Applying gerontechnology to dementia care: experiences from long-term care workers in Taiwan.

Purpose: This study explored the experiences of long-term care workers in using assistive technologies in dementia-specific care facilities in Taiwan, with a focus on perceived benefits, challenges encountered, and required support strategies.

Methods: A qualitative research design was employed. Ten female care workers from five dementia-specific long-term care institutions, each with at least 1 year of experience using assistive technologies, participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews.

The effect of the 'Stable Sugar Winner' board game on dietary knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral self-efficacy in preventing diabetes among community-dwelling older adults.

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the 'Stable Sugar Winner' board game program in enhancing dietary knowledge, dietary attitudes, and dietary behavioral self-efficacy for diabetes prevention among older adults. This quasi-experimental study involved 49 community-dwelling older adults from two community activity centers. Participants engaged in the 'Stable Sugar Winner' board game program once a week for 90 min, over a 4-week period.

Implementation of entrustable professional activities in emergency medicine: perspectives from clinical instructors.

Objectives: To explore how clinical instructors in emergency medicine perceive and integrate Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) into their teaching practices, identify challenges they face, and explore the support required for effective implementation.

Methods: This study utilized grounded theory methodology to explore the pedagogical experiences of clinical instructors within emergency medicine. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews with participants recruited through purposive and snowball sampling techniques.

Spontaneous ovulation, hormonal profiles, and the impact of progesterone timing variation on outcomes in natural proliferative phase frozen embryo transfer cycles with single euploid blastocyst transfer.

Background: Natural cycle frozen embryo transfer (NC-FET) lowers obstetric risks by preserving ovulation and corpus luteum but limits scheduling flexibility. Natural proliferative phase FET (NPP-FET) offers a scheduling-friendly alternative, assuming ovulation is maintained after flexible progesterone (P4) initiation during the follicular phase. Only three peer-reviewed studies have investigated NPP-FET protocols, yet none verified spontaneous ovulation, characterized hormonal dynamics, or evaluated whether variation in P4 initiation timing influences clinical outcomes.

Influences of social support following hip-fracture surgery for older adults with cognitive impairment and their family caregivers.

Background: Social support can impact family caregivers and influence the care receiver's recovery from surgery following hospital discharge. This study aimed to explore the influence of perceived social support on outcomes for dyads of older adults with cognitive impairment recovering from hip fracture surgery and their family caregivers.

Methods: This secondary analysis utilized data from a single-blind clinical trial involving 131 dyads randomly assigned to an intervention or control group.

Critical thinking, communication, decision-making confidence, and practicum stress among nursing students in maternal nursing practicum: A structural equation model.

Background: A nursing practicum course plays a vital role in enhancing the clinical competence of nursing students. Core competencies such as critical thinking, communication, and clinical decision-making are essential for professional nursing practice. Maternal nursing practicums possess unique characteristics that can contribute to increased practicum-related stress.

Developing and testing of patient decision aids for the use of healthcare providers in facilitating advance care planning for patients with dementia.

Promoting advance care planning (ACP) in long-term care facilities presents significant challenges, particularly for people with dementia (PWD) and their families in making informed decisions. To address this, patient decision aids (PDAs) specifically tailored to end-of-life medical decisions for this population is needed. This study aimed to develop PDAs to aid healthcare providers in discussing ACP for end-of-life care decisions with PWD and their families.

Chemotherapy elevates cell surface PD-L1 and MHC-I expression in apoptotic gastric cancer cells.

Background: The programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) combined positive score is used as a patient selection tool and predictive factor for anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 therapy in gastric cancer. However, the expression of PD-L1 and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) can be affected by conventional treatment approaches.

Objective: In this study, we examined the effects of chemotherapy on surface PD-L1 and surface MHC-I expression in living and apoptotic gastric cancer cells.

mHealth use during pregnancy: A systematic review.

Background: The use of mobile health (mHealth) therapies during pregnancy has aroused increasing attention. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the effects of mHealth interventions on pregnant women's quality of life and pregnancy outcomes, with specific attention to psychosocial health.

Search Strategy: We performed a systematic review of the literature published between 2013 and 2023 from eight databases.

Symptomatic and cognitive effects of D-amino acid oxidase inhibitors in patients with schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomized controlled trials.

D-amino acid oxidase inhibitors (DAOI) have demonstrated potential therapeutic benefits for schizophrenia and cognitive impairment; however, existing studies present conflicting results. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the symptomatic and cognitive effects of DAOI on the treatment of schizophrenia. An electronic search was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials for double-blinded, randomized controlled trials evaluating DAOI for the treatment of schizophrenia.

The resilience of burn survivors, reborn in ashes.

