Mediating effects of meaning in life on the relationship between family care, depression, and quality of life in Chinese older adults.

Background: The study explored sources of meaning in older adults and the action path among family care, meaning in life, quality of life, and depression. Materials and methods: We investigated 627 older adults using the Sources of Meaning in Life Scale for the Elderly (SMSE), the Family Care Index (APGAR), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 (CES-D-10), and the EuroqOL-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Results: Scores categorized 454 older adults with good family function, 99 with moderate, and 47 with severe family dysfunction; 110 older adults had depression. The structural equation model showed that family care affected the quality of life and depression by influencing meaning, and depression had a significant negative effect on the quality of life (P < 0.05). The model was a good fit for the data (χ2/df = 3.300, SRMR = 0.0291, GFI = 0.975, IFI = 0.971, TLI = 0.952, CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.062). Conclusion: Meaning in life is an intermediary factor that affects depression and quality of life in older adults. Family care had a significant positive impact on SMSE and a negative influence on depression. The SMSE effectively clarifies the sources of meaning in life and can be used to improve meaning and promote mental health in older adults.

Deploying Indocyanine Green Fluorescence-Guided Navigation System in Precise Laparoscopic Resection of Pediatric Hepatoblastoma.

Background: Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common form of liver cancer in children. To date, complete tumor resection is still the gold standard for treating HB. Indocyanine green (ICG) has been identified as a sensitive adjunct that is highly effective in the identification and surgical management of local and metastatic HB. It has thus becomes an increasingly popular choice among surgeons in HB resection surgeries that are fluorescence-guided. However, laparotomy remains the preferred choice in most cases since the applications and limitations of fluorescence-guided laparoscopic surgery in treating HB remain unclear. In this study, the characteristics and outcomes of laparoscopic HB resections that were guided by intraoperative ICG fluorescent imaging were investigated. Methods: Seven HB patients underwent ICG-guided laparoscopic HB resection surgery from August 2019 to December 2021. ICG was intravenously administered to the patients at a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg 48 h prior to the scheduled operation. During operation, tumor localization and resection boundary were guided by fluorescence visualization. The data on surgical and clinical features were collected retrospectively. Results: The resection area and tumor boundary could be clearly viewed in real-time under the ICG fluorescence imaging navigation system during operation, except for one patient who had received interventional chemoembolization before surgery. The image produced by laparoscopic fluorescence navigation was clear since it was not affected by ambient light. All tumors were completely resected as confirmed by negative margins for HB during postoperative pathological examination. No residual or recurrence were also found through computed tomography during follow-up visits from 9 to 37 months. Conclusions: ICG fluorescence-guided laparoscopic surgery is safe and effective in treating HB due to its ability to provide clear information on tumor localization and delineate tumor margins in real-time.

Identification of hub genes and construction of prognostic nomogram for patients with Wilms tumors.

Background: In children, Wilms' tumors are the most common urological cancer with unsatisfactory prognosis, but few molecular prognostic markers have been discovered for it. With the rapid development of high-throughput quantitative proteomic and transcriptomic approaches, the molecular mechanisms of various cancers have been comprehensively explored. This study aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying Wilms tumor and build predictive models by use of microarray and RNA-seq data. Methods: Gene expression datasets were downloaded from Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Bioinformatics methods wereutilized to identified hub genes, and these hub genes were validated by experiment. Nomogram predicting OS was developed using genetic risk score model and clinicopathological variables. Results: CDC20, BUB1 and CCNB2 were highly expressed in tumor tissues and able to affect cell proliferation and the cell cycle of SK-NEP-1 cells. This may reveal molecular biology features and a new therapeutic target of Wilms tumour.7 genes were selected as prognostic genes after univariate, Lasso, and multivariate Cox regression analyses and had good accuracy, a prognostic nomogram combined gene model with clinical factors was completed with high accuracy. Conclusions: The current study discovered CDC20,BUB1 and CCNB2 as hub-genes associated with Wilms tumor, providing references to understand the pathogenesis and be considered a novel candidate to target therapy and construct novel nomogram, incorporating both clinical risk factors and gene model, could be appropriately applied in preoperative individualized prediction of malignancy in patients with Wilms tumor.

Composition-dependent activity of ZnxCd1-xSe solid solution coupled with Ni2P nanosheets for visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 generation.

