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Introduction: Whether the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is associated with a long‐term negative impact on acute stroke care remains uncertain. This study aims to compare the timing of key aspects of stroke codes between patients before and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at an academic hospital in Shanghai, China and included all adult patients with acute ischemic stroke hospitalized via the emergency department (ED) stroke pathway during the 24 months since the COVID‐19 outbreak (COVID‐19: January 1, 2020–December 31, 2021). The comparison cohort included patients with ED stroke pathway visits and hospitalizations during the same period (pre‐COVID‐19: January 1, 2018–December 31, 2019). We compared critical time points of prehospital and intrahospital acute stroke care between patients during the COVID‐19 era and patients during the pre‐COVID‐19 era using t test, χ2, and Mann–Whitney U test where appropriate. Results: A total of 1194 acute ischemic stroke cases were enrolled, including 606 patients in COVID‐19 and 588 patients in pre‐COVID‐19. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the median onset‐to‐hospital time was about 108 min longer compared with the same period of pre‐COVID‐19 (300 vs 192 min, p = 0.01). Accordingly, the median onset‐to‐needle time was 169 min in COVID‐19 and 113 min in pre‐COVID‐19 (p = 0.0001), and the proportion of patients with onset‐to‐hospital time within 4.5 h was lower (292/606 [48.2%] vs 328/558 [58.8%], p = 0.0003) during the pandemic period. Furthermore, the median door‐to‐inpatient admission and door‐to‐inpatient rehabilitation times increased from 28 to 37 h and from 3 to 4 days (p = 0.014 and 0.0001). Conclusions: During the 24 months of COVID‐19, a prolongation of stroke onset to hospital arrival and to intravenous rt‐PA administration times were noted. Meanwhile, acute stroke patients needed to stay in the ED for a longer time before hospitalization. Educational system support and process optimization should be pursued in order to acquire timely delivery of stroke care during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnTe epitaxial layers with different crystalline quality were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. ZnTe:O was achieved by oxygen incorporation in ZnTe films using ion implantation. The proper concentrations of O ions attributed to the formation of the intermediate band which was approximately 1.88 eV above the valence band maximum. Pulsed laser melting was then carried out on the samples. ZnTe with high crystalline quality and appropriate concentrations of oxygen ions led to the improvements of absorption efficiency of the intermediate band. The results suggest that factors such as the crystalline quality and the dose of O concentration are important to achieve better ZnTe:O intermediate-band photovoltaic materials. The way we utilize to fabricate ZnTe:O intermediate band solar cell materials is applicable, and the position and intensity of O states could be well controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify thrombi in patients with posterior circulation large artery occlusion using susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods: All patients hospitalized with intracranial posterior circulation occlusion from January 2003 to September 2013 were included. MRI and computed tomography angiography were reviewed to determine the presence of arterial occlusion and identify thrombi. Eighty-one patients were analyzed to investigate susceptibility vessel sign (SVS) that was identified as blooming artifact (BA) on T2*-weighted gradient echo imaging.Results: We identified 21 of 63 (33.3%) patients with BA in symptomatic patients, and 1 of 18 (5.6%) in the asymptomatic group with significant difference (P = .019). BAs were found in 6 of 10 (60.0%) patients with cardioembolism, 5 of 13 (38.5%) with dissection, 9 of 34 (26.5%) with large artery atherosclerotic disease, and 1 of 6 (16.7%) with undetermined cause.Conclusion: Identifying SVS may be useful in exploring the fresh thrombi and the mechanism of posterior circulation stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: It is crucial to detect the composition of the thrombus in isolated brainstem infarction with large artery occlusion. The aim of this study was to explore the susceptibility vessel sign (SVS) whose composition is mainly deoxidized red cells in patients with isolated brainstem infarction and posterior circulation large artery occlusion. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study. All patients with posterior circulation large artery occlusion from January 2003 to September 2013 were included. We identified 213 patients who had posterior circulation large artery occlusion, and 81 patients met the imaging eligibility criteria. Among the 81 patients, 21 had isolated brainstem infarction. Results: Among the 21 patients, 7 (33%) had SVS and 2 (10%) had pseudo-SVS (calcified vessels without thrombosis). In the 7 patients with SVS, we found atrial fibrillation in 2 patients, dissection in 3 patients and large artery atherosclerotic disease (LAAD) in 2 patients. There were SVS in 100% (2/2) of patients with atrial fibrillation, 50% (3/6) of patients with dissection, and 20% (2/10) of patients with LAAD. Conclusions: SVS reflects pathology of deoxidized red cells composition in patients with isolated brainstem infarction. This finding may be useful to explore the different stroke mechanisms and therapy strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc telluride layers were directly grown on highly-lattice-mismatched Si (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the growth mechanism and crystal quality of ZnTe on Si (111). The results show that the growth mode related with the Ⅵ/Ⅱ beam pressure ratio is one of important factors affecting the initial growing process, crystal quality and morphology of ZnTe epitaxial thin films. From in situ RHEED observations, two-dimensional (2D) growth mode was found upon increasing Ⅵ/Ⅱ beam pressure ratio to 3.3 while three-dimensional (3D) growth mode remained in Zn-rich atmosphere or at Ⅵ/Ⅱ beam pressure ratio larger than 6. Small full-width at half-maximum (~540 arcsec) showed that the growth of ZnTe on Si (111) in Te-rich atmosphere, especially in a layer-by-layer mode, was more suitable for nucleation growth. • Zinc telluride layers were directly grown on highly-lattice-mismatched Si (111) by MBE. • The growth mode is responsible for the initial growing process and crystal quality of ZnTe epilayers. • In a 2D growth mode, we obtained ZnTe (111) epilayers with the FWHM as low as ~540 arcsec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluoxetine is one of the most promising drugs for improving clinical outcome in patients with ischemic stroke. This in vivo study investigated the hypothesis that fluoxetine may affect HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade, angiogenesis and neuroprotection using