Assessment of mild hypothermia combined with edaravone for the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury

Purpose: To study the clinical effect of combining mild hypothermia with edaravone in the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury. Methods: One hundred and twenty (120) patients with severe craniocerebral injury who were admitted to Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were assigned to control and study groups, respectively. Patients in the control group were given conventional treatment while those in the study group received combined treatment of mild hypothermia and edaravone, in addition to the conventional treatment received by control group. Clinical efficacy and prognosis were compared between the two groups. Results: The intracranial pressure (ICP) of both groups decreased after admission, but the decrease in ICP was more pronounced in the study group at various time points (p < 0.05). Blood lactic acid levels decreased in both groups after admission, while brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels increased. Improvement in blood lactic acid and BDNF was greater in the study group than in control group (p < 0.05). The treatment resulted in significant decrease in residual hematoma volume and edema range in the study group, relative to control (p < 0.05). There was a decrease in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, and increase in Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) scores in both groups. However, improvement in NIHSS and GOS scores in the study group was superior to those in control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mild hypothermia in combination with edaravone exerts a beneficial clinical effect in severe craniocerebral injury. The combined treatment rapidly reduces ICP and range of encephaledema, improves cerebral blood supply, promotes absorption of intracranial hematoma, and relieves nervous dysfunction

4-[4-(3-Methoxy­benzamido)phen­oxy]-N-methyl­picolinamide

In the title compound, C21H19N3O4, the central benzene ring makes dihedral angles of 78.54 (6) and 75.30 (6)° with the pyridine and 3-methoxy­phenyl rings, respectively. An intra­molecular N—H⋯N interaction occurs, generating an S(?). The crystal packing shows inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the N—H groups and the O atoms of the 3-methoxy­phenyl ring and the carbonyl groups of the amide functions. Inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are also present

Regulated internalization of NMDA receptors drives PKD1-mediated suppression of the activity of residual cell-surface NMDA receptors

Background Constitutive and regulated internalization of cell surface proteins has been extensively investigated. The regulated internalization has been characterized as a principal mechanism for removing cell-surface receptors from the plasma membrane, and signaling to downstream targets of receptors. However, so far it is still not known whether the functional properties of remaining (non-internalized) receptor/channels may be regulated by internalization of the same class of receptor/channels. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is a principal subtype of glutamate-gated ion channel and plays key roles in neuronal plasticity and memory functions. NMDARs are well-known to undergo two types of regulated internalization – homologous and heterologous, which can be induced by high NMDA/glycine and DHPG, respectively. In the present work, we investigated effects of regulated NMDAR internalization on the activity of residual cell-surface NMDARs and neuronal functions. Results In electrophysiological experiments we discovered that the regulated internalization of NMDARs not only reduced the number of cell surface NMDARs but also caused an inhibition of the activity of remaining (non-internalized) surface NMDARs. In biochemical experiments we identified that this functional inhibition of remaining surface NMDARs was mediated by increased serine phosphorylation of surface NMDARs, resulting from the activation of protein kinase D1 (PKD1). Knockdown of PKD1 did not affect NMDAR internalization but prevented the phosphorylation and inhibition of remaining surface NMDARs and NMDAR-mediated synaptic functions. Conclusion These data demonstrate a novel concept that regulated internalization of cell surface NMDARs not only reduces the number of NMDARs on the cell surface but also causes an inhibition of the activity of remaining surface NMDARs through intracellular signaling pathway(s). Furthermore, modulating the activity of remaining surface receptors may be an effective approach for treating receptor internalization-induced changes in neuronal functions of the CNS

Tuberculosis prevalence among university freshmen in Zhengzhou, China, during 2004-2013

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern worldwide, and spreads more easily in densely populated areas such as school campuses. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of positive TB skin tests among freshmen, i.e. newly-enrolled college students, in Zhengzhou City, China. Methods: We reviewed the data of purified protein derivative (PPD) skin tests in 656,212 freshmen in 2004-2013. Results: A positive test showed a diameter of swelling 65 5 mm. The PPD positive rate was 40.69 %, with a prevalence of 146.29 per 100,000. During the 10-year study period, the rate of students with positive PPD test increased from 34.19 % in 2004 to 40.69 % in 2013. The positive PPD rate was significantly higher in males than in females (41.68 % vs 39.61 %, P<0.0001), and in rural compared with urban areas (42.04 % vs 38.03 %, P<0.0001). Conclusion: These findings indicated a high prevalence of PPD positivity among participants during the study period, with an increasing trend. Therefore, this population needs to be targeted by TB prevention and control programs

Local synergetic collaboration between Pd and local tetrahedral symmetric Ni oxide enables ultra-high-performance CO2 thermal methanation

Tetrahedral symmetric NiO2 and Pd respectively facilitate H2 splitting and CO2 to CO reduction and thus enable an ultra-high CH4 production yield performance in the epitaxial interfaces in the bimetallic NiO2@Pd NPs.</p

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements