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Objective The pandemic of 2019 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) has imposed a severe public health burden worldwide. Most patients with COVID-19 were mild. Severe patients progressed rapidly to critical condition including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multi-organ failure and even death. This study aims to find early multi-organ injury indicators and blood glucose for predicting mortality of COVID-19. Methods Fasting blood glucose (FBG) ≥7.0 mmol/L for two times during hospitalization and without a history of diabetes were defined as new-onset COVID-19-related diabetes (CRD). Indicators of injuries for multiple organs, including the lung, heart, kidney and liver, and glucose homeostasis were specifically analyzed for predicting death. Results A total of 120 patients with a severity equal to or greater than Moderate were hospitalized. After excluding patients with history of diabetes, chronic heart, kidney, and liver disease, 69 patients were included in the final analysis. Of the 69 patients, 23 were Moderate, 20 were Severe, and 26 were Critical (including 16 deceased patients). Univariable analysis indicated that CRD, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), creatine kinase (CK) and creatinine (Cr) were associated with death. Multivariable analysis indicated that CRD was an independent predictor for death (HR = 3.75, 95% CI 1.26–11.15). Abnormal glucose homeostasis or CRD occurred earlier than other indicators for predicting poor outcomes. Indicators of multiple organ injury were in parallel with the expression patterns of ACE2 (the SARS-CoV-2 receptor) in different organs including pancreatic islet. Conclusions New-onset COVID-19-related diabetes is an early indicator of multi-organ injury and predictor for poor outcomes and death in COVID-19 patients. As it is easy to perform for clinical practices and self-monitoring, glucose testing will be helpful for predicting poor outcomes to facilitate appropriate intensive care.

ImportanceThe recent outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Disease (COVID-19) has put the world on alert, that is reminiscent of the SARS outbreak seventeen years ago.ObjectiveWe aim to compare the severity and mortality between male and female patients with both COVID-19 and SARS, to explore the most useful prognostic factors for individualized assessment.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsWe extracted the data from a case series of 43 hospitalized patients we treated, a public data set of the first 37 cases died of COVID-19 in Wuhan city and 1019 survived patients from six cities in China. We also analyzed the data of 524 patients with SARS, including 139 deaths, from Beijing city in early 2003.Main Outcomes and MeasuresSeverity and mortality.ResultsOlder age and high number of comorbidities were associated with higher severity and mortality in patients with both COVID-19 and SARS. The percentages of older age (≥65 years) were much higher in the deceased group than in the survived group in patients with both COVID-19 (83.8 vs. 13.2, PConclusions and RelevanceOlder age and male gender are risk factors for worse outcome in patients with COVID. While men and women have the same susceptibility to both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, men may be more prone to have higher severity and mortality independent of age and susceptibility.Key PointsQuestionAre men more susceptible to getting and dying from COVID-19?FindingsIn the case series, men tend to be more serious than women. In the public data set, the percentage of men were higher in the deceased group than in the survived group, although age was comparable between men and women.MeaningMale gender is a risk factor for worse outcome in patients with COVID independent of age and susceptibility.

Background: Most patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) were mild. Severe patients progressed rapidly to critical condition including multi-organ failure and even death. Identification of early predictive factors is urgently necessary to facilitate appropriate intensive care. Methods: We included all patient admitted to Wuhan Union Hospital and treated by the supportive medical team of Beijing Tongren Hospital as of March 20, 2020. Indicators of injuries for multiple organs, including the heart, kidney and liver, and glucose homeostasis were specifically analyzed for predicting primary outcomes (an intensive care unit (ICU) or death). Findings: The data of 120 patients with a severity equal to or greater than Moderate, discharged from the hospital or died were extracted. After excluding patients with chronic heart, kidney, liver disease and diabetes, 69 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 26 cases with primary outcomes including 16 deaths. Univariable analysis indicated that elevations of fasting blood glucose (FBG), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), creatine kinase (CK) and creatinine (Cr) were associated with higher odds of primary outcomes and more hazards of death. Cox regression results indicated that FBG≥7mmol/L was the only independent predictor for death (HR = 3.75, 95% CI 1.26-11.15). Cluster analysis found more proximities of FBG (at the time of admission) with LDH, HDDH or Creatinine (at the time after 2-4 days of hospitalization) (r=0.43, 0.43 and 0.50, respectively, P

Based on the compression-shear tests of different specifications LRBs (diameter 700mm,1000mm,1100mm) and shear strain correlation formula, the modified differential restoring force model (modified Bouc-Wen model) is suggested to simulate LRB. An isolated model, nine-story superstructure, is used as the numerical example. Using the unmodified and the modified differential restoring force model of the LRB, the differences of the seismic response of isolated structure are studied by numerical analysis and comparison. Result shows that, unmodified differential restoring force model commonly used in isolation design, except for acceleration response, other earthquake response has not significant error.

Mid-story isolation structure is developing from base isolation structures. As a complex structural system, the work mechanism of base isolation structure is not entirely appropriate for mid-story isolation structure, and the prolonging of structural natural period may not be able to decrease the seismic response of substructure and superstructure simultaneously. In this paper, for a four-story steel frame model, whose prototype first natural period is about 1s without seismic isolation design, the seismic responses and isolation effectiveness of mid-story isolation system with linear natural rubber bearing and viscous damper are studied experimentally by changing the location of isolation layer. Respectively, the locations of isolation layer are set at bottom of the first story, top of the first story, top of the second story and top of the third story. The results show that mid-story isolation can reduce seismic response in general, and substructure acceleration may be amplified.

Mid-story isolation structure is developing from base isolation structures. As a complex structural system, the work mechanism of base isolation structure is not entirely appropriate for mid-story isolation structure, and the prolonging of structural natural period may not be able to decrease the seismic response of substructure and superstructure simultaneously. In this paper, for a four-story steel frame model, whose prototype first natural period is about 1s without seismic isolation design, the seismic responses and isolation effectiveness of mid-story isolation system with lead rubber bearing are studied experimentally by changing the location of isolation layer. Respectively, the locations of isolation layer are set at bottom of the first story, top of the first story, top of the second story and top of the third story. The results show that mid-story isolation can reduce seismic response in general, and substructure acceleration may be amplified.

One LNR-D1100 isolator at the stage of large horizontal deformation was analysed by FEM program in this paper, which was applied by press-shear load. The maximum S.Mises stress about inner steels of isolator have been researched. The maximum S.Mises stress will occur in the core upload area, with horizontal shear strain increasing. The core upload area will be diminution with horizontal shear deformation increasing, but the maximum S. Mises stress will be larger and larger. When large horizontal deformation of isolator occurs, there is some out-plane deformation at parts of inner steels near the upmost and downbottom of isolator. Vertical pressure will lend inner steels themself to yield when horizontal shear strain of isolator being loaded.When there is 0 MPa vertical pressure on the isolator, no vertical displacement between the top and the bottom of isolator may be helpful for the maximum S.Mises stress value of inner steels of isolator to decrease.

This paper presents a simple Self-resetting sliding isolation system, which is composed of graphite sliding device and simple rubber bearing. Theoretical analysis is carried out. Shaking table test for a typical brick masonry structure in village of China is performed on a 1:4 scale. Results show that the proposed new isolation system can achieve a favorable level of performance.

The valley shaped Tianziling landfill of Hangzhou in China built in 1991 to dispose of municipal solid waste (MSW) was designed for a service life of 13 years. The problem of waste landfill slope stability and expansion must be considered from the geotechnical engineering point of view, for which purpose, it is necessary to understand the geotechnical properties of the MSW in the landfill, some of whose physical properties were measured by common geotechnical tests, such as those on unit weight, water content, organic matter content, specific gravity, coefficient of permeability, compressibility, etc. The mechanical properties were studied by direct shear test, triaxial compression test, and static and dynamic penetration tests. Some strength parameters for engineering analysis were obtained.

