The predictors to medication adherence among adults with diabetes in the United Arab Emirates.

BackgroundDiabetes is a chronic medical condition and adherence to medication in adults with diabetes is important. Identifying predictors to medication adherence in adults with diabetes would help identify vulnerable patients who are likely to benefit by improving their adherence levels.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study at the Dubai Police Health Centre between February 2015 and November 2015. Questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic, clinical and disease related variables and the primary measure of outcome was adherence levels as measured by the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8©). Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to identify predictors to adherence.ResultsFour hundred and forty six patients were interviewed. Mean age 61 year +/- 11. 48.4 % were male. The mean time since diagnosis of diabetes was 3.2 years (Range 1-15 years). Two hundred and eighty eight (64.6 %) patients were considered non-adherent (MMAS-8© adherence score < 6) while 118 (26.5 %) had moderate adherence (MMAS-8© adherence score 6 = <8) and 40 (9.0 %) high adherence (MMAS-8© adherence scores <8) to their medication respectively. The strongest predictor for adherence as predicted by the multi-logistic regression model was the patient's level of education. A technical diploma certificate as compared to a primary school level of education was the strongest predictor of adherence (OR = 66.1 CI: 6.93 to 630.43); p < 0.001). The patient's age was also a predictor of adherence with older patients reporting higher levels of adherence (OR = 1.113 (CI: 1.045 to 1.185; p = 0.001 for every year increase in age). The duration of diabetes was also a predictor of adherence (OR = 1.830 (CI: 1.270 to 2.636; p = 0.001 for every year increase in the duration of diabetes). Other predictors to medication adherence include Insulin use, ethnicity and certain cultural behaviours.ConclusionA number of important predictors to medication adherence in diabetics were identified in this study. Such predictors could help develop policies for improving adherence in diabetics

Role of miR-148a in hepatitis B associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus encoded X antigen (HBx) is a trans-regulatory protein that alters the activity of selected transcription factors and cytoplasmic signal transduction pathways. HBx transcriptionally up-regulates the expression of a unique gene, URG11, which in turn transcriptionally up-regulates beta-catenin, thereby contributing importantly to hepatocarcinogenesis. HBx and URG11 also alter the expression of multiple microRNAs, and by miRNA array analysis, both were shown to promote the expression of miR-148a. Elevated miR-148a was also seen in HBx positive liver samples from infected patients. To study the function of miR-148a, anti-148a was introduced into HepG2 and Hep3B cells stably expressing HBx or stably over-expressing URG11. Anti-miR-148a suppressed cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell migration, anchorage independent growth in soft agar and subcutaneous tumor formation in SCID mice. Introduction of anti-miR-148a increased PTEN protein and mRNA expression, suggesting that PTEN was targeted by miR-148a. Anti-miR-148a failed to suppress PTEN expression when co-transfected with reporter gene mutants in the 3'UTR of PTEN mRNA. Introduction of anti-miR-148a also resulted in depressed Akt signaling by HBx and URG11, resulting in decreased expression of beta-catenin. Thus, miR-148a may play a central role in HBx/URG11 mediated HCC, and may be an early diagnostic marker and/or therapeutic target associated with this tumor type.published_or_final_versio

Probing ultrafast carrier dynamics and nonlinear absorption and refraction in core-shell silicon nanowires

We investigate the relaxation dynamics of photogenerated carriers in silicon nanowires consisting of a crystalline core and a surrounding amorphous shell, using femtosecond time-resolved differential reflectivity and transmission spectroscopy at photon energies of 3.15 eV and 1.57 eV. The complex behavior of the differential transmission and reflectivity transients is the mixed contributions from the crystalline core and the amorphous silicon on the nanowire surface and the substrate where competing effects of state filling and photoinduced absorption govern the carrier dynamics. Faster relaxation rates are observed on increasing the photo-generated carrier density. Independent experimental results on crystalline silicon-on-sapphire help us in separating the contributions from the carrier dynamics in crystalline core and the amorphous regions in the nanowire samples. Further, single beam z-scan nonlinear transmission experiments at 1.57 eV in both open and close aperture configurations yield two-photon absorption coefficient \$beta$ (~3 cm/GW) and nonlinear refraction coefficient \$gamma$ (-2.5x10^-4 cm2/GW).Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Disease of Cellular Senescence and Dysregulated Immune Homeostasis

Cunzi Li,1 Lan Zhou,2,3 Hongyan Sun,2 Ming Ming Yang2 1The Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University (Shenzhen People’s Hospital), Shenzhen, 518020, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, 518020, People’s Republic of China; 3Post-Doctoral Scientific Research Station of Basic Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ming Ming Yang, Department of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), No. 1017 Dongmen North Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen, 518020, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 22944163, Email [email protected]: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative ocular disease primarily affecting central vision in the elderly. Its pathogenesis is complex, involving cellular senescence and immune homeostasis dysregulation. This review investigates the interaction between these two critical biological processes in AMD pathogenesis and their impact on disease progression. Initially, cellular senescence is analyzed, with particular emphasis on retinal damage induced by senescent retinal pigment epithelial cells. Subsequently, the occurrence of immune homeostasis dysregulation within the retina and its mechanistic role in AMD areis explored. Furthermore, the paper also discusses in detail the interplay between cellular senescence and immune responses, forming a vicious cycle that exacerbates retinal damage and may influence treatment outcomes. In summary, a deeper understanding of the interrelation between cellular senescence and immune dysregulation is vital for the developing innovative therapeutic strategies for AMD.Keywords: age-related macular degeneration, cellular senescence, immune homeostasis dysregulatio

