Cuproptosis: Mechanism, role, and advances in urological malignancies.

Prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers are the most common malignancies of the urinary system. Chemotherapeutic drugs are generally used as adjuvant treatment in the middle, late, or recurrence stages after surgery for urologic cancers. However, traditional chemotherapy is plagued by problems such as poor efficacy, severe side effects, and complications. Copper-containing nanomedicines are promising novel cancer treatment modalities that can potentially overcome these disadvantages. Copper homeostasis and cuproptosis play crucial roles in the development, adaptability, and therapeutic sensitivity of urological malignancies. Cuproptosis refers to the direct binding of copper ions to lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, leading to protein oligomerization, loss of iron-sulfur proteins, proteotoxic stress, and cell death. This review focuses on copper homeostasis and cuproptosis as well as recent findings on copper and cuproptosis in urological malignancies. Furthermore, we highlight the potential therapeutic applications of copper- and cuproptosis-targeted therapies to better understand cuproptosis-based drugs for the treatment of urological tumors in the future.

Postoperative rehabilitation exercise experiences of geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures based on the perspective of medical staff: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of femoral neck fractures in older adults is increasing each year. Active and reasonable postoperative rehabilitation exercises can restore the activity of geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures to a great extent, while also avoiding bedridden complications and re-fractures. This study explores the perspectives, experiences, and recommendations of medical staff regarding the implementation status, existing problems, promoting factors, and hindering factors of post-surgical rehabilitation exercises for geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures. The ultimate goal is to further optimize rehabilitation exercise programs and to expedite this process for patients. METHODS: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study was conducted. A total of 21 clinical medical staff were selected using the purposive sampling method for semi-structured interviews. A content analysis method was used to collate and analyze the collected interview data. RESULTS: A total of 2 themes and 6 sub-themes were defined. The themes consisted of multiple obstacles occurring during the implementation of rehabilitation exercises and the scientific cognition of medical staff on these exercises. Respondents found that patient initiative during rehabilitation exercises was insufficient, that the comprehensiveness and continuity of exercises could not be guaranteed, and that unification between textbook theory and clinical practice was incomplete. Moreover, respondents believed that their professional quality should be excellent, but that staffing and organizational management required optimization, and that support was required for the implementation of rehabilitation exercises. CONCLUSION: This study investigated the opinions and experiences of medical staff during postoperative rehabilitation exercises in geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures. Collaborative efforts should fully engage hospitals, communities, and families, enhance the alignment of health education with patient needs, advance the scientific development of an integrated medical model by refining the curriculum and teaching system, and significantly elevate the level of medical science and technology. This study will serve as a valuable reference for the establishment of future professional, and personalized rehabilitation programs tailored for geriatric patients with femoral neck fractures.

Symptom clusters and their impacts on the quality of life of patients with lung cancer receiving immunotherapy: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: The objective of this study was to identify symptom clusters in lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy and explore their impact on the quality of life of patients. BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy is widely used in lung cancer; however, there is little understanding of symptom clusters and their impacts on the quality of life of this population. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: The survey contained the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), Quality of Life Questionnaire-Lung Cancer 43 and a self-designed General Information Evaluation Form. Symptom clusters were identified using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) based on the symptom scores. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the associations between each symptom cluster and the patients' quality of life. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to examine the impact of the symptom clusters on quality of life. This study adhered to the STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: In total, 240 participants completed the survey. Five symptom clusters were identified and named according to their characteristics: emotional-related symptom cluster, lung cancer-related symptom cluster, physical symptom cluster, skin symptom cluster and neural symptom cluster. All symptom clusters, except for the neural symptom cluster, had a significantly detrimental impact on patient quality of life. CONCLUSION: Lung cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy experience a range of symptoms, which can be categorized into five clusters. These symptom clusters have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Future research should focus on developing interventions for each symptom cluster and their influencing factors. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: In the data collection phase, lung cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy were recruited to participate in the survey.

