Background
Updated prevalence and outcome data for nonobese NAFLD for the multi‐ethnic US population is limited.
Objectives
We aimed to investigate the prevalence, clinical characteristics and ...mortality of obese and nonobese individuals with NAFLD in the United Sates.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted using the 1999–2016 NHANES databases. We determined hazard ratio stratified by obesity status in NAFLD individuals using Cox regression and log‐rank test.
Results
Overall NAFLD prevalence was 32.3%: 22.7% were obese and 9.6% were nonobese, with increasing trend over time for obese NAFLD, but not nonobese NAFLD. Amongst those with NAFLD, 29.7% (95% CI: 27.8%‐31.7%) were nonobese, of which 13.6% had lean NAFLD. Nonobese NAFLD was more common in older (40.9% if ≥ 65 vs. 24.2% if < 65 years), male (34.0% vs. 24.2%) and foreign‐born Asian people (39.8% vs. 11.4%) and uncommon in black (11.5% vs 30–35% in other ethnicities, P < 0.001). Metabolic comorbidities were common in nonobese NAFLD individuals who also had more advanced fibrosis. Nonobese NAFLD individuals had higher 15‐year cumulative all‐cause mortality (51.7%) than obese NAFLD (27.2%) and non‐NAFLD (20.7%) (P < 0.001). However, DM and fibrosis, but neither obese nor nonobese NAFLD compared to non‐NAFLD was independently associated with higher mortality.
Conclusion
Nonobese NAFLD makes up about one‐third of the NAFLD in the United States (even higher in older, male and foreign‐born individuals) and carries higher mortality than obese NAFLD. Screening for NAFLD should be considered in high‐risk groups even in the absence of obesity.
Summary
Abaloparatide (ABL) is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved parathyroid hormone-related peptide analog for treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at high risk of fracture. ...However, real-world data regarding its long-term safety and tolerability in large sample population are incomplete. We evaluated abaloparatide-associated safety signals by data mining of the FDA pharmacovigilance database.
Introduction
We investigated 33,480(0.14%) ABL-related adverse events (AEs) through data mining of Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) retrospectively.
Methods
Reporting odds ratio (ROR), the proportional reporting ratio (PRR), the Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN), and the multi-item gamma Poisson shrinker (MGPS) were employed to quantify the signals of ABL-related AEs from 2017Quarter2 to 2022.Serious and non-serious cases were compared by Mann-Whitney
U
test or Chi-squared (
χ
2
) test.
Results
We collected 8,470,497 reports from the FAERS database, including 11,487 reports defined ABL as the primary suspected (PS) drug. Additionally, 36.16% of the reports were submitted by healthcare professionals (
n
=4154), compared to 62.26% reported by consumers (
n
=7140). A total 99 signals simultaneously conforming to four algorithms were detected, among which, 35 signals were identified as unexpected signals. Such as growing pains (
n
=13), waist circumference increased (
n
=21), sensory disturbance (
n
=103), tinnitus (
n
=65), visual acuity reduced (
n
=54), blood alkaline phosphatase increased (
n
=61), and hair growth abnormal (
n
=13). Patient age (
p
< 0.001) might be associated with an increased risk of AEs severity. The most common timeframe for AE occurrence was 0–7 days.
Conclusion
Our study provided a deeper and broader understanding of abaloparatide’s safety profiles, which would help healthcare professionals to mitigate the risk of AEs in clinical practice, a low number of unexpected AEs supporting ongoing additional pharmacovigilance.
Enhancing battery safety and thermal behaviour are critical for electric vehicles (EVs) because they affect the durability, energy storage, lifecycle, and efficiency of the battery. Prior studies of ...using air, liquid or phase change materials (PCM) to manage the battery thermal environment have been investigated over the last few years, but only a few take heat pipes into account. This paper aims to provide a full experimental characterisation of heat pipe battery cooling and heating covering a range of battery ‘off-normal’ conditions. Two representative battery cells and a substitute heat source ranging from 2.5 to 40 W/cell have been constructed. Results show that the proposed method is able to keep the battery surface temperature below 40 °C if the battery generates less than 10 W/cell, and helps reduce the battery temperature down to 70 °C under uncommon thermal abuse conditions (e.g. 20–40 W/cell). Additionally, the feasibility of using sintered copper-water heat pipes under sub-zero temperatures has been assessed experimentally by exposing the test rig to −15 °C/−20 °C for more than 14 h. Data indicates that the heat pipe was able to function immediately after long hours of cold exposure and that sub-zero temperature conditions had little impact on heat pipe performance. We therefore conclude that the proposed method of battery cooling and heating via heat pipes is a viable solution for EVs.
