Research progress in the application of time in range: more than a percentage.

ABSTRACT: Glucose monitoring is an important part of medical care in diabetes mellitus, which not only helps assess glycemic control and treatment safety, but also assists with treatment adjustment. With the development of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), the use of CGM has increased rapidly. With the wealth of glucose data produced by CGM, new metrics are greatly needed to optimally evaluate glucose status and guide the treatment. One of the parameters that CGM provides, time in range (TIR), has been recognized as a key metric by the international consensus. Before the adoption of TIR in clinical practice, several issues including the minimum length of CGM use, the setting of the target range, and individualized TIR goals are summarized. Additionally, we discussed the mounting evidence supporting the association between TIR and diabetes-related outcomes. As a novel glucose metric, it is of interest to compare TIR with other conventional glucose markers such as glycated hemoglobin A1c. It is anticipated that the use of TIR may provide further information on the quality of glucose control and lead to improved diabetes management.

Synthesis, Curing Behaviors and Properties of a Bio-Based Trifunctional Epoxy Silicone Modified Epoxy Thermosets.

Tremendous effort has been focused on improving the toughness of epoxy, but the common approaches diminish the mechanical properties. In this work, a new silicone-modified trifunctional epoxy monomer SITEUP is synthesized from the hydrosilylation transformation of eugenol epoxy (EPEU) and tris-(dimethylsiloxy)phenylsilane. The chemical structures and curing kinetics of SITEUP are investigated based on 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, MADLI-TOF-MS, and DSC analyses. SITEUP is introduced into DGEBA/IPDA systems as a functional modifier in varied loadings for toughening the resulting epoxy thermosets. The impact strength of the modified epoxy thermosets containing 20% SITEUP is 84% higher than that of the pristine epoxy thermoset and also maintains high flexural strength. Further morphology study reveals that the plastic deformation caused by siloxane segments is the key factor accounting for the enhanced toughness of the finalized epoxy thermosets. Si-O-Si segments incorporated into the thermosetting network could absorb more energy by increasing the mobility of polymer chains under external stress and led to improved thermal stability and damping characteristics. In addition, SITEUP is able to decrease the surface tension and increase the hydrophobic properties of the resultant epoxy materials.

A novel polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-modified layered double hydroxide: preparation, characterization and properties.

A novel layered double hydroxide modified by octa-substituted carboxy-terminated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane was prepared via a one-step method and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC). Results showed that the silsesquioxane modified-LDH (OLDH) revealed an increase in the interlayer distance, nanoscale plate-like morphology of primary particles, and improved thermal stability. A synergistic effect between the siloxane moiety and Mg-Al hydroxide was found during thermal degradation, and confirmed by the study of degradation kinetics together with the analysis of the surface morphologies and elemental components of char residues. Moreover, in contrast to conventional organic modified LDH (e.g., dodecylbenzenesulfonate-LDH), the MCC results showed a significant decrease in the heat release rate and total heat release, indicating the low flammability of OLDH.

Synthesis and characterization of a Eu-containing polymer precursor featuring thenoyltrifluoroacetone and 5-acrylamido-1,10-phenanthroline.

A polymerizable ligand, 5-acrylamido-1,10-phenanthroline (L), was synthesized. Its Eu(III) complex with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, MS, and (1)H NMR spectra. The photophysical properties of the complex were studied in detail by using UV, luminescence spectra, luminescence lifetime and quantum yield. The complex shows a remarkable luminescence quantum yield at room temperature (40.1%) upon ligand excitation and a long (5)D(0) lifetime (590 µs), which makes it not only a promising light-conversion molecular device but also an excellent luminescent polymer precursor.