Identification of the conductivity type of single-walled carbon nanotubes via dual-modulation dielectric force microscopy.

The conductivity type is one of the most fundamental transport properties of semiconductors, which is usually identified by fabricating the field-effect transistor, the Hall-effect device, etc. However, it is challenging to obtain an Ohmic contact if the sample is down to nanometer-scale because of the small size and intrinsic heterogeneity. Noncontact dielectric force microscopy (DFM) can identify the conductivity type of the sample by applying a DC gate voltage to the tip, which is effective in tuning the accumulation or depletion of charge carriers. Here, we further developed a dual-modulation DFM, which simplified the conductivity type identification from multiple scan times under different DC gate voltages to a single scan under an AC gate voltage. Taking single-walled carbon nanotubes as testing samples, the semiconducting-type sample exhibits a more significant charge carrier accumulation/depletion under each half-period of the AC gate voltage than the metallic-type sample due to the stronger rectification effect. The charge carrier accumulation or depletion of the p-type sample is opposite to that of the n-type sample at the same half-period of the AC gate voltage because of the reversed charge carrier type.

ADAR1 prevents ZBP1-dependent PANoptosis via A-to-I RNA editing in developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity.

It is well established that sevoflurane exposure leads to widespread neuronal cell death in the developing brain. Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA-1 (ADAR1) dependent adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is dynamically regulated throughout brain development. The current investigation is designed to interrogate the contributed role of ADAR1 in developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity. Herein, we provide evidence to show that developmental sevoflurane priming triggers neuronal pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis (PANoptosis), and elicits the release of inflammatory factors including IL-1ß, IL-18, TNF-α and IFN-γ. Additionally, ADAR1-P150, but not ADAR1-P110, depresses cellular PANoptosis and inflammatory response by competing with Z-DNA/RNA binding protein 1 (ZBP1) for binding to Z-RNA in the presence of sevoflurane. Further investigation demonstrates that ADAR1-dependent A-to-I RNA editing mitigates developmental sevoflurane-induced neuronal PANoptosis. To restore RNA editing, we utilize adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver engineered circular ADAR-recruiting guide RNAs (cadRNAs) into cells, which is capable of recruiting endogenous adenosine deaminases to promote cellular A-to-I RNA editing. As anticipated, AAV-cadRNAs diminishes sevoflurane-induced cellular Z-RNA production and PANoptosis, which could be abolished by ADAR1-P150 shRNA transfection. Moreover, AAV-cadRNAs delivery ameliorates developmental sevoflurane-induced spatial and emotional cognitive deficits without influence on locomotor activity. Taken together, these results illustrate that ADAR1-P150 exhibits a prominent role in preventing ZBP1-dependent PANoptosis through A-to-I RNA editing in developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity. Application of engineered cadRNAs to rectify the compromised ADAR1-dependent A-to-I RNA editing provides an inspiring direction for possible clinical preventions and therapeutics.

A poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) self-pumping Janus dressing with bidirectional biofluid transport for diabetic wound healing via anti-bacteria and pro-angiogenesis.

Diabetic wound healing poses a substantial challenge owing to bacterial infections, insufficient angiogenesis, and excessive exudates. Currently, most of the clinical dressings used for diabetic wounds are still conventional dressings such as gauze. In this study, a three-layer Janus dressing was developed via continuous electrostatic spinning. The top-layer was composed of polylactic acid-glycolic acid and hydroxyapatite doped with silver ions and silicate. The hydrophobic top-layer prevented the adhesion of foreign bacteria. The mid-layer was composed of polyethylene glycol, polylactic acid-glycolic acid and hydroxyapatite doped with silver ions and silicate facilitated exudate absorption and bioactive ion release. The modified sub-layer containing polylactic acid-glycolic acid, hydroxyapatite doped with silver ions and silicate and sodium alginate microspheres enabled both the transport of wound exudate from the wound bed to dressing and the backflow of bioactive silver ions and silicate to the wound bed, thereby reducing infection and stimulating angiogenesis. Through in vivo and in vivo experiments, the Janus dressing showed to have antimicrobial, angiogenic, and exudate-control properties that accelerate healing in diabetic wounds. As a novel dressing, the multifunctional, self-pumping Janus wound dressing with bi-directional biofluidic transport offers a new approach to diabetic wound healing.

