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Background Acute uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections. Patients usually present with dysuria, urinary urgency, urinary frequency, and suprapubic pain or tenderness. Approximately 150 million people are diagnosed with UTI each year worldwide. The high recurrence rate of lower UTI is a common problem of clinical treatment. The misuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of a number of resistant bacterial strains. Thus, traditional Chinese medicine is considered as an alternative option for treating acute uncomplicated lower UTI. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Sanjin tablets (SJT) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI, explore whether SJT can reduce or substitute the use of antibiotics, and reduce the recurrence rate in the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI. Methods/design In this study, a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel control of positive drug, multicenter clinical study will be established. A total of 252 patients with acute uncomplicated lower UTI (syndrome of dampness-heat in the lower jiao) will be randomly allocated in the ratio of 1:1:1 to three groups: experimental group; control group 1; and control group 2. The experimental group receives Sanjin tablets plus levofloxacin tablets (LT) placebo; the control group 1 receives LT plus SJT placebo; and the control group 2 receives SJT plus LT on the first five days, SJT plus LT placebo on the last two days. Each group will be treated for seven days and followed-up 1–2 times. The primary outcome measures of effective rate and recurrence rate are symptoms. Secondary outcome measures of effective rate and recurrence rate are the urine leukocytes, bacteriology examination, and safety assessment. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and after treatment. Discussion This study protocol will provide the research data of efficacy and safety of SJT for the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI. The first aim is to determine whether Sanjin tablets can reduce the use of antibiotics; the second aim is to determine whether Sanjin tablets can substitute the use of antibiotics. The recurrence rate will be assessed after cured to determine whether SJT can reduce the recurrence rate. The results of this study will improve the rational use of drugs, especially the rational application of antibiotics. It will also enable safety evaluation from laboratory indices and adverse events, which will provide reliable evidence for clinical treatment. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03658291 . Registered on 4 September 2018.

To achieve high efficiency utilization of high-chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite （V-Ti-Cr） fines, an investigation of V Ti42r fines was conducted using a sinter pot. The chemical composition, particle parameters, and granulation of V-Ti-Cr mixtures were analyzed, and the effects of sintering parameters on the sintering behaviors were investigated. The results indicated that the optimum quicklime dosage, mixture moisture, wetting time, and granulation time for V-Ti-Cr fines are 5wt%, 7.5wt%, 10 min, and 5-8 min, respectively. Meanwhile, the vertical sintering speed, yield, tumbler strength, and productivity gains were shown to be 21.28 mm/min, 60.50wt% , 58.26wt%, and 1.36 t·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. Furthermore, the consolidation mechanism of V-Ti-Cr fines was clarified, revealing that the consolidation of a V-Ti-Cr sinter requires an approximately 14vo1% calcium ferrite liquid-state, an approximately 15vo1% silicate liq- uid-state, a solid-state reaction, and the recrystallization of magnetite. Compared to an ordinary sinter, calcium ferrite content in a V-Ti-Cr sinter is lower, while the perovskite content is higher, possibly resulting in unsatisfactory sinter outcomes.

Reduction of chromium-bearing vanadium–titanium sinter（CVTS） was studied under simulated conditions of a blast furnace, and thermodynamics and kinetics were theoretically analyzed. Reduction kinetics of CVTS at different temperatures was evaluated using a shrinking unreacted core model. The microstructure, mineral phase, and variation of the sinter during reduction were observed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and metallographic microscopy. Results indicate that porosity of CVTS increased with temperature. Meanwhile, the reduction degree of the sinter improved with the reduction rate. Reduction of the sinter was controlled by a chemical reaction at the initial stage and inner diffusion at the final stage. Activation energies measured 29.22–99.69 k J/mol. Phase transformations in CVTS reduction are as follows： Fe_2O_3→Fe_3O_4→FeO→Fe; Fe_2TiO_5→Fe_2TiO_4→FeTiO_3; FeO·V_2O_3→V_2O_3; FeO·Cr_2O_3→Cr_2O_3.

