Objective To evaluate the absolute quantification of brain metabolites concentrations using external standard MRS in acute hypoxia ischemia encephalopathy (HIE) piglet model. Method Eight 7-day-old healthy piglets were subjected to insult of hypoxia ischemia (HI). The animals and an external standard phantom containing detectable metabolites of known concentrations were studied on a 1.5 T GE Signa scanner. The single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) data were processed using LCModel software, and the quantification of N-acetylaspartate ( NAA), creatine (Cr) and lactate (Lac) were accomplished. Multivariate analysis of variance was performed to compare the NAA, Cr, Lac concentration differences in the brains of piglets pre- and post-HI (0h). In addition, the dynamic changes of brain metabolites concentrations of 2 HIE piglets were observed at the time points of 0 h and 2 h. Results One piglet was excluded because it was over anesthetized to death. Seven piglets' data were analyzed. The concentrations of NAA pre- and post-HI were ( 6. 86 ± 0. 49 ) mmol/kg and ( 5.73 ± 0. 88 ) mmol/kg respectively, they were ( 4. 65 ± 0. 73 ) mmol/kg and ( 4. 40 ± 0. 80 ) mmol/kg for Cr; and were 0. 00 mmol/kg and (0. 43 ± 0. 39) mmol/kg for Lac. After HI, decreased NAA concentration immediately was observed, and it was of statistical significance ( F = 8. 608, P = 0. 013 ). The concentration of Cr was insignificantly decreased ( F = 0. 379, P = 0. 550). The concentration of Lac was increased, and the difference was of statistical significance ( F = 8. 600 ,P = 0. 013 ). Dynamic observation showed a Lac peak immediately after HI and it decreased after 2 h post-HI. Conclusions External standard MRS using LCModel has great value in the quantitative analysis of brain metabolites. The changes of NAA and Lac concentrations are sensitive to reflect the early metabolic change of acute HIE.

Objective To provide a framework for understanding the need for a structured assessment of altered mental status (AMS) to better understand underlying causes of the mental status changes in adults and therefore potentially improve diagnostic skills and eventually management.Methods This is a prospective cohort observational study.We recruited consecutive adult patients with undifferentiated AMS at a single center tertiary care academic emergency department over 24 months.Demographical,clinical presentations,assessment approaches,cause factors,emergency treatments and outcomes were collected prospectively.Results One thousand nine hundred and thirty-four patients with AMS were recruited,this number of patients represented 5％ of the total ED census.Out of 1934 patients,1026 (53.1％) were male,908 (46.9％) were female.Mean age was (51.95 ± 15.71) years.Etiologic factors included neurological (n =641,35.0％),pharmacologic & toxicologic (n =421,23.0％),systemic and organic (n =266,14.5％),infectious (n =167; 9.1％),endocrine/metabolic (n =145,7.9％),psychiatric (n =71,3.9％),traumatic (n =38,2.1％),gynecologic and obstetric (n =35,1.9％).Total mortality rate was 8.1％ (n =156).The death rate was higher in elderly patients (≥ 60) than that in younger patients (10.8％ vs.6.9％,P =0.003).Conclusions The patient with AMS poses a challenge to physicians in ED.The most frequently encountered diagnostic category causing AMS were primary CNS disorders,intoxication,organ system dysfunction and endocrine/metabolic diseases.Fatality rate is very high.Prompt evaluation and treatment are essential to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this condition.

At the boundary between pharmacognosy and molecular biology, molecular pharmacognosy has developed as a new borderline discipline. This paper reviews the methods, application, and prospect of molecular pharmacognosy. DNA marker is one of genetic markers and some molecular marker methods which have been successfully used for genetic diversity identification and new medicinal resources development. Recombinant DNA technology provides a powerful tool that enables scientists to engineer DNA sequences. Gene chip technique could be used in determination of gene expression profiles, analyses of polymorphisms, construction of genomic library, analysis of mapping, and sequencing by hybridization. Using the methods and theory of molecular biology and pharmacognosy, molecular pharmacognosy represents an extremely prospective branch of pharmacognosy and focuses on the study of systemic growth of medicinal plants, identification and evaluation of germplasm resources, plant metabolomics and production of active compounds. Furthermore, the great breakthrough of molecular pharmacognosy could be anticipated on DNA fingerprint analysis, cultivar improvement, DNA identification, and a global DNA barcoding system in the future.

