A Novel High-Isolation Dual-Polarized Patch Antenna with Two In-Band Transmission Zeros.

In this study, we present a novel dual-polarized patch antenna that exhibits high isolation and two in-band transmission zeros (TZs). The design consists of a suspended metal patch, two feeding probes connected to an internal neutralization line (I-NL), and a T-shaped decoupling network (T-DN). The I-NL is responsible for generating the first TZ, and its decoupling principles are explained through an equivalent circuit model. Rigorous design formulas are also derived to aid in the construction of the feeding structure. The T-DN realizes the second TZ, resulting in further improvement of the decoupling bandwidth. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed antenna has a wide operating bandwidth (2.5-2.7 GHz), high port isolation (>30 dB), and excellent efficiency (>85%).

A Bandpass Filter Realized by Using Pixel Structure and Genetic Algorithm Optimization.

This paper presents a flexible method for designing a bandpass filter (BPF) using pixel structure and genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. The pixel structure is made up of a grid of metallic microstrip stubs, and the GA is utilized to determine the connections between these stubs. The pixel structure enables the construction of step impedance and shunt branches, which are used to design a traditional BPF. To enhance the design freedom, one side of the discrete grids is connected to the ground via metallic holes. For verification, a BPF was designed, simulated, and measured. The experimental results showed that the 10 dB return loss bandwidth ranges from 1.1 to 1.9 GHz and the insertion loss is approximately 2.5 dB. There is good agreement between the calculation, EM simulation, and measurement results. The proposed GA-based design method offers significant advantages in terms of one-time EM simulation, feasibility, and labor time savings, making it more convenient than the traditional design method.

Clinical Study of Intraoperative Microelectrode Recordings during Awake and Asleep Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Our objective is to analyze the difference of microelectrode recording (MER) during awake and asleep subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) and the necessity of MER during "Asleep DBS" under general anesthesia (GA). The differences in MER, target accuracy, and prognosis under different anesthesia methods were analyzed. Additionally, the MER length was compared with the postoperative electrode length by electrode reconstruction and measurement. The MER length of two groups was 5.48 ± 1.39 mm in the local anesthesia (LA) group and 4.38 ± 1.43 mm in the GA group, with a statistical significance between the two groups (p < 0.01). The MER length of the LA group was longer than its postoperative electrode length (p < 0.01), however, there was no significant difference between the MER length and postoperative electrode length in the GA group (p = 0.61). There were also no significant differences in the postoperative electrode length, target accuracy, and postoperative primary and secondary outcome scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). These results demonstrate that "Asleep DBS" under GA is comparable to "Awake DBS" under LA. GA has influences on MER during surgery, but typical STN discharges can still be recorded. MER is not an unnecessary surgical procedure.

[Distribution Characteristics and Sources of Metal Elements in Rainwater in Xiamen].

Forty-one metal elements, including rare earth elements and the lead isotope ratio in rain water in Xiamen were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Sources of metal elements were identified by combined enrichment factor, isotope analysis, and positive matrix factorization analysis. The results showed that the concentration sequence of total metal elements in rainwater in Xiamen was winter-suburban (213.964 µg·L-1) > winter-urban (176.357 µg·L-1) > summer-suburban (75.401 µg·L-1). There were seasonal and regional differences in the content of rare earth elements, and their standardized distribution patterns were inconsistent with each potential source, indicating that their sources were relatively complex. Enrichment factor analysis showed that Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd were significantly affected by human sources, whereas Be, Ti, V, Mn, Cr, Co, Ga, Rb, Y, Cs, rare earth elements, Th, and U were mainly affected by natural sources. The result of Pb-isotopic-analysis showed that Pb in rainwater was significantly affected by coal sources with a contribution rate of 63.67%, and soil parent material, garbage incineration, motor vehicle exhaust, and cement dust with a contribution rate of 36.33%. The result of positive matrix factorization combined with the enrichment factor and isotope method showed that the metal elements in rainwater were affected by coal burning, natural sources, industry, and traffic.

Two hybrid Au-ZnO aggregates with different hierarchical structures: A comparable study in photocatalysis.

