Improving Nutritional Status Was Associated with Decreasing Disease Severity and Shortening of Negative Conversion Time of PCR Test in Non-ICU Patients with COVID-19.

Background: Nutrition is an important prevention in old patients with COVID-19. However, in China, there are few studies on the correlation between nutrition and COVID-19. Methods: A total of 148 hospitalized COVID-19 (65.7 ± 16.0 [range: from 21 to 101] years old) patients were enrolled in this study. The information of demographic, biochemical results, vaccination doses, types of COVID-19, PCR test negative conversion time, and scores of Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) for evaluating nutritional status were recorded. We first explored the relationships between MNA-SF performance and the severities of COVID-19 in the groups with non-vaccinated, vaccinated, and all the patients using multivariable ordinal logistic regression. Further, we explored the relationships between performance of MNA-SF and the time of negative conversion of PCR in the groups with non-vaccinated, vaccinated, and all the patients using COX proportional hazards survival regression. Results: Group of patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition group was associated with older of the age, those who had not been vaccinated, in fewer people who were asymptomatic type and in more people who showed longer of the negative conversion time of PCR, lower of the BMI, and the lower of the hemoglobin level. Each additional increase of one point of MNA-SF was associated with a 17% decrease in the odds of a worse type of COVID-19 in all patients, and the significant result exists in non-vaccinated patients. One point increase of MNA-SF was associated with increased 11% of hazard ratios of turning negative of PCR and well-nourished group was associated with increased 46% of hazard ratio of turning negative of PCR. Conclusion: Higher nutrition is associated with less severity of COVID-19, especially in the non-vaccinated group. Higher nutrition is also associated with shorter time of turning negative of PCR in non-ICU COVID-19 patients.

The Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Increases the Risk of Arteriosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder worldwide. It is associated with myocardial remodeling and arteriosclerosis in patients with hypertension. Our study investigated the relationship between OSA severity and arteriosclerosis and blood pressure in an Asian population. METHODS: We enrolled 365 subjects from July 2018 to December 2020 at Ruijin Hospital. We recorded data from the medical history and collected blood samples from all participants. We performed 24-hour ambulatory Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring and Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) measurements. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was performed using Respironics Alice PDxSleepware. RESULTS: PSG was performed in a total of 365 subjects; mean age of 49.1 ± 12.8 years and Body Mass Index (BMI) 28.1 ± 3.8 kg/m2. The majority (89.3%) were male. The office systolic BP was significantly higher in the moderate to severe group than mild OSA group (148 ± 21 mmHg vs 139 ± 19 mmHg, p < 0.01). The subjects with moderate to severe OSA presented higher cf-PWV values than those in the mild group (10.03 ± 3.67 m/s vs 7.62 ± 1.48 m/s, p < 0.01). BMI was significantly higher in the moderate to severe than the mild OSA groups (28.3 ± 4.0 kg/m2 vs 27.5 ± 3.2 kg/m2, p < 0.05). The Pearson correlation showed that the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was significantly and positively correlated with cf-PWV (r = 0.217, p < 0.01), Age (r = 0.148, p < 0.01), BMI (r = 0.228, p < 0.01) and HbA1c (r = 0.172, p < 0.01). After adjusting for age, BMI, low density lipoprotein cholesterin (LDL-c), FGB, AHI, estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), Night BP, office diastolic BP and Day BP in Logistic regression model, AHI (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05) and office diastolic pressure (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00-1.08) and age (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06-1.19) were independent risk factors for arteriosclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of OSA was positively correlated with pulse wave velocity. AHI, office BP and age were independent risk factors for arteriosclerosis.

Disparate Associations of 24-h Central Aortic and Brachial Cuff Blood Pressure With Hypertension-Mediated Organ Damage and Cardiovascular Risk.

Objective: Aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of non-invasive central aortic and peripheral (brachial) blood pressure (BP) for Hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. Methods: We evaluated associations of HMOD with 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) of central aortic and peripheral BP indices in patients with primary hypertension and presence of several cardiovascular risk factors. BP measurements were performed by means of a non-invasive automated oscillometric device (Mobil-O-Graph). HMOD was defined as the presence of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) above normal values and/or carotid plaque, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and/or renal abnormalities as assessed by urine albumin/creatinine ratio above normal values and/or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min per 1.73 m2. Results: In the study cohort of 273 (age 55.2 ± 13.4 years, 71.8% male) patients with primary hypertension, documented HMOD was present in 180 (65.9%), LVH in 70 (25.6%), increased IMT in 129 (47.3%). Fifty-six patients (20.5%) had kidney organ damage (20.5% albuminuria and 2.6% impaired eGFR). When accounting for confounding factors (age, sex, body-mass-index, antihypertensive treatment, smoking, triacylglycerol, statin treatment, glucose, hypoglycemic therapy, or heart rate) only peripheral 24-h pulse pressure (PP) maintained statistical significance with HMOD indices (OR: 1.126, 95% CI: 1.012~1.253; p = 0.029). Using ASCVD risk score as the independent continuous variable in multiple linear regression, 24-h central systolic pressure (SBP) (ß = 0.179; 95% CI:0.019~0.387; p = 0.031), daytime central PP (ß = 0.114; 95% CI:0.070~0.375; p = 0.005, night-time central SBP (ß = 0.411; 95% CI:0.112~0.691; p = 0.007) and night-time PP (ß = 0.257; 95% CI:0.165~0.780; p = 0.003) were all positively associated with ASCVD risk. Conclusions: Blood pressure obtained by 24-h ABPM was better correlated with HMOD than office BP. Whilst 24-h peripheral BP showed a stronger association with HMOD than 24-h central BP, the prognostic value of 24-h central BP for the 10-year ASCVD risk was superior to 24-h peripheral BP.

Relationship between Arterial Stiffness and Renal Function Determined by Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Equations in a Chinese Cohort Undergoing Health Examination.

Background: The association between arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk in CKD and ESRD patients is well established. However, the relationship between renal function estimation and properties of large arteries is unclear due to the four different methods used to quantify glomerular filtration. This study investigated the relationship between carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-fPWV), as a measure of arterial stiffness, and accepted metrics of renal function. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 431 health examination individuals in China, enrolled from January 2017 to June 2019. c-fPWV and blood pressure were measured, and blood samples were obtained for all participants. Four different methods were used to determine the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as described by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations: (i) CKD-EPISCr formula based on SCr, (ii) CKD-EPICysC formula based on CysC, (iii) CKD-EPISCr/CysC formula based on Cr and CysC, and (iv) MDRD. Results: Of all of the study participants (average age 53.1 ± 13.0 years, 68.1% male), 23.7% had diabetes mellitus and 66.6% had hypertension. The average eGFR values determined by the CKD-EPISCr, CKD-EPICysC, CKD-EPISCr/CysC, and MDRD equations were 91.9 ± 15.6, 86.8 ± 21.4, 89.6 ± 18.3, and 90.7 ± 16.6 ml/min/1.73m2, respectively. c-fPWV was significantly and negatively correlated with eGFR determined by CKD-EPISCr (r = -0.336, P < 0.001), CKD-EPICysC (r = -0.385, P < 0.001), CKD-EPISCr/CysC (r = -0.378, P < 0.001), and MDRD (r = -0.219, P < .001) equations. After adjusting for confounding factors, c-fPWV remained significantly and negatively correlated with eGFR determined by the CKD-EPICysC equation (ß = -0.105, P = 0.042) and significantly and positively correlated with age (ß = 0.349, P ≤ 0.01), systolic pressure (ß = 0.276, P ≤ 0.01), and hypoglycemic drugs (ß = 0.101, P = 0.019). Conclusion: In a health examination population in China, c-fPWV is negatively correlated with eGFR determined by four different equations; however, only the metric of eGFR determined by the equation for CKD-EPICysC showed an independent relation with c-fPWV.

Tightly focusing terahertz wave using gradient-type slotted grating based on spoof surface plasmons.

The d1-d2-d3-d4-d5 gradient-type spoof surface plasmons (SSP) grating was designed and found to exert an obvious effect on electric field localization. Two gradient-shaped planar ports were added to the bottom of this grating to form a gradient-type slotted SSP grating and achieve tight focusing and local electric field enhancement for a terahertz wave. The size of the focal spot was optimized to 0.01λ. The single-gradient-type slotted SSP grating was considered as a unit and arranged in one and two dimensions to generate a longitudinal focal line and square focal spots array. This did not only improve the resolution of terahertz imaging, but also simultaneously scan multiple focal spots to increase the speed of terahertz imaging. This work makes the manipulation of terahertz wave more flexible and efficient which has great potential in terahertz high-resolution near-field scanning imaging.

Corneal hydration assessment indicator based on terahertz time domain spectroscopy.

Terahertz technology has shown broad prospects for measuring corneal water content, which is an important parameter of ocular health. Based on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, a new indicator named characteristic ratio (CR) of the sum of low (0.2-0.7 THz) and high (0.7-1.0 THz) frequency spectral intensities, for characterizing corneal hydration is introduced in this work. CR is calculated from the real-time reflection spectra after error elimination of ex vivo human corneal stroma samples which is collected during dehydration under natural conditions (temperature: 22.4 ± 0.3°C; humidity: 20.0 ± 3%). The corresponding relationships between CR and corneal water content are reported. Comparing the linear fitting results with the published similar study, the coefficients of variation of the fitting slope and intercept are 39.4% and 27.6% lower, respectively. This indicates that this approach has the potential to achieve corneal water content in-vivo detection in the future.

Relationship between body mass index and arterial stiffness in a health assessment Chinese population.

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a reliable measurement of arterial stiffness. Our study assesses the association between body mass index (BMI) and brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) in a healthy cohort and seeks to explain possible mechanisms associated with the obesity paradox.A cross-sectional study was conducted in 578 normal individuals. The mean age was 48.3 ±â€Š14.6 years, and 468 (81.0%) were men. 288 subjects (49.8%) were overweight and obese. baPWV and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were performed to evaluate arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis respectively. Normal weight was defined as 18.5 < BMI <25 kg/m, overweight as 25 ≤ BMI < 28 kg/m and obesity as BMI ≥28 kg/m.The overweight/obese subjects had significantly higher baPWV than the normal-weight group (1490.0 ±â€Š308.0/1445.2 ±â€Š245.2 cm/s vs 1371.2 ±â€Š306.4 cm/s, P < .001). For the whole cohort, baPWV showed a significant positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.205, P < .001). However, baPWV was significantly lower as BMI increased: 1490.0 ±â€Š308.0 cm/s (overweight); 1445.2 ±â€Š245.2 cm/s (obese); P < .001) when adjusted for age, gender, heart rate, mean blood pressure, and cardiovascular risk factors (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein). For the whole cohort BMI was negatively associated with baPWV (ß = -0.06, P = .042). ABI showed no relationship with BMI. In a middle-age healthy Chinese population, arterial stiffness measured as baPWV increased with BMI.Evidence of reduced arterial stiffness with increasing BMI when accounting for all other cardiovascular risk factors may contribute to underlying factors involved in the obesity paradox that becomes more prominent with increasing age.

Pulse wave velocity is decreased with obesity in an elderly Chinese population.

Obesity is generally considered an undesirable risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, obese subjects with heart failure paradoxically can have better outcomes than their lean counterparts. This study aimed to investigate this characteristic in an elderly Chinese population. Elderly participants (N = 414, age 77 ± 11 years, 211 males) were recruited from a Chinese community-dwelling elderly population. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to body mass index (BMI ≤ 25, normal; 25-28, overweight; and ≥28, obese). Arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and the atherosclerosis status was evaluated with the ankle brachial index (ABI). Brachial systolic blood pressure (BSBP) was significantly higher as BMI increased (135 ± 18.4, 138 ± 18.3, 147 ± 17.6 mm Hg; P = .003) adjusted for age, sex, and heart rate. However, baPWV was significantly lower as BMI increased (baPWV 1830 ± 18, 1793 ± 25, 1704 ± 36 cm/s; P = .008) in the three groups, even with additional adjustment for BSBP. BMI showed a significant negative correlation with baPWV (r = -.170, P = .001) after adjusting for confounding factors. Using multiple linear regression, BMI was negatively and independently associated with baPWV (ß = -.190, P < .001) especially for age <80 years. Arterial stiffness, as measured by baPWV, is lower in overweight subjects in a Chinese elderly population compared to those with normal body weight. ABI showed no relationship with BMI. These findings suggest that reduced arterial stiffness in the overweight population, independent of confounding factors, may contribute to the explanation of the "obesity paradox."

Association of Haemodynamic Indices of Central and Peripheral Pressure with Subclinical Target Organ Damage.

BACKGROUND: Central aortic pressure has often been shown to be more closely associated with markers of vascular function and incidence of cardiovascular events compared to peripheral pressure. However, the potential clinical use of central aortic or peripheral haemodynamic indices as markers of target organ damage (TOD) has not been fully established. METHODS: We evaluated associations of TOD with central aortic and peripheral haemodynamic indices (central aortic [cPP] and peripheral pulse pressure [pPP], central aortic augmentation index, and central and peripheral waveform factor) in 770 hospital inpatients (age 60 ± 10 years, 473 males) with primary hypertension. TOD was quantified in terms of arterial stiffness as measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). Subclinical TOD was defined as carotid IMT >0.9 mm, urine ACR >3.5 mg/mmol in females and >2.5 mg/mmol in males and/or cfPWV >12 m/s. RESULTS: Both cPP and pPP showed significant correlation with cfPWV (r = 0.41 vs. 0.40; p < 0.01), ACR (r = 0.24 vs. 0.27; p < 0.01) and carotid IMT (r = 0.14 vs. 0.15; p < 0.01). Each SD increase in pPP and cPP was associated with increased risk of cfPWV >12 m/s (odds ratio [OR] = 2.7 and 2.9 for pPP and cPP, respectively), ACR >2.5 mg/mmol (OR = 1.2 and 1.4, respectively), and carotid IMT >0.9 mm (OR = 1.46 and 1.53, respectively). Compared to pPP, cPP had higher predictive power for TOD for age ≥60 years (OR = 3.07, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although both pPP and cPP show an association with TOD in a hypertensive population, cPP provides additional information beyond pPP associated with TOD in a hypertensive cohort. Central aortic haemodynamic indices as potential biomarkers of subclinical TOD need to be validated by further prospective studies.