Association of oxidative balance score with Helicobacter pylori infection and mortality among US population.

BACKGROUND: Antioxidant and pro-oxidant dietary patterns and lifestyle changes have been considered to play a crucial role in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. We conducted this study to investigate the underlying association between oxidative balance score (OBS) and H. pylori infection in the US population. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2000), and included individuals with complete information about dietary intake and H. pylori serologic testing results. In the present study, we used multivariate logistic regression analysis, smoothed curve fitting, subgroup analyses, and Cox proportional hazards modeling based on demographic and clinical variables to examine the relationship between OBS and H. pylori infection. RESULTS: A total of 3413 individuals participated in our analysis with an average age of 32.31 years. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in the study population was 29.77%. By performing smooth curve fitting analysis, we observed an approximately linear relationship between OBS and H. pylori infection, indicating that lower OBS was associated with higher risk of H. pylori infection, especially in over 60 years of age and non-Hispanic white populations. All-cause mortality was also found lower in individuals with higher OBS levels. CONCLUSION: In the US population, increased levels of OBS were associated with a reduced risk of H. pylori infection and decreased all-cause mortality. More and further work is still needed to elucidate the precise mechanism of the association between OBS and H. pylori infection.

Causality of Helicobacter pylori infection on eosinophilic esophagitis and potential pathogenesis: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Observational studies have indicated a possible connection between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), but their causal relationship has yet to be established. To investigate the causal associations between H. pylori infection and EoE, we performed a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods: Firstly, we conducted both univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. Furthermore, a two-step MR was carried out to ascertain the potential underlying pathways of these associations, particularly the involvement of inflammatory cytokines. We employed the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method as the main analysis in our MR study. To enhance the credibility of the results, we also conducted several sensitivity analyses. Results: Our study demonstrated a noteworthy correlation between genetically predicted anti-H. pylori IgG antibody levels and a reduced risk of EoE (OR=0.325, 95% CI=0.165-0.643, P value=0.004, adj p value=0.009). No significant causal associations were detected between other H. pylori antibodies and EoE in our study. When it comes to multivariable MR analysis controlling for education attainment, household income, and deprivation individually, the independent causal impact of anti-H. pylori IgG on EoE persisted. Surprisingly, the two-step MR analysis indicated that inflammatory factors (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, and IFN-γ) did not appear to mediate the protective effect of H. pylori infection against EoE. Conclusion: Findings suggested that among the range of H. pylori-related antibodies, anti-H. pylori IgG antibody is the sole causal factor associated with protection against EoE. Certain inflammatory factors may not be involved in mediating this association. These findings make a significant contribution to advancing our understanding of the pathogenesis of EoE and its evolving etiology.

A Transparent Additive-Free Fibrous Facial Mask for Skin Moisturizing.

Most sheet facial masks for skincare are made of nonwovens and loaded with liquid active ingredients, which are usually opaque and require additives for long-term preservation. Herein, a Transparent Additive-Free Fibrous (TAFF) facial mask is reported for skin moisturizing. The TAFF facial mask consists of a bilayer fibrous membrane. The inner layer is fabricated by electrospinning functional components of gelatin (GE) and hyaluronic acid (HA) into a solid fibrous membrane to get rid of additives, the outer layer is an ultrathin PA6 fibrous membrane that is highly transparent, especially after absorbing water. The results indicate that the GE-HA membrane can quickly absorb water and become a transparent hydrogel film. By employing the hydrophobic PA6 membrane as the outer layer, directional water transport is achieved, which enables TAFF facial mask with excellent skin moisturizing effect. The skin moisture content is up to 84% ± 7% after placing the TAFF facial mask on the skin for 10 min. In addition, the relative transparency of the TAFF facial mask on the skin reaches 97.0% ± 1.9% when ultrathin PA6 membrane is used as the outer layer. The design of the transparent additive-free facial mask may serve as a guideline for developing new functional facial masks.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/Angiotensin Receptor Blockers: Anti-arrhythmic Drug for Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Current treatment guidelines for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) mainly emphasize on prevention of ventricular arrhythmic events. Despite the progressive nature of ARVC, therapeutic options focusing on decelerating disease progression are scarce. Methods and Results: This retrospective observational cohort study included 311 patients [age, 39.1 ± 14.4 years; male, 233 (74.9%)] with a definite diagnosis of ARVC as determined by the 2010 Task Force Diagnostic Criteria. Among them, 113 patients (36.3%) received ACEI/ARB treatment. Disease progression was evaluated according to repeat transthoracic echocardiograms with a linear mixed model. Patients receiving ACEI/ARB treatment were associated with slower disease progression reflected by a gradual decrease in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion than those not receiving ACEI/ARB treatment (0.37 vs. 0.61 mm per year decrease, P < 0.001) and slower dilation of right ventricular outflow tract (0.57 vs. 1.06 mm per year increased, P = 0.003). Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the association between life-threatening ventricular tachycardia events and ACEI/ARB treatment. A reduced risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia was associated with ACEI/ARB treatment compared to that without ACEI/ARB treatment (adjusted HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.52-0.96, P = 0.031). Conclusions: ACEI/ARB treatment is associated with slower disease progression and lower risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia in patients with ARVC. Delaying disease progression may pave way for reducing life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia risk.