Numerical Study on Mechanical Behavior and Electromechanical Properties of Solder-Jointed REBCO-Coated Conductors.

As the second-generation high-temperature superconducting conductors, rare earth-barium-copper-oxide (REBCO) coated conductor (CC) tapes have good potential as high-field and high-energy superconductors. In superconducting applications, several joints are required for conjugating comparatively short REBCO CC tapes. Soldering lap joints are the simplest and most commonly applied REBCO CC joints. In addition to joint resistance, the mechanical behavior and electromechanical properties are also crucial for superconducting applications. In this paper, the electromechanical properties and mechanical behaviors of soldering lap joints at 77 K under a self-field were studied. The mechanical behavior was addressed by using a full three-dimensional multilayer elastic-plastic finite element model (FEM) with REBCO CC tape main layers and solder connecting layers. Then, the electromechanical properties were analyzed by using Gao's strain-Ic degradation general model on the basis of the FEM results. Both the mechanical behavior and electromechanical properties were verified by experimental results. The effects of soldering lap conditions including lap length, soldering thickness and lap style on the electromechanical properties and mechanical behaviors were discussed. The results indicate that shorter overlap lengths and a thinner solder can reduce the premature degradation of Ic due to stress concentrations nearby the joint edges; moreover, the irreversible critical strain is significantly higher in the back-to-back joint approach compared to the widely used face-to-face joint approach.

Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography in Right Ventricular Function of Clinically Well Patients with Heart Transplantation.

Heart transplantation (HT) is the mainstream therapy for end-stage heart disease. However, the cardiac graft function can be affected by several factors. It is important to monitor HT patients for signs of graft dysfunction. Transthoracic echocardiography is a simple, first-line, and non-invasive method for the assessment of cardiac function. The emerging speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) could quickly and easily provide additive information over traditional echocardiography. STE longitudinal deformation parameters are markers of early impairment of ventricular function. Although once called the "forgotten ventricle", right ventricular (RV) assessment has gained attention in recent years. This review highlights the potentially favorable role of STE in assessing RV systolic function in clinically well HT patients.

A Membrane-Targeting Aggregation-Induced Emission Probe for Monitoring Lipid Droplet Dynamics in Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Cardiomyocyte Ferroptosis.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) is the leading cause of irreversible myocardial damage. A pivotal pathogenic factor is ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced cardiomyocyte ferroptosis, marked by iron overload and lipid peroxidation. However, the impact of lipid droplet (LD) changes on I/R-induced cardiomyocyte ferroptosis is unclear. In this study, an aggregation-induced emission probe, TPABTBP is developed that is used for imaging dynamic changes in LD during myocardial I/R-induced ferroptosis. TPABTBP exhibits excellent LD-specificity, superior capability for monitoring lipophagy, and remarkable photostability. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and super-resolution fluorescence imaging demonstrate that the TPABTBP is specifically localized to the phospholipid monolayer membrane of LDs. Imaging LDs in cardiomyocytes and myocardial tissue in model mice with MIRI reveals that the LD accumulation level increase in the early reperfusion stage (0-9 h) but decrease in the late reperfusion stage (>24 h) via lipophagy. The inhibition of LD breakdown significantly reduces the lipid peroxidation level in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that chloroquine (CQ), an FDA-approved autophagy modulator, can inhibit ferroptosis, thereby attenuating MIRI in mice. This study describes the dynamic changes in LD during myocardial ischemia injury and suggests a potential therapeutic target for early MIRI intervention.

The biological response of pH-switch-based gold nanoparticle-composite polyamino acid embolic material.

