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Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the stigma status of infertile women in China and to determine the influencing factors. Methods: 366 infertile women from the gynecological and reproductive departments of two tertiary hospitals completed socio-demographic questionnaires, the Infertility Stigma Scale (ISS) and the Mandarin Fertility Problem Inventory (M-FPI). Results: The scores of stigma and infertility-related stress in infertile women were (52.51 ± 17.74) and (150.03 ± 17.51), respectively. Multiple regression analysis found that location of residence, regarding children as the most important thing in life, talking to others about infertility and infertility-related stress were the main influencing factors of stigma in infertile women, which explained 17.3% of the total variance. Conclusions: In the current study, the level of stigma in women with infertility was at the middle range. Location of residence, regarding children as the most important thing in life, whether to talk with others about infertility and infertility-related stress were the four main influencing factors of stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early water intake has gained widespread attention considering enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). In the present systematic evaluation and meta-analysis, we assessed the effects of early water intake on the incidence of vomiting and aspiration in adult patients who received general anaesthesia on regaining consciousness during the resuscitation period. Objective: To systematically analyse the results of randomised controlled trials on early postoperative water intake in patients who underwent different types of surgery under general anaesthesia, both at home and abroad, to further explore the safety and application of early water intake and provide an evidence-based foundation for clinical application. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: To perform the systematic evaluation and meta-analysis, we searched the Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Sinomed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and Vipshop databases to identify randomised controlled trial studies on early water intake in adult patients who received general anaesthesia. Results: Herein, we included 10 publications with a total sample size of 5131 patients. Based on statistical analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of vomiting (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.58–1.12]; p = 0.20; I-squared [I2] = 0%) and aspiration (OR = 0.78; 95%CI [0.45–1.37]; p = 0.40; I2 = 0%) between the two groups of patients on regaining consciousness post-general anaesthesia. Conclusion: Based on the available evidence, early water intake after regaining consciousness post-anaesthesia did not increase the incidence of adverse complications when compared with traditional postoperative water abstinence. Early water intake could effectively improve patient thirst and facilitate the recovery of gastrointestinal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of drugs were altered under high‐altitude hypoxia. We aim to describe the population PK of atorvastatin (ATV) to identify patient characteristics that are predictive of variability in the PK parameters of the ATV and investigate the effects of high‐altitude hypoxia on the blood concentration of ATV in patients with hyperlipidemia. A total of 160 plasma concentrations were collected from 40 patients with hyperlipidemia in plateau areas and 40 in plain areas. The population pharmacokinetic model of patients with hyperlipidemia in plateau and plain areas of China was established by a nonlinear mixed‐effects model. The PK of ATV were described by a 1‐compartment model with first‐order elimination. The main PK parameters of ATV were the first‐order absorption rate (0.76 hour−1 fixed); clearance (174.22 L/h) and apparent volume of distribution (1119.62 L). The values of area and age were identified as significant covariates for the clearance, area, age, and urea for the volume of distribution. The steady‐state peak concentration in the plateau area was higher than that in the plain area. This study may suggest dose reduction is necessary for patients with hyperlipidemia in high altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of amygdalin (AMY, a cyanogenic glycoside widely distributed in the fruits and seeds of Rosaceae plants) on cardiac performance and ventricular remodeling in a rat model of myocardial infarction (MI). We also investigated whether the combination of AMY with exercise training (ExT) has a beneficial synergistic effect in treating MI rats. MI was induced by the ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in male SD rats. ExT or AMY treatment was started 1 week after MI and continued for 1 week (short-term) or 8 weeks (long-term). Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters. Heart tissues were harvested and subjected to 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, Masson's trichrome, hematoxylin-eosin, and immunohistochemical staining. Gene expression was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Western blot gave a qualitative assessment of protein levels. AMY or ExT improved cardiac function and reduced infarct size in MI rats. AMY or ExT also suppressed myocardial fibrosis and attenuated inflammation in the infarct border zone of hearts from MI rats, as evidenced by inhibition of collagen deposition, inflammatory cell infiltration, and pro-inflammatory markers (interleukin 1β, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and cyclooxygenase 2). Notably, the effects of AMY combined with ExT were superior to those of AMY alone or ExT alone. Mechanistically, these beneficial functions were correlated with the inhibition of MI-induced activation of the transforming growth factor-β/Smad pathway. Collectively, AMY and ExT exert a synergistic effect on improving cardiac performance and ameliorating cardiac inflammation and fibrosis after MI, and the effects of long-term intervention were better than short-term intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiomics is increasingly utilized to distinguish pulmonary nodules between lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and tuberculosis (TB). However, it remains unclear whether different segmentation criteria, such as the inclusion or exclusion of the cavity region within nodules, affect the results. Methods: A total of 525 patients from two medical centers were retrospectively enrolled. The radiomics features were extracted according to two regions of interest (ROI) segmentation criteria. Multiple logistic regression models were trained to predict the pathology: (1) The clinical model relied on clinical‐radiological semantic features; (2) The radiomics models (radiomics+ and radiomics−) utilized radiomics features from different ROIs (including or excluding cavities); (3) the composite models (composite+ and composite−) incorporated both above. Results: In the testing set, the radiomics+/− models and the composite+/− models still possessed efficient prediction performance (AUC ≥ 0.94), while the AUC of the clinical model was 0.881. In the validation set, the AUC of the clinical model was only 0.717, while that of the radiomics+/− models and the composite+/− models ranged from 0.801 to 0.825. The prediction performance of all the radiomics+/− and composite+/− models were significantly superior to that of the clinical model (p < 0.05). Whether the ROI segmentation included or excluded the cavity had no significant effect on these models (radiomics+ vs. radiomics−, composite+ model vs. composite−) (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The present study established a machine learning‐based radiomics strategy for differentiating LUAD from TB lesions. The ROI segmentation including or excluding the cavity region may exert no significant effect on the predictive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loving‐kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) have been well applied among employees to improve their health and well‐being. Existing studies on LKCM have also provided supportive evidence of its benefits and effectiveness under organizational contexts. The current meta‐analytical study aimed to systematically summarise the effects of LKCM in the workplace and to outline directions for future research and practice. Among 327 empirical studies on LKCM published until March 2022, 21 trials focussed on employees and provided sufficient information, which were included in the following meta‐analysis. The results showed that LKCM benefited eight categories of workplace outcomes. Specifically, LKCM effectively decreased employees' burnout (g = 0.395, k = 10) and stress (g = 0.544, k = 10) and facilitated their mindfulness (g = 0.558, k = 14), self‐compassion (g = 0.646, k = 12), personal mental health (g = 0.308, k = 13), job attitudes (g = 0.283, k = 4), interpersonal relationships (g = 0.381, k = 12), and psychological resources (g = 0.406, k = 6). The results of moderation analyses further indicated that the participants' job type, gender, and the focus of LKCM might differentially fluctuate the magnitude of LKCM effects. To advance research and best practice, we finally pointed out several issues that deserve attention, such as long‐term effects, underlying mechanisms, potential moderators, and outcomes or influential factors at the organizational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over half of patients with enlarged vestibular aqueducts (EVA) will have an air-bonr gap (ABG), however, current research on audiology has focused on the influencing factors of air-conducted. To retrospectively analyse the influencing factors and clinical manifestations of the bone-conduction threshold and ABG in patients with EVA. We included 286 patients with EVA; among them, 126 had full SLC26A4 gene sequence results. We performed a descriptive analysis of the bone-conduction threshold and explored the effect of age. Finally, we analyzed the relationship of ABG and SLC26A4 genes with the degree of vestibular aqueduct (VA) enlargement. Among 555 ears, 312 (57.8%) ears had ABG; approximately 94% of the patients' bone-conduction hearing is almost completely lost at frequencies of 2 and 4 kHz. There was no linear correlation between age and bone-conduction threshold (p > 0.05). ABG did not significantly differ according to the degree of VA enlargement and number of SLC26A4 allele mutations (p > 0.05). Among patients with EVA, ABG is mainly produced at low frequencies and is not significantly correlated with age, size of the VA opening or SLC26A4 genes, which could be attributed to the biomechanical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The proportion of older people with dementia in China is gradually increasing with the increase in the aging population over recent years. Hypertension and diabetes are common non‐communicable diseases among rural populations in China. However, it remains unclear whether these conditions affect the occurrence and development of cognitive impairment as there is limited research on cognitive status and its risk factors among residents of rural areas. Methods: A multi‐stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 5400 participants from rural permanent residents. A self‐designed structured questionnaire was used to investigate demographic data of the participants. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Function Assessment Scale (MoCA). The results were analyzed using chi‐square test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: A total of 5028 participants returned the survey, giving a response rate of 93.1%. Higher education (odds ratio (OR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.87–3.54, p < 0.001), higher income (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.16–2.07, p < 0.001), and dietary control (OR = 0.66, 95%CI 0.34–0.98, p < 0.001) were protective factors. A visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve, the group with an annual income of 6000–7999 RMB had a maximum OR of 1.93 (95%CI 0.12–2.74, p < 0.001). While difficulty in maintaining sleep were risk factors for cognitive impairment (OR = −2.28, 95% CI–4.18–0.39, p = 0.018). Conclusions: Participants with middle incomes had better cognitive status than those with the highest incomes. Higher education, proper diet control and good sleep are beneficial to the cognitive status of residents in rural areas. Key points: Higher education level, higher income level and diet control are protective factors for the development of cognitive dysfunction.Cognitive dysfunction is more likely to occur in women and in people who have difficulty maintaining sleep.There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics of patients with hypertension, diabetes, the combination of hypertension and diabetes, and healthy residents in low‐income rural areas.The cognitive status of middle‐income people is better than that of high‐income people than that of low‐income people, a visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Pharmacological treatments are very common to be used for alleviating neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia. However, decision on drug selection is still a matter of controversy. Aims To summarise the comparative efficacy and acceptability of currently available monotherapy drug regimens for reducing NPS in dementia. Method We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials between inception and 26 December 2022 without language restrictions; and reference lists scanned from selected studies and systematic reviews. Double-blind randomised controlled trials were identified from electronic databases for reporting NPS outcomes in people with dementia. Primary outcomes were efficacy and acceptability. Confidence in the evidence was assessed using Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA). Results We included 59 trials (15,781 participants; mean age, 76.6 years) and 15 different drugs in quantitative syntheses. Risperidone (standardised mean difference [SMD] −0.20, 95% credible interval [CrI] −0.40 to −0.10) and galantamine (−0.20, −0.39 to −0.02) were more effective than placebo in short-term treatment (median duration: 12 weeks). Galantamine (odds ratio [OR] 1.95, 95% CrI 1.38–2.94) and rivastigmine (1.87, 1.24–2.99) were associated with more dropouts than placebo, and some active drugs. Most of the results were rated as low or very low according to CINeMA. Conclusions Despite the scarcity of high-quality evidence, risperidone is probably the best pharmacological option to consider for alleviating NPS in people with dementia in short-term treatment when considering the risk–benefit profile of drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The history of the treatment of APL has shown remarkable success. However, it is not clear whether it is necessary to monitor long-term toxicity in "cured" patients who survive for more than five years, which is critical to ensuring maximum survival in APL patients. To answer this question, we performed a comprehensive analysis of 1952 APL 5-year survivors and 5973 non-APL acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 5-year survivors from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We found that the overall mortality risk in >5-year survivors of APL was 1.41 times than that of the general population due to a significant increase in mortality from AML (SMR, 87.67) and other second malignant neoplasms (SMR, 1.56) only at 60–119 months. This result indicated long-term survivors of APL are safe after 10 years, which may help clinicians make future risk assessment, health guidance, and follow-up plans for APL long-term survivors. Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a highly curable cancer, but it is not clear whether it is also necessary to monitor long-term toxicity in "cured" patients who survive for more than five years, which is critical to ensuring maximum survival in APL patients. Methods: A total of 1952 APL 5-year survivors and 5973 non-APL acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 5-year survivors were included from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated to measure the risk of death. Cumulative mortality is calculated as the incidence of specific causes of death under competing risk events. Results: The SMR of all causes of death in >5-year survivors of APL was higher than that of the general population only at 60–119 months (SMR, 1.41). This was mainly because a significant increase in mortality from AML (SMR, 87.67) and second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) (SMR, 1.56) was found only at 60–119 months. However, there was no higher risk of death from non-cancer-related disease in >5-year survivors of APL than that of the general population (SMR, 0.89). The SMR of all-cause