Abstract Objective: To evaluate different doses of dexmedetomidine for the prevention of emergence agitation in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy. Method: One hundred and thirty children aged 3-10 years scheduled for adenotonsillectomy were randomly assigned to two groups. Anesthesia was induced with 0.5 μg.kg-1 dexmedetomidine (DEX 0.5 group) or 1 μg.kg-1 dexmedetomidine (DEX 1 group) at the beginning of surgery. Observers who recorded the data in the postanesthesia care unit were blinded to the allocation. The primary outcome was the percentage of emergence agitation. The times to spontaneous breath, awake, extubate, and postanesthesia care unit stay were also recorded. Results: One hundred twenty four children were randomized into two groups. Five children were excluded because of adverse events and dropout (DEX 0.5 group, n = 58; DEX 1 group, n = 62). No significant differences were noted in the percentage of emergence agitation between the two groups. The times to extubation (p = 0.003), awake, and postanesthesia care unit stay in DEX 0.5 group were shorter than those in DEX 1 group (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the time to spontaneous breath. Approximately 8% of patients in DEX 0.5 group and 18% patients in DEX 1 group presented low SpO2, showing a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.043). Conclusions: A dose of 0.5 μg.kg-1 dexmedetomidine was equally effective as 1 μg.kg-1 dexmedetomidine in preventing emergence agitation. Trial registration: The trial is currently completed recruitment, registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (ID:NCT03760809). Inclusion began on 4 January, 2019.

Abstract In the present study, the effects of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) on the structural properties, physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of sweet potato flour were investigated. Moisture mass fractions of samples were set as 20%, 25%, 30% or 35%, and treated at 110 °C for 4 h. Gelatinization characteristics, short-range order, double helix structure, crystallinity and digestive characteristics were studied by test of pasting and thermal, analysis of X-ray diffraction spectra, infrared spectra and in vitro digestion test. The results showed that the structural characteristics of the sweet potato flour with different moisture concentrations were quite different. The viscosity, breakdown value and setback value of HMT-sweet potato flour were all lower than those of the original flour. The content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) decreased, while the contents of slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS) increased after HMT. The results showed that HMT-25 had good cold and heat stability, low pasting viscosity and high contents of SDS and RS.

Abstract This study aimed to explore the biomarkers associated with osteoarthritis (OA). Gene expression profile GSE16464 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in chondrocytes between OA patients and normal donors were analyzed, which were then subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses, followed by microRNA (miRNA) and transcription factor (TF) prediction, and regulatory network construction. Finally, the copy number variants (CNVs) of target genes were searched. Total 79 up- and 147 down-regulated DEGs were identified. Nine GO terms were obtained and the biological process (BP) term related to neuron differentiation was enriched by 13 DEGs, such as GNAO1, POU3F4 andRPS27A. Pathway of regulation of actin cytoskeleton was enriched by six DEGs such as FGF18. Six miRNAs such as miRNA-524 and seven TFs, such as FOXO4 were detected. In the regulatory network, GNAO1, POU3F4 and RPS27A were key target genes and their CNVs were identified. Pathway of regulation of actin cytoskeleton and BP related to neuron differentiation may play important roles in OA progression. DEGs of FGF18, GNAO1 and POU3F4 as well as their regulatory factors such as FOXO4 and miRNA-524 may be potential biomarkers associated with OA.

Abstract Background: The accessory β1 subunits, regulating the pharmacological and biophysical properties of BK channels, always undergo post-translational modifications, especially glycosylation. To date, it remains elusive whether the glycosylation contributes to the regulation of BK channels by β1 subunits. Methods: Herein, we combined the electrophysiological approach with molecular mutations and biochemical manipulation to investigate the function roles of N-glycosylation in β1 subunits. Results: The results show that deglycosylation of β1 subunits through double-site mutations (β1 N80A/N142A or β1 N80Q/N142Q) could significantly increase the inhibitory potency of iberiotoxin, a specific BK channel blocker. The deglycosylated channels also have a different sensitivity to martentoxin, another BK channel modulator with some remarkable effects as reported before. On the contrary to enhancing effects of martentoxin on glycosylated BK channels under the presence of cytoplasmic Ca2+, deglycosylated channels were not affected by the toxin. However, the deglycosylated channels were surprisingly inhibited by martentoxin under the absence of cytoplasmic Ca2+, while the glycosylated channels were not inhibited under this same condition. In addition, wild type BK (α+β1) channels treated with PNGase F also showed the same trend of pharmacological results to the mutants. Similar to this modulation of glycosylation on BK channel pharmacology, the deglycosylated forms of the channels were activated at a faster speed than the glycosylated ones. However, the V1/2 and slope were not changed by the glycosylation. Conclusion: The present study reveals that glycosylation is an indispensable determinant of the modulation of β1-subunit on BK channel pharmacology and its activation. The loss of glycosylation of β1 subunits could lead to the dysfunction of BK channel, resulting in a pathological state.

Abstract The study was designed to investigate the effects of cryopreservation on bovine, ovine, and goat sperm motility, acrosome structure, enzyme activity, and fertilization ability. Percentage of sperm with hyaluronidase enzyme (HYD) activity was detected by a modified sodium hyaluronate-gelatin membrane. The N-α-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BNPNA) method was used to assess the sperm acrosome enzyme (ACE). The mean percentage of sperm acrosome integrity dropped significantly (P < 0.01) after cryopreservation. The ACE activity of bovine sperm (100.48) was higher (P < 0.01) than that of ovine (57.88) or goat sperm (50.30), while the percentage of sperm with HYD activity of bovine (71.10%) and ovine (67.60%) sperm was higher than that of goat sperm (58.52%) after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Sperm motility was positively correlated with the activity of the two acrosome enzymes before and after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Cryopreservation had a negative effect on acrosomal morphology, motility, and acrosomal enzyme activity in their sperm. The fertilization ability of ovine and goat sperm decreased significantly after cryopreservation, but that of frozen bovine sperm did not differ significantly when compared with fresh sperm. There was no significant difference between ovine and goat sperm indices, except for percentage of sperm with HYD activity.

