Search

Finding reliable and easy-to-obtain predictors of severe infectious complications after shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is a major clinical need, particular in symptom-free hydronephrosis. Therefore, we aim to prospectively investigate the predictive value of Hounsfield units (HU) in renal pelvis urine for the risk of severe infectious complications in patients with ureteral stones and symptom-free hydronephrosis after SWL. This multi-center prospective study was conducted from June 2020 to December 2023. The HU of renal pelvis urine was measured by non-enhanced computed tomography. The severe infectious complications included systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock. Binary logistic regression models assessed the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Finally, 1,436 patients with ureteral stones were enrolled in this study. 8.9% (128/1,436) of patients experienced severe infectious complications after SWL treatment. After adjusting confounding variables, compared with the patients in the lowest renal pelvis urine density quartile, the OR (95% CI) for the highest quartile was 32.36 (13.32, 78.60). There was a positive linear association between the HU value of renal pelvis urine and the risk of severe infectious complications after SWL (P for trend < 0.001). Furthermore, this association was also observed stratified by age, gender, BMI, stone size, stone location and hydronephrosis grade (all P for interaction > 0.05). Additionally, the nonlinear association employed by restricted cubic splines is not statistically significant (nonlinear P = 0.256). The AUROC and 95%CI of renal pelvis urine density were 0.895 (0.862 to 0.927, P value < 0.001). The cut-off value was 12.0 HU with 78.59% sensitivity and 85.94% specificity. This multi-center prospective study demonstrated a positive linear association between HU in renal pelvis urine and the risk of severe infectious complications in patients with ureteral stones and symptom-free hydronephrosis after SWL, regardless of age, gender, BMI, stone size, stone location, and hydronephrosis grade. These findings might be helpful in the SWL treatment decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

40CrNiMoA steel was nitrided by arc plasma-assisted nitriding (PAN) process at 430 °C, 1 Pa for 3 h with different N2/Ar ratios. Their structures, micrographs, microhardness profiles and tribological properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope, SEM, Vickers microhardness tester and pin-on-disk tribometer, respectively. All of the nitrided layers were primarily consisted of the γ′-Fe4N and ε-Fe3N. The thickness of compound layers increased with the N2/Ar ratio increasing. The maximum thickness of the compound layer was about 6 μm after nitriding, while the thickness of nitrided layer reached about 230 μm. The surface microhardness and wear resistance of the steel were significantly improved. Its maximum surface microhardness enhanced as 3 times (approx.) as that of the substrate. The wear mechanism changed from adhesive wear to abrasive wear. In addition, the nitrided sample treated at N2/Ar ratio of 75%:25% had the optimum abrasion resistance and lowest wear rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings were prepared using a pulsed bipolar power supply to investigate the effects of different cathodic currents on the growth mechanism of PEO coatings on 6061 aluminum alloy. The phase composition, microstructure, element distribution and content of the coatings were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It was found that the coating growth rate enhanced obviously and the discrete pores reduced significantly when the cathodic current increased. In particular, when the cathodic current density was 7.5 A/dm2, there was a soft plasma discharge phenomenon, and more α-Al2O3 crystals were generated. The distribution of Si elements reveals that the soft plasma discharge is a form of internal discharge and the coating exhibits higher hardness and compactness. It was tested using the friction tester, and the coating showed excellent wear resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, micro-arc oxidation was applied to fabricate a high voltage resistance Al2O3-based ceramic coating on the surface of aluminum alloy. The microstructure and insulating properties of the coatings were characterized by XRD, SEM and breakdown voltage testers. The growth behavior and insulation property of the oxide layer in "soft" regime conditions of micro-arc oxidation were determined. The relative contents of α-Al2O3 increased with "soft" plasma discharge time. The soft plasma discharge brought about a tendency of the micro-arc oxide coating to grow outward, further repairing the coating defects and yielding a denser coating layer with improved corrosion protection. Due to the presence of negative currents, the thickness of the whole layer increased, while the inner layer became denser and thicker as a consequence of soft sparks, favoring an increase in the density of the bulk coating layer. The breakdown voltage reached values above 1000 V after 20 min of soft plasma discharge, improving the of micro-arc oxidation coating insulation properties. The oxide layer is