Investigating the therapeutic efficacy of psilocybin in advanced cancer patients: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Psilocybin,a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms,is known for its effects on anxiety and depression.It has recently gained increasing interest for its potential therapeutic effects,particularly in patients with advanced cancer.This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the effects of psilocybin on adult patients with advanced cancer.AIM To investigate the therapeutic effect of psilocybin in patients with advanced cancer.METHODS A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted in PubMed,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials,and Google Scholar for articles published up to February 2023.The reference lists of the included studies were also searched to retrieve possible additional studies.RESULTS A total of 7 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review,comprising 132 participants.The results revealed significant improvements in quality of life,pain control,and anxiety relief following psilocybin-assisted therapy,specifically results on anxiety relief.Pooled effect sizes indicated statistically significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety at both 4 to 4.5 months[35.15(95%CI:32.28-38.01)]and 6 to 6.5 months[33.06(95%CI:28.73-37.40)].Post-administration compared to baseline assessments(P<0.05).Additionally,patients reported sustained improvements in psychological well-being and existential distress fo-llowing psilocybin therapy.CONCLUSION The findings provided compelling evidence for the potential benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy in improving quality of life,pain control,and anxiety relief in patients with advanced cancer.

Short-term efficacy and influencing factors of conventional chemotherapy combined with irinotecan in patients with advanced gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of only 20%. The age of onset of gastric cancer is in line with the general rule of cancer. Most of them occur after middle age, mostly between 40and 60 years old, with an average age of about 50 years old, and only 5% of patients are under 30 years old. The incidence of male is higher than that of female.AIM To investigate the short-term efficacy and influencing factors of chemotherapy combined with irinotecan in patients with advanced gastric cancer.METHODS Eighty patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated in our hospital from January 2019 to January 2022 were selected. The patients were divided into an observation group(n = 40) and control group(n = 40) by the envelope method.The control group was given preoperative routine chemotherapy. The observation group was treated with irinotecan in addition to the chemotherapy given to the control group. The short-term efficacy of treatment in the two groups, as well as tumor marker levels and quality of life before and after treatment were evaluated.RESULTS The short-term treatment effect in the observation group was better than that in the control group(P < 0.05), and the total effective rate was 57.50%. The age and proportion of tumor node metastasis(TNM) stage IV patients with ineffective chemotherapy in the observation group were(65.12 ± 5.71) years and 52.94%,respectively, which were notably higher than those of patients with effective chemotherapy(P < 0.05), while the Karnofsky Performance Scale score was(67.70± 3.83) points, which was apparently lower than that of patients with effective chemotherapy(P <0.05). After 3 mo of treatment, the SF-36 scale scores of physiological function, energy, emotional function, and mental health in the observation group were 65.12 ± 8.14, 54.76 ± 6.70, 47.58 ± 7.22,and 66.16 ± 8.11 points, respectively, which were considerably higher than those in the control group(P < 0.05). The incidence rates of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ diarrhea and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ thrombocytopenia in the observation group were 32.50% and 25.00%, respectively, which were markedly higher than those in the control group(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION Chemotherapy combined with irinotecan in patients with advanced gastric cancer has a good short-term efficacy and can significantly reduce serum tumor markers and improve the quality of life of patients. The efficacy may be affected by the age and TNM stage of the patients, and its long-term efficacy needs further study.

Symptom clusters and quality of life among patients with advanced heart failure

Objectives To identify symptom clusters among patients with advanced heart failure （HF） and the independent relationships with their quality of life （QoL）. Methods This is the secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study which interviewed 119 patients with advanced HF in the geriatric unit of a regional hospital in Hong Kong. The symptom profile and QoL were assessed by using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale （ESAS） and the McGill QoL Questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the symptom clusters. Hier- archical regression analysis was used to examine the independent relationships with their QoL, after adjusting the effects of age, gender, and comorbidities. Results The patients were at an advanced age （82.9± 6.5 years）. Three distinct symptom clusters were identified： they were the distress cluster （including shortness of breath, anxiety, and depression）, the decondition cluster （fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, and reduced appetite）, and the discomfort cluster （pain, and sense of generalized discomfort）. These three symptom clusters accounted for 63.25% of variance of the patients＇ symptom experience. The small to moderate correlations between these symptom clusters indicated that they were rather independent of one another. After adjusting the age, gender and comorbidities, the distress （β = -0.635, P 〈 0.001）, the decondition （β = -0.148, P = 0.01）, and the discomfort （β = -0.258, P 〈 0.001） symptom clusters independently predicted their QoL. Conclusions This study identified the distinctive symptom clusters among patients with advanced HF. The results shed light on the need to develop palliative care interventions for optimizing the symptom control for this life-limiting disease.

Thoughts on Cultivating New Quality Productive Forces in the Field of Distributed Energy

The 2024 Government Work Report proposes to promote the development and utilization of distributed energy.This marks the inaugural inclusion of“distributed energy”in the Government Work Report.In constructing China’s new energy system,distributed energy stands to encounter substantial growth prospects and urgently requires addressing industry challenges and enhancing the market ecosystem for its advancement.

Advanced Grey Relational Analysis Method and Its Application in Water Quality Evaluation of the Lake-type Wetland

Grey relational analysis is one of the most important methods in water quality evaluation system. As the traditional grey relational analysis has the defects of homogenization in static resolution ratio, small discrimination in correlation degree, and low precision in the weight of impact factors, this paper proposed an advanced grey relational analysis that used dynamic resolution ratio and comprehensive evaluation indicators. This method has been applied in the MIS software which monitors and evaluates the water quality in the lakes of the Four-Lake Basin. Compared with the traditional grey relational analysis and the cluster-factor analysis, this method could effectively enhance the reliability and accuracy of the results.

Cultivation of Humanistic Quality--A Case Study From“Advanced English Listening&Speaking”in University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Improving humanistic quality is the basis and starting point of implementing quality education and one of the effective ways to cultivate qualified personnel in high education in China.Therefore,college English is not only a language course,but also a quality education course which can broaden the horizon of knowledge among college students.College English should give full consideration to the cultivation of students’cultural quality,impart international cultural knowledge,and make full preparations for students’future study so as to prepare students for social development.Based on the case study of“Advanced English Listening&Speaking”in University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(UCASS),the present paper claims that with proper selection of teaching material and carefully designed teaching methods,language learning and the improvement of humanistic quality can be effectively combined together.

Effect of Intermittent Androgen Blockade on the Quality of Life of Patients with Advanced Prostate Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of intermittent androgen blockade （IAB） on the quality of life （QOL） of patients with advanced prostatic carcinoma （APC）. METHODS Investigations on the QOL of 51 APC patients receiving lAB treatment, totaling 3 times, i.e. 6 months before and after, and 12 months after treatment, were perform using the EORTC QLQ-C30 measuring scale and QLQ-PR25 scale. RESULTS Although lAB became an economic burden for the families, it was lessened during the intermission （P〈0.05）. The overall health status significantly improved 6 months after lAB treatment （P〈0.01）, especially during the intermission （P〈0.05）, with a total or local easement of pain （P〈0.01） and an improvement of urinary function （P〈0.01）. Although there was impairment, to various degrees, in many functions of the patients on the 6th month of treatment, such as the physical function （P〈0.05）, role function （P〈0.05）, the emotional （P〈0.01） and the social functions （P〈0.01）, with an enhancement of fatigue （P〈0.01）, these functions gradually recovered by the 12th month as the intermission started. Treatment-related symptoms such as flushing and mammary swelling significantly emerged on the 6th treatment month （P〈0.01）, and lessened on the 12th （P〈0.01）. During the treatment period, there was an notable drop in sexual interest （P〈0.01）, with a deprivation of sex life, but revived to various degrees during the intermission （P〈0.01）. CONCLUSION Although lAB treatment of APC patients did impair the physiologic and psychologic status of patients to varying degrees, these were improved and restored during the intermission.

