Transcutaneous electroacupuncture alleviates postoperative ileus after gastrectomy: A randomized clinical trial

AIM To investigate the efficacy and safety of transcutaneouselectroacupuncture(TEA) to alleviate postoperative ileus(POI) after gastrectomy.METHODS From April 2014 to February 2017, 63 gastric cancer patients were recruited from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. After gastrectomy, the patients were randomly allocated to the TEA(n = 33) or control(n = 30) group. The patients in the TEA group received 1 h TEA on Neiguan(ST36) and Zusanli(PC6) twice daily in the morning and afternoon until they passed flatus. The main outcomes were hours to the first flatus or bowel movement, time to nasogastric tube removal, time to liquid and semi-liquid diet, and hospital stay. The secondary outcomes included postoperative symptom assessment and complications.RESULTS Time to first flatus in the TEA group was significantly shorter than in the control group(73.19 ± 15.61 vs 82.82 ± 20.25 h, P = 0.038), especially for open gastrectomy(76.53 ± 14.29 vs 87.23 ± 20.75 h, P = 0.048). Bowel sounds on day 2 in the TEA group were significantly greater than in the control group(2.30 ± 2.61/min vs 1.05 ± 1.26/min, P = 0.017). Time to nasogastric tube removal in the TEA group was earlier than in the control group(4.22 ± 1.01 vs 4.97 ± 1.67 d, P = 0.049), as well as the time to liquid diet(5.0 ± 1.34 vs 5.83 ± 2.10 d, P = 0.039). Hospital stay in the TEA group was significantly shorter than in the control group(8.06 ± 1.75 vs 9.40 ± 3.09 d, P = 0.041). No significant differences in postoperative symptom assessment and complications were found between the groups. There were no severe adverse events related to TEA.CONCLUSION TEA accelerated bowel movements and alleviated POI after open gastrectomy and shortened hospital stay.

Detection of pancreatic cancer with normal carbohydrate antigen 19-9 using protein chip technology

AIM:To develop a method to differentiate pancreatic cancer patients from healthy or benign individuals when carbohydrate antigen(CA)19-9 is normal.METHODS:Forty-one serum samples from patients with pancreatic lesions and blood samples from 20 healthy individuals were collected at the first stage of the experiment according to the enrolment criteria.General characteristics and some clinical features were carefully compared to ensure that the results were reasonable.All the blood samples were analyzed by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(SELDI-TOF-MS)combined with CM10 chips and a related bioinformatics analysis program to generate diagnostic models with different proteins.Forty-seven consecutive samples were tested at the next stage to verify the veracity and efficiency of the models.RESULTS:The sex,age,and serum CA19-9 levels among the three groups(malignant,benign,and healthy)were statistically matched(P values were 0.957,0.145,and 0.382,respectively).Two patterns were generated.Pattern 1 with four proteins theoretically had a specificity and sensitivity of 100%in distinguishing pancreatic cancer from healthy individuals,while it was 86.7%and86.4%,respectively,in the subsequent practical verification.The positive predictive value(PPV)of the model was86.4%.One of the four proteins was expressed highly in pancreatic cancer while the other three were expressed weakly.Pattern 2 consisted of six proteins that showed a specificity of 70.0%and sensitivity of 77.3%for differentiating malignancy from benign tumors.Its PPV reached85.0%.Only one of these six proteins showed high expression in the malignant group.CONCLUSION:SELDI-TOF-MS may facilitate diagnosis or differential diagnosis of pancreatic cancer when CA19-9 is normal.Pattern 1 may serve as a useful screening tool.

Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci associated with β-amylase and limit dextrinase activities and β-glucan and protein fraction contents in barley

High malting quality of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) relies on many traits,such as β-amylase and limit dextrinase activities and β-glucan and protein fraction contents. In this study,interval mapping was utilized to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting these malting quality parameters using a doubled haploid (DH) population from a cross of CM72 (six-rowed) by Gairdner (two-rowed) barley cultivars. A total of nine QTLs for eight traits were mapped to chromosomes 3H,4H,5H,and 7H. Five of the nine QTLs mapped to chromosome 3H,indicating a possible role of loci on chromosome 3H on malting quality. The phenotypic variation accounted by individual QTL ranged from 8.08% to 30.25%. The loci of QTLs for β-glucan and limit dextrinase were identified on chromosomes 4H and 5H,respectively. QTL for hordeins was coincident with the region of silica eluate (SE) protein on 3HS,while QTLs for albumins,globulins,and total protein exhibited overlapping. One locus on chromosome 3H was found to be related to β-amylase,and two loci on chromosomes 5H and 7H were found to be associated with glutelins. The identification of these novel QTLs controlling malting quality may be useful for marker-assisted selection in improving barley malting quality.