Correlation Between Illness Uncertainty in Caregivers of Patients with Liver Cancer, Their Coping Styles, and Quality of Life.

Objective: This study explores the correlation between coping style, quality of life, and illness uncertainty in the family caregivers of patients with liver cancer. Methods: Employing convenience sampling, 210 family caregivers of patients with liver cancer who met the admission criteria were selected from a grade A infectious disease hospital in Beijing between January and December 2022. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, Caregiver Quality of Life, and the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale for Family Members. This study analysed the correlations between coping styles, quality of life, and illness uncertainty in these caregivers. Results: The study found that family caregivers of patients with liver cancer had average scores for illness uncertainty (83.44 ± 11.86), coping style (33.19 ± 9.79; both positive [23.02 ± 6.81] and negative [10.17 ± 5.05]), and quality of life (169.53 ± 32.46). A negative association was observed between illness uncertainty in these caregivers and positive coping style (r = -0.207, p = 0.003), physical status (r = -0.182, p = 0.008), psychological status (r = -0.200, p = 0.004), and social adaptation (r = -0.229, p = 0.001). Conclusion: The study concludes that illness uncertainty in family caregivers of patients with liver cancer is at a moderate level. Furthermore, there is a notable correlation between illness uncertainty, coping style, and quality of life in these caregivers.

Performance of MAST, FAST, and MEFIB in predicting metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To identify individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) or "at-risk" MASH among patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), three noninvasive models are available with satisfactory efficiency, which include magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]- AST (MAST), FibroScan-AST (FAST score), and magnetic resonance elastography [MRE] plus FIB-4 (MEFIB). We aimed to evaluate the most accurate approach for diagnosing MASH or "at-risk" MASH. METHODS: We included 108 biopsy-proven MASLD patients who underwent simultaneous assessment of MRE, MRI proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), and FibroScan scans. Compared with the histological diagnosis, we analyzed the AUC of each model and assessed the accuracy. RESULTS: Our study cohort consisted of 64.8% of MASH and 25.9% of "at-risk" MASH. When analyzing the performance of each model for the diagnostic accuracy of MASH, we found that the AUC [95% CI] of MAST was comparable to FAST (0.803 [0.719-0.886] vs 0.799 [0.707-0.891], P = 0.930) and better than MEFIB (0.671 [0.571-0.772], P = 0.005). Similar findings were observed in the "at-risk" MASH patients. The AUCs [95% CI] for MAST, FAST, and MEFIB were 0.810 [0.719-0.900], 0.782 [0.689-0.874], and 0.729 [0.619-0.838], respectively. The models of MAST and FAST had comparable AUCs (P = 0.347), which were statistically significantly higher than that of MEFIB (P = 0.041). Additionally, the cutoffs for diagnosis of MASH were lower than "at-risk" MASH. CONCLUSION: MAST and FAST performed better than MEFIB in diagnosing "at-risk" MASH and MASH using lower cutoff values. Our findings provided evidence for selecting the most accurate noninvasive model to identify patients with MASH or at-risk MASH.

Serotonin receptor 2B induces visceral hyperalgesia in rat model and patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Serotonin receptor 2B (5-HT2B receptor) plays a critical role in many chronic pain conditions. The possible involvement of the 5-HT2B receptor in the altered gut sensation of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) was investigated in the present study. AIM: To investigate the possible involvement of 5-HT2B receptor in the altered gut sensation in rat model and patients with IBS-D. METHODS: Rectosigmoid biopsies were collected from 18 patients with IBS-D and 10 patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation who fulfilled the Rome IV criteria and 15 healthy controls. The expression level of the 5-HT2B receptor in colon tissue was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and correlated with abdominal pain scores. The IBS-D rat model was induced by intracolonic instillation of acetic acid and wrap restraint. Alterations in visceral sensitivity and 5-HT2B receptor and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) expression were examined following 5-HT2B receptor antagonist administration. Changes in visceral sensitivity after administration of the TRPV1 antagonist were recorded. RESULTS: Here, we observed greater expression of the 5-HT2B receptor in the colonic mucosa of patients with IBS-D than in that of controls, which was correlated with abdominal pain scores. Intracolonic instillation of acetic acid and wrap restraint induced obvious chronic visceral hypersensitivity and increased fecal weight and fecal water content. Exogenous 5-HT2B receptor agonist administration increased visceral hypersensitivity, which was alleviated by successive administration of a TRPV1 antagonist. IBS-D rats receiving the 5-HT2B receptor antagonist exhibited inhibited visceral hyperalgesia.Moreover, the percentage of 5-HT2B receptor-immunoreactive (IR) cells surrounded by TRPV1-positive cells (5-HT2B receptor I+) and total 5-HT2B receptor IR cells (5-HT2B receptor IT) in IBS-D rats was significantly reduced by the administration of a 5-HT2B receptor antagonist. CONCLUSION: Our finding that increased expression of the 5-HT2B receptor contributes to visceral hyperalgesia by inducing TRPV1 expression in IBS-D patients provides important insights into the potential mechanisms underlying IBS-D-associated visceral hyperalgesia.

