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Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of retagliptin in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) inadequately controlled with metformin. Materials and Methods: This multicentre, phase 3 trial consisted of a 16‐week, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled period, where patients with HbA1c levels between 7.5% and 11.0% were randomized to receive either once‐daily (QD) retagliptin 100 mg (n = 87) or placebo (n = 87), both as an add‐on to metformin. The primary endpoint was the change in HbA1c from baseline to week 16. Results: At week 16, the least squares mean change in HbA1c from baseline, compared with placebo, was −0.82% (95% CI, −1.05% to −0.58%) for the retagliptin 100 mg QD group (P <.0001) per treatment policy estimand. Significantly higher proportions of patients in the retagliptin 100 mg QD group achieved HbA1c levels of less than 6.5% (11.5%) and less than 7.0% (26.4%) compared with those receiving placebo (0% and 4.6%; P =.0016 and P <.0001, respectively) at week 16. Retagliptin 100 mg QD also lowered fasting plasma glucose and 2‐hour postprandial plasma glucose levels. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) during the treatment period was similar between the two groups. However, slightly higher proportions of increased lipase and increased amylase in the retagliptin 100 mg QD group were observed. No patients discontinued treatment permanently because of AEs, and no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia were reported. Conclusions: Retagliptin 100 mg QD as an add‐on therapy to metformin offers a new therapeutic option for treating Chinese patients with T2D inadequately controlled by metformin alone, and is generally well tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study conducted in China that explores the treatment satisfaction of individuals with type 2 diabetes who were treated with dulaglutide, a medication used to lower blood sugar levels. The study found that participants reported high levels of satisfaction with dulaglutide, indicating that it may be a beneficial treatment option for individuals with type 2 diabetes in the Chinese population. Factors such as longer treatment duration, lower HbA1c levels, weight loss, absence of adverse events, and the convenience and ease of use of the medication were associated with higher treatment satisfaction. The study suggests that high treatment satisfaction may lead to improved adherence and better clinical outcomes for individuals with type 2 diabetes. [Extracted from the article]

Alumina (Al2O3) particles, the primary combustion products of solid rockets, can accumulate in the stratosphere, changing the global radiative balance. These Al2O3 particles were usually treated as homogeneous spheres. However, they contain impurities and may form clusters during the combustion process. Models representing Al-containing and C-containing Al2O3 clusters were developed, denoted as Al2O3 shell model (ASM) and Al2O3 core model (ACM), respectively. The superposition T-matrix method (STMM) was applied to examine their optical characteristics. Subsequently, a method to obtain the top-of-atmosphere flux was proposed by integrating the models with the moderate resolution atmospheric transmission code (MODTRAN). With the addition of Al/C, the absorption cross-section enhances by several orders of magnitude at 0.55 μm and increases slightly at 10 μm. The equivalent sphere models will weaken their scattering ability. A 4Tg mass burden of Al2O3 produces radiative forcing of −0.439 Wm−2. However, the addition of Al and C reduces the forcing by up to 15% and 12%, respectively. In summary, the optical characteristics and radiative forcing of Al2O3 clusters are sensitive to Al/C and morphology models. While our findings are impacted by various uncertainties, they contribute valuable insights into the radiative forcing of Al2O3 particles, potential climatic changes by space activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE Although the cost and complexity of managing diabetes is increasing around the world, placing greater burden on patients and their families, the cost of drug regimens prescribed to Chinese patients has not been evaluated. This study was conducted to evaluate the temporal changes in the costs and drugs used for people with diabetes. METHODS Patients enrolled in Beijing Medical Insurance with outpatient medical records from 2016 through 2018 were included in this study. The outcomes of interest were: (1) the number of outpatient medications, (2) the number of comorbidities diagnosed, (3) the estimated annual cost of the outpatient drug regimen, (4) the drug therapy strategies used for diabetic patients, and (5) the most commonly prescribed classes of drugs. RESULTS Over the 3-year period, there was a significant decrease (9.0%, P CONCLUSION This is the first large-scale cost analysis of the medical management of diabetes since the implementation of medical insurance in China. Despite the increasing availability of newer, more expensive diabetes drugs, there was a significant reduction in the number of diabetes medications used, that may be due to a more rational approach to optimizing metabolic targets. Key words: diabetes mellitus; drug costs; drug therapy; medicare Submitted August 8, 2020; submitted, revised, December 24, 2020; accepted January 5, 2021., INTRODUCTION Diabetes is one of the 4 major noncommunicable diseases (1) and is a cause of premature death and disability. International Diabetes Federation data show that 415 million individuals worldwide [...]