[Analysis of risk factors for long-term overactive bladder after radical prostatectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the incidence and progression of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms following radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer patients and to identify related risk factors. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 263 local stage prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at Peking University Third Hospital from January 2013 to May 2017. Clinical baseline information, comprehensive imaging features, perioperative parameters, preoperative urinary control status, pathological diagnosis, and the incidence of OAB within one year postoperatively were collected and analyzed. In the imaging features, two parameters were defined: Bladder wall thickness (BWT) and bladder mucosal smoothness (BMS), which were used to predict the occurrence of OAB. Patients were evaluated based on their clinical baseline characteristics, including age, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The imaging characteristics were assessed using preoperative MRI, focusing on BWT and BMS. Perioperative parameters included operative time, blood loss, and length of hospital stay. The OAB symptoms were assessed using the overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS) and the international prostate symptom score (IPSS). These scores were correlated with the postoperative incidence of OAB. RESULTS: Among the 263 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, 52 (19.8%) exhibited OAB within one year postoperatively. Of the 40 patients with preoperative OAB symptoms, 17 (42.5%) showed remission postoperatively, while 23 (57.5%) had persistent symptoms. Additionally, 29 patients developed new-onset OAB, accounting for 55.77% of all postoperative OAB cases. Univariate analysis indicated that BWT, BMS, OABSS, and IPSS score were all associated with the occurrence of postoperative OAB. Further multivariate analysis identified BMS as an independent risk factor for long-term OAB (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Long-term postoperative overactive bladder is a common complication following radical prostatectomy. The findings suggest that preoperative MRI measurements of bladder wall thickness and bladder mucosal smoothness during bladder filling phase can predict the risk of OAB occurrence postoperatively. Identifying these risk factors preoperatively can help in counseling patients about potential complications and in developing strategies to mitigate the risk of developing OAB after surgery. Early detection and management of these parameters might improve the quality of life for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy.

Metabolic syndrome and its components predict the biochemical recurrence and adverse pathological features of patients following radical prostatectomy: a propensity score matching study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the predictive value of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in biochemical recurrence (BCR) and adverse pathological features of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) after radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: A total of 525 PCa patients who underwent RP between 2010 and 2019 at Peking University Third Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The Kaplan-Meier method was performed to assess BCR-free survival (BCRFS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models and multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to identify the predictive factors of BCRFS and adverse pathological features respectively before and after propensity score matching (PSM). RESULTS: Enrolled patients were allocated into MetS group (n = 136) and non-MetS group (n = 389) according to the presence or absence of MetS, and 127 new matched pairs were identified to balance the baseline characteristics after 1:1 PSM. In propensity matched patients, the Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that MetS (P = 0.020), hyperglycemia (P = 0.015) and hypertriglyceridemia (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with worse BCRFS; the results of multivariate Cox analyses showed that hyperglycemia (P = 0.040), hypertriglyceridemia (P = 0.017), percentage of positive biopsy cores (P = 0.041) and prostate specific antigen (P = 0.019) were identified as independent prognostic factors for BCRFS. In addition, hypertriglyceridemia was independently associated with non-organ confined disease (NOCD) (P = 0.010), extra-capsular extension (ECE) (P = 0.010) and upgrading (P = 0.017) in the multivariate logistic analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia are the two effective MetS components both identified as independent risk factors for worse BCRFS after RP, while hypertriglyceridemia was independently associated with NOCD, ECE and upgrading as well.

Synthesis of Mono- and Dinuclear Aluminum Complexes Bearing Aromatic Amino-Phenolato Ligands: A Comparative Study in the Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclohexene Oxide.

Dinuclear aluminum methyl complexes bearing aromatic diamine-bridged tetra(phenolato) ligands and the mononuclear aluminum methyl complex with the phenylamine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligand have been synthesized and characterized. Structure determination revealed that the Al-Al distances in these dinuclear aluminum complexes are tunable by the choice of the suitable aromatic backbone of the diamine-bridged tetra(phenolato) ligands. The catalytic behaviors of these mono- and dinuclear aluminum complexes for cyclohexene oxide (CHO) polymerization were investigated. The activities of these dinuclear Al complexes were observed to increase with the decrease of Al-Al distances, and the dinuclear Al complexes appeared to have better catalytic activity than the mononuclear Al complex, even if the Al-Al distance is as long as 9.401 Å. Dinuclear aluminum complex 2, with the shortest Al-Al distance (7.236 Å), showed the highest activity toward CHO polymerization with TOFs up to 6460 h-1 in neat CHO at 30 °C. Furthermore, comparative kinetic studies revealed that the polymerization is first-order for CHO concentration, and the reaction orders for initiator concentration are different for the mono- and dinuclear Al complexes. The polymerization mechanism study revealed that both the methyl and phenolate groups were involved in the initiation process.

