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Background: Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs) combined with chemotherapy can improve non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) patients' pathological responses and show promising improvements in survival. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic inflammatory disease, and its associated abnormal inflammatory response affects not only the immunotherapy efficacy but also immune-related adverse events. It remains unclear whether NSCLC patients with COPD can benefit from neoadjuvant ICIs combined with chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective observational clinical study was conducted on 105 consecutive NSCLC patients receiving neoadjuvant ICIs combined with chemotherapy at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Tianjin Chest Hospital between April 2020 and April 2023. Results: A total of 74 NSCLC patients were included in the study, including 30 patients with COPD and 44 patients without COPD. The percentage of patients with a pathological complete response (PCR) was higher in the COPD group than in the non-COPD group (43.3% vs. 20.5%, P = 0.042). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of factors associated with PCR showed that the adjusted odds ratio (OR) was statistically significant for presence of COPD (OR = 3.020, 95%CI: 1.042–8.757; P = 0.042). Major pathological response (66.7% vs. 50%, P = 0.155), R0 resection rate (96.7% vs.93.2%, P = 0.642), N2 lymph node downstaging(92.3% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.182) and objective response rate (70% vs. 63.6%, P = 0.57) were not significantly different between the groups. Progression-free survival(PFS) was not reached in the COPD group and 17 months (95%CI: 12.1–21.9) in the non-COPD group, with statistically significance (χ2 = 6.247, P = 0.012). Multivariate Cox's regression analysis showed that the adjusted hazard ratio (HRadj) was statistically significant for presence of COPD (HRadj = 0.321, 95%CI: 0.111–0.930; P = 0.036). The grade 3 and grade 4 adverse events in the COPD group were leukopenia (3.3%, 6.7%), neutropenia (3.3%, 6.7%), fatigue (6.7%, 0%), gastrointestinal reactions (3.3%, 0%), and hypothyroidism (3.3%, 0%). In the non-COPD group, the corresponding adverse events were leukopenia (6.8%, 6.8%), neutropenia (3.3%, 6.8%), fatigue (2.3%, 0%), gastrointestinal reactions (2.3%, 0%), and hypothyroidism (2.3%, 0%), respectively. Conclusions: The present study indicates that the presence of COPD may improve PCR, prolong PFS, and have an acceptable safety profile in NSCLC patients receiving neoadjuvant ICIs combined with chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with poor prognosis in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. There are limited data about the impact of severe‐to‐very severe COPD on prognosis in patients with NSCLC receiving first‐line chemotherapy. Objectives: To investigate whether severe‐to‐very severe COPD impacted survival of patients with NSCLC receiving first‐line chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 513 consecutive NSCLC patients receiving first‐line chemotherapy between February 2014 and May 2018. Prognostic impact of severe‐to‐very severe COPD was analysed using regression analyses. Results: Totally 258 NSCLC patients (118 non‐COPD, 96 mild‐to‐moderate COPD and 44 severe‐to‐very severe COPD) were evaluated retrospectively. Kaplan‐Meier analysis showed that the median overall survival times in the severe‐to‐very severe COPD, mild‐to‐moderate COPD and non‐COPD groups were 14.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 11.0‐17.0], 18 months (95% CI: 14.8‐21.2) and 19 months (95% CI: 15.3‐22.7), respectively. The difference was significant between patients with severe‐to‐very severe COPD and those without COPD (χ2 = 6.8, P = 0.009) and between patients with severe‐to‐very severe COPD and those with mild‐to‐moderate COPD (χ2 = 4.0, P = 0.045). Multivariate analysis showed that survival time was significantly shorter in the severe‐to‐very severe COPD group than in the non‐COPD group (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.876, 95% CI: 1.161‐3.030, P = 0.01) and mild‐to‐moderate COPD group (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.782, 95% CI: 1.046‐3.034, P = 0.033). Conclusion: Severe‐to‐very severe COPD may worsen the prognosis of NSCLC patients who received first‐line chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) events. A detailed understanding of which clinical features of COPD increase risk of VTE events is needed. Objectives: To investigate the association between features of COPD and risk of venous thromboembolism. Methods: A retrospective observational clinical study was conducted on 551 consecutive COPD patients visiting the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Tianjin Chest Hospital between February 2014 and April 2018. Finally, 151 patients were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 29 patients had COPD with VTE and 121 patients had COPD without VTE. Patient informations regarding age, gender, BMI, smoking history, smoking status (package/year), COPD‐related symptoms, lung function, number of acute exacerbations and imaging visual emphysema were gathered. Results: Among the 29 VTE patients, 18 patients had PE and five had DVT, while 6 patients had simultaneous PE and DVT. There were statistically significant differences in GOLD grade, Imaging visual emphysema, and frequent acute exacerbations between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjustment for gender, age, BMI and smoking history, there were statistically significant for visible emphysema (OR = 3.54, 95% CI: 1.13‐11.08; P = 0.03) and GOLD grade (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.04‐3.01; P = 0.035), but not for frequent acute exacerbations (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 0.62‐4.38; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Visual emphysema is an independent risk factor for VTE events and the risk of VTE in COPD patients increases with the degree of airway obstruction. However, there is no evidence of an association between exacerbation frequency and VTE events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article is to test the EMMS-based multiscale mass transfer model through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of ozone decomposition in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) reactor. Three modeling approaches, namely types A, B and C, are classified according to their drag coefficient closure and mass transfer equations. Simulation results show that the routine approach (type C) with assumption of homogeneous flow and concentration overestimates the ozone conversion rate, introduction of structure-dependent drag force will improve the model prediction (type B), while the best fit to experimental data is obtained by the multiscale mass transfer approach (type A), which takes into account the sub-grid heterogeneity of both flow and concentration. In general, multiscale behavior of mass transfer is more distinct especially for the dense riser flow. The fair agreement between our new model with literature data suggests a fresh paradigm for the CFB related reaction simulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The gas–solid mass transfer in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser flow is both structure-dependent and dynamic in nature. Recent progress in multiscale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) allows fresh insight into the dynamic flow structure, yet its influence on the mass transfer remains to be settled. To this end, a multiscale mass transfer model is established in this paper based on the extended framework of the energy-minimization multiscale (EMMS) model. The relevant algorithm named EMMS/mass is proposed for CFD-coupled mass transfer computation. Two testing cases accounting for sublimation of naphthalene and decomposition of ozone, respectively, are presented to demonstrate the characters of the model. It is shown that structural consideration can have significant effects on the model prediction. The normally used Reynolds number is not adequate to characterize these effects, while the combination of gas velocity and solids flux seems to capture the structural effects and allows to explain the variation of Sherwood number reported for CFB risers in the literature. Sub-grid coupling of this multiscale mass transfer model and CFD approach can be expected to provide a promising tool to probe the dynamic and structure-dependent nature of mass transfer in CFB risers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acute lung injury (ALI) and resultant acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are detrimental inflammatory disease associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality due to a lack of effective treatment options. Previous study has demonstrated that an inhibition of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase large subunit 1 (GGPPS1) show a protective effect against ALI. In this study, by using connective map (CMAP), we identified catechin as a potential drug to exhibit similar effects to inhibit GGPPS1. Furthermore, we detected the protective effect of catechin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and delineated the underlying mechanism. We found that catechin effectively ameliorated LPS-induced lung inflammation and alleviated the release of cytokines into alveolar space. Notably, miR-182/GGPPS1 signaling pathway was reactivated upon catechin administration, which was essential for the catechin-induced protective effect against ALI. catechin regulates miR-182/GGPPS1 signaling pathway and efficaciously ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice model, which provided a promising therapeutic strategy in ALI and ARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marx generator using all-solid-state devices has been studied for many years. Higher parameters are always the demand for new applications. Traditional all-solid-state Marx generator can output high voltage due to its series topology, but the current is always limited by the switch. In this paper, a stage-stage paralleled topology of Marx generator for high current has been proposed. Topology structure and driving mode comparison for current balance have been analyzed. The paralleled driving mode for the current balance and the shaping waveform has been proposed. For experiment, a four-stage-four-paralleled Marx generator with metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) has been constructed with output pulses 2.2 kV, 730 A (depending on the load), rise time of 31 ns, fall time of 56 ns, and adjustable pulsewidth from 400 to 800 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]