Objective:To gain an in-depth understanding of the barriers to active management in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to provide evidence for targeted interventions.Methods:A descriptive qualitative research method was adopted. Using purposive sampling, a total of 14 elderly CHF patients admitted to the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, from January to February 2025 were selected as study participants. Based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a semi-structured in-depth interview guide was developed. NVivo 12.0 software was used to organize and code the data, and directed content analysis was applied.Results:Eight TDF-related domains of barriers were identified and summarized into four themes: misconceptions of disease and information processing barriers (knowledge; memory, attention, and decision processes) ; dependence on family members and limited accessibility of medical resources (social influence; environmental context and resources) ; negative goal motivation and low management confidence (goals; beliefs about consequences and capabilities) ; and emotional management obstacles and fatigue from self-regulation (emotion) .Conclusions:On the basis of meeting elderly CHF patients' knowledge needs, healthcare professionals should expand their access to information, improve social support systems, stimulate intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, and alleviate negative emotions and fatigue related to self-regulation, thereby enhancing the positivity of self-health management and achieving sustainability in health management.

Objective To construct a home care readiness program for caregivers of patients with chronic heart failure based on the McMaster Family Functioning Model and explore its application effects.Methods The pro-gram was developed through literature analysis,expert correspondence and pre-testing.86 pairs of patients with chronic heart failure and their caregivers who were admitted to the Department of Cardiology of a tertiary-level hos-pital in Bengbu City were conveniently selected from December 2023 to April 2024 as the study subjects.Using the coin-flip method,the patients were randomly divided into 43 pairs in an experimental group and 43 pairs in a control group on a ward-by-ward basis.The experimental group implemented the program on the basis of routine care,and the control group was given routine care.Differences in caregiver home care readiness,caregiver caregiv-ing ability and patients' quality of life were compared between the 2 groups at the time of admission,at the time of discharge,and 1 and 3 months after discharge.Results A total of 81 pairs of patients and their caregivers completed the intervention,with 41 in the experimental group and 40 in the control group.Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that there was an interaction effect between time and group for caregiver home care readiness,caregiver caregiving ability,and patient quality of life in both groups(F=320.995,P＜0.001;F=83.303,P＜0.001;F=113.283,P＜0.001).Simple effect analyses showed that caregiver home care readiness and caregiver caregiving com-petence scores were higher in the experimental group than those in the control group at the time of discharge and at 1 and 3 months post-discharge(P＜0.001);quality of life scores of patients in the experimental group were lower than it in the control group at 1 and 3 months post-discharge(P＜0.001).Conclusion The implemen-tation of the program can effectively improve the home care readiness and caregiving ability of caregivers of pa-tients with chronic heart failure,and improve the quality of life of patients.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) leads to reproductive aging in young women, such as reduced fertility and reduced hormone levels, which seriously affects women's physical and mental health and quality of life. The pathogenesis of POI is still unclear, and there is a large unknown space. In-depth exploration of its etiology and mechanism using animal models has important clinical significance, which can help identify and avoid risk factors in advance, and formulate targeted prevention and treatment strategies. Through the analysis and study of different POI mouse models, this paper can provide a reference for the basic research of POI and a new idea for improving the fertility of women of childbearing age.

Objective:To gain an in-depth understanding of the barriers to active management in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to provide evidence for targeted interventions.Methods:A descriptive qualitative research method was adopted. Using purposive sampling, a total of 14 elderly CHF patients admitted to the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, from January to February 2025 were selected as study participants. Based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a semi-structured in-depth interview guide was developed. NVivo 12.0 software was used to organize and code the data, and directed content analysis was applied.Results:Eight TDF-related domains of barriers were identified and summarized into four themes: misconceptions of disease and information processing barriers (knowledge; memory, attention, and decision processes) ; dependence on family members and limited accessibility of medical resources (social influence; environmental context and resources) ; negative goal motivation and low management confidence (goals; beliefs about consequences and capabilities) ; and emotional management obstacles and fatigue from self-regulation (emotion) .Conclusions:On the basis of meeting elderly CHF patients' knowledge needs, healthcare professionals should expand their access to information, improve social support systems, stimulate intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, and alleviate negative emotions and fatigue related to self-regulation, thereby enhancing the positivity of self-health management and achieving sustainability in health management.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) leads to reproductive aging in young women, such as reduced fertility and reduced hormone levels, which seriously affects women's physical and mental health and quality of life. The pathogenesis of POI is still unclear, and there is a large unknown space. In-depth exploration of its etiology and mechanism using animal models has important clinical significance, which can help identify and avoid risk factors in advance, and formulate targeted prevention and treatment strategies. Through the analysis and study of different POI mouse models, this paper can provide a reference for the basic research of POI and a new idea for improving the fertility of women of childbearing age.