Urban residents' self-rescue in response to public health emergencies in China: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The abject uncertainty and unpredictability of public health emergencies have plagued various countries. Global health governance and international communities are facing long-term and arduous challenges. The self-rescue ability of individuals in a public emergency may be the most powerful trait to improve the survival rate outside the hospital. The study explores the cognitive ability and attitudes of urban residents in China towards self-rescue in response to public health emergencies. It provides appropriate evidence for improving the self-rescue ability of urban residents in China. METHODS: Sixteen urban residents were selected using the purposive sampling method for semi-structured interviews. Theme analysis was used to collate and analyse the interview data. RESULTS: Two themes and five sub-themes were analysed. The two themes included cognition and attitude of Chinese urban residents for self-rescue in an emergency. Urban residents believed that their knowledge and skills for self-rescue in an emergency were low. The ability for emergency self-rescue is affected by multiple factors, with relatively limited options for improvement. Nonetheless, the respondents expressed a desire to accept interventions under psychological crisis and a strong willingness to acquire knowledge and skills required for emergency self-rescue. CONCLUSION: This study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of Chinese urban residents towards emergency self-rescue. The results support enhanced ability of urban residents to respond to public health emergencies, thereby diminishing the negative outcomes. The findings suggest the need for strategies to address the factors affecting emergency self-rescue.

Outcome comparison of radical prostatectomy versus seed brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer using two biochemical recurrence definitions.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the outcome of radical prostatectomy (RP) with seed brachytherapy (BT) in clinically localized prostate cancer (LPCa) using two different biochemical recurrence (BCR) definitions. METHODS: Clinical data of 1117 patients with non-metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) treated with either RP or BT as the basis of the multimodal therapy from a single tertiary hospital between 2007 and 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. 843 LPCa patients (RP = 737, BT = 106) with at least one prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test after treatment were finally included. The BCR survival was evaluated by direct comparison and one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) analysis using surgical definition (PSA ≥ 0.2ng/ml) for RP and surgical/Phoenix definition (PSA nadir + 2ng/ml ) for BT. The propensity score (PS) was calculated by multivariable logistic regression based on the clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 43 months for RP patients and 45 months for BT patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis did not show any statistically significant differences in terms of BCR-free survival (BFS) between the two groups when using Phoenix definition for BT (P > 0.05). Similar results were obtained in all D'Amico risk groups when stratified analyses were conducted. However, RP achieved improved BFS compared to BT in the whole cohort and all risk groups with the surgical definition for BT(P < 0.05). After adjusting PS, 192 patients were divided into RP and BT groups (96 each). RP presented a better BFS than BT when using the surgical definition (P < 0.001), but no significant difference was found when using the Phoenix definition (P = 0.609). CONCLUSION: Inconsistent BCR-free survival outcomes were acquired using two different BCR definitions for BT patients. RP provided comparable BFS with BT using the Phoenix definition but better BFS using the surgical definition, regardless of whether the PSM was performed. Our findings indicated that an exact BCR definition was critical for prognostic assessment. The corresponding results will assist physicians in pretreatment consultation and treatment selection.

Research on the learning experience of virtual simulation class experimental teaching and learning based on the perspective of nursing students.

BACKGROUND: The enrichment of information technology has impacted traditional teaching modes. The emergence of virtual simulation class experimental teaching software has effectively improved the quality of nursing experiment teaching. The learning experience of virtual simulation class experiment teaching and learning based on the perspective of nursing students is explored to provide a basis for improving related learning effects in the future. METHODS: Fourteen undergraduate nursing students were selected using the purposive sampling method for semi-structured interviews. The Colaizzi seven-step analysis method was used to collate and analyse the interview data. RESULTS: Two themes and six sub-themes were considered during the data analysis. The two themes were positive experiences and negative experiences. In the positive learning experience, undergraduate nursing students showed a deep memory of authentic and diverse scenes, which presented knowledge in a clearly logical, visualised and stereoscopic manner. Negative experiences are manifested as significantly different learning efficiencies in different grades and subjects, and timing the delivery of teaching feedback is difficult. CONCLUSION: Virtual simulation experimental teaching can promote the subjective initiative of nursing students' learning and promote better coordination and unity in their image and theoretical thinking. Some advantages can be augmented by following the national educational policy, strengthening the information construction, combining the construction of virtual simulation experiments with the discipline's characteristics and optimising the resources. This paper provides a reference for the future exploration of nursing education and further improving the construction of virtual simulation experimental teaching tools and resources.

Synthesis of N-Methyl-o-phenylenediamine-Bridged Bis(phenolato) Lanthanide Alkoxides and Their Catalytic Performance for the (Co)Polymerization of rac-Butyrolactone and l-Lactide.

A series of lanthanide alkoxo complexes supported by ONNO salalen ligands were synthesized and characterized. A one-pot reaction of LH2 (L = (2-O-C6H2-tBu2-3,5)CH═N-C6H4-N(CH3)CH2(2-O-C6H2-tBu2-3,5)) with LnCp3(THF) in a 1:1 molar ratio followed by the addition of 1 equiv of ROH (R = Bn, iPr, and CF3CH2), afforded the dimeric lanthanide alkoxo complexes [LLn(µ-OCH2Ph)]2 [Ln = Lu (1), Yb (2), Sm (3), Nd (4)], [L2Yb(µ-OiPr)]2 (5), and [L2Yb(µ-OCH2CF3)]2 (6) in good isolated yields. All these lanthanide complexes were characterized by elemental analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. In addition, complex 1 has been characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of complexes 1, 2, 5, and 6 showed that these lanthanide alkoxo complexes are dimeric in the solid state. Complexes 1-6 showed good activity toward the homopolymerization of rac-butyrolactone (rac-BBL) to give atactic PHB, and ionic radii of central metals have profound influence on the polymerization. The polymerization behavior of l-lactide (l-LA) initiated by complex 2 was also explored. The kinetic study revealed that the polymerizations of rac-BBL and l-LA initiated by salalen lanthanide akoxide are first order for both the monomer and the initiator concentrations. Furthermore, it was found that complexes 1 and 2 showed good activity in the copolymerization of l-LA and rac-BBL, affording gradient copolymers.

Syntheses of Heterometallic Neodymium-Zinc Complexes and Their Performance in the Copolymerization of CO2 and Cyclohexene Oxide.

A series of Nd-Zn heterometallic complexes bearing o-phenylenediamine-bridged tris(phenolato) ligands (L) were synthesized and characterized. By tuning the backbones of ancillary tris(phenolato) ligands and initiating benzyloxy groups, a Nd-Zn heterometallic complex 12 (ClLNdZnOBnCF3) was found to be highly active for the copolymerization of CO2 and cyclohexene oxide (CHO) to produce perfect alternating poly(cyclohexene carbonate) with a high turnover frequency up to 5640 h-1 under the polymerization of 90 °C and 20 bar CO2 pressure. The kinetics study showed that CO2/CHO copolymerization catalyzed by 12 was the first order dependence of 12 and CHO concentration and the zero-order dependence of CO2 pressure. The reaction of 12 with CO2 generated a carbonate-coordinated [NdZnNd] trinuclear complex 13, which was believed to be the key intermediate to initiate CO2/CHO copolymerization. On the basis of some experiments, a plausible synergistic polymerization mechanism was proposed.

Measurement of the threshold of nonfocusing-pumped stimulated Brillouin scattering based on the spatial characteristic of the reflected pulse.

We present a method for measuring the threshold of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) when a large-aperture laser pulse with ultra-Gaussian shape is used as the pump source. By using an optical aperture to filter out part of the backward scattered light, the measured energy efficiency will be conserved below the SBS threshold and nonconserved above the SBS threshold. Based on the differences between the two conditions we can judge whether the pump intensity is above the SBS threshold or not by analysis of the energy efficiency of the system. The experiment is carried out with an Nd:YAG laser, delivering an ultra-Gaussian-shaped pulse with the pulse width of 3 ns, beam diameter of about 20 mm, and wavelength of 527 nm. Heavy fluorocarbon liquid FC-770 is adopted as the nonlinear medium. The measured SBS threshold under this condition is 634 MW/cm2 and it has a good correspondence with the theoretically calculated results.

