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Studies on the alterations of liver and kidney function parameters in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and diabetic ketosis (DK) were limited. Participants with DKA, DK, non-DK, and healthy controls were enrolled in the current study. Parameters of liver and kidney function were measured and evaluated. The patients with DKA had higher levels of plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), uric acid, and creatinine but lower levels of transferases and protein compared with the other three groups ( for all). The patients with DK had higher levels of plasma glucose and HbA1c but lower levels of glutamyl transpeptidase and protein compared with the non-DK and control groups (). Prealbumin levels were significantly reduced in the severe DKA patients compared with the mild/moderate DKA patients. Serum prealbumin levels were correlated with albumin levels (, ), HCO3 (, ), and arterial pH (, ) in the DKA patients. A diagnostic analysis showed that lower prealbumin levels significantly reflected the presence of hyperglycemic emergencies (). Liver and kidney function parameters deteriorated, especially in DKA. Prealbumin levels can be of value in detecting the presence of hyperglycemic crisis. This clinical trial is registered with ChiCTR-OCH-12003077.

IntroductionNatural hybridization is common and plays a crucial role in driving biodiversity in nature. Despite its significance, the understanding of hybridization in ferns remains inadequate. Therefore, it is imperative to study fern hybridization to gain a more comprehensive understanding of fern biodiversity. Our study delves into the role of hybridization in shaping fern species, employing Microlepia matthewii as a case study to investigate its origins of hybridization.MethodsWe performed double digest Genotyping-by-sequencing (dd-GBS) on M. matthewii and its potential parent species, identifying nuclear and chloroplast SNPs. Initially, nuclear SNPs were employed to construct the three cluster analysis: phylogenetic tree, principal component analysis, and population structure analysis. Subsequently, to confirm whether the observed genetic mixture pattern resulted from hybridization, we utilized two methods: ABBA-BABA statistical values in the D-suite program and gene frequency covariance in the Treemix software to detect gene flow. Finally, we employed chloroplast SNPs to construct a phylogenetic tree, tracing the maternal origin.Results and discussionThe analysis of the nuclear SNP cluster revealed that M. matthewii possesses a genetic composition that is a combination of M. hancei and M. calvescens. Furthermore, the analysis provided strong evidence of significant gene flow signatures from the parental species to the hybrid, as indicated by the two gene flow analyses. The samples of M. matthewii cluster separately with M. hancei or M. calvescens on the chloroplast systematic tree. However, the parentage ratio significantly differs from 1:1, suggesting that M. matthewii is a bidirectional and asymmetrical hybrid offspring of M. hancei and M. calvescens.

Increasing zinc (Zn) concentration in wheat grain is important to minimize human dietary Zn deficiency. This study aimed to investigate the effect of foliar Zn and soil nitrogen (N) applications on the accumulation and distribution of N and Zn in grain pearling fractions, N remobilization, and the relationships between nutrient concentration in the vegetative tissues and grain or its fractions in two cropping years in the North China Plain. The results showed a progressive decrease in N and Zn concentrations from the outer to the inner parts of grain, with most of the accumulation in the core endosperm. Foliar Zn application significantly increased N concentration in the pericarp, and soil N application increased N concentration in each grain fraction. Both treatments significantly increased core endosperm Zn concentration. Foliar Zn had no effect on grain N and Zn distribution. Soil N application made N concentrated in the aleurone, promoted Zn translocation to the core endosperm and also increased N remobilization and its efficiency from the shoot to the grain, but no improved contribution to grain was found. N concentration in grain and its fractions were positively correlated with N in vegetative organs at anthesis and maturity, while positive correlations were obtained between N concentration in the pericarp and progressive central area of the endosperm and Zn concentration in the core endosperm. Thus, foliar Zn and soil N applications effectively increased yield and N and Zn concentrations in the wheat grain, particularly in the endosperm, and could be promising strategies to address Zn deficiency.

With the development of open science and technological innovation, using sharing data and molecular biology techniques in the study of taxonomy and systematics have become a crucial component of plants, which undoubtedly helps us discover more hidden outliers or deal with difficult taxa. In this paper, we take Dennstaedtia smithii as an example, based on sharing molecular database, virtual herbarium and plant photo bank, to clarify the outliers that have been hidden in Dennstaedtia and find the key morphological traits with consistent of molecular systematics. In molecular phylogenetic analyses, we used rbcL, rps4, psbA-trnH and trnL-F sequences from 5 new and 49 shared data; the results showed that Dennstaedtia smithii is nested within Microlepia rather than Dennstaedtia. We further studied the morphological characters based on the phylogeny result and found that D. smithii is distinguished from other species of Dennstaedtia by spore ornamentation and the unconnected of grooves between rachis and pinna rachis. According to morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, our results supported that D. smithii should be a new member of Microlepia and renamed Microlepia smithii (Hook.) Y.H. Yan. Finding hidden outliers can promote the consistency of morphological and molecular phylogenetic results, and make the systematic classification more natural.

Based on field observations and examinations of herbarium specimens (including type material), consulting the original literature and molecular phylogenetic analysis of the rbcL and trnL-F sequences, it is concluded that Hypolepis robusta is conspecific with Hypolepis alpina and is here formally treated as a synonym of it. Additionally H. alpina is reported with new distribution records in Guangdong, Guangxi and the Hainan Island of China, respectively.

Phase change memory (PCM) device using a diode as selector exhibits a high level of integration based on 40 nm process, but it still has some reliability problems, such as read disturbance and writing performance. In this paper, we test and improve the read/write reliability of one diode and one resistor (1D1R) structure cell in array with cell size of 12F2 (0.16 μm × 0.12 μm). The 1D1R device has good performance with ultra-high speed (20 ns) and low programming voltage (3.3 V). The cell programmed by current pulse has a better performance than that of voltage operation in amorphous state with respect to read disturb immunity. The ratio of reset/set resistance can be improved by choosing appropriate parameter of write operation. In addition, the endurance characteristics of the devices are investigated. The optimization in read/write operation guarantee that 1D1R device can satisfy the requirements for the high-speed and high-density applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel-cell (MLC) phase change memory (PCM) usually evaluated in the program method, delay or write energy while the endurance characteristic has not been focused on. In this paper, we exploit a staircase-up program and verify method in the current-driven 4 Mb PCM chip to achieve MLC storage. The direct results of the change in the R–I characteristic and resistance distribution during the cycles are displayed. According to the measurement, the PCM device shows four separable resistance levels after 106 operation cycles with a decreasing resistance of full-crystalline state. And the resistance drift and read disturb which affect the cell reliability also are briefly tested. The MLC device shows a good performance where four resistance levels can be separated well after 1000 s and the read endurance under 0.3 V is retained up to 109 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]