Synergistically optimized electron and phonon transport in high-performance copper sulfides thermoelectric materials via one-pot modulation.

Optimizing thermoelectric conversion efficiency requires the compromise of electrical and thermal properties of materials, which are hard to simultaneously improve due to the strong coupling of carrier and phonon transport. Herein, a one-pot approach realizing simultaneous second phase and Cu vacancies modulation is proposed, which is effective in synergistically optimizing thermoelectric performance in copper sulfides. Multiple lattice defects, including nanoprecipitates, dislocations, and nanopores are produced by adding a refined ratio of Sn and Se. Phonon transport is significantly suppressed by multiple mechanisms. An ultralow lattice thermal conductivity is therefore obtained. Furthermore, extra Se is added in the copper sulfide for optimizing electrical transport properties by inducing generating Cu vacancies. Ultimately, an excellent figure of merit of ~1.6 at 873 K is realized in the Cu1.992SSe0.016(Cu2SnSe4)0.004 bulk sample. The simple strategy of inducing compositional and structural modulation for improving thermoelectric parameters promotes low-cost high-performance copper sulfides as alternatives in thermoelectric applications.

Identifying greenhouse gas emission reduction potentials through large-scale photovoltaic-driven seawater desalination.

To widely promote freshwater production through seawater desalination, renewable energy is expected to replace traditional fossil energy to drive seawater desalination. Based on the input list of components and materials, this study attempts to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of photovoltaic-driven seawater desalination projects through replacing traditional thermal power plants and evaluate GHG emission reduction potentials by comparing the thermal- and photovoltaic-driven seawater desalination projects. The GHG emission of photovoltaic-driven seawater desalination project could be reduced by 94.97 % compared with the thermal-driven seawater desalination project, and the GHG emission per unit water production is reduced by 9.8 kg CO2-eq/ton, which could greatly reduce GHG emissions in the whole life cycle. In addition, it is estimated that the large-scale implementation of photovoltaic power stations in LT-MED seawater desalination project can reduce GHG emissions from 1.61E+05 to 3.86E+06 t CO2-eq per year. Through the payback period assessment, the combination of photovoltaic power stations and thermal power plants to drive the seawater desalination project can offset the GHG emission of 7.94E+03 t CO2-eq, and the payback period of photovoltaic-driven seawater desalination project is estimated to be 0.33 years. Using renewable energy instead of traditional thermal energy can reduce the fossil fuel combustion and GHG emissions during the water desalination process, which provides essential references for the low-carbon transition and energy saving in seawater desalination projects in China's coastal areas.

Occurrence, spatial distribution, and risk assessment of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in sediment from black-odorous rivers across China.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) were massively produced for varied industrial purposes, of which improper handling and consequent environmental release resulted in worldwide contamination. The present study investigated the occurrence and spatial distribution of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCP/MCCPs) in 171 sediment samples from black-odorous urban rivers across China. Total SCCP and MCCP concentrations ranged from 8.3 to 9.4 × 104 (median: 1.1 × 103) ng/g dw, and from not-detected-value to 1.0 × 106 (median: 1.3 × 104) ng/g dw, respectively. No clear spatial distribution of SCCPs and MCCPs was observed since black-odorous urban rivers were polluted by point-sources of the SCCP/MCCPs. Significant positive correlations were identified between SCCP/MCCPs and total organic carbon, and between SCCP/MCCPs and other persistent organic matter, including polybrominated diethyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, antibiotics, and plasticizers. The average ratios of MCCPs to SCCPs in most samples were divided into 11 and 16, implying the manufacturing and use of at least two types of CP technical mixtures in China. The composition of SCCP/MCCPs were similar to that in their commercial products. Ecological risk assessments by two approaches, including the Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines and Risk Quotient, both revealed that SCCP/MCCP in surface sediments confer an ecological risk. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: SCCPs and MCCPs can be considered "hazardous materials" because of their massive production and their potential persistence, long-distance transfer, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity. This research conducted a comprehensive study on SCCP/MCCP in black-odorous urban river sediments across China and revealed their environmental risk, which may improve understanding of SCCP/MCCP contamination characteristics.

Performance and comparison of artificial intelligence and human experts in the detection and classification of colonic polyps.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to analyze the performance of different artificial intelligence (AI) models in endoscopic colonic polyp detection and classification and compare them with doctors with different experience. METHODS: We searched the studies on Colonoscopy, Colonic Polyps, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning published before May 2020 in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and the citation index of the conference proceedings. The quality of studies was assessed using the QUADAS-2 table of diagnostic test quality evaluation criteria. The random-effects model was calculated using Meta-DISC 1.4 and RevMan 5.3. RESULTS: A total of 16 studies were included for meta-analysis. Only one study (1/16) presented externally validated results. The area under the curve (AUC) of AI group, expert group and non-expert group for detection and classification of colonic polyps were 0.940, 0.918, and 0.871, respectively. AI group had slightly lower pooled specificity than the expert group (79% vs. 86%, P < 0.05), but the pooled sensitivity was higher than the expert group (88% vs. 80%, P < 0.05). While the non-experts had less pooled specificity in polyp recognition than the experts (81% vs. 86%, P < 0.05), and higher pooled sensitivity than the experts (85% vs. 80%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The performance of AI in polyp detection and classification is similar to that of human experts, with high sensitivity and moderate specificity. Different tasks may have an impact on the performance of deep learning models and human experts, especially in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

Bi0.33(Bi6S9)Br compositing in Bi2S3 bulk materials forwards high thermoelectric properties.

The hexagonal Bi0.33(Bi6S9)Br intermediate was incorporated to enhance the thermoelectric properties of Bi2S3 by a facile synthesis process. As a result of the increase of carrier concentration caused by Br diffusion doping and the enhancement of phonon scattering caused by pores, point defects, and secondary phase interfaces, a maximum ZT value of 0.64 was achieved at 773 K in Bi2S3 + 5% Bi0.33(Bi6S9)Br. This study provides a strategy for achieving Br doping in the Bi2S3 system by adding the Bi0.33(Bi6S9)Br intermediate alloy, while the nanostructure was maintained in the matrix, which may be also suitable for other thermoelectric materials to obtain higher performance.

Quantitative Deviation of Nanocrystals Using the RIR Method in X-ray Diffraction (XRD).

The reference intensity ratio (RIR) method, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), is considered one most of the rapid and convenient approaches for phase quantification in multi-phase mixture, in which nanocrystals are commonly contained in a mixture and cause a broadening of the diffraction peak, while another broadening factor, instrumental broadening, does not attract enough attention in related quantitative analysis. Despite the specimen consisting of 50 wt.% TiO2 nanomaterials (nano-TiO2) and 50 wt.% microscale ZnO powder, the nano-TiO2 quantitative result changes from 56.53% to 43.33% that occur as a variation of instrumental broadening are caused by divergence slit adjustment. This deviation could be accounted through a mathematical model that involves instrumental broadening. The research in this paper might provide a useful guide for developing an approach to measure accuracy quantification in unknown multi-phase mixtures.

Analysis of the curative effect and influencing factors of stereotactic aspiration in the treatment of primary brainstem haemorrhage.

Primary brainstem haemorrhage (PBH) is characterized by acute onset, rapid deterioration, many complications, and poor prognosis. Its treatment has been controversial. This study aimed to explore the clinical risk factors of postoperative survival and neurological function recovery of stereotactic aspiration in the treatment of PBH. The clinical data of 65 patients with severe brainstem haemorrhage from February 2019 to February 2020 in the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University were reviewed. All patients were treated with stereotactic haematoma aspiration. We determined the survival status of patients at 30 days after the operation and the recovery of neurological function at 90 days. The modified Rankin Scale score (mRS) was used to assess the survival status. The 30-day mortality rate was 23.1% (15 patients). The proportion of patients with good neurological recovery at 90 days after the operation was 32.3% (21 patients). According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the haematoma classification was an independent risk factor for postoperative survival (OR = 0.197, 95% CI: 0.016-0.385, p = 0.046) and recovery of neurological function 90 days after surgery (OR = 0.019, 95% CI: 0.001-0.267, p = 0.003). The haematoma classification is an independent risk factor for 30-day mortality and recovery of neurological function 90 days after surgery. Massive and basal-tegmental haematomas were associated with higher mortality. The prognosis of patients with unilateral and bilateral tegmental haematoma was better than that of patients with other haematoma types.