Visualization and Analysis of Infectious Disease Research on Nursing Care Based on CiteSpace in China.

Objective: To analyze the relevant research publications on infectious disease nursing in China to understand the current research status of infectious disease in nursing. Methods: Retrieve relevant literature on infectious disease in nursing from the establishment of the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, and Wanfang Database until May 10, 2021. Conduct bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace software. Key words were analyzed using cluster analysis. Results: A total of 4693 relevant literature on infectious disease research in nursing care were included in this study. The overall number of publications on infectious disease research in nursing showed an increasing trend, with a peak in 2010. There were 324 papers funded by scientific research funds, mainly from provincial-level fund projects. The core journal with the most published articles was Nursing Research. The research on infectious disease in nursing mainly focused on various aspects of infectious disease in nursing and infection control. CiteSpace cluster analysis of keywords showed that a total of six clusters were formed: infectious diseases, infectious disease care, health education, mental health, infectious disease nurses, and etiology. After 2015, high-mutation keywords included "quality nursing" and "infection control". Conclusion: Chinese research on infectious disease research in nursing closely follows clinical reality and has developed rapidly. Currently, research focuses on infectious disease research in nursing and infection control. Future research trends will further broaden the depth and breadth of the research, enhance research on infection control and quality nursing, and improve the breadth and depth of the research.

Experimental Investigations of Ni-Ti-Ru System: Liquidus Surface Projection and 1150 °C Isothermal Section.

Ruthenium addition inhibits the formation of the topologically close-packed phases in Ni-based superalloys and improves the solid solution strength of Ni-Ti shape memory alloys. Therefore, the Ni-Ti-Ru phase stability is a very valuable indicator of the effects of Ru in Ni-based superalloys and Ni-Ti shape memory alloys. In this study, the isothermal section at 1150 °C and liquidus surface projection of the Ni-Ti-Ru ternary system were determined experimentally using the equilibrated alloy method and diffusion couple method, respectively. Alloys were prepared through the arc-melting of Ni, Ti, and Ru (all 99.99% purity), and then vacuum encapsulation in quartz tubes, followed by annealing at 1150 °C for 36 to 1080 h depending on the alloy composition. Diffusion couples were fabricated by joining one single-phase block (τ1) with one two-phase block (Ni3Ti + γ(Ni)), and the couples were annealed under vacuum at 1150 °C for 168 h. Reaction temperatures of as-cast alloys were determined by differential scanning calorimetry performed with heating and cooling rates of 10 °C/min. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the microstructure. Seven three-phase regions were found at the 1150 °C isothermal section. Seven primary solidification regions and five ternary invariant reactions were deduced in the liquidus surface projection. A new ternary compound τ1 was discovered in both the isothermal section at 1150 °C and liquidus surface projection. The results aid in thermodynamic modeling of the system and provide guidance for designing Ni-based superalloys and Ni-Ti shape memory alloys.

Application of endoscopic purse-string sutures in high-risk peptic ulcer hemorrhage: preliminary experience of 38 cases.

OBJECTIVE: This study is a prospective study to explore the therapeutic effect of endoscopic purse-string sutures in high-risk peptic ulcer hemorrhage. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively collected and analyzed data from July 2018 to December 2020 from patients in Jinshan hospital, Fudan University, who underwent emergency endoscopy for acute severe high-risk non-variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (NVUGIB) and were treated with endoscopic purse-string sutures. RESULTS: We included 38 patients whose median age was 64 years (interquartile range: 57.2 - 71.2 years). All patients were high risk gastric ulcer larger than 1 cm, including Forrest Ia (n = 4, 10.5%), Forrest Ib (n = 13, 34.2%) and Forrest IIa (n = 21, 55.3%). All patients were treated with endoscopic purse-string sutures. The clinical success rate reached 89.5%. Three patients suffered from rebleeding within seven days, and were treated with surgery or arterial embolization, respectively, all of which successfully stopped bleeding. One patient died of myocardial infarction. All other patients were followed up for 30 days without bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that endoscopic purse-string sutures seem to be safe and effective in the treatment of patients at high risk of ulcer bleeding.

The Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Small-airway Remodelling in a Rat Model of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Small-airway remodelling is one of the most remarkable pathological features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in which angiogenesis plays a critical role that contributes to disease progression. The endothelial cell-specific mitogen vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), as well as its receptors, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, are thought to be the major mediators of pathological angiogenesis, and sunitinib exhibits anti-angiogenesis property through VEGF blockage and has been widely used to treat various cancers. In our study, Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection and cigarette smoke (CS) inhalation to induce COPD, following sunitinib administration was conducted. Haematoxylin-eosin, Masson staining and immunostaining analysis were used to evaluate the pathological changes; quantitative real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed to provide more compelling data on the function of VEGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2 in angiogenesis. Sunitinib treatment was associated with less angiogenesis in small-airway remodelling with a slightly disordered lung architecture, and lower expression level of VEGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2. Overall, our results indicate that VEGF is a vital important factor that contributes to the small-airway remodelling in a rat model of COPD through promoting angiogenesis, which mainly depend on the specific binding between VEGF and VEGFR1 and can be effectively attenuated by sunitinib.