Analysis of turnover intention and influencing factors among female nurses with two children in Grade A tertiary public hospitals in Sichuan province: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the current status of turnover intention among female nurses with two children and explore the factors influencing their decision to resign, ultimately providing a basis for reducing nurses’ turnover intention and stabilizing the nursing workforce.MethodsA convenience sampling method was used to select 1,370 in-service female nurses with two children from 65 Grade A tertiary public hospitals in Sichuan Province from September to December 2023. Data was collected through a general information questionnaire, work-family behavioral role conflict scale, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and turnover intention scale.ResultsThis study revealed that the average score for turnover intention among female nurses with two children was (13.11 ± 3.93). There was a positive correlation between work-family behavioral role conflict and turnover intention (r = 0.485, p < 0.01), while regulatory emotional self-efficacy showed a negative correlation with turnover intention (r = −0.382, p < 0.01). The main influencing factors for resignation among these nurses included age, number of night shifts per month, average monthly income, primary caregiver for children, work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, and the ability to express positive emotions (POS), the capacity to regulate negative emotions such as despondency/distress (DES), and the skill to manage anger/irritation (ANG). Collectively, these factors explained 29.5% of the total variance in turnover intention scores.ConclusionTurnover intention among female nurses with two children is relatively high. To address this issue, hospital managers shall implement effective measures through various channels to settle work–family conflict, enhance nurses’ regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and reduce turnover intention resulting from work–family conflict. Together, these efforts will reduce nurse turnover and foster a stable nursing workforce

Cationic Polybutyl Cyanoacrylate Nanoparticles for DNA Delivery

To enhance the intracellular delivery potential of plasmid DNA using nonviral vectors, we used polybutyl cyanoacrylate (PBCA) and chitosan to prepare PBCA nanoparticles (NPs) by emulsion polymerization and prepared NP/DNA complexes through the complex coacervation of nanoparticles with the DNA. The object of our work is to evaluate the characterization and transfection efficiency of PBCA-NPs. The NPs have a zeta potential of 25.53 mV at pH 7.4 and size about 200 nm. Electrophoretic analysis suggested that the NPs with positive charges could protect the DNA from nuclease degradation and cell viability assay showed that the NPs exhibit a low cytotoxicity to human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of transfection in HepG2 cells by the nanoparticles carrying plasmid DNA encoding for enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP-N1) was done by digital fluorescence imaging microscopy system and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Qualitative results showed highly efficient expression of GFP that remained stable for up to 96 hours. Quantitative results from FACS showed that PBCA-NPs were significantly more effective in transfecting HepG2 cells after 72 hours postincubation. The results of this study suggested that PBCA-NPs have favorable properties for nonviral delivery

Sleep disturbance as a mediator of the relationship between perceived stress and demoralization in hemodialysis patients: a structural equation modeling analysis

BackgroundDemoralization describes a state of existential distress, isolation, impotence, hopelessness, helplessness, and loss of purpose and meaning in life. Demoralization is associated with suicidal thoughts, which could lead to a desire for hastened death. Perceived stress could be viewed as the sense of imbalance between the stressors experienced by an individual in daily life and his or her coping capability. Many studies have tested the relationships between perceived stress, sleep disturbance, and demoralization; however, the mechanism of sleep disturbance has not been fully evaluated.ObjectiveTo verify the relationship between perceived stress and demoralization and explore the mediating effect of sleep disturbance on the relationship between perceived stress and demoralization in hemodialysis patients.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey using convenience sampling from July to August 2022, 547 hemodialysis patients from ten hospitals filled out the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Demoralization Scale (DS), and general information questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, and path analysis and structural equation modeling were used to explore the relationships among perceived stress, sleep disturbance, and demoralization.ResultsPerceived stress was significantly and positively associated with demoralization (P < 0.01) among hemodialysis patients. Sleep disturbance partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and demoralization (B = 0.154, 95% CI: 0.102~0.213); the proportion of mediation was 43.75%.ConclusionPerceived stress affects demoralization among hemodialysis patients, and sleep disturbance is a mediator in the relationship. Perceived stress in hemodialysis patients should be measured and effectively managed to improve positive effects on demoralization. It is necessary for medical staff to consider implementing perceived stress interventions with an emphasis on construction of sleep strategies to assist hemodialysis patients improve their demoralization

The Correlation between Chemical Composition, as Determined by UPLC-TOF-MS, and Acute Toxicity of Veratrum nigrum

The eighteen incompatible medicaments is an important theory in traditional Chinese medicine. The theory suggests that drugs in the eighteen incompatible medicaments can be toxic when used together. Veratrum nigrum L. and Radix paeoniae alba belong to the eighteen incompatible medicaments and have been prohibited for thousands of years. This study offers preliminary insight into the mechanism and chemical constituents responsible for the incompatibility and toxicity of these two agents. Specifically, we performed toxicology studies to identify and quantify the constituent substances of the two agents. Experiments revealed that acute toxicity increases when the dose of V. nigrum L. is higher than, or equal to, RPA. UPLC-TOF-MS analysis showed that, although the volumes of V. nigrum L. were the same, the content of some veratrum alkaloids changed significantly and had a trend toward a highly positive correlation r≥0.8 with toxicity. This suggests that the increased toxicity of the V. nigrum L. and RPA combination was due mainly to increased content of the special veratrum alkaloids. The cytotoxicity of veratridine in SH-SY5Y cells was decreased with increasing paeoniflorin concentrations. This study provides insight into the mechanism behind the incompatibility theory of TCM