OBJECTIVES: Minimally invasive paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy is a technique that should be learned by all surgical trainees and residents. This study aimed to develop a self-made training model for paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy and placement of the suprapubic catheter and then to evaluate its effectiveness in training fourth-year medical students. METHODS: Medical students were divided into an experimental group receiving comprehensive training involving literature, video, and model use and a control group receiving all the same training protocols as the experimental group except without hands-on practice using the model. Each student’s performance was video-recorded, followed by subjective and objective evaluations by urology experts and statistical analysis. RESULTS: All students completed the surgical procedures successfully. The experimental group’s performance scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (median final performance scores of 91.0 vs. 86.8, respectively). Excellent scores were achieved by more students in the experimental group than in the control group (55% vs. 20%), and fewer poor scores were observed in the experimental group than in the control group (5% vs. 30%). CONCLUSIONS: Based on its cost-effectiveness, reusability, and training effectiveness, this paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy training model is able to achieve goals in teaching practice quickly and easily. Use of the model should be encouraged for training senior medical students and resident physicians who may be expected to perform emergent suprapubic catheter insertion at some time.

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the mechanisms by which PD98059 and LY294002 interfere with the abnormal deposition of extracellular matrix regulated by connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Methods: Rat PASMCs were cultured and separated into a control group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of collagen III and fibronectin mRNA. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analyses were performed to detect the expression of collagen III protein. Results: The expression of collagen III and fibronectin mRNA was greater in PASMCs stimulated with CTGF for 48 h, than in the control group. After 72h of stimulation, the expression of collagen III protein in the PASMCs was greater than in the control. The equivalent gene and protein expression of the CPL group were much more significant. Conclusions: CTGF can stimulate the gene expression of collagen III and fibronectin in PASMCs, which may be one of the factors that promote pulmonary vascular remodeling (PVR) under the conditions of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PD98059 and LY294002 can inhibit the ERK1/2 and PI3K/PKB signaling pathways, respectively, thus interfering with the biological effects of CTGF. This may be a new way to reduce PAH-PVR.

The hot deformation behaviours of Ti-6Al-4V-0.1Ru alloy were investigated by isothermal hot compression tests in the temperature range of 1023-1423 K and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s-1. The β transus was determined to be 1198 K by continuous heating method. The values of deformation activation energy Q at the strain of 0.3 were calculated to be 630.01 kJ/mol in dual-phase field and 331.75 kJ/mol in β-phase field. Moreover, the processing maps at the strain of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 were developed based on dynamic materials model (DMM). To deeply understand the microstructure evolution mechanism during hot deformation processes and to verify the processing maps, the microstructures at different deformation conditions were observed. The stable microstructures (i.e. globularization, dynamic recovery (DRV) and β dynamic recrystallization (β-DRX)) and instable microstructures (i.e. lamellae kinking and flow localization) were obtained. To make it useful in the design of industrial hot working schedules for this material, a microstructural mechanism map was constructed on the basis of processing maps and microstructure observation. Deformation conditions in the vicinity of 1150 K & 0.01 s-1 where globularization occurs and in the vicinity of 1323 K & 0.01 s-1 where β-DRX occurs are recommended.

Two fluorescent anion sensors bearing phenol, carbazole-NH and -NO2 group were designed and synthesized. They both exhibited highly binding ability for H2PO4- among the anions tested. In the presence of H2PO4-, the fluorescence of the sensors underwent a dramatic enhancement, while the presence of other anions such as F-, AcO-, Cl-, Br-, and I-, had weak or no effect on the fluorescence. The determination limit of two sensors (1 and 2) toward H2PO4- were 3.0x10-7 and 5.0x10-7 molˑL-1, respectively. Theoretical investigation indicated it was the highest HOMO to induce the red-shift phenomena of two sensors.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is a mitochondrial flavoprotein that mediates both NADH-oxidizing and caspase-independent apoptosis. Further, the proapoptotic activity of AIF is located in the C-terminus of AIF, although the precise minimum sequence responsible for apoptosis induction remains to be investigated. In the present study, we generated two truncated AIFs, AIFΔ1-480-FLAG, which is a FLAG-tagged C-terminal peptide comprising amino acids from 481 to 613, and AIF360-480 containing amino acids from 360 to 480 of AIF. We used confocal microscopy to demonstrate that both the truncated proteins are expressed and located in the cytoplasm of transfected cells. AIFΔ1-480 but not AIF360-480 induces apoptosis in transfected cells. We also found that the expression of AIFΔ1-480 could initiate the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. The suppression of caspase-9 via siRNA blocked the proapoptotic activity of AIFΔ1-480. Therefore, AIFΔ 1-480 is sufficient for inducing caspase-9-dependent apoptotic signaling, probably by promoting the release of cytochrome c. At last, we generated a chimeric immuno-AIFΔ 1-480 protein, which comprised an HER2 antibody, a Pseudomonas exotoxin A translocation domain and AIFΔ 1-480. Human Jurkat cells transfected with the immuno-AIFΔl-480 gene could express and secrete the chimeric protein, which selectively recognize and kill HER2-overexpressing tumor cells. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of the immuno-AIFΔl-480 gene as a novel approach to treating HER2-overexpressing cancers.