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In healthy adults, the association between the glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and intima-media thickness (IMT) is stronger in the femoral artery than that in the carotid artery. However, whether this differential strength of association also applies to adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether IMT increases in extracarotid arteries (specifically in the lower extremities) prior to the carotid artery. In total, 286 adolescents with T1D (15.9 ± 4.9 years; 42.0% male participants) were enrolled, and the B-mode ultrasonographic measurement of IMT in the carotid, femoral, and popliteal arteries was performed. Cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure (BP), body mass index, lipid levels, and glycemic parameters, were evaluated. To evaluate the site-dependent relationship between IMT and cardiovascular risk factors, a linear mixed-effects model was developed with repeated IMT measurements at various arterial sites as fixed effects and participants as random effects. Glycemic parameters, lipids, uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and advanced glycation end-products were some cardiovascular risk factors that worsened with increasing HbA1c levels. Patients with a higher HbA1c level (>10% vs. ≤10%) had thicker IMT in the femoral artery but not in the carotid or popliteal arteries. Patients with poorer diabetic control exhibited significant changes in certain cardiovascular functions, including central systolic BP, left ventricular (LV) ejection time, LV dp/dt max, stroke volume, and brachial artery compliance. A standard mediation analysis revealed that none of the aforementioned cardiovascular functions mediated the relationship between higher HbA1c level and greater femoral IMT. In adolescents with T1D, cardiovascular risk factors deteriorate with worsening blood glucose control. In the early stages of T1D, femoral IMT may serve as a more sensitive surrogate marker for hyperglycemia-induced subclinical atherosclerosis, an effect that may not be mediated by alterations in cardiovascular functions.

This study aimed to determine whether sleep disturbance, defined as the wakeup frequency at night, is associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia and to explore possible sex differences.A total of 1,368 adults aged 19-70 years were included in the study of lifestyles and atherogenic dyslipidemia at the National Taiwan University Hospital in the period of 2008-2012. They completed a questionnaire regarding lifestyle information and sleep quality, including sleep hour duration, use of sleeping pills, and wakeup frequency during nighttime sleep. The measured lipid profiles included total cholesterol, triglycerides, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C, respectively), non-HDL-C, and small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine habitual interrupted sleep and the odds ratio of atherogenic dyslipidemia following adjustment for conventional risk factors and for sex-based subgroup analysis.A wakeup frequency ≥ 3 times per night was independently associated with an increased risk [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)] of dyslipidemia was 1.96 (1.17-3.28), and non-HDL-C ≥ 160 mg/dL was 1.78 (1.09-2.89). A higher wakeup frequency was associated with increased atherogenic dyslipidemia in women than in men. The multivariate adjusted relative risks for non-HDL ≥ 160 mg/dL and cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL were 3.05 (1.27-7.34) and 4.01(1.29-12.45) for female individuals with insomnia and those with a wakeup frequency ≥ 2 times per night, respectively.A higher wakeup frequency was associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia in Taiwanese adults, particularly in women. This study also provided another evidence of increasing cardiovascular diseases in subjects with habitual interrupted sleep.

Here, we show a novel energy conversion design with a dynamic MIM structure. This is realized though grafting CF3 group which shows high tunnelling current density of up to 7.6 × 106 Am−2. This can further fulfill the macroscopic energy harvesting.

Supertyphoons (STs) and strong convection gales (SCGs) are extremely hazardous weather events over land. Knowledge of their processes is crucial for various applications, such as intensity forecasts of gales and the design of high-rise construction and infrastructure. Here, an observational analysis of two strong SCGs and two STs is presented based on data from the Shenzhen meteorological gradient tower, the tallest in Asia. Differences in the intrinsic physical characteristics measured at each event can be associated with different disaster-causing mechanisms. Wind speeds during STs are comparatively much larger but feature slower variations, while those of SCGs are more abrupt. Unlike that observed during STs, the vertical distribution of wind speeds during SCGs obeys a power law or exponential distribution only within 1-h maximum wind speed windows. In comparison with a Gaussian distribution, a generalized extreme value distribution can better characterize the statistical characteristics of the gusts of both STs and SCGs events. Deviations from Kolmogorov’s −5/3 power law were observed in the energy spectra of both phenomena at upper levels, albeit with differences. Different from what is seen in the ST energy spectrum distribution, a clear process of energy increase and decrease could be seen in SCGs during gale evolution. Nonetheless, both SCGs and STs exhibited a high downward transfer of turbulent momentum flux at a 320 m height, which could be attributed to the pulsation of the gusts rather than to the large-scale base flow. Significance Statement Strong gales induced by typhoons and severe convection have potential serious impacts on human society. The current study compares and analyzes the characteristics of the gales induced by the two different weather systems using the data observed by a 356-m-tall tower in South China. This paper also shows the relationship between gusts of the near-surface wind and the turbulent momentum fluxes, thus suggesting a possible mechanism leading to destructive forces in surface winds. In terms of social value, this study would contribute to increase the awareness of gales (the instantaneous wind speed over 17 m s−1) and improve the prediction and prevention of different types of gales, as well as the wind-resistant design of high-rise buildings.

In this paper, the vibration characteristics of the 1ST-460 vibration subsoiler was analyzed. In order to solve the problem of vibration imbalance caused by the vibration component under the action of multiple groups of vibration shovels, the optimal combination mode of the vibration component under the interaction of multiple groups of shovels was obtained. Piezoelectric accelerometers are fixed symmetrically on the frame of the subsoiler to measure the vibration at different positions. TST5910 dynamic signal test and analysis system is used to collect and process the acceleration data. Non-load tests were carried out with different initial eccentric phase angle combination. Results showed that the combination of [0°, 180°, 180°, 0°] (symmetrically up and down staggered vibration) for the eccentric vibration component of four shovels is the optimal initial phase combination, which can lead to the minimum adverse vibration on the frame. Further tests were conducted under different vibrating frequency and amplitude/eccentric with optimal phase combination. The results showed that, when amplitude/eccentricity ratio was 2.0 and 2.5, frequency of vibration was 6.7 and 8.3 Hz, the required traction force of the subsoiler was stable and significantly reduced, which can improve the soil loosening performance and reduce the harmful vibration on the tractor.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with the embedded-atom method (EAM)/alloy potential is used to investigate the property of the nanoscale hollow spherical Nickel (Ni) powder during the laser additive manufacturing (AM) process. The thermomechanical properties of the Ni nanopowder is also explored (1) at room temperature and (2) from room temperature to the melting temperature during laser AM of powder bed fusion. As a result, the optimum parameters for the laser AM process are proposed. The optimal coalescence temperature of the nanoscale hollow spherical Ni powder is in the range between 980 and 1421K, while the melting temperature is in the range between 1320 and 1470 K. The coalescence and melting temperatures are lower than the melting point of Ni (1728 K).

To evaluate the provision of occupational health services at hospitals following the establishment of the Network of Occupational Disease and Injury Service (NODIS) in 2007.A review of occupational health services during 2008-2021 was conducted. The medical practice-based reporting system was compared with the database of compensated occupational diseases (ODs) from Taiwan's Labor Insurance.First-time outpatient visits for occupational evaluation and total visits to NODIS health-care institutions increased from 1777 and 9435 to 12092 and 23210, respectively. Reported ODs increased from 1626 to 2043 with a peak of 2791. Up to 1380 workers evaluated for work resumption in 2021. Similar to the increasing trend in reported ODs, the number of compensated ODs increased over years.The health service needs of Taiwanese workers from OD evaluation to vocational rehabilitation are increasing.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has become the most common complication in women during pregnancy in Taiwan. Since several clinical trials have demonstrated benefits of aggressive treatment, which rely heavily on self-management. The present study was conducted to explore the self-management experience of women with first-time diagnosed GDM.A qualitative descriptive approach was applied to conduct this study.Purposive sampling was used to recruit patients with first-time diagnosed GDM from the maternity outpatient clinics of medical centre in Taiwan. A total of three focus groups interviews with 22 women were conducted to collect the data. Content analysis was applied to analyse the data.Four themes were identified: (1) unexpectedly having a high-risk pregnancy, (2) different perceptions for self-management, (3) implementation predicament of self-management and (4) maternal duty to ensure the safety of mother and child.

