Objective To explore the surgical skill for treatment of intramedullary spinal cord lesions, in order to improve the curative effect and to decrease the operative complication. Method The data of 15 patients with intramedullary spinal cord lesions, who underwent surgery in recent 3 year in our hospital, were analysed retrospectively. Results Of the 15 patients with intramedullary spinal cord lesions, 5 had ependymomas, 4 astrocytomas, 3 schwannomas, 1 cavernous angioma, 1 angioblastoma and 1 tuberculoma. Of all the patients, 9 received total resection of the lesions, 5 subtotally and 1 partly. The following-up for 3~36 months showed that the postoperative symptoms were significantly improved in 10 patients, unchanged in 2 and deteriorated in 3. Conclusions Microsurgical removal is the best method for the treatment of the intramedullary spinal cord lesion with clear border. The intramedullary lesion with unclar border can be in great part removed and definitely diagnosed by microsurgery.
Three fossil species of Equisetum (Equisetaceae) were reported from the Neogene of south-western China and northern Vietnam, based on well-preserved rhizomes with tubers. Equisetum cf. pratense Ehrhart from the middle Miocene of Zhenyuan County, Yunnan Province, China is characterised by a bunch of three ovate tubers with longitudinal ridges on the surface. Equisetum yenbaiense A.T. Aung, T. Su, T.V. Do & Z.K. Zhou, sp. nov. from the late Miocene of Yenbai Province, Vietnam is characterised by four bunches of elongate tubers arranged in a whorl on a node. Equisetum yongpingense A.T. Aung, T. Su & Z.K. Zhou, sp. nov. from the late Pliocene of Yunnan is characterised by fibrous roots on most nodes and two to four bunches of large cylindrical tubers arranged in a whorl on a node. Floristic assemblages suggest that these species might have grown near a riverside or lakeshore. These new fossil records improve our understanding of species richness of Equisetum and their distribution range during the Neogene in Asia.
Recent paleobotanical investigations in Vietnam provide a good opportunity to improve our understanding of the biodiversity and paleoclimatic conditions in the geological past of Southeast Asia. Palms (Arecaceae) are a diverse family of typical thermophilous plants with a relatively low tolerance for freezing. In this study, we describe well-preserved fossil palm leaves from the Oligocene Dong Ho Formation of Hoanh Bo Basin, northern Vietnam. Characters of the fossil leaves, such as a fan-shaped costapalmate lamina, an unarmed petiole, a costa slightly enlarged at the base that then tapers distally into the blade, and well-preserved amphistomatic leaves with cuticles, suggest that they represent a new fossil species, which we herein designate Sabalites colaniae A. Song, T. Su, T. V. Do et Z.K. Zhou sp. nov. Together with other paleontological and palaeoclimatic evidence, we conclude that a warm climate prevailed in northern Vietnam and nearby areas during the Oligocene.
Pedersenbreen is a small polythermal valley glacier, located in Svalbard, which has been one of the two glaciers monitored by Chinese Arctic expedition members since 2004. This study estimates its area and volume and analyzes its change during 1936-1990-2009, using field collected GPS/GPR data in 2009 and historical topographic maps published by the Norwegian Polar Institute. We have found that Pedersenbreen is just like many other valley glaciers in Svalbard, having experienced a significant recession since the end of Little Ice Age in the early 20th century. The glacier tongue has retreated more than 0.6 km, while ice volume has decreased by approximately 13%. The overall thinning rate of Pedersenbreen has shown acceleration during the recent decades. Further analysis shows that the ice tongue in the downstream area of Pedersenbreen is melting at the highest rate, while a simultaneous accumulation occurred in the upstream. However, as global temperatures increase, the accumulation area is reducing year by year.
