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Tuberculosis was ranked No. 3 among 29 types of infectious diseases in January 2022 of Jiangsu Province, in the southeast of China, and it has strong seasonality whose incidence rate has been high in springs and low in winters. This comprehensive study extends the spreading dynamics to the control strategies of TB in Jiangsu Province with time‐varying transmission rate, which is the first one in this type. The periodic transmission rate is incorporated to the classic SEIR model with susceptible, latent, infectious, and recovered compartments. The analysis shows that when the basic reproduction number R0$$ {R}_0 $$ is less than one, the epidemic will eventually disappear but, if R0$$ {R}_0 $$ is larger than one, the disease may persist with a periodic solution. The R0$$ {R}_0 $$ value of Jiangsu TB is calculated as 1.297. In addition, the model predicts that the epidemic will not disappear over time and there will be a major outbreak after certain years. To eradicate TB, this work introduces three control strategies on susceptible, latent, and infectious populations. It turns out that the optimal control solutions can reduce the incidence rate in 2035 by 90% from 2015, the goal of World Health Organization. Simultaneously, we find that the optimal controls have the same seasonality as the transmission rate. This indicates that Jiangsu Province needs to invest more control efforts in springs than in winters. In addition, the cost of control strategies is analyzed in terms of the unit cost, total cost, and incremental cost‐effectiveness. Summarizing all results, we recommend targeting the latent patients, or both latent and infectious individuals, with the transmission rate‐synchronized control strength as the most effective control strategy, to mitigate or even eradicate TB disease in Jiangsu Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fused silica ceramic has become one of the most widely used radome materials in the world since the 1970s. But its poor mechanical properties restricted its application to some extent. To improve the mechanical properties of the fused silica ceramic and keep its characteristic for radome materials, silicon nitride (Si3N4) whisker‐reinforced fused silica ceramics were prepared by a slip‐casting method in the work. The influence of Si3N4 whisker contents on the properties of the slurry was studied, indicating that the preferable pH values of the slurry were 4–6 and whisker contents were 10 wt.%. The flexural strength of as‐prepared Si3N4w/SiO2 ceramic was about 74.35 MPa, exhibiting an increase of 7.75% over that of the pure silica sample. Its dielectric constant in the range from 8 to 12 GHz and tanδ under 10 GHz were, respectively, 3.37 and.0011. It is of great interest to find that Si3N4w/SiO2 has excellent oxidization resistance and its mass maintains even at 1270°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: coagulation parameter; D-dimer; COVID-19; anticoagulant treatment EN coagulation parameter D-dimer COVID-19 anticoagulant treatment e24 e27 4 07/01/20 20200701 NES 200701 Since December 2019, the severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been escalating.[1] Coagulopathy is common in critically ill patients with COVID-19.[2] Systemic microvascular thrombosis may occur in most deaths, and was corroborated by a recent autopsy.[3] However, less is known about the coagulation parameter D-dimer in the progression of COVID-19. Moreover, it is well documented that abnormal D-dimer is helpful in indicating deep venous thrombosis in cardiovascular diseases.[8] Thus, we analysed the correlation between D-dimer level with clinical prognosis in patients with and without cardiovascular disease. Anticoagulant treatment may benefit severe COVID-19 patients, especially those without cardiovascular disease. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of Tui Na for treating spasticity of the upper limbs of stroke patients. Design: A prospective, multicenter, blinded, randomized controlled intervention study. Subjects: Stroke patients with upper limb spasticity who were treated between December 2013 and February 2017 in 16 participating institutions in China were randomly assigned to receive either Tui Na plus conventional rehabilitation (Tui Na group, n = 222,) or conventional rehabilitation only (control group, n = 222). Methods: Eligible adult patients (aged 18–75 years) were enrolled 1–12 months after stroke and randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the two groups. Outcome assessors were blinded to treatment allocation. Muscle tone in the spastic muscles was evaluated using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), and the primary endpoint was the change in MAS score over 4 weeks of treatment. Results: Among patients who had experienced stroke 1–3 months before treatment, the Tui Na group experienced significantly greater reductions in MAS scores for three muscle groups than did the control group after 4 weeks of treatment. These improvements were sustained at the 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐ups. However, among patients who suffered from stroke 4–6 months and 7–12 months before treatment, the change in MAS with treatment did not differ significantly between those who did and those who did not receive Tui Na. No Tui Na‐related adverse events during treatment were reported the groups. Conclusion: Tui Na was effective and safe for alleviating poststroke spasticity within 1–3 months after stroke onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus infection is a perennial concern for hemodialysis units because the prevalence of hepatitis C is significantly higher there than in the general population. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to assess the incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection in hemodialysis units and explore its potential risk factors. Five electronic databases were used to search articles from 1990 to 2012, including PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang. A random-effects analysis was used to estimate the overall incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection. A subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis were conducted to explore factors associated with heterogeneity between studies. Twenty-two eligible articles were found, including 23 incidence rate estimates. The overall incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection was 1.47 per 100 patient-years (95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.14 to 1.80). In the subgroup analysis, the pooled incidence rate was 4.44 ( CI 2.65, 6.23) per 100 patient-years in the developing world and 0.99 ( CI 0.66, 1.29) per 100 patient-years in the developed world. [Correction added on 2 November 2012, after first online publication: Pooled incidence rate in the developed world has been changed.] In addition, in hemodialysis units with higher prevalence, the incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection also tended to be higher. Meta-regression analysis showed that the country's development level and initial HCV prevalence combined could explain 67.91% of the observed heterogeneity. The incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection among patients on hemodialysis was significantly high. Efforts should be taken to control hepatitis C virus infection in hemodialysis units, especially in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 powders were synthesized by sol-gel processing and Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3− xCuO piezoelectric ceramics were prepared using the as-prepared powders. Microstructures and electric properties of the ceramics were studied, especially, the effects of CuO additive on the sintering characteristics and electric properties. Both the performance and the sintering behaviour of BCTZ ceramics are improved by using as-prepared Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 powders and CuO as a sintering aid. BCTZ ceramic with 1.5 mol% CuO exhibits good electric properties: εr ∼ 5338 (10 kHz), tan δ ∼ 0.014 (10 kHz), d33 ∼ 670 pC N−1 and kp ∼ 57.8% at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]