Primary aldosteronism (PA) diagnosis is affected by antihypertensive drugs that are commonly taken by patients with suspected PA. In this study, we developed and validated a diagnostic model for ...screening PA without drug washout.
We retrospectively analyzed 1095 patients diagnosed with PA or essential hypertension. Patients were randomly grouped into training and validation sets at a 7:3 ratio. Baseline characteristics, plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), and direct renin concentration (DRC) before and after drug washout were separately recorded, and the aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) was calculated.
PAC and ARR were higher and direct renin concentration was lower in patients with PA than in patients with essential hypertension. Furthermore, the differences in blood potassium and sodium concentrations and hypertension grades between the two groups were significant. Using the abbreviations potassium (P), ARR (A), PAC (P), sodium (S), and hypertension grade 3 (3), the model was named PAPS
. The PAPS
model had a maximum score of 10, with the cutoff value assigned as 5.5; it showed high sensitivity and specificity for screening PA in patients who exhibit difficulty in tolerating drug washout.
PA screening remains crucial, and standard guidelines should be followed for patients to tolerate washout. The PAPS
model offers an alternative to minimize risks and enhance diagnostic efficiency in PA for those facing washout challenges. Despite its high accuracy, further validation of this model is warranted through large-scale clinical studies.
This study was conducted to determine effects of dietary Fe levels on growth performance, hepatic lipid metabolism and antioxidant response for juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Yellow ...catfish were fed six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets containing Fe levels of 16.20, 34.80, 54.50, 76.44, 100.42 and 118.25 mg/kg for 8 weeks. Weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) increased with dietary Fe levels from 16.20 to 54.50 mg/kg diet and then plateaued over the level. Feed conversion rate (FCR) was highest and protein efficiency rate (PER) was lowest for fish fed the lowest Fe levels of diet. Fe contents in whole body and liver increased with increasing dietary Fe levels. Hepatic lipid content was lowest, but mRNA levels of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT‐1) and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α (PPARα) were highest for fish fed 54.50 mg Fe/kg diet. Fish fed adequate dietary Fe levels reduced hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased activities of antioxidant enzymes Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and GS. Based on the broken‐line regression analysis of WG against dietary Fe levels, optimal dietary Fe requirement for yellow catfish was 55.73 mg Fe/kg diets. Fe‐induced changes in MDA levels and antioxidant enzymatic activities paralleled with the change in hepatic lipid content, suggesting the potential relationship between oxidative stress and hepatic lipid accumulation in yellow catfish.
Background
Currently, weight loss remains the main management strategy for NAFLD, but the weight loss intention and methods remain poorly characterized.
Methods
We analysed data about the perception ...of weight status, intention and methods to lose weight amongst 3,822 persons with NAFLD (United States Fatty Liver Index ≥ 30) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001‐2014.
Results
Only 53.9% of people with NAFLD intended to lose weight, 91.8% with perception of overweight and 8.2% with normal weight perception. Persons with perception of overweight or overweight/obese status were four times more likely to try to lose weight (adjusted odds ratios 3.9 and 4.2, respectively, both P < 0.0001). Younger age, women, higher educational level, Hispanic and blacks (versus whites) were significant independent factors associated with weight loss intention. Notably, ≤10% attended weight loss programme. Metabolic equivalent of task hours per week was significantly higher in whites who exercised to lose weight (vs. no exercise, P = 0.003) but not in other racial/ethnic groups. Interestingly, calorie intake was similar between those who dieted versus not (2056 vs. 1970 kcal/day, P = 0.11). About 30% reported ≥ 10‐lb weight loss, with 50% higher odds of success for men but there was no difference by race/ethnicity.
Conclusion
Overweight or obese perception was a key driver in weight loss activities but was inconsistent with actual weight status and varied by race/ethnicity and other sociodemographic factors. Weight loss programme is under‐utilized and should take in account of weight perception training and culturally appropriate approach.
Simultaneous measurements of atmospheric organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were made at four sampling sites, namely Guangzhou (GZ), Zhaoqing (ZQ), ...PolyU Campus (PU) and Hok Tsui (HT), in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region between 14 August 2006 and 28 August 2007. The highest concentrations of total carbon (TC) were found at the medium-scale roadside site (PU) and the lowest were found at the regional-scale site (HT). Among the four sampling sites, the average WSOC at ZQ showed the highest concentrations, while the lowest were seen at HT. OC and EC concentrations revealed spring/summer minima and autumn/winter maxima at all sites except PU, which had a consistently high EC concentration all over the year. The highest WSOC/OC ratio was found at ZQ with an average of 0.41, suggesting that the OC was more oxidized in the atmosphere of the semi-rural site. The lowest WSOC/OC was found at the roadside site of PU. Moreover, the WSOC/OC ratio increased in autumn, when the photochemical reactions are the most active in the PRD region. This can be attributed to aging and atmospheric processing of the organic compounds during their transportation, or to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Average annual secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations in PM2.5 were estimated to be 2.2 and 3.5μgm−3 for GZ and ZQ, comprising 33.5% and 42.8% of the corresponding OC concentrations, respectively. The results indicate that SOC is significant in the PRD region, and its formation mostly occurs within the region.
