We conducted a meta-analysis of randomised trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inhaled antibiotics in patients with stable non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis. We searched the Cochrane ...Airways Group Register of Trials from inception until March 2014. 12 trials with 1264 adult patients were included, of which five were unpublished studies. Eight trials on 590 patients contributed data to the meta-analysis. Amikacin, aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, colistin or tobramycin were used for 4 weeks to 12 months. Inhaled antibiotics were more effective than placebo or symptomatic treatment in reducing sputum bacterial load (five trials; weighted mean difference -2.65 log10 CFU · g(-1), 95% CI -4.38- -0.92 log10 CFU · g(-1)), eradicating the bacteria from sputum (six trials; risk ratio 4.2, 95% CI 1.66-10.64) and reducing the risk of acute exacerbations (five trials; risk ratio 0.72, 95% CI 0.55-0.94). Bronchospasm occurred in 10% of patients treated with inhaled antibiotics compared with 2.3% in the control group (seven trials; risk ratio 2.96, 95% CI 1.30-6.73), but the two groups had the same withdrawal rate due to adverse events (12.2%). Inhaled antibiotics may provide an effective suppressive antibiotic therapy with an acceptable safety profile in adult patients with stable non-CF bronchiectasis and chronic bronchial infection.
Considering the rapid increase of CO
emission, especially from power plants, there is a constant need for materials which can effectively eliminate post-combustion CO
(the main component: CO
/N
= ...15/85). Here, we show the design and synthesis of a Cu(II) metal-organic framework (FJI-H14) with a high density of active sites, which displays unusual acid and base stability and high volumetric uptake (171 cm
cm
) of CO
under ambient conditions (298 K, 1 atm), making it a potential adsorbing agent for post-combustion CO
. Moreover, CO
from simulated post-combustion flue gas can be smoothly converted into corresponding cyclic carbonates by the FJI-H14 catalyst. Such high CO
adsorption capacity and moderate catalytic activity may result from the synergistic effect of multiple active sites.
Immune responses play an important role in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke. Atherosclerosis is a common condition that increases the risk of stroke. Hyperlipidemia damages ...endothelial cells, thus initiating chemokine pathways and the release of inflammatory cytokines-this represents the first step in the inflammatory response to atherosclerosis. Blocking blood flow in the brain leads to ischemic stroke, and deprives neurons of oxygen and energy. Damaged neurons release danger-associated molecular patterns, which promote the activation of innate immune cells and the release of inflammatory cytokines. The nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells κB (NF-κB) pathway plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke. Vinpocetine is believed to be a potent anti-inflammatory agent and has been used to treat cerebrovascular disorders. Vinpocetine improves neuronal plasticity and reduces the release of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines from endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, macrophages, and microglia, by inhibiting the inhibitor of the NF-κB pathway. This review clarifies the anti-inflammatory role of vinpocetine in atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke.
Abstract
Transition strengths between states are fundamental physical properties of atomic spectra. The differences in fine structure splitting of certain states are mainly attributed to the angular ...momentum parts of transition dipole matrix elements. These can be calculated by integrating the wave-functions theoretically and can be accessed by selecting corresponding polarizations of the exciting lasers experimentally. We measured the transition strengths ratios of
n
D
$$_{5/2}$$
5
/
2
/
n
D
$$_{3/2}$$
3
/
2
via Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) by changing the powers and polarizations of probing and coupling lasers in a room temperature cesium vapor cell. The variation of the ratios on the principal quantum number
n
which ranges from 40 to 62 is also investigated. Theoretical and experimental results agreed with each other.
The hairpin joints welding poses a significant challenge in flat wire motor manufacturing. Laser spot welding test under argon protection and laser galvanometer scanning welding test under air ...environment were carried out in the absence of ultrasound. The results show that the joints obtained when the welding time is about 5s are better shaped and have good repeatability during the laser spot welding under argon protection. The shape of the closed welding path gives better joint formation when laser galvanometer scanning welding is used. Compared with the argon protection environment, the repeatability of the joint appearance obtained in the air environment was reduced, and the porosity defects in the weld seam increased significantly. A novel non-contact ultrasonic-assisted laser welding method for copper hairpins was introduced to improve the weld formation quality. The influence laws and mechanisms of ultrasonic process parameters on weld formation were studied. After using ultrasonic-assisted laser welding, the repeatability of weld bead formation is significantly improved, the tendency of weld bead collapse is reduced, but the joint resistance increases. The main reason for the improvement of weld appearance in ultrasonic-assisted laser welding is the compressive effect of the ultrasonic field on the molten pool, which was confirmed by high-speed photographic images. The compression effect of standing-wave points closer to the emitting end on the molten pool is more pronounced. With the increase of ultrasonic power, the weld width and the tensile-shear load resistance of the joint decreased, while the joint resistance increased.
