Diagnostic and prognostic value of serum S100B in sepsis-associated encephalopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundIn sepsis, brain dysfunction is known as Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE), which often results in severe cognitive and neurological sequelae and increases the risk of death. Our systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) in SAE patients.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane databases, CNKI, VIP, and WFSD from their inception dates until August 20, 2022. A Meta-analysis of the included studies was also performed using Review Manager version 5.4 and Stata16.0.ResultsThis meta-analysis included 28 studies with 1401 serum samples from SAE patients and 1591 serum samples from no-encephalopathy septic (NE) patients. The Meta-Analysis showed that individuals with SAE had higher serum S100B level than NE controls (MD, 0.49 [95% CI (0.37)-(0.60), Z =8.29, P < 0.00001]), and the baseline level of serum S100B in septic patients with burn was significantly higher than average (1.96 [95% CI (0.92)-(2.99), Z =3.71, P < 0.0002]) In addition, septic patients with favorable outcomes had lower serum S100B levels than those with unfavorable outcomes (MD, -0.35 [95% CI (-0.50)-(-0.20), Z =4.60, P < 0.00001]).ConclusionOur Meta-Analysis indicates that higher serum S100B level in septic patients are moderately associated with SAE and unfavorable outcomes (The outcomes here mainly refer to the mortality). The serum S100B level may be a useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of SAE

STUDY ON A NEW DESIGN OF GROUTING PUMP FOR MANAGING WATER INRUSH IN KARST TUNNELS

The low flow rate and efficiency of existing grouting pumps such as piston pumps and diaphragm pumps result in difficulty in managing sudden water and slurry discharges. In this study, a new design for grouting pumps is proposed to improve the grouting flow rate and efficiency. A grouting model test scheme to manage the water inrush of a tubular karst is designed. The power consumption of this system is equivalent to that of a diaphragm grouting pump. Improved performance was also observed for the newly designed rotary piston pump in grouting plugging tests. The retention of slurry and changes in moving water flow are observed and recorded to examine the grouting effects of the pumps. In addition, the pressure and flow rate changes of the grouting slurry are used to gauge the performance parameters of the pumps. A rotary piston pump and a traditional piston pump were tested in single- and separate-hole grouting experiments in tunnel engineering sites. In the grouting model test, which manages the water inrush of a tubular karst, the newly designed rotary piston pump had a distinct advantage in terms of the slurry retention thickness and fracture sealing effect. In particular, the efficiency of the rotary piston pump increased by a factor of 10 over the diaphragm grouting pump. During the experiments in the engineering site, the grouting flow rate of the rotary piston pump showed significant increase when compared to the traditional piston pump. The construction time was halved. The proposed rotary piston grouting pump has shown obvious advantages over existing grouting pumps

Vibration characteristics and environmental responses of different vehicle-track-ballast coupling systems in subway operation

The vibration characteristics of two ballast beds are analyzed in this study from five aspects including the amplitude-frequency characteristic curve of foundation reaction. This study also shows that the maximum ground Z vibration level caused by a normal monolithic ballast bed structure is 75 dB. The range of its vibration influence during daytime is approximately 30 m. The maximum ground Z vibration level caused by a rubber floating slab track structure is 52 dB, whereas that caused by a steel spring floating slab track structure is 57 dB. The maximum damping amount in horizontal speed of a rubber floating slab track structure is 74 %, whereas the reduction of vertical ground vibration speed and acceleration is 92 % and 93 %, respectively. The reduction in Z level is 37 %. The horizontal speed reduction in a steel spring floating slab track structure is 71 %, whereas the reduction of ground vertical vibration speed and acceleration is 83 % and 84 %, respectively. The reduction in Z level is 29 %

Simultaneous Determination of 24 Acid Industrial Dyes in Food by Solid Phase Extraction-Ultrahigh Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A method based on solid phase extraction (SPE) combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was established for the determination of 24 acid industrial dyes in food. The sample was extracted with ammonia-ethanol solution (ammonia: absolute ethyl alcohol:water=2:7:1, v/v), the extracting solution was condensed to 1 mL under a stream of nitrogen，then dissolved by 10 mL 5% methanol-water solution. The solution was purified by Agela Cleanert PWAX SPE column. The eluant was dried with nitrogen and dissolved by ammonium acetate acetonitrile solution (10 mmol/L ammonium acetate water:acetonitrile =1:1, v/v), the analytes were separated by the Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse RRHD C18 (3.0 mm×150 mm，1.8 μm) column using mobile phase gradient with acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate. The analytes were ionized with negative electrospray ionization (ESI−) and analyzed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, then quantified by external standard method. The linearity of 24 acid industrial dyes displayed good linearities in the range from 20～300 ng/mL, the correlation coefficients higher than 0.999. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 10 μg/kg and 25 μg/kg. The recoveries at three level spiked levels (25、100、250 μg/kg) were 91.0%～112.7% with the relative standard deviations (n=6) between 0.42% and 4.39%. The method was applied to determine 40 batches of bean products, condiments, aquatic products and meat products each, the acid orange Ⅱ was detected in 2 batches of braised meat samples, the content was 138±2.8 μg/kg and 179±3.7 μg/kg, the red 2G was detected in 2 batches of sausage samples, the content was 320±8.6 μg/kg and 230±6.2 μg/kg. The method is rapid, sensitive and reliable, it can be applied to determine 24 acid industrial dyes in food

