Pathogenic bacteria infection is a serious threat to human public health due to the high morbidity and mortality rates. Nano delivery system for delivering antibiotics provides an alternative option to improve the efficiency compared to conventional therapeutic agents. In addition to the drug loading capacity of nanocarriers, which is typically around 10%, further lowers the drug dose that pathological bacteria are exposed to. Moreover, nanocarriers that are not eliminated from the body may cause side effects. These limitations have motivated the development of self‐delivery systems that are formed by the self‐assembly of different therapeutic agents. In this study, a vehicle‐free antimicrobial polymer polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB, with bactericidal and anti‐biofilm functions) hybrid gold nanoparticle (Au NPs, with photothermal therapy (PTT)) platform (PHMB@Au NPs) is developed. This platform exhibits an excellent synergistic effect to enhance the photothermal bactericidal effect for Staphylococcus aureus under near‐infrared irradiation. Furthermore, the results showed that PHMB@Au NPs inhibit the formation of biofilms, quickly remove bacteria to promote wound healing through PTT in infection model in vivo, and even mediate the transition of macrophages from M1 to M2 type, and accelerate tissue angiogenesis. PHMB@Au NPs will have promising value as highly effective antimicrobial agents for patient management.

Cervical cancer systemic inflammation score: a novel predictor of prognosis

Objective Lipids have been evaluated for their possible role in cancer survival prediction. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prognostic value of lipids on overall survival for stage IB1-IIA2 cervical cancer patients. Methods A retrospective study including cervical cancer patients with early-stage (FIGO 2009 stage IB1-IIA2) disease was conducted from January 2012 to February 2017. Patients with any history of liver disease or other cancers, and patients who took any medications known to influence lipid metabolism, were excluded. We measured various factors in patients' lipid profiles including total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein, and assessed these four parameters together with clinicopathological features to identify the significant prognostic factors for overall survival. Results A total of 583 patients with median age 53 (range 25–82) years were included. Among them, 283 (48.5%) patients were in FIGO stage IB1, 44 patients (7.6%) in stage IB2, 189 (32.4%) patients in stage IIA1, and the remaining 67 (11.5%) patients were in stage IIA2. Using univariable Cox proportional hazard analysis and subsequent multivariable analysis, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and pelvic lymph node status were shown to be independent prognostic factors for overall survival (p<0.05 for all). Furthermore, the results of the Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that both the high total cholesterol group and the high triglycerides group were associated with worse overall survival (p=0.002 and p=0.001, respectively) Conclusions Our study showed that total triglycerides and total cholesterol may serve as potential predictors for overall survival in patients with cervical cancer. Cervical cancer patients may benefit from treatments after adjusting their triglycerides and total cholesterol levels.