Analysis of Chlorogenic Acid in Sweet Potato Leaf Extracts.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is one of the most important food crops worldwide, with leaves of different varieties showing purple, green and yellow, and these leaves provide a dietary source of nutrients and various bioactive compounds. The objective of this study was to identify the active constituents of chlorogenic acids (CGAs) in different methanolic extract of leaves of three varieties of sweet potato (purple CYY 98-59, green Taoyuan 2, and yellow CN 1927-16) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Genotype-specific metabolite variations were observed; CGAs and three isomeric peaks were detected in sweet potato leaf extracts (SPLEs). Among them, the yellow SPLE contained the highest contents of 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-di-CQA) and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,4-di-CQA), followed by the green SPLE, whereas the purple SPLE retained lower 3,5-di-CQA content compared to yellow and green SPLEs. All three SPLEs contained lower 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (4,5-di-CQA) and CGA contents compared to 3,5-di-CQA and 3,4-di-CQA, although CGA constituents were not significantly different in genotypes, whereas purple SPLE contained higher 4,5-di-CQA content compared to yellow and green SPLEs. This study indicates that SPLs marketed in Taiwan vary widely in their biological potentials and may impart different health benefits to consumers.

Storage performance of Taiwanese sweet potato cultivars.

Three sweet potato cultivars (TNG57, TNG66, and TNG73), provided by the Taiwanese Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), were stored at either 15 °C or under ambient conditions (23.8 ~ 28.4 °C and 77.1 ~ 81.0 % of relative humidity). Sweet potato roots were randomly chosen from each replicate and evaluated for measurement of weight loss, sugar content analysis, and sprouting after 0, 14, 24, 48, 56, 70, 84, and 98 days of storage. Fresh sweet potato roots were baked at 200 °C for 60 min then samples were taken for sugar analysis. After 14 days of ambient condition storage, the sprouting percentages for TNG57, TNG66, and TNG73 were 100, 85, and 95 % respectively. When sweet potatoes were stored at 15 °C, the weight loss became less and no sweet potato root sprouted after 14 days of storage. Because manufacturers can store sweet potatoes at 15 °C for almost 2 month without other treatments, the supply capacity shortage in July and September can be reduced. The total sugar content slowly increased along with increasing the storage time. After baking, the total sugar content of sweet potatoes significantly increased due to the formation of maltose. Maltose became the major sugar of baked sweet potatoes. Raw sweet potatoes stored at 15 °C had higher total sugar contents after baking than those stored under ambient conditions. Raw sweet potatoes were recommended to be stored at 15 °C before baking.

Changes in sugar composition during baking and their effects on sensory attributes of baked sweet potatoes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of sugar composition on the sensory attributes of seven baked sweet potatoes. The sugar composition was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the total sugar content of baked sweet potatoes increased significantly because of the formation of maltose. The maltose content dramatically increased after baking, and became the major sugar component of baked sweet potatoes. On the other hand, baked sweet potatoes were evaluated on a 7-point hedonic scale for sensory analysis. Overall acceptability results showed that the panelists preferred baked CYY95-26 and TNG66 over the other baked varieties. Because the correlation between overall acceptability and sweetness was the highest (r = 0.69, p < 0.01), sweetness was determined as the most important factor determining the overall acceptability of baked sweet potatoes. Although sugar composition changed on baking, the overall acceptability of baked sweet potatoes was highly associated with the sucrose content.

Studies of sugar composition and starch morphology of baked sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam).

Sugar composition of seven sweet potato cultivars was successfully analyzed. Fresh CYY95-26 sweet potatoes had the highest (8.41%) total sugar content while TNG73 had the lowest (4.5%). For these fresh sweet potatoes, maltose content was very low (0 ~ 0.39%). Because 49.92 ~ 92.43% of total sugars were sucrose, sucrose was the major sugar composition of fresh sweet potatoes. After the baking treatment, the total sugar content of baked sweet potatoes was dramatically increased due to the formation of maltose. The maltose content significantly increased from 0 ~ 0.39% to 8.81 ~ 13.97% on dry weight basis. Therefore, maltose should be included in calculating the total sugar content. Electronic micrographs of fresh sweet potato samples showed that the size of starch granules was generally less than 20 µm. After the baking treatment, starch granules completely gelatinized.

Effects of cultured human adipose-derived stem cells transplantation on rabbit cornea regeneration after alkaline chemical burn.

