Feasibility of Aortic Dissection Occlusion via Mini-thoracotomy by Trans-esophageal Echocardiography Guidance / 中国循环杂志

Objectives: To explore the feasibility of aortic dissection (AD) occlusion via mini-thoracotomy by trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) guidance. Methods: Pre-operative TEE was conducted in 2 AD patients, the findings were compared with trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE) to confirm the diagnosis with quantitative evaluation in order to accurately guiding the wire and sheath pipe into the rupture crevasse of AD for assessing the position, stability and the effect of closure device on local blood flow. Results: TEE confirmed that 2 patients could be treated by interventional plugging and the crevasses of AD were successfully blocked by TEE guidance. Case 1 had DeBakey II AD, crevasse shunt disappeared upon blocking, false lumen formed thrombosis, the diameter reduced form 40 mm to 28 mm and the cavity was retracted about 40%. Case 2 had the ulcer type AD located in aortic arch, closure device was closely suit to aortic wall, spread well and crevasse shunt disappeared;blood flow in aortic arch was about 110 cm/s which was similar at pre- and post-operation, no vascular stenosis and local dilatation were found, vital sign was stable. Follow-up TTE was performed at 1 month after the operation which showed the position of closure devices were normal in both patients. Conclusions: TEE could effectively confirm pre-operative AD diagnosis and provide intuitive image and quantitative information for accurately guiding closure position and evaluating surgical result. Mini-thoracotomy with TEE guidance is feasible for interventional therapy of AD.

Optimization of Xylanase Production by Paecilomyces thermophila in Solid State Fermentation / 微生物学通报

A new thermophilic fungus J18 isolated from the soil samples was identified as Paecilomyces thermophila. This strain produced effectively xylanase utilizing several lignocellulosic materials in the solid-state fermentation (SSF) , and wheat straw was the best carbon source. The results of single-factor-experiment showed that the wheat straw of particle size 0. 3 mm ~ 0.45 mm, initial moisture content of 83% , initial pH of 7. 0 and cultivation temperature of 50℃were the optimal conditions for xylanase production. Under the optimized conditions, it produced 18 580 U/g dry substrate after 8 days of cultivation. Therefore, xylanase production by Paecilomyces thermophila in SSF possess great potential for commercial applications.