Activity

To compare the analgesic efficacy of two techniques of morphine titration (intermittent intravenous bolus vs infusion) by calculating rescue dosage in a day at 1 week after analgesic titration.

One hundred and forty cancer patients were randomised into two groups. In group 1, intravenous morphine 1.5 mg bolus given every 10 min until Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score <4 is achieved. Total intravenous dose converted to oral dose (11) and administered every 4 hours. In group 2, intravenous bolus morphine 0.05 mg/kg body weight administered followed by 0.025 mg/kg/hour intravenous infusion. The NRS pain score was recorded every 10 min but infusion rate was titrated every 30 min if required. The infusion rate of morphine was doubled if the pain score was unchanged and increased to 50% when NRS was between 4 and baseline. selleckchem If NRS<4, then infusion at same rate was continued. Once the NRS<4 for two consecutive hours, total intravenous dose for 24 hours was calculated and converted to oral morphine in a ratio of 13 and divided into six doses given over 24 hours. For rescue (pain score ≥4) analgesia, one-sixth of the total daily oral dose was prescribed. The primary outcome of this study was to note the number of rescue doses of oral morphine in a day at 1 week.

The rescue dosage in a day at 1-week post discharge from the palliative care unit was significantly higher in group 1 as compared with group 2.

Intravenous infusion morphine may be a better analgesic titration technique for analgesia in patients with advanced cancer.

CTRI/2018/04/013369.

CTRI/2018/04/013369.

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2014 to 2016, was a substantial public health crisis with health impacts extending past EVD itself. Access to maternal health services (MHS) was disrupted during the epidemic, with reductions in antenatal care, facility-based deliveries and postnatal care. We aimed to identify and describe barriers related to the uptake and provision of MHS during the 2014-2016 EVD outbreak in West Africa.

In June 2020, we conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed publications and grey literature from relevant stakeholder organisations. Search terms were generated to identify literature that explained underlying access barriers to MHS. Published literature in scientific journals was first searched and extracted from PubMed and Web of Science databases for the period between 1 January 2014 and 27 June 2020. We hand-searched relevant stakeholder websites. A ‘snowball’ approach was used to identify relevant sources uncaptses.

Barriers to accessing MHS during the EVD outbreak in West Africa were influenced by complex but inter-related factors at the individual, interpersonal, health system and international level. Future responses to EVD outbreaks need to address underlying reasons for fear and mistrust between patients and providers, and ensure MHS are adequately equipped both routinely and during crises.

To prepare the recombinant peptide MVF-HER3 I composed of the 183-227aa peptide segment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3 I) and the measles virus protein 288-302 peptide segment (MVF), and prepare polyclonal antibodies (PcAb) against this recombinant peptide.

The MVF-HER3 I gene was synthesized chemically and subcloned into pET21b or pET32a plasmid containing Thioredoxin (Trx) tag gene. The recombinant plasmids were identified by endonuclease digestion. MVF-HER3 I was expressed in

BL21(DE3) cells under an optimal bacterial expression condition. The fusion protein Trx-MVF-HER3 I was purified using nickel ion affinity chromatography, and the purified protein was digested by enterokinase to remove Trx tag. The digested mixture underwent further nickel ion affinity chromatography to obtain purified MVF-HER3 I. The purified MVF-HER3 I was used to immunize SD rats subcutaneously for preparing anti-MVF-HER3 I PcAb. The titer of PcAb was determined using ELISA. The bindings of anti-MVF-HER3 I , which can facilitate further functional analysis of HER3 signaling pathway.

To investigate the value of positive lymph node ratio (LNR) in predicting the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer.

We retrieved the data of a total of 862 patients with esophageal cancer with complete clinical pathology data archived in SEER database in 2010 to 2015. The best cutoff point of LNR was selected using X-tile software. Univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazard models were used to assess the value of LNR in predicting the prognosis of patients after propensity score matching (PSM).

The best cut-off point of LNR determined using X-tile 3.6.1 software was 0.16. The patients with LNR &lt; 0.16 and those with LNR≥0.16 showed significant differences in the number of positive lymph nodes, pathological type, T stage and M stage. After 11 propensity score matching, the two groups showed no significant difference in the clinical data or pathological parameters. Matched univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses showed that LNR, primary tumor site and M staging were all independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients, and among them LNR had the most significant predictive value (LNR &lt; 0.16

LNR≥0.16 HR=1.827, 95%

1.140-2.929;

=0.000). The median survival time of patients with LNR &lt; 0.16 was 31 months (95%

22.556-39.444 months), as compared with 16 months (95%

12.989-19.011) in patient with LNR≥0.16 (Log Rank χ

=27.392,

&lt; 0.0001). LNR had a better accuracy than N stage for assessing the patients’ prognosis with an area under the ROC curve of 0.617 (95%

0.567-0.666), as compared with 0.515 (95%

0.463-0.565) of N stage (

=3.008,

=0.0026).

LNR≥0.16 is an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer and has better prognostic value than N stage.

LNR≥0.16 is an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer and has better prognostic value than N stage.

To investigate the mechanism by which

dripping pills (STDP) improves coronary microcirculation disorder (CMD) and cardiac dysfunction in a porcine model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Fourteen minipigs were randomly selected for interventional balloon occlusion of the middle left anterior descending branch to induce CMD, and another 7 pigs received sham operation. The pig models of CMD were randomized equally into the model group and STDP-treated group. All the animals were fed with common feed for 8 weeks, and in STDP-treated group, the pigs were given STDP at the daily dose of 3 mg/kg (mixed with feed) for 8 weeks. Before and at the 8th week after the operation, the pigs underwent coronary angiography and echocardiography to determine the vessel lumen diameter and TIMI frame count (CTFC). The pathologies of the myocardium and the microvessels were examined with HE staining at the 8th week. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of silencing information regulator (Sirt1), peroxidase proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERKI/2), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in myocardial tissue.