PVDF-HFP@Nafion-based quasisolid polymer electrolyte for high migration number in working rechargeable Na-O2 batteries.

Rechargeable sodium-oxygen (Na-O2) battery is deemed as a promising high-energy storage device due to the abundant sodium resources and high theoretical energy density (1,108 Wh kg-1). A series of quasisolid electrolytes are constantly being designed to restrain the dendrites growth, the volatile and leaking risks of liquid electrolytes due to the open system of Na-O2 batteries. However, the ticklish problem about low operating current density for quasisolid electrolytes still hasn't been conquered. Herein, we report a rechargeable Na-O2 battery with polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene recombination Nafion (PVDF-HFP@Nafion) based quasisolid polymer electrolyte (QPE) and MXene-based Na anode with gradient sodiophilic structure (M-GSS/Na). QPE displays good flame resistance, locking liquid and hydrophobic properties. The introduction of Nafion can lead to a high Na+ migration number (tNa+ = 0.68) by blocking the motion of anion and promote the formation of NaF-rich solid electrolyte interphase, resulting in excellent cycling stability at relatively high current density under quasisolid environment. In the meantime, the M-GSS/Na anode exhibits excellent dendrite inhibition ability and cycling stability. Therefore, with the synergistic effect of QPE and M-GSS/Na, constructed Na-O2 batteries run more stably and exhibit a low potential gap (0.166 V) after an initial 80 cycles at 1,000 mA g-1 and 1,000 mAh g-1. This work provides the reference basis for building quasisolid state Na-O2 batteries with long-term cycling stability.

KLHDC7B as a novel diagnostic biomarker in urine exosomal mRNA promotes bladder urothelial carcinoma cell proliferation and migration, inhibits apoptosis.

Bladder cancer is a common kind of urinary system cancer, in which bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) comprises approximately 90% of all bladder cancer types. In our previous study, we discovered KLHDC7B in urine exosomal messenger RNA (mRNA) as a prospective molecular marker for bladder cancer detection. To systematically study the role and mechanism of KLHDC7B in BLCA, we focused on the most common type of BLCA in this study. First, we used RNA sequencing to discover that KLHDC7B was considerably increased in BLCA patients' urine exosomes compared to healthy controls. Then, we validated this result in an independent cohort and identified it as an effective tool for diagnosing and distinguishing high-grade and low-grade BLCA. Finally, we studied the role and mechanism of KLHDC7B in BLCA at the cellular level, providing a functional basis for its expression as a novel laboratory diagnostic biomarker for BLCA exosomal mRNA, which has important theoretical and clinical significance.

Atox1 regulates macrophage polarization in intestinal inflammation via ROS-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation and oxidative stress play an important role in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to explore the effects of copper chaperone Antioxidant-1 (Atox1) on macrophages in a mouse model of intestinal inflammation. METHODS: A mouse model of TNBS-induced colitis was established and verified using the disease activity index. Atox1 conditional knockout mice were applied. The proportion of macrophages in colonic lamina propria mononuclear cells and ROS production were analyzed using flow cytometry. Inflammatory cytokines were measured using ELISA. Expression of macrophage M1/M2 polarization markers, p47phox, NLRP3, and Caspase-1 p20 was measured using quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: Atox1 expression was up-regulated in colon tissues of TNBS-induced colitis mice. Macrophages isolated from TNBS-induced colitis mice showed M1 polarization and nuclear translocation of Atox1. Inhibiting copper chaperone activity decreased p47phox, ROS production, and M1 polarization induced by CuCl2 in macrophages. TNBS induced up-regulation of inflammatory cytokines, M1 polarization markers, and p47phox expression in mice, an effect which was preempted by Atox1 knockout. Inflammatory cytokines and expression of M1 polarization markers, p47phox, NLRP3, Caspase-1 p20 were also increased in macrophages isolated from TNBS-induced colitis mice. These changes were alleviated in mice with Atox1 knockout. The effects of Atox1 on macrophage polarization were mediated via the ROS-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. CONCLUSION: Atox1 plays a pro-inflammatory role, promotes M1 polarization of macrophages, and increases the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in intestinal tissue by regulating the ROS-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Atox1 is a potential therapeutic target in IBD.

