Non-swelling hydrogel-based microfluidic chips.

Hydrogel-based microfluidic chips are more biologically relevant than conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chips, but the inherent swelling of hydrogels leads to a decrease in mechanical performance and deformation of the as-prepared structure in their manufacture and application processing. Non-swelling hydrogel has, for the first time, been utilized to construct microfluidic chips in this study. It was fabricated by covalently cross-linking the biocompatible copolymer of di-acrylated Pluronic F127 (F127-DA).

Association of Smoking-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) with Nutritional Status and Diet Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in China.

Background: Smoking is the second leading cause of death. Limited studies are available about smoking and overall diet quality. The current study was aimed at finding an association of s-KAP (smoking-related knowledge, attitude, and practices) with nutritional status and diet quality.

Modelling the radioluminescence of Sm and Sm in the dosimeter material NaMgF:Sm.

Photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence (RL) measurements were made on NaMgF:Sm before, during and after exposure to high doses of ionising radiation. Magnetic measurements prior to irradiation showed that approximately 10% of the total Sm concentration was in the divalent state. The RL from Sm was found to increase while the Sm RL decreased with increasing x-ray dose before reaching steady-state values for high doses.

Membrane photo-bioreactor coupled with heterogeneous Fenton fluidized bed for high salinity wastewater treatment: Pollutant removal, photosynthetic bacteria harvest and membrane anti-fouling analysis.

In this study, efficient photosynthetic bacteria (PSB)-GO/PVDF membrane photo-bioreactor (MPBR) combined with heterogeneous Fenton fluidized bed was built and successfully applied for treatment of actual refractory seafood-processing wastewater with extremely high salinity. As effective pre-treatment, heterogeneous Fenton was designed for removing non-biodegradable organics and reducing iron-sludge discharge. In MPBR, GO/PVDF membrane fabricated by chemical grafting GO nanosheets was first used for salt-tolerated PSB harvest.

Physical activity, sedentary time and their associations with clustered metabolic risk among people with type 2 diabetes in Jiangsu province: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Investigating the association between total physical activity, physical activity in different domains and sedentary time with clustered metabolic risk in patients with type 2 diabetes from Jiangsu province, China.

Design: Interview-based cross-sectional study conducted between December 2013 and January 2014.

Setting: 44 selected townships across two cities, Changshu and Huai'an, in Jiangsu province.

Catalytic Asymmetric Umpolung Allylation/2-Aza-Cope Rearrangement for the Construction of α-Tetrasubstituted α-Trifluoromethyl Homoallylic Amines.

A general protocol for the preparation of enantioenriched α-tetrasubstituted α-trifluoromethyl homoallylic amines is disclosed. Despite the significant challenge in stereoselectivity control, Ir-catalyzed asymmetric cascade umpolung allylation/2-aza-Cope rearrangement of trifluoromethylated fluorenone imines with allylic carbonates was realized with excellent efficiency and remarkable stereoselectivity. These were enabled by the suitable protective imino moiety and an unexpectedly exclusive -geometrical imine of the allylation intermediate.

Variants Confer the Genetic Susceptibility to Diabetic Kidney Disease in a Han Chinese Population.

Beta-actin (ACTB) loss-of-function mutations result in a pleiotropic developmental disorder of kidney. The present study aims to explore whether the common variants at the gene contribute to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) susceptibility in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). From the baseline population of 20,340 diabetic patients, 1,510 DKD cases and 1,510 age-matched T2DM controls were selected.

Predicting 10-Year and Lifetime Stroke Risk in Chinese Population.

Background and Purpose- Risk assessment is essential for the primary prevention of stroke. However, the current available tools derived from Chinese populations are insufficient for individualized 10-year and lifetime stroke risk prediction. Our study aims to develop and validate personalized 10-year and lifetime stroke risk equations incorporating 4 large Chinese cohorts.

Energy-Efficient Solar Photochemistry with Luminescent Solar Concentrator Based Photomicroreactors.

The sun is the most sustainable light source available on our planet, therefore the direct use of sunlight for photochemistry is extremely appealing. Demonstrated here, for the first time, is that a diverse set of photon-driven transformations can be efficiently powered by solar irradiation with the use of solvent-resistant and cheap luminescent solar concentrator based photomicroreactors. Blue, green, and red reactors can accommodate both homogeneous and multiphase reaction conditions, including photochemical oxidations, photocatalytic trifluoromethylation chemistry, and metallaphotoredox transformations, thus spanning applications over the entire visible-light spectrum.

Association of handgrip strength with the prevalence of hypertension in a Chinese Han population.

Objective: Handgrip strength (HGS) exercise has been reported to reduce blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive patients. In this study, we evaluated the association of HGS with hypertension in a Chinese Han Population.

Methods: A total of 11,151 subjects mainly consisting of a rural population were recruited with a multi-stage sampling method in Jurong city, Jiangsu Province, China.

The ACTB Variants and Alcohol Drinking Confer Joint Effect to Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Han Population.

Aim: β-actin (ACTB) participates in the vascular remodeling and contributes to the cardiovascular diseases. Herein, we investigated the associations of ACTB with hypertension and stroke.

Methods: Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms in ACTB were selected for genotyping in 2,012 hypertension cases and 2,210 controls.

Cadmium removal from rice protein via synergistic treatment of rhamnolipids and F127/PAA hydrogels.

Heavy metal ions can accumulate in the area's crop harvest, such as rice, via a tight binding with protein. Such binding paves great difficulties to remove heavy metal ions. This study aims to remove cadmium from contaminated rice protein using rhamnolipid biosurfactant together with Pluronic F127/poly (acrylic acid) (i.

Use of oocytes selected by brilliant cresyl blue staining enhances rabbit cloned embryo development in vitro.

SummaryRabbits play an important role in people's lives due to their high nutritional value and high-quality hair that can be used as raw material for textiles. Furthermore, rabbits are an important animal model for human disease, as genome-edited animals are particularly valuable for studying gene functions and pathogenesis. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is an important technique for producing genome-edited animals and it has great value in saving endangered species and in clone stem cell therapy.

Time trend of cardiometabolic risk factors over a 10-year period in the office-working population in China.

Objectives: Recent dramatic increases in cardiovascular disease mortality in China can be mostly explained by adverse changes in hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes and obesity, known as cardiometabolic risk factors. Our study aimed to assess the trend of these four signatures by a 10-year lag in Nanjing, China.

Methods: 8017 subjects attended the routine health examination in 2008, and 9379 subjects in 2017, from multiple work units of Nanjing, were included in the present study.

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of α-Trifluoromethyl Homoallylic Amines via Umpolung Allylation/2-Aza-Cope Rearrangement: Stereoselectivity and Mechanistic Insight.

An unprecedented Ir-catalyzed asymmetric cascade umpolung allylation/2-aza-Cope rearrangement of trifluoroethylisatin ketimines has been realized. The current method provides a facile access to biologically important α-trifluoromethyl-containing homoallylic amines in high yields with excellent enantioselectivity. Notably, umpolung reactivity of trifluoroethylisatin ketimine was discovered for the first time.

Enantioselective synthesis of multi-nitrogen-containing heterocycles using azoalkenes as key intermediates.

Chiral multi-nitrogen-containing heterocycles, such as pyrazole, imidazole and pyridazine, are widely found in naturally occurring organic compounds and pharmaceuticals, and hence, their stereoselective and efficient synthesis is an important issue in organic synthesis. Out of the variety of methods that have been developed over the past century, the catalytic asymmetric cyclization and cycloaddition reactions are recognized as the most synthetically useful strategies due to their step-, atom- and redox-economic nature. In particular, the recently developed annulation reactions using azoalkenes as key intermediates show their great ability to construct diverse types of multi-nitrogen-containing heterocycles.

Attitude measurement based on imaging ray tracking model and orthographic projection with iteration algorithm.

In the field of vision-based attitude estimation, camera model and attitude solving algorithm are the key technologies, which determine the measurement accuracy, effectiveness and applicability. Aiming at this issue, in this paper we probe into the generic imaging model and then develop a corresponding generic camera calibration method using two auxiliary calibration planes. The camera model is named as imaging ray tracking model.

Identification of circular RNA Hsa_circ_0001879 and Hsa_circ_0004104 as novel biomarkers for coronary artery disease.

Background And Aims: The role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in coronary artery disease (CAD) remains elusive. The aim of the present study was to profile circRNAs expression in CAD patients and assess diagnostics biomarkers for CAD.

Methods: The circRNA profiles of 24 CAD patients and 7 controls were assessed by microarray.

Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Hypertension Incidence in China.

The risk of incident hypertension associated with long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) was still unclear by studies conducted in North America and Europe, and this relationship has rarely been quantified at higher ambient concentrations typically found in developing countries. We aimed to investigate the association between PM and incident hypertension using the large-scale prospective cohorts in China. We included 59 456 participants without hypertension aged ≥18 years from the China-PAR (Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China) project.

Unusual Bi NMR quadrupole effects in topological insulator BiSe.

Three-dimensional topological insulators are an important class of modern materials, and a strong spin-orbit coupling is involved in making the bulk electronic states very different from those near the surface. BiSe is a model compound, and Bi NMR is employed here to investigate the bulk properties of the material with focus on the quadrupole splitting. It will be shown that this splitting measures the energy band inversion induced by spin-orbit coupling in quantitative agreement with first-principle calculations.

Determine turntable coordinate system considering its non-orthogonality.

In industrial measurement and laboratory research, many measured objects are placed on the three-axis turntable. In this paper, we propose a fast and practical method to determine the turntable coordinate system with the aid of spatial coordinate of point cloud data. By sphere fitting, plane fitting, and point projection, the scattered point cloud data are combined together to obtain initial direction vectors.

Zeolite Imidazolate Framework Membranes on Polymeric Substrates Modified with Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Alginate Composite Hydrogels.

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-sodium alginate composite hydrogels were first introduced to synthesize robust and well-intergrown zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF)/polymer hollow fiber membranes. Through enough adsorption interaction with metal ions by chelation, sufficient nucleation sites for in situ metal-organic framework (MOF) preparation are provided. Using this method, we can not only easily prepare defect-free MOF membranes ignoring the complex modification process and seed deposition but also structurally fix crystalline MOF layers and greatly improve the stiffness and durability of MOF composite membranes.

Design, Fabrication and Experiment of Double U-Beam MEMS Vibration Ring Gyroscope.

This study presents a new microelectromechanical system, a vibration ring gyroscope with a double U-beam (DUVRG), which was designed using a combination of mathematical analysis and the finite element method. First, a ring vibration resonator with eight double U-beam structures was developed, and 24 capacitive electrodes were designed for drive and sense according to the advantageous characteristics of a thin-shell vibrating gyroscope. Then, based on the elastic mechanics and thin-shell theory, a mathematical stiffness model of the double U-beam was established.

Long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and incidence of diabetes in China: A cohort study.

Background: Diabetes caused substantial economic and health burden worldwide. However, the associations between air pollution and diabetes incidence were rarely reported in the developing countries, especially in China with relatively high PM concentrations.

Objectives: A cohort-based study was conducted to assess the diabetes incidence associated with long-term exposure to ambient PM.

High-G Calibration Denoising Method for High-G MEMS Accelerometer Based on EMD and Wavelet Threshold.

High-G MEMS accelerometers have been widely used in monitoring natural disasters and other fields. In order to improve the performance of High-G MEMS accelerometers, a denoising method based on the combination of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and wavelet threshold is proposed. Firstly, EMD decomposition is performed on the output of the main accelerometer to obtain the intrinsic mode function (IMF).