11 research outputs found
Sex Differences in Outcomes among Stroke Survivors with Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation in China
Atrial fibrillation (AF) significantly increases the risk of stroke and disease burden and is an established predictor of poor outcomes after stroke. However, data regarding sex differences in long-term outcomes following stroke in patients with AF are scarce. We thus aimed to assess these differences. We recruited 951 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke and non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) treated at three hospitals in Tianjin, China, from January 2006 to September 2014. Information regarding stroke subtype, severity, risk factors, and outcomes (mortality, dependency, and recurrence) at 3, 12, and 36 months after stroke was recorded. The prevalence of NVAF was 8.4% overall, with a higher frequency in women than in men (11.3 vs. 6.9%, P < 0.001). Among patients with NVAF, women were older than men. Women were more likely than men to have severe stroke (38.8 vs. 29.5%, P < 0.001), high levels of total cholesterol and high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all P < 0.001), hypertension (69.1 vs. 61.2%, P = 0.012), dyslipidemia (29.8 vs. 20.7%, P = 0.001), and obesity (18.5 vs. 11.6%, P = 0.003); they were less likely than men to be current smokers (12.2 vs. 33.6%, P < 0.001) and to consume alcohol (0.9 vs. 13.9%, P < 0.001). There were greater risks of dependency and recurrence at 36 months after stroke in women than in men [odds ratios (95% confidence intervals), 1.64 (1.02–2.64) for dependency, P = 0.043; and 2.03 (1.28–3.20) for recurrence, P = 0.002] after adjustment for stroke subtype, severity, and risk factors. These findings suggest that it is crucial to emphasize the need for individualized stroke prevention education and promotion of healthy lifestyles in order to improve NVAF-related stroke outcomes and reduce disease burden in women
Facile Synthesis of Vanadium-Doped Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> Nanowire Arrays as Active Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> nanowire arrays doped with vanadiumÂ(V)
are directly grown on nickel foam by a facile one-step hydrothermal
method. It is found that the doping can promote the formation of Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> nanowires at a low temperature. The doped nanowires
show excellent electrocatalytic performance toward hydrogen evolution
reaction (HER), and outperform pure Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> and
other Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub>-based compounds. The stability test
shows that the performance of V-doped Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> nanowires
is improved and stabilized after thousands of linear sweep voltammetry
test. The onset potential of V-doped Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> nanowire
can be as low as 39 mV, which is comparable to platinum. The nanowire
has an overpotential of 68 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>, a relatively
low Tafel slope of 112 mV dec<sup>–1</sup>, good stability
and high Faradaic efficiency. First-principles calculations show that
the V-doping in Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> extremely enhances the
free carrier density near the Fermi level, resulting in much improved
catalytic activities. We expect that the doping can be an effective
way to enhance the catalytic performance of metal disulfides in hydrogen
evolution reaction and V-doped Ni<sub>3</sub>S<sub>2</sub> nanowire
is one of the most promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen production