顺苯磺酸阿曲库铵不抑制患者接受术中血液回收后肌肉及呼吸功能的恢复:单中心前瞻性研究

目的术中血液回收技术(intraoperative blood salvage,IBS)是临床常用的一种血液保护技术,但术后自体血液回输存在肌松药物残留问题。顺苯磺酸阿曲库铵(cis-atracurium besilate,Cisa)是一种新型肌松药物,本研究观察Cisa应用于接受IBS患者的临床安全性。方法前瞻性分析比较2017年3月至6月在北京积水潭医院脊柱科接受全身麻醉下腰椎减压内固定手术的50例腰椎间盘突出患者。患者顺序纳入,前25例进入试验组,后25例进入对照组。全身麻醉后应用Cisa作为肌松药,采用IBS技术于术中采集手术视野自体血并洗涤。术后入恢复室,常规监测4个成串刺激(train-of-four stimulation,TOF)以评估肌肉恢复情况,拔除气管插管后每隔5 min记录TOF值,共观察40 min。试验组患者于拔除气管插管后一次性输入术中收集的自体血,对照组于40 min观察结束后回输自体血。分析并比较两组患者术前及观察结束时的动脉血氧分压(arterial partial pressure of oxygen,PaO_2)和二氧化碳分压(partial pressure of carbon dioxide in artery,PaCO_2),用于评估呼吸功能恢复情况。结果所有患者完成全部观察内容,其中男女比例1∶1,年龄(55. 1±11. 1)岁,体重(72. 7±9. 8) kg,两组基线资料均衡,TOF值随时间推迟呈上升趋势,但两组患者在40 min观察点上TOF增加值无统计学差异[(9. 6±7. 3)%比(9. 5±8. 1)%,P=0. 963]。两组患者在观察结束时均出现一定程度的呼吸功能不全,但组间PaCO_(2-incr)[4. 4(2. 0,8. 0) mm Hg比4. 8 (0,7. 1) mm Hg,P=0. 312)(1 mm Hg=0. 133 kPa)和PaO_(2-decr)[3. 2 (-2. 4,7. 9) mm Hg比7. 2(-1. 6,13. 0) mm Hg,P=0. 133]并无统计学差异。结论全身麻醉下接受IBS的患者使用Cisa作为肌松药物是安全的。     

Maximum dry density test to quantify pumice content in natural soils

Crushable volcanic soils are well-known for their distinctive texture, vesicular nature and grain fragility. These features of volcanic soils lead to difficulty in interpreting the results of laboratory and field testing because of the occurrence of particle crushing. Sands containing pumice particles are commonly found in the Hamilton Basin in the North Island of New Zealand. The pumice particles originated from a series of volcanic eruptions centered in the Taupo and Rotorua regions. As a result of flooding and erosion along the Waikato River, the pumice particles have become mixed with other materials and have been distributed over the Hamilton Basin; these mixtures are referred to herein as natural pumiceous (NP) sands. This paper initially investigates an appropriate technique for measuring the maximum dry density (MDD) of NP sands; then a modified MDD test is proposed for estimating the pumice contents of these sands. In order to examine the applicability of different standard methods for determining MDD, New Zealand and Japanese standards are employed. The results using the Japanese standard show consistent MDD values when repeating the tests due to negligible particle crushing. On the other hand, the results of MDD tests according to the New Zealand standard indicate that a significant amount of particle crushing occurs after each repeated test and, consequently, it is not possible to get the same result when the test is repeated. NP sands reach their ultimate potential breakage during the modified MDD tests (at least, for the level of loading applied) and they experience different levels of particle crushing which may be a function of their pumice content. As a way forward, the relative breakages of the materials tested are used to estimate the pumice contents of the NP sands.     

First principles computational studies of spontaneous reduction reaction of Eu(III) in eutectic LiCl‐KCl molten salt

Using first principles calculations, we study fundamental mechanism of spontaneous reduction reaction of Eu³⁺ to Eu²⁺ in eutectic LiCl‐KCl molten salt. We decouple the reaction Gibbs free energy into enthalpy and entropy contributions by using rigorous thermodynamic formalism. Key structural features of the solvation shell are characterized by the radial distribution function and the coordination number. Compared with Eu²⁺, the Eu³⁺ ion has a more rigid framework of the solvation shells, corroborating its stronger electrostatic interaction with neighboring ligands of Cl^? ions and a more favorable state on the aspect of enthalpy. Computations on vibrational frequency, however, pose significant contribution of vibrational entropy to the reaction Gibbs free energy for the reduction. Vibration frequency of Eu²⁺ is smaller than that of Eu³⁺, driving a more positive change of the entropy in the reduction reaction. Furthermore, an Eu²⁺ diffuses more quickly than an Eu³⁺ in the LiCl‐KCl molten salt with switching mechanism of ligand Cl^? ions in the solvation shell. Our results propose that the spontaneity of the reduction reaction is driven by the entropic contribution by overcoming the penalty of the reaction enthalpy.     

