Efficacy of combined glucocorticoid and hyperbaric oxygen therapy against delayed encephalopathy after carbon monoxide poisoning, and its effect on expression of immune-associated cytokines

Purpose: To study the efficacy of glucocorticoid combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of delayed encephalopathy after carbon monoxide poisoning (DEACMP), and its effect on the expression of immune-associated cytokines.Methods: A total of 102 DEACMP patients in PLA General Hospital, Haidian, China were divided into two groups of 51 patients each, namely, observation group (glucocorticoid + hyperbaric oxygen therapy), and control group (hyperbaric oxygen only). The clinical data for each group was retrospectively analyzed. Clinical efficacy, improvement time, hospitalization time, cognitive function, activities associated with daily living, changes in immunity-associated cytokines, and incidence of adverse reactions were compared for the two groups.Results: Following treatment, the time taken for improvement, duration of hospitalization, cognitive function, daily living activity and total effectiveness in the observation group were significantly higher than those for the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, the levels of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF- β1), interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in the observation group were significantly greater than for the corresponding control group levels (p <0.05). There was no significant difference in incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (p > 0.05).Conclusion: These results suggest that a combination therapy of glucocorticoid and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of DEACMP is more eutherapeutic in the improvement of cognitive function and activities of daily living in DEACMP patients than hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The mechanism of this combination therapy may be related to the improvement in immunity-related cytokine levels.Keywords: Glucocorticoid, Hyperbaric oxygen, Delayed encephalopathy after carbon monoxide poisoning, Efficacy, Immunit

Revisit of cosmic ray antiprotons from dark matter annihilation with updated constraints on the background model from AMS-02 and collider data

We study the cosmic ray antiprotons with updated constraints on the propagation, proton injection, and solar modulation parameters based on the newest AMS-02 data near the Earth and Voyager data in the local interstellar space, and on the cross section of antiproton production due to proton-proton collisions based on new collider data. We use a Bayesian approach to properly consider the uncertainties of the model predictions of both the background and the dark matter (DM) annihilation components of antiprotons. We find that including an extra component of antiprotons from the annihilation of DM particles into a pair of quarks can improve the fit to the AMS-02 antiproton data considerably. The favored mass of DM particles is about $60\sim100$ GeV, and the annihilation cross section is just at the level of the thermal production of DM ($\langle\sigma v\rangle \sim O(10^{-26})$ cm$^3$~s$^{-1}$).Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures and 1 table; JCAP accepted versio

HyExo:A Novel Quasi-Passive Hydraulic Exoskeleton for Load-Carrying Augmentation

The development of assistive lower-limb exoskeletons gains prominence for human load-carrying augmentation. Hydraulic transmission has attractive hydrostatic features and lower inertia at the end of human limbs. However, few hydraulic lower-limb exoskeletons were developed with low energy consumption and light weight. In this article, we introduce HyExo, a quasi-passive hydraulic exoskeleton that is built on a lightweight rotary cage valve (RCV) block with a fast response and low energy consumption of 1.55&amp;#x00A0;W. Based on the RCV block, we propose an optimization-based regulator for joint energy distribution to harvest and release the hydraulic energy among joints during the stance phase. The interaction force model and control of the novel nonanthropomorphic structure are presented and evaluated. The load-supporting effect was investigated and validated through human subject experiments. The results show that with an assisting fluid pressure of 2.5&amp;#x00A0;MPa, HyExo can transfer a mean force of 237&amp;#x00A0;N to the ground. Meanwhile, the impact of wearing HyExo on gait is analyzed. The metabolic expenditure test shows that HyExo can slow the increasing rate in metabolic cost as load increases. Compared with a regular backpack, walking with HyExo to carry 30&amp;#x00A0;kg of weight reduces wearers&amp;#x0027; metabolic energy expenditure by 7.8&amp;#x0025;.</p

Poly[(acetato-κ2 O,O′)aqua­(μ4-1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ato-κ5 N 3:O 5,O 5′:O 5,O 6:O 6′)praseodymium(III)]

In the title complex, [Pr(C9H4N2O4)(C2H3O2)(H2O)]n, the PrIII ion is coordinated by five O atoms and one N atom from four benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ate ligands, two O atoms from an acetate ligand and one water mol­ecule, giving a tricapped trigonal-prismatic geometry. The benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ate and acetate ligands connect the PrIII ions, forming a layer in the ac plane; the layers are further linked by N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking inter­actions between neighboring pyridine rings [the centroid–centroid distance is 3.467 (1) Å], assembling a three-dimensional supra­molecular network. The acetate methyl group is disordered over two positions with site-occupancy factors of 0.75 and 0.25

The effect of seawater layer on cable-stayed bridge under tri-direction spatial varying ground motions

In recently years, many sea-crossing bridges were built in some countries. For the complexity of seafloor condition and the stochastic characteristics of earthquakes, it is necessary to research the seismic responses of these sea-crossing bridges located on seawater layer and irregular bottom conditions. In this paper, a theory of the spatial varying ground motions was derived considering the wave propagation in soil and water. The effects of sea water layer, wave passage, coherence, local site and soil saturation on the seismic responses of a cable-stayed bridge were researched. The transfer function was used to calculate the local site effect and soil saturation effect. The seawater layer effect was studied via a simple medal from Crouse and Quilter. Multi-support and tri-direction excitations were utilized with large mass method. The seismic responses of a long span cable-stay bridge in the site conditions with and without seawater were compared. The results present that the seawater layer affects the earthquake response of bridge greatly, and the soil types have different effects on the different component of bridge. The research will help reasonably evaluate the security of sea-crossing bridge under earthquake excitation

Knock-Down of a Tonoplast Localized Low-Affinity Nitrate Transporter OsNPF7.2 Affects Rice Growth under High Nitrate Supply

The large nitrate transporter 1/peptide transporter family (NPF) has been shown to transport diverse substrates, including nitrate, amino acids, peptides, phytohormones, and glucosinolates. However, the rice (Oryza sativa) root-specific expressed member OsNPF7.2 has not been characterized. Here, our data show that OsNPF7.2 is a tonoplast localized low-affinity nitrate transporter, and affects rice growth under high nitrate supply. The expression analysis showed that OsNPF7.2 was mainly expressed in the elongation and maturation zones of roots, especially in the root sclerenchyma, cortex and stele. It was also induced by high concentrations of nitrate. Subcellular localization analysis showed that OsNPF7.2 was localized on the tonoplast of large and small vacuoles. Heterogenous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes suggested that OsNPF7.2 was a low-affinity nitrate transporter. Knock-down of OsNPF7.2 retarded rice growth under high concentrations of nitrate. Therefore, we deduce that OsNPF7.2 plays a role in intracellular allocation of nitrate in roots, and thus influences rice growth under high nitrate supply