Implantation of Radioactive ^(125)I Seeds Improves the Prognosis of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Patients:A Retrospective Study

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer is associated with a very poor prognosis. This study was performed to evaluate whether patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer benefit from 125 ^I seed implantation. This retrospective study included 224 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, with 137 patients（61.2%） in the implantation（IP） group and 87（38.9%） in the non-implantation（NIP） group. The survival status, complications and objective curative effects were compared between the groups. The average operative time in the IP group was significantly longer than that in the NIP group（243±51 vs. 214±77 min）. The tumor response rates were 9.5% and 0 at the 2nd month after surgery in the IP and NIP groups, respectively（P〈0.05）. The IP group exhibited a trend toward pain relief at the 6th month after surgery. The global health status scores of the IP group were higher than those of the NIP group at the 3rd and 6th month after surgery. The median survival time in the IP group was significantly longer than that in the NIP group. In conclusion, patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer can benefit from 125 I seed implantation in terms of local tumor control, survival time, pain relief and quality of life.

Advances in the Study of Protein Quality Traits and Main Influencing Factors of Wheat in China

Wheat, the third major grain crop in China, is an important source of hu- man proteins. Wheat quality and yield has a direct impact on the development of agricultural economy and food industry. Investigating and improving protein quality of wheat has become a key to solving the contradiction. This paper reviewed the exist- ing literature published at home and abroad, analyzed the present situation and ex- isting problems of wheat protein quality in China, summarized the latest research progress about genetic models, main influencing factors, and correlations between protein quality traits and other traits, discussed current issues in the improvement of wheat protein quality, and proposed suggestions for breeding high-quality wheat, aiming at providing theoretical basis for genetic improvement, planting structure ad- justment and efficient production of high-quality wheat.

Efficacy of 5-Fluorouracil and High-Concentration Cisplatin Suspended in Lipiodol by Short-Term Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis

Background: Since advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is potentially fatal, and patients’ quality of life (QOL) often deteriorates during their treatment, improving the prognosis and QOL of patients given chemotherapy is very important. In addition, cost-effective treatments are highly desirable when chemotherapy must be given repeatedly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and high-concentration cisplatin by short-term hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (3-day FPL) in advanced HCC patients. Methods: Thirty patients with unresectable advanced HCC were enrolled. The patients underwent hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy via the implanted port system with 5-FU on days 1 - 3 and a fine-powder formulation of cisplatin in suspended pre-warmed lipiodol on day 2 every 4 to 10 weeks. Tumor response was assessed one month later with CT. Results: All patients had evidence of portal vein invasion (Vp2-4). Four patients achieved a complete response (CR), 8 patients achieved a partial response (PR), and 7 patients had stable disease (SD). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 198 days and 452 days, respectively. The OS was significantly longer in the successful disease control group (CR, PR, and SD) than in the progressive disease group (P < 0.005). Conclusions: Three-day FPL was effective and tolerable in advanced HCC patients due to its shorter time of administration than conventional FP therapy. Therefore, repetitive 3-day FPL appears useful and contributes to improving the prognosis and QOL of patients with advanced HCC. In addition, this protocol is a cost-effective treatment.

Book Recommendation: Advances in Water Quality Control

Book Recommendation: Advances in Water Quality Control Gail Krantzberg, Aysegul Tanik et al. Scientific Research Publishing, 2010 316 pages ISBN: 978-1-935068-08-2 Paperback (US$89.00) E-book (US$89.00) Order online: www.scirp.org/book Order by email: bookorder@scirp.

Unlocking quality in endoscopic mucosal resection

A review of the development of the key performance metrics of endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR),learning from the experience of the establishment of widespread colonoscopy quality measurements.Potential future performance markers for both colonoscopy and EMR are also evaluated to ensure continued high quality performance is maintained with a focus service framework and predictors of patient outcome.

Review on the Book: Advances in Water Quality Control

Water pollution is a steadily worsening problem because of growth in the chemical, pharmaceutical, leather, textile, and mining industries. In addition, municipal wastewater further contributes to polluting pure water sources. Hence, adequate treatment is essential before it released to avoid pollution of pure water sources. Chapter 3 describes guidelines for wastewater treatment taking into account its physical, chemical and mechanical nature. The guidelines are also helpful in maintaining the operational treatment facilities;it is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of wastewater treatment facilities even in developed countries are not operating properly. Treatment methods are divided into conventional and Natural biological processes and the advantages and drawbacks of each are clearly explained. The influential parameters are identified for the primary (settling to remove solid wastes), secondary (bacteria in removing pollutants) and tertiary (involving advanced techniques such as Biological Nutrient Removal) water purification methods, particularly municipal wastewater treatments. The biological treatment process via microorganisms is particularly suited for Lagoons, Ponds and wetlands because they avoid secondary by-products contaminants. Guidelines are given for the construction of artificial lakes and ponds to be used for wastewater treatment, and diagrams, designs, schemes, and mathematical models are provided. These can also be used for some difficult industrial wastewaters as well as for municipal water containing pharmaceuticals and personal care products. The author emphasized that wetland treatment is often the best choice for the pre-treatment of water and wastewater based on cost and the efficiency. This wastewater treatment chapter is very useful for environment researchers, and engineers, ecologist and the environmental education programs.

