OBJECTIVETo study the in-vitro inducing apoptosis mechanism of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells by 2',4'-di- hydroxy-6'-methoxy-3',5'-dimethylchalcone (DMC), a chalcone compound from Cleistocalyx operculatus.

METHODQuantitative DNA fragmentation assay was carried out to detect the effect of DMC of different concentrations on SMMC-7721 cells, according to the method of Sellins and Cohen with some modifications. Telomerase activities of the cells were determined by PCR-ELISA methods. The expression quantity of c-myc and hTERT mRNA were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR The effect of DMC on expression levels of cmyc and hTERT protein were measured by western blot.

RESULTThe percentage of DNA fragmentation increased with notable concen- tration dependence, after treatment with DMC for 48 h. Compared with that of control group, the telomerase activity of the cells de- creased by (66.2 ± 2.1)% after 48 h treatment with 20 μmol x L(-1) DMC, the mRNA expression of c-myc and hTERT decreased by (67.3 ± 2.1)% and (64.4 ± 2.3)%, respectively, and the protein expression of c-myc and hTERT decreased by (69.6 ± 1.9)% and (71.3 ± 2.4)%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONDMC can induce SMMC-7721 cell apoptosis and the apoptosis mechanism may be related to the decreased mRNA and protein expression of c-myc and hTERT.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Chalcones ; pharmacology ; DNA Fragmentation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Syzygium ; chemistry ; Telomerase ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective:To explore the potential categories of resourcefulness in primary caregivers of stroke patients and analyze the differences in the characteristics of different types of caregivers, so as to provide basis for clinical construction of effective intervention plans.Methods:The 308 primary caregivers of stroke patients who met the research standards in the Department of Neurology of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, People′s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the First People′s Hospital of Yinchuan from December 2020 to August 2021 were selected as the research objects by convenient sampling method.The general information questionnaire, Resourcefulness Scale and Social Support Revalued Scale were used for cross-sectional investigation.Results:The resourcefulness of the primary caregivers of stroke patients were divided into 2 potential categories: low resourcefulness group (62.7%, 193/308) and high resourcefulness group (37.3%, 115/308). Uni-variate analysis showed that there were differences between potential categories: age and education level of stroke patients, whether there was long-term medication history, number of other chronic diseases, had there been any complications due to illness, age, education level and occupation of caregivers, average daily care duration, family relations, and social support ( χ2 values were -3.34 - 23.62, all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that social support and education level of caregivers were the influencing factors of caregiver resourcefulness ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The resourcefulness in the primary caregivers of stroke patients has certain characteristics. Clinically, targeted intervention measures should be formulated according to the different types of caregiver resourcefulness characteristics of caregivers and their influencing factors to improve the caregiver resourcefulness of stroke patients.

Objective:To explore the current situation and influencing factors of burnout among the primary caregivers of stroke patients, so as provide a basis for clinical intervention measures.Methods:From July 2022 to January 2023, convenience sampling was used to select 506 caregivers of stroke patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from Yinchuan Rehabilitation Hospital and Wuzhong Rehabilitation Hospital as the study subject. The survey was conducted using the General Information Questionnaire, Burnout Scale of Stroke Patients' Caregiver, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Trait Coping Style Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results:The burnout score of caregivers for stroke patients was (72.83±14.32). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the educational level and self-care ability of patients, social support, coping styles, and depression of primary caregivers were the influencing factors of burnout among primary caregivers in stroke patients ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Attention should be paid to the burnout of the primary caregivers of stroke patients. Medical and nursing staff should focus on the primary caregivers who care for patients with low educational level and poor self-care ability, and improve their social support, encourage them to actively respond, relieve their depression, to alleviate their burnout.

This paper reviewed the mental health status, influencing factors, and intervention measures of the main caregivers of stroke patients both domestically and internationally, so as to provide reference for clinical work and research.

Objective:To explore the relationship between psychological distress and intimacy in stroke patients and the mediating effect of different dyadic coping style, to provide theoretical guidance for improving the intimate relationship of stroke patients.Methods:A convenient sampling method was used to select 203 patients with stroke who visited the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, the People's Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the Department of Neurology of Yinchuan First People's Hospital from December 2020 to July 2021 as the survey objects. The general information questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Quality of Relationship Index and Dyadic Coping Inventory were used to investigate patients.Results:The scores of psychological distress, intimate relationship, positive dyadic coping and negative dyadic coping were 19.33 ± 7.46, 32.75 ± 6.79, 86.25 ± 13.22, and 16.46 ± 4.08, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that psychological distress was negatively correlated with intimate relationship and positive dyadic coping ( r=-0.195, -0.204, both P<0.01), psychological distress was positively correlated with negative dyadic coping ( r=0.229, P<0.01). The mediating effect of positive dyadic coping and negative dyadic coping on psychological distress and intimate relationship was 35.87% and 53.26%, respectively. Conclusions:The psychological distress indirectly affects the intimate relationship of stroke patients through positive dyadic coping and negative dyadic coping. Health care workers can guide patients to actively cope with the disease and encourage couples to strengthen communication, so as to enhance the intimacy of couples and promote their physical and mental health development.

