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The OmicShare tools platform is a user‐friendly online resource for data analysis and visualization, encompassing 161 bioinformatic tools. Users can easily track the progress of projects in real‐time through an overview interface. The platform has a powerful interactive graphics engine that allows for the custom‐tailored modification of charts generated from analyses. The visually appealing charts produced by OmicShare improve data interpretability and meet the requirements for publication. It has been acknowledged in over 4000 publications and is available in https://www.omicshare.com/tools/.

Hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, although the relationship between hypertension and cognitive impairment is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of age on the relationship between blood pressure and cognitive impairment. Blood pressure and global cognitive function information was collected from 1799 participants (age 40-85) who lived in a village in the suburbs of Xi'an, China, during in-person interviews. Cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score lower than the cutoff value. The effect of age on the relationship between blood pressure parameters [systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), and high blood pressure (HBP, SBP≥140 mm Hg and/or DBP≥90 mm Hg)] and cognitive impairment was analyzed by logistic regression models using interaction and stratified analysis. Blood pressure and age were regarded as both continuous and categorical data. A total of 231 participants were diagnosed as having cognitive impairment based on our criteria. Interaction analysis for the total population showed that SBP (when regarded as continuous data) was positively correlated with cognitive impairment (OR = 1.130 [95% CI, 1.028-1.242] per 10mmHg, P = 0.011); however, the age by SBP interaction term was negatively correlated with cognitive impairment (OR = 0.989 [95% CI, 0.982-0.997] per 10mmHg×year, P = 0.006), indicating that the relationship between SBP and cognitive impairment was age-dependent (OR = 1.130×0.989(age-55.5) per 10mmHg,40 ≤age≤85). When the blood pressure and age were considered as binary data, the results were similar to those obtained when they were considered as continuous variables. Stratified multivariate analysis revealed that the relationship between SBP (when regarded as continuous data) and cognitive impairment was positive for patients aged 40-49 years (OR = 1.349 [95% CI: 1.039-1.753] per 10mmHg, P = 0.025) and 50-59 years (OR = 1.185 [95% CI: 1.028-1.366] per 10mmHg, P = 0.019), whereas it tended to be negative for patients aged 60-69 years (OR = 0.878 [95% CI: 0.729-1.058] per 10mmHg, P = 0.171) and ≥70 years (OR = 0.927 [95% CI: 0.772-1.113] per 10mmHg, P = 0.416). Results similar to those for SBP were obtained for DBP, MABP and HBP as well. Subsequently, SBP, DBP and MABP were transformed into categorical data (SBP<140mmHg, 140mmHg≤SBP<160mmHg, and SBP≥160mmHg; DBP<90mmHg, 90mmHg≤DBP<100mmHg, and DBP≥100mmHg; MABP<100mmHg, 100mmHg≤MABP<110mmHg, and MABP≥110mmHg), and the stratified multivariate analysis was repeated. This analysis showed that the age-dependent association continued to exist and was especially prominent in the SBP≥160 mmHg, DBP≥90 mmHg and MABP≥110 mmHg groups. Elevated blood pressure is positively correlated with cognitive impairment in the middle-aged, but this positive association declines with increasing age. These results indicated that specific blood pressure management strategies for various age groups may be crucial for maintaining cognitive vitality.

Background Serum lipids [total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG)] are risk factors for stroke, but the relationships between serum lipids and cognitive impairment have not been verified completely. In this study, we studied the relationships between serum lipids and cognitive impairment and explored whether gender and age had effects on the relationships. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we collected serum lipids and cognitive function information from 1762 participants (aged 40–85). Univariate analysis, multivariate analysis, and both gender- and age-based stratified multivariate analysis were used. Results In the entire sample set, there was no significant correlation between serum lipid parameters (TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG) and cognitive impairment. In both gender- and age-based stratified multivariate analysis, high serum TC was positively associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly (> 55) male participants (OR = 4.404, 95% CI = 1.264–15.344, p  = 0.02), and high serum LDL-C was positively correlated with cognitive impairment in the elderly female subjects (OR = 2.496, 95% CI = 1.057–5.896, p  = 0.037), while high serum TG was negatively associated with cognitive impairment in the middle-aged (≤ 55) male participants (OR = 0.157, 95% CI = 0.051–0.484, p  = 0.001). Conclusions The relationships between serum lipids and cognitive impairment are gender- and age- dependent, with high serum TC and LDL-C may be risk factors of cognitive impairment in the elderly male and female subjects respectively, while high serum TG may be protector of cognitive impairment in the middle-aged male participants.

