Characteristics and independent predictors of self-disclosure among male patients undergoing in vitro fertilization: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the levels of self-disclosure in men undergoing in vitro fertilization and analyze the effects of communication and personality on self-disclosure. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 210 men undergoing in vitro fertilization. Self-disclosure was measured using the Chinese Distress Disclosure Index Scale. FINDINGS: Participants with high self-disclosure exhibited lower neuroticism, higher extraversion, better partner communication, higher educational levels, and were likely to have a child; these factors were independent predictors of self-disclosure. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the factors influencing self-disclosure and can aid in developing guidance programs for infertile men.

ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels Mediate the Cardioprotective Effect of Panax notoginseng Saponins against Myocardial Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury and Inflammatory Reaction.

Inflammatory response during myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI) is essential for cardiac healing, while excessive inflammation extends the infarction and promotes adverse cardiac remodeling. Understanding the mechanism of these uncontrolled inflammatory processes has a significant impact during the MIRI therapy. Here, we found a critical role of ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP) in the inflammatory response of MIRI and its potential mechanism and explored the effects of Panax Notoginseng Saponins (PNS) during this possess. Rats underwent 40 min ischemia by occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and 60 min of reperfusion. PNS was treated at the corresponding time point before operation; 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD) and glybenclamide (Gly) (or Nicorandil (Nic)) were used as pharmacological blocker (or nonselective opener) of KATP. Cardiac function and pathomorphology were evaluated and a set of molecular signaling experiments was tested. KATP current density was measured by patch-clamp. Results revealed that in MIRI, PNS pretreatment restored cardiac function, reduced infarct size, and ameliorated inflammation through KATP. However, inhibiting KATP by 5-HD and Gly significantly reversed the effects, including NLRP3 inflammasome and inflammatory mediators IL-6, MPO, TNF-α, and MCP-1. Moreover, PNS inhibited the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of NF-κB in I/R myocardium when the KATP was activated. Importantly, PNS promoted the expression of subunits and activation of KATP. The study uncovered KATP served as a new potential mechanism during PNS modulating MIRI-induced inflammation and promoting injured heart recovery. The manipulation of KATP could be a potential therapeutic approach for MIRI and other inflammatory diseases.

Radial Pulse Wave Signals Combined with Ba-PWV for the Risk Prediction of Hypertension and the Monitoring of Its Accompanying Metabolic Risk Factors.

Our aim was to study whether radial pulse wave signals can improve the risk prediction of incident hypertension and are associated with its concomitant metabolic risk factors beyond the traditional cardiovascular risk factor Ba-PWV. By enrolling 523 Chinese subjects in this study, linear and stepwise regression analysis was performed to assess the association of radial artery pulse wave signals and Ba-PWV with blood pressure and its related metabolic risk factors such as fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and uric acid (UA). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were calculated by risk assessment plot to compare the discriminative ability among models with and without radial artery pulse wave signals. After adjusting related confounding factors, radial artery pulse wave variable h 3/h 1 was selected as the sensitive influential factor for blood pressure. Moreover, a new model with h 3/h 1 had a higher AUC than the reference model without it (0.86 vs 0.84; P=0.030). And the NRI and IDI for the new model was 50.0% (P=0.017) and 3.16% (P=0.044), respectively. In addition to Ba-PWV, we found that the decrease of t 4, t 5, and h 5 might be associated with higher FPG, TC, LDL-C, and UA and lower HDL-C. This research might provide a valuable additional tool for remote wearable monitoring of radial artery pulse wave signals in hypertension risk evaluation and management.

[Regulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicine on autophagy in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury].

Autophagy is a basic process of eliminating unnecessary or damaged organelles by lysosome to maintain the internal environment homeostasis. Recent studies have revealed that autophagy plays an important role in pathology of myocardial ischemia reperfusion. In the phase of ischemia, moderate autophagy can protect the cells against various stress; but in the phase of reperfusion, excessive autophagy can increase the death of cells. Therefore, the dual role of autophagy in myocardial ischemia reperfusion provides a new therapeutic target for the treatment of heart disease. In recent years, more and more Chinese medicines have been proved to adjust the autophagy in myocardial cells, and protect the damaged myocardium by enhancing or inhibiting autophagy. This article would review the molecular mechanisms of autophagy and its role in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury as well as the regulation effect of Chinese medicine on it.

