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Abstract: This study investigated the impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components on prostate volume (PV) in the general Chinese population. In total, 43 455 participants in The First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital (Beijing, China) from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2022, undergoing health examinations were included in the study. Participants were categorized into four groups according to PV quartiles: Q1 (PV ≤24.94 ml), Q2 (PV >24.94 ml and ≤28.78 ml), Q3 (PV >28.78 ml and ≤34.07 ml), and Q4 (PV >34.07 ml), with Q1 serving as the reference group. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between MetS and PV, with subgroup analyses conducted by age. Among the participants, 18 787 (43.2%) were diagnosed with MetS. In the multivariate analysis model, a significant correlation between MetS and PV was observed, with odds ratios (ORs) increasing as PV increased (Q2, OR = 1.203, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.139-1.271; Q3, OR = 1.300, 95% CI: 1.230-1.373; and Q4, OR = 1.556, 95% CI: 1.469-1.648). Analysis of MetS components revealed that all components were positively associated with PV, with abdominal obesity showing the most significant effect. The number of MetS components was identified as a dose-dependent risk factor for elevated PV. The impact of MetS, its components, and component count on PV exhibited a decreasing trend with advancing age. Overall, the influence of MetS, its components, and component count on PV was predominantly observed in the age groups of 40-49 years and 50-59 years. Early intervention targeting MetS can significantly alleviate the increase in PV, particularly benefiting individuals aged 40-59 years who have abdominal obesity., (Copyright © The Author(s)(2025).)

Cadmium is a common environmental pollutant associated with various health risks. Its neurotoxic, muscle-damaging, and pro-inflammatory properties may be related to overactive bladder (OAB), though few studies have assessed its impact on urinary function. This study aimed to examine the potential link between cadmium exposure and OAB. Using data from the 2007-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we analyzed adults aged 40 and older (n = 15,467) in a cross-sectional design. OAB was defined by the refined Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS). Weighted multivariate logistic regression examined the associations between blood cadmium levels and OAB and its components. Age and gender stratifications were performed, and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to explore non-linear associations between blood cadmium and OAB. Sensitivity analyses and co-exposure analyses with other pollutants were conducted to assess OAB definition stability, subgroup differences, and exposure collinearity. The prevalence of OAB was 26.2%. While blood cadmium showed a small, non-significant positive association with overall OAB, it was inversely associated with nocturia severity (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.98, p < 0.05). Blood cadmium was also linked to more severe urinary incontinence in the 50-59 age group and among non-Hispanic Black adults. A non-linear association between blood cadmium and OAB was observed (p for nonlinearity = 0.016, p < 0.05). In co-exposure analyses, cadmium remained a dominant and independent factor. These findings suggest that cadmium exposure may have a complex association with OAB and may relate differently to its various components. Further research is needed to explore these relationships., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The phenomenon of multi-resonant Fano resonances is important for the design of biosensors and communication fields. There are very few studies reporting the multi-band Fano resonance metamaterials with more than three resonance frequencies, or the tunable optical metamaterials to control the multi-band Fano resonance characteristics. Here, we report dual control of multi-band Fano resonances with a metal-halide perovskite-integrated terahertz metasurface by lasers and an electrical field. By tuning the conductivity of the perovskite film on the metasurface, ultrasensitive optoelectronic modulation was achieved. The terahertz transmission amplitude exhibited increasing and decreasing stages. We analyzed the physical phenomena and found that capacitance effects and Fermi-level enhancement had significant roles in the optical- and electronic-modulation experiments. The resonant frequencies in the electronic modulation had broader frequency shifts and a higher and wider tunable modulation depth range. More importantly, the maximum modulation depth was as high as 197%, with a significant fluctuation in the amplitude and more unstable frequency shifts in the transmission spectra.

The active modulation of the Fano resonance is rare but desirable. However, recent studies mostly focused on a single modulation method and few reported the use of three photoelectric control methods. A tunable graphene DNA-like metamaterial modulator with multispectral Fano resonance is demonstrated. In experimentally fabricated metamaterials with six photoelectric joint modulation patterns, each joint shows different optoelectrical response characteristics. Ultrahigh modulation depth (MD) up to 982% was achieved at 1.5734 THz with a 1.040 A external laser pump by involving combined optoelectrical methods. These results show that the metasurface modulator is a promising platform for higher-order Fano resonance modulation and communication fields.

Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family proteins are promising anticancer targets. Most BET inhibitors in clinical trials are monovalent. They competitively bind to one of the bromodomains (BD1 and BD2) in BET proteins and exhibit relatively weak anticancer activity, poor pharmacokinetics, and low metabolic stability. Here, we evaluated the anticancer activity of a novel bivalent BET inhibitor, N2817, which consists of two molecules of the monovalent BET inhibitor 8124-053 connected by a common piperazine ring, rendering a long linker unnecessary. Compared with ABBV-075, one of the potent monovalent BET inhibitors reported to date, N2817 showed greater potency in inhibiting proliferation, arresting cell-cycle, inducing apoptosis, and suppressing the growth of tumor xenografts. Moreover, N2817 showed high metabolic stability, a relatively long half-life, and no brain penetration after oral administration. Additionally, N2817 directly bound and inhibited another BD-containing protein, TAF1 (BD2), as evidenced by a reduction in mRNA and protein levels. TAF1 inhibition contributed to the anticancer effect of N2817. Therefore, this study offers a new paradigm for designing bivalent BET inhibitors and introduces a novel potent bivalent BET inhibitor and a new anticancer mechanism., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)