Clinical implications of fatty pancreas:Correlations between fatty pancreas and metabolic syndrome

AIM:To investigate the clinical implications of lipid deposition in the pancreas(fatty pancreas). METHODS:The subjects of this study were 293 patients who had undergone abdominal computed tomography(CT)and sonography.Fatty pancreas was diagnosed by sonographic findings and subdivided into mild,moderate,and severe fatty pancreas groups comparing to the retroperitoneal fat echogenicity. RESULTS:Fatty pancreas was associated with higher levels for visceral fat,waist circumference,aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine aminotransferase (ALT),total cholesterol,triglyceride,high density lipoprotein,free fatty acid,γ-GTP,insulin,and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)than the control group(P<0.05).HOMAIR,visceral fat,triglyceride,and ALT also tended to increase with the degree of fat deposition in the pancreas on sonography.In a multivariate logistic regression analysis,HOMA-IR,visceral fat,and ALT level were independently related to fatty pancreas after adjustment for age,body mass index,and lipid profile.The incidence of metabolic syndrome in the fatty pancreas group was significantly higher than in the control group,and the numbers of metabolic syndrome parameters were significantly higher in the fatty pancreas group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Sonographic fatty pancrease showed higher insulin resistance,visceral fat area,triglyceride, and ALT levels than normal pancreases.Fatty pancreas also showed a strong correlation with metabolic syndrome.

Friction characteristics of mechanically exfoliated and CVD-grown single-layer MoS_2

In this work, the friction characteristics of single-layer MoS2 prepared with chemical vapor deposition （CVD） at three different temperatures were quantitatively investigated and compared to those of single-layer MoS2 prepared using mechanical exfoliation. The surface and crystalline qualities of the MoS2 specimens were characterized using an optical microscope, atomic force microscope （AFM）, and Raman spectroscopy. The surfaces of the MoS2 specimens were generally flat and smooth. However, the Raman data showed that the crystalline qualities of CVD-grown single-layer MoS2 at 800 ℃ and 850 ℃ were relatively similar to those of mechanically exfoliated MoS2 whereas the crystalline quality of the CVD-grown single-layer MoS2 at 900 ℃ was lower. The CVD-grown single-layer MoS2 exhibited higher friction than mechanically exfoliated single-layer MoS2, which might be related to the crystalline imperfections in the CVD-grown MoS2. In addition, the friction of CVD-grown single-layer MoS2 increased as the CVD growth temperature increased. In terms of tribological properties, 800 ℃ was the optimal temperature for the CVD process used in this work. Furthermore, it was observed that the friction at the grain boundary was significantly larger than that at the grain, potentially due to defects at the grain boundary. This result indicates that the temperature used during CVD should be optimized considering the grain size to achieve low friction characteristics. The outcomes of this work will be useful for understanding the intrinsic friction characteristics of single-layer MoS2 and elucidating the feasibility of single-layer MoS2 as protective or lubricant layers for micro- and nano-devices.

Direct vapor phase growth process and robust photoluminescence properties of large area MoS2 layers

There has been growing research interest in the use of molybdenum disulfide in the fields of optoelectronics and energy harvesting devices, by virtue of its indirect-to-direct band gap tunability. However, obtaining large area thin films of MoS2 for future device applications still remains a challenge. In the present study, the amounts of the precursors （S and MOO3） were varied systematically in order to optimize the growth of highly crystalline and large area MoS2 layers by the chemical vapor deposition method. Careful control of the amounts of precursors was found to the key factor in the synthesis of large area highly crystalline flakes. The thickness of the layers was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The optical properties and chemical composition were studied by photoluminescence （PL） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The emergence of strong direct excitonic emissions at 1.82 eV （A-exciton, with a normalized PL intensity of -55 × 10^3） and 1.98 eV （B-exciton, with a normalized PL intensity of -5 × 10^3） of the sample at room temperature clearly indicates the high luminescence quantum efficiency. The mobility of the films was found to be 0.09 cm^2/（V.s） at room temperature. This study provides a method for the controlled synthesis of high-quality two-dimensional （2D） transition metal dichalcogenide materials, useful for applications in nanodevices, optoelectronics and solar energv conversion.