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Objective To investigate the characteristics of IgA nephropathy and clinical characteristics of different stages of renal function. Methods A total of 554 patients with clinical biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy were included in this study. Baseline clinical and laboratory data were collected. The composition ratio of clinical manifestations in patients with IgA nephropathy of different ages was analyzed, clinical characteristics of patients with different CKD stages were assessed, and the correlation between serum creatinine levels and clinical indicators in IgA nephropathy patients complicated with progressive renal failure was evaluated. Results Proteinuria or hematuria were the most common clinical manifestations of patients with IgA nephropathy, followed by progressive chronic renal failure. Hematuria mainly occurred in patients aged 14-40 years. The most prevalent clinical manifestations of the young and middle-aged patients were proteinuria or proteinuria complicated with hematuria, and progressive chronic renal failure was the most common among those aged over 50 years old. The higher the pre-CKD4 stage, the higher the proteinuria level （all P < 0.05）. With the increasing CKD stage, the uric acid and CRP levels were significantly elevated, whereas the hemoglobin and albumin levels were remarkably declined （all P < 0.05）. Serum creatinine was positively correlated with age, proteinuria, triglycerides, serum uric acid, and CRP （all P < 0.05）. Conclusion High proteinuria, CRP, triglycerides and serum uric acid levels might indicate poor renal function in patients with IgA nephropathy.

Intrinsic plasticity, a fundamental process enabling neurons to modify their intrinsic properties, plays a crucial role in shaping neuronal input‐output function and is implicated in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite its importance, the underlying molecular mechanisms of intrinsic plasticity remain poorly understood. In this study, a new ubiquitin ligase adaptor, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type N (PTPRN), is identified as a regulator of intrinsic neuronal excitability in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy. PTPRN recruits the NEDD4 Like E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase (NEDD4L) to NaV1.2 sodium channels, facilitating NEDD4L‐mediated ubiquitination, and endocytosis of NaV1.2. Knockout of PTPRN in hippocampal granule cells leads to augmented NaV1.2‐mediated sodium currents and higher intrinsic excitability, resulting in increased seizure susceptibility in transgenic mice. Conversely, adeno‐associated virus‐mediated delivery of PTPRN in the dentate gyrus region decreases intrinsic excitability and reduces seizure susceptibility. Moreover, the present findings indicate that PTPRN exerts a selective modulation effect on voltage‐gated sodium channels. Collectively, PTPRN plays a significant role in regulating intrinsic excitability and seizure susceptibility, suggesting a potential strategy for precise modulation of NaV1.2 channels' function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a subset-optimized eight-dimensional trellis-coded quadrature amplitude modulation (SO-8DTCM-16QAM) format for higher-order constellations in high-speed optical communications is proposed. This scheme increases the number of subsets of base 2D constellation divisions. On this basis, it is further optimized by using 2D subsets for Cartesian product combinations to obtain 4D subsets and eliminate the combinations with small Euclidean distances. Finally, the 4D subsets are utilized to construct interrelated 8D subsets for trellis coding modulation and signal transmission. The proposed scheme can effectively reduce the decoding complexity and outperforms the conventional scheme at a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Simulation verification of the proposed scheme is carried out, and the results show that the SO-8DTCM-16QAM achieves signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gains of 1.60 dB, 1.56 dB, 1.51 dB, and 1.33 dB, respectively, compared with the conventional 8D-16QAM signals when BTB and 5/20/30 km optical signal transmission are performed. The SO-8DTCM-16QAM also achieves an SNR gain of 1.86 dB, 1.75 dB, and 1.22 dB at a net transmission rate of 14/21/28 GBaud. In addition, the SO-8DTCM-16/32/64QAM achieves an SNR gain of 1.27 dB, 0.80 dB, and 1.24 dB, respectively, when compared with the unoptimized 8DTCM-16/32/64QAM. Meanwhile, the proposed eight-subset SO-8DTCM-QAM scheme reduces the complexity of the decoding computation in the subset selection part and the constellation point selection part by 93.75% and 50%, respectively, compared with the unoptimized eight-subset and four-subset 8DTCM-QAM schemes. It can be seen that the proposed scheme simultaneously optimizes the transmission performance and complexity of high-speed optical communication systems and has practical application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of a low ankle-brachial index (ABI) in patients with advanced-stage diabetic kidney disease is not fully understood. This study investigates the prevalence of a low ABI in patients with advanced-stage diabetic kidney disease, which was defined as a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥300 mg/g and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 15–60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Furthermore, the association between a low ABI and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) was determined. This single-center, retrospective, cohort study included 529 patients with advanced-stage diabetic kidney disease who were stratified into groups according to the ABI: high (>1.3), normal (0.9–1.3), and low (<0.9). The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional analysis were used to examine the association between the ABI and ESKD. A total of 42.5% of patients with a low ABI progressed to ESKD. A low ABI was associated with a greater risk of ESKD (hazard ratio (HR): 1.073). After adjusting for traditional chronic kidney disease risk factors, a low ABI remained associated with a greater risk of ESKD (HR: 1.758; 95% confidence interval: 1.243–2.487; p = 0.001). These results indicate that patients with a low ABI should be monitored carefully. Furthermore, preventive therapy should be considered to improve the long-term kidney survival of patients with residual kidney function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Sm3+-doped ZnLaB5O10 phosphor was produced using a high-temperature solid-phase synthesis method. The Rietveld refinement of the ZnLaB5O10:Sm3+ phosphor was carried out and its successful synthesis was demonstrated. The Sm3+ ion had a 6H5/2-4F7/2 transition at 402 nm. The emission intensity of the prepared phosphor at 596 nm was greater than that at 562 nm, which was due to occupying an asymmetric position. The optimized doping concentration of the ZnLaB5O10:xSm3+ sample was determined to be 5 mol%, and the relevant mechanism of concentration quenching was demonstrated as the dipole-quadrupole interaction. The internal quantum efficiency of ZnLaB5O10:5 mol%Sm3+ was 61.19%. In the experimental range of 300–480 K, ZnLaB5O10:Sm3+ phosphor demonstrated high thermal stability, and had almost no thermal quenching phenomenon. Then, the fabricated warm white light-emitting diodes (w-LEDs) with ZnLaB5O10:Sm3+ phosphors presented an excellent average colour rendering index (Ra = 92, CCT = 5332 K). These results indicated the promising usage of ZnLaB5O10:Sm3+ in white LED illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in macrophage polarization has been reported. In our present study, we tried to discuss the regulatory role of LINC00511 encapsulated in pancreatic cancer (PCa) cell-derived EVs in the development and progression of PCa. EVs from PCa cell line BxPC-3 culture medium were collected and subsequently identified by electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The expression pattern of LINC00511 in PCa cell-derived EVs was determined. The interaction among LINC00511, microRNA-193a-3p, and plasminogen activator urokinase (PLAU) was explored. After co-culture of PCa cell-derived EVs with macrophages, the regulatory roles of LINC00511 in macrophage polarization, PCa cell functions, glucose consumption, lactate production, glycolysis, and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation were investigated. PCa cell line BxPC-3 had highly expressed LINC00511 and LINC00511 could be internalized by macrophages. LINC00511 affected macrophage polarization through miR-193a-3p-dependent regulation of PLAU expression. Besides, EV-derived LINC00511 accelerated glycolysis and promoted mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation of PCa cells through macrophage polarization, thus inducing invasion and migration of PCa cells. LINC00511 encapsulated in PCa cell-derived EVs facilitates glycolysis of PCa cells through regulation of macrophage polarization in the tumor microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]