According to the recommendations for the standardization and interpretation of the electrocardiogram (ECG) of AHA/ACCF/HRS declared in 2009, there are more than 30 criteria for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The sensitivity of the various criteria is generally quite low. However, the specificity of ECG in LVH could be 85 to 90%, acting as a strong predictor for cardiovascular events. To investigate the proper criteria in epidemiological screening with different purpose, 5209 qualified ECG out of 6830 people were selected from cross-sectional Handan eye study. Two criteria were chosen: (1) Sokolow-Lyon index, sum of SV1+RV5 or V6 ≥ 35 mm; (2) Cornell voltage duration product, men: (SV3+RaVL)×QRS duration ≥2440 ms; women: (SV3+(RaVL+8 mV))×QRSduration ≥ 2440 ms. The ECG-LVH group contains 829 individuals (12.18% of the cohort), including 607 by Sokolow-Lyon index and 278 by Cornell voltage duration product. After data estimation, we found that there were no statistical differences between ECG-LVH population and normal population. While evaluated these data in the group that have retinopathy without diabetes, the Sokolow-Lyon index and Cornell voltage duration product were statistically different with normal population (P= 0.023 and P= 0.014, respectively). We use the simple MiniMental State Examination (MMSE) to evaluated the mental status of the population and found that when the score was above 15, there was no statistically different between the positive and negative people in Sokolow-Lyon index (P= 0.135); however, in evaluated Cornell voltage duration product, there was statistical difference (P=0.001). When we evaluated the data associated with atherosclerotic factors, we found no differences in Cornell voltage-duration product; as for the Sokolow-Lyon index, the differences were shown in systolic blood pressure, total cholesterols and uric acid (P= 0.03, 0.04 and 0.04, respectively). Different criterion should be chosen for different purposes. For atherosclerotic screening or epidemiological survey of cardiovascular diseases, the Sokolow-Lyon index might be better. If we use the criterion for epidemiological ophthalmology such as our Handan eye study, both Sokolow-Lyon index and Cornell voltage duration product could be used. As for the evaluation of mental status and its relationship with the LVH risk factors, we might choose Cornell voltage duration product.
Key words: Left ventricular hypertrophy, electrocardiagram, Sokolow-L(l)yon index, Cornell voltage-duration product.
Bauhinia s.s. is a large genus in the family Fabaceae, but its evolutionary and biogeographical history is still unclear due to the scarcity of fossil records compared to the highly diverse modern species in pantropic regions. Here, we report the earliest fossil record of Bauhinia s.s., namely Bauhinia tibetensis Y. Gao et T. Su sp. nov., based on leaves from the latest Paleocene of the southern Tibetan region. Combined with palaeoecological niche simulations and ancestral state reconstruction, the new fossils suggested a Paleocene origin of Bauhinia s.s. in the Afrotropical realm that subsequently dispersed to the Neotropical and Indomalayan realms. Bauhinia tibetensis belongs to the Asian clade of Bauhinia s.s. that reached the southern Tibetan region from the Afrotropical realm via the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc in the early Paleocene. This clade spread to south-eastern China during the Oligocene and entered northern India during the Neogene or earlier. The discovery of the oldest Bauhinia s.s. from what is now the southern Tibetan Plateau updates our understanding of the biogeographical history of this genus and demonstrates that the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc is an ancient corridor for floristic interchange between Africa and India.
AbstractBauhinia s.s. is a large genus in the family Fabaceae, but its evolutionary and biogeographical history is still unclear due to the scarcity of fossil records compared to the highly diverse modern species in pantropic regions. Here, we report the earliest fossil record of Bauhinia s.s., namely Bauhinia tibetensis Y. Gao et T. Su sp. nov., based on leaves from the latest Paleocene of the southern Tibetan region. Combined with palaeoecological niche simulations and ancestral state reconstruction, the new fossils suggested a Paleocene origin of Bauhinia s.s. in the Afrotropical realm that subsequently dispersed to the Neotropical and Indomalayan realms. Bauhinia tibetensis belongs to the Asian clade of Bauhinia s.s. that reached the southern Tibetan region from the Afrotropical realm via the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc in the early Paleocene. This clade spread to south-eastern China during the Oligocene and entered northern India during the Neogene or earlier. The discovery of the oldest Bauhinia s.s. from what is now the southern Tibetan Plateau updates our understanding of the biogeographical history of this genus and demonstrates that the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc is an ancient corridor for floristic interchange between Africa and India.Keywords: Bauhinia s.s.biogeographydiversificationPaleoceneleaf fossilpalaeoecological niche simulations AcknowledgementsWe thank the members of the Paleoecology Research Group from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and colleagues from Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS for fossil collection works. We thank the Institutional Center for Shared Technologies and Facilities of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS for providing imaging equipment and assisting with fossil scans. This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2022YFF0800800), the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition program (2019QZKK0705), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (41988101), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (XDB26000000), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS (Y2021105), and the Basic Research Project in Yunnan (YNWR-QNBJ-2019-086).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Supplemental materialSupplemental material for this article can be accessed here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2023.2244495.Associate Editor: Paul Kenrick