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BACKGROUND Glycated hemoglobin (Hb) (HbA1c) is an indicator that is used to diagnose and monitor the treatment of diabetes. Many factors can affect the detection of HbA1c. One of the most important of these factors is the Hb variant. Here, we report a rare Hb variant and evaluate its effect on HbA1c. CASE SUMMARY A 35-year-old man was suspected of harboring an Hb variant following the measurement of HbA1c with the Variant II Turbo 2.0 Hb detection system during a routine examination. Subsequently, we used the Arkray HA-8160 and ARCHITECT c4000 system to reanalyze HbA1c. Finally, the Hb variant was detected with a Capillary2FP analyzer that operates on the principle of capillary electrophoresis. We also used gene sequencing to investigate the mutation site. The value of HbA1c detected with the Variant II Turbo 2.0 system was 52.7%. However, the Arkray HA-8160 system did not display a result while the ARCHITECT c16000 system showed a result of 5.4%. The Capillary2FP analyzer did not reveal any abnormal Hb zones. However, gene sequencing identified the presence of a mutation in the Hb β2 chain [CD2(CAC>TAC), His>Tyr, HBB: c.7C>T]; the genotype was Hb Fukuoka. CONCLUSION Hb variants could cause abnormal HbA1c results. For patients with Hb variants, different methods should be used to detect HbA1c.

BACKGROUND Co-morbidity of SRY gene turner syndrome (TS) with positive SRY gene and non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCAH) is extremely rare and has never been reported to date. CASE SUMMARY In this article, we present a 14-year-old girl who was referred to our hospital with short stature (weight of 43 kg and height of 143 cm, < -2 SD) with no secondary sexual characteristics (labia minora dysplasia). Laboratory tests indicated hypergonadotropic hypogonadism with significantly increased androstenedione and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) levels. This was accompanied by the thickening of the extremity of the left adrenal medial limb. The patient’s karyotype was 45,X/46,X, +mar, and cytogenetic analysis using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and high-throughput sequencing indicated that the SRY gene was positive with compound heterozygous mutations in CYP21A2 as the causative gene for congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The sites of the suspected candidate mutations were amplified and verified using Sanger sequencing. The patient was finally diagnosed as having SRY positive TS with NCAH. The patient and her family initially refused medical treatment. At her most recent follow-up visit (age = 15 years old), the patient presented facial hair, height increase to 148 cm, and weight of 52 kg, while androstenedione and 17-OHP levels remained high. The patient was finally willing to take small doses of hydrocortisone (10 mg/d). CONCLUSION In conclusion, upon evaluation of the patient mentioned in the report, we feel that 17-OHP measurement and cytogenetic analysis are necessary for TS patients even in the absence of significant virilization signs. This will play a significant role in guiding diagnosis and treatment.

A long-standing challenge in the metallic glass (MG) community has been how to quantitatively gauge the influence of the intricate local packing environment on the response (such as the propensity for atomic rearrangement) of the atomic configuration to external stimuli. Here we establish this structure–property relation by representing the complex amorphous structure using a single, flexibility-orientated structural quantity. This structural flexibility (SF) couples to a bona fide structural representation, the pair distribution function (PDF) of individual atoms, through a weighting function that reflects what matters in the static atomic configuration to dynamic responses. Machine learning is used, employing microscopic flexibility volume as the supervisory signal, to establish via direct regression an optimized weighting vector, which is proven robust for all quenching rates, deformation conditions, and different compositions in a given (e.g., CuxZr100−x) alloy system. Subsequently, the SF is evaluated solely from the particle positions (PDF), for any structure variation, from the atomic scale up to sample average. Strong correlations are demonstrated between SF and a broad range of properties, including vibrational, diffusional, as well as elastic and plastic relaxation responses.

It has been a long-standing materials science challenge to establish structure-property relations in amorphous solids. Here we introduce a rotationally non-invariant local structure representation that enables different predictions for different loading orientations, which is found essential for high-fidelity prediction of the propensity for stress-driven shear transformations. This novel structure representation, when combined with convolutional neural network (CNN), a powerful deep learning algorithm, leads to unprecedented accuracy for identifying atoms with high propensity for shear transformations (i.e., plastic susceptibility), solely from the static structure in both two- and three-dimensional model glasses. The data-driven models trained on samples at one composition and a given processing history are found transferrable to glass samples with different processing histories or at different compositions in the same alloy system. Our analysis of the new structure representation also provides valuable insight into key atomic packing features that influence the local mechanical response and its anisotropy in glasses., Predicting a priori local defects in amorphous materials remains a grand challenge. Here authors combine a rotationally non-invariant structure representation with deep-learning to predict the propensity for shear transformations of amorphous solids for different loading orientations, only given the static structure.

In response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Shanghai Burn Clinical Quality Control Center organized experts to formulate and implement a set of rapid, simple, and effective prevention and control measures, and there have not been any cases of health care professionals or inpatients in burn units suspected or confirmed with COVID-19. This article elaborates on the specific measures in burn units in response to the epidemic, including the implementation of standardized procedures, remote consultations, strengthened follow-up, exchange of experience, and popular science, among others. We share experience from Shanghai to benefit related disciplines in other countries and regions.

Introduction: The incidence of postoperative sepsis is continually increased, while few studies have specifically focused on the risk factors and clinical outcomes associated with the development of sepsis after surgical procedures. The present study aimed to develop a mathematical model for predicting the in-hospital mortality among patients with postoperative sepsis. Materials and Methods: Surgical patients in Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-III) database who simultaneously fulfilled Sepsis 3.0 and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) criteria at ICU admission were incorporated. We employed both extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and stepwise logistic regression model to predict the in-hospital mortality among patients with postoperative sepsis. Consequently, the model performance was assessed from the angles of discrimination and calibration. Results: We included 3,713 patients who fulfilled our inclusion criteria, in which 397 (10.7%) patients died during hospitalization, and 3,316 (89.3%) patients survived through discharge. Fluid-electrolyte disturbance, coagulopathy, renal replacement therapy (RRT), urine output, and cardiovascular surgery were important features related to the in-hospital mortality. The XGBoost model had a better performance in both discriminatory ability (c-statistics, 0.835 vs. 0.737 and 0.621, respectively; AUPRC, 0.418 vs. 0.280 and 0.237, respectively) and goodness of fit (visualized by calibration curve) compared to the stepwise logistic regression model and baseline model. Conclusion: XGBoost model has a better performance in predicting hospital mortality among patients with postoperative sepsis in comparison to the stepwise logistic regression model. Machine learning-based algorithm might have significant application in the development of early warning system for septic patients following major operations.

Industrial production is accompanied by a large number of physical and chemical reactions. Steam, whose heat was often used to carry out various production activities, is a common medium in industrial production. Steam pipeline has the characteristics of high temperature and high pressure. The pipeline has been in service at high temperature for a long time, which is prone to metal material degradation such as graphitization and spheroidization. Cause of the expansion of steam pipeline after heating, the natural compensation structure is generally adopted in the whole plant pipe gallery. In recent years, the accidents of steam pipeline occurred frequently, so we must pay more attention to the safety of steam pipeline. Periodic Inspection Regulation for Industrial Pressure Piping (TSG D7005-2018) explicitly requires stress analysis and checking in some cases to determine the safety of the pipeline. The traditional inspection method adopts a random sampling model which has the risk of over inspection and missing inspection. Taking a whole plant steam pipeline as an example, this paper introduced the stress check criterion of pipeline in ASMEB31.3.The model of the pipeline was established by the software, and the stress state and displacement of each node of the pipeline were calculated. According to the calculation results, a targeted inspection scheme was established and effective data support was provided for the regular inspection of steam pipeline.

Twin-body aircraft has the advantages of heavy load and long voyage, which make it suitable to execute the task. However, it also has some problems such as high-strength mid-wing requirement and no usable airport in the practical application. In order to solve these problems and promote twin-body aircraft’s adaptability, this paper conducts a research of a new type of twin-body asymmetric flying-wing aircraft (TAFA). Two kinds of simulations (CFD and VLM) are conducted to prove the effectiveness of its flight performance. The results show that the flight performance of TAFA is the best among the four different kinds of plane that can perform the same tasks.

Cutaneous thermal injury is commonly combat-related and is the most destructive form of trauma. Severe extensive burns and trauma increase patient’s sensitivity to infection, which may further develop into sepsis. Though modern resuscitation strategies continue to shrink the number of death resulted from ischemic shock, sepsis-related mortality has not declined in recent years. Actually, among the patients with burn injuries, infection has the highest mortality. Pathophysiology of burn- and trauma-associated pulmonary infection is complicated and multifold. Damage to defense mechanism is one important factor, which includes inhibition of cough reflex, increase of mucous secretion, compromised mucociliary clearance, and even injuries to tracheal epithelium. In severe cases, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is usually reported, which may contribute to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) or even multiple organ failure. Meanwhile, SIRS is always complicated with immunosuppression. Nosocomial pneumonia is a commonly seen complication among burned and other patients with life-threatening conditions. Several routes have been identified, through which pathogens break defensive barriers and into burn patients’ body. Burn wound infection or sepsis is the primary route; opportunistic infection occurs when innate or adaptive host immune responses are compromised; gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to cutaneous thermal injury and may serve as another pool of pathogens, with subsequent bacterial translocation to the blood stream, burn wound, and even other systemic organs.