The First Nationwide Multicenter Prevalence Study of Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in Chinese Ovarian Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Subjects with germline BRCA1/2 mutations (gBRCAm) have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer and enhanced sensitivity to platinum-containing agents and PARP (poly[ADP-ribose] polymerase) inhibitors. BRCA mutations in Asian patients are poorly understood compared with other populations. We aimed to investigate gBRCAm prevalence and characteristics in Chinese ovarian cancer patients. METHODS: We conducted the first nationwide multicenter gBRCAm prevalence study in China. Eight hundred twenty-six unselected ovarian cancer patients from 5 clinical centers were enrolled and tested for gBRCAm status. Medical data including age, family history, previous treatments, clinical diagnosis, histopathologic diagnosis, tumor grade, platinum sensitivity, and CA-125 test result were reviewed and collected. RESULTS: Prevalence rate or gBRCAm was determined as 28.5%, with 20.8% of patients harboring BRCA1 mutation and 7.6% harboring BRCA2 mutation. The group had a higher percentage of high-grade serous (73.0%), late-stage (III and IV [85.5%]) patients and a younger median age at diagnosis (52 years) compared with other reported studies. Twnety-seven BRCA1 and 17 BRCA2 mutations have not been reported previously in public databases or the literature. Statistically significant correlations were observed between gBRCAm status and family history (P < 0.001), gBRCAm status, and tumor stage (P = 0.02). A numerical higher prevalence of gBRCAm in patients with high-grade serous histopathology (30.9%), platinum-sensitive phenotype (34%), and late-line chemotherapy was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Germline BRCA1/2 mutations is common in Chinese ovarian cancer patients. This study implies that all ovarian patients should be tested for gBRCAm status regardless of family history and histopathology.

IL-13+ Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Correlate with Asthma Control Status and Treatment Response.

Type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) have been shown to produce large amounts of type 2 cytokines in a non-antigen-specific manner. These cytokines act upstream and downstream of ILC2 and are increasingly common in asthma drug development, thus warranting a closer investigation of the mechanism-related clinical manifestations of ILC2 in the selection of patients with asthma. We hypothesized that IL-13+ILC2s in the circulation might correlate with asthma control status as a result of persistent T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) inflammation in the lung. Furthermore, we aimed to explore ILC2s' responsiveness to glucocorticoid. The percentages of ILC2s and IL-13+ILC2s in different asthma subgroups were checked, and correlation analyses between ILC2s and asthma-related clinical parameters were performed. Dexamethasone treatments in ILC2s and Th2 cells were performed to clarify their response properties. ILC2s were identified as a Lin-CD45hiIL-7Rα+CRTH2+ cell population distinct from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Frequencies of ILC2s were increased dramatically in those with asthma (0.04 ± 0.02%) compared with healthy donors (0.025 ± 0.011%). The percentages of IL-13+ILC2s were significantly higher in patients in the uncontrolled group (49.7 ± 16.9%) and partly controlled groups (30.8 ± 13.1%) than in those in the well-controlled group (16.7 ± 5.9%) and healthy control subjects (18.7 ± 8.7%). Effective treatment of uncontrolled IL-13+ILC2-positive patients with asthma resulted in dynamic modulation of IL-13+ILC2 levels back to baseline. ILC2s were more resistant to glucocorticoid than Th2 cells in vitro. ILC2s are strong responders to IL-25/IL-33 stimulation. IL-13+ILC2s show a positive correlation with patient asthma control status and are more resistant to glucocorticoid than Th2 cells in humans.

Generation of 360 ps laser pulse with 3 J energy by stimulated Brillouin scattering with a nonfocusing scheme.

