Superlong Metal-Organic Framework Micro-/Nanofibers for Selective Vitamin Absorption.

Superlong MOF-74-type micro/nanofibers, which have aspect ratios much higher than 200, are synthesized via nanoparticulate MOF-mediated recrystallization. Co-MOF-74 microfibers have high crystallinity, whereas Co-MOF-74-II nanofibers are composed of nanocrystals and amorphous phases, even though they have nanofibrous morphology. Both MOFs consist of plenty of micropores with diameters in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 nm, and they exhibit high thermal stability with a decomposition temperature higher than 260.0 °C. The MOFs are demonstrated for selective absorption of some vitamins including riboflavin, folic acid, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Co-MOF-74-II nanofibers can efficiently absorb riboflavin and folic acid from their aqueous solution with absorption percentages approaching 90.0%, and they have enhanced capability for absorbing tocopherol in methanol. The micro/nanofibrous morphology, together with the capability for selective vitamin absorption, makes the novel MOFs highly promising for applications in micro-solid-phase extraction.

Application of 11/13Fr suctioning ureteral access sheath and 8.55Fr single-use digital flexible ureteroscope in one-stage flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy: an initial experience of 900 cases.

OBJECTIVES: To report our initial experience of one-stage flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy(FURL) with 11/13Fr suctioning ureteral access sheath(UAS) and 8.55Fr single-use digital flexible ureteroscope(SDFU) in upper ureteral or renal calculi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively collected the clinical data of 900 adult patients with upper ureteral or renal calculi treated by FURL with 11/13Fr suctioning UAS and 8.55Fr SDFU from January 2022 to April 2024. Demographics, peri- and postoperative outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: In all, 40 of 940 cases(4.26%) failed to introduce UAS and required second-stage FURL because of ureterostenosis and were excluded. Mean stones size of the remaining 900 eligible cases was 1.68 ± 0.58 cm in greatest diameter. There were 228 cases of upper ureteral stone, 456 cases of renal stone and 216 cases of concomitant ureteral and renal calculi. The mean operation time was 52.20 ± 20.21 min and the postoperative hospital stay was 2.87 ± 1.37 days. The stone-free rate of 1 month postoperatively was 89.56% and only 2.44% of patients with residue underwent additional reoperation. The rate of postoperative fever, postoperative pain needing analgesic and slight ureteral mucosal injury were 5.11%, 8.22% and 7.78%, respectively. None of patient suffered from severe complications, such as sepsis or ureteral perforation. CONCLUSION: It's practical and suitable for the vast majority of adult patients to undergo FURL in single session with 11/13Fr suctioning UAS without preoperative stenting. FURL with 11/13Fr suctioning UAS and 8.55Fr SDFU is feasible, reliable, safe, and efficient in the management of renal stone and upper ureteral stone.

High-frequency neural activity dysregulation is associated with sleep and psychiatric disorders in BMAL1-deficient animal models.

Sleep disturbance led by BMAL1-deficiency has been recognized both in rodent and non-human primate models. Yet it remained unclear how their diurnal brain oscillations were affected upon BMAL1 ablation and what caused the discrepancy in the quantity of sleep between the two species. Here, we investigated diurnal electroencephalographs of BMAL1-deficient mice and cynomolgus monkeys at young adult age and uncovered a shared defect of dysregulated high-frequency oscillations by Kullback-Leibler divergence analysis. We found beta and gamma oscillations were significantly disturbed in a day versus night manner in BMAL1-deficient monkeys, while in mice the beta band difference was less evident. Notably, the dysregulation of beta oscillations was particularly associated with psychiatric behaviors in BMAL1-deficient monkeys, including the occurrence of self-injuring and delusion-like actions. As such psychiatric phenotypes were challenging to uncover in rodent models, our results offered a unique method to study the correlation between circadian clock dysregulation and psychiatric disorders.

