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Objective·To explore the relationship between poor blood glucose control and early impaired cardiac function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods·Eighty-three patients diagnosed with T2DM in Jiading Branch of Shanghai General Hospital from June 2021 to March 2022 were selected and divided into two groups according to the level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): satisfactory control of glycaemia (SCG) group and less satisfactory control of glycaemia (LSCG) group. Fifty-four subjects were in the control group. Echocardiography was performed to obtain left ventricular structural and functional parameters and left ventricular subendocardial, medial and subepicardial global longitudinal strain (GLS): GLSendo, GLSmid, and GLSepi. The parameters were compared by using analysis of variance. The correlation analysis was performed by Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The diagnostic performance of longitudinal strain in differentiating subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients with T2DM was analyzed by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve.Results·The thickness of the ventricular septum and the posterior wall of the left ventricle were thicker in the LSCG group than in the SCG group and the control group (all P0.05). Compared with the control group, the left ventricular diastolic function index E/e (early peak flow velocity by Doppler/early and atrial diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus by tissue Doppler imaging) was higher in both the LSCG group and the SCG group (all P 0.05). There was no significant difference in left ventricular ejection fraction among the three groups (P>0.05). Compared with LSCG group, GLSendo, GLSmid and GLSepi were higher in the SCG group and control group (all P0.05). HbA1c was an independently negative factor of GLSmid and GLSepi (β= -0.198 and -0.239, all P

Objective To investigate the differences of intestinal flora in Vitamin D adequacy and deficiency groups of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) and the correlation between serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [T-25(OH)D] levels and intestinal flora. Methods ASD children who attended the outpatient clinic of the department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital during October 2009 and February 2022 were retrospectively included in the study. According to the serum T-25(OH)D levels, they were divided into Vitamin D adequacy group[T-25(OH)D > 30 μg/L], Vitamin D insufficiency group[20 μg/L≤T-25(OH)D≤30 μg/L] and Vitamin D deficiency group[T-25(OH)D < 20 μg/L].Serum T-25(OH)D levels were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Human gut metagenome data from these children with ASD were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. Results 46 children with ASD who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. The numbers of patients in Vitamin D adequacy group, Vitamin D insufficiency group and Vitamin D deficiency group were respectively 15, 16 and 15. Linear discriminant analysis revealed that the bacteria abundance of Bilophila wadsworthia, Adlercreutzia equolifaciens, Asaccharobacter celatus and Escherichia coli were significantly enriched, while the bacteria abundance of Bacteroides fragilis and Hungatella hathewayi were significantly lower in the Vitamin D deficiency group. The relative abundance of Bilophila wadsworthia and Adlercreutzia equolifaciens were negatively correlated with serum T-25(OH)D levels(r=-0.45, fdr=0.055, P=0.002;r=-0.44, fdr=0.055, P=0.003), and the relative abundance of Bacteroides fragilis was positively correlated with serum T-25(OH)D levels (r=0.42, fdr=0.073, P=0.004). Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency in ASD may exacerbate ASD flora disorders, and decreased serum T-25(OH)D levels may facilitate potentially harmful bacteria but inhibit probiotic colonization. This study provides partial evidence that children with ASD should be actively supplemented with vitamin D.

Background Intraplaque neovascularization is a biomarker of vulnerable plaque. However, no data are available whether the increase in neovascularization within carotid plaques is a result of ischemia or an increase in adventitial vasa vasorum (VV). Objective To evaluate the VV signal in carotid vulnerable plaques. Methods Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examination was performed to examine changes in VV density in 47 patients with carotid plaque, and 21 patients received CT angiography (CTA) examination to assess the VV signal. In addition, a single-channel flow tissue model was fabricated for use in vitro studies to exclude pseudo-enhancement interferences in the distal wall of arteries by CEUS. Results The intensities of adventitial VV behind carotid plaque were lower than that of adventitial VV at the same level adjacent to the plaque in both CEUS and CTA examinations (P < 0.05). In vitro study, the intensities of far wall increased as the microbubble concentration increased (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences of intensities of far wall were found between different thicknesses tubes at the concentration of microbubble concentrations of 0.3% and 0.5% (P ≥ 0.05). Conclusion The formation of intraplaque neovascularization in carotid arteries is associated with the adventitial VV, and ischemia of VV may be a potential mechanism for intraplaque neovascularization.