A new technique for generating high energy sub-400 picosecond laser pulses is presented in this paper. The temporally super-Gaussian-shaped laser pulses are used as light source. When the forward pump is reflected by the rear window of SBS cell, the frequency component that fulfills Brillouin frequency shift in its sideband spectrum works as a seed and excites SBS, which results in efficient compression of the incident pump pulse. First the pulse compression characteristics of 20th-order super-Gaussian temporally shaped pulses with 5 ns duration are analyzed theoretically. Then experiment is carried out with a narrow-band high power Nd:glass laser system at the double-frequency and wavelength of 527 nm which delivers 5 ns super-Gaussian temporally shaped pulses with single pulse energy over 10 J. FC-40 is used as the active SBS medium for its brief phonon lifetime and high power capacity. In the experiment, the results agree well with the numerical calculations. With pump energy of 5.36J, the compression of pulse duration from 5 ns to 360 ps is obtained. The output energy is 3.02 J and the peak-power is magnified 8.3 times. Moreover, the compressed pulse shows a high stability because it is initiated by the feedback of rear window rather than the thermal noise distributing inside the medium. This technique of generating high energy hundred picosecond laser pulses has simple structure and is easy to operate, and it also can be scaled to higher energy pulse compression in the future. Meanwhile, it should also be taken into consideration that in such a nonfocusing scheme, the noise-initiated SBS would increase the distortion on the wavefront of Stokes beam to some extent, and the pump energy should be controlled below the threshold of noise-initiated SBS.

Topotecan hydrochloride liposomes incorporated into thermosensitive hydrogel for sustained and efficient in situ therapy of H22 tumor in Kunming mice.

Topotecan hydrochloride (TPT) has potential for the treatment of ovarian cancer, but the activity of TPT tends to decrease due to the ring-opening at physiological pH. In this study, we proposed to incorporate TPT liposomes into injectable thermosensitive in situ hydrogel, consisting of chitosan (CS) and ß-glycerophosphate (ß-GP), for sustained release and preservation of active lactone form of TPT. The rheology studies were carried out to investigate the sol-gel temperature, flow behavior and viscosity of these CS/ß-GP systems. The optimized formulation exhibited sol-gel transition at 40.2 ± 0.4 °C, with pseudoplastic flow behavior. The drug release rate of TPT liposomes loaded CS/ß-GP hydrogel in phosphate buffer saline (pH = 7.4) was found to be slowed down, and the lactone fraction of TPT in the hydrogel matrix was maintaining 40% after 50 h. In addition, the antitumor efficacy in Kunming mice bearing Hepatoma-22 tumor, after intratumoral injection of TPT liposomes loaded CS/ß-GP hydrogel, was higher than that of TPT in saline and TPT in CS/ß-GP hydrogel. Those results demonstrated that TPT liposomes loaded CS/ß-GP hydrogel could become a potential formulation for improving the antitumor efficacy of TPT and suggested an important technology platform for intratumoral administration of derivative of camptothecin-family drugs.

Composition and influencing factors of professionals' capacity in public health emergency rescues: a qualitative study.

Objective: To explore the composition and influencing factors of professionals' capacity in public health emergency rescues. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was used in this study. Medical workers, managers, and members of an emergency rescue team in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, were recruited for participation through a purposive sampling method. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a conventional content analysis method. Findings: A total of 2 themes and 13 sub-themes emerged from the analysis: ability composition (knowledge reserve, early warning assessment, information reporting, emergency response, self-protection, personal ability, coordination and cooperation, health education) and influencing factors (educational background, region, experience, hospital level, human resources, and financial investment). Conclusion: These findings offer a basis for the construction of a related indicator system and provide a reference for relevant departments to further optimize their emergency education and training, strengthen their emergency drills, and improve their emergency rescue abilities. The findings indicate that it is necessary to pay attention to the construction of an emergency rescue team, adjust the ratio of personnel, improve their remuneration, and promote work enthusiasm to improve the emergency rescue ability of an organization.

Efficacy of photorejuvenation combined with tranexamic acid and hydroquinone cream in the treatment of complex facial pigmentation.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of photo rejuvenation combined with tranexamic acid and hydroquinone cream in the treatment of complex facial pigmentation. A total of 108 patients with complex facial pigmentation between October 2019 and October 2021 were included in this retrospective study and divided into 2 groups according to the treatment that they received, with 54 cases in each group. The control group received treatment with tranexamic acid and hydroquinone cream. On the basis of the control group, the observation group was treated with photo rejuvenation combined with tranexamic acid and hydroquinone cream. The effectiveness of the treatments in both groups was determined through photographs and melasma area severity index score. The skin conditions were also compared before and after treatment. The effective rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (98.15% vs 83.33%, P = .025). The melasma area and severity index score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group after treatment (1.58 ±â€…0.14 vs 2.96 ±â€…0.13, P < .001). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the skin elasticity and skin water content between the observation group and control group (P > .05). After treatment, the skin elasticity and skin water content were significantly higher than that in the control group (P < .05). Photo rejuvenation combined with tranexamic acid and hydroquinone cream has a significant curative effect on patients with complex facial pigmentation, which can significantly improve skin elasticity, increase skin water content, and reduce the degree of skin lesions.

Design of improved four-coil structure with high uniformity and effective coverage rate.

Helmholtz coils have extensive applications in biological medicine, aerospace, and other industries depending on the simple structure and miraculous magnetic field characteristics. However, the uniform zone generated by them is not appropriate for scientific experiments with large devices. Due to the limitations of Helmholtz coils in application, a novel design technique is proposed to improve the homogeneity and region of magnetic field. The main approach is to add an auxiliary coil on each side of Helmholtz coils to compensate for the magnetic field that exists farther out from the center point. To analyze the size relationship between the auxiliary coil and the main coil to obtain the best magnetic field distribution, the traditional Maclaurin expansion method and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm are used to research and discuss. The magnetic field distribution and the corresponding effective coverage rate (ECR) of the improved schemes with different structural parameters are calculated under the relative deviations of 0.1%, 0.5% and 1%, respectively. The results obtained by the above optimization methods are verified by the finite element software COMSOL and specific experiments. Both optimization methods manifest that the maximum effective coverage rate can be achieved when the size of the auxiliary coil is consistent with that of the main coil. In addition, we compare the improved four-coil structure proposed in this paper with the existing four-coil square structure under the same volume. The data show that the improved structure has certain advantages in the spatial magnetic field distribution. The corresponding tri-axial coil system is established by adopting the parameters on the single axis, which can achieve a constant magnetic field in arbitrary directions by controlling the magnitude and direction of current on each axis. This provides a theoretical basis for the application of magnetic navigation technology.

MRI-derived tumor volume as a predictor of biochemical recurrence and adverse pathology in patients after radical prostatectomy: a propensity score matching study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the predictive value of MRI-derived tumor volume (TV) of biochemical recurrence (BCR) and adverse pathology (AP) in patients following radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: The data of 565 patients receiving RP in a single institution between 2010 and 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All suspicious tumor foci were delineated manually using ITK-SNAP software as the regions of interest (ROIs). The sum of the TV of all lesions was calculated automatically based on the voxel in the ROIs to acquire the final TV parameter. TV was categorized as low-volume (≤ 6.5 cm3) and high-volume (> 6.5 cm3) based on the cut-off value. Univariate and multivariate Cox and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of BCR and AP. The Kaplan-Meier with the log-rank test was conducted to compare the BCR-free survival (BFS) between the low and high-volume groups. RESULTS: All the included patients were divided into the low-volume group (n = 337) and the high-volume group (n = 228). The TV was an independent predictor of BFS in the multivariate Cox regression analysis (Hazard Ratio (HR) [95% CI]: 1.550 [1.066-2.256], P = 0.022). The Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that low volume was associated with a better BFS than high volume before propensity score matching (PSM) (P < 0.001). One hundred and fifty-eight pairs were obtained by 1:1 PSM to balance the baseline parameters between the two groups. After the PSM, low-volume remained to be associated with a better BFS than high-volume (P = 0.006). TV as a categorical variable was an independent factor of AP in multivariate logistic regression analysis (Odd ratio (OR) [95% CI]: 1.821 [1.064-3.115], P = 0.029). After balancing the potential factors influencing AP by 1:1 PSM, 162 new pairs were identified. The high-volume group had a higher AP rate than the low-volume group after PSM (75.9 vs. 64.8%, P = 0.029). CONCLUSION: We adopted a novel approach to acquiring the TV on preoperative MRI. TV was significantly associated with BFS and AP of patients undergoing RP, which was further illustrated by PSM analysis. MRI-derived TV may serve as a predictive marker for assessing BFS and AP in further studies, which will facilitate clinical decision-making and patient counseling.