Thoracic full-endoscopic unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression for treating ossification of the ligamentum flavum with myelopathy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the curative effect and safety of thoracic full-endoscopic unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression (TE-ULBD) for treating ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) with myelopathy. METHODS: Between January 2015 and December 2018, 23 consecutive patients with symptomatic thoracic OLF were treated with TE-ULBD. Of these, 21 (13 women and 8 men, aged 49-75 years) were included in the study and followed up for a minimum of 1 year. The mean blood loss was 15.48 mL (10-30 mL), operative duration was 78.86 min (55-115 min), and hospitalization was 5.05 days (3-15 days). The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) was used to evaluate spinal cord function, and the curative effect was defined by the JOA improvement rate. The area of OLF (AOLF), the maximum spinal cord compression (MSCC), and the area of spinal cord (ASC) were used to evaluate OLF clearance and spinal cord decompression status. RESULTS: At the final follow up,the JOA score was 8.33 points (5-11 points), which was a significant improvement from the preoperative 5.33 points (3-9 points, P<0.01). The excellent and good rate was 76.19% (16/21). The average preoperative AOLF and AOLF ratio were 85.27±23.66 mm2 and 57.86%±11.86%, respectively, and the postoperative AOLF and AOLF ratio were 16.27±11.75 mm2 and 8.13%±5.38%, respectively. The MSCC increased from 27.99%±13.51% preoperatively to 48.02%±6.66% postoperatively. The ASC was 42.90±10.60 mm2 preoperatively and 64.54±21.36 mm2 postoperatively. There were statistically significant differences in all parameters preoperatively and postoperatively (P<0.01). One case had postoperative hematoma, and the symptoms gradually eased after 3 weeks of conservative treatment. There were no other complications. No recurrence of OLF was detected during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: TE-ULBD is safe and effective for thoracic OLF with the advantages of reduced trauma and bleeding, and faster recovery.

New cyclic tetrapeptide from the coral-derived endophytic bacteria Brevibacterium sp. L-4 collected from the South China Sea.

One new cyclic tetrapeptide cyclic-(Tyr-Ala-Leu-Ser) (1) along with four natural compounds firstly obtained 3H-imidazole-4-carboxylic acid (2), 2-methyl-3H-imidazole-4-carboxylic acid (3), 3-ethylidene-6-isopropyl-piperazine-2,5-dione (4), and 3-isobutylidene-6-methyl piperazine-2,5-dione (5) have been isolated from the coral derived endophytic bacteria Brevibacterium sp. L-4 collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were elucidated through spectroscopic techniques including NMR (1D and 2D), MS, and EA, and their relative configurations were also assigned by NMR analysis.

[Identification of Oil Type Using Spectral Reflectance Characteristics].

The reflectance spectra of 4 common oil types, kerosene (with the thickness of 300，500 and 1 000 µm), lubricating oil (with the thickness of 300, 1 000, 1 500 µm), light diesel oil (with the thickness of 50, 300, 500 µm) and 180# diesel ( with the thickness of 500 and 2 000 µm) were analyzed by using cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), in order to explore a fast, timely method for oil type identification. The results of cluster analysis showed that: when the cluster distance between samples was calculated by Euclidean distance and when the distance L=8.976 samples could be correctly classified, the accuracy was up to100%; it also showed the thickness of oil film affected the clustering effects; the principal component analysis showed that: the PCA scores of wavelet detail coefficients had the best result among the original data, the wavelet approximate coefficients and detail coefficients. The methods of using spectral reflectance data combined with cluster analysis and the principal component analysis based on wavelet detail coefficients to identify the type of water film are feasible.

Pelopuradazole, a new imidazole derivative alkaloid from the marine bacteria Pelomonas puraquae sp. nov.

One new imidazole derivative alkaloid pelopuradazole (1), together with three known alkaloids as in 3H-imidazole-4-carboxylic acid (2), 1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid (3) and 2-methyl-3H-imidazole-4-carboxylic acid (4) and two known cyclo-dipeptides pelopurin A (5) and pelopurin B (6), has been isolated from the marine bacterium Pelomonas puraquae sp. nov. Pelopuradazole (1) was a new imidazole derivative alkaloid, while compounds 2, 3, 5 and 6 were firstly obtained as natural products. Compounds 1-6 were isolated from P. puraquae sp. nov. for the first time.