Accelerated 3D MR neurography of the brachial plexus using deep learning-constrained compressed sensing.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the use of deep learning-constrained compressed sensing (DLCS) in improving image quality and acquisition time for 3D MRI of the brachial plexus. METHODS: Fifty-four participants who underwent contrast-enhanced imaging and forty-one participants who underwent unenhanced imaging were included. Sensitivity encoding with an acceleration of 2 × 2 (SENSE4x), CS with an acceleration of 4 (CS4x), and DLCS with acceleration of 4 (DLCS4x) and 8 (DLCS8x) were used for MRI of the brachial plexus. Apparent signal-to-noise ratios (aSNRs), apparent contrast-to-noise ratios (aCNRs), and qualitative scores on a 4-point scale were evaluated and compared by ANOVA and the Friedman test. Interobserver agreement was evaluated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS: DLCS4x achieved higher aSNR and aCNR than SENSE4x, CS4x, and DLCS8x (all p < 0.05). For the root segment of the brachial plexus, no statistically significant differences in the qualitative scores were found among the four sequences. For the trunk segment, DLCS4x had higher scores than SENSE4x (p = 0.04) in the contrast-enhanced group and had higher scores than SENSE4x and DLCS8x in the unenhanced group (all p < 0.05). For the divisions, cords, and branches, DLCS4x had higher scores than SENSE4x, CS4x, and DLCS8x (all p ≤ 0.01). No overt difference was found among SENSE4x, CS4x, and DLCS8x in any segment of the brachial plexus (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In three-dimensional MRI for the brachial plexus, DLCS4x can improve image quality compared with SENSE4x and CS4x, and DLCS8x can maintain the image quality compared to SENSE4x and CS4x. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Deep learning-constrained compressed sensing can improve the image quality or accelerate acquisition of 3D MRI of the brachial plexus, which should be benefit in evaluating the brachial plexus and its branches in clinical practice. KEY POINTS: •Deep learning-constrained compressed sensing showed higher aSNR, aCNR, and qualitative scores for the brachial plexus than SENSE and CS at the same acceleration factor with similar scanning time. •Deep learning-constrained compressed sensing at acceleration factor of 8 had comparable aSNR, aCNR, and qualitative scores to SENSE4x and CS4x with approximately half the examination time. •Deep learning-constrained compressed sensing may be helpful in clinical practice for improving image quality and acquisition time in three-dimensional MRI of the brachial plexus.

A machine learning model for identifying systemic lupus erythematosus through laboratory information system and electronic medical record.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease. Its diagnosis poses significant challenges especially at early stages and in atypical cases. The aim of this study was to develop a machine learning model based on common laboratory tests that can aid SLE diagnosis. METHODS: A standard protocol was developed to collect data of SLE and control immune diseases. A 10-fold cross-validation was performed in the modeling dataset (n=862), and an external dataset (n=198) was used for model validation. Machine learning algorithms were applied to construct a diagnostic model. Performance was evaluated based on area under the curve (AUC) values, F1-score, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. RESULTS: The optimal model was based on a random forest algorithm with 10 clinical features. Thrombin time, prothrombin activity, and uric acid contributed most to the diagnostic model. The SLE diagnostic model showed sufficient predictive accuracy, with AUC values of 0.8286 in the validation dataset. CONCLUSIONS: Our diagnostic model based on 10 common laboratory tests identified the patients with SLE with high accuracy. An online version of the model can potentially be applied in clinical settings for the differential diagnosis of SLE.

PKM2 interacts with and phosphorylates PHB2 to sustain mitochondrial quality control against septic cerebral-cardiac injury.

Sepsis induces profound disruptions in cellular homeostasis, particularly impacting mitochondrial function in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. This study elucidates the regulatory role of the Pyruvate Kinase M2 (PKM2)- Prohibitin 2 (PHB2) axis in mitochondrial quality control during septic challenges and its protective effects against myocardial and cerebral injuries. Employing LPS-induced mouse models, we demonstrate a significant downregulation of PKM2 and PHB2 in both heart and brain tissues post-sepsis, with corresponding impairments in mitochondrial dynamics, including fission, fusion, and mitophagy. Overexpression of PKM2 and PHB2 not only restores mitochondrial function, as evidenced by normalized ATP production and membrane potential but also confers resistance to oxidative stress by mitigating reactive oxygen species generation. These cellular mechanisms translate into substantial in vivo benefits, with transgenic mice overexpressing PKM2 or PHB2 displaying remarkable resistance to sepsis-induced cardiomyocyte and neuronal apoptosis, and organ dysfunction. Our findings highlight the PKM2-PHB2 interaction as a novel therapeutic target for sepsis, providing a foundation for future research into mitochondrial-based interventions to treat this condition. The study's insights into the molecular underpinnings of sepsis-induced organ failure pave the way for potential clinical applications in the management of sepsis and related pathologies.

DV3-IBi_YOLOv5s: A Lightweight Backbone Network and Multiscale Neck Network Vehicle Detection Algorithm.

Vehicle detection is a research direction in the field of target detection and is widely used in intelligent transportation, automatic driving, urban planning, and other fields. To balance the high-speed advantage of lightweight networks and the high-precision advantage of multiscale networks, a vehicle detection algorithm based on a lightweight backbone network and a multiscale neck network is proposed. The mobile NetV3 lightweight network based on deep separable convolution is used as the backbone network to improve the speed of vehicle detection. The icbam attention mechanism module is used to strengthen the processing of the vehicle feature information detected by the backbone network to enrich the input information of the neck network. The bifpn and icbam attention mechanism modules are integrated into the neck network to improve the detection accuracy of vehicles of different sizes and categories. A vehicle detection experiment on the Ua-Detrac dataset verifies that the proposed algorithm can effectively balance vehicle detection accuracy and speed. The detection accuracy is 71.19%, the number of parameters is 3.8 MB, and the detection speed is 120.02 fps, which meets the actual requirements of the parameter quantity, detection speed, and accuracy of the vehicle detection algorithm embedded in the mobile device.

Extraordinary Five-Wave Mixing in a Zinc Oxide Microwire on a Au Film.

Coherent multiwave mixing is in demand for optical frequency conversion, imaging, quantum information science, etc., but has rarely been demonstrated in solid-state systems. Here, we observed three- and five-wave mixing (5WM) in a c-axis growth zinc oxide microwire on a Au film with picosecond pulses in the near-infrared region. An output 5WM of 4.7 × 10-7 µW, only 2-3 orders smaller than the three-wave mixing, is achieved when the excitation power is as low as 1.5 mW and the peak power density as weak as ∼107 W/cm2. The excitation power dependence of 5WM agrees well with the perturbation limit under the low intensity but exhibits a strong deviation at a high pumping power. This extraordinary behavior is attributed to the cooperative resonant enhancement effect when pumping in the near-infrared range. Our study offers a potential solid-state platform for on-chip multiwave mixing and quantum nonlinear optics, such as generating many-photon entangled states or the construction of photon-photon quantum logic gates.

Surface Coordination Modulated Morphological Anisotropic Engineering of Iron-Benzoquinone Frameworks for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Morphological anisotropic engineering is powerful to synthesize metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with versatile physicochemical properties for diverse applications ranging from gas storage/separation to electrocatalysis and batteries, etc. Herein, we developed a carbon substrate guided strategy to manipulate the facet-dependent coordination for morphology engineering of Fe-THBQ (tetrahydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone) frameworks, which is built with cubic Fe octamer bridged by two parallel THBQ ligands along three orthogonal axes, extending to a three-dimensional (3D) framework with pcu-e network topology. The electronegative O-containing functional groups on carbon surfaces compete with THBQ linkers to selectively interact with the unsaturated coordinated Fe cations on the {111} facets and inhibit crystal growth along the <111> direction. The morphology of Fe-THBQ evolves from thermodynamically favored truncated cube to cuboctahedron depending on the content of O-containing functional groups on the carbon substrate. The Fe-THBQ with varied morphologies exhibits facet-dependent performances for electrochemical lithium storage. This work will shed light on the morphology modulation of MOFs for promising applications.

The Dependence of Solid Electrolyte Interphase on the Crystal Facet of Current Collector in Li Metal Battery.

The continuous electrolyte decomposition and uncontrolled dendrite growth caused by the unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) have largely hindered the development of Li metal batteries. Here, we demonstrate that tuning the facet of current collector can regulate the composition of SEI and the subsequent Li deposition behavior using single-crystal Cu foils as an ideal platform. The theoretical and experimental studies reveal that the (100) facet of Cu possesses strong adsorption to anions, guiding more anions to participate preferentially in the inner Helmholtz plane and further promoting the formation of the stable inorganic-rich SEI. Consequently, the single-crystal Cu foils with a single [100] orientation (s-Cu(100)) achieve the dendrite-free Li deposition with enhanced Li plating/stripping reversibility. Moreover, the Li anode deposited on s-Cu(100) can stabilize the operation of an Ah-level pouch cell (350 Wh kg-1) with a low negative/positive capacity ratio (~2) and lean electrolyte (2.4 g Ah-1) for 150 cycles. Impressively, this strategy demonstrates universality in a series of electrolytes employed different anions. This work provides new insights into the correlation between the SEI and current collector, opening a universal avenue towards high-performance Li metal batteries.

Fluorescent/Colorimetric Dual-Mode Discriminating Gln and Val Enantiomers Based on Carbon Dots.

Discrimination and quantification of amino acid (AA) enantiomers are particularly important for diagnosing and treating diseases. Recently, dual-mode probes have gained a lot of research interest because they can catch more detecting information compared with the single-mode probes. Thus, it is of great significance to develop a dual-mode sensor realizing AA enantiomer discrimination conveniently and efficiently. In this work, carbon dot L-TCDs were prepared by N-methyl-1,2-benzenediamine dihydrochloride (OTD) and l-tryptophan. With the assistance of H2O2, L-TCDs show an excellent discrimination performance for enantiomers of glutamine (Gln) and valine (Val) in both fluorescent and colorimetric modes. The fluorescence enantioselectivity of Gln (FD/FL) and Val (FL/FD) is 5.29 and 4.13, respectively, and the colorimetric enantioselectivity of Gln (ID/IL) and Val (IL/ID) is 13.26 and 3.42, individually. The chiral recognition mechanism of L-TCDs was systematically studied. L-TCDs can be etched by H2O2, and the participation of AA enantiomers results in different amounts of the released OTD, which provides fluorescent and colorimetric signals for identifying and quantifying the enantiomers of Gln and Val. This work provides a more convenient and flexible dual-mode sensing strategy for discriminating AA enantiomers, which is expected to be of great value in facile and high-throughput chiral recognition.

Fluorine Substitution Promotes Air-Stability of P'2-Type Layered Cathodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

As one of the most promising cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries, manganese-based layered oxides have aroused wide attention due to their high specific capacity and plentiful reserves. However, they are plagued by poor air stability rooting in water/Na+ exchange and adverse structural reconstruction, hindering their practical applications. Herein, it is demonstrated that utilizing fluorine to substitute oxygen atoms can narrow the interlayer spacing of novel P'2-Na0.67 MnO1.97 F0.03 (NMOF) cathode material, which resists the attack of water molecules, significantly prolonging exposure time in air. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that fluorine substitution alleviates the insertion of water molecules and spontaneous extraction of Na+ effectively. Benefiting from the structural modulation, NMOF can deliver a high specific capacity of 227.1 mAh g-1 at 20 mA g-1 and a promising capacity retention of 84.0% after 100 cycles at 200 mA g-1 . This facile and available strategy provides a feasible way to strengthen the air-stability and expands the scope of practical applications of layered oxide cathodes.

Inhibition of endogenous hydrogen sulfide production suppresses the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S) has been widely recognized as one of gasotransmitters. Endogenous H2 S plays a crucial role in the progression of cancer. However, the effect of endogenous H2 S on the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still unknown. In this study, aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA, an inhibitor of cystathionine-ß-synthase), dl-propargylglycine (PAG, an inhibitor of cystathionine-γ-lyase), and l-aspartic acid (l-Asp, an inhibitor of 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase) were adopted to detect the role of endogenous H2 S in NPC growth. The results indicated that the combine (PAG + AOAA + l-Asp) group had higher inhibitory effect on the growth of NPC cells than the PAG, AOAA, and l-Asp groups. There were similar trends in the levels of apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, the combine group exhibited lower levels of phospho (p)-extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase but higher expressions of p-p38 and p-c-Jun N-terminal kinase than those in the AOAA, PAG, and l-Asp groups. Furthermore, the combine group exerted more potent inhibitory effect on NPC xenograft tumor growth without obvious toxicity. In summary, suppression of endogenous H2 S generation could dramatically inhibit NPC growth via the ROS/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Endogenous H2 S may be a novel therapeutic target in human NPC cells. Effective inhibitors for H2 S-producing enzymes could be designed and developed for NPC treatment.

NAT10 regulates the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage and tumorigenicity.

Chemical modifications in messenger RNA (mRNA) regulate gene expression and play critical roles in stress responses and diseases. Recently we have shown that N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant mRNA modification, promotes the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage by regulating global genome nucleotide excision repair (GG-NER). However, the roles of other mRNA modifications in the UVB-induced damage response remain understudied. N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is deposited in mRNA by the RNA-binding acetyltransferase NAT10. This NAT10-mediated ac4C in mRNA has been reported to increase both mRNA stability and translation. However, the role of ac4C and NAT10 in the UVB-induced DNA damage response remains poorly understood. Here we show that NAT10 plays a critical role in the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage lesions through regulating the expression of the key GG-NER gene DDB2. We found that knockdown of NAT10 enhanced the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage lesions by promoting the mRNA stability of DDB2. Our findings are in contrast to the previously reported role of NAT10-mediated ac4C deposition in promoting mRNA stability and may represent a novel mechanism for ac4C in the UVB damage response. Furthermore, NAT10 knockdown in skin cancer cells decreased skin cancer cell proliferation in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo. Chronic UVB irradiation increases NAT10 protein levels in mouse skin. Taken together, our findings demonstrate a novel role for NAT10 in the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage products by decreasing the mRNA stability of DDB2 and suggest that NAT10 is a potential novel target for preventing and treating skin cancer.

Avoiding Unnecessary Systematic Biopsy in Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer: Comparison Between MRI-Based Radiomics Model and PI-RADS Category.

