Nutritional risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma are notably susceptible to high nutritional risks. If not addressed, this susceptibility can lead to malnutrition, resulting in numerous adverse clinical outcomes. Despite the significance of this issue, there is limited comprehensive research on the topic. Objective: The objective of our study was to identify nutritional risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we recruited a total of 377 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 tool was used to assess their nutritional risk. These patients were divided into a well-nourished group (n = 222) and a nutritional risk group (n = 155). Potential risk factors were screened out using univariate analysis (p < 0.1). These factors were subsequently analyzed with multivariate logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05) to identify the nutritional risk factors for these patients. Results: Our findings indicated that increasing age (OR = 1.085, 95%CI: 1.053-1.117, p < 0.001), high number of radiation treatments (OR = 1.103, 95%CI: 1.074-1.132, p < 0.001), low BMI (OR = 0.700, 95%CI: 0.618-0.793, p < 0.001), and low albumin levels (OR = 0.852, 95%CI: 0.789-0.921, p < 0.001) are significant nutritional risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Conclusion: Increasing age, high number of radiation treatments, low BMI, and low albumin levels are significant nutritional risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Examining the Influence of Warm-Up Static and Dynamic Stretching, as well as Post-Activation Potentiation Effects, on the Acute Enhancement of Gymnastic Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

The primary objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to methodically discern and compare the impact of diverse warm-up strategies, including both static and dynamic stretching, as well as post-activation potentiation techniques, on the immediate performance of gymnasts. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, this paper evaluated studies that examined the gymnasts' performance after different warm-up strategies namely stretching (static [SS] or dynamic), vibration platforms (VP) or post-activation, in comparison to control conditions (e.g., mixed warm-up routines; no warm-up). The principal outcomes were centered on technical performance metrics (e.g., split, gymnastic jumps) and physical performance metrics (e.g., squat jump, countermovement jump, drop jump, balance, range of motion). Methodological assessments of the included studies were conducted using the Downs and Black Checklist. From the initial search across PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science databases, a total of 591 titles were retrieved, and 19 articles were ultimately incorporated in the analysis. The results revealed a non-significant differences (p > 0.05) between the SS condition and control conditions in squat jump performance, countermovement jump and gymnastic technical performance (e.g., split; split jump). Despite the difference in warm-up strategies and outcomes analyzed, the results suggest that there is no significant impairment of lower-limb power after SS. Additionally, technical elements dependent on flexibility appear to be enhanced by SS. Conversely, dynamic stretching and VP seem to be more effective for augmenting power-related and dynamic performance in gymnasts.

Development of a short-term nutritional risk prediction model for hepatocellular carcinoma patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Malnutrition in patients is associated with reduced tolerance to treatment-related side effects and higher risks of complications, directly impacting patient prognosis. Consequently, a pressing requirement exists for the development of uncomplicated yet efficient screening methods to detect patients at heightened nutritional risk. The aim of this study was to formulate a concise nutritional risk prediction model for prompt assessment by oncology medical personnel, facilitating the effective identification of hepatocellular carcinoma patients at an elevated nutritional risk. Retrospective cohort data were collected from hepatocellular carcinoma patients who met the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria between March 2021 and April 2022. The patients were categorized into two groups: a normal nutrition group and a malnutrition group based on body composition assessments. Subsequently, the collected data were analyzed, and predictive models were constructed, followed by simplification. A total of 220 hepatocellular carcinoma patients were included in this study, and the final model incorporated four predictive factors: age, tumor diameter, TNM stage, and anemia. The area under the ROC curve for the short-term nutritional risk prediction model was 0.990 [95% CI (0.966-0.998)]. Further simplification of the scoring rule resulted in an area under the ROC curve of 0.986 [95% CI (0.961, 0.997)]. The developed model provides a rapid and efficient approach to assess the short-term nutritional risk of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. With easily accessible and swift indicators, the model can identify patients with potential nutritional risk more effectively and timely.

Nutritional Assessment Tools for Patients with Cancer: A Narrative Review.

Cancer patients are at high risk of malnutrition, which can lead to adverse health outcomes such as prolonged hospitalization, increased complications, and increased mortality. Accurate and timely nutritional assessment plays a critical role in effectively managing malnutrition in these patients. However, while many tools exist to assess malnutrition, there is no universally accepted standard. Although different tools have their own strengths and limitations, there is a lack of narrative reviews on nutritional assessment tools for cancer patients. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a non-systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from their inception until May 2023. A total of 90 studies met our selection criteria and were included in our narrative review. We evaluated the applications, strengths, and limitations of 4 commonly used nutritional assessment tools for cancer patients: the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). Our findings revealed that malnutrition was associated with adverse health outcomes. Each of these 4 tools has its applications, strengths, and limitations. Our findings provide medical staff with a foundation for choosing the optimal tool to rapidly and accurately assess malnutrition in cancer patients. It is essential for medical staff to be familiar with these common tools to ensure effective nutritional management of cancer patients.

Medication Bias During the Hospital-to-Family Transition Among Young and Middle-Aged Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of medication non-adherence among young and middle-aged Chinese individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and to explore the underlying causes of such deviations. Methods: The Medication Discrepancy Tool (MDT) was used to assess medication deviations in a cohort of 100 patients who had been discharged from the hospital. Furthermore, 15 subjects were interviewed to gain a better understanding of their medication non-adherence experiences. Results: The rate of medication deviation in the studied cohort was 79.5%, with the most frequent deviation being a reduction in the types of drugs taken. The primary cause of this deviation was found to be patient-derived, with the most common reason being symptom improvement. Iatrogenic medication deviation was most often caused by incomplete or inaccurate medication education for medical staff at discharge, resulting in patients having to guess their own medication. Internal and extrinsic motivating factors were identified as the primary causes of medication deviation behavior. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that medication non-adherence is a major issue among young and middle-aged Chinese individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is essential for nurses to be aware of the importance of medication adherence management and working.

Effects of liraglutide on astrocyte polarization and neuroinflammation in db/db mice: focus on iron overload and oxidative stress.

Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the occurrence and development of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the specific injury mechanism is not fully understood. Astrocyte polarization has attracted new attention and has been shown to be directly and indirectly involved in neuroinflammation. Liraglutide has been shown to have beneficial effects on neurons and astrocytes. However, the specific protection mechanism still needs to be clarified. In this study, we assessed the levels of neuroinflammation and A1/A2-responsive astrocytes in the hippocampus of db/db mice and examined their relationships with iron overload and oxidative stress. First, in db/db mice, liraglutide alleviated the disturbance of glucose and lipid metabolism, increased the postsynaptic density, regulated the expression of NeuN and BDNF, and partially restored impaired cognitive function. Second, liraglutide upregulated the expression of S100A10 and downregulated the expression of GFAP and C3, and decreased the secretion of IL-1ß, IL-18, and TNF-α, which may confirm that it regulates the proliferation of reactive astrocytes and A1/A2 phenotypes polarize and attenuate neuroinflammation. In addition, liraglutide reduced iron deposition in the hippocampus by reducing the expression of TfR1 and DMT1 and increasing the expression of FPN1; at the same time, liraglutide by up-regulating the levels of SOD, GSH, and SOD2 expression, as well as downregulation of MDA levels and NOX2 and NOX4 expression to reduce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. The above may attenuate A1 astrocyte activation. This study preliminarily explored the effect of liraglutide on the activation of different astrocyte phenotypes and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of a T2DM model and further revealed its intervention effect on cognitive impairment in diabetes. Focusing on the pathological consequences of astrocytes may have important implications for the treatment of diabetic cognitive impairment.

Effect of family-centered interventions for perinatal depression: an overview of systematic reviews.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and conclude the quality of critically systematic reviews (SRs) of the efficacy of family-centered interventions on perinatal depression. Methods: SRs of the efficacy of family-centered interventions on perinatal depression were systematically searched in nine databases. The retrieval period was from the inception of the database to December 31, 2022. In addition, two reviewers conducted an independent evaluation of the quality of reporting, bias risk, methodologies, and evidence using ROBIS (an instrument for evaluating the bias risk of SRs), Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), AMSTAR 2 (an assessment tool for SRs), and grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluations (GRADE). Results: A total of eight papers satisfied the inclusion criteria. In particular, AMSTAR 2 rated five SRs as extremely low quality and three SRs as low quality. ROBIS graded four out of eight SRs as "low risk." Regarding PRISMA, four of the eight SRs were rated over 50%. Based on the GRADE tool, two out of six SRs rated maternal depressive symptoms as "moderate;" one out of five SRs rated paternal depressive symptoms as "moderate;" one out of six SRs estimated family functioning as "moderate," and the other evidence was rated as "very low" or "low." Of the eight SRs, six (75%) reported that maternal depressive symptoms were significantly reduced, and two SRs (25%) were not reported. Conclusion: Family-centered interventions may improve maternal depressive symptoms and family function, but not paternal depressive symptoms. However, the quality of methodologies, evidence, reporting, and bias of risk in the included SRs of family-centered interventions for perinatal depression was not satisfactory. The above-mentioned demerits may negatively affect SRs and then cause inconsistent outcomes. Therefore, SRs with a low risk of bias, high-quality evidence, standard reporting, and strict methodology are necessary to provide evidence of the efficacy of family-centered interventions for perinatal depression.

