Effect of volatile versus propofol anaesthesia on major complications and mortality after cardiac surgery: a multicentre randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: The comparative effectiveness of volatile anaesthesia and total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) in terms of patient outcomes after cardiac surgery remains a topic of debate. METHODS: Multicentre randomised trial in 16 tertiary hospitals in China. Adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive volatile anaesthesia (sevoflurane or desflurane) or propofol-based TIVA. The primary outcome was a composite of predefined major complications during hospitalisation and mortality 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Of the 3123 randomised patients, 3083 (98.7%; mean age 55 yr; 1419 [46.0%] women) were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. The composite primary outcome was met by a similar number of patients in both groups (volatile group: 517 of 1531 (33.8%) patients vs TIVA group: 515 of 1552 (33.2%) patients; relative risk 1.02 [0.92-1.12]; P=0.76; adjusted odds ratio 1.05 [0.90-1.22]; P=0.57). Secondary outcomes including 6-month and 1-yr mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU and hospital stay, and healthcare costs, were also similar for the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among adults undergoing cardiac surgery, we found no difference in the clinical effectiveness of volatile anaesthesia and propofol-based TIVA. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17013578).

Comprehensive characterization and identification of chemical constituents in Yangwei decoction using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

Yangwei decoction, a classical traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been widely used to treat exogenous cold and internal injury with damp stagnation for many centuries. However, its systematic chemical profiling remains ambiguous, which has hampered the interpretation of pharmacology and the mechanism of its formula. In the present study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method was successfully established for the first time to separate and identify the complicated components of Yangwei decoction. The accurate mass data of the protonated molecules, deprotonated molecules, and fragment ions were detected in positive and negative ion modes. A total of 226 compounds in Yangwei decoction were tentatively identified and unambiguously characterized by comparing their retention times and mass spectrometry data with those of reference standards and literature, including 24 lignans, 18 alkaloids, 9 phenylpropanoid glycosides, 76 flavonoids, 59 triterpenoids, 17 organic acids, 7 gingerols, 8 lactones, and 8 other compounds. The present study provides a novel method of constituents characterization for well-known Chinese medicine prescriptions. The study aims to lay a robust foundation for future research, providing the holistic quality control and pharmacology of Yangwei decoction.

Establishment of an animal model of ejaculatory duct obstruction.

This study aimed to establish animal models with different degrees of ejaculatory duct obstruction. Forty-eight male rats aged 14-15 weeks were randomly divided into three groups (n = 16): control, complete ejaculatory duct obstruction (tied around the lower seminal vesicle gland and ductus deferens with a 2-0 silk ligature), and partial ejaculatory duct obstruction (padded with a wire guide). Mortality, complications, seminal vesicle morphology and histopathology were compared in the three groups at 4 and 8 weeks postoperatively. In the complete ejaculatory duct obstruction group, seminal vesicle weight decreased gradually with increased obstruction time compared with those of the control group (p < 0.05); moreover, stone-like material was occasionally observed. In the partial ejaculatory duct obstruction group, there was an increase followed by a decrease in seminal vesicle weight in the postoperative period compared with that of the control group (p < 0.05). Histopathological lesions of seminal vesicles were observed in the complete and partial ejaculatory duct obstruction groups (8 weeks postoperatively). We successfully established animal models of complete and partial ejaculatory duct obstruction, which provide an easy-to-use tool for studying seminal vesicle changes after ejaculatory duct obstruction.

[Comparison of eleven active components in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis and leaves of Lonicero japonica by UPLC].

This present study aims to establish a UPLC method for simultaneously determining eleven components such as new chlorogenic acid,chlorogenic acid,caffeic acid,cryptochlorogenic acid,artichoke,isochlorogenic acid A,isochlorogenic acid B,isochlorogenic acid C,rutin,hibisin and loganin in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis and leaves of Lonicera japonica and comparing the differences in the contents of phenolic acids,flavonoids and iridoid glycosides of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis and leaves of Lonicera japonica.The method was carried out on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18column(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7 µm) by a gradient elution using acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid.The flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1.The column temperature was maintained at 30 ℃.The sample room temperature was 8 ℃.The wavelength was set at 326 nm for new chlorogenic acid,chlorogenic acid,caffeic acid,cryptochlorogenic acid,artichoke,isochlorogenic acid A,isochlorogenic acid B and isochlorogenic acid C,352 nm for rutin and lignin,and 238 nm for loganin.The injection volume was 1 µL.The eleven components has good resolution and was separated to baseline.Each component had a wide linear range and a good linear relationship(r≥0.999 6),the average recovery rate(n=9) was 98.96%,100.7%,97.24%,97.06%,99.53%,96.78%,98.12%,95.20%,95.12%,100.2%,98.61%and with RSD was 2.5%,1.4%,1.9%,2.1%,1.7%,1.9%,1.6%,2.0%,1.4%,2.2%,2.0%,respectively.Based on the results of the content determination,the chemometric methods such as cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used to compare the Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis and leaves of Lonicera japonica.The results showed that Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and leaves of Lonicera japonica were similar in the chemical constituents,but both showed chemical constituents difference compored to Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis.The established multi-component quantitative analysis method can provide a reference for the quality control of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Lonicerae Japonicae Caulis and leaves of Lonicera japonica.

