The mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between perceived stress and self-directed learning ability in nursing students.

BACKGROUND: As indispensable reserves for the nursing workforce, undergraduate nursing students must possess self-directed learning abilities to consistently update their professional knowledge and adapt to the evolving demands of professional development. The acquisition of self-directed learning abilities can help undergraduate nursing students augment their theoretical knowledge and refine their clinical practice skills, thus fulfilling the demand from patients for high-quality nursing services. Hence, comprehending and investigating the factors that influence the development of self-directed learning abilities in nursing students is of paramount importance for nursing education and advancement of the nursing profession. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the status of and associations between perceived stress, psychological capital, and self-directed learning abilities among undergraduate nursing students. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between perceived stress and self-directed learning abilities. Thus, aiming to provide nursing educators with new directions for enhancing self-directed learning abilities. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS: In February and March 2023, 900 undergraduate nursing students from 10 nursing schools completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included measures of perceived stress, psychological capital, and self-directed learning ability. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and the PROCESS macro tool. RESULTS: The scores for perceived stress, psychological capital, and self-directed learning ability among undergraduate nursing students were 40.07 ± 5.90, 99.89 ± 16.59, and 87.12 ± 9.20, respectively. Self-directed learning abilities were negatively correlated with perceived stress (r = -0.415, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with psychological capital (r = 0.465, p < 0.001). Perceived stress was negatively correlated with psychological capital (r = -0.630, p < 0.001). Psychological capital partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and self-directed learning abilities among undergraduate nursing students, with a mediation effect of -0.166, accounting for 49.55% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: This study found that undergraduate nursing students perceived high levels of stress, possessed low levels of psychological capital, and had moderate levels of self-directed learning. Perceived stress and psychological capital directly influenced undergraduate nursing students' self-directed learning abilities, and perceived stress indirectly affected self-directed learning abilities through psychological capital. Nursing managers and educators should alleviate the perceived stress of undergraduate nursing students and cultivate their positive psychological capital to enhance self-directed learning abilities.

Do nutritional assessment tools (PNI, CONUT, GNRI) predict adverse events after spinal surgeries? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional assessment tools are used to predict outcomes in cancer. However, their utility in patients undergoing spinal surgery is unclear. This review examined if prognostic nutritional index (PNI), controlling nutritional status (CONUT), and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) can predict adverse events after spinal surgeries. METHODS: PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, and Embase were screened by two reviewers for relevant studies up to 26th January 2024. The primary outcome of interest was total adverse events after spinal surgery. Secondary outcomes were surgical site infections (SSI) and mortality. RESULTS: 14 studies were included. Meta-analysis showed that while reduced PNI was not associated with an increased risk of SSI there was a significant association between PNI and higher risk of adverse events. Meta-analysis showed that high CONUT was not associated with an increased risk of complications after spinal surgeries. Pooled analysis showed that low GNRI was associated with an increased risk of both SSI and adverse events. Data on mortality was scarce. CONCLUSIONS: The PNI and GNRI can predict adverse outcomes after spinal surgeries. Limited data shows that high CONUT is also associated with a non-significant increased risk of adverse outcomes. High GNRI was predictive of an increased risk of SSI. Data on mortality is too scarce for strong conclusions.

