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The first complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) sequence of Lophatherum gracile Brongn. was determined from Illumina HiSeq pair-end sequencing data in this study. The cpDNA is 140,595 bp in length, c...

Background: By including untreated obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients as the control group, this study explores the influence of minimally invasive surgical treatment and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on OSAHS patients, with the subjective and objective performance. The study also discusses their relationship, determines the effect factor, and provides a simple and practical method for evaluation of clinical efficacy. Methods: A total of 90 OSAHS patients, who were diagnosed in the Sleep Disorders Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Sichuan Province from May 2014 to May 2016, were selected for the present study. These patients were divided into three groups: surgery group, CPAP group, and untreated group. These patients were followed up at six months, one year, and two years, respectively. The physiological indicators, clinical symptoms, degree of daytime sleepiness and quality of life were compared among these three groups. The daytime sleepiness and the quality of life before and after minimally invasive surgery and CPAP treatment were evaluated, and the subjective and objective efficacy of surgery and CPAP treatment was explored. Results: Among these 90 patients, 11 (12.2%) patients had hypertension, while two (2.2%) patients had diabetes. The average AHI score was 50.53±23.39 per hour, and the mean minimum oxygen saturation and mean oxygen saturation was 71.25±14.16% and 90.13±5.90%, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in mouth breathing, morning sore throat and daytime sleepiness in the group having received surgery at 0.5 year and one year. In the CPAP group, there were statistically significant differences in mouth breathing, morning sore throat and daytime sleepiness at 0.5 year, one year and two years. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences in memory loss at one year and two years, and there were statistically significant differences in frequent nocturia at one year. The ESS value in the surgery group decreased at 0.5 year and one year, but increased at two years. The situation was the same in terms of the total points and in each dimension of the SF-36 paramter. The delta values of ESS among the three groups had statistical significance at 0.5 year, one year and two years, in which the CPAP group experienced the most changes, followed by the surgery group and the group received health education. Conclusions: For minimally invasive surgery, CPAP therapy and health education can improve daytime sleepiness and quality of life. CPAP therapy was found to be the most effective, followed by minimally invasive surgery and provision of health education. However, the treatment of OSAHS should be comprehensive.

Vincetoxicum xinpingense, a new species from the Ailao Mountains in Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to V. sublanceolatum, Tylophora forrestii, and T. chingtungensis, but can be distinguished by several characters: shape and size of leaves, size of corolla lobes, length and shape of corona, attachment position of corona to the anthers, and orientation of pollinia. In addition, conservation status and other relevant notes are provided.

This study assessed potential etiologies of arterial ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke among children of Mainland China. From January 1996-June 2006, 251 patients with consecutive childhood stroke (aged 1 month through 16 years) were admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital. Arterial ischemic stroke accounted for the majority of cases (62.5%). Idiopathic stroke (32.5%) was more common than cardiac stroke (8.9%), vascular or arteriopathic stroke (21.0%), hematologic disorder-associated stroke (10.8%), and other etiologies (26.8%). Vitamin K deficiency was a major etiology in 72 of 94 hemorrhagic strokes (76.6%), most of which occurred in breastfeeding infants (80.6%) and those who received no vitamin K after birth (73.6%). Arteriovenous malformation (6.4%) was a frequent etiology in the remaining hemorrhagic stroke cases. We found that ischemic stroke in children is more common than hemorrhagic stroke, and many cases of ischemic stroke are idiopathic. Vitamin K deficiency was a major etiology in these young infants who experienced hemorrhagic stroke.

Summary Autoimmune vasculitis is believed to be a critical factor in the development of idiopathic childhood ischemic stroke. The association of polymorphisms in CTLA-4 and CD28 with some immune vasculitides, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Behcet's disease has been reported. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of the genetic variants in the CTLA-4 and CD28 genes of children who suffered idiopathic ischemic stroke using a case–control design. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CTLA-4 gene and an SNP in the CD28 gene were genotyped in 51 patients who suffered idiopathic ischemic stroke, and in 74 healthy controls from mainland China. An SNP, CTLA-4+49A/G located in exon 1 of the CTLA-4 gene, showed nominal association with the disease (P = 0.012, odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17–3.73) using allele-based analysis. Homozygous carriers of the G allele of this SNP were more common in the patients than in the controls (P = 0.008). The CD28IVS3 +17TT genotype was found to be more common in the patients than in the controls (P = 0.039, OR = 2.96, 95% CI = 1.02–8.58). No correlations of at-risk genotype (G/G) of CTLA-4+49A/G and genotype (T/T) of CD28+17T/C with the main clinical features of idiopathic childhood ischemic stroke were observed. The results suggest that polymorphisms in the CTLA-4 and CD28 genes may contribute to the increased risk of idiopathic ischemic stroke.

The aim of this study was to review cases of pediatric arterial ischemic stroke among Chinese subjects and thereby evaluate risk factors, clinical and neuroimaging features, and treatment, to establish a reasonable guideline for assessment and management of the disease. Between 1996 and 2006, 157 children (male:female ratio, 1.4:1) with arterial ischemic stroke were identified at Beijing Children's Hospital. The median age at stroke was 32 months (range, 4-192). Among patients with determined etiology, infections (12.1%), moyamoya disease (12.1%), and trauma (10.8%) were the most common. In 51 patients, there were no obvious risk factors (32.5%). Hemiplegia was the most common presenting feature (81.5%). The region of left middle cerebral artery was most frequently affected (36.3%), followed by the right middle cerebral artery (29.9%). Of the 157 patients, 56 were treated by intravenous thrombolytic agents (35.7%), all but one of them successfully (the one exception involving hemorrhagic complication). Randomized controlled trials are needed to establish primary prevention, acute treatment, and secondary prevention of pediatric ischemic stroke.

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of minimally invasive tonsil surgery for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in children. Tonsil ablation or turbinate reduction was performed on 49 pediatric patients with OSAHS by minimally invasive tonsil surgery. In order to evaluate the efficacy of surgery, a comparison was conducted between pre-operation and post-operation data in terms of the symptoms, signs and polysomnography test. Total effectiveness rate of the surgery was 83.7%. Subgroup analysis was also performed based on the severity of their conditions: mild, moderate, and severe groups had an effectiveness rate of 90.0, 88.9, and 66.7%, respectively (Hc=6.665, P