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Medicine Jun 2024Sepsis remains a leading cause of death worldwide. In this context, heparin-binding protein (HBP) has emerged as a possible biomarker, drawing significant attention for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Sepsis remains a leading cause of death worldwide. In this context, heparin-binding protein (HBP) has emerged as a possible biomarker, drawing significant attention for its diagnostic and prognostic usefulness in septic patients. Despite this advancement, the literature yields conflicting results. This study is intended to critically evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of HBP in critically ill septic patients.
METHODS
We searched multiple databases, including PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EBSCO, to identify relevant studies on April 27, 2023. We included studies investigating sepsis or its severe outcomes that reported HBP levels and the required data to create 2 × 2 tables. We used R version 4.2.2 and R Studio to analyze the pooled diagnostic accuracy outcomes. The diagmeta package was utilized to calculate the optimum cutoff value.
RESULTS
In our meta-analysis, we incorporated 28 studies including 5508 patients. The analysis revealed that HBP has a sensitivity of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60; 0.79) and a specificity of 0.68 (95% CI: 0.51; 0.81) in diagnosing sepsis, respectively. HBP demonstrated moderate prognostic accuracy for mortality at a cutoff value of 161.415 ng/mL, with a sensitivity and specificity of 72%, and for severe sepsis outcomes at a cutoff value of 58.907 ng/mL, with a sensitivity and specificity of 71%.
CONCLUSION
Our findings indicate a relatively moderate diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of HBP for sepsis. Future studies are required to verify the accuracy of HBP as a biomarker for sepsis.
Topics: Humans; Sepsis; Prognosis; Biomarkers; Blood Proteins; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Sensitivity and Specificity; Critical Illness; Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins
PubMed: 38905400
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038525 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Jul 2024Biochar is widely accepted as a green and effective amendment for remediating heavy metals (HMs) contaminated soil, but its long-term efficiency and safety changes with... (Review)
Review
Biochar is widely accepted as a green and effective amendment for remediating heavy metals (HMs) contaminated soil, but its long-term efficiency and safety changes with biochar aging in fields. Currently, some reviews have qualitatively summarized biochar aging methods and mechanisms, aginginduced changes in biochar properties, and often ignored the potential eco-environmental risk during biochar aging process. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes the study methods of biochar aging, quantitatively compares the effects of different biochar aging process on its properties, and discusses the potential eco-environmental risk due to biochar aging in HMs contaminated soil. At present, various artificial aging methods (physical aging, chemical aging and biological aging) rather than natural field aging have been applied to study the changes of biochar's properties. Generally, biochar aging increases specific surface area (SSA), pore volume (PV), surface oxygen-containing functional group (OFGs) and O content, while decreases pH, ash, H, C and N content. Chemical aging method has a greater effect on the properties of biochar than other aging methods. In addition, biochar aging may lead to HMs remobilization and produce new types of pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) and colloidal/nano biochar particles, which consequently bring secondary eco-environmental risk. Finally, future research directions are suggested to establish a more accurate assessment method and model on biochar aging behavior and evaluate the environmental safety of aged biochar, in order to promote its wider application for remediating HMs contaminated soil.
Topics: Charcoal; Soil Pollutants; Metals, Heavy; Environmental Restoration and Remediation; Soil; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 38696956
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134345 -
Chemosphere May 2024Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pervasive ecological pollutants produced essentially during the inadequate burning of organic materials. PAHs are a group of...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pervasive ecological pollutants produced essentially during the inadequate burning of organic materials. PAHs are a group of different organic compounds that are made out of various aromatic rings. PAHs pose a serious risk to humans and aquatic ecosystems because of their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. In this way, there is a critical prerequisite to utilizing successful remediation strategies and methods to limit the dangerous effect of these pollutants on the ecosystem. Biochar has believed of intriguing properties such as simple manufacturing operations and more affordable and more productive materials. Biochar is a sustainable carbonaceous material that has an enormous surface area with bountiful functional groups and pore structure, which has huge potential for the remediation of toxic pollutants. This review emphasizes the occurrence, development, and fate of toxic PAHs in the environment. In the present review, the properties and role of biochar in the removal of PAHs were illustrated, and the influencing factors and an efficient key mechanism of biochar for the remediation of PAHs were discussed in detail. Various surface modification methods can be utilized to improve the biochar properties with the magnetization process; the advancements of modified biochar are pointed out in this review. Finally, the constraints and prospects for the large-scale application of biochar in the remediation of toxic pollutants are highlighted.
Topics: Humans; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Ecosystem; Charcoal; Environmental Pollutants; Soil Pollutants; Soil
PubMed: 38537711
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141796 -
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative... Dec 2023Secretome provides promising potential in replacing cell-based therapies in wound repair therapy. This study aimed to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Secretome provides promising potential in replacing cell-based therapies in wound repair therapy. This study aimed to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of secretome in promoting wound healing.
METHODS
To ensure the rigor and transparency of our study, we followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, as registered in PROSPERO with ID: CRD42023412671. We conducted a comprehensive search on four electronic databases to identify studies evaluating the effect of secretome on various clinical parameters of wound repair. In addition, we evaluated the risk of bias for each study using the Jadad and Newcastle-Ottawa scale. To synthesize the data, we employed a fixed-effects model and calculated the mean difference or odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
RESULTS
Based on six included articles, secretome is known to affect several clinical parameters in wound healing included the size and depth of ulcers during healing; the E´chelle d'évaluation clinique des cicatrices d'acne (ECCA) score, epidermal thickness, collagen fibers, abnormal elastic tissues, volume of atrophic acne scars, skin pore volume, and erythema during acne scar healing; and microcrust areas, erythema index, transepidermal water loss, volume of atrophic acne scars, erythema, and relative gene expression of procollagen type I, procollagen type III, and elastin were evaluated in wound healing after laser treatment. Meta-analysis studies showed that secretome reduced ulcer size (mean difference: 0.87, 95% CI of 0.37-1.38, p = 0.0007), decreased ulcer depth (mean difference: 0.18, 95% CI of 0.11-0.25, p < 0.00001), and provided patient satisfaction (odds ratio: 9.71, 95% CI of 3.47-21.17, p < 0.0001). However, secretome failed to reach significance in clinical improvement (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.10, 1.53, p = 0.06).
CONCLUSION
The secretome provides good effectiveness in accelerating wound healing through a mechanism that correlates with several clinical parameters of wound repair.
Topics: Humans; Acne Vulgaris; Cicatrix; Erythema; Secretome; Ulcer
PubMed: 37682505
DOI: 10.1007/s13770-023-00570-9 -
Biomaterials Advances Oct 2023This systematic review evaluates the purpose, materials, physio-mechanical, and biological effects of bilayer scaffolds/membranes used for bone tissue engineering... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
This systematic review evaluates the purpose, materials, physio-mechanical, and biological effects of bilayer scaffolds/membranes used for bone tissue engineering applications.
METHODS
A comprehensive electronic search of English-language literature from 2012 to October 2022 was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar online databases according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The quality of animal studies was evaluated through the SYRCLE's risk of bias tool.
RESULTS
A total of 77 studies were sought for retrieval, and 39 studies met the inclusion criteria. According to the synthesis results, most bilayers had a dense barrier layer that prevented connective tissue penetration and a loose osteogenic layer that supported cell migration and osteogenesis. PLGA, PCL, and chitosan were the most common polymers in the barrier layers, while the most utilized polymers in osteogenic layers were PLGA and gelatin. Electrospinning and solvent casting were the most common fabrication methods to design the bilayer structures. Many studies reported higher biological results for bilayers compared to their single layers. Also, fabricated bilayers' in vitro osteogenesis and in vivo new bone formation were significantly superior or at least comparable to the frequently used commercial membranes.
CONCLUSION
1) Bilayers with two distinct layers and different materials, porosities, mechanical properties, and biological behavior can significantly improve heterogeneous bone regeneration; 2) the addition of ceramics and/or drugs to the osteogenic layer enhances the osteogenic properties of the bilayers; 3) fabrication method and pore size of the layers play an important role in determining the mechanical and biological behavior of them.
Topics: Animals; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds; Bone and Bones; Osteogenesis; Polymers
PubMed: 37352742
DOI: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2023.213528