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To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of sudden hearing loss in children, so that to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.A retrospective review of medical records of 12 hospitalized children (21 ears) suffering from sudden hearing loss was conducted.The study comprised 8 males and 4 females with a mean age of 6.28 years old, among which 25% had a unilateral hearing loss and 75% exhibited bilateral hearing loss. The mean onset time was 5.42 days. Four children had tinnitus and 3 patients showed dizziness. For the possible etiology. 2 cases had mumps. 6 cases had definite upper respiratory infections history, one experienced trauma, and another one took ototoxic drugs. Five patients were proved to come down with the large vestibular aqua duct syndrome by the CT scan. Among the 21 ears. 7 ears were diagnosed severe hearing loss and 14 ears were diagnosed profound hearing loss. After the treatment of 7 days, 6 ears were cured, one car showed effective change. and 14 cars came out to be ineffective, with the total effective rate of 33.3%. After the 14 days' treatment, there was no improvement for 5 patients.CT scan should he performed on all of the children with hearing loss to exclude the inner ear malformation. Most of the children with sudden hearing loss underwent some clear etiology, showing more severe hearing loss and had a poorer prognosis.

To measure and monitor the crustal motion in China, a GPS network has been established with an average side length of 1 000 km and with more than 20 points on the margins of each major tectonic block and fault zone in China. Three campaigns were carried out in 1992,1994 and 1996, respectively by this network. Here we present, for the first time, the horizontal displacement rates of 22 GPS monitoring stations distributed over the whole China and global IGS stations surrounding China, based on these GPS repeated measurements. From these results by GPS, we have obtained the sketch of crustal motion in China.

Chitosan, as a novel food additive, is proposed to conjugate with EGCG using a free radical grafting procedure. Chitosan is activated by hydroxyl free radicals produced by the redox reaction of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid and subsequently react with EGCG. Chitosan-EGCG conjugate has demonstrated by UV, FTIR, and 1H-NMR spectroscopy and exhibits a dramatical increase in DPPH free radical scavenging activity. In addition, the LC (low-molecular-weight chitosan)-EGCG conjugate is used to prepare O/W emulsion and then monitor the average droplet size, polydispersity index, zeta-potential and transmission changes during centrifuge process, results show that the conjugate exhibited excellent emulsifying activity and superior emulsifying stability as compared with chitosan. Therefore, LC-EGCG conjugate could be used as an efficient natural food antioxidant and emulsifier. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39732.

Some pulp mills expect to produce viscose fiber by means of pre-existing pulp production lines as used for conventional kraft pulp having a relatively high content of hemicellulose. In the present study oxygen-reinforced alkali extraction was used to dissolve the oxidized lignin, which increased the content of alpha cellulose and increased the degree of mercerization. This paper considers the influence of alkalinity, time, temperature, oxygen pressure, and borax additive on oxygen-reinforced alkali extraction. According to the experimental results, the optimal oxygen-reinforced alkali treatment conditions were 120 g/L alkali for 30 min at a temperature of 40 °C. Single factor experiment results showed that oxygen pressure was beneficial to the process of alkali extraction, and 0.4 Mpa was selected as the optimal oxygen pressure. Kappa number, alpha cellulose, carboxyl content, and degree of polymerization (DP) were 1.2, 99.18%, 0.00965 mmol/g, and 1505, respectively, under the optimal reaction conditions. Results for the oxygen-alkali treatment showed that borax was important for affecting DP and the amount of cellulose II. DP was decreased to 1282 and the amount of cellulose II was increased to 36% when the borax was added.

To study the characteristics of infants middle ear function of children (0-1 year old) with 226 Hz, 1000 Hz tympanometry.Tympanometric data using 226 Hz, 1 000 Hz probe tones were gained from 150 children (300 ears) aged 0-1 year old with a GSI tympstar middle ear analyzer. All of them were term birth, divided into 5 groups of 30 patients, the neonatal period (0-28 days), 6 weeks (+/- 3 days), 3 months (+/- 6 d), 6 months (+/- 6 days), 7-12 months. To analyse the middle ear function of children with 226 Hz, 1000 Hz tympanometric data.226 Hz,1000 Hz probe tone tympanometric data were normal for the normal group, which respectively were: 76.7%, 80%, 86.7%, 90%, 93.3%. 226 Hz, 1000 Hz detection tympanometric data were not sound normal to abnormal group, the proportion in each group were: 13.3%, 8.3%, 5.0%, 3.3%, 1.6%. The contradiction between the two groups were divided into two subgroups: 226 Hz normal, 1000 Hz unusual in the proportion of each group were 6.7%, 6.7%, 5.0%, 3.3%, 1.6%; 1000 Hz normal, 226 Hz unusual in the proportion of each group were 5.0%, 5.0%, 3.3%, 3.3%, 3.3%.The sensitivity and specificity of the 1000 Hz probe tone tympanometry was better.

This paper presents the preparation of novel thiacalixarene (TCA) covalently functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and an enhanced differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric procedure for the determination of trace amounts of Pb(2+) ions, which relies on the selective accumulation of the metals at a TCA-MWCNT-modified glassy carbon electrode. Through a combination of thiacalixerene's excellent selective recognition and the outstanding electronic properties of MWCNTs, this electrode material shows excellent selectivity and high sensitivity for electrochemical detection of Pb(2+) ions. The stripping response is highly linear (R = 0.999) over a Pb(2+) concentration range of 2 × 10(-10) to 1 × 10(-8) mol/L, and the limit of detection is 4 × 10(-11) mol/L. Furthermore, the determination of Pb(2+) (10(-7) mol/L) in the presence of an equal amount of interfering Sn(2+) ions yielded well-separated signals. To understand the molecular interaction mechanism between the TCA molecules and metal ions (Pb(2+) and Sn(2+)), theoretical computations were performed. The results demonstrate that the Pb(2+)/Sn(2+) ions could stably adsorb onto the TCA molecules, and there is significant electron delocalization between Pb(2+)/Sn(2+) and sulfur atoms in the TCA molecule.

A piperidine-modified calix[4]arene derivative was synthesized and its structure was confirmed with X-ray diffraction data. UV-visible spectroscopy was used to study its molecular recognition of rare earth ions. The results revealed the calix[4]arene derivative could separate tight metal picrate ion pairs by complexation with the rare earth metal ions in tetrahydrofuran. Resolution of the UV-visible spectra with chemometric methods revealed that the derivative and the rare earth ions Eu(3+), Dy(3+), and Tb(3+) formed ML(2) complexes with stability constants of 10(8.26), 10(8.29), and 10(7.41) respectively.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a primary and widely cultivated forage crop in China. As a perennial leguminous grass, continuous planted alfalfa may influence carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils. We evaluated the effect of alfalfa, planted for different lengths of time, and temperature and precipitation on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, and estimated soil SOC and TN inventories from 0-60 cm in three agro-pastoral ecotones of northern China. Alfalfa SOC and TN storage patterns were significantly different with increasing soil depths between the three regions of northern China. Continuous alfalfa grassland planted had a positive effect on accumulation of both SOC and TN in the Northwest region, whereas SOC storage peaked 6-7 years after planting in the Northeast and North region. Moreover, relatively higher TN storage appeared 7 years after planting in the Northeast and North regions. This study controlled as many factors as possible, but we caution that such temporal inferences could be artifacts of site selection. The regression analysis indicated that SOC and TN accumulation was mainly dependent on temperature (≥10°C of effective total accumulated temperature) in the North region. Precipitation in the growing season was the main limiting factor for SOC storage in the Northwest region and TN accumulation in the North regions. Therefore, the different climate factors affecting SOC and TN sequestration in alfalfa occurred at a regional scale.

Due to the excellent resistance to thermal mechanical fatigue and creep resistance properties of in-situ Cu 6 Sn 5 reinforced composite solder, it's meaningful to further investigate the Electromigration (EM) behaviors of such novel composite solder. We used in-situ method to prepare Cu 6 Sn 5 reinforced Sn-3.5Ag composite solders, the weight fraction of which was 1 vol.%, 5 vol.%, and 20 vol.%, respectively. A constant electric current was applied to a one-dimensional solder joint which ensures a uniform distribution of current density. For this study, a current density of 104 A/cm2 was applied to solder joints under 75°C. The evolution of interior microstructure due to current stressing effects was observed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that after current stressing for 96 and 192 h, no remarkable EM damages exhibited in solder matrix. Whereas, after current stressing for 384 h, 1 vol.% and 20 vol.% Cu 6 Sn 5 reinforced composite solder joints have suffered different degrees of polarity effects.

To compare the hearing test data of the profound hearing-impaired children with the hearing aids and with cochlear implants; to find out the useful method to measure the residual hearing.Twenty-two profound hearing-impaired children participated in the study with complete set of hearing test and verbal rehabilitation file. Ten children fitted hearing aids and underwent verbal rehabilitation more than 3 months. Among the other 12 children with cochlear implants, 10 children fell in the same year range with the hearing aid patients. The children with hearing aids were divided into two groups according to the achievement of the verbal rehabilitation. ASSR threshold and pure- tone threshold were compared between the groups.(1) ASSR test: 7 children (14 ears) with hearing aids achieved good verbal representation, in which ASSR threshold can be recorded on 2.71 frequency on average [(110.92 +/- 7.43) dB HL]. Among 3 children with hearing aids representing poor verbal achievement and 5 children with additional cochlear implant because of the poor verbal achievement with hearing aids, only 1.06 frequency had response of ASSR test [(110.88 +/- 48.52 ) dB HL]. (2) Pure tone audiometry: the average threshold of the 7 children with good representation was (96.11 +/- 7.81) dB HL, and the threshold on 3 frequency were less than 100 dB HL on average. The average threshold of the other 3 children with poor verbal achievement was (112.19 +/- 5.15) dB HL, and none of the frequency threshold was 100 dB HL.The number of the frequency with the response of ASSR and the thresholdor =100 dB HL of pure tone audiometry is an effective indication of the useful residual hearing.

This paper developed external environment impact assessment index system based on the asset management process of power grid Corporation. It established an entropy-TOPSIS environment impact assessment evaluation model and adopted the general procedure by Matlab language with this above comprehensive evaluation model to sort the external environment factors according to the impact degree so as to choose the important factors, and provided decision support to develop asset management strategies. This model introduced information-entropy to calculate every scoring expert weight in order to avoid determining subjectively the weight.

To evaluate the characters and hearing changes of the infants failed in hearing screening with high-risk factors for hearing loss.Two hundred and forty-four infants (488 ears) who failed in the hearing screening or with the different results between the first and second screening, were tested by auditory brainstem response (ABR), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and acoustic immittance measurement in this study.(1) A little proportion results among the three DPOAE screening was variable, the pass rate in the right-ear was higher than that in the left-ear. (2) Forty-five of 184 ears which had passed the third DPOAE evaluation had the abnormal ABR results, the discrepancy rate between the two methods was 24.5% (45/184); 20 of 304 ears which failed in the hearing screening had a normal ABR results, with the discrepancy rate of 6.6% (20/304). (3) The highest proportion of abnormal result of the ABR in each groups was mild hearing loss, normal ABR in each groups also had a large proportion. The proportion of moderate hearing loss in the group of no more than three months old infants was significantly increased compared with the other two groups (P0.01), and no significant difference of severe hearing loss among the three groups (P0.05). (4) More than 70% of type A tympanogram was found in each groups (P0.05), the ratio of type B in moderately abnormal group was higher than other groups. Type C was only detected in one ear with severe hearing loss. (5) 29.5% infants had suffered the hyperbilirubinemia, which was much higher than the other risk factors (P0.05).The hearing loss of infants with high-risk factors are mostly mild, and show some indication of fluctuating. Some moderate hearing loss have the tendency to changes better. The combined use of electrophysiological measures can improve the accuracy of hearing evaluation.