Objective. The main study objective was to investigate the correlation between the color Doppler ultrasound grading of hyperthyroidism and the biochemical data of thyroid function. Methods. Seventy-six patients were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism based on clinical and laboratory data at our hospital. The patients were examined using color Doppler ultrasound and laboratory investigations before starting 131I treatment. First, patients were divided into two groups based on the blood flow distribution determined by ultrasound. If the blood flow signal in the parenchyma was scattered and thinned, with dispersive points and discontinuous streaky distribution, the blood flow distribution area in the sample frame was less than or equal to 1/2 of the sample frame area and was judged to be level 1. If the parenchyma was filled with diffuse blood flow signals or if most areas had depicted rich blood flow distribution when the area of blood flow distribution in the sampling frame was greater than 1/2 of the sampling frame area, it was judged to be level 2. Then, the correlations between color Doppler ultrasound grading and biochemical data of thyroid function were analyzed. The indices included FT3, FT4, TSH, anti-TG, anti-TPO, and TRAb. Parameters of thyroid homeostasis, including thyroid’s secretory capacity (SPINA-GT), the total deiodinase activity (SPINA-GD), Jostel’s TSH index, and the thyrotroph thyroid hormone sensitivity index (TTSI), were calculated and compared. Results. Correlations were noted between color Doppler ultrasound grading and FT3, FT4, TRAb, SPINA-GT, TSHI, and TTSI. Moreover, FT3, FT4, TRAb, SPINA-GT, TSHI, and TTSI were higher in level 2 patients compared with level 1 patients. Conclusion. Correlations were noted between color Doppler ultrasound grading and biochemical data of thyroid function.

With the intensification of the pace of modern urban life and the increase of work pressure, people have higher requirements for the safety and comfort of home. However, the rapid development of Internet of Things technology, wireless communication technology, embedded technology, and data fusion technology has made this desire possible, thus making intelligent and safe. Using wireless sensor network, intelligent home system can realize the real-time collection of object location and state information, remote operation of home equipment, as well as the monitoring of the information of personnel activities, etc. However, how to efficiently analyze and integrate these information to be applied to the intelligent home system is one of the problems that need to be solved; further study of the smart home system of personal behavior identifies fire monitoring and remote monitoring of mining applications. Such information collection and integration of technology and method are given based on wireless sensor network transfer of key technologies; intelligent home security monitoring system based on Bayesian networks is proposed and a card. According to the theoretical fire monitoring method, and based on the Bayesian belief network personal behavior identification model, this paper provides the theory and method for the remote safety monitoring and control in the intelligent home environment. In this paper, based on the multisensor data fusion of smart home security, real-time monitoring alarm platform is built. Through the multisensor detection module for the home fire gas human infrared monitoring, the detected data is transmitted to the data fusion center for processing; processed results are uploaded to the cloud through the Internet. When abnormal conditions occur, users can log in to the mobile phone client to view abnormal alarm results.

Objective To investigate differences in outcomes between active-fluidics and gravity-fluidics phacoemulsification systems. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published no later than December 1, 2021. The Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. We presented the outcomes as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity analysis was performed by removing studies that included ≥2 types of phacoemulsification tips. Results We analyzed six RCTs that totally enrolled 884 patients. Patients undergoing lens extraction with active-fluidics systems exhibited lower cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), total aspiration time (TAT), and estimated fluid usage (EFU) compared with patients who did not (SMD [95% CI]: CDE, − 0.818 [ − 1.054 to − 0.582]; TAT, − 0.664 [ − 0.850 to − 0.479]; EFU, − 0.655 [ − 0.932 to − 0.378]). A sensitivity analysis revealed similar results for CDE, TAT, and EFU. For endothelial cell density (ECD) 1 week after surgery, ECD 1 month after surgery, and central corneal thickness (CCT) 1 week after surgery, outcomes of both systems were comparable (ECD at 1 week, 0.074 [ − 0.177 to 0.325]; ECD at 1 month, 0.069 [ − 0.167 to 0.305]; CCT 1 week after surgery, 0.077 [ − 0.173 to 0.328]). No severe adverse events in patients treated with either system were reported in the studies. Conclusion Active-fluidics systems are superior to gravity-fluidics systems with respect to CDE, TAT, and EFU; no differences in postoperative ECD and CCT were observed. Future studies are required to determine the reasons for heterogeneity and to detect rare adverse events.

