The relationship between alcohol consumption and chronic kidney disease in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: To examine the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), as NAFLD has been identified as an autonomous risk factor for CKD and previous research has demonstrated a reduction in overall mortality in NAFLD patients who consume alcohol in moderation.Methods: This study included participants from ten consecutive rounds of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES:1998-2018). Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in both male and female populations. Subgroup analysis was conducted by categorizing patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index.Results: 17040 participants were eligible to be included in the study. The logistic regression analysis model showed that moderate alcohol consumption was a protective factor for CKD in male NAFLD patients, with an unadjusted OR: 0.37 (0.22,0.65), and p < 0.001. After further adjustment, the association persisted. However, the association was not significant in female patients with NAFLD. Among men with low risk of liver fibrosis group, moderate alcohol consumption remained a protective factor for CKD (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.12-0.84, p = 0.02), but the association was not significant in the high risk of liver fibrosis group. In female patients, both moderate alcohol consumption and excessive alcohol consumption were not significantly associated with CKD in either the low-risk group or the high-risk group.Conclusion: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of CKD in men with NAFLD.

Association between lactate/albumin ratio and all-cause mortality in critical patients with acute myocardial infarction.

It has been demonstrated that lactate/albumin (L/A) ratio is substantially relevant to the prognosis of sepsis, septic shock, and heart failure. However, there is still debate regarding the connection between the L/A ratio and severe acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of this study is to determine the prognostic role of L/A ratio in patients with severe AMI. Our retrospective study extracted data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database, included 1,134 patients diagnosed with AMI. Based on the tertiles of L/A ratio, the patients were divided into three groups: Tertile1 (T1) group (L/A ratio<0.4063, n=379), Tertile2 (T2) group (0.4063≤L/A ratio≤0.6667, n =379), and Tertile3 (T3) group (L/A ratio>0.6667, n =376). Uni- and multivariate COX regression model were used to analyze the relationship between L/A ratio and 14-day, 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Meanwhile, the restricted cubic spline (RCS) model was used to evaluate the effect of L/A ratio as a continuous variable. Higher mortality was observed in AMI patients with higher L/A ratio. Multivariate Cox proportional risk model validated the independent association of L/A ratio with 14-day all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.813, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.041-3.156 (T3 vs T1 group)], 28-day all-cause mortality [HR 1.725, 95% CI 1.035-2.874 (T2 vs T1 group), HR 1.991, 95% CI 1.214-3.266 (T3 vs T1 group)], as well as 90-day all-cause mortality [HR 1.934, 95% CI 1.176-3.183 (T2 vs T1 group), HR 2.307, 95% CI 1.426-3.733 (T3 vs T1 group)]. There was a consistent trend in subgroup analysis. The Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curves indicated that patients with L/A ratio>0.6667 had the highest mortality. Even after adjusting the confounding factors, RCS curves revealed a nearly linearity between L/A ratio and 14-day, 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Meanwhile, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 14-day, 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality were 0.730, 0.725 and 0.730, respectively. L/A ratio was significantly associated with 14-day, 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality in critical patients with AMI. Higher L/A ratio will be considered an independent risk factor for higher mortality in AMI patients.

Synthesis of Layered Double Hydroxides with Phosphate Tailings and Its Effect on Flame Retardancy of Epoxy Resin.

In this work, phosphate tailings (PTs) were used as raw materials for the preparation of Ca-Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs-1) and Ca-Mg-Al-Fe layered double hydroxides (LDHs-2) by co-precipitation method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XRD, and XPS and applied as a flame retardant to improve the fire safety of epoxy resin (EP). The results showed that both LDHs-1 and LDHs-2 exhibited layered structure and high crystallinity. Compared with neat EP, the value of limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased from 25.8 to 29.3 and 29.9 with 8 wt% content of LDHs-1 and LDHs-2, respectively. The flame retardant properties of the composite material were characterized by cone calorimeter (CC), and the results showed that the peak value of the smoke production rate (SPR) decreased more than 45% and 74%, total smoke production (TSP) reduced nearly 64% and 85% with the addition of LDHs-1 and LDHs-2. Meanwhile, the value of the total heat release (THR) reduced more than 28% and 63%. The conversion from LDHs to layered double oxide (LDO) might be conducive to the fire safety of EP. Moreover, the transformation of Fe-OH to Fe-O could promote the early cross-linking of polymer. In summary, LDHs-2 could significantly improve the carbonization process of EP and suppress the smoke released during the combustion process.

Base excess is associated with the risk of all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Base excess (BE) represents an increase or decrease of alkali reserves in plasma to diagnose acid-base disorders, independent of respiratory factors. Current findings about the prognostic value of BE on mortality of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the prognostic significance of BE for short-term all-cause mortality in patients with AMI. Methods: A total of 2,465 patients diagnosed with AMI in the intensive care unit from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database were included in our study, and we explored the association of BE with 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality using Cox regression analysis. We also used restricted cubic splines (RCS) to evaluate the relationship between BE and hazard ratio (HR). The primary outcomes were 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Results: When stratified according to quantiles, low BE levels at admission were strongly associated with higher 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models revealed that low BE was an independent risk factor of 28-day all-cause mortality [HR 4.158, 95% CI 3.203-5.398 (low vs. normal BE) and HR 1.354, 95% CI 0.896-2.049 (high vs. normal BE)] and 90-day all-cause mortality [HR 4.078, 95% CI 3.160-5.263 (low vs. normal BE) and HR 1.369, 95% CI 0.917-2.045 (high vs. normal BE)], even after adjustment for significant prognostic covariates. The results were also consistent in subgroup analysis. RCS revealed an "L-type" relationship between BE and 28-day and 90-day all-cause mortality, as well as adjusting for confounding variables. Meanwhile, Kaplan-Meier survival curves were stratified by combining BE with carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2), and patients had the highest mortality in the group which had low BE (< 3.5 mEq/L) and high PaCO2 (> 45 mmHg) compared with other groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that low BE was significantly associated with 28-day and 90-day mortality in patients with AMI and indicated the value of stratifying the mortality risk of patients with AMI by BE.

SNHG20 serves as a predictor for prognosis and promotes cell growth in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Accumulating evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve important roles in various tumor types, including colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the contribution of the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 20 (SNHG20) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) progression. It was demonstrated that SNHG20 expression was significantly increased in OSCC tissue specimens, compared with in adjacent non-tumor tissue specimens. The increased SNHG20 expression in OSCC tissue specimens was associated with tumor differentiation and Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests indicated that Higher SNHG20 expression predicted a poor overall survival (OS) rate in patients with OSCC. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that increased SNHG20 expression was an independent predictor for the OS of patients with OSCC. Knockdown of SNHG20 expression in OSCC cells suppressed proliferation. The cell proliferation-associated proteins proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki67 expression levels were reduced when SNHG20 was knocked down in OSCC cells; thus, the results indicated that SHNG20 may serve as a predictor and potential target for OSCC treatment.