Association of lipid profiles and the ratios with arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly Chinese

BACKGROUND: Serum lipids and the ratios are known to be associated with the cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, the associations of serum lipids and the ratios related to arterial stiffness are unclear. We sought to compare the strength of these serum lipids and the ratios with arterial stiffness assessing by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese subjects. METHODS: A total number of 1133 Chinese aged from 50 to 90 years old were recruited from Shanghai downtown district. The serum lipids, baPWV and major cardiovascular risk factors of the participants were measured. RESULTS: Participants with high baPWV exhibited higher levels of non-HDL-c, TC/HDL-c, TG/HDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c, and non-HDL-c/HDL-c, while HDL-c worked in the opposite direction (all P<0.05). In addition, TC, TG, LDL-c, non-HDL-c, TC/HDL-c, TG/HDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c, and non-HDL-c/HDL-c had a positive relationship with the baPWV value, while HDL-c was on the contrary (all P <0.05). Finally, individuals with high non-HDL-c/HDL-c (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.06-2.55, P = 0.013) and low HDL-c (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.35-0.96, P = 0.024) were seem to be at high risk of arterial stiffness. CONCLUSIONS: As a risk indicator, non-HDL-c/HDL-c, which could be readily obtained from routine serum lipids, was significantly associated with baPWV. Non-HDL-c/HDL-c was superior to traditional lipid variables for estimating arterial stiffness in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population

Integrated cladding-pumped multicore few-mode erbium-doped fibre amplifier for space-division-multiplexed communications

Space-division multiplexing (SDM), whereby multiple spatial channels in multimode1 and multicore2 optical fibres are used to increase the total transmission capacity per fibre, is being investigated to avert a data capacity crunch3,4 and reduce the cost per transmitted bit. With the number of channels employed in SDM transmission experiments continuing to rise, there is a requirement for integrated SDM components that are scalable. Here, we demonstrate a cladding-pumped SDM erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) that consists of six uncoupled multimode erbium-doped cores. Each core supports three spatial modes, which enables the EDFA to amplify a total of 18 spatial channels (six cores × three modes) simultaneously with a single pump diode and a complexity similar to a single-mode EDFA. The amplifier delivers >20 dBm total output power per core and <7 dB noise figure over the C-band. This cladding-pumped EDFA enables combined space-division and wavelength-division multiplexed transmission over multiple multimode fibre spans

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube Arrays with High Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction

The large- scale practical application of fuel cells will be difficult to realize if the expensive platinum- based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions ( ORRs) cannot be replaced by other efficient, low- cost, and stable electrodes. Here, we report that vertically aligned nitrogen- containing carbon nanotubes ( VA- NCNTs) can act as a metal- free electrode with a much better electrocatalytic activity, long- term operation stability, and tolerance to crossover effect than platinum for oxygen reduction in alkaline fuel cells. In air- saturated 0.1 molar potassium hydroxide, we observed a steady- state output potential of - 80 millivolts and a current density of 4.1 milliamps per square centimeter at - 0.22 volts, compared with - 85 millivolts and 1.1 milliamps per square centimeter at - 0.20 volts for a platinum- carbon electrode. The incorporation of electron- accepting nitrogen atoms in the conjugated nanotube carbon plane appears to impart a relatively high positive charge density on adjacent carbon atoms. This effect, coupled with aligning the NCNTs, provides a four- electron pathway for the ORR on VA- NCNTs with a superb performance.close1542136

Efficient Annular Cladding Amplifier With Six, Three-Mode Cores

We demonstrate a multi-core, multi-mode optical amplifier with 18 spatial channels pumped by a single 15-W multi-mode pump diode. The amplifier has \u3e20-dB gain per mode, \u3c3-dB mode and core dependent gain, and \u3e31 mW per spatial channel

Spatially And Spectrally Resolved Gain Characterization Of Space-Division Multiplexing Amplifiers With Coherent Swept-Wavelength Reflectometry

We directly measure the spatially and spectrally resolved gain of erbium doped multicore and few mode fiber amplifiers using a coherent swept wavelength interferometer operated in the reflection mode. It greatly simplifies the characterization of multispatial mode amplifiers because it enables characterization of the mode-dependent gain with only a single mode-selective multiplexer at the input. The gains for both multicore fiber amplifier and three spatial modes (LP01 and LP11) amplifier are measured. Measurements for multicore fiber amplifier are conducted using two pump schemes, core pump and cladding pump. Also, the comparison with the cutback experiments shows the validity of this technique

Characterization Of Annular Cladding Erbium-Doped 6-Core Fiber Amplifier

We compare two 6-core annular cladding erbium-doped fibers achieving \u3e19 dB gain and \u3c6 dB noise figure across the C-band. The annular cladding improves the pump power utilization by 40% compared to uniform double-cladding

Characterization Of Space-Division Multiplexing Amplifiers Using A Swept Wavelength Coherent Reflectometer

We directly measure the optimum length and the mode-dependent gain of multi-core and few-mode optical amplifiers using a swept wavelength interferometer operated in reflection mode. The technique requires only one space multiplexer and eliminates cut-backs

Albuminuria Is Associated with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients with Early Diabetic Kidney Disease

Aims. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and albuminuria are both markers for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We speculate that albuminuria in T2DM patients with early diabetic kidney disease (DKD) could predict LVH. Methods. 333 diabetic patients (219 non-DKD and 114 early DKD) were enrolled. The association between albuminuria and LVMI was examined using multivariate linear regression and logistic regression. Results. The rate of LVH was significantly higher in patients with early DKD versus those without DKD (57.0% versus 32.9%; P<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that albuminuria status (no, micro-, and macroalbuminuria; P<0.001), age (P<0.001), systolic blood pressure (P=0.0578), and the use of ACEI/ARB drug (P<0.001) were independently associated with LVMI. The risks were substantially higher for LVH in the microalbuminuria group (odds ratio 2.473 (95% confidence interval 1.370–4.464)) and macroalbuminuria group (odds ratio 3.940 (95% confidence interval 1.553–9.993)) compared with that in non-DKD group. Concentric hypertrophy was the most common geometric pattern in patients with early DKD (36.0%), followed by eccentric hypertrophy (21.0%). Conclusions. Albuminuria is associated with higher LVMI and higher rate of LVH in patients with early phase DKD