Objective To analyze gene expression profiles of biopsy specimens from breast cancer patients who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC) after biopsies, and to identify the genes which are closely associated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with T/FAC [docetaxel(Taxotere), 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide] or T/FEC (Taxotere, 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) regimen.Methods We retrieved and collected gene expression profiles from publicly available databases.Four datasets, a total of 844 samples, were finally retained because all the patients had received a uniform neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen.Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was categorized as a pathological complete response (pCR) or residual invasive cancer (RD).The differentially expressed genes (adjusted P-value<0.05) and therapeutic efficacy were analyzed and explored.Results After differential analysis, genes whose expressions were higher or lower in pCR group than in RD group were identified in each of the four datasets, respectively.There were 34 and 42 genes which were simultaneously more highly expressed or more lowly expressed in pCR group than in RD group in the four datasets.The unsupervised clustering, based on the 76 intersection genes, showed that the pCR specimens tended to form one cluster and the RD tended to form the other.Conclusion The seventy-six differentially expressed genes are associated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and are likely to be novel predictive biomarkers for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVETo determine whether any difference exists in the skin-temperature responses of the lower limbs to hot-stone application relative to one-site and three-site abdominal application.

METHODSTwenty-five female students participated in experimental sessions after a random allocation: 14 participants received a hot-stone application on the umbilicus, superior-umbilicus, and inferior-umbilicus regions (hereafter referred to as the three-site stimulation group); and 11 participants received the hot-stone application on the umbilicus region only (hereafter referred to as the one-site stimulation group). Heated stones were applied for 9 min to participants in both groups. Four arbitrary frames (the lower leg, ankle, proximal foot, and distal foot regions) were created in order to observe and analyze the skin temperature of a lower limb using a thermograph. Observation periods were as follows: before hot-stone stimulation, immediately after stimulation, and 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after stimulation.

RESULTSThere was a significant offset interaction of distal foot skin temperature between the groups. The left-side distal foot skin temperature increased at 15 and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. The right-side distal foot skin temperature increased immediately and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. No significant change in distal foot skin temperature was observed following the one-site stimulation.

CONCLUSIONLower-limb skin temperature was altered following hot-stone stimulation applied to the abdomen, and the one-site stimulation and three-site stimulation yielded different distal foot skin-temperature reactions.

Adult ; Hot Temperature ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Massage ; methods ; Skin Temperature

Objective:To examine the effects of heart rate control during hospitalization on short-term prognosis of heart failure in elderly patients.Methods:As a prospective study, 150 elderly patients with heart failure were selected from the Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.The subjects were divided into an experimental group and a control group by digitally generated random numbers, with 75 individuals in each group.Both groups received conventional anti-heart failure therapy during hospitalization, but patients from the control group had doses of heart rate control drugs adjusted every 2-4 weeks, with no special requirement for the heart rate before hospital discharge.In contrast, patients from the experimental group were given heart rate control drugs with timely dose adjustment to achieve more proactive heart rate control, aiming for a rate <70 beat/min, as long as heart failure symptom improvement and good volume management could be maintained.Values of cardiac function indexes were compared between the two groups at discharge and 6 months after discharge.Heart failure readmission rates within 6 months, cardiovascular disease mortality rates and the incidences of composite endpoint events after readmission due to heart failure aggravation were compared between the two groups.Treatment safety was also evaluated.Results:There was no statistical difference in blood pressure, heart rate, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-pro-BNP), left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF), left ventricular end systolic diameter(LVESD), or left ventricular end diastolic diameter(LVEDD)between the two groups at admission( P>0.05), and there was no statistical difference in the average length of hospitalization between the two groups( P>0.05). The experimental group had a lower average heart rate and diastolic pressure than the control group at discharge and 6 months latter[at discharge: (61.6±4.2)beat/min(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) vs.(78.0±7.1)beat/min, (62.1±10.4)mmHg vs.(66.1±10.2)mmHg; at 6 months: (64.7±12.1)beat/min vs.(71.8±11.2)beat/min, (62.8±11.2)mmHg vs.(68.6±10.2)mmHg; P<0.05 or P<0.01]. NT-pro-BNP in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group at discharge[(1 706±1 408)ng/L vs.(2 806±3 812)ng/L, P<0.05]. The absolute values of changes in LVEF(ΔLVEF), LVESD(ΔLVESD)and LVEDD(ΔLVEDD)after 6 months in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group[ΔLVEF: (0.08±0.09) vs.(0.02±0.09), P<0.05; ΔLVESD: (-5.82±7.44)mm vs.(-1.63±6.07)mm, P<0.01; ΔLVEDD: (-2.76±5.52)mm vs.(-0.86±4.44)mm, P<0.05]. The rate of readmission and the incidence of composite endpoint events within 6 months in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group[21.3%(16 cases) vs.36.0%(27 cases), P<0.05]; 25.3%(19 cases) vs.44.0%(33 cases), P<0.05.There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the two groups( P>0.05). Conclusions:For elderly patients with heart failure, proactive active heart rate control during hospitalization and a rate <70 beat/min before discharge will improve cardiac function indexes and lower the rate of readmission with exacerbation of heart failure, cardiovascular disease mortality and the incidence of composite end-point events after readmission.This strategy has good safety and is beneficial for short-term prognosis.

