OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy and safety of measurements of transcutaneous carbon dioxide partial pressure (TcPCO METHODS: A total of 45 very low birth weight infants were enrolled. TcPCO RESULTS: There was no significant difference in TcPCO CONCLUSIONS Lower electrode temperatures (38-41℃) can accurately measure blood carbon dioxide partial pressure in very low birth weight infants, and thus can be used to replace the electrode temperature of 42°C. Transcutaneous measurements at the lower electrode temperatures may be helpful for understanding the changing trend of blood oxygen partial pressure.
Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous ; Carbon Dioxide ; Electrodes ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Oxygen ; Partial Pressure ; Temperature

Objective:To study the mechanism of Suanzaoren Tang in regulating the energy metabolism of myocardial mitochondria in aged rats with chronic rapid eye movement （REM） sleep deprivation through the sirtuin 3 （SIRT3）/superoxide dismutase2 （SOD2） signaling pathway. Method:Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， estazolam group （0.18 mg·kg^-1·d^-1）， and low- （6.48 g·kg^-1·d^-1） and high-dose （12.96 g·kg^-1·d^-1） Suanzaoren Tang groups. Rats in all groups except for the control group received subcutaneous injection of D-galactose and then were deprived of sleep using the multiple platform method after the last administration. Following successful modeling， the rats in each group were treated with intragastric administration of the corresponding drugs for seven consecutive days. The morphology of myocardial mitochondria was observed under a transmission electron microscope. The content of adenosine triphosphate （ATP） in rat hypothalamus was detected by colorimetry， while the malondialdehyde （MDA） content and the SOD activity in myocardium were measured by spectrophotometry. Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot were conducted to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of SIRT3 and SOD2 in rat myocardium. The localization of SIRT3 was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Result:Compared with the control group， the model group exhibited a disordered arrangement of myocardial filaments， accompanied by filament rupture and dissolution， obviously swollen mitochondria arranged in disorder， and blurring and even rupture of most mitochondrial cristae. Besides， the content of ATP and SOD activity in the myocardium decreased significantly （P<0.01）， whereas that of MDA increased significantly （P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression levels of SIRT3 and SOD2 were down-regulated significantly （P<0.01）， and the average fluorescence intensity of SIRT3 protein declined significantly （P<0.01）. The comparison with the model group revealed that high-dose Suanzaoren Tang enabled the myocardial filaments to be neatly arranged， relieved the mitochondrial damage and swelling， only manifested as partial mitochondrial cristae rupture， significantly increased ATP content， SOD activity， as well as SIRT3 and SOD2 mRNA and protein expression levels （P<0.01）， reduced the content of MDA （P<0.01）， and enhanced the average fluorescence intensity of SIRT3 protein （P<0.05）. The myocardial mitochondrial injury in the estazolam group was also alleviated. The activity of SOD and the SIRT3 and SOD2 mRNA and protein expression levels in the myocardium were significantly elevated （P<0.01）， while the activity of MDA was significantly lowered （P<0.01）. In the low-dose Suanzaoren Tang group， the improvement in myocardial mitochondrial injury was not obvious. However， both the SOD activity and SOD2 protein expression were significantly increased （P<0.05）. Conclusion:Suanzaoren Tang ameliorates the myocardial mitochondria injury and abnormal energy metabolism induced by chronic REM sleep deprivation in aged rats possibly by up-regulating the SIRT3 and SOD2 expression.

Alveolar echinococcosis is a parasitic zoonosis that severely damages human health. Currently, radical surgical resection is the first choice for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis. For the advanced hepatic echinococcosis patients with refractory radical resection, the palliative surgery combined with chemotherapy, liver transplantation, drug therapy, and radiofrequency microwave ablation may provide comprehensive tools. This article reviews the current situation and progress of comprehensive treatments for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the proper percentage of EN in the total energy and nutrition support for critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury (TBIs). Methods: 94 cases were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the percentage of EN in the total energy: 100％ EN group in which patients received 100％ calories from EN; 75％ EN group in which patients received 75％ calories from EN, 25％ from PN; 50％ EN group in which patients received 50％ calories fromm EN, 50％ from PN. At baseline and follow-up on day 4, 7, 10, nutrition parameters, complete blood count and electrolytes as well as metabolic parameters including tests of liver and renal function were measured. Complications during treatment were recorded and the prognosis was finally judged. Results: Total protein and albumin were significantly higher in the 50％ EN and 75％ EN group on day 7 than in TEN group (P＜ 0. 05). There was significance difference found in complications between 75％EN and 50％EN group. A reduction in the length of stay in the hospital and expenses in the ICU for 10 days in the 75％ EN group (P ＜ 0. 05) was also observed. Conclusion: 75％ calories from EN in the total energy and nutrition support appeared to have great impact on management of critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury.

Objective To investigate the distribution characteristics of gallbladder diseases in children with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis, and to analyze the related factors for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis and gallbladder diseases. Methods The clinical data of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis patients under 18 years were collected in Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital-from January 2012 to December 2017, and the gallbladder-related complications in the surgically treated patients with hepatic al-veolar echinococcosis were analyzed. Results The clinical data of 51 child patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis were collected and analyzed. According to the PNM classification criteria of WHO, P1, P2 and P3 in the 51 patients accounted for 37.25% (19/51), 41.18% (21/51) and 19.60% (10/51), respectively. According to the diagnostic criteria (WS 257–2006) of China for echinococcosis, the patients of infiltration type, calcification type and liquefaction cavitary type accounted for 66.67% (34/51), 21.57% (11/51) and 11.76% (6/51), respectively. Among the 51 patients, 78.43% (40/51) of the patients had clinical symptoms of biliary tract disease, and 58.82% (30/51) had gallbladder-related complications. The operations were performed on 40 patients, and 77.50% (31/40) of them had the postoperative complications. The results of binary multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the clinical image classification, the liver segment distribution, size, location and number of lesions of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis were important correlative factors for the occurrence of gallbladder complications in hepatic alveolar echinococcosispatients. Conclusions The incidence of complications related to gallbladder diseases is higher in the children with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis in Qinghai Province, and it has great influence on the operation mode and the occurrence and prognosis of postoperative complications. The early diagnosis and treatment of alveolar echinococcosis in children is particularly important.

The impact of sexual dysfunction (SD) is distressing to many male patients with pituitary adenomas which affect both physical and psychological health. The research explored to identify risk factors affecting sexual function and the prognosis of male patients with pituitary adenomas. Two hundred and fifty-four male patients, who aged between 18 and 60 (mean ± s.d.: 44.16 ± 10.14) years and diagnosed with pituitary adenomas, were retrospectively analyzed. One hundred and fifty-nine patients (62.6%) complained of SD prior to surgery. The mean International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) in patients with giant adenomas was 16.13 ± 2.51, much smaller than those with microadenomas or macroadenomas (P < 0.05). All the patients showed significant improvement in terms of erectile dysfunction (ED) following surgery (P < 0.05). In addition, complete resection achieved a higher degree of SD relief than partial resection. The incidence of SD in functioning pituitary adenomas (FPAs) was much higher than that in nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with NFPAs, males with prolactinomas (82.8%) had the higher prevalence of SD and significantly improvement following surgical intervention (P < 0.05). An inverse relationship was identified between decreasing testosterone levels and increasing incidence of SD before surgery (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between 6 months and 12 months after surgery in serum testosterone level (P > 0.05). Our results indicated that surgical therapy could be optimized for improvements in SD and that testosterone levels can be used as a sensitive indicator to predict the recovery rate of sexual function in patients with pituitary adenomas following surgery and the serum testosterone level will stay stable in 6 months after surgery.
Adenoma/surgery* ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Cohort Studies ; Erectile Dysfunction/etiology* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pituitary Neoplasms/surgery* ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis ; Prolactinoma/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/etiology* ; Testosterone/blood* ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective:To compare the clinical values of minimally invasive Wiltse approach and conventional posterior approach for the treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral fractures.Methods:From November 2010 to June 2014,the pedicle screw-rod fixation system was used to treat thoracolumbar fractures (AO type A)in 50 patients.Among them,28 cases were treated by minimally invasive Wiltse approach,and other 22 cases were treated by conventional posterior median approach. Based on American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA)grading standards,the spinal cord injury function of all cases were grade E before operation.All fractures were single-segment fracture,including T11 in 4 cases,T12 in 10 cases,L1 in 26 cases,and L2 in 10 cases.The time from injury to operation varied from 2 to 13 days (mean,4.9 days).Perioperative parameters,visual analogue scale (VAS)score of postoperative pain and the kyphotic Cobb angle of vertebral bodies for evaluating the correction effect were recorded and analyzed.Results:All cases were followed up for 12-26 months (mean,15 months).The operation time,hospital stay,intraoperative blood loss,and postoperative drainage volume in the group of minimally invasive Wiltse approach were significantly less than those in the group of conventional posterior midline approach (P<0.05 ).The VAS scores in minimally invasive Wiltse approach group were significantly less than those in conventional approach group in 24 and 48 hours after operation (P<0.05).Cobb angles of the two groups were obviously recovered after operation as compared with those before operation (P<0.05),but there were no significant differences between the two groups before and after operation. Conclusions:For the thoracolumbar vertebral fractures (AO type A,ASIA grade E),compared with the conventional approach,minimally invasive Wiltse approach has the advantages of less surgical traumas,less vertebral side tissue injury,easy for pedicle screw insertion,light postoperative lumbar back pain,and effective correction of kyphosis deformity.It is suggested that minimally invasive Wiltse approach is worth to be popularized in remote areas for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.

