Effects of Breathing Meditation Training on Sustained Attention Level, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Level, and Mental State of Operating Room Nurses.

OBJECTIVES: In this paper, we explore the effects of breathing meditation training on the sustained attention level, mindfulness attention awareness level, and mental state of nurses in the operating room. METHODS: We enrolled 40 nurses from September 2019 to December 2019, and divided them into a control group (N=20) and an observation group (N=20) using a random number table. The control group received routine training, based on which the observation group received breathing meditation training. We compared their sustained attention index, fatigue score, mindfulness attention awareness score, mental state score, work stress score, career satisfaction score, and career happiness index. RESULTS: After training, the sustained attention response time was shorter at 8:00 and 18:00 in the observation group than in the control group (p < .05). The physical fatigue score, mental fatigue score, reduced activity score, reduced motivation score, and overall fatigue score of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (p < .05). The observation group had a higher mindfulness attention awareness score than did the control group (p < .05). The SAS and SDS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (p < .05). The work stress score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, whereas the career satisfaction score and career happiness index were higher (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Breathing meditation training can improve the sustained attention level and mindfulness attention awareness level, reduce the feeling of fatigue and work stress, help adjust the mental state, and enhance the career satisfaction and career happiness of nurses in the operating room.

Comparative transcriptomic evidence for Tween80-enhanced biodegradation of phenanthrene by Sphingomonas sp. GY2B.

Previous study of the effects of surfactants on the biodegradation of phenanthrene focused on investigating alterations of the cell characteristics of Sphingomonas sp. GY2B. However, genes regulation associated with biodegradation and biological processes in response to the presence of surfactants, remains unclear. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was conducted to observe the gene expression of GY2B during phenanthrene biodegradation in the presence and absence of Tween80. A diverse set of genes was regulated by Tween80, leading to increased biodegradation of phenanthrene by GY2B: (i) Tween80 increased expression of genes related to H+ transport in the plasma membrane to provide a driving force (i.e., ATP) for accelerating transmembrane transport of phenanthrene with increasing Tween80 concentrations, thereby enhancing the uptake and degradation of phenanthrene by GY2B; (ii) Tween80 (1 and 8 CMC) promoted intracellular biodegradation of phenanthrene by stimulating expression of genes encoding dioxygenases and monooxygenase, increasing expression of genes involved in intracellular metabolic processes (e.g., TCA cycle); and (iii) Tween80 likely increased GY2B vitality and growth by inducing expression of genes associated with ABC transporters and protein transport, regulating genes involved in other biological processes (e.g., transcription, translation).

Nonionic surfactants induced changes in cell characteristics and phenanthrene degradation ability of Sphingomonas sp. GY2B.

Surfactant-mediated bioremediation has been widely applied in decontaminating PAH-polluted sites. However, the impacts of surfactants on the biodegradation of PAHs have been controversial in the past years. To gain a clear insight into the influencing mechanisms, three nonionic surfactants (Tween80, TritonX-100 and Brij30) were selected to systematically investigate their effects on cell surface properties (membrane permeability, functional groups and elements), cell vitality as well as subsequent phenanthrene degradation ability of Sphingomonas sp. GY2B. Results showed that biodegradation of phenanthrene was stimulated by Tween80, slightly inhibited by TritonX-100 and severely inhibited by Brij30, respectively. Positive effect of Tween80 may arise from its role as the additional carbon source for GY2B to increase bacterial growth and activity, as demonstrated by the increasing viable cells in Tween80 amended degradation systems determined by flow cytometry. Although TritonX-100 could inhibit bacterial growth and disrupt cell membrane, its adverse impacts on microbial cells were weaker than Brij30, which may result in its weaker inhibitive extent. Results from this study can provide a rational basis on selecting surfactants for enhancing bioremediation of PAHs.

[Using flow cytometry to explore the changes of Sphingomonas sp. GY2B bacterial surface characteristics in the process of degrading phenanthrene].

The first step of biodegradation is the contact of microorganism and pollutants, in order to examine the influence of phenanthrene on Sphingomonas sp. GY2B's surface properties during its degrading process, the bacteria was cultivated at different conditions, and detected by flow cytometry combined with fluorescent dyes for its surface changes. The results indicated that, the membrane structure had been certainly damaged during the degrading process, leading to an increased membrane permeability. Moreover, the destruction of bacteria membrane integrity became more serious with a higher pollutant concentration. At the concentration of 300 mg x L(-1), the ratio of stained bacterial cells/unstained cells was 12.44 after cultured for 60 h, while at 100 mg x L(-1) and 1.2 mg x L(-1), the ratios were 1.95 and 1.11, respectively. The results of fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) absorbance spectroscopy detection, the discrimination of death, injured and intact cells, and Zeta potential detection further verified the bacterial cell surface permeability changes. Flow cytometry combined with fluorescent dye propidium iodide was used to monitor the changes of bacterial membrane integrity on single-cell level which exhibited a good potential for exploring the changes of bacterial surface properties during the degrading progress and more deeply for investigating the degradation mechanism.