非小细胞肺癌术后并发乳糜胸对患者生活质量影响的研究

目的:探讨非小细胞肺癌术后并发乳糜胸对患者生活质量的影响。方法:采用生活质量测定量表(QLQ-C30)回顾性分析第四军医大学唐都医院胸外科自2013年至2016年中收治的1015例肺癌手术患者的生活质量,发生乳糜胸组记为A组,未发生乳糜胸组记为B组。对比术前和术后1、3、6和12个月的生活质量有无统计学差异。结果:(1)术后1月时,除了社会功能、便秘、腹泻以外,两组生活质量指标评分均显著低于术前,且B组均显著低于A组,有统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。在手术后3月及以后逐渐恢复,至12月时,各组指标与术前基本相同(表3,P0.05);(2)两组术后生活质量相比较,术后1、3月,除社会功能、便秘、腹泻以外,其余生活质量功能指标B组均显著优于A组,有统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。在手术后6月及以后,B组所有指标与A组无统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。结论:肺癌根治术后发生乳糜胸患者生活质量显著低于未发生乳糜胸患者,因此应合理选择手术方式,注意术中操作,降低乳糜胸发生率,提高肺癌患者术后的生活质量。     

Shifting abundances of communities associated with nitrogen cycling in soils promoted by sugarcane harvest systems

Sugarcane cultivation supports Brazil as one of the largest world sugar and ethanol producer. In order to understand the impact of changing sugarcane harvest from manual to mechanized harvest, we studied the effect of machinery traffic on soil and consequently soil compaction upon soil microbial communities involved in nitrogen cycling. The impact of sugarcane harvest was dependent on soil depth and texture. At deeper soil layers, mechanized harvesting increases the abundance of nitrogen fixers and denitrifying communities (specifically nosZ clade I and II) while manual harvesting increases the abundance of ammonia oxidizers (specifically AOA) and increases denitrifying communities (nosZ clade I and II) on top and at intermediate depth. The effect of change on the harvest system is more evident on sandy soil than on clay soil, where soil indicators of compaction (bulk density and penetration resistance) were negatively correlated with soil microorganisms associated with the nitrogen cycle. Our results point to connections between soil compaction and N transformations in sugarcane fields, besides naming biological variables to be used as proxies for alterations in soil structure.     

Exotic grass invasion impacts fitness of an endangered prairie butterfly, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Icaricia icarioides fenderi</Emphasis>

Fender’s blue butterfly is an endangered species restricted to fragmented, grassland remnants that are becoming increasingly dominated by tall, invasive grasses in western Oregon, USA. I performed a removal experiment to assess the impacts of structural degradation accompanying the invasion of Arrhenatherum elatius, tall oat grass, on butterfly fitness and fitness related behaviors. Clipping of A. elatius to native grass sward height resulted in 2.5–5 times as many eggs laid per leaf of host plant. Both male and female butterflies basked more frequently in areas removed of A. elatius inflorescences and upon encountering the treatment edge butterflies had a high rate of return into a large area removed of the grass inflorescences. Although butterfly behavior appeared to be affected by the change in sward height on the treatment edge, there was no evidence for the edge causing a disproportionate egg load. Invasion and dominance by A. elatius appeared to diminish host plant apparency which may result in overloading of eggs on conspicuous host plants, increased incidence of emigration, and a decrease in the likelihood of colonization because female butterflies appeared indifferent to larval resources beneath A. elatius inflorescences. Dominance of natural shortgrass prairies by tall stature grasses like A. elatius may be an insidious form of habitat degradation for grassland Lepidoptera worldwide, but it may go largely unnoticed because larval and adult resources can persist under the unnaturally tall grass canopy.     

Bioaccumulation of heavy elements by Armadillidium vulgare (Crustacea,Isopoda) exposed to fallout of a municipal solid waste landfill

This paper reports the response of isopods exposed to fallout of a municipal solid waste landfill located in central Italy. Soil samples and specimens of Armadillidium vulgare were collected at different distances from the landfill and analyzed to determine the concentrations of heavy elements such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, V and Zn. The isopod analysis was performed on unpurged and purged specimens. Analytical data indicate that the soil contents of heavy elements were quite uniform and within the respective local geochemical background. Slight enrichments of Cu and Pb were found in some soils collected within the solid waste. Purged isopods showed an accumulation of As, Co, Cr, Ni, Sb and V whose body levels decreased as the distance from the landfill increased. Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations in purged specimens were rather uniform and no significant variation trend occurred. This result probably was due to the fact that the isopods are provided with physiological mechanisms of regulation for these heavy elements. Analytical data also indicate the ability of A. vulgare to adsorb differently the heavy elements according to the following order: As > Co > Ni > Pb > V. The contents of heavy elements in unpurged specimens were higher than in purged ones. This finding suggested that the defecation has marked effects on the tissue levels of heavy elements in isopods. This study indicates that the isopods provide useful information about environmental quality in areas characterized by low and discontinuous emission of heavy elements and their low accumulation in soil.     

The response of phytoplankton community to anthropogenic pressure gradient in the coastal waters of the eastern Adriatic Sea

In order to test the response of phytoplankton to anthropogenic pressure, data of chlorophyll a concentration, phytoplankton abundance, and composition are analyzed in relation to anthropogenic pressure gradient and environmental variables such as temperature, salinity and nutrients. Investigated sites encompassed wide tropic range according to a preliminary determination of anthropogenic pressure, quantified through the LUSI index. Statistical analyses indicated nitrates and silicates as proxies of freshwater influence, and phytoplankton single metrics such as concentrations of chlorophyll a and abundances as indicators of anthropogenic pressure. Boundary values for different water quality classes for coastal waters under indirect freshwater influence (Type II) are obtained according to gradient between concentration of chlorophyll a and pressure index (LUSI), which empirically fit to exponential equation. The response of phytoplankton diversity was not linear, as the highest diversity was observed in the area with intermediate disturbance level. CCA analysis identified Skeletonema marinoii, Scrippsiella trochoidea, Guinardia flaccida, Leptocylindrus spp., Prorocentrum spp., Proboscia alata, Eutreptiella spp., and Pseudonitzschia spp. as local eutrophication indicators, whose abundances increased with nutrients loads.     

Differential effects of circadian typology on sleep-related symptoms,physical fatigue and psychological well-being in relation to resilience

Various physiological and psychological functions are influenced by circadian typology (CT), which was reported to be related to resilience. However, few studies have assessed the effects of CT in relation to resilience. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of CT on sleep-related symptoms, physical fatigue and psychological well-being in relation to resilience. The present study included a total of 1794 healthy hospital employees, and they completed the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version. Subjects with evening type showed lower sleep quality, more daytime sleepiness and physical fatigue than neither types and morning types. Additionally, evening types were more depressed and anxious and reported a poorer quality of life. CT was found to be a significant predictor of sleep quality, but CT was minimally associated with physical fatigue and psychological well-being in the regression analysis. Instead, resilience was substantially related to all of the variables measured. In conclusion, CT independently predicts sleep quality, but the effects of CT on physical fatigue and psychological well-being are negligible compared to those of resilience.