Serum leptin is associated with cardiometabolic risk and predicts metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptin is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, few studies have assessed its relationship with metabolic syndrome, especially in an Asian population. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess leptin levels and evaluate its association with CVD and metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2009, 957 subjects, who underwent a routine physical examination and choose leptin examination, were selected to participate. Participants (269 females and 688 males) were stratified according to leptin level quartiles. Metabolic syndrome was defined by NCEP ATP III using waist circumference cutoffs modified for Asian populations, and CVD risk was determined using the Framingham Heart Study profile.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Leptin levels were correlated with CVD risk in men and women. With the exception of fasting plasma glucose, increased leptin levels were observed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome increased in both males and females. After adjusting for age, an association between leptin levels and metabolic syndrome was observed. After adjusting for age alone or with tobacco use, subjects in the highest leptin quartile had a higher risk of having metabolic syndrome than those in the lowest quartile (OR = 6.14 and 2.94 for men and women, respectively). After further adjustment for BMI, metabolic syndrome risk remained significantly increased with increasing leptin quartiles in men. Finally, increased leptin levels were a predictor of metabolic syndrome in men and women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum leptin levels are correlated with CVD risk and metabolic syndrome. Analysis of leptin as part of routine physical examinations may prove beneficial for early diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.</p

Effects of corner frequency on bandwidth and resonance amplitude in designing

ABSTRACT In the last decade, Lead Zirconate Titanate Oxide (PZT) thin-film actuators have received increasing attention because of their high frequency bandwidth, large actuation strength, fast response, and small size. The PZT film thickness is usually less than several microns as opposed to hundreds of microns for bulk PZT patches that are commercially available. As a result, PZT thin-film actuators pose unique vibration issues that do not appear in actuators with bulk PZT. Two major issues affecting actuator performance are the frequency bandwidth and the resonance amplitude. As an electromechanical device, a PZT thin-film actuator&apos;s bandwidth and resonance amplitude depend not only on the lowest natural frequency ! &quot; n of the actuator&apos;s mechanical structure but also on the corner frequency

Surgical treatment for thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis: case report

Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (THPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening endocrine emergency. It is characterized by recurrent muscle weakness and hypokalemia. Because many THPP patients do not have obvious symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism, misdiagnosis may occur. The published studies revealed that definitive therapy for THPP is control of hyperthyroidism by medical therapy, radioactive iodine or surgery, but the long-term post-operative follow-up result was not observed. We reported two cases of medically refractory THPP with recurrent paralysis of extremities and hypokalemia, and both were combined with thyroid nodules. Both patients were treated with total thyroidectomy; the pathology revealed that one is Graves' disease with thyroid papillary carcinoma, and the other is adenomatous goiter with papillary hyperplasia. No episode of periodic paralysis was noted and laboratory evaluation revealed normal potassium level during the post-operative follow up. Our experience suggests that total thyroidectomy by experienced surgeon is an appropriate and definite treatment for medically refractory THPP, especially in cases combined with thyroid nodules

Anatomical Variations of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve During Thyroid Surgery: How to Identify and Handle the Variations With Intraoperative Neuromonitoring

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy is the most common and serious complication after thyroid surgery. Visual identification of the RLN during thyroid surgery has been shown to be associated with lower rates of palsy, and although it has been recommended as the gold standard for RLN treatment, it does not guarantee success against postoperative vocal cord paralysis. Anatomical variations of the RLN, such as extra-laryngeal branches, distorted RLN, intertwining between branches of the RLN and inferior thyroid artery, and non-recurrent laryngeal nerve, can be a potential cause of nerve injury due to visual misidentification. Therefore, intraoperative verification of functional and anatomical RLN integrity is a prerequisite for a safe thyroid operation. In this article, we review the literature and demonstrate how to identify and handle the anatomical variations of the RLN with the application of intraoperative neuromonitoring in the form of high resolution photography, which can be informative for thyroid surgeons. Anatomical variations of the RLN cannot be predicted preoperatively and might be associated with higher rates of RLN injury. The RLN injury caused by visual misidentification can be rare if the nerve is definitely identified early with intraoperative neuromonitoring

