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Background The transmission speed and concealment of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been enhanced. The awareness level and skills of correctly donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) in SARS-CoV-2 containment workers from the mobile cabin hospital are associated with their own health status, and the overall quality of COVID-19 pandemic control. Objective To understand the awareness and skills of correctly donning and doffing PPE in SARS-CoV-2 containment workers from a mobile cabin hospital. Methods By use of cluster sampling, 460 SARS-CoV-2 containment workers were selected from the Fourth Branch of Shanghai Mobile Cabin Hospital located in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) , from April 10 to May 10, 2022. Their awareness and skills of correctly donning and doffing PPE were assessed using an online survey with a self-developed questionnaire named Awareness of Correctly Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment, and using an onsite performance assessment with a self-developed questionnaire named Skills of Correctly Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment, respectively. Results The survey obtained a response rate of 83.5% (384/460) . According to the survey, both doctors and nurses had significantly higher average scores with regards to the operations at the first donning area, second donning area, front doffing area and first doffing area, second doffing area, and hand hygiene disinfection than public security officers and fire fighters (P

The analysis and evaluation of slope stability is an indispensable link in slope investigation and evaluation. This article takes the Jinlong Slope in Zhuhai City as the research object to analyze its development characteristics, influencing factors, and formation mechanism. Through identifying the exposed and structural characteristics of the slope rock and soil, and based on the typical section C and φ Value inversion analysis and sensitivity analysis results, the physical and mechanical parameters are obtained of the rock and soil mass of the Jinlong slope. Then the limit equilibrium method is used to analyze and evaluate the stability of the Jinlong slope. The evaluation results indicate that the Jinlong slope lacks stability under natural conditions and is unstable under saturated and saturated+seismic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new melt mixing and in‐situ exfoliation method based on the synergy of multi‐source pulsating flow and phase transition (MSPFPT) was reported. The corresponding device was also developed, and the structure and mixing process of the mixer were introduced in detail. High‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/expanded graphite (EG) composites were prepared via this new mixer, and microstructure and thermal properties of the composites were comprehensively investigated. Morphological analyses demonstrate that MSPFPT method promotes the efficient exfoliation and uniform dispersion of EG. The well‐exfoliated EG layers form more thermal conductive paths in the composites prepared by MSPFPT, increasing thermal conductivity from 0.47 of pure HDPE to 1.16 W/(m·K) with 9 wt.% EG. The crystallinity degree of HDPE is increased by 11.1%. The increment of crystallinity reduces phonon scattering, which further confirms that MSPFPT method can significantly improve the thermal performance. The research provides a practical strategy for fabricating high‐performance composites filled with layered fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: PM 2.5 is a well-known harmful air pollutant that can lead to acute exacerbation and aggravation of respiratory diseases. Although ferroptosis is involves in the pathological process of pulmonary disease, the potential mechanism of ferroptosis in PM 2.5 -caused lung inflammation and fibrosis need to be further clarified. Quercetin is a phenolic compound that can inhibit ferroptosis in various diseases. Hence, this study explores the role of ferroptosis in lung injury induced by PM 2.5 in order to further elucidate the beneficial effect of quercetin and its underlying mechanism., Methods: C57BL/6J mice were treated with either saline or PM 2.5 by intratracheal instillation 20 times (once every two days). Additionally, PM 2.5 -treated mice were supplemented with two doses of quercetin. Lung injury, lipid peroxidation, iron content and ferroptosis marker protein expression and the Nrf2 signaling pathway were evaluated. In vitro , cell experiments were applied to verify the mechanisms underlying the links between Nrf2 signaling pathway activation and ferroptosis as well as between ferroptosis and inflammation., Results: In vivo , PM 2.5 increased lung inflammation and caused lung fibrosis and increased lipid peroxidation contents, iron contents and ferroptosis markers in lung tissues; these effects were significantly reversed by quercetin. Additionally, quercetin upregulated the nuclear Nrf2 expression and downregulated Keap1 expression in lung tissues of PM 2.5 -exposed mice. Quercetin decreased lipid peroxidation products, iron contents and ferroptosis levels and increased the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and the degradation of Keap1 in PM 2.5 -exposed BEAS-2B cells. Moreover, we found that quercetin and dimethyl fumarate markedly decreased lipid peroxidation production and ferroptosis by activating the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway in PM 2.5 -exposed cells. Furthermore, quercetin reduced inflammatory cytokines and TGF- β 1 in PM 2.5 -exposed cells., Conclusion: Our data suggested that Nrf2 is involved in ferroptosis in PM 2.5 -induced lung injury, and quercetin can alleviate these adverse effects via activating Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2024 Ding et al.)

Background: Esophageal cancer has a high incidence and one of the highest mortality rates worldwide. There are few studies on the effects of sevoflurane on postoperative metastasis and recurrence of esophageal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sevoflurane on the progression of esophageal cancer and the underlying mechanism of the sensitivity to cisplatin., Methods: We used the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) line EC109 and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EADC) line SKGT-4. Cell proliferation and stemness potential were determined by MTT assay and sphere-forming assays, respectively. The protein expression of (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2) and octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) was determined by western blot. Cell migration and invasion ability were separately determined by scratch assay and transwell assays, respectively. The distribution of cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry, and the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)., Results: In the SKGT-4 cells, exposure to sevoflurane inhibited proliferation, increased the migration and invasion potential, increased the number of cells in S phase, promoted self-renewal ability, and up-regulated the expression of SOX2 and OCT4 compared with control cells. Compared with the cisplatin treated group, treatment with sevoflurane plus cisplatin reduced the level of LDH and inhibited apoptosis in the SKGT-4 cells. However, sevoflurane did not affect EC109 cells., Conclusions: Long-term exposure to sevoflurane inhibited the proliferation, increased migration and invasion capacity, and decreased the sensitivity to cisplatin in EADC by promoting stemness. However, sevoflurane had no effect on the behavior of ESCC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tcr-21-2404/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2022 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)