Objective To control the quality of Evodia rutaecarpa better. Methods An HPLC-DAD-MS/MS method was established for the rapid and efficient identification of bioactive constituents and for simultaneous quantitative analysis of four bioactive ingredients including evodiamine, rutaecarpine, dehydroevodiamine, and evodin in E.rutaecarpa, which was applied to evaluating eight samples of E. rutaecarpa and its varieties from different areas.Results Thirteen potentially bioactive constituents including one flavonoid glycoside, one limonin, four indoloquinazoline alkaloids, and seven quinolone alkaloids were identified in all samples and the contents of dehydroevodiamine, evodine, evodiamine, and rutaecarpine varied widely from 0.10% to 0.51%, 0.49% to 3.12%,0.07% to 1.56%, and 0.10% to 0.69%, respectively. Conclusion This method is found to be convenient, fast,accurate, and it is facilitated to improve the quality control standard of E. rutaecarpa and related products.

Background and purpose: Three-incision esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer has been increasingly used, but the incidence of either postoperative anastomotic leak or stricture is higher than that in intrathoracic gastroesophageal anastomosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of the side-to-side stapled cervical gastroesophageal anastomosis in preventing anastomotic leak and stricture after three-incision esophagectomy. Methods: One hundred and twenty-seven patients undergoing three-incision esophagectomy for esophageal cancer with gastric replacement were reviewed. A side-to-side stapled cervical gastroesophageal anastomosis was performed in 71 cases and manually sewn anastomosis in 56 cases. The incidence of postoperative anastomotic leak and stricture was compared between these two groups and the results were statistically analyzed using SPSS11.0 soft.Results: Anastomotic leakage was noted in seven patients (9.9%) in the stapler group and fourteen patients (25.0%) in the manually sewn group (P=0.04). After the operation two patients (2.8%) in the stapler group and nine patients (16.1%) in the manually sewn group developed a benign esophageal stricture (P=0.02).The incidence of either postoperative anastomotic leak or stricture in cases of the stapler group was significantly lower than that in the manually sewn group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Construction of the cervical esophagogastric anastomosis with a side-to-side stapled technique provides a larger luminal diameter which significantly reduces the incidence of postoperative anastomotic strictures. The surgery also greatly reduces the incidence of anastomotic leaks and strictures, so it could be used as an alternative strategy for cervical esophagogastric anastomosis after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

Objective To summarize the experiences of Nuss procedure for complicated pectus excavatum.Methods From August 2006 to July 2011,443 patients with pectus excavatum received Nuss operation.Among them,95 patients with complicated pectus excavatum (CT Haller index ＞ 6) received modified technique of Nuss procedure,including multi-bar technique,oblique placed bar,double arc bar technique; fix with wire ; osteotomies ; auxiliary small incision; thoracoscopy placed by different lateral.Results All operations were successfully accomplished without severe complications.The mean operative time was (90.13 ± 39.12 ) minutes and the mean volume of blood loss was (45.41 ± 19.23 )ml.The mean hospital stay was (7.21 ± 2.87 ) days.All patients have been satisfied with their surgical correction.Therapeutic results evaluation was excellent in 75.8％ of patients,good in 16.8％.Conclusion Multi modified technique of Nuss procedure can lead to a satisfactory outcome for complicated pectus excavatum patients.

Objective The Nuss procedure is a minimally invasive pectus repair.The aim of this study was to explore the changes in quality of life in patients who underwent a Nuss procedure.Methods 96 patients,who underwent a Nuss procedure in our institution,were interviewed at preoperation,1 year after operation with the bar in place,and before the planned bar removal.The Nuss Questionnaire modified by George Krasopoulos et al,which evaluates psychosocial and physical well-being,was independently used by patients.Results Most of the scoring of the individual questions and the total score of individual patients revealed a significant improvement,both in preoperation vs.1 year after operation and 1 year after operation vs.before the planned bar removal.Conclusion The Nuss procedure has been shown to improve the quality of life in patients with pectus excavatum deformity in the short term.

