Systemic inflammation response index as a prognostic predictor in patients with acute ischemic stroke: A propensity score matching analysis.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS), the most common type of stroke, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A growing number of studies have demonstrated that inflammation is a critical mechanism in AIS. Being an easily available and effective inflammatory marker, the systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) shows a high association with mortality in patients with cancer and intracerebral hemorrhage. In this study, we evaluated the potential prognostic role of SIRI in critically ill patients with AIS. Methods: Clinic data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart data for the Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. The optimal cutoff value of SIRI was determined by X-tile software. The primary outcome was the 90-day all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcomes were 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality of patients with AIS. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to assess the association between SIRI levels and all-cause mortality, and survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Furthermore, a 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) method was performed to balance the influence of potential confounding factors. Results: A total of 2,043 patients were included in our study. X-tile software indicated that the optimal cutoff value of the SIRI for 90-day mortality was 4.57. After PSM, 444 pairs of score-matched patients were generated. Cox proportional hazard model showed that after adjusting for possible confounders, high SIRI level (≥4.57) was independently associated with the 90-day all-cause mortality in the cohort before PSM (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.30-1.89, p < 0.001) and the PSM subset (HR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16-1.86, p = 0.001). The survival curves showed that patients with SIRI ≥4.57 had a significantly lower 90-day survival rate in the cohort before PSM (56.7 vs. 77.3%, p < 0.001) and the PSM subset (61.0 vs. 71.8%, p = 0.001). Consistently, AIS patients with high SIRI levels (≥4.57) presented a significantly high risk of 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality before and after PSM. Conclusion: A higher SIRI (≥4.57) was associated with a higher risk of 90-day, 30-day, and 1-year mortality and was an independent risk factor of mortality in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Gel Point Suppression in RAFT Polymerization of Pure Acrylic Cross-Linker Derived from Soybean Oil.

Here we report the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO), a cross-linker molecule, to high conversion (>50%) and molecular weight (>100 kDa) without macrogelation. Surprisingly, gelation is suppressed in this system far beyond the expectations predicated both on Flory-Stockmeyer theory and multiple other studies of RAFT polymerization featuring cross-linking moieties. By varying AESO and initiator concentrations, we show how intra- versus intermolecular cross-linking compete, yielding a trade-off between the degree of intramolecular linkages and conversion at gel point. We measured polymer chain characteristics, including molecular weight, chain dimensions, polydispersity, and intrinsic viscosity, using multidetector gel permeation chromatography and NMR to track polymerization kinetics. We show that not only the time and conversion at macrogelation, but also the chain architecture, is largely affected by these reaction conditions. At maximal AESO concentration, the gel point approaches that predicted by the Flory-Stockmeyer theory, and increases in an exponential fashion as the AESO concentration decreases. In the most dilute solutions, macrogelation cannot be detected throughout the entire reaction. Instead, cyclization/intramolecular cross-linking reactions dominate, leading to microgelation. This work is important, especially in that it demonstrates that thermoplastic rubbers could be produced based on multifunctional renewable feedstocks.

Germanium-Based Nanomaterials for Rechargeable Batteries.

Germanium-based nanomaterials have emerged as important candidates for next-generation energy-storage devices owing to their unique chemical and physical properties. In this Review, we provide a review of the current state-of-the-art in germanium-based materials design, synthesis, processing, and application in battery technology. The most recent advances in the area of Ge-based nanocomposite electrode materials and electrolytes for solid-state batteries are summarized. The limitations of Ge-based materials for energy-storage applications are discussed, and potential research directions are also presented with an emphasis on commercial products and theoretical investigations.

Ethyl 5-{[(E)-2-(isonicotinoyl)hydrazinyl-idene]methyl}-3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxyl-ate dihydrate.

In the title compound, C(16)H(18)N(4)O(3)·2H(2)O, the dihedral angle between the pyrrole and pyridine rings in the hydrazone mol-ecule is 7.12 (3)°. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the hydrazone and water mol-ecules into double layers parallel to (101). The crystal packing exhibits weak π-π inter-actions between the pyrrole and pyridine rings of neighbouring hydrazone mol-ecules [centroid-centroid distance = 3.777 (3) Å]. The crystal studied was a non-merohedral twin, the refined ratio of twin domains being 0.73 (3):0.27 (3).