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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the potential benefits of Thoracic Paravertebral Nerve Block (TPVB) coupled with Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) and the maintenance of spontaneous breathing anesthesia, in contrast to general anesthesia utilizing double-lumen endobronchial intubation, on promoting recovery following thoracoscopic surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out involving sixty patients set for Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) at the Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University from February 2021 to January 2022. Patients were randomized to either the TPVB and LMA with spontaneous breathing anesthesia group (non-intubation group, NI group) or the general anesthesia with double-lumen endobronchial intubation group (Intubation group, I group). The primary outcome measured was the duration of hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included early postoperative rehabilitation indicators, postoperative complications, Visual Analogue Score (VAS), and inflammatory response markers. RESULTS: Patients in the N I group experienced significantly shorter hospital stays than those in the I group (p < 0.05). Early postoperative recovery, assessed by metrics including the first exhaust time, food intake time, first ambulation time, and duration of chest-tube placement, was superior in the NI group (p < 0.05). Postoperative complications such as nausea and vomiting, pulmonary infection, atelectasis, sore throat, and hoarseness, along with cortisol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at the end of the operation and 24 h post-operation, and VAS values within the first 12 h post-operation, were significantly lower in the NI group (p < 0.05). However, blood loss, operation time, and VAS values at 24 h and 48 h post-surgery showed no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that TPVB, in conjunction with LMA and spontaneous breathing anesthesia, may expedite postoperative recovery in patients undergoing VATS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) is a common shuttling protein. Mutation in the NPM1 gene is the most frequent gene alteration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aims to explore the inhibitory effects of small molecule NSC348884 on wild-type and NPM1-mutated AML cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunofluorescence was used to determine the intracellular localization of NPM1 protein in wild-type (OCIAML2) and NPM1-mutated (OCI-AML3) AML cell lines. The oligomerization state of NPM1 was assessed by Western blot analysis, and the inhibitory effect of NSC348884 on the proliferation of AML cells was evaluated by Cell-counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Flow cytometry was used to detect the proapoptotic effect of NSC348884 on AML cells. RESULTS: Western blot results showed a significant reduction in the levels of the oligomeric NPM1 protein after the treatment with NSC348884. NSC348884 had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of both wild-type and NPM1-mutant AML cells. The inhibitory effect on OCI-AML3 cells was stronger, compared to OCI-AML2 cells. Flow cytometry showed that NSC348884 could significantly induce AML cell apoptosis and had a stronger proapoptotic effect on OCI-AML3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: NSC348884 had inhibitory and proapoptotic effects on both wild-type and NPM1-mutated AML cells. The effect of NSC348884 on AML cells, carrying NPM1 mutation was significantly stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This review examined the association between red cell distribution width (RDW) and mortality after hip fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase were searched up to 10th January 2023 for studies comparing mortality after hip fracture based on RDW. All cut-offs of RDW were accepted. Crude and adjusted mortality ratios were pooled separately. RESULTS: Nine studies with 5,274 patients were eligible. Meta-analysis of eight studies reporting crude mortality rates showed that patients with high RDW had a significantly higher risk of mortality than those with low RDW (RR: 2.81 95% CI: 2.05, 3.86 I2=82%). The results did not change in significance on subgroup analyses based on study location, sample size, the cut-off of RDW, and follow-up. Four studies reported adjusted mortality rates. Analysis of the same showed that high RDW was an independent predictor of mortality in hip fracture patients (HR: 3.14 95% CI: 1.38, 7.14 I2=95%). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the review, RDW was found to be an indicator of mortality in hip fracture patients. High RDW was significantly associated with increased mortality despite different cut-offs among studies. Further research is needed to generate more rigorous evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batch experiments were performed to investigate the removal of Cu2+ , Cl- , and 2,4-dichlorophe- noxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from aqueous solution using chitosan-modified bentonite. When the chi-tosan was loaded on the bentonite, the inter-layer space of the montmorillonite increased and the adsorption efficiency enhanced, as chitosan contains large numbers of -NH2 and -OH functional groups that could serve as coordination sites to bind heavy metals. In this study, the bentonite that was prepared through three procedures: Na2CO3 treatment, thermal treatment and compound treatment, was modified by chitosan. Experimental results demonstrated that the average removal rates of Cu2+ , Cl-, and 2,4-D effectively were 94.87 %, 86.19 % and 91.06 %, respectively.