Abstract Background and objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze risk factors for failure of subclavian vein catheterization. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1562 patients who underwent subclavian vein puncture performed by the same experienced operator at Peking University Cancer Hospital from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2019 was conducted. The success or failure of subclavian vein catheterization was registered in all cases. Various patient characteristics, including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative hematocrit, preoperative mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), preoperative albumin, preoperative serum creatinine, puncture needles from different manufacturers and previous history of subclavian vein catheterization were assessed via univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: For the included patients, landmark-guided subclavian vein puncture was successful in 1476 cases and unsuccessful in 86 cases (success rate of 94.5%). Successful subclavian vein catheterization was achieved via right and left subclavian vein puncture in 1392 and 84 cases, respectively. In univariate analyses, age and preoperative hemoglobin were associated with failure of subclavian vein catheterization. In a multivariate analysis, aged more than 60 years was a risk factor while the central venous access with Certofix® was associated with an increased rate of success (p-values of 0.001 and 0.015, respectively). Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that patient aged more than 60 years was a risk factor for failure of subclavian vein catheterization while the central venous access with Certofix® was associated with an increased rate of success.

ABSTRACT Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the associations of glucose tolerance status with insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and other clinical laboratory parameters of acromegalic patients before and after the patients underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy (TSA) by conducting a single-center, retrospective study. Subjects and methods: A total of 218 patients with acromegaly who had undergone TSA as the first treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Serum IGF-I, growth hormone (GH) and glucose levels were measured before and after surgery. Results: The follow-up levels for random GH, GH nadir, and the percentage of the upper limit of normal IGF-I (%ULN IGF-I) were decreased significantly. The percentages of normal (39.0%), early carbohydrate metabolism disorders (33.0%) and diabetes mellitus (28.0%) changed to 70.2%, 16.5% and 13.3%, respectively, after TSA. %ULN IGF-I at baseline was higher in the diabetes mellitus (DM) group than in the normal glucose tolerance group and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) /impaired fasting glucose (IFG) groups before TSA, and the DM group exhibited a greater reduction in %ULN IGF-I value after surgery. The follow-up %ULN IGF-I value after surgery was significantly lower in the improved group, and Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that the reductions in %ULN IGF-I corresponded with the reductions in glucose level. Conclusion: This study examined the largest reported sample with complete preoperative and follow-up data. The results suggest that the age- and sex-adjusted IGF-I level, which reflects altered glucose metabolism, and the change of it are associated with improved glucose tolerance in acromegalic patients both before and after TSA.

ABSTRACT To increase rice yield potential, field experiments were conducted in farmers’ paddies in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the effects of different nitrogen applications on the yield and panicle components of three typical indica hybrid rice varieties in Sichuan Province. The number of grains per panicle resulting from late nitrogen application (LA) was 12 % greater than that obtained from traditional nitrogen application (TA); this increase was the main source of improvements in yield. The number of surviving and differentiated spikelets (NSS and NDiS) resulting from LA was significantly higher than that measured under TA, especially for the Fyou498 cultivar, where the NSS and NDiS increased by 15 % and 14 %, respectively. Compared with TA, the number of degenerated secondary branches and the percentage of degenerated secondary branches (NDeSB and PDeSB) were significantly reduced by 9 % and 11 %, respectively, by LA. This is the first study to demonstrate that an increase in NSS and a decrease in NDeSB lead to yield-improving effects attributable to LA. The grain yields of different varieties ranged from 9225.6 to 9408.7 kg ha−1, the PDeSB was as high as 31 %, and the number of surviving secondary branches (NSSB) was significantly and positively correlated with NSS. These data indicate that the yield of indica hybrid rice has considerable potential for being improved, and increasing NSSB is key to increasing NSS and improving the grain yield. These improvements should be pursued so as to increase the yield of hybrid rice to ensure both food security and sustainable agricultural development.

A man complained of upper abdominal pain and early satiety for one month. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed nothing special. A CT scan of the abdomen was performed, which demonstrated a huge heterogeneous retroperitoneal mass close to the dorsal wall of the stomach and surrounding the abdominal aortic and celiac trunk. The resected specimen suggested that an irregular tumor invaded the dorsal wall of the stomach. Postoperative histological examination confirmed that it was a gastric squamous cell carcinoma.

We investigated the effects of crossbreeding on slaughter traits and the chemical composition of chicken breast muscle. Trials were conducted using 120 broilers from four lines: Xiao-Shan chicken (XS), Xian-Ju chicken (XJ), Xiao-Shan chicken♂♂ × Xian-Ju chicken♀♀ (Zhenan 1, ZNY1) and Xiao-Shan chicken♂♂ × (Guang-Xi Yellow chicken♂♂×Xian-Ju chicken♀♀) ♀♀ (Zhenan 2, ZNY2). The birds were slaughtered at 120 days of age and the slaughter traits were measured. Breast muscles were sampled to determine chemical composition. The slaughter traits of hybrid chickens were improved. Both hybrid strains had higher intramuscular fat (IMF) and inosine-5'-monophosphate (inosinic acid, IMP). Concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in breast muscles from the two hybrids were significantly higher than in the other two breeds (p < 0.05). The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the breast muscles of the two hybrids was significantly lower than in the other two breeds (p < 0.05). ZNY2 had significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentrations of myristic acid (C14:0). The breast muscle of ZNY1 had significantly higher palmitic acid (C16:0) concentrations than XS, XJ, or ZNY2 (p < 0.05). The concentrations of oleic acid (C18:1) and eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3, EPA) in breast muscle from the two hybrid lines were significantly higher than the other two breeds (p < 0.05). Breast muscles from XS and XJ chickens contained significantly higher docosahexenoic acid (C22:6n-3, DHA) than the two hybrid lines (p < 0.05). The XS and XJ chickens had lower n-6/n-3 ratios than the two hybrids (p < 0.05). Breast muscles from ZNY1 and ZNY2 contained higher concentrations of essential amino acids (p < 0.05), total amino acids (p < 0.05), and some individual amino acids (p < 0.05). In conclusion, crossbreeding improved the slaughter traits of chickens and increased intramuscular fat and inosinic acid content in breast muscle. The fatty acid and amino acid compositions of breast muscles were also improved by crossbreeding.

Both genetic background and diet have profound effects on plasma lipid profiles. We hypothesized that a high-carbohydrate (high-CHO) diet may affect the ratios of serum lipids and apolipoproteins (apo) differently in subjects with different genotypes of the SstI polymorphism in the apoCIII gene (APOC3). Fifty-six healthy university students (27 males and 29 females, 22.89 ± 1.80 years) were given a washout diet of 54% carbohydrate for 7 days, followed by a high-CHO diet of 70% carbohydrate for 6 days without total energy restriction. Serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apoB100, apoAI, and the APOC3 SstI polymorphism were analyzed. The ratios of serum lipids and apoB100/apoAI were calculated. At baseline, the TG/HDL-C ratio was significantly higher in females, but not in males, with the S2 allele. The differences in the TG/HDL-C ratio between genotypes remained the same after the washout and the high-CHO diet in females. When compared with those before the high-CHO diet, the TC/HDL-C (male S2 carriers: 3.13 ± 1.00 vs 2.36 ± 0.65, P = 0.000; male subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 2.97 ± 0.74 vs 2.09 ± 0.55, P = 0.000; female S2 carriers: 2.68 ± 0.36 vs 2.24 ± 0.37, P = 0.004; female subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 2.69 ± 0.41 vs 2.09 ± 0.31, P = 0.000) and LDL-C/HDL-C (male S2 carriers: 1.44 ± 0.71 vs 1.06 ± 0.26, P = 0.012; male subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 1.35 ± 0.61 vs 1.01 ± 0.29, P = 0.005; female S2 carriers: 1.18 ± 0.33 vs 1.00 ± 0.18, P = 0.049; female subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 1.18 ± 0.35 vs 1.04 ± 0.19, P = 0.026) ratios were significantly decreased after the high-CHO diet regardless of gender and of genotype of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism. However, in female S2 carriers, the TG/HDL-C (1.38 ± 0.46 vs 1.63 ± 0.70, P = 0.039) ratio was significantly increased after the high-CHO diet. In conclusion, the high-CHO diet has favorable effects on the TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios regardless of gender and of genotype of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism. Somehow, it enhanced the adverse effect of the S2 allele on the TG/HDL-C ratio only in females.

