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Conventional concept suggests that immediate surgery is the optimal choice for elderly hip fracture patients; however, few studies focus on the adverse effect of immediate surgery. This study aims to examine the adverse effect of immediate surgery, as well as to explore the meaning of mtDNA release after trauma. In the experiment, elderly rats, respectively, received hip fracture operations or hip fracture plus intramedullary nail surgery. After fracture operations, the serum mtDNA levels as well as the related indicators of systemic inflammatory response and lung injury significantly increased in the rats. After immediate surgery, the above variables were further increased. The serum mtDNA levels were significantly related with the serum cytokine (TNF-α and IL-10) levels and pulmonary histological score. In order to identify the meaning of mtDNA release following hip fracture, the elderly rats received injections with mtDNA. After treatment, the related indicators of systemic inflammatory response and lung injury significantly increased in the rats. These results demonstrated that the immediate surgery increased the mtDNA release that could aggravate systemic inflammatory response and lung injury induced by elderly hip fracture; serum mtDNA might serve as a potential biomarker of systemic inflammatory response and lung injury following elderly hip fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a serious cardiovascular disease. Investigating new susceptibility genes for effective methods of early diagnosis of AMI is important. In the current study, peripheral blood miR-19a levels were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Significant differences and logistic correlation analyses were carried out by grouping of disease types and stratification of risk factors. Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis was used to compare the current common clinical biochemical markers and evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of miR-19a for diagnosing AMI. Circulating miR-19a expression in the AMI group was higher than that in controls. The diagnostic effect of circulating miR-19a levels was superior to current clinical biochemical indices, such as CK, CK-MB, MYO, hs-TnI, and BNP. Our results show that there is a close association of circulating miR-19a levels with susceptibility to AMI. Circulating miR-19a levels could be a candidate diagnostic biomarker for AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile)/fluorinated montmorillonite was successfully prepared in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) by dispersion polymerization. In this study, a mixed stabilizer system was applied and investigated. Poly(styrene-r-acrylonitrile)-block-poly(1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluorooctyl methacrylate) (PSAN-b-PFOMA) was synthesized and investigated as stabilizer in scCO2. Fluorinated surfactant was used for the modification of the montmorillonite. The fluorinated montmorillonite (FMMT) applied in the polymerization was not only used as nanocomposite filler but also as a guest stabilizer. This study examined the stabilization roles of stabilizer and guest stabilizer respectively. The optimum dosages of both compounds were studied. The polymerization with mixed stabilizer resulted in high yield and high molecular weight. Moreover, a series of nanocomposites were characterized and the products showed excellent properties. It was found that the montmorillonite layer could be completely exfoliated using reasonable loading, and dispersed in the polymer matrix. In addition, the pressure of scCO2 was studied and the density of scCO2 was shown to be relevant to the stabilization of the reaction. The mixed stabilizer system made the polymerization more effective and the in-situ dispersion polymerization performed in scCO2 was shown to be a useful method for the nanocomposites preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to determine whether amyloid-β (Aβ) protein could be detected in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of rats with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and whether Aβ protein levels in serum and CSF correlated with the injury severity. A total of 140 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: Sham, mild injury, moderate injury and severe injury. Serum and CSF samples were collected at 12 h, 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days post-injury. ELISA analysis for serum and CSF Aβ protein was performed. Locomotor function of all animals was assessed using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale. Following SCI, the protein levels of Aβ in serum and CSF samples from SCI groups significantly increased from 12 h (P<0.05) and peaked 3 days after injury. A significant increase of Aβ levels in serum and CSF in the severe SCI group was also observed at 28 days after injury (P<0.05). At 28 days after injury the protein levels of Aβ in serum and CSF were significantly correlated with the severity of injury (serum, R²=-0.806, P<0.01; CSF, R²=-0.694, P<0.01). A significant correlation between Aβ protein level in serum and CSF and neurological deficits (BBB score) was also observed (P<0.01). The protein level of Aβ in serum and CSF was severity and time-dependent during the acute phase in rats with traumatic