Aim To explore the altered spontaneous cerebral activity patterns and impaired functional regions in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging ...(rs-fMRI) based on the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) algorithm. Materials and methods Twenty-one patients with DR (mean age, 54.9±9.9 years; 11 females) and 17 healthy control subjects (54.8±5.7 years; 9 females) were prospectively studied. The DR patients underwent laboratory tests. All individuals underwent a neuropsychological test. The differences in the ALFF values between the two groups were compared. The relationships between ALFF values and clinical measurements were analysed using a multiple-factor analysis. Results Compared to the controls, the DR group showed significantly increased ALFF values in the bilateral occipital gyrus, right lingual gyrus, and precuneus, and decreased values in the right posterior/anterior cerebellar lobe and the parahippocampal, fusiform, superior temporal, inferior parietal, and angular gyrus. Furthermore, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores were negatively correlated with decreased ALFF values in the right occipital lobe of the DR group, while increased ALFF values in the right precuneus and lingual gyrus were found to be positively correlated with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Conclusions Patients with DR showed spontaneous cerebral activity abnormalities in many cerebral regions that were associated with cognitive impairments. HbA1c levels altered spontaneous cerebral activity in DR patients.
Tailor-made porous nanotube arrays are of great technological interest for the development of high-performance optical and electrochemical energy storage devices. Herein, we report facile successive ...electro-deposition (ED) methods to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous NiO nanotube arrays on nickel foam with the help of ZnO nanorod template. The obtained hierarchical porous NiO nanotubes have a diameter of ∼170 nm and consist of interconnected branch nanoflakes of ∼10 nm. The resulting NiO nanotube arrays are well characterized as positive electrode materials for supercapacitor application by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements. Due to the unique architecture, the NiO nanotube arrays exhibit a high capacitance of 675 F g−1 at the 2 A g−1 and 569 F g−1 at 40 A g−1, respectively, as well as good cycling stability. The proposed synthesis method is expected for fabrication of other nanotube arrays for applications in solar cells, gas sensors and Li ion batteries.
Hierarchical porous NiO nanotube arrays are prepared via facile successive electro-deposition methods and show superior supercapacitor performance with high capacitance. Display omitted
•Construct a hierarchical porous NiO nanotube array.•Porous nanotube array shows high pseudo-capacitive properties.•Porous nanotube array structure is favorable for fast ion and electron transfer.
We report the detailed electronic structure of WTe2 by high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We resolved a rather complicated Fermi surface of WTe2. Specifically, there are in ...total nine Fermi pockets, including one hole pocket at the Brillouin zone center Γ, and two hole pockets and two electron pockets on each side of Γ along the Γ-X direction. Remarkably, we have observed circular dichroism in our photoemission spectra, which suggests that the orbital angular momentum exhibits a rich texture at various sections of the Fermi surface. This is further confirmed by our density-functional-theory calculations, where the spin texture is qualitatively reproduced as the conjugate consequence of spin-orbital coupling. Since the spin texture would forbid backscatterings that are directly involved in the resistivity, our data suggest that the spin-orbit coupling and the related spin and orbital angular momentum textures may play an important role in the anomalously large magnetoresistance of WTe2. Furthermore, the large differences among spin textures calculated for magnetic fields along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions also provide a natural explanation of the large field-direction dependence on the magnetoresistance.
•We prepared MoSe2 hollow microspheres by template-free hydrothermal process.•The MoSe2 hollow microspheres consist of nanosheets with diameters of ~1.5 μm.•The MoSe2 electrode achieves excellent Na+ ...storage performance as an anode for NIBs.
Molybdenum selenide has attracted considerable attention for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its excellent reactivity and large capacity compared to other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Herein, a facile template-free hydrothermal process is conducted to synthesize hierarchical MoSe2 hollow microspheres with the diameters of ~1.5 μm. The as-prepared MoSe2 hollow microspheres consist of cross-linked nanosheets. As an anode of SIBs, the hierarchical MoSe2 hollow microspheres exhibit a high initial discharge capacity of 710.2 mAh g−1. When the current density is as high as 1000 mA g−1, the specific capacity can still maintain at 290 mAh g−1. The excellent cycling performance and rate capability are due to the hollow microspherical architecture, which shortens the diffusion length of Na+, promotes the penetration of electrolyte into active materials and accommodates the volume stress. It is a successful case to obtain hollow architectures to shed some lights on the high-performance SIBs.
Porous Co(OH)2/Ni composite nanoflake array is prepared by combing hydrothermal synthesis and electrodeposition methods. The as-prepared Co(OH)2/Ni composite nanoflake array exhibits a highly porous ...array structure composed of free-standing nanoflakes with thicknesses of 35–40nm. The pseudocapacitive behavior of the Co(OH)2/Ni composite nanoflake array is investigated by cyclic voltammograms (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests in 2M KOH. As cathode material for supercapacitor, the porous Co(OH)2/Ni composite nanoflake array exhibits weaker polarization, higher electrochemical activity and better cycling performance as compared to the unmodified Co(OH)2 nanoflake array. The Co(OH)2/Ni composite nanoflake array shows specific capacitances of 1310Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and 1148Fg−1 at 40Ag−1, much higher than those of the unmodified Co(OH)2 nanoflake array (1017Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and 775Fg−1 at 40Ag−1). The enhancement of supercapacitor properties is due to the introduction Ni in the composite array, which improves the electric conductivity of the film electrode with fast reaction kinetics.
Co(OH)2 nanocone arrays are prepared by a facile hydrothermal synthesis method. The Co(OH)2 nanocones are single crystalline in nature and have an average diameter of about 200 nm. The ...pseudocapacitive behavior of the Co(OH)2 nanocone arrays is investigated by cyclic voltammograms (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests in 2 M KOH. As cathode for supercapacitor, the Co(OH)2 nanocone arrays exhibit a capacitance of 562 F g−1 at 2 A g−1 as well as rather good cycling stability. The enhanced supercapacitor performances are due to the porous array architecture providing fast ion and electron transfer, large reaction surface area and good strain accommodation.
► β-Co(OH)2 nanocone arrays are prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis method. ► β-Co(OH)2 nanocone arrays with high capacitance for supercapacitors application. ► 1D nanocone arrays structure keeps structure stable with good strain accommodation.
Assessing carbon footprint (CF) of crop production in a whole crop life-cycle could provide insights into the contribution of crop production to climate change and help to identify possible ...greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options. In the current study, data for the major crops of China were collected from the national statistical archive on cultivation area, yield, application rates of fertilizer, pesticide, diesel, plastic film, irrigated water, etc. The CF of direct and indirect carbon emissions associated with or caused by these agricultural inputs was quantified with published emission factors. In general, paddy rice, wheat, maize and soybean of China had mean CFs of 2472, 794, 781 and 222 kg carbon equivalent (CE)/ha, and 0·37, 0·14, 0·12 and 0·10 kg CE/kg product, respectively. For dry crops (i.e. those grown without flooding the fields: wheat, maize and soybean), 0·78 of the total CFs was contributed by nitrogen (N) fertilizer use, including both direct soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and indirect emissions from N fertilizer manufacture. Meanwhile, direct methane (CH4) emissions contributed 0·69 on average to the total CFs of flooded paddy rice. Moreover, the difference in N fertilizer application rates explained 0·86–0·93 of the provincial variations of dry crop CFs while that in CH4 emissions could explain 0·85 of the provincial variation of paddy rice CFs. When a 30% reduction in N fertilization was considered, a potential reduction in GHGs of 60 megatonne (Mt) carbon dioxide equivalent from production of these crops was projected. The current work highlights opportunities to gain GHG emission reduction in production of crops associated with good management practices in China.
Background
There is currently no particularly effective strategy for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation accompanying heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), especially with ...recurrent atrial fibrillation after ablation. In this study, we will evaluate a new treatment strategy for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation who had at least two attempts (≧2 times) of radio-frequency catheter ablation but experienced recurrence, and physiologic conduction was reconstructed after atrioventricular node ablation or drug therapy, to control the patient's ventricular rate to maintain a regular heart rhythm, which is called His–Purkinje conduction system pacing (HPCSP) with atrioventricular node ablation.
Methods and results
This investigator-initiated, multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to recruit 296 randomized HFpEF patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation. All the enrolled patients were randomly assigned to the pacing group or the drug treatment group. The primary endpoint is differences in cardiovascular events and clinical composite endpoints (all-cause mortality) between patients in the HPCSP and drug-treated groups. Secondary endpoints included heart failure hospitalization, exercise capacity assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise tests, quality of life, echocardiogram parameters, 6-minute walk distance, NT-ProBNP, daily patient activity levels, and heart failure management report recorded by the CIED. It is planned to compete recruitment by the end of 2023 and report in 2025.
Conclusions
The study aims to determine whether His–Purkinje conduction system pacing with atrioventricular node ablation can better improve patients' symptoms and quality of life, postpone the progression of heart failure, and reduce the rate of rehospitalization and mortality of patients with heart failure.
Clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR1900027723, URL:
http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=46128&htm=4
