Association between triglyceride glucose-waist to height ratio and coronary heart disease: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The Triglyceride glucose (TyG) index-related indicators improve risk stratification by identifying individuals prone to atherosclerosis early in life. This study aimed to examine the relation between TyG-waist circumference-to-height ratio (TyG-WHtR) and coronary heart disease. METHODS: Data from four National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) cycles between 2011 and 2018 were used for a cross-sectional study. The association between TyG-WHtR and coronary heart disease risk was examined using a multifactorial logistic regression model, and corresponding subgroup analyses were performed. Nonlinear correlations were analyzed using smooth curve fitting and threshold effects analysis. When nonlinear connections were discovered, appropriate inflection points were investigated using recursive methods. RESULTS: TyG-WHtR and coronary heart disease were significantly positively correlated in the multifactorial logistic regression analysis. Subgroup analyses and interaction tests revealed that gender, age, smoking status, and cancer were not significantly associated with this correlation (P for interaction > 0.05). Furthermore, utilizing threshold effect analysis and smooth curve fitting, a nonlinear connection with an inflection point of 0.36 was observed between TyG-WHtR and coronary heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: According to this study, the American population is far more likely to have coronary heart disease if they have higher TyG-WHtR levels.

Hypoxic preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate rat brain injury after cardiopulmonary resuscitation by suppressing neuronal pyroptosis.

Cardiac arrest (CA) can result in cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion injury and poor neurological outcomes. While bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have been shown to have protective effects in brain ischaemic disease, their efficacy can be reduced by the poor oxygen environment. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of hypoxic preconditioned BMSCs (HP-BMSCs) and normoxic BMSCs (N-BMSCs) in a cardiac arrest rat model by examining their ability to ameliorate cell pyroptosis. The mechanism underlying the process was also explored. Cardiac arrest was induced in rats for 8 min and surviving rats received 1 × 106 normoxic/hypoxic BMSCs or PBS via intracerebroventricular (ICV) transplantation. Neurological function of rats was evaluated using neurological deficit scores (NDSs) and examined for brain pathology. Serum S100B and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels and cortical proinflammatory cytokines were measured to evaluate brain injury. Pyroptosis-related proteins in the cortex after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were measured using western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. Transplanted BMSCs were tracked using bioluminescence imaging. Results showed significantly better neurological function and neuropathological damage after transplantation with HP-BMSCs. In addition, HP-BMSCs reduced levels of pyroptosis-related proteins in the rat cortex after CPR and significantly reduced levels of biomarkers for brain injury. Mechanistically, HP-BMSCs alleviated brain injury by reducing the expressions of HMGB1, TLR4, NF-κB p65, p38 MAPK and JNK in the cortex. Our study demonstrated that hypoxic preconditioning could enhance the efficacy of BMSCs in alleviating post-resuscitation cortical pyroptosis. This effect may be related to the regulation of the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB, MAPK signalling pathways.

Challenge and Strategies in Room Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries: A Comparison with Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Metal-sulfur batteries exhibit great potential as next-generation rechargeable batteries due to the low sulfur cost and high theoretical energy density. Sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries present higher feasibility of long-term development than lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries in technoeconomic and geopolitical terms. Both lithium and sodium are alkali metal elements with body-centered cubic structures, leading to similar physical and chemical properties and exposing similar issues when employed as the anode in metal-sulfur batteries. Indeed, some inspiration for mechanism researches and strategies in Na-S systems comes from the more mature Li-S systems. However, the dissimilarities in microscopic characteristics determine that Na-S is not a direct Li-S analogue. Herein, the daunting challenges derived by the differences of fundamental characteristics in Na-S and Li-S systems are discussed. And the corresponding strategies in Na-S batteries are reviewed. Finally, general conclusions and perspectives toward the research direction are presented based on the dissimilarities between both systems. This review attempts to provide important insights to facilitate the assimilation of the available knowledge on Li-S systems for accelerating the development of Na-S batteries on the basis of their dissimilarities.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with coronary heart disease risk in adults: A population-based study.

