Systematic Review of Tongxinluo Capsule on the Therapeutic Effect and Hemorheology of Patients with Transient Ischemic Attack

Objectives. This study aims to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tongxinluo capsule in the treatment of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and its effect on hemorheology, thereby providing scientific basis for clinical decision making. Methods. A comprehensive and systematic literature retrieval was conducted in the CNKI, Wanfang database, SinoMed, EMbase, and PubMed to screen the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Tongxinluo capsule in the treatment of TIA. The retrieval time was from the inception of each database to September 10, 2020. Endnote X9 was used to screen the literature. Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Stata16.0 statistical software was used for meta-analysis. Results. A total of 12 RCTs were included, involving 946 subjects. (1) The clinical efficacy of the Tongxinluo group was better than that of the control group (RR = 1.19, 95% CI (1.09, 1.30), P ≤ 0.001). (2) The hemorheological characteristics of the Tongxinluo group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group (whole blood high shear viscosity: SMD = −1.61, 95% CI (−1.89, −1.34); P ≤ 0.001, whole blood low shear viscosity: SMD = −1.06, 95% CI (−1.31, −0.80), P ≤ 0.001, fibrinogen: SMD = −1.12, 95% CI (−1.94, −0.29), P = 0.008, plasma specific viscosity: SMD = −1.00, 95% CI (−1.69, −0.31), P = 0.004, and hematocrit: SMD = −1.47, 95% CI (−2.16, −0.77), P ≤ 0.001). (3) There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the Tongxinluo group and control group (RR = 7.76, 95% CI (0.98, 61.28), P = 0.052). Conclusion. Tongxinluo capsule is superior to conventional treatment in improving clinical overall response rate and hemorheological indexes and is relatively safe. Due to the deficiencies of the existing studies, more high-quality studies with rigorous design are required for further verification.

Elliptic flow for φ-mesons in Cu+Au and U+U collisions

An important goal of current ultra-relativistic heavy ion research is the investigation of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Measurements of elliptic flow lend insight on reaction dynamics and are important for defining parameters of viscous hydrodynamic, which can describe QGP behavior. In this paper elliptic flow for φ-mesons in Cu+Au collisions at s N N = 200 GeV and in U+U collisions at s N N = 193 GeV GeV is studied as a function of kinetic properties and centrality. The obtained results are compared to hydrodynamic model predictions. New FVTX detector and combinations of different approaches of flow measurements provide a possibility to measure the elliptic flow for the φ-mesons for the first time as a function of centrality at PHENIX. The elliptic flow for φ-mesons in Cu+Au and U+U collisions as function of transverse kinetic energy per one quark follows the trend for other hadrons with respect to the number of quarks in hadrons, regardless of centrality. This result along with agreement of obtained data to hydrodynamic model iEBE-VISHNU predictions suggests that QGP can be described with viscous hydrodynamic with specific viscosity η/s = 1/(4π).

Nanomaterials Improve Polymer-Based Gravel-Packing Fluids at High Temperature

A gravel packing fluid system was developed for elevated temperature applications above 290°F comprised of xanthan gum and a high-temperature gravel suspension additive. This fluid system has been successfully pumped in four openhole gravel packing operations so far, validating its suitability for Alternate Path gravel packing technology involving shunt tubes. Laboratory qualification testing for this fluid showed excellent gravel suspension, rheology, and breaking profiles for cleanup and minimal damage during production. Xanthan gels have been used in gravel packing applications for many years. However, by itself, xanthan was unable to suspend gravel at temperatures above 290°F possibly due to onset of thermally activated polymer degradation. This paper demonstrates that gravel suspension ability can be vastly improved with the addition of a recently developed nano-additive. This additive is a specially designed versatile nanosized material that has a proven track record with visco-elastic surfactant fluids in the past. In the present study, we show the successful application of this additive with polymer-based carrier fluids such as xanthan, effectively increasing their application range to 325°F. With the inclusion of this suspension additive, xanthan concentration in the fluid system can also be reduced, which has other potential benefits such as better cleanup after gel break. Extensive laboratory evaluation for fluid qualification was performed prior to the job. High-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) rheology measurements were performed using industry-standard rheometers at various shear rates to match specific viscosity requirements for shunt tube applications. Gravel suspension tests performed using special pressurized cells immersed in oil bath at the required bottomhole static temperature showed improved gravel suspension with the nano-additive. Fluid breaking with conventional oxidative breaker was also demonstrated with viscosity measurements. Formation response tests showed very good fluid cleanup with 90% regained permeability. Laboratory testing and successful field applications have proven the effectiveness of this new fluid system.