Insomnia and anxiety among COVID-19 patients in China: the chain mediating effect of psychological capital and self-esteem.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in 2019 has continued until now, posing a huge threat to the public's physical and mental health, resulting in different degrees of mental health problems. As a vulnerable segment of the public, anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among COVID-19 patients. Excessive anxiety aggravates the physical and psychological symptoms of COVID-19 patients, which is detrimental to their treatment and recovery, increases financial expenditure, affects family relations, and adds to the medical burden. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the role of psychological capital and self-esteem in the relationship between insomnia and anxiety, thereby shedding light on the mechanism of the effect of insomnia on anxiety in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2022 in Fangcang hospital in Shanghai, China. The self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 718 COVID-19 patients via cell phone using the Internet platform "Questionnaire Star", which included Athens Insomnia Scale, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Self-esteem Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, gender, age, marital status, education. Data analysis was performed using descriptive analysis, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, ordinary least-squares regression, and bootstrap method. RESULTS: Education background had significant impact on anxiety in COVID-19 patients (F = 7.70, P < 0.001). Insomnia, psychological capital, self-esteem and anxiety were significantly correlated, respectively (P < 0.001). And Regression analysis showed that insomnia had a direct negative predictive effect on psychological capital (ß = -0.70, P < 0.001) and self-esteem (ß = -0.13, P < 0.001). Psychological capital had a direct positive predictive effect on self-esteem (ß = 0.12, P < 0.001). Insomnia had a direct positive predictive effect on anxiety (ß = 0.61, P < 0.001). Both psychological capital and self-esteem had significant negative predictive effects on anxiety (ß = -0.06, P < 0.05; ß = -0.72, P < 0.001). The results showed that the mediating effect of psychological capital and self-esteem was significant, and the mediating effect value was 0.21. First, the indirect effect consisting of insomnia - psychological capital - anxiety was 0.04, showing that psychological capital had a significant mediating effect. Second, the indirect effect consisting of insomnia-self-esteem-anxiety had a value of 0.10, indicating that self-esteem had a significant mediating effect. Third, the indirect effect consisting of insomnia-psychological capital-self-esteem-anxiety had a value of 0.06, suggesting that psychological capital and self-esteem had a significant chain mediating effect between insomnia and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Insomnia had a significant positive predictive effect on anxiety. Insomnia was first associated with a decrease in psychological capital, followed by a sequential decrease in self-esteem, which in turn was associated with increased anxiety symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, focusing on improving the psychological capital and self-esteem of patients can help alleviate the anxiety caused by insomnia in COVID-19 patients. It is recommended that patients and health care professionals increase the psychological capital and Self-esteem of COVID-19 patients through various methods to counter the effects of insomnia on anxiety.

Sesamin-mediated high expression of BECN2 ameliorates cartilage endplate degeneration by reducing autophagy and inflammation.

Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) is a prevalent clinical spinal disease characterized by the calcification and degeneration of the cartilage endplate (CEP), which significantly reduces nutrient supply to the intervertebral disc. Traditional Chinese medicine offers a conservative and effective approach for treating LDD. We aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of Sesamin in LDD treatment. Transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze the effect of Sesamin on LPS-induced ATDC5. We explored the role of BECN2, a target gene of Sesamin, in attenuating LPS-induced degeneration of ATDC5 cells. Our results revealed the identification of 117 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 54 up-regulated and 63 down-regulated genes. Notably, Sesamin significantly increased the expression of BECN2 in LPS-induced ATDC5 cell degeneration. Overexpressed BECN2 enhanced cell viability and inhibited cell apoptosis in LPS-induced ATDC5 cells, while BECN2 knockdown reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, BECN2 played a crucial role in attenuating chondrocyte degeneration by modulating autophagy and inflammation. Specifically, BECN2 suppressed autophagy by reducing the expression of ATG14, VPS34, and GASP1, and alleviated the inflammatory response by decreasing the expression of inflammasome proteins NLRP3, NLRC4, NLRP1, and AIM2. In vivo experiments further supported the beneficial effects of Sesamin in mitigating LDD. This study provides novel insights into the potential molecular mechanism of Sesamin in treating LDD, highlighting its ability to mediate autophagy and inflammation inhibition via targeting the BECN2. This study provides a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of LDD, as well as a potential molecular target for LDD.

Writing and Detecting Topological Charges in Exfoliated Fe5-xGeTe2.