To improve the clinical knowledge on allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) combined with COPD by report of cases.We retrospectively analyzed the clinical information of 3 cases of ABPA combined with COPD diagnosed in our hospital from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2012.The 3 patients were all males, and aged from 68 to 82 years. The main complaints of all the patients were exertional dyspnea, cough and sputum production, with episodes of wheezing. All patients denied the history of allergic diseases, e.g., asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, eczema, and family history of asthma. They all had a history of heavy smoking. The pulmonary function tests indicated obstructive impairment, and the ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC) after bronchodilators were 30%, 33% and 43%, respectively, with no significant bronchodilator reversibility, which were consistent with the diagnostic criteria for COPD, with 1 case in GOLD grade III and 2 cases in GOLD grade IV based on the GOLD spirometric criteria for COPD severity. Lung HRCT showed emphysema with or without bulla formation. All cases showed immediate positive response to Aspergillus antigen by skin prick test (SPT), increased serum total IgE1000 kU/L, increased serum level of Aspergillus specific IgE (0.35 kU/L) and IgG (40 mg/L). Central bronchiectasis was also evident on HRCT scan in the 3 patients. In addition, the eosinophil percentage in peripheral blood was all5%. Pulmonary infiltrates, brown phlegm plugs, and growth of Aspergillus fumigatus were also noted in some cases. After the diagnosis of ABPA, the patients were all given oral prednisone therapy, with notable improvement in dyspnea and FEV1.ABPA in COPD is uncommon, but early identification and initiation of systemic corticosteroid therapy can lead to improvement in symptoms and prognosis. For COPD patients with recurrent attacks of wheezing or are unresponsive to combination therapy of inhaled long-acting bronchodilators and corticosteroids, concurrent ABPA should be suspected and investigated accordingly.

A novel reversible cluster-cluster aggregation model in the context of Monte Carlo simulation is developed. The effects of the interface between liquid crystal and polymer on the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) in the polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) systems are investigated. It is found that the energy barrier due to the interface helps to reduce the chance of collision among the liquid crystal clusters, thereby increasing the size uniformity of these clusters. The results also reveal that gravity significantly decreases the size uniformity of the liquid crystal clusters, especially when the interfacial strength ϵi between liquid crystal and polymer is small.

The polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) process in a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) system was studied by using Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation methods. In particular, the dependence of the phase separation between liquid crystal and polymer on the parameters, such as temperature γ = ∊/kT, polymerization reactivity p and curing time t c, was examined. It was found that the pair correlation function G(a, t) decreases with the decrease of temperature when the polymerization reactivity p is fixed. Our results also revealed that at a constant temperature, the final value of G(a) first increases with the increasing of p, and finally approaches a constant value. This observation provides us an effective way of controlling the size of liquid crystal droplets as well as their distributions. It was observed that the equilibrium value of G(a) increases as the curing time increases when both temperature and p are kept constant. This is another way of controlling the size of liquid crystal dr...

The effect of polymerization reactivity, interfacial strength, and gravity on the size and distribution of the liquid crystal droplets in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films obtained by a polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) process is studied by a newly developed reversible cluster-cluster aggregation model. These parameters directly influence the formation of polymer networks and, therefore, can modify the final state of PDLC films. Our simulation shows that the droplet distribution function P of the liquid crystal assumes a narrower spectrum when the polymerization reactivity and the interfacial strength between the liquid crystal and the polymer increases, while its main peak position remains virtually unchanged (at around N = 1). At weak interfacial strength the gravity is found to play a minor role in the controlling of the size of the liquid crystal droplets. However, the gravity effect on the size of the liquid crystal droplets becomes a dominant factor when interfacial strength increases.

