Clinical Study Impairment in Preattentive Processing among Patients with Hypertension Revealed by Visual Mismatch Negativity

Objective. Patients with hypertension show deficits in cognitive function. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the preattentive information processing in hypertensive patients are poorly understood. We seek to investigate whether hypertensive patients have impairments in preattentive information processing. Methods. We compared visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) between 15 hypertensive patients and 15 age-matched healthy controls, which was elicited by the change of visual duration randomly presented in both peripheral visual fields. In addition, the global cognitive function for all participants was assessed with MiniMental State Examination (MMSE). Results. The vMMN in deviant-standard comparison was observed at occipital-temporal regions. Compared with normal healthy controls, the amplitude of vMMN was significantly decreased in hypertensive patients ( < 0.05). Meanwhile, the vMMN peak latency was delayed in the hypertensive group ( < 0.05). However, the MMSE scores of patients with hypertension were not significantly different from those of controls ( > 0.05), and there was no significant correlation between the mean amplitude of vMMN and SBP, DBP, and MMSE in hypertensive individuals, respectively. Conclusions. These data indicate dysfunction of automatically change detection processing in patients with hypertension. Moreover, the changes of vMMN provide a more objective and reliable assessment for cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients

Clinical Comparison of Outcomes of Early versus Delayed Carotid Artery Stenting for Symptomatic Cerebral Watershed Infarction due to Stenosis of the Proximal Internal Carotid Artery

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of early versus delayed carotid artery stenting (CAS) for symptomatic cerebral watershed infarction (sCWI) patients due to stenosis of the proximal internal carotid artery. We retrospectively collected clinical data of those who underwent early or delayed CAS from March 2011 to April 2014. The time of early CAS and delayed CAS was within a week of symptom onset and after four weeks from symptom onset. Clinical data such as second stroke, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NHISS) score, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score and periprocedural complications were collected. The rate of second stroke in early CAS group is lower when compared to that of delayed CAS group. There was no significant difference regarding periprocedural complications in both groups. There was a significant difference regarding mean NHISS score 90 days after CAS in two groups. Early CAS group had a significant better good outcome (mRS score ≤ 2) than delayed CAS group. We suggest early CAS for sCWI due to severe proximal internal carotid artery stenosis as it provides lower rate of second stroke, comparable periprocedural complications, and better functional outcomes compared to that of delayed CAS

Experimental study on the hydro-thermal-deformation characteristics of cement-stabilized soil exposed to freeze–thaw cycles

The exploration of the hydro-thermal characteristics and deformation behaviors of cement-stabilized soils is important for the prevention and control of freeze–thaw damage in cold region engineering. This study used six groups of cement-stabilized soil samples with different cement contents (i.e., 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15%, and 18%) to investigate the variations in soil temperature, volumetric unfrozen water content, deformation, freezing temperature, and dry density. The results showed that the temperatures of the cement-stabilized soil samples during the freezing and thawing processes can be categorized into three stages and that the freezing temperature decreased with increasing cement content. Moreover, the cement content and ambient temperature significantly affected the volumetric unfrozen water content of the cement-stabilized soil samples during the freeze–thaw cycles, and the soil temperatures corresponding to the peak hysteresis degree were relatively consistent with the freezing temperature. The residual volumetric unfrozen water content primarily depended not only on the cement content but also on the freezing condition. Although the variations in volumetric unfrozen water contents during the freezing and thawing processes were similar, the ranges in temperature change differed significantly, particularly in the drastic phase transition zone. Additionally, adding cement into soils effectively inhibited deformation, mainly due to the dual positive effects of the liquid water reduction owing to hydration reaction and structure compaction owing to the filling of hydration products

Production of human blood group B antigen epitope conjugated protein in Escherichia coli and utilization of the adsorption blood group B antibody

Additional file 1: Table S1. List of constructed plasmids, strains and primers used in the study. Figure S1. MALDI-TOF detection of MBPmut (a) and MBPmut-OPS (b)

Serum cystatin C, impaired kidney function, and geriatric depressive symptoms among older people living in a rural area: a population-based study

