ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the association between serum uric acid levels at the onset and prognostic outcome in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed the outcomes of 1166 patients with ischaemic stroke who were hospitalized in our centre during August 2008 to November 2012. Correlations of serum uric acid levels and prognostic outcomes were analysed.ResultsMen had higher serum uric acid levels and better neurological functional outcomes compared with women. There was a strong negative correlation between serum uric acid levels and unfavourable neurological functional outcomes. Generalized estimated equation analysis showed that a higher serum uric acid level (>237 µmol/L) was a protective factor for neurological functional outcome in male, but not female, patients. Among five trial of ORG 10172 in acute stroke treatment classification subtypes, only patients with the large-artery atherosclerosis subtype had a significant protective effect of serum uric acid levels on neurological outcome.ConclusionsOur study shows that high serum uric acid levels are a significant protective factor in men and in the large-artery atherosclerosis subtype in patients with ischaemic stroke. This is helpful for determining the prognostic value of serum uric acid levels for neurological outcome of acute ischaemic stroke.

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In this paper, we propose a realistic model to investigate the cascading failure process in a cyber-physical power system (CPPS) which can be topologically modeled as an interdependent system consisting of a power network and a cyber-network. To evaluate the robustness of CPPS against cyber-attacks, we take into consideration the effects of computer malware spreading, power redistribution and overloading, and the interdependency between the coupled networks, and then adopt the stochastic failure model to calculate the time interval between the initial cyber-attack and a given level of power loss. We conduct a critical node analysis on the power network to identify the important buses whose removals are likely to trigger a serious blackout. Based on the results of the critical node analysis, we propose both deterministic and stochastic coupling strategies for an asymmetric CPPS with two subnetworks with unequal sizes, to improve its robustness against both random and intentional cyber-attacks. The simulation results on CPPSs built on IEEE 118 Bus and 300 Bus power systems indicate that the proposed coupling methods can effectively improve the system robustness against cyber-attacks. INDEX TERMS Cascading failure, complex networks, robustness, cyber physical system, smart grids.

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Backgrounds The incidence of angiostrongyliasis is increasing in recent decades due to the expanding endemic areas all over the world. Clinicians face tremendous challenge of diagnosing angiostrongyliasis because of the lack of awareness of the disease and less effective definitive laboratory tests. Case presentation A 27-year-old man initially manifested skin itching, emesis, myalgia and quadriparesis. With progressive weakness of four limbs and elevated protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), he was diagnosed as Guillain-Barré syndrome and treated with intravenous methylprednisolone and immunoglobulin. However, the patient deteriorated with hyperpyrexia, headache and then persistent coma. The routine tests for Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) with both the CSF and the serum were all negative. In contrast, the metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was applied with the serum sample and the CSF sample in the middle phase. The central nervous system (CNS) angiostrongyliasis was diagnosed by mNGS with the mid-phase CSF, but not the mid-phase serum. At the same time, the CSF analysis revealed eosinophils ratio up to 67%. The discovery of A. cantonensis was confirmed by PCR with CSF later. Unfortunately, the patient died of severe angiostrongyliasis. During his hospitalization, mNGS was carried out repeatedly after definitive diagnosis and targeted treatment. The DNA strictly map reads number of A. cantonensis detected by mNGS was positively correlated with the CSF opening pressure and clinical manifestations. Conclusions The case of A. cantonensis infection highlights the benefit of mNGS as a target-free identification in disclosing the rare CNS angiostrongyliasis in the unusual season, while solid evidence from routine clinical testing was absent. The appropriate sample of mNGS should be chosen according to the life cycle of A. cantonensis. Besides, given the fact that the DNA reads number of A. cantonensis fluctuated with CSF opening pressure and clinical manifestations, whether mNGS could be applied as a marker of effectiveness of treatment is worth further exploration.

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