The purpose of this study was to look at any connections that could exist between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and coronary heart disease. We performed a cross-sectional research of 13732 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who were 40 or older. Multivariate logistic regression models investigated the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio levels and coronary heart disease risk. To investigate potential nonlinear connections, smoothed curve fitting was used. When a nonlinear relationship was discovered, the inflexion point was determined using a recursive method. After controlling for relevant confounders, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was independently linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease (OR = 1.74, 95% CI:1.30-2.33, P = 0.0002). Subgroup analyses showed statistically significant positive associations between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and coronary heart disease risk in women (OR = 1.25, 95% CI:1.09-1.43), participants 60 years of age and older (OR = 1.09, 95% CI:1.00-1.19), smoking status for every day or not at all (OR = 1.23, 95% CI:1.00-1.52; OR = 1.09, 95% CI:1.00-1.19), alcohol use status for moderate alcohol use (OR = 1.11, 95% CI:1.00-1.22), body mass index >30 kg/m2 (OR = 1.42, 95% CI:1.10-1.82), hypertensive (OR = 1.11, 95% CI:1.02-1.22), and individuals without diabetes (OR = 1.17, 95% CI:1.06-1.31). A positive correlation between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio levels and coronary heart disease risk was also seen by smoothing curve fitting, with an inflexion point of 1.08 that was statistically significant (P<0.05). Our research shows elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio levels are linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.

Association of serum albumin levels and stroke risk in adults over 40 years: A population-based study.

This study assessed the relationship between serum albumin levels and adult stroke risk. From the 2009 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we performed a cross-sectional study with 17,303 participants who were 40 years of age or higher. A multivariate logistic regression model investigated serum albumin levels and stroke. To investigate apparent nonlinear connections, smoothed curve fitting was used. When a nonlinear relationship was discovered, the inflection point was determined using a recursive method. Serum albumin levels were significantly and inversely linked with the risk of stroke after controlling for possible variables [odds ratio 0.02, 95% confidence interval (0.00, 0.18), P = .0003]. An examination of subgroups revealed that the inverse relationship between serum albumin levels and risk of stroke was statistically significant in men, participants under 60 years old, non-diabetic participants, and hypertensive participants. Serum albumin levels and the risk of stroke were negatively correlated. An increased risk of stroke was linked to lower serum albumin levels.

Construction of a prediction model for rebleeding in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of rebleeding in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) remains despite advances in intervention approaches. Therefore, early prediction of the risk of rebleeding could help to greatly reduce the mortality rate in these patients. We aim to develop and validate a new prediction model to predict the probability of rebleeding in patients with AUGIB. METHODS: A total of 1170 AUGIB patients who completed the procedure of emergency gastroscopy within 48 h of admission were included. Logistic regression analyses were performed to construct a new prediction model. A receiver operating characteristic curve, a line graph, and a calibration and decision curve were used to assess the predictive performance of our new prediction model and compare its performance with that of the AIMS65 scoring system to determine the predictive value of our prediction model. RESULTS: A new prediction model was constructed based on Lactic acid (LAC), neutrophil percentage (NEUTP), platelet (PLT), albumin (ALB), and D-DIMER. The AUC values and their 95% confidence interval (CI) for the new prediction model and the AIMS65 score were 0.746 and 0.619, respectively, and 0.697-0.795 and 0.567-0.670, respectively. In the training group, the C index values based on the prediction model and the AIMS65 scoring system were 0.720 and 0.610, respectively. In the validation group, the C index values based on the prediction model and the AIMS65 scoring system were 0.828 and 0.667, respectively. The decision and calibration curve analysis also showed that the prediction model was superior to the AIMS65 scoring system in terms of accuracy of prediction, consistency, and net clinical benefit. CONCLUSION: The prediction model can predict the probability of rebleeding in AUGIB patients after endoscopic hemostasis therapy.

Hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells protect neurons from cardiac arrest-induced pyroptosis.

JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202504000-00027/figure1/v/2024-07-06T104127Z/r/image-tiff Cardiac arrest can lead to severe neurological impairment as a result of inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation neurological damage. Hypoxic preconditioning has been shown to improve migration and survival of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and reduce pyroptosis after cardiac arrest, but the specific mechanisms by which hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells protect against brain injury after cardiac arrest are unknown. To this end, we established an in vitro co-culture model of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and oxygen-glucose deprived primary neurons and found that hypoxic preconditioning enhanced the protective effect of bone marrow stromal stem cells against neuronal pyroptosis, possibly through inhibition of the MAPK and nuclear factor κB pathways. Subsequently, we transplanted hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricle after the return of spontaneous circulation in an 8-minute cardiac arrest rat model induced by asphyxia. The results showed that hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells significantly reduced cardiac arrest-induced neuronal pyroptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial damage, whereas knockdown of the liver isoform of phosphofructokinase in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells inhibited these effects. To conclude, hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells offer a promising therapeutic approach for neuronal injury following cardiac arrest, and their beneficial effects are potentially associated with increased expression of the liver isoform of phosphofructokinase following hypoxic preconditioning.