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Stimuli‐responsive luminescent materials have attracted much research attention due to their wide application potential in various fields. Typically, the family of hydrated double perovskite A2MIIIX5·H2O shows unique emission color transformation between hydrated and dehydrated complexes, highlighting the application potential in advanced anti‐counterfeiting. Herein, two zero‐dimensional perovskites of Cs2YbCl5·H2O and Cs3YbCl6, are reported and broad‐band self‐trapped exciton recombination emission can be realized via external Sb3+ doping. Intriguingly, the Cs2YbCl5·H2O can be transformed to the dehydrated counterpart of Cs3YbCl6 through a facile methanol treatment at room temperature, leading to the emission color transformation from yellow to green. Notably, the green‐emissive Cs3YbCl6:Sb3+ delivers a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 67.3%. Leveraging the advantages of obvious methanol‐induced emission color transformation between Cs2YbCl5·H2O and Cs3YbCl6 at room temperature, Cs2YbCl5·H2O can be used in the field of high‐security‐level anti‐counterfeiting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analytical solution of the steady-state seepage field of a circular cofferdam in nonhomogeneous layered soil of finite depth is derived, including the head function, exit hydraulic gradient formula, and seepage flow formula. The head function is obtained by dividing the circular cofferdam seepage field into regions and then using the separated variable method combined with the Sturm–Liouville theory, and the unknown coefficients in the head function are determined by constructing a system of equations through the integral transformation of the Bessel function. Based on the head function, an analytical equation is also given for the exit hydraulic gradient and seepage flow. The accuracy of the proposed analytical solution is verified by a comparison with numerical results as well as with the results of other methods. The proposed analytical solution is a display analytical solution without singularities and can be used as an effective tool for the analysis of circular cofferdam seepage problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of large‐area transparent organic‐inorganic hybrid metal halide (OIMH) scintillation screens is restricted by the anisotropic single‐crystal growth, numerous grain boundaries in polycrystalline wafers, and inhomogeneous dispersion in perovskite‐polymer composite films. The crystal‐glass phase transition of OIMH materials may provide a promising solution for the above significant challenges. Herein, a new class of transparent amorphous guanidinium‐based manganese bromide glasses, (DPG)2MnBr4 and (DOTG)2MnBr4 (DPG = 1,3‐diphenylguanidinium, DOTG = 1,3‐di‐o‐tolylguanidinium), are synthesized through a low‐temperature melt‐quenching process. The (DOTG)2MnBr4 shows impressive glass‐forming ability because of large viscosity (η) at the melting temperature (Tm) (η(Tm) = 3426 mPa·s) and small fragility index (m = 52.35), which can be a potential glass scintillator. The large‐area (e.g., 13 cm × 13 cm) transparent amorphous (DOTG)2MnBr4 glass scintillator shows high light transmittance of > 80%, a low detection limit of 237.3 nGy s−1 and high X‐ray imaging spatial resolution of 12 lp mm−1. Interestingly, the glass transition temperature of < 40 °C gives (DOTG)2MnBr4 glass unique thermoplastic properties, allowing it to conform to irregularly shaped objects and reduce the distortion in X‐ray imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current mainstream planar X‐ray imaging techniques face significant challenges for accurately capturing the internal structure of curved objects, since the variable distances between the curved objects and the flat‐panel scintillation screen cannot eliminate the distortion in X‐ray imaging. Though large‐area and transparent curved scintillation screens are much more desirable. Here, organic–inorganic hybrid Mn‐based single crystals ([CH3Ph3P]2MnX4, X = Cl, Br, I) exhibiting high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and low melting temperature have been employed to prepare transparent glass for X‐ray scintillation imaging application through a low‐temperature melting strategy. The [CH3Ph3P]2MnBr4‐glass shows high PLQY (47.8%), high‐resolution X‐ray imaging performance (12.3 lp mm−1), low limit of detection (25.33 nGy s−1), and impressive X‐ray irradiation stability (102 Gy). Furthermore, high‐contrast X‐ray imaging at a low dose (6.865 µGy