Comparison of the Effects of Propofol and Midazolam on Inflammation and Oxidase Stress in Children with Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Wen-fang Xia,Qing-shan Zhou,Yu Liu,Qi-zhu Tang,Han-dong Zou 연세대학교의과대학 2011 Yonsei medical journal Vol.52 No.2

Purpose: To investigate and compare the effects of propofol and midazolam on inflammation and oxidase stress in children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two ASA class I-II children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery were randomly divided into two groups: propofol combined with low dose fentanyl (PF group, n = 16) and midazolam combined with low dose fentanyl (MF group, n = 16). Tracheal extubation time and length of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay were recorded. Blood samples were taken before operation (T_0), at 2 h after release of the aorta cross-clamp (T_3) and at 24 h after operation (T_4) to measure interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Myocardium samples were collected at 10-20 min after aorta cross-clamp (T_1) and at 10-20 min after the release of the aorta cross-clamp (T_2) to detect heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. Results: Tracheal extubation time and length of ICU stay in PF group were significantly shorter than those of the MF group (p < 0.05, respectively). After cardiopulmonary bypass, IL-6, IL-8 and MDA levels were significantly increased, and the SOD level was significantly reduced in both two groups, but PF group exhibited lower IL-6, IL-8 and MDA levels and higher SOD levels than the MF group (p < 0.05, respectively). The HO-1 expression in the PF group was significantly higher than that in MF group at the corresponding time points (p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Propofol is superior to midazolam in reducing inflammation and oxidase stress and in improving post-operation recovery in children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery.

Associations of racial and ethnic discrimination with adverse changes in exercise and screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Xia Tong,Gee Gilbert C.,Jian Li,Liu Xinyue,Dai Jin,Shi Lu,Zhang Donglan,Chen Zhuo,Han Xuesong,Li Yan,Li Hongmei,Wen Ming,Su Dejun,Chen Liwei 한국역학회 2023 Epidemiology and Health Vol.45 No.-

Objectives: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a growing prevalence of racial and ethnic discrimination occurred when many Americans struggled to maintain healthy lifestyles. This study investigated the associations of racial and ethnic discrimination with changes in exercise and screen time during the pandemic in the United States (US). Methods: We included 2,613 adults who self-identified as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, or Hispanic from the Health, Ethnicity, and Pandemic (HEAP) study, a cross-sectional survey conducted among a nationally representative sample of US adults between October and November 2020. We assessed self-reported racial and ethnic discrimination by measuring COVID-19-related racial and ethnic bias and examined its associations with changes in exercise and screen time using multivariable logistic regression models. We analyzed data between September 2021 and March 2022.Results: COVID-19-related racial and ethnic bias was associated with decreased exercise time among non-Hispanic Asian (odds ratio [OR]=1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–1.89) and Hispanic people (OR=1.91; 95% CI, 1.32–2.77), and with increased screen time among non-Hispanic Black people (OR=1.94; 95% CI, 1.33–2.85), adjusting for age, gender, education, marital status, annual household income, insurance, and employment status. Conclusions: Racial and ethnic discrimination may have adversely influenced exercise and screen time changes among racial and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms through which racial and ethnic discrimination can impact lifestyles and to develop potential strategies to address racial and ethnic discrimination as a barrier to healthy lifestyles.

Bacterial Diversity at Different Depths in Lead-Zinc Mine Tailings as Revealed by 16S rRNA Gene Libraries

Han-Bo Zhang,Wen Shi,Ming-Xia Yang,Tao Sha,Zhi-Wei Zhao 한국미생물학회 2007 The journal of microbiology Vol.45 No.6

Bacterial communities at 10 cm, 100 cm, and 200 cm depths in a 100-year-old lead-zinc tailing heap were evaluated by constructing 16S rRNA gene libraries. In total, 98 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified from 193 clones at a 3% sequence difference level. The OTU number and species richness decreased with the depth. Species composition was significantly different between the three libraries. Fifty-seven percent of the examined clones were Acidobacteria and 27% belonged to Proteobacteria. Other sequences included Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Chlamydiae, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospira, and three unclassified OTUs. Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were mainly distributed in the rhizosphere of naturally colonizing plants; however, Deltaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi tended to inhabit the deeper tailings (below the 100 cm-depth).

ADPRT Val762Ala and XRCC1 Arg194Trp Polymorphisms and Risk of Gastric Cancer in Sichuan of China

Wen, Yuan-Yuan,Pan, Xiong-Fei,Loh, Marie,Tian, Zhi,Yang, Shu-Juan,Lv, Si-Han,Huang, Wen-Zhi,Huang, He,Xie, Yao,Soong, Richie,Yang, Chun-Xia Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Objective: Gastric cancer remains a major health problem in China. We hypothesized that XRCC1 Arg194Trp and ADPRT Val762Ala may be associated with risk. Methods: We designed a multicenter 1:1 matched case-control study of 307 pairs of gastric cancers and controls between October 2010 and August 2011. XRCC1 Arg194Trp and ADPRT Val762Ala were sequenced, and demographic data as well as lifestyle factors were collected using a self-designed questionnaire. Results: Individuals carrying XRCC1 Trp/Trp or Arg/Trp variant genotype had a significantly increased risk of gastric cancer (OR, 1.718; 95% CI, 1.190-2.479), while the OR for ADPRT Val762Ala variant genotype (Ala/Ala or Val/Ala) was 1.175 (95% CI, 0.796-1.737). No gene-gene or gene-environment interactions were found. In addition, family history of cancer and drinkers proportion were higher among cases than among controls (P<0.05). Conclusions: XRCC1 194 Arg/Trp or Trp/Trp genotype, family history of cancer, and drinking are suspected risk factors of gastric cancer from our study. Our findings may offer insight into further similar large gene-environment and gene-gene studies in this region.

Bacterial Diversity at Different Depths in Lead-Zinc Mine Tailings as Revealed by 16S rRNA Gene Libraries

Zhang, Han-Bo,Shi, Wen,Yang, Ming-Xia,Sha, Tao,Zhao, Zhi-Wei The Microbiological Society of Korea 2007 The journal of microbiology Vol.45 No.6

Bacterial communities at 10 cm, 100 cm, and 200 cm depths in a 100-year-old lead-zinc tailing heap were evaluated by constructing 16S rRNA gene libraries. In total, 98 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified from 193 clones at a 3% sequence difference level. The OTU number and species richness decreased with the depth. Species composition was significantly different between the three libraries. Fifty-seven percent of the examined clones were Acidobacteria and 27% belonged to Proteobacteria. Other sequences included Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Chlamydiae, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospira, and three unclassified OTUs. Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were mainly distributed in the rhizosphere of naturally colonizing plants; however, Deltaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi tended to inhabit the deeper tailings (below the 100 cm-depth).

Effect of Salinity on Strength Behavior of Cement-treated Dredged Clay at High Initial Water Contents

Jie Yin,Wen-xia Han,Gui-zhong Xu,Ming-ming Hu,Yong-hong Miao 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.10

This paper presents the experimental investigation into the effect of salinity on the strength behavior of cement-stabilized dredged clays as fills at high initial water contents. One source of dredged clay was dredged from Baima Lake of China. Specimens were prepared having different porewater salinities by blending the air-dried clays with NaCl solution at different salt concentrations. The prepared saline dredged clay specimens were thereafter adjusted to different initial water contents and blended with cement with different amounts. Unconfined compression tests were performed on cement-stabilized dredged clay specimens after 28-day curing. All tested specimens show strain softening behavior where the axial strain corresponding to the peak stress varies with amount of cement. Stress-strain curve for the specimen with lower salinity lies above on that of higher one. Initial water content has a negative effect on the strength of cement-treated clays while cement has a positive effect on the development of strength for cement-treated dredged clays due to the pozzolanic reactions. The presence of salt has an adverse influence on the obtaining of strength for cement-treated dredged clays because salt can inhibit cement from generating C-S-H and C-A-H. Unconfined compressive strength almost linearly decreases with the increasing salinity. A quantitative expression was presented to calculate the unconfined compressive strength for cement-treated saline dredged clays concerning the effects for initial water content, porewater salinity and amount of cement.

Radiotherapy Alone is Associated with Improved Outcomes Over Surgery in the Management of Solitary Plasmacytoma

Li, Qi-Wen,Niu, Shao-Qing,Wang, Han-Yu,Wen, Ge,Li, Yi-Yang,Xia, Yun-Fei,Zhang, Yu-Jing Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Background: A moderate dose of radiation is the recommended treatment for solitary plasmacytoma (SP), but there is controversy over the role of surgery. Our study aimed at comparing different treatment modalities in the management of SP. Materials and Methods: Data from 38 consecutive patients with solitary plasmacytoma, including 16 with bone plasmacytoma and 22 with extramedullary plasmacytoma, were retrospectively reviewed. 15 patients received radiotherapy alone; 11 received surgery alone, and 12 received both. The median radiation dose was 50Gy. All operations were performed as radical resections. Local progression-free survival (LPFS), multiple myeloma-free survival (MMFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated and outcomes of different therapies were compared. Results: The median follow-up time was 55 months. 5-year LPFS, MMFS, PFS and OS were 87.0%, 80.9%, 69.8% and 87.4%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed, compared with surgery alone, radiotherapy alone was associated with significantly higher 5-year LPFS (100% vs 69.3%, p=0.016), MMFS (100% vs 51.4%, p=0.006), PFS (100% vs 33.7%, p=0.0004) and OS (100% vs 70%, p=0.041). Conclusions: Radiotherapy alone can be considered as a more effective treatment for SP over surgery. Whether a combination of radiotherapy and surgery improves outcomes requires further study.