Comparison of physiological and yield traits between purple- and white-pericarp rice using SLs.

Five physiological and eleven yield traits of two pairs of sister lines generated from a high generation with similar genetic background (SLs) for purple pericarp were investigated to explore the reasons behind low-yield production of colored rice. Of the five physiological traits examined, except grain anthocyanin content, there were generally similar trends between the P (purple-pericarp) lines and the corresponding W (white-pericarp) lines over two seasons (in the year 2009 and 2010 separately). The results demonstrated that the chlorophyll content of flag leaves, the net photosynthetic rate of flag leaves, and the grain anthocyanin content could be easily influenced by the environment. The physiological functions of the traits for the P lines were more active than those of the corresponding W lines in the year 2010. The grain anthocyanin content of the P lines was much greater in the year 2010 than in the year 2009 during the growth period. The investigation of yield traits revealed that the P lines had reduced 1000-grain weight, yield per plot and grain/brown rice thickness compared to the W lines. A difference comparison of these traits and a source-sink and transportation relationship analysis for these SLs suggested that small sink size was a key reason behind yield reduction of purple pericarp rice.

[Analysis of spectral characteristics of oil film on water based on wavelet transform].

The diagnostic features are the basis to detect and characterize the oil film on water through optical remote sensing. This work shows the results of lab spectral measurements of light diesel oil with thickness ranged 1.0 - 127 microm. A wavelet transform were performed to the reflectance, and the singularity (388-393 nm) was explored as the indicators of oil film thickness. The results indicate that the reflectance of light diesel oil film is higher than that of water in the range from 350-2 500 nm. There is a reflectance peak near 388 nm when the thickness of oil film is larger than 6 microm, however, no distinguished features could be recognized when oil films were thinner than 6 microm. The wavelet coefficients of the fifth decomposition level by applying Daubechies 4 (db4) mother wavelets proved successful for identifying the singularity of oil film's reflectance spectra and its accurate position. With the thickness lager than 6 microm, the detail coefficients performed an abrupt change within the range of 388-393 nm, and became more violent while oil films' thickness increased. This research demonstrated that oil films on water with different thickness could be distinguished based on wavelet detail coefficients, with important implications for detection of oils on water using UV and short wave optical remote sensing.

Aqua-bis-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-κN)(oxydiacetato-κO,O',O'')copper(II) dihydrate.

In the title compound, [Cu(C(4)H(4)O(5))(C(5)H(8)N(2))(2)(H(2)O)]·2H(2)O, the Cu(II) cation assumes a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry formed by two 3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole ligands, one oxydiacetate (ODA) dianion and one coordinated water mol-ecule. The tridentate ODA ligand chelates to the Cu cation in a facial configuration with a longer Cu-O bond [2.597 (3) Å], and both chelating rings display envelope conformations. In the mol-ecule, the two pyrazole rings are twisted with respect to each other at a dihedral angle of 57.5 (3)°. Extensive inter-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure.

Aqua-(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole-κN,N)(thio-diacetato-κO,S,O')nickel(II) monohydrate.

In the title compound, [Ni(C(4)H(4)O(4)S)(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))(H(2)O)]·H(2)O, the Ni(II) cation assumes a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry formed by a diamino-bithia-zole (DABT) ligand, a thio-diacetate (TDA) dianion and a coordinated water mol-ecule. The tridentate TDA chelates to the Ni cation in a facial configuration, and both chelating rings display the envelope conformations. The two thia-zole rings of the DABT ligand are twisted with respect to each other, making a dihedral angle of 9.96 (9)°. Extensive O-H⋯O, N-H⋯O and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure.

Aqua-(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole-κN,N)(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato-κO,N,O)zinc tetra-hydrate.

The title compound, [Zn(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))(H(2)O)]·4H(2)O, assumes a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry around the Zn(2+) cation, formed by a diamino-bithia-zole (DABT) mol-ecule, a pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate anion and a water mol-ecule. The pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate anion chelates to the Zn(II) atom with a facial configuration. Within the chelating DABT ligand, the two thia-zole rings are twisted by a dihedral angle of 14.52 (8)° with respect to each other. O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds occur in the crystal structure.

[Study on spectrum of oil film in ice-infested waters].

