Waveband Selection with Equivalent Prediction Performance for FTIR/ATR Spectroscopic Analysis of COD in Sugar Refinery Waste Water

The level of chemical oxygen demand(COD)is an important index to evaluate whether sewage meets the discharge requirements,so corresponding tests should be carried out before discharge.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)and attenuated total reflectance(ATR)can detect COD in sewage effectively,which has advantages over conventional chemical analysis methods.And the selection of characteristic bands was one of the key links in the application of FTIR/ATR spectroscopy.In this work,based on the moving window partial least-squares(MWPLS)regression to select a characteristic wavelength,a method of equivalent wavelength selection was proposed combining with paired t-test equivalent concept.The results showed that the prediction effect of the selected wavelength was very close to that of the MWPLS method,while the number of wavelength points was much smaller.SEPAve,RP,Ave,SEPStd,and RP,Std which characterized the modeling effect were 26.3 mg L^-1,0.969,3.49 mg L^-1,and 0.006,respectively.The validation effect V-SEP and V-RP were 28.64 mg L^-1 and 0.960,respectively.The selected waveband was between 1809 cm^-1 and 1568 cm^-1.The method was of more reference value for the design of FTIR/ATR spectral instrument for COD detection.

Enhancement of electrochemical performance in lithium-ion battery via tantalum oxide coated nickel-rich cathode materials

Nickel-rich cathode materials are increasingly being applied in commercial lithium-ion batteries to realize higher specific capacity as well as improved energy density.However,low structural stability and rapid capacity decay at high voltage and temperature hinder their rapid large-scale application.Herein,a wet chemical method followed by a post-annealing process is utilized to realize the surface coating of tantalum oxide on LiNi_(0.88)Mn_(0.03)Co_(0.09)O_(2),and the electrochemical performance is improved.The modified Li Ni_(0.88)Mn_(0.03)Co_(0.09)O_(2)displays an initial discharge capacity of~233 m Ah/g at0.1 C and 174 m Ah/g at 1 C after 150 cycles in the voltage range of 3.0 V–4.4 V at 45℃,and it also exhibits an enhanced rate capability with 118 m Ah/g at 5 C.The excellent performance is due to the introduction of tantalum oxide as a stable and functional layer to protect the surface of LiNi_(0.88)Mn_(0.03)Co_(0.09)O_(2),and the surface side reactions and cation mixing are suppressed at the same time without hampering the charge transfer kinetics.

Probing the improved stability for high nickel cathode via dual-element modification in lithium-ion

One of the major hurdles of nickel-rich cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries is the low cycling stability,especially at high temperature and high voltage,originating from severe structural degradation,which makes this class of cathode less practical.Herein,we compared the effect of single and dual ions on electrochemical performance of high nickel(LiNi_(0.88)Mn_(0.03)Co_(0.09)O_(2),NMC)cathode material in different temperatures and voltage ranges.The addition of a few amounts of tantalum(0.2 wt%)and boron(0.05 wt%)lead to improved electrochemical performance.The co-modified Li Ni_(0.88)Mn_(0.03)Co_(0.09)O_(2)displays an initial discharge capacity of 234.9 m Ah/g at 0.1 C and retained 208 m Ah/g at 1 C after 100 cycles at 45℃,which corresponds to a capacity retention of 88.5%,compared to the initial discharge capacity of234.1 m Ah/g and retained capacity of 200.5 m Ah/g(85.6%).The enhanced capacity retention is attributed to the synergetic effect of foreign elements by acting as a surface structural stabilizer without sacrificing specific capacity.

Mechanical thrombectomy with combined stent retriever and contact aspiration versus stent retriever alone for acute large vessel occlusion:data from ANGEL-ACT registry

