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The welding parameters optimization of TC4 titanium alloys/304 stainless steel (TC4/304 SS) by friction stir lap welding (FSLW) based on orthogonal test was researched. The results show that when the rotating speed was constant, the area of the high temperature zone and the peak temperature decreased with the increase of the traversing speed; when the traversing speed was constant, the area of the high temperature zone and the peak temperature increased with the increasing rotating speed. Among them, under the condition of low heat input, the interface temperature was about 912 °C, the material at the interface cannot fully react, and there was no formation of a large amount of brittle and hard intermetallic compounds; under the condition of medium heat input, the interface temperature was about 930 °C, this temperature caused a large amount of brittle and hard intermetallic compounds at the interface; under high heat input, the interface temperature was about 975 °C, a large number of intermetallic compounds were not formed at the interface.

Background Data are limited on the relationship between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and mortality risk among maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Moreover, the combined association of body mass index (BMI) and WHR with mortality remains uncertain. Therefore, we aimed to explore the individual and combined association of BMI and WHR with the all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods In this multicenter prospective cohort study, we enrolled 1034 MHD patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality and secondary outcome was CVD mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the individual and combined association of BMI and WHR with the risk of mortality. Results A nonlinear inverse relationship was found between BMI and risk of all-cause mortality (P for nonlinearity Conclusions In patients undergoing hemodialysis from China, low BMI and high WHR were individually and jointly associated with higher risk of mortality. Our results emphasize that BMI and WHR may jointly affect the prognosis of MHD patients.

The multi-pass fillet welds of casing pipe were welded onto the in-service pipeline, which is widely used in pipeline repairs. However, the residual stress of repairing welded joints is larger, and it is easy to cause cracks in the heat-affected zone. In this paper, the local heat treatment was used to adjust the residual stress of the repaired welded joint of the in-service pipeline. The results show that the local heat treatment is very useful for reducing the residual stress of the repair welding joint of the in-service pipeline.

The optimization of friction stir processing (FSP) parameters of magnesium alloy composite (AZ31B–SiC) based on orthogonal test was researched. The results show that the distribution of silicon carbide (SiC) particles, microhardness, tensile property, and fracture mode are greatly affected by the change in process parameters. The results show that the composite was made with a rotating speed of 750 rev·min−1, a traversing speed of 30 mm·min−1, and a processing time of three; the distribution of SiC particles is even, the microhardness difference of composite is small, the tensile property is better, and the ductile fracture is the main fracture mode. Besides, the existence of SiC and the number of FSP have a certain influence on the corrosion performance of the magnesium alloy composite (AZ31B–SiC), and the corrosion resistance of the FSP sample is obviously better than that of the AZ31B magnesium alloy.

The incorporation of energy conservation measures into production efficiency is widely recognized as a crucial aspect of contemporary industry. This study aims to develop interpretable and high-quality dispatching rules for energy-aware dynamic job shop scheduling (EDJSS). In comparison to the traditional modeling methods, this paper proposes a novel genetic programming with online feature selection mechanism to learn dispatching rules automatically. The idea of the novel GP method is to achieve a progressive transition from exploration to exploitation by relating the level of population diversity to the stopping criteria and elapsed duration. We hypothesize that diverse and promising individuals obtained from the novel GP method can guide the feature selection to design competitive rules. The proposed approach is compared with three GP-based algorithms and 20 benchmark rules in the different job shop conditions and scheduling objectives considered energy consumption. Experiments show that the proposed approach greatly outperforms the compared methods in generating more interpretable and effective rules. Overall, the average improvement over the best-evolved rules by the other three GP-based algorithms is 12.67%, 15.38%, and 11.59% in the meakspan with energy consumption (EMS), mean weighted tardiness with energy consumption (EMWT), and mean flow time with energy consumption (EMFT) scenarios, respectively.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to observe the effects of active vitamin D supplementation on insulin resistance and islet β-cell function (HOMA-β) in patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (NDCKD). Methods A total of 134 patients with NDCKD who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the prospective controlled study and categorized as such: 60 patients in the non-dialysis (ND) group; 36, hemodialysis (HD) group; and 38, peritoneal dialysis (PD) group. Each group was divided into two equal-numbered subgroups for vitamin D supplementation. Those in the experimental subgroups received calcitriol 0.5 ug/day orally, and were followed-up for 6 months. A total of 117 patients were followed-up, including 57 patients in the ND group; 29, HD group; and 31, PD group. Changes in the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and HOMA-β index were calculated and compared at the time of enrollment and after 1, 3, and 6 months of intervention. Results (1) Mean HOMA-IR value: In the ND group, mean HOMA-IR value of the experimental group significantly decreased compared with that of the control group after 3 months of intervention (P = 0.02). In the HD and PD groups, there was no statistical difference between the experimental and control groups (P > 0.05). (2) Mean HOMA-β index: In the ND group, mean HOMA-β index of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group after 1 month of active vitamin D treatment (P = 0.03), and, with an extended intervention time, the index gradually increased (P P = 0.01). Among PD patients, mean HOMA-β index of the patients in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group after 6 months of active vitamin D treatment (P = 0.02). Conclusions Active vitamin D supplementation improved insulin resistance and HOMA-β after 6 months in ND patients, but only improved HOMA-β in the dialysis patients, with no significant effect on insulin resistance.

A finite element (FE) model is presented in this work that is used to analyze the effect of pitting corrosion on the CO2 corrosion behavior of oil and gas pipeline welds. The FE model contains two parts, i. e., stress calculation of the welded joint using Abaqus software, and of the chemical reaction at the welded joint using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. The effect of transportation pressure, pit depth and welding material on the CO2 corrosion behavior of weld metal was investigated using the FE model. It turned out that the FE model is helpful to instruct the management and to assess the remaining service life prediction of pipelines in the oil and gas industry.

A TC4 titanium alloy plate was lap joined to a 304 austenitic stainless steel plate via friction stir welding. The microstructures at the lap joint interface were intensively examined by means of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis, and the mechanical properties of the lap joint were evaluated by a microhardness and shear tensile test. The results show swirling-like stir zones of TC4 and 304 SS are formed along the interface, where an aprox. 200 nm interface layer composed of TiFe and TiFe2 intermetallic compound is dispersed at the high rotating speed of the tool. In addition, the high hardness value is discontinuous distribution at the interface, and the shear strength of the commercially TC4 plate and 304 SS FSW lap joint can reach 7507 N at a rotational speed of 600 rpm, a welding speed of 30 mm/min, and a press amount of 0.4 mm.

Genetic Programming (GP) has been widely employed to create dispatching rules intelligently for production scheduling. The success of GP depends on a suitable terminal set of selected features. Specifically, techniques that consider feature selection in GP to enhance rule understandability for dynamic job shop scheduling (DJSS) have been successful. However, existing feature selection algorithms in GP focus more emphasis on obtaining more compact rules with fewer features than on improving effectiveness. This paper is an attempt at combining a novel GP method, GP via dynamic diversity management, with feature selection to design effective and interpretable dispatching rules for DJSS. The idea of the novel GP method is to achieve a progressive transition from exploration to exploitation by relating the level of population diversity to the stopping criteria and elapsed duration. We hypothesize that diverse and promising individuals obtained from the novel GP method can guide the feature selection to design competitive rules. The proposed approach is compared with three GP-based algorithms and 20 benchmark rules in the different job shop conditions and scheduling objectives. Experiments show that the proposed approach greatly outperforms the compared methods in generating more interpretable and effective rules for the three objective functions. Overall, the average improvement over the best-evolved rules by the other three GP-based algorithms is 13.28%, 12.57%, and 15.62% in the mean tardiness (MT), mean flow time (MFT), and mean weighted tardiness (MWT) objective, respectively.

As a high-efficiency and high-quality welding process, hybrid laser-MAG welding (HLMW) has significant potential of application in welding thick plates. In the present study, based on thermal elastic–plastic theory, a three-dimensional finite element model is developed to predict the weld shape characteristics, residual stress and distortion in HLMW for a butt joint of 12-mm-thick high strength steel plate. Metal active gas arc welding (MAG) heat input and laser energy are modeled as one double-ellipsoid body heat source and one cone body heat source with enhanced peak density along the central axis, respectively. The comparison between calculated molten pool shapes and those obtained by the experiment shows a good agreement. Then weld shape characteristic, residual stresses and distortions are calculated in four different welding process parameters. The results show that the increase of laser power and current can effectively increase the weld penetration width when the welding speed is fixed. At the top surfaces of weldment, the peak stress of high laser beam power is more significant than that of low laser beam power. A high compressive transverse stress of low laser beam power can be found at the welding zone and the surrounding heat affected zone. However, at the bottom surfaces of weldment, the peak stress of low laser beam power is larger than that of high laser beam power. The peak stress of low laser beam power is much larger than that of high laser beam power. A high compressive transverse stress of low laser beam power can be found at the welding zone. The vertical deformation in low laser beam power and low arc current welding has the lowest value.

The optimization of welding parameters of the welded joints of TC4 titanium alloys/304 stainless steel (TC4/304 SS) by friction stir lap welding (FSLW) based on orthogonal test was researched. The results show that under low heat input (low rotating speed and high traversing speed), there was a damaging defect in stir zone (SZ) and cracks started from the defect under the tension. Under high heat input (high rotating speed and low traversing speed), the intermetallic compounds were barely formed, and the cracks formed from 304 SS blocks existed in thermal mechanically affected zone of TC4 titanium alloys (TMAZTC4), eventually obtaining the highest fracturing load. However, under middle heat input (middle rotating speed and low traversing speed), the intermetallic compounds and the maximum hardness were found at the interface, and cracks started from these compounds under the tension, getting a middle fracture load. In conclusion, the joints with good properties can be obtained with high rotating speed and low traversing speed.

Top-quality aluminum alloy weld beads, exploiting the double-sided heat source synergic welding (DSHSSW) process, were obtained with medium heat input, no arc spacing, no root gap, and upward vertical direction. The energy utilization was reduced with the augmented arc spacing because of the attendant increased heat dissipation. Compared with one-side welding (OSW), the fusion area and melting efficiency of DSHSSW were enormously raised, indicating the enhancement of melting performance and energy utilization, and superior joints could be fabricated using DSHSSW under the identical heat input. Additionally, the DSHSSW arc was constricted and thus improved the energy density in contrast to OSW. As the weld penetration deepened during DSHSSW, the heat conduction space was diminished, and the heat accumulation effect was generated. The arc contraction and heat accumulation effect mutually lead to the increased penetrating ability during DSHSSW.

High fibre intake is associated with reduced mortality risk in both general and chronic kidney disease populations. However, in dialysis patients, such data are limited. Therefore, the association between dietary fibre intake (DFI) and the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality was examined in this study. A total of 1044 maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients from eight outpatient dialysis centres in China were included in this study. Data on DFI were collected using 24-h dietary recalls for 3 d in a week and were normalised to actual dry weight. The study outcomes included all-cause and CVD mortality. Over a median of 46 months of follow-up, 354 deaths were recorded, of which 210 (59 %) were due to CVD. On assessing DFI as tertiles, the CVD mortality risk was significantly lower in patients in tertiles 2–3 (≥0·13 g/kg per d; hazard ratio (HR) 0·71; 95 % CI 0·51, 0·97) compared with those in tertile 1 (v. tertile 1; HR 0·83; 95 % CI 0·64, 1·07) and all-cause mortality. In summary, higher DFI was associated with lower CVD mortality risk among Chinese MHD patients. This study emphasises the significance of DFI in MHD patients and provides information that is critical for the improvement of dietary guidelines for dialysis patients.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a powder-bed-based metal additive manufacturing process with multiple influencing parameters as well as multi-physics interaction. The laser scanning speed, which is one of the essential process parameters of the LPBF process, determines the microstructure and properties of the components by adjusting the instantaneous energy input of the molten pool. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the effects of the laser scanning speed on the densification behavior, phase evolution, microstructure development, microhardness, and tensile properties of K418 alloy prepared by laser powder bed fusion. When the scanning speed is 800 mm/s, the microstructure of the material is dominated by cellular dendrite crystals, with coarse grains and some cracks in the melting tracks. When the scanning speed is increased to 1200 mm/s, a portion of the material undergoes a cellular dendrite–columnar crystal transition, the preferred orientation of the grains is primarily (001), and internal defects are significantly reduced. When the scanning speed is further increased to 1600 mm/s, columnar crystals become the main constituent grains, and the content of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) within the microstructure increases, refining the grain size. However, the scanning speed is too fast, resulting in defects such as unmelted powder, and lowering the relative density. The experimental results show that by optimizing the laser scanning speed, the microhardness of the LPBF-ed K418 parts can be improved to 362.89 ± 5.01 HV, the tensile strength can be elevated to 1244.35 ± 99.12 MPa, and the elongation can be enhanced to 12.53 ± 1.79%. These findings could help determine the best scanning speed for producing K418 components with satisfactory microstructure and tensile properties via LPBF. In addition, since the LPBF process is largely not constrained and limited by the complexity of the geometric shape of the part, it is expected to manufacture sophisticated and complex structures with hollow, porous, mesh, thin-walled, special-shaped inner flow channels and other structures through the topology optimization design. However, due to the relatively narrow LPBF process window, this study will benefit from LPBF in producing a lightweight, complex, and low-cost K418 product, greatly improving its performance, and promoting the use of LPBF technology in the preparation of nickel-based superalloys.

The early corrosion stage of carbon steel welded joints in water occurring in a CO2-saturated oilfield was investigated. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) were used to characterize the microstructure and chemical composition distribution of the different zones in the welded joint. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a VEECO optical profiler were used to observe the sample surface corrosion morphology at different immersion times. The results show that the early stage corrosion characteristics of each zone in the welded joint are related to grain orientation and not related to grain size, grain boundary type, or to the second phase. Additionally, it was found that chemical composition distribution is the primary reason for the differences in the early stage corrosion characteristics observed for each zone in the welded joints.

