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We reported the first use of "coral-like" nanostructure synthesized from MoS2@Cu2O/Fc composites with good biocompatibility, large surface areas, and high specificity to create a new ultrasensitive electrochemical immunosensor. We demonstrate its efficacy via quantitative detection of the carcinogenic fetal antigen (CEA) using labeled antibody (Ab2). Owing to the synergistic effect of MoS2, Fc, and Cu2O and the excellent electrocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite, our immunosensor could reduce hydrogen peroxide, expand CEA detection signal, and effectively reduce the loss of Cu2O in acidic environments, dramatically improving the signal. Monitoring the electrocatalytic processes of our immunoprobe (wide dynamic range [0.001 ngml-1-80 ng·ml-1] and detection limit as low as 0.03 pg·ml-1 [S/N = 3]) with square wave voltammetry (SWV) resulted in the development of an efficient signal amplification mechanism. Our nanostructures could load a large amount of redox-mediated ferrocenecarboxylic acid and Ab2, thus providing a higher electrochemical signal response and sensitivity. Specific detection could be implemented during the test, creating the possibility to exhibit acceptable reproducibility, selectivity, and stability. These results suggest that our immunoprobe provides an effective clinical approach for monitoring tumor markers and demonstrate the potential application of composites for immunosensor manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kangxuan Granules (KXG), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been used for treating patients with vertigo. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of KXG on endocrine hypertensive model rats. SD rats were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate to establish endocrine hypertensive animal models. They were treated with KXG (2.5 g/kg, 5 g/kg and 10 g/kg), Yangxue Qingnao (YXQN, 2 g/kg), Captopril (CTP, 12.5 mg/kg) and the same volume of distilled water. The average blood pressure and general behavioral observation of rats were performed before modeling, on 7 and 14 d after modeling and 7 d after drug treatment. Then, after 2 h of medication on the seventh day, angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2), endothelin (ET), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoproteincholestero (HDL-C) were detected. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), ANG-II, ET, TG, SOD, :MDA, ALT and AST levels were significantly increased, but HDL-C level was decreased in the model group than the normal group. Moreover, KXG added SOD and HDL-C levels, while reduced SBP, SDP, ANG-II, ET, TG, MDA, ALT and AST levels in dose dependent manner. Taken together, our study suggests that KXG has a good effect on endocrine hypertensive rat model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hip fracture is a worldwide medical problem with devastating consequences. Older adults are at higher risk for complications and have more mobility limitation. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of delay in out-of-bed functional exercise on one-year mortality and functional outcomes for elderly patients with hip fracture in China. 1,022 cases of patients with hip fracture who were older than 75 were involved in this retrospective cohort study between 2007 and 2017. One-year mortality, follow up Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, and Harris hip score were collected. Patients with hip fracture experienced an average of 2.9 days of in-bed functional exercise, 41.4% (n = 423) taken out-of-bed functional exercise within 2 days. A Cox proportional regression model showed that after adjustment for age, sex, cardiovascular disease, and urinary disease, delayed out-of-bed functional exercise (> 2 days) associated with higher one-year mortality (OR = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09 to 1.69). Ordinary least squares regression showed that delayed out-of-bed functional exercise associated with worsen ADL scores at 1-month (difference of -3.9 points, 95% CI: -6.4 to -1.7), although the long term ADL scores did not have increased. In addition, there were no associations between out-of-bed functional exercise timing and the Harris hip score at 12 months. In conclusion, in elderly patients with hip fracture in China, delayed out-of-bed functional exercise was not associated with improved Harris hip score, but it was associated with worsen ADL capacities at 1-month postoperatively and higher one-year mortality. The present study emphasizes the benefit of early out-of-bed exercise on the majority of elderly patients with hip fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the creative talents evaluation is a basic link of decision-making in the cultural creative industry, this study establishes an evaluation indicator system for creative talents in the cultural industry, examines common evaluation methods and the back propagation (BP) neural network evaluation method, builds an evaluation model for creative talents in the cultural industry based on the BP neural network, and evaluates the evaluation indicator system of creative talents in the cultural industry by using common methods, which provide a sample set for the training and testing of the BP neural network model. Furthermore, this article adopts the unique nonlinear mapping capability, self-learning, and strong fault-tolerant abilities of the BP neural network to construct an evaluation model of creative talents in the cultural industry based on the BP neural network and carries out case analysis and verification, which show that the evaluation model based on the BP neural network is appropriate for the evaluation of cultural creative talents. Compared with the conventional evaluation methods, the BP neural network can simulate the experts to conduct a quantitative evaluation through repeated learning and training, so as to effectively avoid human error in the evaluation process. The structure and algorithm of the BP neural network are simple, and computers can simulate the evaluation process, thus reducing the manpower for calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether differences in readmission rates between safety-net hospitals (SNH) and non-SNHs are due to differences in hospital quality, and to compare the results of hospital profiling with and without SES adjustment. Background: In response to concerns that quality measures unfairly penalizes SNH, NQF recently recommended that performance measures adjust for socioeconomic status (SES) when SES is a risk factor for poor patient outcomes. Methods: Multivariate regression was used to examine the association between SNH status and 30-day readmission after major surgery. The results of hospital profiling with and without SES adjustment were compared using the CMS Hospital Compare and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) methodologies. Results: Adjusting for patient risk and SES, patients admitted to SNHs were not more likely to be readmitted compared with patients in in non-SNHs (AOR 1.08; 95% CI:0.95-1.23; P = 0.23). The results of hospital profiling based on Hospital Compare were nearly identical with and without SES adjustment (ICC 0.99, k 0.96). Using the HRRP threshold approach, 61% of SNHs were assigned to the penalty group versus 50% of non-SNHs. After adjusting for SES, 51% of SNHs were assigned to the penalty group. Conclusions: Differences in surgery readmissions between SNHs and non- SNHs are due to differences in the patient case mix of low-SES patients, and not due to differences in quality. Adjusting readmission measures for SES leads to changes in hospital ranking using the HRRP threshold approach, but not using the CMS Hospital Compare methodology. CMS should consider either adjusting for the effects of SES when calculating readmission thresholds for HRRP, or replace it with the approach used in Hospital Compare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & aims: This study aims to assess the relationship among prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, and postpartum weight retention, and to clarify the predictors of the amount of weight retained by Chinese women after pregnancy. Methods: The multistage stratified random sampling was used in the cross-sectional study. Results: The subjects included 1643 women. Mean gestational weight gain was 15.9 kg and mean postpartum weight retention was 5.1 kg. 43.2% of women gained excessive gestational weight gain and 53.3% of women gained 5 kg or more postpartum weight retention. In addition, the proportions of underweight women with inadequate weight gain and overweight women with excessive weight gain were 24.2% and 52.3%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that the adjusted OR of excessive gestational weight gain was 1.74 (95% Cl: 1.09-2.79) in overweight women compared with normal weight women. The postpartum weight retention and the proportion of women with postpartum weight retention of 5 kg or more were significantly higher in the excessive gestational weight gain women than in the adequate gestational weight gain women in all three body mass index groups. The adjusted OR of a weight increase of 5 kg or more was at least 1.90 for underweight, normal weight, and overweight women with a gestational weight gain above the recommended amount compared with those with a gestational weight gain within the recommended amount. Conclusions: Gestational weight gain above the recommended amount increases the risk of postpartum weight retention in all body mass index groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study a new type of metal-loaded visible-light-driven photo-catalyst, Mo-BiVO4, has been synthesized by wet impregnation method. Material properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and BET method. Photocatalytic activity of the materials was investigated by degrading methylene blue (MB) solution under visiblelight irradiation. The results revealed that Mo-BiVO4 has a monoclinic scheelite structure and Mo exists as MoO3 on the particle surface. The absorption in the visible-light region and ABET of Mo-BiVO4 did not change obviously compared with those of the pure one. Mo-BiVO4 showsed a higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure BiVO4 and the efficiency of degradation of MB was improved significantly. The optimum Mo content was 0.8% according to the results of degradation experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale application of veterinary antibiotics in livestock industry makes swine wastewater an important source of antibiotic pollution. The effective removal of antibiotics in swine wastewater seems necessary. UV irradiation was employed for removal of five selected veterinary antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole (SMX), sulfathiazole (STZ), sulfamethazine (SMN), sulfamethizole (SML) and sulfadimethoxine (SDM), which are commonly found in swine wastewater. The effect of initial pH and reaction time on antibiotic removal was examined, and the reaction kinetics were studied. Both pH value and reaction time for the removal were optimized to be 7.0 and 60 mm, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the five selected antibiotics were effectively removed with removal efficiency of 100%, 98.7%, 96.3%, 99.0% and 100% for SMX, STZ, SMN, SML and SDM, respectively. The degradation reaction was found to fit the first-order kinetic well. Veterinary antibiotics SMX, STZ, SMN, SML and SDM can be effectively removed under UV irradiation, and pH value as well as reaction time have obvious effects on the degradation. The reaction mechanism was suggested to be mainly the direct photo-degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the role of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in extending the life of patients after having heart transplants. The study examined 26,706 adult heart-exclusive transplant patients between January 1990 and December 2004, who are classified based on the surgical methods experienced including ischemic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy and restrictive cardiomyopathy. Results of the study revealed that 1 percent of the U.S. heart transplant patients had HCM, who have lived longer lives.