A kinetic model is used to describe the growth via nucleation process. The set of finite difference equations describing the growth are solved exactly for an equilibrium and a steady state. The equilibrium state is shown to be a special case of the more general steady state. For the time-dependent case the set of finite difference equations is reduced to a single partial differential equation (the Fokker-Planck equation). The partial differential equation is again solved analytically for the equilibrium, steady state, and time-dependent problem. In the latter case we have shown that the equation reduces to a diffusion equation and the cluster size distribution is described by a Gaussian distribution, with a time-dependent mean cluster size and an effective diffusion coefficient. The theoretical model is compared with the experimental data on the polymer-dispersed liquid crystals prepared by the polymerization-induced phase separation. The concept of critical radius is naturally introduced into the kinetic model and a very simple relation is obtained for the critical radius in terms of the measured quantities and a scaling parameter. A reasonably good agreement between experiment and theory is achieved, For microgravity experiments the diffusion coefficient is smaller than for 1-g experiments. The effect of gravity on critical radius is also indicated.

A Monte Carlo simulation method was used to study the phase separation process in a liquid crystal-polymer system, and in particular to examine the mechanism of phase separation as a function of quench temperature and concentration of liquid crystal (c). It was found that the phase separation and subsequent growth of the new phases proceed via nucleation in the case of c = 0.20. However, in the case of c = 0.50, spinodal decomposition is the main process. The critical temperature was estimated to be γ c = ϵ kT c = 1.5 . The results also show that the phase separation takes place at relatively early time, i.e., about t = 107 Monte Carlo steps (MCS).

We use ab initio total-energy minimization methods to study the equilibrium structure of the InP(100) surface, and in particular examine the structure of the surface as a function of In coverage (Θ). We find the low-coverage ( Θ = 0.25), non-dimerized (2 × 4) surface to yield the lowest energy per In atom, and therefore to possibly constitute the ground-state structure of the surface, even though it has not been observed experimentally. Nevertheless, we have found the In-dimerized surfaces at all coverages to be stable. For the fully In-covered surface, we observe the equilibrium structure to be the symmetric (2 × 1) phase, i.e., with the In dimers adopting a symmetric configuration with respect to the surface. For a coverage of Θ = 0.75, we find a symmetric-dimer (2 × 4) reconstruction to provide a stable equilibrium configuration. The dimer bond length, we observe, is relatively insensitive to coverage, and in view of the fact that LDA calculations tend to underestimate distances a little, we predict that the experimental bond-length value should be very close to 2.8 A. For low In coverage surface, our calculations indicate that phosphorus dimers may form.

To investigate the clinical characteristics of thoracic sarcoidosis compared with multi-organ sarcoidosis.The clinical data of 24 patients with thoracic sarcoidosis and 29 patients with multi-organ sarcoidosis histologically diagnosed at Beijing Tongren Hospital from 1995 to 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The demographic data, clinical manifestations, diagnostic procedures, involved organs, serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels, lung functions, and cellular characteristics of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were compared.No difference was found in the age of onset between the 2 groups [(49 ± 12), (48 ± 11) years old; t = 0.114, P0.05]. Multi-organ sarcoidosis was more frequent in females compared with thoracic sarcoidosis (13/24, 24/29; χ² = 5.094, P0.05), and 72.41% of the patients with multi-organ disease were females above 40 years old. The patients with thoracic sarcoidosis mostly presented first to respiratory physicians or chest surgeons, often with the symptoms of lung involvement. The manifestations of multi-organ sarcoidosis varied considerably and the patients might present to any clinical departments. Sarcoidosis with rare involvement of organs as the presenting symptoms was easy to be misdiagnosed. A higher incidence of systemic constitutional symptoms (25.0%, 58.6%; χ² = 6.043, P0.05) and a longer duration for definite diagnosis [1.75 (0.625 - 3.000), 6 (0 - 40) months; Z = -3.377, P0.01] were found in patients with multi-organ sarcoidosis compared with thoracic sarcoidosis. There was no difference in the serum ACE level between the 2 groups [(72 ± 33), (75 ± 59) U/L; t = -0.193, P0.05]. Although forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1))/forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV₁ %predicted (pred), FVC%pred and total lung capacity (TLC)%pred showed no difference (t = 0.134 - 0.683, P0.05), the diffusing capacity of the lung of carbon monoxide (D(LCO))%pred decreased more remarkably in multi-organ sarcoidosis [(84 ± 8), (69 ± 21); t = 2.674, P0.05]. The total cell count, alveolar lymphocyte percentage and CD₄/CD₈ ratio of BALF demonstrated no significant difference between the 2 groups (t = -0.628 - -0.367, P0.05), but the neutrophil percentage was significantly higher in multi-organ sarcoidosis compared with thoracic sarcoidosis [(10.9 ± 4.9)%, (5.1 ± 2.1)%; t = -4.187, P0.01].Compared with thoracic sarcoidosis, multi-organ sarcoidosis seemed to be more common in females and more serious. Increased percentage of neutrophils in BALF may be a suggestive index for multiple organ involvements.

To investigate the clinical characteristics of sarcoidosis with upper airway (including nose/paranasal sinus, pharynx, larynx and middle ear) involvement as the presenting symptoms, and therefore to minimize the misdiagnosis of sarcoidosis with special manifestations.Four cases of sarcoidosis with upper airway involvement as the presenting symptoms diagnosed at our hospital were described. The clinical data were analyzed and related literatures were reviewed.Three female patients aged 52, 53, 34 years and one 15-year-old male patient, with the main complaints as "mycteric mass", "chronic otitis media", "hoarseness" and "chronic tonsillitis" respectively, were referred to our hospital for further evaluation. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis was finally confirmed by biopsy of bronchial mucous membrane, enlarged peripheral lymph nodes, and otorhinolaryngological lesions. Physical examination and imaging findings showed involvements of the lungs and/or the lymph nodes in 3 patients. Seven Chinese articles about upper airway sarcoidosis (all involving the nose) were found after literature search with "sarcoidosis" as the key word at the CNKI database (1915 - 2011). English literature search with the same key word at "Pubmed" showed that the rate of upper airway involvement in sarcoidosis varied from 2.3% - 6.0%, mostly concurrent with thoracic and lymph node diseases, whereas cases of sarcoidosis presenting with otorhinolaryngological symptoms were occasionally reported.Although upper airway sarcoidosis was rare, it may be the cause of chronic otorhinolaryngological disease which responded poorly to routine treatments. Careful collection of medical history, physical examination and necessary accessory examinations, especially better understanding of the exceptional manifestations of sarcoidosis, can help to minimize misdiagnosis and therefore to improve the prognosis of the patients.

We use ab initio total-energy minimization techniques to resolve the lattice strain βh arising from the presence of holes in the valence band of SiGa alloys. We find, in agreement with recent EXAFS results, the lattice to contract upon increasing the proportion of holes (βh < 0). We also find that the valence-band deformation potential av is positive, leading to a violation of Keyes' relation, which asserts that βh and av are equal within a constant positive factor. Our calculations suggest therefore that Keyes' formula does not describe adequately the relation between the two quantities, and also resolve the apparent contradiction between experiment and previous calculations.

We employ ab initio total-energy-minimization techniques to study the relaxation of Ge dimers on Si(100). We find that the dimers adopt an asymmetric configuration, in agreement with recent experimental results [E. Fontes et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2790 (1993)]. The average dimer height displacement and tilting angle are found to be 0.79 \AA{} and +19\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, respectively. Our calculations predict that the (2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2) and c(4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4) reconstructed structures have the same energy, and suggest that either one of these two could be the ground-state structure.