BACKGROUND: MRI-targeted biopsy (MRTB) improves the clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) detection rate with fewer biopsy cores in men with suspected PCa. However, whether concurrent systematic biopsy (SB) can be avoided in patients undergoing MRTB remains unclear. PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential value of MRI-based radiomics models in avoiding unnecessary SB in biopsy-naïve patients. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: A total of 226 patients (mean age 66.6 ± 9.02 years) with suspicion of PCa (PI-RADS score ≥ 3) and received combined cognitive MRTB with SB were retrospectively recruited and randomly divided into training (N = 180) and test (N = 46) cohorts at an 8:2 ratio. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 3.0 T, biparametric MRI (bpMRI) including T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map. ASSESSMENT: The whole prostate gland (PG) and the index lesion (IL) were delineated. Three radiomics models of bpMRIPG , bpMRIIL , and bpMRIPG+IL were constructed, respectively, and the performance of each radiomics model was compared with that of PI-RADS assessment. STATISTICAL TESTS: The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method was used to select texture features. The area under the curve (AUC) and decision curve analysis were used to estimate the models. RESULTS: The bpMRIPG+IL radiomics model exhibited good discrimination, calibration, and net benefits, which would reduce the SB biopsy in 71.2% and 71.4% of men with PI-RADS ≥ 5 lesions in the training and test cohorts, respectively. DATA CONCLUSION: A bpMRIPG+IL radiomics model may outperform PI-RADS category in help reducing unnecessary SB in biopsy-naïve patients. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 6.

Time-resolved fluorescence nanoprobe of acetylcholinesterase based on ZnGeO:Mn luminescence nanorod modified with metal ions.

A novel time-resolved fluorescence nanoprobe (PBMO, PLNR-BSA-Mn2+-OPD) is fabricated for the label-free determination of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The ZnGeO:Mn persistent luminescence nanorod (PLNR) and Mn(II) are, respectively, exploited as the signal molecule and quencher to construct the PBMO nanopobe using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the surface-modified shell and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) as the reducing agent. In the presence of H2O2, the persistent luminescence of PBMO at 530 nm is enhanced remarkably within 30 s due to the oxidation of Mn(II). H2O2 can react with thiocholine (TCh), which is produced through the enzymatic degradation of acetylcholine (ATCh) by AChE. The PBMO nanoprobe is successfully applied to the determination of AChE in the linear range of 0.08-10 U L-1, with a detection limit of 0.03 U L-1 (3σ/s). The practicability of this PBMO nanoprobe is confirmed by accurately monitoring AChE contents in human serum samples, giving rise to satisfactory spiking recoveries of 96.2-103.6%.

Two-dimensional Be2Al and Be2Ga monolayer: anti-van't Hoff/Le Bel planar hexacoordinate bonding and superconductivity.

Because of the electron deficiency of boron, a triangular network with planar hexacoordination is the most common structural and bonding property for isolated boron clusters and two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets. However, this network is a rule-breaking structure and bonding case for all other main-group elements. Herein, the Be2M (M = Al and Ga) 2D monolayer with P6/mmm space group was found to be the lowest-energy structure with planar hexacoordinate Be/Al/Ga motifs. More interestingly, Be2Al and Be2Ga were observed to be intrinsic phonon-mediated superconductors with a superconducting critical temperature (Tc) of 5.9 and 3.6 K, respectively, where compressive strain could further enhance their Tc. The high thermochemical and kinetic stability of Be2M make a promising candidate for experimental realization, considering its high cohesive energy, absence of soft phonon modes, and good resistance to high temperature. Moreover, the feasibility of directly growing Be2M on the electride Ca2N substrate was further demonstrated, where its intriguing electronic and superconducting properties were well maintained in comparison with the freestanding monolayer. The Be2M monolayer with rule-breaking planar hexacoordinate motifs firmly pushes the ultimate connection of the "anti-van't Hoff/Le Bel" structure with promising physical properties.

