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In this work, a series of CoCrFeNiCeX (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were designed and prepared through vacuum induction melting. The microstructure, wear resistance and antibacterial behaviors of the HEAs were systematically investigated. The results showed that the HEAs are composed of FCC phase with dendrite structure and CeNi3 phase between dendrites. With the increase of Ce content, the mechanical property and antibacterial rate of the alloys was improved gradually. Due to the combined effect of CeNi3 phase and fine grain strengthening, the CoCrFeNiCe0.5 HEA exhibited high hardness of approximately 382 HV0.2 and the wear rate of only 1.11 × 10−4 mm3/N·m under the loading force of 5 N. The CoCrFeNiCe0.5 HEA also showed excellent antibacterial ability, which presented a 97.4% antibacterial rate against Escherichia coli and 89.6% antibacterial rate against Staphylococcus aureus after 3 days. This work provided a new strategy for designing a high performance alloy with excellent antibacterial behaviors and good wear resistance, which makes it meet the needs of long-term antibacterial application in harsh environments.

Abstract The advent of additively manufactured biodegradable porous metals presents a transformative opportunity to meet the criteria of ideal bone substitutes. Precisely tailoring their degradation behavior constitutes a pivotal aspect of this endeavor. In this study, we investigated the effects of topological designs on the degradation profile of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Zn scaffolds under dynamic in vitro immersion tests. Specifically, four types of Zn-0.4Mn-0.2Mg scaffolds (beam-based: diamond, face center cubic; surface-based: gyroid, schwarz-P) were designed and fabricated. The degradation mechanism of the scaffolds was comprehensively evaluated using both experimental and simulation methods. The results illuminate the profound impact of structural design on the degradation properties of the Zn alloy scaffolds. The beam-based diamond and face center cubic scaffolds exhibited a degradation rate of 0.08–0.12 mm per year with a relatively uniform degradation mode under dynamic immersion. On the contrary, the surface-based gyroid and Schwarz-P scaffolds demonstrated a notably reduced degradation rate due to lower permeability. This restricted the diffusion of medium ions within the pores, culminating in the accumulation of degradation products and more severe localized degradation. This study underscores the potential of topological design as a compelling strategy for tailoring the degradation profile of additively manufactured biodegradable scaffolds, thereby advancing their suitability as bone substitutes.

The microbiologically influenced corrosion of CoCrMnNi high entropy alloy induced by P. aeruginosa was investigated in this work. The results of electrochemical tests, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the thickness of passive film was significantly decreased in the presence of P. aeruginosa and the corrosion of HEA was accelerated. When the organic nutrients were deficient, the extracellular electron transfer process was promoted and the corrosion resistance of the HEA was further decreased according to the results of potentiodynamic polarization and Mott-Schottky. The effect of nutrients deficiency on MIC acceleration was more prominent after the degradation of the passive film. Mn metal in the HEA substrate preferentially participated in the bacterial metabolism as an alternative energy source due to the high activity.

AimThe retinal and choroidal parameters were analyzed to understand the impairment of microcirculation of both retina and choroid in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR).MethodsFifty-five treatment-naive non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) patients (75 eyes) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), including 28 patients (36 eyes) with diabetic macular edema (DME) and 27 patients (39 eyes) without DME, and 25 healthy subjects (47 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The following parameters of DR patients with and without DME were evaluated: the foveal avascular zone area (FAZ-a), FAZ perimeter (FAZ-p), FAZ circularity index (FAZ-CI), total subfoveal choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), choroidal vascularity index (CVI), choriocapillaris flow area percentage, superficial capillary plexus (SCP), and deep capillary plexus (DCP).ResultsSCP, DCP, and the percentage of choriocapillaris flow area were significantly different between DR patients with and without DME. The DR patients presented lower LA, CVI, and FAZ-CI compared to those of healthy controls (all p < 0.05). The percentage of choriocapillaris flow area in DR patients with and without DME was significantly lower than that in healthy controls (p < 0.05). SCP and DCP were significantly correlated with FAZ-a and FAZ-p but presented insignificant associations with FAZ-CI.ConclusionsOptical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) parameters, such as LA, CVI, FAZ-CI, and the percentage of choriocapillaris flow area, were reduced compared to those in controls, indicating that the microcirculations of the retina and choroid in the macular area were impaired in DR patients with DME and without DME.

ObjectiveMedication adherence has a critical impact on the well-being of older adult patients with hypertension. As such, the current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of health literacy between frailty and medication adherence and the moderating role of educational level.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included patients admitted to the geriatric unit of a hospital. Participants were interviewed using the four-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, the Frailty Phenotype Scale, and the Health Literacy Management Scale. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used to assess the association between variables. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed using Process version 4.1 via Model 4 and 14, respectively.ResultsData from 388 participants were analyzed. The median (IQR [P25–P75]) score for medication adherence was 4.00 (2.00–4.00). Results revealed that after controlling for age, sex, hypertension complication(s) and body mass index, frailty significantly contributed to medication adherence (βtotal −0.236 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.333 to −0.140]). Medication adherence was influenced by frailty (βdirect −0.192 [95% CI −0.284 to −0.099]) both directly and indirectly through health literacy (βindirect −0.044 [95% CI −0.077 to −0.014]). Educational level moderated the pathway mediated by health literacy; more specifically, the conditional indirect effect between frailty and medication adherence was significant among older adult hypertensive patients with low, intermediate, and high educational levels (effect −0.052 [95% CI −0.092 to −0.106]; effect −0.041 [95% CI −0.071 to −0.012]; effect −0.026 [95% CI −0.051 to −0.006]). The relationship between frailty and medication adherence in older adult patients with hypertension was found to have mediating and moderating effects.ConclusionA moderated mediation model was proposed to investigate the effect of frailty on medication adherence. It was effective in strengthening medication adherence by improving health literacy and reducing frailty. More attention needs to be devoted to older adult patients with hypertension and low educational levels.

Abstract Background Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is commonly refractory. Epilepsy surgery is an effective treatment strategy for refractory epilepsy, but patients with a history of focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS) have poor outcomes. Previous network studies on epilepsy have found that TLE and idiopathic generalized epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (IGE-GTCS) showed altered global and nodal topological properties. Alertness deficits also were found in TLE. However, FBTCS is a common type of seizure in TLE, and the implications for alertness as well as the topological rearrangements associated with this seizure type are not well understood. Methods We obtained rs-fMRI data and collected the neuropsychological assessment data from 21 TLE patients with FBTCS (TLE- FBTCS), 18 TLE patients without FBTCS (TLE-non- FBTCS) and 22 controls, and constructed their respective functional brain networks. The topological properties were analyzed using the graph theoretical approach and correlations between altered topological properties and alertness were analyzed. Results We found that TLE-FBTCS patients showed more serious impairment in alertness effect, intrinsic alertness and phasic alertness than the patients with TLE-non-FBTCS. They also showed significantly higher small-worldness, normalized clustering coefficient (γ) and a trend of higher global network efficiency (gE) compared to TLE-non-FBTCS patients. The gE showed a significant negative correlation with intrinsic alertness for TLE-non-FBTCS patients. Conclusion Our findings show different impairments in brain network information integration, segregation and alertness between the patients with TLE-FBTCS and TLE-non-FBTCS, demonstrating that impairments of the brain network may underlie the disruptions in alertness functions.

Abstract Microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition (MICI) of Q235 carbon steel by biomineralization was investigated via a combination of surface analysis, electrochemistry, and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The results showed that Shewanella putrefaciens used the cell walls as the nucleation sites to induce the formation of a protective biomineralized layers which contained calcite and extracellular polymeric substances on the steel surface. The potentiodynamic polarization results demonstrated that the corrosion current density (i corr value) of the biomineralized steel surface was 0.38 μA cm−2, which was less than one-tenth that of the blank steel in a sterile medium (4.86 μA cm−2) after 14 days. The biomineralized layers presented wear resistance and could self-repair after undergoing mechanical damage under microbial conditions as verified by morphological and SECM observations. This work reveals that microbial-induced carbonate biomineralization, as a MICI approach, may be considered as a reliable, low-cost, environmentally friendly corrosion inhibition strategy.

Abstract Background High blood pressure is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular events, and the incidence of hypertension is increasing among young people. This study investigated the relationship between ALT and AST levels and hypertension among freshmen in China. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Anhui Province from September to November 2018. A total of 3114 freshmen underwent a physical examination including testing of biochemical indicators and a standardized questionnaire. Results The overall prevalence of elevated ALT and AST were 6.8% and 2.3% among freshmen. The mean ALT and AST levels were higher in males (22.59 ± 21.98 vs.12.62 ± 10.30 U/L; 23.55 ± 12.24 vs. 20.02 ± 5.75 U/L, respectively). The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in men (16.1%) than in women (1.9%). The mean values of BMI, SBP, DBP, TC, TG, and LDL-C were found to be increased with elevated levels of serum ALT and AST in the quartiles (P for trend

Background: Previous studies have reported that disturbance of endogenous circadian rhythms enhances the chance of hypertension and suggested that circadian clock genes could have a crucial function in the onset of the disease. This case-control study was aimed to investigate the association of the mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator like (Arntl), clock circadian regulator (Clock), and period circadian regulators 1 and 2 (Per1 and Per2) with hypertension and blood pressure levels. Methods: A total of 172 subjects were recruited in this study, including 86 hypertension and 86 nonhypertension controls. The mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The differences in Arntl, Clock, Per1, and Per2 mRNA expression were compared between the 2 groups, and the relationship between mRNA expression and cardiometabolic risk profiles was also assessed. Results: We found that the mRNA expression of Arntl was downregulated in the hypertension cases compared with controls in women (1.10 [0.66, 1.71] vs. 1.30 [0.99, 2.06], p = 0.031). There was a significant negative correlation between the Arntl mRNA expression and SBP (r = −0.301, p = 0.004) and DBP (r = −0.222, p = 0.034) in women. In men, a negative correlation between the Per1 mRNA expression and SBP (r = −0.247, p = 0.026) was found. Conclusions: The Arntl mRNA expression may play an important role in progression of hypertension in women.

Abstract Objective To understand the related risk factors of occurrence and recurrence of hypertension and provide scientific basis for relevant departments to better guide prevention and control work. Methods From September 2017 to September 2018, a prospective follow‐up study was performed on patients with hypertension who visited the Second People's Hospital of Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Multivariate Cox regression was used to analyze influencing factors of stroke occurrence and recurrence in follow‐up of hypertensive patients. Results A total of 769 hypertensive patients were enrolled in this study. The average age of hypertensive patients was 65.66 ± 11.70 years old and the BMI index was 24.99 ± 4.17. In this study, 769 patients with hypertension were followed up for 1 year, and the incidence of stroke was 14.69%. This study found that higher levels of blood glucose (RR = 2.027, 95% CI: 1.195–3.438), HCY (RR = 5.928,95% CI: 1.438–24.440), aggravated extent of carotid artery stenosis (RR = 2.620, 95% CI: 1.532–4.481), and drinking (RR = 3.867, 95% CI: 2.038–7.339) were risk factors, and maintaining exercise (RR = 0.325, 95% CI: 0.117–0.907) was a protective factor for stroke occurrence; however, aggravated extent of carotid artery stenosis (RR = 3.158, 95% CI: 1.797–5.550) and smoking (RR = 2.271, 95% CI: 1.142–4.517) were risk factors for stroke recurrence for hypertensive patients. Conclusions For people with high blood pressure, it is necessary to exercise properly, control body weight, avoid obesity, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, and reasonably control blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipid.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is widely found in industrial water and seawater. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by P. aeruginosa is a serious threat and damage to the safe service of steel materials. In this study, the MIC behavior of FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloy (HEA) by P. aeruginosa biofilm was investigated in the simulated marine medium. The maximum pitting depth of the HEA coupons in the P. aeruginosa-inoculated medium was ~4.77 μm, which was 1.5 times that in the sterile medium. EIS and potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that P. aeruginosa biofilm reduced the corrosion resistance of the passive film of HEA coupons and promoted its anodic dissolution process. XPS and AES results further demonstrated that P. aeruginosa interfered with the distribution of elements in the passive film and significantly promoted the dissolution of Fe.

The microbiologically influenced corrosion of 201 stainless steel by Shewanella algae was investigated via modulating the concentration of fumarate (electron acceptor) in the medium and constructing mutant strains induced by ΔOmcA. The ICP-MS and electrochemical tests showed that the presence of S. algae enhanced the degradation of the passive film; the lack of an electron acceptor further aggravated the effect and mainly affected the early stage of MIC. The electrochemical tests and atomic force microscopy characterization revealed that the ability of ΔOmcA to transfer electrons to the passive film was significantly reduced in the absence of the c-type cytochrome OmcA related to EET progress, leading to the lower corrosion rate of the steel.

Abstract Background Hypertension and overweight are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and overweight increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. ERBB3( also known as HER3) plays a considerable role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of ERBB3 levels in hypertensive overweight patients is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the association between ERBB3 levels and hypertension in overweight Chinese patients. Methods We evaluated the height,weight, blood pressure, biochemical indicators, and ERBB3 levels in 128 Chinese adults aged 33–79 years. Plasma ERBB3 levels were assessed by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and body mass index(BMI) was calculated as body weight divided by height squared. Participants were allocated into three groups according to blood pressure and BMI: healthy control (CNT, n = 31; normotensive and non-overweight), hypertension (HT, n = 33; hypertension and non-overweight), and hypertension with overweight (HTO, n = 64; hypertension and overweight). Statistical significance was defined as a two-tailed P

Microbiologically influenced corrosion is a major source of degradation of metals. Here, extracellular electron transfer is studied during pitting corrosion of stainless steel in the presence of an electroactive bacterium and a riboflavin electron shuttle, revealing bidirectional electron transfer.

Resumo Fundamento O ácido úrico (AU), produto final do metabolismo dos nucleotídeos das purinas, participa dos processos de doenças metabólicas e cardiovasculares. Evidências experimentais sugerem que o ácido úrico é um mediador importante na resposta fisiológica ao aumento da pressão arterial. Objetivo Avaliar a associação entre os níveis séricos de AU e pré-hipertensão e hipertensão em uma população chinesa. Métodos Conduziu-se um estudo transversal entre março e setembro de 2017, e 1.138 participantes com idades entre 35 e 75 anos foram incluídos neste estudo, onde 223 normotensos, 316 pré-hipertensos e 599 hipertensos foram selecionados para avaliar a associação entre níveis séricos de AU e hipertensão. Considerou-se um valor de p

ObjectivesIctal panic (IP) can be observed occasionally in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Such descriptions can be found in previous studies, but the mechanism is still not clear and often confused with panic attacks in patients with panic disorder (PD). We try to use imaging methods (resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, rs-fMRI) to study the mechanism of this psychiatric comorbidity in patients with TLE.MethodsForty right-onset TLE patients were observed, including 28 patients with TLE but without IP and 12 patients with TLEIP along with 30 gender-age matched healthy controls were included. We collected clinical/physiological/neuropsychological and rs-fMRI data. Degree centrality (DC) and functional connectivity (FC) were calculated. For the DC and FC values, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to find different areas and t-tests were used to compare differences between the TLEIP, TLE without IP, and healthy control(HC)groups. The relationship between brain abnormalities and patient characteristics was explored by correlation analyses.ResultsNo significant differences in gender and age were found among the three groups, and no significant differences in education level, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), Hamilton Depressive Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and epilepsy duration (years) between the TLEIP and TLE without IP groups. In addition to fear, other symptoms were observed, including nausea, palpitations, rising epigastric sensation, and dyspnea. There was no correlation between the duration of IP and HAMA. Moreover, all IP durations were

ObjectiveTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can be conceptualized as a network disease. However, the network characteristics in lateralization remain controversial.MethodsIn this study, resting-state functional MRI scans were acquired from 53 TLE patients [22 with left-side TLE (LTLE) and 31 with right-side TLE (RTLE)] and 37 matched healthy controls. We focused on the characteristics of static and dynamic functional connectivity, including static connectivity patterns and topological properties, as well as temporal properties of the dynamic connectivity state and the variability of the dynamic connectivity and network topological organization. Correlation analyses were conducted between abnormal static and dynamic properties and cognitive performances.ResultsThe static functional connectivity analysis presented a significantly decreased cortical-cortical connectivity pattern and increased subcortical-cortical connectivity pattern in RTLE. The global-level network in RTLE showed a significant decrease in global efficiency. The dynamic functional connectivity analysis revealed that RTLE patients exhibited aberrant connectivity states, as well as increased variability in the subcortical-cortical connectivity. The global-level network in RTLE revealed increased variance in global efficiency and local efficiency. The static or dynamic functional connectivity in LTLE did not show any significant abnormalities. The altered dynamic properties were associated with worsening cognitive performance in language and conceptual thinking by the TLE patients.ConclusionOur findings demonstrated the presence of abnormalities in the static and dynamic functional connectivity of TLE patients. RTLE patients exhibited more pronounced aberrant connectivity patterns and topological properties, which might represent a mechanism for reconfiguration of brain networks in RTLE patients. These observations extended our understanding of the pathophysiological network mechanisms of TLE.

