Linlin Zhou | PubMed Health

PubMed2026

Effect of Narrative-Based Palliative Care on Psychological Stress, Quality of Life, and End-of-Life Acceptance in Elderly Terminal Cancer Patients and Their Families.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to preliminarily evaluate the impacts of narrative-based palliative care on psychological stress, end-of-life acceptance, and quality of life in elderly terminally ill cancer patients and their family caregivers.MethodsThis single-center, small-sample randomized controlled study enrolled 50 elderly terminal cancer patients. Patients were randomly assigned to either the observation group or the control group (n = 25 each). The observation group received narrative-based palliative care, while the control group received routine standard care. Family psychological stress was assessed using the Relative Stress Scale (RSS), and patients' perceived stress was evaluated with the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). Caregiver satisfaction was measured using a hospital-developed questionnaire. Patients' quality of life was evaluated using the SF-36, Chinese Version of the Death Attitude Profile (DAP-C), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively.ResultsBaseline characteristics did not differ significantly between the two groups (P > .05). Post-intervention, the observation group demonstrated significantly lower psychological stress among family members and higher caregiver satisfaction (P < .05). Patients in the observation group reported better quality of life, improved sleep, and greater acceptance of death than those in the control group (P < .05).ConclusionAs a small-sample, single-center study, these findings offer preliminary evidence that narrative-based palliative care may reduce psychological stress in elderly terminal cancer patients and caregivers while enhancing patients' quality of life, sleep quality, and acceptance of death. However, the limited sample size, single-site design, and narrow inclusion criteria restrict generalizability. Larger multicenter trials are needed to confirm these results.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Seed-type vacuolar processing enzymes recognize the 619th asparagine residue to posttranslationally cleave the HMW-GS 1Dy10-m619SN allele.

High molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) are critical grain storage proteins in wheat, which govern its unique processing quality. A HMW-GS 1Dy10 allele variant (1Dy10-m619SN), carrying a serine-to-asparagine substitution at the 619th residue, undergoes partial posttranslational cleavage. This modification leads to improved cookie-making quality. However, the enzymes mediating this cleavage remain unknown. In this study, we identified vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) as candidates for 1Dy10-m619SN processing using TurboID-based proximity labeling and RNA-seq analysis. In vitro cleavage assays confirmed that VPEs catalyzed 1Dy10-m619SN cleavage. Phylogenic analysis revealed that there are two seed-type VPEs in wheat, TaVPEI and TaVPEII, with TaVPEI being further subdivided into TaVPEI-1, TaVPEI-2, and TaVPEI-3. Despite sharing conserved catalytic domains, these isoforms display distinct temporal expression patterns, with TaVPEI-1 expression showing the strongest correlation with the posttranslational cleavage of 1Dy10-m619SN. TaVPEI-1 protein is localized to the vacuole, the well-known deposition site for HMW-GSs. Overexpression of TaVPEI-1 in wheat enhances the 1Dy10-m619SN cleavage. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the seed-type VPEs in wheat are responsible for the posttranslational cleavage of 1Dy10-m619SN, which provides new insights into the molecular basis of wheat's unique processing quality.

Triticum↗