Background Bortezomib is a frequently used chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other nonsolid malignancies. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that bortezomib-induced persistent pain serves as the most frequent reason for treatment discontinuation. Methods The von Frey test was performed to evaluate neuropathic pain behavior, and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, chromatin immunoprecipitation, western blot, immunohistochemistry, and small interfering RNA were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Results We found that application of bortezomib significantly increased the expression of NALP1 protein and mRNA levels in spinal dorsal horn neurons, and intrathecal application of NALP1 siRNA attenuated the bortezomib-induced mechanical allodynia. In addition, bortezomib also decreased the SIRT1 expression, and treatment with SIRT1 activator resveratrol ameliorated the NALP1 upregulation and mechanical allodynia induced by bortezomib. Meanwhile, knockdown of SIRT1 using the SIRT1 siRNA induced the NALP1 upregulation in dorsal horn and mechanical allodynia in normal animal. These results suggested that reduction of SIRT1 induced the NALP1 upregulation in dorsal horn neurons, and participated in bortezomib-induced mechanical allodynia. Importantly, we found that the binding of SIRT1 and NALP1 promoter region did not change before and after bortezomib treatment, but SIRT1 downregulation increased p-STAT3 expression. Furthermore, the activation of STAT3 enhanced the recruitment of p-STAT3 to the Nalp1 gene promoter, which increased the acetylation of histone H3 and H4 in NALP1 promoter regions and epigenetically upregulated NALP1 expression in the rodents with bortezomib treatment. Conclusion These findings suggested a new epigenetic mechanism for NALP1 upregulation involving SIRT1 reduction and subsequent STAT3-mediated histone hyperacetylation in NALP1 promoter region in dorsal horn neurons, which contributed to the bortezomib-induced mechanical allodynia.

Environmental pollution is becoming ever more serious, and photodegradation using sustainable energy-solar energy is of great importance. Studies have revealed that semiconductor compound photocatalysts have a wide range of promising applications in the treatment of environmental pollution. Based on the current view, we synthesized flower-like 3NiS/Zn0.5Cd0.5S composite catalyst for photodegradation reaction by a two-step method. We analyzed the growth mechanism of the catalysts in terms of reaction time and reaction temperature, and characterized the composites utilizing FSEM, XRD, UV–vis, and XPS. The results showed that the 3NiS/Zn0.5Cd0.5S composites synthesized under the optimal conditions we obtained experimentally had higher photocatalytic performance with 99.1% final conversion rate in 1h compared to the 97.7% final conversion efficiency of pure Zn0.5Cd0.5S in 1.5 h, which showed higher conversion efficiency and conversion rate, meanwhile, after 8 cycles of stability experiments, the stability of the composite remained good.

Background Infected abdominal aortic aneurysms (iAAAs) are rare but life-threatening diseases. The purpose of the present study was to report our experience of extra-anatomic prosthesis bypass in the retroperitoneum as a treatment for iAAAs. Methods Data of 8 consecutive patients diagnosed with iAAAs and treated by an extra-anatomic prosthesis bypass in the retroperitoneum were retrospectively collected. Operative details were as follows: one side of the retroperitoneal space was selected to build a track, and a bifurcated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene prosthesis was placed through the track. The proximal end of the prosthesis was sutured with the normal segment of abdominal aorta proximal to the infected aneurysm by end-to-end anostomosis. The 2 distal ends of the prosthesis were, respectively, sutured with the external iliac artery distal to the aneurysm. The anastomoses were then consolidated with the nearby connective tissue. After the closure of the retroperitoneum, the infected aneurysm was incised, and the infected tissue was debrided. Drainage tubes were placed in the aneurysm sac, which was packed with an omentum flap. All patients received perioperative antibiotic therapy for a period of time. All 8 patients were regularly followed up by outpatient observation. Results Eight patients with iAAAs underwent an extra-anatomic prosthesis bypass in the retroperitoneum and debridement of the infected aneurysm. An emergency operation was performed for 1 patient who underwent concomitant gastrointestinal procedures for aortoduodenal fistula. All 8 patients were definitively diagnosed by one or more sequential computed tomography scans combined with other methods. The blood or tissue cultures of all cases were positive in the perioperative period, with Salmonella (5 cases) being the most common pathogens. Other pathogens included Burkholderia pseudomallei (2 cases) and Escherichia coli (1 case). All patients survived and were discharged in 4–5 weeks after their operations. All patients were free from graft infection during the follow-up period. Conclusions The extra-anatomic prosthesis bypass in the retroperitoneum for treating iAAAs was safe and effective. Our experience with the procedure may provide a new approach for the treatment of this disease.

