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Background. Intrapancreatic fat deposition (IPFD) usually occurs in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but its physiopathological influence remains controversial. The present study aimed to investigate IPFD and its associations with various aspects of glucose and lipid metabolism in individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM. Methods. A total of 100 individuals were included, consisting of 80 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Then, we assessed IPFD using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and various parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism. Results. Individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM had a significantly higher IPFD (median: 12.34%; IQR, 9.19–16.60%) compared with healthy controls (median: 6.35%; IQR, 5.12–8.96%) p

Abstract Over the past decade, the feed‐in‐tariff (FIT) subsidy policy of China has driven rapid growth in the photovoltaic power generation (PPG) industry. China now boasts the largest installed capacity of PPG around the world. However, the policy‐driven expansion of the PPG industry has not brought about a simultaneous improvement in quality. PPG costs remain high and it is difficult to sustain PPG competitiveness. Therefore, it is imperative to gradually withdraw from the implementation of photovoltaic subsidies. Using a game theory approach, this study investigates the impact of subsidy exit policy on China's PPG industry. The results show that stimulating research and development (R&D) can be difficult under current uncertain subsidy withdrawal plan. The government should announce the plan of subsidy reduction with clear adjustment as well as corresponding effective dates. In addition, under the condition of government‐controlled prices, the social welfare of the monopoly market is higher than that in the competitive market. In order to achieve the same technological progress and target output, the total cost (including enterprise cost and government expenditure) in competitive market is higher than that in monopoly market, which is caused by repeated R&D investment and technical cost. Technical cooperation could lower costs and increase profits, and is therefore recommended.

BackgroundIntravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is a standard procedure for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Improving the therapeutic efficacy of IVT is an important task for neurologists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of early low-dose tirofiban treatment in AIS patients with early neurological deterioration (END) after IVT.MethodsIn this prospective and randomized pilot study, 73 AIS patients with END were recruited from a local hospital in China. Of these, 14 patients were treated with regular antiplatelet agents (aspirin plus clopidogrel) and 59 patients were treated with tirofiban within 24 h of IVT, followed by regular antiplatelet therapy. Neurological deficits and functional recovery were assessed with NIHSS and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 7 and 90 days. During the 90-day follow-up period, both hemorrhagic (e.g., intracerebral hemorrhage) and non-hemorrhagic (e.g., pneumonia) events were recorded.ResultsTreatment with tirofiban compared with regular antiplatelet therapy: (1) improved functional recovery of AIS patients to mRS (≤2) at both 7 and 90 days (odds ratios [ORs], 1.37 and 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–1.61 and 1.26–2.12; P = 0.008 and < 0.001, respectively), and (2) reduced NIHSS scores from 11.14 ± 2.38 to 5.95 ± 3.48 at day 7 (P < 0.001) and from 8.14 ± 2.74 to 4.08 ± 3.50 at day 90 (P < 0.001). Tirofiban treatment did not increase the risk of hemorrhagic complications. Multivariate regression analysis showed that tirofiban treatment independently predicted a favorable functional outcome (P ≤ 0.001).ConclusionEarly treatment with low-dose tirofiban in AIS patients with neurologic deterioration after IVT potentially improved functional recovery and attenuated neurologic deficits as early as 7 days and did not increase the risk of various hemorrhagic complications. However, the therapeutic efficacy of tirofiban treatment in END patients needs to be determined by future randomized clinical trials with a large study population.Clinical trial registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn/, Identifier ChiCTR2200058513.

Skin wounds are one of the most common injuries for the human body; they can lead to an infection and cause tissue necrosis and even life-threatening injuries. Therefore, it is an urgent task to develop skin scaffold materials to meet the various needs of restoring skin’s structural integrity. In this research, kaolinite nanotubes and silver nanowires co-doped silk fibroin and gelatin composite porous fiber films were fabricated by an electrospinning method. The composition, micrograph, chemical states of elements included, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial properties of the samples produced were analyzed. After co-doping kaolinite nanotubes and silver nanowires, the fiber diameter of the porous fiber films became uniform, and the beads in the film were reduced significantly. The silk fibroin/gelatin/kaolinite nanotubes/silver nanowire (SF/GEL/KA-N/AgNWs) film shows antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, and the antibacterial rings were 7.42 mm and 5.76 mm, respectively. All the films were free of cytotoxicity and provided good biocompatibility, which is a great clinical application potential in skin.

As the cleanest fossil fuel in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, natural gas demand is expected to increase rapidly in future due to its important role in the transition of the world energy system. In this case, understanding potential limits to future production of the world’s natural gas resources becomes increasingly important. This paper uses a modified multi-cycle generalized Weng model to forecast the long-term production of natural gas by region, and also globally. Both conventional and unconventional gas production are considered. Our results show that world natural gas production is likely to peak in the range 3.7 to 6.1 trillion cubic meters per year (tcm/y) between 2019 and 2060 depending on assumptions made on the size of the global ultimately recoverable resource (URR) of natural gas. A comparison of this paper’s forecasts with those from the scientific literature and from major energy institutes shows that the projection in this paper’s ‘high scenario’ can be seen as a likely upper-bound on future global natural gas production. To turn this upper-bound projection into reality, great efforts will be needed from the gas industry to discover more conventional and unconventional gas resources, and to make these recoverable.

