Measuring the global, regional, and national burden of type 2 diabetes and the attributable risk factors in all 194 countries.

BACKGROUND: No detailed quantitative global, regional, or national estimates of the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are available. METHODS: We used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to estimate the global, regional, and national incidence rates and DALYs of T2DM, as well as the associated risk factors, in all 194 countries and territories by age, sex, and sociodemographic status during the period from 2007 to 2017. RESULTS: Globally, the age-standardized incidence and DALY rates increased by 3.23% and 5.07% during 2007 to 2017, respectively. The age-standardized incidence and DALY rates in 2017 and the corresponding percentage changes during 2007 to 2017 were highest in the low-middle sociodemographic index (SDI) quintile. Regionally, the highest 2017 age-standardized incidence and DALY rates were observed in Oceania, whereas the largest percentage increases in both rates during 2007 to 2017 were observed in Southeast Asia. Nationally, Iran, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia reported the largest percentage increases in the age-standardized incidence rates, whereas Georgia, Czech Republic, and Iran showed the largest percentage increases in the age-standardized DALY rates. Globally, the largest percentage increases in risk-attributable DALYs were associated with a high body mass index, low physical activity level, high fasting plasma glucose level, and high sugar-sweetened beverage and red meat consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The global T2DM age-standardized incidence and DALY rates increased globally between 2007 and 2017, especially in the low-middle SDI quintile, Southeast Asia.

Two-Dimensional Ga2O3/C Nanosheets as Durable and High-Rate Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries.

The self-healing feature of gallium (Ga) is unique, making Ga-based materials attract attention for their potential to solve the anode pulverization issue of lithium ion batteries. In this work, a hierarchical two-dimensional (2D) Ga2O3/C structure has been synthesized by a facile NaCl template method. Ga2O3 nanoparticles (3.8 nm) are uniformly embedded in 2D carbon nanosheets. The long horizontal length of the carbon nanosheets (10 µm) provides long-range electron conductivity, and the thin vertical thickness (75 nm) shortens the Li ion diffusion path. Benefited from the integrated 2D structure and the high electron conductivity, the obtained 2D Ga2O3/C nanosheets exhibit excellent overall performance, including high lithium storage capacity (1026 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1), high rate capability (378 mAh g-1 at 10.0 A g-1), and high cyclability (500 cycles at 0.5 A g-1). The lithiation/delithiation mechanism of 2D Ga2O3/C has been further studied with combined electrochemical and ex situ X-ray diffraction methods.

Investigation of Fe-Ni Mixed-Oxide Catalysts for the Reduction of NO by CO: Physicochemical Properties and Catalytic Performance.

A series of Fe-Ni mixed-oxide catalysts were synthesized by using the sol-gel method for the reduction of NO by CO. These Fe-Ni mixed-oxide catalysts exhibited tremendously enhanced catalytic performance compared to monometallic catalysts that were prepared by using the same method. The effects of Fe/Ni molar ratio and calcination temperature on the catalytic activity were examined and the physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, N2 -adsorption/-desorption isotherms, temperature-programmed reduction with hydrogen (H2 -TPR), temperature-programmed desorption of nitric oxide (NO-TPD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the reduction behavior, surface oxygen species, and surface chemical valence states of iron and nickel in the catalysts were the key factors in the NO elimination. Fe0.5 Ni0.5 Ox that was calcined at 250 °C exhibited excellent catalytic activity of 100 % NO conversion at 130 °C and a lifetime of more than 40 hours. A plausible mechanism for the reduction of NO by CO over the Fe-Ni mixed-oxide catalysts is proposed, based on XPS and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) analyses.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 attenuates liver injury in the rat diabetes model.