IBM-1 description of the fission products 108,110,112^{108,110,112}Ru

IBM-1} calculations for the fission products $^{108,110,112}$Ru have been carried out. The even-even isotopes of Ru can be described as transitional nuclei situated between the U(5) (spherical vibrator) and SO(6) ($\gamma$-unstable rotor) symmetries of the Interacting Boson Model. At first, a Hamiltonian with only one- and two-body terms has been used. Excitation energies and $B$(E2) ratios of gamma transitions have been calculated. A satisfactory agreement has been obtained, with the exception of the odd-even staggering in the quasi-$\gamma$ bands of $^{110,112}$Ru. The observed pattern is rather similar to the one for a rigid triaxial rotor. A calculation based on a Hamiltonian with three-body terms was able to remove this discrepancy. The relation between the IBM and the triaxial rotor model was also examined.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure

Physicochemical Properties of Glycine-Based Ionic Liquid [QuatGly-OEt][EtOSO3] (2-Ethoxy-1-ethyl-1,1-dimethyl-2-oxoethanaminium ethyl sulfate) and Its Binary Mixtures with Poly(ethylene glycol) (Mw = 200) at Various Temperatures

This work includes specific basic characterization of synthesized glycine-based Ionic Liquid (IL) [QuatGly-OEt][EtOSO3] by NMR, elementary analysis and water content. Thermophysical properties such as density, ρ, viscosity, η, refractive index, n, and conductivity, κ, for the binary mixture of [QuatGly-OEt][EtOSO3] with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [Mw = 200] are measured over the whole composition range. The temperature dependence of density and dynamic viscosity for neat [QuatGly-OEt][EtOSO3] and its binary mixture can be described by an empirical polynomial equation and by the Vogel-Tammann-Fucher (VTF) equation, respectively. The thermal expansion coefficient of the ILs is ascertained using the experimental density results, and the excess volume expansivity is evaluated. The negative values of excess molar volume for the mixture indicate the ion-dipole interactions and packing between IL and PEG oligomer. The results of binary excess property (VmE ) and deviations (Δη, Δxn, ΔΨn, ΔxR, and ΔΨR) are discussed in terms of molecular interactions and molecular structures in the binary mixture

Facile Fabrication of Ultrafine Hollow Silica and Magnetic Hollow Silica Nanoparticles by a Dual-Templating Approach

The development of synthetic process for hollow silica materials is an issue of considerable topical interest. While a number of chemical routes are available and are extensively used, the diameter of hollow silica often large than 50 nm. Here, we report on a facial route to synthesis ultrafine hollow silica nanoparticles (the diameter of ca. 24 nm) with high surface area by using cetyltrimethylammmonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) as co-templates and subsequent annealing treatment. When the hollow magnetite nanoparticles were introduced into the reaction, the ultrafine magnetic hollow silica nanoparticles with the diameter of ca. 32 nm were obtained correspondingly. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm that the nanoparticles are composed of amorphous silica and that the majority of them are hollow

Publisher Correction: Copper adparticle enabled selective electrosynthesis of n-propanol.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complex regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation and predicts patient survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

© 2020 Chung et al. We previously reported that tumor inflammasomes play a key role in tumor control and act as favorable prognostic markers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Activated inflammasomes frequently form distinguishable specks and govern the cellular secretion of IL-1β. However, we know little about the biological and biochemical differences between cells with and without apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-recruitment domain (ASC) speck formation. In this study, we used proteomic iTRAQ analysis to analyze the proteomes of NPC cells that differ in their ASC speck formation upon cisplatin treatment. We identified proteins that were differentially over-expressed in cells with specks, and found that they fell into two Gene ontology (GO) pathways: mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) and ubiquinone metabolism. We observed up-regulation of various components of the OxPhos machinery (including NDUFB3, NDUFB8 and ATP5B), and subsequently found that these changes lead to mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production, which promotes the formation and activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and subsequent pyroptosis. In NPC patients, better local recurrence-free survival was significantly associated with high-level expression of NDUFB8 (p = 0.037) and ATP5B (p = 0.029), as examined using immunohistochemistry. However, there were no significant associations between the expression of NDUFB8 and ATP5B with overall survival of NPC patients. Together, our results demonstrate that up-regulated mitochondrial OxPhos components are strongly associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation in NPC. Our findings further suggest that high-level expression of OxPhos components could be markers for local recurrence and/or promising therapeutic targets in patients with NPC