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IntroductionThe prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD-related deaths in patients with schizophrenia is high. An elevated risk of CVD has been associated with low heart rate variability (HRV). There is increasing evidence that fatty acid-binding protein (FABP)3 and FABP4 play roles in the development and progression of CVD. This study aimed to explore the association of circulating FABP3/FABP4 levels with HRV in patients with chronic schizophrenia.MethodsWe included 265 consecutive patients with chronic schizophrenia who attended a disease management program. We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the measurement of plasma concentrations of FABP3 and FABP4. Standard HRV was recorded at baseline following a standard protocol. Mean high- and low-frequency (HF/LF) HRV values were analyzed by tertile of FABP3 and FABP4 using one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis was performed to assess trends.ResultsA positive association between FABP3 and creatinine was found in multiple regression analysis. In addition, negative associations between levels of hematocrit, hemoglobin, HF HRV, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with FABP3 were also found. Moreover, positive associations between FABP4 with body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, and FABP3 were found. Furthermore, negative associations between levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, eGFR, and HF HRV with FABP4 were found. We also found a significant inverse association between FABP3 and HF HRV (p for trend = 0.008), and significant inverse associations between FABP4 with HF and LF HRV (p for trend = 0.007 and 0.017, respectively).DiscussionTogether, this suggests that elevated levels of FABP3 and FABP4 may be linked to health problems related to CVD in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

Background Breast cancer is the second most common malignancy globally and a leading cause of cancer death in women. Analysis of factors related to disease-free survival (DFS) has improved understanding of the disease and characteristics related to recurrence. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of DFS in patients with breast cancer to enable the identification of patients at high risk who may benefit from prevention interventions.Methods We retrospectively analyzed 559 women with breast cancer who underwent treatment between 2004 and 2022. The study endpoint was DFS (including local recurrence, regional recurrence, secondary breast cancer, or death from any cause). Baseline tumor-related characteristics, treatment-related characteristics, sociodemographic and biochemical data were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards analysis and receiving operating characteristic curves. The median DFS was 45 months (range, 2 to 225 months).Results Breast cancer recurred in 86 patients (15.4%). Regression analysis showed that age, body mass index, surgery type, T3-T4 clinical tumor stage, tumor grade 3, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage III, Ki67 ≥ 14%, estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative, chemotherapy, carcinoembryonic antigen, CA153, red cell distribution width (RDW)-standard deviation (SD), aspartate aminotransferase, estimated glomerular filtration rate, albumin, hemoglobin, RDW-coefficient of variation, and platelet, white blood cell, neutrophil and monocyte count were associated with DFS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that AJCC stage III, Ki67 ≥ 14%, albumin, platelet, and RDW-SD were independently associated with DFS. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that albumin ≤ 4.1 g/dl, platelet ≥ 253 10^3/µl, RDW-SD ≥ 44 fL were significantly reduced DFS in patients with breast cancer.Conclusions In addition to the traditional prognostic factors such as AJCC stage III and Ki67 ≥ 14%, preoperative a cutoff albumin value of ≤ 4.1 g/dl, a cutoff platelet value of ≥ 253 10^3/µl, and a cutoff RDW-SD value of ≥ 44 fL could significantly predict DFS in patients with breast cancer.

Heteroatoms-doped ultrathin carbon materials hold great promise for electrochemical energy application. Herein, we develop a salt-templating method to prepare three-dimensional Fe-N co-doped carbon (FeNPC) with ultrathin (~ 5-nm-thick) structural feature. The synthetic procedure involves the following steps: First, fabrication of nanoNaCl templates with uniform particle sizes (~500 nm) via one-pot solution synthesis. Second, fabrication of the precursor by encapsulating of NaCl nanoparticles via the in-situ polymerization of pyrrole monomers under vapor atmosphere. Last, FeNPC formation by subsequent pyrolysis and pickling. The optimized sample displays excellent performance as supercapacitors exhibiting 393.5 F g-1 at 1A g-1 in 6 M KOH. Furthermore, the symmetric supercapacitors assembled with the optimized sample show an energy density of 10.45 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 300 W kg-1 and outstanding cycling stability retaining 93% capacitance at 5A g-1 after 10000 cycles.

Background Liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) is widely expressed in hepatocytes and plays a role in lipid metabolism. It has been demonstrated to be overexpressed in different types of cancer; however, few studies have investigated the association between L-FABP and breast cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the association between plasma concentrations of L-FABP in breast cancer patients and the expression of L-FABP in breast cancer tissue. Method A total of 196 patients with breast cancer and 57 age-matched control subjects were studied. Plasma L-FABP concentrations were measured using ELISA in both groups. The expression of L-FABP in breast cancer tissue was examined using immunohistochemistry. Result The patients had higher plasma L-FABP levels than the controls (7.6 ng/mL (interquartile range 5.2–12.1) vs. 6.3 ng/mL (interquartile range 5.3–8.5), p = 0.008). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed an independent association between L-FABP and breast cancer, even after adjusting for known biomarkers. Moreover, the rates of pathologic stage T2+T3+T4, clinical stage III, positive HER-2 receptor status, and negative estrogen receptor status were significantly higher in the patients with an L-FABP level greater than the median. Furthermore, the L-FABP level gradually increased with the increasing stage. In addition, L-FABP was detected in the cytoplasm, nuclear, or both cytoplasm and nuclear of all breast cancer tissue examined, not in the normal tissue. Conclusions Plasma L-FABP levels were significantly higher in the patients with breast cancer than in the controls. In addition, L-FABP was expressed in breast cancer tissue, which suggests that L-FABP may be involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer.

In vivo imaging of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury remains an important challenge. We injected porous Ag/Au@SiO

We conducted this study to investigate the long-term outcomes of sulfonylurea (SU) use in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We used propensity-score matching to identify 6008 pairs of SU users and nonusers from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2017. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare the risks of mortality, cardiovascular events, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, invasive mechanical ventilation, bacterial pneumonia, lung cancer, and hypoglycemia between SU users and nonusers. In the matched cohorts, the mean follow-up time for SU users and nonusers was 6.57 and 5.48 years, respectively. Compared with nonusers, SU users showed significantly lower risks of mortality [aHR 0.53(0.48–0.58)], cardiovascular events [aHR 0.88(0.81–0.96)], non-invasive positive pressure ventilation [aHR 0.74(0.6–0.92)], invasive mechanical ventilation [aHR 0.57(0.5–0.66)], and bacterial pneumonia [aHR 0.78(0.7–0.87)]. A longer cumulative duration of SU use was associated with a lower risk of these outcomes. This nationwide cohort study demonstrated that SU use was associated with significantly lower risks of cardiovascular events, ventilation use, bacterial pneumonia, and mortality in patients with COPD and T2D. SU may be a suitable option for diabetes management in these patients.

Objectives: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been associated with an increased risks of corrected QT (QTc) prolongation and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), both of which are associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. Rotating night shift work and a higher risk of incident NAFLD have been reported in male steelworkers. This study aimed to investigate the association of the severity of NAFLD with a prolonged QTc interval and LVH in a large cohort of Chinese male steelworkers. Methods: We examined baseline data of 2998 male steel workers aged 26 to 71 years at two plants. All workers at both plants received regular health assessments, including 12-lead ECG and echocardiography. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed to evaluate the severity of NAFLD. QTc prolongation was defined as follows: normal ≤ 430 ms, borderline 431–450 ms, and abnormal ≥ 451 ms. LVH was defined as a left ventricular mass index (LVMI) >131 g/m2. Associations of NAFLD with an abnormal QTc interval and LVH were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The QTc interval and the LVMI were significantly correlated with the NAFLD fibrosis score, and the severity of NAFLD was correlated with an abnormal QTc interval and LVH (p for trend < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that in comparison to the workers without NAFLD, the odds ratios of having an abnormal QTc interval and LVH were 2.54 (95% CI: 1.22–5.39, p = 0.013) times and 2.23 (95% CI: 1.02–5.01, p = 0.044) times higher in the workers with moderate/severe NAFLD. Conclusions: NAFLD may be closely associated with the risks of an abnormal QTc interval and LVH, suggesting that regular electrocardiogram and echocardiogram monitoring could be used to evaluate the risk of arrhythmia and LVH in male steelworkers with NAFLD.

Growth differentiation factor 1 (GDF1) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily and a protective mediator against the development of post-infarction cardiac remodeling by negatively regulating MEK-ERK1/2 and Smad signaling pathways in the heart. The TGF-β/SMAD pathway has been shown to play a key role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. In addition, fatty liver disease has been associated with reduced MEK/ERK1/2 signaling. However, no previous study has investigated the association between GDF1 and liver fibrosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between plasma GDF1 and liver fibrosis in patients with stable angina.We included 327 consecutive patients with stable angina. ELISA was used to measure circulating levels of GDF1, and the fibrosis-4 index was used to assess liver fibrosis.The advanced liver fibrosis group had lower median plasma GDF1 levels than those with minimal liver fibrosis. There was a significant negative association between GDF1 plasma level and fibrosis-4 index (r = -0.135, p = 0.019). A lower concentration of GDF1 was significantly and independently associated with an increased risk of liver fibrosis when concentration was analyzed as a continuous variable and by tertile. In addition, fibrosis-4 index, aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index, and AST/alanine aminotransferase ratio were significantly associated with GDF1 concentration.Our results indicated an association between low plasma GDF1 and liver fibrosis in the enrolled patients. Further investigations into the role of plasma GDF1 in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis are warranted.