The Current Situation of Quality Supervision and Production Safety of Aquatic Products in Nanjing City

In recent years, the work of quality supervision and production safety of aquatic products in Nanjing City has been carried out rapidly, and the system of "origin exit, market access, sign traceability, real-time monitoring" has been basically formed, initially realizing the whole-process monitoring on the quality safety of aquatic products from "pond to table". We take the current situation of quality supervision and production safety of aquatic products in Nanjing City as the study object, take the basic work of supervision on aquatic products in Nanjing City and advancing both in scope and in depth as breakthrough point, to sum up the results achieved in the work of quality supervision and production safety of aquatic products in Nanjing City in recent years; make initial exploration and research, in order to consolidate the existing achievements, and further enhance the level of supervision on quality safety of aquatic products in Nanjing City.

A Mini-Review and Perspective on Current Best Practice and Emerging Industry 4.0 Methods for Risk Reduction in Advanced Composites Manufacturing

The manufacturing of composite structures is a highly complex task with inevitable risks, particularly associated with aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty of both the materials and processes, as well as the need for in-situ decision-making to mitigate defects during manufacturing. In the context of aerospace composites production in particular, there is a heightened impetus to address and reduce this risk. Current qualification and substantiation frameworks within the aerospace industry define tractable methods for risk reduction. In parallel, Industry 4.0 is an emerging set of technologies and tools that can enable better decision-making towards risk reduction, supported by data-driven models. It offers new paradigms for manufacturers, by virtue of enabling in-situ decisions for optimizing the process as a dynamic system. However, the static nature of current (pre-Industry 4.0) best-practice frameworks may be viewed as at odds with this emerging novel approach. In addition, many of the predictive tools leveraged in an Industry 4.0 system are black-box in nature, which presents other concerns of tractability, interpretability and ultimately risk. This article presents a perspective on the current state-of-the-art in the aerospace composites industry focusing on risk reduction in the autoclave processing, as an example system, while reviewing current trends and needs towards a Composites 4.0 future.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis from advanced ovarian cancer: To treat or not to treat ethical issues suggested by a case study

This article provides a brief description of an epithelial ovarian cancer （EOC） case （stage Ⅳ） treated with the association of complete CytoReductive Surgery and hy-pertermic intraPEritoneal chemotherapy （HIPEC）. The use of HIPEC in EOC makes theoretic sense in view of the high rates of recurrence following standard treat-ment, but there are no randomized clinical trial to date and HIPEC for these patients still represents a radical treatment where the choice of no treatment may be acceptable since defnitive cure is unlikely. We reviewed the entire decision making process considering the risk/beneft of the procedure in term of mortality/morbidity, the quality of life and the psychological profile of the patient 1 year after surgery. The platform World Health Organization-International Classification of Function-ing, Disability and Health that permits evaluation of the person in relation to the psycho-social context is pre-sented. A person-centred approach and assessment of health-related quality-of-life and disability in EOC survi-vors are of central importance for decision making.

