[The predictive value of low T3 syndrome for delayed encephalopathy caused by severe acute carbon monoxide poisoning].

Objective: To explore the predictive value of low T3 syndrome (LT3S) for patients with delayed encephalopathy after acute carbon monoxide poisoning (DEACMP) . Methods: In May 2020, 137 severe acute carben monoxide poisoning (SACMP) patients were selected from Harrison International Peace Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University from January 2019 to January 2020 as subjects. Blood samples were taken after admission to test thyroid function. Followed up for 60 d, the patients were divided into DEACMP group (45 cases) and non DEACMP group (92 cases) according to their prognosis. Clinical data of patients in two groups were collected and compared. The Cox regression with multiple independent variables was used to analyze the independent risk factors of DEACMP. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between totall triiodochyronine (TT3) level and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ score. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of TT3 and APACHE Ⅱ scores for predicting DEACMP were drawn. Results: Compared with non DEACMP group, the age, APACHE II score, LT3S rate and diabetes prevalence in DEACMP group were higher, and the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score was lower (P<0.05) . Cox regression analysis showed that age, APACHEⅡ score and LT3S were independent risk factors of DEACMP in patients with SACMP (OR=1.040, 95%CI:1.005-1.077; OR=1.070, 95%CI: 1.002-1.143; OR=4.210, 95%CI: 1.707-10.379; P<0.05) . Pearson correlation analysis showed that TT3 level was negatively correlated with APACHE Ⅱ score (r=-0.397, P=0.000) . ROC curve showed that the cut-off value of TT3 level for DEACMP prediction was 1.078 nmol/L, the area under curve (AUC) was 0.755, the sensitivity was 82.6%, and the specificity was 73.3%. The cut-off value of the APACHE Ⅱ score for predicting DEACMP was 16, and the AUC was 0.725, sensitivity was 93.3%, and specificity was 60.9%. Conclusion: This study showed that LT3S minght be an independent predictor of DEACMP in patients with SACMP. Thyroid function is closely related to the severity of SACMP patients.

Role of surface adsorption in tuning the properties of black phosphorus.

H2O and O2 are believed to be key factors that influence the structural stability of black phosphorus (BP) in ambient conditions. In this work, the interactions of H2O and/or O2 with BP are investigated using first-principles calculations. The results indicate that water molecules prefer to adsorb on the BP surface and form a six-member water ring. The dissociation barrier of O2 is significantly reduced in the presence of H2O, which dramatically promotes the degradation of BP. Moreover, the introduction of O2 also facilitates the adsorption of water on the surface. The effects of H2O and/or O2 on the quasiparticle band gap and exciton binding energy of BP are also investigated. The results suggest that water adsorption has only a slight influence on the electronic properties and exciton binding energy, while O2 adsorption causes obvious changes in the properties of BP, which results in a direct-to-indirect band gap transition in BP.

Emergence of topological nodal loops in alkaline-earth hexaborides XB6 (X = Ca, Sr, and Ba) under pressure.

Based on first-principles calculations, we report that external pressure can induce a topological phase transition in alkaline-earth hexaborides, XB6 (X = Ca, Sr, and Ba). It was revealed that XB6 are transformed from trivial semiconductors to topological node-line semimetals under moderate pressure when the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is ignored. The band inversion between the B p-orbitals at the X point is responsible for the formation of node-line semimetals. Three node-line rings around the X point are protected by the combination of the time-reversal and spatial inversion symmetries, and drumhead surface bands are obtained in the interiors of the projected node-line rings. When the SOC is included, tiny gaps (<4.8 meV) open at the crossing lines and the XB6 become strong topological insulators with Z2 indices (1 : 111). As the SOC-induced gap opening is negligible, our findings thus suggest ideal real systems for experimental exploration of the fundamental physics of topological node-line semimetals.

De novo assembly, functional annotation, and marker development of Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) fruit transcriptome through massively parallel sequencing.

This study investigated the Asian pear transcriptome using the RNA-Seq normalized fruit cDNA library to create a transcriptomic resource for unigene and marker discovery. Following the removal of lowquality reads, 127,085,054 trimmed reads were assembled de novo to yield 37,649 non-redundant unigenes with an average length of 599 bp. Alternative splicing events were detected in 4121 contigs. A total of 30,560 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 7443 simple sequence repeat (SSR) makers were obtained. Approximately 21,449 (56.9%) unigenes were categorized into three gene ontology groups; 3682 (9.8%) were classified into 25 cluster of orthologous groups; and 10,451 (27.8%) were assigned to six Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Differentially expressed genes were investigated using the reads per kilobase of the exon model per million reads methodology. A total of 546 unigenes showed significant differences in expression levels at different fruit developmental stages. Gene ontology categories associated with various aspects, including carbohydrate metabolic processes, transmembrane transport, and signal transduction, were enriched with genes with divergent expressions. These Pyrus pyrifolia transcriptome data provide a rich resource for the discovery and identification of new genes. Furthermore, the numerous putative SSRs and SNPs detected in this study will be important resources for the future development of a linkage map or of marker-assisted breeding programs for the Asian pear.

Synthetic polymeric barrier membrane associated with blood coagulum, human allograft, or bovine bone substitute for ridge preservation: a randomized, controlled, clinical and histological trial.

During the normal healing process, an extraction site may lose significant bone volume, making implant placement problematic. Quantitative evaluations of the amount of bone maintained by socket preservation with various materials are limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate, both clinically and histologically, the extent of alveolar bone preservation by blood coagulum (BC) and the potential additional benefits of bone allograft material (AL) versus the state-of-the-art bovine bone mineral (BB), covered by a polyethylene glycol (PEG) barrier, in extraction socket grafting procedures. Adult patients (n=32) with single-rooted teeth indicated for extraction were treated (45 sites). After atraumatic extraction, the sockets were filled with BC, AL, or BB and covered with a synthetic PEG barrier membrane. Changes in bone height and width were measured clinically and the amount of bone formed and residual graft particles were measured histologically after 6 months. Changes in ridge width at 6 months were -1.5mm for AL versus -2.5mm for BB and -2.3mm for BC. New bone formation amounted to 47.8%, 33.3%, and 28.2% at BC-, AL-, and BB-treated sites, respectively. Using AL with the PEG barrier preserved the ridge width at 6 months better than BB or BC and resulted in similar amounts of bone histologically to BB.

Primary sacral tumors and their surgical treatment. A report of 87 cases.

From 1958 through 1988, 87 patients with primary sacral tumor were treated surgically. The lesions consisted of benign tumors (17 patients) such as neurofibroma, chordomas (41), giant cell tumors (21), and malignant growths (8). Fifty-nine patients sustained destruction of S1-3 vertebrae, and 28 had the neogrowth below S3. A total of 99 operations including 13 total and 17 subtotal excision of the sacrum, as well as 12 for recurrent tumors in 99 cases were performed. Ten operations for primary tumors resulted in 3 intraoperative and 7 postoperative deaths. Thus, 89 surgical attempts were stood by the patients. Sixty-seven patients were followed up with an average interval of 5.5 years. Sixty patients showed good functional results and resumed normal life and work, whereas urinary incontinence, constipation and weakness of ankles and feet occurred in 7. The factors conducive to surgical success were stressed. We conclude that with the exception of frank malignancy, surgery should be advised and actively adopted for primary sacral tumors.

Acetylsalicylic acid enhances the anti-inflammatory effect of fluoxetine through inhibition of NF-κB, p38-MAPK and ERK1/2 activation in lipopolysaccharide-induced BV-2 microglia cells.

The latest advancements in neurobiological research provide increasing evidence that inflammatory and neurodegenerative pathways play an important role in depression. According to the cytokine hypothesis, depression could be due to the increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by microglia activation. Thus, using the BV-2 microglial cell line, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether fluoxetine (FLX) or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) could inhibit this microglia activation and could achieve better results in combination. Our results showed that FLX could attenuate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), the expression of the indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) enzyme and the depletion of 5-HT. Moreover, FLX could inhibit phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and the combined use with ASA could enhance these effects. Notably, the adjunctive agent ASA could also inhibit phosphorylation of extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Taken together, our results suggest that FLX may have some anti-inflammatory effects by modulating microglia activation and that ASA served as an effective adjunctive agent by enhancing these therapeutic effects.

Sentinel node biopsy and quality of life measures in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become an alternative procedure of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with a lower risk of significant operative morbidity. The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the morbidity and quality-of-life (QoL) after SLNB or ALND. The second aim was to analyze whether the number of SLNs removed was associated with an increased incidence of postoperative morbidity. METHODS: From Apr-2006 to Aug-2007, 140 patients treated with SLNB and 81 patients treated with ALND were enrolled in the study. Patients' data were collected preoperatively and at 1, 6, and 12 months after operation. Measurement of arm volume and shoulder function, evaluation of subjective sensory abnormality of both arms and chest wall were performed at every follow-up visit. Besides, patients were required to fill out the simplified Chinese version of the functional assessment of cancer therapy-breast questionnaire at 12 months after operation. RESULTS: Patients treated with SLNB suffered less morbidity compared with ALND. Elevated body mass index and ALND procedure were independent risk factors associated with postoperative lymphedema. Moreover, patients treated with wide local excision or SLNB had better QoL compared with those treated with mastectomy or ALND. No relationship was observed between the number of SLNs and the morbidity or QoL. CONCLUSION: SLNB is associated with a better QoL and less morbidity compared with ALND regardless of the number of SLNs in Chinese women with breast cancer. To limit the number of SLNs less than five did not show any evidence to reduce morbidity.