% and 34–39%, respectively, whereas those of benzimidazole and nitrophenol were below 19% on the two columns. In addition, more than 99% of 4-methylimidazole could be obtained on the MIP–SPE column from water and soil samples

Episode-Based Analysis of Size-Resolved Carbonaceous Aerosol Compositions in Wintertime of Xinxiang: Implication for the Haze Formation Processes in Central China

To provide a comprehensive understanding of carbonaceous aerosol and its role in the haze formation in the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration of China, size-segregated particulate matter samples (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10) were continually collected from 20 December 2017, to 17 January 2018, in Xinxiang, the third largest city of Henan province. The results showed that the mean mass concentrations of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were 63.20, 119.63 and 211.95 μg·m−3, respectively, and the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were 11.37 (5.87), 19.24 (7.36), and 27.04 (10.27) μg·m−3, respectively. Four pollution episodes that were categorized by short evolution patterns (PE1 and PE3) and long evolution patterns (PE2 and PE4) were observed. Meteorological condition was attributed to haze episodes evolution pattern. Carbonaceous components contributed to PE1 and PE2 under drier condition through transportation and local combustion emission, while they were not main species in PE3 and PE4 for haze explosive growth under suitable RH, whatever for the short or long evolution pattern. The atmospheric self-cleaning processes were analyzed by a case study, which showed the wet scavenging effectively reduced the coarse particles with a removal rate of 73%, while it was not for the carbonaceous components in fine particles that is hydrophobic in nature. These results highlight that local primary emissions such as biomass combustion were the important sources for haze formation in Central China, especially in dry conditions

Effects of pH and phosphate on cadmium adsorption onto goethite and a paddy soil : Experiments and NOM-CD model

Phosphate is one of the most frequently used fertilizers to promote the crop growth, whereas the impact of phosphate on the adsorption behaviors of cadmium (Cd) is complex. The objectives of this study were to reveal effects of pH, phosphate, and organic molecules on Cd adsorption onto soil (hydr)oxides, and to validate the reliability of the NOM-CD model in depicting effect of pH and phosphate on Cd solubility in soil systems. Materials and methods: In this study, effects of phosphate on Cd adsorption onto goethite and a paddy soil at pH 3–8 were studied by combing batch adsorption experiments with an advanced surface complexation model, i.e., natural organic matter-charge distribution (NOM-CD) model. In the NOM-CD model, the adsorption of ions onto oxides in the absence of NOM is calculated with the charge distribution and multi-site complexation (CD-MUSIC) model. Results and discussion: Adsorption of Cd onto goethite is dramatically increased with the addition of phosphate at pH 5–8, whereas effects of citric acid on Cd adsorption are weaker. The synergic co-adsorption of Cd and phosphate onto goethite, according to CD-MUSIC model, is mainly due to electrostatic attractions of these two ions instead of formation ternary surface complex. The NOM-CD model can basically predict variations of Cd solubility in the soil system, and it is observed only a slight increase of Cd solubility with phosphate addition under acidic conditions. It might be caused by competitive adsorption between NOM and phosphate to soil (hydr)oxides, which leads to a higher amount of Cd binding by dissolved organic matters in soil solution, thus inhibiting Cd adsorption. Conclusions: Electrostatic attraction dominates the co-adsorption of Cd and phosphate onto goethite, whereas the interactions between Cd-P-oxide-NOM result in negligible effects of phosphate on Cd solubility in the soil. Overall, this study revealed that the NOM-CD model could make predictions on the distribution of Cd at soil–water interface, and the outcome of this study can provide a more in-depth understanding of the factors controlling Cd solubility and mobility in contaminated soil and sediment environment. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Clinical characteristics of patients with a risk of pulmonary artery hypertension secondary to ARDS in a high-altitude area

Background Hypoxaemia plays an important role in the development of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a high-altitude area have different pathophysiological characteristics from those patients in the plains. The goal of our study was to explore the clinical characteristics of PAH secondary to ARDS in a high-altitude area.Methods This was a prospective study conducted in the affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University. Two investigators independently assessed pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and right ventricular function by transthoracic echocardiography. Basic information and clinical data of the patients who were enrolled were collected. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to evaluate the risk factors for PAH secondary to ARDS in the high-altitude area.Results The incidence of PAH secondary to ARDS within 48 hours in the high-altitude area was 44.19%. Partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen <165.13 mm Hg was an independent risk factor for PAH secondary to ARDS in the high-altitude area. Compared with the normal PAP group, the right ventricular basal dimensions were significantly larger and the right ventricular tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion was lower in the PAH group (right ventricular basal dimensions: 45.47±2.60 vs 40.67±6.12 mm, p=0.019; tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE): 1.82±0.40 vs 2.09±0.32 cm, p=0.021). The ratio of TAPSE to systolic PAP was lower in the PAH group (0.03±0.01 vs 0.08±0.03 cm/mm Hg, p<0.001).Conclusions The incidence of PAH in patients with ARDS in our study is high. PAH secondary to ARDS in a high-altitude area could cause right ventricular dysfunction.Trial registration number NCT05166759

Halogenated Organic Pollutant Residuals in Human Bared and Clothing-Covered Skin Areas: Source Differentiation and Comprehensive Health Risk Assessment

To comprehensively clarify human exposure to halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) through dermal uptake and hand-to-mouth intake, skin wipe samples from four typical skin locations from 30 volunteers were collected. The total concentration of the target chemicals (24 HFRs and 16 PCBs) ranged from 203 to 4470 ng/m(2). BDE-209 and DBDPE accounted for about 37 and 40% of Sigma(24)HFRs, respectively, and PCB-41 and PCB-110 were the dominant PCB congeners, with proportion of 24 and 10%, respectively. Although exhibiting relatively lower concentrations of contaminants than bared skin locations, clothing-covered skin areas were also detected with considerable levels of HFRs and PCBs, indicating clothing to be a potentially significant exposure source. Significant differences in HFR and PCB levels and profiles were also observed between males and females, with more lower-volatility chemicals in male-bared skin locations and more higher-volatility compounds in clothing-covered skin locations of female participants. The mean estimated whole-body dermal absorption doses of Sigma(8)HFRs and Sigma(16)PCBs (2.9 x 10(-4) and 6.7 x 10(-6) mg/kg.d) were 12 orders of magnitude higher than ingestion doses via hand-to-mouth contact (6.6 x 10(-7) and 3.1 x 10(-7) mg/kg.d). The total noncarcinogenic health risk resulted from whole-body dermal absorption and oral ingestion to Sigma(7)HFRs and Sigma(16)PCBs were 5.2 and 0.35, respectively

MiR-7-5p/KLF4 signaling inhibits stemness and radioresistance in colorectal cancer

Abstract Resistance to radiotherapy remains a major unmet clinical obstacle in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to mediate tumor development and radioresistance. However, the role of CSCs in regulating resistance to radiotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown. We established two radioresistant CRC cell lines, HCT116-R and RKO-R, using fractionated irradiation. Analysis using miRNA sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR confirmed lower levels of miR-7-5p in both of the radioresistant cells compared to their parental cells. Subsequently, we validated that miR-7-5p expression was decreased in cancerous tissues from radiotherapy-resistant rectal cancer patients. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database analyses revealed that low miR-7-5p expression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis in CRC patients. Overexpression of miR-7-5p led to a rescue of radioresistance and an increase in radiation-induced apoptosis, and attenuated the stem cell-like properties in HCT116-R and RKO-R cells. Conversely, knocking down miR-7-5p in parental HCT116 and RKO cells suppressed the sensitivity to radiation treatment and enhance cancer cell stemness. Stemness-associated transcription factor KLF4 was demonstrated as a target of miR-7-5p. Rescue experiments revealed that miR-7-5p/KLF4 axis could induce radiosensitivity by regulating CSCs in colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, we used CRC tumor tissues which exhibited resistance to neoadjuvant radiotherapy to establish a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model. Tail vein injection of magnetic nanoparticles carrying miR-7-5p mimics into the PDX mice significantly inhibited tumor growth with or without irradiation treatment in vivo. Our current studies not only demonstrate an anti-cancer function of miR-7-5p in regulating CSC properties and radiosensitivity in colorectal cancer, but also provide a novel potential strategy for delaying or reverse radiation resistance in preoperative radiotherapy of CRC patients