Evaluation of the Effect of Integrated Care on Preoperative Anxiety in Day Surgery Patients Based on the MVPA Framework.

Objective: To investigate the effect of receiving comprehensive care on preoperative anxiety in patients admitted to the operating room at different times. Methods: A generative model was applied to a patient's preoperative anxiety aid diagnostic model and used to address preoperative anxiety due to the patient. Group ICA first constructed a whole-brain dynamic functional connectivity network, and an initial dataset was constructed by Kendall's ranking correlation coefficient method; then, an expanded dataset was constructed by a conditional deep convolutional generative adversarial network (CDCGAN), and finally, a dynamic classification study of patients with preoperative anxiety and healthy subjects was conducted by feature selection and discriminant models in turn. Seventy patients who entered the operating theatre at different times were retrospectively analyzed. Children who entered the operating theatre after 14:00 were included in the control group (n = 35), and those who entered between 12:00 were included in the observation group (n = 35). Patients in both groups were given comprehensive care, and preoperative anxiety was compared between the two groups. Results: The earlier the patients entered the operating room, the lower the preoperative anxiety. Conclusion: Comprehensive care could reduce the patients' preoperative anxiety, keep their emotions stable, and improve their compliance with treatment.

Reducing tumescent anesthetic injection pain by topical anesthesia pretreatment among patients undergoing endovenous radiofrequency ablation of varicose veins: A double-blind randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Tumescent anesthesia frequently causes the intraoperative and postoperative pain during radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of varicose veins. We have to find a way to reduce pain caused by these injections. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of topical anesthesia pretreatment (TAP) on relieving needle puncture pain during administration of tumescent anesthesia among patients undergoing RFA of varicose veins. METHODS: Eligible patients treated with RFA were recruited and randomized to either application of TAP with lidocaine-prilocaine cream (EMLA) or water-based cream (placebo). The primary outcome was patient described pain scores on the visual analogue scale (VAS) at different time points during the procedure. Secondary outcomes were technical success rate, complications, satisfaction level, expense, and extra analgesia use. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients were randomized: 32 to EMLA and 30 to placebo. Both groups had comparable baseline demographics, CEAP classification, and Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS). Less tumescent anesthetic needle puncture pain was found in the EMLA group (22 ± 7 vs 42 ± 8, p < .01). Pain scores of other time points were equivalent. There was less pain in EMLA pretreated area compared to non-pretreated area in the same patient during needle puncture (22 ± 7 vs 45 ± 7, p < .01), and similar phenomena did not appear in the placebo group. There was no statistical difference in complications, satisfaction level, expense, and technical success between the two groups. And no extra analgesia was used in all patients. CONCLUSION: We recommend the routine use of TAP to reduce the needle puncture pain during tumescent anesthesia in RFA of lower extremity varicose veins.

ICE-CBF-COR Signaling Cascade and Its Regulation in Plants Responding to Cold Stress.

Cold stress limits plant geographical distribution and influences plant growth, development, and yields. Plants as sessile organisms have evolved complex biochemical and physiological mechanisms to adapt to cold stress. These mechanisms are regulated by a series of transcription factors and proteins for efficient cold stress acclimation. It has been established that the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway in plants regulates how plants acclimatize to cold stress. Cold stress is perceived by receptor proteins, triggering signal transduction, and Inducer of CBF Expression (ICE) genes are activated and regulated, consequently upregulating the transcription and expression of the C-repeat Binding Factor (CBF) genes. The CBF protein binds to the C-repeat/Dehydration Responsive Element (CRT/DRE), a homeopathic element of the Cold Regulated genes (COR gene) promoter, activating their transcription. Transcriptional regulations and post-translational modifications regulate and modify these entities at different response levels by altering their expression or activities in the signaling cascade. These activities then lead to efficient cold stress tolerance. This paper contains a concise summary of the ICE-CBF-COR pathway elucidating on the cross interconnections with other repressors, inhibitors, and activators to induce cold stress acclimation in plants.

Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Reveal Purine and Phenylpropanoid Metabolism Response to Drought Stress in Dendrobium sinense, an Endemic Orchid Species in Hainan Island.

