Follow-up study of neuropsychological scores of infant patients with cobalamin C defects and influencing factors of cerebral magnetic resonance imaging characteristics

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether baseline cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics could predict therapeutic responsiveness in patients with cobalamin C (cblC) defects.Materials and methodsThe cerebral MRI results of 40 patients with cblC defects were evaluated by a neuroradiologist. Neuropsychological scores and imaging data were collected. Neuropsychological tests were performed before and after standardized treatment.ResultsThirty-eight patients initially underwent neuropsychological testing [developmental quotient (DQ)]. CblC defects with cerebellar atrophy, corpus callosum thinning and ventricular dilation had significantly lower DQs than those without (P < 0.05). Through a multivariate linear stepwise regression equation after univariate analysis, ventricular dilation was the most valuable predictor of lower DQs. Thirty-six patients (94.7%) underwent follow-up neuropsychological testing. The pre- and post-treatment DQ values were not significantly different (Z = −1.611, P = 0.107). The post-treatment DQ classification (normal, moderately low, or extremely low) showed nearly no change compared to the pretreatment DQ classification (k = 0.790, P < 0.001).ConclusionVentricular dilation, cerebral atrophy and corpus callosum thinning are the main MRI abnormalities of cblC defects, and these manifestations are significantly correlated with delayed development in children. MRI findings can be considered an important tool for determining the severity of cblC defects

Case report of retroperitoneal ectopic pancreas with adrenal adenoma

BackgroundEctopic pancreas is a congenital anomaly in which pancreatic tissue is anatomically separated from the main gland and without vascular or ductal continuity. A case of retroperitoneal ectopic pancreas with adrenal adenoma has never yet been reported.Case PresentationA 54-year-old man presented three masses in the left retroperitoneum, and two of them were resected. The pathologic findings were a retroperitoneal ectopic pancreas with adrenal adenoma.ConclusionWe report an extremely rare case of a retroperitoneal ectopic pancreas and its characterization with dynamic gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Amplified role of potential HONO sources in O3 formation in North China Plain during autumn haze aggravating processes

Co-occurrences of high concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone (O-3) have been frequently observed in haze-aggravating processes in the North China Plain (NCP) over the past few years. Higher O-3 concentrations on hazy days were hypothesized to be related to nitrous acid (HONO), but the key sources of HONO enhancing O-3 during haze-aggravating processes remain unclear. We added six potential HONO sources, i.e., four groundbased (traffic, soil, and indoor emissions, and the NO2 heterogeneous reaction on ground surface (Het(ground))) sources, and two aerosol-related (the NO2 heterogeneous reaction on aerosol surfaces (Het(aerosol)) and nitrate photolysis (Phot(nitrate))) sources into the WRF-Chem model and designed 23 simulation scenarios to explore the unclear key sources. The results indicate that ground-based HONO sources producing HONO enhancements showed a rapid decrease with height, while the NO C OH reaction and aerosol-related HONO sources decreased slowly with height. Photnitrate contributions to HONO concentrations were enhanced with aggravated pollution levels. The enhancement of HONO due to Phot(nitrate) on hazy days was about 10 times greater than on clean days and Phot(nitrate) dominated daytime HONO sources (similar to 30 %-70% when the ratio of the photolysis frequency of nitrate (J(nitrate)) to gas nitric acid (JHNO(3)) equals 30) at higher layers (>800 m). Compared with that on clean days, the Phot(nitrate) contribution to the enhanced daily maximum 8 h averaged (DMA8) O-3 was increased by over 1 magnitude during the haze-aggravating process. Phot(nitrate) contributed only similar to 5% of the surface HONO in the daytime with a J(nitrate) =JHNO(3) ratio of 30 but contributed similar to 30 %-50% of the enhanced O-3 near the surface in NCP on hazy days. Surface O-3 was dominated by volatile organic compound-sensitive chemistry, while O-3 at higher altitudes ( >800 m) was dominated by NOx-sensitive chemistry. Phot(nitrate) had a limited impact on nitrate concentrations (Peer reviewe

Continuous and comprehensive atmospheric observations in Beijing : a station to understand the complex urban atmospheric environment

Peer reviewe

The Influence of Large-Scale Agricultural Land Management on the Modernization of Agricultural Product Circulation: Based on Field Investigation and Empirical Study

Large-scale agricultural land management has become the obvious development trend of China’s rural land management. This paper focuses on large-scale agricultural land management in China and analyzes the influence mechanism of large-scale agricultural land management on the circulation of agricultural products. We use the methods of field investigation and empirical research, put forward the theoretical hypothesis through field investigation, and empirically test it. It is found that the impact of large-scale agricultural land management on the circulation efficiency of the agricultural products under the “input-output” index has a lag and shows a U-shaped characteristic of decreasing first and then increasing. For the modernization of agricultural product circulation under the comprehensive index system, large-scale agricultural land management has a significant positive promoting effect. This reflects the potential of large-scale agricultural land management in promoting the development of rural agriculture and agricultural product circulation. This suggests that in the process of promoting the modernization of agricultural product circulation, the government should pay special attention to the modernization of upstream agricultural production, promote large-scale agricultural land management in a standardized and orderly way, and realize the coordinated reform of agriculture and the agricultural product circulation industry. In addition, the Chinese government also needs to make up for the shortcomings in the upstream organization, the construction of wholesale markets for the agricultural products, and rural logistics infrastructure

