A new high-sensitive nephelometric method for assaying serum C-reactive protein based on phosphocholine interaction

Background: The measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations has been of interest as a classical marker of acute phase response; in addition, it has been of particular interest in cardiovascular risk stratification where high-sensitive measurements are necessary. Since CRP is able to bind phospholipids (mainly phosphocholine) in the presence of calcium ions, we explored the possibilities of developing a high-sensitive affordable nephelometric CRP assay based on diluted soy oil emulsions. Methods: Serum (or heparinized plasma) was mixed with Intralipid 20% in Tris-calcium buffer (pH 7.5). After 12 min of incubation at 37 degrees C, the CRP-phospholipid complexes were measured by nephelometry (840 nm) using a BN II nephelometer (Siemens). Results (n=97) were compared with those obtained using a typical immunoturbidimetric method (Roche). Results: Imprecision of the functional nephelometric assay was evaluated using three human serum pools. Within-run coefficients of variation (CVs) for level 1, 2 and 3 were 6.1%, 4.7% and 4.5%, respectively, and between-run CVs were 17.6%, 18.8% and 11.3%, respectively. Good agreement was obtained between the functional nephelometric and the immunoturbidimetric CRP assay in a concentration range from 0.1 mg/L to 50 mg/L (r=0.884). A logit-log calibration curve was made between 0.056 mg/L and 1.785 mg/L. The limit of detection was 0.5 mg/L. Conclusions: The functional nephelometric CRP assay allowed high-sensitive CRP determinations in serum and plasma. Since the assay is species independent, the described functional CRP assay could be used for veterinary purposes as well

Existence of random attractors for a class of second order lattice dynamical systems with Brownian motions

Copyright © 2014 Yamin Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.For abstract, see attached file.The National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant nos. 61374010, 61074129, and 61175111, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China under Grant BK2012682, the Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province (2010), the 333 Project of Jiangsu Province (2011), and the Six Talents Peak Project of Jiangsu Province (DZXX-047)

An integrated approach to global synchronization and state estimation for nonlinear singularly perturbed complex networks

This paper aims to establish a unified framework to handle both the exponential synchronization and state estimation problems for a class of nonlinear singularly perturbed complex networks (SPCNs). Each node in the SPCN comprises both 'slow' and 'fast' dynamics that reflects the singular perturbation behavior. General sector-like nonlinear function is employed to describe the nonlinearities existing in the network. All nodes in the SPCN have the same structures and properties. By utilizing a novel Lyapunov functional and the Kronecker product, it is shown that the addressed SPCN is synchronized if certain matrix inequalities are feasible. The state estimation problem is then studied for the same complex network, where the purpose is to design a state estimator to estimate the network states through available output measurements such that dynamics (both slow and fast) of the estimation error is guaranteed to be globally asymptotically stable. Again, a matrix inequality approach is developed for the state estimation problem. Two numerical examples are presented to verify the effectiveness and merits of the proposed synchronization scheme and state estimation formulation. It is worth mentioning that our main results are still valid even if the slow subsystems within the network are unstable

Receding horizon filtering for a class of discrete time-varying nonlinear systems with multiple missing measurements

This paper is concerned with the receding horizon filtering problem for a class of discrete time-varying nonlinear systems with multiple missing measurements. The phenomenon of missing measurements occurs in a random way and the missing probability is governed by a set of stochastic variables obeying the given Bernoulli distribution. By exploiting the projection theory combined with stochastic analysis techniques, a Kalman-type receding horizon filter is put forward to facilitate the online applications. Furthermore, by utilizing the conditional expectation, a novel estimation scheme of state covariance matrices is proposed to guarantee the implementation of the filtering algorithm. Finally, a simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the established filtering scheme.This work was supported in part by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia [grant number 16-135-35-HiCi], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 61329301], [grant number 61203139], [grant number 61134009], and [grant number 61104125], Royal Society of the U.K., the Shanghai Rising-Star Program of China [grant number 13QA1400100], the Shu Guang project of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai Education Development Foundation [grant number 13SG34], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, DHU Distinguished Young Professor Program, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

An update on the potential for male contraception : emerging options

The human population continues to grow and is estimated to rise to 10.1 billion by the end of the century. Therefore, there is still an unmet need for safe and highly effective contraceptive options for both men and women. Current options available to men include withdrawal, condoms, and vasectomy. Methods in development fall into two categories: hormonal and nonhormonal. This review will provide an overview of the testosterone combinations and immunocontraception of hormonal targets. Nonhormonal immunocontraception of sperm proteins will also be examined, together with the use of agents to disrupt other sperm-associated targets and pathways. The categories focused on include epididymal proteins, testicular kinases, epigenetic reader proteins, opioids, lonidamine derivatives, retinoic acid, microRNAs associated with spermatogenesis, and plant extracts. Considering these developments, the number of options available to men is likely to increase in the near future

Robust Η∞Control for a Class of Discrete Time-Delay Stochastic Systems with Randomly Occurring Nonlinearities

Copyright © 2014 Yamin Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.In this paper, we consider the robust Η∞ control problem for a class of discrete time-delay stochastic systems with randomly occurring nonlinearities. The parameter uncertainties enter all the system matrices; the stochastic disturbances are both state and control dependent, and the randomly occurring nonlinearities obey the sector boundedness conditions. The purpose of the problem addressed is to design a state feedback controller such that, for all admissible uncertainties, nonlinearities, and time delays, the closed-loop system is robustly asymptotically stable in the mean square, and a prescribed Η∞ disturbance rejection attenuation level is also guaranteed. By using the Lyapunov stability theory and stochastic analysis tools, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive sufficient conditions ensuring the existence of the desired controllers, where the conditions are dependent on the lower and upper bounds of the time-varying delays. The explicit parameterization of the desired controller gains is also given. Finally, a numerical example is exploited to show the usefulness of the results obtained.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61374010, 61074129, and 61175111, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China under Grant BK2012682, the Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province (2010), the 333 Project of Jiangsu Province (2011), and the Six Talents Peak Project of Jiangsu Province (2012)

Evaluation of the Surgical and Pharmacological Treatment of Diabetic Foot Infection: A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot infection is a major cause of patient disabilities and lowers limb amputations, with high treatment costs and hospitalisation requirements. AIM: Aim of this study was to evaluate surgical wound care plus antibiotic effects in the treatment of mild and moderate diabetic foot infections. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 60 patients with diabetic foot infections with or without osteomyelitis. The patients were categorised as group 1 mild and group 2 moderate. Both groups were treated using local wound debridement and the systemic administration of antibiotics. Group 1 (16) patients were treated with two regimens of oral antibiotics in two regimens, A (amoxicillin/clavulanate + metronidazole) and B (clindamycin + metronidazole), for 10-14 days. Group 2 (42) patients were treated with oral plus intravenous antibiotics in two regimens, A (ampicillin + cloxacillin + metronidazole) and B (lincomycin + metronidazole), for 6 weeks. The patients followed-up with local wound care specialists for 3 months to evaluate the treatment outcomes (cure, improvement, or failure). RESULTS: Group 1 had an 80% cure rate under regimen A and a 100% cure rate under regimen B. Group 2 regimen A patients had a 61.5% cure rate and 11.53% improved, while regimen B patients had a 68.75% cure rate and 12.5% improved. Failure in both regimens was 23.8% in 20 patients with osteomyelitis, while 35% were cured and 20% improved during the study period. CONCLUSION: Local surgical wound care for 3 months with antibiotic regimens for 6 weeks resulted in good response and cure rates, with lower costs and fewer instances of hospitalisation. Intravenous lincomycin and oral metronidazole achieved higher cure responses for moderate diabetic foot infections

Reliable H ∞ filtering for stochastic spatial–temporal systems with sensor saturations and failures

This study is concerned with the reliable H∞ filtering problem for a class of stochastic spatial–temporal systems with sensor saturations and failures. Different from the continuous spatial–temporal systems, the dynamic behaviour of the system under consideration evolves in a discrete rectangular region. The aim of this study is to estimate the system states through the measurements received from a set of sensors located at some specified points. In order to cater for more realistic signal transmission process, the phenomena of sensor saturations and sensor failures are taken into account. By using the vector reorganisation approach, the spatial–temporal system is first transformed into an equivalent ordinary differential dynamic system. Then, a filter is constructed and a sufficient condition is obtained under which the filtering error dynamics is asymptotically stable in probability and the H∞ performance requirement is met. On the basis of the analysis results, the desired reliable H∞ filter is designed. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed filtering scheme.Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia under Grant 16-135-35-HiCi, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61329301, 61134009 and 61473076, the Shanghai Rising-Star Program of China under Grant 13QA1400100, the Shu Guang project of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai Education Development Foundation under Grant 13SG34, the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the DHU Distinguished Young Professor Program, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of German