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The unexpected phenomenon and mechanism of the alkali metal involved NH3 selective catalysis are reported. Incorporation of K+ (4.22 wt %) in the tunnels of α-MnO2 greatly improved its activity at low temperature (50-200 °C, 100 % conversion of NOx vs. 50.6 % conversion over pristine α-MnO2 at 150 °C). Experiment and theory demonstrated the atomic role of incorporated K+ in α-MnO2 . Results showed that K+ in the tunnels could form a stable coordination with eight nearby O sp3 atoms. The columbic interaction between the trapped K+ and O atoms can rearrange the charge population of nearby Mn and O atoms, thus making the topmost five-coordinated unsaturated Mn cations (Mn5c , the Lewis acid sites) more positive. Therefore, the more positively charged Mn5c can better chemically adsorb and activate the NH3 molecules compared with its pristine counterpart, which is crucial for subsequent reactions.

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of below the knee (BTK) approach in the treatment of entire limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Materials and Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive CDT treatment of acute entire limb DVT using a BTK approach (September 2010–February 2016) was performed. The patients included 51 men and 28 women with a mean age of 54 years. Results CDT was performed by accessing the ipsilateral the small saphenous vein (SSV) and posterior tibial vein (PTV; 24 via incision and 64 via puncture). Thirty-four patients underwent CDT within 3 days of symptom onset and lysis was successful in all cases (i.e., grade III).In contrast, only 22 (68.6%, 22/32) of those treated within 4–10 days and 0 (0%) of those treated after 10 days achieved grade III lysis. A total of 16 bleeding complications occurred, none of which were classified as major, and 11 of which were related to numbness at the site of incision. Poor wound healing was observed in one patient. Three patients treated using an SSV approach exhibited partial occlusion. One patient treated using a PTV approach experienced occlusion. During the 24-month follow-up period, the patency and PTS rates were 80.4% (37/46) and 30.4% (14/46), respectively. The overall patency rate was 87.1% (54/62) during a mean follow-up duration of 3.5 years. Conclusions The use of a BTK approach in entire-limb DVT via SSV and PTV puncture is feasible and safe and may be considered an alternative to traditional CDT approach. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neurocognitive abilities constitute complex traits with considerable heritability. Impaired neurocognition is typically observed in schizophrenia (SZ), whereas convergent evidence has shown shared genetic determinants between neurocognition and SZ. Here, we report a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) on neuropsychological and oculomotor traits, linked to SZ, in a general population sample of healthy young males (n = 1079). Follow‐up genotyping was performed in an identically phenotyped internal sample (n = 738) and an independent cohort of young males with comparable neuropsychological measures (n = 825). Heritability estimates were determined based on genome‐wide single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and potential regulatory effects on gene expression were assessed in human brain. Correlations with general cognitive ability and SZ risk polygenic scores were tested utilizing meta‐analysis GWAS results by the Cognitive Genomics Consortium (COGENT) and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC‐SZ). The GWAS results implicated biologically relevant genetic loci encoding protein targets involved in synaptic neurotransmission, although no robust individual replication was detected and thus additional validation is required. Secondary permutation‐based analysis revealed an excess of strongly associated loci among GWAS top‐ranked signals for verbal working memory (WM) and antisaccade intra‐subject reaction time variability (empirical P

Apolipoprotein E (apoE), a plasma protein responsible for transporting lipid and cholesterol, modulates responses of the central nervous system to injury. Small peptides derived from the receptor-binding region of apoE can simulate some important bioactivities of apoE holoprotein and offer neuroprotection against brain injury. We tested whether COG1410, an apoE-mimetic peptide, provides protection in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Traumatic injury was created at T8 by a cortical impact device. Injured rats were randomized to four treatment groups: vehicle, 0.15, 0.3, or 0.6 mg/kg COG1410; sham surgery rats received vehicle. Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan neurological score was evaluated prior to injury and at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after injury. Histological changes were evaluated at 14 days. All injured rats lost body weight during the first week following injury. Body weight recovery was significantly improved in rats treated with COG1410. Mechanical impact resulted in severe motor deficit, and most animals had a BBB score of 0-1 at 24 hours postinjury. COG1410-treated rats showed significantly improved functional recovery and ameliorated motor deficit at 14 days postinjury. Histological analysis showed that COG1410 groups had a significantly reduced lesion size at the site of injury, a larger preserved luxol fast blue-stained area, and more visible neurons in the surrounding area of injury. Microglial activation was also significantly suppressed. These findings indicate that this apoE mimetic effectively improved neurological and histological outcome following SCI in rats, and the effect was associated with inhibition of microglial activation.

Summary In this paper, the problem of finite-time H ∞ control is addressed for a class of discrete-time switched nonlinear systems with time delay. The concept of H ∞ finite-time boundedness is first introduced for discrete-time switched delay systems. Next, a set of switching signals are designed by using the average dwell time approach, under which some delay-dependent sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the H ∞ finite-time boundedness of the closed-loop system. Then, a finite-time H ∞ state feedback controller is also designed by solving such conditions. Furthermore, the problem of uniform finite-time H ∞ stabilization is also resolved. All the conditions are cast into linear matrix inequalities, which can be easily checked by using recently developed algorithms for solving linear matrix inequalities. A numerical example and a water-quality control system are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the main results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Although initiation of drug abuse occurs primarily during adolescence, little is known about the central effects of nicotine and other abused drugs during this developmental period. Here evidence, derived from studies in rodents, is presented that suggests that tobacco use initiation during early adolescence results from a higher reward value of nicotine. The developmental profiles of the rewarding effects of other abused drugs, such as cocaine, differ from that of nicotine. Using in situ hybridization to quantify mRNA levels of the immediate early gene, cfos, the neuronal activating effects of nicotine in limbic and sensory cortices at different developmental stages are evaluated. Significant age changes in basal levels of cfos mRNA expression in cortical regions are observed, with a peak of responding of limbic cortices during early adolescence. A changing pattern of nicotine-induced neuronal activation is seen across the developmental spectrum, with unique differences in both limbic and sensory cortex responding during adolescence. An attentional set-shifting task was also used to evaluate whether the observed differences during adolescence reflect early functional immaturity of prefrontal cortices that regulate motivated behavior and psychostimulant responding. The finding of significantly better responding during adolescence suggests apparent functional maturity of prefrontal circuits and greater cognitive flexibility at younger ages. These findings in rodent models suggest that adolescence is a period of altered sensitivity to environmental stimuli, including abused drugs. Further efforts are required to overcome technical challenges in order to evaluate drug effects systematically in this age group.