Influence of Curing Humidity on the Compressive Strength of Gypsum-Cemented Similar Materials

The analogous simulation experiment is widely used in geotechnical and mining engineering. However, systematic errors derived from unified standard curing procedure have been underestimated to some extent. In this study, 140 gypsum-cemented similar material specimens were chosen to study their curing procedure with different relative humidity, which is 10%–15%, 40%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. SEM microstructures and XRD spectra were adopted to detect the correlation between microstructures and macroscopic mechanical strength during curing. Our results indicated that the needle-like phases of similar materials began to develop in the early stage of the hydration process through intersecting with each other and eventually transformed into mat-like phases. Increase of humidity may inhibit the development of needle-like phases; thus the compressive strength changes more smoothly, and the time required for the material strength to reach the peak value will be prolonged. The peak strength decreases along with the increase of humidity while the humidity is higher than 40%; however, the reverse tendency was observed if the humidity was lower than 40%. Finally, we noticed that the material strength usually reaches the peak value when the water content continuously reduces and tends towards stability. Based on the above observation, a curing method determination model and experimental strength predication method for gypsum-cemented similar materials were proposed

Protective effect of ethosuximide on hearing in NOD/LtJ mice via blockage of endogenous apoptosis

Purpose: To determine the protective effect of ethosuximide on the hearing of NOD/LtJ mice, and the underlying mechanism of action. Methods: The mice were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups (20 mice per group). Mice in the treatment group were administered ethosuximide intraperitoneally at a dose of 200mg/kg body weight (bwt), while those in the control group received an equivalent dose of saline via the same route. Both groups were subjected to auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) tests, as well as determination of mRNA expressions of α1G, α1H, α1I, m-calpain, μ-calpain, and caspase-3. Results: At ages of 6 and 9 weeks, ABR values were significantly lower in the treatment group than those in the control group (p < 0.05). At age 3, 6 and 9 weeks, control group DPOAE values were much lower than those in the treatment group. However, at signal frequency of 35344 Hz, DPOAE value was significantly reduced in the treatment group (p < 0.05). There was significant down-regulation in mRNA expressions of α1G, α1H, α1I, m-calpain, μ-calpain and caspase-3, in the treatment group, when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Ethosuximide delays mice hearing loss and protects their hearing via a mechanism involving blockage of endogenous apoptotic pathways. This mechanism may provide guidance in the search for suitable new drugs. Keywords: Ethosuximide, Endogenous apoptosis, Hearing, Protectio

Lateralization difference in functional activity during Stroop tasks: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy and EEG simultaneous study

IntroductionConflict monitoring and processing is an important part of the human cognitive system, it plays a key role in many studies of cognitive disorders.MethodsBased on a Chinese word-color match Stroop task, which included incongruent and neutral stimuli, the Electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals were recorded simultaneously. The Pearson correlation coefficient matrix was calculated to analyze brain connectivity based on EEG signals. Granger Causality (GC) method was employed to analyze the effective connectivity of bilateral frontal lobes. Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) was used to analyze the functional connectivity of the bilateral hemisphere and ipsilateral hemisphere.ResultsResults indicated that brain connectivity analysis on EEG signals did not show any significant lateralization, while fNIRS analysis results showed the frontal lobes especially the left frontal lobe play the leading role in dealing with conflict tasks. The human brain shows leftward lateralization while processing the more complicated incongruent stimuli. This is demonstrated by the higher functional connectivity in the left frontal lobe and the information flow from the left frontal lobe to the right frontal lobe.DiscussionOur findings in brain connectivity during cognitive conflict processing demonstrated that the dual modality method combining EEG and fNIRS is a valuable tool to excavate more information through cognitive and physiological studies

Occurrence of False Positive Results for the Detection of Carbapenemases in Carbapenemase-Negative Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates

Adequate detection of the production of carbapenemase in Enterobacteriaceae isolates is crucial for infection control measures and the appropriate choice of antimicrobial therapy. In this study, we investigated the frequency of false positive results for the detection of carbapenemases in carbapenemase-negative Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates by the modified Hodge test (MHT). Three hundred and one E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical isolates were investigated. All produced extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) but were susceptible to carbapenems. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the disk diffusion and agar dilution methods. The MHT was performed using the standard inoculum of test organisms recommended by the CLSI. Genes that encoded ESBLs and carbapenemases were identified by PCR and DNA sequencing. Among the 301 clinical isolates, none of the isolates conformed to the criteria for carbapenemase screening recommended by the CLSI. The susceptibility rates for imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem all were 100.0%, 100.0%, and 100.0%, respectively. Of the 301 E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates, none produced carbapenemase. The MHT gave a positive result for 3.3% (10/301) of the isolates. False positive results can occur when the MHT is used to detect carbapenemase in ESBL-producing isolates and clinical laboratories must be aware of this fact

Efficacy and safety of tigecycline monotherapy vs. imipenem/cilastatin in Chinese patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tigecycline, a first-in-class broad-spectrum glycylcycline antibiotic, has broad-spectrum in vitro activity against bacteria commonly encountered in complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs), including aerobic and facultative Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and anaerobic bacteria. In the current trial, tigecycline was evaluated for safety and efficacy vs. imipenem/cilastatin in hospitalized Chinese patients with cIAIs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this phase 3, multicenter, open-label study, patients were randomly assigned to receive IV tigecycline or imipenem/cilastatin for ≤2 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoints were clinical response at the test-of-cure visit (12-37 days after therapy) for the microbiologic modified intent-to-treat and microbiologically evaluable populations. Because the study was not powered to demonstrate non-inferiority between tigecycline and imipenem/cilastatin, no formal statistical analysis was performed. Two-sided 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for the response rates in each treatment group and for differences between treatment groups for descriptive purposes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred ninety-nine patients received ≥1 dose of study drug and comprised the modified intent-to-treat population. In the microbiologically evaluable population, 86.5% (45 of 52) of tigecycline- and 97.9% (47 of 48) of imipenem/cilastatin-treated patients were cured at the test-of-cure assessment (12-37 days after therapy); in the microbiologic modified intent-to-treat population, cure rates were 81.7% (49 of 60) and 90.9% (50 of 55), respectively. The overall incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was 80.4% for tigecycline vs. 53.9% after imipenem/cilastatin therapy (<it>P </it>< 0.001), primarily due to gastrointestinal-related events, especially nausea (21.6% vs. 3.9%; <it>P </it>< 0.001) and vomiting (12.4% vs. 2.0%; <it>P </it>= 0.005).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Clinical cure rates for tigecycline were consistent with those found in global cIAI studies. The overall safety profile was also consistent with that observed in global studies of tigecycline for treatment of cIAI, as well as that observed in analyses of Chinese patients in those studies; no novel trends were observed.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00136201</p

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Environmental Regulation, Government R&amp;D Funding and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from China Provincial Data

The “environmental pollution–economic development” circle is a problem in the process of national sustainable development. As a complex concept of environmental protection and technology innovation, green technology innovation is the key to cracking this strange circle. This paper divides green technology innovation into green product innovation and green process innovation and measures green technology innovation based on the perspective of energy saving and emission reduction. Furthermore, we examine the effects of environmental regulation and government R&amp;D funding on green technology innovation. The empirical findings are as follows: (1) from the dynamic point of view, we test whether there is a significant ”U-shaped” relationship between environmental regulation and green technological innovation, and we find there exists an “inflection point” in the role of environmental regulation in green technology innovation, and China is at the stage of inhibition before the “inflection point”; (2) direct government funding and tax incentives can promote green technology innovation, but the promotion of government tax incentives to green technology innovation is not significant; (3) the interaction between environmental regulation and government R&amp;D will promote green product innovation and inhibit green process innovation, which is closely related to the imbalance of environmental regulation intensity in energy saving and emission reduction. In addition, this paper also gives out three kinds of control variables (the level of regional development, the proportion of the regional manufacturing industry, and the development level of regional export-oriented economy) and presents their effects on green technology innovation