The aim of present study is to examine the effect of glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) on diabetes-induced liver injury and explore detailed mechanisms of GLP-1 hepatoprotective effect. 150 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three groups with equal number, including Sham group, diabetes group and GLP-1 intervention group. Diabetes rat model was performed with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 65mg/kg). Fasting blood-glucose of rat model was assessed at 72h after STZ injection to verify diabetes rat model. Rats in Sham group were normally fed. Rats in GLP-1 intervention group received 2 ng/kg GLP-1 intervention, at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after intervention, TUNEL staining were performed to examine apoptosis of liver tissue. PCR and Western blot were performed to examine insulin, GLP-1R, autophagy-associated gene and HDAC-1. Compared with diabetes group, insulin expression of GLP-1 intervention group increased significantly (P<0.05). TUNEL staining at different time showed apoptosis levels of liver tissues were reduced gradually after GLP-1 intervention (P<0.05). Compared with diabetes groups, the expressions of BCL2 and GLP-1R were increased, while the levels of caspase3 and LC3 were reduced in GLP-1 intervention group (P<0.05). GLP-1 treatment decreased levels of phosphorylated AKT, phosphorylated ERK1/2, and HDAC6 in liver tissues (P<0.05). GLP-1 treatment alleviated diabetes-induced liver injury via regulating autophagy. The mechanism of GLP-1 hepatoprotective effect could be via GLP-1R-ERK1/2-HDAC6 signaling pathway.

NiGa2O4/rGO Composite as Long-Cycle-Life Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

This work reports a novel Ga-based material, NiGa2O4, which is typically used as a photocatalyst for water splitting, as an anode for Li-ion battery with a long cycle life. High-surface-area reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been used as the conductive substrate to avoid the aggregation of NiGa2O4 nanoparticles (NPs). Because the size and shape of NiGa2O4 are very sensitive to the pH of the precursor, ethylene glycol has been employed as the solvent, as well as the reduction agent to reduce GO, to avoid using extra surfactants and also to avoid the variation of pH of the precursor. The obtained NiGa2O4/rGO composite possesses high capacity and long cycle life (2000 cycles, 2 A/g), with NiGa2O4 NPs around 3-4 nm that are uniformly distributed on the rGO surface. Full cell performance with LiCoO2 as cathode has also been studied, with the average loss of 0.04% per cycle after 100 cycles (C/2 of LiCoO2). The long cycle life of the composite was ascribed to the self-healing feature of Ga0 formed during charging.

PINK1/Parkin-Mediated Mitophagy Promotes Resistance to Sonodynamic Therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Sonodynamic therapy (SDT), based on the synergistic effect of low-intensity ultrasound and sonosensitizer, is a potential approach for non-invasive treatment of cancers. In SDT, mitochondria played a crucial role in cell fate determination. However, mitochondrial activities and their response to SDT remain elusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the response of mitochondria to SDT in tumor cells. METHODS: A human breast adenocarcinoma cell line - MCF-7 cells were subjected to 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-SDT, with an average ultrasonic intensity of 0.25W/cm2. Mitochondrial dynamics and redox balance were examined by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and western blot. The occurrence of mitophagy was determined by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. RESULTS: Our results showed that ALA-SDT could induce mitochondrial dysfunction through mitochondrial depolarization and fragmentation and lead to mitophagy. The Parkin-dependent signaling pathway was involved and promoted resistance to ALA-SDT induced cell death. Finally, excessive production of ROS was found to be necessary for the initiation of mitophagy. CONCLUSION: Taken together, we conclude that ROS produced by 5-ALA-SDT could initiate PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy which may exert a protective effect against 5-ALA-SDT-induced cell death in MCF-7 cells.

3D Nitrogen, Sulfur-Codoped Carbon Nanomaterial-Supported Cobalt Oxides with Polyhedron-Like Particles Grafted onto Graphene Layers as Highly Active Bicatalysts for Oxygen-Evolving Reactions.