Since it was proposed in 2014, generative adversarial networks (GAN) has been highly concerned and widely studied by industrial circles and artificial intelligence researchers. It provides a new idea for the construction of the generative model. This paper reviews the research progress of GAN and prospects its development trend. Section 2 describes the basic idea and model structure of GAN. Section 3 introduces several typical derivative models of GAN. Section 4 lists GAN's applications in many fields, such as image, vision, voice, language, and etc. Section 5 makes a forward look and thinks on the development trend of GAN, and discusses the application of GAN in the field of communication countermeasures. Finally, section 6 summarizes this paper.

With the increasing demand for energy in China, more and more coal mines are mined. At the same time, along with the safety and health risks brought by occupational exposure in mine operation, it is very important to assess the risk of toxic substances in the working environment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyze the health risk of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals in coal mines based on deep learning algorithm and mathematical model. In this study, the working environment and employees of four working areas in a mine in Shanxi Province were selected as the research objects, and the gas in the working environment was sampled. Through the methods of mathematical evaluation model and single factor evaluation grade, the lung condition of employees and the content of harmful gas components were calculated, and the risk index of the area was obtained. The experimental results show that in the range of 0.56 kg/s–3.06 kg/s, the induced airflow velocity of chute increases by 54%, and the induced airflow velocity of guide chute increases by 53%. It shows that the increase of induced airflow velocity increases significantly with the increase of coal cutting amount, and the content of harmful substances in the working environment is higher. It is concluded that the deep learning mathematical model in this study is very effective and accurate in the health risk assessment caused by toxic chemicals in coal mines, and contributes to the risk assessment. It is very important for the safety management of the workers in the mine.

Background Acute abdominal pain is often caused by intestinal obstruction, with high morbidity, and mortality, so that the early diagnosis is particularly important. Currently, both spiral CT and ultrasound are common imaging diagnostic methods. However, the accuracy and practicality of the diagnosis are controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to systematically evaluate the accuracy and practicality of spiral CT and ultrasound in the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. Methods Retrieval of English database (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library) and Chinese database (CNKI, WAN FANG, VIP, CBMDISC) by computers. From the establishment of the database to October 2020, a diagnostic experimental study on the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction by ultrasound and spiral CT was conducted. Two researchers independently conducted data extraction and quality evaluation of literature on the included studies, and Meta Disc1.4 and RevMan5.3 were used for meta-analysis on the included literature. Results Sensitivity, specificity, po-sitive Likelihood ratio, NE-Gative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and other indicators were used to determine the diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound and helical CT. Conclusion This study is aimed at providing an evidence-based basis for clinicians to choose an appropriate or optimal diagnostic method by comparison of the accuracy and practicality between spiral CT and ultrasound in the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. Ethics and dissemination The private information from individuals will not be published. This systematic review also will not involve endangering participant rights. Ethical approval is not required. The results may be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences. Osf registration number DOI 10.17605/ OSF.IO / Q5RNS.

ObjectivesWe employed a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to assess benefits and risks of a threshold of haemoglobin level below 7 g/dL versus liberal transfusion strategy among critically ill patients, and even patients with septic shock.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesWe performed systematical searches for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PubMed databases up to 1 September 2019.Eligibility criteriaRCTs among adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients comparing 7 g/dL as restrictive strategy with liberal transfusion were incorporated.Data extraction and synthesisThe clinical outcomes, including short-term mortality, length of hospital stay, length of ICU stay, myocardial infarction (MI) and ischaemic events, were screened and analysed after data collection. We applied odds ratios (ORs) to analyse dichotomous outcomes and standardised mean differences (SMDs) to analyse continuous outcomes with fixed or random effects models based on heterogeneity evaluation for each outcome.ResultsEight RCTs with 3415 patients were included. Compared with a more liberal threshold, a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion threshold 2=53%), length of hospital stay (SMD: −0.11, 95% CI: −0.30 to 0.07, p=0.24, I2=71%), length of ICU stay (SMD: −0.03, 95% CI: −0.14 to 0.08, p=0.54, I2=0%) or ischaemic events (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.43 to 1.48, p=0.48, I2=51%). However, we found that the incidence of MI (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.98, p=0.04, I2=0%) was lower in the group with the threshold ConclusionsAn RBC transfusion threshold

Probing dopant distributions in nanoscale devices may find important applications in failure analysis. In this work, we employed cryogenic electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) to probe the dopant distribution in a lateral nanoscale bipolar junction transistor formed by ion implantations. The photocurrent characteristics under light illumination show that the devices were made properly. The distributions of phosphorus and boron dopants are visible in the phase domain of EFM when the operating temperature is lowered to 130 K from room temperature. Numerical simulations show that the phase shifts for the doping regions are largely consistent with the experimental data.Probing dopant distributions in nanoscale devices may find important applications in failure analysis. In this work, we employed cryogenic electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) to probe the dopant distribution in a lateral nanoscale bipolar junction transistor formed by ion implantations. The photocurrent characteristics under light illumination show that the devices were made properly. The distributions of phosphorus and boron dopants are visible in the phase domain of EFM when the operating temperature is lowered to 130 K from room temperature. Numerical simulations show that the phase shifts for the doping regions are largely consistent with the experimental data.

