Effect of lipid-lowering medications in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting surgery outcomes

Background: Increased life expectancy and improved medical technology allow increasing numbers of elderly patients to undergo cardiac surgery. Elderly patients may be at greater risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Complications can lead to worsened quality of life, shortened life expectancy and higher healthcare costs. Reducing perioperative complications, especially severe adverse events, is key to improving outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The objective of this study is to determine whether perioperative lipid-lowering medication use is associated with a reduced risk of complications and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods: After IRB approval, we reviewed charts of 9,518 patients who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB at three medical centers between July 2001 and June 2015. The relationship between perioperative lipid-lowering treatment and postoperative outcome was investigated. 3,988 patients who underwent CABG met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Patients were divided into lipid-lowering or non-lipid-lowering treatment groups. Results: A total of 3,988 patients were included in the final analysis. Compared to the patients without lipid-lowering medications, the patients with lipid-lowering medications had lower postoperative neurologic complications and overall mortality (P \u3c 0.05). Propensity weighted risk-adjustment showed that lipid-lowering medication reduced in-hospital total complications (odds ratio (OR) = 0.856; 95% CI 0.781-0.938; P \u3c 0.001); all neurologic complications (OR = 0.572; 95% CI 0.441-0.739; P \u3c 0.001) including stroke (OR = 0.481; 95% CI 0.349-0.654; P \u3c 0.001); in-hospital mortality (OR = 0.616; 95% CI 0.432-0.869; P = 0.006; P \u3c 0.001); and overall mortality (OR = 0.723; 95% CI 0.634-0.824; P \u3c 0.001). In addition, the results indicated postoperative lipid-lowering medication use was associated with improved long-term survival in this patient population. Conclusions: Perioperative lipid-lowering medication use was associated with significantly reduced postoperative adverse events and improved overall outcome in elderly patients undergoing CABG surgery with CPB

Reliability of foot posture index (FPI-6) for evaluating foot posture in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Objective: To determine the reliability of FPI-6 in the assessment of foot posture in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).Methods: Thirty volunteers with KOA (23 females, 7 males) were included in this study, assessed by two raters and at three different moments. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability were assessed with Cohen’s Weighted Kappa (Kw) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Bland-Altman plots and respective 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were used to assess both inter-rater and test-retest agreement and identify systematic bias. Moreover, the internal consistency of FPI-6 was assessed by Spearman’s correlation coefficient.Results: FPI-6 total score showed a substantial inter-rater (Kw = .66) and test-retest reliability (Kw = .72). The six items of FPI-6 demonstrated inter-rater and test-retest reliability varying from fair to substantial (Kw = .33 to .76 and Kw = .40 to .78, respectively). Bland-Altman plots and respective 95% LOA indicated that there appeared no systematic bias and the acceptable agreement of FPI-6 total score for inter-rater and test-retest was excellent. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between each item and the total score of FPI-6, which indicated that FPI-6 had good internal consistency.Conclusion: In conclusion, the reliability of FPI-6 total score and the six items of FPI-6 were fair to substantial. The results can provide a reliable way for clinicians and researchers to implement the assessment of foot posture in patients with KOA

Silicon-Mediated Physiological and Agronomic Responses of Maize to Drought Stress Imposed at the Vegetative and Reproductive Stages

Silicon (Si) enhances maize resistance to drought. While previous studies have mainly focused on the seedling stage, the mediation of drought stress by Si imposed at the vegetative and reproductive stages has been rarely investigated. A soil-column experiment was thus conducted under a rainproof shelter to quantify the effect s of Si application on the physiological and agronomic responses of maize to drought stress imposed at the 6-leaf (D-V6), 12-leaf (D-V12), and blister (D-R2) stages. The observed parameters included plant growth, photosynthesis, osmolytes, antioxidant activity, and grain yield. The results showed that drought stress strongly decreased the leaf area, leaf water content, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT)) and markedly increased lipid peroxidation. D-V6, D-V12, and D-R2 decreased grain yields by 12.9%, 28.9%, and 44.8%, respectively, compared to the well-watered treatment (CK). However, Si application markedly increased leaf area, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, osmolyte content, and enzymatic antioxidant activities (SOD, POD, and CAT), and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide radical accumulation, ultimately improving maize yields by 12.4%, 69.8%, and 80.8%, respectively, compared to the non-Si treated plants under drought stress at the V6, V12, and R2 stages. Furthermore, maize yields had a significant positive correlation with chlorophyll content and SOD and POD activity during the three stages. Our findings suggest that Si-induced changes in chlorophyll content and antioxidant activity might constitute important mechanisms for mitigating drought stress. In conclusion, this study provides physico-biochemical evidence for the beneficial role of Si in alleviating drought-induced yield reduction in maize, particularly during the late vegetative or early reproductive stages. Thus, Si application constitutes an effective approach for improving maize yield in rain-fed agricultural systems

Distribution of roots and root length density in a maize/soybean strip intercropping system

