Factors associated with intention to use care robots among people with physical disabilities.

BACKGROUND: As the disabled population ages and the demand for care increases, Socially, the need for care robots is emerging but, perceptions of care robots among care recipients is unknown. PURPOSE: To determine the level of intention to use care robots among care recipients and identify predictors of intention to use care robots. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 163 persons with disabilities from January to March 2022 at the Veterans Health Service Medical Center. DISCUSSION: Overall, 64.42% of respondents intended to use care robots. Predictors included perceived behavioral control, participants' perceptions of the caregiver's burden, attitude toward robot use, subjective norms, and age. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that individuals who are community-dwelling desire the use care robots to maintain their independence and may provide useful insignt for the introduction various care robots in acute care and long-term care settings.

Genome-wide identification of chemosensitive single nucleotide polymorphism markers in colorectal cancers.

Improved methods for predicting chemoresponsiveness involving the identification of polymorphic markers is highly desirable, considering narrow therapeutic index and frequent resistance to anti-cancer regimens. The genome-wide screening of chemosensitive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was undertaken in association with in vitro chemosensitivity assays in 104 colorectal cancer patients for the initial screening step. Allele frequency, linkage disequilibrium, potential function, and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium of the candidate SNPs were then determined for the identifying step. Finally, clinical association analysis in the other 260 evaluable patients or cell viability assays of transfected RKO cells was used to verify candidate SNPs for the validation step. In total, 12 SNPs to six regimens were initially chosen during the screening and identifying steps. In patients receiving fluoropyrimidine-based adjuvant chemotherapy, the substitution alleles of GPC5 rs553717 (AA) correlated significantly with tumor recurrence and shorter disease-free survival (P = 0.019 and 0.023, respectively). Interestingly, RKO cells expressing mutant GPC5 showed enhanced cell death in response to 5-FU in cytotoxicity assays. Patients that were homozygous for the reference alleles SSTR4 rs2567608 (AA) and EPHA7 rs2278107 (TT) showed lower disease control rates in response to irinotecan and oxaliplatin regimens, respectively, than those with substitution alleles (P = 0.022 and 0.014, respectively). Thus, we identified chemosensitive SNP markers using a novel three step process of genome-wide analysis consisting of in vitro screening, identification, and validation. The candidate chemosensitive SNP markers identified in our study, including those identified in vitro, can now be further verified in a large cohort study.

Risk factors for lymph node metastasis in submucosal invasive colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown a 7-15% lymph node (LN) metastasis rate in submucosal invasive colorectal cancer (SICC). Identifying risk factors for LN metastasis is crucial in selecting therapeutic modalities for SICC. We assessed the possibility of and the risk factors for LN metastasis in SICC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 168 SICC patients who underwent curative resection between June 1989 and December 2004 at Asan Medical Center. The level of submucosal invasion was classified into upper third (sm1), middle third (sm2), and lower third (sm3). The following carcinoma-related variables were assessed: tumor size, tumor location, depth of submucosal invasion, cell differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, neural invasion, and tumor cell dissociation (TCD). RESULTS: The overall LN metastasis rate was 14.3%. Significant predictors of LN metastasis both univariately and multivariately were sm3 (p = 0.039), poorly differentiated cancer (p = 0.028), and TCD (p = 0.045). Lymphovascular invasion was a risk factor for LN metastasis in univariate analysis (p = 0.019); however, in multivariate analysis, lymphovascular invasion could not predict LN metastasis. No statistical difference was observed in the risk of LN metastasis with regard to tumor location, size, and neural invasion. CONCLUSION: The depth of submucosal invasion, cell differentiation, and tumor cell dissociation were significant pathologic predictors of LN metastasis in SICC. Because SICC is associated with a considerable risk of LN metastasis, local excision may be performed carefully in SICC without adverse features.