Oil spills in ice-infested waters are a subject of great concern to corporations, local residents, and government agencies, which participate in oil exploration, production, and transportation in ice-infested regions recently. For developing a credible and effective response to oil spill in ice-infested waters, a field experiment was performed on the spectrum of oil film in ice-infested waters. In this experiment, four groups of spectrum samples were collected, including clean sea water, brash ice and even ice and sea water/brash ice/even ice contaminated by diesel and crude oil. The experiment results indicated that: the same sort of oil with different background had different reflectance at the same wavelength, and so did the same sort of oil with the same background but different distribution state; nevertheless there were some common characteristics within the same oil. For example, diesel had two apparent characteristics, no matter on the surface of sea water or brash ice or even ice, the first of which was that the reflectance curves of diesel film were first lower and then higher than that of clean sea water, brash ice or even ice according to the wavelength; the second was that the reflectance curves of diesel film were almost equaled to that of the background between 400 and 510 nm in sea water, 410 and 510 nm in brash ice and 490 and 510 nm in even ice. The spectrum curves of crude oil had a representative sphenoid reflectance-peak which appeared between 750 and 770 nm. These characteristics of oil film in terms of ice and oil type could be effectively used to distinct the oil with sea water and sea ice, meanwhile this experiment would improve and facilitate the detecting and monitoring proposal of oil which had been spilled in moving, broken pack ice and fast-ice environment in the ocean.

Bis(µ-imino-diacetato)bis-[(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole)lead(II)] tetra-hydrate.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Pb(2)(C(4)H(5)NO(4))(2)(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))(2)]·4H(2)O, the dinuclear Pb(II) complex mol-ecule is centrosymmetric. The Pb atom is chelated by a tridentate imino-diacetate anion (IDA) and a diamino-bithia-zole (DABT) ligand, while a carboxyl-ate O atom from an adjacent IDA anion further bridges the Pb atom with a longer Pb-O bond [2.892 (3) Å]. The lone-pair electrons of the Pb atom occupy an axial site in the Ψ-penta-gonal-bipyramidal coordination polyhedron. The IDA anion displays a facial configuration: its chelating five-membered rings assume an envelope configuration. Within the DABT ligand, the two thia-zole rings are twisted relative to each other, making a dihedral angle of 9.51 (17)°. Extensive N-H⋯O, O-H⋯O and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonding helps to stabilize the crystal structure.

[(E)-But-2-enoato-κO]chlorido(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole-κN,N)zinc(II) monohydrate.

In the title compound, [Zn(C(4)H(5)O(2))Cl(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))]·H(2)O, the Zn(II) cation is coordinated by a bidentate diamino-bithia-zole (DABT) ligand, a but-2-enoate anion and a Cl(-) anion in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry. Within the DABT ligand, the two thia-zole rings are twisted to each other at a dihedral angle of 4.38 (10)°. An intra-molecular N-H⋯O inter-action occurs. The centroid-centroid distance of 3.6650 (17) Šand partially overlapped arrangement between nearly parallel thia-zole rings of adjacent complexes indicate the existence of π-π stacking in the crystal structure. Extensive O-H⋯Cl, O-H⋯O, N-H⋯Cl and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding helps to stabilize the crystal structure.

Identification of an aminopeptidase from the skeletal muscle of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus).

Aminopeptidases play important roles in turnover of proteins, metabolism of hormones and neurotransmission, cell maturation and immunological regulations. In the present study, an aminopeptidase was purified to homogeneity from the skeletal muscle of grass carp by ammonium sulfate fractionation and sequential chromatographic steps, including DEAE-Sephacel, Sephacryl S-200, hydroxyapatite and Phenyl-Sepharose. The purified enzyme revealed a molecular mass of approximately 105 kDa both on SDS-PAGE and on gel filtration of Superdex 200. The enzymatic activity toward synthetic substrates was optimal at 40°C and pH 7.0-7.5. Metal-chelating agents such as EDTA and EGTA effectively inhibited the enzyme activity while inhibitors to serine, asparatic and cysteine proteinases did not show much effect, suggesting its belonging to metalloproteinase family. A specific aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin was most effective in suppressing the enzymatic activity and performed in a competitive fashion. The enzymatic activity was slightly enhanced by metal ions of Mg2+ and Mn2+ while inhibited to different extents by Co2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Ca2+. Sulfhydryl reagent was necessary to maintain its activity. Purified enzyme demonstrated amidolytic activity most effectively against synthetic aminopeptidase substrate Leu-methylcoumarylamide (MCA) while N-terminal-blocked substrates and myofibrillar proteins were not hydrolyzed. The enzyme purified in the present study was quite possibly a leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and functions during muscular protein metabolism.