per exposure, 14.5 times lower than the chest radiograph) is achieved. Based on the low glass transition temperature (Tg = 53.6 °C) and easy‐shapeable properties of [CH3Ph3P]2MnBr4‐glass scintillator, the large‐area curved scintillation screen with a series of sizes of Φ 2×4 – Φ 8×4 cm2 can be easily fabricated and show high X‐ray imaging quality. These findings provide a paradigm for future research in shapeable X‐ray scintillators, unlocking new possibilities for curved and 3D X‐ray imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single‐source white‐light emitters are highlighted with stable color and excellent color rendering ability, which can largely simplify the white‐light‐emitting‐diode (WLED) structure. All‐inorganic and lead‐free double perovskites have attracted extensive research interest and provide versatile doping sites to accommodate the extrinsic multi‐valent ions. Herein, the synthesis and tunable emission of Sb3+–Ln3+‐codoped Cs2NaYCl6 single crystals (SCs) is reported. Particularly, bright white‐light emission with a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 80.5% is yielded in 0.5%Sb3+–2%Tb3+–2%Sm3+‐codoped Cs2NaYCl6 SCs. Steady‐state photoluminescence (PL) and time‐resolved PL spectra are employed to reveal the energy transfer from Sb3+‐induced self‐trapped excitons to Ln3+ ions. Temperature‐dependent PL spectra further demonstrate that the fluorescence intensity ratio of band 657 to band 590 nm is highly dependent on the temperature, and the relative sensitivity reaches a maximum of up to 1.59% K−1 at 260 K. Moreover, the WLED based on 0.5%Sb3+‐2%Tb3+‐2%Sm3+‐codoped Cs2NaYCl6 SCs delivers a higher average color rendering index of 87 than 0.5%Sb3+‐0.8%Tb3+‐2.5%Ho3+‐codoped Cs2NaYCl6 (74.6). The outstanding white‐light‐emission performance together with the high temperature dependence of the fluorescence spectra confers Sb3+–Ln3+‐codoped Cs2NaYCl6 with huge application potential in solid‐state lighting and ratiometric optical thermometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many morphometric studies on Chiari malformation type I (CMI) patients, most of which focus on the posterior cranial fossa (PCF). Less attention has been paid to the atlanto-occipital joint. In this study, we aim to evaluate the morphological characteristics of the atlanto-occipital joint in CMI patients. The cervical CT imaging data of adult patients diagnosed with CMI but without any bony malformation in craniovertebral junction (CVJ) who were treated by the authors between January 2014 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The equal number of sex and age-matched healthy individuals were included as the control group. The morphometric analysis was performed by measuring the length and depth of the atlanto-occipital joint, and the depth/length ratio was calculated to evaluate the curvature of the joint. A total of 47 patients (15 males and 32 females) were included. The mean age of patients was 47.49 ± 9.01 years (range 19–62 years). The mean depth/length ratio of the atlanto-occipital joint in CMI patients was 0.141 ± 0.065 (range 0.027 − 0.274), which was smaller than that of control individuals (0.228 ± 0.057, range 0.069 − 0.379). And the difference was statistically significant (p <.01). The atlanto-occipital joints in CMI patients are significantly flatter compared with those in healthy controls. This morphological variation could lead to differences of the atlanto-occipital stability between CMI patients and normal population, which may be related to the pathogenesis of CMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scintillators, which can convert high‐energy ionizing radiation (e.g., X‐ or γ‐rays) into ultraviolet‐visible light, have been widely applied in medical and industrial fields. Developing new scintillation materials with high performance and low cost is very desirable in order to address the growing application demands. Among them, single‐crystal scintillators of organic‐inorganic hybrid metal halides (OIMHs) have attracted much attention because of their excellent optical transparency, suppressed light scattering, and facile solution preparation methods. Herein, three new centimeter‐sized (2‐DMAP)2MnX4 (2‐DMAP+ = 2‐dimethylaminopyridinium, X = Cl, Br, I) single crystals with high crystal quality are synthesized via the solvent evaporation method. Benefiting from the high optical transparency and remarkable luminescence property, (2‐DMAP)2MnBr4 delivers a high X‐ray light yield of 22 000 photons MeV−1, a low limit of detection of 9.50 nGy