Fe5-xGeTe2 is a promising two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnet for practical applications, given its magnetic properties. These include Curie temperatures above room temperature, and topological spin textures─TST (both merons and skyrmions), responsible for a pronounced anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and its topological counterpart (THE), which can be harvested for spintronics. Here, we show that both the AHE and THE can be amplified considerably by just adjusting the thickness of exfoliated Fe5-xGeTe2, with THE becoming observable even in zero magnetic field due to a field-induced unbalance in topological charges. Using a complementary suite of techniques, including electronic transport, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, and micromagnetic simulations, we reveal the emergence of substantial coercive fields upon exfoliation, which are absent in the bulk, implying thickness-dependent magnetic interactions that affect the TST. We detected a "magic" thickness t ≈ 30 nm where the formation of TST is maximized, inducing large magnitudes for the topological charge density (∼6.45 × 1020 cm-2), and the concomitant anomalous (ρxyA,max ≃22.6 µΩ cm) and topological (ρxyu,T 1≃5 µΩ cm) Hall resistivities at T ≈ 120 K. These values for ρxyA,max and ρxyu,T are higher than those found in magnetic topological insulators and, so far, the largest reported for 2D magnets. The hitherto unobserved THE under zero magnetic field could provide a platform for the writing and electrical detection of TST aiming at energy-efficient devices based on vdW ferromagnets.

The relationship between psychosocial job stressors and insomnia: The mediating role of psychological capital.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the association of job-related stressors and insomnia; to determine the association of psychological capital and insomnia; and to explore whether psychological capital mediates the association between job-related stressors and insomnia among Chinese nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. METHODS: The STROBE statement was utilized to guide the study. A total of 810 nurses from one tertiary grade hospital in Shan Dong Province, China, were recruited for the present study and a total of 658 valid questionnaires were obtained (effective recovery rate: 81.2%). The study survey consisted of demographic variables, psychological capital, job stress and insomnia. Descriptive analysis, independent-samples T-test, one-way analysis of variance, stratified regression analysis, Pearson correlation analyses, ordinary least-squares regression and the bootstrap method were used to analyse data. RESULTS: Findings of the study determined that demographic, work-related, behavioural and work setting (i.e. working hours, chronic disease, negative life events, smoking behaviour and night shift) factors were differentially associated with experiences of insomnia. The empirical study showed that psychological capital had statistically significant mediating effects between job stressors and insomnia. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This study explored the factors associated with nurses' psychological job stressors and insomnia. Some of the associated factors could be used for the prevention and mitigation of psychosocial dysfunction among nurses. This study found nurses in surgery, emergency department, ICU, working >40 h a week, with chronic illness, experiencing negative life events, shift work and high effort, high overcommitment and low reward had higher scores of insomnia respectively. The results of this study also showed that reward was correlated with the increase of psychological capital, and the increase of psychological capital was correlated with the decrease of insomnia in nurses. On the contrary, effort and overcommitment decreased psychological capital, and then increased insomnia among nurses. These findings have important implications for future research and policy interventions to improve sleep quality of nurses and enhance nurses' health and patients' safety. This study significantly suggests that improving nurses' psychological capital is a potential way to help nurses improve sleep quality when psychosocial job stressors are difficult external environment to change.

Thickness- and Twist-Angle-Dependent Interlayer Excitons in Metal Monochalcogenide Heterostructures.

Interlayer excitons, or bound electron-hole pairs whose constituent quasiparticles are located in distinct stacked semiconducting layers, are being intensively studied in heterobilayers of two-dimensional semiconductors. They owe their existence to an intrinsic type-II band alignment between both layers that convert these into p-n junctions. Here, we unveil a pronounced interlayer exciton (IX) in heterobilayers of metal monochalcogenides, namely, γ-InSe on ε-GaSe, whose pronounced emission is adjustable just by varying their thicknesses given their number of layers dependent direct band gaps. Time-dependent photoluminescense spectroscopy unveils considerably longer interlayer exciton lifetimes with respect to intralayer ones, thus confirming their nature. The linear Stark effect yields a bound electron-hole pair whose separation d is just (3.6 ± 0.1) Å with d being very close to dSe = 3.4 Å which is the calculated interfacial Se separation. The envelope of IX is twist-angle-dependent and describable by superimposed emissions that are nearly equally spaced in energy, as if quantized due to localization induced by the small moiré periodicity. These heterostacks are characterized by extremely flat interfacial valence bands making them prime candidates for the observation of magnetism or other correlated electronic phases upon carrier doping.

