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AimTo explore the chronic effects of metformin on testosterone levels in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of a real-world study evaluating the efficacy and safety of premixed insulin treatment in patients with T2DM via 3-month intermittent flash glucose monitoring. Male patients aged 18-60 who were using metformin during the 3-month study period were included as the metformin group. The control group included males without metformin therapy by propensity score matching analysis with age as a covariate. Testosterone levels were measured at baseline and after 3-month treatment.ResultsAfter 3-month treatment, the control group had higher levels of total testosterone, free and bioavailable testosterone than those at baseline (PConclusionIn men with T2DM, 3-month metformin therapy can reduce testosterone levels, and counteract the testosterone elevation that accompanied with the improvement of blood glucose.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04847219?term=04847219&draw=2&rank=1.

In view synthesis, pixels in an original view are warped into a virtual view with depth-image-based rendering (DIBR). During the procedure of DIBR, distortions in depth map may lead to geometric errors in the synthesized view which will induce quality degradation of synthesized view. Therefore, how to efficiently preserve the fidelity of depth information is extremely important. In this paper, we explore and develop a maximum tolerable depth distortion (MTDD) model to examine the allowable depth distortion which will not introduce any texture distortion for a rendered virtual view and accordingly develop. Experimental results show that a virtual view can be synthesized without introducing any geometric changes if depth distortions follow the MTDD specified thresholds.

We consider the stability and asymptotic stability of a class of nonlinear delay differential-algebraic equations and of the implicit Euler methods.Some sufficient conditions for the stability and asymptotic stability of the equations are given.These conditions can be applied conveniently to nonlinear equations.We also show that the implicit Euler methods are stable and asymptotically stable.

The study of the time domain method for milling stability prediction mainly focuses on the prediction accuracy and efficiency. The state item of the full-discretization formulations is usually approximated through the higher-order Lagrange polynomial interpolation for the higher prediction accuracy of milling stability. However, the time-delay term has not been considered. This paper proposes an updated full-discretization method for milling stability prediction based on the high-order interpolation of both the state item and the time-delay term and investigates the effect of the high-order interpolation of the time-delay term on accuracy of milling stability prediction. The state transition matrix on one time period is established directly to compensate the computational time expense of the high-order interpolation. By analyzing the convergence feature and lobes of benchmark examples, the high-order interpolation of both the state item and the time-delay term is proven to be more effective than only the higher-order interpolation of the state item, and the direct establishment of the state transition matrix can achieve the purpose of saving computational time.

Objectives. The efficacy of conventional treatments plus acupuncture for asthma in adult and adolescent is uncertain. Literature reports are conflicting; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of conventional treatments plus acupuncture versus conventional treatments alone using a meta-analysis of all published randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Methods. Two reviewers independently performed a comprehensive literature search from multiple electronic sources (1990–2018), including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases. RCTs in which adult and adolescent patients with asthma (age ≥12 years) were divided into conventional treatments plus acupuncture and conventional treatments alone were included. Results. Nine studies were included. The results showed that conventional treatments plus acupuncture as a complementary therapy could improve the symptom response rate (OR = 7.87, 95% CI = [4.13, 14.99], p < 0.00001) and significantly decrease interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (MD = -11.42; 95% CI = [-15.28, -7.56], p < 0.00001). However, indices of pulmonary function, including the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (MD = 0.22, 95% CI = [-0.11, 0.56], p = 0.19) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) (MD = 8.62, 95% CI = [-0.35, 17.59], p = 0.06), failed to be improved with conventional treatments plus acupuncture. Conclusion. Conventional treatments plus acupuncture are associated with significant benefits for adult and adolescent patients with asthma. Therefore, we suggest the use of conventional treatments plus acupuncture for asthma patients.