[Research progress on regulation effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on mitochondria].

Mitochondria is the key energy source of cells and plays an important role in energy synthesis and release, and maintenance of cellular functions. As the most important active ingredients in Chinese medicine pseudo-ginseng, Panax notoginseng saponins(PNS) have pharmacological effects on protecting against thrombosis, dilating blood vessels, lowering the blood pressure, anti-inflammation, and antioxidant, etc. Domestic and foreign studies have shown that PNS participates in regulating mitochondrial energy metabolism, oxidative stress, biosynthesis, apoptosis, mitophagy and the status of membrane channels. Therefore, the mitochondria is one of the important targets of PNS. In this paper, the regulation effects of P. notoginseng saponins on mitochondria were reviewed.

MiR-502-5p inhibits IL-1ß-induced chondrocyte injury by targeting TRAF2.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by articular cartilage degradation and joint inflammation. MicroRNAs have been proven to play an important role in the regulation of chondrogenesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of miR-502-5p in OA. The results showed that miR-502-5p levels were significantly down-regulated in OA articular tissues and IL-1ß-induced chondrocytes compared with control groups. MiR-502-5p overexpression inhibited IL-1ß-induced reduction in cell viability and increase in cell apoptosis, and alleviated IL-1ß-induced extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolic imbalance and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. MiR-502-5p targeted the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of TRAF2 to inhibit its expression. The IL-1ß-induced activation of NF-κB signaling pathway was inhibited by PDTC, an inhibitor of NF-κB, which was also suppressed by the miR-502-5p mimic and TRAF2 siRNA transfection. In conclusion, miR-502-5p may exhibit a protective effect on IL-1ß-induced chondrocyte injury by targeting TRAF2 and inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway.

Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species: a double edged sword in ischemia/reperfusion vs preconditioning.

Reductions in the blood supply produce considerable injury if the duration of ischemia is prolonged. Paradoxically, restoration of perfusion to ischemic organs can exacerbate tissue damage and extend the size of an evolving infarct. Being highly metabolic organs, the heart and brain are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). While the pathogenetic mechanisms contributing to I/R-induced tissue injury and infarction are multifactorial, the relative importance of each contributing factor remains unclear. However, an emerging body of evidence indicates that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by mitochondria plays a critical role in damaging cellular components and initiating cell death. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the mechanisms whereby mitochondrial ROS generation occurs in I/R and contributes to myocardial infarction and stroke. In addition, mitochondrial ROS have been shown to participate in preconditioning by several pharmacologic agents that target potassium channels (e.g., ATP-sensitive potassium (mKATP) channels or large conductance, calcium-activated potassium (mBKCa) channels) to activate cell survival programs that render tissues and organs more resistant to the deleterious effects of I/R. Finally, we review novel therapeutic approaches that selectively target mROS production to reduce postischemic tissue injury, which may prove efficacious in limiting myocardial dysfunction and infarction and abrogating neurocognitive deficits and neuronal cell death in stroke.

Effect of pulsatile perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass in terms of radial artery sphygmogram.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a quantitative method for using radial artery pulse waveforms to assess the effect of pulsatile flow during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: A total of 34 adults with heart disease who underwent open-heart surgery between April 2010 and January 2011 were randomized into a pulsatile perfusion group (n = 17) and a non-pulsatile perfusion group (n = 17). Radial arterial pulse waveforms of pulsatile and non-pulsatile perfusion patients were observed and compared before and during CDB. RESULTS: No pulse waveform could be detected at patients' radial artery in both groups when the aorta was cross-clamped. Pulse waveforms could be detected at pulsatile perfusion patients' radial artery, but could not be detected at non-pulsatile perfusion patients' radial artery during CPB. Additionally, patients' pulse waveforms during pulsatile perfusion were lower than those before the operation. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that radial artery sphygmogram can be used as a valid indicator to evaluate the effectiveness of pulsatile perfusion during CPB.