Drought stress is a bottleneck factor for plant growth and development, especially in epiphytic orchids that absorb moisture mainly from the air. Recent studies have suggested that there are complex transcriptional regulatory networks related to drought stress in Dendrobium sinense. In this study, the transcription and metabolite alterations involved in drought stress response in D. sinense were investigated through RNA-seq and metabolomics. A total of 856 metabolites were identified from stressed and control samples, with 391 metabolites showing significant differences. With PacBio and Illumina RNA sequencing, 72,969 genes were obtained with a mean length of 2,486 bp, and 622 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Correlation analysis showed 7 differential genes, and 39 differential metabolites were involved in interaction networks. The network analysis of differential genes and metabolites suggested that the pathways of purine metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may play an important role in drought response in D. sinense. These results provide new insights and reference data for culturally important medicinal plants and the protection of endangered orchids.

The complete chloroplast genome of Clerodendrum japonicum (Thunb.) Sweet, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant.

Clerodendrum japonicum (Thunb.) sweet, a member of Verbenaceae, is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia. Herein, we reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. japonicum. The size of the chloroplast genome is 152,171 bp in length, including a large single-copy region (LSC) of 83,415 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 17,318 bp, which was separated by a pair of inverted repeated regions of 25,719 bp. The C. japonicum chloroplast genome encodes 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree showed that C. japonicum is closely related to C. mandarinorum and C. yunnanense.

Comparison of allelopathic effects of two typical invasive plants: Mikania micrantha and Ipomoea cairica in Hainan island.

Mikania micrantha and Ipomoea cairica are two invasive plants widely distribute and seriously damage in Hainan island. In this study, the leaves extracts of two weeds were collected and determined for their allelopathic potentials on Chrysanthemum coronarium. The phytotoxicity bioassay showed that when the extract concentration was 50 and 100 mg/ml, the inhibited effects of M. micrantha on growth of C. coronarium were greater than by I. cairica. However, when the extract concertation at 400 mg/ml, the opposite inhibited effects were observed. We speculated this phenomenon was caused by different allelopathic compounds. Therefore, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, 19 and 23 compounds were identified respectively, benzoic acid and cinnamic acid were the main components in the two leaves extracts, which were selected to carry out the further bioassays. Subsequent bioassay results showed the effects of two allelochemicals on morphological index and chlorophyll content and POD activity were all negative to C. coronarium, whereas the content of MDA and activity of SOD, CAT represented adverse changes. Moreover, the inhibitions by cinnamic acid were generally greater than those by benzoic acid. Thus, the phenolic acids played the most crucial roles in the allelopathic effccts of M. micrantha and I. cairica leaves extracts.

Desiccation Treatment and Endogenous IAA Levels Are Key Factors Influencing High Frequency Somatic Embryogenesis in Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.

Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook (Chinese fir) is an important tree, commercially and ecologically, in southern China. The traditional regenerating methods are based on organogenesis and cutting propagation. Here, we report the development of a high-frequency somatic embryogenesis (SE) regeneration system synchronized via a liquid culture from immature zygotic embryos. Following synchronization, PEM II cell aggregates were developmentally equivalent in appearance to cleaved zygotic embryos. Embryo and suspensor growth and subsequent occurrence of the apical and then the cotyledonary meristems were similar for zygotic and SE embryo development. However, SE proembryos exhibited a more reddish coloration than zygotic proembryos, and SE embryos were smaller than zygotic embryos. Mature somatic embryos gave rise to plantlets on hormone-free medium. For juvenile explants, low concentrations of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid in initial explants correlated with improved proembryogenic mass formation, and high SE competency. Analysis of karyotypes and microsatellites detected no major genetic variation in the plants regenerated via SE, and suggest a potential in the further development of this system as a reliable methodology for true-to-type seedling production. Treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and abscisic acid (ABA) were of great importance to proembryo formation and complemented each other. ABA assisted the growth of embryonal masses, whereas PEG facilitated the organization of the proembryo-like structures. SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR KINASE SERK) and the WUSCHEL homeobox (WOX) transcription factor served as molecular markers during early embryogenesis. Our results show that ClSERKs are conserved and redundantly expressed during SE. SERK and WOX transcript levels were highest during development of the proembryos and lowest in developed embryos. ClWOX13 expression correlates with the critical transition from proembryogenic masses to proembryos. Both SERK and WOX expression reveal their applicability in Chinese fir as markers of early embryogenesis. Overall, the findings provided evidence for the potential of this system in high fidelity Chinese fir seedlings production. Also, SE modification strategies were demonstrated and could be applied in other conifer species on the basis of our hormonal, morphological and molecular analyses.

