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Objective To investigate the predictive value of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score combined with serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) on admission to ischemic stroke. Methods A total of 487 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology of Tangshan Gongren Hospital from May 2018 to December 2019 were selected. The clinical data of patients were collected such as gender, age, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, previous stroke history, smoking and drinking history, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), hs-CRP, homocysteine (Hcy), fasting blood glucose (FBG). The NIHSS scale was used to evaluate the degree of neurological deficit at admission, and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to evaluate the prognosis when the patient was discharged. The mRS score ≤ 2 was defined as good prognosis, and the mRS score > 2 was defined as poor prognosis. Univariate and multivariate forward Logistic regression analysis were used to screen risk factors for poor prognosis of ischemic stroke, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare the predictive value of NIHSS and hs-CRP levels at admission alone or in combination for patient prognosis. Results Compared with the good prognosis group, the poor prognosis group had higher proportions of male patients (χ2 = 4.729, P = 0.030), previous history of stroke (χ2 = 13.665, P = 0.000), and drinking alcohol (χ2 = 8.326, P = 0.004). The NIHSS score at admission (Z = -9.316, P = 0.000), serum FBG (Z = -3.234, P = 0.001), Hcy (Z = -3.652, P = 0.000) and hs-CRP (Z = -8.780, P = 0.000) level in poor prognosis group were higher than those in good prognosis group. Logistic regression analysis showed that the NIHSS score increased at admission (OR = 1.316, 95%CI: 1.223-1.417; P = 0.000), and the serum hs-CRP level increased (OR = 1.045, 95%CI: 1.032-1.058; P = 0.000) were risk factors for the prognosis of ischemic stroke. The area under the curve (AUC) predicted by the two combined (AUC = 0.903; 95%CI: 0.873-0.928, P = 0.000) exceeded than that of the NIHSS score at admission alone (AUC = 0.818; 95%CI: 0.781-0.852, P = 0.000) and the serum hs-CRP alone (AUC = 0.806; 95%CI: 0.768-0.840, P = 0.000); pairwise comparison found that the combination of the two was better than the NIHSS score at admission alone (Z = 3.187, P = 0.001) and serum hs-CRP alone (Z = 4.418, P = 0.000). Conclusions NIHSS score and high level of serum hs-CRP at admission are risk factors for poor prognosis of ischemic stroke. Combining NIHSS score and serum hs-CRP can provide an effective reference for clinical prediction of poor prognosis of ischemic stroke.

β‐Branched chiral amines with contiguous stereocenters are valuable building blocks for preparing various biologically active molecules. However, their asymmetric synthesis remains challenging. Herein, we report a highly diastereo‐ and enantioselective biocatalytic approach for preparing a broad range of β‐branched chiral amines starting from their corresponding racemic ketones. This involves a dynamic kinetic resolution‐asymmetric reductive amination process catalyzed using only an imine reductase. Four rounds of protein engineering endowed wild‐type PocIRED with higher reactivity, better stereoselectivity, and a broader substrate scope. Using the engineered enzyme, various chiral amine products were synthesized with up to >99.9 % ee, >99 : 1 dr, and >99 % conversion. The practicability of the developed biocatalytic method was confirmed by producing a key intermediate of tofacitinib in 74 % yield, >99.9 % ee, and 98 : 2 dr at a challenging substrate loading of 110 g L−1. Our study provides a highly capable imine reductase and a protocol for developing an efficient biocatalytic dynamic kinetic resolution‐asymmetric reductive amination reaction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 3‐level features of Latent fingerprints (LFPs) are pivotal in linking suspects with problematic or incomplete fingerprint data, constituting one of the most robust forms of evidence. Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) materials, known for their heightened emissive properties in high aggregation states, provide a robust and powerful approach for developing techniques for 3‐level details of LFPs. So far, tremendous efforts have been devoted to solving high background fluorescence interference during the 3‐level LFPs visualization process. This review commences with an overview of 3‐level features and summarizes the interaction and mechanism of visualizing LFPs involving AIE materials and LFPs secretions. Moreover, it encompasses strategies to enhance the contrast and brightness of 3‐level LFPs images. We highlight the mechanism of AIE′s physicochemical properties and their effects on the visualization of 3‐level LFPs. Additionally, we provide insights into potential challenges and opportunities in this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been widely used in the determination of trace elements in carbonate rocks. Due to the low Ni (1.6-50.5μg/g) and Sc (0.3-6μg/g) in carbonate rocks, the signal values are obviously interfered by high CaO (up to 56%) and MgO (up to 21%) during ICP-MS determination, resulting in the test value much higher than the true value. OBJECTIVES To solve the problem of non-mass spectrum interference and mass spectrum interference of Ni and Sc during ICP-MS analysis of carbonate rocks and use appropriate correction method. METHODS The single standard series of Ca and Mg and national first-level reference materials of carbonate rocks were used to study the interference