Light sources with bias tunable spectrum based on van der Waals interface transistors.

Light-emitting electronic devices are ubiquitous in key areas of current technology, such as data communications, solid-state lighting, displays, and optical interconnects. Controlling the spectrum of the emitted light electrically, by simply acting on the device bias conditions, is an important goal with potential technological repercussions. However, identifying a material platform enabling broad electrical tuning of the spectrum of electroluminescent devices remains challenging. Here, we propose light-emitting field-effect transistors based on van der Waals interfaces of atomically thin semiconductors as a promising class of devices to achieve this goal. We demonstrate that large spectral changes in room-temperature electroluminescence can be controlled both at the device assembly stage -by suitably selecting the material forming the interfaces- and on-chip, by changing the bias to modify the device operation point. Even though the precise relation between device bias and kinetics of the radiative transitions remains to be understood, our experiments show that the physical mechanism responsible for light emission is robust, making these devices compatible with simple large areas device production methods.

Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence System for the Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Chinese Community Healthcare Centers.

Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a Comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Retinal Expert (CARE) system for detecting diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a Chinese community population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, diagnostic study. Participants with a previous diagnosis of diabetes from three Chinese community healthcare centers were enrolled in the study. Single-field color fundus photography was obtained and analyzed by the AI system and two ophthalmologists. Primary outcome measures included the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the AI system in detecting DR and diabetic macular edema (DME). Results: In this study, 443 subjects (848 eyes) were enrolled, and 283 (63.88%) were men. The mean age was 52.09 (11.51) years (range 18-82 years); 266 eyes were diagnosed with any DR, 233 with more-than-mild diabetic retinopathy (mtmDR), 112 with vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (vtDR), and 57 with DME. The image ability of the AI system was as high as 99.06%, whereas its sensitivity and specificity varied significantly in detecting DR with different severities. The sensitivity/specificity to detect any DR was 75.19% (95%CI 69.47-80.17)/93.99% (95%CI 91.65-95.71), mtmDR 78.97% (95%CI 73.06-83.90)/92.52% (95%CI 90.07-94.41), vtDR 33.93% (95%CI 25.41-43.56)/97.69% (95%CI 96.25-98.61), and DME 47.37% (95%CI 34.18-60.91)/93.99% (95%CI 91.65-95.71). Conclusions: This multicenter cross-sectional diagnostic study noted the safety and reliability of the CARE system for DR (especially mtmDR) detection in Chinese community healthcare centers. The system may effectively solve the dilemma faced by Chinese community healthcare centers: due to the lack of ophthalmic expertise of primary physicians, DR diagnosis and referral are not timely.

miR-142-3p and HMGB1 Are Negatively Regulated in Proliferation, Apoptosis, Migration, and Autophagy of Cartilage Endplate Cells.

BACKGROUND: Cartilage endplate (CEP) degeneration plays a vital role in the pathological process of intervertebral disc degeneration. It has been previously reported that microRNAs may participate in the occurrence and development of intervertebral disc degeneration through regulating its target genes directly. The regulatory roles of miR-142-3p/HMGB1 in some orthopedic diseases have been determined successively, but there was no report about the degeneration of CEP. Therefore, we aimed to determine the regulation of miR-142-3p/HMGB1 or potential molecular mechanisms on proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and autophagy of CEP cells. METHODS: The target gene of miR-142-3p was determined by double luciferase assay. We selected ATDC5 cell lines. CCK-8 method was used to detect cell proliferation. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine gene expression levels, and western blot analysis was used to determine protein expression levels. We chose flow cytometry to measure cell apoptosis and cell cycle. RESULTS: The result of luciferase detection showed that the target gene of miR-142-3p in CEP cells was HMGB1. Knockdown of the miR-142-3p inhibited the expression level of HMGB1, the proliferation and migration of CEP cells, but it promoted apoptosis of CEP cells. In addition, the detection results of the proteins related to apoptosis or autophagy showed that knockdown of miR-142-3p promoted apoptosis and autophagy. CONCLUSION: The negative regulation of miR-142-3p/HMGB1 can affect the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and autophagy of CEP cells. Our results provide a new idea for the targeted treatment of CEP degeneration by inhibiting the expression of HMGB1.

