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Background: Globally, there is an increasing trend in the incidence of premature births and low birth weight. Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care has become indispensable for these newborns. Nevertheless, this mode of care poses substantial economic, psychological, and health challenges to the families of preterm infants. Despite abundant evidence concerning the parents' needs in the NICU, the needs of grandparents—vital family members—are frequently disregarded. This exploratory study aimed to assess the grandparents' needs of preterm infants in the NICU, exploring the impact of demographic elements on these needs to offer guidance for clinical care practices. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design and the Chinese version of the NICU Family Needs Inventory (NICU-FNI) to investigate the needs of grandparents. A total of 280 grandparents participated in the study, providing data by completing structured questionnaires related to their demographic profiles and needs. Statistical analyses were utilized to analyze the data, including descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results: Six items about Assurance emerged as significant among the top 10 important needs, with two items for Information, one for Proximity, and one for Support; among the least important needs, nine items related to Comfort and Support were identified. The subscale "Assurance" achieved the highest mean score of 4.07 ± 0.49, followed by the subscales of "Information" and "Proximity," registering mean scores of 3.50 ± 0.47 and 3.50 ± 0.46, respectively. This explorative study identified a correlation between the needs for Assurance and employment status, place of residence, gestational age, and birth weight (p < 0.05). Employment status, place of residence, and gestational age were identified as significant correlates for Assurance (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The foremost need identified by grandparents is Assurance of quality care for preterm infants, closely followed by the demand for thorough Information and the ability to be in Proximity to the infant. This exploratory study highlights that mitigating the strain on families with preterm infants, as well as recognizing and meeting the needs of grandparents, is of paramount importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAG9 Interacts with Hsp20s and Maintains Hsps Stability under Heat Stress We next identified BAG9-interacting proteins by applying yeast two-hybrid screens. To further investigate whether heat-induced oxidative stress caused the oxidation of functional proteins, SDS-PAGE was used to analyze protein oxidation among proteins isolated from total proteins. Involvement of BAG9 in Tomato Thermotolerance Transcript analysis of 10 I SlBAGs i under heat stress was conducted to determine whether heat stress induced BAG gene expression. Thus, BAG9 played a crucial role in response to heat stress by regulating cellular redox homeostasis and the stability of heat shock proteins. [Extracted from the article]

A previous study revealed that protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type D (PTPRD) is highly associated with diabetes mellitus, particularly for type 2 diabetes, through a genome-wide association study. However, the influence of the human polymorphism in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of PTPRD on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has remained to be defined. The present study focused on the functional polymorphism located in the 3'-UTR of PTPRD and whether it is associated with the susceptibility to develop GDM. A total of 1,100 pregnant female patients aged between 28 and 36 years within gestational weeks 24-28 were recruited. The participants enrolled in the study comprised 500 cases of GDM and 600 normal controls. Based on the screening results, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs56407701 exhibited the most significant difference and may increase the susceptibility to GDM. A prediction of target microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) using the miRNA SNP database indicated that SNP rs56407701 may be bound by miR-450a, causing the suppression of PTPRD expression in subjects with the GC or CC genotype. In conclusion, The CC genotype of PTPRD rs56407701, which may be bound by miR-450a, may increase the susceptibility of Chinese Han females to GDM during pregnancy. The present study provided a theoretical basis for the SNP rs56407701 being a source of GDM susceptibility loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]