The contribution of type 2 diabetes mellitus to hypothalamic inflammation and depressive disorders in young patients with obesity.

Background: To explore the contribution of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to hypothalamic inflammation and depressive disorders in young patients with obesity. Methods: According to the diagnostic criteria for T2DM, all of patients with obesity were divided into the diabetic and the non-diabetic groups. The severity of depressive disorders was assessed by self-rating depression scale (SDS). The signal intensity (SI) ratio of the T2-weighted phase of the superior hypothalamus/amygdala (H/A) was measured using a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to evaluate hypothalamic inflammation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find the influencing factors of depressive disorder. The prediction equation's sensitivity and specificity for the depressive disorder were calculated based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: In young patients with obesity and diabetes, the incidence of depression is 79.49%, which was much higher than that in patients without diabetes (P<0.001). The SI of the left H/A in young patients with obesity and diabetes is significantly higher than that in non-diabetic patients (P<0.001). The relative risks of depression are fasting blood glucose (FBG) (OR 1.60; CI: 1.26-2.05), HbA1c (OR 1.94; CI: 1.40-2.68) and triglycerides (OR 1.40; CI: 1.03-1.90). Only FBG enters the predictive equation for depressive disorder, with a 52.8% sensitivity and 84.5% specificity. Conclusions: In young diabetic patients with obesity, the incidence of depressive disorder is high, a mechanism possibly related to the left hypothalamus inflammation. Elevated FBG can be an independent predictor of depressive disorder in young patients with obesity.

Using quantitative imaging to determine the correlation between hypothalamic inflammation and anxiety and depression in young patients with obesity.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders in young adults with obesity and the correlation between the severity of these disorders and hypothalamic inflammation. METHODS: The severity of anxiety and depressive disorders was assessed using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively. Hypothalamic inflammation was evaluated by measuring the hypothalamus/amygdala (H/A) signal intensity (SI) ratio in T2-weighted phase quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). RESULTS: The incidence of depressive disorders in young (18-45 years) patients with obesity (n=66) was higher than that in the control group (n=44); anxiety disorder incidence did not differ significantly between groups. The bilateral H/A SI ratio in the obesity group was significantly higher than that in the control group. In the obesity group, there was no significant correlation between bilateral H/A SI ratio and body mass index (BMI) (right: r=-0.145, P=0.721; left: r=0.102, P=0.415) or SAS scores (right: r=-0.118, P=0.444; left: r=-0.295, P=0.052); SDS scores were significantly correlated with left H/A SI ratio (r=-0.353, P=0.019), but not right H/A SI ratio (r=-0.031, P=0.843). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with obesity had a higher incidence of depressive disorders. Left hypothalamus inflammation may be one of the links between obesity and depressive disorders.

[Remediation Performance via the Passivation of a Porous Biomorph Genetic Composite of α-Fe2O3/Fe3O4/C Using a Bamboo Template on As(â ¤) Contaminated Soils].

Red soil from Guangxi, China was selected as the background soil, and a porous biomorphic genetic composite of α-Fe2O3/Fe3O4/C comprising a bamboo template (PBGC-Fe/C) was used as a passivator to remediate As(Ⅴ) contaminated soils. The performance of PBGC-Fe/C was characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that PBGC-Fe/C could improve the passivation effect of As(Ⅴ) from the contaminated soils compared with a single passivation material. Under the conditions of a 5% dose addition, 25% water content, and particle size of 100 mesh, the stability rates of PBGC-Fe/C on As(Ⅴ) contaminated soils with different concentrations of 500 mg·kg-1 and 1000 mg·kg-1 could reach 80.95% and 73.49%, respectively. The porous biomorphic genetic composite of bamboo charcoal provided a large number of adsorption sites for As(Ⅴ), and the acidity of the soil was favorable for the remediation of As(Ⅴ) via passivation. Moreover, PBGC-Fe/C could not only adsorb and fix As(Ⅴ), but also promoted the stabilization of As species. Chemical complexation and ion exchange played major roles in this passivation process.

[Passivation and Remediation Effects and Mechanisms of Plant Residual Modified Materials on Lead-Contaminated Soils].

The specific characteristics and mechanism of passivation of Pb in soil were studied using HAP/C composite (PBGC-HAP/C) as passivation, and using proportion of PBGC-HAP/C, particle size and type of passivator, soil moisture content, soil pH value of Pb, and particle size of the material as influencing factors. The results showed that with an increase in dosage of the passivator and passivation time, the passivation effect increases gradually. Reducing the particle size of the passivator is beneficial to improving the passivation effect. pH has a greater impact on passivation, with the passivation effect obviously rising with increased pH, and the passivation rate in an alkaline environment can reach above 99%. An increase in water content is beneficial to the improvement of the passivation effect, but the contribution is not significant. Through comparative analysis of the XPS, XRD, and FT-IR of materials before and after passivation, the results indicated that the passivation of PBGC-HAP/C to Pb is mainly through direct and indirect effects. Direct effects include physical adsorption, chemical complexation, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, and precipitation; the indirect effect is mainly enhanced by increasing the pH value of the organic matter.

An Investigation and Comparison of the Blending of LDPE and PP with Different Intrinsic Viscosities of PET.

The blending of aliphatic polyolefins and aromatic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) based on different intrinsic viscosities (IV) was conducted in a torque rheometer. The comparison of blend components in terms of low density polythene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) in blending with PET was investigated, and the effects of the IV and proportion of PET on polymer blends are discussed in detail. Polymer blends with or without compatibilizer were examined by using a differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analyzer, rotary rheometer, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and a universal testing machine. It was found that the blending led to an increase in processability and a decrease in thermal stability for blends. The morphological analysis revealed that the incompatibility of blends was aggravated by a higher IV of PET, while this situation could be improved by the addition of compatibilizer. Results showed that there was an opposite effect for the tensile strength and the elongation at break of the polymer blend in the presence of a compatibilizer, wherein the influence of IV of PET was complicated.