SCI. Monitoring the level of Aβ protein in serum may improve the evaluation of SCI severity and the neuron functional status following SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex operating environment could introduce serious degradation to the electromagnetic performance of active phased array antenna in both the main lobe and sidelobe areas. The effective compensation techniques become the key for antenna to perform in reliable service condition. Therefore, a method combined coupled structural-electromagnetic model with two-dimensional fast Fourier transform for compensation is presented. A compensation calculation model of the excitation current for planar array is established accordingly, quantitatively expressing the relationship between the excitation current compensation and the structure error. The adjustment quantities of excitation amplitude and phase can be quickly obtained and implemented to recover a high-quality pattern from a distorted antenna in both the main lobe and sidelobe areas. Lastly, the simulation of the space-based array antenna is illustrated to compensate its property under the impact of space environment and heat power from its electric devices. Furthermore, an experiment platform of an X-band active phased array antenna with 32 x 24 elements is built and tested for the electromagnetic performance compensation. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method can guarantee the performance of the service antenna quickly and effectively in the whole observation area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, by use of synthesized polypeptides as haptens, a monoclonal antibody with broad recognition against seven major Cry1 toxins (Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1B, Cry1C, Cry1E, and Cry1F) has been produced and characterized. First, by comparing the three-dimensional structures of seven Cry1 toxins, analyzing the conserved sequences, and considering the antigenicity and hydrophilicity, three polypeptides (T1, T2, and T3) have been chosen and coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin as immunogens for the generic monoclonal antibody (Mab) generation. Thereafter, a double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method (DAS-ELISA) was developed for simultaneous determination of seven Cry1 toxins. The results revealed that the haptens T1, T2, and T3 had different effects in the production of antibodies. Among them, the obtained Mab (strain 2D3) generated by T2 can recognize seven Cry1 toxins simultaneously. Equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) values for seven Cry1 toxins with Mab 2D3 were 1.198 × 10-8 M for Cry1Aa, 2.197 × 10-8 M for Cry1Ab, 1.367 × 10-8 M for Cry1Ac, 2.092 × 10-8 M for Cry1B, 5.177 × 10-8 M for Cry1C, 4.016 × 10-8 M for Cry1E, and 3.497 × 10-8 M for Cry1F. For 2D3-based DAS-ELISA, the limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) can reach 15 and 30 ng·mL-1 for each Cry1 toxin, respectively. Our study is the first report of a broadly specific immunoassay for multidetermination of seven major Cry1 toxins, and it will provide a new idea and technical routes for development of multidetermination immunoassays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of the random error and mechanical distortion on the electromagnetic performances of phased array antenna (PAA) are of great significance to the research on and development of the high-performance antennas. A coupled structural-electromagnetic model of PAA is developed to describe the effect of random error and mechanical distortion on the performances of antenna. The application of the model to a planar array antenna demonstrates the variation of the sidelobe level and gain with different random errors and different distortion grades respectively. The valuable results provide a theoretical guidance for the engineer to determine the optimal performance-driven structural tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of devices with biocompatible and biodegradable materials is a sustainable approach which will open up a new way for the development of green electronics in the future. Compared with organic materials, inorganic materials are more suitable candidates for the fabrication of synaptic transistors due to their better environmental stability, higher mobility and less toxicity. However, the majority of gate electrolytes used in the reported synaptic transistors were non-biocompatible or non-biodegradable. Herein, for the first time, we sputtered inorganic metal oxide indium tin oxide (ITO) on biomass-based hydrogel for the fabrication of synaptic devices, which showed good current on/off ratio (>105). Moreover, several vital synaptic behaviors were successfully simulated in pair such as excitatory post-synaptic current, inhibitory post-synaptic current, paired pulse facilitation, paired-pulse depression and short-term memory to long-term memory. High-pass filter and Pavlov associative learning and oblivion, two kinds of advanced simulation behaviors, were mimicked respectively. Finally, synaptic transistors were fabricated on flexible PET substrates with ITO electrodes and exhibited good mechanical stability under the bending tests. In conclusion, this work provides a unique example for the sustainable development of green neuromorphic electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]