Experimental studies on the rheological properties of a Ca O–Si O2–Al2O3–Mg O–Ti O2–(Ti C) blast furnace(BF) slag system were conducted using a high-temperature rheometer to reveal the non-Newtonian behavior of heterogeneous titanium-bearing molten slag. By measuring the relationships among the viscosity, the shear stress and the shear rate of molten slags with different Ti C contents at different temperatures, the rheological constitutive equations were established along with the rheological parameters; in addition, the non-Newtonian fluid types of the molten slags were determined. The results indicated that, with increasing Ti C content, the viscosity of the molten slag tended to increase. If the Ti C content was less than 2wt%, the molten slag exhibited the Newtonian fluid behavior when the temperature was higher than the critical viscosity temperature of the molten slag. In contrast, the molten slag exhibited the non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid characteristic and the shear thinning behavior when the temperature was less than the critical viscosity temperature. However, if the Ti C content exceeded 4wt%, the molten slag produced the yield stress and exhibited the Bingham and plastic pseudoplastic fluid behaviors when the temperature was higher and lower than the critical viscosity temperature, respectively. When the Ti C content increased further, the yield stress of the molten slag increased and the shear thinning phenomenon became more obvious.

Background： The radiochemotherapy regimen concomitantly employing temozolomide （TMZ） chemotherapy and radiotherapy （RT） 4 weeks after surgery, followed by 6 cycles of TMZ is a common treatment for glioblastoma （GBM）. However, its median overall survival （OS） is only 14.6 months. This study was to explore the effectiveness and safety of early TMZ chemotherapy between surgery and chemoradiotherapy plus the standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen. Methods： A randomized, parallel group, open-label study of 99 newly diagnosed GBM patients was conducted at 10 independent Chinese neurosurgical departments from June 2008 to June 2012. Patients were treated with concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen plus early postsurgical temozolomide （early TMZ group） or standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen （control group）. Overall response was assessed based on objective tumor assessments, administration ofcorticosteroid and neurological status test. Hematological, biochemical, laboratory, adverse event （AE）, and neurological condition were measured for 24 months of tbllow-up. The primary efficacy endpoint of this study was overall survival （OS）. The secondary endpoint was progression free survival （PFS）. Results： The median OS time in the early TMZ group was 17.6 months, compared with 13.2 months in the control group （log-rank test P 0.021 ）. In addition, the OS rate in the early TMZ group was higher at 6, 12, and 18 months than in the control group, respectively （P 〈 0.05）. The median PFS time was 8.7 months in the early TMZ group and 10.4 months in the control group （log-rank test P = 0.695）. AEs occurred in 29 （55.8%） and 31（73.8%） patients respectively in early and control groups, including nausea （15.4% vs. 33.3%）, vomiting （7.7% vs. 28.6%）, fever （7.7% vs. 11.9%）, and headache （3.8% vs. 23.8%）. Only 30.8% and 33.3% were drug-related, respectively. Conclusions： Addition of TMZ chemotherapy in the early break of the standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen was well tolerated and significantly improved the OS of the GBM patients, compared with standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen. However, a larger randomized trial is warranted to verify these results.

A water cooling treatment was applied in the coal-based reduction of high-chromium vanadium and titanium （V-Ti-Cr） iron ore from the Hongge region of Panzhihua, China. Its effects on the metallization ratio （η）, S removal ratio （Rs）, and P removal ratio （Rp） were studied and analyzed on the basis of chemical composition determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The metallic iron particle size and the element distribution of Fe, V, Cr, and Ti in a reduced briquette after water cooling treatment at 1350℃ were determined and observed via scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the water cooling treatment improved the η, Rs, and Rp in the coal-based reduction of V-Ti-Cr iron ore compared to those obtained with a furnace cooling treatment. Meanwhile, the particle size of metallic iron obtained via the water cooling treatment was smaller than that of metallic iron obtained via the furnace cooling treatment; however, the particle size reached 70 μm at 1350℃, which is substantially larger than the minimum particle size required （20 μm） for magnetic separation. Therefore, the water cooling treatment described in this work is a good method for improving the quality of metallic iron in coal-based reduction and it could be applied in the coal-based reduction of V-Ti-Cr iron ore followed by magnetic separation.

INTRODUCTIONMicroneurosurgery made its debut in the early 1960s. It became popular in the medical field and became a primary operation method in neurosurgery since it improved the efficacy of neurosurgery with a less surgery-related injury. Over the past five decades, the accumulation of experience of microsurgery, improvement of microsurgery techniques, refined micro-instruments, and advanced preoperative diagnostic imaging allowed the evolution of microneurosurgery techniques and further reduced surgery-related trauma.