Background It is believed that deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain is the central pathological changes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which triggers a series of pathological processes. However, the relationship between dyslipidemia and AD is uncertain. Considering the peripheral Aβ levels are related to brain Aβ deposition, we explore the relationships between blood lipids and plasma Aβ. Methods Participants who lived in the selected village of Xi’an for more than 3 years were enrolled, aged 40–85 years ( n  = 1282, 37.9% male). Fasting blood lipid, plasma Aβ levels, basic information and living habits were measured. Multiple linear regressions were used. Results In total population, blood lipids were not associated with plasma Aβ. After stratified by blood pressure, serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c) were positively associated with plasma Aβ 42 levels (β TC  = 0.666, P TC  = 0.024; β LDL-c  = 0.743, P LDL-c  = 0.011, respectively) in normal blood pressure. LDL-c was negatively associated with plasma Aβ 40 levels (β = − 0.986, P  = 0.037) in high blood pressure. Conclusion Elevated plasma Aβ 42 levels are associated with higher TC and LDL-c in normal blood pressure. Elevated plasma Aβ 40 levels are associated with lower LDL-c in high blood pressure. This indicated that the relationships between blood lipids and plasma Aβ were confounded by blood pressure.

Recent studies regarding the relationships between plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels and cognitive performance had inconsistent results. In this study, we aimed to characterize the relationship between cognitive decline and plasma Aβ levels in a large-sample cognitively normal population. This population-based, prospective cohort study included 1,240 participants with normal cognition. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess cognitive function at baseline and 2 years later. Restricted cubic splines, multivariate logistic regression, and multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the type of relationship between cognitive decline during the 2-year follow-up period and plasma Aβ levels (Aβ , Aβ , and Aβ ). Participants with moderate Aβ levels had the highest risk of cognitive decline during a 2-year follow-up relative to individuals with low Aβ [odds ratio (OR): 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45-0.81, < 0.001] or high Aβ (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49-0.87, = 0.004) levels. The association between Aβ and cognitive decline did not depend on sex, education level, or APOE ε4 status. There was an interaction found between age (≤ 65 and > 65 years) and Aβ ( for interaction = 0.021). In individuals older than 65 years, there was a positive linear relationship between plasma Aβ and cognitive decline (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00-1.04, = 0.027). For participants ≤ 65 years old, the lower Aβ and higher Aβ groups had a lower risk of cognitive decline than the medium Aβ group (OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94, = 0.02; OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.45-0.86, = 0.004). None of relationship between plasma Aβ , Aβ and cognitive decline was found during a 2-year follow-up. The relationship between plasma Aβ and cognitive decline was not linear, but an inverted-U shape in a cognitively normal population. The underlying mechanism requires further investigation.

Background: Increased lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations are predictive for coronary artery disease (CAD). The risk conferred by Lp(a) for other types of vascular disease compared with CAD has not been investigated within a single population. This study aimed to investigate Lp(a) risk association for 4 different types of vascular disease (including CAD) within a predominantly white population. Methods: We used an Lp(a) ELISA that measures Lp(a) independently of apolipoprotein(a) size to measure plasma Lp(a) in patients [384 CAD, 262 peripheral vascular disease, 184 ischemic stroke (stroke), 425 abdominal aortic aneurysm] and 230 disease-free controls. We then conducted association studies with logistic regression, integrating the potential confounding effects of age, sex, diabetes, plasma lipids, and a history of previous hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking. Results: Multivariate analyses with Lp(a) concentrations of >45 nmol/L (the 75th percentile value for controls) as the clinical cutoff showed increased Lp(a) concentrations to be a risk factor for all disease groups, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.96 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24–3.08] for CAD to 2.33 (95% CI 1.39–3.89) for PVD. The risk conferred by Lp(a) appeared to be independent of other confounders, including exposure to statin/fibrate therapies. Similar odds ratios and CIs between disease groups indicated that increased Lp(a) conferred a similar risk for all groups studied. Conclusions: Lp(a) constitutes a stable risk factor of similar magnitude for 4 major forms of vascular disease. This association was not altered by exposure to standard lipid-lowering therapy.