► Seasonal and spatial characteristics of WSOC in the PRD region are investigated. ► There is lack of any long-term studies of carbonaceous aerosol in the PRD region. ► High concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol are observed in the downwind regions. ► Secondary organic carbon (SOC) is significant in the PRD region.
Simultaneous measurements of atmospheric organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) were taken during winter and summer seasons at 2003 in 14 cities in China. Daily PM2.5 samples were analyzed for OC ...and EC by the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) thermal/optical reflectance protocol. Average PM2.5 OC concentrations in the 14 cities were 38.1 μg m−3 and 13.8 μg m−3 for winter and summer periods, and the corresponding EC were 9.9 μg m−3 and 3.6 μg m−3, respectively. OC and EC concentrations had summer minima and winter maxima in all the cities. Carbonaceous matter (CM), the sum of organic matter (OM = 1.6 × OC) and EC, contributed 44.2% to PM2.5 in winter and 38.8% in summer. OC was correlated with EC (R2: 0.56–0.99) in winter, but correlation coefficients were lower in summer (R2: 0.003–0.90). Using OC/EC enrichment factors, the primary OC, secondary OC and EC accounted for 47.5%, 31.7% and 20.8%, respectively, of total carbon in Chinese urban environments. More than two thirds of China's urban carbon is derived from directly emitted particles. Average OC/EC ratios ranged from 2.0 to 4.7 among 14 cities during winter and from 2.1 to 5.9 during summer. OC/EC ratios in this study were consistent with a possible cooling effect of carbonaceous aerosols over China.
Purpose
Liquid water being the major constituent of the human body, is of fundamental importance in radiobiological research. Hence, the knowledge of electron‐water interaction physics and ...particularly the secondary electron yield is essential. However, to date, only very little is known experimentally on the low energy electron interaction with liquid water because of certain practical limitations. The purpose of this study was to gain some useful information about electron emission from water using a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation technique that can numerically model electron transport trajectories in water.
Methods
In this study, we have performed MC simulations of electron emission from liquid water in the primary energy range of 50 eV–30 keV by using two different codes, i.e., a classical trajectory MC (CMC) code developed in our laboratory and the Geant4‐DNA (G4DNA) code. The calculated secondary electron yield and electron backscattering coefficient are compared with experimental results wherever applicable to verify the validity of physical models for the electron‐water interaction.
Results
The secondary electron yield vs. primary energy curves calculated using the two codes present the same generic curve shape as that of metals but in rather different absolute values. G4DNA underestimates the secondary electron yield due to the application of one step thermalization model by setting a cutoff energy at 10 eV so that the low energy losses due to phonon excitations are omitted. Our CMC code, using a full energy loss spectrum to model electron inelastic scattering, allows the simulation of individual phonon scattering events for very low energy losses down to 10 meV, which then enables the calculated secondary electron yields much closer to the experimental data and also gives quite reasonable energy distribution curve of secondary electrons.
Conclusions
It is concluded that full dielectric function data at low energy loss values below 10 eV are recommended for modeling of low energy electrons in liquid water.
The nonlinear dynamics of a cable-stayed beam driven by the subharmonic resonance of the beam and the principal parametric resonance of the cable are investigated. Considering the combined effects of ...the nonlinear terms caused by the geometry of the cable and the coupled behavior between the modes of the beam and cable, a spatial discrete model of the cable-stayed beam is developed. The frequency response curves are determined by applying the method of multiple time scales to the model. The effects of some key parameters of the cable-stayed beam, namely the mass, stiffness, and sag-to-span ratios and the initial tension force, are discussed. The bifurcation and chaos of cable-stayed beams with different parameters are also studied to understand the effects of external excitation. The results show that these parameters have a considerable effect on the dynamic behavior of the cable-stayed beam, particularly that of the cable. Changes in the stiffness ratio and initial tension force also lead to more complex dynamics.
•Nonlinear dynamics of cable-stayed beam under 1:2 and 1:1 resonances are investigated.•Combined subharmonic resonance on beam and principal parametric resonance on cable.•Parameters of cable-stayed beam have a considerable effect, particularly on cable.•Stiffness ratio and initial tension force changing can lead to more complex dynamics.
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