thus proposed as a potential candidate for insulation shielding of etching equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiphoton excited luminescence is of paramount importance in the field of optical detection and biological photonics. Self-trapped exciton (STE) emission with self-absorption-free advantages provide a choice for multiphoton excited luminescence. Herein, multiphoton excited singlet/triplet mixed STE emission with a large full width at half-maximum (617 meV) and Stokes shift (1.29 eV) has been demonstrated in single-crystalline ZnO nanocrystals. Temperature dependent steady state, transient state and time-resolved electron spin resonance spectra demonstrate a mixture of singlet (63%) and triplet (37%) mixed STE emission, which contributes to a high photoluminescence quantum yield (60.5%). First-principles calculations suggest 48.34 meV energy per exciton stored by phonons in the distorted lattice of excited states, and 58 meV singlet-triplet splitting energy for the nanocrystals being consistent with the experimental measurements. The model clarifies long and controversial debates on ZnO emission in visible region, and the multiphoton excited singlet/triplet mixed STE emission is also observed.Here the author study Self-trapped exciton emission for multiphoton excited luminescence in ZnO nanoparticle which until now have not been explored. They provide a reason for the emission enhancement and apply these materials in optical imaging for a proof of concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Current trials for HPV-associated oropharyngeal SCCs (OP-SCCs) are evaluating treatment de-escalation including use of concurrent immunotherapy with radiation therapy (I-RT). Given limited prospective data following I-RT, we aimed to examine this question utilizing the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). Methods: The NCDB was queried for patients with HPV-associated OP-SCCs eligible for current de-escalation studies with AJCC 7th edition T1–T2/N1–N2b and T3/N0–N2b disease. Patients were stratified into I-RT, concurrent chemoradiation (C-RT), and radiation therapy alone (RT) arms. Kaplan–Meier analysis was utilized to compare overall survival (OS) between treatment arms followed by a Cox multivariate (MVA) proportional hazards model controlling for tumor and patient characteristics and propensity-score analyses with inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW). Results: We identified 4768 patients; 313 received I-RT, 3660 patients received C-RT, and 795 received RT. Median age was 62 years (range 27–90) with a median Charlson–Deyo co-morbidity score of 0 (range: 0–3). The vast majority were cN1–N2a (88.8%) and 26.5% were cT3. On MVA, inferior 3-year and 8-year OS was noted following I-RT (81.6% and 70.5%) vs. C-RT (90.6% and 79.4%) (HR = 1.69 (95% CI: 1.29–2.21); p < 0.0001) with no significant difference vs. RT (88.1% and 75.8%) (HR = 1.07; p = 0.80). This was also maintained on IPTW-analysis (HR = 1.62 (95% CI: 1.23–2.15); p = 0.001). Conclusions: I-RT was associated with significantly poorer OS vs. C-RT with no benefit compared to RT for HPV-associated OP-SCCs. I-RT is not recommended outside of currently accruing clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to airborne urban particles is a contributing factor for the development of multiple types of respiratory diseases; its pathological role as a cause of lung injury is still unclear. In this study, PM2.5 soluble extract was collected, and its toxicological effect on lung pathological changes was examined. To assess its pathological mechanism, Human Monocyte-Like Cell Line, THP-1, and mouse macrophage, RAW264.7, were used to determine the effects of PM2.5 soluble extract on cell toxicity, phagocytosis, and transcriptome. We found that PM2.5 soluble extract exposure activated NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways, then induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. RNA-seq results showed that the transcription profiles, including 1213 genes, have been changed in responses to PM2.5 exposure. Additionally, PM2.5 led to phagocytic dysfunction, which may exacerbate the cause of lung injury. Exposure to PM2.5 soluble extract triggers the death of respiratory macrophages, impairs its phagocytosis capacity, thus delaying the inflammatory cell clearance in the lung, which results in chronic lung injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the one-sided and the two-sided first exit problem for a jump diffusion process with semimartingale local time. Denote this process by X = { X t , t ≥ 0 } and set τ l = inf { t ≥ 0 , X t ≤ l } and τ l , u = inf { t ≥ 0 , X t ∉ (l , u) } with l < u . We first establish the existence and uniqueness of strong solutions of the stochastic differential equation (SDE) satisfied by X. Then we investigate the Laplace transforms associated with τ l and τ l , u . It turns out that the explicit expressions for those Laplace transforms can be expressed in terms of exponential functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IL-6 has been suggested to function as an autocrine mitogen in the psoriatic epidermis. The biological activity of IL-6 relies on interactions with its receptors, including the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor (mIL-6R) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Our study presents data showing that the levels of plasma IL-6 and sIL-6R were elevated in psoriatic patients. Genotyping of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-6R (rs4845617 and rs2228145) demonstrated that the SNP IL-6R (rs4845617) rather than IL-6R (rs2228145) shows a significant association with psoriasis (P = 0.006). To verify the functions of sIL-6R, cultured keratinocytes and imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriatic model mice were treated with sIL-6R. We found that the presence of sIL-6R in the HaCaT cell culture medium enhanced the IL-6-induced Stat3 activation, which resulted in abnormal keratinocyte proliferation and aberrant differentiation. Furthermore, the application of sIL-6R in vivo accelerated the pathological development of the disease. Our results demonstrate for the first time that genetic polymorphisms in the IL-6R gene are associated with psoriasis disease phenotypes in a Chinese psoriatic patient population; sIL-6R-mediated trans-signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, suggesting potential therapeutics for psoriasis. Key messages: Patients with psoriasis displayed higher levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R compared with healthy controls. Analysis of genotypes revealed that IL-6R rs4845617 GG genotype associated with the risk of psoriasis. Supplement of sIL-6R further enhanced IL-6-induced Stat3 activation in keratinocytes. In vivo administration of sIL-6R accelerated, whereas sgp130FC alleviated, the pathological development of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lotus leaf has the Janus wettability and outstanding floatability at multiphase interface. The ingenious design on lotus leaf surfaces enlightens us to fabricate the superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic binary cooperative membrane. Making use of the poor permeability of the candle soot, deposition of a layer of candle soot enables to form the Janus membrane with anisotropic wettability on different surfaces. After fixed by the hydrophobic polymer, the superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic binary cooperative membranes are prepared successfully on various membranes, such as filter paper, cotton fabric and copper mesh. The Janus membrane exhibits excellent interfacial floatability at the immiscible oil–water interface as a separator, thus affording high-performance immiscible oil/water separation without applied external pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious neurodegenerative disease that is induced by hyperglycaemia. Oxidative stress, inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are involved in the development of DR. Sulforaphane (SF) is widely found in cruciferous plants and has a protective effect against retinal neurodegeneration in diabetes, but the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which SF protects against photoreceptor degeneration in diabetes. In vivo, a mouse model of diabetes was established by streptozotocin (STZ) injection, and the mice were treated with/without SF. Electroretinography (ERG) and H&E staining were used to evaluate retinal function and morphology. In vitro, 661w cells were treated with AGEs with/without SF. Cell viability and apoptosis were analysed by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry. The expression of proteins and genes was assessed by western blot and qRT-PCR. The amplitude of the a-wave was decreased and the morphology was changed in the diabetic mice, and these changes were delayed by SF treatment. The percentage of apoptotic cells was increased and the cell viability was decreased after the treatment of 661w cells with AGEs. Moreover, the expression of GRP78, Txnip and TNFα was increased, however, this increased expression was reversed by SF treatment via AMPK pathway activation. Taken together, these data show that SF can delay photoreceptor degeneration in diabetes, and the underlying mechanism is related to the inhibition of ER stress, inflammation and Txnip expression through the activation of the AMPK pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of robust fault detection is investigated for nonlinear uncertain Markovian jump systems subject to time-varying delays, Lipschitz nonlinearities and parameter uncertainties under the event-triggered protocol. The event-triggered mechanism is introduced to adjust the transmission frequency of the data sent to the remote module. An event-based fault detection method is presented to guarantee the sensitivity of residual to fault and the attenuation of the effect from the disturbance on the residual. In this way, the considered fault detection problem is solvable by testifying the feasibility of H ∞ filtering problem. By constructing the mode-dependent Lyapunov functional, new sufficient criteria are derived in terms of the linear matrix inequality technique, which insures the stochastic stability with prescribed performance for addressed MJSs. In the end, a numerical example is exploited and the validity of newly presented event-based fault detection method is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the