Related factors of renal injury in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a common chronic systemic autoimmune disorder which primarily affects the exocrine glands. Patients may have extraglandular disease involving multiple organs, including the kidneys. This study aimed at investigating the clinical data and laboratory markers which were associated with renal function damage or renal involvement. METHOD: One thousand two hundred eighty-eight adult pSS patients from the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. And there were 334 patients of them followed up for more than two years for analyzing demographic, clinical data and laboratory markers. Statistical analysis was performed by R software (Version 3.6.2). RESULT: Nearly 95% of 1288 pSS patients were women, and the positive rates of anti-SSA (Sjögren's syndrome A) and anti-SSB were 63% and 27% respectively. 12% of the pSS patients presented renal involvement with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, and the mean age of hospital presentation, serum creatinine and urea were the highest (P < 0.001), and ANA (antinuclear antibody)-positive, anti-SSB-positive and anti-scl-70-positive were more prevalent in this group. Multivariate analyses showed that age, urea, chlorine and anti-SSA indicate a significant association with renal dysfunction. Potassium, sodium and Jo-1 were also confirmed to be related with decreased renal function. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis including the above factors showed a good performance on the evaluation of renal injury including eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and eGFR 60 -90 mL/min/1.73 m2 in pSS, with area under curve (AUC) values of 0.957 and 0.821, and high sensitivity (71.1% and 84.4%) and specificity (95.5% and 70.5%). After a more than two years follow-up of anti-SSA positive patients, 34.14% of them developed decreased renal function, and 13.58% of them experienced a progression of renal injury with a 23.64% decrease in eGFR. CONCLUSION: Age, urea, chlorine, and anti-SSA were highly associated with renal injury in pSS. Early screening for autoantibodies would be meaningful for evaluation and prevention of renal injury in pSS.

Relationship between early-onset stroke and triglyceride-glucose index among young Chinese adults.

BACKGROUND: The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index), an alternative indicator of peripheral insulin resistance (IR), is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. The aim of this research was to determine the correlation between early-onset stroke and the TyG index among young Chinese adults. METHODS: Participants (age ≤ 40 years) who attended their first physical examination in Kailuan General Hospital or its 11 subsidiary hospitals between 2006 and 2012 were enrolled. The subjects were divided into four equal points according to the quartile of the TyG index, with the lowest quartile (Q1) as the reference group. A Cox proportional hazard model was employed to assess the correlation between early-onset stroke incidence and the TyG index. Restricted cubic spline analysis was further conducted to examine nonlinear associations. The TyG index was calculated as Ln [Triglyceride (TG, mg/dL) × Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG, mg/dL)/2]. RESULTS: Overall, 35,999 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Their mean age was 30.8 ±  5.7 years, and 77.1% of subjects were males. During a median observation period of 11 years, 281 stroke events occurred (62 hemorrhagic strokes and 219 ischemic strokes). Compared to the Q1 group (as the lowest group), subjects in groups Q2-Q4 had significantly higher risks of early-onset stroke (P < 0.05) after adjustment for relevant confounders in the Cox proportional hazards model. Similar results were consistent with ischemic stroke. However, no significant associations were observed between the risk of hemorrhage and the baseline TyG index. The restricted cubic splines revealed that the risk of stroke progressively increased with a high TyG index ≥ 8.41. CONCLUSIONS: The TyG index may be a major risk factor for early-onset stroke among young Chinese adults. A TyG index ≥ 8.41 can be used as an indicator for screening high-risk stroke groups.

Survey of the relationship between polymorphisms within the BMPR1B gene and sheep reproductive traits.

The BMPRIB gene is one of the main genes that can be used as a molecular genetic marker for the early selection of highly productive ewes. It is well-documented that the p.Q249R (g.746A > G) is the first mutation in the kinase domain of the BMPR1B gene that is highly related to increased ovulation rate and litter size. It is likely that the presence of the p.Q249R mutation in the sheep population is one of the factors contributing to the outstanding productivity of the sheep. Moreover, in recent years, researchers have been explored other polymorphisms in the BMPR1B gene with respect to reproductive traits in sheep. Therefore, we carried out the current study to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in this gene and sheep litter size from all appropriate studies. As a result, among 41 polymorphisms in the ovine BMPRIB gene, eight variants, including p.Q249R (g.746A > G), g.29362047T > C, g.29427689G > A, BMPR1B-2 (ss:1960972599), g.29382337G > A, g.29382340G > A, rs1092293287 (10 bp insertion/deletion) and g.29380965A > G were found to be associated with litter size in sheep. This systematic analysis presents the most current data evidence for BMPRIB polymorphisms, highlighting the need for further large-scale studies to determine more important variants.