A Pedestrian Detection Network Model Based on Improved YOLOv5.

Advanced object detection methods always face high algorithmic complexity or low accuracy when used in pedestrian target detection for the autonomous driving system. This paper proposes a lightweight pedestrian detection approach called the YOLOv5s-G2 network to address these issues. We apply Ghost and GhostC3 modules in the YOLOv5s-G2 network to minimize computational cost during feature extraction while keeping the network's capability of extracting features intact. The YOLOv5s-G2 network improves feature extraction accuracy by incorporating the Global Attention Mechanism (GAM) module. This application can extract relevant information for pedestrian target identification tasks and suppress irrelevant information, improving the unidentified problem of occluded and small targets by replacing the GIoU loss function used in the bounding box regression with the α-CIoU loss function. The YOLOv5s-G2 network is evaluated on the WiderPerson dataset to ensure its efficacy. Our proposed YOLOv5s-G2 network offers a 1.0% increase in detection accuracy and a 13.2% decrease in Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) compared to the existing YOLOv5s network. As a result, the YOLOv5s-G2 network is preferable for pedestrian identification as it is both more lightweight and more accurate.

The Experiences and Needs of Hospice Care Nurses Facing Burnout: A Scoping Review.

AIM: Explore the existing literature on the experience and needs of palliative nurses facing job burnout. BACKGROUND: On a global scale, with the increase of aging, the number of people in need of palliative care has increased significantly, which has a huge impact on the professional pressure of palliative nurses. Existing literature focuses on examining palliative care from the perspective of patients, but palliative nurses also face the threats to physical and mental health caused by job burnout. EVALUATION: A systematic literature search has been carried out in the following databases as of October 2021:PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. The Cochrane Library and Joanna Briggs Institute Library were also searched to confirm if there are any available systematic reviews on the subject. Manually searched the reference list of included papers. KEY ISSUES: Seventeen studies were included in this review. Five key issues in the palliative care nurse's experience: (1) psychological harm, (2) physical symptoms, (3) negative emotions, (4) Burnout caused by communication barriers, and (5) Lack of experience. Two key issues in the needs of palliative care nurses: (1) social support, and (2) training and education. CONCLUSION: The pressure of facing death for a long time and controlling the symptoms of patients has a very important impact on the mental and physical health of palliative nurses. Nursing staff have needed to be satisfied, and it is essential to provide support and help relieve the pressure on palliative nurses.

IDH1 gene mutation activates Smad signaling molecules to regulate the expression levels of cell cycle and biological rhythm genes in human glioma U87­MG cells.

Isocitrate dehydrogenase1 (IDH1) mutation is the most important genetic change in glioma. The most common IDH1 mutation results in the amino acid substitution of arginine 132 (Arg/R132), which is located at the active site of the enzyme. IDH1 Arg132His (R132H) mutation can reduce the proliferative rate of glioma cells. Numerous diseases follow circadian rhythms, and there is growing evidence that circadian disruption may be a risk factor for cancer in humans. Dysregulation of the circadian clock serves an important role in the development of malignant tumors, including glioma. Brain­Muscle Arnt­Like protein 1 (BMAL1) and Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK) are the main biological rhythm genes. The present study aimed to further study whether there is an association between IDH1 R132H mutation and biological rhythm in glioma, and whether this affects the occurrence of glioma. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to detect the expression levels of the biological rhythm genes BMAL1 and CLOCK in various types of tumor. Additionally, U87­MG cells were infected with wild­type and mutant IDH1 lentiviruses. Colony formation experiments were used to detect cell proliferation in each group, cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry and western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of wild­type and mutant IDH1, cyclins, biological rhythm genes and Smad signaling pathway­associated genes in U87­MG cells. TCGA database results suggested that BMAL1 and CLOCK were abnormally expressed in glioma. Cells were successfully infected with wild­type and mutant IDH1 lentiviruses. Colony formation assay revealed decreased cell proliferation in the IDH1 R132H mutant group. The cell cycle distribution detected by flow cytometry indicated that IDH1 gene mutation increased the G1 phase ratio and decreased the S phase ratio in U87­MG cells. The western blotting results demonstrated that IDH1 R132H mutation decreased the expression levels of the S phase­associated proteins Cyclin A and CDK2, and increased the expression levels of the G1 phase­associated proteins Cyclin D3 and CDK4, but did not significantly change the expression levels of the G2/M phase­associated protein Cyclin B1. The expression levels of the positive and negative rhythm regulation genes BMAL1, CLOCK, period (PER s (PER1, 2 and 3) and cryptochrom (CRY)s (CRY1 and 2) were significantly decreased, those of the Smad signaling pathway­associated genes Smad2, Smad3 and Smad2­3 were decreased, and those of phosphorylated (p)­Smad2, p­Smad3 and Smad4 were increased. Therefore, the present results suggested that the IDH1 R132H mutation may alter the cell cycle and biological rhythm genes in U87­MG cells through the TGF­ß/Smad signaling pathway.