The extensive research and developments of highly efficient oxygen electrode electrocatalysts to get rid of the kinetic barriers for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are very important in energy conversion and storage devices. Especially, exploring nonprecious metal alternatives to replace traditional noble metal catalysts with high cost and poor durability is the paramount mission. In this paper, we utilize property-flexible ZIF-67 and sulfur-functionalized graphene oxide to obtain a cobalt, nitrogen, and sulfur codoped nanomaterial with 3D hierarchical porous structures, owing to their rich dopant species and good conductivity. The crosslinked structures of polyhedron particles throughout the whole carbon framework speeds up the mass transportation and charge-delivery processes during oxygen-evolving reactions. Also, by exploring the location and coordination type of sulfur dopants, we emphasize the effects of sulfone and sulfide functional groups anchored into the graphitic structure on enhancing the catalytic abilities for ORR and OER. To note, compared to the noble metal electrocatalysts, the best-performing CoO@Co3O4/NSG-650 (0.79 V) is 40 mV less active than the commercial Pt/C catalyst (0.83 V) for ORR and merely 10 mV behind IrO2 (1.68 V) for OER. Besides, the metric between ORR and OER difference for CoO@Co3O4/NSG-650 to evaluate its overall electrocatalytic activity is 0.90 V, surpassing 290 and 430 mV over Pt/C (1.19 V) and IrO2 (1.33 V). Comprehensively, the as-prepared CoO@Co3O4/NSG-650 indicates excellent bifunctional catalytic activities for ORR and OER, which shows great potential for replacing noble metal catalysts in the application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

High-Performance Ga2O3 Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

There is a great deal of interest in developing battery systems that can exhibit self-healing behavior, thus enhancing cyclability and stability. Given that gallium (Ga) is a metal that melts near room temperature, we wanted to test if it could be employed as a self-healing anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, Ga nanoparticles (NPs), when directly applied, tended to aggregate upon charge/discharge cycling. To address this issue, we employed carbon-coated Ga2O3 NPs as an alternative. By controlling the pH of the precursor solution, highly dispersed and ultrafine Ga2O3 NPs, embedded in carbon shells, could be synthesized through a hydrothermal carbonization method. The particle size of the Ga2O3 NPs was 2.6 nm, with an extremely narrow size distribution, as determined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements. A lithium-ion battery anode based on this material exhibited stable charging and discharging, with a capacity of 721 mAh/g after 200 cycles. The high cyclability is due to not only the protective effects of the carbon shell but also the formation of Ga0 during the lithiation process, as indicated by operando X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy.

Predicting the mechanical properties of brittle porous materials with various porosity and pore sizes.

In this work, a micromechanical study using the lattice spring model (LSM) was performed to predict the mechanical properties of BPMs by simulation of the Brazilian test. Stress-strain curve and Weibull plot were analyzed for the determination of fracture strength and Weibull modulus. The presented model composed of linear elastic elements is capable of reproducing the non-linear behavior of BPMs resulting from the damage accumulation and provides consistent results which are in agreement with experimental measurements. Besides, it is also found that porosity shows significant impact on fracture strength while pore size dominates the Weibull modulus, which enables us to establish how choices made in the microstructure to meet the demand of brittle porous materials functioning in various operating conditions.

[Effect of tumor-associated macrophages on invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of tumor-associated macrophages(TAMs) on the ability of invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells, and its associated mechanism. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of TAM in 10 samples of normal gastric mucosa and 15 samples of gastric cancer tissues from sample bank of Department of Pathology, Union Hospital. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA) and macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) were used to make THP-1 monocytes differentiate into TAMs. AGS gastric cancer cells were divided into two groups: experiment group was cultured with RPMI/1640 condition medium containing 50% TAM and control group was cultured with RPMI/1640 complete medium. The ability of invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells was measured by Transwell assays. Real-time PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the expression of MMPs and its inhibitor TIMPs before and after stimulation of TAMs. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry results showed that CD68(+) cell number in normal gastric mucosa tissue was significantly less than that in gastric cancer tissue [(11.3±0.8)/HP vs. (31.6±1.4)/HP, P<0.000 1]. When treated with PMA and M-CSF, THP-1 cells were differentiated into type M2 TAMs with high expression of specific markers CD68, CD163, CD204 and CD206. Transwell test revealed that the number of piercing cells in the experimental group was significantly more than that in control group [(36.8±1.1)/HP vs. (12.8±0.9)/HP, t=17.5, P=0.000). Compared to control group, the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 mRNA in experimental group respectively increased by 1.61 and 1.87 folds(P=0.017 and P=0.009). Protein level of MMP-2, MMP-9 was up-regulated accordingly. The expression of TIMP-1 and TIMP-3 mRNA was not significantly different between two groups(P=0.120 and P=0.096). CONCLUSIONS: TAMs may promote the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells through increasing expression of MMP-9 and MMP-2, which may be one of the mechanisms of gastric cancer development.

