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Background: A new type of silver alloy hydrogel-coated (SAH) catheter has been shown to prevent bacterial adhesion and colonization by generating a microcurrent, and to block the retrograde infection pathway. However, these have only been confirmed in ordinary patients. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a SAH catheter for preventing urinary tract infections in critically ill patients. Methods: This was a prospective single-center, single-blind, randomized, controlled study. A total of 132 patients requiring indwelling catheterization in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China between October 2022 and February 2023 and who met the study inclusion/exclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the SAH catheter group received a SAH catheter, while patients in the conventional catheter group received a conventional siliconized latex Foley catheter. The main outcome measure was the incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Secondary outcome indicators included urine positivity for white blood cells and positive urine cultures on 3 days, 7 days, 10 days, and 14 days after catheterization, number of viable bacteria in the catheter biofilm on day 14, pathogenic characteristics of positive urine cultures, length of ICU stay, overall hospital stay, ICU mortality, and 28-day mortality. All the data were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 68 patients in the conventional catheter group and 64 patients in the SAH catheter group were included in the study. On day 7 after catheter placement, the positivity rate for urinary white blood cells was significantly higher in the conventional catheter group than in the SAH catheter group (33.8% vs. 15.6%, P=0.016). On day 10, the rates of positive urine cultures (27.9% vs. 10.9%, P=0.014) and CAUTIs (22.1% vs. 7.8%, P=0.023) were significantly higher in the conventional catheter group than in the SAH catheter group. On day 14, the numbers of viable bacteria isolated from the catheter tip ([3.21±1.91]×106 colony-forming units [cfu]/mL vs. [7.44±2.22]×104 cfu/mL, P

Objective: The aim of the current study is to evaluate if ETB inhibition following ICH can mitigate the deleterious impact of ET-1, e.g., BBB disruption, and improve neurological function. Methods: A total of 90 male rabbits (2.8–3.4 kg) were randomly assigned to the following groups (n = 10 per group): normal control (NC), pseudo-control (PC), drug control using normal saline (DC), model control (MC + ICH), minimally invasive surgery (MIS + ICH), minimally invasive surgery + ET-1 receptor agonist (MIS + IRL1620 + ICH), IRL1620 + ICH, ET-1 receptor antagonist (BQ788 + ICH), and IS + BQ788 + ICH. ICH was induced in all groups except for NC, DC and PC groups.In MIS, MIS + BQ788, and MIS + IRL1620 groups, at the 6-hour mark following ICH, MIS was used to evacuate the hematoma followed by immediate drug (BQ788 or IRL1620 or saline) injection into the ear vein. On day 3, all rabbits were evaluated by purdy score and then sacrificed. The perihematomal brain tissue was removed to determine the expression of ET-1 and MMP-9 by immunohistochemical procedures. MDA expression was evaluated by ELISA, and BBB permeability was evaluated using Evens Blue (EB) methods. Brain water was determined using a dry-wet weighing method. Results: The purdy score, ET-1, MDA, MMP-9, BWC, and BBB permeability were decreased in groups treated with BQ788 and increased in groups treated with IRL1620. The combination of MIS + BQ788 markedly decreased these deleterious outcomes (purdy score, ET-1, MDA, MMP-9, BWC, and BBB permeability) compared to the MIS group. Conclusions: Using a non-selective antagonist of ETB, deleterious outcomes associated with increased levels of ET-1 following ICH were ameliorated.

Efficient isomerization of glucose into fructose contributes to the utilization of biomass producing 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). In this work, we have explored a novel catalyst for isomerization of glucose into fructose. By the mediation of polydopmaine (PDA), MnSn(OH)6 was formed on cryptomelane-type manganese oxide (OMS-2). The composite MnSn(OH)6/PDA@OMS-2 can efficiently catalyze the glucose isomerization to fructose, with a yield of fructose 47 ±1.6%. When used together with the Brønsted acid catalyst Amberlyst-15, the HMF yield from glucose was 53 ±2.5%. Consecutive use of the composite demonstrated that after eight cycles the activity can be retained in terms of the yield of fructose. The mechanism of polydopamine-mediated formation of MnSn(OH)6 has been investigated. The desired yield of fructose has been obtained by MnSn(OH)6/PDA@OMS-2, and the preparation of the catalyst has also shown advantages, including low cost and easy preparation, short preparation time (36 h) and low temperature (⩽70 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms capable of degrading Di-n-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) were isolated by acclimation and enrichment techniques. The adaptation of microorganisms to DBP was investigated. The microbial cells were immobilised onto the ceramic honeycomb supports. The DBP degradation was performed in a novel kind of bioreactor using ceramic honeycomb support as carrier for microbial immobilisation. The experimental results showed that the biomass adsorbed onto the ceramic support could reach 95 mg dry weight/g carrier. The immobilised microbial cells were used for the treatment of wastewater containing DBP. The results demonstrated that the DBP concentration of the outlet reached the stationery-state level of less than 1.0 mg/L within three days at inlet DBP concentration of 100 mg/L and 12 h of hydraulic retention time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beet molasses was used to produce lactic acid in this study. Effects of initial sugar concentration in beet molasses, inoculation of lactic acid bacteria, yeast extract concentration, temperature and time of fermentation on lactic acid generation were investigated. Orthogonal regress experiment design was adopted based on the single factor experimental results. Corresponding mathematical model was established to optimise and predict lactic acid production. The optimum fermentation conditions were: initial sugar concentration of 80 g/L, inoculation of 5%, temperature of 37°C, yeast extract of 5.5%, time of 108 h, corresponding maximum lactic acid concentration was 53.61 g/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosorption of strontium by Aspergillus niger immobilised in calcium alginate has been studied. The experimental data showed that immobilised A. niger was effective in removing Sr2+ from aqueous solution. The optimal pH and temperature were 3.0LC and 25LC, respectively. Pseudo second-order model was applicable to all the sorption data over the entire time range. Intraparticle diffusion was not the only rate-limiting step. Sorption data conformed well to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) niger was 751.88mg/g. The FT-IR analysis showed that the mechanism involved in biosorption of Sr2+ by A. niger was mainly attributed to Sr2+ binding of groups of amide groups I and II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study which investigated on the growth and laser properties of a laser crystal. Information on the absorption spectra; Measurement of the fluorescence lifetime and spectra of the crystal; Dimensions of the crystal.

The application of Biodegradable Polymer (BDPs), which can serve as biofilm carrier and simultaneously as water insoluble carbon source for heterotrophic denitrification. The external dosing of soluble organic substrate can be therefore avoided and process can be simplified as normal bio-filter. In this paper, the lab-scale experiment was carried out by using the cheap material of PBS, a new kind of commercial polymer polymerised by PCL and starch, and the results demonstrated that it was very efficient to eliminate nitrate. The PBS material performs the comparable non-sensitivity for the pH and DO value. The elevation of temperature within the range of 10-30°C can accelerate the process of denitrification. The BDPs bio-filter offers the favourable elimination of nitrate up to a total operation of 40 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]