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Background Obesity is often considered as a risk factor of cardiovascular events, but recent researches showed conflicting results regarding to the effect of body weight on prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes of CAD in Asian population. Methods A total of 4315 patients from the FOCUS registry were enrolled into this analysis. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to BMI: lean group (BMI 30 kg/m2). Follow-up was continued to 3 years to evaluate clinical outcomes, and the primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death and myocardial infarction (MI). Results Patients with higher BMI were more likely to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes, but not smoking. At the end of the follow-up period, however, the incidence of a composite endpoint of all-cause death and MI was significantly lower in the higher BMI (overweight and obese) subsets, as compared with the lower BMI group (5.2% vs. 8.0%, p Conclusions In Asian patients with CAD, an inverse association between BMI and long-term prognosis was observed. Although overweight or obese patients were associated with more metabolism-associated comorbidities, they had significantly lower adverse events at 3-year follow up after percutaneous coronary intervention.

In recent years, biportal endoscopic surgery has gained popularity, and the number of publications on it has also increased. We herein aimed to investigate the complications of biportal endoscopic surgery. In this study, the available literature was reviewed systematically and the published complications of discectomy in biportal endoscopic spinal surgery were summarized.A systematic search of the literature published until December 31, 2021, was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Studies on spinal discectomy using the biportal method were included.Twenty-two articles were finally included for review. The reported complication rate of this procedure was 0%-23.6% (radiological hematoma). In most studies, the complication rate was less than 11%. The mean complication rate was 5.37% when 596 patients (from 16 studies) underwent unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy for the treatment of lumbar disk herniation. The reported complications of this procedure included dural tear, hematoma, incomplete decompression, recurrence, instability, neurological complications (post-op paresthesia, dysthesia or numbness, or root injury), pseudomeningocele, ascites, infection, retinal hemorrhage, and burn injury. The complication rate was higher in the early learning curve.Unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy has an acceptable complication rate. Knowing the possible complications and risks of this procedure could help surgeons in taking measures to avoid common complications.

In the present study, a novel biodegradable Zn-0.8Cu coronary artery stent was fabricated and implanted into porcine coronary arteries for up to 24 months. Micro-CT analysis showed that the implanted stent was able to maintain structural integrity after 6 months, while its disintegration occurred after 9 months of implantation. After 24 months of implantation, approximately 28 ± 13 vol% of the stent remained. Optical coherence tomography and histological analysis showed that the endothelialization process could be completed within the first month after implantation, and no inflammation responses or thrombosis formation was observed within 24 months. Cross-section analysis indicated that the subsequent degradation products had been removed in the abluminal direction, guaranteeing that the strut could be replaced by normal tissue without the risk of contaminating the circulatory system, causing neither thrombosis nor inflammation response. The present work demonstrates that the Zn-0.8Cu stent has provided sufficient structural supporting and exhibited an appropriate degradation rate during 24 months of implantation without degradation product accumulation, thrombosis, or inflammation response. The results indicate that the Zn-0.8Cu coronary artery stent is promising for further clinical applications. Statement of Significance Although Zn and its alloys have been considered to be potential candidates of biodegradable metals for vascular stent use, by far, no Zn-based stent with appropriate medical device performance has been reported because of the low mechanical properties of zinc. The present work presents promising results of a Zn-Cu biodegradable vascular stent in porcine coronary arteries. The Zn-Cu stent fabricated in this work demonstrated adequate medical device performance both in vitro and in vivo and degraded at a proper rate without safety problems induced. Furthermore, large animal models have more cardiovascular similarities as humans. Results of this study may provide further information of the Zn-based stents for translational medicine research. This work was supported by the National Key Research & Development Program of China (No. 2016YFC1102500 ), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31700819 ), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 06500098 ), and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (YESS, No. 2018QNRC001 ). As chief scientist, Professor Haijun-Zhang initiated the study and also participated in key details of the experimental processes. Scopus

