Effect of occupational stress and resilience on insomnia among nurses during COVID-19 in China: a structural equation modelling analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of occupational stress and resilience on insomnia among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: A quantitative description study. The data were collected via a cross-sectional survey. A total of 725 front-line nurses at three tertiary hospitals in western China were included from December 2022 to January 2023. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Job Content Questionnaire, and Athens Insomnia Scale were used to collect data from a self-reported online questionnaire. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome variable was insomnia, and structural equation modelling was used to assess the associations among resilience, occupational stress and insomnia. RESULTS: The prevalence of insomnia among the participants was 58.76%. The structural equation model showed that resilience had a negative direct effect on insomnia and occupational stress, and occupational stress had a positive direct effect on insomnia. Involvement in COVID-19-related work has a positive effect on insomnia through occupational stress. In contrast, higher education levels improved insomnia through increased resilience. CONCLUSION: A significantly higher prevalence of insomnia has been observed among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study suggests that better resilience may improve insomnia by relieving occupational stress, and implementing measures to promote resilience is essential to reduce occupational stress in nurses and improve their sleep quality.

Protective effect of melatonin on imidacloprid-induced pyroptosis and ferroptosis by mediating peptidoglycan in the gut of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Imidacloprid (IMI) is a contaminant widespread in surface water, causing serious intestinal damage in the common carp. Melatonin (MT), an endogenous indoleamine hormone, plays a crucial role in mitigating pesticide-induced toxicity. Our previous research has demonstrated that MT effectively reduces the production of intestinal microbial-derived signal peptidoglycan (PGN) induced by IMI, thereby alleviating intestinal tight junction injuries in the common carp. In this study, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to explore the effect of MT on the IMI exposure-induced gut damage of the common carp. The results elucidated that the ferroptosis, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like signaling pathways were significantly associated with IMI exposure and MT treatment. Meanwhile, the exposure to IMI resulted in the formation of pyroptotic bodies and distinct morphological features of ferroptosis, both mitigated with the addition of MT. Immunofluorescence double staining demonstrated that MT abolished the elevated expression of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) and Gasdermin D (GSDMD) induced by IMI, as well as reduced expression of ferritin heavy chains (FTH) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) in gut tissues. Subsequently, we found that the exposure to IMI or PGN enhanced the expression of toll-like receptors (TLR) 2 (a direct recognition receptor of PGN) triggering the P38MAPK signaling pathway, thereby aggravating the process of pyroptosis and ferroptosis of cell models. The addition of MT or SB203580 (a P38MAPK inhibitor) significantly reduced pyroptotic cells, and also decreased iron accumulation. Consequently, these results indicate that MT alleviates IMI-induced pyroptosis and ferroptosis in the gut of the common carp through the PGN/TLR2/P38MAPK pathway.

Role of Selenoprotein W in participating in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease worldwide. Numerous evidence has demonstrated that metabolic reprogramming serves as a hallmark associated with an elevated risk of NAFLD progression. Selenoprotein W (SelW) is an extensively expressed hepatic selenoprotein that plays a crucial role in antioxidant function. Here, we first demonstrated that SelW is a significantly distinct factor in the liver tissue of NAFLD patients through the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Additionally, loss of SelW alleviated hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet (HFD), and was accompanied by the regulation of metabolic and inflammatory pathways as verified by transcriptomic analysis. Moreover, co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and molecular docking analysis were subsequently implemented to identify Pyruvate Kinase M2 (PKM2) as a potential interacting protein of SelW. Meanwhile, SelW modulated PKM2 translocation into the nucleus to trigger transactivation of the HIF-1α, in further mediating mitochondrial apoptosis, eventually resulting in mitochondrial damage, ROS excessive production and mtDNA leakage. Additionally, mito-ROS accumulation induced the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis, thereby facilitating extracellular leakage of mtDNA. The escaped mtDNA then evokes the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in macrophage, thus inducing a shift in macrophage phenotype. Together, our results suggest SelW promotes hepatocyte apoptosis and pyroptosis by regulating metabolic reprogramming to activate cGAS/STING signaling of macrophages, thereby exacerbating the progression of NAFLD.

Hydrodynamic Modeling and Parameter Identification of a Bionic Underwater Vehicle: RobDact.

In this paper, the hydrodynamic modeling and parameter identification of the RobDact, a bionic underwater vehicle inspired by Dactylopteridae, are carried out based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and force measurement experiment. Firstly, the paper briefly describes the RobDact, then establishes the kinematics model and rigid body dynamics model of the RobDact according to the hydrodynamic force and moment equations. Through CFD simulations, the hydrodynamic force of the RobDact at different speeds is obtained, and then, the hydrodynamic model parameters are identified. Furthermore, the measurement platform is developed to obtain the relationship between the thrust generated by the RobDact and the input fluctuation parameters. Finally, by combining the rigid body dynamics model and the fin thrust mapping model, the hydrodynamic model of the RobDact at different motion states is constructed.

Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Risks of Diabetic Complications and Poor Glycemic Control in Nonadherent Type 2 Diabetes.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of machine learning algorithms in predicting risks of complications and poor glycemic control in nonadherent type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and Methods: This study was a real-world study of the complications and blood glucose prognosis of nonadherent T2D patients. Data of inpatients in Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015 were collected. The T2D patients who had neither been monitored for glycosylated hemoglobin A nor had changed their hyperglycemia treatment regimens within the last 12 months were the object of this study. Seven types of machine learning algorithms were used to develop 18 prediction models. The predictive performance was mainly assessed using the area under the curve of the testing set. Results: Of 800 T2D patients, 165 (20.6%) met the inclusion criteria, of which 129 (78.2%) had poor glycemic control (defined as glycosylated hemoglobin A ≥7%). The highest area under the curves of the testing set for diabetic nephropathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic angiopathy, diabetic eye disease, and glycosylated hemoglobin A were 0.902 ± 0.040, 0.859 ± 0.050, 0.889 ± 0.059, 0.832 ± 0.086, and 0.825 ± 0.092, respectively. Conclusion: Both univariate analysis and machine learning methods reached the same conclusion. The duration of T2D and the duration of unadjusted hypoglycemic treatment were the key risk factors of diabetic complications, and the number of hypoglycemic drugs was the key risk factor of glycemic control of nonadherent T2D. This was the first study to use machine learning algorithms to explore the potential adverse outcomes of nonadherent T2D. The performances of the final prediction models we developed were acceptable; our prediction performances outperformed most other previous studies in most evaluation measures. Those models have potential clinical applicability in improving T2D care.

Clinical application of anterior alveolar bone reconstruction achieved through onlay grafting technique with autogenous block bone from the wisdom teeth extraction zone / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#To explore the effect of anterior alveolar bone reconstruction achieved through autogenous block bone from the wisdom teeth extraction zone in onlay grafting technique. @*Methods@#The 20 patients with bone defect of anterior teeth area were selected. They all had impacted teeth with no infection factors of pericoronitis to be removed. They were treated with autogenous block bone grafts from wisdom teeth extraction zone in onlay grafting technique respectively. The changes of thickness and the height of the bone measured from CBCT before and after 6 months of the surgery were carefully compared. Questionnaire from the patients opinion of acceptance was also be collected. @*Results@# Acceptance questionnaire showed an average score of 55 points (60 full score). Among them, 75% of paitients showed totally supportion and 25% showed basically supportion. The thickness was 6.73 ± 0.28 mm after the surgery compared with 2.26 ± 0.57 mm before the surgery which illustrated a significant difference (F = 6.32, P<0.001). The height didn't change obviously before 14.32 ± 0.31 mm and after 14.56 ± 0.35 mm the surgery. The technique of using autogenous block bone from the wisdom teeth extraction zone improved the compliance of patients with surgery. It can provide good osteogenesis effect and solve other oral diseases at the same time. @*Conclusion@#The Onlay grafting technique which using autogenous block bone from the wisdom teeth extraction zone was a simple and effective techniques for anterior alveolar bone augmentation.

[Reversing effect of brassinolide on multidrug resistance of-CCRF-VCR1000 cells and a preliminary investigation on its mechanisms].