Deubiquitinase PSMD14 enhances hepatocellular carcinoma growth and metastasis by stabilizing GRB2.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has emerged as one of the most common malignancies worldwide. It is associated with a high mortality rate, as evident from its increasing incidence and extremely poor prognosis. The deubiquitinating enzyme 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit 14 (PSMD14) has been reported to act as an oncogene in several human cancers. The present study aimed to reveal the functional significance of PSMD14 in HCC progression and the underlying mechanisms. We found that PSMD14 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues. Overexpression of PSMD14 correlated with vascular invasion, tumor number, tumor recurrence, and poor tumor-free and overall survival of patients with HCC. Knockdown and overexpression experiments demonstrated that PSMD14 promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC cells in vitro, and facilitated tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified PSMD14 as a novel post-translational regulator of GRB2. PSMD14 inhibits degradation of GRB2 via deubiquitinating this oncoprotein in HCC cells. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of PSMD14 with O-phenanthroline (OPA) suppressed the malignant behavior of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our findings suggest that PSMD14 could serve as a novel promising therapeutic candidate for HCC

Validation of the children international IgA nephropathy prediction tool based on data in Southwest China

BackgroundImmunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common kidney diseases leading to renal injury. Of pediatric cases, 25%–30% progress into end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in 20–25 years. Therefore, predicting and intervening in IgAN at an early stage is crucial. The purpose of this study was to validate the availability of an international predictive tool for childhood IgAN in a cohort of children with IgAN treated at a regional medical centre.MethodsAn external validation cohort of children with IgAN from medical centers in Southwest China was formed to validate the predictive performance of the two full models with and without race differences by comparing four measures: area under the curve (AUC), the regression coefficient of linear prediction (PI), survival analysis curves for different risk groups, and R2D.ResultsA total of 210 Chinese children, including 129 males, with an overall mean age of 9.43 ± 2.71 years, were incorporated from this regional medical center. In total, 11.43% (24/210) of patients achieved an outcome with a GFR decrease of more than 30% or reached ESKD. The AUC of the full model with race was 0.685 (95% CI: 0.570–0.800) and the AUC of the full model without race was 0.640 (95% CI: 0.517–0.764). The PI of the full model with race and without race was 0.816 (SE = 0.006, P < 0.001) and 0.751 (SE = 0.005, P < 0.001), respectively. The results of the survival curve analysis suggested the two models could not well distinguish between the low-risk and high-risk groups (P = 0.359 and P = 0.452), respectively, no matter the race difference. The evaluation of model fit for the full model with race was 66.5% and without race was 56.2%.ConclusionsThe international IgAN prediction tool has risk factors chosen based on adult data, and the validation cohort did not fully align with the derivation cohort in terms of demographic characteristics, clinical baseline levels, and pathological presentation, so the tool may not be highly applicable to children. We need to build IgAN prediction models that are more applicable to Chinese children based on their particular data

Deubiquitinase PSMD14 enhances hepatocellular carcinoma growth and metastasis by stabilizing GRB2

Abstract(#br)Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has emerged as one of the most common malignancies worldwide. It is associated with a high mortality rate, as evident from its increasing incidence and extremely poor prognosis. The deubiquitinating enzyme 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit 14 (PSMD14) has been reported to act as an oncogene in several human cancers. The present study aimed to reveal the functional significance of PSMD14 in HCC progression and the underlying mechanisms. We found that PSMD14 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues. Overexpression of PSMD14 correlated with vascular invasion, tumor number, tumor recurrence, and poor tumor-free and overall survival of patients with HCC. Knockdown and overexpression experiments demonstrated that PSMD14 promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC cells in vitro , and facilitated tumor growth and metastasis in vivo . Mechanistically, we identified PSMD14 as a novel post-translational regulator of GRB2. PSMD14 inhibits degradation of GRB2 via deubiquitinating this oncoprotein in HCC cells. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of PSMD14 with O-phenanthroline (OPA) suppressed the malignant behavior of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo . In conclusion, our findings suggest that PSMD14 could serve as a novel promising therapeutic candidate for HCC

Iodine-induced synthetic method and pharmacokinetic study of cis- and trans-crocetin

Objective:This experiment aimed to obtain the relatively rare cis-crocetin isomer from natural plants, which predominantly exist in the more stable all-trans configuration. This was achieved through iodine-induced isomerization, followed by purification and structural identification. The study also aimed to compare the pharmacokinetic differences between cis- and trans-crocetin in vivo.Methods:Trans-crocetin of high purity was extracted by hydrolysis from gardenia yellow pigment. Cis-crocetin was then synthesized through an optimized electrophilic addition reaction induced by elemental iodine, and subsequently separated and purified via silica gel column chromatography. Structural identification of cis-crocetin was determined using IR, UV, and NMR techniques. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies were conducted for both cis- and trans-crocetin. In addition to this, we have conducted a comparative study on the in vivo anti-hypoxic activity of trans- and cis-crocetin.Results:Under the selected reaction conditions using DMF as the solvent, with a concentration of 2.5 mg/mL for both trans-crocetin and the iodine solution, and adjusting the illumination time according to the amount of trans-crocetin, the rate of iodine-induced isomerization was the fastest. Cis-crocetin was successfully obtained and, after purification, its structure was identified and found to be consistent with reported data. Cis-crocetin exhibited a faster absorption rate and higher bioavailability, and despite its shorter half-life, it could partially convert to trans-crocetin in the body, thereby extending the duration of the drug’s action within the body to some extent.Conclusion:This study accomplished the successful preparation and structural identification of cis-crocetin. Additionally, through pharmacokinetic studies, it uncovered notable variations in bioavailability between cis- and trans-crocetin. These findings serve as a solid scientific foundation for future functional research and practical applications in this field