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Introduction Severe septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) is one of the main causes of refractory septic shock (RSS), with a high mortality. The application of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support the impaired cardiac function in patients with septic shock remains controversial. Moreover, no prospective studies have been taken to address whether venoarterial ECMO treatment could improve the outcome of patients with sepsis-induced cardiogenic shock. The objective of this study is to assess whether venoarterial ECMO treatment can improve the 30-day survival rate of patients with sepsis-induced refractory cardiogenic shock.Methods and analysis ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the therapy for REfractory Septic shock with Cardiac function Under Estimated is a prospective, multicentre, non-randomised, cohort study on the application of ECMO in SCM. At least 64 patients with SCM and RSS will be enrolled in an estimated ratio of 1:1.5. Participants taking venoarterial ECMO during the period of study are referred to as cohort 1, and patients receiving only conventional therapy without ECMO belong to cohort 2. The primary outcome is survival in a 30-day follow-up period. Other end points include survival to intensive care unit (ICU) discharge, hospital survival, 6-month survival, quality of life for long-term survival (EQ-5D score), successful rate of ECMO weaning, long-term survivors’ cardiac function, the number of days alive without continuous renal replacement therapy, mechanical ventilation and vasopressor, ICU and hospital length of stay, the rate of complications potentially related to ECMO treatment.Ethics and dissemination The trial has been approved by the Clinical Research and Application Institutional Review Board of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (2020-hs-51). Participants will be screened and enrolled from ICU patients with septic shock by clinicians, with no public advertisement for recruitment. Results will be disseminated in research journals and through conference presentations.Trial registration number NCT05184296.

Displacement is a critical indicator that reflects the degeneration of overall stiffness for bridges. However, for most bridges, contact displacement measurement is difficult to achieve due to the lack of reference points and technical limitations. In this paper, a unique dual-camera visual sensor system for the whole field displacement measurement of bridge undersurfaces was developed. The visual sensor system relies on feature point algorithm and several algorithms are involved to improve the accuracy and efficiency. The dual-camera equipment can independently eliminate the impact of the camera vibration, thereby solving the problem of camera vibration caused by ground vibrations and wind loads at outdoor inspection sites when measuring bridge displacement. In a laboratory testing environment, a steel plate simulated a bridge and different experiments were conducted to test the visual system in situations with and without vibration disturbances to the camera. The results verify the accuracy of the developed visual sensor, especially the effectiveness of the vibration reduction method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posaconazole is a potent, extended-spectrum triazole antifungal used for the treatment and prophylaxis of serious fungal infections. Previous reports have demonstrated hyperlipidemia resulted in significant changes in posaconazole pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution in rats. However, the effect of hyperlipidemia on the pharmacokinetics of posaconazole in patients has not yet been reported. We report a case of a 34-year-old woman who experienced a supratherapeutic posaconazole trough concentration (PTC) associated with hyperlipidemia after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The patient was admitted 13 months after HSCT for recurrent cough and sputum. She was treated with caspofungin due to developing invasive fungal infection of Candida tropicalis. After 10 days, caspofungin was discontinued due to the poor therapeutic efficacy and replaced with amphotericin B. Afterwards, the condition of the patient improved significantly and she was switched to daily oral posaconazole tablet. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of posaconazole showed a PTC was 3.2 mg/L. After discharge, she continued to receive posaconazole tablet as antifungal treatment. Two months later, laboratory tests at outpatient showed her blood lipid levels were significantly elevated and PTC was increased to 9.38 mg/L. Therefore, the posaconazole tablet was discontinued and she received lipid-lowering therapy. A few days later, the PTC was down to 5.22 mg/L. No medication errors and significant drug interactions were found. Hence, supratherapeutic PTC for this patient may be caused by hyperlipidemia which altered pharmacokinetics of posaconazole. Our findings highlight the need for close TDM in order to avoid supratherapeutic PTC if hyperlipidimia occurs during posaconazole