Prevalence of, risk factors for, and target organ damage from metabolic syndrome among people living with HIV on ART: A cross-sectional analysis in Chongqing, China.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in people living with HIV is significantly higher than in people without HIV. MetS is not only a major driver of cardiovascular disease (CVD) but is also closely related to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for MetS and to further understand the degree of damage to target organs. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, China. Information was collected via questionnaire survey, physical examination, and laboratory tests. We used the China Diabetes Society guidelines to define MetS. Pooled cohort equations were calculated to compare CVD risk in the next 10 years in people living with HIV aged ≥40 years with or without MetS. We used Student's t-test, the chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, binary logistic regression, and multiple linear regression in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The study included 979 people living with HIV, including 13 who have experienced CVD, receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). The median age was 43.0 years, 20.9% were female, and the median ART time was 45.0 months. The prevalence of MetS was 33.9%. The components of MetS criteria were hyperglycaemia (50.4%), hypertriglyceridaemia (48.4%), hypertension (46.8%), low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (28.2%), and abdominal obesity (25.0%). Higher body mass index (odds ratio [OR] 1.266; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.203-1.333), higher total cholesterol (OR 1.267; 95% CI 1.011-1.588), high alcohol consumption (OR 1.973; 95% CI 1.009-3.859), and family history of diabetes (OR 1.726; 95% CI 1.075-2.770) were independent risk factors for MetS. Compared with the non-MetS group, the MetS group had a higher rate of urine albumin (23.8% vs 14.8%, p = 0.001), and the estimated glomerular filtration rate <90 mL/min/1.73 m2 (18.37% vs. 12.8%, p = 0.020) and ß2-microglobin (p = 0.004) increased more markedly in the MetS group. Regarding the risk of developing CVD events in the next 10 years, 38.5% of those in the MetS group were at high or very high risk, which was significantly higher than in the non-MetS group (p < 0.001). In addition, age (p < 0.001) and sex (p = 0.002) are independent risk factors for developing CVD events in the next 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MetS in people living with HIV on ART is high in Chongqing, China. Risk factors for the development of MetS are high alcohol consumption, family history of diabetes, higher body mass index, and higher total cholesterol levels. In addition, MetS is associated with a risk of CKD and the incidence of 10-year CVD.

Prostate volume correlates with diabetes in elderly benign prostatic hyperplasia patients.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the relationship between prostate volume (PV) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in geriatric benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. METHODS: One hundred and seventeen geriatric patients with BPH were retrospectively studied between 2008 and 2009. Patients were divided into two groups: BPH and BPH with DM group. The effects of indexes of DM, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-h postprandial blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting insulin (FINS), insulin resistance (IR) index, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were evaluated. RESULTS: The values of PV (P = 0.005), PSA (P = 0.013), and IPSS (P = 0.01) in the BPH patients with DM group were significantly higher than in the BPH group. The values of PV (P = 0.002) and PSA (P = 0.006) in the BPH patients with elevated FBG were significantly higher than in the BPH patients with normal FBG. BPH patients with elevated HbA1c had significantly higher PV than BPH patients with normal HbA1c (P = 0.046). BPH with hyperinsulinemia group showed significantly higher PV (P = 0.017) and longer duration of LUTS (P = 0.031) than BPH patients with normal FINS. Similarly, BPH patients with IR had higher PV (P = 0.004) and longer duration of LUTS (P = 0.036) than BPH patients without IR. The logistic regression analysis showed that FBG and FINS were the risk factors for BPH. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that PV is closely correlated with diabetes and diabetes has a direct effect on the occurrence and development of BPH.

Photonic crystals and optical mode engineering for thin film photovoltaics.

In this paper, we present the design, analysis, and experimental results on the integration of 2D photonic crystals in thin film photovoltaic solar cells based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon. We introduce an analytical approach based on time domain coupled mode theory to investigate the impact of the photon lifetime and anisotropy of the optical resonances on the absorption efficiency. Specific design rules are derived from this analysis. We also show that, due to the specific properties of the photonic crystal resonances, the angular acceptance of such solar cells is particularly high. Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis simulations show that the absorption in the a-Si:H active layers, integrated from 300 to 750 nm, is only decreased from 65.7% to 60% while the incidence angle is increased from 0 to 55°. Experimental results confirm the stability of the incident light absorption in the patterned stack, for angles of incidence up to 50°.

Role of hypoxia in viability and endothelial differentiation potential of UC-MSCs and VEGF interference.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of hypoxia on cell viability and the endothelial differentiation potential in human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs), and to assess the in vitro protective role of VEGF under low oxygen tension. METHODS: MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cords and cultured in vitro. The morphological and phenotypic characterizations of human UC-MSCs were analyzed. The hypoxia induction was performed with or without the presence of 50 ng/mL of VEGF for different lengths of time. The cell proliferation, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were assessed. Meanwhile, the endothelial differentiation potential of the UC-MSCs was measured. RESULTS: An increased apoptosis and ROS generation but reduced proliferation rate were observed at early stages (6, 12 h) after transferring the UC-MSCs from the atmospheric condition to the hypoxia condition. However, the UC-MSCs presented equal proliferation and apoptosis levels under hypoxic condition as compared with those under the atmospheric condition at the later stages (24, 72 h). A high concentration of exogenous VEGF (50 ng/mL) attenuated the increased apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of UC-MSCs, induced by a short-term hypoxia treatment. After 14 days of exogenous VEGF induction under the hypoxia condition, the UC-MSCs acquired an early endothelial phenotype consisting of a mature endothelial molecule and some endothelial functions. CONCLUSION: UC-MSCs progressively adapt to hypoxia in a step-by-step manner and maintain differentiation potential under hypoxia condition. VEGF can protect the UC-MSCs from cell damage and induce a differentiation of UC-MSCs toward endothelial lineage under hypoxic conditions.

Combined front and back diffraction gratings for broad band light trapping in thin film solar cell.

In this paper, we present the integration of combined front and back 1D and 2D diffraction gratings with different periods, within thin film photovoltaic solar cells based on crystalline silicon layers. The grating structures have been designed considering both the need for incident light absorption enhancement and the technological feasibility. Long wavelength absorption is increased thanks to the long period (750 nm) back grating, while the incident light reflection is reduced by using a short period (250 nm) front grating. The simulated short circuit current in a solar cell combining a front and a back grating structures with a 1.2 µm thick c-Si layer, together with the back electrode and TCO layers, is increased up to 30.3 mA/cm2, compared to 18.4 mA/cm2 for a reference stack, as simulated using the AM1.5G solar spectrum intensity distribution from 300 nm to 1100 nm, and under normal incidence.

Design, fabrication and optical characterization of photonic crystal assisted thin film monocrystalline-silicon solar cells.

In this paper, we present the integration of an absorbing photonic crystal within a monocrystalline silicon thin film photovoltaic stack fabricated without epitaxy. Finite difference time domain optical simulations are performed in order to design one- and two-dimensional photonic crystals to assist crystalline silicon solar cells. The simulations show that the 1D and 2D patterned solar cell stacks would have an increased integrated absorption in the crystalline silicon layer would increase of respectively 38% and 50%, when compared to a similar but unpatterned stack, in the whole wavelength range between 300 nm and 1100 nm. In order to fabricate such patterned stacks, we developed an effective set of processes based on laser holographic lithography, reactive ion etching and inductively coupled plasma etching. Optical measurements performed on the patterned stacks highlight the significant absorption increase achieved in the whole wavelength range of interest, as expected by simulation. Moreover, we show that with this design, the angle of incidence has almost no influence on the absorption for angles as high as around 60°.