Prevalence of hypertension and related risk factors in older Chinese population: a meta-analysis.

Objective: Hypertension is the most challenging public health problem worldwide and seriously affects human health. To date, there are no epidemiological studies on the prevalence of and risk factors for hypertension among older people in mainland China. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among the older population in mainland China. We searched Chinese and English databases for Chinese and English literature on hypertension epidemiology published between 2000 and 2022, and hypertension data among the older population were extracted from the included literature. A meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model (I2 > 50%) with 95% confidence intervals for the forest plots. Data were processed using RevMan 5.3. Forty-nine publications (with data from 84,429 samples) met the evaluation criteria and were included in this study. Results: We found that the total prevalence of hypertension was 47%. The total prevalence rate of the older population in China from 2000 to 2010 was 50%, and the prevalence rate from 2011 to 2021 was 45%, with no significant differences. The total prevalence in Central China was the highest (59%). There was no significant correlation between the prevalence rate of the older population, sex, and urban or rural areas. Conclusion: Hypertension is common among the older population in China, and its control rate is low. Therefore, effective prevention and treatment measures, as well as education, should be formulated to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in the older population.

Fluorescent carbon dots synthesized by waste wind turbine blade for photocatalytic degradation.

Developing novel waste recycling strategies has become a feasible solution to overcome environmental pollution. In this work, a method of using waste wind turbine blade (WTB) as a carbon source to synthesize blue fluorescent carbon dots (B-CDs) by hydrothermal treatment is proposed. B-CDs are spherical and have an average particle size of 5.2 nm. The surface is rich in C-O, C=O, -CH3 , and N-H bond functional groups, containing five elements: C, O, N, Si, and Ca. The optimal emission wavelength of B-CDs is 463 nm, corresponding to an excitation wavelength of 380 nm. Notably, a relatively high quantum yield of 29.9% and a utilization rate of 40% were obtained. In addition, B-CDs can serve as a photocatalyst to degrade methylene blue dye, with a degradation efficiency of 64% under 40-min irradiation conditions. The presence of holes has a significant influence on the degradation process.

Low-cost urban carbon monitoring network and implications for china: a comprehensive review.

The development and renewal of gas sensor technology have enabled more and more low-cost gas sensors to form a carbon monitoring network to meet the requirements of the city. In the context of China's commitment to achieving the "double carbon" target by 2060, this paper reviews the principles of four standard gas sensors and the application of several low-cost sensors in urban carbon monitoring networks, with the aim of providing a practical reference for the future deployment of carbon monitoring networks in Chinese cities. Moreover, the types, prices, and deployment of the sensors used in each project are summarized. Based on this review, non-dispersive infrared sensors have the best performance among the sensors and are commonly used in many cities. Lots of urban climate networks in cities were summarized by many reviews in the literature, but only a few sensors were studied, and they did not consider carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors. This review focuses on the dense CO2 urban monitoring network, and some case studies are also discussed, such as Seoul and San Francisco. To address the issue of how to better ensure the balance between cost and accuracy in the deployment of sensor networks, this paper proposes a method of simultaneously deploying medium-precision and high-precision fixed sensors and mobile sensors to form an urban carbon monitoring network. Finally, the prospects and recommendations, such as different ways to mitigate CO2 and develop an entire carbon monitoring system for future urban carbon monitoring in China, are also presented.

Flower-like porous BCN assembled by nanosheets for paclitaxel delivery.

Developing smart drug delivery systems has become a feasible solution to overcome the challenges in cancer chemotherapeutics. In this work, porous boron carbon nitride (ZBCN) nanomaterials with flower-like structures assembled with BCN nanosheets were synthesized by using ZIF-L as a template. The rich hydroxyl groups on the BCN surfaces make it highly dispersible and stable in aqueous solutions. Additionally, ZBCN exhibits stable photoluminescence properties that can be utilized for cellular uptake and tracking of drug delivery. Furthermore, the flower-like ZBCN structure contributes to a large specific surface area of up to 340 m2 g-1 and a pore volume of 1.03 cm3 g-1; and the presence of rich macropores results in a high drug loading capacity of 116 wt% for paclitaxel. In vitro and in vivo anticancer experiments demonstrated that ZBCN exhibits excellent performance in delivering anticancer drugs, with in vivo tumor inhibition of 58%. This study presents a novel template method for preparing porous BCN nanomaterials, offering a promising platform for high-performance anticancer drug delivery.

