Correlation Between Blood-pressure Levels and Frailty Index and Adverse Health Events in Older Adults With ESRD With Hypertension.

Context: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) refers to the development of chronic kidney disease to stage 5. Elevated blood pressure is one of the main symptoms of older adults with ESRD. The severity and difficulty of curing ESRD with hypertension in older adults has attracted a great deal of attention from the medical community. Objective: The study intended to analyze the correlation between blood-pressure level and FRAIL scores and adverse health events for older adults with ESRD and hypertension. Design: The research team performed a narrative review by searching hospital medical record system databases. The search used the keywords endpoint renal disease and hypertension. The research team also conducted a prospective case-control study. Setting: The study took place at Peking University International Hospital. Participants: Participants were 168 older adults with ESRD and hypertension, ESRD only, or hypertension only who had received a diagnosis and treatment at the hospital between October 2022 and September 2023 as well as healthy individuals who were members of the community. Groups: The study included four groups, each with 42 participants: (1) the ESRD + hypertension group, (2) the ESRD group, (3) the hypertension group, and (4) the healthy group. Outcome Measures: The research team: (1) measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure, (2) assessed patients' debilitation using the FRAIL score; and (3) determined the incidence of adverse health events-heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Based on participants' blood pressures, the research team: (1) divided the ESRD with hypertension group into the hypertension grade I, hypertension grade II, and hypertension grade III groups, and (2) compared the blood pressures, FRAIL scores, and incidence of adverse health events among those three groups. The team performed a Pearson correlation analysis to analyze the correlation between blood pressure and the FRAIL scores and adverse health events for the ESRD with hypertension group. Results: The ESRD + hypertension group's mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and FRAIL score and its incidence of adverse health events were significantly higher than those: (1) of the ESRD group, with P = .028, P = .048, P = .037, and P = .008, respectively; (2) of the hypertension group, with P = .017, P = .035, P = .025, and P = .037, respectively; and (3) of the healthy group, with P = .042, P = .341, P = .372, and P = .482, respectively. The hypertension grade III's systolic and diastolic blood pressure, FRAIL score, and incidence of adverse health events were significantly higher than those: (1) of the hypertension grade I group, with P = .009, P = .015, P = .003, and P = .055, respectively, and (2) of the grade II group, with P = .078, P = .089, P = .001, and P = .006, respectively. A significant positive correlation existed between the blood-pressure level and the FRAIL score (P = .041) and incidence of adverse health events (P = .032). Conclusions: Older adults with ESRD and hypertension had significantly higher blood pressure levels and FRAIL scores and more adverse health events. A significant positive correlation existed between blood pressure level and frailty scores and incidence of adverse health events.

Gemini cationic surfactant of 1, 3-bis (dodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) propane as a novel excellent inhibitor for the corrosion of cold rolled steel in HCl solution.

Gemini surfactants have become the research focus of novel excellent inhibitors because of their special structure (two amphiphilic moieties covalently connected at head group by a spacer) and excellent surface properties. It is proved by theoretical calculations that 1, 3-bis (dodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) propane (BDDACP) molecules can perform electron transfer with Fe (110). And it has a small fraction free volume, thus greatly reducing the diffusion and migration degree of corrosive particles. The potentiodynamic polarization curve showed that coefficients of cathodic and anodic reaction less than 1 and polarization resistance increased to 1602.9 Ω cm-2 after added BDDACP, confirming that BDDACP significantly inhibited the corrosion reaction by occupying the active site. The electrochemical impedance spectrum of imperfect semi-circle shows that the system resistance increases and double layer capacitance after added BDDACP. Weight loss tests also confirmed that BDDACP forms protective film by occupying the active sites on steel surface, and the maximum inhibition efficiency is 92 %. Comparison of the microscopic morphology showed that steel surface roughness was significantly reduced after added BDDACP. The results of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry show that steel surface contains some elements from BDDACP, which confirms the adsorption of BDDACP on steel surface.

Degradation of phenol by photocatalysis using TiO2/montmorillonite composites under UV light.

