Association between overactive bladder and depression in American adults: A cross-sectional study from NHANES 2005-2018.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Overactive bladder (OAB) and depression are both common disorders and there is research suggesting an association between the two, but there is a lack of studies with large samples. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between OAB and depressive symptoms. METHODS: We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for the period 2005 to 2018. OAB was characterized by the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS, score > 3) and depression was diagnosed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, score ≥ 10). There were three models employed in our analysis: (1) Crude model was unadjusted; (2) Model 1 was adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational level, and marital status; (3) Model 2 was adjusted for factors in Model 1 plus the remained potential covariates. We used survey-weighted logistic regression models to assess the association between OAB and depression. Subsequently, subgroup analyses and smoothed curve analyses were used to evaluate the reliability of the findings. RESULTS: Finally, a total of 6612 participants were included in our study, consisting of 1005 participants with diagnosis of OAB and 5607 participants without diagnosis of OAB. After adjusting for all covariates, there was a significant positive association between OAB and depression (OR: 2.89, 95 % CI: 1.91, 4.37). The severity of OAB was also positively associated with depression. Compared to participants without OAB, the fully adjusted ORs for depression were 2.76 (95 % CI: 1.64, 4.65) for those with mild OAB, 3.79 (95 % CI: 1.68, 8.55) for those with moderate OAB, and 5.21 (95 % CI: 1.39, 19.53) for those with severe OAB. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a strong association between OAB and depression and a progressive increase in the risk of depression as the severity of OAB (mild, moderate, and severe) increased. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to recognize the assessment of OAB symptoms in patients who are at risk for or have developed depressive symptoms, as well as the mental health of patients with OAB.

Causal effect of gut microbiota on the risk of prostatitis: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies demonstrated that chronic prostatitis (CP) is closely related to the gut microbiota (GM). Nevertheless, the causal relationship between GM and CP has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was employed to investigate this association. METHODS: The summary data of gut microbiota derived from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 18,340 individuals in the MiBioGen study served as the exposure, and the corresponding summary statistics for CP risk, representing the outcome, were obtained from the FinnGen databases (R9). The causal effects between GM and CP were estimated using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method supplemented with MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode methods. Additionally, the false discovery rate (FDR) correction was performed to adjust results. The detection and quantification of heterogeneity and pleiotropy were accomplished through the MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier method, Cochran's Q statistics, and MR-Egger regression. RESULTS: The IVW estimates indicated that a total of 11 GM taxa were related to the risk of CP. Seven of them was correlated with an increased risk of CP, while the remained linked with a decreased risk of CP. However, only Methanobacteria (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-0.99), Methanobacteriales (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-0.99), NB1n (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.16-1.34), Methanobacteriaceae (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-0.99), Odoribactergenus Odoribacter (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.05-1.94), and Sutterellagenus Sutterella (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.01-1.76) still maintain significant association with CP after FDR correction. Consistent directional effects for all analyses were observed in the supplementary methods. Subsequently, sensitivity analyses indicated the absence of heterogeneity, directional pleiotropy, or outliers concerning the causal effect of specific gut microbiota on CP (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated a gut microbiota-prostate axis, offering crucial data supporting the promising use of the GM as a candidate target for CP prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. There is a necessity for randomized controlled trials to validate the protective effect of the linked GM against the risk of CP, and to further investigate the underlying mechanisms involved.

A novel strategy to induce penile erection during penile doppler ultrasound: oral sildenafil administration plus alprostadil injection.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of a novel approach to achieve the optimal penile erection during the penile doppler ultrasound (PDU) examination, which was oral sildenafil combined alprostadil injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 ED patients were enrolled in our prospective study, and they were randomly assigned to two group with different PDU order. The approaches assisted the PDU included two models, mode A meaning injection of 15 µg alprostadil and model B meaning oral sildenafil 100 mg plus injection of 15 µg alprostadil. The PDU parameters were measured continuously before induced erection, and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 min. RESULTS: Each group included 30 ED patients with similar clinical characteristics. After pooling the results together, the PSV, EDV, and RI were all improved significantly, when adding the oral sildenafil administration to assist PDU. Also, the clinical response of oral sildenafil administration plus alprostadil injection was better than that in alprostadil injection alone (p = 0.016). The arterial ED were decreased from 31.67% to 15.00% with the P value 0.031, and the mixed ED was also decreased statistically (23.33% vs 8.33%, p = 0.024). CONCLUSION: Oral sildenafil administration plus alprostadil injection could improve the diagnostic accuracy of PDU.

Association between cardiometabolic index and erectile dysfunction among US adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2004.

The aim of this study was to assess the association between a new metabolic index, the cardiometabolic index (CMI) and erectile dysfunction (ED). The data for this study relied on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a cross-sectional database, between 2001 and 2004. The CMI was calculated as the following formula: Triglyceride (TG) (mmol/L)/ High density lipid-cholesterol (HDL-C) (mmol/L) ×waist-height ratio (WHtR). The multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between CMI and ED, supplemented by subgroup analysis and dose-response curves. Finally, a total of 1367 adult male participants were identified, and the mean CMI was 0.83 ± 0.02. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that in model 2 controlling for all potential confounders, CMI was significantly associated with ED (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.04) (p = 0.017). Subsequently, we convert the CMI from a continuous variable to a categorical variable (Tertiles). The results showed that male participants in CMI Tertile 3 group had a higher risk of ED than those in Tertile 1 group in model 2 (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.12, 3.83, P = 0.024). The subgroup analysis of model 2 demonstrated that CMI was significantly associate with ED in participants aged ≥50 y (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.95, P = 0.005), body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2 (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.90, P = 0.023), with hypertension (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.63, 3.45, P = 0.020), with diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.47, P = 0.015), with cardiovascular disease (CVD) (OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.10, P = 0.011) and smoking (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.26, 3.39, P = 0.007). This study demonstrates a strong association between CMI and ED and an increased risk of ED with higher CMI levels. More prospective studies with large samples and good designs are needed to validate our results in the future.

Causal effects of gut microbiota on erectile dysfunction: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Several observational studies have reported the correlation between gut microbiota and the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). However, the causal association between them remained unestablished owing to intrinsic limitations, confounding factors, and reverse causality. Therefore, the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to determine the causal effect of gut microbiota on the risk of ED. Methods: The MR analysis utilized the publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary-level data to explore the causal associations between gut microbiota and ED. The gut microbiota data were extracted from the MiBioGen study (N = 18,340), and the ED data were extracted from the IEU Open GWAS (6,175 ED cases and 217,630 controls). The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) served as instrumental variables (IVs) by two thresholds of P-values, the first P-value setting as <1e-05 (locus-wide significance level) and the second P-value setting as <5e-08 (genome-wide significance level). The inverse variance weighted approach was used as the primary approach for MR analysis, supplemented with the other methods. In addition, sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of the MR results, including Cochran's Q test for heterogeneity, the MR-Egger intercept test for horizontal pleiotropy, the Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum, and outlier (MR-PRESSO) global test for outliers, and the forest test and leave-one-out test for strong influence SNPs. Results: Our results presented that the increased abundance of Lachnospiraceae at family level (OR: 1.265, 95% CI: 1.054-1.519), Senegalimassilia (OR: 1.320, 95% CI: 1.064-1.638), Lachnospiraceae NC2004 group (OR: 1.197, 95% CI: 1.018-1.407), Tyzzerella3 (OR: 1.138, 95% CI: 1.017-1.273), and Oscillibacter (OR: 1.201, 95% CI: 1.035-1.393) at genus level may be risk factors for ED, while the increased abundance of Ruminococcaceae UCG013 (OR: 0.770, 95% CI: 0.615-0.965) at genus level may have a protective effect on ED. No heterogeneity or pleiotropy was found based on the previously described set of sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Our MR analysis demonstrated that the gut microbiota had inducing and protective effects on the risk of ED. The results provide clinicians with novel insights into the treatment and prevention of ED in the future. Furthermore, our study also displays novel insights into the pathogenesis of microbiota-mediated ED.

