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To study the factors affecting the prognosis of patients with intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) after transcervical resection of adhesions (TCRA), analyze the reproductive outcome, and guide prognostic improvements. Prospective study. Our study included 292 patients diagnosed with IUAs who underwent follow-up office hysteroscopy at Shenyang Women's and Children's Hospital between June 2018 and June 2022. Patients were divided into case (52 patients whose hysteroscopy results indicated the presence of IUAs) and nocase (240 patients whose uterine cavity had returned to normal shape without obvious adhesion) groups on the basis of the results of a 2-month follow-up hysteroscopy following TCRA. Clinical data were collected and compared with various influencing factors, and the combined effect of these factors was assessed using multifactorial logistic regression analysis. A nomogram prediction model was constructed and internally validated on the basis of multifactorial analysis. Intrauterine re-adhesion was observed at a 2-month follow-up after TCRA. Postoperative re-adhesion occurred in 52 of 292 patients with IUAs. Multifactorial binary logistic regression analysis showed that IUA barrier gel reapplication 5 days after TCRA was a protective factor. In contrast, the preoperative American Fertility Society scores demonstrated that severe IUAs and chronic endometritis were risk factors. The results of the multifactorial analysis were used to build a nomogram model, and the area under the curve value of the nomogram model for predicting postoperative recurrence was 0.914 (95% confidence interval: 0.864–0.956). The bootstrap method was subsequently used to resample 1,000 times for internal validation. The results showed that the internal validation C-index was 0.9135, and the calibration and ideal curves were well-matched. The prognosis of patients with IUAs after TCRA is related to the severity of preoperative IUAs, presence of chronic endometritis, and IUA barrier gel reapplication 5 days after TCRA. Therefore, clinicians should monitor patients using targeted data to reduce recurrence risk after TCRA and improve the prognosis of patients with IUAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the influence of different neuromuscular blocking agents and reversal agents during anaesthesia on early removal of chest tube drainage after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). This retrospective single-centre study included patients who underwent VATS after tracheal intubation under general anaesthesia. Patients received either cisatracurium and neostigmine (n =547) or rocuronium and sugammadex (n =151). Quantitative neuromuscular monitoring was used and one chest tube (size 24 Fr) was inserted. To reduce potential bias, 140 patients from each group were matched by propensity score for sex, age, body mass index and indication for VATS. Primary outcome was duration of chest tube drainage after surgery. Use of rocuronium and sugammadex was associated with a shorter duration of chest tube drainage (2 [1–2] vs 2 [1–3] days; P =0.049) and a 63% reduction in delayed chest tube removal (odds ratio 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20–0.67; P =0.005). This group also had a lower incidence of postoperative atelectasis (P =0.047) and consolidation (P =0.008). Each 1 h increase in the duration of anaesthesia was associated with a 1.57-fold increase in the delayed removal of the chest tube (95% CI: 1.25–1.96; P =0.005). During general anaesthesia for VATS, compared with cisatracurium and neostigmine, use of rocuronium and sugammadex was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of postoperative delayed removal of the chest tube, atelectasis, and pulmonary consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising CO 2 capture technology, which expected to achieve 100% capture efficiency with a low energy penalty. The principle of CLC is utilizing an oxygen carrier as a medium for transporting oxygen between two reactors, aiming to avoid nitrogen in combustion exhaust. This article discusses the advances in chemical looping with a focus on oxygen carriers, reactors, coupling systems, and other applications of CLC concept for solid fuels. The development and design of high performance oxygen carriers and suitable reactors are key factors in the development of CLC technology. The main challenge in scaling up the CLC process is the development of appropriate OCs with optimal properties, including high transport oxygen capacity, reactivity, and stability. Recently, a fair number of hours of continuous operation in pilot plants have instilled the confidence required in further development of this process towards commercialization. The use of solid fuels is gaining momentum, and the liquid fuels need further attention for its development. The integrated systems based on chemical looping technology for poly-generation applications simultaneously achieve the efficient conversion and cascade utilization of chemical energy and CO 2 separation. The article also describes the prospects of the future development in the chemical looping technology, and its viability for industrial deployment. [Display omitted] • CLC is a well-known technology for reducing the energy penalty of CO 2 capture. • Both oxygen carrier properties and reactor design are key to CLC development. • Various types of reactors used for chemical looping conversion have been summarized. • Different integrated systems based on chemical looping technology are discussed. • Different chemical looping technologies for combustion of solid fuels are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), a small gaseous signaling molecule, regulates antioxidase activity and improves plant tolerance to oxidative stress. The phytotoxic effect of Copper Oxide (II) nanoparticles (CuO NPs) is due to oxidative stress. Here, we show that H 2 S-mediated persulfidation of antioxidase is essential for an effective stress response of tomato exposed to CuO NPs. The CuO NP-induced increase in hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels was significantly reduced by treatment with the H 2 S donor NaHS. In vivo , NaHS increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POD) activities under CuO NP stress. In vitro , NaHS increased APX and POD activities but decreased catalase (CAT) activity. Persulfidation existed in recombinant SlCAT1, SlcAPX1 and SlPOD5 proteins. The persulfidatied cysteine (Cys) residues were verified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), revealing their position on the protein surface. Cys234 of SlCAT1 is located in the immune-responsive domain and close to the enzyme activity domain. Cys234 of SlcAPX1 and Cys 61 SlPOD5 are located in the enzyme activity domain. Persulfidation increased SlcAPX1 and SlPOD5 activities but decreased SlCAT1 activity. These data indicate that H 2 S-mediated persulfidation posttranslationally regulates the activities of CAT, APX and POD, thereby enhancing the plant's response to oxidative stress. Additionally, this work provides an experimental approach for the study of persulfidation in plants. • Persulfidation exists in the antioxidase of tomato cells. • The persulfidated sites locate on protein surface and in the enzyme activity domain. • H 2 S increases the persulfidation level of recombinant SlCAT1, SlcAPX1 and SlPOD5 in a dose-dependent manner. • Persulfidation regulates the recombinant SlCAT1, SlcAPX1 and SlPOD5 activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, two new D-A-π-A perylene dyes featuring with cyanoacrylic acid and 2-(1,1-dicyanomethylene) rhodamine (DCRD) as the electron acceptor/anchoring group, respectively, in combination with a N-annulated perylene electron donor and a quinoxaline auxiliary acceptor were investigated for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and dye-sensitized photocatalytic hydrogen production. The results showed that the sensitizer with cyanoacrylic acid ( YFT-1 ) based DSCs showed a higher conversion efficiency of 7.58% under AM1.5 solar conditions. However, it was interesting that the sensitizer with DCRD ( YFT-2 ) sensitized Pt/TiO 2 photocatalysts displayed a higher rate of H 2 evolution of 83.5 μmol h −1 under visible-light irradiation with wavelength between 420 nm and 780 nm. This may be ascribed to less interface charge recombination and more effective interfacial electron transfer between photo-excited YFT-2 and TiO 2 in aqueous solution. This study demonstrates that YFT-2 containing DCRD anchoring group is a promising candidate to achieve high and stable activity of H 2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial variations of nine heavy metals in the surface sediments of six Avicennia marina mangrove wetlands across China were investigated. These were Yunxiao, Futian (FT), Zhanjiang, Fangchenggang (FCG), Dongfang (DF), and Dongzhaigang (DZG). Results showed that environmental factors, such as organic matter and sediment grain size, affected heavy metal distribution. The high heavy metal levels in mangrove sediments may be due to their large retention capacity. The dominant heavy metals were Zn, Cr, Pb, Cu, and Cd. Pollution was highest at FT and lowest at FCG. The principal component analysis indicated that Zn, Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr, and Pb were mainly derived from anthropogenic activities. Ecological risk assessments showed that FT was the most polluted area with considerable ecological risk, whereas pollution levels were lowest at FCG, DF, and DZG. This study provides the first integrated analysis of heavy metal pollution of sediments across China. • First report on heavy metal pollution in mangroves sediments across China • Metal pollution risk: Futian > Yunxiao, Zhanjiang > Dongfang, Dongzhaigang, Fangchenggang • Heavy metals in mangrove sediments were dominated by Zn, Cr, Pb, Cu, and Cd. • Principal component analysis suggests human activity affects Zn, Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr, and Pb in Futian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study provides new insight towards the effects of heavy metal contamination on sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in mangrove ecosystem. We investigated SRB communities in mangrove sediments (0–30 cm depth) from Futian, Xixiang and Shajing mangrove wetlands in Shenzhen, China, with different heavy metal contamination levels. The results showed that SRB community abundance (1.71 × 107–3.04 × 108 dsrB gene copies g−1 wet weight sediment) was depth-related and significantly correlated with Cd and Ni concentrations. The α-diversity indices of SRB community (Chao1 = 21.25–84.50, Shannon = 2.31–2.96) were significantly correlated with Cd level in mangrove sediments. Desulfobacteraceae, Desulfobulbaceae and Syntrophobacteraceae acted as major SRB groups in mangrove sediments, and Syntrophobacteraceae was most sensitive to metal contamination. UniFrace clustering analysis revealed that SRB community structure was influenced by the heavy metal concentrations. Moreover, redundancy analysis indicated that Cd and total phosphorus were the major environmental factors affecting the SRB structure in mangrove sediments. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Heavy metal pollution and sediment depth influence mangrove SRB communities. • Metal concentrations affected SRB abundance, diversity and community structure. • Syntrophobacteraceae was sensitive to heavy metal pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc hydroxystannate ( ZHS) coated magnesium salt whisker (M-HOS) was synthesized via co-precipitation method and was applied to flexible PVC materials. Zinc hydroxystannate coated M-HOS flame retardants were characterized by XRD and ESEM, the effect of ZHS coated M-HOS to the thermal and flame retardant properties of flexible PVC are analyzed by thermal analysis, limited oxygen index (LOI) and cone calorimeter test. Results showed that ZHS coating is asymmetrical, and the fire retardation and smoke suppressant properties of PVC filled with zinc hydroxystannate coated M-HOS were favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]