The Relationship Between Cortical Morphological and Functional Topological Properties and Clinical Manifestations in Patients with Posttraumatic Diffuse Axonal Injury: An Individual Brain Network Study.

To evaluate the altered network topological properties and their clinical relevance in patients with posttraumatic diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Forty-seven participants were recruited in this study, underwent 3D T1-weighted and resting-state functional MRI, and had single-subject morphological brain networks (MBNs) constructed by Kullback-Leibler divergence and functional brain networks (FBNs) constructed by Pearson correlation measurement interregional similarity. The global and regional properties were analyzed and compared using graph theory and network-based statistics (NBS), and the relationship with clinical manifestations was assessed. Compared with those of the healthy subjects, MBNs of patients with DAI showed a higher path length ([Formula: see text]: P = 0.021, [Formula: see text]: P = 0.011), lower clustering ([Formula: see text]: P = 0.002) and less small-worldness ([Formula: see text]: P = 0.002), but there was no significant difference in the global properties of FBNs (P: 0.161-0.216). For nodal properties of MBNs and FBNs, several regions showed significant differences between patients with DAI and healthy controls (HCs) (P < 0.05, FDR corrected). NBS analysis revealed that MBNs have more altered morphological connections in the frontal parietal control network and interhemispheric connections (P < 0.05). DAI-related global or nodal properties of MBNs were correlated with physical disability or dyscognition (P < 0.05/7, with Bonferroni correction), and the alteration of functional topology properties mediates this relationship. Our results suggested that disrupted morphological topology properties, which are mediated by FBNs and correlated with clinical manifestations of DAI, play a critical role in the short-term and medium-term phases after trauma.

A novel titanium sulfate modified poly-magnesium-silicate coagulant with improved pH range for dye removal.

Coagulation with inorganic Mg-based coagulants is an efficient technology for dyes removal. However, the promising poly-magnesium-silicate (PMS) coagulant with better aggregation abilities can only be used in a very limited pH range. In this study, poly-magnesium-titanium-silicate (PMTS) was prepared by using titanium sulfate modified PMS. For the treatment of Congo red dye wastewater, PMTS(S), PMTS(Cl) and PMTS(N) synthesized under different acid media (H2SO4, HCl and HNO3) were used. PMTSs had the highest coagulation efficiency at Ti/Mg molar ratio of 0.75 and B value of 1.5. PMTSs outperformed PMS in the initial pH range of 5.50-9.00, with a dye removal efficiency of over 90% at 17.1 mg/L. Under optimal conditions, PMTS(S) had higher coagulation efficiency than that of PMTS(Cl) and PMTS(N), and the settling rate of the four Mg-based coagulants followed an order of PMTS(S) > PMS > PMTS(Cl) > PMTS(N). The coagulation mechanisms of PMTSs on Congo red dye were elucidated by further analysis of coagulation precipitates using UV, FT-IR, SEM and EDS. These results showed that the basis mechanism for floc formation was charge neutralization, while the key to floc formation was chemical combination. Based on the SEM and FTIR results, PMTSs could be found to have special shapes and chain structures, such as Si-O-Ti, Si-O-Mg, Ti-O-Ti, Mg-OH and Ti-OH. Combined with the results of zeta potential, the dominant mechanisms of PMTSs were more likely to be adsorption-interparticle bridging and net-sweeping. In a word, this study provided a highly efficient coagulant with a wide range of applicable pH for the control of dye contamination, and shed light on the potential application of PMTS in the removal of dye pollutants.

[New model of doctor-nurse communication based on electronic medical advice platform].

This article introduces a new model of the communication between doctors and nurses, with the aid of the electronic medical advice platform. This model has achieved good results in improving doctor and nurse's co-working efficiency, treating patients safely, preventing medical accidents, reducing medical errors and so on.

Regulation of Carbapenemase Gene Conjugation in Escherichia coli Clinical Isolates.

Background: The purpose of this study is to raise awareness of the hazards of carbapenemase epidemics and provide theoretical support for preventing the spread of carbapenemase-producing organisms. Methods: A total of 893 non-duplicate E. coil strains were recruited from three major local hospitals. The carbapenemase genotype of each imipenem-resistant strain was analyzed. Molecular typing and homology analysis of the main carbapenemase-producing strains reveal the transmission mode of resistance genes. Through the conjugation experiment, the potential spreading risk of carbapenemase genes was analyzed. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase genes and replicon detection of the conjugant carrying plasmid were performed. The unannotated Escherichia coli bacterial small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) interacting with sdiA were predicted through a bioinformatics tool. The sRNAs overexpression and knockout strains were constructed, and the effect of sRNA on conjugation was analyzed. Results: A total of 8 carbapenemase-producing strains were detected (0.90%, 8/893). The main carbapenemase genotype was blaKPC -2 (7 strains). Multilocus sequence typing indicated that 7 E. coli isolates belonged to ST-10, ST-101, ST-131, ST-405, ST-410, and ST-1193, ST-2562, respectively. Homologous cluster analysis revealed that the sequence types among the 7 E. coli were high diversity. The blaKPC -2 genes were successfully transferred from these isolates to EC600 by conjugation. All transconjugant cells exhibited significantly reduced susceptibility to the imipenem. IncFII was the most common conjugative plasmid type (85.7%, 6/7). Bioinformatics predicted the interaction between RydB and sdiA. Further experiments found that the interaction between RydB and sdiA improved the bacterial conjugation rate between MG1655 and EC600. The regulation effect of RydB on E. coli conjugation was not affected by the replicon type and/or harboring resistance coding genotype in conjugative plasmids. Conclusion: Our findings emphasized the epidemiological characteristics of carbapenemase-resistant E. coli. A functional phenotype of the new sRNA RydB was identified, and the regulation effect of RydB on E. coli conjugation was improved.

