Reactions of Thorium Oxide Clusters with Water: The Effects of Oxygen Content.

Thorium oxide has many important applications in industry. In this article, theoretical calculations have been carried out to explore the hydrolysis reactions of the ThOn (n=1-3) clusters. The reaction mechanisms of the O-deficient ThO and the O-rich ThO3 are compared with the stoichiometric ThO2 . The theoretical results show good agreement with the prior experiments. It is shown that the hydrolysis mainly occurred on the singlet potential surface. The overall reactions consist of two hydrolysis steps which are all favourable in energy. The effects of oxygen content on the hydrolysis are elucidated. Interestingly, among them, the peroxo group O2 2- in ThO3 is converted to the HOO- ligand, behaving like the terminal O2- in the hydrolysis which is transformed into the HO- groups. In addition, natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses were employed to further understand the bonding of the pertinent species and to interpret the differences in hydrolysis.

A Survey of Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Chinese Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and spectrum of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) application and its related-factors in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in China. METHODS: A structured questionnaire regarding the use of CAMs was administered to PD patients by face-to-face interview. Demographic and social variables, clinical characteristics and treatments, and the related factors of PD were also surveyed. RESULTS: Ninety out of 113 patients (79.6%) reported that they had received CAMs treatment, of which 48.6% (55/113) patients had received CAMs treatment for PD. The top 3 kinds of CAMs for PD were Chinese materia medica, rehabilitation exercise, and acupuncture ordinally. The source of information regarding CAMs treatment mainly came from relatives and friends (51.8%, 73 cases), followed by physicians (31.9%, 45 cases), and medias such as television, newspapers or the internet (16.3%, 28 cases). Fifty percent of CAM users reported a good therapeutic efficacy, whereas 39% patients reported that they felt neither better nor worse after the treatment, while 11% patients claimed worsening of symptoms. Multiple correspondence analyses survey found the main factors affecting the selectivity of CAMs ranked in the following order: income, education, occupation, habitation, age at onset, Hoehn and Yahr staging, PD duration, and gender. CONCLUSION: CAMs, especially Chinese materia medica, rehabilitation exercise, and acupuncture, are widely used for PD patients in China.

Determination of serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a prognostic biomarker of acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is currently known as an acute phase protein and implicated in acute brain injury. Herein, we sought to gauge serum NGAL level in patients after acute (<24 h) spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and to investigate its relation to neurological outcome. METHODS: Serum NGAL levels were measured in 106 patients and 106 controls. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, ICH score and hematoma volume were recorded for assessing hemorrhagic severity. An unfavorable outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale >2 at 90 days. RESULTS: As opposed to the controls, the patients had significantly raised serum NGAL levels. Correlations were observed between NGAL levels and serum C-reactive protein levels, blood glucose levels, GCS score, NIHSS score, ICH score and ICH volume. Multivariate analysis identified serum NGAL as a predictor for unfavorable outcome at 90 days. It also showed high prognostic ability under receiver operating characteristic curve. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced NGAL level is revealed after acute spontaneous ICH, in association with inflammatory degree and hemorrhagic severity, and intimately correlated with a worse prognosis.

Mononuclear thorium halide clusters ThX4 (X = F, Cl): gas-phase hydrolysis reactions.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to explore the gas-phase hydrolysis reaction of mononuclear thorium halide clusters ThX4 (X = F, Cl). We have found that the hydrolysis of ThCl4 is easier than that of ThF4. Furthermore, their hydrolysis reactions favor pathways of direct dehydration of Th(OH)4 instead of further hydrolysis of ThOX2. There are some differences between the hydrolysis of ThCl4 and that of MCl4 (M = Ti, Zr and Hf). The X-HY (X = F, Cl; Y = F, Cl and OH) hydrogen bonds play an important role in the hydrogen transfer process of the hydrolysis reaction. The differences in the steric effects and bonding may be important factors that are related to the disparities in the hydrolysis of the above-mentioned metal halides.

Jasmonic acid deficiency leads to scattered floret opening time in cytoplasmic male sterile rice Zhenshan 97A.

Cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) rice has been widely used for hybrid rice seed production in China. However, CMS rice suffers from undesirable flowering habits including scattered floret opening time (FOT), which causes different FOTs among parental rice plants and greatly reduces hybrid rice seed production. Little is known about the mechanism of scattered FOT in CMS rice. Our results demonstrate that scattered FOT in CMS rice Zhenshan 97A (ZS97A) resulted from the lack of a driving force to open florets, which was directly caused by retarded lodicule expansion. Our results indicate that retarded lodicule expansion in ZS97A was caused by reduced water accumulation due to retarded accumulation of osmotic regulation substances (ORSs). Further, the retardation in accumulation of ORSs and water were caused by jasmonic acid (JA) deficiency, resulting from down-regulation of OsAOC expression. Applying JA restored scattered FOT in ZS97A by promoting ORS and water accumulation, and inducing the expansion of the lodicules. Taken together, JA deficiency inhibited lodicule expansion by retarding the accumulation of ORSs and water, leading to scattered FOT in CMS rice ZS97A.

[Neurodevelopmental features of preterm infants at the corrected age of 1 year].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the neurodevelopmental level of preterm infants at the corrected age of 1 year and the effect of complications on neurodevelopment. METHODS: The clinical data and follow-up data of hospitalized preterm infants were retrospectively studied. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was used to assess the neurodevelopmental level. Preterm infants were divided into groups according to gestational age, birth weight, and the presence or absence of complications. The mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) were compared between groups. RESULTS: At the corrected age of 1 year, compared with the late preterm infants, the early preterm infants had significantly lower MDI and PDI (P<0.05) and significantly higher rates of retarded intellectual and psychomotor development (P<0.01). Compared with the normal birth weight group, the low birth weight group had significantly lower MDI and PDI (P<0.01) and significantly higher rates of retarded intellectual and psychomotor development (P<0.01). The preterm infants with hyperbilirubinemia, birth asphyxia or neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) had significantly lower MDI and PDI than those without such complications (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lower gestational age and birth weight are associated with worse intellectual and psychomotor development in preterm infants. Complications, such as hyperbilirubinemia, birth asphyxia and NRDS, have adverse effects on neurodevelopment of preterm infants.

Efficacy of Scutellaria baicalensis for the Treatment of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Associated with Encephalitis in Patients Infected with EV71: A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of using the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Scutellaria baicalensis for the treatment of severe HFMD in 725 patients aged >1 year in a multicenter, retrospective analysis. The patients were divided into the S. baicalensis and ribavirin groups, and the temperatures, presence or absence of skin rashes and oral lesions, nervous system (NS) involvement, and viral loads of the patients, as well as the safety of the treatments, were evaluated. The median duration of fever, median time to NS involvement, and the number of patients with oral ulcers and/or vesicles, as well as skin rashes, were decreased in the S. baicalensis group compared with the ribavirin group. In addition, the EV71 viral loads were decreased in the S. baicalensis group, suggesting that S. baicalensis exerted more potent antiviral effects compared with ribavirin. The present study demonstrated that S. baicalensis was suitable for the treatment of severe HFMD in patients aged >1 year, since it was shown to rapidly relieve fever, attenuate oral lesions and rashes, and improve NS involvement. Furthermore, it was demonstrated to be relatively safe for topical application.

Efficacy and safety of interferon-α2b spray in the treatment of hand, foot, and mouth disease: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious enterovirus disease, occurring mostly in infants and children younger than 7 years with potentially fatal complications. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of recombinant human interferon (IFN)-α2b spray for treating mild HFMD in 400 patients in a randomized, open, controlled clinical trial. The patients were randomized to the IFN-α2b spray and placebo groups, and their temperature, skin rash, oral lesions, and appetite were monitored, while pathogen levels and safety were evaluated with a 7-day follow-up. The mean age of the patients was 20.1 ± 10.2 months. The median duration of fever, oral ulcers or vesicles (or both), and skin rash in addition to median time to regain appetite in the IFN-α2b spray group were shorter than they were in the placebo group. The number of virus-positive cases differed statistically between the two groups for the three follow-up detections. Additionally, the incidences of adverse events (AEs) and severe AEs (SAEs) were not significantly different between the two groups, and the SAEs were evidently unrelated to the IFN-α2b spray or placebo. Therefore, the IFN-α2b spray is suitable for topical treatment of HFMD, and it rapidly relieved fever, promoted oral lesions and subsidence of rash, enhanced appetite, promoted disease recovery, and was safe for application.

