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ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to examine the value of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions for predicting cardiovascular events (CVEs) in untreated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) using an age- and gender-matched case-control study.MethodsIn total, 185 SCAD patients and 185 T2DM patients with SCAD were enrolled and subjected to a clinical follow-up of CVEs. HDL subfractions were analyzed using the Quantimetrix Lipoprint System. The relationship between HDL subfractions and CVEs in T2DM patients with SCAD was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models.ResultsDuring a median 37.7-month follow-up, T2DM patients with SCAD had a higher percentage of CVEs compared to SCAD patients (p=0.039). The concentration of the combined intermediate and small HDL-C subfraction (defined as the mixed HDL subfraction) was related to the event incidence in T2DM patients with SCAD (p=0.004), and it was positively associated with increased CVEs even after adjustment in three models. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis indicated that T2DM patients with SCAD in the high mixed HDL subfraction group (>28 mg/dL) had lower event-free survival rates (p=0.008).ConclusionsElevated concentration of the mixed HDL subfraction concentration predicts events in T2DM patients with SCAD.

Pain is the most significant symptom of knee osteoarthritis (OA), which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. However, the cause of pain, pain relief, and targeted treatment methods are still unclear. Based on the diversified characteristics of knee pain location, this study was aimed to explore the associations between knee pain location and the mechanical properties of soft tissues in patients with knee OA. Fifteen healthy participants and 55 patients with knee OA were recruited and divided into five groups: no pain, anterior superior pain, anterior inferior pain, medial pain, and lateral pain. The Young’s moduli of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the knee joint were measured by shear wave elastography (SWE), and the differences between the five groups of soft tissue material properties were compared in this study. The Young’s moduli of the quadriceps tendon (QT), patellar tendon (PT), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and lateral patellar retinaculum (LPR) were strongly associated with pain location and were significantly increased compared with the other four groups, respectively. In addition, the Young’s moduli of the remaining soft tissue were not associated with pain location, and did not change significantly compared with the other four groups. This study provides data reference for the mechanical properties of soft tissue of healthy people and patients with knee OA, and provides a theoretical basis for more targeted pain relief, treatment, and rehabilitation in knee OA.

With the continuous development of Chinese economy and the continuous improvement of national living standards, the country’s emphasis on students’ physique has also increased. This has greatly breakthrough the conditions for health testing of students’ physique in our country. With the assistance of wireless sensors, students’ physical health quality monitoring has accurate data statistics and research. Hop positioning algorithm, compressed sensing matching tracking algorithm, and RSSI technology have been analyzed from the perspectives of students’ ideas, life, and learning, and school sports support. It is found that nearly 50% of students in a college are not very health-conscious, while only 26% have a good knowledge of health. In the 50 m running test, the average score for boys is 807 + 124 s , and the average for girls is 914 ± 108 s . The data is accurate to 0.01% with the help of wireless sensor technology. At the same time, combined with the testing data of sports events, we found that the physical fitness of students is generally low. This has a lot to do with the living habits of the students and the physical exercises in the school.

With the development of multimedia and network technology, sports videos have been widely produced and disseminated. Based on the cyclic random walk algorithm of deep learning, this paper establishes a cyclic machine random walk model for feature extraction and analysis of sports videos. Firstly, the rise of sports video and the necessity of video key frame analysis is introduced. Secondly, according to the random walk algorithm of deep learning, a cyclic random walk model is proposed, and several analysis methods of sports video are introduced. Finally, the key frame of sports video is extracted through code simulation to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.

MiR-25 is a well-documented oncogenic miRNA implicated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) development, progression and metastasis. However, whether and how miR-25 is involved in the development and metastasis of ESCC remain un-addressed. By using qRT-PCR analysis to compare levels of miR-25 in ESCC tissues with or without lymph node metastasis (LNM), it showed that ESCC tissues with LNM had increased levels of miR-25, which was correlated with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis. Gain- and loss-of-function assays indicated that targeting miR-25 could reverse EMT, and reduce in vitro cell migration and invasion, but not apoptosis and proliferation of ESCC. Furthermore, targeting miR-25 inhibited in vivo lung metastasis, and vice versa. And E-cadherin was a direct target of miR-25 through which affected EMT process and metastasis of ESCC. It is therefore indicated that miR-25 promotes metastasis of ESCC through E-cadherin and EMT events, thus may serves as a negative prognostic factor and possible target for treatment of ESCC patients.

