To identify predictors of sepsis after flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) in patients with unilateral, solitary, proximal ureteral stones and evaluate the association between albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) and sepsis. Overall, 759 patients who underwent fURS were retrospectively enrolled. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of sepsis after fURS in patients with solitary proximal ureteral stones. Then A nomogram was generated using the predictors. Sepsis occurred in 43 patients (5.7%), and 6 (0.8%) of them developed septic shock. Univariate analysis showed that age, female sex, albumin concentration, globulin concentration, AGR, pre-operative fever, white blood cell (WBC) count, urine culture (UC) result, urine WBC count, and urine nitrite result were predictors of sepsis. Multivariate analysis identified AGR <1.2 [odds ratio (OR) =2.810, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.245-6.342, P=0.013] and positive UC (OR =10.520, 95% CI 4.489-24.653, P<0.001) as independent predictors. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cc-930.html When AGR <1.2 and positive UC were combined, area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.825. Then patients were categorized by different AGR level ("≥1.4", "1.2-1.4", "1.0-1.2", "<1.0"), and corresponding sepsis rates were 27.7%, 9.8%, 4.5% and 2.5%. Positive UC and low AGR were independent predictors of post-fURS sepsis. Cautious pre-operative evaluation and optimized treatment strategy should be considered to minimize infectious complications. Positive UC and low AGR were independent predictors of post-fURS sepsis. Cautious pre-operative evaluation and optimized treatment strategy should be considered to minimize infectious complications. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Whether kidney transplantation can improve erectile function in patients with ESRD is still controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis on the relationship between kidney transplantation and erectile function. A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science until May 31, 2019. Primary outcomes were ED prevalence and each domain score of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire. We used age-matched dialysis patients or patients before kidney transplantation as a control group and compared them to kidney transplant recipients. A total of 9 articles were finally enrolled in the study. Compared with the control group, the kidney transplantation group had a lower prevalence of ED (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.28-0.86) and higher domain scores for erectile function (SMD 0.53, 95% CI 0.12-0.94) and sexual desire (SMD 1.19, 95% CI 0.11-2.27). While there were no significant variations in domain scores for orgasmic function (SMD 0.27, 95% CI -0.10-0.63), intercourse satisfaction (SMD 0.26, 95% CI -0.10-0.61), and overall satisfaction (SMD 0.17, 95% CI -0.21-0.56). Patients in the kidney transplantation group had higher serum testosterone (SMD 1.20, 95% CI 0.86-1.54) and lower prolactin (SMD -1.46, 95% CI -2.22 to -0.69) and luteinizing hormone (SMD -0.97, 95% CI -1.39 to -0.55). Kidney transplantation may be associated with improved erectile function in patients with ESRD. This may be attributable to the correction of endocrine hormone disorders in patients after kidney transplantation. Kidney transplantation may be associated with improved erectile function in patients with ESRD. This may be attributable to the correction of endocrine hormone disorders in patients after kidney transplantation. The effect of donor kidney morphology parameters on the prognosis of renal transplant recipients remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective cohort study consisting of 290 pairs of donors and recipients who underwent living related renal transplantation in our center between December 2013 and December 2015. The donor kidney morphology parameters, demographic characteristics and renal function of the included participants were collected and analyzed. The univariate linear regression analysis revealed that the donor kidney weight (DKW)/recipient body weight (RBW), DKW/recipient body surface area (RBSA), DKW/recipient body mass index (RBMI), donor kidney volume (DKV)/RBW, DKV/RBSA, DKV/RBMI, and donor body weight (DBW)/RBW were significantly correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine in recipients within two years of transplantation. In our multivariate linear regression analysis, DKW/RBW and donor age significantly correlated with eGFR at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months aftecially when the age of the donor was 55 years and above. The donor kidney morphology parameters were significantly associated with early renal allograft function, especially when the age of the donor was 55 years and above. Autophagy was a significant catabolic process which played a critical role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and viability in a stressed state. The dysregulation of autophagy was correlated with various diseases. The aim of our study was to develop a prognostic signature for papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC). First, 40 differently expressed genes related with autophagy (ARGs) were examined via high-throughput sequencing and large-scale databases. Then, functional enrichment analysis was performed to explore the biological attributes of these ARGs. The Cox proportional hazard regression hinted that four ARGs ( , , and ) were significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). Thus, we got genes with prognostic value. Finally, a prognostic index (PI) was constructed. After identifying the 4 ARGs, we profiled our risk signature. Based on the PI we developed, papillary RCC patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups. High-risk patients had significant shorter OS than low-risk patients (P<0.001) and the mortality of high scoring patients was higher than low scoring patients. Additionally, we explored the relationship between the 4 ARGs and clinical parameters and found that the expression of , and was correlated with clinicopathological features. Our study suggested that the four-gene signature was an independent prognostic factor which could act as a novel indicator for the prognosis of papillary RCC. Our study suggested that the four-gene signature was an independent prognostic factor which could act as a novel indicator for the prognosis of papillary RCC.