The Optimal Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation in HIV-Infected Patients with Cryptococcal Meningitis: A Multicenter Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

The optimal timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with cryptococcal meningitis (HIV/CM) is controversial. We designed a clinical trial to inves-tigate the optimal timing for ART initiation in HIV/CM patients. This will be a multicenter, prospective, and randomized clinical trial. Each enrolled patient will be randomized into either the early ART arm or the deferred ART arm. We will compare the mortality and incident rates of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome between the two arms. We hope to elucidate the optimal timing for ART initiation in HIV/CM patients

Co-Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework@Cellulose Aerogels from Sugarcane Bagasse for Activating Peroxymonosulfate to Degrade P-Nitrophenol

An efficient, green and reusable catalyst for organic pollutant wastewater treatment has been a subject of intense research in recent decades due to the limitation of current technologies. Cellulose based aerogel composites are considered to be an especially promising candidate for next-generation catalytic material. This project was conducted in order to evaluate the behavior and ability of green and reusable sugarcane bagasse aerogels to remove P-Nitrophesnol from waste-water aqueous. Co-Zeolitic imidazolate framework@ sugarcane bagasse aerogels composite catalysts were successfully prepared via simple in situ synthesis. The structure of hybrid aerogels and their efficient catalyst in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for the degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP) was investigated. As a result, the hybrid aerogels/PMS system removed 98.5% of PNP (10 mg/L) within 60~70 min, while the traditional water treatment technology could not achieve this. In addition, through a free radical capture experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), the degradation mechanism of PNP was investigated. Further research found that the hybrid aerogels can effectively activate PMS to produce sulfate (SO∙ −4) and hydroxyl (OH∙ ). Both of them contributed to the degradation of PNP, and SO∙ −4 plays a crucial role in the degradative process. The most important feature of hybrid aerogels can be easily separated from the solution. The obtained results showed that the outer coating structure of cellulose can stabilize Co-ZIF and reduce the dissolution of cobalt ions under complex reaction conditions. Moreover, the prepared hybrid aerogels exhibit excellent reusability and are environmentally friendly with efficient catalytic efficiency. This work provides a new strategy for bagasse applications and material reusability

Highly sensitive acetone sensor based on WO3 nanosheets derived from WS2 nanoparticles with inorganic fullerene-like structures

Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors are promising for applications in environmental monitoring, dangerous gas detection, and disease diagnosis. Seeking for advanced MOS sensing materials that possess high sensitivity and low limit of detection (LOD) at sub-ppm level is a great challenge. Here, we report the first creation of two-dimensional (2D) WO3 nanosheets by annealing of the inorganic fullerene (IF)-like WS2 nanoparticles that were prepared via sulfurization of WO3 nanoparticles. Transformation of WS2 to WO3 was realised during the annealing process, simultaneously accompanied by the collapse of the hollow IF-WS2 structures and the formation of tiny 2D WO3 nanosheets with a lateral size of 40−80 nm. The resulting 2D WO3 nanosheets exhibited highly enhanced acetone-sensing performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and response/recovery rates compared with the WO3 nanoparticles used as precursor for the synthesis of the IF-WS2 nanoparticles. The nanosheets also demonstrated great repeatability, reliable long-term stability, and very low LOD, making them a promising candidate as gas sensor to detect breath acetone

Transcriptomic evidence for involvement of reactive oxygen species in Rhizoctonia solani AG1 IA sclerotia maturation

Rhizoctonia solani AG1 IA is a soil-borne fungal phytopathogen that can significantly harm crops resulting in economic loss. This species overwinters in grass roots and diseased plants, and produces sclerotia that infect future crops. R. solani AG1 IA does not produce spores; therefore, understanding the molecular mechanism of sclerotia formation is important for crop disease control. To identify the genes involved in this process for the development of disease control targets, the transcriptomes of this species were determined at three important developmental stages (mycelium, sclerotial initiation, and sclerotial maturation) using an RNA-sequencing approach. A total of 5,016, 6,433, and 5,004 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the sclerotial initiation vs. mycelial, sclerotial maturation vs. mycelial, and sclerotial maturation vs. sclerotial initiation stages, respectively. Moreover, gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses showed that these DEGs were enriched in diverse categories, including oxidoreductase activity, carbohydrate metabolic process, and oxidation-reduction processes. A total of 12 DEGs were further verified using reverse transcription quantitative PCR. Among the genes examined, NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were highly induced in the stages of sclerotial initiation and maturation. In addition, the highest reactive oxygen species (ROS) production levels were detected during sclerotial initiation, and enzyme activities of NOX1, SOD, and catalase (CAT) matched with the gene expression profiles. To further evaluate the role of ROS in sclerotial formation, R. solani AG1 IA was treated with the CAT inhibitor aminotriazole and H2O2, resulting in the early differentiation of sclerotia. Taken together, this study provides useful information toward understanding the molecular basis of R. solani AG1 IA sclerotial formation and maturation, and identified the important role of ROS in these processes

Study on the design strategy of prefabricated steel structure green farm house in cold areas——taking a farm house design practice in shandong, china as an example

With the vigorous promotion of the development and construction of “beautiful countryside” in China, the irrationality of the functional space of rural farmhouses and the energy conservation and consumption reduction of farmhouses have become urgent problems. In this paper, the design practice of a green agricultural house with prefabricated steel structure in Shandong province was taken as an example. Based on a variety of factors such as environmental characteristics, regional characteristics, and technical conditions, design and application research were conducted from the aspects of building shape and functional space design, appropriate green building technology. What’s more, the energy consumption simulation software was used for its quantitative analysis of energy saving effects and indoor temperature, and a green farm house design strategy adapted to the characteristics of cold climate, regional characteristics, and future development trends was discussed, which was intended to provide a technical reference for the construction of beautiful countryside

The Iterative Method of Generalized <inline-formula> <graphic file="1687-1812-2011-979261-i1.gif"/></inline-formula>-Concave Operators

We define the concept of the generalized -concave operators, which generalize the definition of the -concave operators. By using the iterative method and the partial ordering method, we prove the existence and uniqueness of fixed points of this class of the operators. As an example of the application of our results, we show the existence and uniqueness of solutions to a class of the Hammerstein integral equations.</p