Background There are limited data on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal achievement per the 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society dyslipidemia management ...guidelines and its impact on long-term outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We investigated the association between LDL-C levels attained 1 year after CABG and the long-term outcomes. Methods and Results A total of 2072 patients diagnosed with multivessel coronary artery disease and undergoing CABG between 2011 and 2020 were included. Patients were categorized by lipid levels at 1 year after CABG, and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) was evaluated. The goal of LDL-C <1.40 mmol/L was attained in only 310 patients (14.9%). During a mean follow-up of 4.2 years after the index 1-year assessment, 25.0% of the patients experienced MACCEs. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for MACCEs, cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, revascularization, and cardiac rehospitalization were 1.94 (1.41-2.67), 2.27 (1.29-3.99), 2.45 (1.55-3.88), 1.17 (0.63-2.21), 2.47 (1.31-4.66), and 1.87 (1.19-2.95), respectively, in patients with LDL-C ≥2.60 mmol/L, compared with patients with LDL-C <1.40 mmol/L. The LDL-C levels at 1-year post-CABG were independently associated with long-term MACCEs. Conclusions This retrospective analysis demonstrates that lipid goals are not attained in the vast majority of patients at 1 year after CABG, which is independently associated with the increased risk of long-term MACCEs. Further prospective, multicenter studies are warranted to validate if intensive lipid management could improve the outcomes of patients undergoing CABG.
Recognition in uncontrolled situations is one of the most important bottlenecks for practical face recognition systems. In particular, few researchers have addressed the challenge to recognize ...noncooperative or even uncooperative subjects who try to cheat the recognition system by deliberately changing their facial appearance through such tricks as variant expressions or disguise (e.g., by partial occlusions). This paper addresses these problems within the framework of similarity matching. A novel perception-inspired nonmetric partial similarity measure is introduced, which is potentially useful in dealing with the concerned problems because it can help capture the prominent partial similarities that are dominant in human perception. Two methods, based on the general golden section rule and the maximum margin criterion, respectively, are proposed to automatically set the similarity threshold. The effectiveness of the proposed method in handling large expressions, partial occlusions, and other distortions is demonstrated on several well-known face databases.
Many factors influence the chemical composition in electroslag remelting (ESR) steel, including atmosphere in crucible, melting rate, slag composition, deoxidation, and so on. Fluoride-based slag, ...which is exposed to liquid metal directly, influences the chemical composition of ESR ingots to a large extent. The present paper focuses on the effect of slag on the titanium, silicon, and aluminum contents in ingots based on the interaction of the slag and metal. In present work, superalloy of GH8825 and several slags containing different CaO contents have been employed for investigating the effect of slag on titanium, silicon, and aluminum contents in an electrical resistance furnace under argon atmosphere. Results indicate that the higher CaO content in slag has better capacity for avoiding loss of titanium caused by the reaction of titanium with silica in slag, especially in case of remelting superalloy with high titanium and low silicon content. The CaO has a great effect on the activities of TiO
2
, SiO
2
, and Al
2
O
3
. Thermodynamic analysis is applied to investigate the CaO behavior. Based on the ion and molecule coexistence theory of slag, activity model is established to calculate the activities of components containing titanium, silicon, and aluminum elements in a six-component slag consisting of CaO-CaF
2
-Al
2
O
3
-SiO
2
-TiO
2
-MgO. The components containing titanium, silicon, and aluminum in slag are mainly CaO·TiO
2
, 2CaO·SiO
2
, CaO·SiO
2
, CaO·Al
2
O
3
, and MgO·Al
2
O
3
. With the increase of CaO mass fraction in slag, the activity coefficient of SiO
2
decreases significantly, whereas slightly change happens for Al
2
O
3
. As a result, the
lg
(
γ
SiO
2
γ
TiO
2
)
decreases with increasing CaO content, which is better for preventing loss of titanium caused by the reaction of titanium with silica in slag. The slag with high CaO and appropriate TiO
2
content is suitable for electroslag remelting of GH8825.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Accurately estimated interval attenuation (1/Q) values have several applications, such as in quantitative interpretation and seismic resolution enhancement. Although Q values can be estimated by ...measuring the spectral ratio between seismic reflections from a target and a reference reflector, the results are influenced by factors such as overburden inhomogeneities. Here, we quantitatively analyze the overburden influence on interval Q estimations using the spectral ratio method, time—space domain prestack Q inversion (PSQI), and
τ-p
domain PSQI. We compare these three methods using a synthetic dataset and a field dataset acquired onshore the Arabian Peninsula. Synthetic seismic gathers are generated from a three-layer model with a low-Q inclusion in the first layer to mimic overburden inhomogeneity. The field data are preconditioned image gathers from a producing oil field. The synthetic data test shows that the small low-Q body produces a considerable error in estimated Q values. The smallest error (i.e., 13.3%) is in the
τ-p
domain PSQI result. Theoretically,
τ-p
domain PSQI could obtain more accurate Q values when there are overburden influences because of the simultaneous inversion scheme and the application in the
τ-p
domain. The field data application also illustrates that the
τ-p
domain PSQI produces reasonable interval Q values. Our measured Q values are also comparable with the Q values estimated from hydrocarbon saturated carbonate reservoirs.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The AlN inclusion induced by high aluminum content is a serious threat for the high quality of high nitrogen stainless bearing steels produced by pressurized electroslag remelting (PESR). In this ...study, based on the lab-scale experiments and thermodynamic analyses, the reaction mechanism of aluminum increase during PESR was revealed, and the effects of atmosphere, slag and steel compositions on aluminum content were investigated to restrain aluminum increase. The results show that aluminum pickup was accompanied with noticeable silicon loss in steel and SiO
2
increase in slag. The aluminum content in the ingots was dominated by the thermodynamic equilibrium of Si + (Al
2
O
3
) reaction between slag and steel. The high-temperature condition in electroslag metallurgy process promoted aluminum increase, and the reaction temperature was determined as approximately 1973 K. Due to the severer silicon loss that induced by the electrode oxidation in air, the aluminum content in ESR ingot was relatively lower than that in PESR. Increasing the SiO
2
content in slags to 4.5 to 6 mass pct was an effective way to achieve low-aluminum content, but excessive SiO
2
led to the high oxygen content and burning loss of alloying elements in ingots. Moreover, reducing the initial silicon content in electrodes from 0.45 to 0.18 mass pct further decreased the aluminum content in ingots. Through the process optimization, the restriction on aluminum increment in HNSBSs during PESR was well realized and the AlN inclusions almost disappeared.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Abstract
To define the features of glycemic variations in drug naïve type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients with different HbA
1c
values using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), a total of 195 drug naïve ...T2D patients were admitted. The subjects were divided into the following groups: lower HbA
1c
values (≤8%), moderate HbA
1c
values (>8% and ≤10%), and higher HbA
1c
values (>10%). The patients underwent oral glucose tolerance tests and were then subjected to 3-day CGM. The primary endpoint was the differences in the 24-hr mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) in patients with different HbA
1c
values. Patients with higher HbA
1c
values had larger MAGEs than those in the moderate and lower groups (7.44 ± 3.00 vs. 6.30 ± 2.38, P < 0.05, 7.44 ± 3.00 vs. 5.20 ± 2.35, P < 0.01, respectively). The 24-hr mean glucose concentrations increased incrementally in the patients with lower, moderate and higher HbA
1c
values. Moreover, the patients with higher HbA
1c
values exhibited higher peak glucose concentrations and prolongation in the time to peak glucose. Patients with higher HbA
1c
values had larger MAGE compared with those with lower and moderate HbA
1c
values. Our data indicated patients with higher HbA
1c
values should receive special therapy aimed at reducing the larger glycemic variations.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Estrogen exerts essential role in liver metabolism, and its deficiency is frequently accompanied by a series of metabolic disorder diseases. To investigate the role of estrogen deficiency in fluorine ...ions (F
–
) induced liver injury, the ovariectomy (OVX) rat models were performed by surgically removing the ovaries, and the rats from OVX and non-OVX models were exposed to differential dose of F
–
(0, 25, 50 and 100 mg/L) in drinking water for 90 days. The liver morphological structure was evaluated by hematoxylin–eosin staining. Proliferation ability of hepatocytes was evaluated by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assay. And distribution of lipid droplets in liver tissue was observed via oil red O staining. In addition, the liver function and lipid metabolism parameters in serum were detected by commercial kits. Results showed that F
