Associations of dietary linoleic acid and alpha linolenic acid intake with cardiovascular, cancer and all-cause mortalities in patients with diabetes: NHANES 1999-2008.

Objective: To investigate the association between the dietary intake of linoleic acid (LA) and alpha linolenic acid (ALA) with mortality outcomes in patients with diabetes. Participants: 3,112 U.S. adults aged≥20 years. Setting: Basic information was collected at baseline of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Serum CRP (mg/dL), total protein (g/L), waist circumference (cm), fasting blood glucose (mmol/L), white blood cell count, serum LDL-C, and serum HDL-C were also measured. Daily diets were also recorded using a 24-hour dietary review to produce the individuals' intake of LA and ALA. The association between tertiles of LA and ALA intake with mortality was analyzed by weighted Cox models adjusted for the main confounders. Main outcome measures: The study included 3,112 adults with diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2008. Death outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the database records through 31 December 2015. Results: Subjects with a high intake of LA (T3) had 17% [hazard ratio (HR) 0.83, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.99) and 48% (HR=0.52, 0.35 to 0.80)] reductions in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, respectively, compared with subjects with lowest intake (T1). Similar results were observed for ALA, HR of cardiovascular mortality was 0.55 (0.38 to 0.81) and for all-cause mortality was 0.85 (0.69 to 1.04) comparing the highest to lowest intake tertiles. Conclusion: Higher intakes of LA and ALA were inversely associated with CVD and all-cause deaths in patients with diabetes. Proper dietary intakes of LA and ALA could contribute to the cardiovascular health and the long-term survival of patients with diabetes.

Exploring home fall events among infants and toddlers using social media information: an infodemiology study in China.

BACKGROUND: Practical interventions of fall prevention are challenging for infants and toddlers. This study aimed to explore specific details of falls that occurred at home for kids 0-3 years old using key information from social media platforms, which provided abundant data sources for fall events. METHODS: We used internet-based search techniques to collect fall events information from 2013 to 2023. The search was restricted and implemented between 1 and 12 April 2023. Online platforms included Baidu, Weibo, WeChat, TikTok, Toutiao and Little Red Book. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyse the fall events and major factors, including the fall event time, child age, environmental factors and behavioural characteristics of children and caregivers. RESULTS: We identified 1005 fall injury cases among infants and toddlers. Fall mechanisms included falls from household furniture (71.2%), falls from height (21.4%) and falls on the same level (7.4%). Environmental risk factors mainly consisted of not using or installing bed rails incorrectly, a gap between beds, unstable furniture, slippery ground and windows without guardrails. Behavioural factors included caregivers leaving a child alone, lapsed attention, turning around to retrieve something, misusing baby products, inadequately holding the child and falling asleep with children. Child behavioural factors included walking or running while holding an object in hand or mouth and underdeveloped walking skills. CONCLUSION: Interventions for preventing falls should be designed specifically for Chinese families, especially considering family function in the context of Chinese culture. Social media reports could provide rich information for researchers.

Global burden of self-harm and interpersonal violence and influencing factors study 1990-2019: analysis of the global burden of disease study.

