Effect of obesity on the response to insulin therapy in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

An initial improvement in glycemic control is often followed by gradual deterioration of glycemia during insulin treatment of patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). We examined the causes of such worsening in a 12-month follow-up analysis of 100 insulin-treated NIDDM patients in the Finnish Multicenter Insulin Therapy Study who were treated with either combination therapy with insulin or insulin alone. In the entire study group, glycemic control averaged 9.7 +/- 0.2% at 0 months and 8.0 +/- 0.1%, 8.0 +/- 0.1%, 8.2 +/- 0.1%, and 8.5 +/- 0.2% at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months (P < 0.001 for each time point vs. 0 months). Glycemic control at 12 months was significantly worse than that at 3 (P < 0.001), 6 (P < 0.001), and 9 months (P < 0.02). Baseline body mass index was the most significant predictor of deterioration in glycemic control. During 1 yr, hemoglobin A1c decreased almost 3-fold more (by 1.7 +/- 0.2%; P < 0.001 vs. 0 months) in patients whose baseline weight was below the mean baseline body mass index of 28.1 kg/m2 (nonobese patients) than in those whose weight exceeded 28.1 kg/m2 (obese patients; 0.5 +/- 0.2%; P = NS vs. 0 months; P < 0.01 vs. obese patients). Glycemic control improved similarly over 1 yr in the nonobese subjects and deteriorated similarly in the obese patients regardless of their treatment regimen. Insulin doses, per body weight, were similar in the nonobese and obese patients. The nonobese patients consistently gained less weight during 12 months of combination therapy with insulin (3.5 +/- 0.6 kg at 12 months) than during insulin therapy alone (5.1 +/- 0.6 kg; P < 0.05). The treatment regimen did not influence weight gain in the obese group, who gained 4.4 +/- 1.0 kg during combination therapy with insulin and 4.5 +/- 1.1 kg during insulin therapy alone. We reached the following conclusions: 1) after an initial good response, glycemic control deteriorates more in obese than in nonobese patients with NIDDM; 2) in obese patients, weight gain per se cannot explain the poor glycemic response to combination or insulin therapy, but it may induce a disproportionately large increase in insulin requirements because of greater insulin resistance in the obese than in the nonobese; 3) in nonobese patients, glycemic control improves equally during 1 yr with combination therapy with insulin and insulin alone, but combination therapy with insulin is associated with less weight gain than treatment with insulin alone; 4) weight gain appears harmful, as it is associated with increases in blood pressure and low density lipoprotein cholesterol.     

A simulation-based multi-objective design optimization of electronic packages under thermal cycling and bending

In this study, a simulation-based multi-objective design optimization methodology was developed for improving electronic packaging reliability. It was demonstrated using a generic model of an electronic package on a printed wiring board. The objective for the optimization was to improve the reliability of solder joints under both thermal cycling and bending by optimizing a group of design parameters. A parametric finite element model was developed using ANSYS for both load conditions. To improve the numerical efficiency of the optimization, a multi-quadric response surface method was implemented to approximate the response of finite element simulations for each loading condition. Subsequently, the multi-objective optimization of solder joint reliability was implemented using a Minmax principle on all response surfaces and a differential evolution algorithm as optimal search engine, which is capable of finding global minimum when local minima exist. Our study demonstrated that the reliability of the solder joints is significantly improved for this given generic model of electronic package. The proposed methodology can be effectively used in improving the reliability of electronic packages.     

