Age, Pulse, Urea, and Albumin Score: A Tool for Predicting the Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patients With Diabetes.

Objective: The predictive performances of CURB-65 and pneumonia severity index (PSI) were poor in patients with diabetes. This study aimed to develop a tool for predicting the short-term and long-term outcomes of CAP in patients with diabetes. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 531 CAP patients with type 2 diabetes. The short-term outcome was in-hospital mortality. The long-term outcome was 24-month all-cause death. The APUA score was calculated according to the levels of Age (0-2 points), Pulse (0-2 points), Urea (0-2 points), and Albumin (0-4 points). The area under curves (AUCs) were used to evaluate the abilities of the APUA score for predicting short-term outcomes. Cox regression models were used for modeling relationships between the APUA score and 24-month mortality. Results: The AUC of the APUA score for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.807 in patients with type 2 diabetes (P<0.001). The AUC of the APUA score was higher than the AUCs of CURB-65 and PSI class (P<0.05). The long-term mortality increased with the risk stratification of the APUA score (low-risk group (0-1 points) 11.5%, intermediate risk group (2-4 points) 16.9%, high risk group (≥5 points) 28.8%, P<0.05). Compared with patients in the low-risk group, patients in the high-risk group had significantly increased risk of long-term death, HR (95%CI) was 2.093 (1.041~4.208, P=0.038). Conclusion: The APUA score is a simple and accurate tool for predicting short-term and long-term outcomes of CAP patients with diabetes.

[Diagnosis of the DC glow discharge plasma generated inside a metallic tube by optical emission spectroscopy].

Optical emission spectroscopy method was used to diagnose the normal dc glow discharge plasma generated inside a metallic tube. The active species in the plasma were identified. The electron excitation temperature in the plasma was determined by the Boltzmann plot method. The vibrational temperature of N2 molecules in the plasma was determined by analyzing the emission spectrum lines of the N2 second positive system (C3 IIu-->B 3IIg). The dependence of the electron excitation temperature and molecular vibrational temperature on the pressure was investigated. The experiment results show that in the Ar 60% + N2 40% glow discharge plasma at 20 Pa, the active species are the Ar atoms, Ar ions, second positive series of N transitions and theE first negative series of B (2)II2u-->X 2sigma g+; transitons; the electron excitation temperature is (15 270 +/- 250) K, and the vibrational temperature of N2 molecules is (3 290 +/- 100) K. The electron excitation temperature and molecular vibrational temperature decrease with increasing pressure. These results would give some valuable guide to the study on inner surface modification of metallic tubes.