INTRODUCTION: Widespread concern exists in today's world regarding self-harm and interpersonal violence. This study to analyze the changes in temporal trends and spatial patterns of risk factors and burdens of self-harm and interpersonal violence using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. METHODS: Temporal trends in self-harm and interpersonal violence were initially summarized using the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC). Data were compiled and visualized to delineate changes in disease burden and factors influencing self-harm and interpersonal violence from 1990 to 2019, stratified by gender, age and GBD region. RESULTS: In 2019, the DALY rates of self-harm were 424.7(95% UI 383.25, 466.93). Over the period from 1999 to 2019, self-harm exhibited an overall decreasing trend, with the EAPC of -1.5351 (95% CI -1.6194, -1.4507), -2.0205 (95% CI -2.166, -1.8740) and -2.0605 (95% CI -2.2089, -1.9119), respectively. In contrast, the incidence rate of interpersonal violence was significantly higher than self-harm, with a rate of 413.44 (95% UI 329.88, 502.37) per 100,000 population. Mortality and DALYs of interpersonal violence were lower than those of self-harm, at 5.22 (95% UI 4.87, 5.63) and 342.43 (95% UI 316.61, 371.55). Disease burden of self-harm and interpersonal violence varied by gender, age groups and region. Specific risk factors showed that alcohol use, high temperature and drug use were the main risk factors for self-harm, while alcohol use, intimate partner violence and high temperature were associated with interpersonal violence. Low temperature was a common protective factor for both self-harm and interpersonal violence. The burden of self-harm and interpersonal violence was attributed to different factors influences in different SDI regions. CONCLUSIONS: The study explored temporal trends and spatial distribution of the global disease burden of self-harm and interpersonal violence, emphasizing the significant impact of factors such as alcohol use, temperature, and drug use on disease burden. Further research and policy actions are needed to interpret recent changes of disease burden of self-harm and interpersonal violence, and dedicated efforts should be implemented to devise evidence-based interventions and policies to curtail risk factors and protect high-risk groups.

Influencing factors of length of stay among repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders: a longitudinal study in China.

BACKGROUND: Patients with mood disorders usually require repeated and prolonged hospitalization, resulting in a heavy burden on healthcare resources. This study aims to identify variables associated with length of stay(LOS) of repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders and to provide information for optimizing psychiatry management and healthcare resource allocation. METHODS: Electronic medical records (EMRs) of repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders from January 2010 to December 2018 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Chi-square and t-test were adopted to investigate the differences in characteristics between the two groups of short LOS and long LOS. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) was conducted to investigate potential factors influencing LOS. RESULTS: A total of 2,009 repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders were enrolled, of which 797 (39.7%) had a long LOS and 1,212 (60.3%) had a short LOS. Adverse effects of treatment, continuous clinical manifestation, chronic onset type, suicide attempt, comorbidity and use of antidepressants were positively associated with long LOS among all repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders (P < 0.050). For patients with depression, factors associated with long LOS consisted of age, monthly income, adverse effects of treatment, continuous clinical manifestation, suicide attempt and comorbidity (P < 0.050). Whereas, for patients with bipolar disorder (BD), adverse effects of treatment, four or more hospitalizations and use of antidepressants contributed to the long LOS (P < 0.050). Influencing factors of LOS also vary among patients with different effectiveness of treatment. CONCLUSION: The LOS in repeatedly hospitalized patients with mood disorders was influenced by multiple factors. There were discrepancies in the factors affecting LOS in patients with different diagnoses and effectiveness of treatment, and specific factors should be addressed when evaluating the LOS.

Clinical study of different prediction models in predicting diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Among older adults, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is widely recognized as one of the most prevalent diseases. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a frequent complication of DM, mainly characterized by renal microvascular damage. Early detection, aggressive prevention, and cure of DN are key to improving prognosis. Establishing a diagnostic and predictive model for DN is crucial in auxiliary diagnosis. AIM: To investigate the factors that impact T2DM complicated with DN and utilize this information to develop a predictive model. METHODS: The clinical data of 210 patients diagnosed with T2DM and admitted to the First People's Hospital of Wenling between August 2019 and August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether the patients had DN, they were divided into the DN group (complicated with DN) and the non-DN group (without DN). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors affecting DN in patients with T2DM. The data were randomly split into a training set (n = 147) and a test set (n = 63) in a 7:3 ratio using a random function. The training set was used to construct the nomogram, decision tree, and random forest models, and the test set was used to evaluate the prediction performance of the model by comparing the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, recall, precision, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Among the 210 patients with T2DM, 74 (35.34%) had DN. The validation dataset showed that the accuracies of the nomogram, decision tree, and random forest models in predicting DN in patients with T2DM were 0.746, 0.714, and 0.730, respectively. The sensitivities were 0.710, 0.710, and 0.806, respectively; the specificities were 0.844, 0.875, and 0.844, respectively; the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the patients were 0.811, 0.735, and 0.850, respectively. The Delong test results revealed that the AUC values of the decision tree model were lower than those of the random forest and nomogram models (P < 0.05), whereas the difference in AUC values of the random forest and column-line graph models was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Among the three prediction models, random forest performs best and can help identify patients with T2DM at high risk of DN.