A interação do alaranjado G com proteína foi investigada pela técnica de voltametria. O alaranjado G, em solução tampão Britton-Robinson (B-R), pH 2,0, mostrou um pico voltamétrico irreversível de redução, a -0,17V (vs. SCE) utilizando mercúrio como eletrodo de trabalho. A adição de albumina de soro humano (HSA) à solução de alaranjado G, resultou no decréscimo do pico de corrente de redução, aparentemente sem variações dos portenciais de pico e sem o surgimento de novos picos de corrente. Os parâmetros eletroquímicos da solução de alaranjado G, na ausência e presença de HSA, foram calculados e comparados. Os resultados mostraram que não ocorreram variações significantes, indicando que o comportamento eletroquímico da solução reacional utilizando mercúrio como eletrodo de trabalho não variou e que foi formado um biocomplexo supramolecular, eletroquimicamente inativo. O mecanismo de interação foi devido à formação do campo microeletrostático na estrutura da albumina em solução aquosa, causando a interação com o alaranjado G, o que induziu o decréscimo da concentração de equilíbrio do alaranjado G na solução reacional, e o decréscimo do pico de corrente de redução. As condições de interação foram discutidas cuidadosamente. Sob condições ótimas, o decréscimo do pico de corrente foi proporcional à concentração da proteína e posteriormente, usado para a determinação de diferentes tipos de proteínas. As curvas de calibração para a determinação de HSA, albumina de soro bovino (BSA), ovalbumina (OVA), hemoglobina bovina (BHb) e lipase, foram lineares nos intervalos de 4,0~28,0 mg L-1, 4,0~30,0 mg L-1, 2,0~20,0 mg L-1, 2,0~25,0 mg L-1 e 2,0~30,0 mg L-1, respectivamente. O limite de detecção foi 3,0 mg L-1 para HSA, 3,5 mg L-1 para BSA, 1,0 mg L-1 para OVA, BHb e lipase. O novo método eletroquímico estabelecido foi aplicado para determinar o teor de albumina em amostras de soro humano sadio e os resultados apresentaram boa concordância com o tradicional método espectrofotométrico Coomassie Brilliant Blue (GBB G-250).

The interaction of orange G with protein was investigated by voltammetric method in this paper. In pH 2.0 Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution orange G displayed an irreversible voltammetric reduction peak at -0.17 V (vs. SCE) on mercury working electrode. The addition of human serum albumin (HSA) into the orange G solution resulted in the decrease of the reduction current peak apparently without the changes of peak potentials and no new peaks appeared. The electrochemical parameters of orange G solution in the absence and presence of HSA were calculated and compared. The results showed that there were no significant changes, which indicated that the electrochemical behaviors of reaction solution on the mercury working electrode showed no changes and a supramolecular electrochemical inactive biocomplex was formed. The interaction mechanism was due to the formation of the microelectrostatic field in albumin structure in aqueous solution and caused the interaction with orange G, which induced the decrease of the equilibrium concentration of orange G in the reaction solution, and the decrease of the reductive peak current. The interaction conditions were discussed carefully. Under the optimal conditions the decrease of peak current was proportional to the concentration of protein and further used to the determination of different kinds of proteins. The calibration curves for the determination of HSA, bovine serum albumin (BSA), ovalbumin (OVA), bovine hemoglobin (BHb), lipase were linear over the ranges of 4.0~28.0 mg L-1, 4.0~30.0 mg L-1, 2.0~20.0 mg L-1, 2.0~25.0 mg L-1, 2.0~30.0 mg L-1, respectively. The detection limit was 3.0 mg L-1 for HSA, 3.5 mg L-1 for BSA, 1.0 mg L-1 for OVA, BHb and lipase. The new established electrochemical method was applied to determine the content of albumin in healthy human serum samples and the results were in good agreement with the traditional Coomassie Brilliant Blue (GBB G-250) spectrophotometric method.