The neutrophil-to-C3 ratio: unveiling diagnostic efficacy for lupus nephritis and association with reduced retinal vascular density in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) frequently manifests as a significant complication in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, with emerging research indicating a plausible correlation between subclinical retinal involvement and renal manifestations. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the neutrophil-to-C3 ratio (NC3R) and both LN as well as retinal microvasculature damage among SLE patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a cohort of 220 participants (78 LN and 142 non-LN) was recruited.

Thermal-Sensitive Artificial Ionic Skin with Environmental Stability and Self-Healing Property.

Wearable temperature-sensitive electronic skin enables robots to rapidly detect environmental changes and respond intelligently, thereby reducing temperature-related mechanical failures. Additionally, this temperature-sensitive skin can measure and record the temperature of external objects, broadening its potential applications in the medical field. In this study, we designed a thermally sensitive artificial ionic skin using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as thermally conductive fillers.

Development and evaluation of a Hospice Foundation of Taiwan Bereavement Assessment Scale: A psychometric properties test.

Objectives: Supporting family caregivers (FCs) is a critical core function of palliative care. Brief, reliable tools suitable for busy clinical work in Taiwan are needed to assess bereavement risk factors accurately. The aim is to develop and evaluate a brief bereavement scale completed by FCs and applicable to medical staff.

From Sea Cucumbers to Soft Robots: A Photothermal-Responsive Hydrogel Actuator with Shape Memory.

Soft robotics has undergone considerable progress driven by materials that can effectively transduce external stimuli into mechanical actuation. Here, we report the development of a photothermal-responsive hydrogel actuator with shape memory capabilities inspired by the adaptive locomotion of sea cucumbers. This actuator is based on sea cucumber peptides (SCP) and a liquid metal (LM) hydrogel network that is responsive to near-infrared (NIR) light.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Good Death Index from Patients with Terminal Cancer's Perspectives: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Patients with terminal illness often experience significant physical and mental suffering. This distress affects the patients themselves, as they endure the pain of their condition and their family members, who are affected by the patient's situation and medical decisions. Furthermore, exploring the patients' and their families' concepts of a "good death" is crucial for reflecting on the value of life and for planning treatment or care models (such as advance care planning).

Synthesis of epitaxial LuN films.

Epitaxy of rare-earth nitride films are crucial for studying their physical properties and offer significant potential for applications in spintronics and optoelectronics. However, synthesizing single-crystalline LuN presents significant challenges, leading to a limited understanding of its properties. In this study, we successfully achieved the epitaxial growth of (001)-oriented LuN films on YAlO (110) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering epitaxy.

Liquid metal-embedded magnetic hydrogel beads as novel adsorbents for malachite green removal.

Malachite green (MG) is widely used in aquaculture as a parasiticide. It has generated much concern due to its carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, chromosomal fractures, teratogenicity, and respiratory toxicity. Effective methods for removing MG from water or other media are highly needed.

Chemokine CXCL13-CXCR5 signaling in neuroinflammation and pathogenesis of chronic pain and neurological diseases.

Chronic pain dramatically affects life qualities of the sufferers. It has posed a heavy burden to both patients and the health care system. However, the current treatments for chronic pain are usually insufficient and cause many unwanted side effects.

IL-33/ST2 induces macrophage-dependent ROS production and TRPA1 activation that mediate pain-like responses by skin incision in mice.

Insufficiently managed incisional (INC) pain severely affects patients' life quality and rehabilitation after a major operation. However, mechanisms underlying INC pain still remain poorly understood. A mouse model of INC pain was established by skin plus deep muscle incision.

Association of blood isobutyronitrile with infertility among reproductive-aged women: Results from the NHANES cohort.

Isobutyronitrile finds extensive application in organic synthesis for the production of the insecticide diazinon. Apart from occupational exposure, cigarette smoking may also expose the general population to isobutyronitrile. However, to date, the association between isobutyronitrile and female infertility has not been explored in a population-based study.

Apoptotic metabolites ameliorate bone aging phenotypes via TCOF1/FLVCR1-mediated mitochondrial homeostasis.

Over 50 billion cells undergo apoptosis each day in an adult human to maintain tissue homeostasis by eliminating damaged or unwanted cells. Apoptotic deficiency can lead to age-related diseases with reduced apoptotic metabolites. However, whether apoptotic metabolism regulates aging is unclear.

What are the frequent complaints voiced by inpatients and physicians amidst the emerging infectious diseases? - An illustrative instance of the COVID-19.

Introduction: Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) can disrupt the healthcare system, causing regulatory changes that affect the healthcare-seeking process and potentially increase patient-physician dissatisfaction. This study aimed to collect and analyze patients' and physicians' complaints during an EID outbreak to inform potential clues regarding medical quality and patient safety enhancement in future dealing with EIDs, employing text mining methodologies.

Methods: In this descriptive study, complaint records from January 2020 to February 2023 at West China Hospital, a national medical facility in China, were analyzed.

Outcomes of clinical decision support systems in real-world perioperative care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Although clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been developed to enhance the quality and efficiency of surgeries, little is known regarding the practical effects in real-world perioperative care.

Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze the current impact of CDSS on various aspects of perioperative care, providing evidence support for future research on CDSS development and clinical implementation.

Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA statement guidelines, searching databases up to 2 February 2024, including MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science.

PPCRKB: a risk factor knowledge base of postoperative pulmonary complications.

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are highly heterogeneous disorders with diverse risk factors frequently occurring after surgical interventions, resulting in significant financial burdens, prolonged hospitalization and elevated mortality rates. Despite the existence of multiple studies on PPCs, a comprehensive knowledge base that can effectively integrate and visualize the diverse risk factors associated with PPCs is currently lacking. This study aims to develop an online knowledge platform on risk factors for PPCs (Postoperative Pulmonary Complications Risk Factor Knowledge Base, PPCRKB) that categorizes and presents the risk and protective factors associated with PPCs, as well as to facilitate the development of individualized prevention and management strategies for PPCs based on the needs of each investigator.

Robot Learning Method for Human-like Arm Skills Based on the Hybrid Primitive Framework.

This paper addresses the issue of how to endow robots with motion skills, flexibility, and adaptability similar to human arms. It innovatively proposes a hybrid-primitive-frame-based robot skill learning algorithm and utilizes the policy improvement with a path integral algorithm to optimize the parameters of the hybrid primitive framework, enabling robots to possess skills similar to human arms. Firstly, the end of the robot is dynamically modeled using an admittance control model to give the robot flexibility.

Albiflorin alleviates neuroinflammation of rats after MCAO via PGK1/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Ischemic stroke is acknowledged as one of the most frequent causes of death and disability, in which neuroinflammation plays a critical role. Emerging evidence supports that the PGK1/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling can modulate inflammation and oxidative injury. Albiflorin (ALB), a main component of Radix paeoniae Alba, possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties.

Well-defined alginate oligosaccharides ameliorate joint pain and inflammation in a mouse model of gouty arthritis.

Gouty arthritis causes severe pain and inflammation. Alginate oligosaccharides (AOSs) are natural products derived from alginate and have anti-inflammatory properties. We explored the potential effects of AOSs with different degrees of polymerization (Dp) on gouty arthritis and associated mechanisms.

The real-world treatment characteristic and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer: Data from a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The efficacy and prognosis of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remain unresolved issues. Here, we assessed the treatment characteristics and efficacy of ICIs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using real-world data and evaluated the predictive value of factors, including programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, for the clinical outcome of ICIs in NSCLC.

Methods: Analyzed data was collected from hospitalized patients in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2017 and March 2023.

Utilising intraoperative respiratory dynamic features for developing and validating an explainable machine learning model for postoperative pulmonary complications.

Background: Timely detection of modifiable risk factors for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) could inform ventilation strategies that attenuate lung injury. We sought to develop, validate, and internally test machine learning models that use intraoperative respiratory features to predict PPCs.

Methods: We analysed perioperative data from a cohort comprising patients aged 65 yr and older at an academic medical centre from 2019 to 2023.

Protective Effect of Compound Tongluo Decoction on Brain Vascular Endothelial Cells after Ischemia-Reperfusion by Inhibition of Ferroptosis Through Regulating Nrf2/ARE/SLC7A11 Signaling Pathway.

Cerebral infarction is one of the most common diseases for aged people. Compound Tongluo Decoction (CTLD), a classic traditional Chinese Medicine prescription, has been widely used in the treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction. Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rat model is established for the animal experiment and oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) model are established for the cell experiment.

N6-methyladenosine modification of TSC1 mRNA contributes to macrophage polarization regulated by Coptisine in DSS-induced ulcerative colitis.

Background And Purpose: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a global refractory disease characterized by recurrent episodes. Coptisine (COP) is an isoquinoline alkaloid derived from Coptis chinensis, which has strong anti-inflammatory activity. Macrophages are key cells mediating inflammation.