Individual ambient ozone exposure during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: Exploration of the potentially vulnerable windows.

BACKGROUND: Ambient ozone (O3) exposure during pregnancy might be associated with preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW); however, existing evidence remains inconclusive. It is necessary to explore the relationships and potential susceptible periods further. METHODS: To explore the relationship between O3 exposure and adverse birth outcomes, a study using records of 34,122 singleton live births in Beijing between 2016 and 2019 was conducted. The O3 exposure in each gestational week of pregnant women was estimated, and Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) incorporated in Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore potential critical windows. RESULTS: An increase of 10 µg/m3 in O3 exposure was associated with a 3.9% (95%CI: 0.6-7.3%) higher risk of PTB. Additionally, this increase in O3 exposure was positively linked to PTB during the 2nd - 7th, 22nd - 29th, and 37th gestational weeks, and LBW during the 2nd - 7th, 24th - 29th, and 37th gestational weeks. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a positive correlation between O3 exposure and PTB, and identified specific sensitive periods during pregnancy when the risk was higher.

Bayesian estimation for the accuracy of three neuropsychological tests in detecting Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: a retrospective analysis of the ADNI database.

BACKGROUND: The neuropathological confirmation serves as the gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is usually not available to the living individuals. In addition, the gold standard for diagnosing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) remains unclear yet. Neuropsychological testing, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog), is commonly used tests in identifying AD and MCI, offering convenience, affordability, non-invasiveness, and accessibility in clinical settings. We aimed to accurately evaluate the discriminative ability of the three tests administrated at the same visit simultaneously in detecting AD and MCI due to AD in the absence of a gold standard. METHODS: A total of 1289 participants aged over 65 were included from the baseline visits of Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Bayesian latent class models, accounting for conditional dependence between MoCA and MMSE, were conducted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the three tests for detecting AD and MCI. RESULTS: In detecting AD, the ADAS-cog had the highest Youden's Index (0.829), followed by the MoCA(0.813) and MMSE(0.796). The ADAS-cog and MoCA showed similar sensitivity (0.922 vs 0.912) and specificity (0.907 vs 0.901), while the MMSE had lower sensitivity (0.874) and higher specificity (0.922). For MCI detection, the ADAS-cog had the highest Youden's Index (0.704) compared to the MoCA (0.614) and MMSE (0.478). The ADAS-cog exhibited the highest sensitivity, closely followed by the MoCA and MMSE (0.869 vs 0.845 vs 0.757), and the ADAS-cog also had good specificity (0.835 vs 0.769 vs 0.721). The estimated true prevalence of AD among individuals aged over 65 was 20.0%, and the estimated true prevalence of MCI due to AD was 24.8%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the ADAS-cog and MoCA are reliable tools for detecting AD and MCI, while the MMSE may be less sensitive in detecting these conditions. A large underdiagnosis of the MCI and Alzheimer's population still remains in clinical screening.

The prevalence of disability and associated factors among community adults in the baseline of CHCN-BTH Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Disability was a major public health problem in China. However, the prevalence of disabilities in community-dwelling adults and their relationships to chronic physical conditions were unclear. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of disabilities and associated factors among a large community-based cohort in China. METHODS: Participants who were local permanent residents aged 18 years or above and completed the disability assessments were selected from the Cohort study on Chronic Disease of Communities Natural Population in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei (CHCN-BTH) from 2017 to 2019. Disability was assessed using five questions about impairments and activity limitations based on the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), Disability and Health. Univariate, multivariate and multilevel logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the associations between disabilities and associated factors. RESULTS: Totally, 12,871 community-dwelling adults completed the survey. Among of them, 12.9% (95% CI: 12.3%-13.5%) reported having any disability. The prevalence of any disability was significantly higher in participants who were older age, widowed, retired and smokers, had higher BMI, average monthly income < 5000 RMB, lower education level, lower physical exercise frequency and heavy physical labor. Multilevel logistic regressions showed that there were significant associations between disabilities with chronic physical conditions, especially in the vision impairment with lower back pain, and hearing impairment as well as difficulty walking without special equipment with injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Many Chinese adults suffered from disabilities. Sustained efforts should be made to develop specific population-based health promotion and prevention programs for disabilities in China. TRAIL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR1900024725 (25/07/2019).

Metal Ion Coordination Improves Graphite Nitride Carbon Microwave Therapy in Antibacterial and Osteomyelitis Treatment.

The ability to effectively treat deep bacterial infections while promoting osteogenesis is the biggest treatment demand for diseases such as osteomyelitis. Microwave therapy is widely studied due to its remarkable ability to penetrate deep tissue. This paper focuses on the development of a microwave-responsive system, namely, a zinc ion (Zn2+ ) doped graphite carbon nitride (CN) system (BZCN), achieved through two high-temperature burning processes. By subjecting composite materials to microwave irradiation, an impressive 99.81% eradication of Staphylococcus aureus is observed within 15 min. Moreover, this treatment enhances the growth of bone marrow stromal cells. The Zn2+ doping effectively alters the electronic structure of CN, resulting in the generation of a substantial number of free electrons on the material's surface. Under microwave stimulation, sodium ions collide and ionize with the free electrons generated by BZCN, generating a large amount of energy, which reacts with water and oxygen, producing reactive oxygen species. In addition, Zn2+ doping improves the conductivity of CN and increases the number of unsaturated electrons. Under microwave irradiation, polar molecules undergo movement and generate frictional heat. Finally, the released Zn2+ promotes macrophages to polarize toward the M2 phenotype, which is beneficial for tibial repair.

Association between android fat mass, gynoid fat mass and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in adults: NHANES 2003-2007.

Objectives: Evidence of the relationship between android fat mass and gynoid fat mass with the mortality prediction is still limited. Current study analyzed the NHANES database to investigate the relationship between android fat mass, gynoid fat mass and CVD, with all-cause mortality. Method: The study subjects were NHANES participants over 20 years old, two indicators of regional body composition, android fat and gynoid fat were measured by Dual Energy x-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). The other various covariates data obtained from the NHANES questionnaire and laboratory measurements, including age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, uric acid, total serum cholesterol, albumin, Vitamin C, folate, alcohol drinking, smoking status, history of diabetes, and hypertension. Mortality status was ascertained from a linked mortality file prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics. The study population was divided quartiles based on the distribution of android fat mass and gynoid fat mass. The relationship between these two indicators with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality was investigated by using Cox regression. The covariates age, gender, smoking status, drinking status, history of diabetes, and history of hypertension were stratified. Results: In the fully adjusted model, Q3 had the lowest HR in android fat mass and gynoid fat mass. When examining the relationship between android fat mass and CVD mortality, current smokers and drinkers had the lowest CVD risk in Q2 [smoking: 0.21 (0.08, 0.52), drinking: 0.14 (0.04, 0.50)]. In diabetic patients, compared with Q1, other groups with increased android fat mass can significantly reduce the risk of CVD [Q4: 0.17 (0.04, 0.75), Q3: 0.18 (0.03, 1.09), Q2: 0.27 (0.09, 0.83)]. In ≥60 years old and female, the greater the gynoid fat mass, the smaller the HR of all-cause mortality [Q4 for ≥60 years old: 0.57 (0.33, 0.96), Q4 for female: 0.37 (0.23, 0.58)]. People <60 years old had a lower risk of all-cause mortality with gynoid fat mass in Q3 than those ≥60 years old [<60 years: 0.50 (0.27, 0.91), ≥60 years: 0.65 (0.45, 0.95)]. Among subjects without hypertension, the group with the largest android fat mass had the lowest risk of CVD mortality, and the group with the largest gynoid fat mass had the lowest risk of all-cause mortality [Android fat mass: 0.36 (0.16, 0.81), gynoid fat mass: 0.57 (0.39, 0.85)]. Conclusion: Moderate android fat mass and gynoid fat mass (Q3) had the most protective effect. Smokers and drinkers need to control their body fat. Being too thin is harmful to people with diabetes. Increased gynoid fat mass is a protective factor for all-cause mortality in older adults and females. Young people's gynoid fat mass is more protective in the moderate range than older people's. If no high blood pressure exists, people with more android and gynoid fat mass have a lower risk of CVD or all-cause mortality.

