Conectar
To examine the long-term effects of COVID-19 on surgical nurses.
Individuals contaminated with COVID-19 may face several metabolic or psychological issues, primarily in the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, musculoskeletal and renal systems during the late period. However, the long-term epidemiology is still not clear.
Descriptive cross-sectional study.
The study included nurses (n = 509) who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at least 12 weeks before and worked in surgical departments. We collected the study data via an online survey using the snowball sampling method between December 2021 and May 2022. This study followed the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Guideline.
The mean age of the nurses was 31.66 ± 8.74 years. Nurses stated that they were diagnosed with COVID-19 approximately 36 weeks before participating in this study. We found that the nurses mostly experienced palpitation (83.5%), headache (73.5%), dyspnea (64.1%), anosmia (57.6%), arthralgia (55.7%) and burnout (58.4%) during the late period after COVID-19.
The long-term effects of COVID-19 were related to multiple organ dysfunctions.
Since the study was conducted with healthy individuals who had previously experienced COVID-19, there is no patient contribution.
This study focuses on the long-term effects of COVID-19 on nurses. The results support the long-term effects of COVID-19 and are thought to contribute to the literature.
To identify the reasons and/or risk factors for hospital admission and/or emergency department attendance for older (≥60 years) residents of long-term care facilities.
Older adults' use of acute services is associated with significant financial and social costs. A global understanding of the reasons for the use of acute services may allow for early identification and intervention, avoid clinical deterioration, reduce the demand for health services and improve quality of life.
Systematic review registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022326964) and reported following PRISMA guidelines.
The search strategy was developed in consultation with an academic librarian. The strategy used MeSH terms and relevant keywords. Articles published since 2017 in English were eligible for inclusion. CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were searched (11/08/22). Title, abstract, and full texts were screened against the inclusion/exclusion criteria; data extraction was performed two blinded reviewers. Quality of evidence was assessed using the NewCastle Ottawa Scale (NOS).
Thirty-nine articles were eligible and included in this review; included research was assessed as high-quality with a low risk of bias. Hospital admission was reported as most likely to occur during the first year of residence in long-term care. Respiratory and cardiovascular diagnoses were frequently associated with acute services use. Frailty, hypotensive medications, falls and inadequate nutrition were associated with unplanned service use.
Modifiable risks have been identified that may act as a trigger for assessment and be amenable to early intervention. Coordinated intervention may have significant individual, social and economic benefits.
This review has identified several modifiable reasons for acute service use by older adults. Early and coordinated intervention may reduce the risk of hospital admission and/or emergency department.
This systematic review was conducted and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology.
No patient or public contribution.
Compared to other providers, nurses spend more time with patients, but the exact quantity and nature of those interactions remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to characterize the interactions of nurses at the bedside using continuous surveillance over a year long period.
Nurses' time and activity at the bedside were characterized using a device that integrates the use of obfuscated computer vision in combination with a Bluetooth beacon on the nurses' identification badge to track nurses' activities at the bedside. The surveillance device (AUGi) was installed over 37 patient beds in two medical/surgical units in a major urban hospital. Forty-nine nurse users were tracked using the beacon. Data were collected 4/15/19–3/15/20. Statistics were performed to describe nurses' time and activity at the bedside.
A total of n = 408,588 interactions were analyzed over 670 shifts, with >1.5 times more interactions during day shifts (n = 247,273) compared to night shifts (n = 161,315); the mean interaction time was 3.34 s longer during nights than days (p < 0.0001). Each nurse had an average of 7.86 (standard deviation [SD] = 10.13) interactions per bed each shift and a mean total interaction time per bed of 9.39 min (SD = 14.16). On average, nurses covered 7.43 beds (SD = 4.03) per shift (day: mean = 7.80 beds/nurse/shift, SD = 3.87; night: mean = 7.07/nurse/shift, SD = 4.17). The mean time per hourly rounding (HR) was 69.5 s (SD = 98.07) and 50.1 s (SD = 56.58) for bedside shift report.