Objective:A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to determine the enzymatic activity of CD38 in blood, which was the major enzyme responsible for consuming nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Additionally, the study aimed to detect the differences in CD38 enzymatic activity among individuals of varying ages and health statuses.Methods:A 50 μl whole blood matrix and enzyme reaction substrate of 150 μl β-NAD at a concentration of 500 μmol/L were selected for the analysis. To eliminate the impact of endogenous β-NAD, the whole blood sample was pre-incubated at 37 ℃ for 20 minutes before adding the substrate. The reaction was terminated by perchloric acid (PCA) after incubation at 37 ℃ for 40 min. The change in product nicotinamide (NAM) before and after the enzymatic reaction was measured by HPLC to calculate the CD38 activity. The linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, and stability of the method were evaluated. The CD38 enzymatic activities in 60 healthy volunteers and 30 colorectal cancer patients in blood were determined by the developed method.Results:Pre-incubation at 37 ℃ for 20 minutes eliminated the effect of endogenous β-NAD. The correlation coefficient of NAM was 0.999 in the concentration range of 0.1-3.2 μmol/L, with limit of detection of 0.5 nmol/L and limit of quantification of 2.1 nmol/L. The average within-run imprecision ( CV) and total CV were 3.22%-4.03% and 2.91%-4.70%, respectively. The recovery rate ranged from 94.82% to 96.81%. The CD38 activity of whole blood was stable by storage at 4 ℃ for 48 hours, storage at room temperature for 8 hours, thawing of frozen whole blood at room temperature for 2 hours, or repeated freeze-thawing three times. NAM, NAD standards, and pre-treatment samples were stable after 48 hours at 4 ℃ and 8 hours at room temperature. CD38 activity gradually decreased with increasing concentration of the added CD38 inhibitor 4-aminoquinoline derivative (78c). Measurement of 60 healthy physical examination population samples showed significantly higher CD38 enzyme activity in the elderly group than that in the young group ( t=-2.776, P=0.007) and measurement of 30 colorectal cancer patients showed significantly higher CD38 enzyme activity than that in healthy people ( t=-2.572, P=0.012). Conclusion:The established HPLC method for determining CD38 enzymatic activity is characterized by its simplicity, efficiency, accuracy, and reproducibility. This technique serves as a valuable tool for investigating aging and aging-related diseases.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a severe cerebrovascular disease with a high incidence, mortality, and disability rate. The first-line treatment for IS is the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA). Regrettably, numerous patients encounter delays in treatment due to the narrow therapeutic window and the associated risk of hemorrhage. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has exhibited distinct advantages in preventing and treating IS. TCM enhances cerebral microcirculation, alleviates neurological disorders, regulates energy metabolism, mitigates inflammation, reduces oxidative stress injuries, and inhibits apoptosis, thereby mitigating brain damage and preventing IS recurrence. This article summarizes the etiology, pathogenesis, therapeutic strategies, and relationship with modern biology of IS from the perspective of TCM, describes the advantages of TCM in the treatment of IS, and further reviews the pharmacodynamic characteristics and advantages of TCM in the acute and recovery phases of IS as well as in post-stroke complications. Additionally, it offers valuable insights and references for the clinical application of TCM in IS prevention and treatment, as well as for the development of novel drugs.

Sepsis is a complex syndrome caused by multiple pathogens and involves multiple organ failure, particularly spleen dysfunction. In 2017, the worldwide incidence was 48.9 million sepsis cases and 11 million sepsis-related deaths were reported (Rudd et al., 2020). Inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis are the most common pathologies seen in sepsis. Liensinine (LIE) is a bisbenzylisoquinoline-type alkaloid extracted from the seed embryo of Nelumbo nucifera. Lotus seed hearts have high content of LIE which mainly has antihypertensive and antiarrhythmic pharmacological effects. It can exert anti-carcinogenic activity by regulating cell, inflammation, and apoptosis signaling pathways (Manogaran et al., 2019). However, its protective effect from sepsis-induced spleen damage is unknown. In this research, we established a mouse sepsis model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and investigated the protective effects of LIE on sepsis spleen injury in terms of inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and apoptosis.
Mice ; Animals ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Spleen ; Inflammation ; Apoptosis ; Sepsis ; Oxidative Stress