Serum sortilin as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for cardiovascular calcification in uremic patients: A single-center prospective and observational study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the principal cause of mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Vascular calcification (VC) and cardiac valve calcification (CVC) significantly contribute to the increased CVD incidence in uremic patients. This study sought to determine the relationship between serum sortilin protein and both VC and CVC in uremic patients.

Multifaceted Human Antigen R (HuR): A Key Player in Liver Metabolism and MASLD.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately 25-30% of the global adult population and highlighting the urgent need for effective therapeutics and prevention strategies. MASLD is characterized by excessive hepatic lipid accumulation and can progress, in a subset of patients, to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic condition associated with increased risk of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although the molecular drivers of MASLD progression remain incompletely understood, several key metabolic pathways-such as triglyceride handling, cholesterol catabolism, bile acid metabolism, mitochondrial function, and autophagy-are consistently dysregulated in MASLD livers.

Factors contributing to the social status of nurses: a qualitative study of key stakeholders' perspectives in Shanghai, China.

Background: There is a paucity of data on the factors affecting the subjective social status, which makes it difficult to implement strategies to facilitate the improvement of the social status of nurses.

Methods: This was a descriptive qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 43 participants, including hospital nursing managers (n = 9), staff nurses (n = 15), doctors (n = 9) and patients (n = 10).

Identifying Patients' Preference During Their Hospital Experience. A Sentiment and Topic Analysis of Patient-Experience Comments via Natural Language Techniques.

Background: Open-ended questions in patient experience surveys provide a valuable opportunity for people to express and discuss their authentic opinions. The analysis of free-text comments can add value to quantitative measures by offering information which matters most to patients and by providing detailed descriptions of the service issues that closed-ended items may not cover.

Objective: To extract useful information from large amounts of free-text patient experience comments and to explore differences in patient satisfaction and loyalty between patients who provided negative comments and those who did not.

Duration of hepatic portal occlusion is a valuable predictor for postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients underwent liver resection for liver cancer.

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most frequent complications after surgery. PONV prophylaxis has been strongly recommended, and identifying risk factors is the first step. The well-known PONV risk assessment tools were not validated in the liver cancer population, however, no study has explored the relationship between PONV and liver surgery-specific factors.

Kinesiophobia and its associated factors among patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a cross-sectional study based on latent profile analysis.

Background: Kinesiophobia, a significant barrier to daily activities, may contribute to adverse outcomes in patients following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study aimed to assess the prevalence and identify factors associated with kinesiophobia in post-TAVR patients.

Methods: From January to December 2023, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sampling method, involving patients from the cardiology department of a hospital in China.

A Further Exploration of the Elements of ICU Patient Experience in the Chinese Context: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Advances in sedation management and early rehabilitation have enabled intensive care unit (ICU) patients to recall and form their own care experiences. However, existing patient-reported experience measures often draw from general inpatient populations, lacking specificity to the ICU context. This study aimed to explore the key elements, in order to help shape the framework of ICU patients' experience.

An EEG Screening Method for Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Based on Limited Penetrable Difference Visibility Graph and Graph Convolutional Network.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common respiratory disease characterized by recurrent airway block during sleep, which does great harm to the human body. Utilizing the electroencephalogram (EEG) has been proven instrumental in OSA detection, as sleep apnea occurrences induce discernible alterations in EEG patterns. In this study, we propose a Limited Penetrable Difference Visibility Graph (LPDVG) method to screen severe OSA.

A multicenter cross-sectional study on nurses' attitudes toward end-of-life care and influencing factors: a latent profile analysis.

Background: Nurses' attitudes and beliefs regarding end-of-life issues significantly impact the quality of care provided to dying patients. While several studies have explored medical students' attitudes toward end-of-life care, there is a lack of in-depth analysis of the internal variations and factors influencing clinical nurses' attitudes toward death. This study aimed to identify different profiles of attitude toward care for dying patients and explore the factors influencing each profile.

A Hydrogel Implantable Supercapacitor with Tissue-Adhesive Using PEDOT:PSS as Active Material.

Implantable biomedical supercapacitors represent a critical advancement in modern biomedical engineering, offering an optimal power solution for implantable medical devices due to their exceptional characteristics. However, achieving supercapacitors that concurrently exhibit tissue adhesiveness and biocompatibility remains a significant research challenge. In this study, the DMSO post-treatment method is employed to enhance the condensed state structure of the conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS, which results in a significant improvement in the electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor embedded within the poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel matrix.

Case report: Treatment of severe phorate poisoning.

Background: Phorate is a highly toxic organophosphorus pesticide. Owing to its low cost and insecticidal potency, it is still widely used in parts of China, resulting in cases of occupational and life poisoning. This article presents the treatment process for phorate poisoning and monitoring the toxic metabolites terminology in the body.

Bridging Nano to Micron: Architectural Engineering of Supramolecular Bottlebrushes for Extensively Tunable Structures and Photonics.

Supramolecular bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) offer greater architectural adaptability than covalent BBCPs. However, the dynamic nature of non-covalent interactions hinders precise control over their chain architecture, resulting in poorly controlled self-assembly, unpredictable morphologies, and limited utility. Herein, we introduce a novel molecular design for amphiphilic supramolecular BBCPs that overcomes key challenges in the field.

