Shared decision-making and its influencing factors among parents of children with cancer in China: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at exploring SDM implementation and its influencing factors, and preferences towards SDM among parents of children with cancer in China. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 204 participants from 2 grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou, China. The preferences towards decision-making, the status of SDM were measured by CPS-P and SDM-Q-9. The nurse support were measure by NPST, the needs of parents were measured by Questionnaire for Needs of Parents Whose Children are in PICU, and sociodemographic and disease-related questionnaires were used to investigate general information of children and parents. Descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and multivariable linear regression were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of 204 participants, about half of parents (55.4 %) tended to choose SDM, however, 40.2 % of them still show passive attitudes. The mean SDM-Q-9 score was 31.07 ± 8.74, and the result showed that age (ß = 2.480, P＜0.05), relapse (ß = 4.407, P＜0.01), course of disease (ß = -5.213, P＜0.01), relationships with doctors (ß = -4.05, P＜0.05), trust in doctors (ß = -2.796, P＜0.05), and communication and information support from nurses (ß = 0.651, P＜0.01) were the main factors influencing SDM for parents. CONCLUSIONS: Over half of Chinese parents tended to choose SDM, but their real participation in SDM is unsatisfactory. Parents who were older, had good relationships with doctors, trusted in doctors, received more communication and information support from nurses, and whose children had shorter course of disease, suffered relapses, participated in SDM better.

Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire among parents of children with cancer.

PURPOSE: Although burnout recently emerged as a harmful syndrome in parents, no instrument has been validated to suitably assess burnout among parents of children with cancer in China. In this study, we aimed to psychometrically validate the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) among Chinese parents of children with cancer. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 380 parents of children with cancer to psychometrically validate the SMBQ. Content validity, construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, diagnosis accuracy, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were evaluated. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the SMBQ demonstrated adequate internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, good content validity, excellent convergent and discriminant validity, and appropriate criterion-related validity. Using the parental burnout assessment as a reference criterion, the area under the curve was 0.903. The optimal cut-off point for the SMBQ was 4.833. The factor model of the SMBQ used in Chinese parents of children with cancer had a good fit. The survey revealed that Chinese parents of children with cancer experienced a high level of burnout (3.86 ± 1.03). CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of SMBQ was reliable and valid for assessing burnout in parents of children with cancer. Parents of children with cancer experienced a high level of burnout in China. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This SMBQ can be used in Chinese clinical and research settings to investigate burnout in parents who have children with cancer. Further research could examine the predictive validity and validity.

[Discussion on relationship between autophagy and endometriosis based on pathogenesis of "dampness and stasis"].

Endometriosis(EMs) is a stubborn gynecological disease caused by persistent immune-inflammatory effects, and is known as "benign tumor" because of its similar characteristics to malignant tumors. National physician master Professor BAN Xiu-wen believes that the spread of damp-evil is the pathologic foundation for inflammatory response of ectopic endometrium; accumulation of blood stasis is the pathological product of continuous inflammatory attacks, and the combination of dampness and stasis is the main pathogenesis for refractory EMs. Modern researches have shown that immune-inflammatory effect is the key mechanism for development of EMs, and is closely related to cell autophagy, all of which have made it become the hot spots in research of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of EMs. Therefore, with immune-inflammatory effect as the breakthrough point in this research, and with reference to the related research of autophagy, the correlation between "combination of dampness and stasis" and abnormal autophagy-induced immune inflammatory response in ectopic endometrium was discussed, to provide guidance for the clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine and modern research.

Dietary behaviours, physical activity and quality of life among childhood cancer survivors in Mainland China: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the dietary behaviours, physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL) of childhood cancer survivors (CCS) in Mainland China and explore the relationships between these behaviours and QoL. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 181 CCS from three Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou. Survivors completed questionnaires assessing their dietary behaviours, PA and QoL. RESULTS: Only 2.2%, 7.7% and 2.2% of CCS reported frequent soft drinks, sugar and fast food intake, which were lower compared to CCS in Western studies. Most survivors (72.9%) failed to drink milk daily, and many (54.7%) were picky eating. Sixty percent of CCS reported less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time than 60 min/day recommended by WHO. Picky eating was significantly associated with lower overall (p < 0.001), physical (p < 0.001) and psychosocial (p < 0.001) QoL. MVPA was significantly positively associated with overall (p < 0.05) and psychosocial (p < 0.01) QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese CCS engaged better dietary behaviours of less soft drinks, sugar and fast food consumption, but many were picky eaters and did not meet milk intake and PA recommendations. Early behavioural interventions aimed at increasing the dietary diversity and MVPA level of this population should be taken to improve their QoL.

