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Background: Current guidelines recommend the use of potent antiplatelet agents in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, data about optimal platelet inhibition in severe renal insufficiency patients are scarce. The purpose of this study is to determine if ticagrelor is more effective than clopidogrel in patients with ACS and severe renal insufficiency treated with PCI.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients with ACS and severe renal insufficiency (eGFR ≤ 30 ml/min·1.73 m2 or dialysis) who underwent PCI at our hospital between January 2015 and March 2020. We used the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to analyze the 1-year outcome endpoints, including the primary endpoint (the composite of cardiovascular death, recurrence of MI, or nonfatal ischemic stroke), death from any cause, and bleeding events (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium, BARC criteria).Results: A total of 276 patients with ACS and severe renal insufficiency who were treated with PCI with ticagrelor (n = 108) or clopidogrel (n = 168) were included in the study. After adjustment, there was no statistical difference in risk of the primary endpoint (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.46-1.33; P=0.367) and death from any cause (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.38-1.89; P=0.708) in the ticagrelor group against the clopidogrel group. However, the risk of total bleeding was significantly higher in the ticagrelor group (HR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.81-5.62; P=0.01). Subgroup analysis according to the confounders did not identify any significant subgroup heterogeneity.Conclusion: Ticagrelor did not improve the major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality when compared to clopidogrel, but significantly increased the risk of bleeding in Chinese patients with ACS and severe renal insufficiency undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the surface of a fully recrystallized Zr702 is treated by pulsed laser following which microstructural changes are investigated by use of electron backscatter diffraction and electron channeling contrast imaging techniques. The pulsed laser treatment results in three distinctly different microstructural features from the surface to the substrate: fine α plates with a few hundred nanometers in width (zone I), irregular-shaped grains with varied sizes (zone II), and essentially unchanged equiaxed grains (zone III). The α plates result from rapid phase transformation due to easy heat extraction of the pulsed laser with dense nanoscale twins inside those plates closer to the surface. The origin of the irregular-shaped grains is found to be related to insufficient recrystallization of antecedently formed α plates near the substrate. Hardness tests reveal highest value (∼356.7 HV) near the surface in zone I and the lowest value (∼165.2 HV) in zone II. Reasons accounting for the difference are discussed in terms of various microstructural characteristics induced by the pulsed laser surface treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking from the existing research, improving the social capital of the poverty population is an effective way to promote the population quality and the income growth of the poor people. Based on the existing research, with the rural poor households in Sichuan Liangshan as the research object, this article used factor analysis to measure social capital stock, and then analyzed the influence of social capital on the income of the poor peasant households in that region, through he reconstructed production function. The results show that the poor households' social capital has a significant impact on their income level, and the effect degree varies in different income levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glut9 is highly expressed in the human kidney proximal convoluted tubular and plays a crucial role in the regulation of plasma urate levels. The gene effects were stronger among women. Our results show that 17-β-estradiol (E2) through ER (estrogen receptor) β downregulates Glut9 protein expression on human renal tubular epithelial cell line (HK2). Intriguingly, E2 does not affect the expression of Glut9 mRNA. ERβ is linked to PTEN, the PTEN gene negatively regulates the PI3K/AKT pathway, and the PI3K/AKT pathway inhibition may lead to autophagy. Further study indicates that ERβ may affect the expression of Glut9 though autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibody-based immunotherapy has been effectively used for tumor treatment. However, to date, only a few tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) or therapeutic targets have been identified. Identification of more immunogenic antigens is essential for improvements in multiple myeloma (MM) diagnosis and therapy. In this study, we synthesized a polyclonal antibody (PAb) by immunizing rabbits with whole human plasmacytoma ARH-77 cells and identified MM-associated antigens, including enlonase, adipophilin, and HSP90s, among others, via proteomic technologies. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that 200 µg/mL PAb inhibits the proliferation of ARH-77 cells by over 50% within 48 h. Flow cytometric assay indicated that PAb treatment significantly increases the number of apoptotic cells compared with other treatments (52.1% vs. NS, 7.3% or control rabbit IgG, 9.9%). In vivo, PAb delayed tumor growth and prolonged the lifespan of mice. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay showed that PAb also induces statistically significant changes in apoptosis compared with other treatments (P<0.05). We therefore conclude that PAb could be used for the effective screening and identification of TAA. PAb may have certain anti-tumor functions in vitro and in vivo. As such, its combination with proteomic technologies could be a promising approach for sieving TAA for the diagnosis and therapy of MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The relationship between Agricultural risks and rural poverty is always a central issue for anti-poverty policies designing. Natural disasters risk is a common form of agricultural risks in china. The paper estimates the extent that the natural disaster has impacted on household vulnerability in the stricken areas. To discover the different characteristics associated with vulnerability between pre-disaster and post-disaster, we regressed vulnerability against a set of geographical and household characteristics. The paper shows that although a relatively small number of household have average revenue below the poverty line after attaining the government post-disaster subsidy, a much larger number of households have a greater probability of being poor in the future. There are some different characteristics associated with vulnerability between pre-disaster and post-disaster. This research will explore the implications for the design of effective poverty reduction policy for post-disaster reconstruction in the case of Wenchuan earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarburization is generally avoided as it is reckoned to be a process detrimental to material surface properties. Based on the idea of duplex surface engineering, i.e., nitriding the case-hardened or through-hardened bearing steels for enhanced surface performance, this work deliberately applied decarburization prior to plasma nitriding to cancel the softening effect of decarburizing with nitriding and at the same time to significantly promote the nitriding kinetics. To manifest the applicability of this innovative duplex process, low-carbon M50NiL and high-carbon M50 bearing steels were adopted in this work. The influence of decarburization on microstructures and growth kinetics of the nitrided layer over the decarburized layer is investigated. The metallographic analysis of the nitrided layer thickness indicates that high carbon content can hinder the growth of the nitrided layer, but if a short decarburization is applied prior to nitriding, the thickness of the nitrided layer can be significantly promoted. The analysis of nitriding kinetics shows that decarburization reduces the activation energy for nitrogen diffusion and enhances nitrogen diffusivity. Moreover, the effect of decarburization in air can promote surface microstructure refinement via spinodal decomposition during plasma nitriding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article has been retracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel self-lubricating layer was fabricated on M50NiL steel through a plasma-assisted thermochemical treatment. • The DLC structure is anchored in the pre-nitrided layer by carbide/nitride. • That layer shows excellent adhesion strength, wear resistance, and low friction coefficient. • The relation between Fe 5 C 2 crystal facet and growth of DLC is investigated by first-principle calculation. • The thermodynamic calculation reveals the formation mechanism of the graded layer. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) with excellent mechanical properties has aroused great interest. However, the weak adhesion between the DLC film and steel substrate restricts its application. Considering that the addition of interlayers needs cumbersome steps, fabricating a functionally graded self-lubricating layer through one-step remains a challenge. We reported a novel integrated self-lubricating layer, inspired by the gradient structure formed during the traditional thermochemical treatment. That integrated layer from DLC structure gradual transition to nitrided diffusion layer is in-situ fabricated on the M50NiL steel through a plasma-assisted thermochemical treatment. The gradient structure possesses excellent wear resistance due to the self-lubricating of the DLC structure and provides sufficient adhesion strength. A deep insight into the relation between Fe 5 C 2 crystal facet and growth of DLC is conducted by first-principle calculation and find low Miller Index of Fe 5 C 2 facets are favorable for the growth of DLC. The thermodynamic calculation reveals that gradient structure formation is the collaboration effect of non-equilibrium and equilibrium processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]