Associations of frailty and cognitive impairment with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in older adults: a prospective cohort study from NHANES 2011-2014.

Background: The global aging trend exacerbates the challenge of frailty and cognitive impairment in older adults, yet their combined impact on health outcomes remains under-investigated. This study aims to explore how frailty and psychometric mild cognitive impairment (pMCI) jointly affect all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

Methods: The cohort study we examined 2,442 participants aged ≥ 60, is the secondary analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014.

Characteristics, Outcomes and Factors for Place of Death in Patients Admitted to Community-Based Palliative Care Services in Shanghai China: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Community-based palliative care (CBPC) is only available in large cities in mainland China and little is known about who utilizes it.

Objectives: This study examined the characteristics, outcomes, and factors associated with place of death (PoD) among inpatient CBPC patients.

Design: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Associations of the cardiometabolic index with insulin resistance, prediabetes, and diabetes in U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The cardiometabolic index (CMI) is a novel metric for assessing cardiometabolic health and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), yet its relationship with insulin resistance (IR) and prediabetes (preDM) is not well-studied. There is also a gap in understanding the nonlinear associations between CMI and these conditions. Our study aimed to elucidate these associations.

Global prevalence and disability-adjusted life years of hypertensive heart disease: A trend analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Background: As hypertensive heart disease (HHD) presents a significant public health challenge globally, we analysed its global, regional, and national burdens and trends from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study, focussing on the age-standardised prevalence rates (ASPRs) of HHD prevalence, age-standardised disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates, average annual percentage change (AAPC), and risk factor attributions. We compared the HHD burden across sociodemographic index (SDI) strata, gender, age groups, and 204 countries and territories.

Comparison of the upper and lower airway microbiome in early postoperative lung transplant recipients.

Unlabelled: The upper and lower respiratory tract may share microbiome because they are directly continuous, and the nasal microbiome contributes partially to the composition of the lung microbiome. But little is known about the upper and lower airway microbiome of early postoperative lung transplant recipients (LTRs). Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we compared paired nasal swab (NS) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) microbiome from 17 early postoperative LTRs.

causing infective endocarditis with brain infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case report.

Introduction: A rare pathogen of Infective Endocarditis (IE), the , has been known to trigger life-threatening complications. The case discussed here is of a teenager with brain infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by IE due to .

Case Report: A 15-year-old girl with movement disorders involving the left limbs and intermittent fevers was admitted to the hospital.

Interventions and practices using Comfort Theory of Kolcaba to promote adults' comfort: an evidence and gap map protocol of international effectiveness studies.

Background: Comfort is a primary patient objective and central to patient experience, and thus, maximising comfort is a universal goal for healthcare. However, comfort is a complex concept that is difficult to operationalise and evaluate, resulting in a lack of scientific and standardised comfort care practices. The Comfort Theory developed by Kolcaba has been the most widely known for its systematisation and projection and most of the global publications regarding comfort care were based on this theory.

Improving the Performance of Aligned Carbon Nanotube-Based Transistors by Refreshing the Substrate Surface.

An aligned semiconducting carbon nanotube (A-CNT) array has been considered an excellent channel material to construct high-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits (ICs). The purification and assembly processes to prepare a semiconducting A-CNT array require conjugated polymers, introducing stubborn residual polymers and stress at the interface between A-CNTs and substrate, which inevitably affects the fabrication and performance of the FETs. In this work, we develop a process to refresh the Si/SiO substrate surface underneath the A-CNT film by wet etching to clean the residual polymers and release the stress.

The decision-making process of transferring patients home to die from an intensive care unit in mainland China: A qualitative study of family members' experiences.

Objectives: To map the decision-making process of family members involved in transferring a critically ill patient home to die from an intensive care unit in mainland China and to explore the experiences of those family members.

Design: A constructivist qualitative study.

Setting: One hospitals intensive care unit in Southeast China.

Complementary Transistors Based on Aligned Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Arrays.

High-density semiconducting aligned carbon nanotube (A-CNT) arrays have been demonstrated with wafer-scale preparation of materials and have shown high performance in P-type field-effect transistors (FETs) and great potential for applications in future digital integrated circuits (ICs). However, high-performance N-type FETs (N-FETs) have not yet been implemented with A-CNTs, making development of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, a necessary component for modern digital ICs, impossible. In this work, we reveal the mechanism hindering the realization of A-CNT N-FETs contacted by low-work-function metals and develop corresponding solutions to promote the performance of N-FETs to that of P-type FETs (P-FETs).

The Efficacy and Safety of the Combined Therapy of Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter-2 Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Meta-Analysis of the EMPEROR-Reduced and DAPA-HF Sub-Analysis.

Background: Both sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) were recommended to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, no trial was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of the combined therapy of SGLT-2 inhibitors and ARNI in patients with HFrEF.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of the prespecified subgroups from DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced trials.

The Airway Microbiota Signatures of Infection and Rejection in Lung Transplant Recipients.

Infection and rejection are the two most common complications after lung transplantation (LT) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We aimed to examine the association between the airway microbiota and infection and rejection in lung transplant recipients (LTRs). Here, we collected 181 sputum samples (event-free,  = 47; infection,  = 103; rejection,  = 31) from 59 LTRs, and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze the airway microbiota.

Transferring home to die from critical care units: A scoping review of international practices.

Purpose: To identify and characterise the international practices of transferring a dying patient home to die from critical care units.

Materials And Methods: A systematic scoping review following the Joanne Briggs Institute methodology was applied searching fifteen data sources to identify papers published in English and Chinese from 1970 to 2019.

Results: Of the 28 papers meeting eligibility criteria 19 were published in the West and seven in China.

Mitochondria-Inspired Nanoparticles with Microenvironment-Adapting Capacities for On-Demand Drug Delivery after Ischemic Injury.

Stimuli-responsive nanoparticles (NPs), so-called "smart" NPs, possess great potentials in drug delivery. Presently, the intelligence of smart NPs is mainly based on their chemical or physical changes to stimuli, which are usually "mechanical" and fundamentally different from biological intelligence. Inspired by mitochondria (MT), a biosmart nanoparticle with microenvironment targeting and self-adaptive capacity (MTSNP) was fabricated for ischemic tissue repair.

The Interactions of Airway Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Clinically Stable Asthma.

Dysbiotic airway microbiota play important roles in the inflammatory progression of asthma, and exploration of airway microbial interactions further elucidates asthma pathogenesis. However, little is known regarding the airway bacterial-fungal interactions in asthma patients. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of the sputum bacterial and fungal microbiota from 116 clinically stable asthma patients and 29 healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene and ITS1 sequencing.

The Gut Microbiota and Respiratory Diseases: New Evidence.

Human body surfaces, such as the skin, intestines, and respiratory and urogenital tracts, are colonized by a large number of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, with the gut being the most densely and extensively colonized organ. The microbiome plays an essential role in immune system development and tissue homeostasis. Gut microbiota dysbiosis not only modulates the immune responses of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract but also impacts the immunity of distal organs, such as the lung, further affecting lung health and respiratory diseases.

Association of sputum microbiome with clinical outcome of initial antibiotic treatment in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.

Identification of risk factors for antibiotic treatment failure is urgently needed in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Here we investigated the relationship between sputum microbiome and clinical outcome of choice of initial antibiotics during hospitalization of AECOPD patients. Sputum samples of 41 AECOPD patients and 26 healthy controls were collected from Guangzhou Medical University, China.

Wafer-Scale Uniform Carbon Nanotube Transistors for Ultrasensitive and Label-Free Detection of Disease Biomarkers.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors have shown great potential for ultrasensitive biomarker detection, but challenges remain, which include unsatisfactory sensitivity, difficulty in stable functionalization, incompatibility with scalable fabrication, and nonuniform performance. Here, we describe ultrasensitive, label-free, and stable FET biosensors built on polymer-sorted high-purity semiconducting CNT films with wafer-scale fabrication and high uniformity. With a floating gate (FG) structure using an ultrathin YO high-κ dielectric layer, the CNT FET biosensors show amplified response and improved sensitivity compared with those sensors without YO, which is attributed to the chemical gate-coupling effect dominating the sensor response.

Student's Experiences on Learning Therapeutic Relationship: A Narrative Inquiry.

Despite the importance of the therapeutic relationship on nursing practice, the literature regarding teaching and learning therapeutic relationship is limited. This paper discussed how an undergraduate nursing student learned therapeutic relationship in an acute care setting. Narrative inquiry was applied as a research methodology.

Skin microbiome differences relate to the grade of acne vulgaris.

The skin microbiome plays important roles in the pathogenesis and development of acne. We aimed to investigate the facial skin microbiome of acne and microbiome differences related to different grades of acne. Skin swabs from nine healthy controls and 67 acne patients were collected, and the skin microbiomes were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Treatment with verapamil for restoration of sinus rhythm in atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response: A case report.

Rationale: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia disease that can cause thromboembolic disease and/or heart failure, resulting in increased mortality. Propafenone, amiodarone, and flecainide are recommended for converting AF to sinus rhythm. Beta blockers, verapamil, diltiazem, and digoxin are recommended for controlling AF with fast ventricular rate (VR).

Uncovering the decision-making work of transferring dying patients home from critical care units: An integrative review.

Aims: To understand how decisions are made to transfer dying patients home from critical care units.

Background: Many people prefer a home death, but a high proportion die in critical care units. Transferring dying patients home is recognized to be complex but transfer decision-making itself remains unclear.