Predicting 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality in a community-dwelling older adult cohort: relevance for predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine

Background: Population aging is a global public health issue involving increased prevalence of age-related diseases, and concomitant burden on medical resources and the economy. Ninety-two diseases have been identified as age-related, accounting for 51.3% of the global adult disease burden. The economic cost per capita for older people over 60 years is 10 times that of the younger population. From the aspects of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM), developing a risk-prediction model can help identify individuals at high risk for all-cause mortality and provide an opportunity for targeted prevention through personalized intervention at an early stage. However, there is still a lack of predictive models to help community-dwelling older adults do well in healthcare. Objectives: This study aims to develop an accurate 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality risk-prediction model by using clinical multidimensional variables, and investigate risk factors for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older adults to guide primary prevention. Methods: This is a two-center cohort study. Inclusion criteria: (1) community-dwelling adult, (2) resided in the districts of Chaonan or Haojiang for more than 6 months in the past 12 months, and (3) completed a health examination. Exclusion criteria: (1) age less than 60 years, (2) more than 30 incomplete variables, (3) no signed informed consent. The primary outcome of the study was all-cause mortality obtained from face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and the medical death database from 2012 to 2021. Finally, we enrolled 5085 community-dwelling adults, 60 years and older, who underwent routine health screening in the Chaonan and Haojiang districts, southern China, from 2012 to 2021. Of them, 3091 participants from Chaonan were recruited as the primary training and internal validation study cohort, while 1994 participants from Haojiang were recruited as the external validation cohort. A total of 95 clinical multidimensional variables, including demographics, lifestyle behaviors, symptoms, medical history, family history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected to identify candidate risk factors and characteristics. Risk factors were identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. A nomogram predictive model for 1-, 3-, 5- and 8-year all-cause mortality was constructed. The accuracy and calibration of the nomogram prediction model were assessed using the concordance index (C-index), integrated Brier score (IBS), receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and calibration curves. The clinical validity of the model was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Nine independent risk factors for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality were identified, including increased age, male, alcohol status, higher daily liquor consumption, history of cancer, elevated fasting glucose, lower hemoglobin, higher heart rate, and the occurrence of heart block. The acquisition of risk factor criteria is low cost, easily obtained, convenient for clinical application, and provides new insights and targets for the development of personalized prevention and interventions for high-risk individuals. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram model were 0.767, 0.776, and 0.806, and the C-indexes were 0.765, 0.775, and 0.797, in the training, internal validation, and external validation sets, respectively. The IBS was less than 0.25, which indicates good calibration. Calibration and decision curves showed that the predicted probabilities were in good agreement with the actual probabilities and had good clinical predictive value for PPPM. Conclusion: The personalized risk prediction model can identify individuals at high risk of all-cause mortality, help offer primary care to prevent all-cause mortality, and provide personalized medical treatment for these high-risk individuals from the PPPM perspective. Strict control of daily liquor consumption, lowering fasting glucose, raising hemoglobin, controlling heart rate, and treatment of heart block could be beneficial for improving survival in elderly populations

A chromosomelevel genome assembly of the Asian arowana, Scleropages formosus

Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), an ancient teleost belonging to the Order Osteoglossomorpha, has been a valuable ornamental fish with some varieties. However, its biological studies and breeding germplasm have been remarkably limited by the lack of a reference genome. To solve these problems, here we report high-quality genome sequences of three common varieties of Asian arowana (the golden, red and green arowana). We firstly generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of the golden arowana, on basis of the genetic linkage map constructed with the restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq). In addition, we obtained draft genome assemblies of the red and green varieties. Finally, we annotated 22,016, 21,256 and 21,524 protein-coding genes in the genome assemblies of golden, red and green varieties respectively. Our data were deposited in publicly accessible repositories to promote biological research and molecular breeding of Asian arowana

The Asian arowana (<i>Scleropages formosus</i>) genome provides new insights into the evolution of an early lineage of teleosts

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), one of the world’s most expensive cultivated ornamental fishes, is an endangered species. It represents an ancient lineage of teleosts: the Osteoglossomorpha. Here, we provide a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of a female golden-variety arowana using a combination of deep shotgun sequencing and high-resolution linkage mapping. In addition, we have also generated two draft genome assemblies for the red and green varieties. Phylogenomic analysis supports a sister group relationship between Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) and Elopomorpha (eels and relatives), with the two clades together forming a sister group of Clupeocephala which includes all the remaining teleosts. The arowana genome retains the full complement of eight Hox clusters unlike the African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi), another bonytongue fish, which possess only five Hox clusters. Differential gene expression among three varieties provides insights into the genetic basis of colour variation. A potential heterogametic sex chromosome is identified in the female arowana karyotype, suggesting that the sex is determined by a ZW/ZZ sex chromosomal system. The high-quality reference genome of the golden arowana and the draft assemblies of the red and green varieties are valuable resources for understanding the biology, adaptation and behaviour of Asian arowanas

The Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) Genome Provides New Insights into the Evolution of an Early Lineage of Teleosts

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), one of the world’s most expensive cultivated ornamental fishes, is an endangered species. It represents an ancient lineage of teleosts: the Osteoglossomorpha. Here, we provide a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of a female golden-variety arowana using a combination of deep shotgun sequencing and high-resolution linkage mapping. In addition, we have also generated two draft genome assemblies for the red and green varieties. Phylogenomic analysis supports a sister group relationship between Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) and Elopomorpha (eels and relatives), with the two clades together forming a sister group of Clupeocephala which includes all the remaining teleosts. The arowana genome retains the full complement of eight Hox clusters unlike the African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi), another bonytongue fish, which possess only five Hox clusters. Differential gene expression among three varieties provides insights into the genetic basis of colour variation. A potential heterogametic sex chromosome is identified in the female arowana karyotype, suggesting that the sex is determined by a ZW/ZZ sex chromosomal system. The high-quality reference genome of the golden arowana and the draft assemblies of the red and green varieties are valuable resources for understanding the biology, adaptation and behaviour of Asian arowanas

Progress on New Preparation Methods, Microstructures, and Protective Properties of High-Entropy Alloy Coatings

Currently, the preparations of high-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings have developed into new methods such as thermal spraying, electrospark deposition technology, and magnetron sputtering. The microstructures and protective properties of HEA coatings prepared by different methods are bound to be different. Moreover, because HEAs have a wide range of composition systems, the difference in composition will inevitably lead to a change in process parameters and post-treatment methods, and then affect the microstructures and protective properties. This paper introduces the working mechanism of thermal spraying, electrospark deposition technology, and magnetron sputtering, compares the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and focuses on the influences of the compositions, process parameters, and post-treatment process on the microstructures and properties of the coating. Furthermore, this paper outlines the correlation between preparation methods, process parameters, microstructures, and properties, which will provide a reference for further development of the application of high-entropy alloy coatings. On this basis, the future development direction of HEA coatings is prospected

Effect of amorphicity of HVOF sprayed Fe-based coatings on their corrosion performances and contacting osteoblast behavior

Fe53Cr19Zr7Mo2C18Si coatings with amorphous/nanocrystalline hybrid structures were fabricated by high velocity oxy-fuel spray. Enhanced amorphicity of the coatings, 55.85%, has been achieved by the spray quenching of the starting feedstock with an amorphicity of 36.82%. Further examination of the coating after post-spray crystallization annealing at 750 degrees C was also conducted. Microstructure, microhardness, wear/corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of the coatings were systematically studied. Results show that the nanocrystallization treatment brought about increased microhardness and enhanced anti-wear performances. However, electrochemical and in vitro cell culture testing suggest that the full crystalline structure does not favor the anti-corrosion and biological performances while presence of the amorphous structure enhances corrosion resistance of the coatings and promotes attachment and proliferation of osteoblast cells on their surfaces. The results shed some light on developing amorphous metallic coatings for potential biomedical applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Structure and Performance of CalcinedBauxite

In order to further broaden the application field of calcined bauxite, usingdifferential thermal analysis-thermo-gravimetry(DTA-TG), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and other testing technology to study and analysis on the high temperature performance of calcined bauxite in this paper. The results show that the main crystal phases of calcined bauxite are corundum and mullite, appearance is layered, granular distribution. Due to the thermal performance of calcined bauxite is optimal, and is expected to be used for the field of high temperature solar thermal heat storage material.Engineering, ManufacturingMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryCPCI-S(ISTP)

Effects of Cooling Rate on the Solidification Process of Pure Metal Al: Molecular Dynamics Simulations Based on the MFPT Method

Isothermal solidification process of pure metal Al was studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using EAM potential. The effects of different cooling rates on the isothermal solidification process of metallic Al were studied. Al was first subjected to a rapid cooling process, and then it was annealing under isothermal conditions. The mean first-passage times (MFPT) method and Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) law were used to qualify the solidification kinetic processing, and the nucleation rate, critical nucleus size, Avrami exponent and growth exponent of grains were calculated. Results show that the nucleation rate and critical size decrease as the cooling rate increases. Also, an increase in the cooling rate leads to the increase of grain growth rate. At all investigated cooling rates, nucleation and growth processes are in the typical three-dimensional growth mode