Correlation Between the Clinical Severity, Bacterial Load, and Inflammatory Reaction in Children with Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia

Given the lack of defining features in the clinical manifestations and radiographic findings for children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MPP),quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)has become a useful diagnostic method.This study was performed to explore the relationship between the qPCR findings,clinical symptoms,and inflammatory markers in children with MPP.Four hundred children with MPP have been enrolled in this retrospective analysis.All clinical and analytical information,including mycoplasma pneumoniae(MP)PCR results,has been collected.Based on the PCR results,the patients were divided into groups with load values(copy number)<105(54 cases),2105 and<106(71 cases),2106 and<107(112 cases),>107 and<108(114 cases),and>108(49 cases).The clinical features(including symptoms and signs)and inflammatory indicators were compared among the groups.The incidence of high fever(above 39℃),thermal peak during the entire hospitalization period,fever duration,days of hospitalization,and plasma lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)levels were statistically correlated with the MP PCR load value in children with MPP.The analysis of relevance degree showed the correlative order as a thermal peak of hospitalization>duration of fever>period of hospitalization>LDH value>C-reactive protein value.The host immune response was significantly greater in the complication group than in the non-complication group.

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography study of pancreaticobiliary maljunction and pancreaticobiliary diseases

AIM:To discuss the imaging anatomy about pancreaticobiliary ductal union,occurrence rate of pancreaticobiliary maljunction(PBM)and associated diseases in a Chinese population by using magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography(MRCP).METHODS:Data were collected from 694 patients who underwent MRCP from January 2010 to December2012.Three hundred and ninety-three patients were male and 301 patients were female.The age range was16-92 years old and the average age was 51.8 years.The recruitment indication of all cases was patients who had clinical symptoms,such as abdominal pain,jaundice,nausea and vomiting,which thus were clinically suspected as relative pancreaticobiliary diseases.All cases were examined by MRCP using single-shot fast spin-echo sequences.In order to obtain MRCP images,the maximum intensity projection was used.RESULTS:According to the anatomy of pancreaticobiliary ductal union based on our analysis of MRCP images,all cases were classified into normal type and abnormal type according to the position of pancreaticobiliary ductal union.The abnormal type could be further divided into P-B type,B-P type and the duodenum type.By analyzing the incidence of biliary stone and inflammation,pancreatitis,biliary duct tumors and pancreatic tumors between normal and abnormal types,significant differences existed.The abnormal group was more likely to suffer from pancreaticobiliary diseases.Comparing three different types of PBM that were associated with pancreaticobiliary diseases by using Fisher’s method,the result showed that there was no significant difference in the incidence of biliary stones,cholecystitis and pancreatic tumors.The incidence of pancreatitis in B-P type and P-B type was higher than that in duodenum type;the incidence of biliary duct tumor in B-P type was higher than that in P-B type;the incidence of biliary duct tumor in duodenum type was lower than that in P-B type.The incidence of congenital choledochus dilatation in normal type and abnormal type was similar,and there was no significant difference between the two types.CONCLUSION:Types of PBM are closely related to the occurrence of pancreaticobiliary diseases.MRCP has important clinical value in the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of pancreaticobiliary diseases.

Manufacturing Error Effects on Mechanical Properties and Dynamic Characteristics of Rotor Parts under High Acceleration

Stress, strain and vibration characteristics of rotor parts should be changed significantly under high acceleration, manufacturing error is one of the most important reason. However, current research on this prob- lem has not been carried out. A rotor with an acceleration of 150,000 g is considered as the objective, the effects of manufacturing errors on rotor mechanical properties and dynamic characteristics are executed by the selection of the key affecting factors. Through the force balance equation of the rotor infinitesimal unit establishment, a theoretical model of stress calculation based on slice method is pro- posed and established, a formula for the rotor stress at any point derives. A finite element model （FEM） of rotor with holes is established with manufacturing errors. The chan- ges of the stresses and strains of a rotor in parallelism and symmetry errors are analyzed, which verify the validity of the theoretical model. The pre-stressing modal analysis is performed based on the aforementioned static analysis. The key dynamic characteristics are analyzed. The results demonstrated that, as the parallelism and symmetry errors increase, the equivalent stresses and strains of the rotor slowly increase linearly, the highest growth rate does not exceed 4%, the maximum change rate of natural frequency is 0.1%. The rotor vibration mode is not significantlyaffected. The FEM construction method of the rotor with manufacturing errors can be utilized for the quantitative research on rotor characteristics, which will assist in the active control of rotor component reliability under high acceleration.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2-induced human dental pulp cell differentiation involves p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated canonical WNT pathway

Both bone morphogenetic protein 2（BMP2） and the wingless-type MMTV integration site（WNT）/p-catenin signalling pathway play important roles in odontoblast differentiation and dentinogenesis.Cross-talk between BMP2 and WNT/p-catenin in osteoblast differentiation and bone formation has been identified.However,the roles and mechanisms of the canonical WNT pathway in the regulation of BMP2 in dental pulp injury and repair remain largely unknown.Here,we demonstrate that BMP2 promotes the differentiation of human dental pulp cells（HDPCs） by activating WNT/p-catenin signalling,which is further mediated by p38mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） in vitro.BMP2 stimulation upregulated the expression of p-catenin in HDPCs,which was abolished by SB203580 but not by Noggin or LDN193189.Furthermore,BMP2 enhanced cell differentiation,which was not fully inhibited by Noggin or LDN193189.Instead,SB203580 partially blocked BMP2-induced p-catenin expression and cell differentiation.Taken together,these data suggest a possible mechanism by which the elevation of p-catenin resulting from BMP2 stimulation is mediated by the p38 MAPK pathway,which sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of BMP2-mediated pulp reparative dentin formation.

Novel heterozygous missense mutation of SLC12A3 gene in Gitelman syndrome: A case report

BACKGROUND To screen for possible pathogenic loci in a patient with Gitelman syndrome by high-throughput exome sequencing and to explore the relationship between genotype and phenotype. CASE SUMMARY The clinical data of the patient were collected. Peripheral blood samples were obtained to isolate white blood cells and extract genomic DNA. High-throughput whole exome sequencing for candidate pathogenic genes in the proband was completed by the Huada Gene Technology Co. Ltd (Shenzhen, China). Sequencing showed a novel heterozygous missense mutation (a G to A transition at nucleotide 2582) in exon 22 of the SLC12A3 gene, which resulted in a substitution of histidine for arginine at position 816 of the LRP1B protein and caused the occurrence of disease. CONCLUSION This is the first report of a new pathogenic mutation in SLC12A3. Further functional studies are particularly necessary to explore potential molecular mechanisms.

Sharp Condition for Global Existence of Supercritical Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation with a Partial Confinement

We study the L^(2)-supercritical nonlinear Schrodinger equation(NLS) with a partial confinement,which is the limit case of the cigar-shaped model in Bose-Einstein condensate(BEC). By constructing a cross constrained variational problem and establishing the invariant manifolds of the evolution fow, we show a sharp condition for global existence.

Effect of microstructure evolution on wear resistance of equal molar CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy

Face-centered-cubic high-entropy alloys have excellent ductility and great potential for engineering applications.However,few studies have reported on the wear behavior under different loads.This study aimed to investigate the tribological behavior of CoCrFeNi highentropy alloy under different loads.The wear rate increased with the load,and the main wear behavior was abrasive wear.The cross-sectional microstructure of worn surface consisted of oxide,nanocrystalline,nanolaminated,and deformation layers.Under the higher loads,the deformation mechanism included dislocation slip and deformation twins,and shear bands also appeared.It was unexpectedly found that the wear rate increased sharply under high load,which was attributed to the formation of shear bands and microcracks in the nanocrystalline layer.The results successfully revealed the great influence of microstructure evolution on the wear rate,providing theoretical guidance for improving the wear resistance of face-centered-cubic high-entropy alloys in the future.

Effects of Sub-zero Celsius Treatment and Tempering on the Stability of Retained Austenite in Bearing Steel

In this work, the influence of sub-zero Celsius treatment and tempering on the mechanical and thermal stability of retained austenite in beating steel were assessed by tensile test and DSC. Compared with traditional quenched and tempered treatment, sub-zero Celsius treatment obviously decreases the volume fraction of retained austenite. Moreover, the mechanical stability of retained austenite was enhanced due to the accumulation of compressive stresses in retained austenite after sub-zero Celsius treatment and tempering. Meanwhile, the morphology of retained austenite changed from film-like to blocky with austenitization temperature increasing, and the mechanical stability of film-like retained austenite is higher than that of blocky one. The DSC results showed that the activation energy of retained austenite decomposition slightly increased through sub-zero Celsius treatment and tempering. This result may probably be ascribed to partitioning of carbon during tempering. However, the temperature at which retained austenite starts to decompose is unchanged.

Stability of Retained Austenite Through a Combined Intercritical Annealing and Quenching and Partitioning(IAQP) Treatment

Intercritical annealing（IA） at various temperatures followed by quenching and partitioning（IAQP） treatments was conducted on a cold-rolled Fe-0.2C-1.42Si-l.87Mn（wt%） sheet steel.Optimized microstructure and enhanced mechanical properties were achieved through appropriate adjustment of IA temperatures.The steel which was annealed at1,033 K for 600 s,then quenched to 573 K and partitioned at 693 K for 20 min,designated as 1033 QP steel,exhibits maximum 16.3 vol% retained austenite（RA） with good mechanical properties（ultimate tensile strength 886 MPa and total elongation 27%）.It was found that the thermal and mechanical stabilities of RA are mainly influenced by the combined effect of its average carbon content and amount of adjacent martensite.Furthermore,the transformation-induced plasticity effect increased the peak n-values observed at the second stage of the work hardening of IAQP steels.