[Applying Swanson's Theory of Caring to ManagePowerlessness in an Older Patient With Vasculitis].

This case report describes a nursing care experience that applied Swanson's Caring Theory to a powerless elderly patient who was suffering from vasculitis problems that had made her incapable of walking and had delayed her discharge from the hospital. The associated health problems, including impaired physical mobility, infection, and powerlessness, were affirmed after an integrated physical, psychological, social, and spiritual assessment was conducted during the nursing care period, which lasted between April 26th and May 5th, 2018. The five categories (knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, maintaining belief) of Swanson's Caring Theory were applied. The patient was encouraged to participate in the treatment plan and motivated to participate in rehabilitation. In addition, the caring capacity and care confidence of family members was enhanced in order to support the patient's further care after discharge. Furthermore, religious support was involved, which allowed the patient to communicate her emotions, reduce her stress, and achieve spiritual comfort. By providing care in the realms of physiology, psychology, and spirit, the author helped the patient regain her self-worth and enhance her positive beliefs in the future. This case report is hoped to provide medical staffs with a reference for facilitating the recovery of elderly patients experiencing disease-related powerlessness.

pH-driven continuous stem cell production with enhanced regenerative capacity from polyamide/chitosan surfaces.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have raised significant interest for their potential therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine. However, ASCs usually suffer from decreased pluripotency and functional plasticity during in vitro expansion. Herein, this study sought to develop a continuous cell production system that can mass-produce ASCs with sustained regenerative capacity. The strategy was blending pH-responsive chitosan (CS) with polyamide-66 (PA) to generate combined surface properties with controllable cell growth/detachment ability to achieve a repeated cell production process. From the collected data, all the polymer blends were capable of completing a minimum of four consecutive production cycles, wherein the PA17CS blend (PA:CS = 1:7) outperformed with respect to the working effectiveness (average cell detachment ratio = 88%) and the cell viability. Compared to the trypsin-based method, ASCs harvested from PA17CS exhibited superior stemness characteristics along with SDF-1-mediated CXCR4 chemotactic response for stem cell homing. Moreover, injection of ASCs generated from PA17CS blend could more effectively induce neovascularization and protect skin flaps during an ischemic injury in a rat model.