Giant and Reversible Barocaloric Effect in Trinuclear Spin-Crossover Complex Fe3 (bntrz)6 (tcnset)6.

A giant barocaloric effect (BCE) in a molecular material Fe3 (bntrz)6 (tcnset)6 (FBT) is reported, where bntrz = 4-(benzyl)-1,2,4-triazole and tcnset = 1,1,3,3-tetracyano-2-thioethylepropenide. The crystal structure of FBT contains a trinuclear transition metal complex that undergoes an abrupt spin-state switching between the state in which all three FeII centers are in the high-spin (S = 2) electronic configuration and the state in which all of them are in the low-spin (S = 0) configuration. Despite the strongly cooperative nature of the spin transition, it proceeds with a negligible hysteresis and a large volumetric change, suggesting that FBT should be a good candidate for producing a large BCE. Powder X-ray diffraction and calorimetry reveal that the material is highly susceptible to applied pressure, as the transition temperature spans the range from 318 at ambient pressure to 383 K at 2.6 kbar. Despite the large shift in the spin-transition temperature, its nonhysteretic character is maintained under applied pressure. Such behavior leads to a remarkably large and reversible BCE, characterized by an isothermal entropy change of 120 J kg-1 K-1 and an adiabatic temperature change of 35 K, which are among the highest reversible values reported for any caloric material thus far.

Low expression of miR-142-3p promotes intervertebral disk degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Intervertebral disk degeneration (IDD) is a degenerative disease characterized by cytoplasm loss and extracellular matrix degradation. Numerous evidence reported that miRNAs participated in IDD development. Nevertheless, the function of miR-142-3p in IDD development remains unknown. This study mainly explored the potential role and function of miR-142-3p in IDD development. METHODS: One percent fetal bovine serum was used to induce the degeneration of ATDC5 cells, and miR-142-3p level was examined by qRT-PCR. Then, miR-142-3p mimic/inhibitor and its corresponding negative control were transfected into ATDC5 normal and degenerative cells. Viability, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cycle, Bax, Bcl-2, P62, and Beclin1 expression levels were assessed using CCK8, wound healing assay, annexin V-FITC/PI staining, western blot, and qRT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS: The results revealed that the expression levels of MMP13, ADAMTS5, MMP3, and Col-X were increased as well as the expression levels of SOX-9 and Col-II were reduced in ATDC5 degenerative cells, indicating the degeneration model was constructed. We observed that miR-142-3p was decreased in ATDC5 degenerative cells and its suppression could promote ATDC5 cell degeneration. However, miR-142-3p overexpression could reverse the cell viability inhibition, as well as apoptosis and autophagy enhancement in ATDC5 degenerative cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results proved that miR-142-3p may play an important role in disk degeneration. Further animal study is needed to illustrate the role of the miR-142-3p in IDD development.

Layer- and gate-tunable spin-orbit coupling in a high-mobility few-layer semiconductor.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a relativistic effect, where an electron moving in an electric field experiences an effective magnetic field in its rest frame. In crystals without inversion symmetry, it lifts the spin degeneracy and leads to many magnetic, spintronic, and topological phenomena and applications. In bulk materials, SOC strength is a constant. Here, we demonstrate SOC and intrinsic spin splitting in atomically thin InSe, which can be modified over a broad range. From quantum oscillations, we establish that the SOC parameter α is thickness dependent; it can be continuously modulated by an out-of-plane electric field, achieving intrinsic spin splitting tunable between 0 and 20 meV. Unexpectedly, α could be enhanced by an order of magnitude in some devices, suggesting that SOC can be further manipulated. Our work highlights the extraordinary tunability of SOC in 2D materials, which can be harnessed for in operando spintronic and topological devices and applications.

Superconductivity enhancement in phase-engineered molybdenum carbide/disulfide vertical heterostructures.