Cortical processing depends on finely tuned excitatory and inhibitory connections in neuronal microcircuits. Reduced inhibition by somatostatin-expressing interneurons is a key component of altered inhibition associated with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (depression), which is implicated in cognitive deficits and rumination, but the link remains to be better established mechanistically in humans. Here we test the effect of reduced somatostatin interneuron-mediated inhibition on cortical processing in human neuronal microcircuits using a data-driven computational approach. We integrate human cellular, circuit, and gene expression data to generate detailed models of human cortical microcircuits in health and depression. We simulate microcircuit baseline and response activity and find a reduced signal-to-noise ratio and increased false/failed detection of stimuli due to a higher baseline activity in depression. We thus apply models of human cortical microcircuits to demonstrate mechanistically how reduced inhibition impairs cortical processing in depression, providing quantitative links between altered inhibition and cognitive deficits.

Fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC)-based electrolytes using FEC as the co-solvent (50 wt%) are investigated and compared with the electrolyte using FEC as the additive (10 wt%) for freestanding Si-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite paper anodes for Li-ion batteries. The ethylene carbonate (EC)-free FEC-based electrolyte is found to achieve higher specific capacity and better capacity retention in terms of long-term cycling. After 500 cycles, the capacity retention of the cell using diethyl carbonate (DEC)-FEC (1:1 w/w) is increased by 88% and 60% compared to the cells using EC-DEC-FEC (45:45:10 w/w/w) and EC-FEC (1:1 w/w), respectively. Through SEM-EDX and XPS analyses, a possible reaction route of formation of fluorinated semicarbonates and polyolefins from FEC is proposed. The inferior cell performance related to the EC-containing electrolytes is likely due to the formation of more polyolefins, which do not favor Li ion migration.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with α-ketoglutarate (AKG) on the intestinal microbiota and metabolites using the growing pig model. Sixteen healthy animals (Large White × Landrace; 84 ± 1 d of age) of similar initial weight (40.08 ± 0.78 kg) were randomly assigned to two dietary groups (n = 8). The pigs were fed a basic diet containing either 0 (control) or 10 g AKG kg−1 (supplemental diet). After a 28-d trial period, the luminal digesta of the cecum and ileum were collected to analyze the amounts of short-chain fatty acids and ammonia, as well as populations of gut microbiota. Supplementation with AKG decreased (P = 0.043) the pH value of the digesta in the ileum. Moreover, the AKG concentration in the ileal digesta was significantly higher in pigs fed the supplemented diet than in control pigs (P = 0.009). The addition of AKG also significantly increased the amounts of Lactobacillus (P = 0.002) and Bifidobacterium (P = 0.021) in the cecum, and Lactobacillus (P = 0.029) and Firmicutes (P = 0.045) in the ileum, but decreased the amounts of Escherichia coli in the ileum (P = 0.034) and in the cecum (P = 0.082) when compared with the control group. Dietary AKG also increased the concentrations of valerate (P = 0.026) in the caecal digesta and butyrate in both the caecal digesta (P = 0.017) and the ileal digesta (P = 0.022). Concentrations of ammonia also declined in the caecal (P = 0.042) and ileal (P = 0.038) digesta in response to AKG. Therefore, our results suggest that this dietary supplement has the potential to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, improve intestinal microbial populations, increase the concentrations of butyrate and valerate, and decrease the level of ammonia in the gut of growing pigs.

A 8-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Arg on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, metabolizable energy, and intestinal morphology of growing turkeys. A total of one hundred and eighty 56-d-old male grower turkeys were weighed individually and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens and 10 turkeys per pen in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments consisted of basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g Arg/kg. Growth response was measured during the grower (d 56–84) and finisher (d 84–112) phases, while nutrient digestibility, metabolizable energy, and intestinal morphology were measured at d 84 and 112. Arginine supplementation had no effect on growth response during the grower phase. During the finisher phase, feed conversion ratio decreased initially as Arg supplementation increased from 0 to 0.5 g/kg, but it increased with the 1.0 g Arg/kg (quadratic, P=0.028). At d 84, grower turkeys fed diets supplemented with 1.0 g Arg/kg had greater (linear, P

A 8-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Arg on haematological indices, serum chemistry, carcass yield, gut microflora, and lymphoid organ weights of growing turkeys. A total of one hundred and eighty 56-d-old male grower turkeys were weighed individually and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens, and 10 turkeys per pen in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments consisted of basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g Arg/kg. Haematological indices and serum chemistry were measured at 84 and 112 d of study. Carcass yield, relative weights of retail cuts, organ weights, and gut microflora were measured at d 112. Except eosinophil, no effect of Arg supplementation was obtained on haematological indices at d 84. At d 112, finisher turkeys fed the diet supplemented with 0.5 g Arg/kg had the greatest red blood cell (quadratic, P

We investigated the effects of dietary alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) supplementation on growth performance, the nitrogen (N) balance, and metabolism of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in growing pigs. Sixteen healthy animals (Large × White × Landrace) of similar initial weight (40.08 ± 0.78 kg) were randomly assigned to two dietary groups. The pigs were fed a basic diet containing either 0 (control) or 10 g AKG kg−1 for 28 d. Their faeces and urine were collected continuously from Days 23–25. On Day 28, all of them were killed and their right rear femurs and tibias were removed. Pigs fed diets with AKG tended to have higher average daily gain (ADG; P = 0.088), but their urinary-N levels and excretion of total N were 24.50% (P = 0.012) and 23.67% (P = 0.011) lower, respectively, when compared with corresponding values measured from the control group. However, their apparent N-digestibility and net protein utilization were increased by 2.43% (P = 0.044) and 11.84% (P = 0.002), respectively, over the control. Furthermore, supplemental AKG decreased faecal- and urinary-Ca levels by 29.56% (P = 0.045) and 24.54% (P = 0.001), respectively, while enhancing P-retention, apparent Ca-digestibility, and apparent P-digestibility by 27.10% (P = 0.002), 14.51% (P = 0.041), and 16.62% (P = 0.010), respectively. The addition of AKG also elevated the concentrations of ash, P, and Ca (P = 0.012, P = 0.002, and P = 0.004, respectively) in the femur samples, and increased bone density (P = 0.003), but did not affect those parameters in the tibias. These results indicate that dietary supplementation with AKG can improve the utilization of N, Ca, and P; while effectively reducing N, Ca, and P emissions; and promoting N-, Ca-, and P-metabolism in growing pigs.

Biodiesel is commonly produced via transesterification process, usually through the use of batch type reactor. There are significant gaps in batch reactor technologies, where the importance of operating conditions are often concluded based on the steady-state conditions. In this study, a Pareto-Hierarchical framework were employed, based on results of a 4-factor 3-level full factorial Design of Experiments. Four parameters of interest such as agitation speed, catalyst loading, methanol-to-oil ratio, and temperature, were firsts analysed using transient Pareto approach followed by hierarchical clustering. The results indicate that low methanol: oil ratio favours transesterification at the beginning, with increasing importance as the process proceeds. From it, the magnitude of standardised effect increases from 0.38 to 14.21, representing an over 37-fold improvement. Conversely, agitation speed showed a reduction of 37-fold in standardised effect throughout the transesterification process, plateauing around mid-way of the reaction. Catalyst loading and temperature shared similar trends, as they influence the activation energy. Their standardised effects peak at 180 s which is in the middle of the physical-limiting regime. Therefore, this study provides a framework to develop an analyses to make dynamic optimisation strategy better in terms of economics and yield efficiency.