Preparation and characterization of a starch-based active packaging with pH-sensitive release via tea tree essential oil loaded in a covalent organic framework.

Tea tree oil (TTEO) is a natural active agent, but less stable. In this research, a covalent organic frameworks, CTB, is prepared, and used to load TTEO (CTB@TTEO), and then CTB@TTEO as the filler is used to prepare starch-based active packaging films for storage blueberries. The results show that CTB@TTEO could increase the mechanical strength, gas barrier, antioxidant activity, and bacteriostatic activity of the thermoplastic starch film.

Correlation of METTL4 genetic variants and severe pneumonia pediatric patients in Southern China.

Background: Pneumonia is a major cause of mortality and health burden in children under five, yet its genetic etiology remains poorly understood. Methyltransferase 4, N6-adenosine (METTL4), is a methyltransferase enzyme responsible for RNA and DNA methylation and is known to be activated under hypoxic conditions. However, its potential link to susceptibility to pneumonia has not been evaluated.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Concerning Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention Among ICU Nurses in China: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Globally, there has been a general decline in the occurrence of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). Still, CLABSI remains a common healthcare-associated infection in the ICUs of hospitals in developing countries.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice among ICU nurses in China concerning CLABSI prevention.

Patient-Reported Experience Measures in Adult Inpatient Settings: A Systematic Review.

Patient-centered ideas have become the key indicator of medical service quality, and patient-reported experience measures are ways to measure how well this idea is being implemented. There are currently numerous adult inpatient experience instruments available, and it is necessary to conduct such systematic reviews to discover any new instruments and help policymakers and researchers increase the likelihood of hearing true patients' voices through appropriate selection of these instruments. To identify existing adult inpatient experience measures and to critically appraise their development design and psychometric testing results.

Heparin Doped Polyaniline for Anticoagulation Supercapacitors.

With the rapid development of implantable electronic medical devices, supercapacitors have gained significant attention as implantable energy storage devices due to their inherent advantages. However, these devices inevitably direct contact with blood and trigger coagulation or thrombus formation when implanted in the body. In severe cases, these negative effects compromise the functionality of the implantable energy storage system and even jeopardize human health.

A comprehensive evaluation of stability and safety for HEK293F-derived extracellular vesicles as promising drug delivery vehicles.

HEK293F-derived extracellular vesicles (HEK293F-EVs) have great potential as next-generation drug delivery vehicles. A comprehensive understanding of their batch stability and in vivo safety is prerequisite for clinical translation. HEK293F-EVs were purified using ultracentrifugation combined with size exclusion chromatography, and their physicochemical properties, such as morphology, size distribution, and biomarkers, were thoroughly characterized.

Effect of Yak Skin Gelatin with Different Molecular Weights on the Properties of Gelatin/Polymethyl Vinyl Ether--maleic-anhydride Copolymer Composite Scaffold Material.

Gelatin has been extensively documented for its utility in tissue engineering applications. However, the exploration of yak skin gelatin as a novel gelatin source remains under-reported, particularly regarding the impact of varying molecular weights on the attributes of composite scaffold materials. This study investigates the distinctive behaviors of yak skin gelatin fractions with different molecular weights, assessing fundamental properties through electrophoretic analysis, thermodynamic property assessment, amino acid profiling, infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy.

The measurement properties of patient experience scales in the intensive care unit: A systematic review.

Background: As health care recipients, patients play an essential role in evaluating health care quality. Critical care patients have specific experiences that differ from those of regular patients. Existing instruments of patient experience to improve intensive care quality and their measurement properties should be defined.

Association of occupational noise exposure and shift work with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a cross-sectional study of male workers in the Chinese automobile manufacturing industry.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between occupational noise, shift work and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in male workers in the automobile manufacturing industry.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: This study was carried out at the Guangzhou Twelfth People's Hospital using data from April to September 2022.

Prospective cohort study on characteristics, associated factors and short-term prognosis of sleep and circadian rhythm in intensive care unit: protocol for the SYNC study.

Introduction: Acute sleep and circadian rhythm (SCR) disruption can lead to a range of negative physical and mental consequences, such as depression, delirium, respiratory dysfunction and increased mortality. In the intensive care unit (ICU), the unique environment can exacerbate disruptions in SCR. Few studies have identified the characteristics of SCR in the ICU, and the roles of patient characteristics, illness and medical interventions in ICU SCR remain unclear.

The effect of the Patient Health Engagement model-based care strategy on improving patient-ventilator synchrony in patients with respiratory failure: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is a crucial method for treating acute and chronic respiratory failure. The effectiveness of NPPV treatment heavily depends on the active participation of patients. However, research on strategies to enhance patient engagement during NPPV therapy is still lacking.

Bio-Based Multicompartment Photonic Pigments: Unlocking Non-Iridescent Pure RGB Structural Colors for Versatile Chromatic Engineering.

Non-iridescent photonic glass pigments of block copolymers show great potential for sustainable structural coloration. However, the ability to create accurate RGB color mixtures for real-world applications is limited by the prevalent use of non-degradable, fossil oil-derived components and the difficulty in achieving pure red hues. This work presents an alternative strategy for achieving more sustainable structural coloration by fabricating composite photonic pigments through controlled self-assembly of water, vegetable oil, and biodegradable bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) in a complex emulsion system.