Thermodynamic Study on Hydrogen Reduction of Germanium Tetrachloride to Germanium.

This study elucidates the thermodynamic reaction mechanism of the GeCl4 hydrogen reduction process for Ge preparation. Five independent reactions in the Ge-Cl-H ternary system were identified, utilizing the phase law, mass conservation principles, and thermodynamic data, with H2 as the reducing agent. Additionally, the effects of the temperature, feed ratio, and pressure on the germanium deposition rate during the GeCl4 hydrogen reduction process were investigated, guided by these five reactions. The results indicate that, with fixed temperature and pressure, a higher feed ratio (nH2/nGeCl4) leads to an increased germanium deposition rate. Conversely, with a constant feed ratio, increased pressure results in a lower deposition rate at low temperatures. The optimal operating conditions for germanium preparation via the hydrogen reduction of GeCl4 were determined: the temperature was 450 °C, the feed ratio was 20, the pressure was 0.1 MPa, and the deposition rate of the germanium was 36.12% under this condition.

Protective effect of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia against radiation-induced liver damage in Sprague-Dawley rats.

BACKGROUND: Without timely and effective interventions or treatments, radiation-induced liver damage (RILD) can lead to serious consequences for the patients and their families. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia preconditioning (IHHP) in RILD. METHODS: Male adult SD rats were randomly divided into 8 groups including one control group, one only irradiation group and other experimental groups. Blood routine tests and liver function tests were all assessed with abdominal venous blood. Moreover, hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining and immunohistochemistry assay were used to detect the histopathological changes and expressions of transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in radiated liver sections. RESULTS: Blood routing tests showed that RBC, WBC and Hb were all significantly increased while the differences of these results between different groups with same simulated altitude were approximate. However, liver function in the IHHP plus irradiation at 4000 m group was significantly decreased (P< 0.05) compared to only irradiation groups, and the manifestation of HE and lower positive expression of TNF-α showed improved histopathological changes in the liver section. Furthermore, no significant difference of HIF-1α expression between any two groups treated with IHHP was observed. CONCLUSION: IHHP at the altitude of 4000 m group could alleviate the radioactive liver damage by downregulating TNF-α and less strong positive expression of TGF-ß1. Furthermore, patients exposed to radiation might benefit from this treatment to prevent or reduce the RILD.

Geometric Parameter Identification of Medical Robot Based on Improved Beetle Antennae Search Algorithm.

To improve the accuracy of common intelligent algorithms when identifying the parameters of geometric error in medical robots, this paper proposes an improved beetle antennae search algorithm (RWSAVSBAS). We first establish a model for the kinematic error in medical robots, and then add the random wandering behavior of the wolf colony algorithm to the search process of the beetle antennae search algorithm to strengthen its capability for local search. Following this, we improve the global convergence ability of the beetle antennae search algorithm by using the simulated annealing algorithm. We compare the accuracy of end positioning of the proposed algorithm with the frog-jumping algorithm and the beetle antennae search algorithm with variable step length through simulations. The results show that the proposed algorithm has a higher accuracy of convergence, and can significantly improve the accuracy of end positioning of the medical robot.

Changes of cytokine levels before and after anti-tuberculosis treatment / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract： Objective　To analyze the changes of cytokine levels in patients with sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis and drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis before and after anti-tuberculosis treatment. Methods　The clinical data of 213 pulmonary tuberculosis patients admitted to the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from August 2019 to October 2020 were collected, and divided into a sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis group and a drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis group, of which 141 were in the sensitive group and 72 in the drug-resistant group , and the pro-inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-6, IL-17, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory factors IL-10 and IL-4 in plasma before treatment, 3 months and 6 months after treatment were compared. Results　Compared with the healthy group, the levels of plasma IL-6 in the sensitive group and the resistant group were significantly increased, difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). The plasma levels of IFN-γ and IL-17 in the sensitive group were increased, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with before treatment, the levels of IL-6 and IL-4 in the plasma of the sensitive group after 6 months of treatment were lower than those after 3 months of treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), and IFN-γ was significantly decreased (P<0.001). After 6 months of treatment, the IL-10 content was lower than that before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), and the IFN-γ decreased significantly (P<0.000 1). The levels of IFN-γ at 3 months were higher than those in the resistant group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). After 6 months of treatment, there was no significant difference in the content of IFN-γ between the sensitive group and the resistant group. The effective rate of CT absorption was 70% in the sensitive group and only 43.33% in the resistant group at 3 months of treatment, and there was no significant difference in the effective rate between the two groups after 6 months of treatment. Conclusions　Detection of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines in plasma can provide reference for host-directed therapy of pulmonary tuberculosis. Understanding this important feature of cytokines on pathogen-host interactions can provide new insights into the study of virulence mechanisms and may provide new approaches for immune intervention in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Simultaneous solid-phase synthesis of quinoxalinone and benzimidazole scaffold libraries.

This article describes a method for simultaneous solid-phase synthesis of a quinoxalinone and benzimidazole scaffold library that consists of 240 members. The library was generated by using the solid-phase "split-and-pool" approach and the IRORI sorting system.

Parallel approach for solution-phase synthesis of 2-quinoxalinol analogues and their inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-alpha release on mouse macrophages in vitro.

A parallel solution-phase synthesis of 2-quinoxalinol analogues is described. The key step-simultaneous reductions of m-Ar(NO2)2 to m-Ar(NH2)2 was investigated extensively. We obtained preliminary pharmacological activity of those analogues for the inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-alpha release on mouse macrophage in vitro. Two compounds revealed inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of 0.40 microM (7-amino-6-[(3-methoxypropyl)amino]-3-methyl-2-quinoxalinol) and 2.2 microM (7-amino-6-[(3-butoxypropyl)amino]-3-methyl-2-quinoxalinol), respectively.