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A one-pot, base-mediated approach to Acanthus ilicifolius Linn alkaloid 2-benzoxazolinone derivatives is developed. Starting from trichloroacetic acid, o -aminophenol, substituted benzaldehydes and alkyl isocyanides, the desired 2-benzoxazolinone derivatives are obtained in good yields via a tandem Ugi condensation and intramolecular haloform cyclization at room temperature in the presence of Et3N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of inborn errors of metabolism varies widely across countries. Very few studies have analyzed the incidence of these disorders in Mainland China. We aimed to estimate the overall and disease-specific incidences of inborn errors of metabolism in Chinese newborns and investigate the geographical distribution of these disorders. Methods: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate newborn inborn errors of metabolism screening by tandem mass spectroscopy in Mainland China between 2016 and 2017. A total of 246 newborn screening centers were surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. We examined the cumulative and disease-specific incidences of inborn errors of metabolism in Mainland China as a whole and in different geographical locations. Results: Over 7 million newborns were screened and 2747 were diagnosed with inborn errors of metabolism, yielding an overall incidence of 38.69 per 100,000 births (95% confidence interval: 37.27–40.17). The most common disorders were amino acid disorders (17.14 per 100,000 births, 95% confidence interval: 16.21–18.13), followed by organic acid disorders (12.39 per 100,000 births, 95% confidence interval: 11.60–13.24) and fatty acid oxidation disorders (9.16 per 100,000 births, 95% confidence interval: 8.48–9.89). The overall and disease-specific incidence rates differed significantly across geographical locations (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The overall incidence of inborn errors of metabolism in Chinese newborns is relatively high. It is urgent to establish the recommended uniform screening panel for inborn errors of metabolism to guide the national and regional tandem mass spectroscopy newborn screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was to investigate the effectiveness of action observation therapy on arm and hand motor function, walking ability, gait performance, and activities of daily living in stroke patients. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Data sources: Searches were completed in January 2019 from electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and OTseeker. Review methods: Two independent reviewers performed data extraction and evaluated the study quality by the PEDro scale. The pooled effect sizes on different aspects of outcome measures were calculated. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine the impact of stroke phases on treatment efficacy. Results: Included were 17 articles with 600 patients. Compared with control treatments, the action observation therapy had a moderate effect size on arm and hand motor outcomes (Hedge's g = 0.564; P < 0.001), a moderate to large effect size on walking outcomes (Hedge's g = 0.779; P < 0.001), a large effect size on gait velocity (Hedge's g = 0.990; P < 0.001), and a moderate to large effect size on activities of daily function (Hedge's g = 0. 728; P = 0.004). Based on subgroup analyses, the action observation therapy showed moderate to large effect sizes in the studies of patients with acute/subacute stroke or those with chronic stroke (Hedge's g = 0.661 and 0.783). Conclusion: This review suggests that action observation therapy is an effective approach for stroke patients to improve arm and hand motor function, walking ability, gait velocity, and daily activity performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with vibration-based damage detection in a truss bridge model and suggests a novel methodology based on fuzzy clustering and measured frequency response function (FRF) data reduced by principal component projection. A six-bay truss bridge model is designed and fabricated in laboratory, various connection damages are simulated by loosening the end connecter bolts, and the environmental effects are taken into account by changing in excitation force levels of a shaker. The FRFs of the healthy and the damaged structure are used as initial data. The FRF data normalization is performed for eliminating the effects caused by the environmental and operational variability. Two data projection algorithms, namely principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) are adopted for data compression and the median values of principal components are defined for damage feature extraction. The fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm is used to categorize these features for structural damage detection. The illustrated results show that the proposed method can effectively identify the bridge damages simulated by loosening the bolted joints of the truss bridge structure. It is sensitive to the structural damage but it is non-sensitive to the effect of the environmental and operational variations. This makes it quite generic and permits its potential development for real and complex truss bridges in site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a retrospective analysis involving 1269 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to evaluate the predictive value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on long-term outcomes. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and combined end point events (CEEs). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and net reclassification improvement (NRI) analysis were performed. During a median follow-up of 3.32 years, 285 deaths and 376 CEEs occurred. With the elevation of the NLR, the incidence of all-cause mortality (2.77, 4.14, 6.12, and 12.18/100 person-years) and CEEs (4.19, 7.40, 8.03, and 15.22/100 person-years) significantly increased. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that the highest NLR quartile was independently associated with the incidence of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.19-2.65) and CEEs (HR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.18-2.33). When the NLR was analyzed as a continuous variable, a 1-unit increment in log NLR was related to 134% increased risk of all-cause mortality and 119% increased risk of CEEs. Net reclassification improvement analysis revealed that NLR significantly improved risk stratification for all-cause death and CEEs by 15.0% and 9.6%, respectively. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio could be an independent predictor of long-term outcomes in patients with AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with agranulocytosis and fever in 12 hospitals in Shanghai from 2012 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. WHONET 5.6 software was used to analyze the results of drug sensitivity test. Data from different diseases, different sample sources, and drug sensitivity tests were statistically analyzed to investigate the clinical distribution characteristics and drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with agranulocytosis and fever in Shanghai, China. This study revealed that, among these 109 strains of P. aeruginosa, they were mainly found in patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML; 48 strains, 44.04%) and patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL; 36 strains, 33.03%). The specimen sources were mainly respiratory tract secretions (58 strains, 53.21%) and blood (21 strains, 19.26%). The P. aeruginosa isolates from neutropenic sepsis patients showed high sensitivity to the following antibiotics: piperacillin/tazobactam, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, and amikacin with 91.1%, 89%, 89%, 87.9%, and 85.7% of isolates being sensitive, respectively. Furthermore, for P. aeruginosa isolates from the AML group of patients, the lowest antibiotic resistance rates were seen for ciprofloxacin (0%), cefoperazone/sulbactam (2.1%), and cefepime (7.1%), while for the ALL group the lowest antibiotic resistance rates were seen for piperacillin (2.8%), ceftazidime (2.8%), and cefepime (2.8%). Isolates from AML patients (21.3%) were significantly more likely to be piperacillin resistant than those from the ALL patients (2.8%). Therefore, P. aeruginosa infection is relatively common in patients with agranulocytosis and fever. The strains had a certain degree of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current guidelines recommend maintaining serum potassium levels between 4.0 and 5.0 mEq/L (1 mEq/L = mmol/L) in patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, these guidelines are based on studies conducted before the β blocker and reperfusion era. We retrospectively analyzed 6613 patients diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who presented without renal insufficiency. Patients were categorized into 5 groups according to mean serum potassium levels: <3.5, 3.5 to <4.0, 4.0 to <4.5, 4.5 to <5.0, and ≥5.0 mEq/L. Patients with potassium levels of 4.0 to <4.5 mEq/L had the lowest predefined event rates, which were 6.4% for 7-day malignant arrhythmia, 3.7% for 7-day mortality, and 5.3% for 30-day mortality. Compared with the reference group (4.0 to <4.5 mEq/L), multivariate regression analysis revealed significantly higher 30-day mortality risk in patients with potassium level of 4.5 to <5.0 (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-1.98; P = .002) and even higher risk in patients with potassium level of ≥5.0 mEq/L (HR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.22-2.66; P = .002). The lowest 30-day mortality was observed in patients with STEMI having potassium levels between 4.0 and 4.5 mEq/L, and a level >4.5 mEq/L significantly increased mortality risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is lack of data about patient characteristics, practice patterns, and long-term adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) attending emergency departments (EDs) in China. A total of 2016 patients from 20 representative EDs were included. During 1 year, all-cause mortality was 291 (14.6%) cases, stroke/noncentral nervous system systemic embolism rate was 159 (8.0%) cases, and major bleeding was 26 (1.3%) cases. Heart failure, the major cause of mortality, accounted for 43.0% of deaths. Of 375 (18.6%) patients who used warfarin at baseline, only 217 (57.9%) patients were still on anticoagulation therapy during 1-year follow-up. Compared with the patients who continued on warfarin, the mortality rate was higher in those who did not continue (15.9% vs 5.5%, P < .001). Patients seen in ED with AF appear to have a high incidence rate of long-term all-cause mortality and inadequate anticoagulation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine Nb-Sn and Nb-Ta intermetallic powders were produced by hydrogen reduction from their uniformly mixed chloride vapours, while Nb-Al intermetallic powders were synthesised by sodium reduction of their chlorides in a LiCl-KCl-NaCl-CaCl2 molten medium. The obtained Nb-Sn and Nb-Ta powders were fine and agglomerated, with a uniform particle size distribution and a typical particle size of 20-40 nm. The particle size of Nb-Al powders synthesised by sodium reduction was approximately in the range of 50-300 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, pore size and porosity distribution of porous Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds (pTi) were controlled by 3D printing. The effects of pore size distribution at a constant porosity, or porosity distribution at a constant pore size pertaining to functions of adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of the mouse embryonic osteoblast precursor (MC3T3-E1) cells were researched separately. Methods: 3D printing was used to design five groups of pTi, designated as PS300/HP, PS300/LP, PS500/HP, PS500/LP, and PS800/HP based on pore size and porosity distribution. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on pTi, and non-porous Ti-6Al-4V samples (npTi) were prepared as control. The pTi was characterized with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). MC3T3-E1 cells were stained via AlamarBlue assay and viability and proliferation analyzed. The mRNA levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), collagentype-1 (Col-1), and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) in MC3T3-E1 cells were analyzed by real-time PCR analysis. Results: The average pore size and porosity of pTi were recorded as (301 ± 9 μm, 58.8 ± 1.8%), (300 ± 9 μm, 43.4 ± 1.3%), (501 ± 11 μm, 58.3 ± 1.2%), (499 ± 12 μm, 42.7 ± 1.1%), and (804 ± 10 μm, 58.9 ± 1.3%), respectively. SEM images confirmed active attachment of cells and oriented with the direction of metal rod after pTi/MC3T3-E1 co-culture for 3 and 7 days. In addition, MC3T3-E1 cells grown on the PS800/HP displayed significantly higher proliferation compared with each group after 3 days incubation (p < 0.05). Moreover, cells showed some degree of proliferation in all groups, with the highest value recorded for PS800/HP after culture for 7 days (p < 0.05). The gene expression pattern of ALP, OCN, Col-1, and Runx2 confirmed that these were down-regulated when pore size increased or porosity decreased of pTi (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The pTi facilitated the adhesion and differentiation of osteoblast when pore size decreased or porosity increased. The scaffold model resembles physical modification with porous structures, which has potential application in the surface modifications of Ti implant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 3D large-sized nanocrystalline (NC) copper bulk was prepared by inert gas condensation and in situ warm compress, the density of which was 99.51% of theoretical value. Electrochemical methods and XRD、EDS、SEM technique were used to investigate the anodic polarisation behaviour of NC copper in solutions with chloride ions. NC copper exhibited a different anodic polarisation behaviour from its coarse-grain (CG) counterpart in 0.47 wt-% NaCl solution. No second passivity was observed for NC copper, while there was a notable second passivity for CG copper. Compared with CG copper, the corrosion resistance of NC copper decreased. The anodic polarisation behaviour of NC copper changed significantly when 104 ppm Cl− was added in 0.3% Na2SO4 solution. Attributed to the CuCl protective film on NC copper, the critical current intensity decreased and the decreasing rate of anodic current intensity lowed notably in activity-passivity zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with agranulocytosis and fever in 12 hospitals in Shanghai from 2012 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. WHONET 5.6 software was used to analyze the results of drug sensitivity test. Data from different diseases, different sample sources, and drug sensitivity tests were statistically analyzed to investigate the clinical distribution characteristics and drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with agranulocytosis and fever in Shanghai, China. This study revealed that, among these 109 strains of P. aeruginosa, they were mainly found in patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML; 48 strains, 44.04%) and patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL; 36 strains, 33.03%). The specimen sources were mainly respiratory tract secretions (58 strains, 53.21%) and blood (21 strains, 19.26%). The P. aeruginosa isolates from neutropenic sepsis patients showed high sensitivity to the following antibiotics: piperacillin/tazobactam, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, and amikacin with 91.1%, 89%, 89%, 87.9%, and 85.7% of isolates being sensitive, respectively. Furthermore, for P. aeruginosa isolates from the AML group of patients, the lowest antibiotic resistance rates were seen for ciprofloxacin (0%), cefoperazone/sulbactam (2.1%), and cefepime (7.1%), while for the ALL group the lowest antibiotic resistance rates were seen for piperacillin (2.8%), ceftazidime (2.8%), and cefepime (2.8%). Isolates from AML patients (21.3%) were significantly more likely to be piperacillin resistant than those from the ALL patients (2.8%). Therefore, P. aeruginosa infection is relatively common in patients with agranulocytosis and fever. The strains had a certain degree of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the mediating effects of future social expectations and interpersonal distrust on the relationship between individual relative deprivation and intention to rebel. Data were gathered from 807 people from multiple occupational backgrounds in a municipality in southwest China. Structural equation modelling showed that individual relative deprivation predicted intention to rebel directly and also that it predicted intention to rebel indirectly via negative future social expectations, interpersonal distrust, and a chain mediating effect of negative future social expectations and interpersonal distrust. These results highlight the importance of the associations between future social expectations and interpersonal distrust with intention to rebel in people who report relative deprivation. The findings also indicate that prevention and intervention programs related to relative deprivation and intention to rebel in China are worthy of further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to observe the effects of dexmedetomidine against acute kidney injury in patients with septic shock. A prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in which 80 patients with septic shock admitted in Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University from June 2015 to January 2017 were divided into experimental group and control group. The patients in both groups received basic treatment for septic shock, and the patients in the experimental group were given intravenous injection of dexmedetomidine, maintained with 0.1–0.2 µg kg−1 h−1 for 5 days. In both groups, the changes in the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, serum creatinine (SCr), cystatin C (Cys C), and β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) were determined before treatment and 1, 3, and 5 days after treatment. At 5 days after treatment, Cys C, β2-MG, and SCr were significantly decreased in both groups (P < 0.05), and the degree of decrease in the experimental group was more obvious (P < 0.05). At 1, 3, and 5 days after treatment, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly decreased in both groups (P < 0.05) and the degree of decrease in the experimental group was more obvious (P < 0.05). Dexmedetomidine has certain renal protective effect in patients with septic shock, and its mechanism is possibly related to the regulation and improvement of uncontrolled inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a real-time hydrodynamic lubricant feeding conditions monitoring system for journal bearing in tandem cold mill to avoid online burning accident. A new kind of sensor connector has been developed to perform as a measuring section applied with nondestructive testing technology. The hydrodynamic lubricant feeding conditions in the tandem cold mill have been characterized. The monitoring results show that the hydrodynamic lubricant feeding conditions have been proved to be good indicators for the safety production. This real-time hydrodynamic lubricant feeding conditions monitoring system can be used as a long-term monitoring platform and provide an early warning for the tandem cold mill’s abnormal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]