Effect of Personalized Music Intervention in Mechanically Ventilated Children in the PICU: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility of a personalized music intervention with mechanically ventilated patients in the PICU. DESIGN: Pilot study with a quasi-experimental design. SETTING: Tertiary children's hospital in China with a 40-bed PICU. PATIENTS: Children, 1 month to 7 years, with mechanical ventilation were recruited and assigned to music group (n = 25) and control group (n = 25). INTERVENTIONS: Children in the music group received their own favorite music and listened for 60 minutes three times a day. The control group receive routine care without music. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcome measure was comfort measured with the COMFORT Behavior scale 5 minutes before and after the music. Secondary outcome measures were physiologic variables; heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, oxygen saturation. Mechanical ventilation time, length of stay, and sedation medication were also collected. Qualitative analysis revealed that nurses had a positive attitude in delivering the interventions and identified improvements for the main trial. Children in the music group had lower COMFORT Behavior scores (15.7 vs 17.6; p = 0.011). Children in the music group had better physiologic outcomes; heart rate (140 vs 144; p = 0.039), respiration rate (40 vs 43; p = 0.036), systolic blood pressure (93 vs 95 mm Hg; p = 0.031), oxygen saturation (96% vs 95%; p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure was not significantly (52 vs 53 mm Hg; p = 0.11). Children in the music group had a shorter ventilation time (148.7 vs 187.6; p = 0.044) and a shorter length of stay, but not significant (11.2 vs 13.8; p = 0.071). Children in the control group had higher total amount of on-demand midazolam (29 vs 33 mg; p = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study indicates that personalized music intervention is feasible and might improve the comfort of children with mechanical ventilation. Further studies are needed to provide conclusive evidence in confirming the effectiveness of music interventions comforting critically ill children in PICUs.

[DNA polymorphism detection of Cannabis using amplified fragment length polymorphism].

OBJECTIVE: To screen the AFLP primers with good diversity to distinguish various species of Cannabis. METHODS: The AFLP was used to analyze the genetic diversity of 12 species of Cannabis using 55 primer combinations. RESULTS: A total of 285 AFLP bands were obtained using five primer combinations with better diversity, among which 99 bands were polymorphic and 10 bands were special, with 47-76 bands amplified in each pair of primers. CONCLUSION: AFLP may has good resolution in the diversity study of Cannabis. It may provide an essential basis for further study of the genetic diversity of Cannabis.

Targeting Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase by a Simple siRNA Expression Cassette in HepG2 Cells.

BACKGROUND: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) has become an ideal target for development of anticancer therapy. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are very powerful reagents for gene silencing and show promise for cancer gene therapy. However, only a small number of siRNAs have been demonstrated to be effective. For gene therapy targeting hTERT, it is essential to develop a robust system to fully explore the power of siRNAs. OBJECTIVES: We explored a siRNA expression cassette (SEC) to screen highly effective RNAi-targeted sequences for gene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An SEC was developed by flanking H1 and U6 promoters in opposite directions at the siRNA-encoding sequence. Eight SECs specific to hTERT were designed by overlap extension polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and transfected into HepG2 cells with calcium phosphate. The telomerase activity was determined by telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) silver staining and TRAP real-time PCR analysis. The mRNA and protein expression levels of hTERT were determined by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and western blot, respectively. Cell viability was determined by the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and cell apoptosis was measured by the annexin-V/propidium iodide (PI) assay coupled with flow cytometry. RESULTS: Eight hTERT-specific SECs (SEC-1-8) were successfully constructed. In comparison to that of the negative control SEC, the hTERT-specific SECs, especially, SEC-4, SEC-5, SEC-7 and SEC-8 significantly reduced the activity of hTERT in HepG2 cells at 48 hours after transfection. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expression levels of hTERT as well as the cell viability were significantly reduced by SECs. Knockdown of hTERT by SECs in HepG2 cells led to cell apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our developed simple SEC was a powerful strategy for screening highly effective RNAi-targeted sequences and showed promise for gene therapy of HCC.

[Species distribution and coagulation behavior of covalent bonded aluminum-silicon hybrid flocculants].

Covalent bonded aluminum-silicon hybrid flocculants were synthesized by employing tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and two silane coupling agents [diethoxydimethylsilane (DEDMS), gamma-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane (APDES)] as silicon sources, respectively. The distribution of Al species was investigated by 27Al NMR method and the coagulation behavior was evaluated by treating synthetic water containing humic acid. The results of 27Al NMR show that silicon source, Si/Al molar ratio and basicity (B) exhibit effect on the Al species distribution. In the products with APDES as silicon source, the highest content of Al13 was obtained and its amount increases with the rise of Si/Al molar ratio. The effect of B value on the Al species is similar for the three sets of flocculants. The content of monomeric species decreases with the rise of B value. At Si/Al = 0.4, there are no Al13 observed throughout the B value range in the products with TEOS as silicon source. Al13 starts to appear at a higher B value of 1.5 for the products with DEDMS as silicon source and a lower B value of 0.5 for that with APDES as silicon source, respectively. The coagulation results show that, in acidic conditions, the best dosage range of the flocculants with APDES as silicon source is the widest of the three, resulting in the best coagulation efficiency. In alkaline conditions, the coagulation efficiency of the products with TEOS as silicon source is slightly better than the other two.

[Al species distribution of organic silicate aluminum hybrid flocculants by Al-ferron complexation timed spectrophotometric method].

New types of organic silicate aluminum hybrid flocculants were prepared by employing Tetraethylorthosilicat (TEOS), Diethoxydimethylsilane (DEDMS), gamma-Aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane (APDES) as silicon source. The Al species distribution in these new products was investigated by Al-Ferron complexation timed spectrophotometric method. The results show that silicon source, basicity (B) and Si/Al molar ratio have effect on the Al species distribution. Among them, basicity has greater effect, three sets of products have similar characteristics. The content of Al(a) declines with the rise of B value, while the contents of Al(b) and Al(c) increase. Al(c) is the dominant Al species in the products with TEOS as silicon source. DEDMS has little contribution to the distribution of Al species. In the products with APDES as silicon source, Al(c) is the dominant Al species while the content increases with the rise of Si/Al molar ratio.