Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
-
Operative delivery is a technique used during vaginal or cesarean birth to facilitate the patient's labor course through the assistance of a vacuum extractor. This method is increasingly used compared with forceps. This study aimed to investigate the forced effects of vacuum extractors comprising vacuum cups with different thicknesses on the fetal head and the vacuum extractor during vacuum-assisted delivery and to determine the optimal thickness for reducing the failure rate and minimizing neonatal and maternal morbidity. ⋯ A thinner vacuum extractor cup may result in greater injury to the fetus; hence, a thicker vacuum extractor cup is preferably utilized during vacuum-assisted operative delivery. Using a thicker vacuum extractor should yield a higher successful delivery rate and reduce fetal injury.
-
Pediatric airway diseases are associated with complex challenges because of smaller and more dynamic airway structures in children. These conditions, along with specialized management by medical care staff, should be immediately and precisely recognized to prevent life-threatening obstructions and long-term respiratory complications. Recently, virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an innovative approach to clinical medical education. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of VR-based education and traditional lectures in enhancing knowledge retention, clinical reasoning, and motivation among senior respiratory therapy students. ⋯ VR-based education markedly improved the clinical reasoning and application skills of respiratory therapy students over traditional lecture methods. VR learning also increased students' motivation and satisfaction, indicating a more immersive and effective educational experience. These findings reveal that VR may be best utilized as a supplemental educational tool in clinical training programs. Future studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are warranted to further explore the optimal integration of VR in education.
-
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has had a significant impact on global health. While the virus primarily affects the respiratory system, the intricate interplay between immune cells and the virus remains poorly understood. This study investigates the causal relationship between 731 immune cell phenotypes and COVID-19 using Mendelian randomization analysis. ⋯ This study provides compelling evidence for a causal relationship between specific immune cell phenotypes and COVID-19 risk. These findings highlight the potential for targeting these immune cell phenotypes as novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19 treatment and prevention.
-
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is regarded as a major health concern worldwide. In patients with chronic HBV infection, exhausted virus-specific CD8+ T cells, resulting from the activation of the programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death ligand 1 axis, play a key role in the chronicity of infection. ⋯ Both interferon treatment and finite antiviral therapy have been found to be associated with positive HBV outcomes. Overall, combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with nucleos(t)ide analogs appears to be a promising approach for achieving HBsAg loss, particularly in patients with low HBsAg levels.
-
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has emerged as a powerful tool for disease modeling, providing an innovative platform for investigating disease mechanisms. iPSC-derived organoids, including retinal organoids, offer patient-specific models that closely replicate in vivo cellular environments, making them ideal for studying retinal neurodegenerative diseases where retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are impacted. N6-methyladenosine (m6A), a prevalent internal modification in eukaryotic mRNAs, plays a critical role in RNA metabolic processes such as splicing, stability, translation, and transport. Given the high energy demands of RGCs, mitochondrial dysfunction, which leads to impaired ATP production and increased ROS levels, is often central to the progression of retinal neurodegenerative disorders. However, the epigenetic mechanisms underlying m6A modification and their contributions to these conditions remain unclear. ⋯ These findings suggest that differential m6A modifications may play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of retinal neurodegenerative diseases and affect the progression of the disease in affected individuals.