A kind of reflectarray antenna with the characteristics of near-field focusing at 140 GHz is investigated in this paper. The element is a cross-shaped structure, which is implemented on the TLY-5 substrate and fabricated by the PCB technology. A pyramidal horn is used to feed the reflectarray. In this design, numerical simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the radiated electromagnetic power can be focused in a fixed target area. Such a near-field characteristic of the proposed re-flectarray can be a feasible candidate for the Terahertz imaging and detection in the future research.

The article employs the subgrade-reaction theory, leading-out the buckling stability equation of the pile with gravitational stress and frictional resistance which’s top bomb embedded but bottom fixed,and provide the solution ,by using the minimum potential principle.And to consider the pile gravitational stress factors on the influence of the pile buckling load in different embedment ratio cases.

We present results of the first large-scale interlaboratory study carried out in synthetic biology, as part of the 2014 and 2015 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competitions. Participants at 88 institutions around the world measured fluorescence from three engineered constitutive constructs in E. coli. Few participants were able to measure absolute fluorescence, so data was analyzed in terms of ratios. Precision was strongly related to fluorescent strength, ranging from 1.54-fold standard deviation for the ratio between strong promoters to 5.75-fold for the ratio between the strongest and weakest promoter, and while host strain did not affect expression ratios, choice of instrument did. This result shows that high quantitative precision and reproducibility of results is possible, while at the same time indicating areas needing improved laboratory practices. Copyright: © 2016 Beal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Hepatitis E virus is a common hepatotropic virus that causes serious gastrointestinal symptoms. Data of reported HEV cases in Zhejiang Province was collected between 2007 and 2012. Descriptive epidemiological methods and spatial-temporal epidemiological methods were used to investigate the epidemiological trends and identify high-risk regions of hepatitis E infection. In this study, the average morbidity of hepatitis E infection was 4.03 per 100,000 in Zhejiang Province, peaking in winter and spring. The ratio between the male and the female was 2.39:1 and the high-risk population was found to be aged between 40 and 60. Trend surface analysis and IDW maps revealed higher incidences in the northwestern counties. The spatial-temporal analysis showed comparable incidences in the counties at the basins of three rivers, mostly under administration of Hangzhou Municipality. Besides, the seasonal exponential smoothing method was determined as the better model for the retrieved data. The epidemiological characteristics of HEV suggested the need of strengthened supervision and surveillance of sanitary water, sewage treatment and food in high-risk areas especially around the Spring Festival. Additionally, time series model could be useful for forecasting the epidemics of HEV in future. All these findings may contribute to the prevention and control of HEV epidemics.

All-solution method is used to fabricate polymer light-emitting diodes(PLEDs).The electron injection buffer layer and the light-emitting polymer layer are obtained by spin coating.As for the top electrode,we use drop-casted highly conductive PEDOT∶PSS film as transparent anode layer to obtain a high device performance.The conductivity of 608.7 S/cm for the PEDOT∶PSS film is achieved by secondary doping.At the thickness of 240 nm,the sheet resistance of the polymer layer is 68 Ω/□,and at 1 micron,the sheet resistance of the film is less than 10 Ω/□.I-V characteristics of the devices show a threshold voltage of ~ 4 V under forward bias.

Stress ulceration is a common complication in critically ill patients, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. In this study we investigated the temporal activation of the redox-sensitive transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB and its roles in an experimental model of cold immobilization stress-induced gastric mucosal lesions.Prospective, controlled, and randomized animal study.University research laboratory.Male Sprague-Dawley rats.The rats were subjected to cold immobilization stress for a total of 6 hrs. The temporal profiles of nuclear factor-kappaB activation and expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were determined in the gastric corpus mucosa of stressed rats. To study the roles of nuclear factor-kappaB activation, rats received an intravenous bolus of a specific nuclear factor-kappaB inhibitor Bay 11-7082 (20 mg/kg) 1 hr before stress. For antioxidant administration, rats were treated with intravenous injection of a free radical scavenger pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) 1 hr before stress.Exposure of rats to 6 hrs of stress led to a rapid and persistent activation of nuclear factor-kappaB, which was associated with transient degradation of inhibitory protein IkappaBalpha and slower but sustained degradation of IkappaBbeta. Nuclear factor-kappaB activation preceded the induction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, CINC-1, ICAM-1, and iNOS messenger RNAs, all of which were linearly increased with the duration of stress. Bay 11-7082 selectively blocked the stress-induced nuclear factor-kappaB activation and up-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, CINC-1, ICAM-1, and iNOS messenger RNAs. Inhibition of expression of these proinflammatory genes prevented the increases in myeloperoxidase activity (an indicator of neutrophil infiltration) in gastric mucosa and the development of gastric damage. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate dose-dependently inhibited the stress-induced nuclear factor-kappaB pathway activation and consequential proinflammatory gene expression, neutrophil infiltration, and gastric damage, suggesting the involvement of reactive oxygen species in these processes.Sustained activation of nuclear factor-kappaB by reactive oxygen species is an important in vivo mechanism mediating stress-induced gastric inflammatory damage in rats.