Ocular chemical burn is a severe injury with poor outcomes. Immediate and appropriate management is highly related to prognosis. We studied the effect of cultured human adipose tissue-derived stem cells on the regeneration of the rabbit cornea after alkaline chemical burn, using used human adipose tissue-derived stem cells as the source material. Immediately after the chemical burn, the experimental eye received a single subconjunctival injection of a stem cell suspension (1.3 × 10(5) cells/0.2 mL), with the other eye serving as control. Rabbits were sacrificed and specimens taken 30 days after injection. The experimental group showed faster wound healing than the control group, and the result for the experimental group was clearer cornea medium. Histologically, there were five to six epithelial cell layers on the corneas of the experimental group as compared to two to three cell layers on the corneas of the control group. Wilcoxon signed rank test showed a significant difference in the epithelial cell layers between the two groups. Surface markers for connexin 43 (Cx43), ß-catenin, E-cadherin, and P63 were analyzed. Cx43 and ß-catenin showed significant change, as determined by the Wilcoxon signed rank test, which indicated good cell renewal during repair of the corneal epithelium damaged by the chemical burn. E-cadherin and P63 showed no significant change during the epithelium healing process. Transplantation of cultured human adipose tissue-derived stem cells as a treatment for a corneal chemical burn promotes cell renewal and assists in damage repair.

The characteristics of FDG PET/CT imaging in pulmonary Langerhans cell sarcoma.

A 53-year-old man, who was a heavy smoker, presented with recent severe cough. Radiography demonstrated a large pulmonary mass in the right upper lung. FDG PET/CT demonstrated heterogeneous high-grade activity in the pulmonary mass located in the right upper lung (standardized uptake value of 20), with central necrosis, bilateral upper mediastinal lymphadenopathy, right supraclavicular lymphadenopathy, direct left sternal manubrium invasion, and distal bilateral peripheral lung metastasis. Histology revealed significant malignant cytologic features and CD1a- and S-100-positive cells by immunohistochemistry staining, typical for Langerhans cell sarcoma.

Antioxidative activity of water extract of sweet potato leaves in Taiwan.

This study reports the preparation of four varieties of water extract from sweet potato leaves from Taiwan, including TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP, and evaluates their antioxidative activity. The EC50 values (scavenging DPPH radicals) of TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP were 0.27±0.01, 0.19±0.01, 0.41±0.02, and 0.31±0.02mg/ml, respectively, on a freeze-dry weight basis. The total phenolic contents of these water extracts were in the order: TNG57>TNG10>TNG66>YSP. The TNG10 and TNG57 extracts exhibited better reducing power and scavenging effects of superoxide radicals than did TNG66 and YSP. At a concentration of 1mg/ml, TNG10 and TNG57 significantly protected HaCaT cells from H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. The water extracts of YSP had more flavonoids than had those of TNG66 which may have contributed to their higher activity in many antioxidative assays. These results suggest that the water extracts of all four varieties of sweet potato leaves, and especially TNG10 and TNG57, display potent antioxidative effects.

Influence of purple sweet potato extracts on the UV absorption properties of a cosmetic cream.

Anthocyanins were added to a cosmetic cream to provide additional protection against UV radiation. The influence of anthocyanins on UV absorption ability was carefully evaluated. Anthocyanins were successfully extracted from TNG73 purple sweet potato using acidic ethanol and acidic water. Acidic ethanol-extracted anthocyanins had better radical scavenging ability, higher total phenolic content, and stronger reducing ability than acidic water-extracted anthocyanins. The cosmetic cream with 0.61 mg of total anthocyanins (per 100 g cream) absorbed approximately 46% of the incident UV radiation. Although the anthocyanins absorbed both UV-A and UV-B radiation, they were particularly effective against UV-B rays. This study demonstrates that the addition of anthocyanin extracts of purple sweet potato to a cosmetic cream improves the cream's UV absorption ability.

Importance of prevention and early intervention of adverse events in pediatric cardiac catheterization: a review of three years of experience.

BACKGROUND: In spite of advances in many noninvasive instruments for studying cardiac anomalies in children, cardiac catheterization (CC) is still an essential method for the precise calculation of cardiovascular hemodynamic status and for performing therapeutic interventions. Accordingly, all adverse events (AE) related to CC are a major concern to pediatric cardiologists. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 220 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) who received cardiac catheterization in our tertiary care hospital between the period of January 2000 and December 2002 were studied. One hundred and thirty-eight patients were non-cyanotic CHD, 71 were cyanotic CHD and 11 were complex CHD. Diagnostic CC was performed in 138 patients and therapeutic CC in 82 patients. All AEs that occurred during the CC procedures were identified, recorded and managed at the scene. The severities of AE were further classified into minor, obvious and severe. RESULTS: AEs were observed in 41 patients, including 22 (10%) minor, 16 (7.27%) obvious and 3 (1.36%) severe AEs. The three severe AEs were cardiac tamponade, severe ventricular tachycardia and marked hypoxia-and-bradycardia. None of the patients died. Therapeutic CC did not present a higher incidence of AE occurrence than diagnostic CC. However, a young age (p<0.0001), low body weight (p<0.0001) and cyanotic or complex CHD (p=0.01) appeared to be risk factors for obvious and severe AE. CONCLUSION: Although the complication of severe AE during CC may not be totally preventable, it is important to be aware of every early sign of AE and to initiate an effective intervention by a well trained resuscitation team.