New experimental animal model of intracardiac thrombus created with epicardial echocardiographic guidance.

BACKGROUND: Models of intracardiac thrombus are very difficult to establish and have rarely been reported. We designed and established a new, inexpensive, practical animal model for intracardiac thrombus created with epicardial echocardiographic guidance. METHODS: Male New Zealand white rabbits weighing 2 to 3.9 kg (3.10±0.58 kg) were used in this study. Cylindrical thrombi were created in plastic tubing and then aspirated with saline into a syringe. The thrombus in saline suspension was then slowly injected into a heart chamber and confirmed with echocardiography, including two-dimensional and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. RESULTS: Intracardiac thrombi were created successfully in the left ventricle, right ventricle, and left and right atrial appendages. The average preparation time was about 3 hours. There were no significant differences among the four heart chambers in the success rate of thrombus model creation. Thrombi embolized to the pulmonary artery after failure of the right heart model. After failure of the left heart model, emboli were found in the carotid artery, renal artery, and truncus coeliacus. In two cases thrombi extended from the left ventricular apex into the aorta and in one case the thrombus extended from the left atrial appendage to the left atrium; there was no such extension from the other chambers. The rabbits' vital signs remained stable after establishment of the model, with no significant changes in heart structure or function. CONCLUSIONS: This new method of creating an intracardiac thrombus model in rabbits showed initial success.

Remarkable Improvement in Photocatalytic Performance for Tannery Wastewater Processing via SnS2 Modified with N-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots: Synthesis, Characterization, and 4-Nitrophenol-Aided Cr(VI) Photoreduction.

Photocatalytic pathways are proved crucial for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels required for a pollution-free planet. Electron-hole recombination is a critical problem that has, so far, limited the efficiency of the most promising photocatalytic materials. Here, the efficacy of the 0D N doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) is demonstrated in accelerating the charge separation and transfer and thereby boosting the activity of a narrow-bandgap SnS2 photocatalytic system. N-CQDs are in situ loaded onto SnS2 nanosheets in forming N-CQDs/SnS2 composite via an electrostatic interaction under hydrothermal conditions. Cr(VI) photoreduction rate of N-CQDs/SnS2 is highly enhanced by engineering the loading contents of N-CQDs, in which the optimal N-CQDs/SnS2 with 40 mol% N-CQDs exhibits a remarkable Cr(VI) photoreduction rate of 0.148 min-1 , about 5-time and 148-time higher than that of SnS2 and N-CQDs, respectively. Examining the photoexcited charges via zeta potential, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), surface photovoltage, and electrochemical impedance spectra indicate that the improved Cr(VI) photodegradation rate is linked to the strong electrostatic attraction between N-CQDs and SnS2 nanosheets in composite, which favors efficient carrier utilization. To further boost the carrier utilization, 4-nitrophenol is introduced in this photocatalytic system and the efficiency of Cr(VI) photoreduction is further promoted.

Cadmium telluride quantum dots as pH-sensitive probes for tiopronin determination.

The pH-sensitive cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) were used as proton probes for tiopronin determination. Based on the fluorescence quenching of CdTe QDs caused by tiopronin, a simple, rapid and specific quantitative method was proposed. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration plot of ln(F(0)/F) with concentration of tiopronin was linear in the range of 0.15-20 microg mL(-1)(0.92-122.5 micromol L(-1)) with correlation coefficient of 0.998. The limit of detection (LOD) (3sigma/k) was 0.15 microg mL(-1)(0.92 micromol mL(-1)). The content of tiopronin in pharmaceutical tablet was determined by the proposed method and the result agreed with that obtained from the oxidation-reduction titration method and the claimed value.