Eosinopenia is a predictive factor for the severity of acute ischemic stroke

Previous data have revealed an association between eosinopenia and mortality of acute ischemic stroke.However,the relationship of eosinopenia with infarct volume,infection rate,and poor outcome of acute ischemic stroke is still unknown.The retrospective study included 421 patients(273 males,65%;mean age,68.0± 13.0 years)with first acute ischemic stroke who were hospitalized in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University,China,from January 2017 to February 2018.Laboratory data,neuroimaging results,and modified Rankin Scale scores were collected.Patients were divided into four groups according to their eosinophil percentage level(<0.4%,0.4-1.1%,1 1-2.3%,≥2.3%).Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that the percentage of eosinophils was negatively correlated with infarct volume(rs=-0.514,P<0.001).Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that eosinopenia predicted a large infarct volume more accurately than neutrophilia;the area under curve was 0.906 and 0.876,respectively;a large infarct was considered as that with a diameter larger than 3 cm and involving more than two major arterial blood supply areas.Logistic regression analysis revealed that eosinophil percentage was an independent risk factor for acute ischemic stroke(P=0.002).Moreover,eosinophil percentage was significantly associated with large infarct volume,high infection rate(pulmonary and urinary tract infections),and poor outcome(modified Rankin Scale score>3)after adjusting for potential confounding factors(P-trend<0.001).These findings suggest that eosinopenia has the potential to predict the severity of acute ischemic stroke.This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University,China(approval number:K10)on November 10,2015.

High-temperature nodal ring semimetal in two-dimensional honeycomb-kagome Mn_(2)N_(3) lattice

The search for two-dimensional(2D)nodal ring semimetallic materials is a current research hotspot in spintronics,and designing a 2D nodal ring(NR)material with high Curie temperature(TC)and strong robustness to spin-orbit coupling(SOC)is an even greater challenge.Here,based on the first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis,we predict that 2D Mn_(2)N_(3)is a nodal ring semimetal(NRSM)with three energy bands near the Fermi energy level consisting of electrons in the same spin channel.An electron-like energy band and two hole-like energy bands near the Fermi plane cross to form two NRs centered at the pointΓ.Symmetry analysis shows that the spin-polarized NR semimetal is robust to SOC due to the conservation of horizontal mirror symmetry.Monte-Carlo simulations further demonstrate that the TCof the 2D Mn_(2)N_(3)reaches 530 K,well above the room temperature.Notably,the 2D Mn_(2)N_(3)remains an NRSM on h-BN substrate.Our results not only reveal a general framework for designing 2D NR materials,but also promote further research in the direction of multifunctional quantum devices for spintronics.

Spin–orbit stable dirac nodal line in monolayer B_(6)O

The two-dimensional(2D) materials with nodal line band crossing have been attracting great research interest. However, it remains a challenge to find high-stable nodal line structure in 2D systems. Herein, based on the first-principles calculations and theoretical analysis, we propose that monolayer B_(6)O possesses symmetry protected Dirac nodal line(DNL)state, with its Fermi velocity of 10^(6)m/s in the same order of magnitude as that of graphene. The origin of DNL fermions is induced by coexistence of time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry. A two-band tight-binding model is further given to understand the mechanism of DNL. Considering its robustness against spin–orbit coupling(SOC) and high structural stability, these results suggest monolayer B_(6)O as a new platform for realizing future high-speed low-dissipation devices.

Transfer of the extensor indicis proprius branch of posterior interosseous nerve to reconstruct ulnar nerve and median nerve injured proximally:an anatomical study

Proximal or middle lesions of the ulnar or median nerves are responsible for extensive loss of hand motor function.This occurs even when the most meticulous microsurgical techniques or nerve grafts are used.Previous studies had proposed that nerve transfer was more effective than nerve grafting for nerve repair.Our hypothesis is that transfer of the posterior interosseous nerve,which contains mainly motor fibers,to the ulnar or median nerve can innervate the intrinsic muscles of hands.The present study sought to investigate the feasibility of reconstruction of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve and the thenar branch of median nerve by transferring the extensor indicis proprius branch of the posterior interosseous nerve obtained from adult cadavers.The results suggested that the extensor indicis proprius branch of the posterior interosseous nerve had approximately similar diameters and number of fascicles and myelinated nerve fibers to those of the deep branch of ulnar nerve and the thenar branch of the median nerve.These confirm the feasibility of extensor indicis proprius branch of posterior interosseous nerve transfer for reconstruction of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve and the thenar branch of median nerve.This procedure could be a novel and effective method for the functional recovery of the intrinsic muscles of hands after ulnar nerve or median nerve injury.

Low-energy electronic properties of a Weyl semimetal quantum dot

We investigate the low-energy electronic structure of a Weyl semimetal quantum dot(QD) with a simple model Hamiltonian with only two Weyl points. Distinguished from the semiconductor and topological insulator QDs, there exist both surface and bulk states near the Fermi level in Weyl semimetal QDs. The surface state, distributed near the side surface of the QD, contributes a circular persistent current, an orbital magnetic moment, and a chiral spin polarization with spin-current locking. There are always surface states even for a strong magnetic field, even though a given surface state gradually evolves into a Landau level with increasing magnetic field. It indicates that these unique properties can be tuned via the QD size. In addition, we show the correspondence to the electronic structures of a three-dimensional Weyl semimetal, such as Weyl point and Fermi arc. Because a QD has the largest surface-to-volume ratio, it provides a new platform to verify Weyl semimetal by separating and detecting the signals of surface states. Besides, the study of Weyl QDs is also necessary for potential applications in nanoelectronics.