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Oxidative stress may contribute to the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery. Acetaminophen can be considered an antioxidant as it inhibits hemoprotein-catalyzed lipid peroxidation. We hypothesized that perioperative acetaminophen administration is associated with reduced AKI after cardiac surgery.Retrospective observational cohort study.Patients aged ≥18 years who had cardiac surgery were identified from two publicly available clinical registries: the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III and the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU).Administration of acetaminophen in the first 48 hours after surgery.Severe AKI in the first 7 days after surgery, defined as stage 2 or stage 3 AKI according to KDIGO criteria.Multivariable cause-specific hazards regression analysis.We identified 5,791 patients from the MIMIC-III and 3,840 patients from the eICU registries. The overall incidence of severe AKI was 58% (3,390 patients) in the MIMIC-III cohort and 37% (1,431 patients) in the eICU cohort. Acetaminophen was administered in the early postoperative period to 4,185 patients (72%) and 2,737 patients (71%) in these two cohorts, respectively. In multivariable regression models, early postoperative use of acetaminophen was associated with a reduced risk of severe AKI in both the MIMIC-III (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.79 to 0.94]) and eICU (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.72 to 0.97]) cohorts. The benefit was consistent across sensitivity and subgroup analyses.No data on acetaminophen dose.Early postoperative acetaminophen administration was independently associated with a lower risk of severe AKI in adults recovering from cardiac surgery. Prospective trials are warranted to assess the extent to which the observed association is causal and estimate the extent to which acetaminophen administration might prevent or reduce the severity of AKI.

Objective Prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) is closely associated with higher morbidity and mortality after total cavopulmonary surgery. The aim of the present study was to identify the clinical risk factors for PMV. Design A retrospective case-control study. Setting Fuwai Hospital. Participants The study comprised 504 patients who underwent total cavopulmonary surgery from 2010 to 2018. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results The definition of PMV was derived from the Cox regression model for predicting postoperative length of hospital stay. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, logistic regression, and Cox regression were applied to identify predictors for PMV. Patients with mechanical ventilation time >9 hours were identified as having PMV. Independent predictors of PMV included age, intraoperative maximum vasoactive-inotropic score, minimal temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass, postoperative prothrombin time, alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin levels, and postoperative fluid balance. These predictors also were achieved in the Cox regression for predicting the duration of mechanical ventilation. Patients with PMV were associated with increased blood transfusions, more consumption of vasopressin and antipulmonary hypertension medication, higher incidence of reintubation, more renal replacement treatment, longer intensive care unit stay, greater hospitalization costs, and more specialist visits. Conclusions Age at surgery, maximal vasoactive-inotropic score and minimal temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass, postoperative prothrombin time, alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin levels, and postoperative fluid balance were demonstrated to be independent predictors of PMV. Adopting a comprehensive strategy of perioperative management that targets the identified risk factors might significantly lower the risk of PMV and improve in-hospital outcomes, and furthermore, patients with PMV might need more specialist visits.

Objective To evaluate the effect of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) administration on outcomes in pediatric cardiac surgery patients with postoperative bleeding. Design A propensity score-matched retrospective study. Setting Single tertiary medical center. Participants The study comprised 151 patients who received treatment with rFVIIa and were matched with control patients at a 1:2 ratio. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results The primary endpoints were thrombotic events, renal replacement therapy (RRT), and mortality. The secondary endpoints were length of intensive care unit stay and the reexploration rate. Patients in the rFVIIa group showed no significant differences in thrombotic events (odds ratio [OR] 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48-2.21; p = 0.948), mortality (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.42-2.13; p = 0.891), and RRT (OR 1.38; 95% CI 0.73-2.58; p = 0.319). However, patients in the rFVIIa group experienced a prolonged length of intensive care unit stay (5.65 [3.00-12.28] d v 3.91 [1.83-6.77] d) and an increased reexploration rate (8.2% v 3.1%). High-dose rFVIIa was an independent risk factor of thrombotic events (OR 5.17; 95% CI 1.19-22.49; p = 0.029). Conclusion This study found that rFVIIa is not associated with increased risks of postoperative thrombotic events, mortality, or RRT in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Nevertheless, rFVIIa was associated with longer intensive care unit stay and increased reexploration rate. Furthermore, the risk for thrombotic events may increase with high-dose rFVIIa.

