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This study assessed positive lymph node ratio (LNR) as a prognostic marker for patients with pyriform sinus cancer.The present study retrospectively analyzed 101 patients with pyriform sinus cancer to determine the association of LNR with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).The patients were followed up for a median duration of 28 months (range: 6-196 months). The number of median dissected lymph nodes (LNs) was 41, and the number of median positive LNs was three. The receiver operating characteristic curve revealed an LNR cut-off value of 8.6%. Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) or perineural invasion (PNI) (P = 0.001), thyroid gland invasion (TGI, P = 0.000), positive LNs4 (P = 0.036), and LNR8.6% (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with poor RFS, and LVI or PNI (P = 0.005), tumor pT3/T4 stage (P = 0.028), positive LNs4 (P = 0.033), TGI (P = 0.001), and LNR8.6% (P = 0.003) were significantly associated with poor DSS. The multivariate analysis revealed that LVI or PNI (P = 0.010), TGI (P = 0.000), and LNR8.6% (P = 0.022) were independent predictors for poor RFS, while tumor pT3/T4 stage (P = 0.049), TGI (P = 0.015), and LNR8.6% (P = 0.001) were independent predictors for poor DDS.LNR and other clinicopathological data can be used to predict the RFS and DSS of pyriform sinus cancer patients.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has wreaked havoc worldwide since December 2019. Currently, no effective medical treatments have been approved. As the epidemic continues to spread, SARS-CoV-2 mutants emerge, some of which become more infectious with increasing vaccine resistance. The main route for SARS-CoV-2 to enter the host cells is by binding its spike protein to the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Besides the membrane-bound form of ACE2, the soluble form of ACE2 (sACE2) can also bind SARS-CoV-2 for viral endocytosis. Objective: Previously, we found that telbivudine reduced the concentrations of ACE1 in blood. Therefore, we speculated that this drug might also reduce the concentrations of sACE2. Methods: In this retrospective study, serum samples from 39 hepatitis B patients receiving telbivudine were collected and examined for sACE2 concentrations using an ELISA kit. Results: It was found that the serum concentrations of sACE2 were significantly declined in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with telbivudine. Conclusion: Telbivudine treatment reduced sACE2 concentrations, which could potentially reduce the infection risk of SARS-CoV-2.

These NCCN Guidelines for Distress Management discuss the identification and treatment of psychosocial problems in patients with cancer. All patients experience some level of distress associated with a cancer diagnosis and the effects of the disease and its treatment regardless of the stage of disease. Clinically significant levels of distress occur in a subset of patients, and identification and treatment of distress are of utmost importance. The NCCN Distress Management Panel meets at least annually to review comments from reviewers within their institutions, examine relevant new data from publications and abstracts, and reevaluate and update their recommendations. These NCCN Guidelines Insights describe updates to the NCCN Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem List, and to the treatment algorithms for patients with trauma- and stressor-related disorders.

The protic ionic liquids (PILs) comprising with N-2-ethylhexylethylenediaminium cation (HEtHex+) and bis (trifluoromethanesulfonate) imide anion (TFSA-) forming [HEtHex][TFSA] which has two amines in the polar group and available to absorbs acid gases such as CO2 and SO2. In order to study the CO2/SO2 absorption mechanism of [HEtHex][TFSA], the stable configurations of [HEtHex][TFSA]-nCO2 (n=1, 2, 3, 4) and [HEtHex][TFSA]-nSO2 (n=1, 2, 4, 6) are investigated using the density functional theory at the M06-2X/6-311G (d, p) level, then the interaction energy, molecular vibration frequency, second-order perturbation energy, electron density and Laplace value are calculated and analysed for the most stable configurations. The results show that N–H...O type weak or medium hydrogen bonding are mainly formed between [HEtHex][TFSA] and CO2/SO2 molecules. The hydrogen bonding interaction is stronger for [HEtHex][TFSA]-nSO2 comparing with [HEtHex][TFSA]-nCO2 and increases with increasing the number of CO2/SO2 molecules.

In order to reveal the hotspots and trends of biological water treatment from the perspectives of scientific and technological innovation, both of the bibliometric review and patents analysis were performed in this study. The Web of Science Core Collection database and Derwent Innovation Index database recorded 30023 SCI papers and 50326 patents, respectively were analyzed via information visualization technology. The results showed that China ranked the first in both papers and patents, while the United States and Japan had advantages in papers and patents, respectively. It was concluded through literature metrology analysis that microbial population characteristics, biodegradation mechanism, toxicity analysis, nitrogen and phosphorus removal and biological treatment of micro-polluted wastewater were the research hotspots of SCI papers. Activated sludge process and anaerobic-aerobic combined process were the two mainstream technologies on the basis of patent technology classification analysis. Technology evolution path of biological water treatment was also elucidated in three stages based on the citation network analysis. Furthermore, the future directions including research on the law of interaction and regulation of biological phases and pollutants and the technology innovations towards the targeted biotransformation or selective biodegradation of pollutants and resource reuse of wastewater were prospected.

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium, and Anopheles sinensis is a vector of malaria. Although malaria is no longer indigenous to China, a high risk remains for local transmission of imported malaria. This study aimed to identify the risk distribution of vector An. sinensis and malaria transmission. Using data collected from routine monitoring in Shanghai from 2010 to 2020, online databases for An. sinensis and malaria, and environmental variables including climate, geography, vegetation, and hosts, we constructed 10 algorithms and developed ensemble models. The ensemble models combining multiple algorithms (An. sinensis: area under the curve [AUC] = 0.981, kappa = 0.920; malaria: AUC = 0.959, kappa = 0.800), with the best out-of-sample performance, were used to identify important environmental predictors for the risk distributions of An. sinensis and malaria transmission. For An. sinensis, the most important predictor in the ensemble model was moisture index, which reflected degree of wetness; the risk of An. sinensis decreased with higher degrees of wetness. For malaria transmission, the most important predictor in the ensemble model was the normalized differential vegetation index, which reflected vegetation cover; the risk of malaria transmission decreased with more vegetation cover. Risk levels for An. sinensis and malaria transmission for each district of Shanghai were presented; however, there was a mismatch between the risk classification maps of An. sinensis and malaria transmission. Facing the challenge of malaria transmission in Shanghai, in addition to precise An. sinensis monitoring in risk areas of malaria transmission, malaria surveillance should occur even in low-risk areas for An. sinensis.

Carbon dots (CDs), as one kind of zero-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials, show great potential in combating emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial infections. CDs with outstanding optical properties and benign biocompatibility have been reported as excellent antibacterial agents. However, few reports were focused on the relationship between the CDs' size and their antibacterial activity. Herein, the desired CDs (VCDs) were fabricated by a one-step electrochemical oxidation method using l-ascorbic acid as raw material, and four types of VCDs with different sizes were obtained by adjusting the reaction times. The effectiveness of antibacterial activity demonstrates the VCDs display size-dependent antibacterial activity, where the VCDs-2 (average size: 2.92 nm) exhibit superior antibacterial activity to others, attributing to the synergy of the absorption capacity of bacteria to VCDs and the ROS stimulated by VCDs. The VCDs-2 could more easily penetrate bacterial cells, stimulate the production of ROS, damage the cell walls of E. coli, and inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria. This work helps to understand the effect of CDs' size on antibacterial properties, and provides a direction for the design of novel antimicrobials with drug resistance.