[Prognostic significance of the 2004 WHO classification compared with the 1973 WHO classification for organ-confined invasive bladder cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the 2004 and 1973 WHO classifications for predicting tumor recurrence for organ-confined (T stage ≤ pT2b) invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder treated with radical cystectomy. METHODS: From February 2000 to August 2011, the 173 consecutive cases of organ-confined invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were treated with radical cystectomy. The data of clinical and follow-up information was collected. The Kaplan-Meier plots with Log-rank test were used to estimate recurrence-free survival (RFS). Univariate and multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazard regression model were performed to evaluate the impact of any clinicopathological prognostic factors (tumor grade, tumor stage, lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion, preoperative hydronephrosis, and non-pure urothelial carcinoma) on RFS. RESULTS: The 5-year RFS was 84.7% for the entire cohort. Univariate and multivariate analysis demonstrated that when using the 2004 WHO classification, lymph node status (RR = 4.573, 95% CI: 1.469-14.237), tumor grade (RR = 9.993, 95% CI: 1.325-75.390) and preoperative hydronephrosis (RR = 3.207, 95% CI: 1.209-8.508) presented independent predictors for RFS; while using the 1973 WHO system, lymph node status (RR = 9.484, 95% CI: 3.450-26.074) and lymphovascular invasion (RR = 3.009, 95% CI: 1.062-8.526) were independent predictors. CONCLUSIONS: The 2004 WHO classification, as an independent factor, is superior to the 1973 classification for predicting RFS in patients with organ-confined invasive bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy. However, a further perspective study is needed to validate its role in prognosis.

Oxidative stress drives vascular smooth muscle cell damage in acute Stanford type A aortic dissection through HIF-1α/HO-1 mediated ferroptosis.

Background: Acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is characterized by intimal tearing and false lumen formation containing large amounts of erythrocytes with heme. Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is the key enzyme to degrade heme for iron accumulation and further ferroptosis. The current study aimed at investigating the role of HO-1 in the dissection progression of ATAAD. Methods: Bioinformatic analyses and experimental validation were performed to reveal ferroptosis and HO-1 expression in ATAAD. Human aortic vascular smooth muscle cell (HA-VSMC) was used to explore underlying molecular mechanisms and the role of HO-1 overexpression in ATAAD. Results: Ferroptosis was identified as a critical manner of regulated cell death in ATAAD. HO-1 was screened as a key signature of ferroptosis in ATAAD, which was closely associated with oxidative stress. Single cell/nucleus transcriptomic analysis and histological staining revealed that HO-1 and HIF-1α were upregulated in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) of ATAAD. Further in vitro experiments showed that H2O2-induced oxidative stress increased VSMC ferroptosis with the overexpression of HO-1, which could be suppressed by HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478. HIF-1α could transcriptionally regulate the expression of HO-1 through binding to its promoter region. Pharmacological inhibition of HO-1 by zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) did not reduce H2O2-induced HA-VSMC damage without heme co-incubation. However, H2O2-induced HA-VSMC damage was worsened when heme was added into the medium, and ZnPP could reduce HA-VSMC damage in this condition. Conclusion: HO-1 is a key signature of VSMC ferroptosis in ATAAD. HIF-1α/HO-1 mediated ferroptosis might participate in oxidative stress induced VSMC damage.

Long-term results of extended Boari flap technique for management of complete ureteral avulsion: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Ureteroscopy is well-established as a primary treatment modality for urolithiasis. Ureteral avulsion, particularly complete or full-length avulsion with a resultant long segment of the ureter left attached to the ureteroscope, is a rare but devastating complication of the procedure. Management of this complication is challenging. Moreover, general consensus regarding the optimal management is undetermined. We report our experience of managing a complete ureteral avulsion case via an extended Boari flap technique with long-term results. CASE SUMMARY: A 41-year-old female patient subjected to complete ureteral avulsion caused by ureteroscopy was referred to our hospital. A modified, extended Boari flap technique was successfully performed to repair the full-length ureteral defect. Maximal mobilization of the bladder and affected kidney followed by psoas hitch and downward nephropexy maximized the probability of a tension-free anastomosis. Meticulous blood supply preservation to the flap also contributed to the success. During the 4-year study period, no complications except for a mild urinary frequency and a slightly lower maximum urinary flow rate were reported. The patient was satisfied with the surgical outcomes. CONCLUSION: The extended Boari flap procedure is a feasible and preferred technique to manage complete ureteral avulsion, particularly in emergencies.

Development of a new outcome prediction model for Chinese patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma based on preoperative serum C-reactive protein, body mass index, and standard pathological risk factors: the TNCB score group system.

PURPOSE: To determine the predictive value and feasibility of the new outcome prediction model for Chinese patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. RESULTS: The 3-year disease-specific survival (DSS) survival (DSS) was 92.3% in patients with < 8.70 mg/L CRP and 54.9% in those with elevated CRP (P < 0.001). The 3-year DSS was 86.5% in patients with a BMI < 22.6 Kg/m2 and 69.9% in those with a higher BMI (P = 0.025). In a multivariate analysis, pathological T stage (P < 0.001), pathological N stage (P = 0.002), BMI (P = 0.002), and CRP (P = 0.004) were independent predictors of DSS. A new scoring model was developed, consisting of BMI, CRP, and tumor T and N classification. In our study, we found that the addition of the above-mentioned parameters significantly increased the predictive accuracy of the system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) anatomic stage group. The accuracy of the new prediction category was verified. METHODS: A total of 172 Chinese patients with penile squamous cell cancer were analyzed retrospectively between November 2005 and November 2014. Statistical data analysis was conducted using the nonparametric method. Survival analysis was performed with the log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazard model. Based on regression estimates of significant parameters in multivariate analysis, a new BMI-, CRP- and pathologic factors-based scoring model was developed to predict disease--specific outcomes. The predictive accuracy of the model was evaluated using the internal and external validation. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that the TNCB score group system maybe a precise and easy to use tool for predicting outcomes in Chinese penile squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen waste and pig manure with different mixing ratios.

Anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen waste (KW) and pig manure (PM) with seven different PM to KW total solids (TS) ratios of 1:0, 5:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, 1:5 and 0:1 was conducted at mesophilic temperature (35 ± 1 °C) to investigate the feasibility and process performance. The co-digestion of PM and KW was found to be an available way to enhance methane production compared with solo-digestion of PM or KW. The ratio of PM to KW of 1:1 got the highest biodegradability (BDA) of 85.03% and a methane yield of 409.5 mL/gVS. For the co-digestion of KW and PM, there was no obvious inhibition of ammonia nitrogen because it was in an acceptable range from 1380 mg/L to 2020 mg/L in the whole process. However, severe methane inhibition and long lag phase due to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was observed while the KW content was over 50%, and in the lag phase, propionic acid and butyric acid made up the major constituents of the total VFAs. The technical digestion time (T80: the time it takes to produce 80% of the digester's maximum gas production) of the above 7 ratios was 15, 21, 22, 27, 49, 62 and 61 days, respectively. In this study, a mixing ratio of 1:1 for PM and KW was found to maximize BDA and methane yield, provided a short digestion time and stable digestion performance and was therefore recommended for further study and engineering application.

Age-specific effect of gender on upper tract urothelial carcinoma outcomes.

The research is to evaluate the age-specific differential effects of gender on outcomes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Between August 1998 and October 2010, we retrospectively reviewed the data from 285 (67.7%) men and 136 (32.3%) women treated with RNU for UTUC at our two institutions. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates the age-specific effect of gender on cancer-specific survival (CSS). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to address the effect of gender on CSS. No significant sex-related differences were found in age and diagnosis, clinicopathologic features, and treatment (all P values >0.05). Women had a 18.7% increased risk of death from UTUC than men (hazard ratio [HR] 1.187; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.017-1.893; P = 0.021). The survival disadvantage was only present in patients aged 59 years and older (P < 0.001). Conversely, the survival advantage for women was found in women aged 42 to 58 years (P = 0.011) and in the age group <42 years (P = 0.019). On multivariable Cox regression analyses that adjusted for the effects of clinicopathologic features, the female gender was associated with decreased CSS (P = 0.036). In conclusion, the impact of gender on UTUC outcomes after RNU is age-specific. Females who aged 59 years and older experienced worse outcomes than their male counterparts, while women in the age group <42 years and 42-58 years have better outcomes than men. Further research is needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the age-specific differential effect of gender on UTUC outcomes.