What Country Has the Highest Diabetes Rate?

This study explored diabetes situations in three countries: the United States, South Korea, and Pakistan. Pakistan was chosen because it had the highest diabetes rate. Since I am originally from South Korea, I would like to know about the severity of diabetes in my county as well. This study also answers some questions about the factors that cause diabetes in these countries

Interdimensional optical isospectrality inspired by graph networks

A network picture has been applied to various physical and biological systems to understand their governing mechanisms intuitively. Utilizing discretization schemes, both electrical and optical materials can also be interpreted as abstract 'graph' networks composed of couplings (edges) between local elements (vertices), which define the correlation between material structures and wave flows. Nonetheless, the fertile structural degrees of freedom in graph theory have not been fully exploited in physics owing to the suppressed long-range interaction between far-off elements. Here, by exploiting the mathematical similarity between Hamiltonians in different dimensions, we propose the design of reduced-dimensional optical structures that perfectly preserve the level statistics of disordered graph networks with significant long-range coupling. We show that the disorder-induced removal of the level degeneracy in high-degree networks allows their isospectral projection to one-dimensional structures without any disconnection. This inter-dimensional isospectrality between high- and low-degree graph-like structures enables the ultimate simplification of broadband multilevel devices, from three- to one-dimensional structures

Targeted synthesis of two super-complex zeolites with embedded isoreticular structures

A novel structural coding approach combining structure solution, prediction, and the targeted synthesis of new zeolites with expanding complexity and embedded isoreticular structures was recently proposed. Using this approach, the structures of two new zeolites in the RHO family, PST-20 and PST-25, were predicted and synthesized. Herein, by extending this approach, the next two higher generation members of this family, PST-26 and PST-28, have been predicted and synthesized. These two zeolites have much larger unit cell volumes (422 655 Å3 and 614 912 Å3, respectively) than those of the lower generations. Their crystallization was confirmed by a combination of both powder X-ray and electron diffraction techniques. Aluminate and water concentrations in the synthetic mixture were found to be the two most critical factors influencing the structural expansion of embedded isoreticular zeolites under the synthetic conditions studied herein.PostprintPostprintPeer reviewe

Nonregistration, discontinuation, and nonpublication of randomized trials: A repeated metaresearch analysis

BACKGROUND We previously found that 25% of 1,017 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) approved between 2000 and 2003 were discontinued prematurely, and 44% remained unpublished at a median of 12 years follow-up. We aimed to assess a decade later (1) whether rates of completion and publication have increased; (2) the extent to which nonpublished RCTs can be identified in trial registries; and (3) the association between reporting quality of protocols and premature discontinuation or nonpublication of RCTs. METHODS AND FINDINGS We included 326 RCT protocols approved in 2012 by research ethics committees in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada in this metaresearch study. Pilot, feasibility, and phase 1 studies were excluded. We extracted trial characteristics from each study protocol and systematically searched for corresponding trial registration (if not reported in the protocol) and full text publications until February 2022. For trial registrations, we searched the (i) World Health Organization: International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP); (ii) US National Library of Medicine (ClinicalTrials.gov); (iii) European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database (EUCTR); (iv) ISRCTN registry; and (v) Google. For full text publications, we searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. We recorded whether RCTs were registered, discontinued (including reason for discontinuation), and published. The reporting quality of RCT protocols was assessed with the 33-item SPIRIT checklist. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between the independent variables protocol reporting quality, planned sample size, type of control (placebo versus other), reporting of any recruitment projection, single-center versus multicenter trials, and industry versus investigator sponsoring, with the 2 dependent variables: (1) publication of RCT results; and (2) trial discontinuation due to poor recruitment. Of the 326 included trials, 19 (6%) were unregistered. Ninety-eight trials (30%) were discontinued prematurely, most often due to poor recruitment (37%; 36/98). One in 5 trials (21%; 70/326) remained unpublished at 10 years follow-up, and 21% of unpublished trials (15/70) were unregistered. Twenty-three of 147 investigator-sponsored trials (16%) reported their results in a trial registry in contrast to 150 of 179 industry-sponsored trials (84%). The median proportion of reported SPIRIT items in included RCT protocols was 69% (interquartile range 61% to 77%). We found no variables associated with trial discontinuation; however, lower reporting quality of trial protocols was associated with nonpublication (odds ratio, 0.71 for each 10% increment in the proportion of SPIRIT items met; 95% confidence interval, 0.55 to 0.92; p = 0.009). Study limitations include that the moderate sample size may have limited the ability of our regression models to identify significant associations. CONCLUSIONS We have observed that rates of premature trial discontinuation have not changed in the past decade. Nonpublication of RCTs has declined but remains common; 21% of unpublished trials could not be identified in registries. Only 16% of investigator-sponsored trials reported results in a trial registry. Higher reporting quality of RCT protocols was associated with publication of results. Further efforts from all stakeholders are needed to improve efficiency and transparency of clinical research

Tetraethylammonium-Mediated Zeolite Synthesis via a Multiple Inorganic Cation Approach

RHO-, KFI-, and OFF-type zeolites have been synthesized using tetraethylammnoium ions as an organic structure-directing agent via a multiple inorganic cation approach. Under the synthesis conditions studied here, the crystallization field of each of these zeolites was found to be narrow. We anticipate that the multiple inorganic cation approach might be an alternative way to economically synthesize known zeolite structures with industrially promising applications, as well as to find novel ones.11Nsciescopu