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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range:0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%.The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r(s)=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P < 0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r(s)=0.196, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.

Cigarette smoking aggravates the symptoms of asthma, leading to the rapid decline of lung function. Dendritic cells (DCs) and lymphocytes are considered initiating and promoting factors for the airway inflammation reactions of asthma. In addition, activation of CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) by chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL) 19 and 21 promotes DCs and T cells migration to lymphoid tissues during inflammation. We aimed to examine how cigarette smoke affects the expression of CCR7 in the lungs of asthmatic rats and explore the signaling mechanism linking CCR7 expression to exacerbation of symptoms.Forty Wistar rats were randomized to four groups: control, asthma, smoke exposure, and asthma with smoke exposure groups. A rat asthma model was established by intraperitoneal ovalbumin injection. CCR7 expression was examined with immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The number of airway DCs was determined by OX62 immunohistochemistry. Interferon (INF)-γ, interleukin (IL)-4, CCL19, and CCL21 expression levels in blood and bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs).Tissue CCR7 expression, peripheral blood and BALF CCL19 and CCL21 concentrations, and the number of airway DCs were significantly higher in the asthma with smoke exposure group than the asthma group (P0.01). In addition, INF-γ expression was decreased and IL-4 increased in the asthma and asthma with smoke exposure groups compared with the control group (P0.01), and in the asthma with smoke exposure group compared with the asthma group (P0.01). Expression of CCR7 correlated negatively with INF-γ expression in peripheral blood and BALF (P0.01), and positively with the airway DCs and IL-4 expression in the peripheral blood and BALF (P0.01).Cigarette smoking may aggravate asthma symptoms by attenuating immunity, possibly through CCR7-mediated DCs aggregation in lung tissue.

To investigate the relationship between serum phospholipid omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) and insulin resistance (IR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).51 patients with T2DM and NAFLD (T2DM+NAFLD group), 50 with T2DM alone (T2DM group), 45 with NAFLD alone (NAFLD group), and 42 healthy control subjects (NC group) were studied. Serum ω-3 PUFA profiles were analyzed by gas chromatography, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and serum lipid concentrations were measured. Insulin resistance was assessed by the homeostasis model assessment method (HOMA-IR).HOMA-IR levels were higher in the T2DM+NAFLD group than in the T2DM, NAFLD and NC groups (p0.05), as were ALT, AST, GGT, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) concentrations (p0.05). Conversely, serum ω-3 PUFA levels were significantly lower in the T2DM+NAFLD group than in the other groups (p0.05). The ω-3 PUFA level was negatively correlated with HOMA-IR, TC, LDL-C and TG.Serum phospholipid ω-3 PUFA levels were significantly decreased in patients with T2DM and NAFLD, and were negatively related with insulin resistance. Thus, reduced ω-3 PUFAs may play an important role in the development of T2DM and NAFLD.

A modified version of the Olami–Feder–Christensen model has been introduced to consider the difference between avalanche duration distribution. The duration time of our model well demonstrates the power-law behavior and finite size scaling. Relationship between earthquake duration time and average size has been discussed. It gives a power-law behavior and provides a new evidence of self-organized criticality. We have investigated foreshock and aftershock and discovered that the probability of middle-size earthquake in the aftershock was significantly greater than others. The real data of Sichuan earthquake is in alignment with our model.

Regional economic integration is the trend of the development of the market economy, as one of the most active economic region in China even all over the world, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has great development potential. Giving full play to the industrial advantage, realizing the coordinated development of three industries, and achieving the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei industry together, is of great significance to promote regional economic development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. And the basic power of coordinated development lies in the innovation drive, collaborative innovation especially industrial cooperative innovation is the core of the innovation drive. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei are analyzed in this paper, the necessity of the coordinated development of regional industry, expounds the three coordinated development restriction factor, proposed the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional industry innovation and development of the implementation of the path together.

This study aimed at acquiring knowledge on the hypoglycemic mechanisms of sodium metavanadate (SMV) showed that the liver glucokinase and muscle hexokinase activities increased rapidly after oral SMV was given, and that the blood glucose level was correlated closely with the activities of the two enzymes but not with the insulin level; which indicated that SMV could improve the altered glucose phosphorylation in diabetic mice independently of stimulating insulin secretion. This was probably one of the mechanisms of hypoglycemic effects of SMV.

Within a single-band tight-binding model, we investigate the dynamics of a one-dimensional semiconductor superlattice with an impurity driven by a dc-ac electric field. By numerically calculating the quasienergy spectrum and the probability propagators, we find that the dynamic localization condition is not destroyed by the impurity, but the local dynamics of the system is sensitively dependent on the relation of the impurity potential, the Bloch oscillation frequency and the ac field frequency. In appropriate circumstances, the dynamics of the system is dominated by resonant oscillations between the impurity and it nearest-neighbor sites. Such an effect might find important application for generating electromagnetic radiation and systematic study of localization phenomena. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

We study the dynamical response of a spinor Bose condensate under the influence of external magnetic fields which have both a random and a time varying systematic component. We find that the external noise may eventually destroy the Rabi oscillation and dynamical spin localization. The destruction of the Rabi oscillation due to the noise is much easier than that of the dynamical spin localization.

