BACKGROUND On January 22,2020,Macao reported its first case of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infection.By August 2021,the situation had escalated into a crisis of community transmission.In response,the government ...BACKGROUND On January 22,2020,Macao reported its first case of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infection.By August 2021,the situation had escalated into a crisis of community transmission.In response,the government launched a recruitment campaign seeking assistance and services of healthcare workers(HCWs)from the private sector throughout Macao.These participants faced concerns about their own health and that of their families,as well as the responsibility of maintaining public health and wellness.This study aims to determine whether the ongoing epidemic has caused them physical and psychological distress.AIM To examine the influence of COVID-19 on the sleep quality and psychological status of HCWs in private institutions in Macao during the pandemic.METHODS Data were collected from December 2020 to January 2022.Two consecutive surveys were conducted.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)scale,Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS),and Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)were employed as investigation tools.RESULTS In the first-stage survey,32%of HCWs experienced a sleep disorder,compared to 28.45%in the second-stage survey.A total of 31.25%of HCWs in the first-stage survey and 28.03%in the second had varying degrees of anxiety.A total of 50.00%of HCWs in the first-stage survey and 50.63%in the second experienced varying degrees of depression.No difference in PSQI scores,SAS scores,or SDS scores were observed between the two surveys,indicating that the COVID-19 epidemic influenced the sleep quality and psychological status of HCWs.The negative influence persisted over both periods but did not increase remarkably for more than a year.However,a positive correlation was observed between the PSQI,SAS,and SDS scores(r=0.428-0.775,P<0.01),indicating that when one of these states deteriorated,the other two tended to deteriorate as well.CONCLUSION The sleep quality,anxiety,and depression of HCWs in private institution in Macao were affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.While these factors did not deteriorate significantly,the negative effects persisted for a year and remained noteworthy.展开更多
Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells （DPSCs） for potential application in tendon tissue engin...Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells （DPSCs） for potential application in tendon tissue engineering. The expression of tendon- related markers such as scleraxis, tenascin-C, tenomodulin, eye absent homologue 2, collagens I and VI was detected in dental pulp tissue. Interestingly, under mechanical stimulation, these tendon-related markers were significantly enhanced when DPSCs were seeded in aligned polyglycolic acid （PGA） fibre scaffolds. Furthermore, mature tendon-like tissue was formed after transplantation of DPSC-PGA constructs under mechanical loading conditions in a mouse model. This study demonstrates that DPSCs could be a ootential stem cell source for tissue enEineerin~ of tendon-like tissue.展开更多
基金Supported by Specialized Subsidy Scheme for Macao Higher Education Institutions in the Area of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences,No.HSS-MUST-2020-04.
文摘BACKGROUND On January 22,2020,Macao reported its first case of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infection.By August 2021,the situation had escalated into a crisis of community transmission.In response,the government launched a recruitment campaign seeking assistance and services of healthcare workers(HCWs)from the private sector throughout Macao.These participants faced concerns about their own health and that of their families,as well as the responsibility of maintaining public health and wellness.This study aims to determine whether the ongoing epidemic has caused them physical and psychological distress.AIM To examine the influence of COVID-19 on the sleep quality and psychological status of HCWs in private institutions in Macao during the pandemic.METHODS Data were collected from December 2020 to January 2022.Two consecutive surveys were conducted.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)scale,Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS),and Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)were employed as investigation tools.RESULTS In the first-stage survey,32%of HCWs experienced a sleep disorder,compared to 28.45%in the second-stage survey.A total of 31.25%of HCWs in the first-stage survey and 28.03%in the second had varying degrees of anxiety.A total of 50.00%of HCWs in the first-stage survey and 50.63%in the second experienced varying degrees of depression.No difference in PSQI scores,SAS scores,or SDS scores were observed between the two surveys,indicating that the COVID-19 epidemic influenced the sleep quality and psychological status of HCWs.The negative influence persisted over both periods but did not increase remarkably for more than a year.However,a positive correlation was observed between the PSQI,SAS,and SDS scores(r=0.428-0.775,P<0.01),indicating that when one of these states deteriorated,the other two tended to deteriorate as well.CONCLUSION The sleep quality,anxiety,and depression of HCWs in private institution in Macao were affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.While these factors did not deteriorate significantly,the negative effects persisted for a year and remained noteworthy.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (81171470 and 81100761)the key clinical specialty discipline construction programme of Fujian, Chinathe Key Project of Science and Technology Bureau of Jiangsu Province (BL2013002)
文摘Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells （DPSCs） for potential application in tendon tissue engineering. The expression of tendon- related markers such as scleraxis, tenascin-C, tenomodulin, eye absent homologue 2, collagens I and VI was detected in dental pulp tissue. Interestingly, under mechanical stimulation, these tendon-related markers were significantly enhanced when DPSCs were seeded in aligned polyglycolic acid （PGA） fibre scaffolds. Furthermore, mature tendon-like tissue was formed after transplantation of DPSC-PGA constructs under mechanical loading conditions in a mouse model. This study demonstrates that DPSCs could be a ootential stem cell source for tissue enEineerin~ of tendon-like tissue.
