Health insurance as a moderator in the relationship between financial toxicity and medical cost-coping behaviors: Evidence from patients with lung cancer in China.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationship between financial toxicity and medical cost-coping behaviors (MCCB) in Chinese patients with lung cancer, with a particular focus on the moderating role of health insurance. METHODS: We surveyed 218 patients with lung cancer and assessed their Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) and self-reported MCCB. Patients were categorized into Urban Employee's Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) group and Urban-Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance Scheme (URRBMI) groups by their medical insurance, and matched for socioeconomic, demographic, and disease characteristics via propensity score. RESULTS: Significant different characteristics were noted between UEBMI patients and URRBMI patients. Patients with UEBMI had higher COST scores but lower levels of MCCB compared to URRBMI patients in the original dataset. After data matching, multivariate logit regression analysis showed that better financial toxicity was associated with lower levels of MCCB (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99). Health insurance type did not have a direct association with cost-coping behaviors, but an interaction was observed between health insurance type and financial toxicity. Among patients with URRBMI, better financial toxicity was associated with lower levels of cost-coping behaviors (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.83-0.95). Patients with UEBMI had a lower probability of engaging in any cost-coping behaviors in situations of worse financial toxicity compared to patients with URRBMI. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that financial toxicity is correlated with MCCB in Chinese patients with lung cancer. The type of health insurance, specifically UEBMI and URRBMI, plays a moderating role in this relationship. Understanding these dynamics is essential for developing targeted interventions and policies to mitigate financial toxicity and improve patients' management of medical costs.

Conservation priority and run of homozygosity pattern assessment of global chicken genetic resources.

The conservation of genetic resources is becoming increasingly important for the sustainable development of the poultry industry. In the present study, we systematically analyzed the population structure, conservation priority, runs of homozygosity (ROH) of chicken breeds globally, and proposed rational conservation strategies. We used a 600K Affymetrix Axiom HD genotyping SNP array dataset of 2,429 chickens from 134 populations. The chickens were divided into 5 groups based on their country of origin and sampling location: Asian chickens (AS-LOC), African chickens (AF), European local chickens (EU-LOC), Asian breeds sampled in Germany (AS-DE), and European breeds sampled in Germany (EU-DE). The results indicated that the population structure was consistent with the actual geographical distribution of the populations. AS-LOC had the highest positive contribution to the total gene (HT, 1.00%,) and allelic diversity (AT, 0.0014%), the lowest inbreeding degree and the fastest linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay rate; the lowest contribution are derived by European ex situ chicken breeds (EU-DE:HT = -0.072%, AT = -0.0014%), which showed the highest inbreeding and slowest LD decay. Breeds farmed in ex situ (AS-DE, EU-DE) conditions exhibited reduced genetic diversity and increased inbreeding due to small population size. Given limited funds, it is a better choice for government to conserve the breeds with the highest contribution to genetic diversity in each group. Therefore, we evaluated the contribution of each breed to genetic and allelic diversity in 5 groups. Among each group, KUR(AF), BANG(AS-LOC), ALxx(EU-LOC), BHwsch(AS-DE), and ARw(EU-DE) had the highest contribution to gene diversity in the order of the above grouping. Similarly, according to the allelic diversity standard (in the same order), ZIMxx, PIxx, ALxx, SHsch, and ARsch had the highest contribution. After analyzing ROH, we found a total of 144,708 fragments and 27 islands. The gene and genome regions identified by the ROH islands and QTLs indicate that chicken breeds have potential for adaptation to different production systems. Based on these findings, it is recommended to prioritize the conservation of breeds with the highest genetic diversity in each group, while paying more attention to the conservation of Asian and African breeds. Furthermore, providing a valuable reference for the conservation and utilization of chicken.

Improving dose calculation accuracy in preclinical radiation experiments using multi-energy element resolved cone-beam CT.

Objective.Cone-beam CT (CBCT) in modern pre-clinical small-animal radiation research platforms provides volumetric images for image guidance and experiment planning purposes. In this work, we implemented multi-energy element-resolved (MEER) CBCT using three scans with different kVps on a SmART platform (Precision x-ray Inc.) to determine images of relative electron density (rED) and elemental composition (EC) that are needed for Monte Carlo-based radiation dose calculation.Approach.We performed comprehensive calibration tasks to achieve sufficient accuracy for this quantitative imaging purpose. For geometry calibration, we scanned a ball bearing phantom and used an analytical method together with an optimization approach to derive gantry angle specific geometry parameters. Intensity calibration and correction included the corrections for detector lag, glare, and beam hardening. The corrected CBCT projection images acquired at 30, 40, and 60 kVp in multiple scans were used to reconstruct CBCT images using the Feldkamp-Davis-Kress reconstruction algorithm. After that, an optimization problem was solved to determine images of rED and EC. We demonstrated the effectiveness of our CBCT calibration steps by showing improvements in image quality and successful material decomposition in cases with a small animal CT calibration phantom and a plastinated mouse phantom.Main results.It was found that artifacts induced by geometry inaccuracy, detector lag, glare, and beam hardening were visually reduced. CT number mean errors were reduced from 19% to 5%. In the CT calibration phantom case, median errors in H, O, and Ca fractions for all the inserts were below 1%, 2%, and 4% respectively, and median error in rED was less than 5%. Compared to the standard approach deriving material type and rED via CT number conversion, our approach improved Monte Carlo simulation-based dose calculation accuracy in bone regions. Mean dose error was reduced from 47.5% to 10.9%.Significance.The MEER-CBCT implemented on an existing CBCT system of a small animal irradiation platform achieved accurate material decomposition and significantly improved Monte Carlo dose calculation accuracy.

Role of Liver X Receptor in Mastitis Therapy and Regulation of Milk Fat Synthesis.

Mastitis is important disease that causes huge economic losses in the dairy industry. In recent years, antibiotic therapy has become the primary treatment for mastitis, however, due to drug residue in milk and food safety factors, we lack safe and effective drugs for treating mastitis. Therefore, new targets and drugs are urgently needed to control mastitis. LXRα, one of the main members of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is reported to play important roles in metabolism, infection and immunity. Activation of LXRα could inhibit LPS-induced mastitis. Furthermore, LXRα is reported to enhance milk fat production, thus, LXRα may serve as a new target for mastitis therapy and regulation of milk fat synthesis. This review summarizes the effects of LXRα in regulating milk fat synthesis and treatment of mastitis and highlights the potential agonists involved in both issues.

Identification of key genes in non­alcoholic fatty liver disease progression based on bioinformatics analysis.

Due to economic development and lifestyle changes, the incidence of non­alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has gradually increased in recent years. However, the pathogenesis of NAFLD is not yet fully understood. To identify candidate genes that contribute to the development and progression of NAFLD, two microarray datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and functional enrichment analyses were performed. A protein­protein interaction network was constructed and modules were extracted using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes and Cytoscape. The enriched functions and pathways of the DEGs included 'cellular macromolecule biosynthetic process', 'cellular response to chemical stimulus', 'extracellular matrix organization', 'metabolic pathways', 'insulin resistance' and 'forkhead box protein O1 signaling pathway'. The DEGs, including type­1 angiotensin II receptor, formin­binding protein 1­like, RNA­binding protein with serine­rich domain 1, Ras­related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 and polyubiquitin­C, were identified using multiple bioinformatics methods and validated in vitro with reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. In conclusion, five hub genes were identified in the present study, and they may aid in understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of NAFLD.

Monte Carlo simulation of pore blocking phenomena in cross-flow microfiltration.

An off-lattice Monte Carlo method was developed to examine the pore blocking phenomena in cross-flow microfiltration. Membranes were generated by randomly distributed pores with a given pore size distribution on a two-dimensional plane. The permeability of particles through the membrane pores was calculated, and the effects of crucial factors on the reduction of permeability were discussed. Reasonable fouling rules for simulations were examined and selected. At the initial stage the flux decreases sharply as the filtration time increases and then a steady state is reached. The results fit the pore blocking mechanism well. The simulation model developed in this study can be effectively used for analyzing a number of factors influencing physical fouling of membranes.