The spotted sea bass Lateolabrax maculatus, a commercially important species of fishery resource in the Northwestern Pacific, has become a popular cultured fish species in China. Although the microsatellite markers of L. maculatus have been isolated, they mainly focused on dinucleotide-repeat loci. In this study, we developed 26 polynucleotide-repeat microsatellite loci for L. maculatus through high-throughput DNA sequencing technology. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 19. Observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.188 to 0.906 and 0.175 to 0.938, respectively. One locus showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. These 26 novel microsatellite markers will serve as useful tools which benefit population genetics studies and conservation management of L. maculatus. In addition, cross-species amplification tests showed that the transferability of 6 loci was positive across 10 species of two phylogenetically related families Latidae and Serranidae, and 3 loci were successful amplified in at least 5 species. The transferable loci would be helpful for the detection of genetic relationship and divergence between the tested taxa.

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a 24-week Tai Ji Quan training program on sleep quality, quality of life, and physical performance among elderly Chinese women with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods A 24-week randomized, controlled trial of 46 elderly women with knee OA. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Tai Ji Quan group ( n = 23) or a control group ( n = 23). Participants in the Tai Ji Quan group completed training sessions three times per week, while those in the control group had bi-weekly educational classes. The primary outcome was total score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality of Index (PSQI). Secondary outcomes were: seven subscales of the PSQI; sleep latency; total sleep time; sleep efficiency; physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); Berg Balance Scale (BBS); and Timed Up and Go (TUG). Results Compared with the control group, participants in the Tai Ji Quan group had significantly improved primary outcome (global PSQI score, p = 0.006) and secondary outcomes, including three PSQI sub-scores (sleep latency, p = 0.031; sleep duration, p = 0.043; daytime dysfunction, p = 0.007), total sleep time ( p = 0.033), and SF-36 PCS ( p = 0.006). The Tai Ji Quan group also had significant improvements compared with baseline in three PSQI sub-scores (sleep latency, p = 0.031; habitual sleep efficiency, p = 0.049; sleep disturbance, p = 0.016), sleep latency ( p = 0.003), BBS ( p = 0.001), and TUG ( p = 0.006). Conclusion Tai Ji Quan training is an effective treatment approach to improve sleep quality and quality of life in elderly Chinese women with knee OA. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (June 16, 2013): ChiCTR-TRC-13003264.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of knee concentric and eccentric strength and impact related knee biomechanics between jumpers and non-jumpers during step-off landing tasks. Ten male college swimming athletes (non-jumpers) and 10 track and volleyball athletes (jumpers) were recruited to participate in two test sessions: a muscle strength testing session of concentric and eccentric extension for dominant knee joint at 60°/s and 180°/s and a landing testing session. The participants performed five trials of step-off landing in each of four conditions: soft and stiff landing from 0.4m and 0.6m landing heights. The three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction force were recorded simultaneously during step-off landing conditions. The results showed that the jumpers had significantly greater peak knee eccentric extension and concentric flexion torques compared to the non-jumpers. No significant group effects were found for peak vertical ground reaction force and knee range of motion during landing. The jumpers had significantly greater knee contact flexion angle, maximum knee flexion angle and initial knee extension moment compared to the non-jumpers. These results suggest that these athletes adopted a favorable impact attenuation strategy that is related to the greater knee eccentric muscle strength and training.

Micro-honeycomb ceramics were successfully fabricated through brush-coating with cloth fabric as pore-forming agent. The influence of pore-forming agent and slurry's moisture content on the micro-honeycomb ceramics was investigated. The results indicated that micro-honeycomb ceramics made from pore-forming agent cloth fabric with fibre diameter of 100 μm and slurry with 45% (mass fraction) moisture content have the porosity of 65% (volume fraction), bending strength of 24.3 MPa, pore size of about 100 μm, cell wall thickness of about 50 μm and porosity of 1131 pore/cm 2 . It was suggested that the pore size and the porosity could be adjusted using the pore-forming agent and moisture content of the slurry respectively.

A total of 153 soil samples were collected from Changsha City, China, to analyze the contents of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. A combination of sampling data, multivariate statistical method, geostatistical analysis, direct exposure method and triangulated irregular network (TIN) model was successfully employed to discriminate sources, simulate spatial distributions and evaluate children's health risks of heavy metals in soils. The results show that not all sites in Changsha city may be suitable for living without remediation. About 9.0% of the study area provided a hazard index (HI)>1.0, and 1.9% had an HI>2.0. Most high HIs were located in the southern and western areas. The element of arsenic and the pathway of soil ingestion were the largest contribution to potential health risks for children. This study indicates that we should attach great importance to the direct soil heavy metals exposure for children's health.