Peripheral neuropathy, accompanied by chronic neuropathic pain, is among the frequent and debilitating complications of diabetes. Hyperglycemia is a risk factor for neuropathic pain, but the pathological mechanisms are unclear. The high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1)/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) inflammatory axis is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain,so we examined how hyperglycemia influences the HMGB1/TLR4 axis and behavioural manifestations of hyperalgesia in the Sprague-Dawley rat sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI) model. Short-term hyperglycemia induced by streptozotocin significantly augmented mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in CCI model rats compared to normoglycemic CCI model rats.These augmented nociceptive behaviours were associated with increased immune cell infiltration and activation, cytokine production and expression levels of TLR4 and HMGB1, as well as with reduced Sirt1 expression in spinal cord dorsal horn and sciatic nerve. High glucose also enhanced HMGB1/TLR4 inflammatory axis activity and cytokine production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Our results suggest that hyperglycemia predisposes individuals with peripheral nerve injury to neuropathic pain, in part through enhancement of Sirt1/HMGB1/TLR4 signalling and ensuing neuroinflammation. &nbsp

Volatile organic compounds detection technology, electronic nose, is promising in various applications such as health management, environmental monitoring, public safety, agriculture, and food production. The critical point of electronic nose to achieve good recognition ability, the fundament for applications, is the generation of high-quality signal characteristics that are transduced from each sensor unit, and aided with algorithm. However, chamber without uniform fluidic state introduce sensors' locations caused artificial characteristics to make the recognition difficult, even incredible. Inspired by the structure of the nasal cavity, a small volume chamber with well-controlled fluidic behavior is designed and fabricated according to theoretical simulation. All the expected fluidic features, including uniform flow field and concentration field, are achieved, which are experimentally demonstrated by humidity and 2-hexanone detection using sensors arrays. The well controlled fluidic behaviors of volatile analytes help achieving the ultra-sensitive volatile organic compounds detection, which might shed a new light for e-nose technology to go over the gap between academics and industry.

Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe malaria in humans. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) serves as the first line of humoral defense against infection and potently activates the complement pathway to facilitate P. falciparum clearance. A number of P. falciparum proteins bind IgM, leading to immune evasion and severe disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, we delineate how P. falciparum proteins VAR2CSA, TM284VAR1, DBLMSP, and DBLMSP2 target IgM. Each protein binds IgM in a different manner, and together they present a variety of Duffy-binding-like domain-IgM interaction modes. We further show that these proteins interfere directly with IgM-mediated complement activation in vitro, with VAR2CSA exhibiting the most potent inhibitory effect. These results underscore the importance of IgM for human adaptation of P. falciparum and provide critical insights into its immune evasion mechanism.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death globally, with the prevalence projected to keep rising. Risk factors for adult CVD emerge at least as early as the prenatal period. Alterations in stress-responsive hormones in the prenatal period are hypothesized to contribute to CVD in adulthood, but little is known about relations between prenatal stress-responsive hormones and early precursors of CVD, such as cardiometabolic risk and health behaviors. The current review presents a theoretical model of the relation between prenatal stress-responsive hormones and adult CVD through cardiometabolic risk markers (e.g., rapid catch-up growth, high BMI/adiposity, high blood pressure, and altered blood glucose, lipids, and metabolic hormones) and health behaviors (e.g., substance use, poor sleep, poor diet and eating behaviors, and low physical activity levels). Emerging evidence in human and non-human animal literatures suggest that altered stress-responsive hormones during gestation predict higher cardiometabolic risk and poorer health behaviors in offspring. This review additionally highlights limitations of the current literature (e.g., lack of racial/ethnic diversity, lack of examination of sex differences), and discusses future directions for this promising area of research.

Background Identification of the motifs bound by a transcription factor (TF) is important to reveal the function of TF. Previously, we built a transcription factor centered yeast one hybrid (TF-Centered Y1H) that could identify the motifs bound by a target TF. However, that method was difficult to comprehensively identify all the motifs bound by a TF. Results Here, we build an improved TF-Centered Y1H to comprehensively determine the motifs bound by a target TF. Recombination-mediated cloning in yeast was performed to construct a saturated prey library that contains 7 random base insertions. After TF-Centered Y1H screening, all the positive clones were pooled together to isolate pHIS2 vector. The insertion regions of pHIS2 were PCR amplified and the PCR product was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. The insertion sequences were then retrieved and analyzed using MEME program to identify the potential motifs bound by the TF. Using this technology, we studied the motifs bound by an ethylene-responsive factor (BpERF2) from birch. In total, 22 conserved motifs were identified, and most of them are novel cis-acting elements. Both the yeast one hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assay verified that the obtained motifs could be bound by BpERF2. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) study further suggested that the identified motifs can be bound by BpERF2 in cells of birch. These results together suggested that this technology is reliable and has biological significance. Conclusion This method will have wide application in DNA-protein interaction studies.

