Tag: pubmed

Wiad Lek. 2023;76(6):1332-1341. doi: 10.36740/WLek202306102.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to examine mental health, quality of life, acedia and spiritual dryness in patients suffering from chronic diseases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and method: Data were collected by special design instrument for the needs of the present study. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were applied and the analysis was carried out with IBM SPSS 26 and JASP 0.14.01.

RESULTS: Results: From the total of 210 participants, 106 (50.4%) were male, the mean age was 62.9 years, and the majority of them were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 50 (23.8%) of the participants suffer from anxiety and 39 (18.6%) from depression. In addition, 17.1% experience phases of spiritual dryness frequently or regularly. Physical quality of life component, was associated with the following variables: live from faith, psychological wellbeing, type of disease and age. This model can predict 31.1% of the variance. In terms of psychological wellbeing, the variables living arrangement, awe/gratitude, anxiety, and spiritual dryness can interpret 41.5% of the variance. When it comes to depression, we found that wellbeing, awe/gratitude are predictors of depressive symptoms, explaining at least 14.1% of the variance. Finally, anxiety can be predicted by wellbeing, awe/gratitude, and the type of the disease, interpreting 17.2% of the variance.

CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Patients suffering from chronic diseases are experiencing spiritual dryness and acedia symptoms, and those aspects can be associated with various domains of health and wellbeing.

PMID:37463365 | DOI:10.36740/WLek202306102

J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2023 Jul 18. doi: 10.1021/jasms.3c00072. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Skeletal muscle is a major regulatory tissue of whole-body metabolism and is composed of a diverse mixture of cell (fiber) types. Aging and several diseases differentially affect the various fiber types, and therefore, investigating the changes in the proteome in a fiber-type specific manner is essential. Recent breakthroughs in isolated single muscle fiber proteomics have started to reveal heterogeneity among fibers. However, existing procedures are slow and laborious, requiring 2 h of mass spectrometry time per single muscle fiber; 50 fibers would take approximately 4 days to analyze. Thus, to capture the high variability in fibers both within and between individuals requires advancements in high throughput single muscle fiber proteomics. Here we use a single cell proteomics method to enable quantification of single muscle fiber proteomes in 15 min total instrument time. As proof of concept, we present data from 53 isolated skeletal muscle fibers obtained from two healthy individuals analyzed in 13.25 h. Adapting single cell data analysis techniques to integrate the data, we can reliably separate type 1 and 2A fibers. Ninety-four proteins were statistically different between clusters indicating alteration of proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation, oxidative phosphorylation, and muscle structure and contractile function. Our results indicate that this method is significantly faster than prior single fiber methods in both data collection and sample preparation while maintaining sufficient proteome depth. We anticipate this assay will enable future studies of single muscle fibers across hundreds of individuals, which has not been possible previously due to limitations in throughput.

PMID:37463334 | DOI:10.1021/jasms.3c00072

J Phys Chem A. 2023 Jul 18. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c02266. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The density functional theory combined with statistical thermodynamic analyses of M@C₇₈ (M = U and Th) demonstrated that four isomers, M@D_3h(24109)-C₇₈, M@C_2v(24107)-C₇₈, M@C₁(22595)-C₇₈, and M@C₁(23349)-C₇₈, and a nonclassical isomer, M@C₁(id7)-C₇₈, containing one heptagon ring possess outstanding thermodynamic stabilities in the two M@C₇₈ series. Especially, the M@C₁(id7)-C₇₈ isomer is the first nonclassical C₇₈ fullerene that can exist stably. Importantly, these five fullerene cages are found to be related in the form of Stone-Wales (SW) transformations. Geometric analyses disclosed that, unlike lanthanide metals, actinide metals are more likely to bond with sumanene-type hexagonal rings when they are encapsulated in IPR C₇₈ cages. Frontier molecular orbital analysis showed that both U and Th atoms donate four electrons to the C₇₈ carbon cages.

PMID:37463332 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jpca.3c02266

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Jul 18. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c03693. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Lung cancer (LC) is a major cause of mortality among malignant tumors. Early diagnosis through lipidomic profiling can improve prognostic outcomes. In this study, a uniform PbS/Au-layered substrate that enhances the laser desorption/ionization process, an interfacial process triggered on the substrate surface upon laser excitation, was designed to efficiently characterize the lipidomic profiles of LC patient serum. By controlling the stacking arrangement and particle sizes of PbS QDs and AuNPs, the optimized substrate promotes the generation of excited electrons and creates an enhanced electric field that polarizes analyte molecules, facilitating ion adduction formation ([M + Na]⁺ and [M + K]⁺) and enhancing detection sensitivity down to the femtomole level. Combining multivariate statistics and machine learning, a distinct lipidomic biomarker panel is successfully identified for the early diagnosis and staging of LC, with an accurate prediction validated by an area under the curve of 0.9479 and 0.9034, respectively. We also found that 18 biomarkers were significantly correlated with six metabolic pathways associated with LC. These results demonstrate the potential of this innovative PbS/Au-layered substrate as a sensitive platform for accurate diagnosis of LC and facilitate the development of lipidomic-based diagnostic tools for other cancers.

PMID:37463316 | DOI:10.1021/acsami.3c03693

Health Lit Res Pract. 2023 Jul;7(3):e130-e138. doi: 10.3928/24748307-20230621-01. Epub 2023 Jul 7.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has seen a rise in the spread of misleading and deceptive information, leading to a negative impact on the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and public opinion. To address this issue, the importance of public e-Health literacy cannot be overstated. It empowers individuals to effectively utilize information technology and combat the dissemination of inaccurate narratives.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the ability to identify disingenuous news, electronic health literacy, and the inclination to receive the COVID-19 immunization.

METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study conducted during summer 2021 in Isfahan, Iran, 522 individuals older than age 18 years, seeking medical attention at health centers, were surveyed. The participants were selected through a meticulous multistage cluster sampling process from the pool of individuals referred to these health centers. Along with demographic information, data collection instruments included the standard e-Health literacy questionnaire and a researcher-developed questionnaire designed to identify misinformation. The collected questionnaires were entered into SPSS 24 for statistical analysis, which included the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Chi-square test, the Spearman test, and logistic regression models.

KEY RESULTS: The study findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and the ability to identify deceptive news. An increase of one unit in the score for recognizing misinformation led to a 24% and 32% reduction in vaccine hesitancy and the intention to remain unvaccinated, respectively. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between the intention to receive the vaccine and e-Health literacy, where an increase of one unit in e-Health literacy score corresponded to a 6% decrease in the intention to remain unvaccinated. Additionally, the study found a notable association between the ability to detect false and misleading information and e-Health literacy. Each additional point in e-Health literacy was associated with a 0.33% increase in the capacity to identify fake news (Spearman’s Rho = 0.333, p < .001).

CONCLUSION: The study outcomes demonstrate a positive correlation between the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, the ability to identify counterfeit news, and proficiency in electronic health literacy. These findings provide a strong foundation for policymakers and health care practitioners to develop and implement strategies that counter the dissemination of spurious and deceitful information related to COVID-19 and COVID-19 immunization. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2023;7(3):e130-e138.].

PMID:37463291 | DOI:10.3928/24748307-20230621-01

Age Ageing. 2023 Jul 1;52(7):afad116. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afad116.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: frailty screening facilitates the stratification of older adults at most risk of adverse events for urgent assessment and subsequent intervention. We assessed the validity of the Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR), Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), Programme on Research for Integrating Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy seven item questionnaire (PRISMA-7) and InterRAI-ED at predicting adverse outcomes at 30 days and 6 months amongst older adults presenting to the Emergency Department (ED).