use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In large‐span grid structures with thousands of members involved, bending deformation of members is one of the most commonly observed damages affecting the normal service, even the safety of structures. Traditional testing and monitoring methods show weakness in the accurate judgment of crooked members and precision of deformation measurements. In this paper, a new deformation inspection and monitoring method of grid structures using image‐based 3D reconstruction is proposed, wherein a new method is put forward to automatically recognize and extract the shape deformation of the structural member for the first time. First, the key area with multiple members is modeled as a three‐dimensional mesh model using image‐based 3D reconstruction. Then, a new automated recognition and extraction algorithm of shape deformation (AREAS) is carried out, and crooked members, together with their deformed shapes, are extracted from the mesh model through AREAS. In this study, a load experiment of a quadrangular pyramid grid structure containing artificial crooked members and speckled members is designed to compare the deformation measurements using image‐based 3D reconstruction with those using laser scanning. The comparison of deformation and deformation increment shows an average error within 1 mm for image‐based 3D reconstruction, which validates the proposed method in on‐site inspection and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crack assessment has remained one of the high‐priority research topics for structural health monitoring. However, the current research mainly focuses on the crack assessment at some point, but pays relatively less attention to the long‐term development of cracks, which is important for structure health monitoring. In this paper, a new method based on dual‐convolutional neural network (CNN) (well over 94% accuracy), digital image processing technology and shape context is proposed, which achieves a fully automated process composed of crack detection, crack measurement, and quantitative crack growth monitoring. In crack growth monitoring, an algorithm to label each crack is put forward for the first time, which is able to reflect the sequential order of the occurrence of cracks. Therefore, each skeleton point of cracks will be assigned an ID which contains information about its identity and width in order to monitor cracks at both a global and local level. Experimental studies of a concrete member with complex cracks are utilized for the illustration and validation of the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common mycorrhizal networks ( CMNs) are the underground conduits of nutrient exchange between plants. However, whether the CMNs can serve as the underground conduits of chemical communication to transfer the disease resistance signals between plants are unknown. By inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus ( AMF) Glomus mosseae to establish CMNs between 'donor' and 'receiver' tomato plants, and by inoculating Alternaria solani, the causal agent of tomato early blight disease, to the 'donor' plants, this paper studied whether the potential disease resistance signals can be transferred between the 'donor' and 'receiver' plants roots. The real time RT-PCR analysis showed that after inoculation with A. solani, the AMF-inoculated 'donor' plants had strong expression of three test defense-related genes in roots, with the transcript levels of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), lipoxygenase (LOX) and chitinase (PR3) being significantly higher than those in the roots of the 'donor' plants only inoculated with A. solani, not inoculated with both A. solani and AMF, and only inoculated with AMF. More importantly, in the presence of CMNs, the expression levels of the three genes in the roots of the 'receiver' plants were significantly higher than those of the 'receiver' plants without CMNs connection, with the connection blocking, and with the connection but the 'donor' plants not A. solani-inoculated. Compared with the control (without CMNs connection), the transcript level of the PAL, LOX and PR3 in the roots of the 'receiver' plants having CMNs connection with the 'donor' plants was 4-2-, 4-5-and 3-5-fold higher, respectively. In addition, the 'donor' plants activated their defensive responses more quickly than the 'receiver' plants (18 and 65 h vs. 100 and 140 h). These findings suggested that the disease resistance signals produced by the pathogen-induced 'donor' tomato plant roots could be transferred to the 'receiver' plant roots through CMNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) can not only improve host plants nutrient absorption, but also enhance their disease resistance. Taking the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedlings preinoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus versiforme as test materials, this paper studied their protective enzyme activities and defense?related genes expression, and their resistance against a fungal pathogen Alternaria solani Sorauer which causes early blight. The seedlings preinoculated with AMF and later inoculated with A. solani showed significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in leaves. The leaf SOD activity of the dually inoculated plants reached the maximum 18 h after pathogen inoculation, being 28.6%, 79.2%, and 82.8% higher than that of the plants with G. versiforme inoculation alone, pathogen inoculation alone, and non-inoculation, and the leaf POD activity reached the maximum 65 h after pathogen inoculation, being 762%, 18.3%, and 1710% higher, respectively. Real time RT-PCR analysis showed that dual inoculation with G. versiforme and A. solani strongly induced the expression of three defense-related genes. The transcript levels of pathogen-related protein (PR1), basic type &bgr;1,3-glucanase (PR-2), and chitinase (PR-3) in leaves were 9.67-, 8.54-, and 13.4-fold higher, as compared with the non-inoculation control, respectively. Bioassay showed that the disease incidence and disease index of the seedlings pre-inoculated with G. versiforme were reduced by 36.3%and 61.4%, respectively, as compared with the non-mycorrhizal control plants. These findings indicated that mycorrhizal colonization could induce stronger and quicker defense responses of host to mato plants, and priming could be an important mechanism of the enhanced disease resistance of mycorrhizal tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) are the underground conduits of nutrient exchange between plants. However, whether the CMNs can serve as the underground conduits of chemical communication to transfer the disease resistance signals between plants are unknown. By inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae to establish CMNs between 'donor' and 'receiver' tomato plants, and by inoculating Alternaria solani, the causal agent of tomato early blight disease, to the 'donor' plants, this paper studied whether the potential disease resistance signals can be transferred between the 'donor' and 'receiver' plants roots. The real time RT-PCR analysis showed that after inoculation with A. solani, the AMF-inoculated 'donor' plants had strong expression of three test defense-related genes in roots, with the transcript levels of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), lipoxygenase (LOX) and chitinase (PR3) being significantly higher than those in the roots of the 'donor' plants only inoculated with A. solani, not inoculated with both A. solani and AMF, and only inoculated with AMF. More importantly, in the presence of CMNs, the expression levels of the three genes in the roots of the 'receiver' plants were significantly higher than those of the 'receiver' plants without CMNs connection, with the connection blocking, and with the connection but the 'donor' plants not A. solani-inoculated. Compared with the control (without CMNs connection), the transcript level of the PAL, LOX and PR3 in the roots of the 'receiver' plants having CMNs connection with the 'donor' plants was 4.2-, 4.5- and 3.5-fold higher, respectively. In addition, the 'donor' plants activated their defensive responses more quickly than the 'receiver' plants (18 and 65 h vs. 100 and 140 h). These findings suggested that the disease resistance signals produced by the pathogen-induced 'donor' tomato plant roots could be transferred to the 'receiver' plant roots through CMNs.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) can not only improve host plants nutrient absorption, but also enhance their disease resistance. Taking the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedlings preinoculated with axbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus versiforme as test materials, this paper studied their protective enzyme activities and defense-related genes expression, and their resistance against a fungal pathogen Alternaria solani Sorauer which causes early blight. The seedlings pre-inoculated with AMF and later inoculated with A. solani showed significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in leaves. The leaf SOD activity of the dually inoculated plants reached the maximum 18 h after pathogen inoculation, being 28.6%, 79.2% and 82.8% higher than that of the plants with G. versiforme inoculation alone, pathogen inoculation alone, and non-inoculation, and the Leaf POD activity reached the maximum 65 h after pathogen inoculation, being 762%, 18.3%, and 1710% higher, respectively. Real time RT-PCR analysis showed that dual inoculation with C. versiforme and A. solani strongly induced the expression of three defense-related genes. The transcript levels of pathogen-related protein (PR1), basic type beta-1,3-glucanase (PR-2), and chitinase (PR-3) in leaves were 9.67-, 8.54-, and 13.4-fold higher, as compared with the non-inoculation control, respectively. Bioassay showed that the disease incidence and disease index of the seedlings pre-inoculated with C. versiforme were reduced by 36.3% and 61.4%, respectively, as compared with the non-mycorrhizal control plants. These findings indicated that mycorrhizal colonization could induce stronger and quicker defense responses of host tomato plants, and priming could be an important mechanism of the enhanced disease resistance of mycorrhizal tomato plants.