Background: Several studies investigating the role of PD-L1 in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) to predict prognosis had been published and great controversy existed among them. We, therefore, in the meta-analysis, reported the association between PD-L1 and survival in UTUC patients who underwent RNU.

Background Diet, one of the components of lifestyle, has been believed to have associations with erectile dysfunction (ED). However, whether there is an association between plant-based diet and ED is remains to be explored. Thus, we conducted the nested case-control study to investigate the relationship between the plant-based diet and ED in China. Results ED group (92 subjeczts) and ED free group (92 subjects) were similar in terms of basic features (P > 0.05), except for lifestyle (P < 0.05). The plant-diet index (PDI) and healthy plant-diet index (hPDI) in the ED group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.001). Adjusted multivariate analysis indicated that the presence of ED was negatively associated with nitric oxide levels, PDI, and hPDI (all P < 0.05), and was positively related to body mass index, metabolic syndrome, and E-selectin levels. Furthermore, both the PDI and hPDI increased significantly as the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) scores increased within the ED group (P < 0.05). Multi-model multivariate analysis indicated the robustness of results. Conclusions More plant-based diet intake was associated with a reduced presence of ED and less severe ED in China. Committing to plant-based diet can be encouraged for many health benefits and to lower ED burden. Further well-designed studies are warranted to validate our findings.

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components are associated with increased risks of several cancers. However, the relationship between MetS and upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) has never been investigated before.MethodsWe identified 3,785 UTUC cases aged over 65 years old within the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database between 2007 and 2016. For comparison, non-cancer controls (n = 189,953) were selected from the 5% random sample of individuals residing within regions of SEER registries and matched with cases through diagnosis date and pseudo-diagnosis date. MetS and its components were all defined by using ICD-9-CM codes. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Time trends for MetS and its components were reported and we also performed dose-response effect analysis to test the concomitant effect of these components. The study was presented following the STROBE reporting checklist.ResultsUTUC risk was associated with metabolic syndrome (NCEP-III: OR: 1.669, 95% CI: 1.550–1.792; IDF: OR: 1.924, 95% CI: 1.676–2.172) and its component factors: elevated waist circumference/central adiposity (OR: 1.872, 95% CI: 1.693–2.055), impaired fasting glucose (OR: 1.306, 95% CI: 1.133–1.480), high blood pressure (OR: 1.295, 95% CI: 1.239–1.353), high triglycerides (OR: 1.280, 95% CI: 1.222–1.341), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR: 1.354, 95% CI: 1.118–1.592). Consistent associations could also be observed in the subgroup analyses by tumor stages, grades, and tumor size. Additionally, the rates of MetS increased over time in both UTUC and control cohort (NCEP-III criterion; EAPC: +18.1%, P &lt;0.001; EAPC: +16.1%, P &lt;0.001, respectively). A significantly gradual increase in UTUC rates could be seen as the No. of the MetS components increase (χ² = 37.239, Ptrend = 0.000).ConclusionsAmong people aged over 65, MetS and its components were significant risk factors for UTUC with consistent associations in different tumor stages, grades, and tumor size. Even if a subject who did not meet the criteria for MetS had only one of the components, he (she) still had an elevated risk for UTUC. Strategies to control the epidemic of MetS and its components might contribute to a reduction in the UTUC burden. The findings should be considered tentative until ascertained by more researches.

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions. The definition, classification, as well as diagnosis of PE have been well investigated over the past (Althof et al., 2010; Laumann, Paik, & Rosen, 1999). The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) made the definition of PE, including lifelong PE and acquired PE (LPE and APE) as a male sexual dysfunction characterised by ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about three minutes or less (acquired PE), the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations with negative personal consequences (Serefoglu et al., 2014). PE was associated with not only the negative emotions of both patients and patients' partners but also related to some characteristics, such as anogenital distance (AGD) and age (Serefoglu et al., 2014). Furthermore, several diseases, such as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), erectile dysfunction (ED), acute/chronic prostatitis and hypogonadism, can be considered as risk factors or the aetiology of PE (Gonen, Kalkan, Cenker, & Ozkardes, 2005; Lee, 2014). However, more valuable factors related to PE are remained to be investigated and clarified. The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is composed of a cluster of metabolic risk factors including elevated waist circumference/central

Objective This study aimed to compare the half-effective concentration (EC50) of propofol required for the bispectral index (BIS) 50 in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and non-PD (NPD) during induction by the Dixon’s improved sequential method. Methods This prospective study recruited 20 patients with PD undergoing deep brain stimulation and 20 patients with NPD accompanied by meningioma or glioma undergoing intracranial surgery from March 2018 to March 2019. The patients were induced by propofol via target-controlled infusion. The target effect-site concentration of propofol was determined by the Dixon’s improved sequential method. The results of the pilot experiment showed that the target effect-site concentration for the first patient with PD and NPD was 3.5 µg/mL and 2.8 µg/mL, respectively. BIS values were recorded after achieving a constant effect-site concentration of propofol. The increment or decrement of the target effect-site concentration of the next patient was 0.1 µg/mL. Results Demographic data, general physical condition, and hemodynamic values were similar between the PD and the NPD groups. The target effect-site concentration of propofol induction doses was significantly higher in the PD group than in the NPD group. The EC50 of propofol required for BIS 50 was 3.213 µg/mL [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.085–3.287 µg/mL] in the PD group and 2.77 µg/mL (95% CI, 2.568–2.977 µg/mL) in the NPD group. Conclusion The EC50 of propofol required for BIS 50 was higher in patients with PD than in patients with NPD.