Financial toxicity of informal caregivers of colorectal cancer patients: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To assess the level of financial toxicity of informal caregivers of colorectal cancer patients and explore the related key influencing factors. METHOD: A descriptive survey design was used in this study. Data were collected from 236 informal caregivers of colorectal cancer patients between March 2023 and July 2023 from a major hospital in central China (Henan province). Potential influence factors of financial toxicity, including basic information, perceived stress, and social support were analyzed using multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: The financial toxicity score of 236 caregivers of colorectal cancer patients was 19.42 ± 9.72. One hundred and fourteen caregivers (accounting for 48.31%) of colorectal cancer patients had high levels of financial toxicity. Financial toxicity scores of caregivers were negatively correlated with perceived stress (r = -0.421, P < 0.001) and positively correlated with social support (r = 0.416, P < 0.001). Our multivariate regression analysis identified some factors that directly affected caregivers' financial toxicity, including caregiver age (t = 2.105, P = 0.036), medical insurance (t = 2.462, P = 0.015), average household income (t = 2.995, P = 0.003), place of residence (t = 2.872, P = 0.004), perceived stress (t = -4.945, P < 0.001), and social support (t = 4.513, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of colorectal cancer patients generally experience a higher level of financial toxicity, which could be eased by lower perceived stress and higher social support. In clinical practice, it is necessary to comprehensively assess the level of financial toxicity of particular caregivers and enact targeted interventions such as increasing communication and actively providing information to address the high medical costs, reducing the detrimental effects of financial toxicity, and improving the quality of colorectal cancer care.

Klotho inhibits the formation of calcium oxalate stones by regulating the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway.

PURPOSE: Oxidative damage is important in calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone development but occurs via multiple pathways. Studies have shown that klotho plays an essential role in ameliorating oxidative damage. This study aims to explore the role of klotho in CaOx stones and whether the underlying mechanism is related to the regulation of Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling. METHODS: The levels of GSH, SOD, CAT, MDA, and ROS were examined by ELISA. The klotho, Bcl-2, caspase-3, Keap1, Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 mRNA levels were measured by qRT‒PCR, and their protein levels were detected by Western blotting. Renal tissue apoptosis was examined by TUNEL staining, and crystal cell adherence and apoptosis in HKC cells were assessed based on the Ca2+ concentrations and by flow cytometry. The renal pathological changes and the adhesion of CaOx crystals in the kidneys were examined by hematoxylin-eosin and von Kossa staining, respectively. RESULTS: We constructed a CaOx kidney stone model in vitro. By regulating the klotho gene, klotho overexpression inhibited the CaOx-induced promotion of crystal cell adherence and apoptosis in HKC cells, and these effects were reversed by klotho knockdown. Moreover, our in vivo assay demonstrated that klotho overexpression alleviated glyoxylate administration-induced renal oxidative damage, renal apoptosis, and crystal deposition in the kidneys of mice, and these effects were also associated with activation of the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway. CONCLUSION: Klotho protein inhibits the oxidative stress response of HKC cells through the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway, reduces the apoptosis of and adhesion of CaOx crystals to HKC cells, and decreases the occurrence of CaOx kidney stones. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: 20220304.

The Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Immunogenicity and Safety of the Tuberculosis Subunit Vaccines M72/AS01E and MVA85A.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a severe infectious disease with devastating effects on global public health. No TB vaccine has yet been approved for use on latent TB infections and healthy adults. In this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of the M72/AS01E and MVA85A subunit vaccines. The M72/AS01E is a novel peptide-based vaccine currently in progress, which may increase the protection level against TB infection. The MVA85A was a viral vector-based TB subunit vaccine being used in the clinical trials. The vaccines mentioned above have been studied in various phase I/II clinical trials. Immunogenicity and safety is the first consideration for TB vaccine development. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for published studies (until October 2019) to find out information on the M72/AS01E and MVA85A candidate vaccines. The meta-analysis was conducted by applying the standard methods and processes established by the Cochrane Collaboration. Results: Five eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were selected for the meta-analysis of M72/AS01E candidate vaccines. The analysis revealed that the M72/AS01E subunit vaccine had an abundance of polyfunctional M72-specific CD4+ T cells [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 2.37] in the vaccine group versus the control group, the highest seropositivity rate [relative risk (RR) = 5.09]. The M72/AS01E vaccinated group were found to be at high risk of local injection site redness (RR = 2.64), headache (RR = 1.59), malaise (RR = 3.55), myalgia (RR = 2.27), fatigue (RR = 2.16), pain (RR = 3.99), swelling (RR = 5.09), and fever (RR = 2.04) compared to the control groups. The incidences of common adverse events of M72/AS01E were local injection site redness, headache, malaise, myalgia, fatigue, pain, swelling, fever, etc. Six eligible RCTs were selected for the meta-analysis on MVA85A candidate vaccines. The analysis revealed that the subunit vaccine MVA85A had a higher abundance of overall pooled proportion polyfunctional MVA85A-specific CD4+ T cells SMD = 2.41 in the vaccine group vs. the control group, with the highest seropositivity rate [estimation rate (ER) = 0.55]. The MVA85A vaccinated group were found to be at high risk of local injection site redness (ER = 0.55), headache (ER = 0.40), malaise (ER = 0.29), pain (ER = 0.54), myalgia (ER = 0.31), and fever (ER = 0.20). The incidences of common adverse events of MVA85A were local injection site redness, headache, malaise, pain, myalgia, fever, etc. Conclusion: The M72/AS01E and MVA85A vaccines against TB are safe and had immunogenicity in diverse clinical trials. The M72/AS01E and MVA85A vaccines are associated with a mild adverse reaction. The meta-analysis on immunogenicity and safety of M72/AS01E and MVA85A vaccines provides useful information for the evaluation of available subunit vaccines in the clinic.