Obtaining and Properties of a Photocatalytic Composite Material of the “SiO2–TiO2” System Based on Various Types of Silica Raw Materials

Compositions and technology for obtaining a photocatalytic composite material (PCM) by deposition of titanium dioxide particles synthesized by the sol–gel method on a silica support of various types (microsilica, gaize and diatomite) have been developed. The properties (chemical and mineral composition, dispersion, specific surface area, porosity, ζ-potential, acid–base properties, and microstructure) of microsilica, gaize and diatomite were studied to assess the effectiveness of using a photocatalytic agent as a carrier. In terms of specific viscosity (ηsp = 45), the concentration of the precursor (tetrabutoxytitanium—TBT) is set at 22 vol. % in a solvent (ethanol), at which it is possible to obtain the maximum amount of dissolved film oligomer without the formation of an aggregate-like precipitate. Modification of the reaction mixture (precursor: ethanol = 1:3) by replacing part of the solvent with a Span-60 surfactant/TBT = 1–1.1 made it possible to obtain polydisperse titanium dioxide particles with peak sizes of 43 nm and 690 nm according to laser granulometry data. Taking into account the interaction of titanium complexes with the surface of a silica support, a phenomenological model of the processes of structure formation of a photocatalytic composite material is proposed. By the value of the decomposition of rhodamine B, the photocatalytic activity of the developed composite materials was determined: PCM based on diatomite—86%; PCM based on microsilica—85%; PCM based on gaize—57%.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Emissions of a Transport Engine Operating with Diesel-Biodiesel

The present work is about evaluating the emission characteristics of biodiesel-diesel blends in a reciprocating engine. The biodiesel was produced and characterized before the test. A virtual instrument was developed to evaluate the velocity, fuel consumption, temperature, and emissions of O2, CO, SO2, and NO from an ignition-compression engine of four cylinders with a constant rate of 850 rpm. The percentages of soybean-biodiesel (B) blended with Mexican-diesel (D) analyzed were 2% B-98% D (B2), 5% B-95% B (B5), and 20% B-80% D (B20). The biodiesel was obtained through a transesterification process and was characterized using Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicate that CO emission is 6%, 10%, and 18% lower for B2, B5, and B20, respectively, in comparison with 100% (D100). The O2 emission is 12% greater in B20 than D100. A reduction of 3% NO and 2.6% SO2 was found in comparison to D100. The obtained results show 44.9 kJ/g of diesel’s lower heating value, this result which is 13% less than the biodiesel value, 2.8% less than B20, 1.3% than B5, and practically the same as B2. The specific viscosity stands out with 0.024 Poise for the B100 at 73 °C, which is 63% greater than D100. The infrared spectra show characteristics signals of esters groups (C-O) and the pronounced peak from the carbonyl group (C=O). It is observed that the increase in absorbance of the carbonyl group corresponds to an increase in biodiesel concentration.

Homogeneous Gelation Leads to Nanowire Forests in the Transition Between Electrospray and Electrospinning

<p>The morphology of coatings created by electrostatic deposition can be generally divided into three categories: wire mats (electrospinning), particles (electrostatic spray, electrospray deposition(ESD)), and films (all low-viscosity applications). There should exist nanowire forests as a mixture of wire and particulate deposition. Such a morphology has yet to be observed experimentally, which we propose is the result of spatially-varying viscosity in sprayed droplets. We utilized electrostatic dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) and ESD to explore the spray of methylcellulose (MC) in water:ethanol mixtures. MC possesses a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water and water:ethanol blends. DPD simulations reveal that the barrier to forming nanowire forests is the directional nature of evaporation, but they should form were evaporation homogeneous. In ESD conducted above the LCST, MC and water phase separate concurrently with the rapid evaporation of ethanol, forming a homogeneous gel phase. This gel can undergo the elongation of electrospinning on a drop-by-drop basis to create forests of individual nanowires. Our study indicates that this homogenous evolution of viscosity is necessary for nanowire forest formation and that the specific viscosity (along with droplet size) further controls the morphology of the forests.</p>

Homogeneous Gelation Leads to Nanowire Forests in the Transition Between Electrospray and Electrospinning

<p>The morphology of coatings created by electrostatic deposition can be generally divided into three categories: wire mats (electrospinning), particles (electrostatic spray, electrospray deposition(ESD)), and films (all low-viscosity applications). There should exist nanowire forests as a mixture of wire and particulate deposition. Such a morphology has yet to be observed experimentally, which we propose is the result of spatially-varying viscosity in sprayed droplets. We utilized electrostatic dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) and ESD to explore the spray of methylcellulose (MC) in water:ethanol mixtures. MC possesses a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water and water:ethanol blends. DPD simulations reveal that the barrier to forming nanowire forests is the directional nature of evaporation, but they should form were evaporation homogeneous. In ESD conducted above the LCST, MC and water phase separate concurrently with the rapid evaporation of ethanol, forming a homogeneous gel phase. This gel can undergo the elongation of electrospinning on a drop-by-drop basis to create forests of individual nanowires. Our study indicates that this homogenous evolution of viscosity is necessary for nanowire forest formation and that the specific viscosity (along with droplet size) further controls the morphology of the forests.</p>