Effects of kangaroo nursing after cesarean section on paternal role adjustment and subjective well-being for first-time fathers / 中华健康管理学杂志

Objective:To explore the effects of kangaroo nursing after cesarean section on the paternal role adaptation and subjective well-being of first-time fathers.Methods:In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 160 first-time fathers of newborns delivered by cesarean section from May 2021 to May 2022 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were continuously selected as research objects and randomly divided into experimental group (80 cases) and control group (80 cases) by random number table method. In the control group, the nursing staff carried out routine obstetric care after the birth of the newborns, the newborns were swaddled to keep warm and transferred to the ward, the fathers took care of them by the side; and the fathers were given postnatal routine education and guidance once a day, including newborn bathing, touching and umbilical buttock care, maternal breast care, breastfeeding, diet, medication and discharge precautions etc. The experimental group were given kangaroo nursing on care basis of control group: the father took a comfortable position that half leaned on the recliner with his shirt unbuttoned, the naked newborn was placed on the father′s chest at an angle of approximately 60 degree on the head up and feet down for maximum skin to skin contact with the help of researchers. The newborn′s back was covered with a blanket and wrapped in the father′s clothes, soft music was playing throughout the whole process, meanwhile, researchers encouraged interactions through verbal communications and touching between the father and the newborn. After newborns returned to the ward, they were given kangaroo nursing immediately by the fathers for the first time, and then twice a day in the same way, lasting for 30-40 min every time, and a total of 6 times of kangaroo nursing were completed during in first 3 days after birth. The average hospitalization period of both groups was 5 days. The father-role adjustment scale and subjective well-being scale were asseessed in the fathers, the independent sample t test was used to compare differences of father-role adjustment level and subjective well-being at the time of discharge between the two groups, the Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between the two variables. Results:The total score of paternal role adaptation, and the three dimensions scores including role identity, parent-child attachment establishment and nursing behavior implementation in the experimental group were all significantly higher than those in the control group (83.91±7.90 vs 78.79±9.44, 28.94±2.64 vs 27.85±3.36, 28.39±3.15 vs 26.46±3.52, 26.59±4.26 vs 24.48±3.81) ( t=3.725, 2.276, 3.647, 3.309, all P<0.05). The total score of subjective well-being, and the three dimensions scores including health worry, energy, melancholy or pleasant mood in the experimental were all significantly higher than those in the control group (88.34±6.38 vs 83.43±7.26, 7.70±1.77 vs 6.95±1.46, 20.03±3.15 vs 18.76±2.94, 19.41±2.01 vs 17.99±2.68) ( t=4.546, 2.928, 2.625, 3.805, all P<0.05), and were all significantly higher than those before the intervention (74.83±5.84, 6.11±2.22, 16.98±2.68, 15.18±2.13) ( t=13.069, 5.207, 6.261, 13.332, all P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between fathers′ subjective well-being and paternal role adaptation ( r=0.614, P<0.001). Conclusions:The father-centered kangaroo nursing after cesarean section can improve postpartum paternal role adaptation and subjective well-being of first-time fathers. There is a positive correlation between the subjective well-being and the paternal role adaptation level.

Transplantation of atrial natriuretic peptide-expressing fibroblasts reduces blood pressure and increases urine volume in spontaneously hypertensive rats / 生物工程学报

To investigate the potential of gene therapy for the treatment of chronic diseases such as hypertension, chronic heart failure, and chronic renal failure, we established the neonatal rat fibroblast line engineered to secrete the mutant human atrial natriuretic peptide (mhANP), and then transplanted the cell line into young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) subcutaneously. We found that a single transplantation of the cell line caused an obvious rise in the concentration of mhANP in serum 7 d after transplantation ((135 +/- 8) vs (106 +/- 7) pg/mL, P < 0.01). The animals' blood pressure in test group was always remarkably lower than that of empty vector group within 42 d after transplantation, even though the blood pressure in all groups was constantly increasing in the process of ontogeny ((175 +/- 10) mm Hg vs (189 +/- 12) mm Hg, P < 0.05). A maximal blood pressure reduction of 33 mm Hg ((157 +/- 9) mm Hg vs (124 +/- 112) mm Hg, P < 0.01) was observed 14 d post cell transplantation. There was a marked increase in urine volume in test group from second week after treatment beginning ((5.9 +/- 0.7) mL/6 h vs (4.3 +/- 0.8) mL/6 h, P < 0.01) and the effect lasted 14 d ((6.1 +/- 1.1) mL/6 h vs (4.0 +/- 0.8) mL/6 h, P < 0.01), however the statistical difference in concentration of K+ and Na+ in serum and urine was not observed. The results suggested that subcutaneous implantation of fibroblasts-expressing mhANP significantly reduced blood pressure in young SHR during the period of ontogeny and efficiently improved their renal function and the somatic gene transfer of mhANP may have potential value in the treatment of human chronic diseases such as hypertension, chronic heart failure, and chronic renal failure.