Water electrolysis is an emerging energy conversion technology, which is significant for efficient hydrogen (H2) production. Based on the high‐activity transition metal ions and metal alloys of ...ultrastable bifunctional catalyst, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are the key to achieving the energy conversion method by overall water splitting (OWS). This study reports that the Co‐based coordination polymer (ZIF‐67) anchoring on an indium–organic framework (InOF‐1) composite (InOF‐1@ZIF‐67) is treated followed by carbonization and phosphorization to successfully obtain CoP nanoparticles–embedded carbon nanotubes and nitrogen‐doped carbon materials (CoP‐InNC@CNT). As HER and OER electrocatalysts, it is demonstrated that CoP‐InNC@CNT simultaneously exhibit high HER performance (overpotential of 153 mV in 0.5 m H2SO4 and 159 mV in 1.0 m KOH) and OER performance (overpotential of 270 mV in 1.0 m KOH) activities to reach the current density of 10 mA cm−2. In addition, these CoP‐InNC@CNT rods, as a cathode and an anode, can display an excellent OWS performance with η10 = 1.58 V and better stability, which shows the satisfying electrocatalyst for the OWS compared to control materials. This method ensures the tight and uniform growth of the fast nucleating and stable materials on substrate and can be further applied for practical electrochemical reactions.
A type of CoP embedded in carbon nanotubes and nitrogen‐doped carbon material calcined from a bimetallic metal–organic frameworks (MOF) precursor is designed and prepared by growing Co‐based MOFs on an indium–organic framework. The CoP incorporation can greatly promote the water splitting kinetics by the optimized catalyst of CoP‐InNC@CNT, thus the high electrocatalytic activity is achieved toward both the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction.
Friction stir brazing (FSB) using a pinless tool together with a braze was developed to extend bond area over friction stir lap welding. When using a large pinless tool of Ø40 mm to clad 10 mm thick ...5083Al plate to 16Mn steel by FSB with Zn braze, the thermomechanical effect was sufficient to achieve wetting on Al side by dissolving Al into molten Zn, but joint could not be formed due to poor wettability on steel side. To enhance mechanical disruption of oxide film on the steel, multilayer FSB (ML-FSB) process was proposed by adding a thin (3 mm thickness) and soft aluminum sheet as interlayer. The first FSB pass created bonding between the thin interlayer and steel substrate with 4.7 μm thick FeAl3 without Zn residue, having 55 MPa shear strength. The second FSB pass created bonding between the thin interlayer and thick 5083Al clad with a diffusion zone with a little Zn, having 50 MPa shear strength. This work provided a new way to fabricate “thick clad” layered composite with “strong substrate”, and suggested that mechanical route for strong substrate and metallurgical route (eutectic reaction) for Al for removing oxide film should be preferential and available in FSB.
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•Wetting on thick 5083Al clad side can be achieved well by dissolution or eutectic reaction in friction stir brazing (FSB).•Wetting on steel substrate can be achieved only for thin Al interlayer top piece by mechanically disrupting oxide on steel.•Adding thin Al sheet interlayer and corresponding friction stir brazing pass increased joint shear strength from 0 to 50 MPa.•The thickness of top piece and strength of bottom piece are key factors affecting mechanical disruption of substrate oxide.
Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis (BBE) is a rare disease considered caused by acute demyelination of the brainstem, most often resulting from secondary autoimmune responses. To our knowledge, this ...is the first probable case report of shingles-associated BBE with anti-sulfatide IgM positivity.
We report the case of an 83-year-old woman with symptoms of progressive limb weakness, difficulty swallowing food, and disturbed consciousness that occurred 4 weeks following herpes zoster infection. Autoimmune anti-sulfatide antibodies were positive and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences revealed clear high signal intensity in pons and bilateral thalamus. Our patient's condition improved markedly with glucocorticoid treatment. After 2 months of treatment, our patient was fully recovered. We considered that for her case, BBE is the most appropriate diagnosis.
We emphasize the importance of a careful medical history and assessment of clinical symptoms, performing MRI, testing autoimmune antibodies for rapid diagnosis, and ruling out differential diagnoses. Further studies involving more patients with BBE with IgM anti-sulfatide autoantibodies will increase the understanding of the clinical characteristics and advance the diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome. Meanwhile, it is crucial for dermatologists to know about this severe neurological complication following shingles.
Inflammation is a common medical complication in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, which plays significant roles in tumor progression and immunosuppression. However, the influence of inflammatory ...conditions on the tumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) is incompletely understood. Here we show that in a patient with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) CRC and a local inflammatory condition, the primary tumor progresses but its liver metastasis regresses upon Pembrolizumab treatment. In silico investigation prompted by this observation confirms correlation between inflammatory conditions and poor tumor response to PD-1 blockade in MSI-H CRCs, which is further validated in a cohort of 62 patients retrospectively enrolled to our study. Inhibition of local but not systemic immune response is verified in cultures of paired T cells and organoid cells from patients. Single-cell RNA sequencing suggests involvement of neutrophil leukocytes via CD80/CD86-CTLA4 signaling in the suppressive immune microenvironment. In concordance with this finding, elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio indicates inhibited immune status and poor tumor response to ICIs. Receiver operating characteristic curve further demonstrates that both inflammatory conditions and a high NLR could predict a poor response to ICIs in MSI- CRCs, and the predictive value could be further increased when these two predictors are combined. Our study thus suggests that inflammatory conditions in MSI-H CRCs correlate with resistance to ICIs through neutrophil leukocyte associated immunosuppression and proposes both inflammatory conditions and high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as clinical features for poor ICI response.
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