Retraction notice to "Radiation-enhanced hepatocyte growth factor secretion in malignant glioma cell lines" [Surgical Neurology 68 (2007) 613-614].

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The authors have plagiarized part of a paper that had already appeared in Journal of Neuro-Oncology 74 (2005) 99-103 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-004-4204-7. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

Fractal features of soil particle size distribution in newly formed wetlands in the Yellow River Delta.

The characteristic of particle size distribution (PSD) in the newly formed wetlands in coast has seldom been studied. We applied fractal-scaling theory in assessing soil particle size distribution (PSD) features of newly formed wetlands in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), China. The singular fractal dimensions (D) values ranged from 1.82 to 1.90, the capacity dimension (D0) values ranged from 0.84 to 0.93, and the entropy dimension (D1) values ranged from 0.66 to 0.84. Constrained corresponding analysis revealed that 43.5% of the variance in soil PSD can be explained by environmental factors, including 14.7% by seasonal variation, 8.6% by soil depth, and 8.0% by vegetation type. The fractal dimensions D and D1 were sensitive with fine particles with size ranging less than 126 µm, and D0 was sensitive with coarse particles with size ranging between 126 µm to 2000 µm. Fractal analysis makes full use of soil PSD information, and offers a useful approach to quantify and assess the soil physical attributes in the newly formed wetland.

Moxifloxacin-based triple therapy versus clarithromycin-based triple therapy for first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Moxifloxacin-based triple therapy has been suggested as an alternative first line therapy to clarithromycin-based triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection. AIMS: To systematically review the efficacy and tolerance of moxifloxacin-based triple therapy, and to conduct a meta-analysis of studies comparing this regimen with clarithromycin-based triple therapy. METHODS: A search of The Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, EBM Review databases, Science Citation Index Expanded, and CMB (Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) was performed. Randomized controlled trials comparing moxifloxacin-based triple therapy to gold standard triple therapy in the first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection were selected for meta-analysis. Relative risk was used as a measure of the effect of the two above-mentioned regimens with a fixed-effects model using the methods of DerSimonian and Laird. RESULTS: Four randomized controlled trials totaling 772 patients were included. The meta-analysis showed that the mean eradication rate was 84.1 (318/378) in the moxifloxacin-based triple therapy group and 73.6 (290/394) in the clarithromycin-based triple therapy group; there was statistical significance between the two groups (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01, 1.27; P=0.04). There were no statistically significant difference in the overall side effects (RR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.25, 1.48; P<0.28). CONCLUSIONS: Moxifloxacin-based triple therapy is more effective and does not increase the incidence of overall side effects compared to clarithromycin-based triple therapy in the treatment of H. pylori infection.

Radiation-enhanced hepatocyte growth factor secretion in malignant glioma cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative radiotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with a malignant glioma. However, a malignant glioma is radioresistant and almost always recurs, even after a high dose of radiation. A malignant glioma is characterized by its proliferation, invasion and neoangiogenesis, which can be attributed to the high levels of HGF. The scope of this study is to investigate HGF secretion by malignant glioma cells with different radiosensitivity after irradiation. METHODS: Three human malignant glioma cell lines (U251, U251-NG2, and BT325) were irradiated with single doses of 0, 5, 10, and 20 grays of gamma-rays from a (137)Cs source. Hepatocyte growth factor levels in medium were measured by ELISA at 24, 48, and 72 hours after radiation. Cell survival was measured by the proliferation-based assay (XTT assay) 7 days after irradiation. RESULTS: After a single dose radiation, the HGF levels showed a dose-dependent increase in U251, U251-NG2, and BT325 glioma cells. Both baseline and radiation-enhanced HGF levels were about 10-fold higher in BT325 compared to U251 and U251-NG2 cells. In addition, in the XTT assay, the BT325 was more radioresistant than both U251 and U251-NG2 cell lines (dose modifying factor = 1.5 and 1.6, respectively). CONCLUSION: Irradiation-enhanced HGF secretion in all 3 tested glioma cell lines (up to 7 times basal levels). It is tempting to associate the radiation-enhanced HGF secretion with an increased angiogenic potential of the tumor, which may be a factor in radioresistance.