Arm Circumference, Arm-to-Waist Ratio in Relation to Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Among patients with diabetes mellitus, limited studies have investigated the relationship between anthropometric parameters and cardiovascular disease (CVD), with all-cause mortality. We examined the associations of arm circumference (AC), arm-to-waist ratio (AC/WC), and CVD, with all-cause mortality among patients with diabetes. This is a cohort study of 5497 diabetic individuals aged 20 or over who were recruited in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2014. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze the associations between AC, AC/WC, and CVD, with all-cause mortality. We also conducted stratified analyses and explored the possible non-linear relation by restricted cubic splines. During a median follow-up of 7.2 years, there were 271 and 1093 cases of CVD and all-cause death. The multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (Cis) of CVD mortality in Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups compared with Q1 group were 0.37 (0.22, 0.62), 0.24 (0.12, 0.48), 0.18 (0.07, 0.46) for AC, and 0.18 (0.07, 0.46), 0.34 (0.20, 0.60), 0.28 (0.15, 0.53) for AC/WC. Similar results were observed in the analysis for all-cause mortality risk. AC and AC/WC were both inversely associated with CVD and all-cause mortality among individuals with diabetes. It is important to pay attention to these anthropometric parameters of diabetic patients.

Impaired Function of Solute Carrier Family 19 Leads to Low Folate Levels and Lipid Droplet Accumulation in Hepatocytes.

Low serum folate levels are inversely related to metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). The role of the folate transporter gene (SLC19A1) was assessed to clarify its involvement in lipid accumulation during the onset of MAFLD in humans and in liver cells by genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic techniques. Genotypes of 3 SNPs in a case-control cohort were initially correlated to clinical and serum MAFLD markers. Subsequently, the expression of 84 key genes in response to the loss of SLC19A1 was evaluated with the aid of an RT2 profiler-array. After shRNA-silencing of SLC19A1 in THLE2 cells, folate and lipid levels were measured by ELISA and staining techniques, respectively. In addition, up to 482 amino acids and lipid metabolites were semi-quantified in SLC19A1-knockdown (KD) cells through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. SNPs, rs1051266 and rs3788200, were significantly associated with the development of fatty liver for the single-marker allelic test. The minor alleles of these SNPs were associated with a 0.6/-1.67-fold decreased risk of developing MAFLD. When SLC19A1 was KD in THLE2 cells, intracellular folate content was four times lower than in wild-type cells. The lack of functional SLC19A1 provoked significant changes in the regulation of genes associated with lipid droplet accumulation within the cell and the onset of NAFLD. Metabolomic analyses showed a highly altered profile, where most of the species that accumulated in SLC19A1-KD-cells belong to the chemical groups of triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and long chain, highly unsaturated cholesterol esters. In conclusion, the lack of SLC19A1 gene expression in hepatocytes affects the regulation of key genes for normal liver function, reduces intracellular folate levels, and impairs lipid metabolism, which entails lipid droplet accumulation in hepatocytes.

Associations between seminal plasma triclosan and low sperm quality: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Triclosan (TCS), a novel endocrine disrupter, has induced widespread human exposure due to its widespread use in personal care products. Environmental TCS exposure was suggested to be associated with human semen quality. However, little is known about seminal plasma TCS concentration and the risk of low sperm quality. This case-control study is established to examine the relationship between seminal plasma TCS and the risk of low sperm quality. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred men with low sperm quality as cases and one hundred normal men as controls were recruited a fertility clinic in Shijiazhuang, China, during 2018-2019. Seminal plasma TCS concentration was determined using an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). Sperm concentration, sperm count, sperm motility and sperm progressive motility were evaluated according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to assess the sperm quality. We used the Mann-Whitney rank-sum test and Kruskal-Wallis test to assess the differences of seminal plasma TCS concentration between the cases and the controls. In addition, logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between seminal plasma TCS concentrations and low sperm quality risk adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), abstinence time, smoking, and drinking RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The level of seminal plasma TCS was observed slightly but not significantly higher in the case group than the control group. We also observed significant association between seminal plasma TCS concentrations and semen parameters in both control and case groups. Moreover, the seminal plasma TCS levels at the fourth quartile were found to be more likely to exhibit low sperm quality risk with increased adjusted odds ratios of 2.36 (95% confidence interval 1.03-5.39) compared to the first quartile. Our results reveal that seminal plasma TCS concentration was positively associated with low sperm quality risk.

