Background Although many studies have shown that low zinc status is associated with diabetes, the putative effects of zinc supplementation on glycemic control are inconclusive. Objectives The aim of this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was to assess the effects of zinc supplementation in preventing and managing diabetes. Methods PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles that were published through February 10, 2019 and contained estimates for the outcomes of interest. The pooled results were then analyzed with the use of a random-effects model. Results Thirty-two placebo-controlled interventions were extracted from 36 publications, involving a total of 1700 participants in 14 countries. Overall, compared with their respective control groups, the subjects in the zinc-supplementation group had a statistically significant reduction in fasting glucose [FG, weighted mean difference (WMD): −14.15 mg/dL; 95% CI: −17.36, −10.93 mg/dL], 2-h postprandial glucose (WMD: −36.85 mg/dL; 95% CI: −62.05, −11.65 mg/dL), fasting insulin (WMD: −1.82 mU/L; 95% CI: −3.10, −0.54 mU/L), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (WMD: −0.73; 95% CI: −1.22, −0.24), glycated hemoglobin (WMD: −0.55%; 95% CI: −0.84, −0.27%), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (WMD: −1.31 mg/L; 95% CI: −2.05, −0.56 mg/L) concentrations. Moreover, subgroup analyses revealed that the effects of zinc supplementation on FG are significantly influenced by diabetic status and the formulation of the zinc supplement. Conclusions Our analysis revealed that several key glycemic indicators are significantly reduced by zinc supplementation, particularly the FG in subjects with diabetes and in subjects who received an inorganic zinc supplement. Together, these findings support the notion that zinc supplementation may have clinical potential as an adjunct therapy for preventing or managing diabetes. This trial was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42018111838.
Electromagnetic (EM) materials with perfect absorption have long been investigated for their important applications in many practical technologies. The trial-and-error method has been mostly employed to achieve this target, either by varying the constituent compositions for traditional natural material absorbers or by running computer simulations for general metamaterial (MM) absorbers. In this work, the authors propose a new method with analytical guidance to build omnidirectional perfect absorbers inspired by the recently proposed spatial Kramers-Kronig (KK) nonreflecting dielectric profile. The subtle combination of the spatial and time dispersions in the metamaterial-engineered KK profile gives the desired broadband response property. More importantly, these features remain invariant when the sample is uniformly compressed or stretched with large thickness change, i.e., this particular broadband absorber is deformable, which has been firstly reported in the literature. The current results will pave a new way to design high-efficiency EM absorbers that could also be extended in general to manipulate waves for other fields or applications. almost deterministic attenuation performance, inspired by the recent work [26] in which Horsley et al. introduced a general nonreflecting permittivity profile satisfying spatial KK relations. We show that a properly defined KK profile can give omnidirectional and wideband absorption if engineered with resonant metamaterials. Moreover, this unique absorber could be mechanically deformable by compressing or stretching without losing its general performance. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this would be the first deformable MM absorber ever reported. The performance robustness of this absorber is numerically verified in hiding metallic objects with sharp angles or curved surfaces, which may lead to important applications for different purposes and be extended to other fields as well. s (k )e ikz .
Analog spatial differentiator is an important optical computational device that can be potentially used in the field of high‐speed edge detection and optical image processing. In the current stage, a general method is still required to robustly design compact devices for various spectrum or complex situation. In this work, a dielectric metasurface method is proposed and experimentally demonstrated to build optical spatial differentiators. This is physically realized by a high‐quality magnetic resonance mode that is hybridized with the classic bounded surface wave via grating coupling. Experimentally, a well‐defined first‐order differentiation effect is observed at oblique light incidence. The application potential of this device is evaluated by inputting various figures. It is shown that it can perform an optical processor to trace the profiles of the figure content with a resolution better than 30.8 µm. This work may pave a robust way to build ultracompact optical computation devices for real‐time image processors, which can be freely extended to various frequencies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.