Prospective association of comorbid hypertension and depressive symptoms with C-reactive protein in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and depressive symptoms often occur together in the older population, and each has been separately linked to elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). This study investigated the prospective association between comorbid hypertension and depressive symptoms and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) in a Chinese older population. METHODS: This study used data from 4978 participants aged 50 and above, who took part in two waves (2011 and 2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Hypertension, depressive symptoms and hs-CRP were measured. Logistic regressions adjusted for confounding variables were used to examine the association between the baseline comorbidity of hypertension and depressive symptoms and the change in hs-CRP levels. RESULTS: Hypertension and depressive symptoms did not show independent associations with an elevated level of hs-CRP. Participants with comorbid hypertension and depressive symptoms were more likely to develop a higher level of hs-CRP at follow-up (OR = 1.39, 95 % CI: 1.12-1.74) even after adjusting for covariates. Sex- and age-stratified analyses indicated that the association between the comorbidity and higher levels of hs-CRP were prone to be observed in women (OR = 1.55, 95 % CI: 1.16-2.08) and older adults (OR = 1.74, 95 % CI: 1.20-2.52). CONCLUSIONS: Comorbid hypertension and depressive symptoms is related to a higher risk of elevated hs-CRP levels. This association appears to be more pronounced among women and older adults compared to their counterparts. LIMITATION: Depression was self-reported by participants, which might be considered less unreliable than clinical diagnoses.

Femtosecond-scale all-optical switching in oxyfluorogallate glass induced by nonlinear multiphoton absorption.

Herein, all-optical switching based on a new type of oxyfluorogallate glass with high switching efficiency and ultrafast response time was reported in the near-infrared wavelength range, which is of great importance for applications in optical telecommunication. The structural and optical properties, as well as the nonlinear optical effects, of the oxyfluorogallate glass were investigated, demonstrating a good figure of merit applicable to nonlinear optical devices. Using pump-probe experiments, we found that the switching time in the oxyfluorogallate glass due to nonlinear multiphoton absorption was approximately 350 fs, which was limited by the pulse duration of the near-infrared probe pulse. Additionally, the largest on-off amplitude of this optical switching device could reach ∼12%, which is in sharp contrast to that of quartz glass. Thus, this study provides a suitable material for the manufacture of integrated photonic devices, which are crucial for promoting the application of glass on-chip photonics.

IDTI Dyes for Fluoride Anion Chemosensors.

Fluoride anions play a key role in human health and chemical engineering, such as in organic synthesis and biological processes. The development of high-sensitivity naked-eye detection sensors for fluoride anions in organic solutions is crucial and challenging. In this study, (3Z,3'Z)-3,3'-[4,4,9,9-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno(1,2-b:5,6-b')dithiophene]-2,7-diylbis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene) bis(6-bromo-indolin-2-one) (IDTI) was designed and used as a fluoride chemosensor for the first time. IDTI is a highly sensitive fluoride sensor with a detection limit of as low as 1 × 10-7 M. In addition, upon the reaction of IDTI with fluoride anions in a tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution, color changes from red to yellow under ambient light and from purple to green under UV light were detectable by the naked eye. These studies indicate that IDTI is a promising fluoride chemosensor.

The Flexural Strength and Fracture Toughness of TC4-Based Laminated Composites Reinforced with Ti Aluminide and Carbide.

TiC-Ti-Al mixed powders and TC4 titanium alloy foils were overlapped layer-by-layer in the graphite die. The TC4-based laminated composite sheets reinforced by Ti aluminide and carbide were successfully fabricated via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1100 °C with a well-bonded interface. The composite layers were mainly composed of TiAl, Ti3Al, Ti2AlC, and Ti3AlC2 phases. The carbides particles distributed in the matrix played an important role in the deflection of cracks and the passivation of microcracks. TC4 titanium alloy layers had an obvious effect on the stress distribution during the loading process, and provided an energy dissipation mechanism, which could improve the mechanical properties of the laminated composite sheets obviously. When the theoretical amount of Ti2AlC was 20 wt %, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of the laminated composite sheets reached the maximum value in the arrester direction, which were 1428.79 MPa and 64.08 MPa·m1/2, respectively.

Updated incidence rates and risk factors of esophageal cancer in Nan'ao Island, a coastal high-risk area in southern China.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the updated incidence rates and risk factors of EC in Nan'ao Island, where the EC incidence rate was chronically the highest in southern China. To calculate the annual incidence rate, data on 338 EC cases from Nan'ao Cancer Registry system diagnosed during 2005-2011 were collected. A case-control study was conducted to explore the EC risk factors. One hundred twenty-five alive EC patients diagnosed during 2005-2011 and 250 controls were enrolled into the case-control study. A pre-test questionnaire on demography, dietary factors, drinking water treatment, and behavioral factors was applied to collect information of all participants. The average EC incidence rates during 2005-2011 were 66.09/105, 94.62/105, 36.83/105 for both genders, males and females, respectively, in Nan'ao Island. The EC incidence rate in males was 2.40- to 4.55-fold higher than that in females in the period from 2006 to 2011 (P < 0.05). Considering the onset age, males tend to be much younger than females and reached peak incidence rate at a younger age (P < 0.05). Drinking water treatment by filter (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.13-0.58) and fruit consumption (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.32-0.94) reduced the risk for EC. On the contrary, the pickled vegetables consumption (OR = 2.64, 95% CI = 1.46-4.76) and liquor drinking (OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.21-4.44) increased the risk for EC. These results may be of importance for future research on EC etiology and prevention strategies.

[The Impacts of the Variation of Myanmar Jade Component on Its Infrared Spectroscopy].

Myanmar jade is crystalline aggregate with the major mineral of jadeite. Jadeite can be represented by the crystal-chemical formula NaAlSi2O6. Isomorphous substitution occurs in the natural jadeite frequently, with replacement of Na by Ca, and replacement of Al by Mg, Fe, Cr etcetera, which makes the component of Myanmar jade much more complex and leads to the variation of its physical features, including color, transparency, refractive index, specific gravity and infrared spectrum characteristics, forming different types of Myanmar jade. The studies show that the vibrational spectra characteristics of the Myanmar jade varies depending on the substitution of different elements. In this work, we studied the impacts of the variation of Myanmar jade component on its infrared spectroscopy. 10 Myanmar jade samples which consisted of different chemical composition were measured using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and results show that the IR absorption peaks shift to higher wave numbers, as the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the samples increases. In the low wave number region, the wave number of the IR absorption peaks at 424, 576 and 658 cm(-1) and the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the samples share fine linear correlation, and the correlation coefficients (R2) are, in order, R1(2)=0.9442, R2(2)=0.9283, R3(2)=0.9097. We can utilize infra-red spectrum technologies combined with linear model built by us in this work to predicate the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the unknown Myanmar jade samples. As the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the unknown Myamar jade samples equals 0.8, the IR absorption peaks should be at 658.7, 574.5, 422.5 cm(-1). If the wavenumbers of the IR absorption peaks are less than 658.7, 574.5 and 422.5 cm(-1), the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the unknown Myanmar jade samples is less than 0.8, which is indicating that the unknown Myanmar jade sample isomphacitic jade, while the wavenumbers of the IR absorption peaks are more than 658.7, 574.5 and 422.5 cm(-1), the atomic ratio of Na/Na+Ca of the unknown Myanmar jade samples is more than 0.8, which is indicating that the unknown Myanmar jade sample is jadeitic jade. The studies of this work offer a super-quick time-saving and labor-saving nondestructivetesting method for using infrared spectrum technologies to test Myanmar jade samples, analyze their component and predicate which mineral styles the unknown samples are.

The effect of La2O3 in Tm³âº-doped germanate-tellurite glasses for ~2 µm emission.

A germanate-tellurite glass (GeO2-TeO2-K2O-Nb2O5-La2O3) with thulium doping has been investigated for application as a laser material around 2.0 µm regions. Under the 808 nm laser diode pumped, intense 1.8 µm emission is obtained. Based on the absorption spectra, radiative properties are predicted using Judd-Ofelt theory. The maximum value of emission cross-section of Tm(3+) around 1.8 µm can reach 1.46 × 10(-20) cm(2), which indicated that the germanate-tellurite glass may provide high gain as a good medium for efficient 1.8 µm laser system.

Intense photoluminescence at 2.7 µm in transparent Er 3+:CaF2-fluorophosphate glass microcomposite.

Er3+ doped CaF2-fluorophosphate (FP) glass microcomposites were produced by heat-treating the mixture of Er3+:CaF2 precipitate and FP glass powder above the melting temperature of the FP glass. The appearance of CaF2 crystallites in the resulting composites was confirmed by x ray diffraction. Despite the fact that the average diameter of the crystallites was around 10 µm as revealed by the micromorphology study, a transparent composite was obtained by matching the refractive index of FP glass to that of CaF2. Intense IR fluorescence at around 2.7 µm was observed in the composite, implying the composite would be a promising candidate for IR lasers and amplifiers.

[Study on the vibrational spectra characters of Taiwan blue chalcedony].

Blue chalcedony is one of the precious gems produced in Taiwan, known as "Taiwan Sapphire" in the world. The infrared absorption spectrum and Raman spectrum were employed to study the characters of the vibrational spectrum of the blue chalcedony with different color and texture. It was indicated that the Taiwan blue chalcedony shows the typical spectral characteristics of the vibrational spectra of the quartziferous jade. The infrared absorption spectra show that the strongest absorption region 1 250-1 110 cm(-1) is induced by Si-O asymmetric stretching vibration, the medium-intensity absorption band 800-600 cm(-1) is mainly induced by the Si-O-Si symmetric stretching vibration and the Si--O bending vibration displays the peaks in the range of 600-300 cm(-1). The Raman spectra scattering peaks of the Taiwan blue chalcedony samples are mainly at 499 cm(-1) +/-, 464 cm(-1) +/-, and 208-214 cm(-1) and are mainly induced by the Si-O symmetric bending vibration, Si-O bending vibration, and [SiO4] rotational vibration or translation vibration of the "Moganite" quartz.

[Study on the treatment turquoise using Raman spectroscopy].

Due to a variety of the enhancement and treatment turquoises discovered in gem markets, the identification of turquoise is becoming more and more difficult. By using laser Raman spectroscopy analysis, the characteristics of Raman spectra of the pressed and filled turquoises were studied. The results show that laser Raman spectroscopy is an effective technique to identify the enhancement and treatment turquoises and the natural ones, moreover, it's a non-destructive testing method. The Raman spectra of the enhancement and treatment turquoises are resulted mainly from the vibrational mode and frequency of water, hydroxyl units, PO4 tetrahedron and CH2 units. Besides, they have the characteristic Raman spectra peaks at 2,937, 2,883 and 1,451 cm(-1) which are attributed to the stretching vibration and the bending vibration of CH2, respectively. These characteristic Raman vibration bands, it will help to distinguish the natural turquoises and the treatment ones. The study provides a new train of thought on the rapid, accurate, and non-destructive identification of turquoise.