The effect of head and facial massage on sleep condition after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background:Sleep disorders after heart surgery lead to increased heart rate,myocardial oxygen demand,and cause dysrhythmia that worsens heart ischemia.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of head and facial massage on sleep conditions following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.Materials and methods:A randomized controlled trial was performed on 72 patients.They were randomly divided into interventional(n=36)and control groups(n=36).On the third to fifth day after the operation,head and the facial massage were done for 15 min in the intervention group.The patients in the control group received only routine care.Richard Campbell’s Sleep Questionnaire was completed for four consecutive days for each group.Data were analyzed in SPSS V26.Results:Mean scores for sleep conditions before the intervention no statistically significant difference seen between the two groups(P>0.05).After the intervention,there was a statistically significant difference between mean scores for sleep conditions of the interventional and control groups(P<0.001).Also with general estimated equation test compared mean scores for sleep conditions between two groups.That revealed sleep condition total score in the intervention group was more than the control group and the trend of changes over time was statistically significant(P<0.001).Conclusion:Head and facial massage is an effective nursing intervention in improving the sleep condition of patients after coronary artery bypass graft.Due to the fact that head and face massage is an easy method and brings patient satisfaction,it is recommended to use this method as a suitable supplement for drug therapy and postoperative interventions in these patients.

Circulating Tumor DNA as Biomarkers for CancerDetection

Detection of circulating tumor DNAs(ct DNAs) in cancer patients is an important component of cancer precision medicine ct DNAs. Compared to the traditional physical and biochemical methods, blood-based ct DNA detection offers a non-invasive and easily accessible way for cancer diagnosis, prognostic determination, and guidance for treatment. While studies on this topic are currently underway, clinical translation of ct DNA detection in various types of cancers has been attracting much attention, due to the great potential of ct DNA as blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment of cancers. ct DNAs are detected and tracked primarily based on tumorrelated genetic and epigenetic alterations. In this article, we reviewed the available studies on ct DNA detection and described the representative methods. We also discussed the current understanding of ct DNAs in cancer patients and their availability as potential biomarkers for clinical purposes. Considering the progress made and challenges involved in accurate detection of specific cell-free nucleic acids, ct DNAs hold promise to serve as biomarkers for cancer patients, and further validation is needed prior to their broad clinical use.

DNA methylation signatures in circulating cell-free DNA as biomarkers for the early detection of cancer

Detecting cell-free DNA(cfDNA) or circulating tumor DNA(ctDNA) in plasma or serum could serve as a "liquid biopsy", which would be useful for numerous diagnostic applications. cfDNA methylation detection is one of the most promising approaches for cancer risk assessment. Here, we reviewed the literature related to the use of serum or plasma circulating cell-free DNA for cancer diagnosis in the early stage and their power as future biomarkers.

Application of liquid biopsy in precision medicine： opportunities and challenges

Precision medicine for cancer patients aims to adopt the most suitable treatment options during diagnosis and treatment of individuals. Detecting circulating tumor cell （CTC） or circulating tumor DNA （ctDNA） in plasma or serum could serve as liquid biopsy, which would be useful for numerous diagnostic applications. Liquid biopsies can help clinicians screen and detect cancer early, stratify patients to the most suitable treatment and real-time monitoring of treatment response and resistance mechanisms in the tumor, evaluate the risk for metastatic relapse, and estimate prognosis. We summarized the advantages and disadvantages of tissue and liquid biopsies. We also further compared and analyzed the advantages and limitations of detecting CTCs, ctDNAs, and exosomes. Furthermore, we reviewed the literature related with the application of serum or plasma CTCs, ctDNAs, and exosomes for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer. We also analyzed their opportunities and challenges as future biomarkers. In the future, liquid biopsies could be used to guide cancer treatment. They could also provide the ideal scheme to personalize treatment in precision medicine.

Deep pedigree analysis reveals family specific ‘‘fingerprint” pattern of DNA methylation for men

DNA methylation plays an essential role in mammalian development[1].However,how DNA methylation is inherited between generations and if there is family-specific DNA methylation pattern remains to be elucidated[2].In this study,we collect male blood samples including a big pedigree of the descendants of an ancient Chinese empire and samples from different haplogroups to study their whole genome DNA methylation pattern.We find 115 male family-specific methylation sites from three families.The difference of whole genome DNA methylation pattern correlates

Lower genomic stability of induced pluripotent stem cells reflects increased non-homologous end joining

Background:Induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs)and embryonic stem cells(ESCs)share many common features,including similar morphology,gene expression and in vitro differentiation profiles.However,genomic stability is much lower in iPSCs than in ESCs.In the current study,we examined whether changes in DNA damage repair in iPSCs are responsible for their greater tendency towards mutagenesis.Methods:Mouse iPSCs,ESCs and embryonic fibroblasts were exposed to ionizing radiation(4 Gy)to introduce dou-ble-strand DNA breaks.At 4 h later,fidelity of DNA damage repair was assessed using whole-genome re-sequencing.We also analyzed genomic stability in mice derived from iPSCs versus ESCs.Results:In comparison to ESCs and embryonic fibroblasts,iPSCs had lower DNA damage repair capacity,more somatic mutations and short indels after irradiation.iPSCs showed greater non-homologous end joining DNA repair and less homologous recombination DNA repair.Mice derived from iPSCs had lower DNA damage repair capacity than ESC-derived mice as well as C57 control mice.Conclusions:The relatively low genomic stability of iPSCs and their high rate of tumorigenesis in vivo appear to be due,at least in part,to low fidelity of DNA damage repair.

Transgenerational analysis of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 by ChIP-Seq links epigenetic inheritance to metabolism

Histone methylation is a kind of important epigenetic modification which occurs on the lysine residue or arginine residue of histone tails（Zhang and Reinberg,2001）.It takes part in multiple biological processes,including gene expression,genomic stability,stem cell maturity,genetic imprinting,mitosis and development（Fischle et al.,2005）.