Effect of Comfort Care on Perioperative Outcomes and Postoperative Recovery of Breast Cancer Patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of comfort care on perioperative outcomes and postoperative recovery of breast cancer patients. Evaluating comfort care is important in the context of breast cancer surgery because it can potentially alleviate pain, improve patient comfort, enhance postoperative recovery, and reduce complications, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes. Methods: Between March 2020 and December 2021, 78 patients undergoing breast cancer surgery at our hospital were randomly assigned to receive either routine nursing (routine group) or comfort care (experimental group). The comfort care intervention included various components such as health education, preoperative care, intraoperative care, postoperative care, pain care, and psychological care. The routine group received standard nursing care following medical advice. Results: The patient characteristics between the two groups were comparable. Comfort care resulted in significantly higher visual analog scale (VAS) scores, indicating reduced pain, and better improvement in functional recovery of the upper limb compared to routine nursing. Comfort care was also associated with better postoperative recovery, as evidenced by lower self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores. The experimental group had a significantly lower incidence of complications compared to the routine group. Additionally, the experimental group reported better 24-hour comfort and higher nursing satisfaction. Conclusion: In conclusion, comfort care effectively reduces postoperative pain, promotes postoperative recovery, improves patient emotions, lowers the incidence of complications, and enhances comfort and care satisfaction in breast cancer patients undergoing radical surgery. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating comfort care interventions in the perioperative management of breast cancer patients. Further research and implementation of comfort care strategies may have implications for improving clinical practice and patient outcomes in the future.

Glasgow prognostic score is a predictive index for postoperative infectious complications after total proctocolectomy in ulcerative colitis patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Glasgow prognostic score is a systemic inflammatory-based score. The aim of this study was to determine whether the Glasgow prognostic score was a useful predictor of short-term outcomes in patients who undergo total proctocolectomy for ulcerative colitis. METHODS: eighty ulcerative colitis patients who underwent a total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis or permanent end ileostomy from June 2014 to March 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into a lower Glasgow prognostic score group and a higher Glasgow prognostic score group. RESULTS: postoperative infectious complication occurred more frequently in the higher Glasgow prognostic score group (8.3 % vs 29.5 %, p = 0.018). According to the univariate and multivariate analysis, only a higher Glasgow prognostic score was associated with an increased risk of postoperative infectious complication (OR: 5.478, 95 % CI: 1.236-24.279). CONCLUSION: Glasgow prognostic score is a simple and useful indicator of postoperative infectious complications.

microRNA-148a suppresses human gastric cancer cell metastasis by reversing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gastric cancer development and progression. miR-148a is one of the most frequently and highly downregulated miRNAs in gastric cancer and is associated with advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-148a in gastric cancer metastasis. Levels of miR-148a were determined by qRT-PCR in 60 gastric cancer samples. Cell migration and invasion assays were performed in a stably expressing miRNA-148a gastric cancer cell line established using a lentivirus expression system. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was evaluated using qRT-PCR and Western Blots to detect epithelial marker E-cadherin and mesenchymal marker, vimentin. Luciferase reporter assays were used to identify downstream targets and biological function of miR-148a. Gastric cancer tissue had significantly lower expression of miR-148a compared to non-tumor tissue. Low miR-148a levels were associated with lymph node metastasis, N stage, and blood vessel invasion. miR-148a overexpression inhibited metastasis of gastric cancer cells. miR-148a overexpression also downregulated vimentin expression and upregulated E-cadherin expression, suggesting that miR-148a inhibited EMT. Finally, the SMAD2 gene was identified as the direct and functional target of miR-148a. MiR-148a suppresses gastric cancer metastasis and EMT, likely via SMAD2. Restoration of miR-148a expression could have important implications in gastric cancer therapy.

Global development of artificial intelligence in cancer field: a bibliometric analysis range from 1983 to 2022.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely applied in cancer field nowadays. The aim of this study is to explore the hotspots and trends of AI in cancer research. Methods: The retrieval term includes four topic words ("tumor," "cancer," "carcinoma," and "artificial intelligence"), which were searched in the database of Web of Science from January 1983 to December 2022. Then, we documented and processed all data, including the country, continent, Journal Impact Factor, and so on using the bibliometric software. Results: A total of 6,920 papers were collected and analyzed. We presented the annual publications and citations, most productive countries/regions, most influential scholars, the collaborations of journals and institutions, and research focus and hotspots in AI-based cancer research. Conclusion: This study systematically summarizes the current research overview of AI in cancer research so as to lay the foundation for future research.

Speciation Analysis of Chromium in Chromium-Enriched Yeast by Ion Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry.

Chromium-enriched yeast (CrY) is a popular Cr dietary supplement, but suitable speciation analysis of highly toxic Cr(VI) in CrY is not available. Ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method was firstly developed and validated for the quantification of Cr(III) and Cr(VI). Ultrasound-assisted weakly alkaline EDTA solution combined with boiling was used to extract two Cr species in CrY. Two species were separated on two successive anion-exchange columns using a mobile phase of 0.6 mmol/L EDTA and 76 mmol/L NH4NO3 solution. The method was sensitive, accurate (92.4-100.9%), and precise (0.8-3.1%). Species of Cr(VI) were not found in CrY.

Laparoscopic gastrectomy for elderly patients with gastric cancer: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) has been widely applied in patients with gastric cancer (GC). However, the safety and application value of LG in elderly patients with GC was still unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of LG for elderly patients with GC using the meta-analysis. METHODS: Studies comparing elderly patients and nonelderly patients who underwent LG for GC were reviewed and collected from the PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE. Outcomes such as operative results, postoperative recovery, and morbidity were compared and analyzed. The Review Manager 5.3 was used to portray the weighted mean difference (WMD) and odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Eleven observational studies with a total of 3275 patients were included. Compared with nonelderly patients, elderly patients had shorter operation time (WMD -10.46; 95% CI -17.06 to -3.86; P = .002), less retrieved lymph nodes (WMD -2.34; 95% CI -3.77 to -0.92; P = .001), delayed time to first flatus (WMD 0.31; 95% CI 0.10-0.51; P = .003), longer postoperative hospital stays (WMD 1.06; 95% CI 0.07-2.05; P = .04), higher risk for overall postoperative complication (OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.08-1.67; P = .009), nonsurgical postoperative complication (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.24-3.15; P = .004), and postoperative pulmonary complication (OR: 3.09; 95% CI 1.68-5.68; P < .001). There was no significance between nonelderly patients and elderly patients regarding the estimated blood loss, incidences of surgical postoperative complication, surgical site infection, and ileus (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Outcomes of LG for elderly patients were comparable to those in nonelderly patients. Age alone should not preclude LG in elderly patients.

Comparison of the Oral Absorption, Distribution, Excretion, and Bioavailability of Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Gluconate, and Zinc-Enriched Yeast in Rats.

SCOPE: The oral absorption, distribution, excretion, and bioavailability of zinc sulfate (ZnS), zinc gluconate (ZnG), and zinc-enriched yeast (ZnY) in rats are fully and systemically compared for the first time. METHODS AND RESULTS: After zinc compounds were orally administered to rats at a single dose of 4 mg Zn kg-1 , blood, tissues, urine, and feces at different time points were collected for the quantification of zinc concentration. Blood was also harvested for the zinc assay in the multiple-dose administration. Plasma zinc levels among three zinc compounds showed no difference, and zinc was widely distributed in various tissues with the level sequence of bone > liver > pancreas > testes. The net Zn balance was 2.993, 5.125, and 7.482% for ZnS, ZnG, and ZnY, respectively. CONCLUSION: ZnS, ZnG, and ZnY show equivalent bioavailability based on plasma and tissues zinc levels, although ZnY was statistically more absorbed and retained than ZnS and ZnG based on the excretion amount.

Evaluation of electric nets as means to sample mosquito vectors host-seeking on humans and primates.

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium knowlesi is found in macaques and is the only major zoonotic malaria to affect humans. Transmission of P. knowlesi between people and macaques depends on the host species preferences and feeding behavior of mosquito vectors. However, these behaviours are difficult to measure due to the lack of standardized methods for sampling potential vectors attracted to different host species. This study evaluated electrocuting net traps as a safe, standardised method for sampling P. knowlesi vectors attracted to human and macaque hosts. Field experiments were conducted within a major focus on P. knowlesi transmission in Malaysian Borneo to compare the performance of human (HENET) or macaque (MENET) odour-baited electrocuting nets, human landing catches (HLC) and monkey-baited traps (MBT) for sampling mosquitoes. The abundance and diversity of Anopheles sampled by different methods were compared over 40 nights, with a focus on the P. knowlesi vector Anopheles balabancensis. RESULTS: HLC caught more An. balabacensis than any other method (3.6 per night). In contrast, no An. balabacensis were collected in MBT collections, which generally performed poorly for all mosquito taxa. Anopheles vector species including An. balabacensis were sampled in both HENET and MENET collections, but at a mean abundance of less than 1 per night. There was no difference between HENET and MENET in the overall abundance (P = 0.05) or proportion (P = 0.7) of An. balabacensis. The estimated diversity of Anopheles species was marginally higher in electrocuting net than HLC collections, and similar in collections made with humans or monkey hosts. CONCLUSIONS: Host-baited electrocuting nets had moderate success for sampling known zoonotic malaria vectors. The primary vector An. balabacensis was collected with electrocuting nets baited both with humans and macaques, but at a considerably lower density than the HLC standard. However, electrocuting nets were considerably more successful than monkey-baited traps and representatively characterised anopheline species diversity. Consequently, their use allows inferences about relative mosquito attraction to be meaningfully interpreted while eliminating confounding factors due to trapping method. On this basis, electrocuting net traps should be considered as a useful standardised method for investigating vector contact with humans and wildlife reservoirs.