Two hierarchical ZnO micro/nano-materials have been prepared by a short-time (45min) hydrothermal reaction without any surfactants. The different morphologies have been characterized comprehensively by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS technologies. The hierarchical micro- and nano-structures are respectively consisted by the subordinate nano-pieces and nano-hexagonal-rods. Under the illumination of the simulated solar light, the nano-piece-aggregate spends 40min to degrade the 98% of rhodamine 6G solution (10-5mol/L), whereas the nano-rod-aggregate only degrades the 78% of the solution in the same condition. Moreover, the photocatalytic performances of the two ZnO aggregates are significantly improved by loading with Au nanoparticles (NPs) in the same assembly process. The nano-piece-aggregate decorated with the Au NPs spends 24min to decompose the rhodamine 6G solution completely, while nano-rod-aggregate decorated with the Au NPs needs 28min. The related photocatalytic mechanisms are proposed in this paper.

Surgical site infection in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery in a tertiary first-class hospital / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To understand the status of surgical site infection(SSI)in department of cardiothoracic surgery, analyze the characteristics and influencing factors of SSI, and provide evidence for the prevention of SSI. Methods A prospective monitoring method was used to investigate the medical records of patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery in a hospital from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015, operation status and SSI of patients were monitored, risk factors for SSI were analyzed.Results A total of 1 953 surgery patients were investigated, 31 had SSI, incidence of SSI was 1.59％.Logistic regression analysis showed that length of hospital stay, malignant tumor, duration of indwelling drainage tube, and long length of operation were independent risk factors for SSI, OR(95％)CI were 8.48(1.12-63.98), 3.99(1.15-13.83), 2.54(1.07-6.02), and 2.11(1.01-4.39)respectively, (all P＜0.05).Conclusion SSI prevention measures should be taken according to risk factors of SSI, so as to reduce the incidence of SSI.

Diallyl trisulfide attenuates ethanol-induced hepatic steatosis by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Inhibiting the major characteristics of alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) such as lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and apoptosis is a promising strategy of treating AFL. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is the major constituent isolated from garlic, which shows promise in the treatment of chronic liver disease. However, the effects of DATS on ethanol-induced liver injury and the related mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential protective effects of DATS on AFL and the potential mechanisms. A single intragastric dose of ethanol was given to rats in vivo, while ethanol-stimulated LO2 cells were used as an in vitro model. Our results demonstrated that DATS prevented ethanol-induced injury, as indicated by the reduced activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum and culture medium, and inhibition of cell apoptosis. Furthermore, DATS reduced hepatic steatosis by up-regulating the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) and down-regulating the expression of sterolregulatory element binding protein 1c(SREBP-1c). In addition, DATS alleviated ethanol-induced oxidative stress by enhancing non-enzymatic antioxidant and enzymatic antioxidants contents and by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA). These data collectively revealed that DATS protected ethanol-induced liver injury by inhibiting lipid accumulation and oxidative stress.

Porous Au-Ag Alloy Particles Inlaid AgCl Membranes As Versatile Plasmonic Catalytic Interfaces with Simultaneous, in Situ SERS Monitoring.

We present a novel porous Au-Ag alloy particles inlaid AgCl membrane as plasmonic catalytic interfaces with real-time, in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) monitoring. The Au-Ag alloy particles inlaid AgCl membranes were obtained via a facile two-step, air-exposed, and room-temperature immersion reaction with appropriate annealing process. Owing to the designed integration of semiconductor component AgCl and noble metal Au-Ag particles, both the catalytic reduction and visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities toward organic contaminants were attained. Specifically, the efficiencies of about 94% of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP, 5 × 10(-5) M) reduction after 8 min of reaction, and degradation of rhodamine 6G (R6G, 10(-5) M) after 12 min of visible light irradiation were demonstrated. Moreover, efficiencies of above 85% of conversion of 4-NP to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and 90% of R6G degradation were achieved as well after 6 cycles of reactions, by which robust recyclability was confirmed. Further, with distinct SERS signals generated simultaneously from the surfaces of Au-Ag particles under laser excitation, in situ SERS monitoring of the process of catalytic reactions with superior sensitivity and linearity has been realized. Overall, the capability of the Au-Ag particles inlaid AgCl membranes to provide SERS monitored catalytic and visible-light-driven photocatalytic conversion of organic pollutants, along with their mild and cost-effective fabrication method, would make sense for in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of (photo)catalytic reactions, and also future development of potable, multifunctional and integrated catalytic and sensing devices.

