Two into One Won’t Go: Conceptual, Clinical, Ethical and Legal Impedimenta to the Convergence of CAM and Orthodox Medicine

The convergence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a prominent feature of healthcare in western countries, but it is currently undertheorised, and its implications have been insufficiently considered. Two models of convergence are described – the totally integrated evidence-based model (TI) and the multicultural-pluralistic model (MP). Both models are being incorporated into general medical practice. Against the background of the reasons for the increasing utilisation of CAM by the public and by general practitioners, TI-convergence is supported and MP-convergence is rejected. MP-convergence is epistemologically and clinically incoherent, and it cannot be regulated. It is also inconsistent with developments in the legal determination of the standard of care for both diagnosis/treatment and disclosure. These claims concerning MP-convergence are justified by the fact that science is not a member of the group of perspectives or world-views which postmodernism treats as equally valid, and this is especially important for healthcare.     

Some general aspects regarding the interpretation of binding data by means of a Scatchard plot

The question is quantitatively examined which general information can be obtained from experimental data of ligand binding to macromolecules if represented by a Scatchard plot. In particular, the curvature as well as the intercepts and slopes at both coordinate axes are analyzed assuming rather general conditions including cooperative behavior (with applications to some simplified cases of interest in practice). The results should provide a basis for attempts to elucidate the binding mechanism of a system encountered in experimental work.     

Engineering precursor supply for the high-level production of ergothioneine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ergothioneine (ERG) is an unusual sulfur-containing amino acid. It is a potent antioxidant, which shows great potential for ameliorating neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. L-ergothioneine is rare in nature, with mushrooms being the primary dietary source. The chemical synthesis process is complex and expensive. Alternatively, ERG can be produced by fermentation of recombinant microorganisms engineered for ERG overproduction. Here, we describe the engineering of S. cerevisiae for high-level ergothioneine production on minimal medium with glucose as the only carbon source. To this end, metabolic engineering targets in different layers of the amino acid metabolism were selected based on literature and tested. Out of 28 targets, nine were found to improve ERG production significantly by 10%–51%. These targets were then sequentially implemented to generate an ergothioneine-overproducing yeast strain capable of producing 106.2 ± 2.6 mg/L ERG in small-scale cultivations. Transporter engineering identified that the native Aqr1 transporter was capable of increasing the ERG production in a yeast strain with two copies of the ERG biosynthesis pathway, but not in the strain that was further engineered for improved precursor supply. Medium optimization indicated that additional supplementation of pantothenate improved the strain's productivity further and that no supplementation of amino acid precursors was necessary. Finally, the engineered strain produced 2.39 ± 0.08 g/L ERG in 160 h (productivity of 14.95 ± 0.49 mg/L/h) in a controlled fed-batch fermentation without supplementation of amino acids. This study paves the way for the low-cost fermentation-based production of ergothioneine.     

七氟醚复合瑞芬太尼静吸麻醉对急性胆囊炎腹腔镜手术患者麻醉效果、血流动力学及炎性因子的影响

摘要 目的：探讨七氟醚复合瑞芬太尼静吸麻醉对急性胆囊炎腹腔镜手术患者麻醉效果、血流动力学及炎性因子的影响。方法：选取2018年1月到2019年12月期间我院收治的120例急性胆囊炎腹腔镜手术患者,根据信封抽签法分为对照组60例（丙泊酚复合瑞芬太尼）和观察组60例（七氟醚复合瑞芬太尼）,对比两组麻醉效果、血流动力学、炎性因子及不良反应。结果：观察组术毕（T5）时间点心率（HR）、平均动脉压（MAP）与麻醉前（T1）比较未见显著性差异（P>0.05）,观察组插管后1 min（T2）~T5时间点HR、MAP高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组术后1 d、术后3 d 肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、C反应蛋白水平（CRP）、白介素-6（IL-6）均高于术前,观察组术后1 d、术后3 d CRP、IL-6、TNF-α低于对照组（P<0.05）。观察组自主呼吸恢复时间、定向力恢复时间、睁眼时间、言语应答时间均短于对照组（P<0.05）。两组不良反应发生率组间比较无显著性差异（P>0.05）。结论：急性胆囊炎腹腔镜手术患者采用七氟醚复合瑞芬太尼静吸麻醉,麻醉效果较好,可平稳患者血流动力学,减轻炎症应激且安全性较好。     

术前超声引导下腰方肌阻滞联合全身麻醉对肾移植患者术后血清应激反应和疼痛相关指标的影响

摘要 目的：探讨术前超声引导下腰方肌阻滞（QLB）联合全身麻醉对肾移植患者术后血清应激反应和疼痛相关指标的影响。方法：选择我院2019年9月~2021年8月期间收治的行肾移植手术的患者82例作为观察对象。根据随机数字表法分为A组和B组,分别为41例。A组给予全身麻醉,B组给予术前超声引导下QLB联合全身麻醉,对比两组静息视觉疼痛模拟（VAS）评分、自控静脉镇痛中的舒芬太尼使用量、有效按压次数,对比两组术后血清应激反应和疼痛相关指标变化,对比两组不良反应发生情况。结果：B组术后6 h、12 h、24 h、48 h静息VAS评分低于A组（P<0.05）。B组自控静脉镇痛中的舒芬太尼使用量少于A组,有效按压次数少于A组（P<0.05）。B组拔管后、术后24 h血糖（Glu）、皮质醇（Cor）低于A组（P<0.05）。两组术后24 h P物质（SP）、前列腺素E₂（PGE₂）及5-羟色胺（5-HT）均升高,但B组低于A组（P<0.05）。两组的不良反应发生率对比无差异（P<0.05）。结论：术前超声引导下QLB联合全身麻醉用于肾移植手术患者,可有效减轻疼痛和应激反应,减少自控静脉镇痛中的舒芬太尼使用量、有效按压次数,且不增加不良反应发生率。     

全身麻醉下不同脑电双频指数对老年胃肠道恶性肿瘤患者应激反应、炎性因子和术后认知功能的影响

摘要 目的：观察全身麻醉下不同脑电双频指数（BIS）对老年胃肠道恶性肿瘤患者应激反应、炎性因子和术后认知功能的影响。方法：选择2020年10月-2021年4月在新疆医科大学附属肿瘤医院初诊的住院老年胃肠道恶性肿瘤患者,共98例。据随机数字表法分为浅麻醉组（n=49,BIS值45~55）和深麻醉组（n=49,BIS值30~40）。对比两组苏醒质量、应激反应、炎性因子、术后认知功能、血流动力学及不良反应。结果：浅麻醉组的苏醒时间、定向力恢复时间、气管拔管时间短于深麻醉组（P<0.05）。插管后即刻（T1）~术毕（T5）时间点,两组心率（HR）、平均动脉压（MAP）均下降后升高（P<0.05）。深麻醉组T1~T5时间点HR、MAP高于浅麻醉组（P<0.05）。手术开始2 h（T4）、拔管后60 min（T6）时间点,两组皮质醇（Cor）、促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）水平呈升高趋势,且浅麻醉组高于深麻醉组（P<0.05）。T4、T6时间点,两组白介素-6（IL-6）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平持续升高,但浅麻醉组低于深麻醉组（P<0.05）。深麻醉组的术后3 d、术后7 d 简明精神状态量表（MMSE）评分低于浅麻醉组（P<0.05）。两组不良反应发生率组间对比无差异（P>0.05）。结论：全身麻醉下老年胃肠道恶性肿瘤患者BIS值范围30~40可维持更平稳的血流动力学,应激反应低,但是其对认知功能影响相对较大;BIS值在45~55之间时,患者苏醒快,炎性因子水平更低;临床应结合实际情况合理调控BIS值。     

全麻联合椎旁神经阻滞在胸腔镜下肺叶切除术中的麻醉效果及对术后认知功能和炎症反应的影响

摘要 目的：研究全身麻醉联合椎旁神经阻滞在胸腔镜下肺叶切除术患者的应用效果,探讨其对患者术后认知功能和炎 症反应的影响。方法：选取2017年-2021年在我院接受胸腔镜下肺叶切除术治疗的患者100例,根据其麻醉方式的不同分为对照组（50例）和研究组（50例）,对照组给予全身麻醉,研究组给予全身麻醉联合椎旁神经阻滞。比较两组患者手术时间、麻醉时间、术中出血量、舒芬太尼和瑞芬太尼用量、术后疼痛情况、简易智力状态检查量表（MMSE）评分和血清C-反应蛋白（CRP）、白介素-6（IL-6）水平。结果：两组患者手术时间、麻醉时间和术中出血量比较无显著差异（P>0.05）,而研究组患者舒芬太尼用量和瑞芬太尼用量均低于对照组（P<0.05）;研究组患者术后6、12、24和48小时疼痛评分均较对照组患者低（P<0.05）;两组患者术前MMSE评分无差异（P>0.05）,研究组患者术后6、12、24和48小时MMSE评分均较对照组高（P<0.05）;两组患者术前血清CRP和IL-6水平无显著差异,但研究组患者术后24小时血清CRP和IL-6水平均显著低于对照组（P<0.05）。结论：全身麻醉联合椎旁神经阻滞用于胸腔镜下肺叶切除术患者可有效减少手术中麻醉药物用量,术后镇痛效果更好,对患者认知功能损伤更低,并且术后炎症更低。