Prognostic nutritional index and prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This review assessed if prognostic nutritional index (PNI) can predict mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase were searched up to 1st November 2022 for all types of studies reporting adjusted associations between PNI and mortality or MACE in CAD patients. A random-effect meta-analysis was conducted for PNI as categorical or continuous variable. Subgroup analysis were conducted for multiple confounders. Results: Fifteen studies with 22,521 patients were included. Meta-analysis found that low PNI was a significant predictor of mortality in CAD patients as compared to those with high PNI (HR: 1.67 95% CI: 1.39, 2.00 I 2 = 95% p < 0.00001). Increasing PNI scores were also associated with lower mortality (HR: 0.94 95% CI: 0.91, 0.97 I 2 = 89% p = 0.0003). Meta-analysis demonstrated that patients with low PNI had significantly higher incidence of MACE (HR: 1.57 95% CI: 1.08, 2.28 I 2 = 94% p = 0.02) and increasing PNI was associated with lower incidence of MACE (HR: 0.84 95% CI: 0.72, 0.92 I 2 = 97% p = 0.0007). Subgroup analyses showed mixed results. Conclusion: Malnutrition assessed by PNI can independently predict mortality and MACE in CAD patients. Variable PNI cut-offs and high inter-study heterogeneity are major limitations while interpreting the results. Further research focusing on specific groups of CAD and taking into account different cut-offs of PNI are needed to provide better evidence. Systematic Review Registration: No CRD42022365913 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.

Computed tomography enterography increases the ability of endoscopy to differentiate Crohn's disease from intestinal Behçet's disease.

Background: Distinguishing Crohn's disease (CD) and intestinal Behçet's disease (BD) is difficult in clinical practice. Aim: To evaluate the ability of CT enterography (CTE) to enhance the diagnostic value of endoscopy in differentiating CD from intestinal BD and to establish differential diagnosis models. Methods: A total of 113 patients with CD and 70 patients with intestinal BD from seven tertiary inflammatory bowel disease centers were enrolled. The univariate and multivariate analyses were used by SAS software version 9.2. Three differential scoring models based on the multivariate analysis of endoscopic features alone (model 1), endoscopic features combined with clinical symptoms (model 2), and endoscopic features combined with clinical symptoms and CTE (model 3) were established. Results: The results showed that model 2 increased the efficacy of model 1 in differential diagnosis and model 3 had the highest accuracy of 84.15% at a cutoff value of two points. The scoring of model 3 was as follows: genital ulcer (-3 points), skin lesions (-3 points), oval ulcer (-2 points), longitudinal ulcer (1 point), number of ulcers > 5 (3 points), inflammatory polyps (2 points), mucosal severe enhancement (2 points), and fibrofatty proliferation (1 point). Conclusion: Clinical symptoms and CTE increased the ability of endoscopy to differentiate CD from intestinal BD.

Differential Diagnosis of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Primary Intestinal Lymphoma: A Scoring Model Based on a Multicenter Study.

Background: Differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative primary intestinal lymphoma (UPIL) is a tough problem in clinical practice. Aims: Our study identified key differences between CD and UPIL patients and aimed to further establish a scoring model for differential diagnosis. Methods: A total of 91 CD and 50 UPIL patients from 9 tertiary inflammatory bowel disease centers were included. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine significant markers for differentiating CD and UPIL. A differential scoring model was established by logistic regression analysis. Results: The differential model was based on clinical symptoms, endoscopic and imaging features that were assigned different scores: intestinal bleeding (-2 points), extraintestinal manifestation (2 points), segmental lesions (1 point), cobblestone sign (2 points), homogeneous enhancement (-1 point), mild enhancement (-1 point), engorged vasa recta (1 point). A total score of ≥1 point indicates CD, otherwise UPIL was indicated. This model produced an accuracy of 83.66% and an area under the ROC curve of 0.947. The area under the ROC curve for validation using the 10-fold validation method was 0.901. Conclusion: This study provided a convenient and useful model to differentiate CD from UPIL.

Tunable multicolour S/N co-doped carbon quantum dots synthesized from waste foam and application to detection of Cr3+ ions.

In this study, by adjusting sulfuric acid concentrations, tunable multicolour S/N-carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized from waste foam as the raw material. The S/N-CQDs presented blue, blue-green, green, green-yellow and yellow emission with an emission peak shifting from 475 to 589 nm and with optimum excitation wavelengths of 385, 405, 440, 450, and 500 nm, respectively. Using transmission electron microscopy, the S/N-CQDs were seen to be spherical in morphology with a size around 6-8 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the surface of the S/N-CQDs was highly oxidized and sulfur doped. The fluorescence mechanism of multicolour S/N-CQDs emission was mainly related to a band gap change caused by the surface state. Blue-emitting S/N-CQDs were used as a fluorescent probe that was highly selective and sensitive to Cr3+ ions, with a low detection limit of 6 µM. The waste foam-derived S/N-CQDs exhibited promising potential for ion detection in real water samples due to its excellent fluorescence activity.

Synthesis of green-emitting carbon quantum dots with double carbon sources and their application as a fluorescent probe for selective detection of Cu2+ ions.

Green-emitting carbon quantum dots (G-CQDs) were prepared using tartaric acid and bran by one-pot solvothermal treatment and had photoluminescence quantum yields (PL QY) as high as 46%. The morphology of the G-CQDs is characterized by TEM, which shows the average diameter of G-CQDs is approximately ∼4.85 nm. The FT-IR spectra display the presence of -OH, C-N, N-H and -COOH on the surface of the G-CQDs. The emission wavelength of the G-CQDs was ∼539 nm in the case of ∼450 nm excitation wavelength, which corresponds to the green fluorescence. Furthermore, the G-CQDs were used as a fluorescent probe for detection Cu2+ ions, and demonstrated a linear distribution between ln(F/F 0) and the Cu2+ ions concentration. Specifically, the Cu2+ ion concentration should fall in the G-CQD concentration range of 0-0.5 mM and the detection limit is 0.0507 µM. Thus, due to the excellent chemical stability and good luminescence performance, these G-CQDs could be excellent probes widely used in detection fields.

Preparation and application of solvent-modulated self-doped N-S multicolour fluorescence carbon quantum dots.

In this paper, two types of carbon quantum dot (CQDs) were prepared using biocompatible l-methionine as the carbon source and urea as the nitrogen source and a one-step hydrothermal treatment. By changing the reaction solvents (deionized (DI) water and dimethylformamide (DMF)), the maximum emission of the resulting CQDs shifted from blue to red light. Specifically, the emission wavelength of the CQDs moved from 433 nm to 625 nm following embedding of a new functional group (-CONH-) on the surface of the CQDs. Photoluminescence quantum yields of the CQDs with blue and red emission reached 64% and 61%, respectively. The R-CQDs were used to detect metal ions and a linear relationship was demonstrated between ln(F/F0 ) and Fe3+ concentration in the range 0-0.5 mmol/L with a detection limit of 0.067 µM. Therefore these R-CQDs have great potential as fluorescent probes for Fe3+ detection. We expect that the excellent water-soluble, biocompatible and optical properties of the CQDs developed in this work mean that they will be widely used to detect biological cells.

Four 2D "fully reduced" polyoxovanadates: vanadium oxide clusters encapsulating different guest molecules.

Four two-dimensional fully reduced polyoxovanadates, namely, [Cd(DAP)2]4[HV(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DAP)3(HOCH2CH2OH)]·10H2O (1), [Cd(DAP)2]4[HV(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DAP)3(CH3OH)]·11H2O (2), [Cd(DAP)2]4[HV(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DAP)3(CH3CH2OH)]·4H2O (3) and Co(III)(DAP)3[Co(II)(DAP)2]3[V(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DAP)3(HOCH2CH2OH)]·14H2O (4) were synthesized by virtue of the reducing power of alkylamine in hydrothermal conditions. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis, magnetic measurement, IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric measurements were performed to analyze the structures and properties of these four compounds. Structural analysis indicates that the four compounds contain the same huge low-valent vanadium oxide anion cages [V(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DAP)3](9-), and the cages can catch different guest molecules. Four cages are linked by Co or Cd atoms to form a four-membered ring, while adjacent four-membered rings are connected to each other by sharing edges to make an inorganic-organic hybrid layer. The magnetic susceptibility measurements of four compounds indicate ferrimagnetic interactions between vanadium ions.

A new "fully reduced" polyoxovanadate constructed from nanosized triangle-shaped [V(III)3V(IV)18P6O60(DACH)3]}9- cluster anions exhibiting ferrimagnetic interactions.

Magnetic personality: A pentavalent vanadium source was employed to prepare the largest highly reduced polyoxovanadate cluster by virtue of the reducing power of 1,2-diaminocyclohexane under hydrothermal conditions. The new non-classical triangle-shaped cluster shows good catalytic selectivity for the oxidation of styrene and exhibits ferrimagnetic interactions that could make it a promising magnetic material.