Abstract Objective: To evaluate the patency of individual and sequential coronary artery bypass in patients with ischemic heart disease. Methods: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica Database, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for controlled trials. Endpoints included graft patency, anastomosis patency, occluded rates in left anterior descending (LAD) system and right coronary artery (RCA) system, in-hospital mortality, and follow-up mortality. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) and standardized mean difference (SMD) were used to assess the relative data. Results: Nine cohorts, including 7100 patients and 1440 grafts under individual or sequential coronary artery bypass. There were no significant differences between individual and sequential coronary artery bypass in the graft patency (RR=0.96; 95% CI=0.91-1.02; P=0.16; I2=87%), anastomosis patency (RR=0.95; 95% CI=0.91-1.00; P=0.05; I2=70%), occluded rate in LAD system (RR=1.03; 95% CI=0.92-1.16; P=0.58; I2=37%), occluded rate in RCA system (RR=1.36; 95% CI=0.72-2.57; P=0.35; I2=95%), in-hospital mortality (RR=1.57; 95% CI=0.92-2.69; P=0.10; I2=0%), and follow-up mortality (RR=0.96; 95% CI=0.36-2.53; P=0.93; I2=0%). Conclusion: No significant differences on clinical data were observed regarding anastomosis patency, occluded rate in LAD system, occluded rate in RCA system, in-hospital mortality, and follow-up mortality, indicating that the patency of individual and the patency of sequential coronary artery bypass are similar to each other.

Deer antler is a precious animal-sourced traditional Chinese medicine. We aimed to rapidly assess the quality of deer antler slices by electronic nose so that we can ensure medical safety. In this study, response intensity of the electronic nose was favorably optimized, and samples were well assessed by using an electronic nose based on LDA model. The results obtained herein suggested that electronic nose could be an effective method to rapidly assess the quality of deer antler slices, and could also be an important tool for categorization of complex aroma mixtures for the control of quality of drugs or food.

The technique of pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography was successfully applied to preparatively separate three C19-diterpenoid alkaloids from the crude extracts of Aconitum carmichaelii for the first time using a two-phase solvent system of petroleum ether-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:1:9, v/v/v/v). Mesaconitine (I), hypaconitine (II), and deoxyaconitine (III) were obtained from 2.5 g of the crude alkaloids in a one-step separation; the yields were 4.16%, 16.96%, and 5.05%, respectively. The purities of compounds I, II, and III were 93.0%, 95%, and 96%, respectively, as determined by HPLC. The chemical structures of the three compounds were identified by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and NMR.

An efficient method for the rapid separation and purification of polyphenols from artichoke by polyamide column chromatography in combination with high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully built. The crude ethanol extracts from dry artichoke were first pre-separated by polyamide column chromatography and divided in two parts as sample 1 and sample 2. Then, the samples were further separated by HSCCC and yielded 7.8 mg of chlorogenic acid (compound I), 24.5 mg of luteolin-7-O-β-D-rutinoside (compound II), 18.4 mg of luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (compound III), and 33.4 mg of cynarin (compound IV) with purity levels of 92.0%, 98.2%, 98.5%, and 98.0%, respectively, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The chemical structures of these compounds were identified by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).