Objective To investigate the protective effect of ischemic pre-conditioning(IPC) on the spinal cord injury associated with abdominal aortic cross-clamping. Methods Forty-eight New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into IPC group and ischemic group. The concentrations of endothelin-1(ET-1), prostacyclin(PGI_2) and thromboxane A_2(TXA_2) in spinal cord were measured at six different time intervals, before ischemic, 40 minutes after ischemic, 2 hours,8 hours,24 hours and 72 hours after reperfusion. Neurologic function and pathological changes were documented. Results In IPC group, ET-1 level, TXB_2 level and TXB_2/6-keto-PGF_ 1? ratio were significantly reduced, while 6-keto-PGF1? level was significantly increased compared with that of ischemic group (P

Objective: To observe and compare the clinical effects of different electroacupuncture waveforms on primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, three-group, parallel-controlled trial. Participants with primary dysmenorrhea were randomly divided into dense-sparse wave, continuous wave, and discontinuous wave groups in a 1:1:1 ratio. Two lateral Ciliao (BL 32) points were used. All three groups started treatment 3–5 days before menstruation, once a day for six sessions per course of treatment, one course of treatment per menstrual cycle, and three menstrual cycles. The primary outcome measure was the proportion with an average visual analog scale (VAS) score reduction of ≥50% from baseline for dysmenorrhea in the third menstrual cycle during treatment. The secondary outcome measures included changes in dysmenorrhea VAS scores, Cox Menstrual Symptom Scale scores and the proportion of patients taking analgesic drugs. Results: The proportion of cases where the average VAS score for dysmenorrhea decreased by ≥50% from baseline in the third menstrual cycle was not statistically significant (P > .05). Precisely 30 min after acupuncture and regarding immediate analgesia on the most severe day of dysmenorrhea, there was a statistically significant difference in the dense-sparse wave group compared with the other two groups during the third menstrual cycle (P < .05). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference between the dense-sparse wave and discontinuous wave groups 24 h after acupuncture (P < .05). Conclusions Waveform electroacupuncture can alleviate primary dysmenorrhea and its related symptoms in patients. The three groups showed similar results in terms of short- and long-term analgesic efficacy and a reduction in the number of patients taking analgesic drugs. Regarding achieving immediate analgesia, the dense-sparse wave group was slightly better than the other two groups.

Sup35 in its native state is a translation termination factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The prion domain of Sup35p can form amyloid-like proteinaceous fibrils in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the in-register cross beta-sheet structure of Sup35p amyloid fibrils is similar to those formed in other species. Therefore, studies on mechanism of Sup35p self-assembly can be an appropriate model to study protein misfolding-related diseases and prion biology. Because of its ability to self-assemble into nanowires, the prion domain of Sup35p has been widely used in biotechnology and nanotechnology.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Amyloid ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Peptide Termination Factors ; chemistry ; Prions ; chemistry ; Protein Conformation ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins ; chemistry

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy and outcome determinants in cardiac arrest patients secondary to acute myocardial infarction treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: The clinical data of 27 patients hospitalized from January 2014 to March 2017 in 3 hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical data of the surviving group (12 cases) and the death group (15 cases) were compared and the outcome determinants were explored. Results: Twenty seven patients were successfully treated with coronary angiography and emergency PCI under ECMO assistance, and the successful procedure rate was 100%. The survival rate was 44.4% (12/27). There was no significant difference in gender, age, body weight, myocardial infarct location, past disease history and smoking status between the two groups (all P>0.05). Traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation time was significantly longer, the CCU hospitalization time was significantly shorter, the number of diseased vessels was significantly higher, and the prevalence of distribution of blood vessels in left main stem was significantly higher and mean artery pressure at 24 and 48 hours post ECMO was significantly lower in the death group than in survival group (all P<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that left anterior descending artery lesion, higher number of lesion vessels, longer traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation time, longer time interval between cardiac arrest and ECMO placement were related increased risk of death post ECMO and emergency PCI in this patient cohort(OR=1.316, 95%CI 1.217-5.792, P=0.002; OR=1.238, 95%CI 1.107-4.961, P=0.000; OR=1.712, 95%CI 1.136-3.973, P=0.001; OR=1.629, 95%CI 1.132-4.521, P=0.000, respectively), while higher mean artery pressure at 48 hours post ECMO was related with reduced risk of death post ECMO and emergency PCI in this patient cohort(OR=0.672, 95%CI 0.326-0.693, P=0.001). Conclusions ECMO combined with emergency PCI can improve the success rate of traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients with cardiac arrest secondary to acute myocardial infarction. Left anterior descending artery lesion, number of lesion vessels, traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation time, time interval between cardiac arrest and ECMO placement and mean artery pressure at 48 hours post ECMO are outcome determinants post ECMO and emergency PCI in this patient cohort.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of shunt after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in liver cirrhosis accompanied with portal vein thrombosis (PVT).Methods:Forty-four cases with liver cirrhosis accompanied with PVT who underwent TIPS treatment from January 2015 to May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical baseline data of the patients were collected. Portal vein pressure gradient (PVPG) before and after the surgery was recorded. Shunt patency was observed at 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after the surgery. The influencing factors were determined by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results:Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt was successfully established in all 44 cases. The postoperative PVPG was lower than preoperative ( P < 0.01). The shunt patency rate after TIPS in PVT was 18.2% ( n = 8). The cumulative shunt patency rates at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after surgery were 95.5%, 90.7%, 90.7%, 86.8% and 74.4%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that diabetes history, platelet level and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio were associated with postoperative shunt dysfunction. Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes history ( P = 0.007, OR = 28.606) was an independent risk factor for postoperative shunt dysfunction. Conclusion:TIPS is a safe and feasible procedure, which can effectively reduce the portal pressure in liver cirrhosis accompanied with PVT. Diabetic patients have a higher risk of postoperative shunt dysfunction. Therefore, clinical intervention should be strengthened for high-risk patients.