A novel lanthanide pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylate coordination polymer with a uniform three-dimensional (3D) flower-like architecture has been successfully synthesized via an efficient direct precipitation method at room temperature without the assistance of any surfactant, catalyst, or template. These 3D flower-like architectures with diameter of about 6-8 µm are composed of a large number of nanoplates, which are assembled in a radial form from the center to the surface. In addition, the morphology of the products can be easily controlled by the elaborate choice of the dosage of La3+ and organic ligand. Furthermore, these 3D flower-like architectures exhibit obvious and intense UV absorption, which can be used as a new efficient host lattice of luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To develop algorithms on the basis of administrative data to identify patients with arthritis and arthritis-related functional limitation (AFL). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: In this retrospective study, 361 enrollees of a health plan underwent a clinical examination to confirm arthritis and assessment of functional limitation on the basis of responses to the health assessment questionnaire. Administrative data were obtained on these subjects and included arthritis drugs dispensed, as well as outpatient and emergency department diagnoses and procedures (including radiographic studies, arthritis procedures, and laboratory tests). Composite risk scores for arthritis and AFL were created on the basis of the association of arthritis-related healthcare utilization with confirmed arthritis and AFL. Algorithms were then developed on the basis of the composite risk scores using logistic regression models. RESULTS: The algorithm using the arthritis composite score to identify arthritis patients had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.74, sensitivity of 75 percent and specificity of 57 percent. Similarly, the algorithm using the AFL composite score to identify patients with AFL had an AUC of 0.73, sensitivity of 62 percent, and specificity of 75 percent. CONCLUSION: The developed algorithms will enable health plans to screen their enrollees for persons with arthritis and AFL. This will facilitate enrollment of patients with arthritis and AFL in disease management programs and/or targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City clusters are made up of groups of large, nearly contiguous cities with many adjoining satellite cities and towns. Over the past two decades, such clusters have played a leading role in the economic growth of China, owing to their collective economic capacity and interdependency. However, the economic boom has led to a general decline in environmental quality. This paper will review the development and current status of the major environmental problems caused by city clusters, focusing on water and air pollution, and suggest possible strategies for solving these problems. Currently, deteriorating water quality is of major concern to the public and decision makers alike, and more than three-quarters of the urban population are exposed to air quality that does not meet the national ambient air quality standards of China. Furthermore, this pollution is characterized by high concentrations of both primary and secondary pollutants. Environmental pollution issues are therefore much more complex in China than in western countries. China is expected to quadruple its GDP by 2020 (using 2000) as the base year for comparison) and, consequently, will face even more serious environmental challenges. Improving energy efficiency and moderating the consumption of natural resources are essential if China is to achieve a balance between economic development and environmental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotourism has been one of the main economic sources for many of China's nature reserves over the past 10 years. It is contended here that sustainable ecotourism development depends on successful environmental management. For ecotourism management, a set of warning indicators is especially important to indicate environmental change at tourism sites. In this research, management indicators for ecotourism in nature reserves were established based on the Pressure-State-Response model, and the procedure on how to establish indicators was illustrated in the case study area of Tianmushan Nature Reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]