AIM: To investigate the effect of brassinolide, a plant growth modulator, on multidrug resistance (MDR) of human T lymphoblastoid cell line CCRF-VCR 1000 which was obtained by progressively addition of vincristine (VCR) to sensitive CCRF-CEM cells, and to explore preliminarily the mechanism of reversing action. METHODS: MTT method was used to detect the resistant factor of resistant cell line and the reversing fold after addition of brassinolide. The intracellular accumulation of rhodamine 123, a fluorescent dye transported by P-glycoprotein was detected by flow cytometry, the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II was assessed by Sulliven method to find the effect of brassinolide on resistance. The protein expression of p53 was measured using Western blotting in the sensitive cells and resistant cells to explore the effect of brassinolide. RESULTS: The resistant factors of CCRF-VCR cells on adriamycin, VP-16 and VCR are respectively as 153.1, 55.9 and 8123.1 folds comparing to the sensitive cell line CCRF-CEM. After treatment of brassinolide under the concentration of 0.001 - 10.0 microg x mL(-1), the resistance of CCRF-VCR was reversed partly with the reversing folds respectively as 4.4 - 11.6. The intracellular accumulation of rhodamine 123 was significantly reduced in the resistant cells. After treatment of brassinolide, the accumulation increased, the level of fluorescent dye was situated between resistant cells and sensitive cells. No alteration of the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II was found among three groups. The level of protein expression of p53 in resistant cells was higher than that of sensitive cells. After brassinolide treatment, the expression of p53 in CCRF-VCR cells restored to the level of sensitive cells. CONCLUSION: Brassinolide could effectively reverse the resistance of CCRF-VCR cells by inhibiting the effusion of drug transported by P-glucoprotein. To down regulate the abnormal expression of p53 maybe one of the mechanisms of reversing MDR for brassinolide.

[Circadian rhythms of DNA synthesis and apoptosis correlated gene expression in bone marrow cells of nude mice bearing human nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: No report was found on research of circadian rhythms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). This study was designed to investigate the circadian rhythms of DNA synthesis and apoptosis correlated gene expression in bone marrow cells of nude mice bearing NPC and to collect necessary data for making clinical chronochemotherapy schedule of NPC. METHODS: Sixty-nine BALB/C nude mice were synchronized with an alternative lighting regimen with 12 hours in light and 12 hours in dark (LD 12:12) for at least 3 weeks. Human nasopharyngeal poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (CNE-2) cells were implanted into each mouse. Ten days after transplantation, the mice were sacrificed, bone marrow cells were collected in the 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23 hours after light onset (HALO). Single cell suspension was obtained and stained with propidium iodide. The cellular DNA content was measured by flow cytometry. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance(ANOVA) and Cosinor analysis. Proteins were extracted from bone marrow cells and determined; Bcl-2, p53, and p21 expression were tested using Western blot analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of bone marrow cells in phase G1, S, and G2/M varied according to circadian sampling time with statistical significance (ANOVA). Moreover, such variation in G1 and G2/M was statistically valid by Cosinor analysis with an acrophase located at 10.8 HALO and 1.8 HALO, respectively. The distribution curves of phase G1 and G2/M fit to Cosinor changes but not for S phase cells. The expression of p53 and Bcl-2 protein level in bone marrow cells varied in 24 h time scale. No p21 protein expression was found in this experiment. CONCLUSION: DNA synthesis of bone marrow cells in nude mice bearing human nasopharyngeal poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (CNE-2) cells varies according to circadian rhythm. The expression of p53 and Bcl-2 protein level in bone marrow cells varies in 24 h time scale.

Circadian rhythms of DNA synthesis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) occurs frequently in southern China. The circadian rhythm of DNA synthesis of a poorly differentiated NPC human cell line (CNE2) was investigated as an experimental prerequisite for designing chrono-chemotherapy schedules for patients with this disease. Twenty-two nude mice with BALB/c background were synchronized alternatively in 12h of light and 12h of darkness (LD12:12) for at least 3wk prior to the transplantation of a CNE2 tumor fragment into each flank (area of approximately 2 x 2 mm2). Ten days later, a tumor sample (area of approximately 5 mm2) was obtained at 3, 9, 15, and 21 h after light onset (HALO) alternatively from different sites in each mouse. Single-cell suspensions were prepared and stained with propidium iodide. Cellular DNA content was measured with flow cytometry. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and cosinor methods. The average proportion of tumor cells in G1, S or G2-M phase varied according to circadian time with statistical significance. The maximum occurred at 9 HALO for G1, 2 HALO for S and 21 HALO for G2-M phase cells. The approximate average distribution patterns of G1 and G2-M phases of cosine curve was 24 h. This was not the case for S-phase cells, which displayed a bimodal temporal pattern. Inter-individual variability in peak time was large, possibly due to relatively sparse sampling time. Nevertheless, no more than 6% of the time series displayed a maximum at 3 HALO for G1, 21 HALO for S and 15 HALO for G2-M. The cell cycle distribution of this human NPC cell line displayed circadian regulation following implantation into nude mice. The mechanisms involved in this rhythm and its relevance to the chrono-chemotherapy of patients deserve further investigation.