Cardio-protection by Ginkgo biloba extract 50 in rats with acute myocardial infarction is related to Na⁺-Ca²âº exchanger.

Ginkgo biloba has been used for medical purposes for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) is a new standardized GBE product that matches the standardized German product as EGb761. This paper is aimed at studying the cardio-protection effects of GBE50 Salvia miltiorrhiza on myocardial function, area at risk, myocardial ultra-structure, and expression of calcium handling proteins in rat ischemic myocardium. Myocardium ischemia was induced by the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery occlusion and myocardial function was recorded by a transducer advanced into the left ventricle on a computer system. In vitro myocardial infarction was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) and Evans blue staining of heart sections. Morphological change was evaluated by electric microscopy and Western blotting was used for protein expression. Hemodynamic experiments in vivo showed that postischemic cardiac contractile function was reduced in ischemic rats. Salvia miltiorrhiza (7.5 g/kg/d×7) and Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) (100 mg/kg/d×7) improved post-schemic cardiac diastolic dysfunction while not affecting the systolic function. In hearts of GBE50 group and Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) group, the area at risk was significantly reduced and myocardial structure was better-preserved. Moreover, Na⁺-Ca²âº exchanger (NCX) expression increase and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²âº-ATPase 2 (SERCA2), LTCC, and ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) expression decreases were smaller than those in ischemia group. There was a significant difference between the GBE50 and ischemia group in NCX expression. GBE50 could improve recovery in contractile function and prevent myocardium from ischemia damage, which may be caused by attenuating the abnormal expression of NCX.

[Effect of precondition with GBE50 and Salviae miltionrrhizae on cycloxygenase-2 and its downstream effectors contents in ischemia/reperfusion myocardium].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in contents of cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) and its downstream effectors in rat's myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model and observe the effects of precondition with GBE50 (Ginkgo biloba extract 50) and Salviae miltiorrhizae (SM) on them. METHODS: Rat's I/R model was established by 30-min left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed with 60-min reperfusion. Animals were divided into the model control group, the sham-operated group and the tested groups (received 1-week precondition with GBE50 and SM respectively via intragastric infusion before modeling). COX-2 mRNA expression in myocardium was detected by real-time PCR; contents of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha (6-keto-PGF1alpha) were measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The mRNA expression of COX-2 in the model group was obviously higher than that in the sham-operated group (P < 0.001), while that in the tested groups was down-regulated significantly (P < 0.01), and the content of TXB2 as well as the ratio of TXB2/PGF1alpha was reduced significantly (P < 0.05). Besides, SM also showed the up-regulation effect on 6-keto-PGF1alpha content in myocardium (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: COX-2 affects the myocardium through thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin after I/R; both GBE50 and SM can inhibit the production of COX-2, but they may act in different paths.

[Effects of Ginkgo biloba extract 50 preconditioning on contents of inflammation-related cytokines in myocardium of rats with ischemia-reperfusion injury].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) preconditioning on contents of inflammation-related cytokines in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. METHODS: Fifty-eight SD rats were divided into sham-operated group, untreated group, Salviae miltiorrhizae (SM) injection group and low-, medium- and high-dose GBE50 groups. After intragastric administration for 7 d, the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was occluded for 30 min followed by 60-min reperfusion to induce ischemia-reperfusion injury. Myocardium histopathologic change was observed by HE staining under a light microscope; myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in myocardium was measured by colorimetric detection; tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 were detected by radioimmunoassay; IL-4 and IL-10 were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Compared with untreated group, rats in medium-dose GBE50 group had lower inflammatory reaction and MPO activity (P<0.01). GBE50 also decreased the content of IL-6 (P<0.05, P<0.01) and increased the content of IL-4 in myocardium (P<0.05, P<0.01) as compared with the untreated group. The content of TNF-alpha in myocardium in the medium-dose GBE50 group was lower and IL-10 was higher than those in the untreated group, but without significant differences. CONCLUSION: GBE50 can decrease the content of IL-6 and increase the content of IL-4 in myocardium after ischemia-reperfusion injury. It suggests that GBE50 can regulate the inflammatory reaction after ischemia-reperfusion injury via inhibiting inflammatory cytokines and promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines.