Effects of Prophylactic Antibiotics on Intestinal Microflora Diversity in Preterm Infants: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the effects of prenatal prophylactic antibiotics on the diversity of intestinal flora in premature infants, with a focus on elucidating the rationale behind this investigation and the potential impact of altered intestinal flora on the health of preterm infants, such as increased susceptibility to infections, impaired nutrient absorption, and compromised immune function.

Methods: Relevant literature consistent with the effects of prenatal prophylactic antibiotics on intestinal flora diversity in preterm infants was systematically searched and screened from both domestic and foreign databases, including Wanfang Medical Center, CNKNET, VIpp, and PubMed. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.

Effect of Chemical Composition on the Thermoplastic Formability and Nanoindentation of Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses.

A series of TiZrBeNi ( = 4, 6, 8, 10 at.%) and TiZrBeCu ( = 4, 6, 8 at.%) bulk metallic glasses were investigated to examine the influence of Ni and Cu content on the viscosity, thermoplastic formability, and nanoindentation of Ti-based bulk metallic glasses.

Comparison of Cold-Sprayed Coatings of Copper-Based Composite Deposited on AZ31B Magnesium Alloy and 6061 T6 Aluminum Alloy Substrates.

Copper-coated graphite and copper mixture powders were deposited on AZ31B magnesium alloy and 6061 T6 aluminum alloy substrates under different process parameters by a solid-state cold spray technique. The microstructure of the copper-coated graphite and copper composite coatings was visually examined using photographs taken with an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The surface roughness of the coatings was investigated with a 3D profilometer.

Nitric acid oxidation and urea modification of carbon fibres as biofilm carriers.

Carbon fibres (CF) are commonly used as carriers in biofilm-based wastewater treatment. The surface properties of the CF are herein modified using a combination of nitric acid oxidation and urea to optimise the carrier to immobilise bacterial cells. The capacity of the CF carriers to immobilise bacterial cells and activated sludge is evaluated using bacterial cell adhesion and sludge immobilisation tests.

Polyurethane Shape Memory Polymer/pH-Responsive Hydrogel Hybrid for Bi-Function Synergistic Actuations.

Stimuli-responsive actuating hydrogels response to the external stimulus with complex deformation behaviors based on the programmable anisotropic structure design are one of the most important smart soft materials, which have great potential applications in artificial muscles, smart values, and mini-robots. However, the anisotropic structure of one actuating hydrogel can only be programmed one time, which can only provide single actuating performance, and subsequently, has severely limited their further applications. Herein, we have explored a novel SMP/hydrogel hybrid actuator through combining polyurethane shape memory polymer (PU SMP) layer and pH-responsive polyacrylic-acid (PAA) hydrogel layer by a napkin with UV-adhesive.

A Nanoclay-Enhanced Hydrogel for Self-Adhesive Wearable Electrophysiology Electrodes with High Sensitivity and Stability.

Hydrogel-based wet electrodes are the most important biosensors for electromyography (EMG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and electroencephalography (EEG); but, are limited by poor strength and weak adhesion. Herein, a new nanoclay-enhanced hydrogel (NEH) has been reported, which can be fabricated simply by dispersing nanoclay sheets (Laponite XLS) into the precursor solution (containing acrylamide, N, N'-Methylenebisacrylamide, ammonium persulfate, sodium chloride, glycerin) and then thermo-polymerizing at 40 °C for 2 h. This NEH, with a double-crosslinked network, has nanoclay-enhanced strength and self-adhesion for wet electrodes with excellent long-term stability of electrophysiology signals.

Identifying Patient-Ventilator Asynchrony on a Small Dataset Using Image-Based Transfer Learning.

Mechanical ventilation is an essential life-support treatment for patients who cannot breathe independently. Patient-ventilator asynchrony (PVA) occurs when ventilatory support does not match the needs of the patient and is associated with a series of adverse clinical outcomes. Deep learning methods have shown a strong discriminative ability for PVA detection, but they require a large number of annotated data for model training, which hampers their application to this task.

Optimizing carbon fibre supports for bioreactors by nitric acid oxidation and calcium ion coverage according to extended DLVO theory.

Optimizing supports for microorganisms is required for bioreactors. Carbon fibres (CF) were employed as supports for microorganisms. To optimize CF supports for immobilizing bacterial cells, we used methods of nitric acid oxidation and calcium ion coverage.

Carbon nanotubes/carbon fiber hybrid material: a super support material for sludge biofilms.

Carbon fiber (CF) is widely used as a sludge biofilm support material for wastewater treatment. Carbon nanotubes/carbon fiber (CNTs/CF) hybrid material was prepared by ultrasonically assisted electrophoretic deposition (EPD). CF supports (CF without handling, CF oxidized by nitric acid, CNTs/CF hybrid material) were evaluated by sludge immobilization tests, bacterial cell adsorption tests and Derjaguin -Landau -Verwey -Overbeek (DLVO) theory.