Auricular vagus nerve acupressure for patients with emotional distress under the COVID-19 pandemic:A smartphone-based,randomized controlled trial

Objective: To confirm whether self-administered AVNA treatment is effective in improving emotional distressunder the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A smartphone-based online, randomized, controlled trial was designed from 26 February 2020 to 28April 2020 in four study sites, including Wuhan, Beijing, Shenyang, and Guangzhou of China. Local residentswho had considerable emotional distress with a score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) ≥9 were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to three times of AVNA (n = 191) per day, in morning,around noon, and in evening or usual care (UC, n = 215) once daily for 14 days. The primary outcome was theresponse rate, which was the proportion of participants whose Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)score reduced from baseline by ≥ 50%. The assessment was conducted at baseline, 3 days, and 14 days.Results: The AVNA group had a markedly higher response rate than the UC group at 3 days (35.6% vs. 24.9%,P = 0.02) and at 14 days (70.7% vs. 60.6%, P = 0.02). The AVNA group showed significantly greater reductionin scores of HADS at the two measurement points and BAI at 3 days (P ≤ 0.03), with average respective effectsize of 0.217 and 0.195. Participants with AVNA spent less time falling asleep and rated their sleep qualitybeing remarkably higher than those with UC at endpoint.Conclusion: During COVID-19 pandemic period, treatment with self-administrated AVNA was more effectivethan UC in reducing emotional distress of isolated populations. These findings support self-administered AVNAas a treatment option for patients with emotional distress under the COVID-19 pandemic or other emergentevents.

Association between coronary artery stenosis and myocardial injury in patients with acute pulmonary embolism:A case-control study

Background:The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis(CAS)on acute pulmonary embolism(PE)episodes remains underexplored.This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and the elevation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I(hs-cTnI)levels in patients with PE.Methods:In this multicenter,prospective case-control study,88 cases and 163 controls matched for age,sex,and study center were enrolled.Cases were patients with PE with elevated hs-cTnI.Controls were patients with PE with normal hs-cTnI.Coronary artery assessment utilized coronary computed tomographic angiography or invasive coronary angiography.CAS was defined as≥50%stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel>2.0 mm in diameter.Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between CAS and hs-cTnI elevation.Results:The percentage of CAS was higher in the case group compared to the control group(44.3%[39/88]vs.30.1%[49/163];P=0.024).In multivariable conditional logistic regression model 1,CAS(adjusted odds ratio[OR],2.680;95%confidence interval[CI],1.243-5.779),heart rate>75 beats/min(OR,2.306;95%CI,1.056-5.036)and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)>420 pg/mL(OR,12.169;95%CI,4.792-30.900)were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI.In model 2,right CAS(OR,3.615;95%CI,1.467-8.909)and NT-proBNP>420 pg/mL(OR,13.890;95%CI,5.288-36.484)were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI.Conclusions:CAS was independently associated with myocardial injury in patients with PE.Vigilance towards CAS is warranted in patients with PE with elevated cardiac troponin levels.

Mitochondria-targeted nanoparticles overcome chemoresistance via downregulating BACH1/CD47 axis in ovarian carcinoma

The platinum-based chemotherapy is a routine strategy for the treatment of ovarian cancer,while it is prone to chemoresistance in clinical,which hinders the treatment.Therefore,it is urgently needed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of drug resistance and form the appropriate strategy.The sequencing results showed that cisplatin(DDP)resistant ovarian cancer overexpressed BTB and CNC homology 1(BACH1),and up-regulated the“don’t eat me”signal CD47.We identified that hemin,a BACH1 inhibitor,could effectively down-regulate BACH1 and simultaneously inhibit CD47.Moreover,hemin has a synergistic effect with DDP.We designed a pH-responsive nanoparticle(H/D@FA-CaP-NPs)in which folic acid(FA)ensured targeting of ovarian cancer cells,while hemin inhibited BACH1 as well as down-regulated CD47,achieving the promotion of apoptosis of tumor cells and inducing phagocytosis of tumors by macrophages.Moreover,hemin has a synergistic effect with DDP to promote apoptosis of tumor cells.Structurally,hemin and DDP was encapsulated within hydrophobic 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine(DSPE)to form a tight core,and hydrophilic polyethylene glycol 2000(PEG2000)and calcium phosphate(CaP)formed the outside shell,and FA was modified on the surface of nanoparticles.In terms of function,(a)FA enhanced the active targeting of nanoparticles to tumors;(b)NPs targeted mitochondria to induce reactive oxygen species(ROS)production;(c)hemin encapsulated in nanoparticles could specifically target BACH1,thereby down regulating CD47;(d)hemin had a synergistic effect with DDP,thus augmenting the chemotherapy.Altogether,mitochondria-targeted nanoparticles H/D@FA-CaP-NPs promoted tumor apoptosis and mobilized phagocytosis to treat tumor,providing a novel scheme for clinical treatment of cisplatin-resistant ovarian carcinoma.

Applications of flexible electrochemical electrodes in wastewater treatment:A review

The advancement of energy storage technology has paved the way for the application of electrochemi-cal processes in achieving low-carbon and precise environmental pollution reduction.Electrodes play a crucial role in efficiently removing organic pollutants and heavy metals.To implement electrochemical pollution control technology in practical engineering,flexible electrode preparation is vital.This review highlights recent progress in flexible electrode research,focusing on the selection and structural design of flexible electrode materials.It summarizes the latest advancements in current collectors,active mate-rials,and preparation methods to enhance conductivity,flexibility,and cycle stability.The application of flexible electrodes in water pollution control is categorized into three aspects:Organic pollutants,inor-ganic pollutants,and composite pollutants.Finally,the challenges and research requirements for enhanc-ing electrode flexibility in environmental governance are discussed,along with prospects for their future applications.

Possibility of experimental study on nonleptonic B_(c)^(*) weak decays

The ground vector Bc*meson has not yet been experimentally discovered until now.Besides the dominant electromagnetic decays,nonleptonic weak decays provide another choice to search for the mysterious Bc*mesons.Inspired by the potential prospects of Bc*mesons in future high-luminosity colliders,nonleptonic Bc*weak decays induced by bottom and charm quark decays are studied within the SM by using a naive factorization approach.It is found that for Bc*→Bs,dπ,Bs,d*π,Bs,dρ,BsK,Bs*K,BsK*,ηc(1S,2S)π,ηc(1S,2S)ρandψ(1S,2S)πdecays,a few hundred and even thousands of events might be observable in CEPC,FCC-ee and LHCb@HL-LHC experiments.

Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative Deconstruction of Polyethylene Terephthalate to Terephthalic Acid under O2

It is urgent to recycle polyethylene terephthalate(PET)effectively,since it is the most consumed synthetic polyester and its improper disposal has caused significant environmental pollution.The existing chemical recycling methods highly rely on the nucleophilic substitutions and hydrogenative depolymerizations,which typically require the use of excess of nucleophiles,excess strong acids or bases,expensive metal catalysts,and explosive gas atmosphere.Here,we demonstrate a mild and efficient protocol for oxidative depolymerization of PET to terephthalic acid using only an O2 balloon.Terephthalic acid can be recycled from PET-containing materials including a series of plastic products in daily life.The employing of relatively low loading of iron complex,the most earth-abundant transition metal,as the catalyst and the preliminary results on the large-scale reaction using 38 g of PET waste demonstrate the practical feasibility of this degradation method.This method can be also applicable for selective degradation of PET from mixed plastics.This work represents a rare example of a selective oxidative depolymerization and demonstrates the great potentials of such a concept in polyester recycling.