Is early dynamic lymphoscintigraphy for detection of sentinel lymph nodes always achievable in breast tumor?

OBJECTIVE: In this article, we will discuss the achievement of early dynamic lymphoscintigraphic protocol and compare detection of sentinel node between benign and malignant breast tumors, and whether pathologic factor is related or not. METHODS: During a six-month period, consecutive fifty-nine patients were enrolled into our study. The average age of patients was 47.6 +/- 9.8 years and all of them were clinically suspected of having breast cancer. The average tumor was 2.1 +/- 1.1 cm in size. First, Tc-99m sulfur colloid was injected around corners of palpable mass or biopsy cavity by the hybrid injection method. Immediately thereafter, dynamic protocol of lymphoscintigraphy, with 10 sec per frame for 60 frames was performed by established simultaneous dual-head vertical angle imaging technique. And delayed two-hour image was also acquired. All patients underwent surgery sixteen to twenty hours later and had a final pathological diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 59 patients, 14 of them were diagnosed with fibroadenoma and the other 45 cases with malignant conditions, infiltrating duct carcinoma mostly. The average age of the two groups was similar. From the summation image of dynamic study, identified axillary sentinel nodal activity was found as 80% in the group of benign breast tumor, but only 48% in the group of malignant breast tumor. In more than 88% of patients, sentinel lymph node was detectable on the delayed two-hour image between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Early dynamic protocol of pre-operative lymphoscintigraphy is helpful to clarify the relationship between the local lymphatic drainage basin and sentinel nodal uptake. However, this short period of protocol is not always achievable to detect sentinel node, especially in the group with breast malignant lesions.

Value of nodal drainage patterns and tumor location from lymphoscintigraphic mapping in detecting axillary sentinel lymph node status in breast cancer: experience at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an alternative to axillary node dissection for staging breast cancer treatment. In this article, we investigated nodal drainage patterns and tumor location using lymphoscintigraphy to predict the axillary sentinel lymph node status. We enrolled 88 patients with clinically suspicious or biopsy-proven breast cancer from March 2001 to October 2002. The average age of subjects was 48 +/- 4 years and the clinical stage was T(1-2)N0Mx. Tc-99m sulfur colloid was used in a hybrid combination of subdermal and perilesional injections around the selected comers of the tumor or biopsy site. Sentinel lymphoscintigraphy was performed 16-20 hours before surgery. Sentinel nodes were marked on the skin. An intraoperative gamma probe was used to confirm the sentinel lymph node location before biopsy. Most primary tumors were in the outer upper quadrant (52.3%), followed by the inner upper quadrant (17.0%), outer inferior quadrant (12.5%), central areolar area (11.4%), and inner inferior quadrant (6.8%). The nodal drainage patterns on 2-hour lymphoscintigraphy were as follows: axillary alone (76.1%), internal mammary nodes alone (1.1%), both axillary and internal mammary nodes (11.4%), and no drainage (11.4%). Internal mammary lymphatic drainage is related to tumor location in the inner quadrants of the breast. About 11.4% of all patients had poorly identified SLNs on lymphoscintigraphy within a 2-hour period, but there was improvement in the overall detection rate up to 95% by intraoperative gamma probe the next day. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphic mapping has value in providing individual lymphatic drainage patterns and tumor location that are important in the interpretation of the results of SLN biopsy during surgery.

Developing a safety and health training model for petrochemical workers.

The production processes of the petrochemical industry expose workers to high potential hazards. Our previous study showed that hazard recognition was closely related to worker safety and health training activities. The purpose of this study was to establish and validate a safety and health training model. It is expected that the training model will help workers to recognize hazards, thereby lowering their operating risks. The training model, which included a complete training course and follow-up scoring using a questionnaire, was applied to three groups of subjects for comparison. Group A had joined our study previously and took the training course again at this time. Group B had also joined our previous study but did not take this training course. Group C was new to our study and took this training course for the first time. Groups A and C (who took the training course) had higher cognition and attitude scores than group B (who did not take the training course). The training course was a significant factor that positively influenced both cognition and attitude scores among managers and workers. The training course was more significant for managers while the duration of education was more significant for workers.

