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Abstract Background/purpose: The surface properties, such as hydrophilicity and functional OH groups, play an important role in bone fixation in vivo. In our previous study, the plasma treatments of large grit and acid etching (SLA) method produce functional OH groups on the rough surface. There is no report in discussing the integration between basic TiOH groups and bone-to-implant contact (BIC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the functional OH groups on the rough surface both in vitro and in vivo. Materials and methods: Functional hydroxyl groups were produced on a SLA-treated surface. The surface topography, roughness, wettability, and chemical composition were examined using various techniques. Twenty-four implants were inserted into the proximal tibia of four New Zealand white rabbits. The biological responses were measured in terms of histomorphometric analysis 4 and 8 weeks post-implantation. Results: The surface morphology and roughness were similar among all groups. However, the concentration of OH groups and hydrophilicity were found increased in the plasma treatment. The cell morphology in RF-plasma treated groups had more polygonal type and higher expression of actin and vinculin. The bone-to-implant contact (BIC) ratios of RF-200W were significantly higher than other groups (P

Objectives: The quality of care for patients may be partly determined by the time they are admitted to the hospital. This study was conducted to explore the effect of admission time and describe the pattern and magnitude of weekly variation in the quality of patient care., Study Design: A retrospective observational study., Methods: Data were collected from the Medical Care Quality Management and Control System for Specific (Single) Diseases in China. A total of 238,122 patients treated for acute ischemic stroke between January 2015 and December 2017 were included. The primary outcomes were completion of the ten process indicators and in-hospital death., Results: The quality of in-hospital care varied according to hospital arrival time. We identified several patterns of variation across the days of the week. In the first pattern, the quality of four indicators, such as stroke physicians within 15 min, was lowest for arrivals between 08:00 and 11:59, increased throughout the day, and peaked for arrivals between 20:00 and 23:59 or 00:00 and 03:59. In the second pattern, the quality of four indicators, such as the application of antiplatelet therapy within 48 h, was not significantly different between days and weeks. There was no difference in in-hospital mortality between the different admission times., Conclusions: The effect of admission time on the quality of in-hospital care of patients with acute ischemic stroke showed several diurnal patterns. Detecting the times when quality is relatively low may lead to quality improvements in health care. Quality improvement should also focus on reducing diurnal temporal variation., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: APG-1387 is a novel second mitochondrial-derived activator of caspases mimetic, small-molecule inhibitor targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins. We report results from two phase I trials evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antitumor activity of APG-1387 monotherapy and APG-1387 plus toripalimab [a programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor] for advanced solid tumors., Patients and Methods: Participants aged ≥18 years who had histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors with no appropriate standard of care (or refractory to standard care) were eligible. Patients received escalating intravenous doses of APG-1387 alone or combined with fixed-dose toripalimab (240 mg every 3 weeks) in a '3 + 3' design. Primary endpoints were dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in the monotherapy trial, and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in the combination therapy trial. Secondary endpoints included the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and preliminary efficacy in both trials., Results: In the monotherapy trial, 28 subjects were enrolled and received ≥1 treatment cycle. No DLT was reported among the 28 subjects, and the MTD was not reached. One participant (3.6%) had a grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) of alanine aminotransferase elevation. In efficacy analysis of 23 participants, none achieved an objective response, and the disease control rate was 21.7%. In the combination trial, 22 subjects were enrolled and included in all analyses. There was one DLT of grade 3 lipase elevation. The MTD was not reached. Four grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in three participants (13.6%), with the most common being lipase elevation (n = 2). The RP2D was 45 mg weekly. The objective response rate was 13.6%, with complete response achieved in one subject, and the disease control rate was 54.5%., Conclusions: APG-1387 45 mg weekly plus toripalimab was well tolerated and is recommended for further study, with preliminary clinical activity observed in study participants with advanced solid tumors., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A 28-d experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of feed-conditioning temperature on the pellet quality, growth performance, intestinal development, and blood parameters of geese. A total of 180 one-day-old White Yuzhou goslings were randomly allotted to 5 treatment groups, with 6 replicates containing 6 birds each. Five diets were conditioned at 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85°C. Body weight and feed intake per pen basis were recorded from the arrival to the end of the trial. Blood and small intestine samples were collected on d 28 for analysis. The results showed that the pellet durability index (PDI), pellet hardness, and gelatinisation degree of starch (GDS) increased with increasing conditioning temperature (P < 0.05). The final body weight (FBW), average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of goslings significantly increased when conditioning temperature increased from 65 or 70°C to 80 or 85°C (P < 0.05), accompanied by unaffected feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P > 0.05). The villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH/CD) in the duodenum and ileum improved with increasing conditioning temperature (P < 0.05). Additionally, trypsin and amylase activity were enhanced when the conditioning temperature increased from 65 to 85°C (P < 0.05). No significant differences in the carcass traits and blood parameters of goslings were observed among the groups (P > 0.05). Overall, under the present experimental conditions, increasing the steam-conditioning temperature of pelleted feed improved pellet quality, growth performance, intestinal morphology, and digestive enzyme activity in goslings. Based on broken-line regression analysis, the lower critical conditioning temperature for ADG in geese from 1 to 28 d of age was 80.95°C., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) oncogene exerts oncogenic activities in many cancers and represents a potential therapeutic target. This trial evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary efficacy of alrizomadlin (APG-115), a novel MDM2/p53 inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors., Patients and Methods: Patients with histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors who had progressed to standard treatment or lacked effective therapies were recruited. Alrizomadlin was administered once daily every other day for 21 days of a 28-day cycle until disease progression or intolerable toxicity., Results: A total of 21 patients were enrolled and treated with alrizomadlin; 57.1% were male and the median age was 47 (25-60) years. The maximum tolerated dose of alrizomadlin was 150 mg and the recommended phase II dose was 100 mg. One patient in the 200-mg cohort experienced dose-limiting toxicity of thrombocytopenia and febrile neutropenia. The most common grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events were thrombocytopenia (33.3%), lymphocytopenia (33.3%), neutropenia (23.8%), and anemia (23.8%). Alrizomadlin demonstrated approximately linear pharmacokinetics (dose range 100-200 mg) and was associated with increased plasma macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1, indicative of p53 pathway activation. Of the 20 assessable patients, 2 [10%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2% to 31.7%] patients achieved partial response and 10 (50%, 95% CI 27.2% to 72.8%) showed stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 6.1 (95% CI 1.7-10.4) months, which was significantly longer in patients with wild-type versus mutant TP53 (7.9 versus 2.2 months, respectively; P < 0.001). Among patients with MDM2 amplification and wild-type TP53, the overall response rate was 25% (2/8) and the disease control rate was 100% (8/8)., Conclusions: Alrizomadlin had an acceptable safety profile and demonstrated promising antitumor activity in MDM2-amplified and TP53 wild-type tumors. This study supports further exploration of alrizomadlin with recommended doses of 100 mg q.o.d. in 21 days on and 7 days off regimen., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) versus chemotherapy alone in patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the global phase III CheckMate 816 study. Here, we report post hoc exploratory efficacy, safety, and surgical outcomes in the Chinese subpopulation of this study., Methods: Adults with stage IB-IIIA resectable NSCLC were randomized to receive nivolumab 360 mg plus chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone every 3 weeks for three cycles followed by surgery. Primary endpoints included EFS and pCR (both per blinded independent review). EFS and pCR results were from 14 October 2022, and 16 September 2020, database locks, respectively., Results: The Chinese subpopulation comprised 97 patients (nivolumab plus chemotherapy, 44; chemotherapy, 53). At 38.2 months of minimum follow-up, median EFS was not reached [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.4 months-not reached] in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy arm and 13.9 months (95% CI 8.3-34.3 months) in the chemotherapy arm (hazard ratio 0.47, 95% CI 0.25-0.88). pCR rates were 25.0% (95% CI 13.2% to 40.3%) and 1.9% (95% CI 0.0% to 10.1%), respectively (odds ratio 11.05; 95% CI 1.41-86.49). Of 97 Chinese patients, 36 (82%) in the nivolumab plus chemotherapy arm and 41 (77%) in the chemotherapy arm underwent definitive surgery. Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 18/43 patients (42%) treated with nivolumab plus chemotherapy and 22/53 patients (42%) treated with chemotherapy., Conclusions: Consistent with findings in the global study population of CheckMate 816, neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy improved EFS and pCR versus chemotherapy in the Chinese subpopulation without impacting treatment tolerability or the feasibility of surgery. These findings support the use of nivolumab plus chemotherapy as a standard neoadjuvant treatment option for Chinese patients with resectable NSCLC., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This research aimed to investigate the effects of drinking water temperatures on growth performance, water consumption, surface temperature, organ indices, blood parameters, and intestinal development of geese, and determine the optimal drinking water temperature for 21 to 49-d geese. A total of 192 twenty-one-day male Yuzhou white geese were allocated randomly to 4 groups with 8 replicate pens per group according to the drinking water temperature (drinking water temperature [7℃-12℃] at ambient temperature [T C ], 18℃ [T 1 ], 27℃ [T 2 ], and 36℃ [T 3 ], respectively). The results showed that increasing drinking water temperature did not significantly improve the BW, ADG, and ADFI of geese (P > 0.05), whereas drinking warm water of 36℃ for geese had a trend to increase FCR (0.05 < P < 0.1). Geese in group T 2 drank the most water per day on average, whereas geese in group T C drank the least (P < 0.001). Geese in groups T 1 , T 2 , and T 3 had higher eyes temperatures than group T C (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found on the organ indices and blood biochemical parameters (P > 0.05). Geese from group T 1 had higher crypt depth and muscularis thickness of duodenum (P < 0.05), and lower ratio of villus height to crypt depth than other groups (P < 0.001). Geese from group T 1 had higher activities of trypsin in duodenum and jejuna and amylase in jejuna at 49 d than other groups (P < 0.01). Overall, these data indicate drinking water at 18℃ can increase water consumption and eyes temperature, and improve the activity of digestive enzymes and promote intestinal development. Under our experimental conditions, we recommend that the optimal drinking water temperature for geese from 21 to 49 d of age is 18°C., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements occur in ∼3%-6% of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Small molecular drugs that effectively inhibit ALK gene have revolutionized the therapeutic paradigm for patients with ALK rearrangements, resulting in significant improvements in objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival compared with classical platinum-based chemotherapy. Several ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK-TKIs), including crizotinib, alectinib, ceritinib, brigatinib, ensartinib, and lorlatinib, have been recommended as standard first-line treatment for advanced NSCLC patients with ALK rearrangements. Patients with ALK rearrangements typically exhibit long-term durable responses to ALK-TKIs; therefore, the management of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with ALK-TKIs is crucial in clinical practice to maximize clinical benefits, prevent an adverse impact on quality of life, and improve patient compliance. In general, ALK-TKIs are well tolerated. There are, however, a number of serious toxicities that may necessitate dose modification or even discontinuation of treatment and the management of ADRs with ALK-TKIs has grown in importance. The therapeutic use of this class of medications still carries some risk because there are currently no pertinent guidelines or consensus recommendations for managing ADRs caused by ALK-TKIs in China. In order to improve the clinical management of ADRs with ALK-TKIs, the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Professional Committee led the discussion and summary of the incidence, diagnosis and grading standards, and prevention and treatment of ADRs caused by ALK-TKIs., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of citric acid (CA) supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microbiota, and blood parameters of geese from 1 to 28 d of age and evaluate the optimum additional level of citric acid. A total of 180 one-day-old male goslings were randomly allotted to 5 treatment groups of 36 birds with 6 replications. The control group was fed a basal diet, and the other groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00% of citric acid, respectively. The results showed that goslings fed the diet supplemented with 1.00% CA had higher final body weight (FBW) and average daily gain (ADG) than other groups (P < 0.05). The CA supplementation at 0.25 to 1.00% improved the morphology of duodenum or jejunum (P < 0.05). The jejunal content pH value was significantly reduced with the addition of CA compared with the control group (P < 0.05). As citric acid levels increased, the IgA concentrations in plasma increased and then decreased, and the goslings fed 1.00% CA supplementation had the highest IgA concentrations (P < 0.05). The supplementation of 1.00% and 2.00% CA in diet significantly reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in plasma (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found on some indices related to liver function in plasma (P > 0.05), while creatinine significantly increased by the 2.00% CA supplementation (P < 0.05). Besides, the higher Coliform level in cecal content and worse intestinal morphology were observed when CA supplementation was up to 2.00%. Hence, the dietary CA supplementation (especially 1.00%) in goslings improves the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immunity and antioxidant, while excessive CA addition may cause negative effects. According to the quadratic polynomial model, the addition of CA in diet for obtaining maximum average daily feed intake (ADFI) should be 1.09% (10.9 g/kg diet) for goslings from 1 to 28 d of age., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In the traditional feeding pattern of geese, the feed trough will be placed on the ground for a long time and hurts the living environment. This research aimed to investigate the effect of 4 different feed trough positioning heights on growth performance, blood parameters, feed loss, water consumption, feeding environment, and behavior of geese and determine the optimal trough positioning height for 28 to 70-d geese. A total of one hundred ninty-two 28-d male Yuzhou white geese were allocated randomly to 4 groups with 6 replicate pens per group according to the trough positioning height (on the ground [D], one-third [L], two-thirds [M], and the same height of geese's beak above the ground [H], respectively). The results show that the growth performance and blood biochemical parameters have no significant difference among groups (P > 0.05). The average daily feed loss and water consumption presented the lowest value in group H (P < 0.01). The hygienic condition index of the feed and feed trough increased as trough positioning height. Feed from group H had a higher cleanliness score than other groups (P < 0.001). The count of microbes (total bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli) on the surface of the feed trough from group H was lower than other groups (P < 0.001). Geese from group H had shorter daily feeding and drinking time than other groups (P < 0.05). Overall, these data indicate the same trough positioning height with geese's beaks could lower feed loss, and water consumption and improve hygienic conditions without damage to growth performance and will be the optimal choice for geese., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of ambient temperature on the growth performance, fat deposition, and intestinal morphology of geese from 28 to 49 d of age. A total of 120 twenty-eight-day-old geese were randomly allotted to 5 environmentally controlled chambers with ambient temperatures set at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C from 28 to 49 d of age, respectively. The feed intake, 49 d body weight, and weight gain decreased linearly or quadratically (P < 0.05) as ambient temperature increased and declined to a minimum when the temperature increased to 30°C. The feed/gain showed a linear or quadratic (P < 0.05) increasing response to increasing temperature. According to broken-line regression, the upper critical levels of ambient temperature from 28 to 49 d of age for weight gain and feed intake were 25.19 and 23.97°C, respectively. As ambient temperature increased from 18 to 30°C, the abdominal fat weight, abdominal fat rate, and subcutaneous fat thickness decreased linearly (P < 0.05) and were accompanied by linearly increasing liver fat content (P < 0.05), but the ambient temperature had no effect on intermuscular fat width or breast muscle fat content (P > 0.05). There were no differences in jejunal, ileal, or cecal morphology for geese raised at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C (P > 0.05). The duodenal villus height showed a linear decreasing response to increasing ambient temperature, but the ambient temperature had no effect on crypt depth, villus width, muscularis thickness, or villus height/crypt depth of the duodenum (P > 0.05). These results indicate that high ambient temperature decreased growth performance and fat deposition and impaired duodenal morphology of geese. Under our experimental conditions, we recommend that the upper critical ambient temperature for geese from 28 to 49 d of age be 25.19°C., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of ambient temperature on the growth performance, blood parameter, and fat deposition in geese from 14 to 28 d of age in order to establish their optimal temperature requirements. A total of 150 14-day-old geese were allocated randomly to 5 environmentally controlled chambers with ambient temperature set at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C from 14 to 28 d of age, respectively. As ambient temperature increased from 18 to 30°C, the feed intake decreased linearly (P < 0.05) and was accompanied by linearly or quadratically (P < 0.05) decreasing 28-day-old body weight, weight gain, and feed/gain. The upper critical level of ambient temperature from 14 to 28 d of age for 28-day-old body weight and weight gain were 25.83 and 26.17°C, respectively. There were no differences in plasma biochemical parameters or plasma hormones between geese fed at ambient temperature regimen at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C. The abdominal fat weight and abdominal fat rate decreased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with higher ambient temperature, but the ambient temperature had no effect on subcutaneous fat thickness or intermuscular fat width. It was concluded that the upper critical temperature of the ambient temperature for geese from 14 to 28 d of age was 26.17°C and high ambient temperature could lead to growth depression., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to investigate the effects of chitooligosaccharide (COS) on intestinal barrier, antioxidant capacity, and immunity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged laying hens. A total of 360 Hy-line Brown laying hens (80-wk-old) were randomly divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates of 12 birds. Hens were fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet supplemented with different COS levels (0; 5; 10; 15; 20 mg/kg) for 8 wk. The results showed that 15 mg/kg COS administration elevated albumen height and Haugh unit (P < 0.05), and numerically optimized productive performance (P > 0.05), therefore, the dosage of 15 mg/kg was chosen for the subsequent experiment. Thereafter, 12 birds from non-supplemented group were randomly selected and assigned into 2 groups, and birds in each group were administered (1.5 mg/kg BW, i.p.) with saline (control group) or LPS (challenge group). Another 6 hens from 15 mg/kg COS-supplemented group were selected and injected with LPS in the same way. Compared with the control group, LPS-challenged birds exhibited elevated circulating diamine oxidase activity, and reduced jejunal villus height and ratio of villus height to crypt depth, and these indices were reversed to control levels by COS (P < 0.05). Also, LPS increased malondialdehyde accumulation and reduced several antioxidant enzyme activities in the intestinal mucosa (P < 0.05). Additionally, LPS increased jejunal secretory IgA and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and ileal secretory IgA, IgM, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) concentrations, whereas COS reduced jejunal IFN-γ and IL-1β, and ileal IgM levels (P < 0.05). Moreover, LPS down-regulated mRNA abundance of jejunal occludin and claudin 2, and upregulated expression of jejunal nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2, superoxide dismutase 1, and IFN-γ as well as ileal IL-1β (P < 0.05). Besides, COS increased jejunal occludin and ileal claudin 2, nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2, and heme oxygenase-1 expression, and decreased jejunal IFN-γ and IL-1β abundance (P < 0.05). These results suggested that COS could alleviate LPS-induced intestinal barrier impairment, and oxidative and immunological stress in laying hens., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein receptor with intracellular tyrosine kinase activity. Its alterations, including mutation, amplification and overexpression, could result in oncogenic potential and have been detected in many cancers such as non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Such alterations are, in general, considered markers of poor prognosis. Anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates, e.g. trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd, DS-8201) and disitamab vedotin (RC48), were recently approved for HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. Meanwhile, several HER2-targeted drugs, such as T-DXd, neratinib, afatinib, poziotinib and pyrotinib, have been evaluated in patients with advanced NSCLC, with several of them demonstrating clinical benefit. Therefore, identifying HER2 alterations is pivotal for NSCLC patients to benefit from these targeted therapies. Recent guidelines on HER2 testing were developed for breast and gastric cancer, however, and have not been fully established for NSCLC. The expert group here reached a consensus on HER2 alteration testing in NSCLC with the focus on clinicopathologic characteristics, therapies, detection methods and diagnostic criteria for HER2-altered NSCLC patients. We hope this consensus could improve the clinical management of NSCLC patients with HER2 alterations., Competing Interests: Disclosure JZ served as a scientific advisor/consultant for AstraZeneca, Biodesix, Novocure, Bayer, Daiichi Sankyo, Mirati, Novartis, Cardinal Health, Bristol Myers Squibb, Nexus Health and Sanofi, is on the speakers’ bureau for AstraZeneca and MJH Life Sciences and has received research funding from AstraZeneca, Biodesix, Novartis, Genentech/Roche, Mirati, AbbVie and Hengrui Therapeutics. FRH participated in scientific advisory boards for: Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Merck, Novartis, AstraZeneca/Daiichi, Sanofi/Regeneron, OncoCyte. CZ reported honoraria as a speaker from Roche, Lily China, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, Hengrui, Qilu, Sanofi, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Innovent Biologics, C-Stone, Luye Pharma, TopAlliance Biosciences, and Amoy Diagnositics; and advisor fees for Innovent Biologics, Hengrui, Qilu, and TopAlliance Biosciences. SR reported honoraria as a speaker from Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Roche, Hengrui, and Junshi, advisor fees for Roche, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Boehringer Ingelheim and research funding from Hengrui. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to investigate the age-related changes of hepatic metabolism and antioxidant capacity of laying hens at 3 different ages. A total of 192 Hy-line Brown laying hens were assigned into 3 groups: 1) 195-day-old (D195 group); 2) 340-day-old (D340 group); 3) 525-day-old (D525 group). Each group replicated 8 times with 8 hens at the same age. Higher activity of aspartate aminotransferase and lower contents of total protein and globulin were observed in the serum of 525-day-old hens in comparison with their 195-day-old counterparts (P < 0.05). The 525-day-old hens accumulated higher contents of total cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver than 195-day-old birds. Additionally, compared with hens from D195 or D340 group, 525-day-old birds exhibited a lower circulating estradiol level (P < 0.05). For antioxidant capacity, birds in the D525 group showed a higher malondialdehyde concentration in both serum and liver as compared with D195 or D340 group (P < 0.05). The 525-day-old hens also exhibited lower glutathione peroxidase activities in both serum and liver when compared with 195-day-old birds (P < 0.05). Simultaneously, there was a decline of hepatic superoxide dismutase activity in the D525 group in comparison with D195 group (P < 0.05). Compared with 195-day-old counterparts, 340-day-old birds upregulated the mRNA abundance of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 and glutathione peroxidase 1 in the liver (P < 0.05). In contrast, hens from D525 group showed the downregulation of hepatic nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1, and superoxide dismutase 1 when compared with D340 group (P < 0.05). These results indicated that increasing age can adversely affect liver metabolism and function of laying hens., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of stocking density on growth performance, feather quality, serum hormone, and intestinal development of geese from 1 to 14 d of age. A total of 450 one-day-old geese were randomly allotted to 45 battery cage (0.65 m × 0.62 m) pens according to 5 stocking densities (15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 birds/m 2 ). The results showed that ADG and ADFI were reduced (P < 0.05) as stocking density increased from 15 to 35 birds/m 2 , but increasing stocking density did not influence (P > 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body measurement traits. High stocking density significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the feather quality of back, thoracoabdominal, wing, and tail. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was found in serum concentration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone, cortisol, corticosterone, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine. The weight of cecum and intestine decreased (P < 0.05) as the stocking density increased. Increasing stocking density decreased (P < 0.05) jejunal villus height and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, and increased (P < 0.05) jejunal crypt depth and ileal crypt depth in geese. Consequently, the high stocking density could depress the growth and impaired feather quality and intestinal development of geese. Under our experimental conditions, we recommend that the stocking density of geese from 1 to 14 d of age should not more than 20 birds/m 2 ., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Although a number of cases of importation with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have been reported, there are still no data available concerning the characteristics in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cluster of charter flight importation. Here, we provide an analysis of COVID-19 cases and their close contacts who worked for the same company on a project in Karbala, Iraq, and returned back to Chengdu, China, by a charter flight., Methods: The data of imported COVID-19 cases and their close contacts were obtained from National Notifiable Disease Report System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and field epidemiological investigation reports by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in Chengdu. The information of general characteristics and laboratory findings of this cluster were collected and summarized., Results: One hundred and six (66.67%) of 159 charter flight passengers tested positive for COVID-19 before entry. Through treatment, all 159 people tested negative and meet the requirements of taking flights bound for China before boarding. However, there has been still 36 (22.64%) of them tested positive after entry. The median time from entry to confirmation was 1.0 day (Interquartile Range (IQR): 0-4.3). The Cycle threshold value (Ct value) of 36 patients' positive samples are all above 30 and most values are above 35., Conclusions: In conclusion, there is still a risk that a number of COVID-19 cases can be imported through charter flight. However, the infectivity of confirmed patients of the charter flight was considered to be low., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study investigated the impact of smoking on the incidence of insomnia., Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies., Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and