A data-driven model is used to analyse the global effects of biodiesel on the energy–water–food (EWF) nexus, and to understand the complex environmental correlation. Several criteria to measure the sustainability of biodiesel and four main limiting factors for biodiesel production are discussed in this paper. The limiting factors includes water stress, food stress, feedstock quantity and crude oil price. The 155-country model covers crude oil prices ranging from USD10/bbl to USD160/bbl, biodiesel refinery costs ranging from -USD0.30/L to USD0.30/L and 45 multi-generation biodiesel feedstocks. The model is capable of ascertaining changes arising from biodiesel adoption in terms of light-duty diesel engine emissions (NO, CO, UHC and smoke opacity), water stress index (WSI), dietary energy supply (DES), Herfindahl–Hirschman index (HHI) and short-term energy security. With the addition of potential biodiesel production, the renewable energy sector of global primary energy profile can increase by 0.43%, with maximum increment up to 10.97% for Malaysia. At current crude oil price of USD75/bbl and refinery cost of USD0.1/L, only Benin, Ireland and Togo can produce biodiesel profitably. The model also shows that water requirement varies non-linearly with multi-feedstock biodiesel production as blending ratio increases. Out of the 155 countries, biodiesel production is limited by feedstock quantity for 82 countries, 47 are limited by crude oil price, 20 by water stress and 6 by food stress. The results provide insights for governments to set up environmental policy guidelines, in implementing biodiesel technology as a cleaner alternative to diesel.

Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway has been proved to play an important role in tumorigenesis and cancer development. MEK inhibitor has been demonstrated significant clinical benefit for blocking MAPK pathway activation and possibly could block reactivation of the MAPK pathway at the time of BRAF inhibitor resistance. Twenty N-(benzyloxy)-1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamide derivatives have been designed and synthesized as MEK inhibitors, and their biological activities were evaluated. Among these compounds, compound 7b showed the most potent inhibitory activity with IC50 of 91nM for MEK1 and GI50 value of 0.26μM for A549 cells. The SAR analysis and docking simulation were performed to provide crucial pharmacophore clues that could be used in further structure optimization.

Obesity develops from an imbalance of energy homeostasis and is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation in white adipose tissues (WAT). Inflammation is involved in the pathophysiology of many obesity-induced disorders including insulin resistance and diabetes. Increasing evidence has shown that dietary leucine supplementation positively affects the parameters associated with obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. The beneficial effects include increased loss of body weight, reduced WAT inflammation, improved lipid and glucose metabolism, enhanced mitochondrial function, and preserved lean body mass. Although these beneficial effects have not been clearly established, dietary leucine supplementation, either alone or as part of a therapeutic regimen, may be a good nutritional tool in the prevention and management of obesity and obesity-induced metabolic disorders.

Combustion in HCCI engines is a controlled auto ignition process of well-mixed fuel, air and residual gas. Since the ignition of HCCI combustion is completely controlled by chemical kinetics, and is directly affected by the fuel composition, equivalence ratio, and thermodynamic state of the mixture, there is no direct control on the start of combustion process. Therefore, HCCI combustion is easy to become unstable, especially at lower and higher engine loads. In this study, cycle-to-cycle variations of an HCCI combustion engine fuelled with diesel were investigated on a modified single-cylinder engine. The experiments were conducted at different injection pressures, EGR rates, and intake pressures at constant engine speed of 1500 rpm. One hundred consecutive combustion cycles for each test conditions at steady state operation were recorded. Consequently, cycle-to-cycle variations of the main combustion parameters and performance parameters were analyzed. Coefficients of variation (COV) of every parameter were calculated to evaluate the cycle-to-cycle variations of HCCI combustion. This provides basis for closed loop control of diesel HCCI combustion phasing.

Self-Recirculation-Casing-Treatment (SRCT) is a widely employed method to enhance aerodynamic stability of a centrifugal compressor. This paper investigated unsteady effects of SRCT on the flow in a transonic centrifugal compressor via numerical method validated by experimental test. Firstly the static pressure distribution in the compressor without SRCT is measured for information of boundary conditions as well as validation. Then a 1-D unsteady model of a single passage is built and validated based on the experimental results. Next, the 1-D model of a passage with SRCT is built to investigate the unsteady influence of the SRCT on the flow in the passage. Finally 3-D unsteady CFD is employed to investigate the detailed influence of SRCT on the flow field in impeller passages. Results show that the topology of the passage with SRCT can remarkably damp the distortion propagating from downstream, hence depress the magnitude of the inlet flow distortion. Furthermore, the width of the rear slot in SRCT is the key factor for the damping effect. The 3-D simulation results further show that the fluctuations of the re-circulated flow rate via the front slot is depressed by the SRCT which is attributed to the damping effect of its configuration.