a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). The rats were given fluoxetine or saline after tMCAO for 4 weeks. Then, protein expression of HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade was examined at 1, 2, 4 weeks after tMCAO. In vivo synchrotron radiation were performed to observe microangiography of ischemic brain after 4 weeks of tMCAO. The infarct size and neurobehavioral test were carried out 1 to 4 weeks after tMCAO. Results revealed that HIF-1α expression was upregulated in fluoxetine-treated group. Similarly, fluoxetine increased protein expression of Netrin and its receptor DCC, VEGF and its receptor VEGFR. Synchrotron radiation angiography revealed more branches in fluoxetine-treated rats. We found no difference of infarct volume between fluoxetine and saline treated rats after 1 week of tMCAO, and ischemia-induced brain atrophy volume in fluoxetine-treated group was attenuated after 4 weeks of tMCAO. Neurological deficits were improved in fluoxetine-treated rats at 3 and 4 weeks after tMCAO. Our results indicated that fluoxetine could upregulate protein expression of HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade, promote angiogenesis, and improve long-term functional recovery after ischemic stroke. • Fluoxetine upregulates HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade. • Fluoxetine promotes neovascularization in cerebral ischemic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Herbal tea drinks, different from classical Camellia beverages, are a wide variety of herbal drinks consumed for therapeutic purposes or health promotion. Herbal tea is widely consumed in Guangxi. However, the documentation on the plants for herbal tea and their related health benefits is still limited. Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in 52 villages and 21 traditional markets in Guangxi from 2016 to 2021. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and structured questionnaires were applied to obtain ethnobotanical information of herbal tea, in which 463 informants had participated. Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural food significance index (CFSI) were used to evaluate the most culturally significant herbal tea plants, and informant consensus factor (ICF) was applied to assess the agreement among informants. Results: This study recorded 155 herbal tea species belonging to 49 families. The most commonly used parts included leaf (27.61%), whole plant (22.09%), branch and leaf (19.02%), and flower (13.50%). The most frequent preparation method of herbal tea was decoction. Herbal tea was very popular in Guangxi, attributing to its therapeutic value, special odor, and good taste. There are 41 health benefits classified into eight categories. Among them, clearing heat was the most medicinal effects. Local people had high consistency in tonic, removing cold and cough, improving blood circulation, and clearing heat away. Based on CFSI values of each species, the most culturally significant herbal tea species were Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex A. M. Lu & Zhi Y. Zhang, Plantago asiatica L., Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Pholidota chinensis Lindl., and Morus alba L. Conclusion: Herbal tea is a valuable heritage that carries the local people's traditional knowledge, like health care and religious belief. The recorded herbal tea species in this study possess tremendous potential for local economic development in the future. Further research on efficacy evaluation and product development of herbal tea species is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Herbal tea drinks, different from classical Camellia beverages, are a wide variety of herbal drinks consumed for therapeutic purposes or health promotion. Herbal tea is widely consumed in Guangxi. However, the documentation on the plants for herbal tea and their related health benefits is still limited. Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in 52 villages and 21 traditional markets in Guangxi from 2016 to 2021. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and structured questionnaires were applied to obtain ethnobotanical information of herbal tea, in which 463 informants had participated. Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural food significance index (CFSI) were used to evaluate the most culturally significant herbal tea plants, and informant consensus factor (ICF) was applied to assess the agreement among informants. Results: This study recorded 155 herbal tea species belonging to 49 families. The most commonly used parts included leaf (27.61%), whole plant (22.09%), branch and leaf (19.02%), and flower (13.50%). The most frequent preparation method of herbal tea was decoction. Herbal tea was very popular in Guangxi, attributing to its therapeutic value, special odor, and good taste. There are 41 health benefits classified into eight categories. Among them, clearing heat was the most medicinal effects. Local people had high consistency in tonic, removing cold and cough, improving blood circulation, and clearing heat away. Based on CFSI values of each species, the most culturally significant herbal tea species were Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex A. M. Lu & Zhi Y. Zhang, Plantago asiatica L., Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Pholidota chinensis Lindl., and Morus alba L. Conclusion: Herbal tea is a valuable heritage that carries the local people's traditional knowledge, like health care and religious belief. The recorded herbal tea species in this study possess tremendous potential for local economic development in the future. Further research on efficacy evaluation and product development of herbal tea species is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modularity between aggregation functions is an important property which has close links with both distributivity condition requisite in fuzzy connectives and associative law that is rather useful within fuzzy set theory. Moreover, overlap function and grouping function as two special aggregation functions which need not be associative or have the neutral element are applied to many realms such as image processing, classification. In Zong et al. (Inf Sci 477:506–527, 2018), authors discussed most general classes of 2-uninorms, some of whose structures are not indefinite. And we note that until now all studies on 2-uninorm such as Drygaś and Rak (Fuzy Sets Syst 29:82–97, 2016), Yager and Rybalov (Fuzzy Sets Syst 80:111–120, 1996) were only confined to quite special classes of 2-uninorms mentioned in Akella (Fuzzy Sts Syst 158:1631–1651, 2007), but there are not any relevant research on the general 2-uninorm. The present paper makes an attempt to explore the modularity properties of overlap (grouping) function and all general classes of 2-uninorms. During the process, we get the equivalent conditions and full structures of related aggregation operators on modularity equation, which generalize and extend the existing relevant results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]