In a recent publication we have proposed a numerical model that describes the detection process of optical photons in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPD). Here, we review this model and present a significant improvement that allows us to calculate more accurate current distributions for the inhomogeneous quasi-particle densities occurring after photon absorption. With this new algorithm we explore the detector response in standard NbN SNSPD for photons absorbed off-center and for 2-photon processes. We also discuss the outstanding performance of SNSPD based on WSi. Our numerical results indicate a different detection mechanism in WSi than in NbN or similar materials. 

Objective: To clarify and quantify risk factors among local characteristics of the foot for major amputation in diabetic foot patients. Methods: Articles published before January 2018 on PubMed and Embase were conducted observational studies about risk factors for major amputation in patients with diabetic foot were retrieved and systematically reviewed by using Stata 12.0 statistical software.Results: A total of 4668 major amputees and 65 831 controls were reported in 18 observational studies. Across the studies, the overall odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of significant risk factors are ulcer reaching bone (OR, 11.796; 95% CI, 6.905-20.152), gangrene (OR, 6.487; 95% CI, 4.088-10.293), hindfoot position (OR, 3.913; 95% CI, 2.254-6.795), decreased ankle-brachial index (ABI) (OR, 2.522; 95% CI, 1.805-3.523), infection (OR, 2.516; 95% CI, 1.708-3.706), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (OR, 2.114; 95% CI, 1.326-3.372). While there is no significant difference in the size of the ulcer, neuropathy, Charcot foot, osteomyelitis and intermittent claudication (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.85-1.54). Conclusion:Factors among local characteristics of the foot associated with major amputation in patients with diabetic foot are the ulcer reaching bone, gangrene, hindfoot position, decreased ABI, infection, and PAD, a negative risk factor for the risk of amputation. Further studies are required to provide more details of foot local characteristics. K E Y W O R D S diabetic foot, local characteristics of the foot, major amputation, meta-analysis, risk factors J Cell Biochem. 2019;120:9091-9096.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jcb

BRCA mutation carriers face various situations that influence their fertility potential. There is still a lack of guideline or expert consensus on Fertility Preservation (FP) in BRCA mutation carriers and the necessity and safety of FP in BRCA mutation carriers is still in dispute. This review aims to focus on the population of BRCA mutation carriers by analyzing the existing FP strategies, comprehensively comparing the pros and cons of each strategy and its applicability. FP is a suggestion for BRCA mutation carriers with birth planning. Different FP strategies have different characteristics. Considering the particularity of BRCA mutation carriers, multiple factors need to be carefully considered. This review focuses on the applicability of each FP method for carriers under various circumstances. Available FP strategies including oocyte cryopreservation, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and egg/embryo donation are analyzed by comparing existing methods comprehensively. In the attempt to provide an up-to-date decision-making guidance. Conditions taking into consideration were the carrier's age, the risk of breast and ovarian metastasis, plans for oncotherapy, FP outcome, time available for FP intervention and accessibility. Overall, FP is necessary and safe for BRCA mutation carriers. Among all available FP methods, oocyte cryopreservation is the most reliable procedure; ovarian tissue cryopreservation is the only way for preserving both fertility and endocrine function, recommended for pre-pubertal carriers and when time is limited for oocyte stimulation. A clear framework provides frontline clinical practitioners a new thought and eventually benefit thousands of BRCA mutation carriers.

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is associated with thyroid hormones (THs), immunity, and inflammation status, but few studies involved thyroid autoimmunity. This study aimed to evaluate the role of THs, thyroid autoantibodies, inflammatory biomarkers in MAFLD, its cofactors, and other possible determinants.Materials and MethodsIn the study, a total of 424 Chinese patients were selected and categorized as non-MAFLD and MAFLD. Serum thyroid hormone, thyroid autoantibody and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were measured. The data of blood pressure, the serum lipid profile, glucose and liver enzymes were collected. The differences and association between research findings were examined and analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, One-Way ANOVA test and Multiple Logistic Regression models.ResultsThe study showed significant increase in the prevalence of MAFLD with high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (P < 0.01) and abnormal high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels (P < 0.01). The proportion of MAFLD patients decreased significantly with the rise of free thyroxine (FT4) (P = 0.04), thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb) (P < 0.01), anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) (P < 0.01), and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) levels (P < 0.01). Based on logistic regression analysis, MAFLD was significantly associated with lower levels of TgAb (P < 0.01), TPOAb (P < 0.01), and higher levels of hsCRP (P < 0.01) in male. In female, elevated TgAb (P < 0.01) may be a protective factor, while higher levels of hsCRP (P < 0.01) showed increased risk of MAFLD. Logistic models were adjusted for age, BMI, SBP, DBP, FBG, ALT, AST, TC, TG, LDL, HDL.ConclusionsTaken together, TgAb may be a potential protective factor for MAFLD and elevated hsCRP level should be considered as an independent risk factor for MAFLD in both genders. TPOAb also demonstrated protective effect, but only in male. The prevalence of MAFLD increased with higher TSH levels and lower FT4, TRAb levels, but no significant association were found. However, Our findings provide a new insight into the pathogenesis of MAFLD by further investigating the impact of THs, thyroid autoimmunity, and inflammation on MAFLD patients.

Heart failure is characterized by the functional loss of ventricular contractility. It occurs following hypertrophy and ventricle deterioration resulting from cardiomyocyte apoptosis. 1 An early component of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart failure is the dysregulation of mitochondrial fission and fusion. [2][3][4][5][6][7] The relative rates of fusion and fission are normally tightly controlled, but during apoptosis, there is a dysregulation of key regulatory proteins like MFF, MFN1, MFN2, OPA1 and Drp1. 8 Much work has focused on characterizing the regulatory pathways governing mitochondrial fission and fusion in terms of how they become dysregulated in heart failure and in terms of identifying molecular targets for potentially blocking this dysregulation.MicroRNAs have gained significant attention as modulators of mitochondrial fission and fusion. MicroRNAs are endogenous, single-stranded, short RNA sequences (~22 nucleotides) that regulate target gene expression by binding to the 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) of target mRNAs. 9 The microRNAs miRNA-499, miRNA-140 and miRNA-30c have been shown to modulate mitochondrial fission

We study magnitudes and temperature dependences of the electron-electron and electron-phonon interaction times which play the dominant role in the formation and relaxation of photon induced hotspot in two dimensional amorphous WSi films. The time constants are obtained through magnetoconductance measurements in perpendicular magnetic field in the superconducting fluctuation regime and through time-resolved photoresponse to optical pulses. The excess magnetoconductivity is interpreted in terms of the weak-localization effect and superconducting fluctuations. Aslamazov-Larkin, and Maki-Thompson superconducting fluctuation alone fail to reproduce the magnetic field dependence in the relatively high magnetic field range when the temperature is rather close to Tc because the suppression of the electronic density of states due to the formation of short lifetime Cooper pairs needs to be considered. The time scale of inelastic scattering is ascribed to a combination of electron-electron ( − ) and electron-phonon ( − ℎ ) interaction times, and a characteristic electron-fluctuation time ( − ), which makes it possible to extract their magnitudes and temperature dependences from the measured . The ratio of phononelectron ( ℎ− ) and electron-phonon interaction times is obtained via measurements of the optical photoresponse of WSi microbridges. Relatively large − ℎ / ℎ− and − ℎ − ⁄ ratios ensure thatin WSi the photon energy is more efficiently confined in the electron subsystem than in other materials commonly used in the technology of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). We discuss the impact of interaction times on the hotspot dynamics and compare relevant metrics of SNSPDs from different materials. 6 K 7 K 8 K 9 K 10 K

We fabricated a superconducting single X-ray photon detector based on W0.8Si0.2, and we characterized its basic detection performance for keV-photons at different temperatures. The detector has a critical temperature of 4.97 K, and it is able to be operated up to 4.8 K, just below the critical temperature. The detector starts to react to X-ray photons at relatively low bias currents, less than 1% of Ic at T = 1.8 K, and it shows a saturated count rate dependence on bias current at all temperatures, indicating that the optimum internal quantum efficiency can always be reached. Dark counts are negligible up to the highest investigated bias currents (99% of Ic) and operating temperature (4.8 K). The latching effect affects the detector performance at all temperatures due to the fast recovery of the bias current; however, further modifications of the device geometry are expected to reduce the tendency for latching.Ultrafast single photon sensitive X-ray detectors have a potential for important applications in many areas. Using photoncounting detectors (PCDs), the image quality of the medical X-ray computed tomography (CT) with low X-ray dose can be significantly improved. 1, 2 Such applications can even be extended to single molecular, virus, or cell CT and X-ray imaging. 3The currently used energy integrating detectors (EIDs) in CT scanners and X-ray systems, however, have certain limits with regard to this technology. The EIDs measure the energy integrated signals of X-ray photons, 1, 4 and they are affected by the electronic noise and Swank noise. 5 As a result, the weight of low energy photons is decreased, which in turn leads to an increase of noise and a decrease of contrast. 1 Moreover, the performance of PCDs based on semiconductor technology is not impeccable as the respective count rate is limited. 1, 4, 6-7 These detectors have a typical dead time of several hundred nanoseconds, which limits the maximum count rate per pixel to a few megahertz. Meanwhile, the pixel size of these detectors is of the order of several hundred micrometers, which results in a maximum counts-per-second-per-square-millimeters (CPSPSM) of 10 6 cps. 1 The required count rate for a clinical X-ray CT scanner, however, may be as high as 10 9 cps. 6 Apart from the medical applications, ultrafast single X-ray photon detector can also be used in synchrotron X-ray sources, freeelectron lasers, and astronomy. Synchrotron radiation, for example, has provided the possibility to perform X-ray experiments at very short time scales, and the use of time resolving detectors is therefore essential. [8][9][10] The currently used a zhang@physik.uzh.ch

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