As far as we are aware, this is the first study to provide continuous surveillance of nurse activities at the bedside over a year long period, 24 h/day, 7 days/week. We detected that nurses spend less than 1 min giving report at the bedside, and this is only completed 20.7% of the time. Additionally, hourly rounding was completed only 52.9% of the time and nurses spent only 9 min total with each patient per shift. Further study is needed to detect whether there is an optimal timing or duration of interactions to improve patient outcomes.
Nursing time with the patient has been shown to improve patient outcomes but precise information about how much time nurses spend with patients has been heretofore unknown. By understanding minute-by-minute activities at the bedside over a full year, we provide a full picture of nursing activity; this can be used in the future to determine how these activities affect patient outcomes.
To evaluate factors associated with fall protection motivation to engage in fall preventive behaviour among rural community-dwelling older adults aged 55 and above using the protection motivation theory scale.
A cross-sectional study.
The study was conducted in a healthcare clinic in Malaysia, using multistage random sampling from November 2021 to January 2022. Three hundred seventy-five older adults aged 55 and older were included in the final analysis. There were 31 items in the final PMT scale. The analysis was performed within the whole population and grouped into ‘faller’ and ‘non-faller’, employing IBM SPSS version 26.0 for descriptive, independent t-test, chi-square, bivariate correlation and linear regressions.
A total of 375 older participants were included in the study. Fallers (n = 82) and non-fallers (n = 293) show statistically significant differences in the characteristics of ethnicity, assistive device users, self-rating of intention and participation in previous fall prevention programmes. The multiple linear regression model revealed fear, coping appraisal and an interaction effect of fear with coping appraisal predicting fall protection motivation among older adults in rural communities.
Findings from this study demonstrated that coping appraisal and fear predict the protection motivation of older adults in rural communities. Older adults without a history of falls and attaining higher education had better responses in coping appraisal, contributing to a reduction in perceived rewards and improving protection motivation. Conversely, older adults from lower education backgrounds tend to have higher non-preventive behaviours, leading to a decline in fall protection motivation.
These results contribute important information to nurses working with older adults with inadequate health literacy in rural communities, especially when planning and designing fall prevention interventions. The findings would benefit all nurses, healthcare providers, researchers and academicians who provide care for older adults.
Participants were briefed about the study, and their consent was obtained. They were only required to answer the questionnaire through interviews. Older individuals aged fifty-five and above in rural communities at the healthcare clinic who could read, write or understand Malay or English were included. Those who were suffering from mental health problems and refused to participate in the study were excluded from the study. Their personal information remained classified and not recorded in the database during the data entry or analysis.
To estimate all-cause mortality in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and determine whether antibiotic duration beyond 8 days is associated with reduction in all-cause mortality in patients admitted with VAP in the intensive care unit.
A prospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with VAP based on the National Healthcare Safety Network definition and clinical criteria.
Single tertiary care hospital in Southern India.
100 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with VAP were followed up for 28 days postdiagnosis or until discharge.
The incidence of mortality at 28 days postdiagnosis was measured. Tests for association and predictors of mortality were determined using 2 test and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Secondary outcomes included baseline clinical parameters such as age, underlying comorbidities as well as measuring total length of stay, number of ventilator-free days and antibiotic-free days.
The overall case fatality rate due to VAP was 46%. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality rates between those receiving shorter antibiotic duration (5–8 days) and those on longer therapy. Among those who survived until day 9, the observed risk difference was 15.1% between both groups, with an HR of 1.057 (95% CI 0.26 to 4.28). In 70.4% of isolates, non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli were identified, of which the most common pathogen isolated was Acinetobacter baumannii (62%).
In this hospital-based cohort study, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that prolonging antibiotic duration beyond 8 days in patients with VAP improves survival.
To examine family planning through the community’s perception, belief system and cultural impact; in addition to identifying the determining factors for family planning uptake.
A descriptive exploratory study.
Three communities were selected from three local government areas, each in the three senatorial districts in Ekiti State.
The study was conducted among young unmarried women in the reproductive age group who were sexually active as well as married men and women in the reproductive age group who are currently living with their partners and were sexually active.