Identification of QTLs associated with heat tolerance at the heading and flowering stage in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Li, Mao-mao,Li, Xia,Yu, Li-qin,Wu, Jin-wen,Li, Hui,Liu, Jin,Ma, Xiao-ding,Jo, Su-min,Park, Dong-Soo,Song, Youchun,Shin, Dongjin,Han, Long-zhi Springer-Verlag 2018 Euphytica Vol.214 No.4

Arginine Supplementation Recovered the IFN-gamma-Mediated Decrease in Milk Protein and Fat Synthesis by Inhibiting the GCN2/eIF2alpha Pathway, Which Induces Autophagy in Primary Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells

Liancheng Lei,Xiaojing Xia,Yanyi Che,Yuanyuan Gao,Shuang Zhao,Changjin Ao,Hongjian Yang,Juxiong Liu,Guo-wen Liu,Wenyu Han,Yuping Wang 한국분자세포생물학회 2016 Molecules and cells Vol.39 No.5

During the lactation cycle of the bovine mammary gland, autophagy is induced in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) as a cellular homeostasis and survival mecha-nism. Interferon gamma (IFN-) is an important antiproliferative and apoptogenic factor that has been shown to induce autophagy in multiple cell lines in vitro. However, it remains unclear whether IFN- can induce autophagy and whether autophagy affects milk synthesis in BMECs. To understand whether IFN- affects milk synthesis, we isolated and purified primary BMECs and investigated the effect of IFN- on milk synthesis in primary BMECs in vitro. The results showed that IFN- significantly inhibits milk synthesis and that autophagy was clearly induced in primary BMECs in vitro within 24 h. Interestingly, autophagy was observed following IFN- treatment, and the inhibition of autophagy can improve milk protein and milk fat syn-thesis. Conversely, upregulation of autophagy decreased milk synthesis. Furthermore, mechanistic analysis con-firmed that IFN- mediated autophagy by depleting argi-nine and inhibiting the general control nonderepressible-2 kinase (GCN2)/eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) signaling pathway in BMECs. Then, it was found that arginine supplementation could attenuate IFN--induced autophagy and recover milk synthesis to some extent. These findings may not only provide a novel measure for preventing the IFN--induced decrease in milk quality but also a useful therapeutic approach for IFN--associated breast diseases in other animals and humans.

Comparison of Gadobenate Dimeglumine and Gadopentetate Dimeglumine for Breast MRI Screening: a Meta-analysis

Yang, Xiao-Ping,Han, Yue-Dong,Ye, Jian-Jun,Chen, Gang,Luo, Ying,Ma, Hong-Xia,Yu, Xue-Wen,Niu, Juan-Qin,Ren, Fang-Yuan,Guo, You-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: As a common and essential contrast medium at present, gadobenate dimeglumine has shown better performance than some other agents when applied to Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Screening (Breast MRI Screening). Nevertheless, reports on the diagnostic performance of these two mediums (gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine) are not completely consistent. Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine for Breast MRI Screening in patients suffering from breast cancer and to provide more convinced evidence to guide clinical practice in terms of appropriate contrast agents. Data Sources and Review Methods: Original articles in English and Chinese published before January 2013 were selected from available databases (The Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database, Chinese Journal Full-text). The criteria for inclusion and exclusion were based on the standard for diagnosis tests. Meta-Disc software (Version 1.4) was used for data analysis. Then, the area under curve (AUC) of SROC and the spearman rank correlation of sensitivity against (1-specificity) were calculated. Results: Total of 17 researches involving 1934 patients were included. The pooled sensitivity of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine were 0.99 (0.97, 1.00) and 0.93 (0.88, 1.00) respectively. The pooled specificity for these two contrast agents were 0.924 (0.902, 0.943) and 0.838 (0.817, 0.858) respectively, and the AUC of SROC curve were 0.9781 and 0.9215 respectively. Conclusions: Gadobenate dimeglumine can be regarded as a more effective and feasible contrast medium for Breast MRI Screening. At least 5% differences in diagnostic performance are usually considered as clinically relevant.