Heavy Ion Displacement Damage Effect in Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors.

Recent advances in carbon nanotube (CNT)-based integrated circuits have shown their potential in deep space exploration. In this work, the mechanism governing the heavy-ion-induced displacement damage (DD) effect in semiconducting single-walled CNT field effect transistors (FETs), which is one of the factors limiting device robustness in space, was first and thoroughly investigated. CNT FETs irradiated by a Xe ion fluence of 1012 ions/cm2 can maintain a high on/off current ratio, while transistors' performance failure is observed as the ion fluence increased to 5 × 1012 ions/cm2. Controllable experiments combined with numerical simulations revealed that the degradation mechanism changed as the nonionizing radiation energy built up. The trap generation in the gate dielectric, instead of the CNT channel, was identified as the dominating factor for the high-energy-radiation-induced device failure. Therefore, CNT FETs exhibited a >10× higher DD tolerance than that of Si devices, which was limited by the channel damage under irradiation. More importantly, the distinct failure mechanism determined that CNT FETs can maintain a high DD tolerance of 2.8 × 1013 MeV/g as the technology node scales down to 45 nm node, suggesting the potential of CNT-based VLSI for high-performance and high-robustness space applications.

Association of Blood Urea Nitrogen with Cardiovascular Diseases and All-Cause Mortality in USA Adults: Results from NHANES 1999-2006.

In the general population, there is little evidence of a link between blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and long-term mortality. The goal of this study was to explore whether higher BUN concentration is a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. From 1999 to 2006, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) included 17,719 adult individuals. Death outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the database records through 31 December 2015. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD and all-cause mortality in individuals. We also performed stratified analyses based on age, gender, drinking, smoking, history of hypertension and diabetes. During a mean follow-up 11.65 years, a total of 3628 deaths were documented, of which 859 were due to CVD. Participants with higher BUN had a higher risk of CVD and all-cause death compared to those with lower BUN. After multifactor adjustment for demographics, major lifestyle factors, and hypertension and diabetes history, higher BUN levels compared with lower levels were significantly associated with higher risk of CVD (HR: 1.48 [1.08, 2.02], P-trend < 0.001) and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.48 [1.28, 1.72], P-trend < 0.001). In subgroup analyses, we found that the trend in the association of BUN with the risk of death remained strong in female subjects. Greater BUN levels were linked to higher CVD and all-cause mortality in the NHANES of American adults. The importance of BUN in predicting death is supported by our research.

Ultra-Strong Comprehensive Radiation Effect Tolerance in Carbon Nanotube Electronics.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) have been considered ideal building blocks for radiation-hard integrated circuits (ICs), the demand for which is exponentially growing, especially in outer space exploration and the nuclear industry. Many studies on the radiation tolerance of CNT-based electronics have focused on the total ionizing dose (TID) effect, while few works have considered the single event effects (SEEs) and displacement damage (DD) effect, which are more difficult to measure but may be more important in practical applications. Measurements of the SEEs and DD effect of CNT FETs and ICs are first executed and then presented a comprehensive radiation effect analysis of CNT electronics. The CNT ICs without special irradiation reinforcement technology exhibit a comprehensive radiation tolerance, including a 1 × 104 MeVcm2 mg-1 level of the laser-equivalent threshold linear energy transfer (LET) for SEEs, 2.8 × 1013 MeV g-1 for DD and 2 Mrad (Si) for TID, which are at least four times higher than those in conventional radiation-hardened ICs. The ultrahigh intrinsic comprehensive radiation tolerance will promote the applications of CNT ICs in high-energy solar and cosmic radiation environments.