Magnesium Silicate Polymer as a Coagulant for Reactive Dye Removal from Wastewater: Considering the Intrinsic pH in Magnesium Silicate Polymer and Coagulation Behavior.

A magnesium silicate polymeric coagulant (MgSiPC), which is an inorganic polymer for dye removal from wastewater, was prepared with different pH by copolymerization. The acidity was a key factor in the preparation of the MgSiPC. In the present research, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the characterization of optimum coagulants. Additionally, the response surface method (RSM) was applied to optimize the process of coagulation-flocculation. The results of FT-IR and XRD implied that the main components of the MgSiPC with pH 1.50-2.50 were almost the same. SEM images showed that MgSiPCs with pH 1.50-2.50 exhibited different structures including cluster and lamellar shape structure, compact rod-like and network structure, and a kind of irregular geometry shape structure. In the process of coagulation-flocculation, MgSiPCs with pH 1.50-2.50 showed highly efficient coagulation performance. The removal rate of reactive yellow 2(RY2) could reach above 90% at a dosage of 50-70 mg/L and initial pH 12.00, while the removal rate of reactive blue 2 (RB2) could attain above 93% at a dosage of 50-80 mg/L and initial pH 12.00. Moreover, MgSiPCs with pH 2.00 had the highest efficiency. The results of RSM showed that the optimum combination of the MgSiPC's dosage and initial pH was 62 mg/L and 12.08 for RY2 and 78 mg/L and 12.00 for RB2, respectively. Under optimum experimental conditions, the predicted data from this model were 96% for RY2 and 100% for RB2, which was consistent with the actual experimental data. Therefore, a pH of 2.00 is considered to be the optimal acidity for preparing MgSiPCs.

A novel automatic regulatory device for continuous bladder irrigation based on wireless sensor in patients after transurethral resection of the prostate: A prospective investigation.

BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common progressive disease in aging men, which leads to a significant impact on daily lives of patients. Continuous bladder irrigation (CBI) is a supplementary option for preventing the adverse events following transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Regulation of the flow rate based on the color of drainage bag is significant to prevent the clot formation and retention, which is controlled manually at present. To achieve a better control of flow rate and reduce inappropriate flow rate-related adverse effects, we designed an automatic flow rate controller for CBI applied with wireless sensor and evaluated its clinical efficacy. METHODS: The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated in patients receiving the novel automatic bladder irrigation post-TURP in the experimental group compared with controls receiving traditional bladder irrigation in the control group. RESULTS: A total of 146 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups-the experimental group (n = 76) and the control group (n = 70). The mean irrigation volume of the experimental group (24.2 ±â€Š3.8 L) was significantly lower than that of the controls (54.6 ±â€Š5.4 L) (P < 0.05). Patients treated with automatic irrigation device had significantly decreased incidence of clot retention (8/76) and cystospasm (12/76) compared to controls (21/70; 39/70, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups with regard to irrigation time (28.6 ±â€Š2.7 vs 29.5 ±â€Š3.4 hours, P = 0.077). CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the automatic regulating device applied with wireless sensor for CBI is safe and effective for patients after TURP. However, studies with a large population of patients and a long-term follow-up should be conducted to validate our findings.

Diagnostic performance of noninvasive fractional flow reserve derived from coronary computed tomography angiography in ischemia-causing coronary stenosis: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Fractional flow reserve based on coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA; FFRCT) can evaluate functional severity in coronary artery disease (CAD). This study investigated the diagnostic value of FFRCT for determining CAD severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until June 16, 2016 using the following search terms: fractional flow reserve, coronary computed tomography angiography, myocardial ischemia. Randomized controlled trials, two-arm prospective studies, and retrospective studies were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies were included with a total of 2216 subjects and 2798 vessels. FFRCT, sensitivity per-vessel and per-patient were ≥82% and specificity was ≥73% for diagnosis of ischemia. FFRCT had better diagnostic accuracy and discrimination than CCTA. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that FFRCT may be a good tool for screening and diagnosing of myocardial ischemia in patients with CAD.

Effect of Contrast on Visual Spatial Summation in Different Cell Categories in Cat Primary Visual Cortex.

Multiple cell classes have been found in the primary visual cortex, but the relationship between cell types and spatial summation has seldom been studied. Parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons can be distinguished from pyramidal neurons based on their briefer action potential durations. In this study, we classified V1 cells into fast-spiking units (FSUs) and regular-spiking units (RSUs) and then examined spatial summation at high and low contrast. Our results revealed that the excitatory classical receptive field and the suppressive non-classical receptive field expanded at low contrast for both FSUs and RSUs, but the expansion was more marked for the RSUs than for the FSUs. For most V1 neurons, surround suppression varied as the contrast changed from high to low. However, FSUs exhibited no significant difference in the strength of suppression between high and low contrast, although the overall suppression decreased significantly at low contrast for the RSUs. Our results suggest that the modulation of spatial summation by stimulus contrast differs across populations of neurons in the cat primary visual cortex.