Eight focus group discussions were conducted in the community in 2019 with 28 male and 50 female participants. The audio recordings were transcribed, triangulated with notes and analysed using QSR NVivo V.8 software. Community perception, beliefs and perceptions of the utility of family planning, as well as cultural, religious and other factors determining family planning uptake were analysed.
The majority of the participants had the perception that family planning helps married couple only. There were diverse beliefs about family planning and mixed reactions with respect to the impact of culture and religion on family planning uptake. Furthermore, a number of factors were identified in determining family planning uptake—intrapersonal, interpersonal and health system factors.
The study concluded that there are varied reactions to family planning uptake due to varied perception, cultural and religious beliefs and determining factors. It was recommended that more targeted male partner engagement in campaign would boost family planning uptake.
This scoping review mapped and synthesised original research that identified low-value care in hospital settings as part of multicomponent processes.
Scoping review.
Electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane CENTRAL) and grey literature were last searched 11 July and 3 June 2022, respectively, with no language or date restrictions.
We included original research targeting the identification and prioritisation of low-value care as part of a multicomponent process in hospital settings.
Screening was conducted in duplicate. Data were extracted by one of six authors and checked by another author. A framework synthesis was conducted using seven areas of focus for the review and an overuse framework.
Twenty-seven records were included (21 original studies, 4 abstracts and 2 reviews), originating from high-income countries. Benefit or value (11 records), risk or harm (10 records) were common concepts referred to in records that explicitly defined low-value care (25 records). Evidence of contextualisation including barriers and enablers of low-value care identification processes were identified (25 records). Common components of these processes included initial consensus, consultation, ranking exercise or list development (16 records), and reviews of evidence (16 records). Two records involved engagement of patients and three evaluated the outcomes of multicomponent processes. Five records referenced a theory, model or framework.
Gaps identified included applying systematic efforts to contextualise the identification of low-value care, involving people with lived experience of hospital care and initiatives in resource poor contexts. Insights were obtained regarding the theories, models and frameworks used to guide initiatives and ways in which the concept ‘low-value care’ had been used and reported. A priority for further research is evaluating the effect of initiatives that identify low-value care using contextualisation as part of multicomponent processes.
by Viktor Laskov, David Rothbauer, Hana Malikova
Radiomic features are usually used to predict target variables such as the absence or presence of a disease, treatment response, or time to symptom progression. One of the potential clinical applications is in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Robust radiomic features for this specific imaging method have not yet been identified, which is necessary for proper feature selection. Thus, we are assessing the robustness of radiomic features in dopamine transporter imaging (DaT). For this study, we made an anthropomorphic head phantom with tissue heterogeneity using a personal 3D printer (polylactide 82% infill); the bone was subsequently reproduced with plaster. A surgical cotton ball with radiotracer (123I-ioflupane) was inserted. Scans were performed on the two-detector hybrid camera with acquisition parameters corresponding to international guidelines for DaT single photon emission tomography (SPECT). Reconstruction of SPECT was performed on a clinical workstation with iterative algorithms. Open-source LifeX software was used to extract 134 radiomic features. Statistical analysis was made in RStudio using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (COV). Overall, radiomic features in different reconstruction parameters showed a moderate reproducibility rate (ICC = 0.636, p 0.9, pby Gabriel Ott, Yannik Schaubelt, Juan Miguel Lopez Alcaraz, Wilhelm Haverkamp, Nils Strodthoff
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading global cause of mortality. Age is an important covariate whose effect is most easily investigated in a healthy cohort to properly distinguish the former from disease-related changes. Traditionally, most of such insights have been drawn from the analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) feature changes in individuals as they age. However, these features, while informative, may potentially obscure underlying data relationships. In this paper we present the following contributions: (1) We employ a deep-learning model and a tree-based model to analyze ECG data from a robust dataset of healthy individuals across varying ages in both raw signals and ECG feature format. (2) We use explainable AI methods to identify the most discriminative ECG features across age groups.(3) Our analysis with tree-based classifiers reveals age-related declines in inferred breathing rates and identifies notably high SDANN values as indicative of elderly individuals, distinguishing them from younger adults. (4) Furthermore, the deep-learning model underscores the pivotal role of the P-wave in age predictions across all age groups, suggesting potential changes in the distribution of different P-wave types with age. These findings shed new light on age-related ECG changes, offering insights that transcend traditional feature-based approaches.by Longgang Zhao, Yuan Wang, Eric Mishio Bawa, Zichun Meng, Jingkai Wei, Sarah Newman-Norlund, Tushar Trivedi, Hatice Hasturk, Roger D. Newman-Norlund, Julius Fridriksson, Anwar T. Merchant
BackgroundCognitive impairment has multiple risk factors spanning several domains, but few studies have evaluated risk factor clusters. We aimed to identify naturally occurring clusters of risk factors of poor cognition among middle-aged and older adults and evaluate associations between measures of cognition and these risk factor clusters.