OVID were searched through March 2020. Cohort studies reporting the effect of smoking on the incidence of insomnia were included. We quantitatively analyzed the basic framework and study characteristics and then pooled estimate effects with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of outcomes of each included study using fixed-effects meta-analyses., Results: This systematic review included six cohort studies involving 12,445 participants. Quantitatively summarized results suggested that smoking could significantly increase the incidence of insomnia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.13). Regular smoking was significantly associated with the incidence of insomnia (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.13). As for occasional smokers and ex-smokers, the pooled analysis did not indicate a significant association (occasional smoker: OR = 2.09, 95% CI: 0.44, 9.95; ex-smoker; OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.67, 1.54). Subgroup analysis by age, gender ratio, and region showed a statistically significant relationship between smoking and the incidence of insomnia in specific groups., Conclusions: Integrated longitudinal observational evidence identified smoking as a significant risk factor of insomnia. Considering the limited amount of available studies, more high-quality and prospective cohort studies of large sample sizes are needed to explore details of this association., (Copyright © 2021 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Migrant workers are one of the most vulnerable population groups during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 among Indonesian migrant workers (IMWs) in Macao (SAR), Hong Kong (SAR), and Taiwan., Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study., Methods: Data were collected through an online survey in February and March 2020 to gain information on (1) participants' sociodemographic characteristics, (2) experience and awareness regarding COVID-19 information, and (3) knowledge and understanding of COVID-19. A series of Chi-squared, t-test, and logistic regression analyses were conducted., Results: The survey was completed by 491 participants (92.1% female). Knowledge of COVID-19 was obtained from multiple sources, including a large proportion from online social media. However, participants who obtained information from their employer, local social networks, and migrant organisations answered a greater number of questions correctly. One-third of participants reported receiving hoax, fake news, and incorrect information and obtained information from unverified sources. Participants were most interested in information about how to cure COVID-19, and 57.8% knew that no specific drug or vaccine was currently available. Almost all participants correctly identified fever and wearing a facemask as the main COVID-19 symptom and prevention strategy, respectively. Participants with senior high school or higher education and who worked as domestic or care workers had a greater knowledge of COVID-19 than their counterparts., Conclusions: Public health communication strategies using multiple channels, including employers and community organisations, would help to minimise COVID-19 knowledge gaps. In addition, it is recommended that digital literacy content is added to public health campaigns., (Copyright © 2021 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Ribociclib plus fulvestrant demonstrated significant progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) benefits in patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC). Here we present a new landmark in survival follow-up for a phase III cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitor clinical trial in patients with ABC (median, 56.3 months)., Patients and Methods: This phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at 174 sites (30 countries). Patients were men and postmenopausal women (age ≥18 years) with histologically/cytologically confirmed HR+/HER2- ABC. Patients could have received ≤1 line of endocrine therapy (ET) but no chemotherapy for ABC. Patients, assigned 2:1, were stratified by the presence/absence of liver/lung metastases and previous ET. Patients received intramuscular fulvestrant (500 mg, day 1 of each 28-day cycle plus day 15 of cycle 1) with oral ribociclib (600 mg/day, 3 weeks on, 1 week off) or placebo. Efficacy analyses were by intention to treat. Safety was assessed in patients receiving ≥1 dose study treatment. OS was a secondary endpoint. MONALEESA-3 is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02422615; no longer enrolling)., Results: Between 18 June 2015 and 10 June 2016, 726 patients were randomly assigned (484, ribociclib; 242, placebo). At data cut-off (30 October 2020), median OS (mOS) was 53.7 months (ribociclib) versus 41.5 months (placebo) [hazard ratio (HR), 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-0.90]. Subgroup analyses were consistent with overall population. In the first-line setting, most patients in the ribociclib arm (∼60%) lived longer than median follow-up; mOS was 51.8 months in the placebo arm (HR, 0.64; 95% CI 0.46-0.88). In the second-line setting, mOS was 39.7 months (ribociclib) versus 33.7 months (placebo) (HR, 0.78; 95% CI 0.59-1.04). No apparent drug-drug interaction between ribociclib and fulvestrant or new safety signals were observed., Conclusions: This analysis reported extended OS follow-up in MONALEESA-3. mOS was ∼12 months longer in patients with HR+/HER2- ABC treated with ribociclib plus fulvestrant compared with fulvestrant monotherapy., Competing Interests: Disclosure DJS reports board of directors (stock) and travel expenses from BioMarin; stock ownership, research funding, and travel expenses from Pfizer; advisory board, consulting, research funding, and travel expenses from Novartis; consulting from Eli Lilly; and stock ownership from Amgen and Seattle Genetics. SC reports that his institution received grants and personal fees for advisory boards from Novartis, Pfizer, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Eli Lilly, outside the submitted work. GJ reports personal fees from Novartis, during the conduct of the study; grants, personal fees, and non-financial support from Novartis, Roche, and Pfizer; personal fees and non-financial support from Lilly, Amgen, BMS, and AstraZeneca; personal fees from AbbVie and Daiichi-Sankyo; and non-financial support from Med-immune and Merck KGaA, outside the submitted work. MDL reports personal fees for speaker honoraria and advisory board honoraria from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Pierre Fabre, outside the submitted work. SI reports grants from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Eisai, and Daewoong; advisory and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Novartis, Hanmi, Pfizer, Eisai, Amgen, MediPacto, Roche, Eli Lilly, MSD, and GlaxoSmithKline; and non-financial support from Novartis. KP reports personal fees for advisory board from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Roche, Pfizer, and BMS, outside the submitted work. GVB reports personal fees for advisory board from Novartis and Eli Lilly, outside the submitted work. MM reports personal fees for speaker honoraria and honoraria for participation in advisory boards from Lilly and Pfizer; honoraria for participation in advisory boards from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pharmamar, and Taiho Oncology; and research grants and honoraria for participation in advisory boards from Novartis and Roche-Genentech, outside the submitted work. AN reports consulting/advisory role, travel/accommodation/expenses, and research funding from Novartis and consulting/advisory role from Amgen during the conduct of the study. GSS reports institutional reimbursement for patient accrual and education and steering committee activities from Novartis and institutional research support from Merck, AstraZeneca, and Roche, outside the submitted work. LDLC-M reports personal fees for consultant/advisory role, research funding, and speaking engagements from MSD-Merck; consultant/advisory role, research funding, speaking engagements, and grant support from Roche Farma; consultant/advisory role, speaking engagements, and grant support from Bristol Myers Squibb; consultant/advisory role from Novartis and Pierre Fabre; consultant/advisory role and speaking engagements from Amgen; and research funding from Celgene, outside the submitted work. JTB reports grants for institutional funding for doing research from AbbVie, Alliance, Amgen, Ascentage Pharma Group, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boston Biomedial, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Genentech-Roche, Hutchison, Immunomedics, Janssen, MT Group, Nektar, Pfizer, Polynoma, Seattle Genetics, Serono-EMD, Tesaro, TG Therapeutics, Biodesix, Exact Sciences, Boehringer Ingleheim, Laekna, Novocure, Daiichi-Sankyo, Mirati Therapeutics, and Tarveda Therapeutics, during the conduct of the study. YJ, CW, UD, AC, JPZ, and TT report employment and stock ownership from Novartis. PAF reports personal fees for advisory board from Celgene, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Macrogenics, Eisai, Puma, Lilly, and AstraZeneca; lectures from Daiichi-Sankyo, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Lilly; and research support from Cepheid and Novartis, outside the submitted work. PN has declared no conflicts of interest. Data sharing Novartis made the study protocols available for MONALEESA-3 at the time of primary publications. Individual participant data will not be made available., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Workplace health promotion activities have a positive effect on emotions. Zentangle art relaxes the body and mind through the process of concentrating while painting, achieving a healing effect. This study aimed to promote the physical and mental health of rural healthcare workers through Zentangle art-based intervention., Study Design: This was a quasi-experimental pilot study., Methods: A Zentangle art workshop was held from November 2019 to July 2020. A total of 40 healthcare workers were recruited. The participants were asked to provide baseline data, and the Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), work stress management effectiveness self-rating scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Workplace Spirituality Scale (WSS) were administered before and after the workshop. SPSS 22.0 statistical package software was used to conduct the data analysis., Results: The median age (interquartile range [IQR]) was 32.00 years (23.00-41.75 years). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed that the median (IQR) BSRS-5 postintervention score was 4.0 (1.25-5.0), which was lower than the preintervention score (P = 0.004). The postintervention score for the work stress management effectiveness self-rating scale was 36.5 (31.0-40.0), which was also lower than the preintervention score (P = 0.009). A higher score for the GSES or WSS indicated improvements in stress management and self-efficacy. The GSES postintervention score 25.00 (21.0-30.75) was significantly higher than the preintervention score (P = 0.010), and the WSS postintervention score 104.0 (88.0-111.75) was significantly higher than the preintervention score (P = 0.005)., Conclusions: The study provides evidence that painting therapy can effectively relieve stress, reduce workplace stress and frustration, enhance self-efficacy, and increase commitment to work among healthcare workers, thus improving their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Zentangle art provides employees with multiple channels for expressing their emotions and can improve the physical and mental health of healthcare workers in the workplace. It is beneficial and cost-effective and can serve as a benchmark for peer learning., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: A meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the safety and efficiency of I 125 irradiation stent placement for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) combined with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT)., Materials and Methods: The Cochrane library, PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang Data and CQVIP were systematically screened out from the earliest to December 2019. The qualities of all included studies were assessed. The primary endpoints were the 6-month, 12-month stent cumulative patency rate and 6-month, 12-month, 24-month overall survival rate while the secondary endpoints were the objective response rate of PVTT, main portal venous pressure changes and treatment-related adverse events. Our meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 12.0 software., Results: Totally seven studies with 1018 patients were included in the final analysis, in which 602 patients received TACE and I 125 irradiation stent placement, and 416 patients in control group underwent TACE and stent placement without endovascular brachytherapy (EVBT). Meta-analysis showed that the I 125 irradiation stent improved the cumulative stent patency rates in 6months [OR=1.65, 95% CI (1.32-2.05), P<0.001] and 12months [OR=2.55, 95% CI (1.90-3.42), P<0.001] and the survival rates in 6months [OR=1.77, 95% CI (1.41-2.22), P<0.001], 12months [OR=3.14, 95% CI (2.24-4.40), P<0.001] and 24months [OR=7.39, 95% CI (3.55-15.41), P<0.001]. However, there was no difference in the objective response rate of PVTT [OR=1.13, 95% CI (0.87-1.48), P=0.365], main portal venous pressure and the occurrence adverse event [OR=0.88, CI=0.72-1.08, P=0.212] between two groups., Conclusion: I 125 irradiation stent seems to be more effective in treating hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis. The usage of portal vein stent combined endovascular brachytherapy has the potential to act as an alternative therapy for HCC with PVTT. On account of the limitation of studies included, more studies with high-level evidence, such as RCTs, are requisite to support the above promising results., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Intestinal integrity, digestive enzyme activity, nutrient utilization, and egg quality of laying hens at different ages were evaluated and compared in this study. A total of 192 Hy-line Brown laying hens at 195-d-old (D195 group), 340-d-old (D340 group), and 525-d-old (D525 group) were allocated into one of 3 groups in accordance with their ages. Each group had 8 replicates of 8 birds each, and all birds were fed a maize-soybean meal basal diet for a 2-wk experiment. Compared with the D195 group, intestinal villus height and ratio of villus height to crypt depth, as well as serum D-lactate content increased in the D525 group (P < 0.05). The sucrase and maltase activities in the jejunal mucosa, amylase activity in the pancreas, and trypsin activity in the jejunal chyme of 525-d-old hens were lower than their 195-d-old counterparts (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a decline of trypsin and lipase activities in the ileal chyme of hens from D525 group in comparison with D195 or D340 group (P < 0.05). Apparent retention of dry matter and crude protein of birds in D340 and D525 group decreased when compared with the D195 group (P < 0.05). Moreover, birds in the D525 group exhibited a lower level of ether extract retention, and higher contents of several excreted amino acids than those in the D195 group (P < 0.05). Compared with the D195 group, eggs harvested from D525 group exhibited lower albumen height, eggshell strength and thickness, and a higher egg weight (P < 0.05). In conclusion, increased intestinal permeability (higher serum D-lactate content), compromised digestive function (lower digestive enzyme activities and apparent nutrient retention, and higher concentrations of excreted amino acids), and poor egg quality (lower albumen height, eggshell strength, and thickness) were observed with increasing age in the laying hens., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article was retracted at the request of the authors. The authors of this abstract have advised that full agreement between authors and sponsors on publication of the abstract has not been reached and they are therefore unable to publish this data at present., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) can improve the growth performance of bulls. This study investigated the influences of GAA addition on growth, nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation and serum metabolites in bulls. Forty-eight Angus bulls were randomly allocated to experimental treatments, that is, control, low-GAA (LGAA), medium-GAA (MGAA) and high-GAA (HGAA), with GAA supplementation at 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 g/kg DM, respectively. Bulls were fed a basal diet containing 500 g/kg DM concentrate and 500 g/kg DM roughage. The experimental period was 104 days, with 14 days for adaptation and 90 days for data collection. Bulls in the MGAA and HGAA groups had higher DM intake and average daily gain than bulls in the LGAA and control groups. The feed conversion ratio was lowest in MGAA and highest in the control. Bulls receiving 0.9 g/kg DM GAA addition had higher digestibility of DM, organic matter, NDF and ADF than bulls in other groups. The digestibility of CP was higher for HGAA than for LGAA and control. The ruminal pH was lower for MGAA, and the total volatile fatty acid concentration was greater for MGAA and HGAA than for the control. The acetate proportion and acetate-to-propionate ratio were lower for MGAA than for LGAA and control. The propionate proportion was higher for MGAA than for control. Bulls receiving GAA addition showed decreased ruminal ammonia N. Bulls in MGAA and HGAA had higher cellobiase, pectinase and protease activities and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Prevotella ruminicola and Ruminobacter amylophilus populations than bulls in LGAA and control. However, the total protozoan population was lower for MGAA and HGAA than for LGAA and control. The total bacterial and Ruminococcus flavefaciens populations increased with GAA addition. The blood level of creatine was higher for HGAA, and the activity of l-arginine glycine amidine transferase was lower for MGAA and HGAA, than for control. The blood activity of guanidine acetate N-methyltransferase and the level of folate decreased in the GAA addition groups. The results indicated that dietary addition of 0.6 or 0.9 g/kg DM GAA improved growth performance, nutrient digestion and ruminal fermentation in bulls.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding frequency on growth performance, carcass traits, and apparent nutrient digestibility in geese from 28 to 70 D of age. In experiment 1, a total of 240 geese were distributed in a completely randomized design into 4 treatments and 6 replicates of 10 birds each. The treatments were free access to the feeder (ad libitum) and access to the feeder 3, 4, and 5 times daily. Geese fed 3 times daily had a lower (P < 0.05) BW, ADG, and ADFI and a higher (P = 0.064) feed conversion ratio (FCR) from 28 to 41 D of age compared with the other groups. Geese fed 4 times daily had a higher (P < 0.05) ADG and ADFI and a lower (P < 0.05) FCR from 42 to 55 D of age compared with ad libitum fed geese. Geese fed 3 times daily had a higher (P < 0.05) ADG from 56 to 69 D of age than geese fed ad libitum and 4 times daily. No differences (P > 0.05) in BW, ADFI, ADG, and FCR were observed between ad libitum and feeding frequency groups from 28 to 69 D of age. Carcass traits and gastrointestinal development were not affected (P > 0.05) by feeding frequency. In experiment 2, the apparent nutrient digestibility in geese from 71 to 77 D of age fed using different feeding frequencies was determined using the total fecal collection method. Feeding frequency did not affect (P > 0.05) the apparent digestibility of DM, CP, crude ash, calcium, phosphorous, or ether extract in geese. Our study demonstrates for the first time that compensatory growth can be gained by enhancing feed intake when a lower feeding frequency is imposed on geese. Both ad libitum feeding and fixed feeding frequency for 3 to 5 times daily are suitable for geese from 28 to 70 D of age to achieve optimum production., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Improvac has been tentatively used to immune-castrate roosters. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Improvac affected skeletal muscle development in chickens. The muscle fiber type and size and the expression levels of genes related to muscle development in pectoral and thigh muscles were examined at 5, 9, and 14 wk of age in the control, early, late, and early + late Improvac-treated groups. Immunocastration with Improvac affected the development of thigh muscles and the expression of MYH1B, MSTN, and SM. The cross-sectional area in the early group was significantly larger than in the control group at the 14th week (P < 0.01). At the fifth week, the expression levels of MYH1B, MYOD, and MSTN in the early group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and at the ninth week, the expression level of SM1 in the control group was significantly lower than that in early and late groups (P < 0.05). Immunocastration did not affect pectoral muscle development or the expression of genes related to muscle development., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Se can enhance lactation performance by improving nutrient utilization and antioxidant status. However, sodium selenite (SS) can be reduced to non-absorbable elemental Se in the rumen, thereby reducing the intestinal availability of Se. The study investigated the impacts of SS and coated SS (CSS) supplementation on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation and microbiota in dairy cows. Sixty multiparous Holstein dairy cows were blocked by parity, daily milk yield and days in milk and randomly assigned to five treatments: control, SS addition (0.3 mg Se/kg DM as SS addition) or CSS addition (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg Se/kg DM as CSS addition for low CSS (LCSS), medium CSS (MCSS) and high CSS (HCSS), respectively). Experiment period was 110 days with 20 days of adaptation and 90 days of sample collection. Dry matter intake was higher for MCSS and HCSS compared with control. Yields of milk, milk fat and milk protein and feed efficiency were higher for MCSS and HCSS than for control, SS and LCSS. Digestibility of DM and organic matter was highest for CSS addition, followed by SS addition and then control. Digestibility of CP was higher for MCSS and HCSS than for control, SS and LCSS. Higher digestibility of ether extract, NDF and ADF was observed for SS or CSS addition. Ruminal pH decreased with dietary Se addition. Acetate to propionate ratio and ammonia N were lower, and total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration was greater for SS, MCSS and HCSS than control. Ruminal H ion concentration was highest for MCSS and HCSS and lowest for control. Activities of cellobiase, carboxymethyl-cellulase, xylanase and protease and copies of total bacteria, fungi, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus amylophilus increased with SS or CSS addition. Activity of α-amylase, copies of protozoa, Ruminococcus albus and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and serum glucose, total protein, albumin and glutathione peroxidase were higher for SS, MCSS and HCSS than for control and LCSS. Dietary SS or CSS supplementation elevated blood Se concentration and total antioxidant capacity activity. The data implied that milk yield was elevated due to the increase in total tract nutrient digestibility, total VFA concentration and microorganism population with 0.2 or 0.3 mg Se/kg DM from CSS supplementation in dairy cows. Compared with SS, HCSS addition was more efficient in promoting lactation performance of dairy cows.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of microlearning in improving an individual's capability for self-care., Study Design: Systematic review of the literature., Background: The routine adoption of health seeking self-care behaviours can prevent or delay the appearance of various lifestyle diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Microlearning delivers complex knowledge in fragments or bite-size 'nuggets' of information and has been applied as a novel intervention to improve individual's self-care capabilities. The aim of this research was to systematically review the literature to determine the effectiveness of microlearning in improving individual self-care capability., Methods: A search was conducted on 15 July 2019 across five electronic bibliographic databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Scopus. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted time series studies, published between 1 January 1990 and 15 July 2019 and looking at individuals of all ages were included in the search. The search strategy included a keyword search and a string of "(modality) AND (learning) AND (micro)", which broadly described microlearning to cover all available articles that have used microformat learning interventions. The search was combined with keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms for self-care to identify studies of interests. Studies were screened by two reviewers independently and reported using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart. Data from included articles were extracted using Cochran Data Collection Form. Risk of bias was assessed using Version 2 of the Cochrane Risk-of-bias or Risk Of Bias In Non-Randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I)., Results: 1310 articles were identified in the initial search. A total of 26 manuscripts were included in the narrative synthesis after title and abstract and full text screening was performed by two reviewers. Outcomes of studies were categorised. A total of 23 studies measured cognitive level self-care capabilities-related changes, and 91% showed statistically significant improvements. Only 11 studies measured actual self-care behaviour changes, from which only 36% showed statistically significant results. From the 26 manuscripts included, 25 articles were evaluated as having moderate-to-high risk of bias., Conclusion: Under certain conditions, or when combined with monitoring such as tracking daily medicine intake, microlearning can be effective in improving actual self-care behaviours. Microlearning can also positively influence individuals' cognitive self-care capabilities but was largely ineffective in triggering actual self-care behaviour change. More studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of microlearning in improving self-care capabilities amongst the general population at scale., (Copyright © 2020 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Median overall survival (OS) for women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is ∼4 years, yet survival varies widely between patients. There are no well-established, gene expression signatures associated with prognosis. The aim of this study was to develop a robust prognostic signature for OS in patients with HGSOC., Patients and Methods: Expression of 513 genes, selected from a meta-analysis of 1455 tumours and other candidates, was measured using NanoString technology from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour tissue collected from 3769 women with HGSOC from multiple studies. Elastic net regularization for survival analysis was applied to develop a prognostic model for 5-year OS, trained on 2702 tumours from 15 studies and evaluated on an independent set of 1067 tumours from six studies., Results: Expression levels of 276 genes were associated with OS (false discovery rate < 0.05) in covariate-adjusted single-gene analyses. The top five genes were TAP1, ZFHX4, CXCL9, FBN1 and PTGER3 (P < 0.001). The best performing prognostic signature included 101 genes enriched in pathways with treatment implications. Each gain of one standard deviation in the gene expression score conferred a greater than twofold increase in risk of death [hazard ratio (HR) 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02-2.71; P < 0.001]. Median survival [HR (95% CI)] by gene expression score quintile was 9.5 (8.3 to -), 5.4 (4.6-7.0), 3.8 (3.3-4.6), 3.2 (2.9-3.7) and 2.3 (2.1-2.6) years., Conclusion: The OTTA-SPOT (Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium - Stratified Prognosis of Ovarian Tumours) gene expression signature may improve risk stratification in clinical trials by identifying patients who are least likely to achieve 5-year survival. The identified novel genes associated with the outcome may also yield opportunities for the development of targeted therapeutic approaches., Competing Interests: Disclosure BYK served on Invitae Corporation's Advisory Board from 2017 to 2018. IAM has acted on the Advisory Boards for AstraZeneca, Clovis Oncology, Tesaro, Carrick Therapeutics and Takeda. His institution receives funding from AstraZeneca. RG is on the Advisory Boards for AstraZeneca, Tesaro, Clovis and Immunogen and does consultancy work for SOTIO. She has received support to attend conferences from AstraZeneca, Roche and Tesaro. Her institution has received research funding from Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly/Ignyta and she is the national co-ordinating investigator for the UK for trials sponsored by AstraZeneca and Tesaro and site principal investigator for trials sponsored by AstraZeneca, Tesaro, Immunogen, Pfizer, Lilly and Clovis. PAF has received grants from Novartis, BioNtech and Cepheid as well as personal fees from Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, Celgene, Daiichi-Sankyo, TEVA, Astra Zeneca, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Myelo Therapeutics, MacroGenics, Eisai and Puma during the conduct of the study. JDB has acted on Advisory Boards for AstraZeneca and has received support from GSK to attend conferences. His institution receives funding from AstraZeneca and Aprea. UM has shares in Abcodia Ltd. Sandra Orsulic and Beth Y. Karlan have patents on predictive gene signatures in ovarian cancer (US010253368 and EU2908913). All remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cancer patients are regarded as a highly vulnerable group in the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To date, the clinical characteristics of COVID-19-infected cancer patients remain largely unknown., Patients and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we included cancer patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from three designated hospitals in Wuhan, China. Clinical data were collected from medical records from 13 January 2020 to 26 February 2020. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to assess the risk factors associated with severe events defined as a condition requiring admission to an intensive care unit, the use of mechanical ventilation, or death., Results: A total of 28 COVID-19-infected cancer patients were included; 17 (60.7%) patients were male. Median (interquartile range) age was 65.0 (56.0-70.0) years. Lung cancer was the most frequent cancer type (n = 7; 25.0%). Eight (28.6%) patients were suspected to have hospital-associated transmission. The following clinical features were shown in our cohort: fever (n = 23, 82.1%), dry cough (n = 22, 81%), and dyspnoea (n = 14, 50.0%), along with lymphopaenia (n = 23, 82.1%), high level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (n = 23, 82.1%), anaemia (n = 21, 75.0%), and hypoproteinaemia (n = 25, 89.3%). The common chest computed tomography (CT) findings were ground-glass opacity (n = 21, 75.0%) and patchy consolidation (n = 13, 46.3%). A total of 15 (53.6%) patients had severe events and the mortality rate was 28.6%. If the last antitumour treatment was within 14 days, it significantly increased the risk of developing severe events [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.079, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.086-15.322, P = 0.037]. Furthermore, patchy consolidation on CT on admission was associated with a higher risk of developing severe events (HR = 5.438, 95% CI 1.498-19.748, P = 0.010)., Conclusions: Cancer patients show deteriorating conditions and poor outcomes from the COVID-19 infection. It is recommended that cancer patients receiving antitumour treatments should have vigorous screening for COVID-19 infection and should avoid treatments causing immunosuppression or have their dosages decreased in case of COVID-19 coinfection., Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The combined addition of branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFAs) and folic acid (FA) could improve growth performance and nutrient utilization by stimulating ruminal microbial growth and enzyme activity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of BCVFA and FA addition on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, nutrient digestibility, microbial enzyme activity, microflora and excretion of urinary purine derivatives (PDs) in calves. Thirty-six Chinese Holstein weaned calves (60 ± 5.4 days of age and 107 ± 4.7 kg of BW) were assigned to one of four groups in a randomized block design. Treatments were control (without additives), FA (with 10 mg FA/kg dietary DM), BCVFA (with 5 g BCVFA/kg dietary DM) and the combined addition of FA and BCVFA (10 mg/kg DM of FA and 5 g/kg DM of BCVFA). Supplements were hand-mixed into the top one-third of total mixed ration. Dietary concentrate to maize silage ratio was 50 : 50 on a DM basis. Dietary BCVFA or FA addition did not affect dry matter intake but increased average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion efficiency. Ruminal pH and ammonia N were lower, and total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration was higher for BCVFA or FA addition than for control. Dietary BCVFA or FA addition did not affect acetate proportion but decreased propionate proportion and increased acetate to propionate ratio. Total tract digestibility of DM, organic matter, CP and NDF was higher for BCVFA or FA addition than for control. Dietary BCVFA or FA addition increased activity of carboxymethyl cellulase and cellobiase, population of total bacteria, fungi, Ruminococcus albus, R. flavefaciens, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Prevotella ruminicola as well as total PD excretion. Ruminal xylanase, pectinase and protease activity and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens population were increased by BCVFA addition, whereas population of protozoa and methanogens was increased by FA addition. The BCVFA × FA interaction was significant for acetate to propionate ratio, cellobiase activity and total PD excretion, and these variables increased more with FA addition in diet without BCVFA than in diet with BCVFA. The data indicated that supplementation with BCVFA or FA increased ADG, nutrient digestibility, ruminal total VFA concentration and microbial protein synthesis by stimulating ruminal microbial growth and enzyme activity in calves.

Objectives: Results from previous studies investigating the association of obesity with bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis (OP) are inconsistent. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether obesity is associated with BMD and the risk of OP., Study Design: This is a meta-analysis., Methods: A computerised literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) (Chinese) and Wanfang (Chinese) databases for relevant articles published in English or Chinese before the end of December 2017. Means with standard deviations and odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were computed to estimate the association between obesity and BMD and the risk of OP by using a random-effects model. In addition, a heterogeneity test and sensitivity analysis were conducted., Results: Adults with obesity had higher BMD than healthy-weight subjects in both the lumbar spine and femoral neck measurement sites. Obesity was positively related to BMD in the two sites, with merged weighted mean difference (WMD) of 0.07 g/cm 2 in the lumbar spine (95% CI: 0.045, 0.095; P < 0.001; P heterogeneity <0.001; I 2  = 89.1%) and WMD of 0.087 g/cm 2 in the femoral neck (95% CI: 0.063, 0.112; P < 0.001; P heterogeneity <0.001; I 2  = 92.8%). General obesity was negatively related to femoral neck OP, indicating that obesity is a protective factor for OP, with a merged OR of 0.169 (95% CI: 0.132, 0.216; P < 0.001; P heterogeneity  = 0.716; I 2  = 0.0%)., Conclusions: Adults with obesity had significantly higher BMD than healthy-weight adults. Obesity was positively associated with BMD and negatively correlated with OP., (Copyright © 2019 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Long-term exposure to particulate and gaseous air pollution (AP) may trigger the development of Parkinson disease (PD), but this association remains controversial. The relationship between second-hand smoke (SS) and PD risk is also inconclusive. We aimed to systematically review epidemiological studies investigating the association between these AP exposures and PD risk., Study Design: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationship of ambient AP and SS with PD risk., Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were searched. We used a random-effects model to derive pooled estimates of relative risk (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) per increment in pollutant concentration. The studied AP included particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), <10 μm (PM 10 ), nitrogen dioxides (NO 2, NO x ), ozone (O 3 ), and carbon monoxide (CO)., Results: In total, 21 studies with 222,051 patients with PD were eligible for inclusion. We found marginally significant increased risk of PD with per 10-μg/m 3 increase in concentration of PM 2.5 (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.98-1.19), NO 2 (RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.99-1.07), and O 3 (RR = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.00-1.02). A positive but non-significant association was also detected for CO (RR = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.82-2.11). Furthermore, an inverse PD-SS relationship was noted irrespective of exposure occasions and timing (at home: RR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56-0.95; at work: RR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.57-1.17; in children: RR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.76-1.08). Both sensitivity and subgroup analyses generated results comparable with those of the overall analyses., Conclusions: Our study suggested that exposure to PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and O 3 might contribute to higher risk of PD, whereas SS conferring reduced PD risk. Public and environmental health strategies that aim at reducing outdoor AP levels might reduce the burden of PD. More prospective cohort studies with personal exposure measurements are warranted in the future., (Copyright © 2019 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Immunocastration (vaccination against Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)) has been regarded as a friendly substitution to physical castration in animals. To date, a few studies have reported the use of Improvac for immunocastration in boar and one study in broiler chickens; however, there is an apparent dearth of scientific evidence regarding the application of Improvac for immunocastration in birds. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of Improvac-based immunocastration on testosterone levels and spermatogenesis in broiler chickens and the effects of Improvac on the expression of genes related to testosterone biosynthesis and metabolism as well as spermatogenesis. The birds were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 30 each): Control group (non-immunized), Early group (immunized with Improvac at week 3), Late group (immunized with Improvac at week 6), and Early + Late group (immunized with Improvac at weeks 3 and 6). Immunization with Improvac significantly improved the average daily gain compared to the Control group. Of note, following Improvac vaccination, the reproductive efficiency was significantly decreased in male broiler chickens. Furthermore, parameters such as the serum testosterone concentration, spermatogenesis, and the expression levels of genes related to testosterone metabolism (Cyp17A1, Cyp19, HSD3B1, and HSD17B3) and spermatogenesis (Cyclin A1 and Cyclin A2) were significantly reduced in the immunized groups compared to the Control group. Taken together, these findings reveal that immunization against GnRH can be achieved, at least partially, in male broiler chickens. The results of our study also support the hypothesis of using Improvac as an alternative solution to caponization, with considerably improved animal welfare., (© 2019 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

A 2-factor test design was used to investigate the effect of an emulsifier (Aldo®, Lonza, America) (200 g/t) in the diet of Cherry Valley meat ducks to replace some of 2 different oils (animal fat and vegetable oil) on meat production performance, slaughter traits, and fat metabolism. The 900 healthy 18-day-old ducks were grouped into 6 treatments, each with 5 replicates and 30 meat ducks per replicate. The 2 fat sources were established as a positive control group, a negative control group (positive control group-some oil (equivalent to metabolic energy of 50 kcal/ton)), and an emulsifier group (negative control group + 200 g/ton Aldo). The results showed that addition of different fat sources in feed had no significant effect on growth performance, carcass properties, and fat metabolism of 18- to 42-day-old meat ducks (P > 0.05). Reducing the amount of oil used in the feed lowered the growth performance, carcass properties, and affected fat metabolism of meat ducks. However, in feeds with 2 fat sources, some oils were replaced by adding Aldo without affecting growth performance and carcass properties of meat ducks, and improved their fat metabolism, reduced triglycerides (TG) in serum, and increased activity of lipoprotein and hepatic lipases in liver and of pancreatic lipase. Thus, addition of Aldo to a low fat diet could improve growth performance, carcass quality, and lipid metabolism, and promote digestion and absorption of fat for meat ducks., (© Crown copyright 2019.)

