Associations between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, and abdominal obesity: a national retrospective cohort study.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) present notable health challenges, however, abdominal obesity has received scant attention despite its potential role in exacerbating these conditions. Thus, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys III (NHANES III) of the United States from 1988 to 1994 including 9161 participants, and mortality follow-up survey in 2019. Statistical analyze including univariable and multivariable Logistic and Cox regression models, and Mediation effect analyze were applied in study after adjustment for covariates. Our findings revealed that individuals with both abdominal obesity and MAFLD were more likely to be female, older and exhibit higher prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis (7.421% vs. 2.363%, p < 0.001), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (21.484% vs. 8.318%, p < 0.001) and CKD(30.306% vs. 16.068%, p < 0.001) compared to those with MAFLD alone. MAFLD (adjusted OR: 1.392, 95% CI 1.013-1.913, p = 0.041), abdominal obesity (adjusted OR 1.456, 95% CI 1.127-1.880, p = 0.004), abdominal obesity with MAFLD (adjusted OR 1.839, 95% CI 1.377-2.456, p < 0.001), advanced fibrosis(adjusted OR 1.756, 95% CI 1.178-2.619, p = 0.006) and T2DM (adjusted OR 2.365, 95% CI 1.758-3.183, p < 0.001) were independent risk factors of CKD. The abdominal obese MAFLD group had the highest all-cause mortality as well as mortality categorized by disease during the 30-year follow-up period. Indices for measuring abdominal obesity, such as waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and lipid accumulation product (LAP), elucidated a greater mediation effect of MAFLD on CKD compared to BMI on CKD (proportion mediation 65.23%,70.68%, 71.98%, respectively vs. 32.63%). In conclusion, the coexistence of abdominal obesity and MAFLD increases the prevalence and mortality of CKD, and abdominal obesity serves as a mediator in the association between MAFLD and CKD.

A macropinocytosis-related gene signature predicts the prognosis and immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Available treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common human malignancy with a low survival rate, remain unsatisfactory. Macropinocytosis (MPC), a type of endocytosis that involves the non-specific uptake of dissolved molecules, has been shown to contribute to HCC pathology; however, its biological mechanism remains unknown. Methods: The current study identified 27 macropinocytosis-related genes (MRGs) from 71 candidate genes using bioinformatics. The R software was used to create a prognostic signature model by filtering standardized mRNA expression data from HCC patients and using various methods to verify the reliability of the model and indicate immune activity. Results: The prognostic signature was constructed using seven MPC-related differentially expressed genes, GSK3B, AXIN1, RAC1, KEAP1, EHD1, GRB2, and SNX5, through LASSO Cox regression. The risk score was acquired from the expression of these genes and their corresponding coefficients. HCC patients in the discovery and validation cohorts were stratified, and the survival of low-risk score patients was improved in both cohorts. Time-dependent ROC analysis indicated that the model's prediction reliability was the highest in the short term. Subsequent immunologic analysis, including KEGG, located the immune action pathway of the differentially expressed genes in the direction of the cancer pathway, etc. Immune infiltration and immune checkpoint tests provided valuable guidance for future follow-up experiments. Conclusion: A risk model with MRGs was constructed to effectively predict HCC patient prognoses and suggest changes in the immune microenvironment during the disease process. The findings should benefit the development of a prognostic stratification and treatment strategy for HCC.

Unconventional gas-based bottom-up, meter-area-scale fabrication of hydrogen-bond free g-CN nanorod arrays and coupling layers with TiO2 toward high-efficiency photoelectrochemical performance.

Meter-scale uniform g-CN nanorod (NR) arrays were directly grown on an FTO glass using an unprecedented vacuum magnetic filtered arc ion plating system for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. The construction of the g-CN film is based on the substrate deposition of the direct reaction of ionized carbon and nitrogen species, a gas-based bottom-up approach, distinctly different from the traditional powder deposition and thermal vapor pathways. The g-CN film exhibits obvious advantages over conventional ones in the application of PEC: (1) direct reaction of C and N species allows the formation of the g-CN without intralayer hydrogen bonds, which significantly reduces intralayer photogenerated charge carriers transfer resistance; (2) the g-CN exhibits the NR array structure and comprises considerably numerous layers stacking by stacking and vertically standing on the FTO substrate, which facilitates the photogenerated charges transfer and increases the contact area with electrolyte; (3) the robust mechanical strength of the g-CN NR film with the FTO substrate not only favors the effective charge transport but also allows long-term practical application against abrasion; (4) the gas-based bottom-up approach enables the g-CN to easily couple with, including but not limited to, TiO2 NR array to form heterostructures to further improve charge separation.

Interface Manipulation to Improve Plasmon-Coupled Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting on α-Fe2 O3 Photoanodes.

The plasmon resonance effect of metal nanoparticles (NPs) offers a promising route to improve the solar energy conversion efficiency of semiconductors. In this study, it is revealed that hot electrons generated by the plasmon resonance effect of Au NPs tend to inject into the surface states instead of the conduction band of Fe2 O3 photoanodes, and then severe surface recombination occurs. Such an electron-transfer process seems to be independent of external applied potentials, but is sensitive to metal-semiconductor interface properties. Passivating the surface states of Fe2 O3 with a noncatalytic Al2 O3 layer can construct an effective resonant energy-transfer interface between Ti-doped Fe2 O3 (Ti-Fe2 O3 ) and Au NPs. In such a Ti-Fe2 O3 /Al2 O3 /Au electrode configuration, the enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting performance can be attributed to the following two factors: 1) in the non-light-responsive wavelength range of Au NPs, both the relaxing Fermi pinning effect of the Al2 O3 passivation layer and the higher work function of Au enlarge band bending; thus promoting the charge separation; and 2) in the light-responsive wavelength range of Au NPs, the effective resonant energy transfer contributes to light harvesting and conversion. The interface manipulation proposed herein may provide a new route to design efficient plasmonic PEC devices for energy conversion.