Permian (Artinskian to Wuchapingian) conodont biostratigraphy in the Tieqiao section, Laibin area, South China

Permian strata from the Tieqiao section (Jiangnan Basin, South China) contain several distinctive conodont assemblages. Early Permian (Cisuralian) assemblages are dominated by the genera Sweetognathus, Pseudosweetognathus and Hindeodus with rare Neostreptognathodus and Gullodus. Gondolellids are absent until the end of the Kungurian stage—in contrast to many parts of the world where gondolellids and Neostreptognathodus are the dominant Kungurian conodonts. A conodont changeover is seen at Tieqiao and coincided with a rise of sea level in the late Kungurian to the early Roadian: the previously dominant sweetognathids were replaced by mesogondolellids. The Middle and Late Permian (Guadalupian and Lopingian Series) witnessed dominance of gondolellids (Jinogondolella and Clarkina), the common presence of Hindeodus and decimation of Sweetognathus. Twenty main and seven subordinate conodont zones are recognised at Tieqiao, spanning the lower Artinskian to the middle Wuchiapingian Stage. The main (first appearance datum) zones are, in ascending order by stage: the Sweetognathus (Sw.) whitei, Sw. toriyamai, and Sw. asymmetrica n. sp. Zones for the Artinskian; the Neostreptognathodus prayi, Sw. guizhouensis, Sw. iranicus, Sw. adjunctus, Sw. subsymmeticus and Sw. hanzhongensis Zones for the Kungurian; the Jinogondolella (J.) nankingensis Zone for the Roadian; the J. aserrata Zone for the Wordian; the J. postserrata, J. shannoni, J. altudaensis, J. prexuanhanensis, J. xuanhanensis, J. granti and Clarkina (C.) hongshuiensis Zones for the Capitanian and the C. postbitteri Zone and C. transcaucasica Zone for the base and middle of the Wuchiapingian. The subordinate (interval) zones are the Pseudosweetognathus (Ps.) costatus, Ps. monocornus, Hindeodus (H.) gulloides, Pseudohindeodus ramovsi, Gullodus (G.) sicilianus, G. duani and H. excavates Zones. In addition, three new species, Gullodus tieqiaoensis n. sp., Pseudohindeodus elliptica n. sp. and Sweetognathus asymmetrica n. sp. are described. Age assignments for less common species (e.g., G. duani, H. catalanoi and Pseudosweetognathus monocornus etc.) are reassessed based on a rich conodont collection

Inverse Association between trans Isomeric and Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns: Data from Three European Countries

Background: trans unsaturated fatty acids are thought to interfere with essential fatty acid metabolism. To extend our knowledge of this phenomenon, we investigated the relationship between trans isomeric and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in mothers during pregnancy and in their infants at birth. Methods: Fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) was determined in Spanish (n = 120), German (n = 78) and Hungarian (n = 43) women at the 20th and 30th week of gestation, at delivery and in their newborns. Results: At the 20th week of gestation, the sum of trans fatty acids in PE was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in Hungarian [0.73 (0.51), % wt/wt, median (IQR)] than in Spanish [1.42 (1.36)] and German [1.30 (1.21)] women. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) values in PE were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in Hungarian {[}5.65 (2.09)] than in Spanish [4.37 (2.60)] or German [4.39 (3.3.2)] women. The sum of trans fatty acids significantly inversely correlated to DHA in PCs in Spanish (r = -0.37, p < 0.001), German (n = -0.77, p < 0.001) and Hungarian (r = -0.35, p < 0.05) women, and in PEs in Spanish (r = -0.67, p < 0.001) and German (r = -0.71, p < 0.001), but not in Hungarian (r = -0.02) women. Significant inverse correlations were seen between trans fatty acids and DHA in PEs at the 30th week of gestation (n = 241, r = -0.52, p < 0.001), at delivery (n = 241, r = -0.40, p < 0.001) and in cord lipids (n = 218, r = -0.28, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Because humans cannot synthesize trans isomeric fatty acids, the data obtained in the present study support the concept that high maternal trans isomeric fatty acid intake may interfere with the availability of LCPUFA both for the mother and the fetus. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Soliton superlattices in twisted hexagonal boron nitride.

