Objective:To explore the genetic and clinical characteristics of Guizhou patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct（EVA） syndrome through combined SLC26A4 variant analysis and clinical phenotype analysis. Methods:Seventy-two EVA patients underwent comprehensive genetic testing using a multiplex PCR-based deafness gene panel and next-generation sequencing（NGS）. The audiological and temporal bone imaging characteristics were compared across mutation subtypes. Results:A total of 27 pathogenic loci of SLC26A4 were detected in 72 patients, including c.919-2A>G in 79.2%（57/72）. A novel deletion（c.1703_1707+6del） was discovered. Among 65 cases, truncated mutations were 89.2%（58/65）, 52.3%（34/65）, 28（43.1%） and 7（10.8%）. No significant differences were observed in the midpoint diameter of the vestibular aqueduct and the incidence of incomplete partitioning typeⅡ（IP-Ⅱ） of the cochlea among the three groups of patients. Moreover, there was no difference in the midpoint diameter of different vestibular pipes or the combination with IP-Ⅱ. Conclusion:The most common mutation site of SLC26A4 in EVA patients in Guizhou is c.919-2A>G, though genotype-phenotype correlations remain elusive. The detection of 27 mutation sites and the discovery of new mutation sites suggested the precise diagnostic significance of NGS technology in EVA patients in Guizhou.
Humans ; Sulfate Transporters ; Vestibular Aqueduct/abnormalities* ; Mutation ; Membrane Transport Proteins/genetics* ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/genetics* ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Adolescent ; Child, Preschool ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Phenotype ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

Approximately 30%-40% of epilepsy patients do not respond well to adequate anti-seizure medications (ASMs), a condition known as pharmacoresistant epilepsy. The management of pharmacoresistant epilepsy remains an intractable issue in the clinic. Its early prediction is important for prevention and diagnosis. However, it still lacks effective predictors and approaches. Here, a classical model of pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was established to screen pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive individuals by applying phenytoin to amygdaloid-kindled rats. Ictal electroencephalograms (EEGs) recorded before phenytoin treatment were analyzed. Based on ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive rats, a convolutional neural network predictive model was constructed to predict pharmacoresistance, and achieved 78% prediction accuracy. We further found the ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant rats have a lower gamma-band power, which was verified in seizure EEGs from pharmacoresistant TLE patients. Prospectively, therapies targeting the subiculum in those predicted as "pharmacoresistant" individual rats significantly reduced the subsequent occurrence of pharmacoresistance. These results demonstrate a new methodology to predict whether TLE individuals become resistant to ASMs in a classic pharmacoresistant TLE model. This may be of translational importance for the precise management of pharmacoresistant TLE.
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/diagnosis* ; Animals ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy/drug therapy* ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Rats ; Anticonvulsants/pharmacology* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Male ; Humans ; Phenytoin/pharmacology* ; Adult ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Young Adult ; Convolutional Neural Networks

Humans ; Shock, Hemorrhagic/etiology* ; Aneurysm, Ruptured/diagnostic imaging* ; Spleen

Objective:To explore the relationship of risk factors and clinical features to assessments of children with cerebral palsy (CP ) using a magnetic resonance imaging classification system (MRICS).Methods:Medical records of CP patients under 18 years old were reviewed retrospectively. Data including high-risk factors, cranial MRI results and clinical characteristics were collected. The cranial MRI results were classified according to the MRICS.Results:Of 1357 patients studied, 1112 (82%) had received cranial MRI scans. Among them, 962 (86.5%) showed MRI-identified brain abnormalities, 489 in the periventricular white matter. Subjects with different weeks of gestation, birth weights, delivery times, neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and neonatal cerebral hemorrhage had significantly different MRI classifications according to the system. Premature birth, low birth weight and multiple births correlated with the incidence of white matter brain injury. Only 4 of the subjects with neonatal cerebral hemorrhage were classified as having normal brain structures using the MRICS. However, gender, birth method, and pathological jaundice had no significant relationship with MRICS ratings. Significant differences in MRICS classifications were observed between patients with different CP subtypes, gross motor function scores, as well as with or without epilepsy, speech or language impairment. But degrees of mental retardation were not significantly related with MRICS classifications.Conclusion:MRICS classifications relate closely with risk factors and the clinical characteristics of CP patients. The system can play an important role in finding pathogenesis and predicting clinical outcomes. It is worthy of applying and promoting in the clinic.