With continuous advances in medical technology, non-invasive embolization has emerged as a minimally invasive treatment, offering new possibilities in cancer therapy. Fluorescent labeling can achieve visualization of therapeutic agents in vivo, providing technical support for precise treatment. This paper introduces a novel in situ non-invasive embolization composite material, Au NPs@(mPEG-PLGTs), created through the electrostatic combination of L-cysteine-modified gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and methoxy polyethylene glycol amine-poly[(L-glutamic acid)-(L-tyrosine)] (mPEG-PLGTs). Experiments were undertaken to confirm the biocompatibility, degradability, stability and performance of this tumor therapy. The research results demonstrated a reduction in tumor size as early as the fifth day after the initial injection, with a significant 90% shrinkage in tumor volume observed after a 20-day treatment cycle, successfully inhibiting tumor growth and exhibiting excellent anti-tumor effects. Utilizing near-infrared in vivo imaging, Au NPs@(mPEG-PLGTs) displayed effective fluorescence tracking within the bodies of nude BALB-c mice. This study provides a novel direction for the further development and innovation of in situ non-invasive embolization in the field, highlighting its potential for rapid, significant therapeutic effects with minimal invasiveness and enhanced safety.

Immune-inflammatory biomarkers for the occurrence of MACE in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries.

Background: Neutrophil-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHR), monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR), lymphocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LHR), platelet-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (PHR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), and aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI) have been identified as immune-inflammatory biomarkers associated with the prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. However, the relationship of these biomarkers with the prognosis of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) remains unclear. Method: Patients with MINOCA who underwent coronary angiography at the 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force were included in our study. Clinical baseline characteristics and laboratory testing data were collected from the hospital record system. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurrence. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between NHR, MHR, LHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, AISI, and MACE. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the predictive value of NHR, MHR, LHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI for MACE in patients with MINOCA. The accuracy of the prediction was indicated by the area under the curve (AUC) value. Results: The study included 335 patients with MINOCA. (81 in the MACE group and 254 in the No-MACE group). The MACE group had higher levels of NHR, MHR, LHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI than the No-MACE group. Multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors indicated that the higher levels of NHR, MHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI were associated with the occurrence of MACE in patients with MINOCA (P < 0.001). The AUC values for NHR, MHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI were 0.695, 0.747, 0.674, 0.673, 0.688, and 0.676, respectively. The combination of NHR, MHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI improved the accuracy of predicting MACE in patients with MINOCA (AUC = 0.804). Conclusion: Higher levels of NHR, MHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI were associated with the occurrence of MACE, and the combination of NHR, MHR, PHR, SII, SIRI, and AISI improved the accuracy for predicting the incidence of MACE events in patients with MINOCA.

Multi-tailed vision transformer for efficient inference.

Recently, Vision Transformer (ViT) has achieved promising performance in image recognition and gradually serves as a powerful backbone in various vision tasks. To satisfy the sequential input of Transformer, the tail of ViT first splits each image into a sequence of visual tokens with a fixed length. Then, the following self-attention layers construct the global relationship between tokens to produce useful representation for the downstream tasks. Empirically, representing the image with more tokens leads to better performance, yet the quadratic computational complexity of self-attention layer to the number of tokens could seriously influence the efficiency of ViT's inference. For computational reduction, a few pruning methods progressively prune uninformative tokens in the Transformer encoder, while leaving the number of tokens before the Transformer untouched. In fact, fewer tokens as the input for the Transformer encoder can directly reduce the following computational cost. In this spirit, we propose a Multi-Tailed Vision Transformer (MT-ViT) in the paper. MT-ViT adopts multiple tails to produce visual sequences of different lengths for the following Transformer encoder. A tail predictor is introduced to decide which tail is the most efficient for the image to produce accurate prediction. Both modules are optimized in an end-to-end fashion, with the Gumbel-Softmax trick. Experiments on ImageNet-1K demonstrate that MT-ViT can achieve a significant reduction on FLOPs with no degradation of the accuracy and outperform compared methods in both accuracy and FLOPs.

Mechanical transport revealed by optical textures of heavy minerals in aeolian sand: A case study in the Badain Jaran Desert, Northwestern China.