of high content of Ca and Mg on Ni and Sc in the carbonate during ICP-MS analysis. Testing of the single standard series was aim to explore ways of interference on Ni and Sc by high content of Ca and Mg in solution. The national first-level reference material of carbonate rock was further selected as the calibration carrier to eliminate the matrix effect of Mg. At the same time, according to the good linear relationship between the content of CaO in the sample solution and the interference degree of Ni and Sc, the interference equations of CaO and △Ni and △Sc were fitted respectively, and used for interference deduction of Ni and Sc in several national first-level reference materials and unknown samples of carbonate rocks. The accurate test values of Ni and Sc in carbonate rocks by ICP-MS were obtained. RESULTS It was found that the high content of Mg had a non-mass spectrometric interference matrix effect on the analysis of Ni and Sc. High content of Ca forms oxides, hydroxides and polyatomic ions, resulting in mass spectrometric interference on Ni and Sc. The degree of interference had a good linear relationship with the Ca content in the solution. Compared with a single standard to perform interference correction on actual samples, this method used national first-level standard materials as the calibration carrier, which overcomed the interference of matrix effects. Verified by GBW07108 and other five national primary standard materials of carbonate rocks, test values agreed with the standard values, with a relative standard deviation (RSD, n=10) of less than 5.5%. Correction results of the unknown carbonate samples were compared with the results of the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), respectively, the relative deviation was less than 15%. CONCLUSIONS The correction method proposed in this paper has solved the mass spectral interference and non-mass spectral interference in ICP-MS analysis of Ni and Sc in carbonate rocks. The method is simple and feasible, and the results are accurate and reliable.

The study aims to prepare modified glass fiber (mGF) through KH550 modified glass fiber (GF), aiming to enhance the mechanical and insulation properties of PA66 composites, and explore the effects of mGF content on the mechanical and insulation properties of PA66 composites. The results show that as the mGF content increases, the density of the composites shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The tensile strength, elastic modulus, and notch impact strength all show a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. When the mGF content is 20%, the enhancement effect of various mechanical properties of PA66 composites is the strongest, with an increase of 13.38%, 19.23%, and 19.59% compared to the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and notch impact strength of pure PA66 composites, respectively. The electric field breakdown strength of PA66 composites shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing under both DC and AC conditions. At the same time, the dielectric constant of PA66 composites shows a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, and reaches its lowest point at a dosage of 30%. The volume resistivity of PA66 composites shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, and reaches its highest value at a dosage of 20%, which is 3.34 x 1013 Ω·m. The mechanical and insulation properties of PA66 composites can be enhanced by adding 20% KH550 modified GF, which can be applied in the preparation of electrical circuit breaker materials. This material can be used as an electrical circuit breaker material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was initiated to establish a renal thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) scoring system based on clinical needs and investigate its predictive value for patients' long-term outcomes. Kidney biopsy-proven Complement-mediated TMA (C-TMA) patients from January 2000 to December 2017 in Peking University First Hospital were retrospectively studied. Both acute and chronic TMA-related lesions, including 15 pathologic indices, were semiquantitatively scored. The interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility and correlation between the pathologic indices and clinical parameters were analyzed. Furthermore, the patients were divided into 2 groups by dialysis use at baseline, and the association of these pathologic indices with their prognostic outcomes was assessed between the two groups. Ninety-two patients with renal biopsy-proven C-TMA were enrolled. All fifteen included pathology indices showed good or moderate interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility and correlated well with several clinical parameters. Several clinicopathological indices were worse in the dialysis group than in the nondialysis group, such as serum creatinine, hemoglobin, platelet count, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Moreover, morphologic features in the dialysis group presented with more severe vascular lesions. Interstitial fibrosis and chronic tubulointerstitial lesions were related to a trend of high risk of continuous dialysis in the dialysis group. Based on univariate and multivariable Cox regression analysis, more severe glomerular lesions, including glomerular mesangiolysis, glomerular basement membrane double contours and glomerular mesangial proliferation, were identified as risk factors predicting worse prognosis. Our renal C-TMA semiquantitative scoring system is reliable with good reproducibility and prognostic value in clinical practice, which needs further validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]