Objective: To study the current development of thoracic surgery in China. Methods: Chinese Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Chinese Association for Thoracic Surgeons jointly conducted a network survey to directors of thoracic surgery departments in the tertiary hospitals in China from November to December 2018. The contents of the survey included the basic information of the hospital and the status of thoracic surgery department in the hospital. Rank sum test was used to compare the data between different regional hospitals Results: A total of 636 tertiary hospitals participated in the survey. The total number of beds for thoracic surgery departments was 30 646, with M(Q_R) of 40(20) (range: 3 to 393) for each hospital. The total number of thoracic surgeons was 6 747, with M(Q_R) of 9(6) (range: 1 to 75) in each hospital. In 2015, a total of 312 425 operations were performed in the 636 hospitals, with M(Q_R) of 268(484.5) (range: 4 to 8 320) for each hospital. The total number of lung cancer surgeries was 146 601 in 2015, with M(Q_R) of 100(216) (range: 0 to 6 911) operations in each hospital. The total number of esophageal cancer operations was 67 076, with M(Q_R) of 40(95) (range: 0 to 1 550) in each hospital. Minimal invasive thoracic surgery was performed in 94.3% (601/636) of the hospitals, with 86.6% (551/636) of hospitals carried out video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy. Among the hospitals performing VATS lobectomy, 89.3% (492/551) of them started to perform the technique after 2006, and 93.1% (513/551) of them do single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy. A total of 403 640 VATS lobectomies had been performed until 2015, including 163 682 cases of single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy. In 2015, 73.74% (108 116/146 601) lung cancer operations and 37.44% (25 110/67 076) of esophageal cancer resections were performed by minimally invasive technique. The development level of hospitals among eastern, middle and Western China was different significantly on number of doctors, number of total operations, number of lung cancer surgeries, proportion of minimally invasive lung cancer surgery, number of esophageal cancer surgeries, and proportion of minimally invasive esophageal cancer surgery (χ²∶7.65 to 60.8, all P<0.05). Conclusions The discipline of thoracic surgery, especially the minimally invasive thoracic surgery in China is now experiencing a rapid development. The proportion of minimally invasive lung cancer surgery is higher than that of in the developed countries. However, unbalanced development among different regions is still a great challenge in China.

Objective The study was to investigate the spectrum and incidence of the hot-spot deafness gene mutations from non-syndromic hearing loss(NSHL)in Guizhou province.Methods Genomic DNAs of 356 patients of NSHI in Guizhou were obtained from peripheral blood and a deafness gene test chip was used to screen nine hot spot mutation in the gene GJB2,SLC26A4,GJB3 and mitochondria 12SrRNA.Results Eighty-eight (24.72%)out of 356 patients were found carrying at least one pathogenic gene mutation.Among them,40 patients with the GJB2 mutations were found(11.24%),including 19 cases(5.34%)of homozygous matutions,5 cases(1.40%)of com-pound heterozygous mutations,and 15 cases(4.21%)of single heterozygous mutations.Twenty-nine patients with the SLC26A4 mutations were found (8.15%),including 9 cases(2.53%)of homozygous mutations and 19 cases (5.34%)of single heterozygous mutations.Homogenic mitochondrial 12SrRNA 1555A>G mutations were in 10 patients(2.81%)and 1494C>T mutations in 10 patients (0.56%),and heterogeneous mitochondrial 12SrRNA 1555A>G mutations in 7 patients(1.97%).GJB3 gene c.538C>T heterozygous mutations was found in 1 patients. Conclusion The mutations of GJB2 and SLC26A4 gene are two major pathogenic genes for patients with NSHL in Guizhou province.Our study provides a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis,genetic counseling and treatment of deafness.