Determining whether and to what extent the relative abundance of heavy minerals in original detrital assemblage has been modified by mechanical transport is beneficial for understanding regional historical climate changes and acquiring modern sediment provenance information. Utilizing the frequency of surface mechanical optical textures of heavy minerals may be an effective approach to address this question. However, the connection between the frequency surface mechanical optical textures of heavy minerals and the variations in the relative abundance of these minerals remains uncertain. In this study, 12 modern aeolian sand samples were collected from the Badain Jaran Desert in hyper arid region of northwestern China, characterized by weak weathering to analyze their relative contents of five major heavy minerals. Then, 3796 transparent heavy mineral grains were photographed under the parallel light of a polarizing microscope, and the frequency of 13 surface mechanical optical textures were calculated. The results reveal that the variations in the relative abundance of heavy minerals are substantially influenced by mechanical transport. The decrease in the relative abundance of heavy minerals with weak mechanical stability primarily attributed to mechanical collision. Conversely, the variations in the relative abundance of heavy minerals with strong mechanical stability are primarily influenced by mechanical abrasion. Therefore, mechanical transport impact on the relative abundance of heavy minerals in regions with weak chemical weathering. Establishing heavy mineral characteristic indices for provenance studies using the relative abundance of mechanically unstable minerals may not directly indicate transport distance but rather the strength of wind forces, which have significant potential in palaeo wind regime studies. This study expands the research field of sediment surface micromorphology and has potential applications in inferring past climate changes and determining modern sediment provenance.

Predicting dust pollution from dry bulk ports in coastal cities: A hybrid approach based on data decomposition and deep learning.

Dust pollution from storage and handling of materials in dry bulk ports seriously affects air quality and public health in coastal cities. Accurate prediction of dust pollution helps identify risks early and take preventive measures. However, there remain challenges in solving non-stationary time series and selecting relevant features. Besides, existing studies rarely consider impacts of port operations on dust pollution. Therefore, a hybrid approach based on data decomposition and deep learning is proposed to predict dust pollution from dry bulk ports. Port operational data is specially integrated into input features. A secondary decomposition and recombination (SDR) strategy is presented to reduce data non-stationarity. A dual-stage attention-based sequence-to-sequence (DA-Seq2Seq) model is employed to adaptively select the most relevant features at each time step, as well as capture long-term temporal dependencies. This approach is compared with baseline models on a dataset from a dry bulk port in northern China. The results reveal the advantages of SDR strategy and integrating operational data and show that this approach has higher accuracy than baseline models. The proposed approach can mitigate adverse effects of dust pollution from dry bulk ports on urban residents and help port authorities control dust pollution.

The role of payment sources in the continuation of rehabilitation therapy in tertiary hospitals for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury: a study in Southwest China.

Medical security support for rehabilitation therapy in China is different from that in other countries. We investigated whether the discharge plan to continue rehabilitation therapy in tertiary hospitals for patients after traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) was influenced by payment sources or other conditions. This was a cross-sectional, observational study. Information was collected on the general condition, caregiver, types of payment sources for continued rehabilitation, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) scores, and discharge plans. In total, 135 patients with TSCI (107 male, mean age 41.00 ± 13.73 years, mean spinal cord injury duration 238.43 ± 345.54 days) were enrolled. Medical insurance (43%) and out-of-pocket payments (27.4%) were the primary payment sources. Although most patients were beyond the acute phase, 40% continued rehabilitation therapy at other tertiary hospitals. The caregiver, payment sources, injury level, AIS level, and complete urinary tract infection (UTI) were different due to discharge plans (p > .05). Patients seemingly consider a higher AIS level and co-UTI as the requirement for tertiary hospital therapy. In non-medical insurance payment source patients, the discharge plan also differed due to the AIS level and co-UTI (p > .05). However, in medical insurance patients, the discharge plan differed only in terms of TSCI duration (p > .05). The restricted duration of medical coverage restricted the continuation of rehabilitation therapy and influenced the discharge plan of most patients with TSCI.

