We report a case of severe hypertriglyceridemia associated with an everolimus drug-eluting stent in an infant with pulmonary vein stenosis. We review from current literature the mechanisms by which everolimus may cause dyslipidaemia, pharmacokinetics of everolimus in drug-eluting stents, and treatments of hypertriglyceridemia. This case demonstrates the need to closely monitor serum triglyceride levels after everolimus drug-eluting stent placement in infants.

Diarrhea is a common cause of morbidity and mortality and the incidence of diarrhea in the world has changed little over the past four decades. To assess the prevalence of and healthcare practices for diarrhea, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Pudong, Shanghai, China. In October 2014, a total of 5324 community residents were interviewed. Respondents were asked if they had experienced diarrhea (defined as ⩾3 passages of watery, loose, bloody, or mucoid stools within a 24-h period) in the previous month prior to the interview. The monthly prevalence of diarrhea was 4·1% (95% CI: 3·3–4·8), corresponding to an incidence rate of 0·54 episodes per person-year. The proportion of individuals with diarrhea who sought healthcare was 21·2% (95% CI: 13·4–29·0). Diarrhea continues to impose a considerable burden on the community and healthcare system in Pudong. Young age and travel were identified as predictors of increased diarrhea occurrence.

Results are presented from our ongoing studies of Titan using ALMA during the period 2012-2015, including a confirmation of the previous detection of vinyl cyanide (C2H3CN), as well as the first spatial map for this species on Titan. Simultaneous mapping of HC3N, CH3CN and C2H5CN reveal characteristic abundance patterns for each species that provide insight into their individual photochemical lifetimes, and help inform our understanding of Titan’s unique, time-variable atmospheric chemistry and global circulation. A time-sequence of HC3N maps covering 38 months reveals a dramatic change in the distribution of this gas consistent with high-altitude photochemical production followed by advection towards the southern (winter) pole, combined with rapid loss in the north after Titan’s 2009 seasonal equinox. The 2015 C2H3CN and C2H5CN maps show abundance peaks in Titan’s southern hemisphere, similar to those observed for the short-lived HC3N molecule. The longer-lived CH3CN, on the other hand, remains more concentrated in the north.

With good combustion characteristics, hydrogen has been developing as a clean alternative fuel of engines. This study is to develop a diesel/hydrogen dual fuel engine. The hydrogen was added at inlet port in a 4-cylinder direct injection turbocharged diesel engine with an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system to investigate engine performance and exhaust pollutant. The measured items are composed of the gas pressure of cylinder, crank angle, consumption rate of diesel, consumption rate of hydrogen, air flow rate, emissions (HC, CO2, NOX, and Smoke), and so on. The authors analyze how the addition of hydrogen with EGR system influences the engine performance and emissions. The diesel/hydrogen dual fuel turbocharged engine can increase the brake thermal efficiency with a greater decrease in emissions compared with the turbocharged diesel engine. Furthermore, the authors little altered the engine structure to get the positive effect of energy saving and pollutant decreasing.

To evaluate the effects of a modern cultivation system of plastic film mulching with drip irrigation (MD) on soil greenhouse gas fluxes, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were quantified and contrasted in an MD system and a traditional system of mulch-free flood-irrigated (MFF) cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in fields of northwest China. The results showed that soil N2O flux and the absorption rate of CH4 were lower in the MD than the MFF sites. A possible reason for the higher CH4 emissions at MD sites was that the relatively low gaseous oxygen (O2) availability and high ammonium (NH4+) content in the MD soil increased CH4 generation by methanogens and decreased CH4 oxidation by methanotrophs. The lower N2O in the MD sites may be due to an increase of soil denitrification by Thiobacillus denitrificans that reduced some nitrous compounds further into nitrogen gas (N2). Taking into account the global warming potentials of CH4 and N2O in a 100-year time horizon, during the entire growth period, the contribution of CH4 to the greenhouse effect was significantly lower than N2O in these two treatments. Considering these two greenhouse gas fluxes together, a transition from non-mulching cultivation to mulching cultivation could reduce atmospheric emissions by c. 20 g CO2 e m2/season. Based on these findings and previous studies, it can be concluded that mulched-drip irrigation cultivation is a good way to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases and reduce the global warming impact of arid farmlands.

Clonorchiasis, caused by Clonorchis sinensis, is a key foodborne zoonosis, which is mainly found in China, Korea and Vietnam. Detection of this parasite from the second intermediate host, the freshwater fish is the common method for epidemiological surveys of this parasite, but is time consuming, labour intensive and easily leads to misdiagnosis. In this study, we have developed a rapid, sensitive and reliable molecular method for the diagnosis of C. sinensis from its first intermediate hosts, freshwater snails, based on a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method. The specific amplified fragment from genomic DNA of C. sinensis did not cross-react with those from other relevant trematodes and a range of hosts (freshwater fish, shrimps and snails) of C. sinensis living in similar environments. The detection limit of the LAMP method was as low as 10 fg which was 1000 times more sensitive than conventional PCR, which was also demonstrated by successful application to field samples. These results show that the LAMP method is a more sensitive tool than conventional PCR for the detection of C. sinensis infection in the first intermediate hosts and, due to a simpler protocol, is an ideal molecular method for field-based epidemiological surveys of this parasite.

