OBJECTIVE -The study goal was to assess and predict the risk of developing retinopathy in type 1 diabetic patients with extreme metabolic control.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Based on material from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) study (n ϭ 1,441 patients), patients without retinopathy at baseline (DCCT primary cohort) were considered under good or poor metabolic control if the mean HbA 1c level (until the last visit) fell in the lower or upper 20% of the overall HbA 1c distribution, respectively. Retinopathy was recorded as either absent or present. Logistic regression was used to predict retinopathy from covariates used in the DCCT retinopathy study.RESULTS -Among the 153 DCCT patients with "good metabolic control" (mean HbA 1c Յ6.87%), three-step change retinopathy developed in 15 (9.8%), and 138 (90%) remained free of retinopathy. Conversely, among the 166 patients with "poor metabolic control" (mean HbA 1c Ն9.49%), the complication did not develop in 71 (43%) and did develop in 95 (57%). Whereas occurrence of diabetic retinopathy was primarily due to metabolic control (P Ͻ 0.0001) and duration of participation in the study (P Ͻ 0.0001), two other covariates were found to be significant prognostic factors of the complication: HbA 1c at baseline (OR 1.37, P Ͻ 0.001) and BMI (OR 1.11, P Ͻ 0.05).CONCLUSIONS -This study confirms that retinopathy develops in ϳ10% of patients with type 1 diabetes under good metabolic control, whereas Ͼ40% of patients with type 1 diabetes remain free of retinopathy despite poor metabolic control. After adjusting for metabolic control and duration of participation in the study, it was found that previous glycemic exposure (HbA 1c ) and BMI may provide a possible explanation to such paradoxical clinical situations.

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The band structure, density of states, electron density difference and optical properties of intrinsic -Ga 2 O 3 and N-doped -Ga 2 O 3 were calculated using first-principles based on density functional theory. After N doping, the band gap decreases, shallow acceptor impurity levels are introduced over the top of the valence band and the absorption band edge is slightly red-shifted compared to that of the intrinsic one. The anisotropic optical properties are investigated by means of the complex dielectric function, which are explained by the selection rule of the band-to-band transitions. All calculation results indicate that N-doping is a very promising method to get P-type -Ga 2 O 3 . P-type -Ga2 O 3 , N-doped -Ga 2 O 3 , first-principles, electronic structure, optical properties PACS number(s): 78

For the first time, the scenario of treated soil exposure was assessed and was found to pose less risk than conventional pesticide application. These results can be used as a reference in pesticide management. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

A high-temperature conductive silver slurry containing lead-free ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass for metallization of ceramic MgTiO3 substrate has been prepared. The ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass was obtained by high-temperature melting and cold extraction with a transition temperature (Tg) of 579 ℃ and thermal stability (∆T) of 105 ℃ as an inorganic bonding phase of high-temperature conductive silver paste. Then, silver paste with different glass powder content was sintered on ceramic MgTiO3 substrate between 730 ℃ and 930 ℃ in increments of 50 ℃. Characterization of the prepared materials revealed that their resistivity increases with the increase in glass powder content and decreases with the increase in sintering temperature. Sintering temperature and glass content have significant effects on the resistivity and adhesion of the thick silver film. When the silver paste with a glass content of 1.1 wt% was sintered at 830 ℃ for 10 min, the resulting thick silver film had a low resistivity of 1.81 μΩ·cm (1.65 μΩ·cm for silver) and a good adhesive strength of 39.4 N/mm2. During the sintering process, the glass material melts and wets the silver powder, which promotes the sintering of the silver powder to form a dense network structure and improves the electrical conductivity of the silver film. In addition, the formation of ZnTiO3 by chemical reactions between the glass and the substrate was observed, which dramatically improved the bonding strength of the silver film. Therefore, lead-free silver paste containing ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass powder and MgTiO3 ceramics has broad development prospects in ceramic filters.