LncRNA HOTAIR promotes DNA damage repair and radioresistance by targeting ATR in colorectal cancer.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in cancer progression and drug resistance development. Moreover, there is evidence that lncRNA HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. The present study aimed to examine the functional role of lncRNA HOTAIR in conferring radiotherapy resistance in CRC cells, as well as the underlying mechanism. The relative expression levels of HOTAIR were examined in 70 pairs of CRC tumor and para-cancerous tissues, as well as in radiosensitive and radioresistant samples. The correlations between HOTAIR expression levels and clinical features of patients with CRC were assessed using the Chi-square test. Functional assays such as cell proliferation, colony formation and apoptosis assays were conducted to determine the radiosensitivity in CRC cells with HOTAIR silencing after treatment with different doses of radiation. RNA pull-down assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to determine the interaction between HOTAIR and DNA damage response mediator ataxia-telangiectasia mutated- and Rad3-related (ATR). HOTAIR was significantly upregulated in CRC tumor tissues, especially in radioresistant tumor samples. The elevated expression of HOTAIR was correlated with more advanced histological grades, distance metastasis and the poor prognosis in patients with CRC. Silencing HOTAIR suppressed the proliferation and promoted apoptosis and radiosensitivity in CRC cells. HOTAIR knockdown also inhibited the tumorigenesis of CRC cells and enhanced the sensitivity to radiotherapy in a mouse xenograft model. Moreover, the data showed that HOTAIR could interact with ATR to regulate the DNA damage repair signaling pathway. Silencing HOTAIR impaired the ATR-ATR interacting protein (ATRIP) complex and signaling in cell cycle progression. Collectively, the present results indicate that lncRNA HOTAIR facilitates the DNA damage response pathway and promotes radioresistance in CRC cells by targeting ATR.

Effects of Counter-Stereotypes Cognitive Training on Aging Stereotypes in 12- to 13-Year Olds.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescents' aging stereotypes and to further investigate the best training method to intervene in aging stereotypes by comparing the effect of single and multiple intervention training methods on aging stereotypes and their retention effects. Three experiments examined the different intervention outcomes of different counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescent aging stereotypes. The study used a randomized block group experimental design and recruited a total of 183 middle school students for testing. Experiment 1 verified the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training by taking a single training task (evaluative conditioning technique), randomly assigning subjects to different conditions (training task or unrelated drawing task), and administering a follow-up test 24h after the posttest. Experiment 2a compared the effects of multiple versus single cognitive training, where we took multiple (adding the counter-stereotypes situational storytelling method) versus single training tasks and administered a follow-up test 72h after the posttest. Experiment 2b increased the number of training sessions based on Experiment 2a, with a second intervention training 72h after the end of the posttest and a follow-up test 72h after the second training. Experimental results suggest that evaluative conditioning techniques are effective in weakening subjects' aging stereotypes, but are less effective in maintaining them. Compared to a single training task, multi-tasking is more effective and the effects of the intervention are maintained for up to a week by increasing the number of training sessions.

A Robust Prognostic Gene Signature Based on eRNAs-Driven Genes in Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common malignancy in men, but its exact pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear. This study explores the effect of enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) in PCa. Firstly, we screened eRNAs and eRNA -driven genes from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, which are related to the disease-free survival (DFS) of PCa patients;. screening methods included bootstrapping, Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis. Then, a risk score model was established using multivariate Cox analysis, and the results were validated in three independent cohorts. Finally, we explored the function of eRNA-driven genes through enrichment analysis and analyzed drug sensitivity on datasets from the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database. We constructed and validated a robust prognostic gene signature involving three eRNA-driven genes namely MAPK15, ZNF467, and MC1R. Moreover, we evaluated the function of eRNA-driven genes associated with tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor mutational burden (TMB), and identified remarkable differences in drug sensitivity between high- and low-risk groups. This study identified a prognostic gene signature, which provides new insights into the role of eRNAs and eRNA-driven genes while assisting clinicians to determine the prognosis and appropriate treatment options for patients with PCa.

Phytochemical Analysis Using UPLC-MS/MS Combined with Network Pharmacology Methods to Explore the Biomarkers for the Quality Control of Lingguizhugan Decoction.

As a classic TCM prescription, LGZG has been widely used in clinical prevention and treatment of heart failure, nonalcoholic fatty liver, and hyperlipidemia. However, there are few studies on chemical components in recent years, and the basis of quality evaluation is not sufficient. This study was to find the active ingredients of the Lingguizhugan decoction using UPLC-MS/MS and network pharmacology. By comparing the retention time and MS dates of the reference and self-building database, the cleavage rules of chemical composition whose mass errors are less than 1 ppm(FL less than 3 ppm) are analyzed. On this basis, a network pharmacology method was used to find biomarkers for quantitative analysis. The results show that 149 compounds were preliminaries identified or inferred, including 63 flavonoids, 30 triterpenes, 22 phenylpropanoids, 13 organic acids, 6 lactones, 5 alkaloids, 4 anthraquinones, and 6 other compounds. According to the network pharmacology results, 20 chemical constituents were selected as the biomarkers, which were determined simultaneously for the first time, including poricoic acid A, poricoic acid B, glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin apioside, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, B, and C, atractylenolide I, II, and III, and coumarin. The methodological results show that the linearity, stability, precision, repeatability, and recovery of the method are satisfactory. Therefore, a comprehensive quality assessment system for LGZG was established on the basis of a systematic study of chemical substances and network pharmacology, which provided an important reference for the foundation of pharmacological action and its mechanics.