This paper adopts the finite-volume multi-stage (FMUSTA) scheme to the two-dimensional coupled system combining the shallow water equations and the advection-diffusion equation. For the convection part, the numerical flux is estimated by adopting the FMUSTA scheme, where high order accuracy is achieved by the data reconstruction using the monotonic upstream schemes for conservation laws method. For the diffusion part, the evaluations of first-order derivatives are solved via the method of Jacobian transformation. The hydrostatic reconstruction method is employed for treatment of source terms. The overall accuracy of resulting scheme is second-order both in time and space. In addition, the scheme is non-oscillatory and conserves the pollutant mass during the transport process. For scheme validation, six advection and diffusion transport tests are simulated. The influences of the grid spacing and limiters on the numerical performance are also discussed. Furthermore, the scheme is employed in the simulation of suspended sediment transport in natural-irregular river topography. From the satisfactory agreements between the simulated results and the field measured data, it is demonstrated that the proposed FMUSTA scheme is practically suitable for hydraulic engineering applications.

The unique and highly utilized properties of TiO2 nanotubes are a direct result of nanotube architecture. To create different engineered architectures, the effects of electrolyte solution, time, and temperature on the anodization of titanium foil were studied along with the resultant anodized titanium oxide (ATO) nanotube architectures encompassing nanotube length, pore diameter, wall thickness, smoothness, and ordered array structure. Titanium foil was anodized in three different electrolyte solutions: one aqueous [consisting of NH4F and (NH4)2SO4] and two nonaqueous (glycerol or ethylene glycol, both containing NH4F) at varying temperatures and anodization times. Variation in anodization applied voltage, initial current, and effect of F− ion concentration on ATO nanotube architecture was also studied. Anodization in the aqueous electrolyte produced short, rough nanotube arrays, whereas anodization in organic electrolytes produced long, smooth nanotube arrays greater than 10 μm in length. A position effect, relative to the solution–air interface, was observed in this work. Furthermore, it was found that anodization in glycerol at elevated temperatures for several hours could possibly produce freely dispersed individual nanotubes.

A facile anodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process has been developed to prepare thin uniform films consisting of titanate nanotubes (TNTs) that were synthesized by a hydrothermal approach. Such an EPD process offers easy control in the film thickness and the adhesion to the substrate was found to be strong. The chemical composition and structure of the products have been characterized by HRTEM, FESEM, XRD and TG/DTA. It was found that the functionalization of TNTs plays a key role on the electrolyte stability and the successful formation of a uniform TNT film with good adhesion. The as-prepared TNT films show exceptional superhydrophilic behavior with ultra-fast spreading, while it converts to superhydrophobicity yet with high adhesion after 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-triethoxysilane modification. This study provides an interesting method to prepare films with extremely high wettability contrast that are useful for producing different kinds of functional materials.

The present paper describes an unconventional approach to fabricate superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic template on the TiO2 nanotube structured film by a combination of electrochemical anodization and photocatalytic lithography. Based on template with extreme wetting contrast, various functional nanostructures micropattern with high resolution have been successfully fabricated. The resultant micropattern has been characterized with scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that functional nanostructures can be selectively grown at superhydrophilic areas which are confined by the hydrophobic regions, indicating that the combined process of electrochemically self-assembly and photocatalytic lithography is a very promising approach for constructing well-defined templates for various functional materials growth.

In this work, the one dimensional (1D) titanate nanotubes (TNT)/nanowires (TNW), bulk titanate micro-particles (TMP), and three dimensional (3D) titanate microsphere particles (TMS) with high specific surface area were synthesized via different approaches. The chemical composition and structure of these products have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) study and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The as-prepared TMS shows excellent adsorption performance compared with TMP, TNW and TNT when methylene blue (MB) and PbII ions are used as representative organic and inorganic pollutants.

Miniature pigs have been recognized as valuable experimental animals in medical research. However, porcine models related to gene knockout of human diseases are not widely available. The objective of this study was to establish Mx1-Cre pigs using somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this study, we created transgenic pigs using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Transfer of 210, 230, 250 and 215 zygotes to four surrogates produced 10 piglets. The Cre recombinase expression in transgenic pigs was studied using reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Mx1-Cre swine were shown to harbor the Cre gene in their genomic DNA using the PCR. In conclusion, Mx1-Cre transgenic piglets were successfully produced by SCNT. These transgenic swine, in conjunction with inducible systems for controlling Cre expression and function, are likely to have a profound impact on the study of human diseases.