We investigate the effect of external noise, which is characterized by an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process, on the propagation of a charged particle in a one-dimensional superlattice with an impurity under the action of a dc electric field. A numerical solution of the stochastic equations is carried out by averaging over stochastic trajectories. We find that the external noise may destroy the dynamic localization of the charged particle and the resonant oscillations between the impurity and its nearest–neighbor or next-nearest-neighbor sites.

We have investigated the motion of a charged particle in a one-dimensional system with an impurity under the action of AC electric field. We find that initially localized electron will remain localized if the ratio of the AC field magnitude and the frequency is a root of the ordinary zero-order Bessel function and the localization effect depends on the ratio epsilon(0)/omega, where epsilon(0) is the impurity potential and omega is the AC-field frequency. In contrast to the case of no impurity, no matter what the value eaE/omega is, the particle is localized when the impurity potential is sufficiently strong. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

This study aims to investigate the expression levels of elastin and lysyl oxidase (LOX) family members in the urogenital tissues of natural aging mice and accelerated ovarian aging mice.Uteri, vaginas and bladders were harvested from 18-month-old female mice and accelerated ovarian aging mice developed by chemotherapeutic agents. Untreated 3-month-old female mice were used as controls. The expression levels of elastin and LOX family members were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot.Compared with untreated young female mice, the expression of elastin and LOX family members significantly decreased both in natural aging mice and accelerated ovarian aging mice.Aging is a high-risk factor for pelvic floor disorders. The failure of elastic fiber synthesis and assembly due to the decline in expression levels of elastin and LOX family members during aging may explain the molecular mechanism causing pelvic floor disorders.

To observe the disease course of chronic renal failure (CRF) intervened by Qudu Granule (QG) and to explore its possible mechanism.Totally 166 phase 3 and 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients of Pi-Shen deficiency and phlegm-turbidity obstruction syndrome were randomly assigned to two groups, the experimental group (83 cases, completed in 77 cases) and the control group (83 cases, completed in 75 cases). Based on the routine treatment, patients in the experimental group orally took QG, while those in the control group orally took niaoduqing granule (NG), 5 g each time, 3 times a day in both groups. The total therapeutic course was over 12 months for all. The changes of serum creatinine (SCr) were observed in the two groups. The reciprocal of SCr was taken as the vertical coordinate, and the course of disease (months) as the horizontal coordinate. The oblique rate and the return coefficient (value b) were compared between the two groups. Meanwhile, the changes of blood pressure, 24-h urinary protein quantitative amount, plasma albumin (Alb), and hemoglobin (Hb) were also observed.The average treatment time was longer in the experimental group [(42.8 +/- 18.5) months] than in the control group [(34.2 +/- 12.7) months, P0.01]. In the experimental group 35 patients didn't reach the endpoint at the 48th month, accounting for 45.45%, while 24 patients didn't reach the endpoint in the control group, accounting for 32.00%, showing statistical difference (P0.01). The b value was -0.00258 +/- 0.00132 in the experimental group and -0.00386 +/- 0.00167 in the control group. The absolute value of the slope rate was obviously smaller in the experimental group than in the control group (P0.01). The 48-month blood pressure was obviously lower in the experimental group than in the control group. The 24-h urinary protein at the 12th, 24th, 36th, and 48th month were obviously lower in the experimental group than in the control group at the same time point (P0.05). The plasma Alb was obviously higher in the experimental group than in the control group at the same time point with statistical difference (P0.05). There was no statistical difference in the Hb level between the two groups at each time point (P0.05).The course of CRF could be postponed by QG. Its mechanisms might possibly be correlated with lowering blood pressure, reducing the excretion of urinary protein, and increasing plasma Alb.

To investigate the relationship between serum omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (omega-3PUFA) and insulin resistance (IR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).This trial involved 51 patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus with NAFLD (G4 group), 50 patients of type 2 diabetes alone (G3 group), 45 patients of NAFLD alone (G2 group) and 42 healthy control subjects (G1 group). Serum omega-3PUFA profile was analyzed with capillary gas chromatography. Insulin resistance was assessed by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). ALT, AST, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and serum lipids were measured.The levels of HOMA-IR were higher in G4 group than those in G3, G2 and G1 group (4.90 + or - 2.54 vs 2.38 + or - 1.23, 2.20 + or - 1.15, 1.13 + or - 0.42; P0.05). The level of ALT, AST, GGT, TC, TG, LDL-C were higher in G4 group than those in G3, G2 and G1 group (P0.05). The level of omega-3PUFA was significantly lower in G4 group than those in G3, G2 and G1 group (5.68 + or - 2.02 vs 7.17 + or - 2.38, 6.97 + or - 2.32, 10.08 + or - 2.76; P0.05). omega-3PUFA concentration was negatively correlated with HOMA-IR, TC, TG and LDL-C (r = -0.491, -0.376, -0.462, -0.408, P0.05).Serum omega-3PUFA is significantly decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and NAFLD. Serum omega-3PUFA is negatively correlated with insulin resistance. omega-3PUFA plays a very important role in the development of diabetes mellitus and NAFLD.