s−1, and an excellent X‐ray imaging spatial resolution of 20–25 lp mm−1. Moreover, the regulation of single‐crystal thickness from 0.31 mm to 3.03 mm can be easily achieved via a simple solution post‐treatment method, which has a significant influence on the transmittance, spatial imaging resolution, and detection limit. This work demonstrates a promising single‐crystal scintillator for the application of high‐resolution X‐ray imaging with low preparation cost and tunable thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) behaviors in metal halide perovskite and perovskite derivatives are rarely reported due to the absence of suitable TADF molecules that can serve as the A‐site cations. Herein, a series of novel donor‐π‐acceptor type of molecules are developed by adopting substituted phosphine and phosphonium as the electron donor and acceptor linked by the polarized π‐spacer. The prepared ((diphenylphosphaneyl)phenyl)diphenylphosphonium‐X (BzDPP‐X, X = counterions: Cl−, Br−, I−, NO3−, CH3COO− etc.) salts show bright emission in the visible range with TADF characteristics due to the strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Benefiting from the spatially separated highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, small singlet‐triplet energy splitting (ΔEST) is obtained, facilitating the reverse intersystem crossing process. It turns out that the emission of BzDPP‐X is dependent on the counter anions, and the counterions help to stabilize the ICT state. Intriguingly, the emission can be tuned by integrating metal‐halide units into the above phosphonium salt. Remarkably, the zinc‐based halide exhibits a higher photoluminescence quantum yield (36.2%) than the pure benzyl(2‐(diphenylphosphaneyl)phenyl)diphenylphosphonium bromide (26.9%). This work exemplifies an easy design concept and a facile synthetic method toward ionic luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass is a group of materials with appealing qualities, including simplicity in fabrication, durability, and high transparency, and they play a crucial role in the optics field. In this paper, a new organic–inorganic metal halide luminescent glass exhibiting >78 % transmittance at 506–800 nm range together with a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 28.5 % is reported through a low‐temperature melt‐quenching approach of pre‐synthesized (HTPP)2MnBr4 (HTPP=hexyltriphenylphosphonium) single crystal. Temperature‐dependent X‐ray diffraction, polarizing microscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations were combined to investigate the glass‐crystal interconversion process, revealing the disordered nature of the glassy state. Benefiting from the transparent nature, (HTPP)2MnBr4 glass yields an outstanding spatial resolution of 10 lp mm−1 for X‐ray imaging. The superb optical properties and facility of large‐scale fabrication distinguish the organic–inorganic metal halide glass as a highly promising class of materials for optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the key component of a hydroelectric power generation system, hydraulic turbine plays a decisive role in the overall performance of the system. There are many sandy rivers in the world, and turbines working in these rivers are seriously damaged. Therefore, the research of flow in sandy water has great theoretical significance and practical value. Based on the specific hydrological conditions of a hydropower station, the solid–liquid two-phase flow in the whole flow passage of a Francis turbine with splitter blades in sandy water was numerically studied. A geometric model of the whole flow passage of the Francis turbine was established on the basis of given design parameters. The solid–liquid two-phase turbulent flows in Francis turbine runner under three different loads were numerically analyzed by using this model. The three different loads are as follows: Condition 1: single unit with 1/4 load, Condition 2: single unit with 1/2 load, and Condition 3: single unit with full load. The distributions of pressure and sand concentration on the leading side and the suction side of the runner blades, as well as the velocity vector distribution of water and sand on the horizontal section of the runner, were obtained under different load conditions. Therefore, the damages to various flow passage components by sand can be qualitatively predicated under various conditions. To guarantee the safety and stability of the unit, the adverse conditions shall be avoided, which can provide certain reference for plant operation.