Low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors have been widely used following recent sensor-technology advancements; however, inherent limitations of low-cost monitors (LCMs), which operate based on light scattering without an air-conditioning function, still restrict their applicability. We propose a regional calibration of LCMs using a multivariate Tobit model with historical weather and air quality data to improve the accuracy of ambient air monitoring, which is highly dependent on meteorological conditions, local climate, and regional PM properties. Weather observations and PM2.5 (fine inhalable particles with diameters ≤ 2.5 µm) concentrations from two regions in Korea, Incheon and Jeju, and one in Singapore were used as training data to build a visibility-based calibration model. To validate the model, field measurements were conducted by an LCM in Jeju and Singapore, where R2 and the error after applying the model in Jeju improved (from 0.85 to 0.88) and reduced by 44% (from 8.4 to 4.7 µg m-3), respectively. The results demonstrated that regional calibration involving air temperature, relative humidity, and other local climate parameters can efficiently correct bias of the sensor. Our findings suggest that the proposed post-processing using the Tobit model with regional weather and air quality data enhances the applicability of LCMs.

To enhance plant fitness under natural conditions, the circadian clock is synchronized and entrained by light via photoreceptors. In turn, the circadian clock exquisitely regulates the abundance and activity of photoreceptors via largely uncharacterized mechanisms. Here we show that the clock regulator TIME FOR COFFEE (TIC) controls the activity of the far-red light photoreceptor phytochrome A (phyA) at multiple levels in Arabidopsis thaliana. Null mutants of TIC displayed dramatically increased sensitivity to light irradiation with respect to hypocotyl growth, especially to far-red light. RNA-sequencing demonstrated that TIC and phyA play largely opposing roles in controlling light-regulated gene expression at dawn. Additionally, TIC physically interacts with the transcriptional repressor TOPLESS (TPL), which was associated with the significantly increased PHYA transcript levels in the tic-2 and tpl-1 mutants. Moreover, TIC interacts with phyA in the nucleus, thereby affecting phyA protein turnover and the formation of phyA nuclear speckles following light irradiation. Genetically, phyA was found to act downstream of TIC in regulating far red light-inhibited growth. Taken together, these findings indicate that TIC acts as a major negative regulator of phyA by integrating transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms at multiple levels.

The circadian clock facilitates the survival and reproduction of crop plants under harsh environmental conditions such as drought and osmotic and salinity stresses, mainly by reprogramming the endogenous transcriptional landscape. Nevertheless, the genome-wide roles of core clock components in rice (Oryza sativa L.) abiotic stress tolerance are largely uncharacterized. Here, we report that CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 (OsCCA1), a vital clock component in rice, is required for tolerance to salinity, osmotic, and drought stresses. DNA affinity purification sequencing coupled with transcriptome analysis identified 692 direct transcriptional target genes of OsCCA1. Among them, the genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, including group A protein phosphatase 2C genes and basic region and leucine zipper 46 (OsbZIP46), were substantially enriched. Moreover, OsCCA1 could directly bind the promoters of OsPP108 and OsbZIP46 to activate their expression. Consistently, oscca1 null mutants generated via genome editing displayed enhanced sensitivities to ABA signaling. Together, our findings illustrate that OsCCA1 confers multiple abiotic stress tolerance likely by orchestrating ABA signaling, which links the circadian clock with ABA signaling in rice.

The purpose was to explore the potential effects of nonapnea sleep disorders (NSDs) and hypnotic use on the incidence of common cold. This study adapted population-based retrospective cohort study designed. We used the data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 1998 and 2011. In total, 59,476 patients with NSDs were included in the study cohort, and the reference cohort comprised 59,476 propensity score-matched patients. We conducted a Poisson regression analysis to assess the incidence of common cold. The overall incidence of common cold was significantly higher than that in the reference cohort. Compared with the patients of the reference cohort without hypnotic use, those of the NSDs cohort with benzodiazepines and zolpidem use had higher incidence of common cold. In conclusion, study cohort had a higher incidence of developing common cold, and particularly pronounced in NSDs with hypnotic use.