OBJECTIVETo optimize the method in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia for determining Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma.

METHODTanshinone II(A) and salvianolic acid B were selected as the index in optimization of the sample preparation method of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Orthogonal test was used to optimize the extraction process of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and concentration of contents were detected by high performance liquid chromatography method. A detection of using methanol-water (85: 15) at wavelength of 270 nm was employed for tanshinone II(A) and a detection of using methanol-acetonitrile-formic acid-water (30:10:1: 59) at wavelength of 286 nm was employed for salvianolic acid B.

RESULTThe optimized extraction process of tanshinone II(A) and salvianolic acid B was: extracted by 90% methanol and reflux twice (0.5 h each time) at 75 degrees C, extracted by 70% methanol and reflux twice (1.5 h each time) at 75 degrees C, respectively.

CONCLUSIONOptimized extraction and determination methods could be used to reflect the content of tanshinone II(A) and salvianolic acid B in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma more accurately and efficiently.

Benzofurans ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; analysis ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; Temperature

A simple and quick method is described for the determination of ferulic acid, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, senkyunolide A and ligustilide in rhizomes of Ligusticum chuanxiong. The 5 active ingredients in the sample was extracted using 40% ethanol and analyzed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Chromatography separation was performed using Agilent 1100 series HPLC system with a Symmetry C18 column and gradient elution with a mixture of three solvents : solvent A, acetonitrile, solvent B, methanol and solvent C, 1% aqueous acetic acid, 0 min to 5 min A: B: C 20: 40: 40, 5 min to 30 min A: B: C 60 to 100 : 0 : 40 to 0. The effluent was monitored using a VWD detector set at 321 nm (0-4.3 min) and 275 nm (4.31-30 min). The flow rate was set at 1 mL x min(-1) and the injection volume was 10 microL. The column temperature was maintained at 35 degrees C. The calibration curve was linear (r > or = 0.99) over the tested ranges. The average recovery was 94.44%-103.1% (n = 6). The method has been successfully applied to the analysis in different harvest periods of L. chuanxiong samples. In this paper, single-factor randomized block design to study the 5 components content of L. chuanxiong on ten collecting stages. For the L. chuanxiong collected from April 15th to May 30rd, the content of 5 ingredients increased primarily, and then decreased. Determine the appropriate harvest time has important significance to the promotion of the quality of L. chuanxiong.
4-Butyrolactone ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Acetic Acid ; chemistry ; Acetonitriles ; chemistry ; Benzofurans ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Coumaric Acids ; analysis ; Ligusticum ; chemistry ; Methanol ; chemistry ; Solvents ; chemistry ; Time Factors

To discuss the influence of dexamethasion on lL-1β and TNF - α expression in suture - induced rabbit corneal neovascularization ( CNV ) and analyze the potential mechanism.
●METHODS: For 43 healthy rabbits, 40 were randomly selected for establishing CNV model in corneal stroma. The right eyes (group A) were received no medicine and the left eyes ( group B) were injected dexamethasone after successfully establishing the model. The no modeling 3 rabbits were normal control group. The morphologic change of corneal was observed with slit lamp microscope and the areas of CNV was calculated every day, then 8 rabbits were randomly chosen for sacrificing at 1, 4, 7, 14, 21d respectively. The pathological characteristics of CNV were observed after HE staining, and lL - 1β and TNF - α expression was detected by immunohistochemistry.
●RESULTS: CNV was grown at the 4d after suture, and the 7-14d was vigorous growth period. inflammatory cell infiltration appeared after HE staining, and CNV was located at the superficial stroma of cornea. lmmunohistochemistry results showed that lL - 1β and TNF - α expression was gradually increased with prolonged suture time. Compared with corneal stitch group, the rabbits cured by dexamethasone were found with less inflammatory cells infiltrating and neovescularization, moreover, the expression of lL - 1βand TNF-α decreased. There were statistical significance between the two groups (P<0. 05).
● CONCLUSlON: Dexamethasone can inhibit the CNV growth by controlling the inflammation of corneal and restraining lL-1β and TNF-α expression.