MethodsWe used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (training dataset, n = 4074) and the NHANES 2011–2014 (validation dataset, n = 2510). Risk factors were selected based on the literature. We used both traditional logistic models and support vector machine methods to construct a composite score of risk factor clusters. We evaluated associations between the risk score and cognitive performance using the logistic model by estimating odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
ResultsUsing the training dataset, we developed a composite risk score that predicted undiagnosed cognitive decline based on ten selected predictive risk factors including age, waist circumference, healthy eating index, race, education, income, physical activity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and annual visit to dentist. The risk score was significantly associated with poor cognitive performance both in the training dataset (OR Tertile 3 verse tertile 1 = 8.15, 95% CI: 5.36–12.4) and validation dataset (OR Tertile 3 verse tertile 1 = 4.31, 95% CI: 2.62–7.08). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for the predictive model was 0.74 and 0.77 for crude model and model adjusted for age, sex, and race.
ConclusionThe model based on selected risk factors may be used to identify high risk individuals with cognitive impairment.
by Leslie Hayden, James M. Lightner, Stacy Strausborger, Teri J. Franks, Nora L. Watson, Michael R. Lewin-Smith
The role that inhaled particulate matter plays in the development of post-deployment lung disease among US service members deployed to Southwest Asia during the Global War on Terrorism has been difficult to define. There is a persistent gap in data addressing the relationship between relatively short-term (months to a few years) exposures to high levels of particulate matter during deployment and the subsequent development of adverse pulmonary outcomes. Surgical lung biopsies from deployed service members and veterans (DSMs) and non-deployed service members and veterans (NDSMs) who develop lung diseases can be analyzed to potentially identify residual deployment-specific particles and develop associations with pulmonary pathological diagnoses. We examined 52 surgical lung biopsies from 25 DSMs and 27 NDSMs using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to identify any between-group differences in the number and composition of retained inorganic particles, then compared the particle analysis results with the original histopathologic diagnoses. We recorded a higher number of total particles in biopsies from DSMs than from NDSMs, and this difference was mainly accounted for by geologic clays (illite, kaolinite), feldspars, quartz/silica, and titanium-rich silicate mixtures. Biopsies from DSMs deployed to other Southwest Asia regions (SWA-Other) had higher particle counts than those from DSMs primarily deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, due mainly to illite. Distinct deployment-specific particles were not identified. Particles did not qualitatively associate with country of deployment. The individual diagnoses of the DSMs and NDSMs were not associated with elevated levels of total particles, metals, cerium oxide, or titanium dioxide particles. These results support the examination of particle-related lung disease in DSMs in the context of comparison groups, such as NDSMs, to assist in determining the strength of associations between specific pulmonary pathology diagnoses and deployment-specific inorganic particulate matter exposure.by Juan F. Zapata-Acevedo, Mónica Losada-Barragán, Johann F. Osma, Juan C. Cruz, Andreas Reiber, Klaus G. Petry, Amael Caillard, Audrey Sauldubois, Daniel Llamosa Pérez, Aníbal José Morillo Zárate, Sonia Bermúdez Muñoz, Agustín Daza Moreno, Rafaela V. Silva, Carmen Infante-Duarte, William Chamorro-Coral, Rodrigo E. González-Reyes, Karina Vargas-Sánchez
Chronic neuroinflammation is characterized by increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, leading to molecular changes in the central nervous system that can be explored with biomarkers of active neuroinflammatory processes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has contributed to detecting lesions and permeability of the BBB. Ultra-small superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO) are used as contrast agents to improve MRI observations. Therefore, we validate the interaction of peptide-88 with laminin, vectorized on USPIO, to explore BBB molecular alterations occurring during neuroinflammation as a potential tool for use in MRI. The specific labeling of NPS-P88 was verified in endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3) and astrocytes (T98G) under inflammation induced by interleukin 1β (IL-1β) for 3 and 24 hours. IL-1β for 3 hours in hCMEC/D3 cells increased their co-localization with NPS-P88, compared with controls. At 24 hours, no significant differences were observed between groups. In T98G cells, NPS-P88 showed similar nonspecific labeling among treatments. These results indicate that NPS-P88 has a higher affinity towards brain endothelial cells than astrocytes under inflammation. This affinity decreases over time with reduced laminin expression. In vivo results suggest that following a 30-minute post-injection, there is an increased presence of NPS-P88 in the blood and brain, diminishing over time. Lastly, EAE animals displayed a significant accumulation of NPS-P88 in MRI, primarily in the cortex, attributed to inflammation and disruption of the BBB. Altogether, these results revealed NPS-P88 as a biomarker to evaluate changes in the BBB due to neuroinflammation by MRI in biological models targeting laminin.by Levi Matthies, Hendrik Amir-Kabirian, Medhanie T. Gebrekidan, Andreas S. Braeuer, Ulrike S. Speth, Ralf Smeets, Christian Hagel, Martin Gosau, Christian Knipfer, Reinhard E. Friedrich
In Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), peripheral nerve sheaths tumors are common, with cutaneous neurofibromas resulting in significant aesthetic, painful and functional problems requiring surgical removal. To date, determination of adequate surgical resection margins–complete tumor removal while attempting to preserve viable tissue–remains largely subjective. Thus, residual tumor extension beyond surgical margins or recurrence of the disease may frequently be observed. Here, we introduce Shifted-Excitation Raman Spectroscopy in combination with deep neural networks for the future perspective of objective, real-time diagnosis, and guided surgical ablation. The obtained results are validated through established histological methods. In this study, we evaluated the discrimination between cutaneous neurofibroma (n = 9) and adjacent physiological tissues (n = 25) in 34 surgical pathological specimens ex vivo at a total of 82 distinct measurement loci. Based on a convolutional neural network (U-Net), the mean raw Raman spectra (n = 8,200) were processed and refined, and afterwards the spectral peaks were assigned to their respective molecular origin. Principal component and linear discriminant analysis was used to discriminate cutaneous neurofibromas from physiological tissues with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 97.3%, and overall classification accuracy of 97.6%. The results enable the presented optical, non-invasive technique in combination with artificial intelligence as a promising candidate to ameliorate both, diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by cutaneous neurofibroma and NF1.by Hirokazu Okada, Atsushi Ono, Koji Tomori, Tsutomu Inoue, Norio Hanafusa, Ken Sakai, Ichiei Narita, Toshiki Moriyama, Yoshitaka Isaka, Kei Fukami, Seiji Itano, Eiichiro Kanda, Naoki Kashihara
BackgroundInformation of short-term prognosis after hemodialysis (HD) introduction is important for elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and their families choosing a modality of renal replacement therapy. Therefore, we developed a risk score to predict early mortality in incident elderly Japanese hemodialysis patients.
Materials and methodsWe analyzed data of incident elderly HD patients from a nationwide cohort study of the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Renal Data Registry (JRDR) to develop a prognostic risk score. Candidate risk factors for early death within 1 year was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The risk score was developed by summing up points derived from parameter estimate values of independent risk factors. The association between risk score and early death was tested using Cox proportional hazards models. This risk score was validated twice by using an internal validation cohort derived from the JRDR and an external validation cohort collected for this study.