Cu(II) complexes with co-planar [Cu(II)(N-N)(HIMC⁻)], their anti-cancer activities, ΔG, ΔE and solid luminescence.

[Cu(II)(phen)(HIMC(-))(H2O)]·[Cu(II)(phen)(HIMC(-))(NO3(-))]·NO3(-)·H2O (1) and [Cu(II)(2,2'-bipy)(HIMC(-))]·NO3(-)·xH2O (2) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2'-bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine, HIMC(-) = 1H-imidazole-4-carboxylate acid anion) have been synthesized at 180 °C, of which the HIMC(-) is produced by an in situ decarboxylation from H3IDC (1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid) in a one-pot hydrothermal reaction. The anticancer activity experiments in vitro show that 1 exhibited excellent activities against A549, Bel-7402 and HCT-8 cancer cells and is even better than the clinical anticancer drug 5-Fu (5-fluorouracil), while 2 shows little response toward the cancer cells. The single crystal X-ray diffraction indicated that complex 1 possess a co-planar [Cu(II)(N-N)(HIMC(-))] coordination geometry. The IR, elemental analysis and solid-state luminescent spectra of complexes 1 and 2 indicated that the composition of these two complexes are similar, whereas the 2,2'-bipy in complex 2 replaced phen in complex 1. The calculation by the Gaussian 03 program illustrated that the decrease in the energy gaps between π*-π from the free to the coordinated ligand for 2,2'-bipy and phen (ΔE) are 5.3 eV to 4.0 eV and 4.8 eV to 4.5 eV separately, and the relative changes of the Gibbs free energies (ΔG) for complex 1 and 2 decomposing into free Cu(2+) and ligands are about 0 kcal mol(-1) and 7 kcal mol(-1) respectively, which revealed that it is more stable when 2,2'-bipy is coordinated with Cu(II) than phen, and 1 is easier to disassociate into free Cu(2+) than 2. By relating the ΔE, ΔG, luminescent qualities and anticancer toxicities of the complexes with their composition, it can be concluded that both Cu(II) and their coordinated ligands are responsible for the inhibition against cancer cells.

Rapid single cell detection of Staphylococcus aureus by aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogens, causing more than 500,000 infections in the United States each year. Traditional methods for bacterial culture and identification take several days, wasting precious time for patients who are suffering severe bacterial infections. Numerous nucleic acid-based detection methods have been introduced to address this deficiency; however, the costs and requirement for expensive equipment may limit the widespread use of such technologies. Thus, there is an unmet demand of new platform technology to improve the bacterial detection and identification in clinical practice. In this study, we developed a rapid, ultra-sensitive, low cost, and non-polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for bacterial identification. Using this method, which measures the resonance light-scattering signal of aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles, we successfully detected single S. aureus cell within 1.5 hours. This new platform technology may have potential to develop a rapid and sensitive bacterial testing at point-of-care.

The syntheses and characterizations of molybdenum(VI) complexes with catechol and 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene, and the structure-effect relationship in their in vitro anticancer activities.

The reactions of (NH(4))(2)Mo(2)O(7)·2H(2)O with polyhydroxy phenols (catechol or 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene) and ethylenediamine (en), trimethylenediamine (tn), 1,2-propanediamine (pn), triethylamine (Et(3)N) respectively, in the mixed-solvent of MeCN-EtOH-amine, have resulted in five molybdenum(VI) complexes, (enH(2))[Mo(VI)O(3)(cat)(en)] (1), (tnH(2))[Mo(VI)O(3)(cat)(tn)] (2), (enH)(2)[Mo(VI)O(2)(cat)(2)](en)(0.5) (3), (pnH(2))(2)[Mo(VI)O(2)(cat)(2)] (4) and (HNEt(3))(2)[Mo(VI)O(2)(C(10)H(8)O(2))(2)] (5), of which the structural features were investigated by X-ray diffraction. MTT assay tests indicated that their inhibition ratios against human cancer cells decreased in the order: (1) ≈ (2) > (3) ≈ (4) > (5), i.e. the activities decreased when the chelation number or the size of the aromatic ligand increased, which was consistent with the Gibbs free energies (ΔG) determined from theoretical computations by Gaussian 03. The mechanisms behind this trend were discussed preliminarily.