In a field experiment in the Yellow River Basin conducted in 2007 and 2008, it was found that, under full irrigation, the roots of maize not only penetrated deeper than those of soybean but also extended into soybean stands underneath the space between inner rows of soybean. The roots of soybean, however, were confined mainly to the zone near the plants. Horizontal growth of the roots of both the crops was confined mainly to the soil layer 16-22 cm below the surface, a layer that lay above an existing plough pan. Root length density (RLD) was much higher in the top layer (0-30 cm deep) and in the zone closer to the plants. The exponential model proved suitable to describe the RLD vertically and horizontally in both sole cropping and in intercropping.Maize/soybean intercropping Root distribution Root length density 2D model

Response of Summer Maize Growth and Water Use to Different Irrigation Regimes

Summer maize crop development, yield, and water use characteristics under water deficit conditions at different growth stages were investigated in this study using different irrigation regime treatments at the seedling (S), jointing (J), tasseling (T), and grain filling stages (F) in 2018 and 2019 in China. Ten different irrigation treatments were set, including three-irrigation application intervals (JTFi, STFi, SJFi, SJTi), two-irrigation applications (STi, JTi, JFi), and single-irrigation applications (Ti, Ji). These were compared to the control treatment (CK), which had sufficient irrigation provided at four intervals (SJTFi). The results showed that compared to CK, a water deficit at the seedling and jointing stages had a greater effect on plant height, whereas a water deficit at the tasseling and filling stages had a greater effect on the leaf area index, and a continuous water deficit had an effect on the stem diameter of summer maize. Limitations in terms of the growth and development of summer maize increased with less frequent irrigation. As irrigation decreased, the grain yield decreased, and the water use efficiency increased, and a water deficit at the tasseling stage had the greatest effect on the yield and water use efficiency. The JTFi treatment was the optimal irrigation regime with a yield decline, and its water consumption was reduced by 16.9% (p p Ky) of 0.16, and its comprehensive score was the second highest after CK

Response of Summer Maize Growth and Water Use to Different Irrigation Regimes

Summer maize crop development, yield, and water use characteristics under water deficit conditions at different growth stages were investigated in this study using different irrigation regime treatments at the seedling (S), jointing (J), tasseling (T), and grain filling stages (F) in 2018 and 2019 in China. Ten different irrigation treatments were set, including three-irrigation application intervals (JTFi, STFi, SJFi, SJTi), two-irrigation applications (STi, JTi, JFi), and single-irrigation applications (Ti, Ji). These were compared to the control treatment (CK), which had sufficient irrigation provided at four intervals (SJTFi). The results showed that compared to CK, a water deficit at the seedling and jointing stages had a greater effect on plant height, whereas a water deficit at the tasseling and filling stages had a greater effect on the leaf area index, and a continuous water deficit had an effect on the stem diameter of summer maize. Limitations in terms of the growth and development of summer maize increased with less frequent irrigation. As irrigation decreased, the grain yield decreased, and the water use efficiency increased, and a water deficit at the tasseling stage had the greatest effect on the yield and water use efficiency. The JTFi treatment was the optimal irrigation regime with a yield decline, and its water consumption was reduced by 16.9% (p < 0.05) on average. However, compared to CK, the water use efficiency of the JTFi treatment increased by 17.3% (p < 0.05). Moreover, the JTFi treatment had the smallest maize yield response factor value (Ky) of 0.16, and its comprehensive score was the second highest after CK

Yield Response of Spring Maize to Inter-Row Subsoiling and Soil Water Deficit in Northern China.

Long-term tillage has been shown to induce water stress episode during crop growth period due to low water retention capacity. It is unclear whether integrated water conservation tillage systems, such asspringdeepinter-row subsoiling with annual or biennial repetitions, can be developed to alleviate this issue while improve crop productivity.Experimentswere carried out in a spring maize cropping system on Calcaric-fluvicCambisolsatJiaozuoexperimentstation, northern China, in 2009 to 2014. Effects of threesubsoiling depths (i.e., 30 cm, 40 cm, and 50 cm) in combination with annual and biennial repetitionswasdetermined in two single-years (i.e., 2012 and 2014)againstthe conventional tillage. The objectives were to investigateyield response to subsoiling depths and soil water deficit(SWD), and to identify the most effective subsoiling treatment using a systematic assessment.Annualsubsoiling to 50 cm (AS-50) increased soil water storage (SWS, mm) by an average of8% in 0-20 cm soil depth, 19% in 20-80 cm depth, and 10% in 80-120 cm depth, followed by AS-40 and BS-50, whereas AS-30 and BS-30 showed much less effects in increasing SWS across the 0-120 cm soil profile, compared to the CK. AS-50 significantly reduced soil water deficit (SWD, mm) by an average of123% during sowing to jointing, 318% during jointing to filling, and 221% during filling to maturity, compared to the CK, followed by AS-40 and BS-50. An integrated effect on increasing SWS and reducing SWD helped AS-50 boost grain yield by an average of 31% and biomass yield by 30%, compared to the CK. A power function for subsoiling depth and a negative linear function for SWD were used to fit the measured yields, showing the deepest subsoiling depth (50 cm) with the lowest SWD contributed to the highest yield. Systematic assessment showed that AS-50 received the highest evaluation index (0.69 out of 1.0) among all treatments.Deepinter-row subsoilingwith annual repetition significantly boosts yield by alleviating SWD in critical growth period and increasing SWS in 20-80 cm soil depth. The results allow us to conclude that AS-50 can be adopted as an effective approach to increase crop productivity, alleviate water stress, and improve soil water availability for spring maize in northern China