Polycomb-like 2 regulates PRC2 components to affect proliferation in glioma cells.

INTRODUCTION: The Polycomb group (PcG) is an important family of transcriptional regulators that controls growth and tumorigenesis. The PcG mainly consists of two complexes, PRC1 and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). Polycomb-like 2 (PCL2) is known to interact with the PRC2 protein. The role of PCL2 in the development and progression of glioma is unclear. METHODS: We use The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to detect the expression of PCL2 in various tumors. 117 cases of clinical glioma (WHOI-IV) were collected, and PCL2 expression and localization were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Glioma cells U87/U251 were infected with overexpressed and interfered PCL2. CCK8 assay, colony formation assay, EdU method, cell cycle and apoptosis were used to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis. Western blot was used to detect the expression of PRC2-related core proteins. After DZNeP intervention, PRC2 protein expression was again measured to discuss the mechanism of PCL2 action. RESULTS: TCGA database results and immunohistochemical staining results suggest that PCL2 is highly expressed in gliomas. We found that the PCL2 gene promoted tumor cell proliferation, enhanced the colony formation ability, and increased S phase in the cell cycle. The overexpression of PCL2 upregulated the expression levels of EZH2 and EED (two core members of PRC2), decreased the expression of SUZ12, increased the level of H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), H3K4 dimethylation (H3K4me2), and decreased H3K9 dimethylation (H3K9me2). The result after interfering with PCL2 was the opposite. CONCLUSIONS: As an important accessory protein of PRC2, PCL2 can not only change the expression of PRC2 components, but also affect the expression level of Histone methylation. Therefore, PCL2 may be an important hub for regulating the synergy among PRC2 members. This study revealed PCL2 as a new target for tumor research and open up a new avenue for future research in glioma.

Hierarchically Aligning 10 Legume Genomes Establishes a Family-Level Genomics Platform.

Mainly due to their economic importance, genomes of 10 legumes, including soybean (Glycine max), wild peanut (Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis), and barrel medic (Medicago truncatula), have been sequenced. However, a family-level comparative genomics analysis has been unavailable. With grape (Vitis vinifera) and selected legume genomes as outgroups, we managed to perform a hierarchical and event-related alignment of these genomes and deconvoluted layers of homologous regions produced by ancestral polyploidizations or speciations. Consequently, we illustrated genomic fractionation characterized by widespread gene losses after the polyploidizations. Notably, high similarity in gene retention between recently duplicated chromosomes in soybean supported the likely autopolyploidy nature of its tetraploid ancestor. Moreover, although most gene losses were nearly random, largely but not fully described by geometric distribution, we showed that polyploidization contributed divergently to the copy number variation of important gene families. Besides, we showed significantly divergent evolutionary levels among legumes and, by performing synonymous nucleotide substitutions at synonymous sites correction, redated major evolutionary events during their expansion. This effort laid a solid foundation for further genomics exploration in the legume research community and beyond. We describe only a tiny fraction of legume comparative genomics analysis that we performed; more information was stored in the newly constructed Legume Comparative Genomics Research Platform (www.legumegrp.org).

Comparative Genomics Analysis of Rice and Pineapple Contributes to Understand the Chromosome Number Reduction and Genomic Changes in Grasses.

Rice is one of the most researched model plant, and has a genome structure most resembling that of the grass common ancestor after a grass common tetraploidization ∼100 million years ago. There has been a standing controversy whether there had been five or seven basic chromosomes, before the tetraploidization, which were tackled but could not be well solved for the lacking of a sequenced and assembled outgroup plant to have a conservative genome structure. Recently, the availability of pineapple genome, which has not been subjected to the grass-common tetraploidization, provides a precious opportunity to solve the above controversy and to research into genome changes of rice and other grasses. Here, we performed a comparative genomics analysis of pineapple and rice, and found solid evidence that grass-common ancestor had 2n = 2x = 14 basic chromosomes before the tetraploidization and duplicated to 2n = 4x = 28 after the event. Moreover, we proposed that enormous gene missing from duplicated regions in rice should be explained by an allotetraploid produced by prominently divergent parental lines, rather than gene losses after their divergence. This means that genome fractionation might have occurred before the formation of the allotetraploid grass ancestor.