Abstract Background The relationship between kidney function and depressive symptoms among elderly people has been rarely investigated in settings of the general population. The aim of our study was to examine the association of serum cystatin C (cysC) and impaired kidney function with geriatric depressive symptoms among older people living in a rural community in China. Methods This population-based cohort study included 1440 individuals (age ≥ 60 years) who were recruited for the Confucius Hometown Aging Project in 2010–2011; of the 1124 persons who were free of depressive symptoms, 669 (59.5%) were re-examined in 2014–2016. At baseline, data on demographics, lifestyle factors, health conditions, and medical history were collected through interviews, clinical examinations, and laboratory tests. We defined impaired kidney function as the cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRcysC)  1.25 mg/L (vs. ≤1.00 mg/L) were associated with a multiple-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.41 (95% CI 1.01–1.97) and 3.20 (2.32–4.41), respectively, for having geriatric depressive symptoms (Ptrend  1.25 mg/L (vs. < 1.00 mg/L). Impaired kidney function was cross-sectionally (multiple-adjusted OR = 2.95; 95% CI 2.22–3.92) and longitudinally (multiple-adjusted HR 1.54; 95% CI 1.03–2.30) associated with an increased risk of geriatric depressive symptoms. Conclusion Elevated serum cysC levels and impaired kidney function are associated with an increased risk of geriatric depressive symptoms among Chinese older people living in a rural community

Clinical Comparison of Outcomes of Early versus Delayed Carotid Artery Stenting for Symptomatic Cerebral Watershed Infarction due to Stenosis of the Proximal Internal Carotid Artery

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of early versus delayed carotid artery stenting (CAS) for symptomatic cerebral watershed infarction (sCWI) patients due to stenosis of the proximal internal carotid artery. We retrospectively collected clinical data of those who underwent early or delayed CAS from March 2011 to April 2014. The time of early CAS and delayed CAS was within a week of symptom onset and after four weeks from symptom onset. Clinical data such as second stroke, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NHISS) score, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score and periprocedural complications were collected. The rate of second stroke in early CAS group is lower when compared to that of delayed CAS group. There was no significant difference regarding periprocedural complications in both groups. There was a significant difference regarding mean NHISS score 90 days after CAS in two groups. Early CAS group had a significant better good outcome (mRS score ≤ 2) than delayed CAS group. We suggest early CAS for sCWI due to severe proximal internal carotid artery stenosis as it provides lower rate of second stroke, comparable periprocedural complications, and better functional outcomes compared to that of delayed CAS

Impairment in Preattentive Processing among Patients with Hypertension Revealed by Visual Mismatch Negativity

Objective. Patients with hypertension show deficits in cognitive function. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the preattentive information processing in hypertensive patients are poorly understood. We seek to investigate whether hypertensive patients have impairments in preattentive information processing. Methods. We compared visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) between 15 hypertensive patients and 15 age-matched healthy controls, which was elicited by the change of visual duration randomly presented in both peripheral visual fields. In addition, the global cognitive function for all participants was assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. The vMMN in deviant-standard comparison was observed at occipital-temporal regions. Compared with normal healthy controls, the amplitude of vMMN was significantly decreased in hypertensive patients (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the vMMN peak latency was delayed in the hypertensive group (P<0.05). However, the MMSE scores of patients with hypertension were not significantly different from those of controls (P>0.05), and there was no significant correlation between the mean amplitude of vMMN and SBP, DBP, and MMSE in hypertensive individuals, respectively. Conclusions. These data indicate dysfunction of automatically change detection processing in patients with hypertension. Moreover, the changes of vMMN provide a more objective and reliable assessment for cognitive impairment in hypertensive patients

Prediction of the Unfrozen Water Content in Soils based on Premelting Theory

The variation of unfrozen water content with temperature has a significant effect on the coupled heat-water transport in freezing soil, which can cause the frost heave and thaw settlement, and thus influence the stability of infrastructures. The premelting theory for water-ice in soils is developed to study the unfrozen water variation in freezing soil. The developed theory integrates the interfacial premelting of contact ice, the soil particles, the melting of the ice surface, and the premelting induced by impurity and curvature. A model to predict the unfrozen water content is then established by considering the change of unfrozen water film. The equivalent grain size is introduced to improve the solving efficiency in the calculation. Finally, the proposed analytical model is verified by the test data. The results indicate that the thickness of water film in soils increases when the surface charge density and the impurity concentration increase under the same supercooling degree. The surface melting on the interfaces of soil particle and the pore ice has key influence on the variation of the liquid water content. Meanwhile, the unfrozen water content increases with the increasing impurity concentration and surface charge on soil particles. Besides, the unfrozen water content also increases with the decreasing radius of soil particles