Laparoscopic versus open myomectomy--a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

The objective of this study was to determine the better method of myomectomy by comparing laparoscopic and open myomectomy for patients with fibroids with regard to operative parameters and outcomes. A systematic review was performed on published studies identified by the databases PubMed, EMBASE, the China Biological Medicine Datadase (CBMdisc), Ovid and the Cochrane Library, as well as cross-references. Randomized controlled trials on laparoscopic versus open myomectomy were assessed on operative parameters and outcomes. Six studies and 576 patients were studied. Analysis was performed using the statistical software Review Manager Version 4.2. The data available show that laparoscopic myomectomy was associated with less hemoglobin drop, reduced operative blood loss, more patients fully recuperated at day 15, diminished postoperative pain, and fewer overall complications but longer operation time. However, major complications, pregnancy and recurrence were comparable in the two groups. The data show that if performed by suitably specialized surgeons in selected patients, laparoscopic myomectomy is a better choice than open surgery.

[Contents of serum albumin after surgical operation in children with acute intussusception].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of serum albumin contents after operation and investigate whether post-operational serum albumin contents are correlated with the disease severity in children with acute intussusception. METHODS: Serum albumin contents were measured using the automatic biochemistry analyzer in 32 children with mild acute intussusception and 21 children with severe acute intussusception 1 day after surgical operation. After 5 days combined treatment, serum albumin contents were re-examined. Thirty healthy children severed as the control group. The correlation between post-operational serum albumin contents and critical illness scores was evaluated. RESULTS: Serum albumin contents in the mild (34.2+/-6.5 g/L; P<0.05) and the severe intussusception groups (25.8+/-7.5 g/L; P<0.01) 1 day after operation were significantly lower than those in the control group (37.1+/-4.1 g/L). There were significant differences in serum albumin contents between the mild and the severe intussusception groups (P<0.05). Five days after operation, serum albumin contents in the mild intussusception group significantly increased (37.1+/-11.4 g/L; P<0.05), while serum albumin contents in the severe intussusception group did not differ from those 1 day after operation. There was a positive correlation between serum albumin contents on the 1st day after operation and the critical illness scores (r=0.879, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Serum albumin contents decreased on the 1st day after operation and were correlated with the disease severity in children with acute intussusception. Hypoalbuminemia lasted for a longer period in severe cases. The post-operational measurement of serum albumin contents may be useful in the evaluation of the severity for children with acute intussusception.

[Three cases of enterovirus 71 infection with pulmonary edema or pulmonary hemorrhage as the early clinical manifestation].

OBJECTIVE: To recognize the clinical features of the enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection with pulmonary edema or pulmonary hemorrhage as a fulminant and often fatal illness. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the three cases with EV71 infection for clinical manifestation, laboratory data, medications, outcome etc. RESULTS: All the cases were infants and they all died. These infants had no skin or mucosal lesions, however, they had sudden onset of cyanosis and tachypnea 1 to 2 days after the onset of the febrile disease with vomiting. All these 3 cases were misdiagnosed and were treated for shock on admission. Pulmonary hemorrhage was not considered in any of the cases on admission. All the cases received tracheal intubation when foamy secretions were discharged from mouth and nose of the patients and notable cyanosis was noted. After intubation, all had pink foamy fluid flew out from the endotracheal tube. The patients had hyperglycemia and limb weakness, two had tachycardia, and hypertension was found in one case. Chest X-ray showed bilateral or unilateral widespread air space opacity, but the cardiac size and shape were normal. All the patients had leucocytosis. EV71 infection was confirmed by detection of specific sequences of the virus in throat swab and tracheal secretions samples and in one case in cerebrospinal fluid sample. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary edema or pulmonary hemorrhage occurred in the 3 cases with EV71-infected infants. The initial presentation was often nonspecific with fever and vomiting, and sudden appearances of cyanosis, tachypnea, tachycardia, hypertension or hypotension, limb weakness may suggest pulmonary edema or hemorrhage. Excessive fluid resuscitation may deteriorate the illness, on the contrary, fluid restriction and inotropic agents, and early intubation with positive pressure mechanical ventilation may be the proper treatment.