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Monitoring the hydrogen gas (H2) level is highly important in a wide range of applications. Oxide-carbon hybrids have emerged as a promising material for the fabrication of gas sensors for this purpose. Here, for the first time, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-doped zinc oxide nanorods (ZNRs) have been grown on silicon (Si) pyramid-shaped surfaces by the facile hydrothermal reaction method. The systematic material analyses have revealed that the g-C3N4 nanostructures (NS) have been consistently incorporated into the ZNRs on the pyramidal silicon (Py-Si) surface (g-C3N4-ZNRs/Py-Si). The combined properties of the present structure exhibit an excellent sensitivity (∼53%) under H2 gas exposure, better than that of bare ZNRs (12%). The results revealed that the fine incorporation of g-C3N4 into ZNRs on the Py-Si surface improves the H2 gas sensing properties when compared to that of the planar silicon (Pl-Si) surface. The doping of g-C3N4 into ZNRs increases the electrical conductivity through its graphene-like edges (due to the formation of delocalized bonds in g-C3N4 during carbon self-doping), as revealed by FESEM images. In addition, the presence of defects in g-C3N4 induces the gas adsorption properties of ZnO through its active sites. Moreover, the integration of the 1D structure (g-C3N4-ZNRs) into a 3D pyramidal structure opens up new opportunities for low-cost H2 gas sensing at room temperature. It is an easy way to enhance the gas sensing properties of ZNRs at room temperature, which is desirable for practical H2 sensor applications.

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BACKGROUND: Quality of life and functional improvement have emerged as important goals for patients with oncologic disease. For patients with head and neck cancer, free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps serve as reliable reconstruction and provide functional restoration. Nevertheless, factors affecting the resumption of oral feeding are rarely described. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the functional outcomes of oral feeding for patients with different oncologic defect patterns and reconstructive ALT flap designs. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with head and neck cancer undergoing oncologic ablation and free ALT reconstruction between January 2016 and April 2018 at National Taiwan University Hospital. Patients were categorized into 2 groups as through-and-through (T&T) and non-through-and-through (non-T&T) according to the defect pattern. We further subgrouped T&T patients into lip resection/lip sparing according to lip involvement. Reconstructive ALT flaps were of 2 designs, folded (F-ALT) and chimeric (C-ALT). Outcomes of oral feeding were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and differences between groups were compared using the Student t test. RESULTS: We identified 233 patients who received oncologic ablation and free ALT flap reconstruction. There was no significant difference in functional recovery between the T&T and non-T&T groups (81.2% vs 73%, P = 0.137). However, among patients who succeeded in resuming oral feeding, lip-sparing patients had better functional recovery in terms of early oral feeding within 6 months and nasogastric tube removal compared with lip-resection patients (100% vs 83.3%, P = 0.001). Moreover, the F-ALT design resulted in a higher success rate in resuming oral feeding compared with the C-ALT design (90.5% vs 54.6%, P = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with head and neck cancer with T&T defects were associated with higher rates of secondary flap revision and a trend of delayed oral feeding. In the long term, improved oral feeding outcome with the F-ALT design was observed compared with the C-ALT design in the specific group with T&T defect.

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Traumatic lung herniation is a rare condition that is usually treated with thoracotomy and pericostal fixation of adjacent ribs with sutures. We described a traumatic lung herniation case successfully managed with hernia reduction and double-layered repair of the intrathoracic defect, completed via a total thoracoscopic approach.

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Pneumonia is a worldwide infectious disease that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and is the most common fatal infection acquired in hospitals. Despite advances in preventive strategies, such as antibiotic therapies and intensive care, the mortality rate still requires substantial improvement. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a large family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases, which are known as the major enzymes responsible for the proteolytic degradation of proteinaceous components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Although the main function of MMPs is the removal of the ECM during tissue resorption and progression of various diseases, MMPs also interact with multiple cytokines, participating in the pathology of infection and inflammation. This review presents a schematic overview of the different MMPs expressed in pneumonia. MMPs are key factors in the pathogenesis of various types of pneumonia, such as community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Here, we review the pathological roles of various MMPs in pneumonia.

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BACKGROUND: Here, we have examined the plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), the MMP-9/TIMP-1 molar ratio, the TIMP-1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) 372C/T and the susceptibility to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure plasma MMP-9 and TIMP-1 concentrations in 60 patients with CAP and 60 healthy individuals. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was used to detect the TIMP-1 SNPs 372C/T. RESULTS: The plasma MMP-9, TIMP-1 levels and the MMP-9/TIMP-1 molar ratio were significantly increased in patients with CAP compared to normal controls. The MMP-9/TIMP-1 molar ratio decreased significantly in patients with CAP after treatment. Furthermore, the plasma TIMP-1 concentration was positively correlated with the pneumonia severity index (PSI), the CURB score, the results of the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) and the length of the hospital stay. No significant difference was found in the genotype distribution of TIMP-1 372C/T between patients with CAP and normal controls. CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesize that MMP-9 levels and the MMP-9/TIMP-1 molar ratio play a role in the development of CAP and are related to the severity of CAP. Based on our data, we suggest that incorporating plasma MMP-9 levels and the MMP-9/TIMP-1 molar ratio into a clinical evaluation will aid in CAP diagnosis.

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BACKGROUND: The purpose here was to detect the association among plasma matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) concentration, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MMP-9 gene and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were, respectively used to measure the plasma MMP-9 level and its gene polymorphisms. RESULTS: The level of plasma of MMP-9 was elevated in patients with CAP as compared to that of normal controls and decreased significantly after treatment. Plasma MMP-9 concentration was significantly correlated with white blood cell (WBC) and neutrophil counts in patients with CAP. No significant difference was found in the genotypes distribution of MMP-9 SNPs, rs3918242, rs17576 or rs2274756, between patients with CAP and normal controls. Plasma MMP-9 concentration was not associated with MMP-9 polymorphism. When the cut-off level of the plasma MMP-9 concentration was set to be 105.02 ng/mL, the odds ratio of plasma MMP-9 for CAP risk was 9.86 (95% confident interval: 4.27-22.75). Plasma MMP-9 level may act as a prediction marker for CAP. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated plasma MMP-9 could be a biological marker for the diagnosis and be a new strategy for target therapy of community-acquired pneumonia.

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