Search

This article explores the synchronization, stability and motion characteristics of the generalized dynamical model with two rigid frames (RFs) driven by two groups (even number) of coaxial rotating exciters. In light of this system’s generalized coordinates, we use Lagrange’s equations to derive the generalized differential equation of motion. The responses of absolute and relative motion of the generalized system are obtained using the transfer function method. The synchronization and stability criteria of multiple exciters are derived using the average method and Hamilton’s theory, respectively. Taking a dynamical model driven by two pairs of exciters as an example, the localized studies of generalized results are carried out. The stable synchronous solutions for phase differences and excitation frequency, the stability ability coefficient curves and the response curves are graphically presented considering the effect of two crucial dimensionless parameters on the stable synchronous states. The simulation results of the specific system are obtained using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithms and compared with the numerical qualitative analysis results to reveal the high consistency between them and clarify the used methods’ effectiveness. The strength of this work stems from its use in the field of high power and large scale self-synchronization vibrating machines.

Background: Fat distribution plays an important role in impaired glucose tolerance. Android adiposity (ANDROID) and gynoid adiposity (GYNOID) have been proven to be linked with insulin resistance. A higher risk of sarcopenia is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study, ANDROID, GYNOID, and ANDROID to GYNOID ratios (A/G ratios) were evaluated in T2DM patients to determine if they were associated with sarcopenia. Methods: We recruited 1086 T2DM patients, measured skeletal muscle index (SMI), ANDROID, GYNOID, and collected clinical data. Results: T2DM patients with 119 male subjects had sarcopenia (20.24%), and 72 female subjects had sarcopenia (16.51%). All patients with T2DM who had high ANDROID and A/G ratios were at a reduced risk of sarcopenia. The SMI showed a correlation with ANDROID and A/G ratios among subjects with T2DM. Conclusion: ANDROID and A/G ratios are inversely related to sarcopenia in T2DM patients.

Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of disease and death worldwide. The identification of new therapeutic targets and agents is critical. JAZF1 is expressed in many tissues and is found at particularly high levels in adipose tissue (AT). JAZF1 suppresses inflammation (including IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, IFN-γ, IAR-20, COL3A1, laminin, and MCP-1) by reducing NF-κB pathway activation and AT immune cell infiltration. JAZF1 reduces lipid accumulation by regulating the liver X receptor response element (LXRE) of the SREBP-1c promoter, the cAMP-response element (CRE) of HMGCR, and the TR4 axis. LXRE and CRE sites are present in many cytokine and lipid metabolism gene promoters, which suggests that JAZF1 regulates these genes through these sites. NF-κB is the center of the JAZF1-mediated inhibition of the inflammatory response. JAZF1 suppresses NF-κB expression by suppressing TAK1 expression. Interestingly, TAK1 inhibition also decreases lipid accumulation. A dual-targeting strategy of NF-κB and TAK1 could inhibit both inflammation and lipid accumulation. Dual-target compounds (including prodrugs) 1–5 exhibit nanomolar inhibition by targeting NF-κB and TAK1, EGFR, or COX-2. However, the NF-κB suppressing activity of these compounds is relatively low (IC50 > 300 nM). Compounds 6–14 suppress NF-κB expression with IC50 values ranging from 1.8 nM to 38.6 nM. HS-276 is a highly selective, orally bioavailable TAK1 inhibitor. Combined structural modifications of compounds using a prodrug strategy may enhance NF-κB inhibition. This review focused on the role and mechanism of JAZF1 in inflammation and lipid accumulation for the identification of new anti-atherosclerotic targets.