–
induced hepatocytes morphological damage and inhibited the proliferation ability of hepatocytes; estrogen deficiency exacerbated these changes. The deposition of lipid droplets in the liver tissue was multiplicative with increased F
–
dose, especially after estrogen deficiency. In addition, F
–
exposure increased (
P
< 0.05 or
P
< 0.01) serum aminotransferase (ALT), aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) activities and total bilirubin (T-bil) level; meanwhile, serum triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (TC) levels were also elevated (
P
< 0.05 or
P
< 0.01). F
–
-induced liver function and lipid metabolism indexes were further increased (
P
< 0.05 or
P
< 0.01) in the state of estrogen deficiency. In conclusion, estrogen deficiency aggravated F
–
-induced liver damage and lipid metabolism disorder.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Molybdenum is a trace element with extremely uneven distribution in the environment. It constitutes the active sites of molybdenum enzymes that can catalyze redox reactions in almost all organisms. ...In this study, a mouse model with a low molybdenum diet was established to investigate the differential protein expressions in the thymus and the mechanism of molybdenum regulating thymocyte development. Results showed that the thymus evidently atrophied, and the weight and organ index of the thymus substantially decreased under the condition of low molybdenum (P < 0.01). A total of 274 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were screened through isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification; amongst them, ribosomal proteins (38) were the most abundant. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that DEPs were mainly involved in protein metabolism (18%), nucleus (15%) and nucleic acid binding activity (17%), corresponding to biological process, cellular component and molecular function, respectively. Moreover, DEPs induced by low molybdenum were enriched in 94 pathways, of which typical maps including ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation and systemic lupus erythematosus. Flow cytometry analysis indicated the prominent imbalances of CD4+ and CD8+ cell ratios (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), suggesting the disordered development of T cell subsets. Overall, low molybdenum resulted in thymus atrophy by interfering with ribosomal protein expression and protein metabolism. This study provides a data platform for revealing the linkage between molybdenum and thymus-dependent immunity.
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•Molybdenum deficiency resulted in thymus atrophy.•Low molybdenum disordered the development of T cell subsets.•Ribosomal proteins were the most abundant differentially expressed proteins.•Decreased ribosomal protein expression may be the main cause of thymus atrophy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The use of indirect calorimetry (IC) is increasing due to its precision in resting energy expenditure (REE) measurement in critically ill patients. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of ...an IC-guided nutrition therapy compared to predictive equations strategy in such a patient population.
We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library databases up to October 25, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they focused on energy delivery guided by either IC or predictive equations in critically ill adults. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to assess the quality of the included studies. Short-term mortality was the primary outcome. The meta-analysis was performed with the fixed-effect model or random-effect model according to the heterogeneity.
Eight RCTs with 991 adults met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the included studies was moderate. Significantly higher mean energy delivered per day was observed in the IC group, as well as percent delivered energy over REE targets, than the control group. IC-guided energy delivery significantly reduced short-term mortality compared with the control group (risk ratio = 0.77; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.98; I
= 3%, P = 0.03). IC-guided strategy did not significantly prolong the duration of mechanical ventilation (mean difference MD = 0.61 days; 95% CI - 1.08 to 2.29; P = 0.48), length of stay in ICU (MD = 0.32 days; 95% CI - 2.51 to 3.16; P = 0.82) and hospital (MD = 0.30 days; 95% CI - 3.23 to 3.83; P = 0.87). Additionally, adverse events were similar between the two groups.
This meta-analysis indicates that IC-guided energy delivery significantly reduces short-term mortality in critically ill patients. This finding encourages the use of IC-guided energy delivery during critical nutrition support. But more high-quality studies are still needed to confirm these findings.
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