The association between uric acid and erectile dysfunction in US adults: NHANES 2001-2004.

BACKGROUND: -Recent evidence suggests that hyperuricemia may act as independent risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED), in addition to the already established factors. The current evidence supporting this relationship remains insufficient. METHODS AND RESULTS: -A total of 3,810 participants from the NHANES pool between 2001 and 2004 were included in our study, comprising 1,093 individuals with ED and 2,717 individuals without ED. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between uric acid (UA) and the prevalence of ED. In the fully adjusted model, no significant association was observed between UA and ED (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.84-1.24), and no significant differences were noted among the various UA levels (p = 0.5). In our sensitivity analyses, employing a stricter definition for ED, no significant results were found in the fully adjusted model (OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.60-1.19). Furthermore, no significant differences were observed among the various UA levels (p = 0.083). CONCLUSIONS: -Our study did not establish a correlation between UA levels and ED. Nonetheless, further research with larger sample cohorts is required to verify these findings.

One and five-year efficacy of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) abbrevo and TVT-obturator in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical interventions are more effective than nonsurgical approaches in providing a cure for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). In this study, we aimed to assess the benefits of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) abbrevo by comparing its efficacy and complications to those of TVT obturator. METHODS AND RESULTS: 49 and 47 patients at The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between January 2013 and December 2016 were included in the TVT-O and TVT-A groups, respectively. We evaluate the success rate and perioperative complications associated with TVT-O and TVT-A. A questionnaire that utilized the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) Scale was employed to assess the impact of surgery. Patients were followed up at 1 year, and 5 years after surgery. There were no statistically significant differences found in the efficacy of the TVT-A group and TVT-O group during both the one-year (p = 0.4) and five-year (p = 0.32) follow-up periods. In the period of one-year follow-up, 95.9% (n = 47) of patients in the TVT-O group and 95.8% (n = 45) of patients in the TVT-A group demonstrated improvement. During the period of five-year follow-up, 87.8% (n = 43) of patients in the TVT-O group and 93.6% (n = 44) of patients in the TVT-A group demonstrated improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our findings, TVT-A and TVT-O procedures exhibited similarly high success rates and low frequencies of complications.

Identification and analysis of microRNA editing events in recurrent bladder cancer based on RNA sequencing: MicroRNA editing level is a potential novel biomarker.

Background: With the continued advancement of RNA-seq (RNA-sequencing), microRNA (miRNA) editing events have been demonstrated to play an important role in different malignancies. However, there is yet no description of the miRNA editing events in recurrent bladder cancer. Objective: To identify and compare miRNA editing events in primary and recurrent bladder cancer, as well as to investigate the potential molecular mechanism and its impact on patient prognosis. Methods: We examined the mRNA and miRNA transcriptomes of 12 recurrent bladder cancer cases and 13 primary bladder cancer cases. The differentially expressed mRNA sequences were analyzed. Furthermore, we identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in recurrent bladder cancer. The Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analyses on DEGs and gene set enrichment analysis were performed. The consensus molecular subtype (CMS) classification of bladder cancer was identified using the Consensus MIBC package in R (4.1.0); miRNA sequences were then further subjected to differentially expressed analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. MiRNA editing events were identified using miRge3.0. miRDB and TargetScanHuman were used to predict the downstream targets of specific differentially edited or expressed miRNAs. The expression levels of miR-154-5p and ADAR were validated by RT-qPCR. Finally, survival and co-expression studies were performed on the TCGA-BLCA cohort. Results: First, the mRNA expression levels in recurrent bladder cancer changed significantly, supporting progression via related molecular signal pathways. Second, significantly altered miRNAs in recurrent bladder cancer were identified, with miR-154-5p showing the highest level of editing in recurrent bladder cancer and may up-regulate the expression levels of downstream targets HS3ST3A1, AQP9, MYLK, and RAB23. The survival analysis results of TCGA data revealed that highly expressed HS3ST3A1 and RAB23 exhibited poor prognosis. In addition, miR-154 editing events were found to be significant to CMS classification. Conclusion: MiRNA editing in recurrent bladder cancer was detected and linked with poor patient prognosis, providing a reference for further uncovering the intricate molecular mechanism in recurrent bladder cancer. Therefore, inhibiting A-to-I editing of miRNA may be a viable target for bladder cancer treatment, allowing current treatment choices to be expanded and individualized.

Role of gut microbiota in identification of novel TCM-derived active metabolites

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been extensively used to ameliorate diseases in Asia for over thousands of years. However, owing to a lack of formal scientific validation, the absence of information regarding the mechanisms underlying TCMs restricts their application. After oral administration, TCM herbal ingredients frequently are not directly absorbed by the host, but rather enter the intestine to be transformed by gut microbiota. The gut microbiota is a microbial community living in animal intestines, and functions to maintain host homeostasis and health. Increasing evidences indicate that TCM herbs closely affect gut microbiota composition, which is associated with the conversion of herbal components into active metabolites. These may significantly affect the therapeutic activity of TCMs. Microbiota analyses, in conjunction with modern multiomics platforms, can together identify novel functional metabolites and form the basis of future TCM research.

Aspirin Exposure and Mortality Risk among Prostate Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the ninth most common cause of cancer death globally. Many studies have investigated aspirin exposure and mortality risk among PCa patients, returning inconsistent results. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to explore the association between aspirin exposure and mortality risk among PCa patients and to investigate potential dose/duration/frequency-response relationships. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies published from 1980 to 2018 of PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched. We included 14 studies with 110,000 participants. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were pooled using random-effect models. Potential dose/duration/frequency-response relationships were evaluated for aspirin exposure and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) risk. We did not detect an association between the highest aspirin exposure and mortality risk (PCSM of prediagnostic aspirin exposure, OR: 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87-1. 07, I2= 0%; PCSM of postdiagnostic aspirin exposure, OR:0.92, 95% CI: 0.77-1.10, I2 = 56.9%; all-cause mortality [ACM] of prediagnostic aspirin exposure, OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.88-1.04, I2 = 9.4%; ACM of postdiagnostic aspirin exposure, OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.73-1.23, I2 = 88.9%). There was no significant dose/frequency-response association observed for aspirin exposure and PCSM risk. On duration-response analysis, we found that short-term postdiagnostic aspirin exposure (shorter than 2.5 years) increased the risk of PCSM. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that there is no association between aspirin exposure and PCSM risk. Nor is there an association between the highest aspirin exposure and ACM risk among PCa patients. More studies are needed for a further dose/duration/frequency-response meta-analysis.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is associated with all-cause mortality among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays a critical role in the development of acute kidney injury (AKI). Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a biomarker of systemic inflammation used to predict the prognostic outcome of several diseases. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate if NLR can be used as a biomarker to predict the mortality of AKI. METHODS AND RESULTS: Records of critically ill patients with AKI were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Database III version 1.3 (MIMIC-III v1.3). The primary outcome was 30-day mortality and the two secondary outcomes were in hospital and 90-day mortality. We used the Cox proportional hazards models to assess the association between different categories of NLR and outcomes. This analysis included data for 13,678 eligible subjects, with a total of 2,588 30-day, 2,224 in-hospital and 3,545 90-day deaths during the follow-up period. For 30-day mortality, an increased risk of mortality was associated with a higher level of NLR. The HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of upper tertile (NLR > 12.14) was 1.37 (1.17-1.60) in a multivariate model when compared with that of the lower tertile (NLR < 5.55). In the quintile analysis, we confirmed the upward trend with HR (95% CI) of the fifth quintile (NLR > 17.4) of 1.35 (1.08, 1.69) in a multivariate model compared to the first quintile (NLR < 3.82). A similar tendency was observed for 90-day mortality. In the analysis of in-hospital mortality, the HR of fifth quintile (NLR > 17.4) showed a slight decrease. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicates that a higher level of NLR is associated with increased risk of 30-day and 90-day mortality in AKI patients. The similar upward trend is not detected in analysis of in-hospital mortality.

Carbohydrate intake and the risk of prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading cause cancer among men worldwide. Many epidemiologic studies have reported an association between carbohydrate intake and PCa. However, the evidence from epidemiologic studies is inconsistent. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to explore the associations between carbohydrate intake and PCa risk and to investigate potential dose-response relationships. METHODS: We searched PubMed and EMBASE for studies published from 1980 to 2018. 21 studies were included with 98,739 participants and 11,573 cases. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were pooled using random-effect models. Potential dose-response relationships were evaluated for PCa risk. RESULTS: We did not detect an association about higher carbohydrate intake and PCa risk (OR:1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98-1. 26, I2 = 62.7%), nor association was detected about higher carbohydrate intake with advanced PCa risk (OR:0.95, 95% CI: 0.78-1.16, I2 = 14.1%) or non-advanced Pca risk (OR:1.01, 95% CI: 0.79-1.29, I2 = 64.4%). There was not a significant dose-response association observed for carbohydrate intake with PCa risk and advanced PCa risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis shows no association between carbohydrate intake and prostate cancer risk. Nor is association detected about carbohydrate intake with advanced or non-advanced Pca risk. More studies are needed for a further dose-response meta-analysis.

The relation between gallstone disease and cardiovascular disease.

Gallstone disease (GD) is a common digestive disorder that shares many risk factors with cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is an important public health issue that encompasses a large percentage of overall mortality. Several recent studies have suggested an association between GD and CVD, while others have not. In this report, we present a meta-analysis of cohort studies to assess the association between GD and CVD. We included eight studies published from 1980 to 2017, including nearly one million participants. The pooled relative risk (RR, 95% confidence interval [CI]) from the random-effects model associates with GD is 1.23 (95% CI: 1.17-1.30) for fatal and nonfatal CVD events. The pooled RR from the random-effects model of CVD events in female patients with GD is 1.24 (95% CI: 1.16-1.32). In male GD patients, the pooled RR from the random-effects model for CVD is 1.18 (95% CI: 1.06-1.31). Our meta-analysis demonstrates a substantially increased risk of fatal and nonfatal CVD events among patients with a medical history of GD. We suggest that interested investigators should further pursue the subject. In addition, both male and female patients with GD have a risk of CVD, and women have a higher risk than men.

Experimental studies of rhizoma Astilbes chinensis on its effects in abirritation, blood activation, cough relieving and sputum elimination / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of rhizoma Astilbes chinensis in abirritation, blood activation, cough relieving and sputum elimination.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The antalgic function of rhizoma A. chinensis was tested by hot-plate method and writhing reaction. The acute blood-stasis model rats were made by Injection of adrenaline hydrochloride along with stimulation by ice water. The effects of cough relieving and sputum elimination were observed by the ammonia water-induced tussive mice and excretion of phenol red in the airway of mice. The maximum tolerance dose of rhizoma A. chinensis was also determined during the acute toxicity test.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The data were analyzed for statistical significance by t-test, which shows that the decoction of rhizoma A. chinensis is significantly effective in reducing the frequency of licking behavior of mice on hot-plate and writhing response induced by acetic acid, improving the hemarheology of acute blood-stasis model rats, prolonging the latent period, reducing the frequency of cough induced byammonia, and in increasing the quantity of phenol red output from the trachea in mice. The result acute toxicity test shows that maximum tolerance dose of gastrogavage in mice was 400 g x kg(-1). Which was 666. 7 times of that clinically used for human.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Rhizoma A. chinensis has the effects of abirritation, blood activation, cough relieving and sputum elimination, and is safe in clinical application.</p>

The Present Status on Classification of Phytoplasmas / 微生物学通报

The history and present status of phytoplasma classification are introduced briefly in this paper.The newly classification methods and rules for the description of Candidatus species are reviewed.The key problems and direction on the classification and identification of phytoplasmas in China are discussed.