Synthesis and breakdown of fibrillar collagens: concomitant phenomena in ovarian cancer

The synthesis and degradation of type I and type III interstitial collagens releases several antigenic metabolites, whose measurement allows the metabolism of connective tissue to be evaluated under a variety of different conditions. In this study we investigated the influence of benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms on the metabolism of these collagens. The study population comprised patients with benign (n = 53), borderline (n = 6) or malignant (n = 36) ovarian neoplasms. We quantified the serum, cyst fluid and peritoneal/ascitic fluid concentrations of the amino-terminal propeptide of type I (PINP) and III (PIIINP) procollagens, indicators of the synthesis of type I and III collagen, respectively and the cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), an indicator of type I collagen degradation. Macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) concentration was also assayed as its serum level is increased in ovarian cancer and CSF-1 may be involved in the regulation of collagen metabolism. The concentration of each antigen was significantly higher in patients with malignant tumour than with benign neoplasm in each comparison, except for ICTP in peritoneal fluid and for CSF-1 in cyst fluid. The high ascitic fluid concentration of PINP, PIIINP or CSF-1 correlated with malignancy, and the low cyst fluid concentration of any of the four markers was indicative of benign tumour. Levels of CSF-1 did not correlate with the levels of any of the markers of collagen turnover. The concentration of PINP in ascites was about 50 times higher and in cyst fluid about eight times higher than that in the serum from patients with malignant tumour, whereas the respective ratios for ICTP were only 2.5 and 1.3. In such patients, the ratio of ascitic fluid to serum concentration was also about 80-fold higher for PIIINP and about 20-fold higher for PINP than for ICTP. The different distributions of PIIINP, PINP and ICTP suggests dominance of synthetic processes or retarded elimination of PIIINP and PINP in ovarian cancer. In advanced malignancies, the accumulation of PINP and PIIINP in abdominal space, possibly due to increased synthesis and/or failed resorption, may promote ascites formation. This study shows that both accelerated synthesis and breakdown of fibrillar collagens are characteristic of ovarian malignancy, and suggests that measurements of cyst fluid or ascitic fluid concentrations of collagen metabolites or CSF-1 could be used in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms.     

Effect of viscosity ratio and processing conditions on the morphology of blends of liquid crystalline polymer and polypropylene

The effect of viscosity ratio and processing conditions on LCP/PP blend morphology was studied. The viscosity ratio (η_LCP/η_PP) was varied from 0.1 to 3.6 by using five different polypropylene grades as the matrix and two LCPs as the dispersed phase (20 wt %). The most spontaneous fiber formation was achieved when the viscosity ratio was between 0.5 and 1. In addition to shear forces, elongational forces are important in achieving a highly fibrillar structure and significant mechanical reinforcement. The lubricating effect induced by the low viscosity of LCP was most pronounced for the blends exhibiting a fibrillar morphology. The morphologies of blends produced by different mixing equipment differed only slightly. The greatest variation in the mixing efficiency was found for blends whose components had totally dissimilar melt viscosities. The slight differences in morphology due to melt blending in dissimilar equipment were decreased after injection molding, whereas the differences in morphology due to dissimilar viscosity ratios were still evident in the injection molded blends. Thus, the viscosity ratio at processing in the actual processing conditions is of great importance. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The incidence and treatment of intestinal and urological complications after combined radiotherapy for uterine carcinomas

Methods for management of diabetic pregnancy in the outpatient setting require strict glucose control. To assess the effect of diet and injection of short and intermediate acting insulin on glucose, diabetic patients tested their urine daily for glucose and had biweekly serum glucose tests. A brief metabolic ward study in 9 diabetic patients during the third trimester yielded hourly glucose determinations. These results defined the range of serum glucose over a 24-hour period. Glucose data on 6 normal third trimester women also came from hourly glucose values. Glucose results of normal and diabetic subjects were similar. A 16th subject with diabetic eye, renal, and foot complications is included as a case report to illustrate management technics. Infants of the diabetic women had no perinatal mortality, morbidity, or macrosomia and thus differ from an earlier study where glucose was not strictly controlled. The data suggest hospitalization can be short and low perinatal morbidity and mortality are possible with this outpatient method of management of the pregnant diabetic patient.     

Compatibilization of PP/PBT and PP/PA6 blends with a new oxazoline-functionalized polypropylene

Summary Aim of this work was to study the effectiveness of a novel oxazoline-functionalized polypropylene as a compatibilizer for PP/PBT and PP/PA6 blends. This polypropylene-based compatibilizer mixes well with the polypropylene and is capable of reacting with the carboxylic and amine end groups of PBT and PA6. Significant improvements in blend toughness were achieved without reduction in strength and stiffness. These effects were related to stabilized morphology of finely dispersed minor phase well attached to the matrix. The enhanced interfacial interactions between the two phases, in particular at high PBT content were evidenced by increased melt viscosity.     

Soxhlet extraction of mucic acid from fungal biomass

Biologically produced mucic acid may form crystals before being separated from the biomass. Here we use Soxhlet extraction of fungal biomass to obtain mucic acid that was otherwise lost when separating biomass from the supernatant. Culture supernatant was used to extract the biomass, avoiding dilution of the mucic acid while retaining a cell-free suspension. Soxhlet extraction of biomass recovered 7% of total mucic acid produced at pH 4 and 24% at pH 6. The potential for mucic acid to cyclize to the 1,4-lactone was investigated by solid state NMR, confirming that very little lactone was present after the crystallization step.     

Trends of phosphorus, nitrogen and chlorophyll a concentrations in Finnish rivers and lakes in 1975–2000

During recent decades the amounts of nutrients discharged to Finnish surface waters have markedly decreased. This has been achieved by considerable investments in water protection, which were made mainly to improve municipal and industrial wastewater purification. We investigated whether these water protection measures have decreased phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in Finnish rivers and lakes. In addition, possible trends in chlorophyll a concentrations in lakes were studied. The data consisted of a total of over 68 000 monitoring results of 22 rivers and 173 lakes (or sub-basins of lakes) with different types of catchment areas. The study period covered the years 1975–2000 and the non-parametric Kendall Tau b and Seasonal Kendall tests were applied for detecting trends. Decreasing nutrient concentration trends were typical in many lakes and rivers earlier polluted by municipal and industrial wastewaters. Increasing nutrient concentration trends were common in smaller rivers and lakes receiving diffuse loading from agriculture. The results show that the investments directed towards wastewater purification have effectively improved the quality of Finnish inland waters. However, no clear effects of decreasing non-point loading were found. Thus, more effective measures should be directed towards decreasing non-point source loading.     

Microchip sonic spray ionization

The first microchip version of sonic spray ionization (SSI) as an atmospheric pressure ionization source for mass spectrometry (MS) is presented. The microchip used for SSI has recently been developed in our laboratory, and it has been used before as an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) source. Now the ionization is achieved simply by applying high (sonic) speed nebulizer gas, without heat, corona discharge, or high voltage. The microchip SSI was applied to the analysis of tetra-N-butylammonium, verapamil, testosterone, angiotensin I, and ibuprofen. The limits of detection were in the range of 15 nM to 4 microM. The technique was found to be highly dependent on the position of the chip toward the mass spectrometer inlet, and on the gas and the sample solution flow rates. The microchip SSI provided dynamic linearity following a pattern similar to that used with electrospray, good quantitative repeatability (RSD=16%), and long-term signal stability.     

超音速火焰喷涂碳化物粒径不同的WC-10Co4Cr涂层在粗细磨粒下的磨损性能

改进的ASTM G65橡胶轮测试方法可采用220nm二氧化钛颗粒和368μm的砂粒分别在潮湿和干燥条件下使用。在由碳化物粒径不同(传统和亚微米)的两种粉末所制备的WC-CoCr涂层上开展试验,研究碳化物大小和磨损介质特性对涂层磨损性能的影响。采用扫描电镜对同一位置磨损前后的低倍和高倍形貌进行观察,并分析了涂层的磨损机理。结果表明:磨损机理取决于碳化物和磨粒的相对大小。在样品上进行磨损定量分析,通过调整碳化物尺寸可改善磨损性能,测试涂层的一些力学性能用于对比。