The processing properties of resistant starch (RS) and its digestion remain unclear, despite the widespread use of autoclaving combined with debranching in its preparation. In this study, the physicochemical, rheological and digestibility properties of autoclaving modified starch (ACB), autoclaving–pullulanase modified starch (ACPB) and native black Tartary buckwheat starch (NB) were compared and investigated. The molecular weight and polydispersity index of modified starch was in the range of 0.15 × 104~1.90 × 104 KDa and 1.88~2.82, respectively. In addition, the SEM results showed that both modifications influenced the morphological characteristics of the NB particles, and their particles tended to be larger in size. Autoclaving and its combination with pullulanase significantly increased the short-range ordered degree, resistant starch yield and water- and oil-absorption capacities, and decreased the syneresis properties with repeated freezing/thawing cycles. Moreover, rheological analysis showed that both ACB and ACPB exhibited shear-thinning behavior and lower gel elasticity as revealed by the power law model and steady-state scan. The degradation of starch chains weakened the interaction of starch molecular chains and thus changed the gel network structure. The in vitro digestion experiments demonstrated that ACB and ACPB exhibited greater resistance to enzymatic digestion compared to the control, NB. Notably, the addition of pullulanase inhibited the hydrolysis of the ACB samples, and ACPB showed greater resistance against enzymatic hydrolysis. This study reveals the effects of autoclaving combined with debranching on the processing properties and functional characteristics of black Tartary buckwheat starch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an efficient and accurate interpolator for NURBS (non-uniform rational B-spline) curves, addressing the challenge of regulating feedrate under machining accuracy and dynamic constraints, particularly at sensitive corners. A recursive matrix representation and polynomial conversion are utilized to enhance the computation of NURBS curve intermediate points and derivatives. An improved adaptive planning method is presented to adjust the feedrate at sensitive corners, ensuring that chord error and dynamic constraints are met. The method integrates linear acceleration and deceleration stages to mitigate abrupt changes in acceleration and jerk. Additionally, a prediction–correction scheme-based interpolator is developed, employing an asynchronous mechanism to improve computational efficiency. The proposed method's effectiveness and correctness are validated through simulation tests and machining experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) face an acknowledged challenge: On the one hand, the majority of elastomers only achieve small electroactive deformation (<20%) in the absence of prestretch; on the other hand, rare elastomers capable of showing large electroactive deformation require relatively complicated processing and chemistry. This work addresses this challenge by fabricating an elastomer with a network of large side groups, which achieves a very large electroactive deformation (218%) without pre‐stretch. This elastomer can be rapidly and massively fabricated within a few min, by polymerizing a commercial monomer with a large alkyl side group. The large side groups in the polymer network repel each other and extend the load‐bearing strands, which results in a pronounced strain‐hardening behavior. This behavior helps the elastomer to get rid of electromechanical instability during actuation and hence to exhibit a large electro‐active deformation, a high energy density (>> human muscle), and a large output force (≈500 times self‐weight). the elastomer capable of manufacturing a soft electroactive gripper is demonstrated with large deformation, large force, and rapid response, which enables grasping fragile objects of various complex shapes in an agile away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-polarizer array (MPA) is the core optical component of the Division of Focal-Plane (DoFP) imaging system, and its design is very important to the system's performance. Traditional design methods rely on theoretical analysis and simulation, which is complicated and requires designers to have profound theoretical foundations. In order to simplify the design process and improve efficiency, this paper proposes a 2 × 2 MPA reverse-design strategy based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). This strategy uses intelligent algorithms to automatically explore the design space in order to discover MPA structures with optimal optical properties. In addition, the all-pass filter is introduced to the MPA superpixel unit in the design, which effectively reduces the crosstalk and frequency aliasing between pixels. In this study, two MPA models were designed: a traditional MPA and an MPA with an all-pass filter. The Degree of Linear Polarization (DOLP) image contrast is used as the evaluation standard and compared with the traditional MPA; the results show that the contrast of the newly designed traditional MPA image is increased by 21%, and the MPA image with the all-pass filter is significantly increased by 82%. Therefore, the reverse-design method proposed in this paper not only simplifies the design process but also can design an MPA with enhanced optical performance, which has obvious advantages over the traditional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The COVID‐19 infection has been described as affecting myocardial injury. However, the relation between left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS) and global radial strain (GRS), disease severity and all‐cause mortality in COVID‐19 is unclear. Methods and Results: The study consisted of 220 patients with COVID‐19, including 127 (57.5%) with mild, 43 (19.5%) with moderate and 50 (22.7%) with severe/critical conditions. Myocardial dysfunction was analysed by GLS, GCS and GRS using two‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiography. Hazard ratios and Kaplan–Meier curves were produced to assess the association between strains and cardiac biomarker indices with a composite outcome of all‐cause mortality. With an average follow‐up period of 11 days, 19 patients reached the endpoint (death). Significant associations were found for the three strain parameters and the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (r = 0.206, 0.221 and 0.355, respectively). Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) was closely related to the GLS and GCS (r = 0.240 and 0.324, respectively). In multivariable Cox regression, GCS > −21.6% was associated with all‐cause death {hazard ratio, 4.007 [95% confidence interval (CI), 11.347–11.919]}. Conclusions: GLS, GCS and GRS are significantly related to myocardial dysfunction in patients with COVID‐19. Worsening GCS poses an increased risk of death in COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its exceptional mechanical and chemical properties at high temperatures, Inconel 718 is extensively utilized in industries such as aerospace, aviation, and marine. Investigating the flow behavior of Inconel 718 under high strain rates and high temperatures is vital for comprehending the dynamic characteristics of the material in manufacturing processes. This paper introduces a physics-based constitutive model that accounts for dislocation motion and its density evolution, capable of simulating the plastic behavior of Inconel 718 during large strain deformations caused by machining processes. Utilizing a microstructure-based flow stress model, the machinability of Inconel 718 in terms of cutting forces and temperatures is quantitatively predicted and compared with results from orthogonal cutting experiments. The model's predictive precision, with a margin of error between 5 and 8%, ensures reliable consistency and enhances our comprehension of the high-speed machining dynamics of Inconel 718 components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), pivotal atmospheric pollutants, significantly threaten the environment and human health. The CH4-SCR process, leveraging the abundance and accessibility have methane, emerges as a promising avenue for NOx abatement. Previous studies have demonstrated that zeolite support with twelve-membered ring (12-MR) and five-membered ring (5-MR) structures are susceptible to framework collapse in the presence of H2O, leading to catalyst deactivation. Consequently, there is a necessity to explore novel zeolites with enhanced hydrothermal stability for application in CH4-SCR processes. This research introduced for the first time an investigation into a novel In/H-SSZ-39 catalyst, which was synthesized via ion exchange and meticulously optimized for preparation conditions, including calcination temperature and In ions concentration, and reaction conditions, including CH4/NO ratio, O2 concentration, H2O content, and Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV). Furthermore, long-term operation tests and stability tests were conducted on the In/H-SSZ-39 catalyst. In addition, a series of characterizations were conducted to delve into the reasons behind how preparation conditions influence catalytic activity, as well as to investigate the changes in physicochemical properties during the reaction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]