Accurate diagnosis of endoscopic mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis using deep learning and machine learning.

BACKGROUND: In clinical applications, mucosal healing is a therapeutic goal in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Endoscopic remission is associated with lower rates of colectomy, relapse, hospitalization, and colorectal cancer. Differentiation of mucosal inflammatory status depends on the experience and subjective judgments of clinical physicians. We developed a computer-aided diagnostic system using deep learning and machine learning (DLML-CAD) to accurately diagnose mucosal healing in UC patients. METHODS: We selected 856 endoscopic colon images from 54 UC patients (643 images with endoscopic score 0-1 and 213 with score 2-3) from the endoscopic image database at Tri-Service General Hospital, Taiwan. Endoscopic grading using the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES 0-3) was performed by two reviewers. A pretrained neural network extracted image features, which were used to train three different classifiers-deep neural network (DNN), support vector machine (SVM), and k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) network. RESULTS: DNN classified MES 0 to 1, representing mucosal healing, vs MES 2 to 3 images with 93.8% accuracy (sensitivity 84.6%, specificity 96.9%); SVM had 94.1% accuracy (sensitivity 89.2%, specificity 95.8%); and k-NN had 93.4% accuracy (sensitivity 86.2%, specificity 95.8%). Combined, ensemble learning achieved 94.5% accuracy (sensitivity 89.2%, specificity 96.3%). The system further differentiated between MES 0, representing complete mucosal healing, and MES 1 images with 89.1% accuracy (sensitivity 82.3%, specificity 92.2%). CONCLUSION: Our DLML-CAD diagnosis achieved 94.5% accuracy for endoscopic mucosal healing and 89.0% accuracy for complete mucosal healing. This system can provide clinical physicians with an accurate auxiliary diagnosis in treating UC.

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in sediments from black-odor ditches in urban areas from China.

Antibiotic levels in black-odor water could reflect the usage amount of antibiotics in population. On the other hand, these antibiotics are the source of antibiotics in the environmental water. Currently, researches on antibiotics in black-odor sediments are still lacking. In this study, 174 black and odor sediment samples from 74 cities in 28 provinces in China were collected for analysis. Among 44 targeted antibiotics, 13 antibiotics were detected in more than 30% of sediment samples. Fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines were the predominant antibiotics in these field samples, with average concentrations of up to 2074 and 1902 ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively, followed by macrolides (87.9 ng/g dw), lincosamides (8.06 ng/g dw) and sulfonamides (8.38 ng/g dw). High antibiotic contamination levels were almost always detected in black-odor sludges from economically less developed small cities; however, the difference in antibiotic concentrations between well-developed and small cities in China was not statistically significant. In addition, among the seven regions within China, no significant difference in concentrations was observed for the most antibiotics. Variances in antibiotic composition patterns in the 28 provinces of China may be due to differences in bacterial resistance, prescription habits, efficacy, and sediment carbon concentrations among various regions. There were significant positive correlations among some antibiotics in the same or different classes.

Degradation of triclosan by anodic oxidation/in-situ peroxone process: Kinetics, pathway and reaction mechanism.

Triclosan (TCS) is an emerging contaminant that threatens the environment and human health. This study was conducted to investigate TCS abatement by a novel electro-oxidation (EO) process, which used a Ti-based nickel and antimony doped tin oxide (NATO/Ti) anode and a carbon nanotubes (CNTs) doped carbon/PTFE (CNTs-C/PTFE) gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A comparative study was also performed for TCS degradation by using a traditional EO with a nickel foam cathode, termed as HER-EO. The optimal initial TCS concentration, current density and solution pH for TCS degradation during the ORR-EO and HER-EO were investigated. Results showed that ORR-EO removed more than 98% of TCS in 10-60 min under the concentration of 5-50 mg/L. The TCS degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and its main intermediates were observed during the ORR-EO and HER-EO using liquid chromatography combined mass (LC-MS). The results of FED analysis and toxicity prediction by ECOSAR software showed that less intermediates accumulated during the ORR-EO and the residues were less harmful. The ORR-EO degradation mechanism for TCS was attacking on the ether bond and the benzene ring by •OH. This novel ORR-EO process exhibits a great merit in the field of emerging contaminants abatement.