ResultsUsing the development cohort (n = 2,000), nine risk factors were retained in the risk score: older age (>85), yes = 2, no = 0; sex, male = 2, female = 0; lower body mass index (2.0 mg/dL), yes = 2, no = 0. In the internal and external validation cohorts (n = 739, 140, respectively), the medium- and high-risk groups (total score, 6 to 10 and 11 or more, respectively) showed significantly higher risk of early death than the low-risk group (total score, 0 to 5) (p Conclusion
We developed a prognostic risk score predicting early death within 1 year in incident elderly Japanese HD patients, which may help detect elderly patients with a high-risk of early death after HD introduction.
by Dino Bekric, Tobias Kiesslich, Matthias Ocker, Martina Winklmayr, Markus Ritter, Heidemarie Dobias, Marlena Beyreis, Daniel Neureiter, Christian Mayr
IntroductionBiliary tract cancer (BTC) is a lethal disease with a bad overall survivability, partly arising from inadequate therapeutic alternatives, detection at a belated stage, and a resistance to common therapeutic approaches. Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death that depends on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and iron, causing excessive peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Therefore, the objective of this investigation is, whether ferroptosis can be induced in BTC in vitro and whether this induction is dependent on specific molecular markers.
MethodsThe study conducted resazurin assay and IC25/50 calculation to explore the possible cytotoxic outcomes of different classes of ferroptosis-inducing substances (FINs) on a comprehensive in vitro model of 11 BTC cell lines. Combinatory treatments with different cell death inhibitors were performed to evaluate the magnitude of ferroptosis induction. To ascertain whether ferroptotic cell death occurred, liperfluo and iron assay kits were employed to evaluate lipid ROS and intracellular iron abundance. Potential biomarkers of ferroptosis sensitivity were then assessed via western blot analysis, a rtPCR panel and functional assay kits.
ResultsThe study found that different FINs reduced cell viability in a cell line-dependent manner. In addition, we measured increased lipid ROS and intracellular Fe2+ levels upon exposure to FINs in BTC cells. Combining FINs with inhibitors of ferroptosis, necroptosis or apoptosis suggests the occurrence of ferroptotic events in BTC cell lines CCC-5, HuH-28 and KKU-055. Furthermore, we found that BTC cells display a heterogeneous profile regarding different molecular genes/markers of ferroptosis. Subsequent analysis revealed that sensitivity of BTC cells towards IKE and RSL3 positively correlated with CD71 and SLC7A11 protein expression.
ConclusionOur results demonstrate that induction of ferroptosis is a promising approach to inhibit BTC cell growth and that the sensitivity of BTC cells towards ferroptosis induction might be dependent on molecular markers such as CD71 and SLC7A11.
by Sally Caine, Mariam Alaverdashvili, Frederick Colbourne, Gillian D. Muir, Phyllis G. Paterson
Malnutrition after stroke may lessen the beneficial effects of rehabilitation on motor recovery through influences on both brain and skeletal muscle. Enriched rehabilitation (ER), a combination of environmental enrichment and forelimb reaching practice, is used preclinically to study recovery of skilled reaching after stroke. However, the chronic food restriction typically used to motivate engagement in reaching practice is a barrier to using ER to investigate interactions between nutritional status and rehabilitation. Thus, our objectives were to determine if a modified ER program comprised of environmental enrichment and skilled reaching practice motivated by a short fast would enhance post-stroke forelimb motor recovery and preserve forelimb muscle size and metabolic fiber type, relative to a group exposed to stroke without ER. At one week after photothrombotic cortical stroke, male, Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to modified ER or standard care for 2 weeks. Forelimb recovery was assessed in the Montoya staircase and cylinder task before stroke and on days 5–6, 22–23, and 33–34 after stroke. ER failed to improve forelimb function in either task (p > 0.05). Atrophy of extensor digitorum communis (EDC) and triceps brachii long head (TBL) muscles was not evident in the stroke-targeted forelimb on day 35, but the area occupied by hybrid fibers was increased in the EDC muscle (p = 0.038). ER bilaterally increased EDC (p = 0.046), but not TBL, muscle size; EDC muscle fiber type was unchanged by ER. While the modified ER did not promote forelimb motor recovery, it does appear to have utility for studying the role of skeletal muscle plasticity in post-stroke recovery.by Mina Baek, Minjae Kim, Hae In Choi, Bert Binas, Junho Cha, Kyoung Hwa Jung, Sungkyoung Choi, Young Gyu Chai
