Objective To explore the effects of single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery versus three-port videoassisted thoracic surgery for primary spontaneous pneumothorax.Methods Video-assisted thoracic surgery was performed for primary spontaneous pneumothorax in 58 patients from April 2012 to April 2013.We reviewed the medical records of these 58 patients,retrospectively.Thirty patients underwent the three-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (three-port group) and 28 patients underwent the single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (single-port group).Following the operation,clinical outcomes,complications and overall survival were evaluated.Results There was no difference in patient characteristics between two groups.Compared with three-port videoassisted thoracic surgery,single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery had shorter hospital stay,shorter chest tube drainage,lower visual analog scale score score of 6 h postoperative pain and visual analog scale score score of 24 h postoperative pain.Meanwhile,there were no statistical differences between both groups in intraoperative bleeding,overall survival and progression-free survival.Conclusions Single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery can reduce the postoperative pain and get better clinical outcomes in treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to prevent disease for thousands of years. However, the actual value of TCM has not been recognized adequately due to the lack of scientific approaches to its study . Fortunately, metabolomics becomes practically available and consists with the holistic thinking of TCM. The metabolomics can serve as a new strategy for evaluating the efficacy of TCM . This review summarized applications of metabolomics in special TCM field with an emphasis on biomarker discovery.

Objective To determine the content of two original constituents of Liuwei Dihuang Wan migrating to blood. Methods HPLC- fingerprint of the preparation and drug- containing serum fingerprint were established by RP- HPLC. Based on the fingerprints, the original constituents migrating to blood were identified and determined by comparing with the standard. Results Loganin and paeonol were identified as the original constituents migrating to blood; the loganin content was 0.93? 0.01 mg/g and the paeonol was 0.37? 0.01 mg/g. Conclusion Using the constituent content migrating to blood as the parameter, this method will provide scientific evidence for improving the quality control of Liuwei Dihuang Wan. 

Objective: The effect of separation rates on the quality and shelf life of TCM in the process of alcohol precipitation was discussed. Methods: According to the sedimentation rate, controlling process was chosen for different doses of medicine. Results: In the process of alcohol sedimentation, different centrifugal coefficient was needed with the variation of conditions, such as temperature, concentration of alcohol and centrifugal coefficient, etc. Conclusion: The control parameters of the process of alcohol precipitation affect the efficacy and shelf life directly in the processing of TCM production.

Objective To investigate the effects of hyaluronan (HA) and hyaluronidase (HAse) on the formation of hypertrophic scar in rabbit ear after injury. Methods Wound healing models were established on 18 adult rabbit ears, which were randomly divided into the HA treated group (Group A), the HAse treated group (Group B), the PBS treated group (Group C). The process of wound healing was observed grossly and histologically. The variation of the contents of hydroxyproline(HPr) at the stage of wound healing and post healing was measured. The relative height of scars were measured under microscope at the peaks of scar formation. Results ①The mean values of wound healing time of Group A, B and C was 11.7?0.6, 9.8?0.9, 10.8?1.0 days respectively. ②Compared with PBS controls and HAse treated group, the collagon fiber was slender and arranged in normal order in HA treated wound at early stage of wound healing. But there were no difference among them at the stage of scar formation. ③The contents of HPr were statistically lower in HA treated group than in controls at the stage of wound healing, but no difference at the stage of scar formation.The HPr contents in HAse treated group were higher than the others all the way. ④ The mean values of relative thickness of Group A, B and C were 1.55?0.35,1.89?0.39,1.59?0.29 respectively. Conclusion ①Exogenous HA on the wound surface can not affect the scar tissue proliferation;② HAse promotes the proliferation.

Objective To observe the effect of the Chinese medicine steam therapy on activity of daily life(ADL)of subjects with knee osteoarthritis.Methods68 subjects with knee osteoarthritis were divided into two groups:34 subjects in Chinese medicine steam group(treated with Chinese medicine steam and physical therapy),and 34 subjects in physical therapy(with microwave and magnetism with caloric)group.The clinical feature and ADL of all the subjects were evaluated with Lequesne index of severity and activity for osteoarthritis before and after the treatment.After 0.5 year,they were followed up,the recurrence rate were compared.ResultsAll the subjects improved in clinical feature and ADL after the treatment(P<0.05),but the Chinese medicine steam group improved greater in the ADL than the other group(P<0.05).After 0.5 year,the recurrence rate of the Chinese medicine steam group is lower than that of the other group(P<0.05).ConclusionIn addition with the Chinese medicine steam is more effective on improving ADL and recurrence.

Objective To compare the clinical effectiveness of ozone (O_3) nucleus pulposus ablation only with that of 03 nucleus pulposus ablation combined with intervertebral facet joint injection of compound Betamethasome in treating lumbar disk herniation accompanied with intervertebral facet arthritis. Methods Eighty patients with lumbar disk herniation and intervertebral facet arthritis were equally and randomly divided into two groups. Under CT guidance, O_3 nucleus pulposus ablation was performed in patients of group A(n = 40), while O_3 nucleus pulposus ablation combined with intervertebral facet joint injection of compound Betamethasome (0.5 ～ 1 ml) was carried out in patients of group B (n = 40). Using double blind method the therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated before and 1 week, 3, 6-months after the procedure by an Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Results One week after the procedure the effective rate of group A and group B was 65% and 82.5% respectively. Three and six months after the treatment, the effective rate was 75% and 70% respectively for group A, while it was 90% and 92.5% respectively for group B. The difference between two groups was significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion lntradiscal injection of O_3 combined with intervertebral facet joint injection of compound Betamethasome is an effective and safe treatment for lumbar disk herniation accompanied with intervertebral facet arthritis. It is worth popularizing this technique in clinical practice.

Chinmedomics is a newly emerging discipline in recent years,integrating the theory and technology of system biology and serum pharmacochemistry of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).It has formed and established the evaluation system for identifying the syndrome biomarkers and evaluating the effectiveness of prescriptions,and discovering the efficacy substances.The theory and method of chinmedomics is beneficial to establishing a Chinese-style precision medicine,and also helping further enhance the original innovation ability of TCM research and development.

Objective:To elucidate the etiology of the impairment of myocardial cells in Keshan disease. Methods:With intracellular microelectrode technique, we observed the electrophysiological changes of the eight groups of rats fed separately:normal, low Se, low Se+high VC, low Cr, low Cr+high VC, low Se+low Cr and low Se+low Cr+high VC fodders. Results:Compared with the control, there was no change in low Cr group. However, in low Se group, RP and APA decreased, APD 50 and APD 90 prolonged. In low Se+low Cr group, APA decreased, APD 50 and APD 90 prolonged significantly. In low Se with high vitamin C groups, though RP still decreased, no change had been detected on APA and APD. Conclusion:It is suggested that Se and Cr deficiency may jointly change the electrophysiological properties of myocardial cells significantly. However, vitamin C may protect myocardial cells against the injury effectively.

This study examined the effect of P85 (a pluronic block copolymer) and microbubble (MB) ultrasound contrast agents under ultrasound irradiation on gene transfection and expression. The pEGFP plasmids that can encode enhanced green fluorescent protein (pEGFP) served as a report gene and were mixed with different concentrations of MB/0.05% (w/v) P85. Then the plasmids were transfected into human hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells. The HepG2 cells treated with MB/P85 or without treatment were exposed to ultrasound (US parameters: 1 MHz, 1.0 W/cm(2), 20 s, 20% duty cycle). Twenty-four hours later, the transfection efficiency was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. The cell viability was evaluated by Trypan blue exclusion test. The results showed that the gene transfection efficiency in HepG2 cells under ultrasound irradiation was significantly higher than that without ultrasound irradiation. HepG2 cells in the MB or P85 group in the absence of ultrasound expressed less amount of green fluorescent protein. The expression efficiency reached (22.14±3.06)% and the survival rate was as high as (55.73±3.32)% in the 30% MB plus P85 group. It was concluded that MB and P85 in the presence of ultrasound can enhance gene transfection and expression.