In vivo reprogramming reactive glia into iPSCs to produce new neurons in the cortex following traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a significant amount of cell death in the brain. Unfortunately, the adult mammalian brain possesses little regenerative potential following injury and little can be done to reverse the initial brain damage caused by trauma. Reprogramming adult cells to generate induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) has opened new therapeutic opportunities to generate neurons in a non-neurogenic regions in the cortex. In this study we showed that retroviral mediated expression of four transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc, cooperatively reprogrammed reactive glial cells into iPSCs in the adult neocortex following TBI. These iPSCs further differentiated into a large number of neural stem cells, which further differentiated into neurons and glia in situ, and filled up the tissue cavity induced by TBI. The induced neurons showed a typical neuronal morphology with axon and dendrites, and exhibited action potential. Our results report an innovative technology to transform reactive glia into a large number of functional neurons in their natural environment of neocortex without embryo involvement and without the need to grow cells outside the body and then graft them back to the brain. Thus this technology offers hope for personalized regenerative cell therapies for repairing damaged brain.

The investigation of inhibiting quorum sensing and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation from Liriodendron hybrid.

The quorum sensing (QS) of pathogens has been found to affect their biofilm forming ability, making it a potential target for anti-microbial therapy. The present research aimed to evaluate the anti-QS activities of different extracts and isolated phytochemicals from Liriodendron hybrid barks and their roles in the inhibition of the growth and biofilm formation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The assays on the inhibition of QS by the five extracts (n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol) and eight isolated compounds were carried out by using both the indicator strains Chromobacrerium violaceum CV026 and C. violaceum ATCC12472. The in vitro effects of the five extracts and eight isolated compounds on MRSA biofilm were also preliminarily evaluated using crystal violet micro titer plate assays. The results suggested that the dichloromethane extract showed anti-QS and MRSA biofilm inhibitory activities and the n-hexane extract possessed only MRSA biofilm inhibitory effect. The dichloromethane extract could serve as a source for developing bacterial intervention strategies targeting microbial QS system. All eight isolated compounds showed no anti-QS and biofilm formation inhibiting activities. So further researches are still being required to purify and identify the compounds possessing anti-QS and biofilm inhibitory effects from the dichloromethane and n-hexane extracts.

In vitro tumor cytotoxic activities of extracts from three Liriodendron plants.

The extracts prepared from Liriodendron tulipifera Linn., L. chinense (Hemsl.) Sarg., and their hybrid L. chinense x L. tulipifera, were investigated for their cytotoxic abilities in vitro against five human cancer cell lines: MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells, HuH-7 hepatocarcinoma cells, and HCT-15 colon carcinoma cells, and then measured their phenols and alkaloids contents. Of these plant extracts, some of them, especially the lower polar extracts from barks, exhibited potent cytotoxic effects on five tested tumor cell lines.

Expression of allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1) in response to bacterial challenge and tissue injury in the pearl oyster, Pinctada martensii.

Allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1), an interferon (IFN)-γ-inducible calcium-binding cytokine, is associated with the inflammatory response and defense. We cloned and analyzed the expression pattern of the AIF-1 gene of the pearl oyster Pinctada martensii, hereafter designated PmAIF-1. The full-length PmAIF-1 cDNA is 946 bp in length and consists of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 120 bp, a 3'-UTR of 376 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 450 bp encoding a polypeptide of 149 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 17 kDa. Sequence analysis reveals that PmAIF-1 contains two EF hand Ca(+2)-binding motifs like those in previously characterized AIF-1s while alignment with known AIF-1 protein sequences reveals higher similarity to invertebrate orthologs than to those of vertebrates. Quantitative PCR analysis reveals that PmAIF-1 is constitutively expressed, with the highest expression detected in hemocytes, and the expression level of PmAIF-1 mRNA was significantly up-regulated in hemocytes, gill, digestive gland under bacterial challenge and tissue injury. After challenged by gram-negative bacteria Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, the expression level of this gene in hemocytes were all up-regulated and reached the maximum point at 12h (5.80 folds, P<0.01), 6h (5.02 folds, P<0.01) and 12h (5.49 folds, P<0.01), respectively. Under shell damage and mantle injury, PmAIF-1 mRNA increased gradually in the first 3h and reached a peak of expression at 6h post-injury. These findings suggest that PmAIF-1 is an acute-response protein involved in the innate immune responses of pearl oysters, and provide general information about the mechanisms of innate immune defense against bacterial infection in pearl oysters.