Preliminary efficacy of the vidatalk communication application on family psychological symptoms in the intensive care unit: A pilot study.

Background: Family caregivers of ICU patients experience difficulty communicating with patients during mechanical ventilation. Little is known about patient-family communication in the ICU and the associated emotional distress.

Objectives: To examine the preliminary effects of the VidaTalk™ communication app on anxiety, depression, and PTSD-related symptoms among family caregivers.

Urban Zen integrative therapy: Understanding intervention delivery adherence.

Background: Complementary health approaches have shown therapeutic benefits in symptom reduction and improved patients' quality of life for chronic debilitating conditions such as cancer and pulmonary hypertension. Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT) is a mindfulness-based multicomponent complementary intervention shown to improve symptom management and quality of life in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Consistent intervention delivery across interventionists is critical to test mindfulness-based multicomponent interventions on a larger scale and further implementations as an augmented practice in routine care.

The connection between aging, cellular senescence and gut microbiome alterations: A comprehensive review.

The intricate interplay between cellular senescence and alterations in the gut microbiome emerges as a pivotal axis in the aging process, increasingly recognized for its contribution to systemic inflammation, physiological decline, and predisposition to age-associated diseases. Cellular senescence, characterized by a cessation of cell division in response to various stressors, induces morphological and functional changes within tissues. The complexity and heterogeneity of senescent cells, alongside the secretion of senescence-associated secretory phenotype, exacerbate the aging process through pro-inflammatory pathways and influence the microenvironment and immune system.

Communication intervention for families in adult intensive care units during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.

Background: Restrictions on ICU family visitation during COVID-19 pandemic posed communication challenges for families, patients, and healthcare teams. Diverse approaches were used to overcome communication barriers. As ICUs begin to reinstate family visitation, it is timely to review the lessons learned from these interventions during the pandemic.

A chitosan/alginate coated nano-liposome to improve intestinal absorption of curcumin for oral administration.

Attempts to improve low absorption and rapid metabolic conversion of curcumin were made by developing curcumin-loaded bilayer nanoliposomes coated with chitosan and alginate for intestinal-specific drug delivery. A curcumin-loaded nano-liposome was prepared with optimized formulations with phosphatidylcholine, curcumin, chitosan, and alginate. The particle size of the optimized formulation was approximately 400 nm, and the encapsulation efficiency was more than 99%.

Quantitative Profiling of Carotenoids, Tocopherols, Phytosterols, and Fatty Acids in the Flower Petals of Ten Marigold ( spp. L.) Cultivars.

Marigold ( spp.) flower petals are the most vital sources of carotenoids, especially lutein esters, for the production of natural lutein to use for food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries. Several marigold cultivars are cultivated globally; however, their lutein ester composition and contents have not been widely investigated.

Association of senescence-associated secretory phenotype proteins with ovarian reserve among middle-aged/older women.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association of circulating senescence-associated secretory phenotype proteins, secreted by senescent cells, with indicators of women's ovarian reserve.

Methods: This secondary analysis of cross-sectional baseline survey data was undertaken by the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study Cardiovascular Disease Association Study. A total of 223 women (aged 40-82 y), without any history of oophorectomy, hysterectomy, or other medical conditions that could lower the ovarian reserve, were enrolled in this analysis.

Interventions using digital technology to promote family engagement in the adult intensive care unit: An integrative review.

Background: Family engagement is a key component of safe and effective care in the intensive care unit (ICU). As the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare settings, it is important to review the current science of family engagement interventions in the ICU using digital technology.

Objectives: This integrative review aimed to identify and evaluate studies that used digital technology to promote family engagement in adult ICUs and synthesize study findings.

Senolytic drugs relieve pain by reducing peripheral nociceptive signaling without modifying joint tissue damage in spontaneous osteoarthritis.

Aging is a risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis (OA), a progressive joint disease leading to cartilage damage, pain, and loss of function. In a mouse model of OA, senolytic drugs to selectively clear senescent cells (SnCs) that accumulate with injury or aging yielded a chondroprotective effect; however, this therapeutic benefit was limited in aged mice. Due to inconsistency between cartilage destruction and pain-associated symptoms, we studied the therapeutic effect of senolytics on joint pain in spontaneous OA.

Plasma Proteomic Signature of Cellular Senescence and Markers of Biological Aging Among Postmenopausal Women.

We aimed to investigate the association of circulatory senescence-associated secretory phenotypes (SASPs) produced by senescent cells with chronological and menopausal age in women aged 45 years or more. The proteomic profiles for 32 SASP factors of plasma samples were measured in 76 healthy postmenopausal women aged 46-82 years from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study Cardiovascular Disease Association Study (KoGES-CAVAS). We assessed the association between the SASP factors and aging indicators (chronological age, menopausal age, and years since menopause) using single- and multiprotein models.

Factors Affecting Metabolic Syndrome in Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To assess the validity of different anthropometric measures (waist circumference [WC], body mass index [BMI], and percentage body fat) in diagnosing metabolic syndrome (MetS) among individuals with SCI and provides preliminary data for future studies in setting obesity cutoff values for this population.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Sample information, anthropometric measures, and MetS variables of 157 individuals with chronic SCI were collected from an electronic medical records database.

Selective Regional Loss of Cortical Synapses Lacking Presynaptic Mitochondria in the 5xFAD Mouse Model.

Synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is strongly correlated with cognitive impairment. Accumulating evidence indicates that amyloid pathology leads to synaptic degeneration and mitochondrial damage in AD. However, it remains unclear whether synapses and presynaptic mitochondria are differentially affected in various cortical regions of the AD brain at the ultrastructural level.

VidaTalk™ patient communication application "opened up" communication between nonvocal ICU patients and their family.

Objectives: To explore family members' perceptions of an electronic communication application, VidaTalk™, their communication experience, and emotional reactions to communication with mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care units.

Research Methodology/design: Qualitative phase of a mixed-methods study nested within a randomised controlled trial. Family members in the intervention group received the VidaTalk™ app as a communication aid during their intensive care stay.

Evaluation of the Color Stability of 3D-Printed Crown and Bridge Materials against Various Sources of Discoloration: An In Vitro Study.

Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing have introduced new materials that can be utilized for dental restorations. Nonetheless, there are limited studies on the color stability of restorations using 3D-printed crowns and bridge resins. Herein, the color stability of conventional computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) blocks and 3D-printing resins was evaluated and assessed for their degrees of discoloration based on material type, colorant types (grape juice, coffee, curry, and distilled water (control group)), and storage duration (2, 7, and 30 days) in the colorants.

The Facilitated Sensemaking Model as a Framework for Family-Patient Communication During Mechanical Ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit.

Family caregivers of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at high risk for adverse psychological outcomes. Communication difficulty due to mechanical ventilation may induce or worsen adverse psychological outcomes. The Facilitated Sensemaking Model (FSM) is the first model to guide nursing interventions to help ICU family caregivers overcome and prevent adverse psychological outcomes.

Positive Changes in Blood Lipid Profiles, Nutrition Knowledge, and Dietary Taurine Intake After 8-Week Nutrition Education Program in Low-Income Korean Children.

Taurine has been reported to play a key role in the growth and development of children's brains and nerves. Incorrect dietary habits and unbalanced nutrient intakes may be caused by socio-environmental and economic factors in low-income children. This study was conducted to investigate changes in blood lipid profiles, nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, and intakes of dietary taurine and nutrients after an 8-week nutrition education program (NEP) in low-income Korean children.

Deep Learning Method for Automated Classification of Anteroposterior and Posteroanterior Chest Radiographs.

Ensuring correct radiograph view labeling is important for machine learning algorithm development and quality control of studies obtained from multiple facilities. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the performance of a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for the automated classification of frontal chest radiographs (CXRs) into anteroposterior (AP) or posteroanterior (PA) views. We obtained 112,120 CXRs from the NIH ChestX-ray14 database, a publicly available CXR database performed in adult (106,179 (95%)) and pediatric (5941 (5%)) patients consisting of 44,810 (40%) AP and 67,310 (60%) PA views.

Electrospun CuS/PVP Nanowires and Superior Near-Infrared Filtration Efficiency for Thermal Shielding Applications.

Selective filtration of near-infrared (NIR) regions is of primary importance to energy saving via thermal shielding. However, uniform coating of highly effective nanomaterials on flexible substrates remains very challenging. Here, we introduce new material processing and fabrication methodologies that manufacture electrospun copper sulfide/polyvinylpyrrolidone (CuS/PVP) nanowires for enhanced thermal shielding efficiency.

Enhanced biocompatibility and osteogenic potential of mesoporous magnesium silicate/polycaprolactone/wheat protein composite scaffolds.

Background: Successful bone tissue engineering using scaffolds is primarily dependent on the properties of the scaffold, including biocompatibility, highly interconnected porosity, and mechanical integrity.

Methods: In this study, we propose new composite scaffolds consisting of mesoporous magnesium silicate (m_MS), polycaprolactone (PCL), and wheat protein (WP) manufactured by a rapid prototyping technique to provide a micro/macro porous structure. Experimental groups were set based on the component ratio: (1) WP0% (m_MS:PCL:WP =30:70:0 weight per weight; w/w); (2) WP15% (m_MS:PCL:WP =30:55:15 w/w); (3) WP30% (m_MS:PCL:WP =30:40:30 w/w).

Staff Perceptions of Adult Day Centers Providing Post-Acute Care for Persons With Dementia.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of adult day services (ADS) staff and hospital discharge planners regarding the feasibility of ADS to provide post-acute care (PAC) for persons with dementia. We conducted key informant interviews with emergency department (ED) and inpatient hospital discharge planners ( = 9), and two focus groups with ADS staff ( = 15) representing five ADS programs. Four thematic categories were identified from the discharge planners, including concerns for patients, factors influencing discharge, experience with ADS, and conditions for ADS referrals.