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BackgroundObesity and diabetes are two risk factors for cancer. To evaluate the association of body mass index (BMI) with cancer risk in diabetic patients may improve current understanding of potential mechanisms.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted in 51,004 newly diagnosed T2DM patients derived from an electronic health record (EHR) database of Minhang district in Shanghai, China. Incident cancer cases and all-cause deaths occurred before September 30, 2015 were identified by linking with the Shanghai Cancer Registry and the Shanghai Vital Statistics. To examine the potential non-linear and linear relationships of BMI and cancer risk, Cox proportional hazard models with and without restricted cubic spline functions were used, respectively.ResultsA non-linear association was observed between BMI and overall cancer incidence in men younger than 60 years old (p for non-linearity = 0.009). Compared with those having BMI of 25.0 kg/m2, the cancer risk increased in those with either lower or higher BMI. In women older than 60 years old, linear dose-response relationships were observed between BMI and the risk of both overall cancer and breast cancer. As each unit increase in BMI, the overall cancer risks elevated by 3% (95%CI: 1-5%) and the breast cancer risks increased by 7% (95%CI: 1-13%). No significant association was observed between BMI and other common cancer sites.ConclusionsOur results show that the effect of BMI on cancer risk in Chinese patients with T2DM may vary by gender, age and cancer subtypes, suggesting different underlying biological mechanisms.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced aluminum matrix composites were fabricated by powder metallurgy route, including in-situ chemical vapor deposition synthesis and ball-milling process. The effect of ball-milling process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CNT/Al composites was investigated. The results show that the best tensile properties of CNT/Al composites can be achieved without adding any process control agent; with the increment of milling time, CNTs are gradually embedded into Al matrix and the composite microstructure becomes more dense and uniform. The hardness and tensile strength of CNT/Al composites continuously increase with the increase of milling time; however, the elongation firstly increases and then decreases. The composites after 90min of milling show a good balance between strength and ductility, and the hardness and tensile strength of which is 1.4 and 1.7 times higher than that of pure Al respectively, with elongation of 17.9%.

In situ synthesized MgAl2O4 whiskers reinforced 6061 Al alloy composites were fabricated by a powder metallurgy method. Nano-sized MgAl2O4 spinel whiskers distributed uniformly in 6061 Al alloy matrix without any interfacial product and laid along the extrusion direction after hot extrusion. As-extruded composite samples were annealed at 530, 580, 600 and 630 °C for 1 h and examined by electron backscattered diffraction to investigate the recrystallization behavior of obtained composites. Microstructure and texture evolution was investigated, and it is found that the recrystallization process is inhibited by whiskers because of Zener pinning. Slender fibrous grains remain until 630 °C, and deformation textures still exist even in specimen annealed at 630 °C. Hardness and tensile tests show that the completely recrystallized sample has an ultimate tensile strength of 218 MPa and a hardness of HV 52 compared with 283 MPa and HV 69 of the unannealed sample. Mechanical properties of the annealed samples decline slightly with annealing temperature increasing up to 600 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon and few-layer MoS nanosheets co-modified TiO nanocomposites (defined as MoS-C@TiO) were prepared through a facile one-step pyrolysis reaction technique. In this unique nanostructure, the TiO nanosheets with stable structure serve as the backbones, and carbon coating and few-layer MoS tightly adhere onto the surface of the TiO. It needs to be pointed out that the carbon coating improves the overall electronic conductivity and the few-layer MoS facilitates the diffusion of lithium ions and offers more active sites for lithium-ion storage. As a result, when evaluated as lithium-ion battery anodes, the MoS-C@TiO nanocomposites exhibit markedly enhanced lithium storage capability compared with pure TiO. A high specific capacity of 180 mA·h·g has been achieved during the preliminary cycles, and the specific capacity can maintain 160 mA·h·g at a high current density of 1C (1C=167 mA·g) even after 300 discharge/charge cycles, indicating the great potential of the MoS-C@TiO on energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]