Neutrophil elastase inhibitor (Sivelestat) in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome induced by COVID-19: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Background: Recent studies suggest that neutrophil elastase inhibitor (Sivelestat) may improve pulmonary function and reduce mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. We examined the association between receipt of sivelestat and improvement in oxygenation among patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by COVID-19.

Methods: A large multicentre cohort study of patients with ARDS induced by COVID-19 who had been admitted to intensive care units (ICUs).

Folic Acid Prevents High-Fat Diet-Induced Postpartum Weight Retention in Rats, Which Is Associated with a Reduction in Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mediated Hepatic Lipogenesis.

Background: Proactively preventing postpartum weight retention (PPWR) is one of the effective intervention strategies to reduce the occurrence of obesity in women. Population studies have shown that serum folate levels are closely related to body weight. The regulation of folic acid on lipid metabolism has been fully confirmed in both in vivo and in vitro studies.

Experimental study on axial compression for composite hollow column of steel fiber, high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete and angle steel.

In order to study the axial compression performance for composite hollow column of steel fiber, high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete and angle steel, the axial compression tests were carried out on five composite hollow columns of steel fiber, high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete and angle steel with the variation parameters of hollow ratio (0%, 15%, 16%, 32% and 36%) and the form of opening (round hole and square hole). The failure phenomena and failure forms of the specimens were observed, and their stress-strain curves were measured, and the axial bearing capacity formula suitable for composite hollow column of steel fiber, high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete and angle steel was established. The following conclusions may be obtained from the test results: the axial compression performance for the composite hollow columns of angle steel is influenced by the hollow ratio and opening form greatly.

Further emission efficiency improvement of a commercial-quality light-emitting diode through surface plasmon coupling.

It is usually believed that surface plasmon (SP) coupling is practically useful only for improving the performance of a light-emitting diode (LED) with a low intrinsic internal quantum efficiency (IQE). In this Letter, we demonstrate that the performance of a commercial-quality blue LED with a high IQE (>80%) can still be significantly improved through SP coupling based on a surface Ag nanoparticle (NP) structure. The performance improvement of such an LED is achieved by increasing the Mg doping concentration in its p-AlGaN electron blocking layer to enhance the hole injection efficiency such that the p-GaN layer thickness can be significantly reduced without sacrificing its electrical property.

Dependencies of surface plasmon coupling effects on the p-GaN thickness of a thin-p-type light-emitting diode.

The high performance of a light-emitting diode (LED) with the total p-type thickness as small as 38 nm is demonstrated. By increasing the Mg doping concentration in the p-AlGaN electron blocking layer through an Mg pre-flow process, the hole injection efficiency can be significantly enhanced. Based on this technique, the high LED performance can be maintained when the p-type layer thickness is significantly reduced.