Tetra-aqua-(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole-κN,N)nickel(II) bis-(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato-κO,N,O)nickel(II) trihydrate.

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Ni(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))(H(2)O)(4)][Ni(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(2)]·3H(2)O, consists of Ni(II) complex cations, Ni(II) complex anions and lattice water mol-ecules. The Ni(II) ions in both the complex cation and anion assume a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry. O-H⋯O, N-H⋯O and C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds occur in the crystal structure.

Bis(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-κN)(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato-κO,N,O)copper(II).

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Cu(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(C(5)H(8)N(2))(2)], the Cu(II) cation assumes a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal coordination geometry formed by a pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate dianion and two 3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole mol-ecules. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure.

(2'-Amino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zol-2-aminium-κN,N')aqua-[citrato(4-)-κO,O',O'')chromium(III) dihydrate.

In the title compound, [Cr(C(6)H(7)N(4)S(2))(C(6)H(4)O(7))(H(2)O)]·2H(2)O, the Cr(III) atom is in a distorted octa-hedral environment, coordinated by one water mol-ecule, two N atoms from a protonated diamino-bithia-zole ligand and three O atoms from a citrate(4-) anion. The complex is zwitterionic, with the H atom from the uncoordinated carboxyl-ate group of the citrate anion transferred to one amino group of the diamino-bithia-zole ligand. O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the complexes into layers including the two uncoordinated water mol-ecules.

1,2-Dimorpholinoethane-1,2-dithione.

The title compound, C(10)H(16)N(2)O(2)S(2), was prepared by a reaction of 4-tert-butyl-benzene, morpholine and sulfur. In the crystal structure, both morpholine rings display the typical chair conformation. Weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure.

2,2'-Diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zolium bis-(3-nitro-benzoate).

In the title salt, C(6)H(8)N(4)S(2) (2+)·2C(7)H(4)NO(4) (-), the diprotonated diamino-bithia-zole dication is located on an inversion center. The carboxyl-ate group of the anion is twisted with respect to the benzene ring, with a dihedral angle of 13.6 (4)°. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the amino and ammonium groups of the dication and the carboxyl-ate functionality of the anion generate supra-molecular chains in the crystal.

Bis(2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole-κN,N)bis-(nitrato-κO)lead(II) dihydrate.

In the title compound, [Pb(NO(3))(2)(C(6)H(6)N(4)S(2))(2)]·2H(2)O, the Pb(II) cation is N,N'-chelated by two 2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,3-thia-zole (DABT) ligands and further is cis coordinated by two nitrate anions in a distorted PbN(4)O(2) octa-hedral geometry. One of the uncoordinated water mol-ecules is close to an inversion center and is disordered equally over two sites. Intra-molecular N-H⋯N and N-H⋯O inter-actions are present. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network of types N-H⋯O, O-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and O-H⋯S consolidates the crystal structure.

Leucine aminopeptidase from red sea bream (Pagrus major) skeletal muscle: purification, characterization, cellular location, and tissue distribution.

A leucine aminopeptidase was purified for the first time from marine fish red sea bream ( Pagrus major) skeletal muscle to homogeneity with 4850-fold and a yield of 7.4%. The purification procedure consisted of ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies including DEAE-Sephacel, Sephacryl S-200, hydroxyapatite, and phenyl-Sepharose. The enzyme was approximately 96 kDa as estimated by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration and preferentially hydrolyzed substrate Leu-MCA. The enzymatic activity was optimal at 45 degrees C and pH 7.5. The K m and k cat values of the enzyme for Leu-MCA were 1.55 microM and 26.4 S (-1) at 37 degrees C, respectively. Activation energy ( E a) of the enzyme was 59.6 kJ M (-1). The enzyme was specifically inhibited by metal-chelating agents, and Zn (2+) and (or) Mn (2+) seemed to be its metal cofactor(s). In addition, bestatin strongly inhibited its activity, and K i was 1.44 microM. Using a highly specific polyclonal antibody, the location of enzyme was demonstrated intracellularly and distributed in different tissues.