The flexibility afforded by their modular structure confers fruitful unique properties to organic–inorganic hybrid metal halides (OIMHs). Typically, stimuli-responsive materials have wide applications in thermal imaging, thermometry, and anti-counterfeiting. Herein, the Mn(II)-based OIMHs (TMS)2MnBr4 (TMS = trimethylsulfonium) were prepared through a facile dry ball-milled method. The obtained ball-milled powders show an intriguing phase transition along with emission switching. Importantly, photoluminescence (PL) switching can be realized by simply laying hands on the (TMS)2MnBr4 powders, highlighting their promising application potential in portable thermosensitive devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti‐counterfeiting has become a serious issue around the global world; fluorescence‐based tags are praised for the low‐cost and facile decryption process. However, the high‐level anti‐counterfeiting application requires incorporating multifunctional luminescent materials with response to different excitation sources. Herein, a dimeric Cu(I)‐halide‐clusters‐assembled single‐crystal (AEP)2Cu2I6·2I·2H2O (AEP = N‐aminoethylpiperazinium) concerning a high down‐conversion photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) value of near unity is reported (λex = 305 nm), which can also be activated by the near‐infrared light and X‐ray. The ultrafast spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations reveal that the broad‐band emission originates from the recombination of self‐trapped excitons. Remarkably, the high PLQY and excellent attenuation capability for X‐ray confers an outstanding light yield of 55 650 photons MeV−1 to (AEP)2Cu2I6·2I·2H2O, which is 5.25 times higher than the standard bismuth germaniumoxide scintillator. Such multi‐light‐stimulus response endows (AEP)2Cu2I6·2I·2H2O with great application potential in anti‐counterfeiting, solid‐state lighting devices, and digital radiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multiple emissive materials are of great research interest due to their great potential in a variety of applications, it is still challenging to prepare highly luminescent color‐tunable phosphors. Herein, the authors report a series of Pb−Sn alloyed single crystals, (C10NH22)2Pb1−xSnxBr4 (x = 0 to 1), that are equipped with two independent self‐trapped excitons (STEs) emitters. Multicolor luminescent output from blue to red and white light can be obtained by tailoring the composition, excitation wavelength, temperature, or time gating. More importantly, the synergistic effect between PbBr42− and SnBr42− enables (C10NH22)2Pb1−xSnxBr4 to have an extremely high luminescent efficiency up to near unity and remarkably extends stability in ambient air, significantly outperforming the monometallic (C10NH22)2PbBr4 and (C10NH22)2SnBr4. As an encouraging result of the richly endowed emission property and robust stability, (C10NH22)2Pb1−xSnxBr4 is further employed in multifunctional applications including the luminescent radiometric thermometer, white light emitter, and high‐security anti‐counterfeit materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the perioperative peripheral blood levels of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, programed cell death 1 (PD-1), and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) in patients with advanced Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG). Methods: Patients (n = 102) with advanced Siewert type II AEG underwent open total gastrectomy/proximal gastrectomy with a transhiatal resection of the distal esophagus and lymphadenectomy of the lower mediastinum and the abdominal D2 compartment. Flow cytometry was used to detect CD4+CD25+ T cells, PD-1 and LAG-3 expression on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood of the Siewert type II AEG patients prior to surgery and on postoperative day (POD) 1, 3, 7, and 9. Results: The proportion of CD4+CD25+ T cells rapidly decreased on POD 1, then gradually increased and peaked at POD 7. The proportion of CD4+PD-1+ T cells significantly increased after surgery, reaching a maximum on POD 1, and remained significantly elevated on POD 3 compared to the preoperative day. The proportion of CD8+ PD-1+ and CD4+LAG-3+ T cells gradually increased after surgery and reached a peak at POD 7. The change in proportion of CD8+LAG-3+ T cells in the peripheral venous blood lymphocytes after surgery was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The change in the CD4+PD-1+ T lymphocyte ratio may likely reflect the cellular immunity status of the perioperative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processes of electric ion extraction from plasma induced by pulse lasers are simulated by particle-in-cell (PIC) method and hybrid-PIC method. A new calculation scheme named preprocessing hybrid-PIC is presented because neither of the two methods above is omnipotent, especially under the circumstance of high initial plasma density. The new scheme provides credible results with less computational consumption than PIC method in both one- and two-dimensional simulations, except for Π-type electrode configuration. The simulation results show that the M-type performs best in all electrode configurations in both high-density and low-density plasma conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the use of RNG k-ε turbulence model, SIMPLEC algorithm and CFD software, the turbulent flow in an axial flow impeller was numerically simulated in the clear