Objective To construct a home care readiness program for caregivers of patients with chronic heart failure based on the McMaster Family Functioning Model and explore its application effects.Methods The pro-gram was developed through literature analysis,expert correspondence and pre-testing.86 pairs of patients with chronic heart failure and their caregivers who were admitted to the Department of Cardiology of a tertiary-level hos-pital in Bengbu City were conveniently selected from December 2023 to April 2024 as the study subjects.Using the coin-flip method,the patients were randomly divided into 43 pairs in an experimental group and 43 pairs in a control group on a ward-by-ward basis.The experimental group implemented the program on the basis of routine care,and the control group was given routine care.Differences in caregiver home care readiness,caregiver caregiv-ing ability and patients' quality of life were compared between the 2 groups at the time of admission,at the time of discharge,and 1 and 3 months after discharge.Results A total of 81 pairs of patients and their caregivers completed the intervention,with 41 in the experimental group and 40 in the control group.Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that there was an interaction effect between time and group for caregiver home care readiness,caregiver caregiving ability,and patient quality of life in both groups(F=320.995,P＜0.001;F=83.303,P＜0.001;F=113.283,P＜0.001).Simple effect analyses showed that caregiver home care readiness and caregiver caregiving com-petence scores were higher in the experimental group than those in the control group at the time of discharge and at 1 and 3 months post-discharge(P＜0.001);quality of life scores of patients in the experimental group were lower than it in the control group at 1 and 3 months post-discharge(P＜0.001).Conclusion The implemen-tation of the program can effectively improve the home care readiness and caregiving ability of caregivers of pa-tients with chronic heart failure,and improve the quality of life of patients.

OBJECTIVE To establish the UHPLC fingerprint of Miao Medicine Ficus tikoua Bur., study its spectrum-effect relationship with antioxidant activity, and screen the antioxidant active components. METHODS UHPLC was used to establish the fingerprint of Ficus tikoua Bur.. Evaluation System for Similarity of Chromatographic Fingerprint of Chinese Herbal Medicine (Version 2012) was used to evaluate the similarity and identify the common peaks. SPSS 16.0 and SIMCA 14.1 software were used for hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA) and principal component analysis(PCA). The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) free radical scavenging method, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt(ABTS) free radical scavenging method and total antioxidant capacity method were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of 16 batches of ethanol extracts from Ficus tikoua Bur. Three methods including grey relational analysis(GRA), bivariate correlation analysis and partial least squares regression(PLSR) were used to study the spectrum-effect relationship. RESULTS The UHPLC fingerprints of 16 batches of Ficus tikoua Bur. were established and 13 common peaks were identified. The similarities were 0.613−0.996. At the same time, it was identified that peak 9 was rutin, peak 10 was isoquercetin, and peak 12 was narcissin. The results of HCA showed that the samples were clustered into two categories, which was consistent with the PCA results. Sixteen batches of Ficus tikoua Bur. had different degrees of antioxidant activity. The results of GRA showed that the correlation between 13 common peaks and antioxidant activity was >0.8, and all of them had high correlation. The results of bivariate correlation analysis and PLSR analysis showed that the correlation coefficient and regression coefficient of peak 5, peak 9(rutin), peak 10(isoquercetin), peak 11 and peak 12(narcissin) were positively correlated with antioxidant activity, and the contribution rate was larger(variable importance in projection>1), which were the main active components of antioxidant activity. CONCLUSION All the 16 batches of Ficus tikoua Bur. have good antioxidant activity, and its antioxidant effect is the result of the synergistic action of the internal antioxidant component group. The components corresponding to the common peaks 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 are closely related to their antioxidant activity, revealing the pharmacodynamic material basis of the antioxidant activity of Ficus tikoua Bur.

Objective: To evaluate the value of cerebrospinal fluid markers expecially total-tau protein (T-tau), phosphorylated-tau protein (P-tau) in diagnosis and differentiation of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Methods: sCJD (according to 2009 Brain criteria, 2018 Neurology amended criteria), Alzheimer's disease (AD; the National Institute on Aging at National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer's Association revised guidelines 2011 criteria) and other patients without cognitive impairment, matched for sex and age, in the Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2018 to 2019 were enrolled. Twelve sCJD patients, 49 AD patients and 14 normal controls were enrolled. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were collected through gravity dropping directly, and further stored in -80 ℃ and disposed according to widely used standards. The levels of T-tau and P-tau were measured by ELISA. The data on electroencephalogram and neuroimaging findings of sCJD patients were recorded. Moreover, specimens of sCJD patients were sent to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to test 14-3-3 protein and PRNP genotype. Results: Using Mann-Whitney U test, T-tau concentrations were found higher in patients with sCJD (1 211(448, 2 227) pg/ml) than in AD patients (549(314, 1 078) pg/ml; U=178, P=0.034 9), and both groups had higher T-tau than the control group (127(79, 192) pg/ml; U=20, 73, P<0.01). The level of P-tau was significantly increased in AD patients (72(58,109) pg/ml) compared to the control group (27(15, 42) pg/ml; U=82, P<0.01), but not in sCJD patients (32(24, 47) pg/ml). The T-tau/P-tau ratio was higher in sCJD patients (29.77(20.01, 54.53)) than in AD patients (7.45(4.79, 10.43); U=87, P<0.01). Twelve sCJD patients had cotical hyperintensity on diffusion weighted imaging and five had periodic three-phase waves on electroencephalogram. Nine sCJD patients, whose CSF samples were tested in the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, carried an M/M genotype at codon 129 and E/E at codon 219. Conclusion The CSF tau level and T-tau/P-tau ratio are significantly increased in sCJD, which may promote the diagnosis and differentiation of sCJD in routine clinical setting.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Both genetic factors and smoking are associated with ischemic stroke (IS) risk. However, little is known about the potential interaction of these factors. We aimed to assess whether smoking and a positive family history interact to increase the risk of IS. METHODS: The nationwide prospective study recruited 210,000 men and 300,000 women in 2004 to 2008 at ages 30 to 79 years. During 9.7 years of follow-up, we documented 16,923 and 20,656 incident IS cases in men and women without major chronic diseases at baseline, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to examine associations between family history and IS. Likelihood ratio tests were used to test the smoking-family history interactions on IS. RESULTS: About 67.8% (n=135,168) of men ever smoked regularly compared with 2.7% (n=7,775) of women. Among men, a significant interaction between family history and smoking on IS was observed (P for interaction=0.03), with more pronounced association between family history and IS among ever-regular smokers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16 to 1.27) than among never-smokers (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.23). The association between family history and IS among ex-smokers after more than 10 years of cessation (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.20) appeared similar to that among never-smokers. Among women, a similar but not significant interaction between family history and smoking on IS was observed. Ever-regular smokers who had a family history of stroke had the highest risk of IS. CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese men, the association of family history with IS was accentuated by smoking, and such accentuation tended to be lowered by cessation.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Family Health ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gene-Environment Interaction ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke ; Tobacco

Numerical simulation is a powerful technology for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) in both theory studies and practical applications. In this paper, a simulation platform for PAI was designed and implemented based on Matlab. The simulation platform utilized finite element method (FEM) and -space pseudospectral method to calculate the forward and inverse problem of PAI. And a graphical user interface (GUI) was realized. Structural design, work process and other operating details of the platform was also provided. By compared with theoretical temporal waveform of photoacoustic signal and reconstruction results of COMSOL, the validity and reliability was verified. And a reliable simulation tool was proposed for PAI.
Algorithms ; Computer Simulation ; Finite Element Analysis ; Photoacoustic Techniques ; Reproducibility of Results