Feasibility Value of Right Ventricular Longitudinal Shortening Fraction and the Prognostic Implications in Patients With Heart Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular longitudinal shortening fraction (RVLSF) is a 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography parameter based on tricuspid annular displacement analysis that could be used to assess right ventricular (RV) systolic function. The value of RVLSF in the assessment of RV systolic function in recipients of heart transplantation (HT) and whether RVLSF can replace strain parameters remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 153 adult patients who underwent HT were consecutively enrolled in this prospective longitudinal study. All subjects were examined by conventional transthoracic 2-dimensional echocardiography and 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography to evaluate the RV end-diastolic basal diameter, RV end-diastolic area, fractional area change, peak systolic velocity of tricuspid annulus, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, RV free wall strain, and RVLSF. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to test if the parameters of interest had independent prognostic value for adverse outcome prediction in patients who underwent HT. A significant positive correlation was found between the measurements of RVLSF and RV free wall strain (r=0.927, P<0.001). Compared with the event-free group, the adverse outcome group displayed reduced RVLSF and RV free wall strain and higher age (P<0.001, <0.001, =0.016, respectively) in patients who underwent HT. RVLSF and RV free wall strain were independently associated with poor prognosis in multivariable analysis (both P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: RVLSF assessment provides an effective evaluation of RV longitudinal systolic function in the transplanted hearts and has prognostic value for adverse outcomes in patients undergoing HT.

Formulation Optimization and Performance Prediction of Red Mud Particle Adsorbents Based on Neural Networks.

Red mud (RM), a bauxite residue, contains hazardous radioactive wastes and alkaline material and poses severe surface water and groundwater contamination risks, necessitating recycling. Pretreated RM can be used to make adsorbents for water treatment. However, its performance is affected by many factors, resulting in a nonlinear correlation and coupling relationship. This study aimed to identify the best formula for an RM adsorbent using a mathematical model that examines the relationship between 11 formulation types (e.g., pore-assisting agent, component modifier, and external binder) and 9 properties (e.g., specific surface area, wetting angle, and Zeta potential). This model was built using a back-propagation neural network (BP) based on single-factor experimental data and orthogonal experimental data. The model trained and predicted the established network structure to obtain the optimal adsorbent formula. The RM particle adsorbents had a pH of 10.16, specific surface area (BET) of 48.92 m2·g-1, pore volume of 2.10 cm3·g-1, compressive strength (ST) of 1.12 KPa, and 24 h immersion pulverization rate (ηm) of 3.72%. In the removal of total phosphorus in flotation tailings backwater, it exhibited a good adsorption capacity (Q) and total phosphorous removal rate (η) of 48.63 mg·g-1 and 95.13%, respectively.

4f/5d Hybridization Induced Single-Electron Delocalization in an Azide-Bridged Dicerium Complex.

Dilanthanide complexes with one-electron delocalization are important targets for understanding the specific 4f/5d-bonding feature in lanthanide chemistry. Here, we report an isolable azide-bridged dicerium complex 3 [{(TrapenTMS)Ce}2(µ-N3)]• [Trapen = tris (2-aminobenzyl)amine; TMS = SiMe3], which is synthesized by the reaction of tripodal ligand-supported (TrapenTMS)CeIVCl complex 2 with NaN3. The structure and bonding nature of 3 are fully characterized by X-ray crystal diffraction analysis, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), magnetic measurement, cyclic voltammetry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and quantum-theoretical studies. Complex 3 presents a trans-bent central Ce-N3-Ce unit with a single electron of two mixed-valent Ce atoms. The unique low-temperature (2 K) anisotropic EPR signals [g = 1.135, 2.003, and 3.034] of 3 indicate that its spin density is distributed on the central Ce-N3-Ce unit with marked electron delocalization. Quantum chemical analyses show strong 4f/5d orbital mixing in the singly occupied molecular orbital of 3, which allows for the unpaired electron to extend throughout the cerium-azide-cerium unit via a multicentered one-electron (Ce-N3-Ce) interaction. This work extends the family of mixed-valent dilanthanide complexes and provides a paradigm for understanding the bonding motif of ligand-bridged dilanthanide complexes.

