This study aimed to investigate the association of sarcopenia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) with blood parameters, nutrient intake, and physical activity in older Korean adults. We divided 2952 ...participants into four groups: sarcopenic diabetes (SD), sarcopenia alone (S), diabetes alone (D), and non-sarcopenia and non-diabetes (NSND). Sarcopenia was defined by the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index, and T2D by fasting glucose levels or ongoing treatment. Blood samples were collected after an 8-h fast. Nutrient intake was assessed using a 24-h recall; physical activity was evaluated using a questionnaire. Compared with those in the other groups, the men in the S and SD groups showed significantly lower hemoglobin and hematocrit levels; vitamin D levels in men and parathyroid hormone levels in women were significantly lower in the SD group. Total energy, protein, and carbohydrate intakes were significantly lower in the SD and S groups than those in the D and NSND groups. Physical inactivity was significantly more common in the SD group (men: odds ratio, 1.61; women: odds ratio, 2.37) than in the NSND group. A combination of sarcopenia and diabetes as well as sarcopenia alone was associated with low levels of blood parameters, poor nutrient intake, and low physical activity.
To determine whether lamina cribrosa (LC) depth (LCD) and LC thickness (LCT) are associated with a faster rate of progressive retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning in primary open-angle glaucoma ...(POAG).
Prospective, observational study.
One hundred ten eyes diagnosed with POAG (n = 110 patients) in which RNFL thickness had been measured by serial spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) for at least 2.5 years.
The participants underwent enhanced depth imaging volume scanning of the optic nerve, and circumpapillary RNFL thickness measurements were obtained using SD OCT. The participants were followed up regularly with serial RNFL thickness measurements at 6-month or longer intervals. Lamina cribrosa depth was measured at 7 equidistant planes and LCT was measured at 3 locations (superior midperipheral, midhorizontal, and inferior midperipheral). The rate of RNFL thinning was determined by linear regression of serial OCT RNFL thickness measurements over time.
Factors associated with the rate of OCT RNFL thinning.
A faster rate of RNFL thinning was associated with disc hemorrhage during follow-up (P < 0.001), wider β-zone parapapillary atrophy with Bruch's membrane (P = 0.037), larger global RNFL thickness (P = 0.026), larger LCD (P < 0.001), and smaller LCT (P = 0.002). The association between LCD and the rate of RNFL thinning was explained better using a fractional polynomial model (R(2) = 0.223) than a linear model (R(2) = 0.134; P = 0.010). Davies' test revealed a statistically significant breakpoint for LCD (489.7 μm), above which a faster rate of global RNFL thinning was associated with a larger LCD.
A thinner LC and a larger LC displacement had a significant influence on the rate of progressive RNFL thinning.
New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space Kim, Jhoon; Jeong, Ukkyo; Ahn, Myoung-Hwan ...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,
01/2020, Letnik:
101, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is scheduled for launch in February 2020 to monitor air quality (AQ) at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution from a ...geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) for the first time. With the development of UV–visible spectrometers at sub-nm spectral resolution and sophisticated retrieval algorithms, estimates of the column amounts of atmospheric pollutants (O₃, NO₂, SO₂, HCHO, CHOCHO, and aerosols) can be obtained. To date, all the UV–visible satellite missions monitoring air quality have been in low Earth orbit (LEO), allowing one to two observations per day. With UV–visible instruments on GEO platforms, the diurnal variations of these pollutants can now be determined. Details of the GEMS mission are presented, including instrumentation, scientific algorithms, predicted performance, and applications for air quality forecasts through data assimilation. GEMS will be on board the Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite 2 (GEO-KOMPSAT-2) satellite series, which also hosts the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) and Geostationary Ocean Color Imager 2 (GOCI-2). These three instruments will provide synergistic science products to better understand air quality, meteorology, the long-range transport of air pollutants, emission source distributions, and chemical processes. Faster sampling rates at higher spatial resolution will increase the probability of finding cloud-free pixels, leading to more observations of aerosols and trace gases than is possible from LEO. GEMS will be joined by NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) and ESA’s Sentinel-4 to form a GEO AQ satellite constellation in early 2020s, coordinated by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor originating from the parafollicular cells. The diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the condition are different from those used ...for well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Since the 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of MTC, the latest, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and European Association for Medical Oncology guidelines have been updated to reflect several recent advances in the management of MTC. Advances in molecular diagnosis and postoperative risk stratification systems have led to individualized treatment and follow-up strategies. Multi-kinase inhibitors, such as vandetanib and cabozantinib, can prolong disease progression-free survival with favorable adverse effects. In addition, potent selective rearranged during transfection (RET) inhibitors (selpercatinib and pralsetinib) have shown a promising efficacy in recent clinical trials. This review summarizes the management of MTC in recent guidelines focused on sporadic MTC.
Chemical defects that fluoresce in the shortwave infrared open exciting opportunities in deep-penetration bioimaging, chemically specific sensing, and quantum technologies. However, the atomic size ...of defects and the high noise of infrared detectors have posed significant challenges to the studies of these unique emitters. Here we demonstrate high throughput single-defect spectroscopy in the shortwave infrared capable of quantitatively and spectrally resolving chemical defects at the single defect level. By cooling an InGaAs detector array down to -190 °C and implementing a nondestructive readout scheme, we are able to capture low light fluorescent events in the shortwave infrared with a signal-to-noise ratio improved by more than three orders-of-magnitude. As a demonstration, we show it is possible to resolve individual chemical defects in carbon nanotube semiconductors, simultaneously collecting a full spectrum for each defect within the entire field of view at the single defect limit.
To develop a classification of parapapillary atrophy (PPA) based on its relationship with the location of Bruch's membrane (BM) termination in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.
...Cross-sectional observational study.
This study analyzed 161 eyes from 161 POAG patients who had temporal β-zone PPA, the width of which was more than 200 μm on at least 1 horizontal scan image obtained by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography within the mid horizontal one third of the optic nerve.
Based on the extent of BM within the PPA area, eyes were categorized as group A (intact BM; 76 eyes), group B (discontinuous BM; 65 eyes), and group C (lacking BM; 20 eyes). Differences in the demographic, clinical, and ocular characteristics were compared using analysis of variance and chi-square tests among the 3 groups. The distance from the temporal optic disc margin to the temporal margin of the β-zone PPA (PPA width) and to the edge of the BM (width of PPA without BM PPA-BM) were measured on 3 horizontal scans within the mid horizontal one third of the optic nerve, and the averages of the measured values were analyzed. The configuration of the border tissue of Elschnig at the temporal disc margin was assessed.
Factors and configuration of the border tissue of Elschnig associated with each PPA type.
The mean age of group A was significantly higher than that of groups of B and C (P<0.001). The mean axial length was greatest in group C (group C>group B>group A; P<0.001). In group A, the border tissue mainly had a nonoblique configuration (49/76 eyes; 64.5%), whereas most of the eyes in group B (59/65 eyes; 90.8%) and all eyes in group C (20 eyes) it had an externally oblique configuration (P<0.001). A longer axial length was correlated significantly with a larger PPA-BM width (r = 0.478; P<0.001).
A morphologic classification of PPA, which may reflect differing pathogenesis among the groups, is proposed. Parapapillary atrophy with intact BM may be an age-related atrophic change, whereas PPA lacking BM may result from scleral stretching associated with elongation of the globe.
Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
Quantum defects are an emerging class of synthetic single‐photon emitters that hold vast potential for near‐infrared imaging, chemical sensing, materials engineering, and quantum information ...processing. Herein, we show that it is possible to optically direct the synthetic creation of molecularly tunable fluorescent quantum defects in semiconducting single‐walled carbon nanotube hosts through photochemical reactions. By exciting the host semiconductor with light that resonates with its electronic transition, we find that halide‐containing aryl groups can covalently bond to the sp2 carbon lattice. The introduced quantum defects generate bright photoluminescence that allows tracking of the reaction progress in situ. We show that the reaction is independent of temperature but correlates strongly with the photon energy used to drive the reaction, suggesting a photochemical mechanism rather than photothermal effects. This type of photochemical reactions opens the possibility to control the synthesis of fluorescent quantum defects using light and may enable lithographic patterning of quantum emitters with electronic and molecular precision.
Creating quantum defects with light: Exciting semiconducting carbon nanotubes with light in the presence of a halide‐containing aryl molecule leads to creation of fluorescent quantum defects in the semiconductor host material. This reaction is electronically selective and efficiently driven by pumping an electron from the semiconductor to the molecular precursor.
High salt intake is known as a risk factor of childhood obesity. As family members share not only genes but also their diet habit, parents’ salt intake may affect to their children’s obesity. In this ...study, we investigated correlations between childhood obesity and parents’ or children’s sodium intakes based on a nationwide survey data. From the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2014 to 2017, 802 boys and 657 girls aged 10–18 years, and their parents were included. BMI z-score and 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, which is estimated through Tanaka’s equation, were used to examine associations between obesity and sodium intakes. The BMI status and the prevalence of obesity between children and their parents showed strong positive correlations in both sexes (all p < 0.001). The urinary sodium excretion between children and their parents showed positive correlations in both sexes (all p < 0.05). Children with higher urinary sodium excretion showed higher BMI (in both sexes, p < 0.001) and higher parental obesity compared to those with lower urinary sodium excretion, however, statistical significances of the latter relationship were varied by sex. In conclusion, our study suggests close relationship between childhood obesity and their sodium intakes, which also correlate well with parental BMIs and diet behavior. Therefore, parental education and active participation could be crucial in regulating childhood obesity.
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