Interleukin- (IL-) 37 is a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine that suppresses immune response and inflammation. This study was performed to determine whether IL-37 was elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and investigate the correlation between IL-37 level and disease activity and the concentration of Th1/Th2/Th17-related cytokines. Clinical parameters of disease activity, including the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) and C-reactive protein (CRP), were collected in 34 RA patients and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Plasma IL-37 was measured by ELISA. Plasma levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, MCP-1, and MIP-1βwere analyzed using the Bio-Plex suspension array system. It was found that IL-37 levels were elevated markedly in RA patients and almost undetectable in healthy controls. In addition, IL-37 levels in patients with active RA were significantly enhanced as compared with those in patients of remission. More importantly, IL-37 showed a significant correlation with disease activity (DAS28) and IL-4, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, and IL-13 concentrations in RA patients. These findings suggest that IL-37 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of RA and may prove to be a potential biomarker of active RA.

This Report presents a nitrogen-doping method by chemically forming self-assembled monolayers on silicon. Van der Pauw technique, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy and low temperature Hall effect measurements are employed to characterize the nitrogen dopants. The experimental data show that the diffusion coefficient of nitrogen dopants is 3.66 × 10−15 cm2 s−1, 2 orders magnitude lower than that of phosphorus dopants in silicon. It is found that less than 1% of nitrogen dopants exhibit electrical activity. The analysis of Hall effect data at low temperatures indicates that the donor energy level for nitrogen dopants is located at 189 meV below the conduction band, consistent with the literature value.

Quality of life and functional recovery after burn injury is the final goal of burn care, especially as most of burn patients survive the injury due to advanced medical science. However, dysfunction, disfigurement, contractures, psychological problems and other discomforts due to burns and the consequent scars are common, and physical therapy and occupational therapy provide alternative treatments for these problems of burn patients. This guideline, organized by the Chinese Burn Association and Chinese Association of Burn Surgeons aims to emphasize the importance of team work in burn care and provide a brief introduction of the outlines of physical and occupational therapies during burn treatment, which is suitable for the current medical circumstances of China. It can be used as the start of the tools for burn rehabilitation.

This study was made to evaluate the effect of SB203580, a specific p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, on burn-induced hepatic injury as well as the activation of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB in severely burned rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: (1) sham group, rats underwent sham burn; (2) burn group, rats given third-degree burns over 30% total body surface area (TBSA) and treated with vehicle plus lactated Ringer solution for resuscitation 4 ml/(kg% TBSA); and (3) burn plus SB203580 group, rats given burn injury and fluid resuscitation plus SB203580 (10 mg/kg i.v., 15 min and 12 h after burn). Hepatocellular injury (measured by serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)) and hepatocellular function (determined by the indocyanine green dye retention rate (ICG R15)) were assessed at 24 h post-burn. Liver histologic changes were also analyzed. Burn trauma resulted in increased serum aminotransferases concentrations, decreased ICG R15, elevated serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta levels and hepatic TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA expressions, and worsen histologic condition. The level of Nuclear Factor (kappa) inhibitor (IkappaBalpha) in liver was decreased and DNA-binding activity of Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) was increased after thermal injury. p38 MAP kinase was more significantly activated in liver harvested from burn rats than from shams. SB203580 inhibited the activation of p38 MAP kinase, reduced the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, and prevented burn-mediated liver injury. Both the IkappaBalpha level and NF-kappaB activity in the liver following burns was not affected by administration with SB203580. These findings suggest that (1) p38 MAP kinase activation is one important aspect of the signaling event that may mediate the release of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta and contributes to burn-induced liver injury and (2) p38 MAP kinase does not influence the activation of NF-kappaB directly in the liver of severely burned rats.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the expression and regulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by sera from severely burned patients. DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. SETTINGS: Research laboratory in a university hospital. SUBJECTS: HUVECs. INTERVENTIONS: HUVECs were incubated with serum from eight healthy controls and eight patients with thermal injuries of >50% total body surface area. The experiment was repeated after pretreatment with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, an inhibitory effect on nuclear factor-kappaB activation, SB203580, a specific p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, and PD98059, a mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Protein and messenger RNA expression of VCAM-1 was measured by flow cytometry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction respectively. Soluble VCAM-1 level in HUVECs culture supernatants was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Sera from severely burned patients showed a stimulatory effect on VCAM-1 messenger RNA levels and an increased VCAM-1 expression on the endothelial cell surfaces. The soluble form of VCAM-1 molecules was also elevated by the stimulation of burn sera. In vitro peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes adherence to HUVECs incubated with burn sera was significantly increased compared with those incubated with control sera. Finally, these events were significantly inhibited by pretreatment with antioxidants pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate or SB203580, whereas PD98059 had no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that sera from severely burned patients induced up-regulation of VCAM-1 expressions in HUVECs, and this process might be largely dependent on oxidant-mediated nuclear factor-kappaB activation and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of SB203580, a specific p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitor, on burn-induced lung injury as well as the release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta in rats to characterize the role of p38 MAP kinase in lung injury after burn trauma. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: 1) sham group, or rats who underwent sham burn; 2) control group, or rats given third-degree burns over 30% total body surface area (TBSA) and lactated Ringer solution for resuscitation; and 3) SB203580 group, or rats given burn injury and lactated Ringers solution with SB203580 inside for resuscitation. Pulmonary injury was assessed at 24 h by pulmonary capillary permeability determined with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled albumin and lung histologic analysis. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and p38 MAP kinase was activity determined in lung by Western blot analysis. These studies showed that significant activation of p38 MAP kinase at 24 h postburn compared with control. Burn trauma resulted in increased pulmonary capillary leakage permeability, elevated levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum, and worsened histologic condition. SB203580 inhibited the activation of p38 MAP kinase, reduced the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, and prevented burn-mediated lung injury. These data suggest that p38 MAP kinase activation is one important aspect of the signaling event that may mediate the release of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta and contributes to burn-induced lung injury.

Background: Evidence supporting an association between the 8q24 rs4242382-A polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) risk has been reported in North American and Europe populations, though data from Asian populations remain limited. We therefore investigated this association by clinical detection in China, and meta-analysis in Asian, Caucasian and African-American populations. Materials and Methods: Blood samples and clinical information were collected from ethnically Chinese men from Northern China with histologicallyconfirmed PCa (n=335) and from age-matched normal controls (n=347). The 8q24 (rs4242382) gene polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-high-resolution melting analysis. We initially analyzed the associations between the risk allele and PCa and clinical covariates. A meta-analysis was then performed using genotyping data from a total of 1,793 PCa cases and 1,864 controls from our study and previously published studies in American and European populations, to determine the association between PCa and risk genotype. Results: The incidence of the risk allele was higher in PCa cases than controls (0.222 vs 0.140, P=7.3×10 -5 ), suggesting that the 8q24 rs4242382-A polymorphism was associated with PCa risk in Chinese men. The genotypes in subjects were in accordance with a dominant genetic model (ORadj=2.03, 95%CI: 1.42-2.91, Padj=1.1×10 -4 ). Presence of the risk allele rs4242382-A at 8q24 was also associated with clinical covariates including age at diagnosis ≥65 years, prostate specific antigen >10 ng/ml, Gleason score

A growing body of evidence suggested that elapsing time is tightly associated with space in a specific way (e.g., Spatial Temporal Association of Response Codes or STARC effect). However, existing findings cannot justify a hypothesis that elapsing time is recoded directly into a spatial linear representation in working memory. The present study addresses this fundamental question by using three modified STARC-related working memory paradigms. In different experiments, participants were asked to give order judgment, order-irrelevant STM recognition judgment, or motor-related free-choice judgment, immediately after successive presentation of a set of disparate stimuli. Results show that responses to early stimuli were faster or more often with the left key and responses to late stimuli were faster or more often with the right key. These findings clearly support the hypothesis that elapsing time is directly and automatically recoded into a spatial linear representation in working memory.