Stacking layers of atomically thin transition-metal carbides and two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides, could lead to nontrivial superconductivity and other unprecedented phenomena yet to be studied. In this work, superconducting α-phase thin molybdenum carbide flakes were first synthesized, and a subsequent sulfurization treatment induced the formation of vertical heterolayer systems consisting of different phases of molybdenum carbide-ranging from α to γ' and γ phases-in conjunction with molybdenum sulfide layers. These transition-metal carbide/disulfide heterostructures exhibited critical superconducting temperatures as high as 6 K, higher than that of the starting single-phased α-Mo2C (4 K). We analyzed possible interface configurations to explain the observed moiré patterns resulting from the vertical heterostacks. Our density-functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that epitaxial strain and moiré patterns lead to a higher interfacial density of states, which favors superconductivity. Such engineered heterostructures might allow the coupling of superconductivity to the topologically nontrivial surface states featured by transition-metal carbide phases composing these heterostructures potentially leading to unconventional superconductivity. Moreover, we envisage that our approach could also be generalized to other metal carbide and nitride systems that could exhibit high-temperature superconductivity.

Bilayer Lateral Heterostructures of Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides and Their Optoelectronic Response.

Two-dimensional lateral heterojunctions based on monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received increasing attention given that their direct band gap makes them very attractive for optoelectronic applications. Although bilayer TMDs present an indirect band gap, their electrical properties are expected to be less susceptible to ambient conditions, with higher mobilities and density of states when compared to monolayers. Bilayers and few-layers single domain devices have already demonstrated higher performance in radio frequency and photosensing applications. Despite these advantages, lateral heterostructures based on bilayer domains have been less explored. Here, we report the controlled synthesis of multi-junction bilayer lateral heterostructures based on MoS2-WS2 and MoSe2-WSe2 monodomains. The heterojunctions are created via sequential lateral edge-epitaxy that happens simultaneously in both the first and the second layers. A phenomenological mechanism is proposed to explain the growth mode with self-limited thickness that happens within a certain window of growth conditions. With respect to their as-grown monolayer counterparts, bilayer lateral heterostructures yield nearly 1 order of magnitude higher rectification currents. They also display a clear photovoltaic response, with short circuit currents ∼103 times larger than those extracted from the as-grown monolayers, in addition to room-temperature electroluminescence. The improved performance of bilayer heterostructures significantly expands the potential of two-dimensional materials for optoelectronics.

Giant Anisotropic Magnetoresistance due to Purely Orbital Rearrangement in the Quadrupolar Heavy Fermion Superconductor PrV_{2}Al_{20}.

We report the discovery of giant and anisotropic magnetoresistance due to the orbital rearrangement in a non magnetic correlated metal. In particular, we measured the magnetoresistance under fields up to 31.4 T in the cubic Pr-based heavy fermion superconductor PrV_{2}Al_{20} with a non magnetic Γ_{3} doublet ground state, exhibiting antiferroquadrupole ordering below 0.7 K. For the [100] direction, we find that the high-field phase appears between 12 and 25 T, accompanied by a large jump at 12 T in the magnetoresistance (ΔMR∼100%) and in the anisotropic magnetoresistivity ratio by ∼20%. These observations indicate that the strong hybridization between the conduction electrons and anisotropic quadrupole moments leads to the Fermi surface reconstruction upon crossing the field-induced antiferroquadrupole (orbital) rearrangement.

