Ratio of red blood cell distribution width to albumin level and risk of mortality in sarcopenic obesity.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between red blood cell distribution width and albumin ratio (RAR) levels and mortality in adult patients with sarcopenic obesity in the United States. The study included 1,361 adult patients with sarcopenic obesity from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006). The X-tile was used to determine the optimal subgroup thresholds for RAR values, and propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to reduce baseline bias.

Association of serum uric acid with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in cardiovascular disease patients.

The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains controversial. We aimed to explore the relationship between SUA and all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) in adult patients with CVD. This cohort study included 3977 patients with CVD from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2018).

[Applicability of HFPEF and HFA-PEFF Scores in Chinese Patients Suffering From Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Complicated With Atrial Fibrillation].

Objective To analyze the diagnostic values of HFPEF and HFA-PEFF scores for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and HFpEF complicated with atrial fibrillation (HFpEF-AF) in Chinese patients and explore the related factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted.A total of 835 consecutive HFpEF patients treated in the Department of Geriatric Cardiology,the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from 2009 to 2020 were selected and assigned to a HFpEF-AF group (=267) and a HFpEF group (=568) according to the presence of AF or not.

Interaction between systemic iron parameters and left ventricular structure and function in the preserved ejection fraction population: a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Left ventricular (LV) remodeling and diastolic function in people with heart failure (HF) are correlated with iron status; however, the causality is uncertain. This Mendelian randomization (MR) study investigated the bidirectional causal relationship between systemic iron parameters and LV structure and function in a preserved ejection fraction population.

Methods: Transferrin saturation (TSAT), total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and serum iron and ferritin levels were extracted as instrumental variables for iron parameters from meta-analyses of public genome-wide association studies.

[Cardiac Structural and Functional Features in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction:A Study Based on Propensity Score Matching].

Objective To investigate the cardiac structural and functional characteristics in the patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM),and predict the factors influencing the characteristics. Methods A total of 783 HFpEF patients diagnosed in the Department of Geriatric Cardiology,the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from April 2009 to December 2020 were enrolled in this study.Echocardiography and tissue Doppler technique were employed to evaluate cardiac structure and function.

Bibliometric study of soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators in cardiovascular research based on web of science from 1992 to 2021.

Several studies have shown that soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulators have cardiovascular (CV) benefits. However, few bibliometric analyses have examined this field systematically. Our study aimed to examine the publications to determine the trends and hotspots in CV research on sGC stimulators.

Erratum to "The Possibility of Changing the Wettability of Material Surface by Adjusting Gravity".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.34133/2020/2640834.].

The Possibility of Changing the Wettability of Material Surface by Adjusting Gravity.

The contact angle, as a vital measured parameter of wettability of material surface, has long been in dispute whether it is affected by gravity. Herein, we measured the advancing and receding contact angles on extremely low contact angle hysteresis surfaces under different gravities (1-8G) and found that both of them decrease with the increase of the gravity. The underlying mechanism is revealed to be the contact angle hysteresis and the deformation of the liquid-vapor interface away from the solid surface caused by gradient distribution of the hydrostatic pressure.

Effects of large gradient high magnetic field (LG-HMF) on the long-term culture of aquatic organisms: Planarians example.

Large gradient high magnetic field (LG-HMF) is a powerful tool to study the effects of altered gravity on organisms. In our study, a platform for the long-term culture of aquatic organisms was designed based on a special superconducting magnet with an LG-HMF, which can provide three apparent gravity levels (µ g, 1 g, and 2 g), along with a control condition on the ground. Planarians, Dugesia japonica, were head-amputated and cultured for 5 days in a platform for head reconstruction.

[Genetics of fertility restoration in the isocytoplasm allonuclear C-group of cytoplasmic male sterility in maize].

Maize is one of the first crops to produce hybrids using cytoplasmic male sterile lines. The C-type cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS-C) line is vital for hybrid seed production, and the fertility-restoration reaction along with its stability has a direct bearing on its applications. However, fertility restoration mechanism of CMS-C is complex and is still not clear so far.

Correlation between the GP78 Gene Polymorphism and Coronary Atherosclerotic Heart Disease.

Objective: To study the correlation between the GP78 gene polymorphism and blood fat, blood glucose, blood pressure and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.

Methods: A total of 72 patients with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease were selected as the observation group, and 68 healthy participants were selected as the control group. The gp78 gene polymorphism of both groups was studied via polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

[Measuring the Spectrum of Extinction Coefficient and Reflectance for Cadmium Compounds from 400 to 900 nm].

The key to extract the contents of cadmium in water by using remote sensing technique is to measure the spectrum of extinction coefficient per g·L(-1) and reflectance for its compounds. So in this paper, firstly, we choose two kinds of cadmium compounds, cadmium sulfide (CdS) and cadmium oxide (CdO), which are most commonly exsit in natural water, to measure the spectrums of extinction coefficient and reflectance for them. We use the equipment, designed on our own, which can adjust the path length of light passing and make our measuring results more accurate at visible and near-infrared wavelength range than others.

Measurement of contact angles in a simulated microgravity environment generated by a large gradient magnetic field.

The contact angle is an important parameter that is essential for studying interfacial phenomena. The contact angle can be measured using commercially available instruments. However, these well-developed instruments may not function or may be unsuitable for use in some special environments.

A novel rotating experimental platform in a superconducting magnet.

This paper introduces a novel platform designed to be used in a strong static magnetic field (in a superconducting magnet). The platform is a sample holder that rotates in the strong magnetic field. Any samples placed in the platform will rotate due to the rotation of the sample holder.

Research progress on mechanisms of male sterility in plants based on high-throughput RNA sequencing.

Male sterility is defined as failing to produce functional pollen during stamen development in plants, and it plays a crucial role in plant reproductive research and hybrid seed production in utilization of crop heterosis. High throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has been used widely in the study of different fields of life science, as it readily detects all the mRNA and non-coding RNA in cells. Recently, RNA-seq has been reported to be applied in different species and kinds of pollen abortion types in plants, which has contributed to the understanding of the molecular mechanism and metabolic networks of male sterility at the transcription level.

[Effect of Kanli Granule on Myocardial Mechanics in Pressure Overload Induced Diastolic Heart Failure Rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of Kanli Granule (KG) on myocardial mechanics in pressure overload induced diastolic heart failure (DHF) rats.

Methods: Totally 60 male Wistar rats were divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, the KG group, and the Valsartan group according to random digit table, 15 in each group. The pressure overload induced DHF model was established in all groups except the sham-operation group using abdominal aortic constriction surgery.

[Research progress of the bHLH transcription factors involved in genic male sterility in plants].

Male sterility exists widely in the spermatophytes. It contributes to the study of plant reproductive development and can be used as an effective tool for hybrid seed production in heterosis utilization. Therefore, the study on male sterility is of great value in both theory and application.

An ignored variable: solution preparation temperature in protein crystallization.

Protein crystallization is affected by many parameters, among which certain parameters have not been well controlled. The temperature at which the protein and precipitant solutions are mixed (i.e.

Utilisation of adsorption and desorption for simultaneously improving protein crystallisation success rate and crystal quality.

High-quality protein crystals of suitable size are an important prerequisite for applying X-ray crystallography to determine the 3-dimensional structure of proteins. However, it is often difficult to obtain protein crystals of appropriate size and quality because nucleation and growth processes can be unsuccessful. Here, we show that by adsorbing proteins onto porous polystyrene-divinylbenzene microspheres (SDB) floating on the surface of the crystallisation solution, a localised high supersaturation region at the surface of the microspheres and a low supersaturation region below the microspheres can coexist in a single solution.

[Establishment of a method to detect duck hepatitis B virus covalently closed circular DNA based on rolling circle amplification].

Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a newly developed experimental technique that can specific ally amplify circular DNA. Since 2008, RCA has been extensively used in hepatitis B virus (HBV) research, such as the amplification of the full-length sequence of the HBV genome, and the analysis of the drug-resistant mutations of HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), amongst others. To create an easy assay for the analysis of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) cccDNA, this study established an RCA-based method.

Promoting protein crystallization using a plate with simple geometry.

Increasing the probability of obtaining protein crystals in crystallization screening is always an important goal for protein crystallography. In this paper, a new method called the cross-diffusion microbatch (CDM) method is presented, which aims to efficiently promote protein crystallization and increase the chance of obtaining protein crystals. In this method, a very simple crystallization plate was designed in which all crystallization droplets are in one sealed space, so that a variety of volatile components from one droplet can diffuse into any other droplet via vapour diffusion.

[Effect of protein on the detection of antipsychotic drug residues in human serum and its elimination].

Using pure human serum albumin (HSA) as the model protein, the effects of protein on the extraction of antipsychotic drugs (APDs: diazepam, chlorpromazine hydrochloride, and perphenazine) in human serum sample were studied. The present paper investigated the interaction between APDs and HSA by fluorescence spectrometry in detail The influences of different ethanol concentration solution on protein denaturation were studied by Rayleigh scattering. The results showed that APDs strongly bound with HSA.

A quality comparison of protein crystals grown under containerless conditions generated by diamagnetic levitation, silicone oil and agarose gel.

High-quality crystals are key to obtaining accurate three-dimensional structures of proteins using X-ray diffraction techniques. However, obtaining such protein crystals is often a challenge. Several containerless crystallization techniques have been reported to have the ability to improve crystal quality, but it is unknown which is the most favourable way to grow high-quality protein crystals.

[Cloning and sequence analysis of the DHBV genome of the brown ducks in Guilin region and establishment of the quantitative method for detecting DHBV].

Brown ducks carrying DHBV were widely used as hepatitis B animal model in the research of the activity and toxicity of anti-HBV dugs. Studies showed that the ratio of DHBV carriers in the brown ducks in Guilin region was relatively high. Nevertheless, the characters of the DHBV genome of Guilin brown duck remain unknown.