Background Accurate estimation of a burned area is crucial to decisions about fluid resuscitation, surgical options, nutritional support, and prognosis. Widely used clinical methods to estimate a burn area are two-dimensional. They do not consider age, sex, body mass, physical deformities, or other relevant factors. Computer-aided methods have improved the accuracy of estimating burned areas by including data analysis and reducing subjective differences. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning allows us to determine body dimensions rapidly and reproducibly. We describe an individualized, cost-efficient, portable 3D scanning system, BurnCalc, that can create an individual 3D model and then calculate body surface area (BSA) and the burn area accurately and quickly. Methods The BurnCalc system was validated by verifying the accuracy and stability of BSA calculation. We measured 10 regular objects in experiment 1, using Student’s t-test and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) in the analysis. In experiment 2, artificial paper patches of known dimensions were attached to various parts of the body of 40 volunteers. Their sizes were then calculated using BurnCalc. The BurnCalc data were compared to actually measured values to verify accuracy and stability. Total BSAs of these 40 volunteers were also calculated by BurnCalc and compared to those derived from an accepted formula. In experiment 3, four experts using Chinese Rule-of-Nines or Rule-of-Palms methods calculated the percentages of the total BSA in 17 volunteers. Student’s t-test and ICC, respectively, were used to compare the results obtained with the BurnCalc technique. Results Statistically, in experiment 1, p = 0.834 and ICC = 0.999, demonstrating that there was no difference between the BurnCalc and real measurements. Also, the hypothesis of null difference among measures (experiment 2) was true because p > 0.05 and ICC = 0.999, indicating that calculations of the total BSA and the burn area were more accurate using the BurnCalc technology. The reliability of the BurnCalc program was 99.9%. In experiment 3, only the BurnCalc method exhibited values of p > 0.05 (p = 0.774) and ICC = 0.999. Conclusions BurnCalc technology produced stable, accurate readings, suggesting that BurnCalc could be regarded as a new standard clinical method.

Cutaneous burn trauma causes functional inhibition of the heart, but the mechanism is unclear. Using a high dissociation constant (K(D)) calcium indicator TF-BAPTA and 19F MR spectroscopy, the relationship between the changes of cytosolic free calcium and cardiac function after burn trauma was examined. Sprague-Dawley rats received scald (43% TBSA) or sham burns. Twenty-four hours later, the hearts were excised and perfused by the Langendorff method with a modified phosphate-free Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer. Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) was recorded through a catheter attached to an intraventricular balloon. At the same time, 31P and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was perforined before and after TF-BAPTA loading. LVDP of the heart from burned rats was 40% less than in sham burn rats (65+/-6 vs 110+/-12 mmHg, P0.01). Cytosolic free calcium increased about four-fold in those hearts from the burn group compared to the sham burn group (0.807+/-0.192 vs 3.891+/-0.929 microM). Loading TF-BAPTA in those hearts only caused about a 15-20% decrease in LVDP. PCr/Pi ratio also decreased significantly with this loading, but ATP signals were not affected. In conclusion, the inhibition of cardiac contractility caused by burn trauma correlated with the overload of cytosolic free calcium in the heart.

Cutaneous burn trauma causes cardiac contraction and relaxation defects, but the mechanism is unclear. Previous studies suggest that burn-related changes in myocyte handling of calcium may play an important role in postburn cardiac dysfunction. With the use of a high dissociation constant ( K d) calcium indicator 1,2-bis(2-amino-5,6-difluorophenoxy)-ethane- N,N,N′, N′-tetraacetic acid (TF-BAPTA) and 19F NMR spectroscopy, this study examined the correlation between the changes in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and cardiac function after burn trauma. Sprague-Dawley rats were given scald burn (over 40% of the total body surface area) or sham burn. Twenty-four hours later, the hearts were excised and perfused by the Langendorff method with a modified phosphate-free Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer. Left ventricular (LV) developed pressure (LVDP), calculated from peak systolic LV pressure and LV end-diastolic pressure, was assessed through a catheter attached to an intraventricular balloon. At the same time, 31P and 19F NMR spectroscopy was performed before and after TF-BAPTA loading. LVDP measured in hearts from burned rats was 2+]i was increased fourfold in hearts from the burned group compared with that measured in the sham burn group (0.807 ± 0.192 vs. 3.891 ± 0.929 μM). Loading TF-BAPTA in hearts transiently decreased LVDP by 15%. Phosphocreatine-to-Pi ratio decreased, but ATP and intracellular pH remained unchanged by either TF-BAPTA loading or burn trauma. In conclusion, burn trauma impaired cardiac contractility, and this functional defect was paralleled by a significant rise in [Ca2+]i in the heart.

The skeleton can describe an object's geometry and topology with few data, and is applied in a variety of tasks in computer vision. While common distance transform can hardly guarantee the connectivity property of the skeleton, or thinning algorithms for skeleton extraction can't guarantee the accuracy. In this paper, a new skeleton extraction method is proposed. Based on Euclidean distance transform, the seeds of the skeleton are determined according to the number of greater direction. And then a two-step skeleton growth is employed to obtain connected and one-pixel width skeleton. The experiments prove that the proposed algorithm not only has low time complexity, but also guarantees the connectivity and one-pixel width of the skeleton.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are a spectrum of lung diseases characterized by a severe inflammatory process resulting in diffuse alveolar damage and variable degrees of ventilation-perfusion mismatch, severe hypoxemia, and poor lung compliance. ALI and ARDS