This study examined the resilience process of burn survivors by analyzing the factors influencing resilience, operational mechanisms, and the contexts in which resilience is demonstrated. Using a qualitative research grounded theory approach and purposive sampling, 20 participants were recruited, including 16 burn survivors, two close relatives (a husband and a friend), a psychologist, and a nurse. The average age of the burn survivor participants was 44.

Disparities in specialist palliative care for Taiwanese children and young adults impacted by local digital development and noncancer diagnoses.

Background: Disparities in specialist palliative care (SPC) are complex. Families of children and young adults with life-limiting conditions in digitally advanced areas have better access to health information and services.

Objectives: To examine SPC and end-of-life care for these patients, focusing on SPC referral rates and associated disparities.

Psychometric Properties of Instruments Assessing Ageism: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: The global population is experiencing a significant increase in the number of older people, highlighting the need to maintain both physical and mental health among this cohort and to promote healthy ageing. One critical area that has been insufficiently explored is the prevalence and scope of ageism and its assessment. Therefore, the present review evaluated the psychometric properties of instruments designed to assess ageism against older people.

HBV Recurrence Detected by HBV-Related Serum Markers and Immune Escape Mutations in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Following Liver Transplantation.

The posttransplantation recurrence rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is underestimated and linked with unfavorable outcomes. We investigated HBV recurrence by serum assays in patients with CHB following liver transplantation. We enrolled patients with CHB who underwent liver transplantation between March 2001 and July 2021 to participate in cross-sectional testing for HBV-related serum markers, including biochemical analysis for HBsAg and hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) and real-time RT-PCR/PCR for HBV RNA and HBV DNA, in 2022.

Nurses' competence and needs to assist advance directives for institutionalized people with dementia and their family.

There is growing recognition of advance directives (AD) in dementia, however a gap remains between their perceived importance and actual implementation. This emphasizes the need to enhance healthcare professionals' support for people with dementia (PWD) with regards to making AD. This study aimed to investigate the competence, difficulties, and support needs of nurses in assisting institutionalized PWD to make AD.

Hypoglycemia knowledge assessment tool - Development and validation of the Hypoglycemia Management Knowledge Scale in Taiwan.

Background: Knowledge can guide and support behaviors. With accurate knowledge, patients are better equipped to engage in appropriate self-care behaviors and effectively manage hypoglycemia. However, there is currently a lack of reliable and valid assessment scales specifically designed to measure hypoglycemia knowledge, which could serve as valuable clinical evaluation tools for healthcare professionals.

Exercise Rescues Blood-Brain Barrier Structural Impairment and Enhances Mitochondrial Biogenesis in a Hypertensive Mouse Model.

Purpose: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Over the past decades, numerous studies have suggested that exercise can mitigate neurodegenerative processes by improving mitochondrial function. Recently, we demonstrated that exercise could reverse hippocampus-associated memory deficits and reduce BBB leakage in a modified two-kidney, one-clip (2K1C) hypertensive animal model.

Exercise Strategy for Reducing Visceral Adipose Tissue in Community Residents With Obesity: A Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial.

Background: Exercise is the most effective method of reducing visceral adipose tissue (VAT). However, the optimal exercise modality and strategy for reducing VAT have yet to be determined.

Purpose: This study was designed to identify the optimal sequence exercise strategy for reducing VAT in community residents with obesity.

Hindering Factors and Perceived Needs for the Decision Making of Advanced Directives Among People with Dementia and Their Families.

Making advanced directives is challenging in Asia. The hindering factors and perceived needs for advanced directives for people with dementia and their families have not been fully explored in Taiwan. In this study, we aimed to identify the barriers and perceived needs of people with mild dementia and the families of people with dementia within the cultural context of Taiwan for advanced directives.

The effectiveness of multimedia-based education on hypoglycemic events and associated factors in elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of multimedia-based hypoglycemia education compared to conventional hypoglycemia education on knowledge, self-care behavior, fear of hypoglycemia, social support, quality of life, nursing hours, education satisfaction, and the recurrence rate of hypoglycemic events among elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes who have experienced hypoglycemic events.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial with a repeated-measures design was conducted on 82 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes who had experienced hypoglycemic events. Participants in the experimental group received multimedia-based hypoglycemia education, while those in the contrast group received lecture-based hypoglycemia education.

Quality of life trajectories in children aged 2-4 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Unlabelled: This study examines changes in quality of life (QoL) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We investigated the QoL and determinants of Toddlers with ALL aged 2-4 years. We applied a cross-sectional design with repeated measurements.

A two-year longitudinal study of the impact of cognitive status and depression on frailty status in older adults following hip fracture.

Objectives: To examine if frailty is associated with cognitive status or depression in older adults following surgery for hip fracture.

Design: A 2-year longitudinal correlational cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Older adults (≥ 60 years) who had hip-fracture surgery were recruited from a 3,000-bed medical center in Taiwan.