Due to the various ecological environment, economic development and resources, the main influencing factors of natural gas consumption are different in the eastern, central and western areas of China. To fully understand such discrepancy, we adopted the grey relation analysis (GRA) to select three main significant factors from 7 potential impacts including gross domestic product (GDP), industry structure, environmental protection mechanism, urbanization rate, population density, energy consumption intensity and energy consumption structure. Then, we analyzed the internal relevance between the selected three factors and the regional natural gas consumption. Furthermore, we established the GM(1,N) model with fractional order accumulation (FGM(1,N)) to predict the future demand of natural gas consumption in the eastern, central and western areas of China based on the selected three factors. The following results were achieved. (1) Energy consumption structure, GDP, and urbanization rate are three main influencing factors of natural gas demand in the eastern and central areas, while in the western area, the three main factors are urbanization rate, industry structure and population density. (2) In terms of planning natural gas consumption policies, adjustment of energy consumption structure should be strengthened in the eastern area, relationship between economic development and energy consumption should be focused on in the central area, urbanization should be speeded up in the western area. (3) The FGM(1,N) model based on three main factors, well fitting historic demand data, will have a good prediction performance. (4) Natural gas demand in the eastern, central and western areas will achieve a sustainable growth in 2020–2025. However, such growth rate may decrease due to energy reform and external economic environment. By 2025, natural gas demand in these three areas will be about 244 billion cubic meters (bcm), 64 bcm and 100 bcm respectively, with a total value of 408 bcm for the whole China.

Accurate information about the distribution of natural fractures is a key factor for the success of the exploration and development of oil and gas in carbonate rock formations. Forward modeling of natural fractures generated by tectonic movement within carbonate rock formations was investigated by jointly using the continuum damage model and finite element numerical technology. Geological analysis of natural fractures was used as the basis of the geomechanical finite element calculation. A workflow of numerical calculations for natural fractures was proposed. These achievements were applied to investigate natural fractures’ distribution within Ordovician carbonate rock formations of the Fuman Oilfield, Xinjiang, in the west of China. Finite element sub-modeling technology was used to further investigate natural fractures within key target reservoir formations with a finer mesh. The contour of natural fractures represented by the localization band of continuum damage variables was obtained. A comparison of the numerical results of the natural fractures’ distribution represented by continuum damage variables with those of natural fractures interpreted from seismic data shows that: (1) the numerical solution of natural fractures matches the measured data, and their orientations are in good accordance; (2) their distribution and locations are basically the same, with some small differences in local details; (3) the numerical results indicate that the maximum value of the damage variable SDEG within the zones of natural fractures is 0.2686, and the widths of the bands of natural fractures/faults are in the range of 500 m to 1000 m. Validation of the results of the distribution of natural fractures was performed indirectly via the distribution of the minimum horizontal stress gradient ShG.

There is a strong correlation between net energy yield (NEY) and energy return on investment (EROI). Although a few studies have researched the EROI at the extraction level in China, none have calculated the EROI at the point of use (EROIPOU). EROIPOU includes the entire energy conversion chain from extraction to point of use. To more comprehensively measure changes in the EROIPOU for China’s conventional fossil fuels, a “bottom-up” model to calculate EROIPOU was improved by extending the conventional calculation boundary from the wellhead to the point of use. To predict trends in the EROIPOU of fossil fuels in China, a dynamic function of the EROI was then used to projections future EROIPOU in this study. Results of this paper show that the EROIPOU of both coal (range of value: 14:1–9.2:1), oil (range of value: 8:1–3.5:1) and natural gas (range of value: 6.5:1–3.5:1) display downward trends during the next 15 years. Based on the results, the trends in the EROIPOU of China’s conventional fossil fuels will rapidly decrease in the future indicating that it is more difficult to obtain NEY from China’s conventional fossil fuels.

Oil sands, as unconventional oil, are so essential to both Canada and the world that special attention should be paid to their extraction status, especially their energy efficiency. One of the most commonly used methods to evaluate energy efficiency is the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) analysis. This paper focuses on EROI analysis for both in situ oil sands and mining oil sands over the period of 2009 to 2015. This time period represents an extension to periods previously considered by other analyses. An extended Input-Output model is used to quantify indirect energy input, which has been ignored by previous analyses of oil sands extraction. Results of this paper show that EROI of both mining oil sands (range of value: 3.9–8) and in situ oil sands (range of value: 3.2–5.4) display an upward trend over the past 7 years; EROI of mining oil sands is generally higher, but is more fluctuating than the EROI of in situ oil sands. Compared with EROI of other hydrocarbons, the EROI of oil sands is still quite low, despite the fact that it is increasing gradually.