All Sugar Based Cellulose Derivatives Synthesized by Azide–Alkyne Click Chemistry

Cellulose is functionalized with different monosaccharides by the azide–alkyne click chemistry approach. Either azide or alkyne moieties are attached to the cellulose backbone and allowed to react with sugar moieties bearing the opposite clickable groups. Between 16% and 100% of the reactive sites at the polymer can be functionalized with sugar molecules and a clear correlation between steric demand and DS_Sugar is observed. The polymers remain soluble in aprotic dipolar media like dimethyl sulfoxide. Products with a sufficient hydrophilicity dissolve in water as well. FTIR‐ and NMR spectroscopy reveal the triazole formation and indicate an incomplete conversion of the reactive sites as usually observed in the field of click chemistry with polymers.     

Symptom severity,symptom interference and use of complementary and alternative medicine among survivors of colorectal and breast cancer after curative treatment in Taiwan

This study compared symptom severity, symptom interference and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) between cancer survivors after curative treatment and individuals who did not have cancer. Factors associated with CAM use among cancer survivors were examined. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted of 146 cancer survivors (77 breast and 69 colorectal cancer survivors who had completed conventional treatment 1–5 years previously and were cancer‐free) from a hospital's cancer registration system (survivor group), and 161 healthy individuals without cancer (comparison group). The two groups were frequency‐matched for sex and age. Findings indicated higher use of CAM in the survivor group (54.1%) than the comparison group (36.6%). There were no significant differences in overall symptom severity and interference between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression showed that prior use of CAM (OR = 5.14, 95% CI: 2.34–10.69) and higher symptom interference (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.001–1.08) were positively related to CAM use in the survivor group. The survivors did not have higher symptom severity and symptom interference with daily life, but were more likely to use CAM than the comparison group. Medical staff should discuss symptom interference and use of CAM with cancer survivors to guide them in the appropriate use of CAM.     

Web-based computer adaptive assessment of individual perceptions of job satisfaction for hospital workplace employees

Background  

To develop a web-based computer adaptive testing (CAT) application for efficiently collecting data regarding workers' perceptions of job satisfaction, we examined whether a 37-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ-37) could evaluate the job satisfaction of individual employees as a single construct.     

A Cost and Benefit Study of Esophagectomy for Patients with Esophageal Cancer

Introduction  

The incidence of esophageal cancer is increasing all over the world but the cost-and-benefit of esophagectomy for esophageal cancer patients was rarely studied. The aim of this study is to compare the cost-and-benefit of esophagectomy in different stages of esophageal cancer.