Isolation, characteristics, and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) degradation mechanism of a marine bacteria Roseibium aggregatum ZY-1.

Marine microorganisms have been reported to degrade microplastics. However, the degradation mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, a bacterium Roseibium aggregatum ZY-1 was isolated from seawater, which can degrade poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT). The PBAT-PLA(polylactic acid, PLA) films, before and after degradation, were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), the weight loss rate and water contact angle were measured. The results indicate that ZY-1 colonized on PBAT-PLA film, changed the functional groups and decreased water contact angle of PBAT-PLA film. Moreover, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis reveales that PBAT was degraded into its oligomers (TB, BTB) and monomers (T, A) during 10 days, and adipic acid (A) could be used as a sole carbon source. The whole genome sequencing analyses illustrate the mechanisms and enzymes such as PETase, carboxylesterases, arylesterase (PpEst) and genes like pobA, pcaBCDFGHIJKT, dcaAEIJK, paaGHJ involved in PBAT degradation. Therefore, the R. aggregatum ZY-1 will be a promising candidate of PBAT degradation.

Spontaneous brain activity associated with individual differences in decisional and emotional forgiveness.

Previous studies have explored the neural bases of forgiveness, however, the neural associations of decisional and emotional forgiveness remain unclear. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC) measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were used to investigate the neural associations of individual differences in decisional and emotional forgiveness among healthy volunteers (256 participants, 85 males). The results of the ReHo analysis showed that decisional forgiveness was positively correlated with the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Furthermore, emotional forgiveness was positively correlated with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and left supramarginal gyrus (SMG). The results of the FC analysis showed that decisional forgiveness was positively associated with the FC strength between the left IPL and left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and negatively correlated with the FC strength among the left IPL, right superior temporal gyrus (STG), and left SMG. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between emotional forgiveness and FC strength between the left SMG and right IPL. These findings suggest an association between decisional and emotional forgiveness and spontaneous brain activity in brain regions related to empathy, emotion regulation, and cognitive control.

Correlation analysis between cerebral microangiopathy and autonomic nervous dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: Our study was conducted aimed at investigating the potential correlation between cerebral microangiopathy and autonomic nervous dysfunction. METHODS: We initially included 164 hospitalized patients with cerebral microangiopathy at our hospital from November 2019 to January 2021. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a final total of 162 patients with cerebral microangiopathy were selected. According to the patient's Autonomic Symptom Profile (ASP) score, patients with a score greater than 22 were categorized into a group with concomitant autonomic dysfunction (71 cases, combined group), while those with a score below 22 were categorized into a group of isolated cerebral microangiopathy (83 cases, cerebral microangiopathy group). The general data and laboratory examination results of the two groups were analyzed, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between cerebral microangiopathy and autonomic dysfunction, as well as the influencing factors of cerebral microangiopathy patients combined with autonomic dysfunction. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of sex, BMI, smoking, drinking, family dementia history, diabetes, hypothyroidism, carotid atherosclerosis, obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, hyperuricemia, hyperlipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Hamilton Anxiety Scale score, Hamilton Depression Scale score, 24-h mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), 24-h mean diastolic blood pressure DBP, daytime mean systolic blood pressure (dSBP), daytime mean diastolic blood pressure, nighttime mean systolic blood pressure (nSBP), nighttime mean diastolic blood pressure, 24-h systolic blood pressure standard deviation (SBPSD), 24-h diastolic blood pressure standard deviation, daytime diastolic blood pressure standard deviation, nighttime diastolic blood pressure standard deviation (nDBPSD), nDBPSD (p > .05). However, significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding age, history of coronary heart disease, hypertension, leukoaraiosis, cognitive function, ASP score, SSR, 24-h SBPSD, daytime systolic blood pressure standard deviation (dSBPSD), nighttime systolic blood pressure standard deviation (nSBPSD), standard deviation of RR interval (SDNN), root mean square value of successive RR interval difference (RMSSD), high-frequency component (HF), and low-frequency component (LF) (p < .05). Moreover, the levels of TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C did not show significant differences between the two groups (p > .05), but there were significant differences in blood uric acid and homocysteine (Hcy) levels (p < .05). Age, history of leukoaraiosis, cognitive function assessment, blood uric acid, Hcy levels, 24-h SBPSD, dSBPSD, and nSBPSD showed positive correlations with ASP scores and SSR in patients with cerebral microangiopathy (p < .001). In contrast, hypertension, SDNN, RMSSD, HF, and LF showed negative correlations with ASP scores and SSR (p < .001). Moreover, coronary heart disease was negatively correlated with ASP scores but positively correlated with SSR (p < .001). The independent variables included age, history of leukoaraiosis, cognitive function assessment, ASP score, SSR, blood uric acid, Hcy, bradykinin, coronary heart disease, hypertension, 24-h SBPSD, dSBPSD, nSBPSD, SDNN, RMSSD, HF, and LF, which were indicators with differences in general data and laboratory indicators. The dependent variable was patients with cerebral microangiopathy combined with autonomic nervous dysfunction. The analysis results showed that age, history of leukoaraiosis, ASP score, SSR, 24-h SBPSD, dSBPSD, nSBPSD, SDNN, RMSSD, HF, and LF were the influencing factors of patients with cerebral microangiopathy complicated with autonomic nervous dysfunction. CONCLUSION: We demonstrates that age, history of leukoaraiosis, cognitive function assessment, blood uric acid, Hcy level, 24-h SBPSD, dSBPSD, nSBPSD, blood pressure, SDNN, RMSSD, HF, LF, and coronary heart disease were highly associated with cerebral microangiopathy with autonomic dysfunction. Furthermore, the influencing factors of cerebral microangiopathy with autonomic dysfunction are age, history of leukoaraiosis, ASP score, SSR, blood pressure variability, and HRV.

DFT Exploration of Metal Ion-Ligand Binding: Toward Rational Design of Chelating Agent in Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Chelating agents are commonly employed in microelectronic processes to prevent metal ion contamination. The ligand fragments of a chelating agent largely determine its binding strength to metal ions. Identification of ligands with suitable characteristics will facilitate the design of chelating agents to enhance the capture and removal of metal ions from the substrate in microelectronic processes. This study employed quantum chemical calculations to simulate the binding process between eleven ligands and the hydrated forms of Ni2+, Cu2+, Al3+, and Fe3+ ions. The binding strength between the metal ions and ligands was quantified using binding energy and binding enthalpy. Additionally, we explored the binding interaction mechanisms and explained the differences in binding abilities of the eleven ligands using frontier molecular orbitals, nucleophilic indexes, electrostatic potentials, and energy decomposition calculations based on molecular force fields. Based on our computational results, promising chelating agent structures are proposed, aiming to guide the design of new chelating agents to address metal ion contamination issues in integrated circuit processes.

Antidepressant effects of dexmedetomidine compared with ECT in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study was designed to investigate the antidepressant effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The antidepressant effects of dexmedetomidine was compared with ECT, which is widely used in clinical practice for treatment of patients with TRD. METHODS: Seventy six patients with TRD were randomly assigned to receive 10 sessions of DEX infusions or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment. The primary outcome was the changes of depression severity determined by the improvement of 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-24). The second outcomes were the rates of therapeutic response (reduction in HDRS-24 ≥ 50 %) and remission (HDRS-24 ≤ 10 and reduction in HDRS-24 ≥ 60 %) at posttreatment and after 3 months of follow-up visits. RESULTS: We found that 10 sessions of DEX infusions or ECT treatments significantly improved HDRS-24 scores at posttreatment and after 3 months of follow-up visits compared with the baseline. In addition, there was no significant difference between DEX infusions and ECT treatments regarding HDRS-24 at these evaluating points. Furthermore, the depression severity dropped to mild after 2 sessions of DEX infusion. In contrast, at least 6 sessions of ECT treatment were needed to achieve a same level. Finally, the rates of therapeutic response and remission were comparable between the two groups. No serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Based on current published evidence, we conclude that DEX exhibits rapid and durable antidepressant properties similar to ECT but with fewer side effects.