To investigate the characteristic and the hearing change of hearing thresholds of the infants failing in the hearing screening.802 infants (1,179 ears) with hearing screening record were reviewed in the study. They had hearing screened by otoacoustic emissions (OAE). However, they failed in the first or and second hearing screening. Auditory brainstem response (ABR), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and acoustic immittance measurement were examined. Subjects with abnormal hearing-evaluation were retested during the following 1-3 months (before 6-month-old). To analysis the characteristic and the hearing change of hearing thresholds of the tests.Among 802 cases (1,179 ears), the ratio of single-ear (53.2%) is higher than both-ears (39.5%), P0.05. And there are no significance between the two groups in the ration of severe abnormal hearing-evaluation; 25.8% infants once suffered from hypercholesterolemia failed in the hearing screening,which was higher than the other known risk factors. P0.05; Threatened abortion group has found no cases of severe hearing abnormalities; The ratio of severe abnormal hearing-evaluation in family history hearing loss group (40.9%) was higher than other high-risk factors, followed by two or more risk factors group (10.8%); 56.9% of the infancy who did not pass the hearing screening were found none risk factors, 42.3% of the infancy who had high risk factors was normal hearing level; 96 cases (138 ears) undergone twice assessment, in moderate disorder group, more cases (74.3%) changed better, and less disorder group (40.9%), severe disorder group (33.3%). Seven ears became worse; Among abnormal hearing induced by different high-risk factors, the proportion of hearing improvement in children with moderate abnormal hearing was higher than that in children with slight abnormal hearing. Ten cases (12 ears) diagnosis auditory neuropathy.The important factors make the follow-up decision including perinatal history, hearing level and age. Maybe some high-factors we did not realized. Gene screening should be paid more attention in the future work.

To discuss the characteristics of auditory brainstem response in preterm very low birth weight (VLBW) babies and to investigate the correlations between the ABR and clinical characteristics.Fifty-nine VLBW babies (118 ears) were enrolled in the study and 30 term normal babies as the control group. Tympanometry, acoustic reflex, DPOAE, ABR were obtained in all the babies.The prevalence of hearing loss in VLBW babies was higher than normal term babies and babies with perinatal complications higher than those without perinatal complications. There was no correlations between ABR threshold and gestational age, birth weight, postconceptional age, negative correlations between wave I, III and V latencies I - III, III - V and I - V intervals and postconceptional age. Wave I and V latencies, I - III and III - V intervals differed significantly between the two groups.The perinatal complications were the most important causes of the hearing loss in preterm VLBW babies than the gestational age and birth weight. There was a high prevalence of peripheral hearing loss in the preterm VLBW babies. Combining OAE and automated ABR should be applied for hearing screening. Regular follow-up was very important in all the preterm VLBW neonatal.

Based on GPS data during May 1995-March 1998 of 12 IGS stations located in the Chinese mainland and its surrounding areas, the horizontal displacement rates of these IGS stations have been determined. The result can be available to study the background of the crustal tectonic motion in the Chinese mainland.

This paper studies the cost-reducing and quality-improving innovation incentives of a downstream durable-good monopoly. The monopolist's purpose is to maximize its profits under the assumption of an imperfect competitive upstream market. Then optimal licensing schemes for an outside quality-improving innovator are proposed. It is found that the monopolist only has quality-improving while but cost-reducing technical innovation incentives. Additionally, form the perspective of the innovator, optimal licensing schemes depend on the structure of upstream market, the minimum material supply price as well as the degree of the innovation. Specifically, for a monopoly upstream, if the minimum supply price is smaller, licensing by means of a fee and a royalty is superior; otherwise, fixed-fee licensing is better. While for the case of an upstream market of lager scale, if the magnitude of the innovation is smaller, royalty licensing is superior; otherwise, charging a fee and a royalty is optimal.

