Associations between total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglyceride/HDL, neutrophil/HDL, lymphocyte/HDL, platelet/HDL, and cognitive function of older adults: An NHANES analysis.

BackgroundDementia affects 50 million globally. Combining hematologic inflammatory parameters with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) has shown potential for predicting neurological diseases, but its link to cognitive function in older individuals is unexplored.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the relationships between these novel biomarkers and cognitive impairment in older adults.

Intrathecal injections of non-peptide oxytocin receptor agonists, WAY 267,464 and TC OT 39, induce significant anti-hyperalgesia in both male and female rats with inflammatory pain.

Objectives: Hyperalgesia is a clinical condition related to chronic pain in which patients experience increased nociceptive sensitivity. Intrathecal oxytocin has been shown to induce significant anti-hyperalgesia in both rodents and humans. However, in our previous studies, we demonstrated a clear sex difference in oxytocin's effects at the spinal level in rodents.

Effectiveness of Individual-Based Strategies to Reduce Nurse Burnout: An Umbrella Review.

Aims: This umbrella review aims to comprehensively synthesize and analyze the findings of available systematic reviews on the effectiveness of individual-based strategies for reducing nurse burnout occurring in hospital-based settings.

Methods: Following JBI guidelines, an umbrella review was conducted to integrate the effectiveness of various strategies to reduce burnout. Systematic reviews were searched in the Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Library, CINAHL (EBSCO), Scopus, and WOS databases.

The concerted actions of microRNA-29a and interferon-β modulate complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammatory pain by regulating the expression of type 1 interferon receptor, interferon-stimulated gene 15, and p-extracellular signal-regulated kinase.

Background: Previous research has shown that type 1 interferons (IFN), such as IFN-α and IFN-ß, possess antiviral and antinociception effects. Elevated levels of microRNA-29a (miR-29a) have been observed during inflammatory pain, and as miR-29a targets the type 1 IFN receptor (IFNR1), our study aimed to investigate the involvement of miR-29a, type 1 IFN, and IFNR1 in inflammatory pain.

Methods: Inflammatory pain was induced in male rats using complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA).

Effects of exercise and nutrition in improving sarcopenia in liver cirrhosis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Sarcopenia is highly prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), adversely affecting their quality of life and life expectancy. Exercise and nutrition represent common interventions to ameliorate sarcopenia in these patients, although there exists inconsistency in the reported effectiveness of these strategies. This study seeks to assess the impact of exercise and nutrition on sarcopenia in LC patients through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Effect of early removal of urinary catheter on recovery after vaginal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Prolonged retention of urinary catheters (UC) after vaginal surgery is a common practice aimed at preventing postoperative urinary retention and enhancing the success rate of surgery. However, this approach also increases the chance of urinary tract infection (UTI), prolongs hospital stay (LOS), and delays recovery. Balancing these considerations, we investigated the effect of the timing of UC removal.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteome Map Reveals Molecular Signatures of Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome.

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is a complex neurovascular disorder characterized by repetitive thunderclap headaches and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction. The pathophysiological mechanism of this mysterious syndrome remains underexplored and there is no clinically available molecular biomarker. To provide insight into the pathogenesis of RCVS, this study reported the first landscape of dysregulated proteome of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with RCVS (n  =  21) compared to the age- and sex-matched controls (n  =  20) using data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry.

Yangonin, one of the kavalactones isolated from Piper methysticum G. Forst, acts through cannabinoid 1 (CB) receptors to induce an intrathecal anti-hyperalgesia.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Piper methysticum G. Forst (Piperaceae) is traditionally consumed in Polynesian culture. The roots are used to produce an entheogenic drink and traditional medicine with sedative and anxiolytic properties.

Intrathecal injections of angiotensin IV and oxytocin conjugates induce antihyperalgesia and antiallodynia in both sexes of rats.

Our previous studies have established that intrathecal oxytocin (OT) and angiotensin IV (Ang IV) injections induce antihyperalgesia and antiallodynia in rodents. Ang IV, a renin-angiotensin system hexapeptide, acts as an endogenous inhibitor that inhibits the oxytocin-degrading enzyme insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP). The pain inhibitory effects by Ang IV were found to be through its inhibition on IRAP to potentiate the effect of OT.

Decreasing the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infection in a medical intensive care unit: a best practice implementation project.

Introduction And Objectives: Bloodstream infections are common in critically ill patients using central venous access devices (CVAD) in intensive care units (ICU). This project aimed to decrease the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) by using evidence-based strategies.

Methods: The project applied the JBI audit and feedback methods.

Effects of Dextromethorphan on Nicotine-Induced Reward, Behavioral Sensitization, Withdrawal Signs, and Drug Seeking-Related Behavior in Rats.

Introduction: Tobacco products are addictive, with nicotine serving as the major addictive ingredient. Chronic tobacco use or chronic administration of nicotine alone results in both physiological and psychological dependence. Our previous studies indicated that dextromethorphan (DM) could effectively attenuate the dependence of morphine and methamphetamine.

Case report: the management for a gestational hypertensive woman with influenza A virus pneumonia and peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is defined as an idiopathic cardiomyopathy occurring in the last month of pregnancy or the first 6 months postpartum without an identifiable cause. PPCM is suspected to be triggered by the generation of a cardiotoxic fragment of prolactin and the secretion of a potent antiangiogenic protein from the placental, but no single factor has been identified or defined as the underlying cause of the disease. Influenza virus can cause PPCM through immune-mediated response induced by proinflammatory cytokines from host immunity and endothelial cell dysfunction.

Implementing a flipped classroom model in an evidence-based medicine curriculum for pre-clinical medical students: evaluating learning effectiveness through prospective propensity score-matched cohorts.