Association between sleep quality and nocturnal erection monitor by RigiScan in erectile dysfunction patients: a prospective study using fitbit charge 2.

BACKGROUND: Few studies were conducted to explore the association between sleep quality and nocturnal erection. Here, we intended to explore the association between sleep quality and nocturnal erection monitor when conducting nocturnal erection monitor. All erectile dysfunction (ED) patients underwent sleep monitors using Fitbit Charge 2™ (Fitbit Inc.) and nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity (NPTR) monitors using RigiScan® (GOTOP medical, Inc., USA) for two nights. Subsequently, the patients were divided into two groups: Group A included patients who experienced effective erections only on the second night, while Group B included patients who had effective erections on both nights. To explore the associations between NPTR parameters and sleep parameters, a comparative analysis was performed between Group A and Group B for both nights. RESULTS: Finally, our study included 103 participants, with 47 patients in Group A and 56 patients in Group B. Notably, the Group A patients showed significant improvements in NPTR parameters on the second night compared to the first night. Conversely, the NPTR parameters on Group B of the second night did not demonstrate a superior outcome when compared to the second night of Group A. Interestingly, it was found that only the disparities in sleep parameters accounted for the variation in NPTR parameters between the two groups on the first night. After correlation and ROC analysis, we identified the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time and wake after sleep onset (WASO) time monitoring by the Fitbit Charge 2 as the primary parameters for predicting abnormal NPTR results in the first night. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, our study strongly suggests a close association between sleep parameters and NPTR parameters. It emphasizes the importance of incorporating sleep monitoring alongside nocturnal erection monitoring to enhance the reliability of the NPTR results.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: Peu d'études ont été menées pour explorer l'association entre la qualité du sommeil et l'érection nocturne. Dans cette étude, notre but était d'explorer l'association entre la qualité du sommeil et le moniteur d'érection nocturne lors de l'utilisation d'un moniteur d'érection nocturne. Tous les patients atteints de dysfonction érectile (DE) ont été soumis à des moniteurs de sommeil utilisant Fitbit Charge 2™ (Fitbit Inc.) et à des moniteurs de tumescence et de rigidité péniennes nocturnes (NPTR) utilisant RigiScan® (GOTOP medical, Inc., États-Unis) pendant deux nuits. Par la suite, les patients ont été divisés en deux groupes: le groupe A comprenait les patients qui n'avaient eu des érections efficaces que la seconde nuit, tandis que le groupe B comprenait les patients qui avaient des érections efficaces à chacune des deux nuits. Pour explorer les associations entre les paramètres du NPTR et les paramètres du sommeil, une analyse comparative a été effectuée entre le groupe A et le groupe B pour les deux nuits. RéSULTATS: Au final, notre étude a inclus 103 participants, dont 47 patients dans le groupe A et 56 patients dans le groupe B. Les patients du groupe A ont montré des améliorations significatives des paramètres de NPTR la seconde nuit par rapport à la première nuit. À l'inverse, les paramètres de NPTR de la seconde nuit pour le groupe B n'ont pas donné de résultats supérieurs à ceux de la seconde nuit du groupe A. Fait intéressant, il a été constaté que seules les disparités dans les paramètres de sommeil expliquaient la variation des paramètres de NPTR entre les deux groupes lors de la première nuit. Après corrélation et analyse ROC, nous avons identifié le temps de sommeil paradoxal et la surveillance du temps de réveil après l'endormissement monitorés par le Fitbit Charge 2 comme les principaux paramètres de prédiction des résultats de NPTR anormaux au cours de la première nuit. CONCLUSIONS: Par conséquent, notre étude suggère fortement une association étroite entre les paramètres de sommeil et les paramètres de NPTR. Elle souligne l'importance d'intégrer la surveillance du sommeil parallèlement à la surveillance de l'érection nocturne pour améliorer la fiabilité des résultats de NPTR. MOTS-CLéS: Dysfonction érectile, Qualité du Sommeil, Moniteur d'Erection nocturne, RigiScan, Fitbit Charge 2™.

Serum folic acid: an effective indicator for arteriogenic erectile dysfunction.

Background: The present study is the first to explore the correlation between serum folic acid (FA) level and penile arterial peak systolic velocity (PSV) as measured via penile color Doppler ultrasonography (PDU), which directly reflects endothelial function in the penile artery. Materials and methods: A total of 244 consecutive erectile dysfunction (ED) patients and 72 healthy controls, recruited from the Andrology department and the Healthy Physical Examination Center of our hospital, respectively, from June 2020 to April 2022, were included in the study. Serum FA was measured in ED patients and healthy controls, and PDU examinations were conducted for all eligible ED patients. The Pearson method was used to evaluate the correlation between FA levels and PDU parameters in ED patients. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also performed to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of these parameters for prediction of arteriogenic ED. Results: After the PDU test, the average serum FA level among patients diagnosed with arteriogenic ED was 8.08 ± 2.64 ng/ml, lower than the average of 10.78 ± 2.87 ng/ml among healthy controls. There were no statistically significant inter-group differences on any basic parameters, including age, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. For further analysis, we divided the arteriogenic ED group into three subgroups by PSV range to compare serum FA levels among these subgroups. The mean FA levels in each of these groups were 5.97 ± 1.51ng/ml, and 8.21 ± 2.37ng/ml, and 10.55 ± 2.56ng/ml, while the corresponding PSV values were 15.75 ± 2.39cm/s, 23.53 ± 2.19cm/s, and 32.72 ± 1.64cm/s. Overall, a positive correlation between PSV and FA level was found among patients with arteriogenic ED (r=0.605, P<0.001). Furthermore, when FA level was used, with a cut-off value of 10.045 ng/ml, as a criterion to distinguish patients with arteriogenic ED from healthy controls, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.772 (95% confidential interval: [0.696, 0.848]), for a sensitivity of 0.611 and specificity of 0.824. Conclusion: Serum FA level is positively correlated with PSV in ED patients, and has the ability to distinguish patients with arteriogenic ED from healthy controls. Taking these findings together, FA deficiency should be regarded as an independent risk factor for arteriogenic ED.

Association between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and erectile dysfunction among US males: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and erectile dysfunction (ED) in adult American males using a large database. Methods: We adopted a series of statistical analyses of the relationship between NLR indices and ED prevalence among participants in the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database using the R software. Results: The study included a total of 3012 participants, of whom 570 (18.9%) presented with ED. NLR levels were 2.13 (95% CI: 2.08,2.17) in those without ED and 2.36 (95% CI: 2.27,2.45) in those with ED. After adjusting for confounding variables, NLR levels were higher in patients with ED, (ß, 1.21, 95% CI, 1.09-1.34, P < 0.001). In addition, a U-shaped relationship between NLR and ED was observed after controlling for all confounders. A more significant correlation (ß, 1.35, 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.53, P < 0.001) existed to the right of the inflection point (1.52). Conclusion: The results of the large cross-sectional study showed a statistically significant association between the occurrence of ED and NLR, a simple, inexpensive, and readily available parameter of inflammation, in US adults. Further studies are still needed in the future to validate and replicate our findings and to investigate the specific mechanisms involved.

Erectile dysfunction in ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients was reported rarely and with small sample. Aim: The study sought to explore the prevalence of ED in men with AS and to determine whether AS is a risk factor for ED. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP Database, CBM, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The search was restricted to the articles published up to October 2022. Assessment tools adapted for prevalence studies were used to evaluate the quality of cross-sectional studies, and the quality of case-control studies was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The relative risk (RR) and the standard mean difference (SMD) were used to evaluate the association between AS and ED. The subgroup analyses were conducted to identify the resources of heterogeneity. The sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the stability of the pooled estimates. Data were analyzed and graphed using STATA 16.0. Outcomes: The pooled prevalence of ED in AS patients was calculated and the RR and the SMD were used to evaluate the association between AS and ED. Results: A total of 393 AS patients, enrolled in the 8 included studies, were assessed for the prevalence of ED. The pooled ED prevalence estimate was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25% to 63%, P < .001) with the statistical heterogeneity (I2 = 95.1%, P < .001). After pooling the data for RR, the results showed that men with AS were at a significantly higher risk for ED when compared with the general population without AS (RR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.28 to 3.25, P = .003; heterogeneity: I2 = 72.6%, P = .003). The pooled results of 5 studies, which provided the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, demonstrated that patients with AS had significantly lower values in the IIEF erectile function domain as compared with the healthy control subjects (SMD, -0.60; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.41; P < .001; heterogeneity: I2 = 34.4%, P = .192). Additionally, the other domain of the IIEF also showed lower values when compared with the general population without AS (P < .05). Clinical Implications: The present meta-analysis provides evidence of the management of ED in men with AS. Strengths and Limitations: This is the first meta-analysis to provide the prevalence of ED in AS patients and to demonstrate that AS is a risk factor for ED. However, the results after pooling the included studies showed significant heterogeneity. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis demonstrated the high prevalence of ED in men with AS and that AS is a potential risk factor for ED.

