Correlation between social support and quality of life in patients with breast cancer at different periods of treatment / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective@#To analyze the differences between the social support for breast cancer patients and healthy female, and to explore the correlation between social support and quality of life (QOL) in the patients.@*Methods@#From January 2013 to December 2014, 101 patients with operable breast cancer treated at Xinyu City People′s Hospital were recruited as the experimental group. They completed questionnaires in the preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods, respectively.101 healthy female volunteers recruited from the community were included as control group, whose age and level of education were matched with those of the experimental group.The general questionnaire including basic information, disease conditions and other projects, perceived social support scale (PSSS), quality of life of breast cancer patients (FACT-B) were applied to evaluate the general situation, social support and QOL of the subjects. The differences in PSSS scores between the experimental and control groups were compared. The correlation between PSSS score and FACT-B score in the experimental group was analyzed. SPSS 18.0 software was used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#The general situations of the experimental and control groups were comparable (all P>0.05). The rates of the total social support score ≥50 in the experimental and control groups were not significantly different (93.6% vs. 94.7%, P=0.067). Compared with that of the control group (23.2±4.8), the scores of family support in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were statistically higher (25.6±3.2, 24.2±4.2 and 24.0±3.4, respectively, P=0.034). The social support scores of patients with different demographic characteristics were different. Among the demographic characteristics, years of education and place of residence had the largest impact. The scores of social support in patients with longer education years and living in the urban area were higher than those with shorter education years and living in the rural areas (P<0.001). The scores of QOL among preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods in the experimental group were significantly different (all P<0.05). The patients gained the highest score of QOL in the preoperative period (110.7±5.1) and the lowest in the postoperative chemoradiotherapy period (95.3±18.1). The QOL of patients in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were all positively correlated with the overall social support (all P<0.01).@*Conclusions@#The QOL of breast cancer patients at different periods of treatment is positively correlated with the social support. The quality of life can be enhanced by improving the social support for the patients.

The regulation of TGF-β1 in cardiac death caused by variation of SCN5A gene / 中国法医学杂志

The mechanism of sudden cardiac death caused by variation in SCN5A is still unclear. Recently, the converging evidences suggest that the dysfunction of regulation mediated by transforming growth factor-β1 in cardiac fibration and reconstruction of cardiac iron channel could be main reason of SUNDS caused by variation of SCN5A. The resent progress of the mechanism of transforming growth factor-β1 in sudden cardiac death caused by variation of SCN5A gene is reviewed in this paper, hoping to provide reference for the research and practice of sudden cardiac death in forensic medicine.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome-related changes in D-dimer, prothrombin time, fibrinogen, CD4 and CD8 in a rat model system / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the changes in levels of D-dimer, prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (Fib), CD4 and CD8 in relation to hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) by using a rat model system and to assess the association with pathologic changes in lung.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into equal groups for modeling of cirrhosis and HPS. The two groups were assessed by blood gas analysis, standard biochemical tests to measure D-dimer, PT, Fib, CD4 and CD8, and pathological examination of lung tissues.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The HPS rats showed significantly lower PaO2 than the cirrhosis rats (58.20+/-3.19 mmHg vs. 85.00+/-2.53 mmHg, P = 0.000). The HPS rats showed significantly higher levels of D-dimer, Fib and CD8 than the cirrhosis rats (0.39+/-0.09 mg/ml vs. 0.25+/-0.05 mg/ml, P = 0.000; 1.77+/-0.10 g/L vs. and 1.49+/-0.09 g/L, P = 0.010; 32.32+/-4.45/mm3 vs. 20.13+/-6.09/mm3, P = 0.014). The HPS rats showed significantly lower levels of PT, CD4 and CD4/CD8 than the cirrhosis rats (14.86+/-1.04 s vs. 16.23+/-0.75 s, P = 0.036; 20.45+/-3.86/mm3 vs. 26.75+/-5.32/mm3, P = 0.000; 0.64+/-0.09 vs. 1.32+/-0.13, P = 0.000). The lung tissues of the HPS rats showed microthrombosis in pulmonary vessels, which were not observed in lung tissues of the cirrhosis rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HPS-related differential levels of D-dimer, PT, Fib, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 may represent a biomarker profile suggestive of incidence of thromboembolism in lung.</p>

Effect of La(III) on the growth and aging of root of loquat plantlet in vitro.

The effect of lanthanum on the adventitious root growth, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), O2* production rate, MDA content, and the relative plasma membrane permeability in roots of loquat test-tube plantlet were studied. Addition of lanthanum chloride (0.5 micromol/L) to the culture medium significantly increased the length of roots, increased the dry weight, enhanced the activities of SOD, CAT, and POD, decreased O2* production rate, malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and the relative plasma membrane permeability. The relatively stable membrane structure of cell could defer the root aging of the plantlet in vitro. There are important theory meaning and practical value in applying LaCl3 in the rooting medium to raise the rate of rooting and transplant for wood plant.

Effects of cerium on nitrogen metabolism of peach plantlet in vitro.

The effect of CeCl3 on the rooting and nitrogen metabolism of the peach plantlet in vitro was studied when the CeCl3 was added to the rooted medium. The results showed that the rooting rate and the fresh weight of roots could be increased and the length of root could be enlarged, and the activities of nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase in the roots were increased significantly, the transformation of NO(3-) to NH(4+) and protein were promoted, and the nitrogen metabolism was accelerated when the plantlets grew in the optimum rooted medium that contained the concentration 0.3 micromol/L Ce(3+).

Effects of lanthanum element on the rooting of loquat plantlet in vitro.

We investigated the rooting rate, the number of roots, and the state of growth of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindi) plantlet in medium where La(NO3)3 (0.5-100.0 micromol/L) was added 20 d after transplanting. The activity of peroxidase, nitrate reductase, and the fresh weight of roots were determined 44 d after transplanting. The result showed that the optimum concentration of La(NO3)3 (1.0-3.0 micromol/L) in the rooted medium could increase the rate and the fresh weight of rooting, promote the length of root, and increase the activities of peroxidase and nitrate reductase.