METHODS: a prospective cohort study of adults ≥65 years who presented to the ED was conducted. The ISAR, CFS, PRISMA-7 and InterRAI-ED were assessed. Blinded follow-up telephone interviews were completed at 30 days and 6 months to assess the incidence of mortality, ED re-attendance, hospital readmission, functional decline and nursing home admission. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of the screening tools were calculated using 2 × 2 tables.

RESULTS: a total of 419 patients were recruited; 47% female with a mean age of 76.9 (Standard deviation = 7.2). The prevalence of frailty varied across the tools (CFS 57% versus InterRAI-ED 70%). At 30 days, the mortality rate was 5.1%, ED re-attendance 18.1%, hospital readmission 14%, functional decline 47.6% and nursing home admission 7.1%. All tools had a high sensitivity and positive predictive value for predicting adverse outcomes.

CONCLUSION: older adults who screened positive for frailty were at significantly increased risk of experiencing an adverse outcome at 30 days with the ISAR being the most sensitive tool. We would recommend the implementation of the ISAR in the ED setting to support clinicians in identifying older adults most likely to benefit from specialised geriatric assessment and intervention.

PMID:37463282 | DOI:10.1093/ageing/afad116

J Nurs Adm. 2023 Jul-Aug 01;53(7-8):420-428. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000001308.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the degree of resilience and self-perceived physical and mental health in nurses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Work-related stress among nurses is recognized as an antecedent of burnout, which in turn impacts resiliency and well-being. The work of nursing has long been noted as stressful. Although nurse resilience and perceived well-being have been shown to decrease during a period of usual stress (constant and chronic), the impact and significance of prolonged stress on nurse resilience and well-being illuminates throughout the literature.

METHODS: Replicating a cross-sectional prepandemic study, nurses were resurveyed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In both studies, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and PROMIS Global Health was used to measure respondent’s: 1) resilience level; 2) physical health status; and 3) mental health status, respectively. Independent 2-sample t tests were performed to compare the pre-and-post score differences in the 3 outcomes. To identify characteristics that were associated with the pre-and-post differences, comparison analyses were also performed within each level of the respondents’ characteristic variables.

RESULTS: A higher proportion of postsurvey respondents reported working more than 8 hours of overtime per week, had thoughts of quitting their current job, and thought their workload was too much compared with the presurvey respondents. Generally, the postgroup resilience scores and self-perceived physical and mental scores were statistically significantly lower compared with the pregroup scores, but those differences were only observed in certain subgroups defined by respondents’ characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Self-perceived physical and mental health are significantly associated with the degree of resilience and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in younger and older nurse cohorts. Engaged nurse leaders are key to implement interventions that build resilience and perceived well-being during periods of usual and prolonged stress.

PMID:37463265 | DOI:10.1097/NNA.0000000000001308

J Nurs Adm. 2023 Jul-Aug 01;53(7-8):392-398. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000001305.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to synthesize previous findings and provide practical guidance for maximizing nurse manager and nurse performance.

BACKGROUND: Two recent studies have linked nurse manager job design factors and individual differences to a variety of valued outcomes, but practical implications remain unclear.

METHODS: A large US sample of nurse managers was divided on the basis of nurse and patient outcomes. Various characteristics are compared across the highest and lowest performers.

RESULTS: Wider nurse manager span of control is associated with negative outcomes; the availability of support positions does not fully alleviate the consequences of wide spans. Nurse managers with fewer subordinates can effectively manage multiple units. Nurse manager experience is critical for success and cannot be fully replaced by leadership training programs.

CONCLUSIONS: Staffing and job design decisions have critical downstream implications. The present research provides guidance for effective staffing and job design.

PMID:37463262 | DOI:10.1097/NNA.0000000000001305

Pediatr Emerg Care. 2023 Jul 19. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000003021. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Bombings are the most common cause of civilian deaths in wars, and unfortunately, a large proportion of civilian victims are children.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of blast lung injury (BLI), to evaluate lung injury patterns on tomographic images, and to document the relationship between blast lung and mortality in children exposed to the blast effect.

METHODS: Thirty-six children (25.3% of pediatric patients brought to our hospital with blast injury) with BLI were included in the study. The pediatric trauma score evaluations made in the emergency department in the first admission were recorded. Lung injury findings in the computed tomography images of the patients were examined, and injuries detected in other systems were recorded.

RESULTS: The most common lung injury pattern was contusion (right: 69.4%, left: 80.6%). The incidence of brain damage (52.4%) and intra-abdominal injury (76.2%) in children with low pediatric trauma score value was statistically significantly higher (P = 0.049, P = 0.017, respectively). There was no statistically significant correlation between the presence of lung injury, injury patterns, and mortality. The incidence of brain damage in deceased patients (61.5%) was statistically significantly higher than the incidence of brain damage in surviving patients (26.1%) (P = 0.036). Low pediatric trauma score was observed in 11 (84.6%) of the deceased children and in 10 (43.5%) of the survivors (P = 0.016). The mean age of children with hemothorax in the right lung was statistically significantly lower than those without (P = 0.014).

CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that pediatric BLI is common after a blast, that it is associated with other system injuries, and that a multimodal radiological approach is required in child victims.

PMID:37463251 | DOI:10.1097/PEC.0000000000003021

JMIRx Med. 2023 Jul 3;4:e34598. doi: 10.2196/34598. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have been attributed to the occurrence of secondary, tertiary, quaternary, and quinary COVID-19 epidemic waves threatening vaccine efforts owing to their immune invasiveness. Since the importation of SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa, with the first reported COVID-19 case on March 5, 2020, South Africa has observed 5 consecutive COVID-19 epidemic waves. The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has played a major role in the resurgence of COVID-19 epidemic waves in South Africa and across the globe.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to conduct descriptive and inferential statistical analysis on South African COVID-19 epidemiological data to investigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 lineages and COVID-19 vaccinations in South African COVID-19 epidemiology.

METHODS: The general methodology involved the collation and stratification, covariance, regression analysis, normalization, and comparative inferential statistical analysis through null hypothesis testing (paired 2-tailed t tests) of South African COVID-19 epidemiological data.

RESULTS: The mean daily positive COVID-19 tests in South Africa’s first, second, third, fourth, and fifth COVID-19 epidemic wave periods were 11.5% (SD 8.58%), 11.5% (SD 8.45%), 13.3% (SD 9.72%), 13.1% (SD 9.91%), and 14.3% (SD 8.49%), respectively. The COVID-19 transmission rate in the first and second COVID-19 epidemic waves in South Africa was similar, while the COVID-19 transmission rate was higher in the third, fourth, and fifth COVID-19 epidemic waves than in the aforementioned waves. Most COVID-19 hospitalized cases in South Africa were in the general ward (60%-79.1%). Patients with COVID-19 on oxygen were the second-largest admission status (11.2%-16.8%), followed by patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (8.07%-16.7%). Most patients hospitalized owing to COVID-19 in South Africa’s first, second, third, and fourth COVID-19 epidemic waves were aged between 40 and 49 years (16.8%-20.4%) and 50 and 59 years (19.8%-25.3%). Patients admitted to the hospital owing to COVID-19 in the age groups of 0 to 19 years were relatively low (1.98%-4.59%). In general, COVID-19 hospital admissions in South Africa for the age groups between 0 and 29 years increased after each consecutive COVID-19 epidemic wave, while for age groups between 30 and 79 years, hospital admissions decreased. Most COVID-19 hospitalization deaths in South Africa in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth COVID-19 epidemic waves were in the ages of 50 to 59 years (15.8%-24.8%), 60 to 69 years (15.9%-29.5%), and 70 to 79 years (16.6%-20.7%).

CONCLUSIONS: The relaxation of COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical intervention health policies in South Africa and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 were associated with increased COVID-19 transmission and severity in the South African population. COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa was strongly associated with a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalization and severity in South Africa.

PMID:37463043 | PMC:PMC10337479 | DOI:10.2196/34598