Amino acids (AAs) are building blocks of protein. Eight AAs (Ala, Asn, Asp, Glu, Gln, Gly, Pro, and Ser) are formed by all animals, whereas de novo synthesis of Arg occurs in a species-specific manner in most mammals (e.g., humans, pigs, and rats). Synthesizable AAs were traditionally classified as nutritionally nonessential for animals, because they were thought to be formed in sufficient amounts. However, this assumption is not supported by evidence showing that 1) rats grow slowly when their diets do not contain Arg, Glu, or Gln despite adequate provision of all other proteinogenous AAs; 2) pigs cannot achieve maximum growth, lactation, or reproduction performance when fed corn- and soybean meal-based diets meeting National Research Council-recommended requirements of protein and AAs without supplemental Arg, Glu, Gln, Gly, or Pro; 3) chickens exhibit increases in lean tissue gain and feed efficiency when their diets are supplemented with Glu, Gln, Gly, and Pro; 4) lactating cows cannot obtain maximum milk protein production without a postruminal supply of Gln or Pro; 5) fish cannot achieve maximum growth when diets do not contain Gln or Pro; and 6) men fail to sustain spermatogenesis when fed an Arg-deficient diet. Quantitative analysis of nitrogen metabolism showed that AA synthesis in animals is constrained by both precursor availability and enzyme activity. Taken together, these findings support the conclusion that the endogenous synthesis of AAs limits growth, lactation, and reproduction in animals. This new knowledge can guide the optimization of human nutrition for improving health and well-being.

A novel Electro-Fenton process characterized by aeration from inside a graphite felt electrode with enhanced generation of H2O2 and cycle of Fe3+/Fe2+ was proposed. The new type of Electro-Fenton process was used to degrade organic pollutants via graphite felt electrode aeration (GF-EA). The H2O2 concentration by GF-EA could reach 152–169 mg/L in a wide pH range (3–10), which was much higher than that achieved by graphite felt using solution aeration (GF-SA, 37–113 mg/L). For the degradation of nitrobenzene (NB), benzoic acid (BA), bisphenol A (BPA), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) at pH 5.5, the percentage degradation by GF-EA could reach 55%, 56%, 80%, and 60% higher than those obtained by GF-SA, respectively. The solution TOC removal by GF-EA were enhanced by 29–51% relative to GF-SA. Mechanism analysis showed both OH and ferryl species were involved in the reaction system, and the amounts of OH and dissolved iron species in GF-EA group were 7.7 times and 4–8 times higher than those in GF-SA group, respectively. Besides, the mass transfer rate of GF-EA system was 5.4 times higher than that of GF-SA system. High amounts of H2O2, dissolved iron species and OH were attributed to the enhanced mass transfer of O2 and the solution.

The soot volume fraction (SVF) of waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel and blends was quantified and compared under the same total carbon flow rate via two experimental setups, namely prevaporised diffusion jet flames and pool flames using extinction calibrated laser induced-incandescence (LII). The spatial SVF distribution shows that for diesel-rich fuels, soot formation peaks near the flame and is convected downstream, whereas biodiesel flames show a more evenly distributed SVF at the flame center region. An increase in biodiesel fraction in diesel results in a reduced propensity for soot, as evident in both pool and vapour flames. Comparison of the radial profiles of SVF along the centerline shows broader SVF profiles for pool flames, reflecting the longer residence times for soot diffusion and growth compared to vapour flames, which reflected the lower mass flux for the pool burner. The total soot produced from pool flames was found to be higher than vapour flame by a factor of two for the same fuel mass consumption rate. WCO biodiesel exhibited the lowest total SVF value regardless of flame type owing to the combined effects of lack of aromatic compounds and fuel chemistry. The soot primary particle sizes produced by WCO biodiesel show lower mean diameter values by a factor of approximately 1.5 compared to diesel-produced soot. The pool flames produced carbon particulates of larger mean diameter by around 22% and 8% for diesel and WCO biodiesel, respectively, relative to the counterpart vapour flames, as a result of extended soot surface growth period.