Association between serum uric acid level and endothelial dysfunction in elderly individuals with untreated mild hypertension

Background Endothelial dysfunction is the initial stage in atherosclerotic formation and progression and is associated with high serum uric acid(SUA)level.We hypothesized that reactive hyperemia index(RHI),which reflects endothelial function,is associated with SUA levels in elderly individuals with untreated mild hypertension.Methods We recruited 123 patients≥60 years with untreated mild hypertension.The association between SUA level and RHI was analyzed using univariate correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was performed to validate the cutoff value of SUA that can be used to predict endothelial dysfunction.Results The serum uric acid level significantly increased in the RHI<1.67 group,and this result was still observed in the subgroup of men.RHI was inversely associated with SUA level(P=0.006)and the association was still observed after adjusting for factors,such as age,sex,smoking status,and creatinine level(P=0.014).In the subgroup analysis,a positive association was observed only in men.In the ROC curve analysis,the optimal cutoff values of SUA for predicting endothelial dysfunction was 293.5μmol/L in elderly mild hypertension patients and 287.0μmol/L in men.Conclusion A high SUA level was considered an independent predictor of endothelial dysfunction among elderly individuals,particularly men with untreated mild hypertension.

Micro-sized nanoaggregates:Spray-drying-assisted fabrication and applications

The applications of nanoparticles suffer from their extremely small size and intrinsic trend of agglom-eration.Rearranging nanoparticles to form micro-sized nanoaggregates(MNAs)with increased size,ordered structure,as well as controllable size,shape,and morphology is a crucial step in various fields of science and technology to maintain the unique characteristics of nanoparticles while obtaining greatly enhanced or new performance at the microscale.The structure of MNAs prominently affects their functionality,which is determined by the arrangement of nanoparticles and the interaction between primary particles.Several methods have been proposed to prepare the MNAs,in which spray-drying technology stands out considering the feasibility,scalability for industry,cost,and efficiency.Forced assembly of nanoparticles through spray-drying under tunable process parameters yields diverse physical properties and structural arrangements of nanoparticles of the MNAs,they therefore exhibit enormous potential in a wide range of application fields.This review presents the construction and applications of spray-dried MNAs.The factors that influence the size,morphology,and structure of the MNAs are discussed in detail.In addition,the outstanding application performance resulting from the tightly packed nanoparticles in regular-shaped MNAs obtained by the spray-drying process is illustrated.

Efficient construction of calcium fluoride nanoaggregates for enhanced water vapor adsorption

Calcium fluoride(CaF_(2))is an ideal adsorbent for the dehydration of gaseous hydrogen fluoride(HF)containing water vapor.In this work,a novel CaF_(2)absorbent,spherical CaF_(2)nanoaggregates(NAs)with a closely packed structure,was proposed and efficiently fabricated by spray drying technology.As the building blocks of CaF_(2)NAs,the CaF_(2)nanoparticles(NPs)were prepared by the addition of excess calcium ions(Ca^(2+))or fluorine ions(F−)in the synthesis.The results indicated that the CaF_(2)NPs synthesized by excess Ca^(2+)and the corresponding NAs exhibited much better water vapor adsorption properties than their counterparts by excess F−,owing to higher zeta potentials.More importantly,whether excess Ca^(2+)or F^(−),CaF_(2)NAs had further enhanced water vapor adsorption capacity compared to primary CaF_(2)NPs,possibly owing to their unique nano-micro secondary structures and higher surface areas.This work has great potential in the development of high-performance absorbents for separating moisture from corrosive gas HF.