Flavonoid-rich foods have shown a beneficial effect against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in short-term randomised trials. It is uncertain whether the usual dietary intake of flavonoids may benefit patients with NAFLD. The present study evaluated the association between the usual intake of flavonoids and the risk of progression in NAFLD. The prospective study included 2694 adults from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study. Face-to-face interviews using a seventy-nine-item FFQ were administered to assess habitual dietary flavonoid intake, while abdominal ultrasonography was conducted to evaluate the presence and degree of NAFLD, with measurements conducted 3 years apart. After adjustment for potential confounders, higher flavonoid intakes were gradely associated with reduced risks of worsen NAFLD status. The relative risks of worsening (v. non-worsening) NAFLD in the highest (v. lowest) quintile were 0·71 (95 % CI 0·54, 0·93) for total flavonoids, 0·74 (95 % CI 0·57, 0·95) for flavanones, 0·74 (95 % CI 0·56, 0·96) for flavan-3-ols, 0·90 (95 % CI 0·68, 1·18) for flavonols, 0·73 (95 % CI 0·56, 0·93) for flavones, 0·79 (95 % CI 0·61, 1·02) for isoflavones and 0·74 (95 % CI 0·57, 0·96) for anthocyanins. An L-shaped relationship was observed between total flavonoid intake and the risk of NAFLD progression. Path analyses showed that the association between flavonoids and NAFLD progression was mediated by decreases in serum cholesterol and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. This prospective study showed that higher flavonoid intake was associated with a lower risk of NAFLD progression in the elderly overweight/obese Chinese population.

In this paper, we focus on studying the high energy emission of GRB 160625B. The lightcurve of prompt emission is composed of three episodes: short-soft precursor, hard main burst, and possible long extended emission. The spectra of first and third episode can be fitted by a multi-color blackbody and cutoff power-law model, respectively. However, the spectrum of second episode was contributed by both multi-color blackbody and cutoff power-law. One can estimate the Lorenz factor of jet of first two episodes by invoking photosphere model as Γ0 ~ 175 and 1694, respectively. It suggests that the ejecta of this case evolved from photosphere dominated initially to internal shock later. On the other hand, the optical emission is very bright during the second episode, which is likely a prompt optical emission. Finally, a more shallower normal decay segment appeared, which is consistent with standard external shock model.

The Lorentz factor (Γ) is an important parameter related to the relativistic jet physics. We study the evolution patterns of Γ within gamma-ray burst (GRB) and active galactic nuclear jets for individual GRB 090168, GRB 140508A, and 3C 454.3. By estimating the Γ values for well-separated pulses in GRBs 090618 and 140508A with an empirical relation derived from typical GRBs, we find that the Γ evolution pattern in the two GRBs are different. The increasing-to-coasting evolution pattern of Γ in GRB 090618 likely indicates that the GRB fireball is still being accelerated in the prompt phase. The clear decrease evolution pattern of Γ in GRB 140508A suggests the deceleration of the fireball components. By deriving the Γ value through fitting their spectral energy distribution in different flares of 3C 454.3, a pattern of Γ-tracking-γ-ray flux is clearly found, likely indicating that the observed gamma-ray flares are being due to the Doppler boosting effect to the jet emission.

High energy photon radiations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are dominated by their jet radiations. It was suggested that relativistic jets powered by different mass-scale black holes may share the same physical laws. A tight relation among the peak luminosity, the peak photon energy in the νfν spectrum, and the initial Lorentz factor is found for GRBs. With samples of GeV-TeV BL Lacs, FSRQs, and NLS1 galaxies, we show that these sources do not follow this relation. This may be attributed to the jet geometry and continuous/episodic jet as well as radiation physics for different kinds of sources.

This study reviews the results of the surgical management of 154 cases of ruptured aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva. Of the patients0 73% were male, with an average age of 28 years. An associated ventricular septal defect was found in 40% and 23% had aortic valvar regurgitation. The aneurysms originated from the right coronary sinus in 79% and from the non-coronary sinus in the remainders. The aneurysms ruptured into the right ventricle in 73%, into the right atrium in 27% and into the left ventricle in less than 1%. Operative mortality was 4.5%. Long-term follow-up was achieved in 80% of patients, with a mean duration of 5.7 years and a range from two months to 29 years. Preoperative aortic regurgitation and preoperative functional class (NYHA III or IV) were both predictive of a worse long-term outcome. The optimal surgical approach was closure of the distal end of the fistula by direct suture together with reinforcement of the aortic sinus with a Dacron patch.

The application of selective resonant tunneling model is extended from d + t fusion to other light nucleus fusion reactions, such as d + d fusion and d + 3He. In contrast to traditional formulas, the new formula for the cross-section needs only a few parameters to fit the experimental data in the energy range of interest. The features of the astrophysical S-function are derived in terms of this model. The physics of resonant tunneling is discussed.

Ninety-nine individual plants of a segregating F2 population of a wheat single cross Wen 6×CP90.0.2.4.1 were used in this study to find out whether CP90.0.2.4.1, a derivative of Triticum spelta var. album, carries a novel stripe rust resistance gene other than Yr5. Using molecular marker technology, it was found that only one out of 150 SSR primers could produce amplified polymorphism, and a marker, Xgwm155-147bp, located on chromosome 3A, was found to be linked to the stripe rust resistance gene identified with a genetic distance of 40.5 cM, indicating that the latter was also located on chromosome 3A. Since the only Yr gene previously reported to originate from T. spelta var. album is Yr5, located on 2BL, the only logical inference is that there might be other Yr gene (genes) in T. spelta, and the Yr gene identified in the present study might be a novel one. It was temporarily designated YrSp.