probability of default for financial variables under a tractable stochastic model which can capture both the price clustering phenomenon and the jump risk. We assume that the logarithm of the price dynamics is driven by a so-called sticky double exponential jump diffusion process. In particular, the price clustering is incorporated by time changing the jump diffusion process, and the jump risk is described through a Poisson stochastic integral related to the compound Poisson process with double exponential jumps. Under such a model, we study the default events in the structural credit risk framework. The explicit solutions of Laplace transforms associated with default times are obtained. Based on the derived results, we numerically analyze the effects of the price clustering and the jump risk on the distributions of default times and on the bond's credit spreads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prices of lots of assets have been proved in literature to exhibit special behaviors around psychological barriers, which is an important fact needed to be considered when pricing derivatives. In this paper, we discuss the valuation problem of double barrier options under a volatility regime-switching model where there exist psychological barriers in the prices of underlying assets. The volatility can shift between two regimes, that is to say, when the asset price rises up or falls down through the psychological barrier, the volatility takes two different values. Using the Laplace transform approach, we obtain the price of the double barrier knock-out call option as well as its delta. We also provide the eigenfunction expansion pricing formula and examine the effect of the psychological barrier on the option price and delta, finding that the gamma of the option is discontinuous at such barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isoflurane exposure induces apoptosis in cultured cells and in the developing brain, while the underlying mechanism remains largely unclarified. This study was designed to determine whether the disruption of mitoK-mediated ATP balance was involved in the cytotoxicity of isoflurane. Human neuroglioma cells U251 and 7-day-old mice were treated with isoflurane. A specific mitoK antagonist 5-HD was used, and the cellular ATP levels, NAD/NADH ratios, and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨ) were measured. Our data showed that the blockage of mitoK by 5-HD mitigated the isoflurane-induced ΔΨ disruption, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and apoptosis in U251 cells. Moreover, we found that the toxic effect of isoflurane was not observed in the first 2-h exposure; instead, the cellular ATP levels and NAD/NADH ratios were markedly increased. The reduction of ATP levels and NAD/NADH ratios was only detected after this initial phase. This dynamical effect of isoflurane was blocked by 5-HD. In contrast, a ROS scavenger NAC sustained the isoflurane-induced ATP elevation. Similar results were observed in animal studies. And again, 5-HD attenuated isoflurane-induced cognitive disorders in the Intellicage test, a system that assesses place learning behavior in a social environment. Our study uncovered a potential mechanism underlying isoflurane's toxicity with a therapeutic future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the first hitting times for skew CIR processes are investigated. We compute the Laplace transforms and the means of the first hitting times of some given levels. The solutions for Laplace transforms are in terms of Tricomi and Kummer confluent hypergeometric functions. We also exhibit the hitting time densities numerically at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycine soja has the potential to improve upon the cultivated soybean ( G. max) in protein content, resistance/tolerance to stresses, and other traits, but its small 100-seed weight (100SW) is usually undesired. To explore the 100SW QTL-allele system of G. soja, the recombinant inbred line population NJRINY with 286 lines was developed from a cross between G. max (NN86-4, 17.9 g) and G. soja (PI342618B, 1.1 g) and was tested over 4 years. The genetic linkage map was constructed with 181 PAV (presence/absence variation) and 42 SSR markers. The quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping results showed that the wild genetic system of 100SW was composed of three groups of QTLs, including (1) 15 additive QTLs, which accounted for 55.1 % of the phenotypic variation (PV), with each locus contributing 1.5-8.1 % of the PV and all of the wild alleles having negative effects (−0.1 to −0.5 g); (2) 17 epistatic QTL pairs, which accounted for 19.0 % of the PV, with epistatic effects positive for parental type (0.1-0.2 g) and negative for recombinants and all of the QTLs in epistatic pairs having simultaneously additive effects except one pair ( SW16); (3) a collection of unmapped minor QTLs that accounted for 22.9 % of the PV. Among the detected total additive and/or epistatic QTLs, 12 QTLs have been reported in the literature, but five of the QTLs and all of the epistatic pairs have not been reported before. The results can be used for marker-assisted breeding for 100SW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]