Background Acute uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections. Patients usually present with dysuria, urinary urgency, urinary frequency and suprapubic pain or tenderness. Approximately 150 million people are diagnosed with UTI each year worldwide. The high recurrence rate of lower UTI is a common problem of clinical treatment. The misuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of a number of resistant bacterial strains. Thus, traditional Chinese medicine is considered as an alternative option for treating acute uncomplicated lower UTI. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Sanjin tablets (SJT) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI; explore whether SJT can reduce or substitute the use of antibiotics and reduce the recurrence rate in the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI. Methods/design In this study, a randomized, double blind, double dummy, parallel control of positive drug, multicentre clinical study will be established. A total of 252 patients with acute uncomplicated lower UTI (syndrome of dampness-heat in the lower jiao) will be randomly allocated in the ratio of 1:1:1 to three groups: experimental group, control group 1 and control group 2. The experimental group receives Sanjin tablets plus levofloxacin tablets (LT) placebo; the control group 1 receives LT plus SJT placebo; and the control group 2 receives SJT plus LT on the first 5 days, SJT plus LT placebo on the last 2 days. Each group will be treated for 7 days and followed-up for 1-2 times. The primary outcome measures of effective rate and recurrence rate are symptoms. Secondary outcome measures of effective rate and recurrence rate are the urine leukocyte, bacteriology examination and safety assessment. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and after treatment. Discussion This study protocol will provide the research data of efficacy and safety of SJT for the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower UTI. The first aim is to determine whether Sanjin tablets can reduce the use of antibiotics; the second aim is to determine whether Sanjin tablets can substitute the use of antibiotics. The recurrence rate will be assessed after cured to determine whether SJT can reduce the recurrence rate. The results of this study will improve the rational use of drugs, especially the rational application of antibiotics. It will also enable safety evaluation from laboratory indices and adverse events, which will provide reliable evidence for clinical treatment. Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov, NCT03658291. Registered on 4 September 2018.

Sepsis is a syndrome characterized by life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the dysregulated host response to an infection. Sepsis, especially septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction is a medical emergency associated with high morbidity, high mortality, and prolonged after-effects. Over the past 20 years, regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been a key topic of focus in all stages of sepsis research. Tregs play a controversial role in sepsis based on their heterogeneous characteristics, complex organ/tissue-specific patterns in the host, the multi-dimensional heterogeneous syndrome of sepsis, the different types of pathogenic microbiology, and even different types of laboratory research models and clinical research methods. In the context of sepsis, Tregs may be considered both angels and demons. We propose that the symptoms and signs of sepsis can be attenuated by regulating Tregs. This review summarizes the controversial roles and Treg checkpoints in sepsis.

Background There is no available viable treatment for Sepsis-Induced Cardiomyopathy (SIC), a common sepsis complication with a higher fatality risk. The septic patients showed an abnormal activation of the renin angiotensin (Ang) aldosterone system (RAAS). However, it is not known how the Ang II and Ang-(1–7) affect SIC. Methods Peripheral plasma was collected from the Healthy Control (HC) and septic patients and Ang II and Ang-(1–7) protein concentrations were measured. The in vitro and in vivo models of SIC were developed using Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to preliminarily explore the relationship between the SIC state, Ang II, and Ang-(1–7) levels, along with the protective function of exogenous Ang-(1–7) on SIC. Results Peripheral plasma Ang II and the Ang II/Ang-(1–7) levels in SIC-affected patients were elevated compared to the levels in HC and non-SIC patients, however, the HC showed higher Ang-(1–7) levels. Furthermore, peripheral plasma Ang II, Ang II/Ang-(1–7), and Ang-(1–7) levels in SIC patients were significantly correlated with the degree of myocardial injury. Additionally, exogenous Ang-(1–7) can attenuate inflammatory response, reduce oxidative stress, maintain mitochondrial dynamics homeostasis, and alleviate mitochondrial structural and functional damage by inhibiting nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, thus alleviating SIC. Conclusions Plasma Ang-(1–7), Ang II, and Ang II/Ang-(1–7) levels were regarded as significant SIC biomarkers. In SIC, therapeutic targeting of RAAS, for example with Ang-(1–7), may exert protective roles against myocardial damage.