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Purpose: To investigate the associations of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with peripapillary choroidal thickness (pCT) and retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness in diabetic patients by using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Methods: Ocular treatment-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus registered in the community health system in Guangzhou, China, were recruited to participate in this prospective cross-sectional study. The eGFR was determined using the Xiangya formula, and the renal function was categorized into non-chronic kidney disease (non-CKD), mild CKD, and moderate to severe CKD (MS-CKD) according to the guidelines. The pCT and pRNFL thicknesses at 12 o'clock were obtained using an SS-OCT by a circular scan with a diameter of 3.4 mm centering on the optic nerve head, and the data from only one eye in each patient were used. Results: This study included 1,408 diabetic patients, with a mean age of 64.4 ± 7.8 years. The average pCT decreased with renal function deterioration, with 126.0 ± 58.0 μm for non-CKD, 112.0 ± 51.2 μm for mild CKD and 71.0 ± 22.9 μm for MS-CKD, respectively (P <.001). The pCT was found to be significantly thinner in CKD patients in all quadrantes (P <.05 in all regions) with the exception of the inferior quadrant, and the average pCT was positively correlated with eGFR (β = 0.3, 95%CI = 0.0 to 0.6, P =.021) after adjusting for other factors. The pRNFL thickness in the nasal quadrant was significantly reduced in patients with CKD, and pRNFL thickness was positively correlated with eGFR (β = 0.1, 95%CI = 0.0–0.2, P =.009) after adjusting for other factors. Conclusion: Impaired renal function was associated with a reduction of pCT and pRNFL thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes. The measurement of pCT and pRNFL may provide additional information for predicting renal impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arterial pressure volume index (API) and arterial velocity pulse index (AVI) contribute to the development of vascular damage and cardiovascular disease. However, the relationship between common API/AVI trajectories and cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unknown. Methods: A total of 488 consecutive hypertensive patients with HFpEF who repeatedly underwent API/AVI measurements were prospectively examined. We then applied API/AVI measurements into actual clinical practice. Latent mixture modeling was performed to identify API/AVI trajectories. Hazards ratios (HRs) were measured using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: We identified four distinct API/AVI trajectory patterns: low (7.6%), moderate (43.8%), high (28.9%), and very high (19.7%). Compared with the low group, higher API trajectories were associated with increased risk of total cardiovascular events (high group, adjusted HR: 2.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.97–4.26; very high group, adjusted HR: 2.46, 95%CI: 1.18–3.79). Consistently, higher AVI trajectories were also associated with a higher risk of total cardiovascular events (high group, adjusted HR: 2.58, 95%CI: 1.23–5.47; very high group, adjusted HR: 3.12, 95%CI: 1.83–6.08), compared with the low trajectory group. Conclusion: High API/AVI trajectories are strong predictors of cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients with HFpEF. Among these patients, measuring API/AVI may improve risk stratification and provide additional information to tailor treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation on bioactive chemical constituents of safflower led to the isolation of 10 compounds from the aqueous extract, including a new alkaloid (1), a new glucopyranoside (2), and 8 known compounds (3-10). The structures of two new compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectral analyses, including 1D, 2D-NMR and HRESIMS. Biological research on the isolates indicated that compounds 3, 4 and 9 remarkably inhibited tyrosinase with IC50 at 0.11, 0.20 and 0.11 mM, respectively, compared with the positive control arbutin (0.26 mM). To investigate the interaction between enzyme and isolated compounds, an in silico docking study was carried out. The research provided valuable experience for phytochemistry and biological investigation on safflower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study was aimed to further explore whether estradiol (E2) had protective effects on intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) in a rat model. Material/methods: Forty, three-month-old female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: Sham, Ovariectomy (OVX), E2 and ICI182780 (ICI). Sham group only underwent the resection of a bit fat; OVX group underwent bilateral ovariectomy; E2 group was treated with E2 based on OVX; ICI group was treated with E2 and pretreated ICI182780 (inhibitor of the estrogen receptor) based on OVX. Radiography, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were applied to detect the apoptosis characteristics of intervertebral disc cells. Results: Radiographs showed marked intervertebral disc narrowing and HE staining showed typical apoptosis characteristics of intervertebral disc cells in OVX, which were reversed by E2. Furthermore, the results of IHC, Western blot and qRT-PCR revealed that OVX-induced IVDD was protected by E2 through decreasing the expression of caspase-3 and intracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), including MMP-3 and MMP-13, while increasing the expression of collagen Type II. All of the detected effects of E2 were abolished after treatment with ICI182780. Conclusion: 17β-E2 inhibits IVDD by down-regulating MMP-3 and MMP-13 and up-regulating collagen Type II in a rat model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical solution is presented to study a plane solitary wave propagating past a concentric segmented arc-shaped breakwater using the matched eigenfunction and separation of variable methods. The undetermined potential coefficients are obtained based on matching conditions. The numerical results of this study are found to agree well with previous calculation results. The major factors (including the number of arc-shaped breakwaters, opening angle, incident angle, and gap width) that affecting the hydrodynamic loads and diffracted wave surface are discussed. The results indicate that the shielding effect of a segmented two-arc breakwater with a small gap width is better than that of an unsegmented arc-shaped breakwater. However, the arrangement of the segmented arc impacts the sheltering effect. Numerical results provide a valuable reference for the hydrodynamic analyses and structural design of segmented arc-shaped breakwaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of ( R )-2-trimethylsilyl-2-hydroxyl-propionitrile via asymmetric transcyanation of acetyltrimethylsilane with acetone cyanohydrin in an aqueous/organic biphasic system catalyzed by ( R )-hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus japonica seed meal was successfully carried out for the first time. The optimal volume ratio of aqueous to organic phase, buffer pH value and reaction temperature were 15% (v/v), 5.0 and 30°C, respectively, under which both substrate conversion and product enantiomeric excess ( ee ) were 99%. Silicon atom in the substrate showed great effect on the reaction. Acetyltrimethylsilane was a much better substrate for ( R )-hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus japonica than its carbon analogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To summarize the research status on the function and mechanism of circRNAs in regulating the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase.com, and ARVO Abstracts website and reviewed relevant studies. Results: Thousands of circRNAs were found to be aberrantly expressed in DR patients, animal models, or cell models. A few circRNAs, such as cPWWP2A, circDNMT3B, circHIPK3, circ_0005015, et al were demonstrated to play an important role in DR by regulating the angiogenesis, proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response of various cells in the retina. Conclusion: CircRNAs are involved in the development of DR. CircRNAs can not only serve as DR biomarkers, but also become therapeutic targets for DR. The role of plenty of circRNAs in DR is yet to be discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report controllable assembly of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) for patterning of silver microstructures. The assembly is induced by femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW). A tightly focused femtosecond laser beam is capable of trapping and driving Ag NPs to form desired micropatterns with a high resolution of ∼190 nm. Taking advantage of the ‘direct writing’ feature, three microelectrodes have been integrated with a microfluidic chip; two silver-based microdevices including a microheater and a catalytic reactor have been fabricated inside a microfluidic channel for chip functionalization. The FsLDW-induced programmable assembly of Ag NPs may open up a new way to the designable patterning of silver microstructures toward flexible fabrication and integration of functional devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technology of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) has improved the storage density of hard disc drives. The PFPE molecules of lubricant layer adhered on the disc can transfer from the lubricant layer and form the lubricant bridge which can deteriorate the stability of read/write process. In this paper, the formation and breaking of lubricant bridge at the head–disc interface (HDI) affects HAMR stability and deserves to be investigated. Using molecular dynamic simulation, a full-atom model was built to evaluate the behaviour of the lubricant bridge. Moreover, the effects of lubricant temperature, heating-up time, disc rotation speed and bearing pressure on the HDI were studied. It has been found that the amount of transferring atoms sharply increased when the lubricant temperature was above 700 