A highly active surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was developed by facile deposition of silver nanoparticles onto cellulose fibers of ordinary laboratory filter paper. This was achieved by means of the silver mirror reaction in a manner to control both the size of the silver nanoparticles and the silver density of the substrate. This paper-based substrate is composed of a particle-on-fiber structure with the unique three-dimensional network morphology of the cellulose matrix. For such a SERS substrate with optimized size of the silver nanoparticles (ca. 70 nm) and loading density of silver (17.28 wt %), a remarkable detection limit down to the sub-attomolar (1 × 10−16 M) level and an enhancement factor of 3 × 106 were achieved by using Rhodamine 6G as the analyte. Moreover, this substrate was applied to monitor the molecular recognition through multiple hydrogen bonds in between nucleosides of adenosine and thymidine. This low-cost, highly sensitive, and biocompatible paper-based SERS substrate holds considerable potentials for the detection and analyses of chemical and biomolecular species.

A series of hierarchical Ag2O-nanoparticle/TiO2-nanotube heterostructured nanocomposites with varied Ag2O contents were fabricated by employing natural cellulose substance as the template. The nanocomposites possessed fine three-dimensional porous network structures, which were composed of TiO2 nanotubes and fine Ag2O nanoparticles that anchored on the surfaces. The composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performances in degrading different organic pollutants under ultraviolet light irradiation. The optimal Ag2O-NP/TiO2-NT nanocomposites exhibited apparent rate constants of 0.62, 0.37 and 0.39 min−1 in photocatalytic degrading methylene blue, Rhodamine B and norfloxacin, respectively; which were correspondingly 2.6, 2.2, and 1.4 times higher than those of the pure TiO2 nanotubes; and 3.9, 9.3, and 5.6 folds higher than those of the pure Ag2O nanoparticles. It was demonstrated that the improved photocatalytic performances of the nanocomposites were attributed to the hierarchical nanotubular structures that inherited from the natural cellulose substances and the effective heterostructure between the titania and silver oxide phases derived from the unique structure. Hence, the close relationship between the cellulose derived structures and the photocatalytic performances of the nanocomposites were demonstrated. The related possible photocatalytic mechanism was revealed that the separation and transfer of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs was accelerated, and the superoxide radicals and reactive holes played a main role in the photocatalytic processes.

As a highly oxygen-dependent process, the effect of photodynamic therapy is often obstructed by the premature leakage of photosensitizers and the lack of oxygen in hypoxic cancer cells. To overcome these limitations, this study designs bovine serum albumin protein (BSA)-encapsulated Pt nanoclusters (PtBSA) as O2-supplied biocoats and further incorporates them with mesoporous silica nanospheres to develop intelligent nanoaggregates for achieving improved therapeutic outcomes against hypoxic tumors. The large number of amino groups on BSA can provide sufficient functional groups to anchor tumor targeting agents and thus enhance the selective cellular uptake efficiency. Owing to the outstanding biocompatibility features of BSA and the state-of-the-art catalytic activity of Pt nanoclusters, the nanocomposites have lower dark cytotoxicity, and O2 continuously evolves via the decomposition of H2O2 in a tumor microenvironment. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments indicate that the resulting nanocomposites can effectively relieve hypoxic conditions, specifically induce necrotic cell apoptosis, and remarkably hinder tumor growth. Our results illuminate the great potential of BSA-encapsulated Pt nanoclusters as versatile biocoats in designing intelligent nanocarriers for hypoxic-resistant photodynamic therapy.

To investigate the effect of the microstructure on the corrosion behavior of the dissimilar friction stir welded (FSW) joint between 304 stainless steel (SS304) and Q235 low-carbon steel, the microstructure of the joint in this work was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron backscatter diffraction. The corrosion behavior in different zones of the joint was evaluated by the electrochemical tests, and the corresponding corrosion morphologies were illustrated via SEM and laser confocal scanning microscopy. According to the results, plenty of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) and a low proportion of twin boundaries (TBs) deteriorated the corrosion resistance on the SS304 side of the joint. The corrosion products of the SS304 side mainly included γ-Fe2O3, FeCrO4, and Cr2O3, while those of the Q235 steel side were α-Fe2O3 and α-FeOOH. The corrosion mechanism in the stir zone (SZ) was galvanic corrosion between proeutectoid ferrite and pearlite on the Q235 steel side, during which the austenite remained uncorroded, whereas the proeutectoid ferrite, pearlite, and bainite were severely corroded. The above results indicated that the uniform distribution of mixed structures and a small area proportion of austenite (cathode) would improve the corrosion resistance in the SZ.

Safety evaluation of resistance spot welds necessitates the accurate measurement of local constitutive properties. This study employed miniature mechanical tests to investigate the deformation and failure behaviors of nugget, heat affected zone (HAZ), and corona bond of resistance spot welded JSC980YL steel. A novel mini-peel test was developed to enable local fracture in HAZ for numerical inverse calibration of constitutive parameters. The fracture constants of weld zones calibrated using Cockcroft-Latham ductile failure criterion were incorporated in finite element models to predict the failure modes of spot welds in tensile-shear and cross-tension coupon tests. The result indicates that the ultimate tensile strengths of the nugget and the corona bond were 37.6% higher and 5.8% lower, respectively, than that of the base material. The nugget and HAZ exhibited ductile fracture, whereas the corona bond was brittle fracture with only 1.2% elongation. In the coupon tests, the increase of nugget diameter slowed down the damage accumulation rate in the nugget and accelerated that in the HAZ, resulting in the transition of failure mode from interfacial to pullout. The failure load of corona bond in coupon tests increased with the increase of nugget diameter while its contribution to the peak load decreased.

Although greater dietary intake of protein has been associated with beneficial health effects among patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), the effects of plant protein intake are less certain. We studied the association of the proportion of protein intake derived from plant sources with the risk of mortality among patients receiving MHD and explored factors that may modify these associations.Prospective observational cohort study.1,119 Chinese hemodialysis patients aged over 18 years receiving MHD in 2014-2015.The proportion of plant protein intake to total protein intake.All-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.Segmented regression models were fit to examine the association of plant protein intake proportion with the risk of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional and cause-specific hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI for these outcomes.The means of plant protein intake normalized to ideal body weight and plant protein intake proportion were 0.6±0.2 (SD) g/kg per day and 0.538±0.134, respectively. During a median follow-up period of 28.0 months, 249 deaths occurred, with 146 of these deaths resulting from CVD. Overall, there was a U-shaped association between plant protein intake proportion and the risk of all-cause mortality, with an inflection point at 45%. Among patients with a plant protein intake proportion45%, there was a 17% lower rate of mortality with each 5% greater plant protein intake proportion (HR, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.73-0.96]). Among patients with plant protein intake proportion≥45%, there was a 9% greater rate of mortality with each 5% greater plant protein intake proportion. A similar U-shaped association was observed for CVD mortality, with an inflection point at 44%.Observational study, potential unmeasured confounding.There was a U-shaped association between plant protein intake proportion and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in MHD patients. If confirmed, these findings suggest a potential avenue to improve outcomes in this patient population.

As a highly electrochemically active transition-metal oxide (TMO), cobalt monoxide (CoO) has been extensively investigated for applications in lithium-ion batteries and electrochemical oxygen evolution. However, its capacitive performance has been rarely studied due to the intrinsic low conductivity and poor stability. Here, we report an asymmetric supercapacitor with excellent electrochemical capacity based on an ultrathin carbon shell entrapped Co-doped CoO heterostructure (CoO/Co@C). The metallic conductivity and mesoporous configuration make the as-prepared CoO/Co@C deliver a dramatic specific capacitance of 2165.7 F g−1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1. Besides the contribution to double-layer capacitance, more importantly, the amorphous carbon shell effectively prevents the CoO/Co heterostructure from further oxidation, thus resulting in a significantly improved long-term storage stability in air. An asymmetric supercapacitor cell fabricated using CoO/Co@C and active carbon achieves a maximum energy density of 146.3 W h kg−1 at a power density of 1800 W kg−1, and the maximum of 27 000 W kg−1 can be obtained with a remaining energy density of 63.0 W h kg−1. The easy preparation, high performance, and excellent cycling stability of the CoO/Co@C nanocomposite make it a promising material for catalyst and battery applications.

A mild anion exchange approach is proposed for the synthesis of alloyed Co-Fe bimetallic disulfide. Abundant structural disorders and tunable compositions are effectively induced by the anion exchange process. The alloyed Co-Fe bimetallic disulfide exhibits a low overpotential of 205 mV to reach a current density of 100 mA cm-2 in an acidic electrolyte, which is significantly improved compared to the performance of individual disulfide. It is believed that this work paves a new strategy for the synthesis of bimetallic compounds and highlights the importance of tuning the catalyst composition for achieving high catalytic performance.

Background: Several studies have reported that low serum uric acid (SUA) levels are related to increased risk of mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. However, the possible detrimental effects of high SUA on the mortality risk have not been well examined. Moreover, the possible effect modifiers for the SUA-mortality association have not been fully investigated. To address the aforementioned gap, we aimed to explore the nonlinear relationship between SUA levels and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk, and to examine any possible effect modifiers in MHD patients. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study among 1,018 MHD patients from 8 hemodialysis centers. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcomes were CVD mortality and non-CVD mortality. Results: The mean value for SUA in the total population was 8.5 ± 1.9 mg/dL. The lowest and highest quintiles of SUA were 10.1 mg/dL, respectively. Over a median follow-up of 45.6 months, 343 deaths were recorded, of which 202 (58.9%) were due to CVD. When SUA was assessed as quintiles, a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality was found in patients in quintile 1 (p for interaction = 0.018). Similar trends were found for CVD mortality and non-CVD mortality. Conclusion: There was a U-shaped relationship between SUA levels and the risk of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and non-CVD mortality in MHD patients.

Polyethylene glycol-modified canine uricase (PEG-UHC) prepared with a lower-molecular-weight (5 kDa) PEG is used to treat gout. This study investigated the comparative pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of PEG-UHC administered intravenously and a single dose of uricase (UHC) administered intravenously in cynomolgus monkeys. A noncompartmental model was used to fit the plasma drug concentration–time curve and calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters of PEG-UHC, which were compared with those obtained for UHC at the equivalent dose (2 mg/kg). To study the pharmacokinetics after multiple dose administration, cynomolgus monkeys were administered five intravenous injections of PEG-UHC (0.5 mg/kg), with one injection performed every 15 days. The area under the curve (AUC) and the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of PEG-UHC were positively correlated with dose, whereas plasma half-life (t1/2) and clearance (CL) did not change significantly with increasing dose, suggesting that these pharmacokinetic characteristics are linear. Intravenous PEG-UHC exhibited an average t1/2 that was 125.79 times longer and an AUC0−t that was 64.45 times larger than the corresponding values for UHC at the same dose (2 mg/kg), while the CL of PEG-UHC was 1/72.73 times the CL of intravenous UHC. The plasma drug concentration reached a steady state after five injections, and the t1/2 values following the first and last drug administration did not differ significantly. Our data show that PEG-UHC is markedly superior to UHC in terms of duration of action, and that the pharmacokinetics of PEG-UHC in cynomolgus monkeys are linear. Sequential administration of PEG-UHC did not accelerate drug clearance. Our findings provide the basis for future clinical studies of PEG-UHC.

The association between dietary protein intake (DPI) and mortality in people receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) remains uncertain. We aimed to explore the relationship of DPI with all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, and to examine the possible modifiers for the associations, in Chinese MHD patients.This multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted in eight outpatient dialysis centers in South China. We enrolled 1044 MHD patients in 2014 and 2015. The DPI was assessed using a 3-d 24-h dietary recall. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all analyzed end points.During a median follow-up of 45 mo, there were 354 (33.9%) deaths, 210 of which were CV related. Compared with patients with a DPI of 1.0 to1.4 g/kg ideal body weight (IBW)/d, a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality was found in those with a DPI1.0 g/kg IBW/d (adjusted HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.42-2.38) or ≥ 1.4 g/kg IBW/d (adjusted HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.00-2.22). Similar trends were found for CV mortality. Moreover, we found a significantly stronger positive association between DPI (≥ 1.4 versus 1.0 to1.4 g/kg IBW/d) and all-cause mortality in women (adjusted HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.00-4.22) than in men (adjusted HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.49-1.63; P for interaction = 0.0487).In Chinese MHD patients, a DPI of 1.0 to1.4 g/kg IBW/d was associated with lower risks of all-cause and CV mortality.

Although TiO2 with outstanding photocatalytic activity has wide applications as a photo-to-electricity conversion material, the electrochemical energy storage of TiO2-based electrodes is commonly restricted by inherent limitations such as intrinsic low theoretical specific capacitance and poor electroconductivity. In this study, we introduce highly uniformed spaced TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTA) as a robust ultrathin scaffold and current collector in a potassium ion electrochemical storage capacitor. By integrating a simple surface-charge regulation with successive ionic adsorption technique, we construct both the cathodic and anodic electroactive materials on a TiO2 NTA based ~5 μm film. Hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets modified TiO2 NTA cathode exhibited a high volumetric capacitance of 1051 F cm−3, and the Fe2O3 nanospindles anchored TiO2 NTA anode exhibited a volumetric capacitance of 608.2 F cm−3. Based on the as-prepared cathode and anode, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor with a thickness of only 0.4 mm exhibits a high energy density of 2.67 mWh cm−3 in K2SO4 electrolyte with 91.7% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. The deformable Ti-substrate, excellent stability, good biocompatibility, and satisfactory capacitance in a neutral aqueous system enable the as-proposed supercapacitor a promising energy-storage system, thus expanding the application potentials of TiO2 photocatalysis based energy conversion devices.

A multilayered carbon nanosphere (CNS)/manganese oxide (MnO2) nanofilm is fabricated by a newly developed layer-by-layer (LBL)–post-infiltration approach. The multilayered architecture effectively shortens the length over which ions diffuse, and the nanoscaled carbon/MnO2 interface provides an interconnected pathway for electron conduction. MnO2 acts not only as the redox center for charge storage, but also as the spacer between the LBL-assembled multilayers for more rapid electrolyte transport. A specific capacitance (based on MnO2) of 1134.0 F g−1 is achieved at a loading of 5.22 μg cm−2 in a neutral electrolyte. This strategy provides a promising approach for fabricating high-power and high-energy electrochemical capacitors with precise control of electrode thickness on geometric device surfaces.

Maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) is the use of a machine to filter wastes, salts and fluid from blood for at least 3 months to prolong the life of patients with advanced kidney failure. Although low dietary energy intake (DEI) has been observed in MHD patients, few studies have related DEI to the risk of mortality. To explore this relationship, a study included 1039 MHD patients from eight centres was conducted. DEI was assessed by three 24-h diet recalls and was normalised to ideal body weight (IBW). All-cause mortality and CVD mortality were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. During a median follow-up of 28 months, a U-shaped relationship was observed between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality. The risk of all-cause mortality decreased significantly with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI

As a highly oxygen-dependent process, the effect of photodynamic therapy is often obstructed by the premature leakage of photosensitizers and the lack of oxygen in hypoxic cancer cells. To overcome these limitations, this study designs bovine serum albumin protein (BSA)-encapsulated Pt nanoclusters (PtBSA) as O

Supplementary material for article entitled "U-shaped association of serum uric acid and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a multicenter cohort study"

Supplementary material for article entitled "U-shaped association of serum uric acid and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a multicenter cohort study"

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different nutritional screening tools on predicting the risk for mortality in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods A cohort of 1025 patients on MHD were enrolled from eight hospitals. The malnutrition-inflammation score (MIS), objective score of nutrition on dialysis (OSND), and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) were measured at baseline. All-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) mortality were the major study outcomes. Results The median follow-up duration was 28.1 mo. The MIS (per SD increase, hazard ratio [HR], 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–1.55), the OSND (per SD decrease, HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.09–1.42), and the GNRI (per SD decrease, HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.10–1.43) were significantly associated with the risk for all-cause mortality. More importantly, the mortality predictability of the MIS appears similar to the GNRI (P = 0.182) and greater than the OSND (MIS versus OSND: P = 0.001; GNRI versus OSND: P = 0.045). Similar results were found for CV mortality. Conclusions Each of the three nutritional screening tools was significantly associated with an increased risk for all-cause and CV mortality. The mortality predictability of the MIS was similar to the GNRI and greater than the OSND.

The pathogenesis of infective endocarditis (IE) is a complex process which can include tissue damage to the valves during bacteraemia, pathogen adherence leading to the formation of non-bacterial thrombotic vegetations, platelet aggregation at sites of tissue damage, and a variety of biological interactions between pathogens and host matrix molecules (e.g. platelets).1,2 In the past few decades, the incidence of IE has increased significantly, which may be the result of an aging population, delayed diagnosis of valvular heart disease, and even new methods of valve implantation, including transcatheter therapies. The incidence of IE of the right heart has also increased due to the prevalence of intravenous drug use. Overall, the epidemiological profile of IE in China remains inadequately characterized, and the precise epidemiology differs between geographic location and study populations. For example, in Europe, the incidence of IE is reported to be 3–10 episodes/100 000 person-years and increases with age—the peak incidence being 14.5 episodes/100 000 person-years in patients between 70 and 80 years of age, with a male : female ratio of ≥2 : 1. Over the course of the 20th century, due to effective antibiotic treatment, the major cause of IE has changed from rheumatic valve disease, which mainly affects young adults, to a variety of other aetiologies. In many locations, the most common pathogen of IE has changed from Streptococcus to Staphylococcus . In the USA, staphylococcal infection has become the most prevalent, and, in China, case reports show that Streptococcus and Staphylococcus are the most common pathogens.3–6 Despite advances in its management, IE is still considered a severe disease with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis. This consensus is …

Nowdays, a series of transition-metal oxides (TMOs) such as MnO2, MoO3, Co3O4, CoO, and NiO have been widely studied as supercapacitive materials because of their low cost and high theoretical specific capacitance. As a low-oxidized cobalt compound, to date, CoO has been successfully applied as Li-ion battery anodes and showed satisfactory Li-ion storage capacities. The theoretical specific capacitance of CoO reaches 4292 F g-1. This value is higher than that of NiO (2573 F g-1), MnO2 (1370 F g-1), and Co3O4 (3560 F g-1). However, the practical application of CoO is severely hindered by its easily oxidized character (CoO is oxidized to Co3O4 after exposure in air) and the poor electrical conductivity (intrinsic semiconducting or insulating property). The poor conductivity is also one of the main reasons that limit the application of other TMOs in constructing high performance supercapacitors. To overcome these challgenges, we report a metallic Co doped CoO-based energy storage material by elaborately tailoring both the electrical conductivity and material configuration. The cobalt-doped CoO (denoted as CoO/Co) heterostructure is designed to improve the electrical conductivity. The metallic Co, acting as a current “expressway,” effectively improves the electrical conductivity of the composite, thus accelerating the electron transport. Additonally, an ultrathin layer of amorphous carbon is generated on the surface of heterostructure to prevent further oxidation of CoO/Co. This amorphous carbon shell serves as a surface stabilizer to hinder further oxidation of Co/CoO, thus sustaining good stability of supercapacitor. As a result, the as-prepared composite exhibits an excellent supercapacitor performance of 2165.7 F g-1 at a scanning rate of 10 mV s-1. An asymmetric supercapacitor cell fabricated using the c and active carbon achieves a maximum energy density of 146.3 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 1800 W kg-1, and the maximum of 27000 W kg-1 can be obtained with a remaining energy density of 63.0 Wh kg−1. Even more importantly, such a composite also showed a good cycling ability and improved long-term storage stability. As this supercapacitive material can be prepared with a high yield by a facial low-cost route, it is highly expected that it could be a promising material for electrochemical energy storage in practical applications.

Chronic heart failure with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (HFNEF) is not only common, but also carries a high risk of substantial morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have been conducted in this population and no proven treatment is available. Although beta-blockers are evidence-based first-line therapy in systolic heart failure, they have not been well studied in HFNEF.This study is a multicentre, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE) trial. A total of 1200 patients will be randomized to either beta-blocker (metoprolol succinate) or control (n = 600 per group). The primary endpoint is a composite of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death. The secondary endpoints include cardiovascular death, heart failure mortality or hospitalization, all-cause mortality, change in New York Heart Association class, change in left ventricular ejection fraction, increase in NT-proBNP (byor = 50% of the value at randomization), beta-blocker tolerance, and premature termination of beta-blocker therapy due to adverse events. The follow-up period is a minimum of 2 years.This study will provide important evidence, for the first time to our knowledge, of the long-term efficacy of beta-blocker therapy in the management of HFNEF.

Background Therapeutic angiogenesis by the administration of recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor (rVEGF) is a novel strategy for the treatment of ischemic disorders. rVEGF has been delivered as a protein, by plasmid DNA, and by genetically engineered cells with different pharmacokinetic and physiological properties. In the present study, we examined a new method for delivery of rVEGF using implantable bioartificial muscle (BAM) tissues made from genetically modified primary skeletal myoblasts. Our goal was to determine whether the rVEGF delivered by this technique promoted controlled angiogenesis in nonischemic and/or ischemic adult mouse tissue. Methods and Results Primary adult mouse myoblasts were retrovirally transduced to secrete human or mouse rVEGF and tissue-engineered into implantable 1×10 to 15-mm BAMs containing parallel arrays of postmitotic myofibers. In vitro, they secreted 290 to 511 ng of bioactive mouse or human VEGF/BAM per day. rVEGF BAMs implanted subcutaneously into syngeneic mice caused a 30-fold increase in the number of CD31-positive capillary cells within the BAM by 1 week compared with control BAMs. Implantation of rVEGF-secreting BAMs into ischemic hindlimbs resulted in a 2- to 3-fold increase in capillary density of neighboring host muscle by 1 week and out to 4 weeks with no evidence of hemangioma formation. Conclusions Local delivery of rVEGF from BAMs rapidly increases capillary density both within the BAM itself and in adjacent ischemic muscle tissue. Genetically engineered muscle tissue provides a method for therapeutic protein delivery in a dose-regulated fashion.

Objectives Angiogenic gene therapy and cell-based therapy for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have been studied intensively currently. This study aimed to investigate a new strategy whether combining mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation with ex vivo human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene transfer was more therapeutically efficient than the MSCs therapy alone in a rat model of hindlimb ischaemia. Methods One-week after establishing hindlimb ischaemia models, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomised to receive HGF gene-modified MSCs transplantation (HGF-MSC group), untreated MSCs transplantation (MSC group), or PBS injection (PBS group), respectively. Results Three-weeks after injection, angiogenesis was significantly induced by both MSCs and HGF-MSCs transplantation, and capillary density was the highest in the HGF-MSC group. The number of transplanted cell-derived endothelial cells was greater in HGF-MSC group than in MSC group after 1 week treatment. The expression of angiogenic cytokines such as HGF and VEGF in local ischaemic muscles was more abundant in HGF-MSC group than in the other two groups. In vitro, the conditioned media obtained from HGF-MSCs cultures presented proproliferative and promigratory effects on endothelial cells. Conclusions HGF gene-modified MSCs transplantation therapy may induce more potent angiogenesis than the MSCs therapy alone. Engraftment of MSCs combined with angiogenic gene delivery maybe a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of severe PAD.