No abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), a state of sleep disorder, is characterized by repetitive apnea, chronic hypoxia, oxygen desaturation, and hypercapnia. Previous studies have revealed that intermittent hypoxia (IH) conditions in OSAS patients elicited neuron injury (especially in the hippocampus and cortex), leading to cognitive dysfunction, a significant and extraordinary complication of OSAS patients. The repeated courses of airway collapse and obstruction in OSAS patients resulted in apnea and arousal during sleep, leading to IH and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and subsequently contributing to the development of inflammation. IH-mediated inflammation could further trigger various types of cognitive dysfunction. Many researchers have found that, besides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment and surgery, anti-inflammatory substances might alleviate IH-induced neurocognitive dysfunction. Clarifying the role of inflammation in IH-mediated cognitive impairment is crucial for potentially valuable therapies and future research in the related domain. The objective of this article was to critically review the relationship between inflammation and cognitive deficits in OSAS.

Background: The development of minimally invasive surgery has initiated many changes in the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer (EC) patients. The aim of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes of robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE), video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (VAMIE), and open esophagectomy (OE). Methods: Our study included patients who had undergone McKeown esophagectomy at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between January 2016 and December 2018. We analyzed clinical baseline data, as well as perioperative and pathological outcomes. Results: A total of 312 cases met the inclusion criteria (OE: 77, VAMIE: 144, RAMIE: 91). The OE group had a greater number of late-stage patients as well as those who received the neo-adjuvant therapy, compared with the other two groups (P=0.001). The procedure time in the OE group was also shorter by approximately 20 minutes (P=0.021). Total blood loss was significantly lower in the two MIE groups (P=0.004) than in the OE group. There were no differences in the total number of dissected lymph nodes between the three groups (OE: 24.09±10.77, VAMIE: 23.07±10.18, RAMIE: 22.84±8.37, P=0.680). Both the lymph node number (P=0.155) and achievement rate (P=0.190) in the right recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) area were comparable between the three groups. However, in the left RLN area, minimally invasive approaches resulted in a higher number of harvested lymph nodes (P=0.032) and greater achievement rate (P=0.018).Neither MIE procedure increased the incidence of postoperative complications. Conclusions: Minimally invasive surgery could guarantee the quality of bilateral RLN lymphadenectomy without increasing postoperative complications, especially in RAMIE patients. The rational choice of different surgical approaches would improve both safety and oncological outcomes for patients.

No abstract

Background: Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) is a major threat to human health worldwide. It is well established that smoking increases the risk of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and different forms of cancer, including lung, liver, and colon. CS-triggered inflammation is considered to play a central role in various pathologies by a mechanism that stimulates the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. During this process, epigenetic alterations are known to play important roles in the specificity and duration of gene transcription. Main text: Epigenetic alterations include three major modifications: DNA modifications via methylation; various posttranslational modifications of histones, namely, methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination; and non-coding RNA sequences. These modifications work in concert to regulate gene transcription in a heritable fashion. The enzymes that regulate these epigenetic modifications can be activated by smoking, which further mediates the expression of multiple inflammatory genes. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the epigenetic alterations triggered by CS and assess how such alterations may affect smoking-mediated inflammatory responses. Conclusion: The recognition of the molecular mechanisms of the epigenetic changes in abnormal inflammation is expected to contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of CS-related diseases such that novel epigenetic therapies may be identified in the near future.

No abstract

Up to now, flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) is one of the most effective techniques to control SO(2) emission from the combustion of fossil fuels. The conventional technology for FGD poses serious inherent drawbacks such as formation of byproducts and volatilization of solvents. In this work, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-functionalized Lewis basic ionic liquids (ILs) derived from DABCO were proved to be highly efficient absorbents for FGD due to its specific features such as high thermal stability, negligible vapor pressure, high loading capacity. Notably, PEG(150)MeDABCONTf(2) gave an extremely high SO(2) capacity (4.38 mol mol(-1) IL), even under 0.1 bar SO(2) partial pressure (1.01 mol mol(-1) IL), presumably owing to the strong SO(2)-philic characterization of the PEG chain. Furthermore, the absorbed SO(2) could be easy to release by just bubbling N(2) at room temperature, greatly reducing energy requirement for SO(2) desorption. In addition, SO(2)/CO(2) selectivity (110) of PEG(150)MeDABCONTf(2) is two times larger than the non-functionalized imidazolium IL (45). On the other hand, through activation of SO(2) with the tertiary nitrogen in the cation, Lewis basic ILs such as PEG(150)MeDABCOBr proved to be efficient catalysts for the conversion of SO(2) to some value-added chemicals such as cyclic sulfites without utilization of any organic solvent or additive. Thus, this protocol would pave the way for the development of technological innovation towards efficient and low energy demanded practical process for SO(2) absorption and subsequent transformation.

We present an overview of recent investigations of photopolymerizable nanocomposite photonic materials in which, thanks to their high degree of material selectivity, recorded volume gratings possess high refractive index modulation amplitude and high mechanical/thermal stability at the same time, providing versatile applications in light and neutron optics. We discuss the mechanism of grating formation in holographically exposed nanocomposite materials, based on a model of the photopolymerization-driven mutual diffusion of monomer and nanoparticles. Experimental inspection of the recorded grating’s morphology by various physicochemical and optical methods is described. We then outline the holographic recording properties of volume gratings recorded in photopolymerizable nanocomposite materials consisting of inorganic/organic nanoparticles and monomers having various photopolymerization mechanisms. Finally, we show two examples of our holographic applications, holographic digital data storage and slow-neutron beam control.