deaths in >5-year survivors of non-APL AML decreased year by year and was no higher than that of the general population until after 216 months. The cumulative incidence of AML-related death, SMN-related death, and non-cancer-related death was significantly lower in APL patients than in non-APL AML patients throughout the follow-up period. Conclusions: Compared with the general population, the risk of death of patients with APL was higher within 5 to 10 years but not higher over 10 years. Therefore, we believe that long-term survivors of APL are safe after 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Neuroplasticity can partially compensate for the neurological deficits caused by brain tumors. However, the structural plasticity of the brain caused by brain tumors is not fully understood. This study aimed to assess the structural plasticity of the contralesional hemisphere in patients with frontal low-grade gliomas (LGGs). Methods: A total of 25 patients with left frontal LGGs (LFLGGs), 19 patients with right frontal LGGs (RFLGGs), and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. High-resolution structural T1-weighted imaging and fluid attenuation inversion recovery were performed on all participants. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was used to detect differences in the brain structural plasticity between patients with unilateral LGGs and HCs. Results: VBM analysis revealed that compared with HCs, the gray matter volume (GMV) of the contralesional putamen and amygdala was significantly smaller and larger in the patients with RFLGGs and LFLGGs, respectively, while the GMVs of the contralesional cuneus and superior temporal gyrus (STG) were significantly larger in the patients with LFLGGs. The surviving clusters of the right hemisphere included 1357 voxels in the amygdala, 1680 voxels in the cuneus, 384 voxels in the STG, and 410 voxels in the putamen. The surviving clusters of the left hemisphere were 522 voxels in the amygdala and 320 voxels in the putamen. Conclusion: The unilateral frontal LGGs are accompanied by structural plasticity in the contralesional cortex and vary with tumor laterality. Contralesional structural reorganization may be one of the physiological basis for functional reorganization or compensation in the frontal LGGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the level of critical cultural competence (CCC) among Chinese clinical nurses and explore its influencing factors. Background: Previous research has only focused on the theoretical model of CCC and the development of assessment tools; however, no large‐scale study has been conducted on the level of clinical nurses' CCC and its influencing factors. Method: Clinical nurses in 14 Level A tertiary hospitals (n = 3858) were surveyed using Almutairi's critical cultural competence scale (CCCS). Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: The mean score of CCC was 4.44 (SD = 0.33). Critical empowerment (M = 4.85, SD = 0.58) and critical awareness (M = 3.57, SD = 0.99) had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. Female nurses, nurses in the nursing department and nurses with higher positions had higher CCC. Conclusion: The CCC of clinical nurses can be strengthened through targeted training, especially considering the fact that male and low‐ranking nurses who had the lower level of CCC work in different departments. Implications for Nursing Management: Hospital administrators should pay attention to the importance of culture and cultural differences among different countries or ethnic groups. Creating an equal and fair nursing environment and encouraging nurses to provide critical cultural nursing is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis proteins play a key role in maintaining the stability of organism; the functions of apoptosis proteins are related to their subcellular locations which are used to understand the mechanism of programmed cell death. In this paper, we utilize GO annotation information of apoptosis proteins and their homologous proteins retrieved from GOA database to formulate feature vectors and then combine the distance weighted KNN classification algorithm with them to solve the data imbalance problem existing in CL317 data set to predict subcellular locations of apoptosis proteins. It is found that the number of homologous proteins can affect the overall prediction accuracy. Under the optimal number of homologous proteins, the overall prediction accuracy of our method on CL317 data set reaches 96.8% by Jackknife test. Compared with other existing methods, it shows that our proposed method is very effective and better than others for predicting subcellular localization of apoptosis proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new atranones T and U (1 and 2), and three known analogues atranone B (3), atranone Q (4), and stachatranone C (5) were isolated from the toxigenic fungus Stachybotrys chartarum. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by spectroscopic data and calculated ECD analyses. The cytotoxicities of all the atranones (1 – 5) were evaluated against MG-63 human osteosarcoma cell lines. Compound 4 exhibited significant cytotoxic effect against MG-63 with IC 50 value of 8.6 μM, being more active than the positive control, 5-FU (IC 50 10.4 μM). Morphological features of apoptosis activities were evaluated in 4 -treated MG-63 cells. Compound 4 effectively induced apoptosis of MG-63, which was associated with G 0 /G 1 -phase cell cycle arrest. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the treatment by 4 significantly induced MG-63 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]