论新质生产力的生成:高深知识生产、技术元素整合与产业技术突破

作为普通生产力的进化,新质生产力从根本上构建了现代化国家建设的中国路径。高深知识生产、技术元素整合和产业技术突破是新质生产力生成的3个关键环节。新质生产力的生成以战略性新兴产业与未来产业为依托,表征为新的市场需求的创造与满足,以及生产效率的大幅提升,其关键在于高深知识生产质量的提升、技术元素的充分整合以及产业技术实现从0到1的突破。新质生产力是战略性新兴产业与未来产业发展的重要支撑,面临高深知识生产的难度增加与成本升高、产业周期与经济周期的叠加影响、追赶效应与趋同理论支配下的国家发展瓶颈等困境。以新质生产力应对剧变中的世界秩序,需要考虑科技创新生态系统的复合型结构与自我进化能力,技术元素的自我生成、自我发展和自我增强,以及创新生态的自适应性与多中心结构等因素。面对正在进行的新型工业化革命,需要建立一个面向未来的、能够将高深知识生产与产业技术突破深度融合且不断自我进化的创新生态系统,进而突破传统的消费、信贷以及货币政策驱动的生产与分配模式,在国家层面构筑一个超大型、稳定有效且具备价值提升能力的资产组合。高等教育应当成为政府和社会“永不退出的价值投资”,在世界经济整体下行的经济周期内,国家和社会更应当加大对高等教育的综合投入:根据区域经济与产业经济带的内生需求以及新型知识生产模式建设新型研究型大学集群和学科集群;基于技术要素流动与整合构建新型高等教育创新与激励机制;形成科技革命的回馈循环机制,将高等教育打造成科技创新生态系统的关键环节。

社区高龄老人握力和生活质量的关系研究

目的 本研究基于社会隔离和抑郁2个中介变量,构建多重中介模型,探讨高龄老人的握力对其生活质量的影响机制。方法 于2020年10月-2021年4月,利用方便整群抽样法对上海市400名≥80岁社区高龄老人,采用Lubben社会网络量表(LSNS-6)、老年抑郁量表简表(GDS-5)、世界卫生组织生活质量评定量表老年模块(WHOQOL-OLD)和握力计对高龄老人的社会隔离、抑郁、生活质量及握力进行测量。采用SPSS PROCESS程序检验链式中介效应。结果 相关性分析结果显示:握力、社会隔离、抑郁和生活质量间显著相关(P<0.01)。中介效应,分析结果显示:握力可直接影响高龄老人的生活质量[效应值=0.394;95%CI=(0.219,0.532)],还可以通过3条中介效应链对生活质量造成影响:社会隔离[效应值=0.219;95%CI=(0.125,0.328)],抑郁[效应值=0.054;95%CI=(0.029,0.087)],及社会隔离、抑郁的链式作用[效应值=0.054;95%CI=(0.029,0.087)];总中介效应占总效应的51.2%。结论 握力降低是高龄老人生活质量下降的重要风险因素,且社会隔离和抑郁是这一影响的重要解释机制。社区卫生工作者应重视握力对高龄老人生活质量的影响,并基于社会隔离和抑郁的作用路径制定干预策略,以改善高龄老人的生活质量、促进健康老龄化。

新质生产力的“四个之问”

在新一轮的科技革命和产业革命的推动下,生产力的发展带动了生产方式的转变,也由此对生产关系和经济结构产生了重要影响。促进新质生产力的形成既有国外高端技术封锁的倒逼作用影响,又有扩大内需的国内发展的现实需要,还有我国生产力理论内在发展需要。但是,对于技术进步与新质生产力之间存在何种关系、新质生产力是否具有中国独特性、新质生产力的底层逻辑是什么、新质生产力形成与发展的动力机制是什么等问题,目前学术界并没有形成统一的观点。以新质生产力形成过程中的“四个之问”——“与技术进步的关系之问”“中国独特性之问”“底层逻辑之问”“动力机制之问”为主线,探索性地寻求新质生产力的形成与发展规律,通过将这“四个之问”整合在一个综合框架下进行讨论,旨在更全面和系统地理解新质生产力的形成和演进路径。

企业家精神、工匠精神对先进制造业企业高质量发展的影响机制

高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务,先进制造业是驱动高质量发展的主力军。在此背景下,归纳中国化时代化的企业家精神、工匠精神的新内涵。从两种精神出发,重视人作为企业高质量发展主体的作用,结合场动力理论和心理契约理论,引入组织创新氛围和心理契约作为中介变量,构建先进制造业企业高质量发展影响机制模型。基于412份有效数据的实证分析表明:①企业家精神、工匠精神正向影响先进制造业企业高质量发展;②组织创新氛围和心理契约对先进制造业企业高质量发展具有积极影响;③组织创新氛围和心理契约在企业家精神、工匠精神与先进制造业企业高质量发展间发挥中介作用。研究结论可从微观层面丰富高质量发展内涵,并为先进制造业企业实现高质量发展提供参考。