Association of size‐fractionated indoor particulate matter and black carbon with heart rate variability in healthy elderly women in Beijing

Associations between size‐fractionated indoor particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) and heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) in elderly women remain unclear. Twenty‐nine healthy elderly women were measured for 24‐hour HRV/HR indices. Real‐time size‐fractionated indoor PM and BC were monitored on the same day and on the preceding day. Mixed‐effects models were applied to investigate the associations between pollutants and HRV/HR indices. Increases in size‐fractionated indoor PM were significantly associated with declines in power in the high‐frequency band (HF), power in the low‐frequency band (LF), and standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN). The largest decline in HF was 19% at 5‐minute moving average for an interquartile range (IQR) increase (24 μg/m³) in PM_0.5. The results showed that smaller particles could lead to greater reductions in HRV indices. The reported associations were modified by body mass index (BMI): Declines in HF at 5‐minute average for an IQR increase in PM_0.5 were 34.5% and 1.0% for overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m²) and normal‐weight (BMI <25 kg/m²) participants, respectively. Moreover, negative associations between BC and HRV indices were found to be significant in overweight participants. Increases in size‐fractionated indoor PM and BC were associated with compromised cardiac autonomic function in healthy elderly women, especially overweight ones.     

基于蛾眼阵列的全向宽光谱减反层优化设计

为降低太阳电池封装材料PET薄膜的反射率,采用严格耦合波分析(RCWA)方法对基于蛾眼阵列的减反层进行了优化设计。对比研究了圆锥形、抛物线形和正弦形蛾眼结构的减反性能,结果表明圆锥形蛾眼结构具有最佳全向宽光谱减反性能。分析了圆锥体几何参数对太阳光透过率的影响,为参数选取提供依据。在此基础上,提出基于柱形与锥形复合结构的蛾眼阵列,通过参数优化,进一步提高了太阳光在大角度入射条件下的透过率。优化后复合结构的蛾眼阵列的PET薄膜对波长范围在0.3~1.1μm、入射角度为0°~90°的入射太阳光角度归一化透过率达到0.966 4,相比于未采取减反措施的PET薄膜透过率提高12.77%。     

Mechanical Assembly of Thermo‐Responsive Polymer‐Based Untethered Shape‐Morphing Structures

Shape‐morphing robotic structures can provide innovative approaches for various applications ranging from soft robotics to flexible electronics. However, the programmed deformation of direct‐3D printed polymer‐based structures cannot be separated from their subsequent conventional shape‐programming process. This work aims to simplify the fabrication process and demonstrates a rapid and adaptable approach for building stimulus‐responsive polymer‐based shape‐morphing structures of any shape. This is accomplished through mechanically assembling a set of identical self‐bending units in different patterns to form morphing structures using auxiliary hard connectors. A self‐bending unit fabricated by a 3D printing method can be actuated upon heating without the need for tethered power sources and is able to transform from a flat shape to a bending shape. This enables the assembled morphing‐structure to achieve the programmed integral shape without the need for a shape‐programming process. Differently assembled morphing structures used as independent robotic mechanisms are sequentially demonstrated with applications in biomimetic morphing structures, grasping mechanisms, and responsive electrical devices. This proposed approach based on a mechanical assembling method paves the way for rapid and simple prototyping of stimulus‐responsive polymer‐based shape‐morphing structures with arbitrary architectures for a variety of applications in deployable structures, bionic mechanisms, robotics, and flexible electronics.     

New exact solutions of the Tzitzéica-type equations in non-linear optics using the expa function method

One specific class of non-linear evolution equations, known as the Tzitzéica-type equations, has received great attention from a group of researchers involved in non-linear science. In this article, new exact solutions of the Tzitzéica-type equations arising in non-linear optics, including the Tzitzéica, Dodd–Bullough–Mikhailov and Tzitzéica–Dodd–Bullough equations, are obtained using the exp_a function method. The integration technique actually suggests a useful and reliable method to extract new exact solutions of a wide range of non-linear evolution equations.     

ZerNet: Convolutional Neural Networks on Arbitrary Surfaces Via Zernike Local Tangent Space Estimation

In this paper, we propose a novel formulation extending convolutional neural networks (CNN) to arbitrary two-dimensional manifolds using orthogonal basis functions called Zernike polynomials. In many areas, geometric features play a key role in understanding scientific trends and phenomena, where accurate numerical quantification of geometric features is critical. Recently, CNNs have demonstrated a substantial improvement in extracting and codifying geometric features. However, the progress is mostly centred around computer vision and its applications where an inherent grid-like data representation is naturally present. In contrast, many geometry processing problems deal with curved surfaces and the application of CNNs is not trivial due to the lack of canonical grid-like representation, the absence of globally consistent orientation and the incompatible local discretizations. In this paper, we show that the Zernike polynomials allow rigourous yet practical mathematical generalization of CNNs to arbitrary surfaces. We prove that the convolution of two functions can be represented as a simple dot product between Zernike coefficients and the rotation of a convolution kernel is essentially a set of 2 × 2 rotation matrices applied to the coefficients. The key contribution of this work is in such a computationally efficient but rigorous generalization of the major CNN building blocks.     

Fabrication of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC)/ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC) triple shape memory blends with cycling performance by constructing a co‐continuous phase morphology

In this paper, a triple shape memory material was prepared by ultra‐simple melt blending from poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC). The obtained material possessed a co‐continuous phase morphology and presented an excellent triple shape memory effect (triple‐SME). Theoretical prediction demonstrated that a special continuous phase morphology could be constructed by adjusting the proportions of the blend. Moreover, the results indicated that a close relationship existed between the phase morphology and the triple‐SME of PCL/PPC/OBC. The sample with 35 vol% PPC content contributed to the formation of a continuous phase morphology and exhibited the optimal triple‐SME. Additionally, the sample PCL/PPC/OBC (32.5/35/32.5) showed outstanding structure and performance stability during cycle loading–unloading tests, which evidenced the prominent cycling shape memory property (nearly 100% shape fixing and recovery of temporary shape). Overall, this work could provide an efficient, convenient and recyclable method to obtain high‐performance shape memory materials. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry