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The employment of the no-touch technique in harvesting the great saphenous vein (GSV) for coronary artery bypass grafting has been associated with a significant improvement in clinical patency rates. Despite these advantages, such grafts may predispose patients to complications in the lower limbs. This study endeavors to evaluate the incidence of complications in the lower extremities by deploying an enhanced protocol for the no-touch harvesting technique. Methods: The historical control group in this study included patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with the no-touch technique for GSV harvesting at our institution from August 2018 to April 2020, in compliance with ethical standards. The intervention group consisted of patients who received CABG and were subjected to an optimized no-touch technique for GSV harvesting from May 2020 to June 2022. Technical modifications were applied to reduce lower limb complications, including limited use of electrocautery, minimization of extravascular tissue preservation, relaxation of postoperative elastic compression bandages, and elevation of the lower extremities. These measures aimed to decrease the incidence of postoperative lower limb complications, such as pain, numbness, edema, exudation, and delayed healing. The occurrences of postoperative complications were meticulously documented, compared, and analyzed between the two groups. Results: The adoption of the optimized no-touch technique resulted in a significant decrease in the incidence of postoperative lower extremity incisional complications among patients subjected to off-pump CABG (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study substantiate that the application of an optimized no-touch technique to harvest the GSV significantly diminishes the incidence of postoperative lower limb complications in patients receiving CABG. These results highlight the importance of adopting and integrating this optimized technique into clinical protocols, emphasizing its critical role in advancing patient care outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the causal relationship between tea drinking and cholelithiasis by two-way Mendelian randomization. Methods The instrumental variables for tea drinking were determined from 447 485 participants in the UK Biobank genome-wide association study (GWAS). A total of 32 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with tea drinking were used for two-sample Mendelian randomized analysis to evaluate the causal relationship between tea drinking and cholelithiasis. Cholelithiasis data were obtained from GWAS data of 35 712 cholelithiasis patients and 273 442 controls publicly available from the Finnegan Alliance. In this study, inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used as the main method to estimate causality, and sensitivity analysis was carried out to ensure the robustness of the results. Finally, reverse Mendelian randomization analysis was used to verify whether there was a reverse correlation. Results There was a causal re-lationship between tea drinking and cholelithiasis. In the IVW method, each additional standard deviation (2.85 cups/day) of tea consumption reduced the risk of cholelithiasis by 26.1% (OR =0.739, 95% CI: 0.536-0.990). Similar results were obtained in weighted mode (OR=0.652, 95% CI: 0.458-0.928), but there was no evidence to prove reverse correlation (IVW: P > 0.05). Conclusion The genetic evidence provided by two-way Mendelian randomized analysis shows that the increase of tea drinking reduces the risk of cholelithiasis, but there is no evidence of reverse association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To analyze the relationship between the proportion of omega-6/omega-3 and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), so as to provide reference for reducing the risk of death in patients with CVD. Methods The data of were collected from the UK perspective cohort (UK Biobank) database. The exposure variable was the proportion of plasma omega6/omega-3, and the outcomes were all- cause deaths, CVD deaths, ischemic heart disease (IHD) deaths, and stroke deaths. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the relationship between omega-6/ omega-3 ratio and death risk of CVD patients. Risk ratio hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Gender, age, and other risk factors were stratified and their interaction with omega-6/omega-3 ratio was analyzed. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to describe the dose-response relationship. Sensitivity analysis was used to test the robustness of the model. Results A total of 35 096 participants were enrolled. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model showed that all-cause deaths, CVD deaths, and ischemic heart disease deaths risk increased in CVD patients with the in¬crease of the proportion of omega-6/omega-3. For each unit increase in omega-6/omega-3 ratio, the risk of all-cause, CVD, and IHD deaths increased by 2.1% (HR=1.021, 95%CI: 1.016-0.025), 1.9% (HR=1.019, 95%CI: 1.010-1.028), and 2.3% (HR =1.023, 95% CI: 1.013-1.034), respectively. The proportion of omega-6/omega-3 was grouped according to quartile method and included in the model as a classified variable. Compared with Q1, the HR of all-cause, CVD, and IHD deaths of Q4 was 1.394 (95% CI: 1.267-1.534), 1.292 (95%CI: 1.085-1.540), and 1.528 (95% CI: 1.200-1.945), respectively, and no correlation was found between Q4 and stroke death risk (HR=0.987, 95%CI: 0.660-1.477). The results of RCS showed that the proportion of omega-6/omega3 was positively correlated with the risk of death. Conclusion The proportion of omega-6/ omega-3 is a risk factor for death in patients with CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, whole‐brain radiation therapy/stereotactic radiosurgery is one of the main local treatments for brain metastasis of non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Currently, it has been proved that radiotherapy (RT) can regulate the immune response, and small‐sample studies have shown that patients with NSCLC brain metastases (BMs) can benefit from RT combined with immunotherapy (IO). However, the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment have not been deeply elaborated. Notably, as a challenge that is still being explored, the timing of RT combined with IO is likely to be an important factor affecting efficacy and prognosis. This article reviews the current application and challenges of RT combined with IO from the perspectives of molecular mechanism, combination timing, safety, and efficacy. The purpose is to provide information on clinical evidence‐based medicine of combination between RT with IO. For further investigation, we also discuss the major challenges and prospects of RT combined with IO in NSCLC BMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Workplace support is vital in ensuring positive psychological well-being of working parents. The balancing act between work and family may affect the well-being of working parents due to strenuous responsibilities. Hence, this study intends to examine the relationship between workplace support and the well-being of working parents. Methodology: The study employs a cross-sectional survey where 146 working parents were recruited. A multiple regression analysis was employed. Findings: Current study found workplace support was a significant predictor of working parents' wellbeing (F(1, 134) =2.70., p < .01), while all the predictors variables (organizational [r = .18, p < .05], supervisory [r = .17, p < .05] and co-worker support [r = .17, p < .05]) showed positive significant positive relationship with working parents' well-being. Contributions: Current research provided insight toward the development of career counselling and understanding of the implication of workplace supports for healthier working parents. Furthermore, this study also contributed to the literature of human development and Super lifespan theory based on the current human development cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe bleeding following cardiac surgery remains a troublesome complication, but to date, there is a lack of comprehensive predictive models for the risk of severe bleeding following off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG). This study aims to analyze relevant indicators of severe bleeding after isolated OPCABG and establish a corresponding risk assessment model., Methods: The clinical data of 584 patients who underwent OPCABG from January 2018 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. We gathered the preoperative baseline data and postoperative data immediately after intensive care unit admission and used multifactor logistic regression to screen the potential predictors of severe bleeding, upon which we established a predictive model. Using the consistency index and calibration curve, decision curve, and clinical impact curve analysis, we evaluated the performance of the model., Results: This study is the first to establish a risk assessment and prediction model for severe bleeding following isolated OPCABG. Eight independent risk factors were identified: male sex, aspirin/clopidogrel withdrawal time, platelet count, fibrinogen level, C-reactive protein, serum creatinine, and total bilirubin. Among the 483 patients in the training group, 138 patients (28.6%) had severe bleeding; among the 101 patients in the verification group, 25 patients (24.8%) had severe bleeding. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the internal training group revealed a convincing performance with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.859, while the area under the ROC curve for the external validation data was 0.807. Decision curve analysis showed that the model was useful for both groups., Conclusions: Although there are some limitations, the model can effectively predict the probability of severe bleeding following isolated OPCABG and is therefore worthy of further exploration and verification., (Copyright and License information: Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 2021.)

Chronic pain of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) greatly affects the quality of life and functional activities of patients. It is important to clarify the underlying mechanisms of KOA pain and the analgesic effect of different therapies. Neuroimaging technology has been widely used in the basic and clinical research of pain. In the recent years, neuroimaging technology has played an important role in the basic and clinical research of KOA pain. Increasing evidence demonstrates that chronic pain in KOA includes both nociceptive and neuropathic pain. The neuropathic mechanism involved in KOA pain is complex, which may be caused by peripheral or central sensitization. In this paper, we review the regional changes of brain pathophysiology caused by KOA pain based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetoencephalogram (MEG), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and other neuroimaging techniques. We also discuss the central analgesic mechanism of different KOA therapies, with a focus on the latest achievements in the evaluation and prediction of pain. We hope to provide new thoughts for the treatment of KOA pain, especially in the early and middle stages of KOA.

Objective: To study the validity of single plane Simpson's method with conventional X-ray ventriculography for estimation of right ventricular (RV) volume., Methods: Fifteen human RV casts were obtained from 15 subjects who died from non-cardiac causes within 24 hours after death. These casts were photographed respectively and their volumes were calculated by using the single plane Simpson's method based on a new half-circle model. The actual RV cast volumes were determined by water displacement method., Results: The actual RV volume was (64.23 +/- 24.51) ml and the calculated volume was (58.04 +/- 24.45) ml. The calculated RV volume underestimated the actual volume by (6.19 +/- 12.38) ml, but there was no significant difference between the actual and the calculated RV volume (P > 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the actual cast volume and the calculated volume (r = 0.983, P < 0.01). The regression equation was: RV actual volume = 1.074 x (RV calculated volume)., Conclusion: RV volume calculated by single plane Simpson's method with conventional X-ray ventriculography is accurate and deserves further study.