Background:Berberine (BBR) is a kind of alkaloid derived from Chinese herbal medicine, which has multiple pharmacological activities including anti-atherosclerosis (AS). However, the mechanism underlying the role of BBR in modulating lipid metabolic disorders is not fully clear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the beneficial effects of BBR on AS in ApoE-/- mice and its potential mechanisms.Methods: Eight-week old ApoE-/- mice with high-fat diet (HFD) and wild type mice were administered eitherBBR (50mg/kg/d and 100mg/kg/d, respectively) or equivoluminal saline. After the 16-week treatment, the blood was collected for lipid evaluation, and aorta and liver were obtained from the mice for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, oil red O staining and Western blotting. HepG2 Cells were treated by BBR (0, 5, 25, and 50 μg/ml) for 24 hours. Real-time PCR or Western blotting was used to examine the expression levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), LDL receptor (LDLR), ATP-binding cassette transporter A1(ABCA1), ATP-binding cassette transporter G1(ABCG1) and scavenger receptor class B type I(SR-BI).Results: BBR significantly decreased serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level in ApoE-/- mice fed with HFD. Moreover, BBR markedly reduced aorta atheroscleroticplaque, ameliorated lipid deposition in the liver in vivo. BBR could also promote intracellular cholesterol efflux and regulate LDLR and PCSK9 expression via the ERK1/2 pathway in HepG2 cells.Conclusions: BBR could improve lipid metabolism, decrease aorta AS and hepatic lipid accumulation in ApoE-/- mice fed with HFD, which was associated with down-regulation of PCSK9 through ERK1/2 pathway.

This study aimed to elucidate the overall spatial distribution of palmar aponeurosis (PA) thickness, d, and Young's modulus, E, through two-dimensional ultrasound and shear wave elastography. Statistical analysis of the collected data of 14 subjects shows that the ICC

We revealed a novel method to fabricate amorphous indium-zinc-oxide (a-IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with inverted staggered back-channel-etch structure and copper (Cu) source/drain (S/D) electrodes. In particular, a gray-tone mask was used to define the S/D electrodes and active layer. The a-IZO layer acted not only as the active layer but also as the adhesive layer of Cu electrodes due to the good adhesion between Cu and a-IZO films. The presented TFTs exhibited a high saturated mobility of 12.2 cm $^{2}$ /Vs, a threshold voltage of −0.4 V, and a low subthreshold swing of 0.22 V/decade. The good electrical performance and reliability were attributed to the good contact property between Cu electrodes and a-IZO layer and very little Cu atoms diffusing into the channel layer.

A capping IZO film was used to successfully improve the storage and thermal stabilities of Ag films applied in top-emitting OLEDs (TOLEDs). Ag films at the thickness of 200 nm were prepared by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates, after which IZO films of various thicknesses were deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering. It was found that the optimized Ag/IZO films showed no deterioration in reflectance after accelerated aging tests. SEM and XRD results revealed that the void-free capping IZO films could efficiently prevent Ag films from tarnishing and agglomerating. Additionally, the patterning property, surface roughness and resistivity of the composite Ag/IZO film have been characterized and show good potential when used as the reflective electrode in TOLEDs. Finally, green TOLEDs using Ag/IZO as the anode were fabricated. Compared with the conventional single-layer Ag anode, the luminance efficiency at 1000 cd/m 2 increased from 17.6 cd/A to 22.0 cd/A. The half-life was extended

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on the pentacene semiconductor with an embedded thin layer of copper oxide (CuO) were investigated. The drain current of OFETs with a thin CuO layer embedded in pentacene increases more than three times compared to that of traditional OFETs without the CuO layer, and the threshold voltage shifts from −17.5 V to −7.9 V. A possible mechanism for OFETs with the CuO layer was discussed via analysis of electron transfer near the contact between CuO and pentacene. OFETs with the CuO layer exhibit an interesting result of a systematic tuning of threshold voltage by controlling the initial voltage of gate-to-source upon scanning transfer curves.

A novel conjugated alternating copolymer (PCzDBSe) based on N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole and 5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzoselenadiazole) was synthesized by Suzuki polycondensation. The polymer reveals excellent thermal stabilities with the decomposition temperature (5% weight loss) of 390 °C and the glass-transition temperature of 140 °C. The absorption peaks of the polymer are located at 412 and 626 nm, respectively, while the absorption onset is extended to 716 nm, which is 56 nm red-shifted as compared with its analogue, poly[N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT). The HOMO and LUMO levels of the polymer were estimated to be −5.28 and −3.55 eV, respectively, with an optical bandgap of 1.73 eV. The hole mobility of PCzDBSe as deduced from a solution-processed organic field effect transistor (OFET) was found to be 3.9 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1. Polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on the blends of PCzDBSe and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) with a weight ratio of 1:4 were fabricated. Under AM 1.5 (AM, air mass), 100 mW cm−2 illumination, the devices were found to have an open-circuit (Voc) of 0.75 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 7.23 mA cm−2, a fill factor (FF) of 45% and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.58%. The primary results indicate that 5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzoselenadiazole) is a promising unit for low bandgap polymer for polymer solar cells.