This article reported a rare case of harlequin ichthyosis which was indicated with multiple structural abnormalities by prenatal ultrasound and diagnosed by trio-based whole-exome sequencing (Trio-WES). Prenatal diagnosis was performed because the ultrasound at 24 +4 gestational weeks revealed the fetus presenting with eclabium, flattened nose, short mandible, small auricle and abnormal posture of the toes. Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) showed no chromosome aneuploidy or pathogenic copy number variants over 100 kb in the fetal or parental samples. Trio-WES showed that the fetus carried two heterozygous mutations, c.2593-1G>A and c.7444C>T in ABCA12. Sanger sequencing confirmed that c.2593-1G>A, a previously unreported variant, was paternally inherited and c.7444C>T was maternally inherited. Both parents had normal phenotype. The fetus was finally diagnosed with harlequin ichthyosis. After prenatal counseling, the parents made an informed choice to terminate the pregnancy at 28 +4 gestational weeks. The stillborn fetus showed multiple malformations The variants in this case expand the spectrum of variants in ABCA12 gene.

Objective    To compare video-assisted thoracic surgical technique (VATS) and conventional surgical technique (CSM) in mitral valve replacement (MVR). Methods    We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 93 patients in our hospital with mitral valve replacement between January 2010 and January 2015. The patients were divided into two groups including a VATS group and a CSM group.There were 43 patients with 25 males and 18 females at age of 57.43±5.65 years in the VATS group, and 50 patients with 27 males and 23 females at age of 56.40±6.32 years in the CSM group.The clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results    There was no mortality. Echocardiography was normal in both groups during 1-year follow-up. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the operative time, aortic clamping time, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, or ventilation time. As compared with the CSM group, the patients in the VATS group had a significantly lower complication rate, shorter chest incision length (5.23±1.36 cm vs. 18.21±3.89 cm), less blood transfusion (1.75±0.25 U vs. 3.15±1.50 U), less chest drainage (202.34±12.12 ml vs. 412.32±21.56 ml) and lower pain score (1.26±0.86 vs. 3.01±1.13), shorter time of postoperative hospital stay (8.20±2.36 d vs. 12.10±3.26 d). Conclusion    MVR under VATS is not only technically feasible, but also with excellent clinical results.

ObjectiveTo establish the specific chromatogram and thin layer chromatography（TLC） identification method of Kaixinsan（KXS） samples， in order to clarify the key quality attributes and provide reference for the quality evaluation of KXS. MethodHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） specific chromatogram of KXS was developed with YMC Hydrosphere C₁₈ column（4.6 mm×250 mm， 5 μm）， the mobile phase was acetonitrile（A）-0.2% formic acid aqueous solution（B） for gradient elution（0-15 min， 2%-20%A； 15-25 min， 20%-25%A； 25-30 min， 25%-30%A； 30-45 min， 30%-31%A； 45-50 min， 31%-44%A； 50-65 min， 44%-45%A； 65-73 min， 45%-75%A； 73-95 min， 75%-100%A； 95-105 min， 100%A； 105-105.1 min， 100%-2%A； 105.1-120 min， 2%A）， the detection wavelength was 320 nm. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry（UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS） was used to identify the chemical components of KXS with electrospray ionization（ESI）， negative ion mode and scanning range of m/z 50-2 000. TLC identification methods for Poria and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma in KXS were established. ResultThere were 11 common peaks in the specific chromatogram of KXS， attributed to Polygalae Radix， Poria and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma. Taking peak 9（α-asarone） as the reference peak， the relative standard deviations of the retention times of 15 batches of KXS samples were<0.2%. A total of 34 compounds were identified by UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS， including terpenoids， phenylpropanoids， oligosaccharides and ketones. The established TLC had good separation and was rapid， reliable， simple， feasible， suitable for the identification of Poria and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma in KXS. ConclusionThe specific chromatogram and TLC of KXS are stable and reproducible. The material basis of KXS is basically clarified by MS， which can provide a reference for the development and quality control of KXS.