Utility of cooling patches to prevent hand-foot syndrome caused by pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin(PLD)uses the hydrophilic layer of liposomes to reach the sweat on the skin surface or accumulate in the sweat glands,producing toxic free radicals and oxidative damage,resulting in hand-foot syndrome(HFS).Regional cooling can induce vasoconstriction to reduce the release of drugs in the limbs and reduce the accumulation of drugs in sweat glands;thus,decreasing the incidence and severity of HFS.AIM To study the efficacy of cooling patches to prevent HFS caused by PLD in the short-term.METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study.Female breast cancer patients(n=101)who were treated with PLD in two breast wards at our department from February 2020 to February 2021 were enrolled in the study and were randomly divided into the cooling group(51 patients)and the control group(50 patients).Patients in the control group only received routine care,while the patients in the cooling group applied cooling patches,based on routine care,to the palm and back of the hands 15 min before chemotherapy infusion for 10 h.All patients took a corresponding dose of dexamethasone orally one day before chemotherapy,on the day of chemotherapy,and one day after chemotherapy.SPSS23.0 version was used to analyze the data in this study.The occurrence and severity of HFS was analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test,and scores were analyzed by the Student’s t test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test.A P value<0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.RESULTS In this study,neither group of patients developed Grade 3 HFS.In the control group,the incidence of Grade 1 HFS and Grade 2 HFS was 38%and 2%,respectively.However,in the cooling group,only one person developed Grade 1 HFS(2%),and none of the patients developed Grade 2 HFS.These findings showed that cooling patches can effectively reduce the frequency and severity of HFS(P<0.0001)in the short-term.Before the fourth chemotherapy cycle,although general self-efficacy scale scores in the cooling group were low,they were still significantly higher than those in the control group(17.22±5.16 vs 19.63±6.42,P=0.041).Compared with the control group,the mean Hand-Foot Skin Reaction and Quality of Life Questionnaire score in the cooling group was significantly lower(18.08±7.01 vs 14.20±7.39,P=0.008).CONCLUSION Cooling patches can effectively reduce the frequency and severity of HFS caused by PLD in the short-term.In addition,it may help delay the decline in patients’self-efficacy.

Underlying Mechanisms of Memory Deficits Induced by Etomidate Anesthesia in Aged Rat Model： Critical Role of Immediate Early Genes

Background： Etomidate （R- 1 -[ 1 -ethylphenyl] imidazole-5-ethyl ester） is a widely used anesthetic drug that had been reported to contribute to cognitive deficits after general surgery. However, its underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the neurohiological mechanisms of cognitive impairments that caused by etomidate. Methods： A total of 30 Sprague-Dawley rats were used and divided into two groups randomly to receive a single injection ofeiomidate or vehicle. Then, the rats＇ spatial memory ability and neuronal survival were evaluated using the Morris water maze test and Nissl staining, respectively. Furthermore, we analyzed levels of oxidative stress, as well as cyclic adenosine 3＇,5＇-monophosphate response element-binding （CREB） protein phosphorylation and immediate early gene （IEG, including Arc, c-fos, and Egrl） expression levels using Western blot analysis. Results： Compared with vehicle-treated rats, the etomidate-treated rats displayed impaired spatial learning （day 4：27.26 ± 5.33 s vs. 35.52 ± 3.88s, t 2.988, P 0.0068; day 5： 15.84±4.02svs.30.67±4.23s,t=3.013,P=0.0057;day6：9.47±2.35svs.25.66±4.16s,t=3.567, P = 0.0036） and menaory ability （crossing times： 4.40 ± 1.18 vs. 2.06 ± 0.80, t = 2.896, P 0.0072; duration： 34.00± 4.24 s vs. 18.07 ±4.79 s, t = 3.023, P= 0.0053; total swimming distance： 40.73 ±3.45 cm vs. 27.40± 6.56 cm, t = 2.798, P = 0.0086） but no neuronal death. Furthermore, etomidate did not cause oxidative stress or deficits in CREB phosphorylation. The levels of multiple lEGs （Arc： vehicle treated rats 100%, etomidate treated rats 86%, t = 2.876, P 0.0086; c-los： Vehicle treated rats 100%, etomidate treated rats 72%, t =2.996, P = 0.0076; Egrl ： Vehicle treated rats 100%, etomidate treated rats 58%, t = 3.011, P=0.0057） were significantly reduced in hippocampi ofetomidate-treated rats. Conclusion： Our data suggested that etomidate might induce memory impairment in rats via inhibition of lEG expression.

