Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly in China and other overseas areas, which has aroused widespread concern. The sharp increase in the number of patients has led to great ...psychological pressure on health care workers. The purpose of this study was to understand their mental health status and needs, so as to provide a scientific basis for alleviating the psychological pressure of health care workers.
Using a cross-sectional study design, 540 health care workers were randomly selected from two designated tuberculosis medical institutions in Anhui Province. The basic situation, perceived social support, depression level, loneliness and COVID-19 related knowledge were collected and analyzed by questionnaire.
A total of 511 valid questionnaires were finally retrieved. There were 139 people in epidemic prevention and control positions (27.20%). Depression level: People in isolation ward, fever clinic and pre-check triage were at the level of mild to moderate depression. Female was higher than male; nurse was higher than doctor; middle and junior job titles were higher than senior titles; junior college degree or below were higher than bachelor's degree, master's degree and above; isolation ward, fever clinic and pre-check triage were significantly higher than those of non-prevention and control positions (p < 0.05). Loneliness scores: Doctors were higher than that of medical technicians, and isolation ward, fever clinic and pre-check triage were higher than those of other medical departments (p < 0.05). Social support: Doctors were lower than that of medical technicians, and isolation ward, fever clinic and pre-check triage were significantly lower than those of other departments (p < 0.05). The score of social support was negatively correlated with depression and loneliness (p < 0.001), while depression was positively correlated with loneliness (p < 0.001). Health care workers most want to receive one-to-one psychological counseling (29.75%), and provide crisis management (24.07%). The awareness rate of health care workers on COVID-19's knowledge was relatively high.
The psychological problems of health care workers, especially women, nurses with low educational background, low professional title, and staff in the epidemic prevention and control positions are relatively serious.
Objectives
To investigate whether ureteroscopy (URS) before radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUCs) has an impact on oncological outcomes.
Patients and Methods
...We performed a systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE for citations published prior to September 2017 that described URS performed on patients with UTUC and conducted a standard meta‐analysis on survival outcomes.
Results
Our meta‐analysis included eight eligible studies containing 3975 patients. The results were as follows: cancer‐specific survival (CSS; hazard ratio HR 0.76, 95% confidence interval CI 0.59–0.99; P = 0.04), overall survival (OS; HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.48–1.21; P = 0.24), recurrence‐free survival (RFS; HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.69–1.14; P = 0.37), metastasis‐free survival (MFS; HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.82–1.36; P = 0.66), and intravesical recurrence‐free survival (IRFS; HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.29–1.77; P < 0.001). When excluding previous bladder tumour history, the result for IRFS was a HR of 1.81 (95% CI 1.53–2.13; P < 0.001).
Conclusions
This meta‐analysis indicated that URS before RNU did not have a negative impact on CSS, OS, RFS, or MFS in patients with UTUC. However, patients were at higher risk of intravesical recurrence after RNU when they had undergone URS before RNU. Further studies are needed to assess the effects of post‐URS intravesical chemotherapy on intravesical recurrence.
Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most malignant tumors and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Luteolin, a flavonoid present in many fruits and green plants, suppresses ...cancer progression. The effects of luteolin on GC cells and their underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Effects of luteolin on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were examined in vitro and in vivo by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell assays, and flow cytometry, respectively. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blots were performed to evaluate Notch1 signaling and activation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC cells treated with or without luteolin. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine proliferation and Notch1 expression in xenograft tumors.
Luteolin significantly inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner and promoted cell apoptosis. Luteolin reversed EMT by shrinking the cytoskeleton and by inducing the expression of epithelial biomarker E-cadherin and downregulating the mesenchymal biomarkers N-cadherin, vimentin and Snail. Furthermore, Notch1 signaling was inhibited by luteolin, and downregulation of Notch1 had similar effects as luteolin treatment on cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. In addition, luteolin suppressed tumor growth in vivo. A higher expression of Notch1 correlated with a poor overall survival and a poor time to first progression. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that activated Notch1 and β-catenin formed a complex and regulated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.
In this study, GC progression was inhibited by luteolin through suppressing Notch1 signaling and reversing EMT, suggesting that luteolin may serve as an effective anti-tumor drug in GC treatment.
In this paper, a bi-level energy management framework based on Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) and game theory is presented in the context of different ownership of multiple microgrid systems (MMGS) ...and microgrid aggregators (MAs). The energy interaction between MMGS and MAs can be regarded as a master–slave game, where microgrid aggregators as the leaders set the differentiated tariff for each MG to maximize its benefits, and MMGS as the follower responds to the tariff decision specified by the leader through peer-to-peer (P2P) energy sharing. The P2P energy sharing of MMGS can be regarded as a co-operative game, employing asymmetric Nash bargaining theory to allocate the co-operative surplus. The Conditional Value at Risk model was used to characterize the expected losses by microgrid aggregators due to the uncertainties of renewable energy resources. The Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions, Big-M method, and strong duality theory were employed to transform the bi-level nonlinear model of energy management into a single-level mixed integer linear programming model. The simulation results show that when MGs adopt the P2P energy-sharing operation mode, the total operating cost of MMGS can be reduced by 7.82%. The simulation results show that the proposed co-operative optimization framework can make the multiple microgrid systems obtain extra benefits and improve the risk resistance of microgrid aggregators.
