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Objective To explore the impacts of illness perception and coping style on social participation in patients receiving surgery for Stanford type A aortic dissection, so as to provide reference for making intervention measures. Methods A total of 214 patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection who had received surgical treatment were selected by convenience sampling. Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ), and Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire (IPA) were used for survey. Bootstrapping was used to analyze the association of social participation with illness perception and coping style. Results For the patients, IPA score was (51.74 ± 16.50) points, BIPQ score was (49.74 ± 12.61), and the subscales scores of correspondence to confrontation, avoidance, and acceptance-resignation were (22.87 ± 5.18), (14.96 ± 3.05) and (10.80 ± 3.93), respectively. Illness perception was positively correlated with social participation (P < 0.01), confrontation was negatively correlated with illness perception and social participation (P < 0.01), surrender was positively correlated with illness perception and social participation (P < 0.01). confrontation and acceptance-resignation play a parallel mediating role between illness perception and social participation (P < 0.01), accounting for 29.65% and 16.05% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions Social participation is at a medium and below level in the patients receiving surgery for Stanford type A aortic dissection, coping style is intermediary variable for illness perception and social participation. By increasing the positive illness perception in the patients, medical staff can instruct them to cope actively with their disease and to enhance their social participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and aim. Developing reliable biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who are at a high risk of recurrence after curative hepatic resection is very important for determining subsequent therapeutic strategies. We investigated the role of the cell cycle factor NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK2) in HCC progression in hepatoma cells and post-surgery patients.Material and methods. The effects of NEK2 on proliferation, invasion and migration of hepatoma HuH7 and SK-Hep1 cells were evaluated. In a post-surgery HCC cohort (N = 97), the Nek2 induction levels in the tumors were examined with real-time RT-PCR analysis, and the results were analyzed for their correlations with recurrence.Results. NEK2 promoted G1 to S phase cell cycle progression by causing increases in cyclin D1 and AKT phosphorylation and decreases in the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27, indicating that NEK2 plays an important role during interphase in addition to its previously identified role in M phase. NEK2 also enhanced the proliferation, migration and invasion of hepatoma cells and regulated the expression of E-cadherin and MMP9. The Nek2 mRNA levels in the tumors were highly correlated with recurrence rates in the post-surgery HCC patients. Combined evaluation of the tumor AJCC stage and the Nek2level can serve as a reliable method for predicting the relative risk of HCC recurrence in these patients. Conclusions. NEK2 plays a significant role in cell cycle progression in the inter- and M-phases. NEK2 enhances HCC metastasis and is correlated with recurrence and thus can potentially serve a promising high-risk biomarker for HCC.

The surface texture of urbanized regions is altered by the replacement of natural vegetated surfaces with hardened pavement surfaces, which have been described as a heat source for the formation of urban heat islands. Grasslands may store rainfall in their roots and leaves for later cooling, but this has received little attention. This study investigated the radiant flux and temperature of a tropical grassland throughout the summer in order to understand the albedo, long-wave radiation, short-wave radiation, and surface temperature of the grassland over 10 days. The grassland had an albedo of 0.13, which did not fluctuate during the day compared to the albedo of other surfaces in metropolitan areas. Even if the local weather changes considerably, this albedo does not alter significantly. The surface temperature and the air temperature above the grassland increase linearly with the upwelling reflectance, incident solar radiation, and upwelling long-wave radiation. These two temperatures do not correspond with downwelling long-wave radiation, which is influenced by cloud cover in the sky. However, the peaks of these temperatures lag behind the incident shortwave radiation and net radiation that reaches the grassland surface. The finding that the thermal properties of grasslands could be harnessed to reduce the heat absorbed by urban surfaces provides valuable insights into the grasslands' potential to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]