30 mm in 100 patients.The ASD was associated with atrial septal aneurysm in 2 patients.An incision 2~3 cm in length was made in the 4th intercostal space of the right parasternum to expose the right atrium,at which a purse-string suture was placed.A double-lumen delivery catheter was then punctured into the right atrium,and passed through the defect to the left atrium under the guidance of transesophageal echocardiography.An occluder made of a nickel-titanium metal alloy and 4 mm bigger than the defect was released to engage on the defect.The delivery catheter was then withdrawn.Results The operation was successfully accomplished in all the 206 patients.The operation time was 18~32 min(mean,26?7 min). No surgery-related death happened and no occluder dislodgment occurred.Mechanical ventilation was stopped at 5 hours after operation,and all the patients got out of bed on the operation day.Colour Doppler imaging 3 days after operation showed complete occlusion of the ASD without residual shunt.The length of hospitalization was 4?2 days.Follow-up examinations for 6 months in 186 patients and for 3~4.5 years in 57 patients by using Colour Doppler imaging revealed no residual shunt and normal cardiac functions.Conclusions Mini-incision transthoracic occlusion of atrial septal defect is safe and reliable in patients contraindicated to transcatheter closure.

Objective To summarize the feasibility of the application of the self-made bipolar venous cannulae to repair atrial septal defect(ASD)totally through thoracoscope in children.Methods Twenty-eight children,aged 4.2?1.3 years in average and weighed 14.6?3.9kg,were diagnosed as congenital ASD.Among these patients 3 were complicated by moderate to severe pulmonary hypertension,4 by partial pulmonary venous teratosis and 3 by tricuspid valve insufficiency.During the operation,patients were placed in a supine position,and the right shoulder was padded 30? higher than the left.A tracheal cannula was inserted and air was given with high frequency jet ventilation.Three small thoracotomies with a diameter of 2 to 3 cm were made in the 4th intercostal space on the right side of the sternum and the 4th and 7th intercostal spaces on the right middle axillary line.The cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB)was set up through the right femoral artery and femoral vein with bipolar femoral venous cannulae.The ASD was repaired through the thoracoscope.Results In all the 28 patients,the mean extracorporeal circulation time was 53.5?17.8min,and cross-clamp time was 25.2?7.9min.Automatic heart beat recovered after the declamping of the aorta in all the patients.No serious complication occurred.Heart murmur vanished,and ultrasonic examination was negative.Half a year after operation,ECG showed that the size of right ventricle and right atrium became maller in size,the diameter of pulmonary artery diminished,and the cardiac function was improved(P

0.05).Compared with group A,the aortic occlusion time,ventilation time and the length of stay in ICU were shorter in groups B and C(P0.05)were found between group B and C in the aortic occlusion time,ventilation time and length of stay in ICU.Conclusion TTS is a safe and reliable surgical madality for the treatment of pediatric cardiac diseases.Patients weighed over 20kg are strong enough to withstand TTS and may recover sooner.

To explore the anti-angiogenic effects of genistein on synovium in a rat model of type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).

ObjectiveTo Summarize the experience of totally thoracoscopic operation for atrial myxoma.Methods From December 2007 to November 2011,44 patients with atrial myxoma,including 37 cases of Left atrial myxoma,6 cases of Right atrial myxoma,1 case of double atrial myxoma were treated totally under thoracoscope.Surgical procedures were performed through 3 troears inserted at the right chest wall,and catheters were placed in the right femoral artery and vein (or in the right atrium,femoral vein)to set up extracorporeal circulation.The ascending aorta was cross-clamped with long tailor-made forceps and the myocardium was protected by coronary perfusion with cold crystalloid (blood) cardioplegia.ResultsAll the operations were completed successfully.The mean extracorporeal circulation and cross-clamping time were (49 ± 18 )min and (28 ± 10) min respectively.Postoperative ventilation was withdrawn in(3.8 ± 1.4) h,and the patients were discharged from the hospital in (6.8 ± 1.3 ) d.3 of the patients had postoperative complications,including 1 case of fat liquefaction of the incision at the right groin ( delayed healing),2 cases of subcutaneous emphysema ( healed by bandaged chest).No severe complications occurred in this series.UCG performed 3 - 5 days after the operation revealed surgical results were satisfactory.Followup up to 2 months to 4 years were available in all cases.During the period,the heart function was confirmed as level Ⅰ.ConclusionVideo-assisted thoraeoseopie cardiac surgery is feasible,safe,and minimal invasive for patients,resulting in quick recovery and good cosmetic outcomes.

ObjectiveTo summarize the experience of totally thoracoscopic operation for congenital heart diseases.MethodsFrom September 2000 to November 2011,1281 patients with congenital heart disease,including 1016 cases of atrial septal defect,110 cases of ventricular septal defect,61 cases of atrioventricular tube defects,33 cases of tetralogy of Fallot,24 cases of part anomalous pulmonary venous connection,12 cases of pulmonary valve stenosis,9 cases of patent ductus arteriosus,8 case of triatriatum,7 cases of unroofed coronary sinus syndrome,and 1 case of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection were treated totally under thoracoscope.Surgical procedures were performed through 3 troears inserted at the right chest wall,and catheters were placed in the right femoral artery and vein ( or in the right atrium,femoral vein) to set up extracorporeal circulation.The ascending aorta was cross-clamped with long tailor-made forceps and the myocardium was protected by coronary perfusion with cold crystalloid (blood) cardioplegia.ResultsAll the operations were completed successfully.The mean extracorporeal circulation and cross-clamping time were ( 42 ± 16 ) min and ( 21 ± 9 ) min respectively.Postoperative ventilation was withdrawn in(4.1 ± 1.5 ) h,and the patients were discharged from the hospital in(7.1 ± 1.4) d.35 of the patients had postoperative complications,including 16 cases of right pneumothorax (healed by thoracentesis),12 cases of subcutaneous emphysema ( healed by bandaged chest) and 7 cases of fat liquefaction of the incision at the right axillary( 3 cases) and groin(4 cases) ( delayed healing).No severe complications occurred in this series.UCG performed 4 - 8 days after the operation revealed no residual shunt.Follow-up up to 3 months to 9 years were available in 914 cases.During the period,the heart function was confirmed as level Ⅰ - Ⅱ.ConclusionTotally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery is feasible,safe,and minimal invasive for patients,resulting in quick recovery and good cosmetic outcomes.

Aim To investigate the effect of U50488H(a selective κ-opioid receptor agonist)and isoproterenol(ISO,a β-adrenergic receptor agonist)on ventricular arrhythmias and Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in rats.Methods 60 rats were randomly divided into five groups,ie,normal control group,I/R group,ISO+I/R group,U50488H+ISO+I/R group,Nor-BNI+U50488H+ISO+I/R group.The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias and arrhythmia score were determined. The expression of Cx43mRNA was tested by RT-PCR.The expression of Cx43 protein in myocardial cell was tested by an immunohistochemical approach with a quantitative imaging system.Results ① Compared with the I/R group,arrhythmia score was increased with administration of ISO(P<0.05).U50488H intravenously injected before ISO significantly decreased the arrhythmia score(P<0.05).② Compared with the normal control group,the expression of Cx43 mRNA was decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05).With administration of ISO,the amount of Cx43 mRNA was not significantly increased.③ Compared with normal control group,total and phosphorylated Cx43 proteins were significantly decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05),and the phosphorylated Cx43 was also decreased with administration of ISO.Compared with ISO+I/R group,phosphorylated Cx43 was increased with administration of U50488H (P<0.05).Conclusion κ-opioid receptor agonist U50488 H antagonizes the arrhythmias through the regulation of Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion via inhibiting β-adrenergic receptor pathway.