To seek bulk Mg-based alloys with excellence H2 production properties, smelted eutectic Mg–Ni-based alloys are successfully prepared by metallurgical method. The phase compositions and ...microstructures are tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The isothermal H2 production curves of prepared alloys in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution are collected at different temperatures by drainage method. H2 production kinetics and thermodynamics are investigated in combination with the microstructures results and fitting results of hydrolysis curves by Avrami-Erofeev equation and Arrhenius equation. The production capacity for Mg-23.5 wt%Ni (Mg23.5Ni) eutectic alloy is 706 mL g−1 with 0.92 conversion yield at 303 K. When 10 wt% La added, the production capacity and yield of Mg-23.5 wt%Ni-10 wt%La (Mg23.5Ni10La) are 679 mL g−1 and 0.98, respectively. The initial rate and final capacity for H2 production of experimental Mg–Ni-based eutectic alloys improve gradually with the rising reaction temperature. The hydrolysis apparent activation energies for Mg23.5Ni and Mg23.5Ni10La alloys are 40.56 kJ/mol and 31.72 kJ/mol, respectively. The refined lamellar microstructure and the introduced La2Mg17 active phase strongly promote the H2 production process of Mg23.5Ni10La alloy. The reported results provide promising way to synthesize bulk Mg-based H2 production alloys with high yield and rapid rate by controlling the microstructure and hydrolysis reaction.
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•Bulk Mg–Ni eutectic alloys with excellence H2 production performance are prepared.•Capacities of Mg23.5Ni and Mg23.5Ni10La are 711 mL/g and 688 mL/g at 293 K.•Hydrolysis activation energies of Mg23.5Ni/ Mg23.5Ni10La are 40.56/ 31.72 kJ mol-1.•Faster initial rates and higher hydrogen yields are presented of Mg23.5Ni10La.
A new RNA-selective fluorescent dye integrated with a thiazole orange and a p-(methylthio)styryl moiety shows better nucleolus RNA staining and imaging performance in live cells than the commercial ...stains. It also exhibits excellent photostability, cell tolerance, and counterstain compatibility with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole for specific RNA-DNA colocalization in bioassays.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as a new class of important regulators of signal transduction in tissue homeostasis and cancer development. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) occurs in ...a wide range of biological processes, while its role in signal transduction remains largely undeciphered. In this study, we uncovered a lipid-associated lncRNA, small nucleolar RNA host gene 9 (SNHG9) as a tumor-promoting lncRNA driving liquid droplet formation of Large Tumor Suppressor Kinase 1 (LATS1) and inhibiting the Hippo pathway. Mechanistically, SNHG9 and its associated phosphatidic acids (PA) interact with the C-terminal domain of LATS1, promoting LATS1 phase separation and inhibiting LATS1-mediated YAP phosphorylation. Loss of SNHG9 suppresses xenograft breast tumor growth. Clinically, expression of SNHG9 positively correlates with YAP activity and breast cancer progression. Taken together, our results uncover a novel regulatory role of a tumor-promoting lncRNA (i.e., SNHG9) in signal transduction and cancer development by facilitating the LLPS of a signaling kinase (i.e., LATS1).
Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in ...livestock stations and poultry houses play vital roles in both animal health and production. One of the major factors affecting raising conditions, relative humidity, has not received much attention even though it is important for animal husbandry. In this review, we summarize the impacts of relative humidity on animal health and welfare to draw attention for its importance in the improvement of animal raising conditions in the future.
As a biodegradable polyester, the commercialized synthesis protocol of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) under mild conditions is of great significance and attractive. Herein, the ring-opening ...polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) using FeCl
3
catalyst and benzyl alcohol (BnOH) as the initiator was developed. FeCl
3
has been proved to be an efficient catalyst for the ROP of ε-CL under mild conditions. The conversion of ε-CL to PCL was 98.8% at 60 °C within 4 h, with number-average molecular weight (
M
n) and dispersity (PDI) of 1.65 × 10
4
g/mol and 1.28, respectively. Moreover, a coordination-insertion ring-opening polymerization mechanism mediated by FeCl
3
was proposed. Overall, this work is expected to provide a feasible industrial method for the preparation of PCL from the direct aerobic oxidation of cyclohexanone.
Psoriasis is a usual immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease with undefined pathogenesis. Aromatic-turmerone (ATM) is a mainly constituent of essential oil from Curcuma longa L. It has been shown ...to exhibit strong anti-oxidant, anti-tumor activities and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of ATM on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like BALB/c mice and its molecular mechanisms for anti-inflammatory effect. ATM showed inhibition of the transfer of CD8+ T cells in epidermis, and reduced expression of NF-κB and COX-2 as well as phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. It also decreased the level of TNF-α and IL-6, and down-regulates IL-17 IL-22 and IL-23 mRNA synthesis. Notably, we demonstrated that topically applied ATM alleviated skin inflammation in IMQ-induced mice. These results indicate that ATM, a natural active compound exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and is a promising candidate molecule to treat inflammatory skin diseases, such as psoriasis.
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•Aromatic-turmerone inhibited of the transfer of CD8+ T cells in epidermis.•Aromatic-turmerone reduced expression of NF-κB and COX-2 as well as phosphorylation of p38 MAPK.•Aromatic-turmerone decreased the level of TNF-α and IL-6 in full-thickness skin.•Aromatic-turmerone down-regulated IL-17 IL-22 and IL-23 mRNA synthesis in full-thickness skin.•Aromatic-turmerone alleviated skin inflammation and improves psoriatic lesions in IMQ-induced mice.
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