The study involving 2830 subjects (1444 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 1386 healthy controls) an association of the
rs1046495
polymorphism of the
GFER
gene encoding FADdependent ...sulfhydryl oxidase with low risk of the disease in non-obese patients (OR=0.76, 95%CI 0.57-0.99,
p
=0.029). The protective effect of the polymorphic gene variant remained significant in individuals who consumed fresh vegetables and fruits (
p
=0.014), proteins (
p
=0.0017), and did not consume carbohydrate- and fat-reach food (
p
=0.0047). The association of the minor allele
rs1046495
-
C
with type 2 diabetes mellitus can be explained by its more pronounced effect on the expression of the
GFER
enzyme that through glutathionation maintains the ROS level for optimal functioning of complexes III and IV of the electron transport chain and promotes the formation of disulfide bonds in the CHCHD4 chaperone molecule. Impaired activity of this molecule underlies mitochondrial dysfunction, one of the key pathological changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Loneliness is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Deeper understanding of neurobiological mechanisms underlying loneliness is needed to identify potential intervention targets. We did ...not find any systematic review of neurobiology of loneliness. Using MEDLINE and PsycINFO online databases, we conducted a search for peer-reviewed publications examining loneliness and neurobiology. We identified 41 studies (n = 16,771 participants) that had employed various methods including computer tomography (CT), structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and post-mortem brain tissue RNA analysis or pathological analysis. Our synthesis of the published findings shows abnormal structure (gray matter volume or white matter integrity) and/or activity (response to pleasant versus stressful images in social versus nonsocial contexts) in the prefrontal cortex (especially medial and dorsolateral), insula (particularly anterior), amygdala, hippocampus, and posterior superior temporal cortex. The findings related to ventral striatum and cerebellum were mixed. fMRI studies reported links between loneliness and differential activation of attentional networks, visual networks, and default mode network. Loneliness was also related to biological markers associated with Alzheimer's disease (e.g., amyloid and tau burden). Although the published investigations have limitations, this review suggests relationships of loneliness with altered structure and function in specific brain regions and networks. We found a notable overlap in the regions involved in loneliness and compassion, the two personality traits that are inversely correlated in previous studies. We have offered recommendations for future research studies of neurobiology of loneliness.
The construction of highly luminescent solid‐state materials with long‐lived afterglow through a straightforward method is promising but still a challenging task. Herein, a heat‐treatment strategy is ...proposed to embed levofloxacin (Lev) in the matrix of boric acid (BA) to produce a complex with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 63.8% and an emission lifetime of 0.74 s (afterglow: >5 s). Detailed investigations suggest that the unique photophysical properties of the complex are attributed to the confinement effect of BA matrix to Lev, which reduces the probability of nonradiative relaxation and activates the radiative decays to result in the promoted emission efficiency. In addition, thermally activated delayed fluorescence is also activated due to the alteration of the π transition of Lev by the formation of boron–carbon bonds. The emission color and lifetime are also modulated through controlling the synthetic conditions, which endow their applications both in light‐emitting diodes and information encryption. Thus, the present results are significant for the construction of solid‐state luminescent materials, including fluorescence and room‐temperature phosphorescence, and also provide a solid and universal theory to clarify their detailed emission profiles.
A heat‐treatment strategy is proposed to embed levofloxacin in the matrix of boric acid, producing powder with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 63.8% and an emission lifetime of 0.74 s (afterglow: >5 s). The afterglow is attributed to coexistence of thermally activated delayed fluorescence and room‐temperature phosphorescence.
Background
Older adults with visual impairments experience a higher risk of falling, and are more vulnerable to adverse health consequences associated with falls than those with normal vision. This ...study characterizes longitudinal changes in objectively measured physical activity and fear of falling (FoF) occurring after various types of falls in visually impaired older adults.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Hospital‐based enrollment.
Participants
People with glaucoma or suspected glaucoma.
Measurements
Falls were defined as unintentionally coming to rest on the ground or a lower level, and injurious falls were determined though follow‐up calls. Study participants were categorized into three groups–fallers with injurious consequences, fallers without injurious consequences, and non‐fallers based on fall status in the first year. Physical activity was assessed by waist‐bound accelerometer. FoF was evaluated by questionnaire, with Rasch modeling generating FoF scores where higher scores reflected worse FoF. The 3‐year longitudinal changes of physical activity and FoF were modeled using mixed‐effects models.
Results
In linear models fully adjusted for visual field damage and other covariates, physical activity among injurious fallers showed greater annual (per year) declines in daily steps (−425 steps/d, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −793, −57), daily active minutes (−13 min/d, 95% CI = −21, −6), and daily moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes (−3 MVPA minutes/d, 95% CI = −5, 0) over the 3‐year period as compared to non‐fallers; however, physical activity did not significantly decline among non‐injurious fallers. No longitudinal increases in FoF scores were observed in injurious or non‐injurious fallers when compared to non‐fallers.
Conclusion
Among visually impaired older adults, injurious falls identified prospectively over 12 months contributed to a significant decline in physical activity over a 3‐year period, while minimal changes were observed in FoF.
The main problem solved in this work is related to the following: in all previous variants of formalization of the metagraph model, the question was insufficiently well investigated about how the ...elements of the model are composed in a joint metagraph. The main notions of the annotated metagraph model are considered. The notion of protograph is investigated and its formalization is proposed on the basis of operations of undirected adjacency and directed adjacency of elements. The concept of archigraph is formalized, and the relation between the archigraph and coloring a protograph is taken into consideration; the operation of protograph extension is considered. The paper discusses the relationship between information elements of the metagraph and the protograph model. A new variant of formalization of the metagraph model is proposed on the basis of junction points.
This work is a detailed presentation of the results mainly obtained in recent years by the author and his school of the research of mean derivatives of random processes, stochastic equations and ...inclusions with mean derivatives, as well as their applications in various mathematical disciplines, mainly in mathematical physics. In addition, the work contains introductory material on mean derivatives by Nelson, who introduced this concept in the 60s of the XXs century, the results of other researchers on this topic, and preliminary concepts from various areas of mathematics used in this work.
The equilibrium position of a homogeneous reversible chemical reaction in solutions in the case when at least one component is of limited solubility in the reaction mixture differs from the state ...when all components are unlimitedly soluble. Calculations of the minimum Gibbs energy in the model of extremely dilute solutions, according to Le Chatelier’s principle allow formulating the rule: if all other things being equal and unaltered, an increase in the solubility of a component in the reaction mixture shifts the position of homogeneous equilibrium towards an increase in its content. The results obtained can be generalized to the kinetics of reactions in terms of the influence of solvents. The theoretical foundations of a new lever for optimization of chemical processes were developed.
—
Oxygen transport (including oxygen mobility and surface reactivity) is one of the important factors governing electrochemical activity of solid oxide fuel cells electrodes as well as oxygen and ...hydrogen separation membranes based on materials with mixed oxide-ionic and electronic conductivity. In this work, oxygen mobility data obtained for a series of materials destined for such devices using modern techniques of oxygen isotope heteroexchange are summarized. Series of solid oxide fuel cells’ and membranes’ materials were studied by isotope exchange of their oxygen with
18
O
2
and C
18
O
2
in isothermal and temperature-programmed modes using closed and flow reactors and data analysis based on developed model of oxygen diffusion and exchange. For solid electrolytes’ materials (Sc- and Ce-doped zirconia) as well as for proton-conducting materials Ln
5.5
(Mo,W)O
11.25
, the effect of composition heterogeneity on the oxygen mobility was demonstrated. For Ln
6 –
x
WO
12 – δ
, a strong effect of structure on the oxygen mobility was demonstrated. For oxides with asymmetric structure, where oxygen migration proceeds via cooperative mechanisms La
2
(Mo,W)
2
O
9
, (Ln,Ca)
2
NiO
4
, the doping hampers the cooperative migration, resulting in oxygen mobility deterioration and sometimes forming additional slow diffusion channels. In the PrNi
0.5
Co
0.5
O
3
–Ce
0.9
Y
0.1
O
2
nanocomposites that are materials of the solid oxide fuel cells’ cathode and functional layer of the oxygen separation membranes, two diffusion channels were observed, where more mobile oxygen corresponds to the fluorite phase and interfaces; less mobile, to the perovskite phase. This is due to special features of cations redistribution between the phases.
Current epidemiological studies report conflicting results for the effect of statin or metformin on pancreatic cancer overall survival. This literature review and meta-analysis summarize the studies ...reporting an association between statin or metformin use and overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients.
We systematically searched for studies about the association between statin or metformin use and pancreatic cancer overall survival in electronic databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, Google Scholar). A meta-analysis based on hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was performed using random effect models. Heterogeneity between the studies was examined using I2 statistics, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the findings.
Of 116 statin-related articles identified, 6 retrospective cohort studies representing 12,057 patients were included. There was significant heterogeneity between studies. Statin use was associated with improved survival among pancreatic cancer patients (meta-HR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.90; P < 0.001). Of 311 metformin-related articles, 8 retrospective cohort studies and 2 randomized clinical trials, representing 3,042 patients were identified. Metformin use was associated with better overall survival among pancreatic cancer patients (meta-HR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.92, P < 0.001), and significant heterogeneity was observed between studies.
Our findings suggest that the improved survival time of pancreatic cancer patients are associated with statin or metformin use. Due to the multiple sources of heterogeneity of the original studies, these findings should be considered cautiously, and confirmed with larger prospective individual-level studies.
With the proliferation of mobile devices, mobile crowd sensing (MCS) has emerged as a new data collection paradigm, which allows the crowd to act as sensors and contribute their observations about ...entities. Unfortunately, users with varied skills and motivations may provide conflicting information for the same entity. Existing work solves this problem by estimating user reliability and inferring the correct observations (i.e., truths). However, these methods assume that users' expertise degrees are dependent on the truths, but ignore the finer clusters that exist even in the entities with the same truths. To capture users' fine-grained reliability on different entity clusters, we propose a novel Bayesian co-clustering truth discovery model for the task of observation aggregation. This model enables us to produce a more precise estimation while taking into account the entity clusters and the user clusters. Experiments on four real-world datasets reveal that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches in terms of accuracy and F1-score.
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