Model building and slicing in food 3D printing processes: a review

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been successfully applied to food processing, and widely appreciated by food science researchers. Recently, a lot of researches and review works have been done focusing on the ink's properties, printer design, and printing parameters. However, few articles specifically describe 3D models and slicing methods used in food printing. This work introduced the requirements for 3D printing models in some specific areas, discussed the critical parameter settings in the model slicing processes, and discussed the possible use of numerical techniques in the model building and printing of food 3D printing. The objective of this review is to increase researchers' focus on 3D printing models and slices in order to optimize the printing process and to provide some useful information for future research

Numerical Modeling of Seismic Responses and Seismic Measures of Tunnel Crossing a Fault Zone: A Case Study

The investigation shows that Longxi Tunnel, across a fault zone, was severely damaged during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China. In this paper, the dynamic time history analysis method is used to study the seismic response characteristics of Longxi Tunnel and the aseismic effect of seismic measures. The interfaces of the fault are simulated by bonded interfaces. The results show that high earthquake intensity, high in situ stress, and fault zone are the main reasons for damage of Longxi Tunnel. The inconsistent motion response between the normal surrounding rocks and surrounding rocks within the fault zone resulted in the damage of Longxi Tunnel, and the maximum displacement difference reaches 50 cm. With the seismic measure by setting shake absorb layer and seismic joints, the tunnel has better performance: the maximum peak internal force of the tunnel structure is reduced by about 26% and the acceleration is reduced by 30%. Seismic measures should not only be considered within fault zones but also extend to adjacent surrounding rocks. In this study, the fault seismic measures of Longxi Tunnel should be no less than 4.0 times the tunnel diameter

New Patterns of Temporal and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Highly Artificialized Urban River-Course—a Case Study in the Tongzhou Section of the Beiyun River

This paper aims to gain a better understanding of urban river pollution through evaluation of water quality. Data for 10 parameters at eight sites of the Tongzhou Section of the Beiyun River (TSBR) are analyzed. Hierarchical cluster analysis, fuzzy comprehensive assessment, discriminant analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to estimate the water situation of each cluster and analyze its spatial-temporal variations. Principal component analysis/factor analysis were applied to extract and recognize the sources responsible for water-quality variations. The results showed that temporal variation is greater than spatial and sewage discharge is the dominant factor of the seasonal distribution. Moreover, during the rapid-flow period, water quality is polluted by a combination of organic matter, phosphorus, bio-chemical pollutants and nitrogen; during the gentle-flow period, water quality is influenced by domestic and industrial waste, the activities of algae, aquatic plants and phosphorus pollution. In regard to future improvement of water quality in TSBR, the control of reclaimed wastewater from adjacent factories should first be put in place, as well as other techniques, for example, an increase of the impervious area, low-impact development, and integrated management practices should also be proposed in managing storm water runoff

Analysis of the Contribution Rate of the Influencing Factors to Land Subsidence in the Eastern Beijing Plain, China Based on Extremely Randomized Trees (ERT) Method

As a common geological hazard, land subsidence is widely distributed in the Eastern Beijing Plain. The pattern of evolution of this geological phenomenon is controlled by many factors, including groundwater level change in different aquifers, compressible layers of different thicknesses, and static and dynamic loads. First, based on the small baseline subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique, we employed 47 ENVISAT ASAR images and 48 RADARSAT-2 images to acquire the ground deformation of the Beijing Plain from June 2003 to November 2015 and then validated the results using leveling benchmark monitoring. Second, we innovatively calculated additional stress to obtain static and dynamic load information. Finally, we evaluated the contribution rate of the influencing factors to land subsidence by using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (SRCC) and extremely randomized trees (ERT) machine learning methods. The SBAS-InSAR outcomes revealed that the maximum deformation rate was 110.7 mm/year from 2003 to 2010 and 144.4 mm/year from 2010 to 2015. The SBAS-InSAR results agreed well with the leveling benchmark monitoring results; the correlation coefficients were 0.97 and 0.96 during the 2003–2010 and 2013–2015 periods, respectively. The contribution rate of the second confined aquifer to the cumulative land subsidence was 49.3% from 2003 to 2010, accounting for the largest proportion; however, its contribution rate decreased to 23.4% from 2010 to 2015. The contribution rate of the third confined aquifer to the cumulative land subsidence increased from 2003 to 2015. Although the contribution of additional stress engendered from static and dynamic loads to the cumulative land subsidence was slight, it had a significant effect on the uneven land subsidence, with a contribution rate of 33.8% from 2003 to 2010 and 23.1% from 2010 to 2015. These findings provide scientific support for mitigating hazards associated with land subsidence