Music or other background sounds are often played in barns as environmental enrichment for animals on farms or to mask sudden disruptive noises. Previous studies looking at the effects of this practice on non-human animal well-being and productivity have found contradictory results. However, there is still a lack of discussion on whether piglets have the ability to distinguish different types of music. In this study, we exposed piglets to different music conditions to investigate whether the piglets preferred certain music types, in which case those types would have the potential to be used as environmental enrichment. In total, 30 piglets were tested for music type preference to determine whether growing pigs respond differently to different types of music. We used music from two families of instruments (S: string, W: wind) and with two tempos (S: slow, 65 beats/min (bpm); F: fast, 200 bpm), providing four music-type combinations (SS: string-slow; SF: string-fast; WS: wind-slow; WF: wind-fast). The piglets were given a choice between two chambers, one with no music and the other with one of the four types of music, and their behaviour was observed. The results showed that SS and WF music significantly increased residence time (P<0.01) compared with the other music conditions. Compared with the control group (with no music), the different music conditions led to different behavioural responses, where SS music significantly increased lying (P<0.01) and exploration behaviour (P<0.01); SF music significantly increased tail-wagging behaviour (P<0.01); WS music significantly increased exploration (P<0.01); and WF music significantly increased walking, lying, standing and exploration (all P<0.01). The results also showed that musical instruments and tempo had little effect on most of the behaviours. Fast-tempo music significantly increased walking (P=0.02), standing (P<0.01) and tail wagging (P=0.04) compared with slow-tempo music. In conclusion, the results of this experiment show that piglets are more sensitive to tempo than to musical instruments in their response to musical stimulation and seem to prefer SS and WF music to the other two types. The results also suggest a need for further research on the effect of music types on animals.

This study was to investigate the effect of dietary L-theanine (THE) supplementation (0, 600 mg/kg) on growth performance, carcass traits, immune organ indexes, meat quality, and muscle antioxidant status of transported broilers. A total of 180 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly allotted to 2 treatment groups including a THE-free group with 12 replicates of 10 birds each and a THE group with 6 replicates of 10 birds each. On the morning of day 42, after a 9-h fast, the birds of THE-free group were divided into 2 equal groups, and then all birds in the 3 groups were placed into 18 crates and were transported according to the following protocols: 0-h transport of birds in the THE-free group (control group), 3-h transport of birds in the THE-free group (T group), and 3-h transport of birds in the THE group (T + THE group). Results showed that dietary THE supplementation improved feed conversion ratio and birds' final body weight (P < 0.05), while transport and dietary THE supplementation did not affect carcass traits of broilers (P > 0.05). Transport increased bird live weight loss, drip loss, L*24 h, muscle malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC) and lactate contents, while it decreased thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius indexes, pH24h, a*, and muscle total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities and glycogen content (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, compared with birds in the T group, birds in the T + THE group exhibited increased thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius indexes, pH24h, a*24 h, and muscle T-AOC, CAT, and GSH-PX activities and glycogen content, and decreased drip loss, L*24 h, and muscle MDA, PC, and lactate contents (P < 0.05). This study provided the first evidence that dietary THE supplementation prevented transport-stress-impaired immune organ indexes and meat quality of broilers, and the reason for maintenance of meat quality by supplementation of THE may be partly ascribed to the changed muscle glycolysis metabolism and antioxidant status., (© 2019 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the fertility intentions of urban working women whose family planning has been limited to one child since the universal two-child policy was adopted and to explore factors associated with intentions to not have a second child., Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study., Methods: This study was conducted among 703 urban working women with one child using a self-administered questionnaire from May to August 2016 in Hunan, China. Data were collected on the women's sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes towards having another child and fertility intentions. A descriptive analysis, chi-square test and logistics regression were used for data analysis., Results: The ideal number of children among the urban working women was 2.03 ± 0.35. Fewer than half (32.4%) of working women with one child clearly intended to have another child. Not having another child was independently associated with family type, husband's age, age of the first child, attitude of the husband and parents-in-law, whether the parents-in-law provided economic support and the influence of friends. Participants showed lower second-child intentions with increasing age of the partner and first child (P value = 0.002, 0.026). Participants whose parents-in-law provided economic support were less likely to not want a second child than those whose parents-in-law did not provide economic support (P value = 0.037). Those with husbands and parents-in-law with supportive attitudes were less likely to not want another child (P value = 0.001, 0.022). Participants whose friends positively influenced them to have another child were less likely to intend to not have another child (P value = 0.000)., Conclusions: There is no guarantee that the universal two-child policy will be enough to prompt an increase in fertility among urban working women with one child in Hunan Province. Supplementary measures are urgently needed to create a favourable environment for childbearing in China., (Copyright © 2019 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

l-theanine is a unique nonproteinogenic amino acid found in tea, and has recently received considerable attention because of its various biological activities. However, there is no available research report on the use of l-theanine as a feed additive in ducks. This study was conducted to investigate the potential benefits and appropriate dosages of l-theanine on the growth performance, immune function, serum biochemical parameters, and jejunum morphology and antioxidant capacity of ducks. A total of 600 1-day-old Chaohu ducks were randomly allocated into five dietary treatment groups supplemented with 0 (control group), 300, 600, 900 and 1500 mg/kg of l-theanine. Each group included five replicates of 24 birds each. Body weight at day 28 was increased (P&lt;0.05) by l-theanine. From days 15 to 28, l-theanine elevated cumulative BW gain (BWG) and cumulative feed intake (FI), and decreased feed to gain ratio. From days 1 to 28, l-theanine elevated (P&lt;0.05) cumulative BWG and cumulative FI. l-theanine elevated (P&lt;0.05) the relative weight of bursa of Fabricus (day 14), thymus (day 14), spleen (day 28) and liver (day 28). On day 28, l-theanine decreased (P&lt;0.05) serum glucose, uric acid, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-6 contents, and elevated (P&lt;0.05) serum total protein, globulin (GLB), immune globulin A (IgA) and IgG contents, but only serum insulin, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-6 contents was decreased (P&lt;0.05) and serum GLB and IgM content was elevated (P&lt;0.05) by l-theanine on day 14. On day 14, l-theanine decreased (P&lt;0.05) jejunum crypt depth, and elevated (P&lt;0.05) jejunum villus height, villus height to crypt depth ratio (V/C), goblet cell number and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity. On day 28, l-theanine decreased (P&lt;0.05) jejunum malondialdehyde content, and elevated (P&lt;0.05) jejunum villus height, V/C, goblet cell number, and T-SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities. l-theanine levels caused quadratic effect on the growth performance, relative organ weight, serum parameters, jejunum morphology and antioxidant capacity. In conclusion, l-theanine can be used as a promising feed additive for ducks, and its optimal supplementation level was 600 to 900 mg/kg based on the current experimental condition.

Endotoxins are widely distributed toxins in the outer cell-wall membranes of Gram-negative bacteria and other microorganisms. Chronic exposure to endotoxins can induce and exacerbate airway symptoms and diseases. However, the release and degradation of airborne endotoxins from bioaerosol by microwave (MW) irradiation have not yet been reported. This study investigated the distribution and fate of airborne endotoxins during MW irradiation process, as well as the kinetics and thermodynamics of the degradation of airborne endotoxins. Results showed that MW irradiation induced cell lysis, thus considerably increasing the proportion of cells with ruptured membranes. Furthermore, MW irradiation changed the distribution of airborne endotoxins, sharply decreased the concentration of bound endotoxins from 230 EU/m 3 to 68 EU/m 3 , and increased the concentration of free endotoxins from 21 EU/m 3 to 122 EU/m 3 . These results indicated that MW irradiation released endotoxins from cells into the atmosphere. MW irradiation likely degraded endotoxins by exerting thermal effects, which achieved a total endotoxin removal efficiency of as high as 35%. Endotoxin degradation was a first-order reaction and required the activation energy of 26.3 kJ/mol., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)