Drug-coated balloons: A better revascularization strategy in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease undergoing one-stop hybrid coronary revascularization surgery

Background: The optimal revascularization strategy for non-left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) lesions during one-stop hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR) surgery lacks current evidence.Aims: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of the drug-coated balloon (DCB) and drug-eluting stent (DES) strategies in patients with non-small non-LAD lesions undergoing one-stop HCR.Methods: A total of 141 consecutive patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (MVCAD) undergoing one-stop HCR between June 1, 2018 and March 1, 2022 were retrospectively included in this study. In-hospital outcomes and mid-term major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) were observed. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis was used to evaluate the MACCE-free survival rate. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify risk factors of mid-term MACCE.Results: Thirty-eight and 103 patients received only DCB or DES therapy, respectively, in this study. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters between the two groups. The in-hospital MACCE rate in the DES group was numerically higher than that in the DCB group (9.7% vs. 5.3%, respectively), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.4). The incidence of MACCE after patients’ discharge was significantly higher in the DES group (22% vs. 5.3%, respectively, P = 0.02) during a median follow-up of 20 months. After multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis, DCB therapy was independently associated with reduced risk of mid-term MACCE (hazard ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.06–0.91; P = 0.04).Conclusion: For patients with MVCAD undergoing one-stop HCR, DCB therapy may be the optimal revascularization strategy for non-small non-LAD coronary artery lesions with a significantly lower rate of mid-term MACCE

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer Patients

Background. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to pre-CRT in patients of stage II/III rectal cancer. Materials and Methods. Questionnaires regarding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pre-CRT were mailed to 145 rectal cancer patients in II/III stage between January 2012 and December 2014, and 111 agreed to participate and returned completed questionnaires to the researcher. Logistic regression model was used to compare sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude with practice, respectively. Results. A total of 145 patients were approached for interview, of which 111 responded and 48.6% (54) had undergone pre-CRT. Only 31.5% of the participants knew that CRT is a treatment of rectal cancer and 39.6% were aware of the importance of CRT. However, the vast majority of participants (68.5%) expressed a positive attitude toward rectal cancer. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that knowledge level (p=0.006) and attitudes (p=0.001) influence the actual practice significantly. Furthermore, age, gender, and income were potential predictors of practice (all p<0.05). Conclusion. This study shows that, despite the fact that participants had suboptimal level of knowledge on rectal cancer, their attitude is favorable to pre-CRT. Strengthening the professional health knowledge and realizing the importance of attitudes may deepen patients’ understanding of preoperative therapy

Revealing the enhanced catalytic activity of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Bulk nitrogen doping can efficiently improve the catalytic performance of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODH). The graphitic nitrogen plays a determining role in enhancing their activity by speeding up the activation of oxygen and decreasing the overall activation energy of the reaction

Genomic structure, polymorphism and expression analysis of the growth hormone (GH) gene in female and male Half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

National Natural Science Foundation of China [30871913]; Special Fund of the "Taishan Scholar" Project of Shandong ProvinceGrowth hormone (GH) is a polypeptide which is an important regulator of development and somatic growth in teleosts, and may be associated with the mechanisms which drive sexual growth dimorphism in the Half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). In this study, the full length gh cDNA was cloned from C semilaevis by homology cloning and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR). The full-length gh cDNA is 826 bp and contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 603 bp encoding a protein of 200 amino acids (M). The precursor of gh consists of a 17 amino-add signal peptide followed by a 183 amino-acid mature polypeptide. GH gene sequences obtained from female and male adults consist of 3428 bp and 3371 bp, respectively, each of which includes six exons and five introns, and the difference in the GH gene size was mainly caused by the microsatellites. When 14 tissues from females, normal males and extra-large male adults were analyzed for sex-specific tissue expression, the gh mRNA was found to be predominantly expressed in the pituitary, and the expression levels in females were 3.6 times as much as those in normal males, while the mRNA expression in extra-large males was 1.7 times as much as those in normal males. Sex differences in gh mRNA expression during development were also examined by using a full-sib family of C semilaevis, and the gh mRNA was detected at all of the 12 time points sampled from 10 to 380 days-old. A significant increase in gh mRNA was detected starting in 80 day old fish and was then followed by a drop to very low levels starting at 230 day old fish. Differential expression indicated that the gh expression level in females was significantly higher than males (P< 0.01) at all of the stages except for 10 days-old. Two microsatellite loci were identified in the second intron of the GH gene. Using these two polymorphic markers to genotype 224 individuals, there was no significant difference between the females and males in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the hatchery samples. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Genomic structure, polymorphism and expression analysis of the growth hormone (GH) gene in female and male Half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

National Natural Science Foundation of China [30871913]; Special Fund of the "Taishan Scholar" Project of Shandong ProvinceGrowth hormone (GH) is a polypeptide which is an important regulator of development and somatic growth in teleosts, and may be associated with the mechanisms which drive sexual growth dimorphism in the Half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). In this study, the full length gh cDNA was cloned from C semilaevis by homology cloning and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR). The full-length gh cDNA is 826 bp and contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 603 bp encoding a protein of 200 amino acids (M). The precursor of gh consists of a 17 amino-add signal peptide followed by a 183 amino-acid mature polypeptide. GH gene sequences obtained from female and male adults consist of 3428 bp and 3371 bp, respectively, each of which includes six exons and five introns, and the difference in the GH gene size was mainly caused by the microsatellites. When 14 tissues from females, normal males and extra-large male adults were analyzed for sex-specific tissue expression, the gh mRNA was found to be predominantly expressed in the pituitary, and the expression levels in females were 3.6 times as much as those in normal males, while the mRNA expression in extra-large males was 1.7 times as much as those in normal males. Sex differences in gh mRNA expression during development were also examined by using a full-sib family of C semilaevis, and the gh mRNA was detected at all of the 12 time points sampled from 10 to 380 days-old. A significant increase in gh mRNA was detected starting in 80 day old fish and was then followed by a drop to very low levels starting at 230 day old fish. Differential expression indicated that the gh expression level in females was significantly higher than males (P< 0.01) at all of the stages except for 10 days-old. Two microsatellite loci were identified in the second intron of the GH gene. Using these two polymorphic markers to genotype 224 individuals, there was no significant difference between the females and males in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the hatchery samples. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved