Competitive Risk Analysis of Prognosis in Older Adults with Sigmoid Colon Adenocarcinoma: A Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to employ a competing risk model based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to identify prognostic factors for elderly individuals with sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma (SCA) and compare them with the classic Cox proportional hazards model. METHODS: We extracted data from elderly patients diagnosed with SCA registered in the SEER database between 2010 and 2015. Univariate analysis was conducted using cumulative incidence functions and Gray's test, while multivariate analysis was performed using both the Fine-Gray and Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Among the 10,712 eligible elderly patients diagnosed with SCA, 5595 individuals passed away: 2987 due to sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma and 2608 from other causes. The results of one-way Gray's test showed that age, race, marital status, AJCC stage, differentiation grade, tumor size, surgical status, liver metastasis status, lung metastasis status, brain metastasis status, radiotherapy status, and chemotherapy status all affected the prognosis of SCA (P < .05). Multivariate analysis showed that sex, age, race, marital status, and surgical status affected the prognosis of SCA (P < .05). Multifactorial Fine-Gray analysis revealed that key factors influencing the prognosis of SCA patients include age, race, marital status, AJCC stage, grade classification, surgical status, tumor size, liver metastasis, lung metastasis, and chemotherapy status (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Data from the SEER database were used to more accurately estimate CIFs for sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma-specific mortality and prognostic factors using competing risk models.

Long non-coding RNA PFI inhibits apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells to alleviate lung injury via miR-328-3p/Creb1 axis.

Acute lung injury (ALI), a common clinical type of critical illness, is an acute hypoxic respiratory insufficiency caused by the damage of alveolar epithelial cells and capillary endothelial cells. In a previous study, we reported a novel lncRNA, lncRNA PFI, which could protect against pulmonary fibrosis in pulmonary fibroblasts. The present study demonstrated that lncRNA PFI was downregulated in alveolar epithelial cell of mice injury lung tissues, and further investigated the role of lncRNA PFI in regulating inflammation-induced alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis. Overexpression of lncRNA PFI could partially abrogated bleomycin induced type II AECs injured. Subsequently, bioinformatic prediction revealed that lncRNA PFI might directly bind to miR-328-3p, and further AGO-2 RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay confirmed their binding relationship. Furthermore, miR-328-3p promoted apoptosis in MLE-12 cells by limiting the activation of the Creb1, a protein correlated with cell apoptosis, whereas AMO-328-3p ablated the pro-apoptosis effect of silencing lncRNA PFI in MLE-12 cells. While miR-328-3p could also ablate the function of lncRNA PFI in bleomycin treated human lung epithelial cells. Enhanced expression of lncRNA PFI reversed the LPS-induced lung injury in mice. Overall, these data reveal that lncRNA PFI mitigated acute lung injury through miR-328-3p/Creb1 pathway in alveolar epithelial cells.

The impact of donor diabetes on recipient postoperative complications, renal function, and survival rate in deceased donor kidney transplantation: a single-center analysis.

As the global incidence of diabetes rises and diagnoses among younger patients increase, transplant centers worldwide are encountering more organ donors with diabetes. This study examined 80 donors and 160 recipients, including 30 donors with diabetes (DD) and their 60 recipients (DDR). The control group comprised 50 non-diabetic donors (ND) and 100 recipients (NDR). We analyzed clinical, biochemical, and pathological data for both diabetic and control groups, using logistic regression to identify risk factors for delayed graft function (DGF) after kidney transplantation. Results showed that pre-procurement blood urea nitrogen levels were significantly higher in DD [18.20 ± 10.63 vs. 10.86 ± 6.92, p = 0.002] compared to ND. Renal pathological damage in DD was notably more severe, likely contributing to the higher DGF incidence in DDR compared to NDR. Although DDR had poorer renal function during the first three months post-transplant, both groups showed similar renal function thereafter. No significant differences were observed in 1-year or 3-year mortality rates or graft failure rates between DDR and NDR. Notably, according to the Renal Pathology Society (RPS) grading system, kidneys from diabetic donors with a grade > IIb are associated with significantly lower postoperative survival rates. Recipient gender [OR: 5.452 (1.330-22.353), p = 0.013] and pre-transplant PRA positivity [OR: 34.879 (7.698-158.030), p < 0.001] were identified as independent predictors of DGF in DDR. In conclusion, transplant centers may consider utilizing kidneys from diabetic donors, provided they are evaluated pathologically, without adversely impacting recipient survival and graft failure rates.

Start with muscle mass or muscle strength in diagnosis and management of sarcopenia? A systematic review of guidance documents.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia has garnered extensive attention in clinical practice since its high prevalence and significant impact on clinical outcomes. Multiple organizations have published guidance documents on sarcopenia, offering evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice and/or research. We aimed to appraise the methodological quality of the included documents and synthesize available recommendations for the screening, diagnosis, and intervention of sarcopenia. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a search on PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, guideline database, and guideline organizations and professional societies websites for clinical practices, consensus statements and position papers in terms of sarcopenia, muscle atrophy or muscle loss published before April 17, 2023. The AGREE II instrument was used by three independent reviewers to assess the methodological quality of these documents. RESULTS: Thirty-six guidance documents published between 2010 and 2023 were included. Seven documents fulfilled ≥ 50% of all the AGREE II domains. Seven underwent a Delphi process and six graded the strength of the recommendations. The process of screening (n=21), early diagnosis of sarcopenia (n=12), diagnosis of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia (n=10), and management (n=21) were increasingly recommended. SARC-F (n=14) was the most recommended screening tool, and the assessment of muscle function was considered the first step in diagnosing sarcopenia. The management strategy for both age-related and disease-related sarcopenia mainly focused on exercise and nutrition intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The guidance documents have provided referential recommendations that have great guiding significance. But the inconsistency in recommendations and variation in methodological rigour suggests that high-quality evidence is lacking yet.

Validity of the modified versions of SARC-F+EBM for sarcopenia screening and diagnosis in China: the PPLSS study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is recommended by Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia to early identify people at risk for sarcopenia using simple screening tools like SARC-F. The modified version SARC-F+EBM showed higher diagnostic performance. However, this cut-off value of body mass index (BMI) remained uncertain to be used in Chinese population. In this study, we used appropriate BMI recommended for Chinese older population and further modified SARC-F+EBM by combining calf circumference. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Diagnostic tests were performed and the receiver operating characteristics analyses were conducted between the SARC-F, SARC-F+EBM (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 21 kg/m2), SARC-F+EBM (CN) (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 22 kg/m2), SARC-CalF and SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 22 kg/m2) in 1660 community-dwelling participants aged ≥ 65 years from China. RESULTS: The participants had an average age of 71.7±5.1 years, of which 56.8% were women. All the modified models could enhance the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of original SARC-F (all p<0.001). The SARC-F+EBM (CN) also showed a significantly higher sensitivity of 47.4% (p<0.001) and an AUC of 0.809 (p=0.005) than SARC-F+EBM. SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) was validated to be of great diagnostic value of the highest AUC of 0.88 among these sarcopenia screening tools, including SARC-F, SARC-CalF and SARC-F+EBM (CN) (all p<0.001). Using this study population as a reference, the optimal cut-off value of SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) is ≥12 points, with a sensitivity of 79.3% and a specificity of 80.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The SARC-F+EBM (CN) and SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) could enhance the diagnostic performance of SARC-F and SARC-F+EBM and are suitable sarcopenia screening tools for Chinese population.

Mechanism of ASK1 involvement in liver diseases and related potential therapeutic targets: A critical pathway molecule worth investigating.

Since the discovery of apoptosis signal-regulated kinase 1 (ASK1), the signal transduction mechanism and pathophysiological process involved in its regulation have been continuously revealed. Many previous studies have identified that ASK1 is involved and plays a critical role in the development of diseases affecting the nervous, cardiac, renal, and other systems. As a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinase, ASK1 mediates apoptosis, necrosis, inflammation, and other pathological processes by activating its downstream c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/p38 MAPK. Owing to the important role of ASK1, an increasing number of studies in recent years have focused on its status in liver-related diseases. In this paper, we review the mechanisms and targets of ASK1 in liver-related diseases to emphasize its important role in the development of liver disease.

Bioactive dipeptides enhance the tolerance of lager yeast to ethanol-oxidation cross-stress by regulating the multilevel defense system.

Although high gravity brewing technology has been widely used for beer industries due to its economic benefits, yeast cells are subjected to multiple environmental stresses throughout the fermentation process. Eleven bioactive dipeptides (LH, HH, AY, LY, IY, AH, PW, TY, HL, VY, FC) were selected to evaluate their effects on cell proliferation, cell membrane defense system, antioxidant defense system and intracellular protective agents of lager yeast against ethanol-oxidation cross-stress. Results showed that the multiple stresses tolerance and fermentation performance of lager yeast were enhanced by bioactive dipeptides. Cell membrane integrity was improved by bioactive dipeptides through altering the structure of macromolecular compounds of the cell membrane. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation was significantly decreased by bioactive dipeptides, especially for FC, decreasing by 33.1%, compared with the control. The decrease of ROS was closely related to the increase of mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular antioxidant enzyme activities including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD), and glycerol level. In addition, bioactive dipeptides could regulate the expression of key genes (GPD1, OLE1, SOD2, PEX11, CTT1, HSP12) to enhance the multilevel defense systems under ethanol-oxidation cross-stress. Therefore, bioactive dipeptides should be potentially efficient and feasible bioactive ingredients to improve the multiple stresses tolerance of lager yeast during high gravity fermentation.

NCOA7 Regulates Growth and Metastasis of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma via MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway.

NCOA7 is a nuclear receptor coactivator that is downregulated in a variety of cancers. However, the expression and prognostic significance of NCOA7 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remain unknown. The expression of NCOA7 in ccRCC tissues was analyzed using bioinformatics analysis, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Kaplan-Meier analysis, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and clinicopathological correlation analysis were used to assess the predictive power of NCOA7. Overexpression function tests were conducted in cells and mouse models to clarify the function and mechanism of NCOA7 in inhibiting the progression of ccRCC. NCOA7 expression was downregulated in all three subtypes of renal cell carcinoma, and only had significant prognostic value for patients with ccRCC. NCOA7 overexpression inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of ccRCC cells in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, NCOA7 inhibited the MAPK/ERK pathway to regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and apoptosis, thereby inhibiting the progression of ccRCC. NCOA7 inhibits tumor growth and metastasis of ccRCC through the MAPK/ERK pathway, thus indicating its potential as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for ccRCC.

Global Transcriptomic Analyses Provide New Insight into the Molecular Mechanisms of Endocarp Formation and Development in Iron Walnut (Juglans sigillata Dode).

Iron walnut (Juglans sigillata Dode) is a native species in southwestern China that exhibits variation in both fruit morphology and shell thickness. However, the underlying molecular processes controlling hardened endocarp development in walnut has not yet been reported. Here, we generated transcriptional profiles of iron walnut endocarp at three developmental stages using "Dapao", the most common commercial variety. Using pairwise comparisons between these three stages, a total of 8555 non-redundant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and more than one-half of the total DEGs exhibited significant differential expression in stage I as compared with stage II or stage III, suggesting that the first stage may ultimately determine the final characteristics of the mature walnut shell. Furthermore, in the clustering analysis of the above DEGs, 3682, 2349, and 2388 genes exhibited the highest expression in stages I, II, and III, respectively. GO enrichment analysis demonstrated that the major transcriptional variation among the three developmental stages was caused by differences in cell growth, plant hormones, metabolic process, and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Namely, using the tissue-specific expression analysis and a gene co-expression network, we identified MADS-box transcription factor JsiFBP2 and bHLH transcription factor JsibHLH94 as candidate regulators of endocarp formation in the early stage, and JsiNAC56 and JsiMYB78 might play key roles in regulating the lignification process of endocarp in the late stage. This study provides useful information for further research to dissect the molecular mechanisms governing the shell formation and development of iron walnut.

A Study of Preparation and Characterization of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Coated Copper Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution.

We have developed a new solution-phase chemical reduction method for the synthesis of poly(vinyl alcohol) coated copper nanoparticles in aqueous solution. Copper nitrate is used as the precursor, sodium hypophosphite as the reducing agent, and poly(vinyl alcohol) as the coating agent. The synthesis of copper nanoparticles could be completed within several hours and the copper nanoparticles in powder form could be stored within one week in ambient condition. In Ar atmosphere, the complete thermal decomposition temperature of coated layer was lower than 450 °C. The antioxidative properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) coated copper nanoparticles were evaluated compared to that of polyvinylpyrrolidone coated copper nanoparticles.

Preparation and Characterization of a Polyclonal Antibody against Human Actin Filament-Associated Protein-120 kD.

Actin filament-associated protein-120kD (AFAP-120) is an alternatively spliced isoform of actin filament-associated protein-110kD (AFAP-110) and contains an additional neuronal insert (NINS) fragment in addition to identical domains to the AFAP-110. Unlike AFAP-110 widely expressed in tissues, AFAP-120 is specifically expressed in the nervous system and plays a role in organizing dynamic actin structures during neuronal differentiation. However, anti-AFAP-120 antibody is still commercially unavailable, and this may hinder the function research for AFAP-120. In this study, we simultaneously used the ABCpred online server and the BepiPred 1.0 server to predict B-cell epitopes in the exclusive NINS sequence of human AFAP-120 protein, and found that a 16aa-peptide sequence was the consensus epitope predicted by both tools. This peptide was chemically synthesized and used as an immunogen to develop polyclonal antibody against AFAP-120 (anti-AFAP-120). The sensitivity and specificity of anti-AFAP-120 were analyzed with immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence assays. Our results indicated that anti-AFAP-120 could react with over-expressed and endogenous human AFAP-120 protein under denatured condition, but not with human AFAP-110 protein. Moreover, native human AFAP-120 protein could also be recognized by the anti-AFAP-120 antibody. These results suggested that the prepared anit-AFAP-120 antibody would be a useful tool for studying the biochemical and biological functions of AFAP-120.

Three reversible polymorphic copper(I) complexes triggered by ligand conformation: insights into polymorphic crystal habit and luminescent properties.

Three luminescent polymorphs based on a new copper(I) complex Cu(2-QBO)(PPh3)PF6 (1, PPh3 = triphenylphosphine, 2-QBO = 2-(2'-quinolyl)benzoxazole) have been synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis, elemental analyses, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Each polymorph can reversibly convert from one to another through appropriate procedures. Interestingly, such interconversion can be distinguished by their intrinsic crystal morphologies and colors (namely α, dark yellow plate, ß, orange block, γ, light yellow needle) as well as photoluminescent (PL) properties. X-ray crystal structure analyses of these three polymorphs show three different supramolecular structures from 1D to 3D, which are expected to be responsible for the formation of three different crystal morphologies such as needle, plate, and block. Combination of the experimental data with DFT calculations on these three polymorphs reveals that the polymorphic interconversion is triggered by the conformation isomerization of the 2-QBO ligand and can be successfully controlled by the polarity of the process solvents (affecting the molecular dipole moment) and thermodynamics (affecting the molecular total energy). It is also found that the different crystal colors of polymorphs and their PL properties are derived from different θ values (dihedral angle between benzoxazolyl and quinolyl group of the 2-QBO ligand) and P-Cu-P angles based on TD-DFT calculations. Moreover, an interesting phase interconversion between γ and ß has also been found under different temperature, and this result is consistent with the DFT calculations in which the total energy of ß is larger than that of γ. This polymorphism provides a good model to study the relationship between the structure and the physical properties in luminescent copper(I) complexes as well as some profound insights into their PL properties.

[Development of a High Power Green Laser Therapeutic Equipment for Hyperplasia of Prostate].

The basic theory of high power green laser equipment for prostate hyperplasia therapy and the components of the system developed are introduced. Considering the requirements of the clinical therapy, the working process of the high power green laser apparatus are designed and the laser with stable output at 120 W is achieved. The controlling hardware and application software are developed, and the safety step is designed. The high power green laser apparatus manufactured with characteristics of stable output, multifunctional and friendly interface provides a choices of prostate hyperplasia therapy for using nationalization instrument.

Potassium Chloride as an Effective Alternative to Sodium Chloride in Delaying the Thermal Aggregation of Liquid Whole Egg.

The potential of potassium chloride (KCl) to be used as a substitute for sodium chloride (NaCl) was studied by monitoring the effects of salt treatment on thermal behavior, aggregation kinetics, rheological properties, and protein conformational changes. The results show that the addition of KCl can improve solubility, reduce turbidity and particle size, and positively influence rheological parameters such as apparent viscosity, consistency coefficient (K value), and fluidity index (n). These changes indicate delayed thermal denaturation. In addition, KCl decreased the content of ß-sheet and random coil structures and increased the content of α-helix and ß-turn structures. The optimal results were obtained with 2% KCl addition, leading to an increase in Tp up to 85.09 °C. The correlation results showed that Tp was positively correlated with solubility, α-helix and ß-turn but negatively correlated with ΔH, turbidity, ß-sheet and random coil. Overall, compared to NaCl, 2% KCl is more effective in delaying the thermal aggregation of LWE, and these findings lay a solid theoretical foundation for the study of sodium substitutes in heat-resistant liquid egg products.

Construction of an autophagy-related genes risk model as predicting prognosis: BAG1 suppresses growth of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is increasing annually. While the cure rate and prognosis of early ccRCC are promising, the 5-year survival rate of patients with metastatic ccRCC is below 12%. Autophagy disfunction is closely related to infection, cancer, neurodegeneration and aging. Nevertheless, there has been limited exploration of the association between autophagy and ccRCC through bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: A novel risk model of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) was constructed to predict the prognosis of patients with ccRCC and guide the individualized treatment to some extent. Relevant data samples were obtained from the TCGA database, and ccRCC-related ARGs were identified by Pearson correlation analysis, leading to the establishment of a risk model covering 10 ccRCC-related ARGs. Many indicators were used to assess the accuracy of the risk model. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the risk model had high accuracy, indicating that the risk model could predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Moreover, the findings revealed significant differences about immune and metabolic features in low- and high-risk groups. The study also found that BAG1 within the risk model was closely related to the prognosis of ccRCC and an independent risk factor. In vitro and in vivo experiments validated for the first time that BAG1 could suppress the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ccRCC. CONCLUSION: The construction of ARGs risk model, can well predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients, and provide guidance for individual therapy to patients. It was also found that BAG1 has significant prognostic value for ccRCC patients and acts as a tumor suppressor gene in ccRCC. These findings have crucial implications for the prognosis and treatment of ccRCC patients.

Sentrin-specific protease 1 maintains mitochondrial homeostasis through targeting the deSUMOylation of sirtuin-3 to alleviate oxidative damage induced by hepatic ischemia/reperfusion.

Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (HIRI) represents a prevalent pathophysiological process that imposes a substantial economic burden in clinical practice, especially in liver surgery. Sentrin-specific protease 1 (SENP1) is a crucial enzyme involved in the regulation of SUMOylation, and is related to various diseases. However, the role of SENP1 in HIRI remains unexplored. Here, we confirmed that SENP1 actively participated in modulating the oxidative damage induced by HIRI. Notably, SENP1 functioned by maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. Further mechanistic exploration indicated that the protective mitochondrial protein sirtuin-3 (Sirt3) was inactivated by SUMOylation during HIRI, which was reversed by SENP1. Overexpression of SENP1 could restore mitochondrial function, mitigate oxidative stress and attenuated apoptosis through recovering the expression of Sirt3 during HIRI. Nevertheless, 3-TYP, an inhibitor of Sirt3, could eliminate the therapeutic effects brought by overexpression of SENP1. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that SENP1 mediated the deSUMOylation of Sirt3 and maintained mitochondrial homeostasis, thus alleviating HIRI induced oxidative damage. SENP1 might be a promising therapeutic target for HIRI.

Phytochemicals, antioxidant capacities and volatile compounds changes in fermented spicy Chinese cabbage sauces treated by thermal and non-thermal technologies.

To extend shelf life of fermented spicy Chinese cabbage sauce at room temperature, the effects of electron beam irradiation (EBI), high pressure processing (HPP), pasteurization (PT) and autoclave sterilization (AS) treatments on the colony counts of Lactobacillus plantarum, phytochemicals, antioxidant activities and volatile compounds were investigated. Results showed that thermal and non-thermal treatments could significantly decrease the colony counts of Lactobacillus plantarum, in which EBI and AS treatments inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum thoroughly. EBI and HPP treatments were superior to PT and AS treatments in terms of volatile compounds, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities. The total contents of volatile compounds in sauces treated by EBI and HPP were significantly increased by 43.92%-61.87% and 71.53%-84.46%, respectively, and the new formed substance 2,3-butanedione endowed sauces with sweet and creamy aroma. In addition, HPP treatment improved the extractable contents of total phenolics and carotenoids, retained capsicum red pigment content, and significantly enhanced antioxidant capacities of sauces. Sauce treated by HPP at 200 MPa exhibited the highest total carotenoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and FRAP, increasing by 9.27%, 2.24% and 16.13%, respectively, compared with CK. EBI treatment exhibited higher total phenolic content and FRAP, which positively depended on the dose. Therefore, HPP and EBI treatments were suggested as potential technologies to improve shelf-life stability and volatile compounds of fermented spicy Chinese cabbage sauce.

Validation of the kidney donor profile index (KDPI) for deceased donor kidney transplants in China.

BACKGROUND: The kidney donor profile index (KDPI) evaluates kidney donor's age, height, weight, ethnicity, cause of death, high blood pressure, diabetes, exposure to hepatitis C and estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR). Kidneys with lower KDPI scores are expected to function longer that those with higher KPDI values. The applicability of KDPI score in Chinese kidney transplant donation has not yet been validated. This study evaluated the prognostic value of KDPI score in Chinese kidney transplant patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 184 deceased donors and 353 corresponding kidney transplant patients at the Organ Transplantation Department of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University between 2018 and 2021. The donors and recipients were stratified into four groups based on their KDPI score: KDPI 85-100, KDPI 60-84, KDPI 21-59, and KDPI 0-20. RESULTS: As expected, the KDPI 85-100 group was associated with a poor short-term renal function (both postoperative creatinine and eGFR with P > 0.05), a higher incidence of delayed graft function (DGF; 25.5% for KDPI 85-100 group vs. 10.2% for KDPI 60-84 group vs. 5.4% for KDPI 21-59 group vs. 0 for KDPI 0-20 group, all P > 0.05). Furthermore, the same groups showed worse 3-year patient survival rate: 86.3% for KDPI 85-100 group vs. 97.01% for KDPI 60-84 group vs. 97.83% for KDPI 21-59 group vs. 100% for KDPI 0-20 group, all P > 0.05); and renal survival rate: 82.6% for KDPI 85-100 group vs. 92.99% KDPI 60-84 group vs.97.83% for KDPI 21-59 group vs. 100% for KDPI 0-20 group, all P > 0.05). Our analysis showed that the KDPI score had a good predictive value for the survival of kidney transplants and patients in our center (area under the curve: 0.728 and 0.76, P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We recommend that the KDPI scoring system can be employed as an effective tool to predict kidney transplantation outcomes in deceased donation in China.

Tetrasulfide bond boosts the anti-tumor efficacy of dimeric prodrug nanoassemblies.

Dimeric prodrug nanoassemblies (DPNAs) stand out as promising strategies for improving the efficiency and safety of chemotherapeutic drugs. The success of trisulfide bonds (-SSS-) in DPNAs makes polysulfide bonds a worthwhile focus. Here, we explore the comprehensive role of tetrasulfide bonds (-SSSS-) in constructing superior DPNAs. Compared to trisulfide and disulfide bonds, tetrasulfide bonds endow DPNAs with superlative self-assembly stability, prolonged blood circulation, and high tumor accumulation. Notably, the ultra-high reduction responsivity of tetrasulfide bonds make DPNAs a highly selective "tumor bomb" that can be ignited by endogenous reducing agents in tumor cells. Furthermore, we present an "add fuel to the flames" strategy to intensify the reductive stress at tumor sites by replenishing exogenous reducing agents, making considerable progress in selective tumor inhibition. This work elucidates the crucial role of tetrasulfide bonds in establishing intelligent DPNAs, alongside the combination methodology, propelling DPNAs to new heights in potent cancer therapy.

Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to skeletal muscle mass and strength among adults: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES.

Background: Previous studies revealed that vitamin K might help maintain muscle homeostasis, but this association has received little attention. We aimed to explore the associations of vitamin K intake with skeletal muscle mass and strength. Methods: We included cross-sectional data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2011-2018). Vitamin K intake was assessed via 24-h recall. Covariate-adjusted multiple linear regression and restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate the associations of dietary vitamin K intake with skeletal muscle mass and strength, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and handgrip dynamometer, respectively. Results: Dietary vitamin K intake was positively associated with skeletal muscle mass in males (ß = 0.05747, p = 0.0204) but not in females. We also revealed a positive association between dietary vitamin K intake and handgrip strength within the range of 0-59.871 µg/d (P nonlinear = 0.049). However, beyond this threshold, increasing vitamin K intake did not cause additional handgrip strength improvements. Conclusion: We provided evidence for a positive relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and skeletal muscle mass in males. Moreover, our study revealed a nonlinear relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and handgrip strength, highlighting an optimal intake range.