The redistribution of body fluids towards the head will lead to cardiovascular dysfunction when exposed to microgravity environment.De-gravity unloading can cause degenerative adaptation of nerves and muscles,posing numerous challenges for astronauts returning to the Earth's gravitational environment.In severe cases,it can even threaten the health and safety of astronauts.Although exercise is the most effective weightlessness protection measure,the current weightlessness protection programs based on traditional exercise are too time-consuming.High intensity interval training(HIIT),an efficient training strategy,is widely used in competitive sports and it can rapidly improve human physical performance in the short term through a combination of high-intensity exercise with small and low intervals or active rest repetitions.The use of different modes of HIIT training combinations can simultaneously improve cardiovascular health and neuromuscular function.HIIT may be a more effective strategy for preventing weight loss during exercise.Through a systematic review of the classification,mechanism of action,and determining factors of training effectiveness of HIIT,and a feasibility analysis of implementing HIIT in space microgravity environments,it is proposed that HIIT may become an optimization strategy for current space station astronaut exercise programs,thereby more effectively saving resources.Therefore,it is necessary to take ground-based simulated microgravity experiment to deeply study and fully verify various HIIT training schemes which might be used for astronauts to counter microgravity effects.

Bivalves are species-rich mollusks with prominent protective roles in coastal ecosystems.Across these ancient lineages,colony-founding larvae anchor themselves either by byssus produc-tion or by cemented attachment.The latter mode of sessile life is strongly molded by left-right shell asymmetry during larval development of Ostreoida oysters such as Crassostrea hongkongensis.Here,we sequenced the genome of C.hongkongensis in high resolution and compared it to reference bivalve genomes to unveil genomic determinants driving cemented attachment and shell asymmetry.Importantly,loss of the homeobox gene Antennapedia(Antp)and broad expansion of lineage-specific extracellular gene families are implicated in a shift from byssal to cemented attachment in bivalves.Comparative transcriptomic analysis shows a conspicuous divergence between left-right asymmetrical C.hongkongensis and symmetrical Pinctada fucata in their expression profiles.Especially,a couple of orthologous transcription factor genes and lineage-specific shell-related gene families including that encoding tyrosinases are elevated,and may cooperatively govern asymmet-rical shell formation in Ostreoida oysters.

Microgravity in space will lead to the decline of astronauts'motor sensation,which will affect the ability of balance maintenance and posture control.Which limits the ability of astronauts to quickly get out of danger in case of extravehicular activities or landing emergencies,and seriously affects the completion of space missions and endangers the safety of astronauts.The current weightlessness countermeasure based on exercise can effectively alleviate the problems of skeletal muscle and cardiovascular system caused by weightlessness to a certain extent,but it cannot effectively prevent the motor sensory dysfunction after space flight.Therefore,new weightlessness countermeasures of special physical conditioning are needed to attenuate the decline of human balance control ability after long-term space flight.By reviewing the previous research results of space flight and simulated weightlessness experiments,this paper systematically analyzes the influencing factors of human body balance control,compares the balance control promotion schemes of special physical conditioning in the field of sports,and puts forward the potential protection strategies for weightlessness environment based on the integration of sports and medicine.The feedback regulation of muscle tension,tactile and proprioceptive play an important role in human posture balance and motion control.The unloading of human gravity load in space weightlessness environment will greatly reduce the input-output feedback regulation activity of the above senses which may lead to balance dysfunction.The post-flight balance control dysfunction may be improved by special physical conditioning,such as loading of z-axial load,enhancement of tactile feedback and proprioceptive response based on unstable mechanical stress stimulation during spaceflight.

BACKGROUNDThe radial artery (RA) is becoming a popular conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), yet data reporting the long-term results are rare. We reported our clinical, angiographic and intravascular ultrasound findings on 93 patients who had the RA used as part of the conduit for the CABG procedures during a 12-year period from June 2001 to June 2013.

METHODSA total of 118 radial artery conduits were harvested in 87 males and 6 females, age from 28 to 66 (mean 49.9) years. An "intra-operative Allen's test" was developed to safeguard blood supply to the arm and hand. A "double-clip & scissors-cut" technique was carried out to minimize the thermal injury to the radial artery from the diathermy. The left radial artery was used in 67 patients, the right in one, and bilateral radial arteries in 25 patients. One hundred and twenty-two out of 272 distal anastomoses (44.9%) were constructed with radial arteries, with an average of 2.9 grafts per patient (range 2-6).

RESULTSFollow-up angiography and intravascular ultrasound study at 3-139 postoperative months (mean 59 months) revealed a 93.1% RA patency. String sign occurred in one patient in whom the RA was directed to a big right coronary artery with a stenosis of around 50%. The patency for the internal mammary artery was 96.4%.

CONCLUSIONSThe RA is an excellent conduit that broadens the options for total arterial CABG surgery. Good graft patency could be achieved through careful harvesting techniques and choice of proper target coronary vessels.

Adult ; Aged ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; methods ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; methods ; Coronary Artery Disease ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radial Artery ; surgery