Safety and efficacy of levofloxacin versus ciprofloxacin for the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis in Chinese patients

Levofloxacin is a synthetic fluoroquinolone that is usually used to treat chronic bacterial prostatitis. We investigated the safety and efficacy of levofloxacin compared with ciprofloxacin for the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis in Chinese patients. This was a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. Four hundred and seventy-one patients with clinical symptoms/ signs were enrolled into the study, and 408 patients were microbiologically confirmed chronic bacterial prostatitis, who were randomized to either oral levofloxacin （500 mg q,d.） or ciprofloxacin （500 mg b.i^d.） for 4 weeks. Bacterial clearance rate, clinical symptoms/signs, adverse reactions and disease recurrence were assessed. The clinical symptoms and signs （including dysuria, perineal discomfort or pain） and bacteria cultures in 209 patients treated with levofloxacin and 199 patients treated with ciprofloxacin were similar. The most common bacteria were Escherichia cofiand Staphylococcus aureus. One to four weeks after the end of 4 weeks treatment, the bacterial clearance rate （86.06% vs. 60.03%; P〈O.05） and the clinical efficacy （including clinical cure and clinical improvement（93.30% vs. 71.86%; P〈0.05）） were significantly higher in the levofloxacin-treated group than in the ciprofloxacin-treated group. The microbiological recurrence rate was significantly lower in the levofloxacin-treated group than in the ciprofloxacin-treated group （4.00% vs. 19.25%; P〈0.05）. Rates of adverse events and treatment-related adverse events were slightly lower in the levofloxacin-treated group than in ciprofloxacin-treated group. Levofloxacin showed some advantages over ciprofloxacin in terms of clinical efficacy and disease recurrence, with a low rate of adverse events, for the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis in Chinese patients.

mRNA Expression of Chemokine Receptors on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Correlation with Clinical Features in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Objective To investigate the expressions of chemokine receptors and interleukin(IL) receptors on the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) from systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) patients and their correlations with clinical features as well as SLE disease activity index(SLEDAI).Methods The mRNA expressions of chemokine receptors and IL receptors on PBMCs of 93 SLE patients and 30 healthy controls were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,including CCR2,CCR3,CCR4,CCR5,CCR6,CCR8,CXCR3,CXCR5,CX3CR1,XCR1,IL-4R,and IL-10R.The clinical features of SLE patients were recorded.The correlations of chemokine receptors and IL receptors mRNA expressions with clinical features as well as SLEDAI were assayed using linear regression analysis.Results The level of CCR5 mRNA in SLE patients(including active and inactive SLE) was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(P<0.05),and there was no significant difference between active and inactive patients in this respect(P>0.05).CX3CR1 mRNA expression significantly increased from healthy control to inactive SLE to active SLE in sequence.The others(except for CCR8,CXCR3,and IL-10R) in active SLE patients were significantly higher than those in both inactive SLE patients and healthy controls(all P<0.05).There were positive correlations between SLEDAI and CCR2(r=0.424,t=4.313,P<0.001),CCR3(r=0.518,t=5.410,P<0.001),CCR4(r=0.376,t=3.851,P<0.001),CCR6(r=0.457,t=4.513,P<0.001),CXCR5(r=0.455,t=4.629,P<0.001),CX3CR1(r=0.445,t=4.523,P<0.001),as well as XCR1(r=0.540,t=5.445,P<0.001).And CCR5 mRNA expression level was positively correlated with IL-4R mRNA(r=0.313,t=2.353,P<0.05).The patients with myositis and cutaneous vasculitis simultaneously showed lower levels of CCR5 and CX3CR1,and CCR5 expression was negatively correlated with the scores of SLEDAI in SLE cases accompanied by photosensitivity(r=0.426,t=-2.155,P<0.05).Conclusion Increased expressions of CCR5 and CX3CR1 on PBMCs may be indicators in clinical survey for SLE.

Enhanced cycling stability and rate performance of Co-doped and La_(2)O_(3)-coated LiNi_(0.9)Mn_(0.1)O_(2) toward power battery

Ultra-high nickel layered oxide cathode material with high energy density is the most promising material to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).However,the poor structural stability and severe surface/interface side reactions of the material lead to poor rate performance and cyclic stability,which limits its application in practice.In this paper,the dual-modification strategy of Co doping and La_(2)O_(3) coating is used to meet the above challenges.Co doping can effectively widen layer spacing and reduce Li^(+)/Ni^(2+) mixing,and La_(2)O_(3) coating can effectively eliminate the residual alkali on the surface of active material,inhibit the thickening of cathode electrolyte interphase(CEI)film and reduce surface/interface side reactions.Therefore,the modified material(NM90-CL)with excellent electrochemical properties is achieved through the synergistic enhancement of Co doping and La_(2)O_(3) coating.Its capacity retention rate can reach 77.9%after 200 cycles at 1.0℃ and 75.7%after 200 cycles at 5.0℃.Its reversible capacity can up to 153.5 mAh·g^(–1) at 10.0℃.This dual-modification strategy will provide theoretical guidance and technical support for the synthesis of other high-performance electrode materials.

Nitride-inclusion characterization in lightweight steel and re-precipitation behavior of AlN during heat treatment:effect of Al content

The composition,morphology,size,and number of inclusions in Fe-22Mn-xAl-0.7C(x=0.5%,5.2%,and 10.5%)lightweight steels after smelting and heat treatment experiments are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy from both 2D and 3D perspectives.The inclusions are classified into eight categories according to chemistry and morphology.For the steel sample with a low Al content(0.5%),the inclusions are MnS,AlN-MnS,and Al_(2)O_(3)-MnS,among which Al_(2)O_(3)-MnS is the primary type.With the increase in Al content in the steel sample(to 5.2%),the populations of AlN and AlN-MnS inclusions of 1-3μm in diameter increase.A further increase in Al content(to 10.5%)leads to a significant decrease in the amount of AlN inclusions of 1-3μm in diameter,and an increase in the amount of AlN-MnS inclusions.The precipitation behavior during the phase transformation is also studied by FactSage 8.0 thermodynamic software,and a precipitation mechanism is proposed based on the calculation results.During the heat treatment,AlN inclusions re-precipitate out,due to the interactions between Al and dissolved N in the steel matrix.However,AlN inclusions cannot grow large because of unfavorable kinetic conditions.The re-precipitation phenomenon of AlN is predominant under low Al and high N conditions but not at high Al cases.

Predictive Zone Control of Pressure Management for Water Supply Network Systems

In this paper we address the problem of pressure management in water supply system （WSS） network. The model-based predictive control （MPC） strategies have some important features to deal with WSS. By hydraulic analysis of WSS, the predictive model is derived from the dynamic model and static model of WSS. Through WSS, the consumers＇ demands are required to be met at all times according to some operational constraints that must be satisfied. The constraints of flow through actuators, the water level of reservoirs and the consumer areas＇ pressure demand are determined by a specific system. In this work, we develop a constrained MPC controller that considers the zone control of the pressure outputs and incorporates steady state economic targets in the control cost function. The designed management strategies are applied to a case study and simulation results, covering different aspects, are provided. The output nodal pressure can be controlled in the desired zone by optimal scheduling the actuators of the WSS. If the variation range of reservoir＇s water level is broader, the rate of flow through the actuators is gentle, and vice versa.