Physician practices in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome at a medical center in southern Taiwan.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common neurologic entrapment disorder diagnosed in the upper limb. Nevertheless, there is still debate about the most reliable test that should be performed to diagnose CTS. Much of the argument has been drawn from the opinions of individuals or groups with varying degrees of expertise in the field; little has been based on actual data. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic patterns of CTS in an academic medical setting in southern Taiwan. The charts of 1,050 patients with a diagnosis of CTS over a 1-year period (2001-2002) were retrospectively reviewed. Data on 622 patients with new-onset CTS were included in the analysis. On the patient's initial visit, physicians made a diagnosis of CTS in 34.9% of cases solely on the basis of the history of symptoms without resort to provocative tests, while 8.7% of cases were diagnosed on the basis of symptom characteristics alone in spite of negative provocative tests. A CTS diagnosis was given according to symptoms and positive provocative tests in 55% of cases. Apart from these, CTS diagnosis remained unchanged in 27.3% of cases without electrodiagnostic signs of CTS during follow-up visits. An average of 1.6 diagnostic maneuvers were conducted for CTS patients, with nerve conduction velocity (NCV) studies (516 cases) being the most frequently performed, followed by Tinel's sign (350 cases) and Phalen's test (102 cases). Our findings imply that physicians are inclined to base their diagnosis on clinical history and physical examination for patients with suspected CTS. Clear guidelines regarding the indications for referral for NCV studies should be established in response to the increased concerns about the cost effectiveness of diagnostic tests.

Enhanced sentinel lymphoscintigraphic mapping in breast tumor using the graded shield technique.

The graded shield technique was developed to increase the sentinel node detection rate by improving lymphoscintigraphic image contrast. In a 6-month period, 50 women with clinical suspicion of early stage breast cancer (T1 and T2 tumors) were enrolled in this study. The patients had a mean age of 47.2 +/- 10.3 years. A composite graded shield was constructed using three concentric layers of leaded plastic measuring 3 cm, 5 cm, and 7 cm each in diameter. The graded shield was designed with a movable Velcro backing for accurate positioning over the injection site. Images were acquired with a vertical angle dual-head gamma camera using an established injection procedure developed at our institution. The rate of detection of sentinel lymph nodes using lymphoscintigraphic mapping improved from 74% (37/50 patients) to 96% (48/50) using the graded shield (p < 0.05). In addition to the increased detection rate, our technique also increased the number of nodes detected and improved visualization of the adjacent lymphatic basin. By enhancing nodal contrast, we have demonstrated that the graded shield technique is an effective method for improving the rate of sentinel node detection.

Late pulmonary scintigraphic defects after uneventful recovery from focal pneumonia in children: comparison with initial radiograph.

Pulmonary radionuclide studies provide reliable information on regional lung perfusion and ventilation. In children of focal pneumonia with consolidation on the chest radiographs, we determined the association between the initial pneumonia sites and the late lung ventilation-perfusion (V-P) scan abnormalities six months to one year later. Totally fifteen children, 9 males and 6 females, aged 2 to 12 years, were enrolled. All cases had normal chest radiographs in follow up, and had unremarkable respiratory symptoms or signs. Both of 99mTc MAA perfusion scintigraphy and 99mTc DTPA radioaerosol ventilation scintigraphy were performed in 12 cases while the other 3 cases had only perfusion studies. As results of these findings, there were 10 abnormal lung scans, including 9 cases at comparable areas (66%) and one at incomparable area with the initial pneumonia sites. Among those 9 comparable cases, we found 6 ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) matched defects, 2 high V/Q mismatched defects and one decreased perfusion defect. We concluded that abnormal lung V-P scans were frequently after uncomplicated pneumonia in childhood, mostly being matched defects, which may be secondary to local bronchial obstruction and decreased perfusion. However, they seem not always to correlate with the initial pneumonia sites.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous return complicated by progressive pulmonary venous stenosis after total repair: report of one case.

Total repair of an infracardiac type total anomalous pulmonary venous return was performed on a 3-day-old female newborn. Echocardiogram study showed a smooth connection between the pulmonary veins and the left atrium one week after the operation, however, later echocardiograms showed a progressive obstruction of the pulmonary veins. The patient died at 50 days of age due to lung congestion. The autopsy revealed severe intima hypertrophy and upstream obstruction in every pulmonary vein, while the anastomosis between the left atrium and the pulmonary venous confluence remained well patent. In view of the high rate of progressive pulmonary venous stenosis after total repair in patients with infracardiac type total anomalous pulmonary venous return, it is advised that the operator should try to mobilize every pulmonary vein, make larger areas of anastomosis with pericardial patch augmentation and avoid using continuous suture. When the progressive pulmonary venous stenosis occurred during the follow-up period, a 'sutureless neoatrium' procedure can be used to resolve the obstructions.