Background and purpose An analysis of the ASTER 2 trial revealed similar final recanalisation levels and clinical outcomes in acute large vessel occlusion(LVO)stroke between stent retrieval(SR)alone as a first-line mechanical thrombectomy(MT)technique(SR alone first-line)and concomitant use of contact aspiration(CA)plus SR as a first-line MT technique(SR+CA first-line).The purpose of the present study was to compare the safety and efficacy of SR+CA first-line with those of SR alone first-line for patients with LVO in China.Methods We conducted the present study by using the data from the ANGEL-ACT registry.We divided the selected patients into SR+CA first-line and SR alone first-line groups.We performed logistic regression and generalised linear models with adjustments to compare the angiographic and clinical outcomes,including successful/complete recanalisation after the first technique alone and all procedures,first-pass successful/complete recanalisation,number of passes,90-day modified Rankin Scale,procedure duration,rescue treatment and intracranial haemorrhage within 24 hours.Results Of the 1233 enrolled patients,1069(86.7%)received SR alone first-line,and 164(13.3%)received SR+CA first-line.SR+CA first-line was associated with more thrombectomy passes(3(2-4)vs 2(1-2);β=1.77,95%CI=1.55 to 1.99,p<0.001),and longer procedure duration(86(60-129)min vs 80(50-122)min;β=10.76,95%CI=1.08 to 20.43,p=0.029)than SR alone first-line group.Other outcomes were comparable(all p>0.05)between the two groups.Conclusions Patients undergoing SR+CA first-line had more thrombectomy passes and longer procedure duration than patients undergoing SR alone first-line.Additionally,we suggested that SR+CA first-line was not superior to SR alone first-line in final recanalisation level,first-pass recanalisation level and 90-day clinical outcomes in the Chinese population.

Endovascular therapy in acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusive patients with a large infarct core(ANGEL-ASPECT):protocol of a multicentre randomised trial

Background The benefit of stroke thrombectomy for large infarct core still lacks robust randomised controlled studies.Aim To demonstrate the design of a clinical trial on endovascular therapy for acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion(LVO)patients with large infarct core volume.Design ANGEL-ASPECT is a multicentre,prospective,randomised,open-label,blinded End-point trial to evaluate whether best medical management(BMM)combined with endovascular therapy improves neurological functional outcomes as compared with BMM alone in acute LVO patients with Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score(ASPECTS)of 3-5 on non-contrast CT or infarct core volume range of 70-100 mL(defined as rCBF<30%on CT perfusion or ADC<620 on MRI)up to 24 hours from symptom onset or last seen well.Study outcomes The primary efficacy outcome is 90(±7)days modified Rankin Scale.Symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage within 48 hours from randomisation is the primary safety outcome.Discussion The ANGEL-ASPECT trial will screen patients with large infarct core(ASPECTS 3-5 or 70-100 mL)through image evaluation criteria within 24 hours and explore the efficacy and safety of endovascular therapy compared with BMM.

Endovascular treatment for acute ischaemic stroke due to medium vessel occlusion:data from ANGEL-ACT registry

Objectives To investigate the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment(EVT)for acute medium vessel occlusion(MeVO)in the anterior circulation and to explore the independent predictors of the 90-day good outcome for such patients.Methods Data from ANGEL-ACT Registry were analysed in our study.The outcomes,such as the modified Rankin Scale(mRS)at 90 days,successful recanalisation rate and symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage(SICH)rate,were compared between MeVO and acute large vessel occlusions(LVO).Then,the independent predictors of the good outcome at 90 days in MeVO patients were determined by the logistic regression analyses.Results We included 1032 subjects in the analysis,of which,147 were MeVO and 885 were LVO.mRS at 90 days distribution(3(0-4)vs 3(0-5),common odds ratio(OR)=1.00,95%confidence interval(CI)0.73 to 1.38,p=0.994),SICH rate(4.8%vs 8.9%;OR=0.59,95%CI 0.26 to 1.34,p=0.205)and successful recanalisation rate(89.8%vs 89.7%;OR=1.0095%CI 0.51 to 1.93,p=0.992)were similar between the MeVO and LVO groups after adjusting for the confounders.We identified that baseline neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio≤4.1(OR=2.13,95%CI 1.14 to 3.99,p=0.019),baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale≤14(OR=1.96,95%CI 1.02 to 3.80,p=0.045)and mechanical thrombectomy passes≤1(OR=2.16,95%CI 1.14 to 4.11,p=0.021)were independent predictors of the 90-day good outcome in MeVO patients undergoing EVT.Conclusions Patients with MeVO achieved similar 90-day mRS,SICH rate and successful recanalisation rate after EVT compared with patients with LVO.Several independent predictors of 90-day good outcome in MeVO patients undergoing EVT were determined,which should be highly considered in MeVO stroke management.

Serological Investigation of Laboratory-Confirmed and Suspected Ebola Virus Disease Patients During the Late Phase of the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone

This study aimed to investigate the serological characteristics of Ebola virus(EBOV) infection during the late phase of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. In total, 877 blood samples from 694 suspected Ebola virus disease(EVD) cases assessed from March to December 2015, were analyzed via real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) for viral RNA and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and Luminex to detect antibodies against EBOV. Viral load and EBOV-specific IgM/IgG titers displayed a declining trend during March to December 2015. Viral RNA load decreased rapidly at earlier stages after disease onset, while EBOV-specific IgM and IgG still persisted in 58.1%(18/31) and 93.5%(29/31) of the confirmed EVD patients and in 3.8%(25/663) and 17.8%(118/663) of the RNA-negative suspected patients in the later phase, respectively. Dynamic analysis of longitudinally collected samples from eight EVD patients revealed typically reversed trends of declining viral load and increasing IgM and/or IgG titers in response to the EBOV infection.The present results indicate that certain populations of Sierra Leone developed immunity to an EBOV infection in the late phase of the outbreak, providing novel insights into the risk assessment of EBOV infections among human populations.

Elimination of inter-domain interactions increases the cleavage fidelity of the restriction endonuclease Dralll

Dralll is a type liP restriction endonucleases （REases） that recognizes and creates a double strand break within the gapped palindromic sequence CACTNNN^GTG of double-stranded DNA indicates nicking on the bottom strand; indicates nicking on the top strand）. However, wild type Dralll shows significant star activity. In this study, it was found that the prominent star site is CATSGTT;GTG, consisting of a star 5＇ half （CAT） and a canonical 3＇ half （GTG）. Dralll nicks the 3＇ canonical half site at a faster rate than the 5＇ star half site, in contrast to the similar rate with the canonical full site. The crystal structure of the Dralll protein was solved. It indicated, as supported by mutagenesis, that Dralll possesses a ~13a- metal HNH active site. The structure revealed extensive intra-molecular interactions between the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain containing the HNH active site. Disruptions of these interactions through site- directed mutagenesis drastically increased cleavage fidelity. The understanding of fidelity mechanisms will enable generation of high fidelity REases.

Balloon Angioplasty for Symptomatic Intracranial Artery Stenosis (BASIS): protocol of a prospective, multicentre, randomised, controlled trial

Background The superiority of balloon angioplasty plus aggressive medical management(AMM)to AMM alone for symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis(sICAS)on efficacy and safety profiles still lacks evidence from randomised controlled trials(RCTs).Aim To demonstrate the design of an RCT on balloon angioplasty plus AMM for sICAS.Design Balloon Angioplasty for Symptomatic Intracranial Artery Stenosis(BASIS)trial is a multicentre,prospective,randomised,open-label,blinded end-point trial to investigate whether balloon angioplasty plus AMM could improve clinical outcome compared with AMM alone in patients with sICAS.Patients eligible in BASIS were 35–80 years old,with a recent transient ischaemic attack within the past 90 days or ischaemic stroke between 14 days and 90 days prior to enrolment due to severe atherosclerotic stenosis(70%–99%)of a major intracranial artery.The eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive balloon angioplasty plus AMM or AMM alone at a 1:1 ratio.Both groups will receive identical AMM,including standard dual antiplatelet therapy for 90 days followed by long-term single antiplatelet therapy,intensive risk factor management and life-style modification.All participants will be followed up for 3years.Study outcomes Stroke or death in the next 30 days after enrolment or after balloon angioplasty procedure of the qualifying lesion during follow-up,or any ischaemic stroke or revascularisation from the qualifying artery after 30 days but before 12 months of enrolment,is the primary outcome.Discussion BASIS trail is the first RCT to compare the efficacy and safety of balloon angioplasty plus AMM to AMM alone in sICAS patients,which may provide an alternative perspective for treating sICAS.Trial registration number NCT03703635;https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Chinese Stroke Association guidelines for clinical management of ischaemic cerebrovascular diseases:executive summary and 2023 update

Background China is one of the countries with the highest burden of stroke.Implementing multidimensional management guidelines will help clinicians practise evidence-based care,improve patient outcomes and alleviate societal burdens.This update of the 2019 edition will provide the latest comprehensive recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of ischaemic cerebrovascular diseases.Methods We conducted a comprehensive search on MEDLINE(via PubMed)up to 31 August 2023.The writing team established the recommendations through multiple rounds of online and offline discussions.Each recommendation was graded using the evidence grading algorithm developed by the Chinese Stroke Association(CSA).The draft was reviewed and finalised by the CSA Stroke Guidelines Writing Committee.Results This update included revisions of 15 existing recommendations and 136 new recommendations in the following areas of stroke care:emergency assessment and diagnosis of ischaemic cerebrovascular disease,acute-phase reperfusion therapy,evaluation of underlying mechanisms,antithrombotic therapy,prevention and treatment of complications,and risk factor management.Conclusions This guideline updated the recommendations for the clinical management of ischaemic cerebrovascular disease from 2019.