Overall hypertension prevalence has not changed in the United States in recent decades although awareness, treatment, and control improved. However, hypertension epidemiology and its temporal trends ...may differ in younger adults compared with older adults. Our study included 41 331 participants ≥18 years of age from 8 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1999-2014) and estimated temporal trends of hypertension, awareness, treatment, and control among young adults (age, 18-39 years) compared with middle-age (age, 40-59 years) and older adults (age, ≥60 years). In 2013 to 2014, 7.3% of the US young adults had hypertension. During 1999 to 2014, young adults saw larger increases in hypertension awareness, treatment, and control than did older adults. However, all of these components of hypertension control were lower among young adults compared with middle-aged or older adults (74.7% younger versus 81.9% middle versus 88.4% older for awareness; 50.0% versus 70.3% versus 83.0% for treatment; and 40.2% versus 56.7% versus 54.4% for control). Worse hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in young adults overall were mostly driven by worse measures in young adult men compared with young adult women. More frequent healthcare visits by young adult women explained ≈28% of the sex-related difference in awareness, 60% of the difference in treatment, and 52% of the difference in control. These findings suggest that improved access to and engagement in medical care might improve hypertension control in young adults, particularly young adult men, and reduce life-time cardiovascular risk.
One of the main challenges for immune checkpoint blockade antibodies lies in malignancies with limited T-cell responses or immunologically "cold" tumors. Inspired by the capability of fever-like heat ...in inducing an immune-favorable tumor microenvironment, mild photothermal therapy (PTT) is proposed to sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint inhibition and turn "cold" tumors "hot." Here we present a combined all-in-one and all-in-control strategy to realize a local symbiotic mild photothermal-assisted immunotherapy (SMPAI). We load both a near-infrared (NIR) photothermal agent IR820 and a programmed death-ligand 1 antibody (aPD-L1) into a lipid gel depot with a favorable property of thermally reversible gel-to-sol phase transition. Manually controlled NIR irradiation regulates the release of aPD-L1 and, more importantly, increases the recruitment of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and boosts T-cell activity against tumors. In vivo antitumor studies on 4T1 and B16F10 models demonstrate that SMPAI is an effective and promising strategy for treating "cold" tumors.
With the rapid urbanization process, the space of traditional villages in China is undergoing significant changes. Studying the spatial evolution of traditional villages is significant in promoting ...rural spatial transformation and realizing rural revitalization and sustainable rural development. Based on the traceability analysis of spatial production theory, this paper constructed an analytical framework for the spatial production evolution of traditional villages, analyzed the spatial evolution process and characteristics of traditional villages by using buffer analysis, spatial syntax, and other research methods, and revealed the characteristics of the spatial production evolution of traditional villages and the driving mechanism. The results show that: (1) The village spatial formation and development follow the village life cycle theory and usually develop from embryonic villages to diversified and integrated villages; (2) The evolution of village spatial production is characterized by the diversity of material space, the sublimation of daily life space, and the integration of social system space and generalization of emotional space; (3) The evolution of village spatial production from backward and poor village to ecologically well-off village is influenced by a combination of factors; (4) The village has formed a spatial structure of “people-land-scape-culture-industry”, realized comprehensive reconstruction and spatial reproduction. The study results reflect the spatial evolution characteristics of traditional villages in mountainous areas in a more comprehensive way, which helps to promote the protection and development of traditional villages in mountainous areas and, to a certain extent, provides a reference for the development of rural revitalization.
Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) of oil is used to detect the incipient fault of power transformers. This paper presents a new approach for transformer fault diagnosis based on selected gas ratios ...concentrated in oil and support vector machine (SVM). Firstly, based on IEC TC 10 database, the optimal dissolved gas ratios (ODGR) are obtained by genetic algorithm (GA) that is designed for simultaneous DGA ratios selection and SVM parameters optimization. Three traditional methods, namely, DGA data with SVM and back propagation neural network (BPNN), IEC criteria, and IEC three-key gas ratios with SVM and BPNN are employed for effectiveness comparison. The fault diagnosis results of IEC TC 10 database show that the proposed ODGR with SVM may be used as an alternative tool for transformer fault diagnosis. In addition, the robustness and generalization ability of ODGR is confirmed by the diagnosis accuracy of 87.18% of China DGA samples. The obtained results illustrate that it is preferable to apply the proposed ODGR to transformer fault diagnosis with the assistance of SVM.
The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) on a large scale is crucial for meeting the desired climate commitments, where affordability plays a vital role. However, the expected surge in prices of ...lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, four critical materials in EV batteries, could hinder EV uptake. To explore these impacts in the context of China, the world's largest EV market, we expand and enrich an integrated assessment model. We find that under a high material cost surge scenario, EVs would account for 35% (2030) and 51% (2060) of the total number of vehicles in China, significantly lower than 49% (2030) and 67% (2060) share in the base-line, leading to a 28% increase in cumulative carbon emissions (2020-2060) from road transportation. While material recycling and technical battery innovation are effective long-term countermeasures, securing the supply chains of critical materials through international cooperation is highly recommended, given geopolitical and environmental fragilities.
This work aims to propose an improved model for aging evaluation and moisture prediction of transformer cellulose insulation, which is based on the combination of the advantages of both frequency ...domain spectroscopy (FDS) and cellulose aging kinetics model. In the present work, the FDS was firstly employed to achieve the prediction of the inside moisture according to its moisture-sensitive property. Then, the predicted moisture is applied to construct the improved aging kinetics model, so that the aging condition of the transformer cellulose insulation can be predicted as well. The presented lab tests, as well as the field tests, have demonstrated the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed model. In that respect, the present contributions attempt to present a novel idea for the aging evaluation and moisture prediction for transformer cellulose insulation.
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Berberine, a natural compound extracted from several Chinese herbs including Coptis chinensis, has been shown to have anti-obesity effects and prevents insulin resistance in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed ...obese rats by modulating the gut microbiota; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying these activities remain unknown. We investigated the effects of berberine on obesity and insulin resistance by examining the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α signaling pathway in livers of HFD-fed obese rats. Our results showed that 8-week berberine (200 mg/kg) treatment significantly reduced fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and insulin resistance in HFD-fed obese rats. However, berberine had no significant effects on body weight, visceral fat mass or the visceral fat to body weight ratio. Berberine also attenuated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. A prolonged HFD altered the gut microbiota composition by reducing protective bacteria like Bifidobacterium and increasing gram negative bacteria like Escherichia coli, which resulted in increased LPS release into plasma. Berberine reversed these effects and inhibited LPS-induced TLR4/TNF-α activation, resulting in increased insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 expression in the liver. These findings suggested that berberine may reduce insulin resistance, at least in part by modulating the gut microbiota along with inhibiting LPS/TLR4/TNF-α signaling in the liver.
Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare the coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores of metabolically-healthy obese (MHO) and metabolically healthy normal-weight individuals in a large sample ...of apparently healthy men and women. Background The risk of cardiovascular disease among obese individuals without obesity-related metabolic abnormalities, referred to as MHO, is controversial. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 14,828 metabolically-healthy adults with no known cardiovascular disease who underwent a health checkup examination that included estimation of CAC scores by cardiac tomography. Being metabolically healthy was defined as not having any metabolic syndrome component and having a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance <2.5. Results MHO individuals had a higher prevalence of coronary calcification than normal weight subjects. In multivariable-adjusted models, the CAC score ratio comparing MHO with normal-weight participants was 2.26 (95% confidence interval: 1.48 to 3.43). In mediation analyses, further adjustment for metabolic risk factors markedly attenuated this association, which was no longer statistically significant (CAC score ratio 1.24; 95% confidence interval: 0.79 to 1.96). These associations did not differ by clinically-relevant subgroups. Conclusions MHO participants had a higher prevalence of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis than metabolically-healthy normal-weight participants, which supports the idea that MHO is not a harmless condition. This association, however, was mediated by metabolic risk factors at levels below those considered abnormal, which suggests that the label of metabolically healthy for obese subjects may be an artifact of the cutoff levels used in the definition of metabolic health.
Thyroid cancer, the most prevalent cancer of the endocrine system and cervical region, has experienced a significant increase in incidence over recent decades. Nanomedicine has fundamentally ...revolutionized cancer treatment, particularly through the development of multifunctional nano-therapeutics. The progress in this field has been facilitated by the distinctive properties of nanomaterials, such as their capacity to perform several functions, be modified, and offer various detection methods. These features allow for non-invasive and practical diagnostic techniques through versatile imaging. Surface engineering plays a pivotal role in the design of multifunctional nano-systems for localized drug delivery against thyroid cancer. Nano-systems can be customized via surface modification techniques, such as functionalization with targeting ligands and inclusion of therapeutic drugs. This customization allows the nano-systems to specifically target cancer cells while reducing the impact on non-target cells. As a result, bovine serum albumin-coated nanostructures have emerged as powerful diagnostic and targeting nanosystems for thyroid cancer. This targeted strategy enhances the effectiveness of cancer treatment while reducing overall body toxicity. This comprehensive review aims to provide an extensive overview of the latest advancements in surface-engineered nanoparticle-based approaches for both diagnosing and treating thyroid cancer. It highlights the promising research endeavors aimed at creating novel and effective multifunctional nanomedicine for localized delivery to thyroid cancer sites. The review examines different nanomedicines that have been developed for cancer treatment and diagnosis. It also analyzes the current trends, future possibilities, and obstacles in this rapidly advancing sector. By synthesizing the current state of knowledge on surface-engineered multifunctional nano-systems, this review contributes to a better understanding of their potential applications in thyroid cancer treatment and paves the way for future research directions in this promising field of nanomedicine.
The moisture evaluation of cellulose insulation material in paper/oil system based on the frequency dielectric spectroscopy (FDS) technique has been of great interest to researchers. However, the ...electrode polarization effect and conductance effect can “obscure” the relaxation information in the course of the traditional FDS test, which often leads to an unreliable result. The existing researches indicated that the frequency dielectric modulus-
M
*(
ω
) could effectively enable the investigation of the relaxation behavior, which might be used to realize the condition evaluation of cellulose insulation materials in paper/oil system. Unfortunately, the
M
*(
ω
) has been rarely exploited to evaluate the moisture content (
mc
%) of cellulose insulation material, and the study on approach for extracting characteristic parameters based on the
M
*(
ω
) is also rare. In view of this issue, the present contribution attempt to report an available approach for extracting the characteristic parameters based on the
M
*(
ω
), and further investigate the variation laws of
mc
% versus the above parameters. The findings reveal that the quantitative relationship between
mc
% and the above parameters can be established by fitting analysis. The feasibility of the proposed parameters for moisture evaluation of cellulose insulation material is demonstrated by the newly prepared cellulose insulation samples. It is interesting to note that the average percentage errors of evaluation results corresponding to the relaxation time constant (
τ
M
) and integral value (
IV
) of the real part of
M
*(
ω
) are less than 8%. In that respect, the novelty of this work is that the
τ
M
and
IV
might be used as a potential tool for quantitative evaluation of
mc
% of cellulose insulation in paper/oil systems.
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