Abstract Background The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases each year, and obesity is an important risk factor for CKD. The main anthropometric indicators currently reflecting obesity are body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), but the rationality and merits of various indicators vary. This article aims to find whether the WHtR is a more suitable physical measurement that can predict CKD. Methods Pubmed, embase, the cochrane library, and web of science were systematically searched for articles published between 1998 and 2019 screening CKD through physical indicators. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and evaluated the quality of the methodology included in the study. Meta-analysis used the Stata 12.0 software. Results Nine studies were included, with a total of 202,283 subjects. Meta-analysis showed that according to the analysis of different genders in 6 studies, regardless of sex, WHtR was the area with the largest area under the curve (AUC). Except WHtR and visceral fat index (VFI) in women which showed no statistical difference, WHtR and other indicators were statistically different. In three studies without gender-based stratification, the area under the curve AUC for WHtR remained the largest, but only the difference between WHtR and BMI was statistically significant. When the Chinese population was considered as a subgroup, the area under the curve AUC for WHtR was the largest. Except for WHtR and VFI which showed no statistical difference in women, there was a statistically significant difference between WHtR and other indicators in men and women. Conclusion WHtR could be better prediction for CKD relative to other physical measurements. It also requires higher-quality prospective studies to verify the clinical application of WHtR.

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) impairment is common in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE). The posterior hippocampus is critical for spatial memory, but the contributions of the different subfields to VSWM deficits remain unclear. Forty-six rTLE patients and 42 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) and structural MRI scans were administered, followed by a VSWM_Nback test. The right posterior hippocampus was automatically segmented, and the surface-based functional connectivity (SBFC) of the subiculum (Sub), CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus (DG), hippocampal tail, and right entorhinal cortex (EC) were compared between groups. Correlation analysis was performed between the altered SBFC and VSWM_Nback scores for rTLE patients. The results showed that rTLE patients underperformed in the VSWM_Nback test, with longer mean reaction time of accurate response (ACCmeanRT) in 0back and 2back condition, lower hit rate (HR) and higher false alarm rate (FAR) in 2back condition. Compared with HCs, the rCA3 in the rTLE group exhibited decreased SBFC with inferior parietal cortex (IPC), temporal lateral cortex (TLC), and posterior visual cortex (PVC) in the right hemisphere as well as the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The SBFC of the rEC and right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) increased in the rTLE group. Within the rTLE group, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC were correlated with worse VSWM performance. Therefore, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC might be the critical aberrant FC pattern reflecting VSWM impairment in rTLE patients. The mechanism might involve functional disruption between the core subsystem and the medial temporal subsystem of the default mode network (DMN).

Background. The current gold standard for gastric cancer (GC) screening is pathology or a barium meal followed by X-ray. This is not applicable to a wide range of screening capabilities due to the lack of operability. This article used a meta-analysis to evaluate the value of pepsinogen (PG) screening for GC. Methods. PubMed, EMbase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM databases were systematically searched for published studies that used serum PG to diagnose GC. Articles were searched from January 2003 to January 2018. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were extracted and evaluated, and the quality of the methodologies evaluated using the QUADAS entry. The meta-analysis (MA) was performed using Meta-DiSc 1.4 software. Stata 12.0 software was used to assess publication bias. Results. A total of 19 studies were finally included from a total of 169,009 cases. The MA showed a combined sensitivity and specificity of 0.56 (95% CI (0.53–0.59), P

In this study, a high aluminum and chromium Fe-B-C coating was prepared using laser cladding on 2Cr13 steel substrate. The microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the high aluminum and chromium Fe-B-C coating were investigated. The results show that this dense coating possesses good metallurgical bond with the substrate. The microstructure is mainly composed of α-(Fe, Cr, Al) lath martensite, orthorhombic M2B boride, orthogonal M3C2, and orthorhombic M7C3 carbides. The microhardness of the coating can reach 620 HV which is 3.3-times higher than that (190 HV) of the substrate. The coating shows a lower friction coefficient of 0.75 than that of the substrate (1.08). The wear rates of the substrate and the coating are 0.295 mg/min and 0.103 mg/min, respectively, indicating the coating exhibits excellent wear resistance. The wear mechanism transforms severe adhesive wear and abrasive wear of the substrate to slight abrasive wear of the coating. The results can provide technical support to improve the properties of the Fe-based laser cladded coating.