Objective:To explore the effect of perceived stress on fatigue and its mechanism, so as to provide theoretical support for relieving the fatigue of the main caregivers of stroke patients.Methods:From December 2020 to August 2021, 311 main caregivers of stroke patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurology of Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Yinchuan were selected by convenient sampling. The caregivers were investigated with the General Information Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Resourcefulness Scale, Social Support Rating Scale and Fatigue Scale.Results:In this study, a total of 311 questionnaires were distributed, and 308 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 99.04%. The total scores of perceived stress, fatigue, resourcefulness and social support of the main caregivers of stroke patients were (24.98±6.36) , (5.31±2.86) , (83.98±12.85) and (39.76±6.21) respectively. Perceived stress were negatively correlated with resourcefulness and social support ( r=-0.313, -0.274, P<0.01) , and positively correlated with fatigue ( r=0.261, P<0.01) . Fatigue were negatively correlated with resourcefulness and social support ( r=-0.305, -0.268; P<0.01) . There was a positive correlation between resourcefulness and social support ( r=0.210, P<0.01) . The results of intermediary test showed that the direct effect of perceived stress on fatigue was valid, and the respective intermediary effect of resourcefulness and social support between perceived stress and fatigue, and the chain intermediary effect of resourcefulness and social support were also valid, with the amount of intermediary effect being 26.92%, 15.38% and 3.85% respectively. Conclusions:The chain mediation between perceived stress and fatigue is established between the resourcefulness and social support of the main caregivers of stroke patients. In the future, the mental and physical pressure of stroke patients can be alleviated by improving the resourcefulness of their main caregivers and providing social support.

OBJECTIVEIsoliquiritigenin (ISL), a licorice chalconoid, is considered to be a bioactive agent with chemopreventive potential. This study investigates the mechanisms involved in ISL-induced apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells.

METHODSCell viability was evaluated using a 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit. The intracellular ROS levels were assessed using a 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein probe assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured with the dual-emission potential-sensitive probe 5, 5', 6, 6'-tetra-chloro-1, 1', 3, 3'-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide (JC-1). The degradation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein, the phosphorylation of PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), the phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α), the expression of the 78 kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP 78), and the activation of caspase-12 were analyzed via western blot analysis.

RESULTSISL significantly inhibited the proliferation, the increase in ROS levels and apoptotic rates of HeLa cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, ISL induced mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation, and PARP cleavage, which displayed features of mitochondria dependent on apoptotic signals. Besides, exposure of HeLa cells to ISL triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as indicated by the increase in p-eIF2α and GRP78 expression, ER stress-dependent apoptosis is caused by the activation of ER-specific caspase-12.

CONCLUSIONThe findings from our study suggest that ISL-induced oxidative stress causes HeLa cell apoptosis via the mitochondrion-dependent and the ER stress-triggered signaling pathways.

Aldehyde Reductase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chalcones ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Chemoprevention ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; drug effects ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; Neoplasms ; prevention & control ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

Objective:To construct a conceptual framework of burnout among primary caregivers of stroke patients based on grounded theory.Methods:According to the characteristics of age, gender, relationship with patients, length of care and other characteristics of purpose sampling method, from December 2021 to March 2022, 31 primary caregivers of stroke patients were selected for semi-structured interviews in two second-class hospitals, a first-class hospitals and a community health service station in Wuzhong city and Yinchuan city. The data were analyzed in procedural grounded theory method.Results:A total of 29 primary categories and 9 secondary categories were formed. The conceptual framework of burnout among primary caregivers of stroke patients was finally established, which consisted of four main categories (role burnout, physical burnout, psychological burnout and social burnout) and a core category (burnout of primary caregivers of stroke patients).Conclusions:The conceptual framework of burnout among primary caregivers of stroke patients constructed in this study elaborates the connotation of burnout of primary caregivers of stroke patients from four aspects, which can provide a basis for the development of assessment tools and the formulation of intervention measures in the future.

Objective:To explore the potential categories of psychological distress in spousal caregivers of stroke patients and differences in quality of life between categories, in order to provide a theoretical basis for early clinical identification and provision of individualized and targeted interventions for psychological distress in spousal caregivers of stroke patients and improvement of their quality of life.Methods:A total of 207 spouse caregivers of stroke patients hospitalized in three class 1-Grade A hospitals in Yinchuan city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected from December 2020 to July 2021 by convenience sampling method as study subjects. The general information questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and the Mos 36-Item Short from Health Survey were used for a cross-sectional survey.Results:A total of 203 spousal caregivers of stroke patients were finally investigated, 46 males and 157 females with a age of (58.65 ± 9.66) years. Psychological distress among spousal caregivers of stroke patients was categorized into 3 potential categories:no distress group (40%, 81/203), listlessness group (45%, 91/203) and helplessness and restlessness group (15%, 31/203). The psychological distress subgroup was a factor influencing the quality of life of spousal caregivers of stroke patients ( t=-10.03, P<0.05), explaining 33.0% of the variance in quality of life. Conclusions:Psychological distress in spousal caregivers of stroke patients is significantly heterogeneous. Those in the helplessness and restlessness group have the lowest quality of life and should be given focused attention and early intervention.

Objective:To understand the mediating role of resourcefulness between perceived stress and depression in primary caregivers of stroke patients.Methods:The primary caregivers of 311 inpatients with stroke in three Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Yinchuan from December 2020 to August 2021 were selected by convenience sampling and investigated with the general information form, Resourcefulness Scale (RS) , Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) . SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS were used to analyze the relationship between the three, and to explore the mediating role of resourcefulness between perceived stress and depression in the primary caregivers of stroke patients.Results:In this study, 311 questionnaires were distributed, 311 questionnaires were recovered, and 308 questionnaires were valid. The primary caregivers of stroke patients scored (24.98±6.38) for perceived stress, (83.98±12.85) for resourcefulness, and (44.35±8.40) for depression. Resourcefulness was negatively correlated with perceived stress and depression scores ( r=-0.313, -0.317; P <0.01) , and perceived stress was positively correlated with depression ( r=0.425, P<0.01) . The Bootstrap method further validated that resourcefulness played a partial mediating role between perceived stress and depression, and the mediating effect accounted for 14.95% of the total effect. Conclusions:Resourcefulness is a mediating variable between the perceived stress and depression of the primary caregivers of stroke patients, and resourcefulness plays a partial mediating role between perceived stress and depression.