The Hamiltonian of one-dimensional integrable multi-impurity XXZ spin chain with open boundary cases is constructed by using the method of adding parameters to the vertical matrices. This is the first approach to add multi-impurity and next-nearest-neighbor interaction to the integrable anisotropic Heisenberg spin chain. It is found that all of the impurity parameters in the bulk must be pure imaginary numbers if the cross parameter is real for getting the hermitian Hamiltonian, or vice versa, when the next-nearest-neighbor interactions are introduced. The Hamiltonian can be also applied to describe the many body systems with two kinds of particles if all of the impurity parameters are equal.

Summary Background & aims Diacylglycerol oil has been shown to lower postprandial and fasting serum triacylglycerol levels and reduce body fat. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diacylglycerol oil on risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease in type 2 DM patients. Methods This was a double-blind controlled parallel study with 127 type 2 DM patients (aged 40–65) recruited in Hangzhou, China. All subjects consumed triacylglycerol oil in the lead-in period (14 days), then they were randomly divided into two groups and consumed diacylglycerol or triacylglycerol oil with a similar fatty acid composition (25 g/day) for 120 days. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 60 and 120 and risk factors of type 2 DM and cardiovascular disease and biochemical parameters were measured by standard methods. Results There were a total of 112 subjects who completed the study. Diet intake did not differ significantly between groups. Body weight, BMI, waist circumference, HOMA-IR, serum insulin and leptin levels were significantly reduced from baseline in the diacylglycerol oil group but not in the triacylglycerol oil group. Serum glucose was also significantly improved in patients with higher glucose levels at baseline (>7.00 mmol/L) in the diacylglycerol oil group. Parameters of liver and kidney functions and essential fatty acids in serum phospholipids did not differ between groups. Conclusions Diacylglycerol oil consumption improved biomarkers and anthropometric parameters of type 2 DM compared with triacylglycerol oil. No adverse reactions were observed with diacylglycerol oil consumption for type 2 DM patients. Diacylglycerol oil has an equivalent bioavailability as triacylglycerol oil in relation to providing essential fatty acids.

To investigate the effects of sodium metavanadate (SMV) on blood sugar and glucose phosphorylation in mice, and to discuss the possible mechanism of its hypoglycemic effects.Diabetic mice (D) and control mice (V) were randomly allocated to drink SMV (0.2 mg/ml) (CV and DV groups) or NaCl (80 mmol/L) (C and V groups) respectively. The study lasted for 5 weeks. Liver glucokinase, muscle hexokinase, blood glucose and insulin were assayed at the end of each week.Blood glucose was higher in the diabetic groups before the administration of SMV, and the blood glucose level of group DV decreased from (18.77 +/- 1.28) to (8.94 +/- 0.94) mmol/L (P0.01) after oral administration of SMV for one week. While liver glucokinase increased from (1.29 +/- 0.64) to (15.36 +/- 1.57) mIU/min/mg protein and muscle hexokinase increased from (1.93 +/- 0.50) to (18.62 +/- 1.71) mIU/min/mg protein (P0.01) respectively. There was no continuous change of these parameters during the later weeks. No significant change of serum insulin was observed in the diabetic mice. There was a remarkable negative correlation of blood glucose level with liver glucokinase and muscle hexokinase levels.The hypoglycemic effects of SMV was independent of insulin level. In consideration of the close relations of the activities of liver glucokinase and muscle hexokinase with diabetes, and the improving of impaired glucose phosphorylation in diabetic mice by oral sodium metavanadate, which might be the mechanism of hypoglycemic effects of SMV.

Within a single-band tight-binding model, we investigate the dynamics of a one-dimensional semiconductor superlattice with an impurity under the action of an ac electric field. The long-time mean-square displacement is analytically obtained and the quasienergy spectrum is numerically calculated. We find that although the dynamic localization condition is not destroyed by the impurity, the quasienergy spectrum and corresponding local dynamics of the system are tuned dramatically by the ratio of the impurity potential to the ac field frequency. In particular, when the ratio becomes an integer, avoided crossing in the quasienergy spectrum occurs and the dynamics of the system is dominated by resonant oscillations between the impurity and its two nearest-neighbor sites. Such an effect is more favorable for experimental investigations of coherent oscillations of charged carriers.