The Prognosis of Type III Biliary Atresia with Hilar Cyst.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcome of biliary atresia (BA) patients with and without hilar cyst on preoperative ultrasound. METHODS: A single center retrospective review of patients of BA with (n = 27) and without hilar cyst (n = 27) over a 5 y period was done. The patients were analyzed using propensity score matching to reduce selection bias. All patients were diagnosed as type III BA by histologic examination and cholangiograms. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were no significant intergroup differences between baseline characteristics and outcomes after Kasai portoenterostomy surgery in two groups. BA with hilar cyst group showed comparable survival outcomes to the BA without cyst group (cumulative 1-y, 2-y and 5-y overall survival rates with native liver 61.4% vs. 65.8%, P = 0.041; 45.0% vs. 49.0%, P = 0.57; 45.0% vs. 49.0%, P = 0.57). And the Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed no significant difference in cumulative survival with native liver between the two groups (P = 0.58). CONCLUSIONS: Type III BA with hilar cyst had no better prognosis compared with Type III BA without cyst.

Evaluation of the anti-Toxoplasma gondii Activity of Hederagenin in vitro and in vivo

Toxoplasma gondii infection is widespread worldwide, not only posing a serious threat to human food safety and animal husbandry, but also endangering human health. The selectivity index was employed to measure anti-T. gondii activity. Hederagenin (HE) exhibited potent anti-T. gondii activity and low cytotoxicity. For this reason, HE was selected for in vivo experiments. HE showed 64.8%±13.1% inhibition for peritoneal tachyzoites in mice, higher than spiramycin 56.8%±6.0%. Biochemical parameters such as alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutathione, and malondialdehyde, illustrated that HE was a good inhibitor of T. gondii in vivo. This compound was also effective in relieving T. gondii-induced liver damage. Collectively, it was demonstrated that HE had potential as an anti-T. gondii agent.

Evaluation of the anti-Toxoplasma gondii Activity of Hederagenin in vitro and in vivo

Toxoplasma gondii infection is widespread worldwide, not only posing a serious threat to human food safety and animal husbandry, but also endangering human health. The selectivity index was employed to measure anti-T. gondii activity. Hederagenin (HE) exhibited potent anti-T. gondii activity and low cytotoxicity. For this reason, HE was selected for in vivo experiments. HE showed 64.8%±13.1% inhibition for peritoneal tachyzoites in mice, higher than spiramycin 56.8%±6.0%. Biochemical parameters such as alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutathione, and malondialdehyde, illustrated that HE was a good inhibitor of T. gondii in vivo. This compound was also effective in relieving T. gondii-induced liver damage. Collectively, it was demonstrated that HE had potential as an anti-T. gondii agent.

Malignancy risk stratification and FNA recommendations for thyroid nodules: A comparison of ACR TI-RADS, AACE/ACE/AME and ATA guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: To compare diagnostic performance and malignancy risk stratification among guidelines set forth by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in 2015, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) and the Association Medici Endocrinologi (AME) in 2016, and the American College of Radiology (ACR) in 2017. METHODS: The retrospective study was approved by the hospital ethics committee, and the informed consent requirement was waived. From October 2015 to March 2016, a total of 230 patients with 230 consecutive thyroid nodules were enrolled in this study. Each nodule was classified by one junior and one senior radiologist separately according to ACR TI-RADS, AACE/ACE/AME and ATA guidelines. The malignancy diagnostic performance and the number of FNA recommendations were pairwise compared among three guidelines using chi-square tests. RESULTS: Of the 230 thyroid nodules, 137 were malignant, and 93 were benign. However, 19.6% of the nodules (45 of 230) did not match any pattern using the ATA guidelines but with a high risk of malignancy (68.9%). The ACR TI-RADS derived the highest diagnostic performance, from both junior radiologist (AUC 0.815) and senior radiologist (AUC 0.864). The ACR guidelines also showed the greatest level of sensitivity (junior: 86.1%, senior: 94.9%), compared with AACE/ACE/AME and ATA guidelines. The number of thyroid nodules recommended to fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was the lowest (37.8%, 40.4%) by ACR TI-RADS, and meanwhile, the malignant detection rate within these nodules was highest (64.4%, 68.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The ACR guidelines present a higher level of diagnostic indicators and may offer a meaningful reduction in FNA recommendations with a higher malignancy detection rate.

