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Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) could significantly improve outcomes for patients and future disease-modifying treatments. Several studies have revealed that α-synuclein levels in peripheral erythrocytes are associated with PD, but the diagnostic value in early PD is still unknown.This study included both cross-sectional and longitudinal design. The subjects included 45 patients with early PD and 79 age-matched healthy controls. Participants were re-examined with repeated blood collection and clinical assessments after 3 years. The electrochemiluminescence assay was used to measure total and oligomeric α-synuclein levels respectively. The diagnostic value of erythrocytic α-synuclein for early PD was determined by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. Correlations between RBC α-synuclein levels and changes over 3 years in clinical characteristic scores were further investigated with a linear regression.Total and oligomeric α-synuclein levels in erythrocyte were significantly increased in early PD groups compared with control group (Total α-synuclein, p 0.001; Oligomer, p 0.001). Levels of total and oligomeric α-synuclein in erythrocytes were correlated with MDS-UPDRS III scores in early PD (Total α-synuclein, p = 0.008; Oligomer, p = 0.037). After adjusting for age, gender and dopaminergic medication, an association was found between higher erythrocytic oligomeric α-synuclein levels at baseline and greater increase in MDS-UPDRS III scores over 3 years (p = 0.007).Our study suggests that total and oligomeric α-synuclein in erythrocyte were elevated even in the initial motor stage of PD. Higher erythrocytic oligomeric α-synuclein levels at baseline predicts a faster clinical decline over time in patients with early PD.

We conducted this multicenter retrospective study to evaluate the prevalence, clinical patterns, and risk factors for tigecycline-induced liver injury, which is a type of drug-induced liver injury (DILI).Inpatients receiving intravenous tigecycline for ≥7 days were included. Patient information was collected to assess possible DILIs. The pattern and severity of tigecycline DILI were evaluated. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the independent risk factors associated with tigecycline DILI.A total of 986 patients were identified and 397 patients were included in this study. The prevalence of tigecycline DILI was 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.51-13.7%). The most common type of tigecycline DILI was cholestatic, with mild severity observed in most cases. Abnormal baseline alanine aminotransferase levels (odds ratio [OR] = 3.11, 95% CI = 1.55-6.24, P = 0.001), intensive care unit admission (OR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.32-5.36, P = 0.006), and treatment length (in weeks) (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.05-1.49, P = 0.011) were independent risk factors for tigecycline DILI.Our results indicate that the prevalence of tigecycline DILI is high, and that the patients at risk should receive special attention.

Greening of the railway energy supply chain is an irreversible trend, and photovoltaics (PVs) provide the most suitable type of renewable energy to integrate with railways. The integration of variable and uncertain PV power generation with the dynamic loads on a railway increases the flexibility needed to maintain load-generation balance. A new evolutionary model of a railway energy supply system (RESS) for railway PV integration systems (RPISs) is proposed by constructing a three-in-one “traction-storage-information integrated station” (TSIIS). A flexibility evaluation approach is proposed to estimate the system flexibility of both the individual TSIIS and the banded featured microgrid group through energy storage capacity configuration and dynamic scheduling via a multileader multifollower Stackelberg game. Finally, the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway is taken as an example to calculate the emission reduction and flexibility. The results show that through application of the storage configuration and scheduling strategy to the TSIIS network, the flexibility index of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway increased by 8.40%, which promoted a corresponding decrease in carbon dioxide emissions and increase in PV permeability. In addition, with the gradual construction of PV and energy storage systems, an RPIS can basically achieve self-consistent energy utilization, offering environmental benefits and strong flexibility.

Objectives Polymyxin B is a last-line antibiotic for multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections. However, limited safety and pharmacokinetic information is available. We investigated the safety and pharmacokinetics of intravenous polymyxin B in healthy subjects. Methods An open-label, single-dose clinical trial was conducted in healthy Chinese subjects. Polymyxin B (sulphate) was administered intravenously at 0.75 or 1.5 mg/kg (n = 10 per dose, 5 males and 5 females) to examine the safety and pharmacokinetics. Results One female subject in the 1.5-mg/kg group discontinued due to abdominal pain during administration. The most frequently reported adverse events were perioral paraesthesia, dizziness, and numbness of extremities (7/10 subjects in the 0.75-mg/kg group, all subjects in the 1.5-mg/kg group). All neurotoxicity-related events dissipated without treatment within a maximum of 23 h. Notably, abdominal pain (3/5) and vulvar pruritus (2/5), colpitis (2/5) or abnormal uterine bleeding (1/5) were reported in female subjects receiving the 1.5-mg/kg dose. In the 0.75-mg/kg group, the total clearance, volume of distribution and half-life of polymyxin B were 0.028±0.002 L/h/kg, 0.219±0.023 L/kg and 5.44±0.741 h, respectively; similar values were observed in the 1.5-mg/kg group. Urinary recovery was 3.7 ± 1.1% and 8.1 ± 1.3% in the 0.75- and 1.5-mg/kg groups, respectively. Population pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B was consistent with a three-compartment model. The clearance and distribution of the central compartment were 0.027 L/h/kg and 0.071 L/kg, respectively. Conclusions This study is the first to examine the safety and pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B in healthy subjects. Our results highlight that acute toxicity is a dose-limiting factor for intravenous polymyxin B.

The application of coal fly ash magnetic spheres (MSs) in water treatment is limited due to their complex mineral compositions, low magnetism, and large diameters. In this study, MSs were carefully ball milled and magnetically separated to improve their related properties. After the processing, the resultant magnetic ball-milled MSs (MBMSs) show a substantial change in composition, magnetism, and surface property in addition to a decrease in diameter. Compared with those of the original MSs, the Fe percentage, magnetism, and specific surface area of MBMSs are increased by 25.87%, 54.60%, and 810%, respectively. Dispersive spectrometer mapping investigation shows segregated high- and low-Fe areas with different structures in MS. These different structures enable purification. Highly turbid clay water flocculation experiments using MSs as flocculants indicate that MBMSs can cause fast flocculation whereas the compared samples exert less or slight flocculation effect. Zeta potential investigation suggests that the different flocculation effects are due to the change in the point of zero charge (pHPZC). The pHPZC increases from 3.91 for the original MS to 4.96 for MBMS. The reduction in the diameter, as well as the increase in magnetism, surface area, and pHPZC, makes MSs applicable to water treatment.

Few-layer black phosphorus (BP) is a promising anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity and favorable layered structure. However, practical implementation is hindered by sluggish reaction kinetics and large volume change during de/sodiation process. Especially, combining BP with large portion of low-capacity carbonaceous materials is a common strategy to improve the Na storage properties, but leading to reduced specific capacity based on the overall mass of the whole electrode. To address these challenges, nanoscale surface engineering of few-layer BP is herein performed by homogeneously depositing horizontally aligned Poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanofibers on specially surface-modified BP nanosheets. Such material design could achieve simultaneously: (1) enhanced charge transfer kinetics and (2) super surface wettability with electrolyte. Benefiting from the unique functionalization, the reaction kinetics are greatly enhanced accordingly for both sodium and lithium storage. Our strategy sheds light on designing advanced electrodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries and other energy storage/conversion devices.

Summary Nature-inspired superamphiphilic surfaces have drawn tremendous attention owing to its extreme liquid-loving behaviors. Herein, a micro-organized nano-channel (Mo-Na) superamphiphilic anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) surface with long-lasting superamphiphilic property is prepared by a facile one-step anodization method with controllable temperature change. Analysis of dynamic wetting behaviors on superamphiphilic Mo-Na AAO surfaces for various liquids reveals that the spreading factor is in negative correlation with the surface tension and liquid polarity. Detailed observation of the three-phase contact line shows a micro-scale capillary film on superamphiphilic Mo-Na AAO surfaces, which results from the horizontal component of the capillary force. Taking advantage of the superamphiphilic property, water droplets can spread completely on these Mo-Na AAO surfaces within a short time, which can be applied for efficient heat dissipation. Moreover, the unique AAO surface with Mo-Na structures also offers an effective template for future efforts in AAO-based composite devices., Graphical abstract, Highlights • Discovery of micro-organized nano-channel superamphiphilic AAO structures • One-step anodization method to prepared long-lasting superamphiphilic AAO surfaces • Effective heat dissipation property based on the super-spreading behaviors, Biomimetics ; Materials Property ; Surface Property

Poverty alleviation of micro-finance, ability and social security. It tends to be partitioned into four kinds, including market-based and the administration network association. Micro-credit, to lift the poor out of poverty, is an effective poverty reduction strategy. In previous research, financial services, lack of shows that are not available to anyone, and understand their need for several reasons (financial illiteracy), unfavorable regulatory environment, the stiffness It is a product structure and may be on it. Reduce poverty, some of the reform measures aimed at promoting financial inclusion have government and has been tried its development partners in the modern. Neediness decrease procedures, miniature account, capacity and government-backed retirement can be separated into four kinds: market-based and regularly the predominant network associations. A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), given the associated Configurable Logic Blocks (CLB), grid by programmable interconnect is a semiconductor gadget. FPGA is especially useful for creating an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a processor prototype. ASIC or processor design can be reprogrammed to an FPGA until no defects final, the actual production of the final ASIC starts. Intel itself is using an FPGA to create a new chip prototype. Micro-credit, to lift the poor out of poverty, is an effective poverty reduction strategy. Mitigation role of micro-finance: This study aims to explore the impact of the financial inclusion of poverty reduction. Data collection technology to be used is a self-filling questionnaire.

In order to realize real-time detection for bridge cracks by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a deep learning model named YOLOv4-FPM is proposed on the basis of the YOLOv4 model. In YOLOv4-FPM, focal loss is used to optimize the loss function, which improves the accuracy and overcomes the challenges of complex background. Pruning algorithm is used to simplify the network and accelerate the detection speed. The multi-scale dataset is used to expand the predictable range of YOLOv4-FPM and enhance its scale robustness. The experimental results show that the mean average precision (mAP) of YOLOv4-FPM is 0.976, which is 0.064 higher than YOLOv4. The size and parameters of the model are reduced to 18.2%, and the model processes in real-time (119FPS) images at 1000 × 1000 pixels, which is 20 times faster than in a recent work. Moreover, it can effectively detect cracks in images of different sizes.

Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the use and prescribing patterns of anti-seizure medications (ASMs) over a six-year period, and to provide real-world evidence on medicine utilization of pediatric patients with epilepsy in China. Methods ASM prescriptions for pediatric patients written from 2013 to 2018 were extracted from the database of the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Project. Trends of ASM use were analyzed by total prescriptions, cost, age, sex, ASM class and specific ASM. Prescribing patterns of ASMs were also analyzed. Results A total of 44,675 ASM prescriptions were extracted for analysis in this study. Throughout the study period, a slight increase of ASM prescriptions was observed from 6170 in 2013 to 8211 in 2018. Children aged between 6 and 18 years, accounted for 78 % of total prescriptions every year. ASM use in boys was about 1.5 times higher than that in girls. Newer ASMs were prescribed more than older ASMs during this period. Sodium valproate was the most frequently prescribed ASM in 2013, and its use decreased in girls in 2016. Levetiracetam increased from 19.10 % in 2013 to 28.09 % in 2018 and became the most common ASM at the end of this study. Meanwhile, the use of oxcarbazepine increased from 19.31 % to 22.04 %, whereas the use of lamotrigine had declined from 18.43 % to 10.72 %. Monotherapy (66.24 %) was more frequently used than combined therapy, which included dual combination (25.80 %) and triple or more combinations (7.96 %). Conclusion There is an increased ASM prescription trend in childhood usage. Levetiracetam has replaced sodium valproate as the most frequently prescribed ASM in pediatric patients. Newer ASMs with fewer side effects and drug interactions are increasingly utilized, which is consistent with evolving recommendations by the medical community.

Effective recognition method of broiler stunned state has always been an important issue in real industries. In recent years, recognition methods such as neural networks have been receiving increasing attention due to their great merits of high diagnostic accuracy and easy implementation. To improve the accuracy and efficiency of broiler stunned state recognition, an improved fast region-based convolutional neural network (You Only Look Once + Multilayer Residual Module (YOLO + MRM)) algorithm was proposed and applied to the recognition of three broiler stunned states: insufficient, appropriate and excessive stuns. The images were collected from a broiler-slaughtering line using a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera. The area of the head and wings of a broiler in the original image was marked according to the PASCAL VOC data format and the dataset of each broiler stunned state was obtained. The results showed that the YOLO + MRM algorithm achieved good performance with an accuracy of 96.77%. To compare YOLO + MRM with other models, similar experiments were conducted using a conventional back propagation neural network (BP-NN) classifier, as well as YOLO, and the recognition accuracies were 90.11% and 94.74%, respectively. YOLO + MRM can complete the detection task of more than 180,000 broilers per hour. Compared with the traditional method, little prior expertise on image recognition is required, the recognition accuracy and speed are improved obviously. This study has provided a foundation and highlighted the potential for automatically detecting the stunned state of broiler chickens, which is crucial for the success of an automatic electric stunning process in the poultry industry.

Here, the carbon quantum dots and zinc oxide nanosheets with novel superstructures are successfully synthesized simultaneously from a hydrothermal preparation and thermal decomposition of a porous precursor of metal–organic frameworks. Porous metal–organic frameworks are prepared by the hydrothermal process by using zinc nitrate hexahydrate, 4,4′-oxybisbenzoic acid and 4,4′-bipyridine as the starting materials. Fluorescence spectrophotometer, X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the structure and property. The results show the coexistence of carbon quantum dots and zinc oxide nanosheets. The carbon quantum dots size is about 4 nm. Particularly, zinc oxide nanosheets show a new triangular sheet structure that has almost the same size. Strong ultraviolet emission of this coexistence system should be useful in developing visible light-emitting and nanophotonic devices.

Thin films of n-type Bi2Te3 were fabricated on glass substrates at room temperature using pulsed laser deposition. Samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and a physical properties measurement system. The XRD and Raman results show that crystalline films can be easily achieved at room temperature, and all films have a preferred crystal growth texture along the (0 1 5) direction. SEM indicates that the films are high-quality and smooth. The Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance were measured over wide ranges of temperature and magnetic field. It was found that Seebeck coefficient of the films was significantly enhanced after annealing process.

Two blue-emitting oligomers, namely FDPA1 and FDPA2 containing 9,10-diphenylanthracene core end-capped with triphenylamine-substituted fluorene has been synthesized and characterized. The spiro-configuration end-capping groups imparts two compounds with pronounced morphological stability (Tg > 185 °C, Td > 420 °C) and excellent hole injection ability (EHOMO > −5.27 eV) with the advantageous optical characteristics of corresponding core. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that the two oligomers form excellent amorphous films and possess good morphological stability after annealing.

Transfection efficiency of non-viral gene vectors is influenced by many factors, including chemical makeup, cellular uptake pathway and intracellular delivery. To investigate the effect of lipid saturation on transfection efficiency of polycation liposomes (PCLs), a soybean phospholipids (SPL), egg phospholipids (EPL) and hydrogenated soybean phosphatidylcholine (HSPC) series was used to prepare PCLs. Testing these PCLs in a luciferase assay indicated that with increasing saturation (SPL