Isolation and identification of leukemia stem cells from acute myeloid leukemia patients / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To isolate and identify leukemia stem cells from acute myeloid leukemia patients for further research. Methods By Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, mononuclear cells were firstly separated from bone marrow of patients. According to specific surface markers, CD+34 CD+123 of leukemic stem cells were sorted by flow cytometer. Their ability of self-renewal and differentiation were evaluated by colony formation and cobblestone forming ability. At the same time, the purity and cell morphology of CD+34 CD+123 cells was analysed. Results Comparared with total mononuclear cells, the proportion of the CD+34 CD+123 cells after sorting was 10.7 %, and these cells showed the ability of colony forming and cobblestone forming, and the purity proportion of CD+34 CD+123 cells was 62.1%. Conclusion The leukemia stem cells were isolated successfully and could be used in further study.

High-level expression of foreign genes via multiple joined operons and a new concept regarding the restricted constant of total amount of plasmid DNA per Escherichia coli cell / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the feasibility of linking operons in tandem to enhance expression of heterologous genes in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and clarify the potential control mechanism of the total plasmid DNA amount in each host cell.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two series of expression plasmids, CW11 and CW12, containing 1 to 4 and 1 to 3 heterologous gene operon(s) respectively, were constructed. The molecular size of the CW11 series varied from 5.47 kb to 12.26 kb in 2.25 kb increments. The CW12 series varied from 5.40 kb to 9.72 kb in 2.16 kb increments. The expression level of desired protein was assayed by SDS-PAGE and laser density scanning. Plasmid copy number was determined by incorporation with (3)H-thymidine ((3)H-TdR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No influence of the tandem-joined operons on host growth and plasmid stability was observed. Upon induction, the desired protein accumulations in the CW11 series were 44.9% +/- 3.9%, 51.3% +/- 4.1%, 54.8% +/- 3.3% and 58.2% +/- 3.4% of total cell protein. In the CW12 series, the yields were 32.2% +/- 5.0%, 42.8% +/- 4.1% and 46.9% +/- 4.0% of total cell protein. As size increased, the plasmid copy number decreased, but target gene dosage increased significantly (P < 0.01). Further calculation showed that the total amount of plasmid DNA per cell was not significantly different in each series (P > 0.05) and restricted to some extent.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Increasing the target gene dosage by tandem linking of operons may enhance the expression level of a desired protein. Although the size (kb) and the copy number of each plasmid are negatively interrelated, for certain plasmids in each series, their total DNA amount per cell seems to be a restricted constant for specific E. coli strains under identical incubation condition.</p>

Analysis on Changes of Electric Frequency Spectrum of the Colon in 163 Cases of Abnormal Defecation with Different Syndromes / 中医杂志

Statistical analysis of TCM syndrome differentiation and clinical symptoms were made in 163 cases of diseases of digestive tract. It was found that the patients of abnormal defection or tendecy of abnormal defecation with the hyperactive liver - Qi attacking the spleen, stagnation of liver-Qi due to hypofunction of the spleen, loose stool due to deficiency of the spleen, constipation due to Qi-deficiency, constipation due to Qi - staganation syndromes accounted for 60%- 100%. Elecrtic examination of colon on the body surface and analysis of frequancy spectrum found that hyperelectroactivity of low - frequency and high - frequency segment of colon and contractive complex myoelectric hyperactivity in the patients of the hyperactive liver - Qi attacking the spleen; hyperelectroactivity of high - frequency segment of the ascending and descending colon and contractive complex myoelectric hyperactivity and decrease of electric activity of high - frequency segment of the sigmoid colon in the patients of loose stool due to hypofunction of the spleen: obvious decrease of electric activiy of low - frequency and high-frequency of the colon and contractive complex myoelectric hyperactivity in the patients of constipation due to deficiency of Qi or Qi - stagnation, but electric activity of the high -frequency segment of the colon and contractive complex myoelectric activity after meal in the patients of constipation due to Qi -stagnation was stronger than that in the patients of constipation due to Qi - deficiency. Electric frequency spectrum of colon can indirectly reflect changes of colon dynamics of different syndromes, and it can partially expain the changes of stool and the mechanism of relative symptoms.