Value of procalcitonin and presepsin in the diagnosis and severity stratification of sepsis and septic shock

Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.[1,2]Septic shock,the most severe form of sepsis,is characterized by circulatory and cellular/metabolic abnormalities,and can increase mortality to>40%.[1-3]Early recognition and risk stratification of septic shock are crucial but challenging because of the heterogeneity of its presentation and progression.

The study of lithographic variation in resistive random access memory

Reducing the process variation is a significant concern for resistive random access memory(RRAM).Due to its ultrahigh integration density,RRAM arrays are prone to lithographic variation during the lithography process,introducing electrical variation among different RRAM devices.In this work,an optical physical verification methodology for the RRAM array is developed,and the effects of different layout parameters on important electrical characteristics are systematically investigated.The results indicate that the RRAM devices can be categorized into three clusters according to their locations and lithography environments.The read resistance is more sensitive to the locations in the array(~30%)than SET/RESET voltage(<10%).The increase in the RRAM device length and the application of the optical proximity correction technique can help to reduce the variation to less than 10%,whereas it reduces RRAM read resistance by 4×,resulting in a higher power and area consumption.As such,we provide design guidelines to minimize the electrical variation of RRAM arrays due to the lithography process.

Clinical Effect of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo from Longhushan on Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

[Objectives] To observe and compare the clinical effect and safety of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo from Longhushan on treatment of type 2 diabetes. [Methods] 90 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into group A,group B and control group by randomized control method. Group A adopted D. officinale Kimura et Migo and metformin hydrochloride; group B adopted D. officinale Kimura et Migo; the control group adopted metformin hydrochloride. The fasting plasma glucose( FPG) of 3 groups was measured before the treatment and 2 weeks,4 weeks,6 weeks,8 weeks,10 weeks,and 12 weeks after the treatment,Hb A1 c was measured and diabetes symptom grade score was counted before the treatment and 12 weeks after treatment,observation indicators and clinical effect of 3 groups of patients were compared. [Results] The fasting plasma glucose level in group A was lower than that in other 2 groups,the difference was statistically significant( P < 0. 01),and there was no statistical significance in the difference between group B and the control group( P >0. 05); Hb A1 c of group A for 12 weeks after treatment was lower than that of other 2 groups,the difference was statistically significant( P < 0. 01),and there was no statistical significance in the difference between group B and the control group( P > 0. 05); the difference in diabetes symptom grade score of group A was greater than that in other 2 groups,the difference was statistically significant( P < 0. 01),and there was no statistical significance in the difference between group B and the control group( P > 0. 05). [Conclusions]D. officinale Kimura et Migo from Longhushan can effectively reduce the fasting plasma glucose level and Hb A1 c of type 2 diabetic patients and effectively improve the symptoms of patients; clinical application of D. officinale Kimura et Migo has equivalent effect with metformin hydrochloride,and combination of D. officinale Kimura et Migo with metformin hydrochloride has better effect than single use.

Adaptive walking control of quadruped robots based on central pattern generator (CPG) and reflex

This paper presents a central pattern generator （CPG） and vestibular reflex combined control strategy for a quadruped robot. An oscillator network and a knee-to-hip mapping function are presented to realize the rhythmic motion for the quadruped robot. A two-phase parameter tuning method is designed to adjust the parameters of oscillator network. First, based on the numerical simulation, the influences of the parameters on the output signals are analyzed, then the genetic algorithm （GA） is used to evolve the phase relationships of the oscillators to realize the basic animal-like walking pattern. Moreover, the animal＇s vestibular reflex mechanism is mimicked to realize the adaptive walking of the quadruped robot on a slope terrain. Coupled with the sensory feedback information, the robot can walk up and down the slope smoothly. The presented bio-inspired control method is validated through simulations and experiments with AIBO. Under the control of the presented CPG and vestibular reflex combined control method, AIBO can cope with slipping, falling down and walk on a slope successfully, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed walking control method.

First Human Infection Case of Monkey B Virus Identified in China,2021

Monkey B virus(BV),initially isolated in 1932,is currently designated as Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses(1).BV is an alphaherpesvirus enzootic in macaques of the genus Macaca,normally transmitted horizontally via direct contact and exchange of bodily secretions,just like herpes simplex virus(HSV)in humans.

Invariant-mass distribution of top-quark pairs and top-quark mass determination

In this study,we investigate the invariant-mass distribution of top-quark pairs near the 2mt threshold,which strongly influences the determination of the top-quark mass mt.Higher-order non-relativistic corrections lead to large contributions,which are not included in the state-of-the-art theoretical predictions.A factorization formula is derived to resum such corrections to all orders in the strong-coupling,and necessary ingredients are calculated to perform the resummation at next-to-leading power.We combine the resummation with fixed-order results and present phenomenologically relevant numerical results.The resummation effect significantly increases the differential cross-section in the threshold region and makes the theoretical prediction more compatible with experimental data.We estimate that using our prediction in the determination of mt will lead to a value closer to the direct measurement result.

Emulation of Brain Metabolic Activities Based on a Dynamically Controllable Optical Phantom

This paper presents a dynamic optical phantom for the simulation of metabolic activities in the brain,and a linear equivalent model is built for control voltage versus substance concentration.A solid-solid dynamic optical phantom is realized by using liquid crystal film as a voltage-controlled light intensity regulator on the surface of basic phantom,which uses epoxy resin as matrix material and nanometer carbon powder and titanium dioxide powder as absorption and scattering dopants,respectively.The dynamic phantom could mimic near-infrared spectrum(NIRS)signals with sampling rate up to 10 Hz,and the maximum simulation errors for oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations varying in the range of 1μmol/l are 7.0%and 17.9%,respectively.Compared with similar solid biomimetic phantoms,the adjustable mimic substance concentration range is extended by an order of magnitude,which meets the simulation requirements of most brain NIRS signals.