The strong coupling between antiferromagnetism and ferroelectricity at room temperature found in BiFeO3 generates high expectations for the design and development of technological devices with novel ...functionalities. However, the multi-domain nature of the material tends to nullify the properties of interest and complicates the thorough understanding of the mechanisms that are responsible for those properties. Here we report the realization of a BiFeO3 material in thin film form with single-domain behaviour in both its magnetism and ferroelectricity: the entire film shows its antiferromagnetic axis aligned along the crystallographic b axis and its ferroelectric polarization along the c axis. With this we are able to reveal that the canted ferromagnetic moment due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is parallel to the a axis. Furthermore, by fabricating a Co/BiFeO3 heterostructure, we demonstrate that the ferromagnetic moment of the Co film does couple directly to the canted moment of BiFeO3.
The dispersive sweep of fast radio bursts (FRBs) has been used to probe the ionized baryon content of the intergalactic medium
, which is assumed to dominate the total extragalactic dispersion. ...Although the host-galaxy contributions to the dispersion measure appear to be small for most FRBs
, in at least one case there is evidence for an extreme magneto-ionic local environment
and a compact persistent radio source
. Here we report the detection and localization of the repeating FRB 20190520B, which is co-located with a compact, persistent radio source and associated with a dwarf host galaxy of high specific-star-formation rate at a redshift of 0.241 ± 0.001. The estimated host-galaxy dispersion measure of approximately Formula: see text parsecs per cubic centimetre, which is nearly an order of magnitude higher than the average of FRB host galaxies
, far exceeds the dispersion-measure contribution of the intergalactic medium. Caution is thus warranted in inferring redshifts for FRBs without accurate host-galaxy identifications.
Summary
A growing elderly population is expected worldwide, and the burden of hip fractures on health care system will continue to increase. By 2035, there will be a 2.7-fold increase in the number ...of hip fractures in Taiwan. The study provides quantitative basis for the future distribution of medical resources.
Introduction
Hip fractures have long been recognized as a major public health concern. The study aimed to determine time trends in the incidence of hip fractures and to forecast the number of hip fractures expected in Taiwan up to 2035.
Methods
A nationwide survey was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2004 to 2011. A total of 141,397 hip fractures were identified, with a mean of 17,675 fractures/year. Annual incidences of hip fractures were calculated and tested for trends. Projections of the incidence rates of hip fractures and bed days associated with hip fractures were calculated using Poisson regression on the historical incidence rates in combination with population projections from 2012 to 2035.
Results
The incidence rates of hip fracture during 2004–2011 were 317 and 211 per 100,000 person-years among women and men, respectively. Over this 8-year period, the age-standardized incidence of hip fracture decreased by 13.4 % among women and 12.2 % among men. Despite the decline in the age-standardized incidence, the absolute number of hip fractures increased owing to the aging population. The number of hip fractures is expected to increase from 18,338 in 2010 to 50,421 in 2035—a 2.7-fold increase. The number of bed days for 2010 and 2035 was estimated at 161,248 and 501,995, respectively, representing a 3.1-fold increase.
Conclusions
The socioeconomic impact of hip fractures will be high in the near future. This study provides a quantitative basis for future policy decisions to serve this need.
In patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT), pulmonary function impairment has been reported but data are conflicting. Moreover, it remains unclear whether pulmonary dysfunction is ...associated with iron overload. This study aimed to evaluate the pulmonary function in patients with TDT and to investigate the associations between pulmonary dysfunction and iron overload. It was a retrospective observational study. 101 patients with TDT were recruited for lung function tests. The most recent ferritin levels (pmol/L) and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of the myocardial and liver iron status, as measured by heart and liver T2* relaxation time (millisecond, ms) respectively, were retrieved from the computerized medical records. Only data within 12 months from the lung function measurement were included in the analysis. The serum ferritin, and the cardiac and liver T2* relaxation time were the surrogate indexes of body iron content. The threshold of abnormality in lung function was defined as under 80% of the predicted value. 101 subjects were recruited with a mean age of 25.1 years (standard deviation (SD) 7.9 years). Thirty-eight (38%) and five (5%) demonstrated restrictive and obstructive lung function deficits, respectively. A weak correlation of FVC %Predicted and TLC %Predicted with MRI myocardial T2* relaxation time (rho = 0.32, p = 0.03 and rho = 0.33, p = 0.03 respectively) was observed. By logistic regression, MRI cardiac T2* relaxation time was negatively associated with restrictive lung function deficit (B - 0.06; SE 0.03; Odds ratio 0.94; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89-0.99; p = 0.023) after adjusting for age, sex and body mass index. Restrictive pulmonary function deficit was commonly observed in patients with TDT, and the severity potentially correlates with myocardial iron content. Monitoring of lung function in this group of patients, particularly for those with iron overload, is important.
EGFR overexpression and chromosome 3p deletion are two frequent events in head and neck cancers. We previously mapped the smallest region of recurrent copy-number loss at 3p12.2-p14.1. LRIG1, a ...negative regulator of EGFR, was found at 3p14, and its copy-number loss correlated with poor clinical outcome. Inducible expression of LRIG1 in head and neck cancer TW01 cells, a line with low LRIG1 levels, suppressed cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Gene expression profiling, quantitative RT-PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and western blot analysis demonstrated that LRIG1 modulated extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and EGFR-MAPK-SPHK1 transduction pathway by suppressing expression of EGFR ligands/activators, MMPs and SPHK1. In addition, LRIG1 induction triggered cell morphology changes and integrin inactivation, which coupled with reduced SNAI2 expression. By contrast, knockdown of endogenous LRIG1 in TW06 cells, a line with normal LRIG1 levels, significantly enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness. Such tumor-promoting effects could be abolished by specific MAPK or SPHK1 inhibitors. Our data suggest LRIG1 as a tumor suppressor for head and neck cancers; LRIG1 downregulation in cancer cells enhances EGFR-MAPK-SPHK1 signaling and ECM remodeling activity, leading to malignant phenotypes of head and neck cancers.