Deep brain stimulation of pallidal versus subthalamic for patients with Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that affects many people every year. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective nonpharmacological method to treat PD motor symptoms. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of subthalamic nucleus (STN)-DBS versus globus pallidus internus (GPi)-DBS in treating advanced PD. METHODS: Controlled clinical trials that compared STN-DBS to GPi-DBS for short-term treatment of PD in adults were researched up to November 2015. The primary outcomes were the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Section (UPDRS) III score and the levodopa-equivalent dosage (LED) after DBS. The secondary outcomes were the UPDRS II score and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score. RESULTS: Totally, 13 studies containing 1,148 PD patients were included in this meta-analysis to compare STN-DBS versus GPi-DBS. During the off-medication state, the pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) of UPDRS III and II scores were -2.18 (95% CI =-5.11 to 0.74) and -1.96 (95% CI =-3.84 to -0.08), respectively. During the on-medication state, the pooled WMD of UPDRS III and II scores were 0.15 (95% CI =-1.14 to 1.44) and 1.01 (95% CI =0.12 to 1.89), respectively. After DBS, the pooled WMD of LED and BDI were -254.48 (95% CI =-341.66) and 2.29 (95% CI =0.83 to 3.75), respectively. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that during the off-medication state, the STN-DBS might be superior to GPi-DBS in improving the motor function and activities of daily living for PD patients; but during the on-medication state, the opposite result is observed. Meanwhile, the STN-DBS is superior at reducing the LED, whereas the GPi-DBS shows a significantly greater reduction in BDI score after DBS.

CO2-induced microstructure transition of surfactant in aqueous solution: insight from molecular dynamics simulation.

A molecular dynamics simulation study is reported to investigate a CO(2)-induced microstructure transition of surfactant AOT4 in aqueous solution. The lamellar bilayer changes into a spherical micelle induced by CO(2) at ambient temperature, while a thermotropic aggregate transition occurs in the absence of CO(2) above 140 degrees C. In the lamellar bilayer, AOT4 shows a bimodal density distribution. The bilayer thickness and the average area per AOT4 are estimated to be 19.2 A and 83.3 A(2). The AOT4 bilayer possesses a sandwich structure and consists of a hydrophobic region in the center and a hydrated layer on both sides. Upon CO(2) dissolving, the lamellar bilayer is swollen and becomes loose and unstable. CO(2) molecules in the lamellar bilayer are initially near the ester groups of AOT4 and then accumulate in the center of the hydrophobic region. With increasing amounts of CO(2), the AOT4 bilayer expands gradually and the density distribution of each leaflet becomes broader. Driven by surface tension, the lamellar bilayer tends to reduce the surface area. The lamellar bilayer changes into a 3D cubic network in a small simulation box, attributed to the influence of neighboring images. In a sufficiently large box, the lamellar bilayer transforms into spherical micelles. CO(2)-active surfactants such as fluorinated surfactants and oxygenated AOT analogues are proposed to substitute CO(2)-inactive AOT and may reduce the critical pressure in microstructure transition.

Composite structure of temperature sensitive chitosan microgel and anomalous behavior in alcohol solutions.

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/chitosan (PNIPAM/CS) core-shell microgel was synthesized by graft copolymerization. The microstructure of copolymers was characterized by FT-IR spectrum and (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements display that the microgel has high monodispersity and with a core-shell structure. For swelling the microgel in various alcohol solutions, the particles first shrink; then flocculation occurs resulted from weak aggregation of particles with the increase of alcohol concentration. The investigation of the size of microgels as a function of temperature shows that the thermo-sensitive property is markedly exhibited when the alcohol concentration is low, and vanishes when the alcohol concentration exceeds some value where the microgels have the lowest size.