Sarcopenia-associated factors and their bone mineral density levels in middle-aged and elderly male type 2 diabetes patients

BACKGROUND Chronic hyperglycemia can damage the microcirculation,which impairs the function of various organs and tissues and predisposes individuals to chronic complications.Sarcopenia(SP)is the age-related decline in muscle mass and function that contributes to the sequelae of type 2 diabetes.In particular,diabetic patients are at higher risk of SP because of insulin resistance,chronic inflam-mation,and decreased physical activity.METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on 196 middle-aged and elderly male T2DM inpatients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between June 2021 and June 2023,with 60 concurrent healthy individuals as the control group.Differences in general information,blood biochemistry,glyco-sylated hemoglobin,muscle strength,and detection rate of SP were compared between groups.The BMD,appendicular skeletal muscle(ASM),and fat mass,as well as grip strength and gait speed,were determined for each patient,and the ASM index(ASMI)was counted.The quantitative data were subjected to cor-relation and logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors for SP.RESULTS Fifty-one of the 196 middle-aged and elderly male T2DM patients were diagnosed with SP,which accounted for 26.02%.The middle-aged and elderly T2DM patients with SP exhibited a longer diabetes mellitus(DM)course and a lower body mass index(BMI)and 25(OH)D3 compared with the non-SP patients.The T2DM+SP patients exhibited lower BMI,ASM,ASMI,left-and right-hand grip strength,gait speed,and muscle and fat mass of the upper and lower limbs compared with the diabetic non-SP patients.The femoral neck,total hip,and lumbar spine L1-4 BMD were markedly lower in T2DM+SP patients compared with those in the non-SP diabetics.Long-term DM course,low BMI,and low BMD of the femoral neck,lumbar spine L1-4,and total hip were identified as risk factors for the development of SP.CONCLUSION T2DM patients are at risk for SP;however,measures can be taken to prevent the related risk factors.

Application of a modified surgical position in anterior approach for total cervical artificial disc replacement

BACKGROUND Total cervical artificial disc replacement(TDR)has been considered a safe and effective alternative surgical treatment for cervical spondylosis and degenerative disc disease that have failed to improve with conservative methods.Positioning the surgical patient is a critical part of the procedure.Appropriate patient positioning is crucial not only for the safety of the patient but also for optimizing surgical exposure,ensuring adequate and safe anesthesia,and allowing the surgeon to operate comfortably during lengthy procedures.The surgical posture is the traditional position used in anterior cervical approach;in general,patients are in a supine position with a pad under their shoulders and a ring-shaped pillow under their head.AIM To investigate the clinical outcomes of the use of a modified surgical position versus the traditional surgical position in anterior approach for TDR.METHODS In the modified position group,the patients had a soft pillow under their neck,and their jaw and both shoulders were fixed with wide tape.The analyzed data included intraoperative blood loss,position setting time,total operation time,and perioperative blood pressure and heart rate.RESULTS Blood pressure and heart rate were not significantly different before and after body positioning in both groups(P>0.05).Compared with the traditional position group,the modified position group showed a statistically significantly longer position setting time(P<0.05).However,the total operation time and intraoperative blood loss were significantly reduced in the modified position group compared with the traditional position group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The clinical outcomes indicated that total operation time and intraoperative blood loss were relatively lower in the modified position group than in the traditional position group,thus reducing the risks of surgery while increasing the position setting time.The modified surgical position is a safe and effective method to be used in anterior approach for TDR surgery.

Room temperature ferromagnetism of Si-doped ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel method

Pure ZnO and Si-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on quartz substrate by using sol-gel spin coating process. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that all the thin films have hexagonal wurtzite structure and preferred c-axis orientation. Si-doped ZnO films show room temperature ferromagnetism （RTFM） and reach the maximum saturation magnetization value of 1.54 kA.m at 3 % Si concentration. RTFM of Si-doped ZnO decreases with the increasing annealing temperature because of the formation of SiO2. Photoluminescence measurements suggest that the RTFM in Si-doped ZnO can be attributed to the defect complex related to zinc vacancies Vzn and oxygen interstitials O1.

Room temperature ferromagnetism of boron-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by solvothermal method

In this study, B-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by template-free solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that B-doped ZnO nanoparti- cles have hexagonal wurtzite structure. Field emission scanning electron microscopy observations show that the nanoparticles have a diameter of 50 nm. The room tem- perature ferromagnetism increases monotonically with increasing B concentration to the ZnO nanoparticles and reaches the maximum value of saturation magnetization 0.0178 A.ma.kg-1 for 5 % B-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Moreover, photoluminescence spectra reveal that B doping causes to produce Zn vacancies （Vzn）. Magnetic moment of oxygen atoms nearest to the B-Vzn vacancy pairs can be considered as a source of ferromagnetism for B-doped ZnO nanoparticles.

Molecular Characterization of a Dehydroascorbate Reductase from Pinus bungeana

Dehydroascorbate reductase （DHAR） plays a critical role in the ascorbate-glutathione recycling reaction for most higher plants. To date, studies on DHAR in higher plants have focused largely on Arabidopsis and agricultural plants, and there is virtually no information on the molecular characteristics of DHAR in gymnosperms. The present study reports the cloning and characteristics of a DHAR （PbDHAR） from a pine, Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl. The PbDHAR gene encodes a protein of 215 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 24.26 kDa. The predicted 3-D structure of PbDHAR showed a typical glutathione S-transferase fold. Reverse transcripUon-polymerase chain reaction revealed that the PbDHAR was a constitutive expression gene in P. bungeana. The expression level of PbDHAR mRNA in P. bungeana seedlings did not show significant change under high temperature stress. The recombinant PbDHAR was overexpressed in Escherichia coil following purification with affinity chromatography. The recombinant PbDHAR exhibited enzymatic activity （19.84 i.mnol/min per mg） and high affinity （a Krn of 0.08 mM） towards the substrates dehydroascorbate （DHA）. Moreover, the recombinant PbDHAR was a thermostable enzyme, and retained 77% of its initial activity at 55℃. The present study is the first to provide a detailed molecular characterization of the DHAR in P. bungeana.

First-principles calculations on magnetic property of Cu-doped Zn O tuned by Na and Al dopants

The effect of a second dopant on the magnetic property of Cu-doped ZnO by first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory was studied. It is found that the Cu-doped ZnO shows ferromagnetism due to the hybridization between Cu-3d and O-2p orbitals. When Na is introduced to the Cu-doped ZnO system, Cu cations tend to take on a bivalent state. Therefore, the magnetic moments on both Cu and coordinated oxygen sites increase due to Na doping. On the contrary, the magnetic moments decrease dramatically in the （Cu, A1） co-doped ZnO, which can be attributed to the fully occupied 3d states of Cu＋ and O-2p states.