water (single-phase) and the sandy water (solid-liquid twophase) conditions. The distributions of solid concentration, velocity and pressure on the impeller of an axial flow pump were analyzed at the same particle diameter but different volume concentrations in sandy water. And these distributions were comparatively analyzed under the clear water and the sandy water conditions. According to the simulation results, the axial pump impeller will be damaged more easily and quickly in sandy water than in clear water. And the area more prone to damage on the axial flow impeller is predicated. The predicted vulnerable parts in an axial flow impeller are consistent with that in actual projects. This study shows that the numerical simulation results are the same as the actual situation, and it has guiding significance for the wear design of the axial flow pump. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic scintillators are praised for their abundant element reserves, facile preparation procedures, and rich structures. However, the weak X‐ray attenuation ability and low exciton utilization efficiency result in unsatisfactory scintillation performance. Herein, a new family of highly efficient organic phosphonium halide salts with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are designed by innovatively adopting quaternary phosphonium as the electron acceptor, while dimethylamine group and halide anions (I−) serve as the electron donor. The prepared butyl(2‐[2‐(dimethylamino)phenyl]phenyl)diphenylphosphonium iodide (C4‐I) exhibits bright blue emission and an ultra‐high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 100 %. Efficient charge transfer is realized through the unique n‐π and anion‐π stacking in solid‐state C4‐I. Photophysical studies of C4‐I suggest that the incorporation of I accounts for high intersystem crossing rate (kISC) and reverse intersystem crossing rate (kRISC), suppressing the intrinsic prompt fluorescence and enabling near‐pure TADF emission at room temperature. Benefitting from the large Stokes shift, high PLQY, efficient exciton utilization, and remarkable X‐ray attenuation ability endowed by I, C4‐I delivers an outstanding light yield of 80721 photons/MeV and a low limit of detection (LoD) of 22.79 nGy ⋅ s−1. This work would provide a rational design concept and open up an appealing road for developing efficient organic scintillators with tunable emission, strong X‐ray attenuation ability, and excellent scintillator performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a two-stage coordinated SVNE scheme, named as APSS, for elastic optical networks. • A concise node mapping strategy is developed to balance the nodal resource and coordinate with the link mapping. • An adaptive path splitting policy is proposed to reduce the backup redundancy in link mapping. • An agile FS windows (FSWs) choosing mechanism is designed to mitigate spectrum fragmentation in EONs. • APSS can achieve satisfactory performance in terms of spectrum utilization and blocking ratio. Virtualization facilitates heterogeneous cloud applications to share the same physical infrastructure with admirable flexibility, while resource efficiency and survivability are critical concerns for virtual network embedding (VNE). In this paper, we study two-stage coordinated survivable VNE (SVNE) problem and propose an adaptive path splitting based SVNE (APSS) scheme for elastic optical networks (EONs). For APSS, we first develop a concise anchor node strategy to balance the node resource utilization and restrict the solution space of the candidate substrate nodes, which coordinates node mapping with link mapping to limit the distance spans of the virtual links. Then, we employ an adaptive path splitting policy to provide full protection against single-link failures with partial backup resource, and design an agile frequency slot windows choosing mechanism to mitigate the spectrum fragmentation for link resource efficiency. We evaluate the proposed APSS scheme and compare its performances with some counterpart schemes. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed APSS scheme can achieve satisfactory performance in terms of spectrum utilization and blocking ratio, even if with higher backup redundancy ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current X-ray imaging scintillators are dominated by inorganic scintillators grown through a high-temperature process. Exploring new types of scintillators with mild growth conditions, high light yields, and eco-friendly chemical compositions is essential and challenging. Herein, the zero-dimensional large-area laminar organic-inorganic hybrid metal halide TEA 2 MnI 4 (TEA = tetraethylammonium) single crystal with dimensions of 50 mm × 60 mm × 0.82 mm is grown via a local-heating solvent evaporation method. Compared with its Cl- and Br-based counterparts, the incorporation of the iodine component enhances the X-ray attenuation ability and significantly accelerates the decay of the photoluminescence of TEA 2 MnI 4 . Interestingly, the prepared TEA 2 MnI 4 exhibits a high transmittance of >90% over the range of 515-765 nm and exhibits a high light yield of 26288 photons/MeV, which provides the prerequisite for high-resolution X-ray imaging. The TEA 2 MnI 4 single-crystal scintillator displays an astonishing spatial resolution exceeding 25 line pairs per millimeter, which provides a design concept for a Mn-I-based single crystal for high-performance scintillator applications.

Aim: To analyze certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features as well as six major genetic biomarkers, investigated their associations, and evaluated their prognostic roles in glioblastomas (GBMs)., Material and Methods: Strict criteria included newly diagnosed GBM with optimal treatments. Simple manual imaging characteristics (tumor side, location, enhancement, diameter, depth, radiographic necrosis, and edema) were obtained from preoperative conventional MRI. Furthermore, all the status of the MGMT promoter, Chromosome 1p and 19q, IDH, TERT, and BRAF in tumor tissues were detected., Results: Among 126 inpatients, 60 cases were selected and enrolled in the study. The status of the MGMT promoter was significantly associated with the grade of radiographic necrosis (p=0.033). The rate of 19q deletion was significantly higher in tumors with the ring-shaped peritumoral edema (PTE) (p=0.035) and in tumors with the ring-enhanced trait (p=0.023). Univariate analysis showed that a low PTE index and MGMT promoter methylation were both unfavorable prognostic factors. While the PTE index statistically dropped out, the status of the MGMT promoter and the depth of the tumor were observed to be independent prognostic factors in multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Based on simple neuroimaging metrics, novel connections between features of preoperative conventional MRI and status of major genetic biomarkers were observed, especially for the MGMT promoter and 19q.

Background: Cardiogenic shock (CS) secondary to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicates management of the condition, and often leads to poor prognosis. Prompt and accurate monitoring of cardiovascular and accompanying hemodynamic changes is crucial in achieving adequate management of the condition. Advances in technology has availed procedures such as pulse index continuous cardiac output (PiCCO), which can offer precise monitoring of cardiovascular functions and hemodynamic parameters. In this study, PiCCO is evaluated for its potential utility in improving management and clinical outcomes among elderly patients with AMI complicated by CS., Aim: To assess whether use of the PiCCO system can improve clinical outcomes in elderly patients with AMI complicated by CS., Methods: Patients from emergency intensive care units (EICU) or coronary care units (CCU) were randomized to receive PiCCO monitoring or not. The APACHE II score, SOFA score, hs-TnI, NT-proBNP, PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio and lactate levels on day 1, 3 and 7 after treatment were compared. The infusion and urine volume at 0-24 h, 24-48 h and 48-72 h were recorded, as were the cardiac index (CI), extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI) and global end diastolic volume index (GEDVI) at similar time intervals., Results: Sixty patients with AMI complicated by CS were included in the study. The PiCCO group had a significantly lower APACHE II score, SOFA score, hs-TnI and NT-proBNP levels on day 1, 3 and 7 after treatment. The infusion and urine volume during 0-24 h in the PiCCO group were significantly greater, and this group also showed significantly higher ADL scores. Furthermore, the PiCCO group spent lesser days on vasoactive agents, mechanical ventilation, and had a reduced length of stay in EICU/CCU. Additionally, the CI was significantly higher at 48 h and 72 h in the PiCCO group compared with that at 24 h, and the EVLWI, ITBVI and GEDVI were significantly decreased at 48 h and 72 h., Conclusion: Applying the PiCCO system could improve the clinical outcomes of elderly patients with AMI complicated by CS., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors of this manuscript have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Aim: To explore the association between mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4) gene polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk., Methods: Five tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) in the SMAD4 gene were selected and genotyped in 322 gastric cancer cases and 351 cancer-free controls in a Chinese population by using the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine SMAD4 protein expression in 10 normal gastric tissues adjacent to tumors., Results: In the single-locus analysis, two significantly decreased risk polymorphisms for gastric cancer were observed: the SNP3 rs17663887 TC genotype (adjusted odds ratio = 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.21-0.71), compared with the wild-type TT genotype and the SNP5 rs12456284 GG genotype (0.31, 0.16-0.60), and with the wild-type AA genotype. In the combined analyses of these two tSNPs, the combined genotypes with 2-3 protective alleles (SNP3 C and SNP5 G allele) had a significantly decreased risk of gastric cancer (0.28, 0.16-0.49) than those with 0-1 protective allele. Furthermore, individuals with 0-1 protective allele had significantly decreased SMAD4 protein expression levels in the normal tissues adjacent to tumors than those with 2-3 protective alleles (P = 0.025)., Conclusion: These results suggest that genetic variants in the SMAD4 gene play a protective role in gastric cancer in a Chinese population.