K. The loss rate of lubricant layer decreased gradually during the heating process and it took about 2.2 ns for the remaining lubricant to reach stability. Furthermore, transferring PFPE molecules can form the lubricant bridge. A shorter heating-up time makes the lubricant bridge thicker and more robust. And the duration of lubricant bridge is notably affected by heating-up time, rotation speed and bearing pressure. A shorter heating-up time leads to a longer duration of lubricant bridge, whereas a higher rotation speed and bearing pressure reduces the duration of lubricant bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Boronizing treatment was done to form a boride surface layer well bonded with cemented carbide substrate. Multilayer microcrystalline diamond (MCD) and nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coatings were prepared on the boronizing cemented carbide substrate by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method. The surface and the cross section micrograph, coating component, hardness and adhesion of the as-deposited diamond coatings were observed with a SEM, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindenter and a Rockwell hardness tester accordingly. The results show that the MCD coating consists of well-faceted grains and the hardness of the MCD coating is about 85GPa. The NCD coating has morphological features with grain sizes of several tens of nanometer. The hardness of the NCD coating is about 52GPa. The boron doping of cemented carbide substrate can improve the fracture strength of the diamond film to some extent, and the adhesion of multilayer NCD/MCD coating is better than that of monolayer MCD and monolayer NCD coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial control region (CR) was sequenced for three genera of Hipposideridae to give a detailed overview of its features. The CR of leaf-nosed bats (1288-1560 bp) was divided into three domains like that of other mammals. In addition to the common conserved blocks (ETAS1, ETAS2, F-B boxes, CSB1, CSB2, and CSB3) found in all species, a CSB1-like element was also detected in the conserved sequence blocks (CSB). Repeated motifs were examined in the ETAS of Aselliscus stoliczkanus (26 bp) and Hipposideros bicolor (80 bp) and were present in the CSB of all individuals (6, 8, 16, and 20 bp). Phylogenetic reconstructions using the CR sequences indicated that the phylogenetic relationships among Hipposideros species were consistent with the results of other molecular and phenetic analyses. Aselliscus and Coelops had a closer relationship. But the central domain could not be used for phylogenetic analyses at family and genus levels due to its high conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Cu(II) complex, [Cu(L)2], has been synthesized via the complexation of copper(II) acetate monohydrate with a new oxime-type ligand (HL = 1-(3-{[(E)-3-bromo-5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene]amino}phenyl)ethanone oxime). X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that the complex is a mononuclear complex. The Cu(II) atom is four-coordinated by the phenolate O atoms and imine N atoms from two oxime-type ligands, in a square-planar geometry in which the dihedral angle of two coordination plane (Cu1N1O1 and Cu1N#1O#1) is 0°. The crystal packing of the Cu(II) complex shows that a notable feature of this structure resides in the formation of a novel 3D supramolecular networks through intermolecular O–H···N, C–H···O, and C–H···π interactions. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition ofSynthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic, Metal-Organic, and Nano-Metal Chemistryto view the supplemental file. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In view of energy shortage and air pollution, ethanol-gasoline blended fuel used for motorcycle engine was studied in this work. The emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and engine performance of a 125 cc four-stroke motorcycle engine with original carburetor using ethanol-gasoline fuels were investigated. The model of three-variable Box Behnken design (BBD) was used for experimental design, the ethanol blend ratios were prepared at 0, 10, 20 vol%; the speeds of motorcycle were selected as 30, 45, 60 km/h; and the throttle positions were set at 30, 60, 90 %. Both engine performance and air pollutant emissions were then analyzed by response surface method (RSM) to yield optimum operation parameters for tolerable pollutant emissions and maximum engine performance. The RSM optimization analysis indicated that the most suitable ethanol-gasoline blended ratio was found at the range of 3.92–4.12 vol% to yield a comparable fuel conversion efficiency, while considerable reductions of exhaust pollutant emissions of CO (-29 %) and NOX (-12 %) when compared to pure gasoline fuel. This study demonstrated low ethanol-gasoline blended fuels could be used in motorcycle carburetor engines without any modification to keep engine power while reducing exhaust pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]