U-shaped association between dietary thiamine intake and new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

The association between dietary thiamine intake and the risk of diabetes remains unknown.

AIM

We aimed to evaluate the relation of dietary thiamine intake with new-onset diabetes and examine possible effect modifiers.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

METHODS

A total of 16 272 participants who were free of diabetes at baseline were enrolled from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Dietary nutrients intake information was collected by 3-day dietary recalls in addition to using a 3-day food-weighed method to assess cooking oil and condiment consumption. New-onset diabetes was defined as a fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/l or a glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or diagnosed by a physician during the follow-up.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up duration of 9.0 years, new-onset diabetes occurred in 1101 participants. Overall, the association between dietary thiamine intake and new-onset diabetes followed a U-shape (P for non-linearity <0.001). Consistently, when thiamine intake was assessed as quartiles, compared with those in the 2-3 quartiles (0.75 to 1.10 mg/day), the significantly higher risks of new-onset diabetes were found in participants in the first quartile [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.33; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 1.61] and the fourth quartile (adjusted HR, 1.39; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.67). Similar results were found when further adjusting for the intake of other major nutrients or food groups; or using the propensity score weighting to control the imbalance of covariates.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggested that there was a U-shape association between dietary thiamine intake and new-onset diabetes in general Chinese adults, with a minimal risk at 0.75-1.10 mg/day.

Manipulating the Migration of Iodine Ions via Reverse-Biasing for Boosting Photovoltaic Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are being developed rapidly and exhibit greatly potential commercialization. Herein, it is found that the device performance can be improved by manipulating the migration of iodine ions via reverse-biasing, for example, at -0.4 V for 3 min in dark. Characterizations suggest that reverse bias can increase the charge recombination resistance, improve carrier transport, and enhance built-in electric field. Iodine ions including iodine interstitials in perovskites are confirmed to migrate and accumulate at the SnO₂ /perovskite interface under reverse-basing, which fill iodine vacancies at the interface and interact with SnO₂ . First-principles calculations suggest that the SnO₂ /perovskite interface with less iodine vacancies has a stronger interaction and higher charge transfer, leading to larger built-in electric field and improved charge transport. Iodine ions that may pass through the SnO₂ /perovskite interface are also confirmed to be able to interact with Sn⁴⁺  and passivate oxygen vacancies on the surface of SnO₂ . Consequently, an efficiency of 23.48% with the open-circuit voltage (V_oc ) of 1.16 V is achieved for PSCs with reverse-biasing, as compared with the initial efficiency of 22.13% with a V_oc  of 1.10 V. These results are of great significance to reveal the physics mechanism of PSCs under electric field.

A Versatile Molten-Salt Induction Strategy to Achieve Efficient CsPbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells with a High Open-Circuit Voltage >1.2 V

All-inorganic CsPbI₃ perovskite has emerged as an important photovoltaic material due to its high thermal stability and suitable bandgap for tandem devices. Currently, the cell performance of CsPbI₃ solar cells is mainly subject to a large open-circuit voltage (V_OC ) deficit. Herein, a multifunctional room-temperature molten salt, dimethylamine acetate (DMAAc) is demonstrated, which not only directly acts as a solvent for precursor solutions, but also regulates the phase conversion process of the CsPbI₃ film for high-efficiency photovoltaics. DMAAc can stabilize the DMAPbI₃ structure and eliminate the Cs₄ PbI₆ intermediate phase, which is easily spatially segregated. Meanwhile, a new homogeneous intermediate phase DMAPb(I,Ac)₃ is formed, which finally affords high-quality CsPbI₃ films. With this approach, the charge capture activity of defects in the CsPbI₃ film is significantly suppressed. Consequently, a V_OC of 1.25 V and >21% power conversion efficiency are achieved, which is the record highest reported thus far. This intermediate phase-regulation strategy is believed to be applicable to other perovskite material systems.

Simultaneously Enhancing Exciton/Charge Transport in Organic Solar Cells by an Organoboron Additive

Efficient exciton diffusion and charge transport play a vital role in advancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). Here, a facile strategy is presented to simultaneously enhance exciton/charge transport of the widely studied PM6:Y6-based OSCs by employing highly emissive trans-bis(dimesitylboron)stilbene (BBS) as a solid additive. BBS transforms the emissive sites from a more H-type aggregate into a more J-type aggregate, which benefits the resonance energy transfer for PM6 exciton diffusion and energy transfer from PM6 to Y6. Transient gated photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements indicate that addition of BBS improves the exciton diffusion coefficient of PM6 and the dissociation of PM6 excitons in the PM6:Y6:BBS film. Transient absorption spectroscopy measurements confirm faster charge generation in PM6:Y6:BBS. Moreover, BBS helps improve Y6 crystallization, and current-sensing atomic force microscopy characterization reveals an improved charge-carrier diffusion length in PM6:Y6:BBS. Owing to the enhanced exciton diffusion, exciton dissociation, charge generation, and charge transport, as well as reduced charge recombination and energy loss, a higher PCE of 17.6% with simultaneously improved open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and fill factor is achieved for the PM6:Y6:BBS devices compared to the devices without BBS (16.2%).

Association between hemoglobin level and cognitive profile in old adults: A cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, the association between Hemoglobin (HGB) level and cognitive profile was investigated and whether it affected the dementia risk in older adults.

METHODS

A cross-sectional population-based survey that included 3519 individuals ≥65 years of age was conducted in 2019. Basic demographic characteristics were collected. The neuropsychological assessments and blood tests were administered to evaluate cognition and HGB level. Generalized additive models were used to analyze the non-linear association between HGB levels and cognitive function. Logistics regression models were utilized to analyze the associations between HGB level and dementia risk.

RESULTS

Overall, 459 (12.7%) participants were diagnosed with dementia and there were more females (54.7%) than males (45.3%). The number of subjects with anemia (3%) or hyperhemoglobinemia (5.2%) was higher than participants with normal HGB level. A visual representation of the relationship between HGB level and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score showed an inverted U-curve, which is more evident in female. Logistics regression models showed that anemia (odds ratio, OR = 1.826, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.166-2.860, p < 0.01), but not hyperhemoglobinemia, significantly increased the risk of dementia. These trends were not the same for males and females. An abnormal HGB level had greater effects in females, resulting in higher risk of dementia for females with anemia or hyperhemoglobinemia than subjects with normal HGB level including males.

CONCLUSION

Both low and high HGB levels can lead to cognitive decline in the incidence of dementia, indicating an inverted U-shaped curve association may exist between HGB level and global cognitive profile.

Quantitation study on VOC emissions and their reduction potential for coking industry in China: Based on in-situ measurements on treated and untreated plants

Currently, the characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOC) released from coking industry are still vague, and the widely used VOC emission factors (EFs) were still from the measurements of 1990s. Hence, focusing on coking industry, we conducted an in-situ measurement campaign in several typical plants, developed a set of VOC EFs for various release units, and estimated the current emission amounts and future reduction potentials of VOC in China. The measurements show that the levels of VOC in stationary units were 63.82-9563.93 μg·m^-3, and those surrounding fugitive units were 111.37-1436.36 μg·m^-3. VOC emissions from stationary units were directly calculated, which deducing EFs of 11.57, 15.51, 127.13, 0.28, 0.16 g·t^-1 coke respectively for coke charging, coke pushing, coke oven chimney, dry quenching, and wastewater treatment processes. Meanwhile, VOC emissions from fugitive units were simulated following the inverse dispersion method, which achieving EFs of 443.34 ± 66.31, 352.12 ± 65.81, and 718.56 ± 132.69 g·t^-1 coke respectively for the coke oven leakage, byproduct recovery with VOC treatment system, and byproduct recovery without VOC treatment system. Generally, the coking plants installing VOC treatment system had total VOC EF of 953.76 g·t^-1 coke, about 37.1% lower than those never considering VOC treatment (1516.25 g·t^-1 coke). According to these developed EFs, the VOC emission amount from coking industry in China were estimated, slightly decreasing from 623.54 to 578.17 Gg per year, although the coke production increasing from 410.86 to 418.26 Tg during 2015-2019. In future, according to the national industrial policies, regulations and standards, technical guidelines, the VOC reduction potential of this industry in China could reach 336.9 Gg, to which headstream adjustment, process improvement, and end-of-pipe control contributed about 21.4%, 31.6%, and 47.0%, respectively.

Ge Bidirectional Diffusion to Simultaneously Engineer Back Interface and Bulk Defects in the Absorber for Efficient CZTSSe Solar Cells

Aiming at a large open-circuit voltage (V_OC ) deficit in Cu₂ ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) solar cells, a new and effective strategy to simultaneously regulate the back interface and restrain bulk defects of CZTSSe absorbers is developed by directly introducing a thin GeO₂ layer on Mo substrates. Power conversion efficiency (power-to-efficiency) as high as 13.14% with a V_OC of 547 mV is achieved for the champion device, which presents a certified efficiency of 12.8% (aperture area: 0.25667 cm² ). Further investigation reveals that Ge bidirectional diffusion simultaneously occurs toward the CZTSSe absorber and MoSe₂ layer at the back interface while being selenized. That is, some Ge element from the GeO₂ diffuses into the CZTSSe absorber layer to afford Ge-doped absorbers, which can significantly reduce the defect density and band tailing, and facilitate quasi-Fermi level split by relatively higher hole concentration. Meanwhile, a small amount of Ge element also participates in the formation of MoSe₂ at the back interface, thus enhancing the work function of MoSe₂ and effectively separating photoinduced carriers. This work highlights the synergistic effect of Ge element toward the bulk absorber and the back interface and also provides an easy-handling way to achieve high-performance CZTSSe solar cells.

Elevated Plasma Orexin-A Levels in Prodromal Dementia with Lewy Bodies

BACKGROUND

Studies on plasma orexin-A levels in prodromal dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and the relationship with clinical manifestations are rare.

OBJECTIVE

To assess plasma orexin-A levels and evaluate the correlation with clinical features in patients with mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB) and DLB.

METHODS

Plasma orexin-A levels were measured in 41 patients with MCI-LB, 53 with DLB, and 48 healthy controls (HCs). Informant-based history, neurological examinations, neuropsychological assessments, laboratory tests, and neuroimaging were collected and the correlation between orexin-A and various indicators evaluated.

RESULTS

Plasma orexin-A levels in patients with MCI-LB (1.18±0.33 ng/mL, p = 0.014) or DLB (1.20±0.44 ng/mL, p = 0.011) were significantly higher than in HCs (1.02±0.32 ng/mL) and associated with gender and age. DLB patients with fluctuating cognition (FC) (1.01±0.23 versus 1.31±0.50, p = 0.007) or parkinsonism (PARK) (0.98±0.19 versus 1.25±0.47, p = 0.030) had significantly lower plasma orexin-A levels than subjects without FC or PARK. Plasma orexin-A levels were significantly negatively correlated with irritability and UPDRS-III scores and significantly positively correlated with disinhibition scores.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report in which elevated plasma orexin-A levels were observed in patients with MCI-LB or DLB. In addition, lower orexin-A levels were found in patients with DLB and FC or PARK compared with HCs. The plasma orexin-A levels were associated with the presence of core features and motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with MCI-LB and DLB.

Properties of Daily Helium Fluxes

We present the precision measurement of 2824 daily helium fluxes in cosmic rays from May 20, 2011 to October 29, 2019 in the rigidity interval from 1.71 to 100 GV based on 7.6×10^{8} helium nuclei collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) aboard the International Space Station. The helium flux and the helium to proton flux ratio exhibit variations on multiple timescales. In nearly all the time intervals from 2014 to 2018, we observed recurrent helium flux variations with a period of 27 days. Shorter periods of 9 days and 13.5 days are observed in 2016. The strength of all three periodicities changes with time and rigidity. In the entire time period, we found that below ∼7  GV the helium flux exhibits larger time variations than the proton flux, and above ∼7  GV the helium to proton flux ratio is time independent. Remarkably, below 2.4 GV a hysteresis between the helium to proton flux ratio and the helium flux was observed at greater than the 7σ level. This shows that at low rigidity the modulation of the helium to proton flux ratio is different before and after the solar maximum in 2014.

Temperature-Reliable Low-Dimensional Perovskites Passivated Black-Phase CsPbI3 toward Stable and Efficient Photovoltaics

Low-dimensional (LD) perovskites can effectively passivate and stabilize 3D perovskites for high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Regards CsPbI₃ -based PSCs, the influence of high-temperature annealing on the LD perovskite passivation effect has to be taken into account due to fact the black-phase CsPbI₃ crystallization requires high-temperature treatment, however, which has been rarely concerned so far. Here, the thermal stability of LD perovskites based on three hydrophobic organic ammonium salts and their passivation effect toward CsPbI₃ and the whole device performance, have been investigated. It is found that, phenyltrimethylammonium iodide (PTAI) and its corresponding LD perovskites exhibit excellent thermal stability. Further investigation reveals that PTAI-based LD perovskites are mainly distributed at grain boundaries, which not only enhances the phase stability of CsPbI₃ but also effectively suppresses non-radiative recombination. As a consequence, the champion PSC device based on CsPbI₃ exhibits a record efficiency of 21.0 % with high stability.

The vascular risk factors and vascular neuropathology in subjects with autopsy-confirmed dementia with Lewy bodies

BACKGROUND

The frequency of vascular risk factors (VRFs) and the relationship between vascular pathology and cognitive function in neurodegenerative disease remains incompletely understood.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency of VRFs and vascular pathology and explore the relationship between vascular pathology and cognitive function in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

METHODS

This study included 363 autopsy-confirmed DLB and 753 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) database. We used chi-squared test and analysis of variance to compare the VRFs and related factors in DLB and AD. Multinomial logistic regression and Spearman's correlation test were used to examine the relationship between vascular pathology and cognitive function.

RESULTS

No significant differences of VRFs were identified between DLB and AD. Alzheimer's disease patients had higher rates of microinfarcts (23.5% vs. 16.3%, p = 0.005) and moderate to severe amyloid angiopathy (45.9% vs. 36.1%, p = 0.002). In DLB patients, only cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) pathology was negatively correlated with memory domain (r = -0.263, p < 0.001) and language (r = -0.112,p = 0.034). The rates of APOE ε4 allele carriers (60.0% vs. 44.9%, p = 0.004) and CAA pathology (45.9% vs.23.4%, p < 0.001) were much higher in the group with an intermediate likelihood of DLB than in the group with a high likelihood. There was a negative correlation between CAA pathology and memory (logical memory) in the group with an intermediate likelihood of DLB.

CONCLUSION

No difference of VRFs was identified between autopsy-confirmed DLB and AD. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy was shown to be an important pathology in DLB, which specifically correlated with memory and language. The groups with high and intermediate likelihood of DLB differed in terms of CAA pathology, and CAA pathology may play an important role in the development of DLB.

High-efficiency (>20%) planar carbon-based perovskite solar cells through device configuration engineering

Carbon-based perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) have attracted widespread research interest because of their excellent stability. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of C-PSCs, especially planar C-PSCs, lags far behind the certified efficiency (25.5%) of metal-based PSCs. The simple architecture of planar C-PSCs imparts stringent requirements for device configuration. In this study, we fabricated high-performance planar C-PSCs through device configuration engineering in terms of the perovskite active layer and carbon electrode. Through the combination of component and additive engineering, the crystallization and absorption profiles of perovskite active layer have been improved, which afforded sufficient photogenerated carriers and decreased nonradiative recombination. Furthermore, the mechanical and physical properties of carbon electrode were evaluated comprehensively to regulate the back-interface contact. Based on the compromise of the flexibility and conductivity of carbon film, an excellent back-interface contact has been formed, which promoted fast interface charge transfer, thereby decreasing interface recombination and improving carrier collection efficiency. Finally, the as-prepared devices achieved a remarkable PCE of up to 20.04%, which is a record-high value for planar C-PSCs. Furthermore, the as-prepared devices exhibited excellent long-term stability. After storage for 1000 h at room temperature and 25% relative humidity without encapsulation, the as-prepared device retained 94% of its initial performance.

Pressure-Enhanced Vertical Orientation and Compositional Control of Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskites for Efficient and Stable Solar Cells and Self-Powered Photodetectors

It is well-known that two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (2DRP) perovskite has higher stability than three-dimensional counterparts. However, fundamental issues still exist in the vertical orientation and phase composition as well as phase distribution. Here, obvious control of the film quality of 2DRP PEA₂MA₄Pb₅I₁₆ (n = 5) perovskite is demonstrated via a thermal-pressed (TP) effect. The crystallinity, morphology, phase composition, and optoelectronic features unequivocally illustrate that the TP effect achieves a larger gain size, a smoother surface, an effectively vertical orientation, a relatively pure phase with a large n value, a gradient distribution of quantum wells, and enhanced interlayer interaction. These film and interface features lead to markedly enhanced charge transport/extraction and lower trap density. Accordingly, the TP-based perovskite film device delivers a power conversion efficiency of 15.14%, far higher than that of the control film device (11.10%) because of significant improvements in open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current. More importantly, it also presents excellent hydrophobicity, illumination stability, and environmental stability. In addition, the 2D perovskite self-powered photodetector also exhibits high responsivity (0.25 A W^-1) and specific detectivity (1.4 × 10¹² Jones) at zero bias.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on Anxiety, Depression and Nursing Burden of Caregivers in Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia With Lewy Bodies and Mild Cognitive Impairment in China: A 1-Year Follow-Up Study

BACKGROUND

Many countries have adopted lockdown strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of the pandemic on anxiety, depression and care burden in caregivers of nursing patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), over a one-year period.

METHODS

We collected data on consecutive patients and their caregivers recruited at T0 (from 30 September to 31 December 2019) before the pandemic of COVID-19 at the memory clinic of Tianjin Huanhu Hospital. The patients and caregivers were followed up on face-to-face at T1 (from 30 September to 31 December 2020) during the pandemic to assess changes in physical activity, social contact, sleep quality, caregiver burden, anxiety and depression.

RESULTS

A total of 105 AD, 22 DLB and 50 MCI patients and caregivers were enrolled. A total of 36.6 % of the AD, 81.6% of the DLB, 38% of the MCI caregivers had worsening ZBI, whereas 31.7 % of the AD, 54.4% of the DLB, 26 % of the MCI caregivers had worsening GAD-7, and 29.6 % of the AD, 54.4% of the DLB, and 32 % of the MCI caregivers had worsening PHQ-9. DLB caregivers exhibited a rapid deterioration of ZBI (by 4.27 ± 5.43, P < 0.001), GAD-7 (by 2.23 ± 3.26, P = 0.003) and PHQ-9 (by 1.32 ± 2.25, P = 0.003) compared to AD and MCI caregivers.

CONCLUSION

Social isolation, physical inactivity and sleep disturbance after lockdown for at least 12 months were significantly related to increased caregiver burden and worsened psychological states of caregivers of AD, DLB and MCI sufferers, especially among DLB caregivers.

Periodicities in the Daily Proton Fluxes from 2011 to 2019 Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station from 1 to 100 GV

We present the precision measurement of the daily proton fluxes in cosmic rays from May 20, 2011 to October 29, 2019 (a total of 2824 days or 114 Bartels rotations) in the rigidity interval from 1 to 100 GV based on 5.5×10^{9} protons collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. The proton fluxes exhibit variations on multiple timescales. From 2014 to 2018, we observed recurrent flux variations with a period of 27 days. Shorter periods of 9 days and 13.5 days are observed in 2016. The strength of all three periodicities changes with time and rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the 27-day periodicity is different from the rigidity dependences of 9-day and 13.5-day periods. Unexpectedly, the strength of 9-day and 13.5-day periodicities increases with increasing rigidities up to ∼10  GV and ∼20  GV, respectively. Then the strength of the periodicities decreases with increasing rigidity up to 100 GV.

Two-Step Annealing CZTSSe/CdS Heterojunction to Improve Interface Properties of Kesterite Solar Cells

The post-heating treatment of the CZTSSe/CdS heterojunction can enhance the interfacial properties of kesterite Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) solar cells. In this regard, a two-step annealing method was developed to enhance the heterojunction quality for the first time. That is, a low-temperature (90 °C) process was introduced before the high-temperature treatment, and 12.3% efficiency of CZTSSe solar cells was achieved. Further investigation revealed that the CZTSSe/CdS heterojunction band alignment with a smaller spike barrier can be realized by the two-step annealing treatment, which assisted in carrier transportation and reduced the charge recombination loss, thus enhancing the open-circuit voltage (V_OC) and fill factor (FF) of the devices. In addition, the two-step annealing could effectively avoid the disadvantages of direct high-temperature treatment (such as more pinholes on CdS films and excess element diffusion), improve the CdS crystallization, and decrease the defect densities within the device, especially interfacial defects. This work provides an effective method to improve the CZTSSe/CdS heterojunction properties for efficient kesterite solar cells.

Erratum: Properties of a New Group of Cosmic Nuclei: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on Sodium, Aluminum, and Nitrogen [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 021101 (2021)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.021101.

Properties of a New Group of Cosmic Nuclei: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on Sodium, Aluminum, and Nitrogen

We report the properties of sodium (Na) and aluminum (Al) cosmic rays in the rigidity range 2.15 GV to 3.0 TV based on 0.46 million sodium and 0.51 million aluminum nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. We found that Na and Al, together with nitrogen (N), belong to a distinct cosmic ray group. In this group, we observe that, similar to the N flux, both the Na flux and Al flux are well described by the sums of a primary cosmic ray component (proportional to the silicon flux) and a secondary cosmic ray component (proportional to the fluorine flux). The fraction of the primary component increases with rigidity for the N, Na, and Al fluxes and becomes dominant at the highest rigidities. The Na/Si and Al/Si abundance ratios at the source, 0.036±0.003 for Na/Si and 0.103±0.004 for Al/Si, are determined independent of cosmic ray propagation.