Composites of titanium (IV) oxide combined with montmorillonite (MMT) with various TiO2/MMT were prepared for photocatalysis application. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The main influential factors such as the TiO2/MMT dose, calcined temperature, and pH value of the solution were studied. The main intermediates of phenol degradation were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the average size of TiO2 nanoparticles was decreased from 22.51 to 10.66 nm through the immobilization on MMT. The components in the interlayer domain were replaced by titanium pillars, and the pillaring reaction proceeded in the interlayer domain, the basic skeleton of MMT was unchanged, and TiO2 was dispersed on the surface of the MMT. When the initial concentration of phenol is 10 mg/L, the phenol solution pH is 6, and the UV light irradiation time is 240 min; the phenol degradation rate of 30%TiO2/MMT composite is 89.8%, which is better than MMT (11.5%) and pure TiO2 (58.8%). It shows that TiO2 loaded on MMT improves its photocatalytic activity. The phenol reaction process detected by HPLC showed that it had undergone through hydroquinone and benzoquinone, and finally converted into maleic acid and carbon dioxide and small molecules. The possible photocatalysis mechanism is presented.

[Comparative study on five pretreatment methods for ICP-OES determination of mineral elements in Rosa rugosa].

Abstract Five different pretreatment methods, including dry ashing and microwave digestion with four acid systems (HNO3 + H2O2, HNO3 + H2O2 + HF, HNO3 + HClO4 and HNO3 + HClO4 + HF), were employed for digestion of the samples of Rosa rugosa. Nine major and trace elements were determined using ICP-OES method. The addition standard recovery rates indicate that, with the system of HNO3 + HClO4, better results can be obtained for most of the determined elements. With this method, except for Fe, the recovery rates are in the range of 95.4%-104.6%. For Fe, higher recovery rate (99%) was obtained with HNO3 + H2O2 + HF system.

Early Mental Health and Quality of Life in Discharged Patients With COVID-19.

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the early mental health (MH) and quality of life (QoL) of discharged patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which can provide a scientific basis for the further development of intervention programs. Methods: In total, 108 subjects participated in this study, including an experimental group (90 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from March to April 2020 and hospitalized in Wuhan China Resources & WISCO General Hospital, Wuhan, China, 83.3%) and a control group (18 healthy participants, 16.7%). Their MH and QoL were measured through the 12-item Short Form Health Survey version 2 (SF-12v2), the Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the Self-rating depression scale (SDS), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The results of questionnaires were compared between these two groups. Results: (1) Comparison of anxiety status: among 90 discharged patients with COVID-19, 30 patients (33.3%) had a state of anxiety. Compared with healthy participants and the general population, patients with COVID-19 in the early stages of discharge had a higher incidence of anxiety and more severe anxiety symptoms (P < 0.05). (2) Comparison of depression status: among 90 discharged patients with COVID-19, 29 patients (32.2%) had a state of depression. Compared with healthy participants and the general population, patients with COVID-19 in the early stages of discharge had a higher incidence of depression and more severe depression symptoms (P < 0.05). (3) Comparison of QoL: 78 patients (86.7%) presented a decrease in physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and 73 patients (81.1%) presented a decrease in psychology-related QoL. The SF-12v2 physical component summary (PCS) and the SF-12v2 mental component summary (MCS) of patients were significantly lower than those of healthy people, especially in physical function (PF), vitality (VT), social function (SF), and mental health (MH) (all P < 0.05). (4) Gender differences in mental health and the QoL among patients with COVID-19: women had more severe anxiety/depression symptoms than men (P < 0.05). The scores of women in all dimensions of SF-12V2 were lower than those of men, and there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in PCS, PF, general health (GH), VT, and role-emotional (RE) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: During the early phase after being discharged, patients with COVID-19 might experience negative emotions, such as anxiety or depression, and also problems with reduced QoL, especially among female patients. Therefore, an intervention plan should focus on strengthening psychological condition and improving physical function, and gender-specific rehabilitation programmes should be adapted to improve psychological status and QoL.

Design and optimization of highly nonlinear low-dispersion crystal fiber with high birefringence for four-wave mixing.

We have proposed a novel type of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with low dispersion and high nonlinearity for four-wave mixing. This type of fiber is composed of a solid silica core and a cladding with a squeezed hexagonal lattice elliptical airhole along the fiber length. Its dispersion and nonlinearity coefficient are investigated simultaneously by using the full vectorial finite element method. Numerical results show that the proposed highly nonlinear low-dispersion fiber has a total dispersion as low as +/-2.5 ps nm(-1) km(-1) over an ultrabroad wavelength range from 1.43 to 1.8 microm, and the corresponding nonlinearity coefficient and birefringence are about 150 W(-1) km(-1) and 2.5x10(-3) at 1.55 microm, respectively. The proposed PCF with low ultraflattened dispersion, high nonlinearity, and high birefringence can have important application in four-wave mixing.