Objective To investigate the effect of genistein (gen) on the secretion of vascular endo-thelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs-1, 2, 3, 9) by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from rats with collagen Ⅱ induced arthritis (CIA). Methods The CIA was induced by collagen Ⅱ and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into rats. The rats were scored based on the arthritis index(AI) once a week. At the sixth week, the X-ray of joints was taken. The synovial tissues from knee joints were examined pathologically. The primary fibroblast-like synowocytes were separated from the synovial tissue by collagenase digestion and cultured. Then the expression of VCAM-1 was estimated by flow cytometry. After adding gen (100, 200, 400 μmol/L) at different concentrations into the FLS, VEGF and MMP-1, 2, 3, and 9 of the supernatants were tested by indirect ELISA. Results After 3 days of type Ⅱ collagen and CFA injec-tion, the rats started to catch arthrocele and their arthritis index increased gradually. The arthrocele was most remarkable at the 3rd week. The AI, X-ray and pathological examination indicated that the model group were significantly different from the control group. After the synoviocytes were cultured to the 4th generation, the expression of VCAM-1 was as high as about 85.5%. It showed that most synoviocytes were changed to fibro-blast-like synoviocytes. Different concentrations of gen (100, 200, 400 μmol/L) added to FLS were compared and revealed that the VEGF and MMP-1, 2, 3, and 9 in the supematants were suppressed evidently and in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion The CIA model can be successfully constructed by collagen type Ⅱ and CFA. Tthe primary FLS of rats' joint can be separated and cultured well by collagenase digestion. Certain levels of gen can suppress the secretion of VEGF and MMP-1, 2, 3 and 9 hy FLS. The affect is dose-depen-dent.

Objective To compare the clinical effects of totally thoracoscopic surgery and conventional median thoracoto my surgery in the repair of atrial septal defect(ASD),so as to provide reference for the clinical choice of atrial septal defect repair.Methods 131 patients with ASD from January 2015 to November 2016 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were divided into two groups according to operation type:totally thoracoscopic group(58 cases),median thoracotomy group.The differences in operative time,cardiopulmonary bypass time(CPB),ventilator assist time,ICU stay time,postoperative hospital stay and other aspects were compared.Results There was no death and no serious complication in the two groups.There was no statistical difference between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05) in sex,weight,age,right atrial size and cardiac function.The time of thoracoscopic surgery [(3.6 ± 1.0) h vs.(2.6 ± 0.6) h] and the duration of CPB [(98.3 ± 35.8)min vs.(32.3 ± 16.1) min] were longer than those of median thoracotomy group (P ＜ 0.05).There was no statistical difference between two groups in the time of mechanical ventilation,ICU stay,postoperative drainage and postoperative hospital stay (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Although ASD repair of thoracoscopic surgery is difficult and the learning curve is long,but it can be said that the totally thoracoscopic ASD repair can achieve the same results as conventional median thoracotomy does,and it is effective and safe,and thoracoscopic surgery also has less trauma and cosmetic appearance,no bone structure damage,worthy of clinical promotion.

OBJECTIVETo know the genotype and allele frequency distribution of D1S549, D3S1754 and D12S375 in Chinese Han population in the Qingdao area and to study the three short tandem repeat(STR) loci for genetic application.

METHODSACD-blood specimens were collected from the unrelated individuals in Qingdao. The DNA samples were extracted with the use of Chelex method and were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The PCR products were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and were visualized by silver staining.

RESULTSEight alleles were found at D1S549 locus, eight alleles at D3S1754 locus and five alleles at D12S375 locus, and 22, 19 and 14 genotypes were identified respectively. No deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed in the three loci. The heterozygosities expected of them were 0.7988, 0.7087 and 0.75 respectively. The exclusion probability was calculated as 0.6592 for D1S549, and 0.5605 for D3S1754, and 0.5864 for D12S375. The discriminating power of the three loci were 0.9143, 0.8382 and 0.8861. Comparison of the allelic frequencies in Qingdao area with those in Hans of Chengdu area by chi-square test showed a difference statistically significant at D1S549 locus but no difference at D3S1754 and D12S375 loci.

CONCLUSIONThis study reveals the structure of the three loci and the obtained data are beneficial to understanding the population genetics in Chinese Han population. All of the three loci have higher chance of exclusion and higher discriminating power, and they will be useful markers for individual identification, paternity test and genetics purposes.