Meta-analysis Investigating the Efficacy of Liquid Dressing and Ostomy Powder for the Treatment of Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of liquid dressing and ostomy powder on the treatment of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD). METHODS: The authors searched PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI (China National Knowledge Internet), and Google Scholar databases for literature through July 28, 2022. After literature screening, two investigators independently extracted data from the included studies and applied the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess the quality of the included studies. The χ2-based Q statistic test and the I2 statistic were used to measure the heterogeneity of the included studies. Publication bias was measured with funnel plots and the Egger test. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by eliminating each study one by one. RESULTS: Four high-quality studies were included in the meta-analysis, involving a total of 307 participants. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with traditional care, treatment with liquid dressing and ostomy powder significantly improved the effective rate (pooled odds ratio, 21.42; 95% CI, 8.58 to 53.44), shortened the healing time (pooled mean difference, -10.73; 95% CI, -12.92 to -8.54), and reduced the recurrence rate (pooled mean difference, -2.03; 95% CI, -2.30 to -1.77) of IAD. Among the included studies, no publication bias was detected. Sensitivity analysis results confirmed the robustness of the pooled estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with liquid dressing and ostomy powder has clinical value for patients with IAD.

Recombinant supercharged polypeptides for safe and efficient heparin neutralization.

Heparin is a widely used anticoagulant agent in the clinic. After application, its anticoagulant effect must be reversed to prevent potential side effects. Protamine sulfate (PS) is the only clinically licensed antidote that has been used for this purpose in the last 80 years, which, however, provokes severe adverse effects, such as systemic hypotension and even death. Herein, we demonstrate the potential of supercharged polypeptides as a promising alternative for protamine sulfate. A series of supercharged polypeptides with multiple positive charges was recombinantly produced, and the heparin-neutralizing performance of the polypeptides was evaluated in comparison with PS. It was found that increasing the number of charges significantly enhanced the ability to neutralize heparin and resist the screening effect induced by salt. In particular, the polypeptide bearing 72 charges (K72) exhibited an excellent heparin-neutralizing behavior that was comparable to that of PS. Further in vivo studies revealed that the heparin-triggered bleeding was almost completely alleviated by K72 while a negligible toxic effect was observed. Therefore, such recombinant supercharged polypeptides might replace protamine sulfate as heparin-reversal agents.

Spontaneous proton transfer in a series of amphoteric molecules under hydrostatic pressure.

Herein, high-pressure behaviour of a series of amphoteric molecules in the crystal form was investigated, and the detailed experimental and calculated data revealed that hydrostatic pressure could result in intermolecular proton transfer in addition to the previously reported changes in molecular conformations and enhancement of intermolecular forces. Furthermore, by comparing (2-(3,3-dimethyl-3H-indol-2-yl)vinyl)-4-nitrophenol (AM-N) with the control molecules de-nitrated AM, nitro-mismatched OM-N and methylated AM-N-C, it was found that the pressure-triggered proton transfer in the crystal was not a simple loss or gain of protons as that in solution; instead, it involved the sharing of protons by their gradual deviation from a proton donor to a proton acceptor. The proton deviation degree strongly depends on the distance between the proton donor and acceptor in the crystal, rather than molecular acidity and basicity in solution. Moreover, regarding its potential applications, the acid-base conjugated amphoteric molecule AM-N could be applied in accurate colorimetric pressure sensing, and its accuracy was close to that of the widely used high-pressure indicator ruby pressure marker.

Photo-/Baso-Chromisms and the Application of a Dual-Addressable Molecular Switch.

Two typical molecular switches of spiropyran (SP) and benzoxazine (OX) were fused by sharing an indole to achieve a new dual-addressable molecular switch (SP-OX-NO2 ). Through proper molecular modification with NO2 , the transformation from merocyanine (MC) to ring-closed SP or ring-closed OX can be controlled separately with visible light or base stimuli in solution, respectively, and these processes are verified by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy as well as control experiments. The cis-merocyanine (cis-MC) form is involved in the basochromic process in solution. DFT calculation suggests that the bidirectional switching property of the fused SP-OX molecular switch can be controlled separately, when the OX isomer is more stable than the deprotonated SP isomer. Because of the significant color variations in solution, the simple dual-addressable switch has been further successfully applied to construct a multicolor reversible display on paper.

Emissions and the application of a series of twisted fluorophores with intramolecular weak hydrogen bonds.

A series of twisted fluorophores of CEOCH (((2,5-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene)bis(ethene-2,1,1-triyl))-tetra-benzene) derivatives with intramolecular weak hydrogen bonds (IMWHBs) were synthesized to investigate how different substituents on outer benzenes influence their emissive properties. Because of the twisted structure and weak intermolecular interactions, the emissions of the CEOCH derivatives were intense in the aggregated state but as the flexibility and electronic effect of the substituents changed, their quantum yields (QYs) changed from over 40% to 1% in solution. Based on the adjustable QYs of CEOCHs with different substituents in solutions, a fluorescent sensor for hydrazine with an extremely strong light and dark contrast was obtained via the conversion of dicyanovinyl groups to hydrazone groups.

Strong and insusceptible photo-emissions from an intramolecular weak hydrogen bond strengthened twisted fluorophore.

Intramolecular weak hydrogen bonds of CHO and CH/Pi were introduced into a twisted fluorophore backbone of 1,4-bis(2,2-diphenylvinyl)benzene, which enables the fluorophore to emit violently and stably in both solubilized and aggregated states, and be inert to solvent environments and preserve over 10% quantum yield at temperature as high as 90 °C in solution.

Dynamic behavior of molecular switches in crystal under pressure and its reflection on tactile sensing.

Molecular switches have attracted increasing interest in the past decades, due to their broad applications in data storage, optical gating, smart windows, and so on. However, up till now, most of the molecular switches are operated in solutions or polymer blends with the stimuli of light, heat, and electric fields. Herein, we demonstrate the first pressure-controllable molecular switch of a benzo[1,3]oxazine OX-1 in crystal. Distinct from the light-triggered tautomerization between two optical states, applying hydrostatic pressure on the OX-1 crystal results in large-scale and continuous states across the whole visible light range (from ∼430 to ∼700 nm), which has not been achieved with other stimuli. Based on detailed and systematic control experiments and theoretical calculation, the preliminary requirements and mechanism of pressure-dependent tautomerization are fully discussed. The contributions of molecular tautomerization to the large-scale optical modulation are also stressed. Finally, the importance of studying pressure-responsive materials on understanding tactile sensing is also discussed and a possible mechanotransduction mode is proposed.