Abstract Objective Triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio is correlated with metabolic diseases. The prevalence of sarcopenia is significantly higher in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients compared with healthy controls. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the correlation of TG/HDL-C ratio with muscle mass in T2DM patients. Method Our study consists of 1048 T2DM inpatients recruited from the department of endocrinology. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was detected with a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry method. Low muscle mass was diagnosed using the criteria of SMI less than 7.0 kg/m2 (in male subjects) or 5.4 kg/m2 (in female subjects). Result The prevalence of low muscle mass was 20.9% and 14.5% in male and female groups respectively. SMI was correlated with TG/HDL ratio after adjustment for age, duration of diabetes, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and HbA1c in male subgroup. In female subgroup, SMI was associated with TG/HDL ratio after adjustment for age and DBP. Conclusion Higher TG/HDL-C ratio is correlated with muscle mass in T2DM patients.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to find a new loss function to automatically segment temporal lobes on localized CT images for radiotherapy with more accuracy and a solution to dealing with the classification of class-imbalanced samples in temporal lobe segmentation.MethodsLocalized CT images for radiotherapy of 70 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were selected. Radiation oncologists sketched mask maps. The dataset was randomly divided into the training set (n = 49), the validation set (n = 7), and the test set (n = 14). The training set was expanded by rotation, flipping, zooming, and shearing, and the models were evaluated using Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Jaccard similarity coefficient (JSC), positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity (SE), and Hausdorff distance (HD). This study presented an improved loss function, focal generalized Dice-binary cross-entropy loss (FGD-BCEL), and compared it with four other loss functions, Dice loss (DL), generalized Dice loss (GDL), Tversky loss (TL), and focal Tversky loss (FTL), using the U-Net model framework.ResultsWith the U-Net model based on FGD-BCEL, the DSC, JSC, PPV, SE, and HD were 0.87 ± 0.11, 0.78 ± 0.11, 0.90 ± 0.10, 0.87 ± 0.13, and 4.11 ± 0.75, respectively. Except for the SE, all the other evaluation metric values of the temporal lobes segmented by the FGD-BCEL-based U-Net model were improved compared to the DL, GDL, TL, and FTL loss function-based U-Net models. Moreover, the FGD-BCEL-based U-Net model was morphologically more similar to the mask maps. The over- and under-segmentation was lessened, and it effectively segmented the tiny structures in the upper and lower poles of the temporal lobe with a limited number of samples.ConclusionsFor the segmentation of the temporal lobe on localized CT images for radiotherapy, the U-Net model based on the FGD-BCEL can meet the basic clinical requirements and effectively reduce the over- and under-segmentation compared with the U-Net models based on the other four loss functions. However, there still exists some over- and under-segmentation in the results, and further improvement is needed.

The C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) has been implicated in chronic pain, but its exact mechanism of peripheral sensitization is unknown. In this study, we aimed to clarify the mechanism of CCL2 regulation of ion channels. Our behavioral experiments revealed that ZD7288, a blocker of Ih current, can inhibit CFA and CCL2-mediated mechanical and thermal nociceptive sensitization. Furthermore, patch clamp studies demonstrated that CFA-induced peripheral sensitization primarily affects the excitability of small-diameter DRG neurons. Further studies revealed that inflammatory pain caused by CFA or incubation of DRG with CCL2 mainly affected Ih currents in small-diameter DRG neurons, which were blocked by co-incubation CCR2 antagonist INCB3344 or adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536. Immunohistochemical staining showed that both intraplantar injection of CFA as well as DRG injection of CCL2 resulted in significant upregulation of CCR2+/HCN2+ expression. In conclusion, we suggest in the inflammatory pain state, CCL2 can act on small-diameter DRG neurons, leading to upregulation of HCN2 expression and consequently Ih, which in turn leads to neuronal hyperexcitability.

Implants are commonly used to replace damaged bones in the human body. Fatigue failure is one of the most serious issues with implants. Understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to fatigue failure is crucial in ensuring the longevity of biomaterial implants. In this study, the fatigue behavior of the porous biomaterial Ti6Al4V–6Cu, produced by selective laser melting (SLM) in air and in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution was experimentally investigated. The location of the fatigue crack (FC) initiation point on the cyclic strain curve was determined based on the fatigue cycle change. It indicates that crack initiation is accelerated in a state of high stress, and crack propagation is accelerated in a solution containing 0.9 wt% NaCl. Moreover, in an environment containing 0.9 wt% NaCl, the fatigue fracture is predominantly intergranular and partially transgranular, which is attributed to the brittle failure caused by corrosion fatigue. Additionally, in comparison to the Ti6Al4V sample, the porous Ti6Al4V–6Cu sample has a higher fatigue strength and longer fatigue life due to the effect of the Ti2Cu phase precipitated near the grain boundary and the zigzag propagation of FCs.

Fatigue resistance is a key criterion for new material that would be applied as an implant. As a “smart” implant material with good biodegradability and high strength, Mg–2Zn–0.5Zr–0.5Nd alloy has been recognized as a promising candidate for bone implant. A series of tests on fatigue properties of extruded Mg–2Zn–0.5Zr–0.5Nd alloy are carried out in this study. Alternating cyclic dynamic loads at frequencies of 5 Hz and 10 Hz both in air and in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution were loaded on extruded Mg–2Zn–0.5Zr–0.5Nd alloy respectively. In air condition, the fatigue life variational trends of Mg–2Zn–0.5Zr–0.5Nd alloy at different frequencies are similar according to the stress-life (S–N) curves. However, under high fatigue cycles, the lower loading frequency prolongs the loading time of repetitive stresses and reduces the fatigue life of the samples. In 0.9 wt% NaCl solution, the S–N curves under different frequencies show different changing trends due to the synergistic effect of corrosion environment and loading frequency. It is also found that the fatigue resistance of the alloy in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution is poorer than that in air due to the significant promotion of the formation and growth of corrosion pits by the NaCl environment. In addition, according to the fatigue fracture morphology analysis, it can be found that the failed samples show different fracture patterns in air and 0.9 wt% NaCl solution.

Abstract In previous studies about the synchronization of vibrators, the restoring forces of springs are mainly treated as linear directly, whereas the nonlinear features are rarely considered in vibrating systems. To make up this drawback, a dynamical model of a nonlinear vibrating mechanical system with double rigid frames (RFs), driven by two vibrators, is proposed to explore the synchronization and stability of the system. In this paper, the nonlinearity is reflected in nonlinear restoring forces of springs characterized by asymmetrical piecewise linear, where the nonlinear stiffness of springs is linearized equivalently using the asymptotic method. Based on the average method and Hamilton’s principle, the theory conditions to achieve synchronization and stability of two vibrators are deduced. After the theory analyses, some numerical qualitative analyses are given to reveal the coupling dynamical characteristics of the system and the relative motion properties between two RFs. Besides, some experiments are carried out to examine the validity of the theoretical results and the correctness of the numerical analyses results. Based on the comparisons of the theory, numeric and experiment, the ideal working regions of the system are suggested. Based on the present work, some new types of vibrating equipment, such as vibrating discharging centrifugal dehydrators/conveyers/screens, can be designed.

Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the most common malignant tumors that cause death. Approximately 75%–85% of BCa develop into non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the gold standard for avoiding cystectomy in the treatment of NMIBC. Unfortunately, up to 30% of patients do not respond to BCG treatment, and up to 70% of BCG responders relapse. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved valrubicin (1998) and pembrolizumab (2020) for the treatment of BCG-unresponsive (BCGu) NMBIC. However, the complete remission rate for valrubicin and pembrolizumab was only 16% and 40.6%, respectively. ALT-803 (N-803) is an IL-15 superagonist and reduces tumor burden by promoting the proliferation and activation of NK cells and CD8+ T cells. The FDA received (23 May 2022) and accepted to review (28 July 2022) the marketing submission of ALT-803 plus BCG for the treatment of BCGu NMIBC. However, the FDA previously rejected the application for oportuzumab monatox (OM) due to a lack of data comparing it with pembrolizumab on August 20, 2021. Interestingly, the clinical efficacy and safety of ALT-803 were higher than that of pembrolizumab and OM, suggesting that ALT-803 may be approved by FDA. This review aims to further knowledge of the preclinical and clinical evidence of ALT-803 in the treatment of NMIBC and discuss its translational potential.

Abstract Background Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) has attracted increasing attention recently. It is caused by genetic and environmental factors. A number of ARHI-related genes have been found. This study aimed to detect the potential association between NR3C1 gene polymorphisms and ARHI by means of weighted allele score. Methods A total of 861 participants from Qingdao city were selected by means of cluster random sampling. We statistically evaluated the characteristics of individuals and used the Mann–Whitney U test or chi-square test for comparison. The publicly available expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) was queried on the website of the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx). We used the weighted allele score and logistic regression analysis to explore the association between NR3C1 gene polymorphisms and ARHI. Finally, the prediction model was constructed by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results All individuals over 60 years of age were enrolled in this study. The allele of rs61757411, rs41423247 and rs6877893 were significantly different between the ARHI group and the normal hearing group (P

In present work, the double and triple-frequency synchronization behaviors of a vibrating mechanical system with two different driving frequencies, driven by three reversed rotating exciters, are investigated by theory, numeric, and experiment. Based on Lagrange’s equations, the dynamic model corresponding to vibrating machine is proposed and motion differential equations are constructed. The Bogoliubov standard formal equations for three exciters are established, by introducing the asymptotic method, in which the synchronization problem is converted into that of the existence and stability of zero-valued solution of the average differential equations. The synchronization criterion of satisfying the synchronous operation is deduced. According to the Routh–Hurwitz criterion, the stability criterion of the synchronous states is achieved analytically. Based on the obtained theory results, the stability characteristics of the system, are numerically discussed in detail, including the stability ability coefficients and stable phase differences. Finally, simulations and experiments under the condition of two different driving frequencies, are performed to further examine the validity of the theoretical and numerical qualitative results. The present work can provide a theoretical reference for designing some new types of the vibrating machines with adjustable frequencies and motion trajectories.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication and the leading cause of blindness in patients with type 2 diabetes. DR has been shown to be closely correlated with blood glucose levels and the duration of diabetes. However, the onset and progression of DR also display clinical heterogeneity. We applied whole-exome sequencing and RNA-seq approaches to study the gene mutation and transcription profiles in three groups of diabetic patients with extreme clinical phenotypes in DR onset, timing, and disease progression, aiming to identify genetic variants that may play roles in the pathogenesis of DR. We identified 23 putatively pathogenic genes, and ingenuity pathway analysis of these mutated genes reveals their functional association with glucose metabolism, diabetic complications, neural system activity, and dysregulated immune responses. In addition, ten potentially protective genes were also proposed. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of DR and may provide potential targets for developing new strategies to combat DR.

Abstract Objective The adipokine asprosin, which was recently discovered, facilitates hepatic glucose production. The aim of this study is to see whether serum asprosin concentrations are linked to diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods We performed this investigation in a group of 212 type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. These patients were classified into three subgroups: DN0 group (normal to mildly increased), DN1 group (moderately increased), and DN2 group (severely increased) on the basis of urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). Results When compared to the controls, T2DM patients had higher serum asprosin levels. The DN2 group had significantly higher serum asprosin than the DN0 and DN1 groups. Furthermore, the DN1 group had higher serum asprosin than the DN0 group. Serum asprosin was linked to a higher risk of T2DM and DN in a logistic regression analysis. Serum asprosin was found to be positively related with disease duration, systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, ACR, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy, but negatively related with glomerular filtration rate, metformin, and acarbose therapy. Conclusion Serum asprosin increase with the progression of DN. Serum asprosin is correlated with renal function and ACR.

Abstract Myonectin, a newly discovered myokine, enhances fatty acid uptake in cultured adipocytes and hepatocytes and suppresses circulating levels of free fatty acids in mice. This study is performed to evaluate the association between serum and aqueous humor myonectin concentrations with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study was performed in a population of 228 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and 72 control subjects. Diabetic patients were then divided into T2DM patients without DR, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) patients, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. Serum and aqueous humor myonectin concentrations were significantly lower in the case group than in the control group. PDR patients showed significantly decreased serum and aqueous humor myonectin concentrations than in the other two T2DM patients. In addition, NPDR patients showed significantly lower serum and aqueous humor myonectin concentrations than T2DM patients without DR. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that serum and aqueous humor myonectin was correlated with a decreased risk of T2DM and DR. Simple linear regression analysis showed that serum myonectin was negatively correlated with duration of disease, body mass index (BMI), and HbA1c. Duration of disease and BMI were still correlated with the serum myonectin after a multiple linear regression analysis. Aqueous humor myonectin was negatively correlated with duration of disease, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure. Duration of disease and SBP was still correlated with the aqueous humor myonectin after a multiple linear regression analysis. Our investigation indicates an inverse association of serum and aqueous humor myonectin with DR.

As a continuous work of the previous literatures, a special dynamical model with one cylindrical roller driven by a single exciter and one outer ring, is taken for example to explore the vibratory synchronization transmission (VST) of the system considering sliding dry friction in this paper. The motion differential equations of the system, are given firstly. Using the average method, the theory condition of implementing VST is obtained. The VST characteristics are qualitatively discussed in numerical, which are further quantitatively verified by simulations. It is shown that, the vibration amplitudes of the roller in the horizontal and vertical directions are basically identical, and less affected by the friction coefficient, but the stable phase difference between the exciter and the outer ring is affected too much by it. Based on the present work, some new types of vibrating equipments, such as vibrating crushers/mills, can be designed.

Objective. The alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase (ALT/AST) ratio is thought to be related to metabolic disorders and insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a high-risk population for low muscle mass. This study was performed to evaluate the association between ALT/AST and muscle mass in subjects with T2DM. Method. This cross-sectional study enrolled 1068 subjects (566 males and 502 females) with T2DM. General information, medical history, and blood samples were collected. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was detected using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the correlation of ALT/AST and low muscle mass in subjects with T2DM. Multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the association between ALT/AST, SMI and other metabolic characteristics. Result. Of all subjects, 115 men (20.3%) and 71 women (14.1%) presented low muscle mass. ALT/AST was related to an increased risk for low muscle mass in both genders. Multiple linear regression analysis displayed that SMI was negatively associated with ALT/AST, age, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in male group. While in female group, SMI was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and negatively associated with ALT/AST and age. Furthermore, ALT/AST was associated with age and BMI in both genders. Conclusion. ALT/AST was negatively associated with muscle mass in subjects with T2DM.

A new dynamical model with five rigid frames (RFs), driven by two counter-rotating exciters, is proposed to explore the synchronization, stability, and motion characteristics of the system in this paper. The motion differential equations and the corresponding responses of the system are given firstly. Using the average method, the average torque balance equations for the two exciters are deduced. According to the relationship between the difference of the dimensionless effective output electromagnetic torques for the two motors and the coupling torques of the system, the theory condition of realizing synchronization is obtained. Based on the Hamilton’s theory, the theory condition of stability of the system is deduced. The stability and motion characteristics of the system for different resonant regions are qualitatively discussed in numeric, including the stable phase difference of the two exciters, relative phase relationships among the five rigid frames, amplitude-frequency characteristics, stability coefficients, and the effective load torque between the two exciters. Simulations are carried out to further quantitatively validate the feasibility of the above theoretical and numerical qualitative results. It is shown that in engineering the reasonable working points of the system should be selected in Region II, only in this way, can the synchronous and stable relative linear motion of the system with the zero stable phase difference in vertical direction be realized, and in this case, the vibrations of the four inner rigid frames (IRFs) in the horizontal direction are compensated with each other, and the energy is also saved due to utilizing the resonant effect. Based on the present work, some new types of vibrating coolers/dryers or vibrating screening machines can be designed.

In the present work, a new dynamical model with a single rigid frame driven by two pairs of vibrators, of which each pair of vibrators is engaged with each other by gear mechanism, is proposed to explore the composite synchronization of the system. The motion differential equations and vibration responses of the system are given first. The theory condition for achieving composite synchronization of the system is obtained, by using the average method to deduce the average torque balance equations of the two pairs of vibrators. According to the Hamilton’s theory, the system stability condition is presented, and it is mainly determined by the structural parameters of the system. The synchronous stable regions and stability ability versus the key parameters of the system are qualitatively discussed in numeric, and further quantitatively verified by simulations. It is shown that, in engineering, the reasonable working points of the system, should be selected in the region where the stable phase difference of the two pairs of vibrators is stabilized in the vicinity of zero. Only in this way, can the exciting forces of the two pairs of vibrators be positively superposed, and the linear motion of the system in the vertical direction be realized.

Currently, deep convolutional neural networks have achieved great achievements in semantic segmentation tasks, but existing methods all require a large number of annotated images for training and do not have good scalability for new objects. Therefore, few-shot semantic segmentation methods that can identify new objects with only one or a few annotated images are gradually gaining attention. However, the current few-shot segmentation methods cannot segment plant diseases well. Based on this situation, a few-shot plant disease semantic segmentation model with multi-scale and multi-prototypes match (MPM) is proposed. This method generates multiple prototypes and multiple query feature maps, and then the relationships between prototypes and query feature maps are established. Specifically, the support feature and query feature are first extracted from the high-scale layers of the feature extraction network; subsequently, masked average pooling is used for the support feature to generate prototypes for a similarity match with the query feature. At the same time, we also fuse low-scale features and high-scale features to generate another support feature and query feature that mix detailed features, and then a new prototype is generated through masked average pooling to establish a relationship with the query feature of this scale. Subsequently, in order to solve the shortcoming of traditional cosine similarity and lack of spatial distance awareness, a CES (cosine euclidean similarity) module is designed to establish the relationship between prototypes and query feature maps. To verify the superiority of our method, experiments are conducted on our constructed PDID-5i dataset, and the mIoU is 40.5%, which is 1.7% higher than that of the original network.

Blueberries are widely planted because of their rich nutritional value. Due to the problems of dense adhesion and serious occlusion of blueberries during the growth process, the development of automatic blueberry picking has been seriously hindered. Therefore, using deep learning technology to achieve rapid and accurate positioning of blueberries in the case of dense adhesion and serious occlusion is one of the key technologies to achieve the automatic picking of blueberries. To improve the positioning accuracy, this paper designs a blueberry recognition model based on the improved YOLOv5. Firstly, the blueberry dataset is constructed. On this basis, we design a new attention module, NCBAM, to improve the ability of the backbone network to extract blueberry features. Secondly, the small target detection layer is added to improve the multi-scale recognition ability of blueberries. Finally, the C3Ghost module is introduced into the backbone network, which reduces the number of model parameters while ensuring the accuracy, thereby reducing the complexity of the model to a certain extent. In order to verify the effectiveness of the model, this paper conducts experiments on the self-made blueberry dataset, and the mAP is 83.2%, which is 2.4% higher than the original network. It proves that the proposed method is beneficial to improve the blueberry recognition accuracy of the model.

Abstract Background Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have become leading causes of death in China as the economy develop and lifestyles change. This study aimed to estimate the relationship of the age, gender, and glucose metabolism with the serum lipid and lipoprotein levels of middle-aged and elderly Chinese men and women in Shandong Province. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in Shandong Province that included 10,028 adults aged ≥40 years. Fasting serum total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides were measured by standard methods. Results The estimates of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were as follows: 5.35, 3.18, 1.51, and 1.34 mmol/L in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese adult population; 5.14, 3.08, 1.42, and 1.33 mmol/L in male subjects; 5.46, 3.24, 1.56, and 1.34 mmol/L in females; 5.27, 3.11, 1.54, and 1.24 mmol/L in the normal glucose tolerance population, 5.49, 3.27, 1.50, and 1.41 mmol/L in the population with pre-diabetes, and 5.39, 3.23, 1.43, and 1.58 mmol/L in the population with diabetes, respectively. Moreover, 36.92 and 19.10% of the adults had borderline-high and high total cholesterol. The population estimates for borderline-high, high LDL and low HDL cholesterol levels were 25.24, 13.39, and 5.64%, respectively. Meanwhile, borderline high and high triglyceride levels accounted for 16.7 and 17.47% of the population, respectively. Conclusions Serum total and LDL cholesterol levels were high in the ≥40 years old population of Shandong Province. Age, gender, glucose metabolism status, body mass index (BMI) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) can affect serum lipid and lipoprotein levels.

Meteorin-like (Metrnl) is a newly discovered myokine. Plasma Metrnl is decreased in subjects with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) and correlated with insulin resistance. This study aims to determine the effects of Metrnl on the apoptosis and proliferation of β cell. Mouse insulinoma MIN6 cells were divided into six groups: normal control, low glucose, high glucose, Vehicle, Metrnl, and Dickkopf 1 (DKK1) groups. MIN6 cells in Metrnl group were transfected with recombinant pCDH-Metrnl vector. WNT/β-catenin pathway was inhibited using DKK1. Then the apoptosis of MIN6 cells was detected using flow cytometry and TUNEL labeling. Immunofluorescence of Ki67 or Edu-594 was used to determine the β cell proliferation. db/db mice were confirmed as T2D group. Lentivirus-Metrnl was injected from the caudal vein of db/db mice once every two weeks for two times. High glucose induced the apoptosis of MIN6 cells and elevated expression of caspase 3. In addition, high glucose resulted in reduced β cell proliferation, cell viability, insulin secretion as well as decreased expression of β-catenin and TCF4. Metrnl ameliorated the above effects of high glucose. And the protecting role of Metrnl was inhibited by DKK1. T2D mice showed higher body weight and blood glucose compared with the controls. The β cell apoptosis was increased while the β cell proliferation and WNT/β-catenin pathway were inhibited in T2D mice. Metrnl treatment partly reversed the above changes in T2D mice. Metrnl ameliorates β cell function by inhibiting β cell apoptosis of and promoting β cell proliferation via activating the WNT/β-catenin pathway.

AimsThis study investigated the association of circulating ceramides in patients with comorbid acute coronary syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (ACS-DM).MethodsA total of 761 patients with coronary heart disease who were admitted to the Department of Cardiology at the Chinese PLA General Hospital from March to August 2018 were enrolled in this study. Of these 761 patients, 282 were diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We selected 65 patients with ACS-DM (ACS-DM group; mean age 64.88 years; 38 men) and 65 patients with ACS but without any comorbidities (ACS group; mean age 64.68 years; 38 men); the two groups were matched by age and sex. We determined four circulating ceramides in 130 plasma samples: Cer(d18:1/16:0), Cer(d18:1/18:0), Cer(d18:1/24:1), and Cer(d18:1/24:0). The ceramides in plasma samples from patients with ACS and those from patients with ACS-DM were compared. Pearson correlation coefficients between individual ceramides and traditional cardiovascular risk factors for the whole study population were calculated. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relativity between the ceramide and ACS-DM.ResultsCompared with the ACS group, the levels of Cer(d18:1/16:0), Cer(d18:1/18:0), and Cer(d18:1/24:1) and their ratios to Cer(d18:1/24:0) were higher in the ACS-DM group and Cer(d18:1/24:0) was lower in the ACS-DM group (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis demonstrated mild-to-moderate correlations of ceramide and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. There were relatively strong correlations of Cer(d18:1/18:0) and Cer(d18:1/24:1) with C-reactive protein, blood lipids, fasting blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin A1c. In multiple logistic regression models, Cer(d18:1/18:0) [odds ratio (OR) 2.396; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.103–5.205; P = 0.027], Cer(d18:1/24:1) (OR 2.826; 95% CI 1.158–6.896; P = 0.023), Cer(d18:1/18:0)/Cer(d18:1/24:0) (OR 2.242; 95% CI 1.103–4.555; P = 0.026), and Cer(d18:1/24:1)/Cer(d18:1/24:0) (OR 2.673; 95% CI 1.225–5.836; P = 0.014) were positively correlated with ACS-DM, and Cer(d18:1/24:0) (OR 0.200; 95% CI 0.051–0.778; P = 0.020) was negatively correlated with ACS-DM.ConclusionCirculating ceramides are positively correlated with the risk of ACS-DM comorbidity. These results give a new insight into the pathogenesis of ACS-DM comorbidity and could provide new options for risk estimation.

Abstract Background Nesfatin-1, originating from its precursor protein called nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2), plays an important role in glucose metabolism and diabetes. The aim of this study is to examine the association of the c.1012C>G (rs757081) polymorphism of NUCB2 gene with the presence of T2DM. Methods This study was performed in a population of 396 patients with T2DM and 196 healthy subjects. The c.1012C>G polymorphism of NUCB2 gene was determined using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing method. Results T2DM patients showed lower CG and GG genotype, as well as G allele frequencies compared with healthy subjects. Logistic regression analysis showed that c.1012C>G polymorphism was associated with a decreased risk of developing T2DM. In addition, GG genotype of NUCB2 was significantly correlated with lower levels of body mass index and fasting plasma glucose in patients with T2DM. Conclusions The c.1012C>G polymorphism of NUCB2 is associated with the decreased risk of developing T2DM in Chinese Han population.

Objective. Adropin is a newly identified regulatory protein encoded by the Enho gene and is critically involved in energy homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. This study aims to determine the correlation of serum adropin concentrations with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods. This study consisted of 245 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 81 healthy subjects. Then T2DM patients were divided into normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria subgroups based on urine albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR). Results. T2DM patients showed significantly lower serum adropin concentrations than those in the controls. T2DM patients with macroalbuminuria had significantly decreased serum adropin concentrations compared with the other three groups. In addition, T2DM patients with microalbuminuria showed lower serum adropin concentrations than those in patients with normoalbuminuria. Logistic regression analysis showed that serum adropin was correlated with decreased risk of developing T2DM and DN. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that serum adropin was negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and ACR and positively correlated with glomerular filtration rate. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis showed that BMI and ACR were negatively correlated with serum adropin levels. Conclusion. Serum adropin concentrations are negatively associated with renal function. Adropin may be implicated in the pathogenesis of DN development.

As one of the most promising renewable resources in electricity generation, wind energy is acknowledged for its significant environmental contributions and economic competitiveness. Because wind fluctuates with strong variation, it is quite difficult to describe the characteristics of wind or to estimate the power output that will be injected into the grid. In particular, short-term wind speed forecasting, an essential support for the regulatory actions and short-term load dispatching planning during the operation of wind farms, is currently regarded as one of the most difficult problems to be solved. This paper contributes to short-term wind speed forecasting by developing two three-stage hybrid approaches; both are combinations of the five-three-Hanning (53H) weighted average smoothing method, ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) algorithm, and nonlinear autoregressive (NAR) neural networks. The chosen datasets are ten-minute wind speed observations, including twelve samples, and our simulation indicates that the proposed methods perform much better than the traditional ones when addressing short-term wind speed forecasting problems.

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a post-transcriptional mechanism to generate diverse mRNA transcripts with different 3'UTRs from the same gene. In this study, we systematically searched for the APA events with differential expression in public mouse microarray data. Hundreds of genes with over-represented differential APA events and the corresponding experiments were identified. We further revealed that global APA differential expression occurred prevalently in tissues such as brain comparing to peripheral tissues, and biological processes such as development, differentiation and immune responses. Interestingly, we also observed widespread differential APA events in RNA-binding protein (RBP) genes such as Rbm3, Eif4e2 and Elavl1. Given the fact that RBPs are considered as the main regulators of differential APA expression, we constructed a co-expression network between APAs and RBPs using the microarray data. Further incorporation of CLIP-seq data of selected RBPs showed that Nova2 represses and Mbnl1 promotes the polyadenylation of closest poly(A) sites respectively. Altogether, our study is the first microarray meta-analysis in a mammal on the regulation of APA by RBPs that integrated massive mRNA expression data under a wide-range of biological conditions. Finally, we present our results as a comprehensive resource in an online website for the research community.

We report on the measurement of topological invariants in an electromagnetic topological insulator analog formed by a microwave network, consisting of the winding numbers of scattering matrix eigenvalues. The experiment can be regarded as a variant of a topological pump, with nonzero winding implying the existence of topological edge states. In microwave networks, unlike most other systems exhibiting topological insulator physics, the winding can be directly observed. The effects of loss on the experimental results, and on the topological edge states, are discussed.

The C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) has been implicated in chronic pain, but its exact mechanism of peripheral sensitization is unknown. In this study, we aimed to clarify the mechanism of CCL2 regulation of ion channels. Our behavioral experiments revealed that ZD7288, a blocker of Ih current, can inhibit CFA and CCL2-mediated mechanical and thermal nociceptive sensitization. Furthermore, patch clamp studies demonstrated that CFA-induced peripheral sensitization primarily affects the excitability of small-diameter DRG neurons. Further studies revealed that inflammatory pain caused by CFA or incubation of DRG with CCL2 mainly affected Ih currents in small-diameter DRG neurons, which were blocked by co-incubation CCR2 antagonist INCB3344 or adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536. Immunohistochemical staining showed that both intraplantar injection of CFA as well as DRG injection of CCL2 resulted in significant upregulation of CCR2+/HCN2+ expression. In conclusion, we suggest in the inflammatory pain state, CCL2 can act on small-diameter DRG neurons, leading to upregulation of HCN2 expression and consequently Ih, which in turn leads to neuronal hyperexcitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract All-perovskite tandem solar cells have shown great promise in breaking the Shockley–Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells. However, the efficiency improvement of all-perovskite tandem solar cells is largely hindered by the surface defects induced non-radiative recombination loss in Sn–Pb mixed narrow bandgap perovskite films. Here, we report a surface reconstruction strategy utilizing a surface polishing agent, 1,4-butanediamine, together with a surface passivator, ethylenediammonium diiodide, to eliminate Sn-related defects and passivate organic cation and halide vacancy defects on the surface of Sn–Pb mixed perovskite films. Our strategy not only delivers high-quality Sn–Pb mixed perovskite films with a close-to-ideal stoichiometric ratio surface but also minimizes the non-radiative energy loss at the perovskite/electron transport layer interface. As a result, our Sn–Pb mixed perovskite solar cells with bandgaps of 1.32 and 1.25 eV realize power conversion efficiencies of 22.65% and 23.32%, respectively. Additionally, we further obtain a certified power conversion efficiency of 28.49% of two-junction all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is acknowledged as a disease continuum. Despite catheter ablation being recommended as a primary therapy for AF, the high recurrence rates have tempered the initial enthusiasm. Insulin resistance (IR) has been established as an independent predictor for the onset of AF. However, the correlation between non-insulin-based IR indices and late AF recurrence in patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation remains unknown. Methods A retrospective cohort of 910 AF patients who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation was included in the analysis. The primary endpoint was late AF recurrence during the follow-up period after a defined blank period. The relationship between non-insulin-based IR indices and the primary endpoint was assessed using multivariate Cox hazards regression models and restricted cubic splines (RCS). Additionally, the net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement index were calculated to further evaluate the additional predictive value of the four IR indices beyond established risk factors for the primary outcome. Results During a median follow-up period of 12.00 months, 189 patients (20.77%) experienced late AF recurrence, which was more prevalent among patients with higher levels of IR. The multivariate Cox hazards regression analysis revealed a significant association between these IR indices and late AF recurrence. Among the four indices, METS-IR provided the most significant incremental effect on the basic model for predicting late AF recurrence. Multivariable-adjusted RCS curves illustrated a nonlinear correlation between METS-IR and late AF recurrence. In subgroup analysis, METS-IR exhibited a significant correlation with late AF recurrence in patients with diabetes mellitus (HR: 1.697, 95% CI 1.397 − 2.063, P

Abstract Background There is sufficient evidence that women with atrial fibrillation (AF) have a greater symptom burden than men with AF and are more likely to experience recurrence after catheter ablation. However, the mechanisms underlying these sex differences are unclear. Methods We prospectively enrolled 125 consecutive patients, including 40 non-AF patients and 85 AF patients, who underwent high-density voltage mapping during sinus rhythm and AF patients who underwent first ablation. Results Overall, 37 (44%) female patients with AF and 24 (60%) female non-AF patients with a mean age of 61.7 ± 11.6 years and 53.6 ± 16.7 years, respectively, were enrolled in this study. The results showed that the atrial voltage of female AF patients was significantly lower than that of male AF patients (1.11 ± 0.58 mV vs. 1.53 ± 0.65 mV; P = 0.003), while there were no significant sex differences in non-AF patients (3.02 ± 0.86 mV vs. 3.21 ± 0.84 mV; P = 0.498). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that female sex (− 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] − 0.64 to − 0.13, P = 0.004) and AF type (− 0.32, 95% CI − 0.69 to − 0.13, P = 0.004) were the only factors independently associated with voltage. Compared with men, women in the paroxysmal AF group had a 3.5-fold greater incidence of recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio 4.49; 95% CI 1.101–18.332, P = 0.036). Both globally and regionally, the results showed that sex-related differences in voltage values occurred prominently in paroxysmal AF patients but not in nonparoxysmal AF patients. Conclusion Sex-related differences in atrial substrates and arrhythmia-free survival were found in paroxysmal AF patients, suggesting the existence of sex-related pathophysiological factors.