Parsimonious model for blood glucose level monitoring in type 2 diabetes patients.

To establish the parsimonious model for blood glucose monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving oral hypoglycemic agent treatment. One hundred and fifty-nine adult Chinese type 2 diabetes patients were randomized to receive rapid-acting or sustained-release gliclazide therapy for 12 weeks. Their blood glucose levels were measured at 10 time points in a 24 h period before and after treatment, and the 24 h mean blood glucose levels were measured. Contribution of blood glucose levels to the mean blood glucose level and HbA1c was assessed by multiple regression analysis. The correlation coefficients of blood glucose level measured at 10 time points to the daily MBG were 0.58-0.74 and 0.59-0.79, respectively, before and after treatment (P<0.0001). The multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the blood glucose levels measured at 6 of the 10 time points could explain 95% and 97% of the changes in MBG before and after treatment. The three blood glucose levels, which were measured at fasting, 2 h after breakfast and before dinner, of the 10 time points could explain 84% and 86% of the changes in MBG before and after treatment, but could only explain 36% and 26% of the changes in HbA1c before and after treatment, and they had a poorer correlation with the HbA1c than with the 24 h MBG. The blood glucose levels measured at fasting, 2 h after breakfast and before dinner truly reflected the change 24 h blood glucose level, suggesting that they are appropriate for the self-monitoring of blood glucose levels in diabetes patients receiving oral anti-diabetes therapy.

One-step synthesis of stoichiometric Cu2ZnSnSe4 as counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Cu(2)ZnSnSe(4) (CZTSe) nanoparticles with diameters of 200-300 nm were synthesized by one-step solvothermal method without surfactants or templates. The structure, composition and morphology of CZTSe nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, XPS, Raman spectrum, EDS, FESEM and TEM. The results indicated that the nanoparticles were single phase and nearly stoichiometric composition. CZTSe nanoparticles drop-casted onto FTO substrate were used as counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) for the first time, which exhibited Pt-like electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of I(3)(-) to I(-) in DSSCs. The J-V results demonstrated that the thickness of the film affected the photocurrent density and fill factor remarkably, which resulted from the difference of electrocatalytic sites and resistance with different thickness films. And a best efficiency of 3.85% was obtained by adjusting the film thickness. The work presents a new approach for developing low-cost, facile fabrication CZTSe nanoparticles, and demonstrates CZTSe can be explored as a low-cost alternative for expensive and scare Pt in DSSCs.