Optimization design for roadheader cutting head by orthogonal experiment and finite element analysis

U radu se istražuje optimizacija konstrukcije rezne glave stroja za bušenje. U tu su svrhu kao varijable optimizacije izabrani brzina rotacije, brzina oscilacije, rezni kutovi pijuka i kutovi nagiba pijuka, a kao ciljevi optimizacije izabrani su srednja vrijednost rezultirajuće sile i koeficijent varijacije reznog opterećenja. Učinci ovih parametara na indekse evaluacije analiziraju se ortogonalnim eksperimentom i analizom konačnih elemenata. Također je provedena analiza promjene trenda indeksa evaluacije s promjenama eksperimentalnih čimbenika. U usporedbi s originalnim projektom, dva indeksa evaluacije smanjila su se za 18,3 % i 5,5 % nakon optimizacije, čime je značajno poboljšana rezna performansa rezne glave stroja za bušenje.Optimization design for roadheader cutting head is investigated in this paper. For this purpose, the rotation velocity, the swing velocity, the cutting angles of picks, and the inclination angles of picks are chosen as the variable for the optimization, and the mean value of resultant force and variation coefficient of cutting load are chosen as optimization objective. The effects of these parameters on evaluation indexes are studied by orthogonal experiment and finite element analysis. The change trend of the evaluation indexes with the experimental factors is also carried out. Compared with the original design, the two evaluation indexes decreased by 18,3 % and 5,5 % after optimization design separately, which improves the cutting performance of roadheader cutting head efficiently

Detection Range of Airborne Magnetometers in Magnetic Anomaly Detection

Airborne magnetometers are utilized for the small-range search, precise positioning, and identification of the ferromagnetic properties of underwater targets. As an important performance parameter of sensors, the detection range of airborne magnetometers is commonly set as a fixed value in references regardless of the influences of environment noise, target magnetic properties, and platform features in a classical model to detect airborne magnetic anomalies. As a consequence, deviation in detection ability analysis is observed. In this study, a novel detection range model is proposed on the basis of classic detection range models of airborne magnetometers. In this model, probability distribution is applied, and the magnetic properties of targets and the environment noise properties of a moving submarine are considered. The detection range model is also constructed by considering the distribution of the moving submarine during detection. A cell-averaging greatest-of-constant false alarm rate test method is also used to calculate the detection range of the model at a desired false alarm rate. The detection range model is then used to establish typical submarine search probabilistic models. Results show that the model can be used to evaluate not only the effects of ambient magnetic noise but also the moving and geomagnetic features of the target and airborne detection platform. The model can also be utilized to display the actual operating range of sensor systems

Impairment of Dendrodendritic Inhibition in the Olfactory Bulb of APP/PS1 Mice

Olfactory dysfunction is an early event in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanism underlying the AD-related changes in the olfactory bulb (OB) remains unknown. Granule cells (GCs) in the OB regulate the activity of mitral cells (MCs) through reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses, which is crucial for olfactory signal processing and odor discrimination. Nevertheless, the relationships between the morphological and functional changes of dendrodendritic synapses, particularly the local field potentials (LFPs) as a consequence of olfactory disorders in patients with AD have not been investigated. Here, we studied the morphological and functional changes induced by dendrodendritic inhibition in GCs onto MCs in the OB of amyloid precursor protein (APP)/PS1 mice and age-matched control mice during aging, particular, we focused on the effects of olfactory disorder in the dendrodendritic synaptic structures and the LFPs. We found that olfactory disorder was associated with increased amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in the OB of APP/PS1 mice, and those mice also exhibited abnormal changes in the morphology of GCs and MCs, a decreased density of GC dendritic spines and impairments in the synaptic interface of dendrodendritic synapses between GCs and MCs. In addition, the aberrant enhancements in the γ oscillations and firing rates of MCs in the OB of APP/PS1 mice were recorded by multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). The local application of a GABAAR agonist nearly abolished the aberrant increase in γ oscillations in the external plexiform layer (EPL) at advanced stages of AD, whereas a GABAAR antagonist aggravated the γ oscillations. Based on our findings, we concluded that the altered morphologies of the synaptic structures of GCs, the dysfunction of reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses between MCs and GCs, and the abnormal γ oscillations in the EPL might contribute to olfactory dysfunction in AD