Plasma level of M-CSF was independently related to 30-day survival in patients with suspected sepsis, and correlated to pathogen load: A prospective cohort study.

The purpose of our study was to screen the plasma cytokines to find possible indicators of disease progression and prognosis of patients with infection. With a prospective cohort study, selected patients were divided into sepsis group and non-sepsis group. Demographic and clinical information were collected. Blood samples were tested for the levels of plasma cytokines and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). 30-day follow-up information was recorded, and data was analyzed by SPSS22.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). A total of 95 patients were selected. After propensity score matching of age and gender, 36 patients with sepsis and 36 with non-sepsis were enrolled. 30-day follow-up data exhibited that 41 patients died and 31 survived. Patients with sepsis and 30-day death had higher plasma levels of cytokines, including macrophage-stimulating factor (M-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-3 (MCP-3), etc., than patients with non-sepsis and 30-day survival, respectively. M-CSF > 8.21pg/ml was an independent risk factor for 30-day death, and the reads of pathogens in mNGS reports was positively correlated with the plasma concentrations of various cytokines, including M-CSF

Bis[bis­(2-ethyl-5-methyl-1H-imidazol-4-yl-κN 3)methane](nitrato-κ2 O,O′)nickel(II) nitrate

In the title compound, [Ni(NO3)(C13H20N4)2]NO3, the NiII ion shows a distorted octa­hedral geometry formed by four N atoms from two bis­(2-ethyl-5-methyl-1H-imidazol-4-yl)methane ligands and two O atoms from a chelating nitrate anion. Three ethyl groups in the complex cation and the O atoms of the uncoordinated nitrate anion are disordered over two sets of positions [occupancy ratios of 0.52 (3):0.48 (3) and 0.63 (3):0.37 (3), respectively]. In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect the complex cations into a zigzag chain along [010] and further N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the chains and the uncoordinated nitrate anions lead to layers parallel to (100)

Aqua­[bis­(2-ethyl-5-methyl-1H-imidazol-4-yl-κN 3)methane]­oxalatocopper(II) dihydrate

In the title compound, [Cu(C2O4)(C13H20N4)(H2O)]·2H2O, the CuII atom exhibits a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with the two N atoms of the imidazole ligand and the two O atoms of the oxalate ligand forming the basal plane, while the O atom of the coordinated water mol­ecule is in an apical position. The CuII atom is shifted 0.232 (2) Å out of the basal plane toward the water mol­ecule. The asymmetric unit is completed by two solvent water mol­ecules. These water mol­ecules participate in the formation of an intricate three-dimensionnal network of hydrogen bonds involving the coordinated water mol­ecule and the NH groups

The discriminative power of the EuroQol visual analog scale is sensitive to survey language in Singapore

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Existing evidence for validity of the visual analog scale of the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire (EQ-VAS) is weak in Chinese-speaking respondents in Singapore. We therefore investigated the validity of the Chinese (Singapore) version of EQ-VAS in patients with diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a cross-sectional survey, patients with type 2 diabetes seen in a primary care facility completed an identical Chinese or English questionnaire containing the EQ-5D-3L and questions assessing other health and disease-related characteristics. Convergent and known-groups validity of the EQ-VAS was examined for Chinese- and English-speaking respondents separately.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The EQ-VAS was correlated with the EQ-5D-3L health index and a 5-point Likert-type scale for assessing global health in both Chinese-speaking (N = 335) and English-speaking respondents (N = 298), suggesting convergent validity. The mean EQ-VAS scores differed between English-speaking patients with differing duration of diabetes (< 10 years versus ≥ 10 years), comorbidity status (absence versus presence), and complications of diabetes (absence versus presence), providing evidence for known-groups validity. However, the EQ-VAS scores for Chinese-speaking respondents known to differ in these characteristics were similar, even among subgroups of relatively younger patients or those with formal school education.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Chinese- and English-speaking Singaporeans respond differently to the EQ-VAS. The Chinese version of EQ-VAS appears less sensitive than its English version for measuring global health in patient populations in Singapore.</p

A novel quartz-crystal microbalance humidity sensor based on solution-processible indium oxide quantum dots

Large surface area, like quantum confinement effect also caused by particular nano level size of quantum dots (QDs), brings fantastic possibility for humidity sensing. High concentration of surface adsorption site initiate response increasing. Porosity between QDs stacking up fast water vapor penetration and flowing away. Here, a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) humidity sensor was prepared using the indium oxide (In2O3) QDs, synthesized via solvothermal method. After In2O3 QDs directly spin-coating onto the QCM, an annealing process taken place to remove organic long chains and expose more moisture adsorption sites on the surface of the QDs. The annealed QCM humidity sensor exhibited high sensitivity (56.3 Hz/%RH at 86.3% RH), with a fast response/recovery time (14 s/16 s). Long carbon chains break down and hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl groups chemisorpted to the QDs. Chemical reaction was reduced by these chemisorpted hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl groups. Mass changing was mostly caused by fast multilayer physiorption. So the transducer can effectively and precisely monitor the moisture of person’s breathing. In2O3 QDs modified QCM sensors demonstrating its promising humidity sensing applications in daily life

Imprinting and Promoter Usage of Insulin-Like Growth Factor II in Twin Discordant Placenta

Case reports from infant twins suggest that abnormal genomic imprinting may be one of the important causes of twin discordance, but it is unknown whether abnormal genomic imprinting occurs in the placenta. Therefore, we sought to determine the relationship between the imprinting of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) in placenta and twin discordance. We analyzed the imprinting and promoter usage of IGF-II in placenta of normal twins (T0 group), weight discordance (T1 group), and phenotype discordance (T2 group). We found the incidence of loss of imprinting (LOI) for IGF-II was higher in the T2 group than that in the T0 and T1 groups, while there was no difference between T0 and T1 groups. The transcripts of promoter 3 were lower in the T2 group than in the T0 and T1 groups, and lower in the twin placenta with LOI than in those with normal imprinting. Our findings indicate that the promoter 3 specific LOI of the IGF-II gene may be closely related with phenotype discordance, not weight discordance