A novel nomogram and risk classification system predicting the overall survival of patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy: A population-based study.

Background: Papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is the largest histologic subtype of non-clear-cell RCC. To date, there is no reliable nomogram to predict the prognosis of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy. We aimed to first establish an effective nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy. Methods: A total of 3,528 eligible patients with pRCC after nephrectomy were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2015. The patients were randomized into the training cohort (n = 2,472) and the validation cohort (n = 1,056) at a 7:3 ratio. In total, 122 real-world samples from our institute (titled the AHMU-pRCC cohort) were used as the external validation cohort. Univariate and subsequent multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify OS-related prognostic factors, which were further used to establish a prognostic nomogram for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS probabilities. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by using the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Multivariate Cox analysis showed that age, race, marital status, TNM stage, tumor size, and surgery were significant OS-related prognostic factors. A prognostic model consisting of these clinical parameters was developed and virtualized by a nomogram. High C-index and area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of the nomogram at 1, 3, and 5 years were found in the training, validation, and AHMU-pRCC cohorts. The calibration plot and DCA also showed that the nomogram had a satisfactory clinical application value. A risk classification system was established to risk-stratify patients with pRCC. Conclusion: Based on a large cohort from the public SEER database, a reliable nomogram predicting the OS of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy was constructed, which could optimize the survival assessment and clinical treatment.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between erectile dysfunction and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios.

Several studies were conducted to explore the association between haematological parameters and erectile dysfunction (ED), but the conclusions were contradictory with small sample size. The extensively search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library and Web of science from inception to August 2021. Studies comparing the haematological parameter (at least NLR, PLR) between ED patients and healthy controls were eligible for the present meta-analysis. The differences in NLR and PLR between ED patients and healthy controls were assessed by calculating the standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Eventually, 7 studies were remained for our meta-analysis, with a total of 929 ED patients and 737 healthy controls. For the methodological quality based on NOS, 5 studies were of high quality, scored 7, and 8. 2 studies were of moderate quality, scored 6. There were statistically significant differences in NLR values between ED patients and healthy controls, based on the pooled results (SMD: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.24-0.82). Pooled results from the 6 studies revealed that ED patients had higher PLR values than healthy controls (SMD: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.12-1.28). Our meta-analysis solidly confirmed the association between NLR, PLR and ED. Increased NLR and PLR should be independent risk factors for ED.

Fifteen-MiRNA-Based Signature Is a Reliable Prognosis-Predicting Tool for Prostate Cancer Patients.

Recurrence is a major problem for prostate cancer patients, thus, identifying prognosis-related markers to evaluate clinical outcomes is essential. Here, we established a fifteen-miRNA-based recurrence-free survival (RFS) predicting signature based on the miRNA expression profile extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database by the LASSO Cox regression analysis. The median risk score generated by the signature in both the TCGA training and the external Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) validation cohorts was employed and the patients were subclassified into low- and high-risk subgroups. The Kaplan-Meier plot and log-rank analyses showed significant survival differences between low- and high-risk subgroups of patients (TCGA, log-rank P < 0.001 & MSKCC, log-rank P = 0.045). In addition, the receiver operating characteristic curves of both the training and external validation cohorts indicated the good performance of our model. After predicting the downstream genes of these miRNAs, the miRNA-mRNA network was visualized by Cytoscape software. In addition, pathway analyses found that the differences between two groups were mainly enriched on tumor progression and drug resistance-related pathways. Multivariate analyses revealed that the miRNA signature is an independent indicator of RFS prognosis for prostate cancer patients with or without clinicopathological features. In summary, our novel fifteen-miRNA-based prediction signature is a reliable method to evaluate the prognosis of prostate cancer patients.

