Triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) is a surrogate marker of subcutaneous fat. Evidence is limited about the association of sex-specific TSF with the risk of all-cause mortality among maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal relationship of TSF with all-cause mortality among MHD patients. A multicenter prospective cohort study was performed in 1034 patients undergoing MHD. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association of TSF with the risk of mortality. The mean (standard deviation) age of the study population was 54.1 (15.1) years. 599 (57.9%) of the participants were male. The median (interquartile range) of TSF was 9.7 (6.3–13.3 mm) in males and 12.7 (10.0–18.0 mm) in females. Over a median follow up of 4.4 years (interquartile range, 2.4-7.9 years), there were 548 (53.0%) deaths. When TSF was assessed as sex-specific quartiles, compared with those in quartile 1, the adjusted HRs (95%CIs) of all-cause mortality in quartile 2, quartile 3 and quartile 4 were 0.93 (0.73, 1.19), 0.75 (0.58, 0.97) and 0.69 (0.52, 0.92), respectively (P for trend =0.005). Moreover, when analyzed by sex, increased TSF (≥9.7 mm for males and ≥18mm for females) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (quartile 3-4 vs. quartile 1-2; HR, 0.70; 95%CI: 0.55, 0.90 in males; quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1-3; HR, 0.69; 95%CI: 0.48, 1.00 in females). In conclusion, high TSF was significantly associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality in MHD patients.

In this paper, we study the optimal VIX-linked target benefit (TB) pension design. By applying the dynamic programming approach, we show the optimal risk-sharing structure for the benefit payment exhibits a linear form that consists of three components: (1) a model-robust performance adjustment, (2) a counter-cyclical volatility adjustment that depends on the VIX index, and (3) a TB level that is partially indexed to the cost-of-living adjustment. Differences between our results and the previous literature are highlighted via both theoretical derivations and numerical illustrations.

In this paper, we derive the optimal cyclical design of a target benefit (TB) pension plan that balances the sustainability and the benefit stability using the optimal control approach. The optimal design possesses a linear risk sharing structure with cyclical parameters. We observe that the optimal design should be pro-cyclical in the usual circumstances, but counter-cyclical when the pension plan is severely in deficit. We compare the TB plans with the defined benefit plans and conclude that a more aggressive investment strategy should be adopted for the TB plans. In the end, we provide a cautionary note on the optimal control approach in the study of the TB plans.

High fibre intake is associated with reduced mortality risk in both general and chronic kidney disease populations. However, in dialysis patients, such data are limited. Therefore, the association between dietary fibre intake (DFI) and the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality was examined in this study. A total of 1044 maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients from eight outpatient dialysis centres in China were included in this study. Data on DFI were collected using 24-h dietary recalls for 3 d in a week and were normalised to actual dry weight. The study outcomes included all-cause and CVD mortality. Over a median of 46 months of follow-up, 354 deaths were recorded, of which 210 (59 %) were due to CVD. On assessing DFI as tertiles, the CVD mortality risk was significantly lower in patients in tertiles 2–3 (≥0·13 g/kg per d; hazard ratio (HR) 0·71; 95 % CI 0·51, 0·97) compared with those in tertile 1 (<0·13 g/kg per d). A similar but non-significant trend was found for the association between DFI (tertiles 2–3 v. tertile 1; HR 0·83; 95 % CI 0·64, 1·07) and all-cause mortality. In summary, higher DFI was associated with lower CVD mortality risk among Chinese MHD patients. This study emphasises the significance of DFI in MHD patients and provides information that is critical for the improvement of dietary guidelines for dialysis patients.

The surface topology of biomaterial has a definite effect on the growth behavior of nerve cells for peripheral nerve regeneration. In this study, the silk fibroin (SF) film with different anisotropic microgroove/ridge was constructed by micropatterning technology. The effects of topologies width on the directional growth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were evaluated. The results showed that the topological structure of the SF film with higher SF concentration was more clear and complete. The microtopography of the SF film with a concentration of 15% and a groove width of around 30 μm could effectively guide the directional growth of the nerve fibers of DRG. And nerve fibers could obviously form nerve fiber bundles which may have a certain pavement effect on the recovery of nerve function. The study indicated that the SF film with a specific width of the topological structure may have potential applications in the field of directional nerve regeneration.

Maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) is the use of a machine to filter wastes, salts and fluid from blood for at least 3 months to prolong the life of patients with advanced kidney failure. Although low dietary energy intake (DEI) has been observed in MHD patients, few studies have related DEI to the risk of mortality. To explore this relationship, a study included 1039 MHD patients from eight centres was conducted. DEI was assessed by three 24-h diet recalls and was normalised to ideal body weight (IBW). All-cause mortality and CVD mortality were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. During a median follow-up of 28 months, a U-shaped relationship was observed between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality. The risk of all-cause mortality decreased significantly with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (hazard ratio (HR) 0·98; 95 % CI 0·96, 1·00) and increased significantly with the increase of DEI in those with DEI ≥167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·12; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·20). Similarly, the risk of CVD mortality decreased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 0·96; 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99) and increased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI ≥152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·11; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·18). In summary, there was a U-shaped association between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality, with a turning point at about 167·4 and 152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d, respectively, in MHD patients.

The effects of misorientation on the quasi-static and dynamic mechanical behaviors of a second generation Ni-based single crystal superalloy DD5 were investigated. A Split-Hopkinson pressure bar system was used to perform dynamic compression. The crystallographic misorientation between the stress axis and the [001] direction was characterized through rotating orientation X-ray diffraction. The results demonstrated that the flow stress was closely related to the misorientation. It decreased first and consequently increased as the misorientation increased from 0° to 45°. The dynamic flow stress was significantly higher than the quasi-static stress. Moreover, the flow stress under dynamics was more sensitive to the misorientation. A constitutive model was used to illustrate the misorientation effect on the mechanical behavior. Finally, the effect of strain rate on the crystal orientation was also investigated. It was discovered that the orientation deviation change following quasi-static compression could be neglected. By contrast, the orientation changed by 3–9° subsequently to dynamic compression.

Underwater terrain matching navigation technology is an important research area for the underwater navigation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). Terrain matching navigation can realise long-term, subtle, all-weather, and high-precision underwater AUV navigation. In this paper, the research status of the application of AUV underwater terrain matching navigation is reviewed, the system composition, theory and terrain matching methods of underwater terrain matching navigation are summarised and the advantages of a multi-beam bathymetric system in underwater terrain matching navigation are discussed. The current research thoughts are summarised, the key issues are pointed out, and possible future development trends are discussed.

To clarify the underlying mechanism of formation and growth of aluminum coating, the interface microstructures of as-prepared aluminum coating iron were investigated using various experimental methods. The liquid Al–Si, Al–Ge alloys were chosen as the dipping baths. In both cases, the total thickness of the reaction layer is controlled mainly by the well-known diffusion growth of η-Al5Fe2. The melt environment of the Al bath plays a decisive role in the formation and growth of the diffusion layer. The results show that Ge atoms could also decelerate reaction layer growth like Si atoms, which mainly restrain the diffusion of Al atoms. Meanwhile, Ge element represents an abnormal concentration gradient in the η-Al5Fe2 phase. The diverse growth behavior of the diffusion layer is attributed to the strong controlling role of the alloying element in Al baths based on the atomic diffusion and activity analysis.

Based on the various implanted standards, we have used SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) to characterize SiC materials and devices. We develop the SIMS analysis on 2'' and 3'' full SiC wafers using our customized sample load chamber at a Cameca 4f magnetic sector SIMS tool. This feature is particularly useful for the on-line control of the wafer processing. With our special mounting skills, we provide SIMS analyses on small patterned area (say 50 microns × 50 microns or larger) of the tiny or large SiC dies. The detailed comparison between the implanted profiles for the major dopants (such as B, Al, and N) measured by SIMS and the simulated profiles by SRIM code [1] will be discussed. The detection limits for selected elements will also be discussed. In addition, it is well know that nitrogen has a very high ionization potential and zero electronic affinity. Therefore, nitrogen is normally profiled with a Cs+ primary beam and monitored negative molecular ions of (matrix+N)- [such as (Al+N)- in Al [2], (Si+N)- in Si, and (C+N)- in SiC]. However, such negative molecular detection mode cannot be applied to the multi-layers with different matrix elements (such as Al/SiC and Cu/SiC samples). Fortunately, like to detect nitrogen in Cu [3], we have found that using a Cs+ primary ion beam and monitoring (Cs2N)+ molecular ions by Cameca magnetic sector SIMS tools, nitrogen in the multi-layer samples including SiC layer can be detected by the (Cs2N)+ detection model [3,4] with a very low profiling energy (such as 2.5keV).