Serum total antioxidant capacity reflects severity of illness in patients with severe sepsis

INTRODUCTION: We conducted the present study to evaluate the changes in serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients with severe sepsis and to investigate the association between serum TAC and clinical severity. METHOD: This was a prospective observational study involving a sample of patients who met established criteria for severe sepsis and were admitted to the emergency department of a university teaching hospital. Serum TAC was determined using the total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter method. The levels of TAC, uric acid, albumin, and bilirubin in sera were obtained in the emergency department and evaluated to determine whether there were any correlations between the major antioxidant biomarkers and clinical severity of sepsis. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score was used for clinical evaluation of the severity of sepsis. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients with sepsis, with a mean (± standard deviation) APACHE II score of 23.2 ± 8.2 and a mortality rate of 26.0%, were included. Seventy-six healthy individuals served as control individuals. Among the patients, serum TAC levels correlated significantly with APACHE II scores. Patients who died also had higher TAC than did those who survived. Serum uric acid levels correlated significantly with serum TAC and APACHE II scores in patients with severe sepsis. CONCLUSION: Elevated serum TAC level may reflect clinical severity of sepsis. In addition, serum uric acid levels appear to contribute importantly to the higher TAC levels observed in patients with severe sepsis

Influence of mental energy on volleyball competition performance: a field test

Athletic mental energy is a newly emerging research topic in sport science. However, whether it can predict objective performance in competition remains unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of mental energy on volleyball competition performance. We recruited 81 male volleyball players (Mage = 21.11 years ± SD = 1.81) who participated in the last 16 remaining teams in a college volleyball tournament. We assessed participants’ mental energy the night before the competition and collected their competition performance over the next 3 days. We used six indices of the Volleyball Information System (VIS) developed by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to examine its associations with mental energy. All six factors of mental energy –motivation, tirelessness, calm, vigor, confidence, and concentration correlated with volleyball competition performance. Further, a hierarchical regression found mental energy predicted volleyball receivers’ performance (R2 = .23). The findings advance our knowledge of mental energy and objective performance in competition. We suggest that future studies may examine the effects of mental energy on different sports with different performance indices

Lipase catalyzed acetylation of 3,5,40-trihydroxystilbene: optimization and kinetics study

The use of immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) to catalyze acetylation of trans-3,5,40-trihydroxystilbene was investigated in this study. Response surface methodology and 5-level-4-factor central composite rotatable design were adopted to evaluate the effects of synthesis variables, including reaction time (24–72 h), temperature (25–65 C), substrate molar ratio (1:15–1:75), and enzyme amount (600–3,000 PLU) on the percentage molar conversion of trans-40-O-acetyl- 3,5-dihydroxystilbene. The results showed that reaction temperature and enzyme amount were the most important parameters on percentage molar conversion. Based on ridge max analysis, the optimum conditions for synthesis were: reaction time 60 h, reaction temperature 64 C, substrate molar ratio 1:56 and enzyme amount 2,293 PLU. The molar conversion of actual experimental values was 95% under optimal conditions. The synthesis product was analyzed using HPLC, mass and NMR. The results revealed that the major product was trans-40-O-acetyl-3,5- dihydroxystilbene. The reaction kinetics was found to follow the Ping-Pong mechanism; substrate inhibition was not found at high vinyl acetate concentration

Plasma‐Etched Nanograss Surface without Lithographic Patterning to Immobilize Water Droplet for Highly Sensitive Raman Sensing

Abstract The development of reliable, cost‐effective molecular detection at the attomolar level on analyte‐immobilizing surfaces fabricated without lithographic patterning remains a major challenge in chemical sensing technology. This issue is addressed using custom‐designed adhesive superhydrophobic silicon nanograss surfaces produced via plasma etching. When applied to ultrasensitive surface‐enhanced Raman scattering, the nanograss surface enables effective immobilization of water droplets containing Ag nanoparticles and R6G target molecules. Upon water evaporation, the R6G analytes are confined at the edge of the self‐organized coffee‐ring‐like stains with the plasmonic hot spots of the Ag nanoparticles, thus providing a reliable Raman scattering platform for detecting trace analytes. Even at an ultralow concentration of 10−16 m, the corresponding relative standard deviation is 17.57%. A novel plasma‐enabled approach for precise interface nanostructuring, potentially leading to unprecedented capabilities in molecular‐level sensing technologies, is presented