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Abstract Background Early prediction of survival of hospitalized acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients is vital. We aimed to establish a nomogram to predict the survival probability of AECOPD patients. Methods Retrospectively collected data of 4601 patients hospitalized for AECOPD. These patients were randomly divided into a training and a validation cohort at a 6:4 ratio. In the training cohort, LASSO-Cox regression analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis were utilized to identify prognostic factors for in-hospital survival of AECOPD patients. A model was established based on 3 variables and visualized by nomogram. The performance of the model was assesed by AUC, C-index, calibration curve, decision curve analysis in both cohorts. Results Coexisting arrhythmia, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) usage and lower serum albumin values were found to be significantly associated with lower survival probability of AECOPD patients, and these 3 predictors were further used to establish a prediction nomogram. The C-indexes of the nomogram were 0.816 in the training cohort and 0.814 in the validation cohort. The AUC in the training cohort was 0.825 for 7-day, 0.807 for 14-day and 0.825 for 21-day survival probability, in the validation cohort this were 0.796 for 7-day, 0.831 for 14-day and 0.841 for 21-day. The calibration of the nomogram showed a good goodness-of-fit and decision curve analysis showed the net clinical benefits achievable at different risk thresholds were excellent. Conclusion We established a nomogram based on 3 variables for predicting the survival probability of AECOPD patients. The nomogram showed good performance and was clinically useful.

ObjectiveObservational studies have reported that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often accompanied by autoimmune diseases, but the causal relationships between them remain uncertain. In this Mendelian study, we aimed to investigate the potential causal relationship between COPD and four common autoimmune diseases.MethodsWe conducted an analysis of summary data on COPD and autoimmune disease using publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary data. We initially employed the inverse- variance weighted method as the primary approach to establish the causal impact of COPD on autoimmune diseases in the sample and conducted additional sensitivity analyses to examine the robustness of the results. Subsequently, we performed reverse Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses for the four autoimmune diseases. Finally, the potential for bidirectional causal relationships was assessed.ResultsOur MR analysis revealed no significant causal relationship between COPD and any of the studied autoimmune diseases. However, reverse MR results indicated a significant association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA) and the risk of developing COPD, with respective odds ratios (OR) of 377.313 (95% CI, 6.625–21487.932, P = 0.004) for RA and 11.097 (95% CI, 1.583–77.796, P = 0.015) for OA. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results.ConclusionOur findings support a potential causal relationship between autoimmune diseases and COPD, highlighting the importance of considering comorbidities in clinical management of COPD.

Transparent conductive films (TCFs) are critical components of various optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. The performance of TCFs is mainly ascribed to their superior transparency and low sheet resistance. However, the welding strategy for silver nanowires (AgNWs), the primary material used in TCFs, can significantly affect the optical and electrical properties of the films. Herein, we report a simple and effective method for preparing AgNWs TCFs with superior broadband transparency and conductivity. By applying pressure to the surface of graphene, we successfully enhanced the tight connections between loose nanowires. Based on this, we developed a high-performance, wide-spectrum TCF and employed ultraviolet welding as its post-treatment method. The sheet resistance of the electrode decreased to 27.1 Ω sq-1 with the addition of graphene films, and subsequent UV light welding further reduced the resistance value by 25.1%. Moreover, the incorporation of graphene films provides excellent protection for AgNWs against oxidation. One month later, compared to AgNWs without a protective coating, the increase in sheet resistance was reduced by 414.6%. This study provides a new method for preparing TCFs with wide spectrum and high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]