0559 Association of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep with Insulin Resistance in Han Chinese Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Introduction

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is increasingly associated with insulin resistance. The underlying pathophysiology remains unclear but rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been hypothesized to play a key role. To investigate the associations of insulin resistance with respiratory events and sleep duration during REM sleep, 4,062 Han Chinese individuals with suspected OSA were screened and 2,899 were analyzed.

Methods

We screened 4,062 participants with suspected OSA who underwent polysomnography in our sleep center from 2009 to 2016. Polysomnographic variables, biochemical indicators, and physical measurements were collected. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for insulin resistance as assessed by hyperinsulinemia, the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI), and Bennet’s insulin sensitivity index (ISI).

Results

The final analyses included 2,899 participants. After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and the apnea and hypopnea index during non-REM sleep (AHINREM), the results revealed that AHI during REM sleep (AHIREM) was independently associated with insulin resistance; across higher AHIREM quartiles, the ORs (95% CIs) for hyperinsulinemia were 1.340 (1.022, 1.757), 1.210 (0.882, 1.660), and 1.632 (1.103, 2.416); those for abnormal HOMA-IR were 1.287 (0.998, 1.661), 1.263 (0.933, 1.711), and 1.556 (1.056, 2.293); those for abnormal FIRI were 1.386 (1.048, 1.835), 1.317 (0.954, 1.818), and 1.888 (1.269, 2.807); and those for abnormal Bennet’s ISI were 1.297 (1.003, 1.678), 1.287 (0.949, 1.747), and 1.663 (1.127, 2.452) (P < 0.01 for all linear trends). Additionally, the results showed that for every 1-h increase in REM duration, the risk of hyperinsulinemia decreased by 22.3% (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that AHIREM was independently associated with hyperinsulinemia and abnormal HOMA-IR, FIRI, and Bennet’s ISI. Additionally, REM sleep duration was independently associated with hyperinsulinemia.

Support

This study was supported by Grants-in-aid from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (No.18DZ2260200).

0713 Association Between Obesity Indices And Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Modified By Age In A Sex-specific Manner

Introduction

The beneficial effects of weight loss on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are highly variable. Whether the variability is associated with the effects of age and sex remains unclear. This study examined this issue with large cross-sectional data.

Methods

A total of 4600 adult males and 1156 females with suspected OSA were included in the study. Anthropometric measurements, polysomnographic variables, biochemical indicators, and medical history were collected for each subject. Multivariable linear regression with interaction terms was used to estimate the modification effect of age on the associations between OSA severity (assessed by apnea-hypopnea index, AHI) with obesity indices (body mass index, BMI; neck circumference, NC; waist circumference, WC) in a sex-specific manner, and vice versa.

Results

BMI, NC, and WC were all positively correlated with AHI after adjusting for potential confounders in all populations. In males, these associations were much stronger and more significant in younger than older individuals (P for interaction < 0.001). For example, a 10% increase in BMI was independently associated with a 31.6% increase in AHI for males < 40 years old, whereas the corresponding increases were 20.8% and 16.7% for males 40-60 and >60 years old, respectively. By contrast, no modification effect of age was observed in females (P for interaction > 0.05). A 10% increase in BMI was associated with 25.6%, 26.8%, and 23.8% increases in AHI for females < 40, 40-60, and >60 years old, respectively.

Conclusion

Age modifies the associations between obesity indices and OSA severity in a sex-specific manner, and vice versa. These findings may broaden the understanding of age- and sex-related heterogeneities in the pathogenic role of obesity in OSA, and may be beneficial for individualized risk evaluation and treatment management for patients with OSA.

Support

This study was funded by Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (grant number.18DZ2260200); the National Key R&D Program of China (grant number: 2017YFC0112500); Multi-Center Clinical Research Project from the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (grant number: DLY201502); and the Shanghai Shen-Kang Hospital Management Center Project (grant number: SHDC12015101 and 16CR3103B).

0601 Use of The Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the NoSAS, and the STOP-BANG Questionnaire to Identify Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Introduction

A variety of scales and questionnaires regarding sleep and sleep-related disorders have been widely used in scientific research and clinical practice, as important tools for differential diagnosis and rapid screening of complex sleep disorders, especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the diagnostic efficacy of different scales and questionnaires for patients with different severity of OSA and of different demographic characteristics has not been clearly described. In this study, we evaluated the ability of the most popular scales, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the NoSAS, and the STOP-BANG questionnaire in predicting moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by gender.

Methods

This cross-sectional study screened 2,031 consecutive subjects referred with suspected OSA from 2012 to 2016. Anthropometric measurements, polysomnographic data, ESS, NoSAS scores and STOP-BANG scores were recorded. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed, and the final predictive models were verified in a validation cohort.

Results

A total of 1,840 adults were finally included. The STOP-BANG questionnaire afforded a better diagnostic accuracy than did the ESS, with different cutoffs for the two genders: 3 in males and 1 in females. A predictive model based on STOP-BANG yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.918 (0.897-0.935), a sensitivity of 79.89%, and a specificity of 89.19%, in males; and an AUC of 0.951 (0.914-0.975), a sensitivity of 80.52%, and a specificity of 95.92%, in females. In the validation cohort, the sensitivity and specificity were respectively 85.44 and 93.00% in males and respectively 83.02 and 87.60% in females.

Conclusion

The STOP-BANG questionnaire was moderately effective when used to screen for moderate-to-severe OSA. A STOP-BANG-based predictive model afforded excellent diagnostic efficacy, which could be applied in clinical practice. However, gender differences must be considered.

Support

This study was supported by Grants-in-aid from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (Grant No.18DZ2260200).

0565 Obstructive Sleep Apnea, But Not Short Sleep Duration, is Independently Associated with Insulin Resistance: A Large-Scale Cohort Study

Introduction

Both short sleep duration and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) seem to be associated with insulin resistance. However, the majority of previous studies addressing the relationship between OSA and insulin resistance did not evaluate short sleep duration, and vice versa. In this study, we used a large-scale hospital-based cross-sectional dataset, including 5,447 participants, to examine 1) whether objectively measured short sleep duration and OSA are independently associated with insulin resistance, and 2) whether the presence of OSA modulates the association between sleep duration and insulin resistance.

Methods

Participants were consecutively enrolled from our sleep center during the period from 2007 to 2017. The index of homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated from insulin and glucose. Sleep duration was determined by standard polysomnography. The associations between sleep duration and insulin resistance were estimated by logistic regression analyses.

Results

A total of 5,447 participants (4507 OSA and 940 primary snorers) were included in the study. In comparison to primary snorers, OSA combined with extremely short sleep duration (< 5 hours) increased the risk of insulin resistance by 34% (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01-1.77) after adjusting for confounding factors that are frequently associated with insulin resistance and OSA. In subgroup analysis stratified by sleep duration, the risk of insulin resistance in patients with a short sleep duration (5-6 hours or < 5 hours) was increased in those with OSA compared to primary snorers, but not in the other three sleep duration groups (6 - 7, 7 - 8, and > 8 hours).

Conclusion

OSA, but not short sleep duration, was independently associated with insulin resistance. It is worth noting that OSA combined with extremely short sleep duration showed a greater detrimental effect than OSA itself with regard to insulin resistance.

Support

This study was supported by grants-in-aid from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (Grant No.18DZ2260200).

Hierarchical porous carbon material restricted Au catalyst for highly catalytic reduction of nitroaromatics

In this study, four kinds of porous carbon materials were used as supports to anchor gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for catalytic reduction of nitroaromatics and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was employed as a model material. Results identified that carbon black (CB) restricted-Au catalyst (Au/CB) provided large specific surface area, small AuNPs size, and low cost, which showed highly catalytic activity for 4-NP reduction. Besides, with the increase of Au loadings, the catalytic activity of Au/CB was enhanced and the 1.2 wt% of Au loading exhibited the best catalytic activity with the high rate of 0.8302 min^-1 and the turnover frequency of 492.50 h^-1. Universality and real water application demonstrated that the as-prepared Au/CB catalyst was promising candidate for other phenols and azo dyes reduction and had great potential for practical application. Furthermore, after ten cycles, Au/CB still retained satisfying stability and activity. These results suggested that the larger specific surface area and smaller particle size attributing to the porosity of CB were conducive to improving the catalytic activity of Au catalysts. This design shows high potential of hierarchical porous carbon materials for highly catalytic reaction in many fields, especially the water purification.

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethazine by surface engineering of carbon nitride：Properties, degradation pathway and mechanisms

Polymeric carbon nitride semiconductor has been explored as emerging metal-free photocatalyst for solving the energy shortage and environmental issues. However, the efficiency of carbon nitride is still not satisfying. Herein, a facile copolymerization between L-cysteine and dicyandiamide has been applied to forming the modified carbon nitride photocatalysts. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated through degrading sulfamethazine under visible light illumination. The ameliorative structure and tuned energy band result in visible-light adsorption enhancement. In addition, nitrogen vacancies offer more sites to adsorbing molecular oxygen, thereby facilitating the transfer of electrons from carbon nitride to the surface adsorbed oxygen. As a result, the degradation rate of optimized modified carbon nitride sample for sulfamethazine was 0.1062 min^-1, which was almost 12 times than that of carbon nitride (0.0086 min^-1). Superoxide radicals and holes were mainly responsible for the sulfamethazine photodegradation by modified carbon nitride. Two reaction intermediates/products were observed and identified by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer, and a possible reaction pathway was proposed. This study provides new insights into the design of highly efficient photocatalyst for other organic pollutants degradation.

Effects of acute heat stress on intestinal microbiota in grow-finishing pigs, and associations with feed intake and serum profile

AIMS

This study was conducted to assess the effects of acute heat stress (HS) on intestinal microbiota, and the associations with the changes in feed intake (FI) and serum profile.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Twenty four individually housed pigs (Duroc × Large White × Landrace, 30 ± 1 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to receive one of three treatments (8 pigs/treatment): (i) thermal neutral (TN) conditions (25 ± 1°C), (ii) HS conditions (35 ± 1°C), (iii) pair-feeding (PF) with HS under TN conditions. After 24-h treatment, pigs were monitored to assess FI, and samples of serum and faeces were collected to investigate serum profile, microbial composition and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The results showed that HS decreased (P < 0·05) FI compared with the TN group. Compared with TN group, HS changed the serum profile by affecting biochemical parameters and hormones related with energy metabolism and stress response; immune indicators were also altered in HS group. Most of changes in serum profile were independent of FI reduction. Additionally, HS shifted the diversity and composition of faecal microbial community by increasing (P < 0·05) Proteobacteria and decreasing (P < 0·05) Bacteroidetes. Moreover, HS decreased (P < 0·05) the concentrations of propionate, butyrate, valerate, iso-valerate and total SCFAs in faeces in an FI-independent manner. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation analysis implied that changes of serum profile have potential correlation with alterations of faecal microbiota and their SCFAs metabolites in acute HS-treated grow-finishing pigs.

CONCLUSIONS

Metabolism disorders caused by 24-h acute HS associated with changes of faecal microbiota and their SCFAs metabolites in an FI-independent manner in grow-finishing pigs.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

These results give us a new insight of the intestinal damage caused by acute HS and the underlying mechanisms.

A "bottle-around-ship" like method synthesized yolk-shell Ag3PO4@MIL-53(Fe) Z-scheme photocatalysts for enhanced tetracycline removal

A novel yolk-shell Ag₃PO₄@MIL-53(Fe) Z-scheme photocatalyst was fabricated via a "bottle-around-ship" like method. Experiments on the treatment of tetracycline upon visible light irradiation showed that the as-prepared photocatalyst possessed excellent photocatalytic performance. Experimental results showed that tetracycline removal efficiency of the yolk-shell Ag₃PO₄@MIL-53(Fe) Z-scheme photocatalyst was almost 3 times higher than that of MIL-53(Fe). The enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag₃PO₄@MIL-53(Fe) nanocomposite could be contributed to its higher surface area, better absorption capability, and greater charge separation efficiency. In addition, the H₂O₂ concentration detection results for Ag₃PO₄ (154 μmol/L) and Ag₃PO₄@MIL-53(Fe) (52 μmol/L) indicated that a big part of generated H₂O₂ on the Ag₃PO₄ core would be quickly decomposed by the MIL-53(Fe) shell and generated more reactive species through the photo-Fenton-like reaction, which is beneficial for the improvement of photocatalytic performance. This is a promising approach to fabricate yolk-shell structure photocatalyst and a different aspect to design multiple semiconductor composites heterojunction for environmental remediation.

Recent development of advanced biotechnology for wastewater treatment

The importance of highly efficient wastewater treatment is evident from aggravated water crises. With the development of green technology, wastewater treatment is required in an eco-friendly manner. Biotechnology is a promising solution to address this problem, including treatment and monitoring processes. The main directions and differences in biotreatment process are related to the surrounding environmental conditions, biological processes, and the type of microorganisms. It is significant to find suitable biotreatment methods to meet the specific requirements for practical situations. In this review, we first provide a comprehensive overview of optimized biotreatment processes for treating wastewater during different conditions. Both the advantages and disadvantages of these biotechnologies are discussed at length, along with their application scope. Then, we elaborated on recent developments of advanced biosensors (i.e. optical, electrochemical, and other biosensors) for monitoring processes. Finally, we discuss the limitations and perspectives of biological methods and biosensors applied in wastewater treatment. Overall, this review aims to project a rapid developmental path showing a broad vision of recent biotechnologies, applications, challenges, and opportunities for scholars in biotechnological fields for "green" wastewater treatment.

Properties of Cosmic Helium Isotopes Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station of ^{3}He and ^{4}He fluxes are presented. The measurements are based on 100 million ^{4}He nuclei in the rigidity range from 2.1 to 21 GV and 18 million ^{3}He from 1.9 to 15 GV collected from May 2011 to November 2017. We observed that the ^{3}He and ^{4}He fluxes exhibit nearly identical variations with time. The relative magnitude of the variations decreases with increasing rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio is measured for the first time. Below 4 GV, the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio was found to have a significant long-term time dependence. Above 4 GV, the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio was found to be time independent, and its rigidity dependence is well described by a single power law ∝R^{Δ} with Δ=-0.294±0.004. Unexpectedly, this value is in agreement with the B/O and B/C spectral indices at high energies.

Fabrication of novel magnetic MnFe2O4/bio-char composite and heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of tetracycline in near neutral pH

Iron-based magnetic materials are deemed to be promising catalysts for various catalytic reactions and can be recovered conveniently by an external magnetic field. MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticle and MnFe₂O₄/bio-char composite with different bio-char contents were prepared to activate hydrogen peroxide for the degradation of tetracycline (TC). The catalysts were characterized by SEM, BET, XRD, FTIR, VSM and XPS. The results indicated that MnFe₂O₄ had a spherical shape and was successfully loaded onto the surface of bio-char. The introduction of bio-char effectively suppressed the aggregation of MnFe₂O₄ and drastically increased the specific surface area. Both MnFe₂O₄ and MnFe₂O₄/bio-char composite can be separated easily by an external magnetic field. Using 1:2 composite as heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst obtained a degradation of 95% through visible light irradiation of 40 mg L^-1solution at natural pH (pH = 5.5) in the presence of 100 mmol L^-1 H₂O₂ for 2 h. Free radical quenching experiment and the ESR results confirm that hydroxyl radicals play the main role for TC degradation. XPS measurements show that both Fe and Mn ions simultaneously participate in the activation of H₂O₂. The bio-char not only restrains the aggregation of MnFe₂O₄ leading to the improved removal efficiency of TC, but also has side effects by consuming hydroxyl radicals. By cyclic degradation experiments, the performance of MnFe₂O₄/bio-char composite is stable and almost unchanged, and the leaching metal ions of both Fe and Mn are neglectful (both below 0.2 mg L^-1). Besides, steady performance of MnFe₂O₄/bio-char catalyst to remove TC from tap water and river water has been certified.

Assessing the human health risks of perfluorooctane sulfonate by in vivo and in vitro studies

The wide use of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has led to increasing concern about its human health risks over the past decade. In vivo and in vitro studies are important and effective means to ascertain the toxic effects of PFOS on humans and its toxic mechanisms. This article systematically reviews the human health risks of PFOS based on the currently known facts found by in vivo and in vitro studies from 2008 to 2018. Exposure to PFOS has caused hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, thyroid disruption, cardiovascular toxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and renal toxicity in laboratory animals and many in vitro human systems. These results and related epidemiological studies confirmed the human health risks of PFOS, especially for exposure via food and drinking water. Oxidative stress and physiological process disruption based on fatty acid similarity were widely studied mechanisms of PFOS toxicity. Future research for assessing the human health risks of PFOS is recommended in the chronic toxicity and molecular mechanisms, the application of various omics, and the integration of toxicological and epidemiological data.

Phase Identification and Strong Second Harmonic Generation in Pure ε-InSe and Its Alloys

Two-dimensional material indium selenide (InSe) has offered a new platform for fundamental research in virtue of its emerging fascinating properties. Unlike 2H-phase transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), ε phase InSe with a hexagonal unit cell possesses broken inversion symmetry in all the layer numbers, and predicted to have a strong second harmonic generation (SHG) effect. In this work, we find that the as-prepared pure InSe, alloyed InSe_{1- x}Te _x and InSe_{1- x}S _x ( x = 0.1 and 0.2) are ε phase structures and exhibit excellent SHG performance from few-layer to bulk-like dimension. This high SHG efficiency is attributed to the noncentrosymmetric crystal structure of the ε-InSe system, which has been clearly verified by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images. The experimental results show that the SHG intensities from multilayer pure ε-InSe and alloyed InSe_0.9Te_0.1 and InSe_{1- x}S _x ( x = 0.1 and 0.2) are around 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the monolayer TMD systems and even superior to that of GaSe with the same thickness. The estimated nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽²⁾ of ε-InSe is larger than that of ε-GaSe and monolayer TMDs. Our study provides first-hand information about the phase identification of ε-InSe and indicates an excellent candidate for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications as well as the possibility of engineering SHG response by alloying.

Peroxidase-Like Activity of Smart Nanomaterials and Their Advanced Application in Colorimetric Glucose Biosensors

Diabetes is a dominating health issue with 425 million people suffering from the disease worldwide and 4 million deaths each year. To avoid further complications, the diabetic patient blood glucose level should be strictly monitored despite there being no cure for diabetes. Colorimetric biosensing has attracted significant attention because of its low cost, simplicity, and practicality. Recently, some nanomaterials have been found that possess unexpected peroxidase-like activity, and great advances have been made in fabricating colorimetric glucose biosensors based on the peroxidase-like activity of these nanomaterials using glucose oxidase. Compared with natural horseradish peroxidase, the nanomaterials exhibit flexibility in structure design and composition, and have easy separation and storage, high stability, simple preparation, and tunable catalytic activity. To highlight the significant progress in the field of nanomaterial-based peroxidase-like activity, this work discusses the various smart nanomaterials that mimic horseradish peroxidase and its mechanism and development history, and the applications in colorimetric glucose biosensors. Different approaches for tunable peroxidase-like activity of nanomaterials are summarized, such as size, morphology, and shape; surface modification and coating; and metal doping and alloy. Finally, the conclusion and challenges facing peroxidase-like activity of nanomaterials and future directions are discussed.

Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Electrons

Precision results on cosmic-ray electrons are presented in the energy range from 0.5 GeV to 1.4 TeV based on 28.1×10^{6} electrons collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station. In the entire energy range the electron and positron spectra have distinctly different magnitudes and energy dependences. The electron flux exhibits a significant excess starting from 42.1_{-5.2}^{+5.4}  GeV compared to the lower energy trends, but the nature of this excess is different from the positron flux excess above 25.2±1.8  GeV. Contrary to the positron flux, which has an exponential energy cutoff of 810_{-180}^{+310}  GeV, at the 5σ level the electron flux does not have an energy cutoff below 1.9 TeV. In the entire energy range the electron flux is well described by the sum of two power law components. The different behavior of the cosmic-ray electrons and positrons measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is clear evidence that most high energy electrons originate from different sources than high energy positrons.

Synthetic strategies and application of gold-based nanocatalysts for nitroaromatics reduction

With the increasing requirement of efficient organic transformations on the basic concept of Green Sustainable Chemistry, the development of highly efficient catalytic reaction system is greatly desired. In this case, gold (Au)-based nanocatalysts are promising candidates for catalytic reaction, especially for the reduction of nitroaromatics. They have attracted wide attention and well developed in the application of nitroaromatics reduction because of the unique properties compared with that of other conventional metal-based catalysts. With this respect, this review proposes recent trends in the application of Au nanocatalysts for efficient reduction process of nitroaromatics. Some typical approaches are compared and discussed to guide the synthesis of highly efficient Au nanocatalysts. The mechanism on the use of H₂ and NaBH₄ solution as the source of hydrogen is compared, and that proposed under light irradiation is discussed. The high and unique catalytic activity of some carriers, such as oxides and carbons-based materials, based on different sizes, structures, and shapes of supported Au nanocatalysts for nitroaromatics reduction are described. The catalytic performance of Au combining with other metal nanoparticles by alloy or doping, like multi-metal nanoparticles system, is further discussed. Finally, a short discussion is introduced to compare the catalysis with other metallic nanocatalysts.

Micro(nano)plastics: Unignorable vectors for organisms

Micro(nano)plastics, as emerging contaminants, have attracted worldwide attention. Nowadays, the environmental distribution, sources, and analysis methods and technologies of micro(nano)plastics have been well studied and recognized. Nevertheless, the role of micro(nano)plastic particles as vectors for attaching organisms is not fully understood. In this paper, the role of micro(nano)plastics as vectors, and their potential effects on the ecology are introduced. Micro(nano)plastics could 1) accelerate the diffusion of organisms in the environment, which may result in biological invasion; 2) increase the gene exchange between attached biofilm communities, causing the transfer of pathogenic and antibiotic resistance genes; 3) enhance the rate of energy, material and information flow in the environment. Accordingly, the role of microplastics as vectors for organisms should be further evaluated in the future research.