Growth differentiation factor-15/adiponectin ratio as a potential biomarker for metabolic syndrome in Han Chinese

AimsGrowth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and adiponectin are adipokines that regulate metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of GDF-15, adiponectin, and GDF-15/adiponectin ratio (G/A ratio) as biomarkers for detecting metabolic syndrome (MS).Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional study included 676 participants aged 20–70 years in Jurong, China. The participants were divided into four groups based on sex and age (<40 and ≥40 years). MS was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the performance of GDF-15, adiponectin, and the G/A ratio in predicting MS.ResultsThe prevalence of MS was 22.0% (149/676). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the G/A ratio and adiponectin levels, but not GDF-15 levels, were correlated with MS [odds ratio; 95% CI 1.010 (1.006–1.013) and 0.798 (0.735–0.865), respectively] after adjusting for confounding factors. The G/A ratio displayed a significant relationship with MS in each subgroup and with each MS component in both men and women; however, adiponectin concentrations were significantly associated with MS and all its components only in men (all P <0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the G/A ratio and the adiponectin level for MS was 0.758 and 0.748, respectively. The highest AUC was 0.757 for the adiponectin level in men and 0.724 for the G/A ratio in women.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the G/A ratio and adiponectin are potential biomarkers for detecting MS in women and men, respectively

Effects of Short-Term Acidification on the Adsorption of Dissolved Organic Matter by Soil Minerals and Its Mechanism of Action

In order to investigate the impact of soil acidification on the adsorption of dissolved organic matter by soil minerals and understand its mechanism, this study selected commonly found minerals in soils, namely illite, kaolin, and hematite, as the research objects. Glucose and tannic acid were considered as the representative compounds for studying the adsorption of dissolved organic matter in soils. By analyzing the effects of the three minerals on the adsorption characteristics of glucose and tannic acid after a short-term acidification treatment, this study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism. To achieve this, scanning electron microscopy and a specific surface area analyzer were utilized. The results of this study indicate that the adsorption modes of the minerals studied were unaffected by short-term acidification. Chemisorption, as well as surface and mesopore diffusion, were found to dominate the adsorption process. In terms of adsorption behavior, the minerals exhibited multilayer inhomogeneous adsorption with glucose and kaolin, while tannic acid showed monolayer adsorption with illite and hematite. When exposed to the same acidification conditions, the saturated adsorption of glucose and tannic acid was found to be illite ≥ hematite > kaolin. The kinetic adsorption processes exhibited three stages: fast adsorption, slow adsorption, and adsorption equilibrium. Interestingly, as the intensity of the acidification increased, the saturated adsorption capacity generally followed the trend of S3 (test minerals with pH adjusted to 3 value) > S5 (test minerals with pH adjusted to 5 value) > CK (the control group). The acidification-induced solvation led to an increase in the specific surface area and the number of active adsorption sites on the minerals. Additionally, the protonation reaction triggered a change in the surface charge, which in turn affected the hydrogen bonding, ligand exchange, and charge transfer between the minerals and glucose and tannic acids. These interactions ultimately enhanced the adsorption capacity

Multi-Scale Evaluation of the Effect of Phenol Formaldehyde Resin Impregnation on the Dimensional Stability and Mechanical Properties of Pinus Massoniana Lamb.

The local chemistry and mechanics of the control and phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin modified wood cell walls were analyzed to illustrate the modification mechanism of wood. Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) is most widely distributed in the subtropical regions of China. However, the dimensional instability and low strength of the wood limits its use. Thus, the wood was modified by PF resin at concentrations of 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%, respectively. The density, surface morphology, chemical structure, cell wall mechanics, shrinking and swelling properties, and macro-mechanical properties of Masson pine wood were analyzed to evaluate the modification effectiveness. The morphology and Raman spectra changes indicated that PF resin not only filled in the cell lumens, but also penetrated into cell walls and interacted with cell wall polymers. The filling and diffusing of resin in wood resulted in improved dimensional stability, such as lower swelling and shrinking coefficients, an increase in the elastic modulus (Er) and hardness (H) of wood cell walls, the hardness of the transverse section and compressive strength of the wood. Both the dimensional stability and mechanical properties improved as the PF concentration increased to 20%; that is, a PF concentration of 20% may be preferred to modify Masson pine wood

In-situ formation of the BSG bubbles toward SiC/SiC composites protection mechanisms under thermal shock treatment

The thermal shock protection of SiC/SiC composites have become pivotal challenges in promoting their application in a heat field environment. This study presents a borosilicate glass (BSG) coating was fabricated successively by slurry brushing-sintering for SiC/SiC composites. The results show that the coated SiC/SiC composites exhibit excellent thermal protective resistance with a rather light mass change (<0.59%) at 1200 °C (ΔT = 1000 °C) for 750 cycles. All tested samples possess a high residual strength of more than 95.71% retention. Moreover, the protection mechanisms of the coated SiC/SiC composites are analyzed that the relevance involves the BSG bubbles in-situ formation and dynamic filling. The bubbles are possibly due to generation and pressure of CO and CO2 at the SiC-BSG interface during the rapid heating and cooling. The oxidation kinetics is controlled by diffusional mechanisms, and the growth rate constant and kinetic exponent were 0.23 and 0.37 for the BSG@SiC/SiC composites. The internal structure was not oxidized, indicating that the BSG coating has excellent protection

Analysis of Regulatory T Cell Subsets and Their Expression of Helios and PD-1 in Patients with Hashimoto Thyroiditis

Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease that presumably arises consequent to loss of immune tolerance to autoantigen in thyroid. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are considered to play a vital role in maintaining the immune balance, as they own intensive suppressive function. This study was undertaken to analyze numbers of Tregs and their expressions of Helios and PD-1 in HT patients. It also aimed to explore the relationship of these with thyroid function and specific autoantibodies. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were extracted from blood of 20 healthy controls (HC) and 42 HT patients with varying thyroid functions (10 overt hypothyroidism, 12 subclinical hypothyroidism, and 20 euthyroidism). We performed flow cytometry analysis in PBMCs to detect CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs and their subsets, including CD45RO+Foxp3high activated Treg cells (aTregs), CD45RO-Foxp3low resting Tregs cells (rTregs), and CD45RO+Foxp3low secreting Treg cells (sTregs), as well as the expression of Helios and PD-1 on these cells. The results showed that the percentage of Tregs, aTregs was significantly lower in HT patients and it showed inverse correlation to thyroid function states, in comparison with these in healthy controls. In addition, patients with HT showed decreased expression of Helios in aTregs, while having increased expression of PD-1 in Tregs and sTregs. The levels of Tregs, aTregs, and Helios expressing aTregs were all negatively correlated with antithyroid antibodies. In conclusion, the deficiency of Tregs frequency and aberrant expressions of Helios and PD-1 may possibly contribute to thyroid immune damage in HT

Image_1_Association of subclass distribution of insulin antibody with glucose control in insulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective observational study.tif

ObjectiveTo examine the distribution and effects of the subclass of insulin antibodies on glucose control and side events in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with premixed insulin analog.MethodsA total of 516 patients treated with premixed insulin analog were sequentially enrolled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2016 to August 2020. Subclass-specific insulin antibodies (IAs) (IgG1-4, IgA, IgD, IgE, and IgM) were detected in IA-positive patients by electrochemiluminescence. We analyzed glucose control, serum insulin, and insulin-related events between IA-positive and IA-negative groups, as well as among patients with different IA subclasses.ResultsOverall, 98 of 516 subjects (19.0%) were positive for total IAs after premixed insulin analog therapy; of these participants, 92 had subclass IAs, and IgG-IA was the predominant subclass, followed by IgE-IA. IAs were associated with serum total insulin increase and local injection-site reactions but not glycemic control and hypoglycemia. In the subgroup analysis in patients with IA-positive, the IgE-IA and IA subclass numbers were more associated with increased serum total insulin levels. Additionally, IgE-IA might be correlated more strongly with local responses and weakly with hypoglycemia, while IgM-IA might be correlated more strongly with hypoglycemia.ConclusionWe concluded that IAs or IA subclasses might be associated with unfavorable events in patients receiving premixed insulin analog therapy, which can be used as an adjunctive monitoring indicator in clinical insulin trials.</p