Properties of atomic van der Waals heterostructures are profoundly influenced by interlayer coupling, which critically depends on stacking of the proximal layers. Rotational misalignment or lattice mismatch of the layers gives rise to a periodic modulation of the stacking, the moiré superlattice. Provided the superlattice period extends over many unit cells, the coupled layers undergo lattice relaxation, leading to the concentration of strain at line defects - solitons - separating large area commensurate domains. We visualize such long-range periodic superstructures in thin crystals of hexagonal boron nitride using atomic-force microscopy and nano-infrared spectroscopy. The solitons form sub-surface hexagonal networks with periods of a few hundred nanometers. We analyze the topography and infrared contrast of these networks to obtain spatial distribution of local strain and its effect on the infrared-active phonons of hBN

Holographic Superconductors from Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton Gravity

We construct holographic superconductors from Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity in 3+1 dimensions with two adjustable couplings $\alpha$ and the charge $q$ carried by the scalar field. For the values of $\alpha$ and $q$ we consider, there is always a critical temperature at which a second order phase transition occurs between a hairy black hole and the AdS RN black hole in the canonical ensemble, which can be identified with the superconducting phase transition of the dual field theory. We calculate the electric conductivity of the dual superconductor and find that for the values of $\alpha$ and $q$ where $\alpha/q$ is small the dual superconductor has similar properties to the minimal model, while for the values of $\alpha$ and $q$ where $\alpha/q$ is large enough, the electric conductivity of the dual superconductor exhibits novel properties at low frequencies where it shows a "Drude Peak" in the real part of the conductivity.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures; v2, typos corrected; v3, refs added, to appear in JHE

Advances in Research on the Effectiveness and Mechanism of Active Ingredients from Traditional Chinese Medicine in Regulating Hepatic Stellate Cells Autophagy Against Hepatic Fibrosis

Xin-Yu Liu,1,&ast; Wei Zhang,2,&ast; Bao-Feng Ma,3 Mi-Mi Sun,4 Qing-Hua Shang2 1College of First Clinical Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Liver Disease, The 960th Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, People’s Republic of China; 3The third department of encephalopathy, Jinan Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, 271100, People’s Republic of China; 4Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver Diseases, Tai’an 88 Hospital, Tai’an, Shandong, 271000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Mi-Mi Sun; Qing-Hua Shang, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a pathological process of structural and functional impairment of the liver and is a key component in the progression of chronic liver disease. There are no specific anti-hepatic fibrosis (anti-HF) drugs, and HF can only be improved or prevented by alleviating the cause. Autophagy of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is closely related to the development of HF. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has achieved good therapeutic effects in the prevention and treatment of HF. Several active ingredients from TCM (AITCM) can regulate autophagy in HSCs to exert anti-HF effects through different pathways, but relevant reviews are lacking. This paper reviewed the research progress of AITCM regulating HSCs autophagy against HF, and also discussed the relationship between HSCs autophagy and HF, pointing out the problems and limitations of the current study, in order to provide references for the development of anti-HF drugs targeting HSCs autophagy in TCM. By reviewing the literature in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI and other databases, we found that the relationship between autophagy of HSCs and HF is currently controversial. HSCs autophagy may promote HF by consuming lipid droplets (LDs) to provide energy for their activation. However, in contrast, inducing autophagy in HSCs can exert the anti-HF effect by stimulating their apoptosis or senescence, reducing type I collagen accumulation, inhibiting the extracellular vesicles release, degrading pro-fibrotic factors and other mechanisms. Some AITCM inhibit HSCs autophagy to resist HF, with the most promising direction being to target LDs. While, others induce HSCs autophagy to resist HF, with the most promising direction being to target HSCs apoptosis. Future research needs to focus on cell targeting research, autophagy targeting research and in vivo verification research, and to explore the reasons for the contradictory effects of HSCs autophagy on HF.Keywords: hepatic fibrosis, HSCs autophagy, active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, HSCs activatio

Simple models of the chemical field around swimming plankton

Background. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, and we recently reported human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles showing strong associations with cervical neoplasia risk and protection. HLA ligands are recognized by killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) expressed on a range of immune cell subsets, governing their proinflammatory activity. We hypothesized that the inheritance of particular HLA-KIR combinations would increase cervical neoplasia risk. Methods. Here, we used HLA and KIR dosages imputed from single-nucleotide polymorphism genotype data from 2143 cervical neoplasia cases and 13 858 healthy controls of European decent. Results. The following 4 novel HLA alleles were identified in association with cervical neoplasia, owing to their linkage disequilibrium with known cervical neoplasia-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles: HLA-DRB3*9901 (odds ratio [OR], 1.24; P = 2.49 × 10−9), HLA-DRB5*0101 (OR, 1.29; P = 2.26 × 10−8), HLA-DRB5*9901 (OR, 0.77; P = 1.90 × 10−9), and HLA-DRB3*0301 (OR, 0.63; P = 4.06 × 10−5). We also found that homozygosity of HLA-C1 group alleles is a protective factor for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-related cervical neoplasia (C1/C1; OR, 0.79; P = .005). This protective association was restricted to carriers of either KIR2DL2 (OR, 0.67; P = .00045) or KIR2DS2 (OR, 0.69; P = .0006). Conclusions. Our findings suggest that HLA-C1 group alleles play a role in protecting against HPV16-related cervical neoplasia, mainly through a KIR-mediated mechanism