PurposeMost current lower extremity exoskeletons emphasize assistance for walking rather than stability. The purpose of this paper is to propose a rehabilitation gait based on the transfer of gravity center to improve the balance of exoskeleton rehabilitation training of the hemiplegic patients in the frontal plane, reducing the dependence on crutches/walking frames.Design/methodology/approachThe real-time and predictable instability factors of human and exoskeleton system (HES) are analyzed. Inspired by the walking balance strategy of the blind, a rehabilitation gait based on the transfer of gravity center is proposed and studied by modeling and experimental test and is finally applied to the prototype – Zhejiang University lower extremity exoskeleton (ZJULEEX) – to verify its feasibility.FindingsAt least three real-time and predictable factors cause the instability of HES, and the factor of lateral tilt caused by gravity should be focused in the balance control of frontal plane. With the proposed gait, the hip height of stepping leg of HES does not reduce obviously even when the crutches do not work, which can improve the balance of HES.Research limitations/implicationsHowever, the rehabilitation gait control needs to be more complete and intelligent to response to other types of perturbations to further improve the balance of HES. In addition, more clinical trials should be conducted to evaluate the effect of the proposed gait.Social implicationsMay bring happiness to the rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia.Originality/valueThe rehabilitation gait based on the transfer of gravity center to improve the balance of HES is first proposed and applied to HES.

This study aimed to investigate the potential associations between carotid intima-media thickness and cognitive impairment among patients with acute ischemic stroke and to identify the clinical implications. We measured carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and performed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) upon the admission of 1,826 acute ischemic stroke patients. The association between IMT and cognitive impairment evaluated by the MMSE was assessed with a multivariate regression analysis. Other clinical variables of interest were also assessed. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the highest IMT quartile had a higher likelihood of having cognitive impairments compared with the lowest IMT quartile (odds ratio: 3.01, 95% confidence interval: 2.07–4.37, p < 0.001). Stratified analyses indicated that this positive correlation was similar for the maxIMT and meanIMT of carotid artery measurements. A positive correlation was found between IMT and cognitive impairment in participants with acute ischemic stroke.

Because a large proportion (86%) of ME cases had LAA as one of their associated pathologies, we considered it reasonable to combine these ME cases with LAA cases in the LAA group to further increase the power of the study. [...] this study suggests that plasma Lp(a) is differentially associated with ischemic stroke subtypes and highlights the importance of etiologic subclassification in assessing strokesusceptibility biomarkers.

Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are promising electrochemical energy storage systems because of their low cost and high energy density. However, practical exploitation of KIBs is hampered by the lack of high-performance cathode materials. Here we report a potassium manganese hexacyanoferrate (K 2 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ]) material, with a negligible content of defects and water, for efficient high-voltage K-ion storage. When tested in combination with a K metal anode, the K 2 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ]-based electrode enables a cell specific energy of 609.7 Wh kg −1 and 80% capacity retention after 7800 cycles. Moreover, a K-ion full-cell consisting of graphite and K 2 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ] as anode and cathode active materials, respectively, demonstrates a specific energy of 331.5 Wh kg −1 , remarkable rate capability, and negligible capacity decay for 300 cycles. The remarkable electrochemical energy storage performances of the K 2 Mn[Fe(CN) 6 ] material are attributed to its stable frameworks that benefit from the defect-free structure. Potassium-ion battery is a promising candidate for post-Li-ion energy storage but the lack of cathode materials hinders practical exploitation. Here the authors investigate defect-free potassium manganese hexacyanoferrate as cathode active material for high energy and long lifespan K-based cells.