Potent aromatase inhibitors and molecular mechanism of inhibitory action.

Estrogen is a significant factor in the maintenance and progression of hormone-dependent breast cancer. As well known, aromatase mediates the production of estrogen. Thus, inhibition of aromatase with chemical molecules has been considered to be an effective treatment for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. In this work, we designed and synthesized a series of novel non-steroidal molecules containing 2-phenylindole scaffold and moiety of either imidazole or 1,2,4-triazole to enhance their binding capacity with the aromatase. Among these molecules, a compound named as 8o was confirmed experimentally to have the highest inhibitory activity to aromatase. Further cell activity assay proved that compound 8o has low cytotoxicity and is a promising lead for developing novel aromatase inhibitors. Molecular modeling and simulation techniques were performed to identify the binding modes of letrozole and 8o with the aromatase. Analysis of energy of the two compound-aromatase complexes revealed that the 8o has low binding energy (strong binding affinity) to the aromatase as compared to letrozole, which was in accordance with the experimental results. As concluded, a combination of experimental and computational approaches facilitates us to understand the molecular mechanism of inhibitory action and discover more potent non-steroidal AIs against aromatase, thereby opening up a novel therapeutic strategy for hormone-dependent breast cancer.

A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata).

The seeds and sprouts of mung bean (Vigna radiata), a common food, contain abundant nutrients with biological activities. This review provides insight into the nutritional value of mung beans and its sprouts, discussing chemical constituents that have been isolated in the past few decades, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Moreover, we also summarize dynamic changes in metabolites during the sprouting process and related biological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, lipid metabolism accommodation, antihypertensive, and antitumor effects, etc., with the goal of providing scientific evidence for better application of this commonly used food as a medicine.

Metabolomic analysis of the polyphenols in germinating mung beans (Vigna radiata) seeds and sprouts.

BACKGROUND: The mung bean (Vigna radiata) is a key food crop in much of Asia and contains plentiful biological activities to prevent human disease. Mung bean sprouts have more plentiful metabolites and activities after germination. RESULTS: The metabolite profile of polyphenols in the germination process was described using the methods of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and partial least squares discriminant analysis. Sprouts from different periods were clearly discriminated from each other. Eight flavonoids - vitexin, isovitexin, rutin, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, isoquercitrin, genistein, daidzein and isorhamnetin - and two phenolic acids - shikimic acid and caffeic acid - were thought to be chemical markers of the sprouts. The method of high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was established to quantitatively analyze the eight chemical markers of flavonoids, and provides good linearity, repeatability, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy and recovery. The main metabolic and transformation pathways of the polyphenols in the germination process were discussed. CONCLUSION: The proposed method is sensitive, rapid and robust. Understanding the complete profile of polyphenol metabolites in the germination process may be useful for better utilizing mung beans sprouts as the raw materials of functional food, health products and cosmetics.

Phytochemicals and biological studies of plants in genus Hedysarum.

In China, several species (Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz., Hedysarum limprichtii Hlbr., Hedysarum vicioider Turcz. var. Taipeicum Hand.-Mazz. Liu, Hedysarum smithianum, et al.) of genus Hedysarum have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In TCM, these plants are used to increase the energy of the body. To date, 155 compounds, including flavonoids, triterpenes, coumarins, lignanoids, nitrogen compounds, sterols, carbohydrates, fatty compounds, and benzofuran, have been isolated from plants of the genus Hedysarum. Various chemical constituents contribute to the antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, and anti-hypertensive properties of these plants. Hedysarum species are used to treat infestation with gastrointestinal nematodes and may support the immune system and peripheral nervous system. In the present review, we summarize the research on the phytochemistry and pharmacology of Hedysarum species, which will be useful for better utilization of these important species in TCM.