Al2O3 prepared by anodization was employed for gate insulator of In-Zn-O TFTs. The field-effect mobility, on/off current ratio, threshold voltage, and sub-threshold swing are 14.6 cm2/Vs, 108, 1 V, and 0.28 V/decade, respectively. A 2-inch AMOLED display driven by this kind of TFTs has been demonstrated.

Cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI) has been identified as a key factor in the development of heart failure. Although dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is involved in various pathophysiological processes in the heart, the role of miRNA in fibrosis regulation after MI is not clear. Previously we observed the correlation between fibrosis and the miR-24 expression in hypertrophic hearts, herein we assessed how miR-24 regulates fibrosis after MI. Using qRT-PCR, we showed that miR-24 was down-regulated in the MI heart; the change in miR-24 expression was closely related to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. In vivo, miR-24 could improve heart function and attenuate fibrosis in the infarct border zone of the heart two weeks after MI through intramyocardial injection of Lentiviruses. Moreover, in vitro experiments suggested that up-regulation of miR-24 by synthetic miR-24 precursors could reduce fibrosis and also decrease the differentiation and migration of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). TGF-β (a pathological mediator of fibrotic disease) increased miR-24 expression, overexpression of miR-24 reduced TGF-β secretion and Smad2/3 phosphorylation in CFs. By performing microarray analyses and bioinformatics analyses, we found furin to be a potential target for miR-24 in fibrosis (furin is a protease which controls latent TGF-β activation processing). Finally, we demonstrated that protein and mRNA levels of furin were regulated by miR-24 in CFs. These findings suggest that miR-24 has a critical role in CF function and cardiac fibrosis after MI through a furin-TGF-β pathway. Thus, miR-24 may be used as a target for treatment of MI and other fibrotic heart diseases.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cardiovascular research. However, the association between miRNAs and heart remodeling/reverse remodeling has not been evaluated. Methods: Lewis rats were divided into three groups: control animals, animals subjected to abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) and those with heterotopic transplantation of abdominal aortic constriction (AAC-HT), respectively. The cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area and changes in the heart cavity were determined. miRNA microarray was used to search for changes in miRNAs during hypertrophy and in the unloading heart, which was also verified using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: The AAC-HT group exhibited a 54% decrease in the cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area compared to the AAC group. In the two test groups, miRNA microarrays revealed changes in 293 miRNAs, among which 40 miRNAs changed >2-fold. Some major changes were also confirmed using qRT-PCR primers. The results indicated that changes in miR-23a and miR-29a were most significant, thus suggesting that these miRNAs may play important roles in heart remodeling and reverse remodeling. Conclusions: The changes observed in miRNA expression during hypertrophy and reverse remodeling may indicate possibly meaningful targets for regulating the remodeling or reverse remodeling of the heart.

In-Zn-O thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on etch-stopper structure with passivation (PV) capping were fabricated. The influence of passivation deposition on TFT performance was investigated through comparing IZO-TFTs with different deposition temperature of PV. By using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth-profile and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyzing methods, we observed that oxygen vacancies and hydrogen content increase as deposition temperature of PV increases, which was the main reason leading to the negative shift of Von in IZO-TFTs when the PV layer was deposited at higher temperature. Meanwhile, we found that the stress-induced hump effect under negative bias illumination temperature (NBITS) originated from the electron traps in the back channel region of IZO, which could be passivated by the diffusing hydrogen during the PV deposition. By optimizing the deposition condition of PV, highly-stable IZO-TFTs with a PV layer deposited at 200 °C were obtained.

An n-channel organic field-effect transistor gated by a polyelectrolyte of poly[(9,9-bis(3'-((N,N-dimethyl)-N-ethylammonium)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)] dibromide (PFNBr) has been studied. The carriers in this kind of electrolyte-gated transistors are induced by the strong dipoles in the PFNBr electrolyte which is different from traditional ion-induced electrolyte-gated transistors reported before. Thus, this kind of electrolyte-gated transistor shows fast response characteristic. An electron carrier density as high as 6×1014 charges/cm2 at a gate voltage of only 2 V and an electron mobility as high as 0.1 cm2 V-1 s-1 are obtained due to the large capacitance of the PFNBr electrolyte.