For the application of vortex electromagnetic (EM) beams in practical detection scenes, the scattering characteristics of electrically large arbitrarily shaped targets illuminated by an off-axis Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) vortex beam are investigated and compared to the on-axis incidence case. The vector potential method is used to extract the electric and magnetic field components of the LG beam in different polarization states. The physical optics algorithm is adopted to calculate the scattering fields of four typical targets with the shape of a sphere, NASA almond, blunt cone, and blade model. The results revealed that as the beam center offset and the topological charge of the incident vortex beam increase, the scattering field distorts, and the obvious orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectrum mixing occurs. In addition, OAM spectrum aliasing occurs for asymmetric targets, even at on-axis incidence. These results elucidate the mechanism of vortex EM scattering and provide a reference for applying vortex beams for target detection and recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research involved studying the characteristics of composite electromagnetic scattering from a rocket moving above actual terrain using the finite-difference time-domain method. The angular distribution curve of the composite scattering coefficient was obtained, and the influences of factors such as the angle of incidence, the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave, the content of moisture in soil, the dielectric constant of the rocket-shell material, the height of the rocket, and the undulation of the terrain on the composite scattering coefficient were investigated. Results show that the composite scattering coefficient oscillates with the scattering angle and increases in the direction of mirror reflection. It also decreases with increasing angle of incidence, frequency of the incident wave, and altitude of the rocket, while it increases with increasing soil moisture and dielectric constant of the rocket-shell materials. Although the influence of different terrain undulations on the composite scattering coefficient is noticeable, it follows no fixed pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation and trap evolution in NiO/β-Ga2O3 heterojunction pn diodes under on-state electrical stress were investigated in this work using deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The decrease in turn-on voltage and forward current appears to correlate with an increase in the concentration of the compensating acceptor-like traps. From the energy level of EV + 1.3 eV, the corresponding acceptor-like traps can be attributed to the Ga vacancy complex with hydrogen (VGa-H). Interestingly, accompanied by the increase in VGa-H concentration, the self-trapped holes (STH) originally passivated by H may gradually recover. DFT calculations show a monotonous decrease in energy, suggesting the spontaneous diffusion of hydrogen from STH passivated sites to the adjacent VGa, which are generated under stress. This phenomenon leads to the recovery of STH and the generation of VGa-H. This investigation offers new insights into the degradation mechanisms of β-Ga2O3-based devices under electrical stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a highly prevalent chronic complication in type 2 diabetes (T2D) for which no effective treatment is available. In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial in China, patients with T2D with DPN received acetyllevocarnitine hydrochloride (ALC; 1,500 mg/day; n = 231) or placebo (n = 227) for 24 weeks, during which antidiabetic therapy was maintained. A significantly greater reduction in modified Toronto clinical neuropathy score (mTCNS) as the primary end point occurred in the ALC group (−6.9 ± 5.3 points) compared with the placebo group (−4.7 ± 5.2 points; P < 0.001). Effect sizes (ALC 1.31 and placebo 0.85) represented a 0.65-fold improvement in ALC treatment efficacy. The mTCNS values for pain did not differ significantly between the two groups (P = 0.066), whereas the remaining 10 components of mTCNS showed significant improvement in the ALC group compared with the placebo group (P < 0.05 for all). Overall results of electrophysiological measurements were inconclusive, with significant improvement in individual measurements limited primarily to the ulnar and median nerves. Incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was 51.2% in the ALC group, among which urinary tract infection (5.9%) and hyperlipidemia (7.9%) were most frequent. Article Highlights: The prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in adults with diabetes is ∼50%, with clinical manifestations of burning, tingling, pain, and progressive numbness. Carnitine insufficiency is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes complications, and carnitine therapy reduces fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c concentrations. Adult patients with DPN were treated with acetyllevocarnitine hydrochloride (ALC) orally while receiving concomitant antidiabetic therapy, which resulted in improved modified Toronto clinical neuropathy scores. Dietary ALC supplementation provides at least some incremental improvement in DPN-related symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]