Aims/hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that NEFA concentrations are higher in obese subjects with fatty liver than in obese subjects without fatty liver. Materials and methods: We recruited 22 obese (BMI>30 kg/m 2 ) men aged 42-64 years, in whom liver fat was assessed by ultrasound and classified into categories of no, mild to moderate and severe fatty liver by two independent radiologists. Regional and visceral abdominal fat were assessed by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging, and endogenous glucose production, whole-body glucose disposal during an insulin clamp, and NEFA concentrations were measured, along with NEFA suppression (percent (%) suppression and insulin sensitivity index for NEFA during an OGTT). Results: Seven subjects had no evidence of fatty liver, nine had mild or moderate fatty liver and six had severe fatty liver. The amount of visceral fat was not associated with the degree of fatty liver. Whole-body glucose disposal was inversely associated with fatty liver (38.4, 26.5 and 23.9 μmol kg −1 min −1 for the groups with no fatty liver, mild to moderate fatty liver and severe fatty liver, respectively, p=0.004). NEFA suppression during the OGTT was decreased (62.5, 50.8 and 41%, p=0.03, for no, mild to moderate, and severe fatty liver, respectively) and the insulin sensitivity index for NEFA was decreased (0.80, 0.40 and 0.34, p<0.0001). Regression modelling suggested that NEFA concentrations were associated with fatty liver independently of whole-body glucose production and disposal measurements. Conclusions/interpretation: In obese men, NEFA concentrations during an OGTT are associated with fatty liver independently of classic measures of insulin sensitivity determined by the hyperinsulinaemic clamp. The contribution to this association by factors regulating NEFA concentrations requires further study.

This article sought to analyze the clinical features of 154 patients suspected of having Ebola virus disease (EVD) in an Ebola holding center in Sierra Leone from October 1 through November 9, 2014. We found that 108 of the 154 patients were confirmed with EVD. Eighty-five had known outcomes. Forty-nine of the 85 patients had been exposed to EVD. The average mortality rate was 60%. The mean interval between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization was 5.8 ± 3.3 days. The mean incubation period was 9.2 ± 6.7 days. Common symptoms of the EVD patients on admission were fatigue (85.2%), anorexia (84.3%), fever (75.9%), and headache (72.2%). Our data showed that the total symptoms of confirmed EVD patients were significantly higher than those of non-EVD patients (9 vs. 5.5; p < 0.001). The likelihood of EVD was 87.6% when a patient presented more than 6 out of 21 symptoms on admission. The survivors were significantly younger than non-survivors (24.0 ± 10.0 years vs. 31.3 ± 15.3 years; p = 0.016). The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that, in the survivors, the virus load was significantly lower (Ct value: 25.2 ± 4.1 vs. 28.7 ± 5.7; p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that age, fever, and viral load were independent predictors of mortality. Taken together, our data suggested that a cutoff of six symptoms could be used to predict patients with high or low risk of EVD. It seemed that age, fever, and viral load were the main risk factors associated with EVD mortality.

Nickel nanowires with large aspect ratio of up to 300 have been prepared by a hydrazine hydrate reduction method under applied magnetic field. The diameter of nickel nanowires is about 200 nm and length up to 60 μm. The role of magnetic field on the growth of magnetic nanowires is discussed and a magnetic nanowire growth mechanism has been proposed. Nickel ions are firstly reduced to nickel atoms by hydrazine hydrates in a strong alkaline solution and grow into tiny spherical nanoparticles. Then, these magnetic particles will align under a magnetic force and form linear chains. Furthermore, the as-formed chains can enhance the local magnetic field and attract other magnetic particles nearby, resulting finally as linear nanowires. The formation and the size of nanowires depend strongly on the magnitude of applied magnetic field.

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The effect of transverse magnetic fields on surface high-harmonic generation in intense laser–solid interactions is investigated. It is shown that the longitudinal motion of electrons can be coupled with the transverse motion via the magnetic fields, which lead to even-order harmonics under normal laser incidence. The dependence of the coupling efficiency and hence even harmonic generation with preplasma scale length and magnetic field strength are presented based upon particle-in-cell simulations. When the magnetic field is parallel to the laser electric field, the spectral intensity of the second harmonic is proportional to the magnetic field strength in a wide range up to 160 MG, while the situation with the magnetic field perpendicular to the laser electric field is more complicated. The second harmonic generation due to the magnetic field also tends to increase with the plasma density scale lengths, which is different from the high-harmonic generation by the oscillating mirror mechanism. With the increase of the laser spot size from a laser wavelength λL, both the magnetic field-induced harmonics and oscillating mirror high harmonics tend to increase first and then become saturated after 3λL. The magnetic field-induced second harmonic may be used to evaluate large self-generated magnetic fields developed near the critical density region and the preplasma conditions.

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Nickel nanowires with large aspect ratio of up to 300 have been prepared by a hydrazine hydrate reduction method under applied magnetic field. The diameter of nickel nanowires is about 200 nm and length up to 60 m. The role of magnetic field on the growth of magnetic nanowires is discussed and a magnetic nanowire growth mechanism has been proposed. Nickel ions are firstly reduced to nickel atoms by hydrazine hydrates in a strong alkaline solution and grow into tiny spherical nanoparticles. Then, these magnetic particles will align under a magnetic force and form linear chains. Furthermore, the as-formed chains can enhance the local magnetic field and attract other magnetic particles nearby, resulting finally as linear nanowires. The formation and the size of nanowires depend strongly on the magnitude of applied magnetic field.