Notes

Editorial for the Special Problem on Nanofabrication using Focused Electron/Ion Ray Activated Digesting.
The Spišská Magura mountain range, located in the Middle Spiš, is one of the regions in Slovakia most contaminated by heavy metals resulting from mining and smelting activities. Heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements have accumulated in mountain areas via atmospheric transport. The influence of the daily range size of the European hare on its contamination by heavy metals was investigated in three habitat types (forest, woodland edge, meadow) in the Spišská Magura mountain range in the West Carpathians. Individual hares (n = 21) were traced and located by GPS following snowfall. Pair samples of their faeces (n = 64) and food (n = 64) were collected from feeding sites. The maps created were used for determination of the size of the daily range as being small or large. All hares that have a small daily range avoid meadows and open spaces due to the higher predation risk. However, individuals with a large daily range feed in all habitats, including meadows. Hares with a small daily range in a forest habitat ingested higher amounts of bio-elements Ca, Cr, S, and Mn as well as higher amounts of heavy metals Ba and Pb than hares with a large daily range. Moreover, dominant hares with a small daily range, with access to abundant food sources in a forest habitat, may gradually take on higher levels of bio-elements including heavy metals that are present in their food source. In contrast, in the woodland edge, hares with a small daily range had a smaller concentration of Ca, Cr, Mn, S, Ba, and Pb compared to hares with a large daily range. Caecotrophy plays a very significant role as far as the intake of nutrients and other elements is concerned. We found significant dependence between concentrations of the elements Cr, S, Ba, Pb, and Cd in the food of European hares and in their faeces.Corporate green innovation has played a crucial role in balancing profitability and environmental protection. The existing research on determinant factors of green innovation has its main defects in emphasizing excessively enterprise's formal institutional environment and neglecting the informal institutional environment, causing an incomplete understanding of the relationship between institutional environments and corporate green innovation. To bridge this gap, using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed firms in manufacturing industry during the period of 2010-2016, we investigate how social trust, an important informal institutions, affects corporate green innovation. RU.521 cGAS inhibitor Our results show that social trust is positively associated with green innovation, remaining valid after applying endogenous and robustness tests. In addition, the positive relationship between social trust and green innovation is more prominent when the enterprise is non-state-owned or locates in a looser command-and-control (CAC) environmental regulations region. Further analysis shows that social trust boosts corporate green innovation via promoting knowledge sharing, decreasing financing constraints, and fulfilling more corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper enriches the literature concerning social trust and green innovation and draws back more public attention on the role of informal institutions play in promoting green innovation.
The administration of epinephrine in the management of non-traumatic cardiac arrest remains recommended despite controversial effects on neurologic outcome. The use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) could be an interesting alternative. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of these 2 strategies on return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and cerebral hemodynamics during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a swine model of non-traumatic cardiac arrest.

Anesthetized pigs were instrumented and submitted to ventricular fibrillation. After 4 min of no-flow and 18 min of basic life support (BLS) using a mechanical CPR device, animals were randomly submitted to either REBOA or epinephrine administration before defibrillation attempts. Six animals were included in each experimental group (Epinephrine or REBOA). Hemodynamic parameters were similar in both groups during BLS, i.e., before randomization. After epinephrine administration or REBOA, mean arterial pressurethe use of REBOA could be beneficial in the treatment of non-traumatic cardiac arrest.
Accurate detection of the mandibular canal is a difficult process despite cutting-edge radiographic methods. The present study analyses whether mandibular canal roof visibility is comparable to panoramic radiography (PR) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and, further, examines whether the visibility in PR and CBCT is dependent on cortical bone thickness in the mandible.

This study was conducted on a group of 343 selected patients. It incorporated anonymised data on 343 patients in which a CBCT and PR were available. The first stage examines whether the mandibular canal roof visibility is comparable to PR and CBCT. In the second stage, measurements of cortical bone thickness showed buccal and lingual in the P2, M1, M2 and M3 teeth areas, both to the left and right of the mandible in CBCT images. Statistical analysis was supported by statistical software (IBM SPSS 25; Armonk, NY, USA).

The mean age of the patients was 58.8 years with an almost equal gender distribution. When performing a McNemar test on the P2, M1, M2 and M3 on both the left and right jaws, the difference between the two image modalities, with regard to the visibility of the canal roof, was found to be significant (McNemar test, p < 0.001). Statistically (U test, p≥0.05), it follows that the thickness of the cortical bone of the mandible exerts no influence on the visibility of the roof of canalis mandibulae in PR and CBCT images.

