Evaluating Pillar Industry's Transformation Capability: A Case Study of Two Chinese Steel-Based Cities.

Many steel-based cities in China were established between the 1950s and 1960s. After more than half a century of development and boom, these cities are starting to decline and industrial transformation is urgently needed. This paper focuses on evaluating the transformation capability of resource-based cities building an evaluation model. Using Text Mining and the Document Explorer technique as a way of extracting text features, the 200 most frequently used words are derived from 100 publications related to steel- and other resource-based cities. The Expert Evaluation Method (EEM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques are then applied to select 53 indicators, determine their weights and establish an index system for evaluating the transformation capability of the pillar industry of China's steel-based cities. Using real data and expert reviews, the improved Fuzzy Relation Matrix (FRM) method is applied to two case studies in China, namely Panzhihua and Daye, and the evaluation model is developed using Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE). The cities' abilities to carry out industrial transformation are evaluated with concerns expressed for the case of Daye. The findings have policy implications for the potential and required industrial transformation in the two selected cities and other resource-based towns

Huangqi Injection (a Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine) for Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a global public health problem. Therefore, novel and effective drugs that show few side-effects are needed. Early literature studies indicated that Huangqi injection is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese patent medicines for CHF in China. As a large number of clinical studies has been carried out and published, it is essential to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Huangqi injection. Therefore, we carried out this systematic review under the support of the framework of the Joint Sino-Italian Laboratory (JoSIL).To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection for CHF according to the available scientific knowledge.An extensive search including PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, the Cochrane Library and Chinese literature databases was performed up to July 2008. Clinical trials regarding Huangqi injection for the treatment of CHF were searched for, irrespective of languages. The quality of each trial was assessed according to the Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook 5.0, and RevMan 5.0 provided by the Cochrane Collaboration and STATA 9.2 were used for data analysis.After selection of 1,205 articles, 62 RCTs and quasi-RCTs conducted in China and published in Chinese journals were included in the review. The methodological quality of the trials was low. In most trials inclusion and exclusion criteria were not specified. Furthermore, only one study evaluated the outcomes for drug efficacy after an adequate period of time. For these reasons and because of the different baseline characteristics we did not conduct a meta-analysis.Although available studies are not adequate to draw a conclusion on the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection (a traditional Chinese patent medicine), we hope that our work could provide useful experience on further studies on Huangqi injections. The overall level of TCM clinical research needs to be improved so that the efficacy of TCM can be evaluated by the international community and possibly some TCM can enter into the international market

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Influence of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on stereotypic behavior and dopamine levels in rats with Tourette syndrome.

CONTEXT: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a heterogeneous neuropsychiatric disorder. Chronic motor and phonic tics are central symptoms in TS patients. For some patients, tics are intractable to any traditional treatment and cause lifelong impairment and life-threatening symptoms. New therapies should be developed to address symptoms and overt manifestations of TS. Transplantation of neurogenic stem cells might be a viable approach in TS treatment. OBJECTIVE: We used mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation to treat TS. We discuss the mechanism of action, as well as the efficiency of this approach, in treating TS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: An autoimmune TS animal model was adopted in the present study. Forty-eight Wistar rats were randomly allocated to the control group and the 2 experimental groups, namely, TS rats+vehicle and TS rats+MSC. MSCs were co-cultured with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for 24 h for labeling prior to grafting. METHODS: Stereotypic behaviors were recorded at 1, 7, 14, and 28 days after transplantation. Dopamine (DA) content in the striatum of rats in the 3 groups was measured using a high-performance liquid chromatography column equipped with an electrochemical detector (HPLC-ECD) on day 28 after transplantation. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was performed by repeated measurements analysis of variance to evaluate stereotypic behavior counts at different time points. RESULTS: TS rats exhibited higher stereotypic behavioral counts compared with the control group. One week after transplantation, TS rats with MSC grafts exhibited significantly decreased stereotypic behavior. Rats with MSC grafts also showed reduced levels of DA in the striatum when compared with TS rats, which were exposed only to the vehicle. CONCLUSIONS: Intrastriatal transplantation of MSCs can provide relief from the stereotypic behavior of TS. Our results indicate that this approach may have potential for developing therapies against TS. The mechanism(s) of the observed effect may be related to the suppression of DA system by decreasing the content of DA in TS rats

Design Mechanism and Property of the Novel Fluorescent Probes for the Identification of Microthrix Parvicella In Situ

In this study, two novel fluorescent probes, probe A and probe B were designed, synthesized and characterized, based on Microthrix parvicella (M. parvicella) preferring to utilize long-chain fatty acid (LCFA), for the labeling of M. parvicella in activated sludge. The molecular structure of probe A and probe B include long-chain alkane and LCFA, respectively. The results indicated that probe A and probe B had a large stokes shift of 118 nm and 120 nm and high quantum yield of 0.1043 and 0.1058, respectively, which were significantly helpful for the fluorescent labeling. As probe A was more stable than probe B in activated sludge, and the fluorescence intensity keep stable during 24 h, probe A was more suitable for labeling M. parvicella in situ. In addition, through the Image Pro Plus 6 (IPP 6) analysis, a quantitative relationship was established between sludge volume index (SVI) and integral optical density (IOD) of the labeled M. parvicella in activated sludge samples. The relationship between IOD and SVI conforms to Logistic curve (R2 = 0.94)

Mxenes–Au NP Hybrid Plasmonic 2D Microplates in Microfluidics for SERS Detection

Combined with microfluidics, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) exhibits huge application prospective in sensitive online detection. In current studies, the design and optimization of plasmonic enhanced structures in microfluidics for SERS detection could be an interesting challenge. In this work, hybrid plasmonic 2D microplates composed of Mxenes (Ti3C2Tx) microplates and in-situ synthesized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) are fabricated in a microchannel for enhanced structures in SERS microfluidics. Benefiting from the 2D Mxenes microplates with complex distributions, the enhanced areas generated by Au NPs are quite enlarged in a microchannel, which exhibits high sensitivity in SERS detection at 10−10 M for Nile blue (NB) molecules in microfluidics. The mechanism of electromagnetic enhancement (EM) and chemical enhancement (CM) is analyzed. The experimental data indicate the ultrasonic times of Mxenes and the concentration of Au3+ play important roles in the sensitivity of SERS detection, which is confirmed by the simulated electric field distributions. Furthermore, a typical pesticide (thiram) at 100 ppm in water is detected on these SERS microfluidics with hybrid plasmonic enhanced structures, which demonstrates that our work not only strengthens the knowledge of plasmonics but also enlarges the application of SERS