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Introduction: Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are highly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with the severity of COVID-19 and death after the complete liberalization of epidemic control in China. Methods: We followed the outcomes of the HD patients of Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, from December 6, 2022, to January 8, 2023. The non-contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) was performed on all COVID-19-infected hospitalized patients. We recorded the patient’s clinical characteristics, demographic features, vaccination history, treatments, and lung lesions. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression models to identify independent risk factors for COVID-19-related severity and mortality. Results: This study included a total of 858 HD patients, of which 660 were infected with COVID-19. The mean age was (55.61 ± 14.61) years, with a median (interquartile range) dialysis duration of 44.5 (69.5) months. Over half (60%) of the study participants were male, and the majority had hypertension as a comorbidity. Multivariable analysis revealed that age, pre-dialysis diastolic pressure, fever, white blood cell (WBC) count, potassium, β2-microglobulin level, and calcium were independent risk factors for disease severity, while platelets, urea nitrogen, serum chlorine and creatinine were identified as independent protective factors. Furthermore, total iron-binding capacity and vaccination were found to be independent protective factors against mortality, and WBC count was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality (p < 0.05). The most frequent CT finding among hospitalized patients with chest symptoms was patchy shadow or pleural effusion, observed in 64.8% of cases. More than half of the patients exhibited bilateral lung lesions, and over 60% involved two or more lobes. Conclusion: The majority of HD patients are susceptible to COVID-19. Demographic, clinical features, and laboratory indicators can be used to predict the severity and mortality associated with COVID-19. Our findings will assist clinicians in identifying markers for the early detection of high mortality risk in HD patients with COVID-19.

Abstract Background Sleeping late has been a common phenomenon and brought harmful effects to our health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sleep timing and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods Sleep onset time which was acquired by the way of sleep factors questionnaire in 426 inpatients was divided into before 22:00, 22:00 to 22:59, 23:00 to 23:59 and 24:00 and after. The median follow-up time was 35 months. The endpoints included angina pectoris (AP), new myocardial infarction (MI) or unplanned repeat revascularization, hospitalization for heart failure, cardiac death, nonfatal stroke, all-cause death and the composite endpoint of all events mentioned above. Cox proportional hazards regression was applied to analyze the relationship between sleep timing and endpoint events. Results A total of 64 composite endpoint events (CEEs) were reported, including 36 AP, 15 new MI or unplanned repeat revascularization, 6 hospitalization for heart failure, 2 nonfatal stroke and 5 all-cause death. Compared with sleeping time at 22:00–22:59, there was a higher incidence of AP in the bedtime ≥ 24:00 group (adjusted HR: 5.089; 95% CI: 1.278–20.260; P = 0.021). In addition, bedtime ≥ 24:00 was also associated with an increased risk of CEEs in univariate Cox regression (unadjusted HR: 2.893; 95% CI: 1.452–5.767; P = 0.003). After multivariable adjustments, bedtime ≥ 24:00 increased the risk of CEEs (adjusted HR: 3.156; 95% CI: 1.164–8.557; P = 0.024). Conclusion Late sleeping increased the risk of MACEs and indicated a poor prognosis. It is imperative to instruct patients with PCI to form early bedtime habits.

Abstract Sintering of active metal species often happens during catalytic reactions, which requires redispersion in a reactive atmosphere at elevated temperatures to recover the activity. Herein, we report a simple method to redisperse sintered Cu catalysts via O2-H2O treatment at room temperature. In-situ spectroscopic characterizations reveal that H2O induces the formation of hydroxylated Cu species in humid O2, pushing surface diffusion of Cu atoms at room temperature. Further, surface OH groups formed on most hydroxylable support surfaces such as γ-Al2O3, SiO2, and CeO2 in the humid atmosphere help to pull the mobile Cu species and enhance Cu redispersion. Both pushing and pulling effects of gaseous H2O promote the structural transformation of Cu aggregates into highly dispersed Cu species at room temperature, which exhibit enhanced activity in reverse water gas shift and preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide reactions. These findings highlight the important role of H2O in the dynamic structure evolution of supported metal nanocatalysts and lay the foundation for the regeneration of sintered catalysts under mild conditions.

Abstract Background The relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) was unknown. Therefore, we aimed to clarify this association in a cohort of patients. Methods HGS was used as a representative indicator of muscle strength and was measured with a handheld dynamometer. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the self-reported Patient Health Questionnaire-9. A multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to assess the relationship between HGS and depression. Results The prevalence of depression in our study was 34% in 568 Chinese patients undergoing HD. Compared with patients in the lowest tertiles of absolute and weighted HGS, patients in the highest tertiles of HGS had an approximately 59% lower [odds ratio (OR) = 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24–0.68; OR = 0.41, 95%CI = (0.24–0.69)] prevalence of depressive symptoms after multivariate adjustments. Besides, the risk of depression in hemodialysis patients decreased by 33% (OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.53–0.85) and 32% (OR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.54–0.85) for each standard deviation increase in absolute HGS and weighted HGS, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased with both increasing absolute HGS and weighted HGS after multivariate adjustments (p for trend 0.05). Conclusions This study suggests that lower handgrip strength, a simple and modifiable parameter, is associated with a higher prevalence of depression in Chinese patients undergoing HD. Considering that depression is often unrecognized or underdiagnosed in HD patients, lowered muscle strength should be an important indicator and incentive for medical staff to screen for depression.

AbstractBackground Poor sleep quality is a common problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients. Dietary fiber is a key component of a healthy diet and is beneficial for a variety of health outcomes; however, evidence of an association between dietary fiber consumption and subjective sleep quality has not been established among HD patients. Therefore, we determined the association between dietary fiber consumption and the subjective sleep quality in Chinese maintenance HD patients, taking into account fiber type and source.Methods Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire in a cross-sectional study including 741 maintenance HD patients between December 2021 and January 2022. The daily intake of dietary fiber was categorized into three groups. The lowest tertile was used as the reference category. Sleep quality of patients was accurately calculated using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index standard questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline analysis were performed to assess the relationship between dietary fiber consumption and poor sleep quality.Results Compared with the lowest tertile group of dietary fiber intake, the highest tertile group had a lower prevalence of poor sleep quality. After adjustment for potential confounders, a higher intake of total dietary fiber (ORtertile 3 (T3) to tertile 1 (T1)= 0.51, 95% CI: 0.31–0.85), total insoluble dietary fiber (ORT3 to T1 =0.54, 95% CI: 0.33–0.89), and soluble dietary fiber in vegetables (ORT3 to T1 =0.61, 95% CI: 0.40–0.93) were associated with a lower prevalence of poor sleep quality. Furthermore, significant linear trends were also observed (p

In view of the defects of high energy consumption and pollution in the traditional optical fiber preform manufacturing process, this paper proposes a green and environmentally friendly cladding manufacturing process with quartz sand as raw material. Through the selection and analysis of quartz sand raw materials, it is shown that natural quartz sand is suitable for the manufacture of optical fiber preforms. Through the research on the key control points of the natural quartz sand preform making process, the quartz sand is filled into the prefabricated assembly consisting of a core rod and a thin-walled quartz tube. A large-size G.652.D optical fiber preform with an average outer diameter of 155 mm is then successfully prepared by high-temperature melting and shrinking. After fiber drawing and testing, the optical parameters can meet the low water peak optical fiber standard. There is no exhaust gas emission in the process raw material of quartz sand can be completely converted, which is more low-carbon and environmentally friendly than traditional optical fiber preform manufacturing process.

Abstract Background The association between serum β2-microglobulin (β2M) levels and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) is inconclusive. Furthermore, no study has been performed in China on the significance of serum β2M levels in MHD patients. Therefore, this study investigated the aforementioned association in MHD patients. Methods In this prospective cohort study, 521 MHD patients were followed at Dalian Municipal Central Hospital affiliated with Dalian University of Technology from December 2019 to December 2021. The serum β2M levels were categorized into three tertiles, and the lowest tertile served as the reference group. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Sensitivity analysis was performed by excluding patients with CVD at baseline. Results During the follow-up period of 21.4 ± 6.3 months, there were 106 all-cause deaths, of which 68 were caused by CVD. When excluding CVD patients at baseline, there were 66 incident CVEs. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in the highest tertile of serum β2M levels was significantly higher than that in the lowest tertile (P 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, serum β2M levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause (HR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.21–4.17) and CVD (HR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.19–5.43) mortality, and a linear trend was evident (P 0.05). Conclusion The serum β2M level may be a significant predictor of the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in MHD patients. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Abstract Dialysis adequacy is a known risk factor for mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. However, the optimal dialysis dose remains controversial. Therefore, we aimed to explore the relationship between dialysis dose and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among MHD. We examined the associations of dialysis dose with mortality in a cohort (n = 558) of MHD patients from 31 December 2015 to 31 December 2020. Dialysis adequacy was assessed using baseline Single-pool Kt/Vurea (spKt/V), which was categorized into three groups, and the lowest dose group was used as the reference category. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. A total of 214 patients died (64.5% for CVD). Compared with the low-dose group, high-dose group could reduce the risk of all-cause mortality by 33% (HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47–0.98). Of note, when stratification by age, high-dose group was associated with both lower all-cause (HR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.26–0.81) and CVD mortality (HR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.20–0.88) among patients with age below 65 years. When stratification by dialysis age, high-dose group was associated with decreased risk of CVD mortality (HR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.20–0.91) among patients with dialysis age over 60 months. spKt/V is a simple index of hemodialysis dose used in clinical practice and a useful modifiable factor in predicting the risk of death, especially in MHD patients under 65 years old or dialysis age more than 60 months.