Cardiac-specific methylation patterns of circulating DNA for identification of cardiomyocyte death.

BACKGROUND: Correct detection of human cardiomyocyte death is essential for definitive diagnosis and appropriate management of cardiovascular diseases. Although current strategies have proven utility in clinical cardiology, they have some limitations. Our aim was to develop a new approach to monitor myocardial death using methylation patterns of circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA). METHODS: We first examined the methylation status of FAM101A in heart tissue and blood of individual donors using quantitative methylation-sensitive PCR (qMS-PCR). The concentrations and kinetics of cardiac cf-DNA in plasma from five congenital heart disease (CHD) children before and after they underwent cardiac surgery at serial time points were then investigated. RESULTS: We identified demethylated FAM101A specifically present in heart tissue. Importantly, our time course experiments demonstrated that the plasma cardiac cf-DNA level increased quickly during the early post-cardiac surgery phase, peaking at 4-6 h, decreased progressively (24 h) and returned to baseline (72 h). Moreover, cardiac cf-DNA concentrations pre- and post-operation were closely correlated with plasma troponin levels. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed a novel strategy for the correct detection of cardiomyocyte death, based on analysis of plasma cf-DNA carrying the cardiac-specific methylation signature. Our pilot study may lead to new tests for human cardiac pathologies.

Automated extraction of left atrial volumes from two-dimensional computer tomography images using a deep learning technique.

BACKGROUND: Precise segmentation of the left atrium (LA) in computed tomography (CT) images constitutes a crucial preparatory step for catheter ablation in atrial fibrillation (AF). We aim to apply deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) to automate the LA detection/segmentation procedure and create three-dimensional (3D) geometries. METHODS: Five hundred eighteen patients who underwent procedures for circumferential isolation of four pulmonary veins were enrolled. Cardiac CT images (from 97 patients) were used to construct the LA detection and segmentation models. These images were reviewed by the cardiologists such that images containing the LA were identified/segmented as the ground truth for model training. Two DCNNs which incorporated transfer learning with the architectures of ResNet50/U-Net were trained for image-based LA classification/segmentation. The LA geometry created by the deep learning model was correlated to the outcomes of AF ablation. RESULTS: The LA detection model achieved an overall 99.0% prediction accuracy, as well as a sensitivity of 99.3% and a specificity of 98.7%. Moreover, the LA segmentation model achieved an intersection over union of 91.42%. The estimated mean LA volume of all the 518 patients studied herein with the deep learning model was 123.3 ± 40.4 ml. The greatest area under the curve with a LA volume of 139 ml yielded a positive predictive value of 85.5% without detectable AF episodes over a period of one year following ablation. CONCLUSIONS: The deep learning provides an efficient and accurate way for automatic contouring and LA volume calculation based on the construction of the 3D LA geometry.

Postsurgical Management of Dilated Biliary Tract in Children: Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangial Drainage and Subsequent Percutaneous Ultrasound Cholangiography.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD) and consequent percutaneous US cholangiography in managing the dilated biliary tracts of children who have undergone hepatobiliary surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Sixteen children (11 boys, five girls; age range, 3-144 months) who underwent hepatobiliary surgery from December 2016 to October 2018 and had US evidence of biliary dilatation were included. All patients had undergone US-guided PTCD because of elevated postoperative serum bilirubin levels or bile duct infection. Immediately after the PTCD procedure, diluted sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles dispersion was injected through the PTCD tube to evaluate the anastomosis and the intrahepatic bile duct tree. Laboratory results, including those of serum bilirubin measurement, liver function tests, and routine blood tests, were evaluated before and after PTCD. Nine of 16 patients also underwent percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC). The percutaneous US cholangiography findings were evaluated and compared with the PTC findings. RESULTS. Liver enzyme levels decreased after PTCD with a statistically significant difference from the values before PTCD. Percutaneous US cholangiography showed that the anastomosis in 6 of the 16 patients (37.5%) was patent and depicted the morphologic featuresof intrahepatic bile duct tree in five of these patients. In the other 10 patients, the anastomosis was completely obstructed, and percutaneous US cholangiography depicted the morphologic features of intrahepatic bile duct tree in eight patients. In the nine patients who underwent PTC, the percutaneous US cholangiographic findings were the same as the PTC findings. CONCLUSION. US-guided PTCD is helpful in relieving jaundice and inflammation in children who have undergone hepatobiliary surgery and have biliary dilatation. Findings at consequent percutaneous US cholangiography are comparable to those of PTC in depicting the anastomosis in these patients.

CT-based radiomics for preoperative prediction of early recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: technical reproducibility of acquisition and scanners.

PURPOSE: To test the technical reproducibility of acquisition and scanners of CT image-based radiomics model for early recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We included primary HCC patient undergone curative therapies, using early recurrence as endpoint. Four datasets were constructed: 109 images from hospital #1 for training (set 1: 1-mm image slice thickness), 47 images from hospital #1 for internal validation (sets 2 and 3: 1-mm and 10-mm image slice thicknesses, respectively), and 47 images from hospital #2 for external validation (set 4: vastly different from training dataset). A radiomics model was constructed. Radiomics technical reproducibility was measured by overfitting and calibration deviation in external validation dataset. The influence of slice thickness on reproducibility was evaluated in two internal validation datasets. RESULTS: Compared with set 1, the model in set 2 indicated favorable prediction efficiency (the area under the curve 0.79 vs. 0.80, P = 0.47) and good calibration (unreliability statistic U: P = 0.33). However, in set 4, significant overfitting (0.63 vs. 0.80, P < 0.01) and calibration deviation (U: P < 0.01) were observed. Similar poor performance was also observed in set 3 (0.56 vs. 0.80, P = 0.02; U: P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CT-based radiomics has poor reproducibility between centers. Image heterogeneity, such as slice thickness, can be a significant influencing factor.

Zengye Decoction Ameliorates Insulin Resistance by Promoting Glucose Uptake.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been increasing in recent years and has become a serious threat to human health. Zengye Decoction (ZYD), a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal formula, has been used in the treatment of T2DM with yin asthenia and extreme heat since Qing Dynasty. However, the characteristics of antidiabetic activities of ZYD have not been fully elucidated. In our study, high-fat diet and streptozotocin were used to establish the T2DM rat model. After 3 weeks of treatment with ZYD, the fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance, the fasting serum insulin concentration, insulin sensitivity index (ISI), serum lipid profiles, and pancreas histopathology were measured. Then, under circumstance of insulin-resistant glucose consumption, 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-l,3-diazol-4-yl) amino)-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG) uptake and glycogen content in C2C12 myotubes, 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and HepG2 cells were determined, respectively. Finally, the expressions of key targets in the insulin signaling pathway were measured to explain the potential mechanism underlying these activities. After administration with ZYD, a notable reduction in FBG levels, oral glucose tolerance test-area under the curve, blood lipid metabolism, and ISI values were observed compared with the diabetic control group. Moreover, ZYD restored the damaged islet cells in T2DM rats. Significant increases in glucose consumption, glucose uptake, glycogen content, expression of glucose transporter type 4, and the ratio of p-Akt/Akt were observed in the ZYD groups. According to the above results, ZYD exhibited glucose disposal, including glucose consumption, glucose uptake, and glycogen content and promoted the Akt signal pathway, which indicates that ZYD exerts significant hypoglycemic effect in T2DM.

Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of 0.4C-Si-Mn-Cr Steel during High Temperature Deformation.

Herein, the effects of height-diameter ratios (H/D) on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of 0.4C-Si-Mn-Cr steel during high temperature deformation are reported. The compression experiments were performed on steel samples using Gleeble to obtain a reasonable deformation temperature, and the degree of deformation was assessed in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 H/D via forging. The forged specimens were quenched using the same heat treatment process. The hardness and impact toughness of the steel samples were tested before and after heat treatment. Grain sizes gradually increased with an increase in the compression temperature from 950 °C to 1150 °C, and the grain sizes decreased with an increase in H/D. The microstructure of the steel samples contained pearlite, bainite, martensite, and retained austenite phase. The microstructure after forging was more uniform and finer as compared to that of as-cast steel samples. The hardness and impact toughness of the steel samples were evaluated after forging; hardness first increased and then decreased with an increase in H/D, while the impact toughness continuously increased with an increase in H/D. Hence, the microstructure and properties of steel could be improved via high temperature deformation, and this was primarily related to grain refinement.