Prognostic Role of Prothrombin Time Activity, Prothrombin Time, Albumin/Globulin Ratio, Platelets, Sex, and Fibrinogen in Predicting Recurrence-Free Survival Time of Renal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: To help with the clinical practice of renal cancer patients, prognostic models are urgently warranted. We hunted and identified prognostic variables associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) for renal cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, 187 renal cancer patients who had received curative radical/partial nephrectomy between November 2011 and January 2017 were enrolled in the current study. These patients were randomly split into the training (n = 95) and validation sets (n = 92) by the ratio of 1:1. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to establish the nomogram, which was then evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier (K-M) analyses. RESULTS: Patient characteristics and outcomes were well balanced between the training and validation sets; the median RFS values were 54.1 months and 58.9 months for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The final nomogram included six independent prognostic variables (prothrombin time (%), prothrombin time (second), albumin/globulin ratio, platelets, sex and fibrinogen). The mean values of RFS for the low- and high-risk groups defined by a prognostic formula were 56.22 ± 18.50 months and 49.54 ± 23.57 months, respectively, in the training cohort and were 59.00 ± 19.50 months and 53.32 ± 19.95 months, respectively, in the validation cohort. The significance and stability of the model were tested by the time-dependent K-M model and ROC curves, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our validated prognostic model incorporates variables routinely collected from renal cancer patients, identifying subsets of patients with different survival outcomes, which provides useful information for patient care and clinical trial design.

Correlating Transcriptional Networks to Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma Survival: A Large-Scale Coexpression Analysis and Clinical Validation.

We aimed to investigate the potential mechanisms of progression and identify novel prognosis-related biomarkers for papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) patients. The related data were derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and then analyzed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). The correlation between each module and the clinical traits were analyzed by Pearson's correlation analysis. Pathway analysis was conducted to reveal potential mechanisms. Hub genes within each module were screened by intramodule analysis, and visualized by Cytoscape software. Furthermore, important hub genes were validated in an external dataset and clinical samples. A total of 5,839 differentially expressed genes were identified. By using WGCNA, we identified 21 coregulatory gene clusters based on 289 PRCC samples. We found many modules were significantly associated with clinicopathological characteristics. The gray, pink, light yellow, and salmon modules served as prognosis indicators for PRCC patients. Pathway enrichment analyses found that the hub genes were significantly enriched in the cancer-related pathways. With the external Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) validation dataset, we found that PCDH12, GPR4, and KIF18A in the pink and yellow modules were continually associated with the survival status of PRCC, and their expressions were positively correlated with pathological grade. Notably, we randomly chose PCDH12 for validation, and the results suggested that the PRCC patients with higher pathological grades (II + III) mostly had higher PCDH12 protein expression levels compared with those patients in grade I. These validated hub genes play critical roles in the prognosis prediction of PRCC and serve as potential biomarkers for future personalized treatment.

The clinical value of the prostatic exosomal protein expression in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis: a single-center study.