The evolutions of MHD instability behaviors and enhancement of both electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence towards the plasma disruption have been clearly observed in the HL-2A plasmas. Two ...types of plasma disruptive discharges have been investigated for similar equilibrium parameters: one with a distinct stage of a small central temperature collapse (Formula: see text 5-10%) around 1 millisecond before the thermal quench (TQ), while the other without. For both types, the TQ phase is preceded by a rotating 2/1 tearing mode, and it is the development of the cold bubble from the inner region of the 2/1 island O-point along with its inward convection that causes the massive energy loss. In addition, the micro-scale turbulence, including magnetic fluctuations and density fluctuations, increases before the small collapse, and more significantly towards the TQ. Also, temperature fluctuations measured by electron cyclotron emission imaging enhances dramatically at the reconnection site and expand into the island when approaching the small collapse and TQ, and the expansion is more significant close to the TQ. The observed turbulence enhancement near the X-point cannot be fully interpreted by the linear stability analysis by GENE. Evidences suggest that nonlinear effects, such as the reduction of local Formula: see text shear and turbulence spreading, may play an important role in governing turbulence enhancement and expansion. These results imply that the turbulence and its interaction with the island facilitate the stochasticity of the magnetic flux and formation of the cold bubble, and hence, the plasma disruption.
Summary
This study is to estimate the lifetime risks of hip fracture in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Introduction
The lifetime risks of hip fracture have not been reported across the age ...spectrum in male adults and female adults with type 2 diabetes.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 25275 men and 27953 women with type 2 diabetes aged 30–100 years old and participated in the National Diabetes Case Management Program in 2002–2004 in Taiwan. Sociodemographic factors, biomarkers, and comorbidity at the baseline and hip fracture events were analyzed with Cox proportional hazards regression models with age as the time scale.
Results
Significant differences in the lifetime risks of hip fracture were observed between men and women with type 2 diabetes. The cumulative lifetime incidences (%) of hip fracture at 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 years old for men were 0.11, 0.40, 0.84, 1.84, 3.82, 8.53, and 16.72, respectively. The corresponding lifetime incidences (%) for women at 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 years old were 0.05, 0.50, 1.36, 3.89, 9.56, 21.19, and 35.45, respectively. With competing risks, the significant multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio of developing hip fracture included smoking, alcohol drinking, duration of diabetes, type of oral hypoglycemic drugs use (no medication, sulfonylurea only, thiazolidinediones (TZD) only or TZD plus others, other single or multiple oral agents, insulin use, insulin plus oral hypoglycemic drug use), loop diuretics use, use of corticosteroids, normal weight or underweight, hyperlipidemia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Conclusions
The gender differences in lifetime hip fracture risk were significant. Thiazolidinediones and insulin use are factors with the greater magnitude of strength of association among those significantly associated with hip fracture.
SFTS virus (SFTSV) is a novel bunyavirus that causes severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), an emerging infectious disease that occurred in China in recent years, with an average case ...fatality rate of 10–12%. Intervention in the early clinical stage is the most effective measure to reduce the mortality rate of disease. To elucidate the natural course of and immune mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of SFTSV, 59 laboratory-confirmed SFTS patients in the acute phase, who were hospitalized between October 2010 and September 2011, were enrolled in this study, and the patients sera were dynamically collected and tested for SFTSV viral RNA load, 34 cytokines or chemokines and other related laboratory parameters. All clinical diagnostic factors in the acute phase of SFTS were evaluated and assessed. The study showed that the severity of the disease in 11 (18.6%) patients was associated with abdominal pain (p 0.007; OR = 21.95; 95% CI, 2.32–208.11) and gingival bleeding (p 0.001; OR = 122.11; 95% CI, 6.41–2328). The IP-10, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, granzyme B and HSP70 levels were higher over the 7–8 days in severe cases, accompanied by altered AST, CK and LDH levels. HSP70 (p 0.012; OR = 8.29; 95% CI, 1.58–43.40) was independently correlated with the severity of the early acute phase of SFTSV infection. The severity of SFTS can be predicted based on the presence of symptoms such as abdominal pain and gingival bleeding and on the level of HSP70 in the acute phase of the disease.
Active asteroids are those that show evidence of ongoing mass loss. We report repeated instances of particle ejection from the surface of (101955) Bennu, demonstrating that it is an active asteroid. ...The ejection events were imaged by the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft. For the three largest observed events, we estimated the ejected particle velocities and sizes, event times, source regions, and energies. We also determined the trajectories and photometric properties of several gravitationally bound particles that orbited temporarily in the Bennu environment. We consider multiple hypotheses for the mechanisms that lead to particle ejection for the largest events, including rotational disruption, electrostatic lofting, ice sublimation, phyllosilicate dehydration, meteoroid impacts, thermal stress fracturing, and secondary impacts.
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