Background: In a flipped classroom (FC) model, blended learning is used to increase student engagement and learning by having students finish their readings at home and work on problem-solving with tutors during class time. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best evidence-based research to inform clinical decisions. To implement a FC and EBM, students require sufficient information acquisition and problem-solving skills.

Effects of Exercise Programs in older adults with Muscle Wasting: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Effects of Exercise Programs in Muscle Wasting.

Objectives: To conduct a comprehensive evidence synthesis to verify the available literature on the effects of exercise intervention on muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function in older adults with muscle wasting.

Methods: Systematic literature searches of the PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Airiti Library databases were performed for exercise-related randomized controlled trials among adults aged 60 years and above with muscle wasting disease, published from 2010 to April 30, 2021. The search included the keywords and synonyms: "older," "sarcopenia," "cachexia," "muscle wasting," "exercise'.

Estrogen can abolish oxytocin-induced spinal anti-hyperalgesia.

Our previous study verified a sex difference of anti-hyperalgesia in rats and anti-allodynia in mice induced by intrathecal oxytocin (OT). In the model of intraplantar carrageenan-induced inflammatory hyperalgesia, intrathecal OT injection induced a substantial anti-hyperalgesia in male rats even at a low dose (0.125 nmol).

Effectiveness of Music-Based Intervention in Improving Uncomfortable Symptoms in ICU Patients: An Umbrella Review.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients experience multiple uncomfortable symptoms, which may be alleviated using music-based intervention, a nondrug treatment. This umbrella review aims to combine the data of systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of music-based intervention in improving uncomfortable symptoms in ICU patients.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed on the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Airiti Library, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases, and Epistemonikos.

Patients with alcohol use disorder increase pain and analgesics use: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Alcohol has dual effects on many systems, including the pain system. We will test whether and how chronic alcohol consumption enhances pain sensation to develop pain disorder.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan, in patients with and without alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Salivary cortisol is associated with cognitive changes in patients with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a stress-related chronic pain disorder with common cognitive complaints. This study characterized cognitive dysfunction in patients with FM and explored whether these changes are linked to altered cortisol levels. Consecutive 44 patients with FM and 48 healthy controls were enrolled for the assessments of subjective and objective cognitive functions and diurnal levels of salivary cortisol (sampled at awakening, 30 min after awakening, 3 pm, and bedtime).

LVV-hemorphin-7 (LVV-H7) plays a role in antinociception in a rat model of alcohol-induced pain disorders.

Alcohol can increase the sensitivity to painful stimulation or convert insensibility to pain at different stages. We hypothesized that chronic alcohol consumption changes the level of LVV-hemorphin-7 (abbreviated as LVV-H7, an opioid-like peptide generated from hemoglobin β-chain), thereby affecting pain sensation. We established a chronic alcohol-exposed rat model to investigate the effects of LVV-H7.

Sex Difference of Angiotensin IV-, LVV-Hemorphin 7-, and Oxytocin-Induced Antiallodynia at the Spinal Level in Mice With Neuropathic Pain.

Background: We demonstrated previously that angiotensin IV (Ang IV) and LVV-hemorphin 7 (LVV-H7) act through the blockade of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase to decrease oxytocin degradation, thereby causing antihyperalgesia at the spinal level in rats. We determined that intrathecal oxytocin can induce significant antihyperalgesia in male rats with inflammation but not in female rats. Thus, we speculate that Ang IV, LVV-H7, and oxytocin can induce antiallodynia, which could be of great therapeutic potential.

Sex Difference in Oxytocin-Induced Anti-Hyperalgesia at the Spinal Level in Rats with Intraplantar Carrageenan-Induced Inflammation.

Previously, we demonstrated intrathecal administration of oxytocin strongly induced anti-hyperalgesia in male rats. By using an oxytocin-receptor antagonist (atosiban), the descending oxytocinergic pathway was found to regulate inflammatory hyperalgesia in our previous study using male rats. The activity of this neural pathway is elevated during hyperalgesia, but whether this effect differs in a sex-dependent manner remains unknown.

Chronic administration of nandrolone increases susceptibility to morphine dependence without correlation with LVV-hemorphin 7 in rats.

LVV-hemorphin 7 (LVVYPWTQRF; LVV-H7), an N-terminal fragment of the β-chain of hemoglobin cleaved by cathepsin D/pepsin, is an atypical endogenous opioid peptide that is found in high concentration in blood. LVV-H7 acts as a μ-opioid agonist and an inhibitor of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase. Subchronic administration of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) has been clinically proven to induce the synthesis of erythrocytes and increase hemoglobin concentrations.

Angiotensin IV possibly acts through PKMzeta in the hippocampus to regulate cognitive memory in rats.

Ang IV is an endogenous peptide generated from the degradation of angiotensin II. Ang IV was found to enhance learning and memory in CNS. PKMzeta was identified to be a fragment of PKCzeta (protein kinase Czeta).

The Effects of Anti-Dementia and Nootropic Treatments on the Mortality of Patients with Dementia: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Background: Few studies have examined the contribution of treatment on the mortality of dementia based on a population-based study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of anti-dementia and nootropic treatments on the mortality of dementia using a population-based cohort study.

Methods: 12,193 incident dementia patients were found from 2000 to 2010.

Successful anesthetic management of a patient with thyroid carcinoma invading the trachea with tracheal obstruction, scheduled for total thyroidectomy.

We report a case of large thyroid carcinoma with tracheal and esophageal invasion who presented with preoperative stridor scheduled for total thyroidectomy and segmental tracheal resection. Careful and comprehensive preoperative anesthetic planning was done. Extracorporeal circulation membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was set up and running prior to induction under local anesthesia, due to an increased international normalized ratio (INR) and fear of bleeding in the airway.