We conclude that the visibility of the mandibular canal in PR and CBCT rays is not identical, and that the thickness of the cortical bone in the mandible does not represent a factor affecting the visibility of the roof of the mandibular canal.
We conclude that the visibility of the mandibular canal in PR and CBCT rays is not identical, and that the thickness of the cortical bone in the mandible does not represent a factor affecting the visibility of the roof of the mandibular canal.
The role of transsphenoidal surgery in the recovery of preexisting hormone dysfunction from pituitary tumors remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of hormone dysfunction among asymptomatic non-functioning pituitary adenomas and their recovery following endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery.

Eligibility criteria included age under 80 years, presence of a non-functioning pituitary adenoma compressing the normal gland resulting in deviation of the stalk, absence of visual symptoms, and availability for regular follow-up using MRI and pre- and post-operative endocrinological assessments. 182 patients with silent non-functioning pituitary adenomas were included in this study between March 2014 and December 2018. All patients underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery and complete hormonal evaluation, with basal hormone assays and a combined pituitary function test before and after surgery until the end of last follow-up.

Preoperative assessment of hormonal function revealed that with silent hormone dysfunction are often overlooked by clinicians and patients. We suggest that even silent hormone dysfunction in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas can be improved with effective surgical decompression and these tumors may be potential indications of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery.
Non-functioning pituitary adenomas with silent hormone dysfunction are often overlooked by clinicians and patients. We suggest that even silent hormone dysfunction in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas can be improved with effective surgical decompression and these tumors may be potential indications of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery.
This study aimed to improve the understanding of the role of adjuvant radiotherapy (AR) after subtotal resection (STR) of World Health Organization (WHO) grade I meningiomas.

We retrospectively reviewed the Brain Tumor Registry of Japan database. Among 7341 patients diagnosed with intracranial meningioma during 2001-2008, we identified 406 patients with WHO grade I meningioma treated with STR as initial treatment. Data on progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed for their relevance to clinical factors including age, sex, tumor location and size, presence of preoperative symptoms, and AR.

AR was administered for 73 patients (18.0%). Regrowth occurred in 90 cases (22.2%) during the median follow-up period of 6.0 years (interquartile range, 2.7-7.7 years). Multivariate Cox regression analysis of the entire cohort showed that no AR was associated with significantly shorter PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-5.42, p = 0.004). The therapeutic effect of AR was confirmed for skull base, but not non-skull base, meningiomas (p = 0.003 and 0.69, respectively). Propensity score matching analysis balanced the influence of confounding factors to generate AR+ and AR- cohorts of 73 patients each. PFS was significantly longer in the AR+ cohort than in the AR- cohort (HR 3.46, 95% CI 1.53-8.59, p = 0.003). Subgroup analysis demonstrated the favorable effect of AR only for skull base meningiomas.

Our study revealed that AR improves tumor control after STR in WHO grade I meningiomas. However, this beneficial effect might be limited to skull base meningiomas.
Our study revealed that AR improves tumor control after STR in WHO grade I meningiomas. However, this beneficial effect might be limited to skull base meningiomas.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tobacco smoke exposure among severely pediatric ICU patients. A prospective epidemiological observational study was conducted among children with bronchiolitis younger than 2 years of age admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Children's University Hospital La Paz during the October 2017 to March 2018 outbreak. On admission, parents were asked whether they smoked. In children who required invasive mechanical ventilation, endotracheal aspirate was collected at the time of intubation. A total of 102 patients with bronchiolitis were studied. Among these, 14 (47%) of 30 infants whose parents smoked required invasive mechanical ventilation vs. 14 (19%) of 72 whose parents were nonsmokers (p = 0.007). Among patients on invasive mechanical ventilation, 10 (71%) of 14 infants with secondhand smoke exposure presented pulmonary bacterial superinfection vs. 3 (21%) of 14 in the unexposed (p = 0.012).Conclusion Secondhand smoke exposure is an additional high risk for pulmonary bacterial superinfection and invasive mechanical ventilation in infants with severe acute bronchiolitis What is known •Environmental tobacco smoke exposure is known to be an important risk factor for childhood lower respiratory tract infections. •Tobacco smoke makes structural changes in the respiratory tract and reduces the immune response. What in new •Secondhand smoke exposure showed to be associated with the increased need and duration of invasive mechanical ventilation, and pediatric intensive care length of stay. •Tobacco smoke exposure is an additional risk factor for the presence of bacteria in the endotracheal aspirate.
Homepage: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ru-521.html