OBJECTIVE: Levels of urinary prostatic exosomal protein (PSEP) were detected to evaluate the clinical potential of PSEP as a diagnostic marker of chronic prostatitis (CP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The level of urinary PSEP was measured in 412 cases by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, including 202 controls and 210 CP cases. Of the CP patients, 116 cases met the definition of the USA National Institutes of Health category III (NIH-III), with 60 cases of NIH-IIIA and 56 cases of NIH-IIIB. The ages, body mass indexes (BMI), white blood cell (WBC) levels in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS), lecithin body counts in EPS, urine PSEP levels both before and after prostate massage obtained from the CP patients and NIH-CPSI scores were analyzed. RESULTS: In the diagnosis of CP, the PSEP contents in the urine samples before and after prostate massage manifested a sensitivity of 86.93% vs. 61.06%, and a total coincidence rate of 85.24% vs. 61.06%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.926 vs. 0.709 for the before and after massage PSEP contents, respectively. Besides, during the follow-up of patients with CP, the improvement in symptoms was not correlated with the level changes of PSEP. CONCLUSION: Measurement of PSEP levels for the clinical diagnosis of CP is objective and painless. It could be a novel, simple, and noninvasive method for the diagnosis of CP. However, differences in fluid intake may result in a concentration or dilution of urine, which would ultimately affect the judgment of PSEP results.

Integrated Analysis Revealed Prognostic Factors for Prostate Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the major causes of cancer-induced death among males. Here, we applied integrated bioinformatics analysis to identify key prognostic factors for PCa patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS The gene expression data were obtained from the UCSC Xena website. We calculated the differentially expressed genes between PCa tissues and normal controls. Pathway enrichment analyses found cell cycle-related pathways might play crucial roles during PCa tumorigenesis. The genes were assigned into 22 modules established via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). RESULTS The results indicated that the purple and red modules were obviously linked to the Gleason score, pathological N, pathological T, recurrence, and recurrence-free survival (RFS). In addition, Kaplan-Meier curve analysis found 8 modules were markedly correlated with RFS, serving as prognostic markers for PCa patients. Then, the hub genes in the most 2 critical modules (purple and red) were visualized by Cytoscape software. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the above findings that cell cycle-related pathways might play vital roles during PCa initiation and progression. Lastly, we randomly chose the PILRß (also termed PILRB) in the red module for clinical validation. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) results showed that PILRß was significantly increased in the high-risk PCa population compared with low-/middle-risk patients. CONCLUSIONS We used integrated bioinformatics approaches to identify hub genes that can serve as prognosis markers and potential treatment targets for PCa patients.

Does miR-618 rs2682818 variant affect cancer susceptibility? Evidence from 10 case-control studies.

Piles of evidence have supported the relationship between miR-618 rs2682818 polymorphism and tumorigenesis, but the conclusion remains inconsistent. In the present study, we conducted a meta-analysis to sniff out the potential risk between miR-618 rs2682818 and overall cancers. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) analyzed by Z-test were employed to estimate the potential interrelation in five genetic models. We also prospected how the rs2682818 affects the second structure of miR-618. Finally, 10 independent studies meet the enrolled criteria, along with 4099 cancer cases and 5057 healthy controls. Overall, no exceeding interrelation was sniffed out in the pooled data among five inherited models, as well as stratified analyses. Whereas, the enhanced cancer risk of miR-618 rs2682818 variant stratified by breast cancer was revealed, in heterozygote genetic model (AC vs. CC: OR = 1.291, 95%CI = 1.012-1.648, P = 0.040) and dominant contrast model (AA + AC vs. CC: OR = 1.280, 95%CI = 1.009-1.623, P = 0.042). The second structure prediction result shown that the mutant A allele might change the first stem-loop of miR-618, and the free energy of it would turn from -39.1 to -35.1 kcal/mol. All in all, our meta-analysis had successfully chased down that miR-618 rs2682818 polymorphism is not linked with overall cancer risk, but in the dominant genotype of breast cancer.

Airflow-field-induced sandwich-type membrane of block copolymer for selective ion separation.

A simple and effective airflow method to prepare sandwich-type block copolymer films is reported. The films are composed of three layers: vertically oriented nanocylinders align in both upper and bottom layers and irregular nanocylinders exist in the bulk of the film. The vertically oriented nanocylinders in both sides can provide high accessibility to ions and ensures the exchange of chemical species between the membrane and external environment, while the irregularly oriented nanocylinders in the middle part of the film can prolong the pathway of ions transportation and enhance ions selectivity.

Exfoliation of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene in water.

Unsubstituted hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC)-a small and well defined model system for graphite/graphene-was exfoliated and dissolved in water and the resulting individualized nano graphene sheets were characterized spectroscopically for the first time.