The real estate industry has been the pillar industry of national economic. And the high returns and high risks would coexist in this industry. First, this paper established the real estate portfolio model based on information entropy, with the smallest risk as the greatest benefits. In addition, this paper developed a new algorithm to find the optimal real estate portfolio to achieve the smallest risk as the greatest benefits. And the proposed algorithm modified a population-based search procedure, particle swarm optimization, by adopting an elite archiving scheme to store nondominated solutions and by aptly using members of the archive to direct further search. Moreover, the termination of the proposed algorithm was set to that no new members have entered into the elite archive. In addition, through a practical case, the proposed algorithm is shown effective and efficient in real estate portfolio.

This paper took a 2times600 MW supercritical generating electricity project as an example. It analyzed the contract construction system and the funds-payment problems, compared with the other construction project. Meanwhile, this paper analyzed the advantage and disadvantage of the difference fund payment method and gave a proposal of engineering fund management. It will help owner to manage the generating electricity project under agent model that was gradually extended to the power construction project.

Our previous study showed that electroacupuncture (EA), an adjuvant to conventional medicine, significantly attenuated hyperalgesia in a rat model of inflammatory pain. In the present study, we evaluated the potential additive and/or synergism of EA and a sub-effective dose of dizocilpine maleate (MK-801), a non-competitive N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, on hyperalgesia in the same rat model of inflammatory pain. Hyperalgesia, manifesting as decreased paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to a noxious stimulus, was induced by injecting complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the plantar surface of one hind paw of each rat. EA treatments were given at acupoint GB30 immediately after and 2 h after CFA. MK-801 at 0.001 mg/rat was given (i.t.) 10 min before each of the two EA treatments. PWL was measured prior to and 2.5 and 5 h post-CFA. Ten and 100 Hz EA significantly inhibited CFA-induced hind paw hyperalgesia. Both 10 and 100 Hz EA combined with the sub-effective dose of 0.001 mg/rat MK-801 showed prolonged anti-hyperalgesia with no side effects. These results demonstrate that EA combined with a sub-effective dose of this NMDA receptor antagonist enhances anti-hyperalgesia, and this combination may provide an effective strategy for pain management.

We previously reported the anti-hyperalgesia of electroacupuncture (EA) on persistent inflammatory pain in an unrestrained, unsedated, and conscious rat model. Using this model, induced by injecting complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into one hind paw, we systematically evaluated the anti-hyperalgesia of EA stimulation parameters (frequency, intensity, treatment duration, and pulse width). We assessed hyperalgesia by paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to a noxious thermal stimulus and found that 10- and 100-Hz EA frequencies at a current intensity of 3 mA produced the greatest anti-hyperalgesia, when compared to other parameters. Both frequencies significantly increased PWL in the early phases of hyperalgesia (2.5 and 24 h; p < 0.05), and 10 Hz EA also significantly increased PWL in later phases (5 to 7 days; p < 0.05). A sufficient but tolerable intensity of 3 mA was more effective than lower intensities (1-2 mA). A 20-min treatment produced better anti-hyperalgesia than longer and shorter (10 and 30 min) treatments. Acupoint specificity study demonstrated that GB30 produced significant EA anti-hyperalgesia, while Waiguan (TE5) and sham points, an abdominal point and a point at the opposite aspect of GB30, did not. The spinal Fos protein expression study demonstrated that the optimal EA selectively suppressed Fos expression in superficial laminae (I/II) and activated it in deeper laminae (III/IV) of the spinal dorsal horn. The results suggest that the EA anti-hyperalgesia is parameter-dependent and point-specific, and they provide important information for designing further clinical acupuncture research on persistent inflammatory pain.

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Porous ternary PtRuCo catalyst supported on a glassy carbon substrate was prepared by one-step electrochemical codeposition using an adsorbed hydrogen gas bubble as a dynamic template. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Methanol electro-oxidation on the as-prepared catalyst was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the results show that porous ternary PtRuCo catalyst has excellent electrocatalytic performance.