Correlation of EYS polymorphisms with lumbar disc herniation risk among Han Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a common spinal disease in clinical practice. Once lumbar disc herniation occurs, it seriously reduces patient's quality of life. The EYS (eyes shut homolog) was discovered in recent years and it may be related to lumbar disc herniation. So we conducted a case-control study to explore the relationship between EYS polymorphism and lumbar disc herniation risk. METHODS: We selected 5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of EYS gene in a case-control study with 508 cases and 508 healthy controls to evaluate the relatedness by using genetic model, haplotype, and stratification analysis. RESULTS: We found that the minor alleles of rs62413038 (OR = 1.21, 95%CI: 1.01-1.43, p = .036) and rs9450607 (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.05-1.53, p = .016) were associated with an increased risk of lumbar disc herniation in the allelic model analysis. In the genotypic model analysis, rs62413038 displayed a significantly increased risk of lumbar disc herniation in log-additive models (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.01-1.43, p = .039). While the rs9450607 was also obviously associated with an increased lumbar disc herniation risk in recessive (OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.24-3.13, p = .004) and log-additive models (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05-1.55, p = .014). In addition, in the haplotype analyses of the SNPs, we found that the "CGGA" haplotype of rs1482456, rs9342097, rs9450607, and rs7757884 was associated with lumbar disc herniation. (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.89, p = .017). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EYS polymorphism may be associated with lumbar disc herniation among Han Chinese population. It also opens up a new exploration direction for the etiology of lumbar disc herniation.

Association of glypican-6 polymorphisms with lumbar disk herniation risk in the Han Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Lumbar disk herniation (LDH) is a degenerative disorder, which partly results from complex genetic factors. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential associations between glypican-6 (GPC6) variants and LDH risk in Han Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 508 Han Chinese LDH patients and 508 healthy controls were recruited in this study. Six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GPC6 were selected and genotyped using an Agena MassARRAY platform. We used logistic regression method to evaluate the linkage between GPC6 variants and LDH risk by calculating the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in multiple genetic models. HaploReg database was used for SNP functional annotation. RESULTS: Our result revealed GPC6 rs4773724 was associated with a decreased risk of LDH in allele model (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68-0.98, p = 0.026), whereas rs1008993 increased the LDH risk (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.05-1.71, p = 0.020). Besides, we also found rs4773724 and rs9523981 were associated with susceptibility of LDH among individuals whose age are less than 45. And rs1008993 was associated with increased LDH risk in males. Furthermore, Haplotype analysis showed that the TT (rs4773724, rs1008993) haplotype and GC (rs4773724, rs1008993) haplotype had the opposite effects on the susceptibility of LDH. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we suggest that rs4773724 and rs1008993 in GPC6 were considered as a protective factor and a risk factor for LDH in Han Chinese population, respectively. These results provide new ideas for the treatment and prevention of LDH in Han Chinese population.

Antiviral efficacy of entecavir for hepatitis B virus rtA181V/T mutants.

BACKGROUND: The amino acid substitution at position 181 of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase is a multi-drug resistance affecting both the L-nucleoside and acyclic phosphonate nucleotide groups. Data is limited on the efficacy of entecavir (ETV) rescuing chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with rtA181T/V mutation. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with rtA181T/V mutation and 25 patients with rtA181T/V and rtN236T mutation were enrolled. Virological, serological and biochemical outcomes of ETV rescue therapy over 12 months in CHB patients with rtA181T/V mutation strains were investigated. All patients were treated with ETV 0.5 mg/day for 12 months and scheduled follow-up every 3 months. Patients' characteristics, laboratory tests results and clinical outcomes were collected and compared. RESULTS: After emergence of rtA181T/V mutant, serum HBV DNA levels increased over 4 log10 IU/mL, but the total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels raised moderately. No significant difference in baseline characteristics was observed between the rtA181T/V group and rtA181T/V + rtN236T group. After 12 months rescue therapy, total 85.7% (48/56) patients achieved HBV DNA undetectable. No significant difference in the mean reduction of serum HBV DNA and biochemical response was observed between both groups (3.59 ± 1.85 vs. 3.76 ± 2.15 log10 IU/ml; P = 0.756 and 90.3 vs. 80.0%; P = 0.272, respectively). The mean HBV DNA reduction, HBsAg and ALT levels were also similar between different rtA181T/sW172 mutations (P > 0.05). HBV DNA level is the only predictor of 12 months antiviral outcomes (odds ratio 6.723, P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggested that ETV is efficient in rescuing rtA181T/V mutation CHB patients. HBV DNA level could predict viral clearance at the 12th month.