Metal selenide semiconductors have been rarely used for photocatalytic water splitting because of their poor stability and severe photocorrosion properties. Hence, designing stable metal selenides with suitable bandgap energies has considerable practical significance in photocatalytic H2 evolution. In this work, a novel series of ZnxCd1-xSe (x = 0 âˆ¼ 1) with tunable band structure were fabricated through a simple solvothermal method. Impressively, the ZnSe exhibited a maximum H2 production rate of 1056 µmol g-1h-1, which was higher than that of CdSe and ZnxCd1-xSe solid solutions. Such visible-light photoactivity for water reduction to H2 was attained even after 6 cycling photocatalytic experiments. Moreover, the two-dimensional (2D) Ni2P nanosheets act as a high-efficiency cocatalyst integrated with ZnxCd1-xSe semiconductor to boost photocatalytic H2 generation performance. The optimal 8% Ni2P/ZnSe composites displayed excellent cycling stability and superior photocatalytic H2 evolution performance (4336 µmol g-1h-1), which was about 4.1 times that of pure ZnSe under visible light irradiation. Photoelectrochemical (PEC), photoluminescence (PL), and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements reveal that the improved photoactivity Ni2P/ZnSe photocatalysts were ascribed to the effective separation and migration of photoinduced carriers. The present work paves a pathway to explore the fabrication of ZnxCd1-xSe solid solutions and the hybridization of 2D transition metal phosphides nanosheets toward photocatalytic applications.

Two-stage laparoscopic resection of giant hepatoblastoma in infants combined with liver partial partition and artery ligation.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic resection of giant hepatoblastoma (HB) in children has long been a subject of controversy. Here, a new procedure of two-stage laparoscopic resection of giant HB in infants was firstly reported and the feasibility was discussed. METHODS: The clinical data of three infants with HB were retrospectively reviewed, all of which received 3-5 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Stage 1 laparoscopic selective hepatic artery ligation and liver partial partition were performed. Stage 2 laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed 2 weeks later. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that (1) the tumors shrank considerably in size and had relatively clear boundaries after neoadjuvant chemotherapy; (2) after stage 1 surgery, the tumor volume further reduced, while the intratumoral necrosis expanded; (3) 2 weeks later, stage 2 laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed successfully; (4) none of the cases had intraoperative complications such as tumor rupture, air embolism, hemorrhage, biliary fistula, or liver failure, and there was no recurrence or metastasis during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Two-stage laparoscopic hepatectomy associating selective hepatic artery ligation and liver partial partition for HB in infants has the benefits of small invasiveness, fast recovery, improved safety, and high feasibility. However, more cases and longer follow-up are needed to assess its long-term efficacy.

CircRNA CDR1as promotes hepatoblastoma proliferation and stemness by acting as a miR-7-5p sponge to upregulate KLF4 expression.

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is a malignant embryonal tumor of the liver that consists of heterogenous populations of stem/progenitor cells. Although circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an essential role in tumor development, the effects of circRNA on the proliferation of HB cells, especially cancer stem cells (CSCs), remain unclear. We found that the circRNA, CDR1as, was highly expressed in CSC-enriched populations of HB cell lines. Results from flow cytometric and sphere-forming assays revealed that CDR1as knockdown in HB cell lines decreased the proportion of stem cells. The Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation experiments, and EdU assay revealed that CDR1as knockdown in HB cell lines decreased cell growth and the colony-forming abilities. Biotin-coupled probe pull-down assays and biotin-coupled microRNA capture were conducted to evaluate the interaction between CDR1as and miR-7-5p. Dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), expression of which is highly correlated with cancer stemness, was a target of miR-7-5p. Overall, the knockdown of CDR1as significantly inhibited the proliferation and stemness of HB cells by reducing the sponge activity on miR-7-5p and subsequently suppressing the interaction between miR-7-5p and KLF4. Results from this study suggest that CDR1as is an oncogene that effects the proliferation and stemness of HBs.

Mesenteric heterotopic pancreas in a pediatric patient: A case report and review of literature.

Heterotopic pancreas (HP) is a congenital anomaly defined as pancreatic tissue that has no contact with the orthotopic pancreas and its own duct system and vascular supply. The most common locations of HP are the upper gastrointestinal tract, specifically, the stomach, duodenum, and proximal jejunum. Involvement of the mesentery is rare. Here, we describe a rare case of mesenteric heterotopic pancreas (MHP) in a 12-year-old girl who presented with acute abdomen. The patient underwent emergency laparotomy, and the mass and adjacent small bowel were resected. Results of the postoperative histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of MHP. Observation of the patient for 12 mo postoperatively showed no evidence of recurrence. Preoperative diagnosis of HP is difficult, even in a symptomatic patient. Increased awareness and understanding of the image characteristics of MHP will aid in correct preoperative diagnosis and appropriate patient management.