The risk of amputation is a sequelae of diabetic foot ulceration, which are significantly increased in diabetic patients and caused huge morbidly and mortality. However, whether the risk amputation ...in diabetic patients are differing in male and female remains inconclusive. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the sex difference for the risk of amputation in diabetic patients. We systematically searched PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library to identify eligible study from their inception up to November 2020. The diagnostic value of male patients on subsequent amputation risk were assessed by using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR and NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Twenty-two studies recruited a total of 33,686,171 diabetic patients were selected for quantitative analysis. The risk of amputation in male diabetic patients was greater than female diabetic patients (DOR: 1.38; 95%CI: 1.13-1.70; P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity for male diabetic patients on the risk of amputation were 0.72 (95%CI: 0.72-0.73), and 0.51 (95%CI: 0.51-0.51), respectively. Moreover, the PLR and NLR of male diabetic patients for predicting amputation were 1.13 (95%CI: 1.05-1.22), and 0.82 (0.72-0.94), respectively. Furthermore, the AUC for male diabetic patients on amputation risk was 0.56 (95%CI: 0.48-0.63). This study found male diabetic patients was associated with an increased risk of amputation than female diabetic patients, and the predictive value of sex difference on amputation risk in diabetic patients was mild.
We present maps of atomic carbon C i( ) and C i( ) emission (hereafter C i (1−0) and C i (2−1), respectively) at a linear resolution ∼1 kpc scale for a sample of one H ii, six LINER, three Seyfert, ...and five starburst galaxies observed with the Herschel Space Observatory. We compare spatial distributions of two C i lines with that of CO (hereafter CO (1−0)) emission, and find that both C i lines distribute similarly to CO (1−0) emission in most galaxies. We present luminosity ratio maps of / , / , (hereafter ) and 70-to-160 m far-infrared color of f70/f160. / , and are centrally peaked in starbursts; whereas they remain relatively constant in LINERs, indicating that star-forming activity can enhance carbon emission, especially for C i (2−1). We explore the correlations between the luminosities of CO (1−0) and C i lines, and find that correlates tightly and almost linearly with both and , suggesting that C i lines, similar to CO (1−0), can trace total molecular gas in H ii, LINER, Seyfert, and starburst galaxies on kpc scales. We investigate the dependence of / , / and C i excitation temperature, Tex, on dust temperature, Tdust, and find noncorrelation and a weak and modest correlation, respectively. The ratio of / stays a smooth distribution in most galaxies, indicating that the conversion factor of C i (1−0) luminosity to H2 mass ( ) changes with CO (1−0) conversion factor ( ) proportionally. Under optically thin and local thermodynamical equilibrium assumptions, we derive a galaxy-wide average carbon excitation temperature of , and an average neutral carbon abundance of in our resolved sample, which is comparable to the usually adopted value of 3 × 10−5, but ∼3 times lower than the carbon abundance in local (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies. We conclude that the carbon abundance varies in different galaxy types.
Abstract Objective This study aims to explore the relationship between PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and autophagy of articular chondrocytes in rats with osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Rat articular ...chondrocytes were isolated and cultured, and then induced by protein inhibitors of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Chondrocytes were assigned into blank group, IL-1β induction group (IL-1β group), PI3K inhibitor + IL-1β induction group (PI3Ki + IL-1β group), AKT inhibitor + IL-1β induction group (AKTi + IL-1β group) and mTOR inhibitor + IL-1β induction group (mTORi + IL-1β group). Cell proliferation activity was detected by MTT assay, cell cycle by flow cytometry and cell autophagy by monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining. Autophagy rates were evaluated by GFP-LC3 fluorescence microscopy. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect mRNA expressions of autophagy-related genes ( Atg5 and Atg7 ). Western blotting was utilized to detect expressions of autophagy markers (LC3, Beclin1 and p62) and of relevant proteins in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Results The cell proliferation rate of the IL-1β group was lower than that of the blank group after cells were cultured for 24 h, and the cell proliferation rates of the PI3Ki + IL-1β group, the AKTi + IL-1β group and the mTORi + IL-1β group were higher than those of the IL-1β group. In comparison with the blank group, cells in the IL-1β group were arrested at the G1 phase and decreased in the S phase, MDC positive staining cells were decreased with attenuated staining intensity, the autophagy rate was decreased, the mRNA expressions of Atg5 and Atg7 and the protein expressions of LC3, Beclin1 and p62 were significantly down-regulated. While in the groups of PI3Ki + IL-1β, AKTi + IL-1β and mTORi + IL-1β, haploid cells were reduced, coupled with an increased proportion of cells in the S phase and decreased proportion of cells in the G1 phase, the autophagy rate was increased, the mRNA expressions of Atg5 and Atg7 and the protein expressions of LC3, Beclin1 and p62 were significantly up-regulated. Compared with the blank group, the protein phosphorylation levels of PI3K, AKT and mTOR were elevated, while there were no significant difference observed in the total amount of PI3K, AKT and mTOR in the IL-1β group. Meanwhile, there were relatively low protein phosphorylation levels of PI3K, AKT and mTOR in the groups of PI3Ki + IL-1β, AKTi + IL-1β and mTORi + IL-1β. Conclusions Inflammation could inhibit the proliferation and cell cycle of rat chondrocytes and reduce the autophagy rate. Inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway could promote the autophagy of articular chondrocytes and attenuate inflammation response in rats with OA.
Organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated dJbenzo-p-dioxins and polychlofinated dibenzofurans （PCDD/Fs）, polychlodnated biphenyls （PCBs）, antibiotics, herbicides, and bisphenol A （BPA）, are ...commonly found in agricultural environments. They are released into the environment as a result of their use for human health purposes and farm management activities, and are often discharged as waste-water effluents. Most of these organic pollutants are taken up by plants through roots and leaves, and when they enter the tissue, they cause serious damage to the plants. Although the toxicity of organic pollutants to plants, especially to plant cells, has been intensively studied, a systematic review of these studies is lacking. Here we review researches on the toxicity of organic pollutants, their uptake, and translocation in plants. Our objective is to assemble existing knowledge concerning the interaction of organic pollutants with plants, which should be useful for the development of plant-based systems for removing pollutants from aquatic and agricultural environments.
Four aluminum surfaces with wettability varied from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic were prepared by combining an etching and a coating process. The surface wettability was checked in terms of ...water contact angle (CA) and sliding angle (SA) under different humidity at −10 °C. High-speed photography was applied to study water droplet impact dynamics on these surfaces. It was found that single and successive water droplets could rebound on the superhydrophobic surface and roll off at a tilt angle larger than 30° under an extremely condensing weather condition (−10 °C and relative humidity of 85–90%). In addition, the superhydrophobic surface showed a strong icephobic property, the ice adhesion on this surface was only 13% of that on the superhydrophilic surface, though they had a similar nano/microtopological structure. Moreover, this superhydrophobic surface displayed an excellent durability of the icephobic property. The ice adhesion only increased to 20% and 16% of that on the superhydrophobic surface after the surface was undergone 20 icing/ice-breaking cycles and 40 icing/ice-melting cycles, respectively. Surface profile and XPS studies on these surfaces indicated a minor damage of the surface nano/microstructure and the coating layer upon these multiple ice-breaking and ice-melting processes. Therefore, this superhydrophobic surface could be a good candidate for icephobic applications.
Square plate anchors are increasingly used to provide uplift bearing capacity for both onshore and offshore infrastructures. Past research on the behavior of plate anchors mostly assumed that the ...soil strength is uniform or linearly increasing with depth without considering the geological uncertainty due to soil spatial variability. This study therefore conducted a series of three-dimensional random finite element analyses on the uplift bearing capacity and failure mechanisms of square plate anchors considering the combined effects of anchor buried depth and soil spatial variability. It was found that two typical types of failure mechanisms, namely, a localized rotational scoop failure mechanism and a global shear failure mechanism would form in random soils with relatively weak and strong soil strengths, respectively. A larger buried depth of at least 3B (B = width of plate anchor) is required to ensure a localized failure mode in random soils. Moreover, the mean uplift bearing capacity in random soils is generally lower than the corresponding deterministic value. For this reason, the deterministic uplift bearing capacity is generally overestimated. Finally, this study provided a quantitative approach to predict the probability of failure for plate anchors considering the combined effects of anchor buried depth and soil spatial variability, which may benefit the estimation of the probability of failure for square plate anchors as part of the conventional factor of safety design approach.
•Behavior of square plate anchor in random clay is investigated.•Combined effects of buried depth and spatial variability are considered.•An approach to predict probability of failure for plate anchor is provided.
Abstract
Recently, it was pointed out that all chiral crystals with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) can be Kramers Weyl semimetals (KWSs) which possess Weyl points pinned at time-reversal invariant ...momenta. In this work, we show that all achiral non-centrosymmetric materials with SOC can be a new class of topological materials, which we term Kramers nodal line metals (KNLMs). In KNLMs, there are doubly degenerate lines, which we call Kramers nodal lines (KNLs), connecting time-reversal invariant momenta. The KNLs create two types of Fermi surfaces, namely, the spindle torus type and the octdong type. Interestingly, all the electrons on octdong Fermi surfaces are described by two-dimensional massless Dirac Hamiltonians. These materials support quantized optical conductance in thin films. We further show that KNLMs can be regarded as parent states of KWSs. Therefore, we conclude that all non-centrosymmetric metals with SOC are topological, as they can be either KWSs or KNLMs.
The Trojan horse method was employed to indirectly measure the bare-nucleus reaction cross-section and astrophysical S-factor of the 9Be(p,α)6Li reaction in the low-energy region, utilizing the ...three-body reaction 2H(9Be,α6Li)n. Comparing the two-body reaction data extracted from the Trojan horse method with that obtained through direct measurements, compatibility is observed in the energy region above approximately 100 keV. Additionally, the THM data successfully reproduces the expected low-energy resonance peak around 270 keV. The THM extraction of the astrophysical factor yields S(0) = 21.0 ± 0.8 MeV b, which surpasses the extrapolation obtained from direct measurements. The 9Be(p,α)6Li reaction channel exhibits a subthreshold resonance with a width of 25 keV, positioned approximately -23 keV below the threshold. However, the strong electron shielding effect near the zero energy position in direct measurements often masks the influence of the subthreshold resonance on the low-energy region. In contrast, the THM method allows us to neglect the electron shielding effect. The THM experimental data were subjected to fitting using the Breit-Wigner function and subsequently compared with directly measured data. Following a comprehensive comparative analysis, it was discerned that the S(0) value obtained through THM exceeded the extrapolated value derived from direct measurements. This disparity was primarily attributed to the influence of the subthreshold resonance.
Molecular sieving membranes with sufficient and uniform nanochannels that break the permeability-selectivity trade-off are desirable for energy-efficient gas separation, and the arising ...two-dimensional (2D) materials provide new routes for membrane development. However, for 2D lamellar membranes, disordered interlayer nanochannels for mass transport are usually formed between randomly stacked neighboring nanosheets, which is obstructive for highly efficient separation. Therefore, manufacturing lamellar membranes with highly ordered nanochannel structures for fast and precise molecular sieving is still challenging. Here, we report on lamellar stacked MXene membranes with aligned and regular subnanometer channels, taking advantage of the abundant surface-terminating groups on the MXene nanosheets, which exhibit excellent gas separation performance with H
permeability >2200 Barrer and H
/CO
selectivity >160, superior to the state-of-the-art membranes. The results of molecular dynamics simulations quantitatively support the experiments, confirming the subnanometer interlayer spacing between the neighboring MXene nanosheets as molecular sieving channels for gas separation.
This study designed and manufactured a 1/5‐scale model of a three‐story steel frame structure. Various types of ground motions, including non‐long period (NLP) ground motions, near‐fault pulse type ...(NFPT) ground motions, and non‐pulse long‐period (NPLP) ground motions, were selected following the site conditions of the structure. The multiple unidirectional single‐particle damper (MUSPD) and its layout schemes were then designed. A series of shaking table tests for the three‐story steel frame with and without MUSPD were performed. Subsequently, a mechanical model of the multi‐degree‐of‐freedom structure with MUSPDs was established, and a corresponding numerical simulation method was proposed. The results revealed that MUSPDs achieved an average damping rate of 18.24% for peak and 27.41% for Root Mean Square (RMS). Notably, MUSPD exhibited a superior damping effect on the RMS of the structure compared to the peak. The distributing floor particle mass according to the first‐order mode of the structure resulted in excellent damping performance. Additionally, determining the particle movement distance for each floor involved calculating the optimal distance using a single‐degree‐of‐freedom structure. MUSPDs exhibited a better damping effect under NLP ground motions compared to NFPT and NPLP ground motions. The shaking table test results confirmed the rationality and feasibility of the proposed numerical simulation method, demonstrating a high level of accuracy.
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