The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib is the standard first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but many patients become sorafenib-resistant (SR). This study investigated the efficacy of another kinase inhibitor, regorafenib (Rego), as a second-line treatment. We produced SR HCC cells, wherein the PI3K-Akt, TNF, cAMP, and TGF-beta signaling pathways were affected. Acute Rego treatment of these cells reversed the expression of genes involved in TGF-beta signaling but further increased the expression of genes involved in PI3K-Akt signaling. Additionally, Rego reversed the expression of genes involved in nucleosome assembly and epigenetic gene expression. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed four differentially expressed long non-coding RNA (DElncRNA) modules that were associated with the effectiveness of Rego on SR cells. Eleven putative DElncRNAs with distinct expression patterns were identified. We associated each module with DEmRNAs of the same pattern, thus obtaining DElncRNA/DEmRNA co-expression modules. We discuss the potential significance of each module. These findings provide insights and resources for further investigation into the potential mechanisms underlying the response of SR HCC cells to Rego.by Dan lv, Keji Zhang, Changqing Zhu, Xinhui Xu, Hao Gong, Li Liu
This prospective observational study explored the predictive value of CD86 in the early diagnosis of sepsis in the emergency department. The primary endpoint was the factors associated with a diagnosis of sepsis. The secondary endpoint was the factors associated with mortality among patients with sepsis. It enrolled inpatients with infection or high clinical suspicion of infection in the emergency department of a tertiary Hospital between September 2019 and June 2021. The patients were divided into the sepsis and non-sepsis groups according to the Sepsis-3 standard. The non-sepsis group included 56 patients, and the sepsis group included 65 patients (19 of whom ultimately died). The multivariable analysis showed that CD86% (odds ratio [OR] = 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.44, P = 0.015), platelet count (OR = 0.99, 95%CI: 0.986–0.997, P = 0.001), interleukin-10 (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.004–1.025, P = 0.009), and procalcitonin (OR = 1.17, 95%CI: 1.01–1.37, P = 0.043) were independent risk factors for sepsis, while human leukocyte antigen (HLA%) (OR = 0.96, 05%CI: 0.935–0.995, P = 0.022), respiratory rate (OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.03–1.30, P = 0.014), and platelet count (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.002–1.016, P = 0.016) were independent risk factors for death in patients with sepsis. The model for sepsis (CD86%, platelets, interleukin-10, and procalcitonin) and the model for death (HLA%, respiratory rate, and platelets) had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.870 and 0.843, respectively. CD86% in the first 24 h after admission for acute infection was independently associated with the occurrence of sepsis in the emergency department.It is important to promote resilience in preadolescence; however, there is limited research on children’s understandings and experiences of resilience. Quantitative approaches may not capture dynamic and context-specific aspects of resilience. Resilience research has historically focused on white, middle-class Western adults and adolescents, creating an evidence gap regarding diverse experiences of resilience in middle childhood which could inform interventions. East London’s Muslim community represents a diverse, growing population. Despite being disproportionately affected by deprivation and racial and cultural discrimination, this population is under-represented in resilience research. Using participatory and arts-based methods, this study aims to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience in black and South Asian Muslim children living in East London.
We propose a qualitative study, grounded in embodied inquiry, consisting of a participatory workshop with 6–12 children and their parents/carers to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience. Participants will be identified and recruited from community settings in East London. Eligible participants will be English-speaking Muslims who identify as being black or South Asian, have a child aged 8–12 years and live in East London. The workshop (approx. 3.5 hours) will take place at an Islamic community centre and will include body mapping with children and a focus group discussion with parents/carers to explore resilience perspectives and meanings. Participants will also complete a demographic survey. Workshop audio recordings will be transcribed verbatim and body maps and other paper-based activities will be photographed. Data will be analysed using systematic visuo-textual analysis which affords equal importance to visual and textual data.
The Queen Mary Ethics of Research Committee at Queen Mary University of London has approved this study (approval date: 9 October 2023; ref: QME23.0042). The researchers plan to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at academic conferences.
FreshRSS 