A novel mechanism for the growth on crystalline surfaces under low supersaturation, namely, induced by the presence of point defects, is proposed and studied. More precisely, we use ab initio minimization techniques to calculate the potential-energy surface for a series of adatoms sequentially deposited on the Si(100)2×1 surface in the presence, beneath the top layer, of a vacancy. We find that, indeed, this defect can act as a growth site for the crystal: the energy at the defect is about 1 eV lower than the lowest point of the perfect surface. Adatoms aggregate near the defect and form the nucleus of subsequent growth

We present an approximate scheme for the dynamical annealing of electrons in Car-Parrinello-type calculations. Our approach is based on the use of the total electron density (rather than the wave functions) as the fictitious variable that drives the annealing. The Thomas-Fermi approximation is employed to describe the kinetic energy of the electrons. Our calculation of the ground-state configuration of either c-Si or H/Si(100)1 × 1 is found to be in excellent agreement with both experiment and detailed Car-Parrinello simulations. The method can be used as an “economical” first-order solution to numerous structure-optimization problems.

To describe the clinical features and diagnosis of idiopathic diffuse pulmonary ossification (DPO).A case of DPO confirmed by video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung biopsy was reported, and the literature was reviewed.A 32 year-old male was admitted to this hospital because of increased lung markings on chest X-ray for 7 years, and diffuse micro-nodular and reticular lesions on chest CT for 2 years. There were no significant symptoms, such as cough, sputum production and shortness of breath. Routine examinations and transbronchial lung biopsy failed to give a definite diagnosis, and therefore VATS lung biopsy was performed. The pathological study confirmed the presence of bone tissue in the lung, and the diagnosis of idiopathic DPD was made after careful exclusion of underlying diseases. Eleven cases of DPO diagnosed by lung biopsy in living patients were collected by review of the literature. The patients were all males, with a mean age of (48 +/- 17) years. No clinical symptoms were present in 4 cases, while spontaneous pneumothorax was the initial presentation in 3 cases. Other complaints included cough and shortness of breath. No case was reported in the Chinese literature.DPO is a rare disease, often without significant symptoms despite radiologically diffuse pulmonary lesions, which are easily misdiagnosed as other interstitial lung diseases.

Making use of the first nearest neighbour approximation it is shown that the sub-step created on a (111) face of an fcc crystal by stacking fault makes the barrier for the two-dimensional (2D) heterogeneous nucleation on the surface about twice as low as that predicted by Ming et al. [J. Crystal Growth 91 (1988) 11]. Thus, the stacking fault growth mechanism is much more effective for the step generation on the growing surface as it was considered earlier.

The Monte-Carlo simulation method has been used to simulate the growth of the f.c.c. (111) crystal surface, on which emerged the outcrop of a stacking fault bounded by two partial dislocations. The comparison of the growth rates has been made between the stacking-fault-containing surface and the perfect surface. The successive growth stages have been simulated. The influence of the width of the stacking fault on the growth rates of the (111) surface has also been studied. We conclude that the outcrop of the stacking fault bounded by two partial dislocations on the crystal surface can act as a self-perpetuating step-generating source.

The Monte-Carlo simulation method is used to simulate the growth of the fcc (111) crystal surface, on which emerged the outcrop of a stacking fault bounded by two partial dislocations and a dipole of screw dislocations, respectively. The comparison is made between these two different growth mechanisms. It is found that the growth rate for the stacking fault mechanism is less than that for the screw dislocation mechanism at low supersaturations, but at high supersaturations, this situation is reversed.

Effects of many-body interactions on crystal-vapor interface are studied by employing Monte Carlo method with an anisotropic variable bond model. We conclude that, because of surface relaxation, the surface free energy and the edge free energy decrease, crystal growth rate increases, and the surface roughening transition temperature is lowered.

Monte-Carlo simulation technique with an anisotropic variable bond model is used to simulate the vapor growth on (100), (111) and (110) faces of a f.c.c. crystal. The effects of many-body interactions on crystal growth kinetics, crystal morphology and kinetic roughening are discussed.

Monte Carlo simulation technique with an anisotropic variable bond model is used to simulate the vapor growth of a simple Kossel crystal. We conclude that an anisotropic variable bond approach would predict a lower roughening transition temperature than those obtained by a conventional constant bond approach and the isotropic variable bond approach proposed by Ong et al.