Clinical effect of combined ulinastatin and continuous renal replacement therapy on management of severe sepsis with acute kidney injury

Purpose: To explore the effect of a combination of ulinastatin and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for the treatment of severe sepsis with acute kidney injury (SAKI).Methods: Clinical data for 106 patients diagnosed with SAKI from April 2013 to May 2015 in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, were collected and randomly assigned into two groups: treatment and control groups. The general information on the two groups were comparable. All the patients received a comprehensive treatment program which included fluid resuscitation, antibiotics, nutritional support and CRRT. The patients in treatment group also received intravenous injection of 300 thousand units/10 mL ulinastatin thrice daily for 5 days. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress level, kidney and blood coagulation functions were assayed before and after treatment, using standard methodologies. In addition, adverse reactions and 28-day mortality were recorded.Results: Levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), malondialdehyde (MDA), cystatin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), serum creatinine (SCr) and urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group after ulinastatin treatment (p < 0.05). However, superoxide dismutase (SOD), fibrinogen (Fib) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the treatment group were significantly higher in the control group after treatment (p < 0.05). No serious adverse drug reactions were seen in the two groups. In addition, there were no significant differences in 28-day mortality between the two groups.Conclusion: These results suggest that ulinastatin combined with CRRT effectively decreases serum levels of inflammation in SAKI patients through a mechanism involving improvement of antioxidant capacity, reduction of oxidative stress, and enhancement of renal and coagulation functions.Keywords: Ulinastatin, Continuous renal replacement therapy, Sepsis, Acute kidney injury, Inflammatory cytokine

Study on the dynamic response of subway tunnel by viaduct collapsing vibration and the protective measures of reducing vibration

Collapsing vibration caused by demolition blasting of buildings has large effect on the buildings and underground structures nearby. Combined with the demolition blasting of a viaduct, numerical simulation was carried out to investigate dynamic response of subway tunnel subjected to collapsing impact load. The paper put forward composite protective structures of steel-rubber tires and makes safety checking calculation of the subway tunnel on the basis of composite protective measures by numerical simulation. In order to ensure the safety and stability of subway tunnel in the practical operation of demolition blasting of the viaduct, the composite protection system was further optimized, which may provide a good reference for the related engineering practices

Study on the vibration effect on operation subway induced by blasting of an adjacent cross tunnel and the reducing vibration techniques

The Hongshan road tunnels in Nanjing cross up the metro Line 1 tunnel, the closest distance between Hongshan road tunnels and subway tunnels is only 4.14 m. In order to ensure the safety of the subway structure during the Hongshan road tunnels group excavation blasting, the vibration of the subway tunnel was monitored real time. The monitoring results showed that the main frequency distributions of the radial, tangential and vertical vibration of subway tunnel were significantly different. The main frequency and energy of tunnel vibration is mainly concentrated in the high frequency band. This characteristic is very beneficial for the protection of the subway tunnel and catenary. A series of techniques to reduce the vibration were taken during tunnel excavation blasting, which reduced the impact of the blasting vibration to subway tunnel and catenary, and ensured the operation subway safety. The vibration of subway tunnel can be controlled within a certain safety standard with proposed of reducing vibration techniques. It is shown that real-time monitoring and the comprehensive application of the reducing vibration technique are able to guarantee the security of adjacent cross operation subway, which provides references for similar tunnel projects

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification for Detection of Staphylococcus aureus

To develop a rapid detection method of Staphylococcus aureus using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), four specific primers were designed according to six distinct sequences of the nuc gene. In addition, the specificity and sensitivity of LAMP were verified and compared with those of PCR. Results showed that the LAMP reaction was completed within 45 min at 62.5°C, and ladder bands were appeared in LAMP products analyzed by gel electrophoresis. After adding 1x SYBR Green l, the positive reaction tube showed green color and the negative reaction tube remained orange, indicating that the LAMP has high specificity. The minimal detectable concentration of LAMP was 1×102 CFU/mL and that of PCR was 1×104 CFU/mL, indicating that the LAMP was 100 times more sensitive than the PCR. The LAMP method for detection of Staphylococcus aureus has many advantages, such as simple operation, high sensitivity, high specificity, and rapid analysis. Therefore, this method is more suitable for the rapid on-site detection of Staphylococcus aureus

Family association study between INSR gene polymorphisms and PCOS in Han Chinese

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex disease having both genetic and environmental components. Candidate genes with insulin metabolism have been hypothesized to be involved in the etiology of this syndrome. In the present study, we investigated the genetic association between polymorphisms in the insulin receptor (INSR) gene and PCOS.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 260 family trios were recruited and performed a family-based analysis to assess linkage and association between four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1799817, rs2059807, rs8108622 and rs10500204) of INSR gene and PCOS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT), we failed to find that rs1799817 (p = 0.486), rs2059807 (p = 0.195), rs8108622 (p = 0.866) and rs10500204 (p = 1.0) were significantly overtransmitted to PCOS offspring from their parents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>No significant evidence of association or linkage was found in the four tested markers, indicating that our family samples did not support susceptibility of the INSR gene to PCOS.</p

Protective Effects of Lycium barbarum

To observe the effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on testis spermatogenic injuries induced by Bisphenol A (BPA) in mice. BPA was subcutaneously injected into mice at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight (BW) for 7 consecutive days. LBP was administered simultaneously with BPA by gavage daily at the dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg BW for 7 days. After treatment, the weight and the histopathology changes of testis and epididymis were examined; the contents of T, LH, GnRH, antioxidant enzyme, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum were detected; proapoptotic protein Bax and antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 were also detected by immunohistochemical method. Results showed that the weights of testis and epididymis were all increased after supplement with different dosages of LBP compared with BPA group, and the activities of SOD and GSH-Px were significantly increased in LBP groups, while MDA contents were gradually decreased. Moreover, the levels of T, LH, and GnRH were significantly elevated in serum treated with 100 mg/kg LBP. LBP also shows significant positive effects on the expression of Bcl-2/Bax in BPA treated mice. It is concluded that LBP may be one of the potential ingredients protecting the adult male animals from BPA induced reproductive damage

Microstructure and mechanical properties of wire and arc additive manufactured thin wall with low-temperature transformation

Low-temperature transformation (LTT) welding wire was initially developed to mitigate residual stress in the weld. It could also be used for internal stress optimization in Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process. In this study, a 26 layers LTT wall sample fabricated by using the WAAM technique was investigated. The microstructure of the LTT deposited wall includes elongated cellular martensite and reticular residual austenite. With the accumulation of deposition height, the prior austenite grain size increases, and the volume fraction of residual austenite and the density of dislocations in martensite decreases. According to the model of martensite transformation kinetics, the original austenite grain size is the main reason that affects the austenite fraction. In addition, the presence of a thermal cycle leads to the refinement of the martensitic microstructure and the increase in the boundary density, as well as the elimination of the sub-stable austenitic phase resulting in higher tensile properties in the middle samples than in the top ones. From the current work, it is clear that the unique thermal cycle treatment of WAAM is beneficial in improving the performance of LTT materials.</p

NFC Secure Payment and Verification Scheme with CS E-Ticket

As one of the most important techniques in IoT, NFC (Near Field Communication) is more interesting than ever. NFC is a short-range, high-frequency communication technology well suited for electronic tickets, micropayment, and access control function, which is widely used in the financial industry, traffic transport, road ban control, and other fields. However, NFC is becoming increasingly popular in the relevant field, but its secure problems, such as man-in-the-middle-attack and brute force attack, have hindered its further development. To address the security problems and specific application scenarios, we propose a NFC mobile electronic ticket secure payment and verification scheme in the paper. The proposed scheme uses a CS E-Ticket and offline session key generation and distribution technology to prevent major attacks and increase the security of NFC. As a result, the proposed scheme can not only be a good alternative to mobile e-ticket system but also be used in many NFC fields. Furthermore, compared with other existing schemes, the proposed scheme provides a higher security

School climate and left-behind children’s achievement motivation: The mediating role of learning adaptability and the moderating role of teacher support

School climate has been reported to have an important impact on children’s achievement motivation, but the mechanism for the impact of school climate on left-behind children has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of left-behind children’s learning adaptability and teacher support in mediating and moderating the relationship between school climate and achievement motivation. In this study, 1,417 left-behind children were surveyed. The results showed that: (1) after controlling for gender and age, the school climate still had a positive effect on the achievement motivation of left-behind children (c′ = 0.177, p &lt; 0.001). (2) School climate perceived by left-behind children directly predicted their achievement motivation, and indirectly through their learning adaptability (a1 = 0.338, p &lt; 0.001; b = 0.341, p &lt; 0.001). In other words, left-behind children’s learning adaptability may play an intermediary role between school climate and achievement motivation. (3) The indirect effect of school climate on achievement motivation through learning adaptability was moderated by teacher support (a2 = 0.153, p &lt; 0.001), and this indirect effect was more significant for left-behind children who perceived high teacher support. The research reveals the importance of school climate and teacher support to the growth and development of left-behind children, thus holding theoretical significance for improving the achievement motivation of left-behind children

Experimental study on the dynamic behavior of rubber concrete under compression considering earthquake magnitude strain rate

To examine the compressive dynamic performance of rubber concrete, a uniaxial compression experimental study on rubber concrete was carried out using a hydraulic servo based on five different rubber substitution rates under eight different earthquake magnitude loading strain rates. The compressive failure modes and stress-strain curves of rubber concrete were obtained. By comparatively analyzing the mechanical characteristics of rubber concrete under different loading conditions, the following conclusions are drawn: with the increase in rubber substitution rate, the integrity of concrete upon compressive failure is gradually improved, and rubber particles exhibit an evident modification effect on cement mortar at the concrete interface. Under the influence of loading strain rate, the patterns of compressive failure mode of rubber concrete with different substitution rates are similar to that of ordinary concrete. Under the same loading strain rate, with the increase in rubber substitution rate, the compressive strength of rubber concrete gradually decreases while the plastic deformation capacity gradually increases. For the same rubber substitution rate, the compressive strength and elastic modulus of rubber concrete gradually increases with the increase in loading strain rate. The increase in rubber substitution rate gradually reduces the increasing amplitude of compressive strength and elastic modulus of rubber concrete under the influence of loading strain rate. Meanwhile, an equation was proposed to describe the coupling effect of rubber substitution rate and strain rate on the compressive strength dynamic increase factor of rubber concrete, and the underlying stress mechanism was further discussed. These results have significance in promoting the application of rubber concrete in engineering practice