Objective The hearing and speech rehabilitation effects by hearing aid use and cochlear implanta‐tion in hearing -impaired children were compared .Methods A total of infants aged from 6 months to 3 years with severe hearing loss of prelingual nature were included .They were divided into 2 groups :group 1 (18 with hearing aids) and group 2 (14 with cochlear implantation) .There was no significant difference in the degree of hearing loss and age between the 2 groups .They received rehabilitation education of the same content for a year .Their unaided and aided thresholds were tested in sound field while the IT -MAIS was used for evaluating hearing ability of two groups before and after 3 ,6 ,9 ,and 12 months of hearing aid use and cochlear implantation .Results In both groups ,hearing were better in aided conditions than those of in unaided ,while those from the cochlear group were significantly improved at more frequencies than those of the hearing aid group .In general ,the longer use and train‐ing ,the better hearing improvement .The mean scores of auditory performance in the cochlear implantation group at 6 months were significantly higher in comparison with those at 3 months (P<0 .05) .There were significant differ‐ences in mean scores between the two groups at 6 ,9 ,12 months after fitting (P<0 .05) .The verbal ability scores ,hearing and speech rehabilitation levels in the cochlear group were higher than those of in the hearing aid group (P<0 .05) .Conclusion For severe hearing loss children ,cochlear implantation could produce more noticeable effects than hearing aids .

Objective To investigate the causes,diagnosis and treatment of small intestine bleeding.Methods Sixty-eight cases of small intestine bleeding from January 2000 to June 2010 were retrospectively analyzed.Among all cases,4 underwent routine hemostatic treatment under colonoscopy,40treated with open surgery and 24 patients with laparoscopic therapy.Among them,57 cases underwent part resection for some small intestine,completely laparoscopic resection of diverticula was performed in 7patients.Results Neoplasms was the leading cause of small intestine bleeding,accounting for 48.5％ (33/68)in these patients,followed by small intestine diverticulum accounted for 29.4％ ( 20/68 ),intestinal infective diseases accounted for 14.7％ ( 10/68 ) and vascular disease accounted for 7.4％ ( 5/68 ).Conclusion The clinical manifestations of small intestinal bleeding showed no specific signs.Neoplasm,intestine diverticulum and intestinal infective diseases are the most common causes of small intestinal bleeding.Small intestinal bleeding can be diagnosed in intraoperative colonoscopy.Surgery is the most effective treatment for small intestinal bleeding.

This study aimed to further enhance 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG) production efficiency. A strategy for enhancing Ketogulonigenium vulgare growth and 2-KLG production by improving B. megaterium growth with sucrose was developed based on the time course of osmolality during 2-KLG industrial scale fermentation and effects of osmolality on cells growth and 2-KLG production. Results showed that the accumulation of 2-KLG and the feeding of alkaline matter led to an osmolality rise of 832 mOsmol/kg in the culture broth. High osmotic stress (1 250 mOsmol/kg) made the growth ofB. megaterium and K. vulgare decreased 15.4% and 31.7%, respectively, and consequently the titer and productivity of 2-KLG reduced 67.5% and 69.3%, respectively. When supplement sucrose under high osmotic condition (1 250 mOsmol/kg), B. megaterium growth was significantly improved, with the result that 2-KLG production was increased 87%. Furthermore, by applying this sucrose addition strategy further to batch fermentation in 3 L fermentor, the productivity of 2-KLG increased 10.4%, and the duration of fermentation declined 10.8%. The results presented here provide a potential strategy for enhancing the target metabolites produced by mixed strains at environmental stress.
Bacillus megaterium ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Industrial Microbiology ; Osmosis ; Rhodobacteraceae ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Stress, Physiological ; Sucrose ; pharmacology ; Sugar Acids ; metabolism

The aim of this study was to improve the 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG) production efficiency by Ketogulonicigenium vulgare and Bacillus megaterium by using multi-stage pH control strategy. The effect of pH on the cell growths and 2-KLG production showed that the optimum pH for K. vulgare and B. megaterium cell growth were 6.0 and 8.0, respectively, while the optimum pH for 2-KLG production was 7.0. Based on the above results, we developed a three-stage pH control strategy: the pH was kept at 8.0 during the first 8 h, then decreased to 6.0 for the following 12 h, and maintained at 7.0 to the end of fermentation. With this strategy, the titer, productivity of 2-KLG and L-sorbose consumption rate were achieved at 77.3 g/L, 1.38 g/(L x h) and 1.42 g/(L x h), respectively, which were 9.7%, 33.2% and 25.7% higher than the corresponding values of the single pH (pH 7.0) control model.
Bacillus megaterium ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; Fermentation ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Rhodobacteraceae ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Sorbose ; metabolism ; Sugar Acids ; metabolism