Early-Adulthood Weight Change and Later Physical Activity in Relation to Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality: NHANES 1999-2014.

Limited evidence investigated the combined influence of early-adulthood weight change and later physical activity on the risk of cardiovascular (CVD) and all-cause mortality. The aim of this study is to explore the associations of early-adulthood weight change and later physical activity with CVD and all-cause mortality. This is a cohort study of 23,193 US adults aged 40 to 85 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999 to 2014. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of CVD and all-cause mortality associated with early-adulthood weight change and later physical activity. During a median follow-up of 9.2 years, there were 533 and 2734 cases of CVD and all-cause deaths. Compared with being physically inactive, the HRs of the CVD mortality of being physically active were 0.44 (0.26 to 0.73), 0.58 (0.19 to 1.82), 0.38 (0.17 to 0.86) and 0.46 (0.21 to 1.02) among individuals with stable normal, stable obese, non-obese to obese and maximum overweight early-adulthood weight change patterns. Using stable normal patterns that were physically active later as the reference, other early-adulthood weight change patterns did not show a significantly higher risk of CVD mortality when participants were physically active in later life; later physically inactive participants had a significantly increased risk of CVD mortality, with HRs of 2.17 (1.30 to 3.63), 5.32 (2.51 to 11.28), 2.59 (1.29 to 5.18) and 2.63 (1.32 to 5.26) in the stable normal, stable obese, non-obese to obese and maximum overweight groups, respectively. Similar results can be seen in the analyses for all-cause mortality. Our findings suggest that inadequate physical activity worsens the negative impact of unhealthy early-adulthood weight change patterns, which is worthy of being noted in the improvement of public health.

Interfacial Mo, W-Conjugated Polarization, and Oxygen Vacancies of MoO2/WO3 in Enhanced Microwave Therapy for MRSA-Induced Osteomyelitis.

Deep tissue infection, such as osteomyelitis, caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, poses a serious threat to public health and cannot be effectively treated by antibiotics. In this study, we report a microwave (MW)-responsive MoO2/WO3 heterojunction that can be utilized to effectively treat MRSA-infected osteomyelitis under MW irradiation because of the enhanced MW thermal effect and MW catalysis of the composite. The underlying mechanism is as follows: A myriad of oxygen vacancies forms on the surface of MoO2 and WO3 by deoxidization effect with hydrogen from the decomposition of sodium borohydride, which induces a mass of free electrons on the surface of the composite and consequently promotes a localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR) under MW irradiation. Furthermore, the conjugation of Mo and W at the interface enhances the LSPR effect. Thus, the LSPR effect not only induces the formation of radical oxygen species, thereby enhancing MW catalysis, but also results in the formation of an interfacial electrical field, which strengthens dipole polarization through synergistic action with oxygen vacancies and contributes to better MW thermal effects. The characteristics of MoO2/WO3 prove to be promising for the treatment of deep-tissue infections under MW irradiation.

Corrosion Behavior of Ti3SiC2 in Flowing Liquid Lead-Bismuth Eutectic at 500 °C.

MAX phases are promising candidate structural materials for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) and accelerator-driven sub-critical systems (ADSs) due to their excellent corrosion resistance in liquid LBE. In this work, one of the typical MAX phases, Ti3SiC2, was exposed to the flowing LBE with a saturated oxygen concentration at 500 °C for up to 3000 h. The corrosion behaviors, including the evolution of the corrosion layer, mechanical properties and wettability, were evaluated via X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray, a microhardness test and contact angle measurement. The results reveal that a corrosion structure with a duplex layer was formed on the sample surfaces. The outer layer was a diffusion layer, which always remained thin (<3 µm) during the whole test due to the erosion effect caused by the flowing LBE. The inner layer was the stable protective oxide layer, and its thickness increased with exposure time. The growth of the corrosion structure improved the microhardness and reduced the wettability with regard to LBE, which was beneficial to inhibiting further surface corrosion of Ti3SiC2.