Cardioprotective effects of sinomenine in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model

BackgroundIschemia reperfusion (I/R) play an imperative role in the expansion of cardiovascular disease. Sinomenine (SM) has been exhibited to possess antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. The aim of the study was scrutinized the cardioprotective effect of SM against I/R injury in rat.MethodsRat were randomly divided into normal control (NC), I/R control and I/R + SM (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), respectively. Ventricular arrhythmias, body weight and heart weight were estimated. Antioxidant, inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory mediators and plasmin system indicator were accessed.ResultsPre-treated SM group rats exhibited the reduction in the duration and incidence of ventricular fibrillation, ventricular ectopic beat (VEB) and ventricular tachycardia along with suppression of arrhythmia score during the ischemia (30 and 120 min). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) altered the level of antioxidant parameters. SM treatment significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the level of creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK) and troponin I (Tnl). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the tissue factor (TF), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and plasma fibrinogen (Fbg) and inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators.ConclusionOur result clearly indicated that SM plays anti-arrhythmia effect in I/R injury in the rats via alteration of oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction.     

胞饮突评估子宫内膜容受性的研究进展

胚胎植入是一个复杂且受到高度调控的过程,需要囊胚与母体子宫内膜的发育精确同步。胞饮突作为表达于子宫内膜上的一种特殊膜状突起,随月经周期变化表现为不同形态,可分为发育期、成熟期及退化期。目前已有一系列研究证实,胞饮突的数量、覆盖面积及发育阶段等在预测不孕女性种植窗及评估子宫内膜容受性中具有临床价值。胞饮突评分较高、覆盖面积较广且成熟期胞饮突占比较高的女性妊娠结局更佳。其机制可能包括胞饮突通过调节宫腔内容物影响子宫内膜容受性、通过表达植入相关蛋白参与囊胚-子宫内膜相互作用等。然而,对胞饮突精准且客观的评估手段仍待进一步探索,胞饮突评估子宫内膜容受性的精确度也待进一步验证。     

Advanced Cancer Patients' Prognostic Awareness and Its Association With Anxiety,Depression and Spiritual Well-Being: A Multi-Country Study in Asia

AimsThe associations between prognostic awareness, acceptance of illness and psychological outcomes (anxiety, depression and spiritual well-being) remain unclear. This study examined the associations between prognostic awareness and various psychological outcomes and how they can be moderated by patient acceptance of illness (cancer).Materials and methodsIn total, 1184 patients with stage IV solid cancer were recruited at major public hospitals across four Asian countries (China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam). Prognostic awareness and acceptance of illness were assessed through self-reported understanding of treatment intent and acceptance of illness, respectively. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, whereas spiritual well-being was measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Multivariate regressions were used to estimate the associations while controlling for patient characteristics.ResultsCompared with being unaware of their prognosis (i.e. believing that their cancer is curable), being aware or unsure of their prognosis was associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower spiritual well-being scores. Acceptance of illness moderated these relationships and improved the psychological outcomes.ConclusionsThe results suggest that disclosure of prognostic information should be provided in conjunction with psychological interventions that focus on acceptance of illness.     

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on sleep quality of pharmacy students in UiTM Puncak Alam

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of educational institutions was executed during the period of lockdown. This subsequently led to alterations in daily routines and emotional distress, particularly among university students, affecting their sleep quality resulting in disturbance of immune functioning and mood regulation. Hence, the present study aimed to measure students' sleep quality during the first few months of the lockdown period. This study is a cross-sectional, single-centred survey that was done by distributed electronic questionnaire. The e-questionnaire was divided into 4 sections that assessed socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, psychological state and engagement in physical activity. Exactly 248 valid responses were received, 82 % female students. Students with poor sleep quality were three times greater than those with good sleep quality. No association were found between physical activity and sleep quality. However, a significant positive relationship between sleep quality and psychological state was observed (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study suggests that the majority of pharmacy students in UiTM Puncak Alam are poor sleepers and psychological distress negatively affects sleep quality but, is mainly due to stress. Thus, interventions such as stress management programs and mental health support can be taken by the faculty's management to overcome this problem.     

Increased alpha suppression with age during involuntary memory retrieval

Recent work suggests that while voluntary episodic memory declines with age, involuntary episodic memory, which comes to mind spontaneously without intention, remains relatively intact. However, the neurophysiology underlying these differences has yet to be established. The current study used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate voluntary and involuntary retrieval in older and younger adults. Participants first encoded sounds, half of which were paired with pictures, the other half unpaired. EEG was then recorded as they listened to the sounds, with participants in the involuntary group performing a sound localization cover task, and those in the voluntary group additionally attempting to recall the associated pictures. Participants later reported which sounds brought the paired picture to mind during the localization task. Reaction times on the localization task were slower for voluntary than involuntary retrieval and for paired than unpaired sounds, possibly reflecting increased attentional demands of voluntary retrieval and interference from reactivation of the associated pictures respectively. For the EEG analyses, young adults showed greater alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) during voluntary than involuntary retrieval at frontal and occipital sites, while older adults showed pronounced alpha ERD regardless of intention. Additionally, older adults showed greater ERD for paired than unpaired sounds at occipital sites, likely reflecting visual reactivation of the associated pictures. Young adults did not show this alpha ERD memory effect. Taken together, these data suggest that involuntary memory is largely preserved with age, but this may be due to older adults' greater recruitment of top-down control even when demand for such control is limited.     

应用锥形束CT对种植区牙槽骨质量分类方法的改良研究

目的    应用锥形束CT（cone beam CT，CBCT）测量种植区牙槽骨质量并结合Lekholm和Zarb分类法对骨质量分类方法进行改良，以期为提高牙槽骨质量分类的准确性提供指导。方法    选择2015年10月至2017年10月在呼和浩特市口腔医院种植科进行种植修复的196例患者术前CBCT影像资料，应用 Invivo5诊断设计软件测量306个种植位点的牙槽骨皮质骨厚度和松质骨密度（皮质骨与松质骨的CT值差值），以Lekholm和Zarb分类法为基础结合测量数据对骨质量进行改良后的量化分类。结果    牙槽骨皮质骨厚度为0.18 ~ 2.89 mm，中位数为0.92 mm。皮质骨与松质骨的CT值差值为88.5 ~ 667.8 HU，应用百分位数法找到33.3%和66.6%对应的数值分别为297.8 HU和356.1 HU。依据此数据结合Lekholm和Zarb分类法将196例患者的306个种植位点骨质量分为4类，其中Ⅰ类骨种植位点46个（占15.0%），Ⅱ类骨104个（占34.0%），Ⅲ类骨114个（占37.3%），Ⅳ类骨42个（占13.7%）。结论    结合Lekholm和Zarb分类法，应用CBCT测量种植区牙槽骨质量并进行分类方法的改良，可为临床医生术前评估牙槽骨质量提供一定参考。