Exploration in Optimal Design of an Airfoil with a Leading Edge Rotating Cylinder

Based on the theory of moving surface boundary layer control(MSBC),a concept of an airfoil having a rotating cylinder at the leading edge has been developed and experimentally proven to have good aerodynamic performance even at large angles of attack.Thus,this research aims to give guidance on optimizing the design of this kind of airfoil with high lift coefficients.Using computational fluid dynamics(CFD)technique,the CFD simulation results have been compared with the experimental results available in the literature,and then the SST two-equation model is selected as the appropriate turbulence model.At a given cylinder surface velocity ratio,the cylinder diameter d,the drop height of trailing edgeδand the curvatures of the pressure and suction surfaces of the airfoil are regarded as the optimal design parameters and the airfoil lift coefficient is considered as the optimization objective function.Therefore,using orthogonal optimization method,we herein develop a new design of airfoil favorable for having a rotating leading edge.It has been numerically proven that the resulting airfoil has good capability of achieving a substantially superior performance when compared to the airfoils of the prior art.

Low frequency vibration tests on a floating slab track in an underground laboratory

Low frequency vibrations induced by underground railways have attracted increasing attention in recent years. To obtain the characteristics of low frequency vibrations and the low frequency performance of a floating slab track (FST), low frequency vibration tests on an FST in an underground laboratory at Beijing Jiaotong University were carried out. The FST and an unbalanced shaker SBZ30 for dynamic simulation were designed for use in low frequency vibration experiments. Vibration measurements were performed on the bogie of the unbalanced shaker, the rail, the slab, the tunnel invert, the tunnel wall, the tunnel apex, and on the ground surface at distances varying from 0 to 80 m from the track. Measurements were also made on several floors of an adjacent building. Detailed results of low frequency vibration tests were reported. The attenuation of low frequency vibrations with the distance from the track was presented, as well as the responses of different floors of the building. The experimental results could be regarded as a reference for developing methods to control low frequency vibrations and for adopting countermeasures.

Benfotiamine prevents increased β-amyloid production in HEK cells induced by high glucose

Objective To determine whether high glucose enhances β-amyloid （Aβ） production in HEK293 Swedish mutant （APPsw） cells with Aβ precursor protein （APP） overexpression, and whether under this condition benfotiamine reduces the increased Aβ production. Methods HEK293 APPsw cells were cultured with different concentrations of glucose for different times. TheAβ content in the supernatant was determined by ELISA. To investigate the mechanism by which benfotiamine reduced Aβ production, glycogen synthase kinase-3 （GSK-3） activity and expression were measured after the cells were cultured with 5.5 g/L glucose for 12 h. Results With 1.0, 3.0, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, or 10.5 g/L glucose, Aβ production by HEK293 APPsw cells was highest in the presence of 5.5 g/L glucose for 6 and 12 h. The difference in Aβ content between 5.5 and 1.0 g/L was most marked after incubation for 12 h. Benfotiamine at 20 and 40 μg/mL significantly reduced Aβ production in cells incubated with 5.5 g/L glucose for 12 h. Moreover, 40 μg/mL benfotiamine significantly enhanced the ratio of phosphorylated GSK-3 to total GSK-3, together with consistent down-regulation of GSK-3 activity. Conclusion High glucose increases Aβ production by HEK293 APPsw cells while benfotiamine prevents this increase. This is correlated with the modulation of GSK-3 activity.