A prospective randomized half-body study: 308 nm LED light vs. 308 nm excimer laser for localized psoriasis

BackgroundPsoriasis is a chronic skin disease affecting approximately 3.2% of the population. The 308 nm light emitting diode (LED) is a novel, portable, and cost-effective light source, may have potential in the treatment of localized psoriasis patients in a home setting.ObjectiveTo compare the clinical and dermoscopic responses in localized psoriatic patients undergoing localized phototherapy with 308 nm LED light and excimer laser.MethodsTwenty-two patients with mild-to-moderate psoriasis and symmetrical skin lesions were included in this prospective, randomized, left-to-right body trial. The target lesions were randomly treated with either LED light or excimer laser twice a week for 12 weeks. The responses were evaluated by the local psoriasis severity index (LPSI) scores, and dermoscopic features of the target lesions were examined and analyzed.ResultsOut of the 22 included psoriasis patients, 10 successfully completed the 12 weeks study. Both treatment sides showed similar clinical improvement in terms of clinical response, as evidenced by a LPSI 50 rate of 70% on the LED side and 80% on the excimer side, p &gt; 0.05. Furthermore, the dermoscopic features also exhibited comparable improvement.ConclusionThe efficacy and safety of 308 nm LED light therapy are comparable to 308 nm excimer laser therapy. Moreover, given the portability and cost-effectiveness of 308 nm LED light, it holds great promise as a home phototherapy in the treatment of psoriasis

Understanding needs and barriers to using geospatial tools for public health policymaking in China

Despite growing popularity of using geographical information systems and geospatial tools in public health fields, these tools are only rarely implemented in health policy management in China. This study examines the barriers that could prevent policy-makers from applying such tools to actual managerial processes related to public health problems that could be assisted by such approaches, e.g. evidence-based policy-making. A questionnaire-based survey of 127 health-related experts and other stakeholders in China revealed that there is a consensus on the needs and demands for the use of geospatial tools, which shows that there is a more unified opinion on the matter than so far reported. Respondents pointed to lack of communication and collaboration among stakeholders as the most significant barrier to the implementation of geospatial tools. Comparison of survey results to those emanating from a similar study in Bangladesh revealed different priorities concerning the use of geospatial tools between the two countries. In addition, the follow-up in-depth interviews highlighted the political culture specific to China as a critical barrier to adopting new tools in policy development. Other barriers included concerns over the limited awareness of the availability of advanced geospatial tools. Taken together, these findings can facilitate a better understanding among policy-makers and practitioners of the challenges and opportunities for widespread adoption and implementation of a geospatial approach to public health policy-making in China

3-D honeycomb NiCo2S4 with high electrochemical performance used for supercapacitor electrodes

A new nanostructured 3-D honeycomb NiCo2S4 (NC-1) has been successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method assisted sulfuration procedure. The morphology of the 3-D honeycomb was investigated by FESEM and TEM, and the results suggest the NC-1 has a highly porous structure. Its chemical composition was characterized by XRD and XPS and the results indicate that the NC-1 is the pure phase of NiCo2S4. In order to study the effect of morphology on the electrochemical performance, we have also prepared needle-, flake- and petal-like nanostructured NiCo2S4 on Ni foam. When they were used as supercapacitor electrodes, the NC-1 exhibited the highest electrochemical performance among these four kinds of electrodes. Its maximum specific capacity was over 14 mAh cm?2 at 1 mA m?2 and it still yielded 7.96 mAh cm?2 even at 50 mA cm?2. The NC-1 remained 99.64% of the initial capacity after the long-term test of 1000 cycles. Consequently, the NC-1 has the promising potential as an energy storage system in the future and it can also be used as an ideal substrate for other active materials involving a faradaic process