The joint effect of cumulative doses for outdoor air pollutants exposure in early life on asthma and wheezing among young children.

BACKGROUND: Constrained by no proper way to assess cumulative exposure, the joint effect of air pollution cumulative exposure doses on childhood asthma and wheezing (AW) was not understood. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between cumulative exposure to multiple air pollutants in early life and childhood AW. METHODS: We designed a nested case-control study based on the birth cohort in Jinan City. Children with AW followed up within 2 years after birth were treated as cases, and non-cases in this cohort were treated as the control source population, and the propensity score matching method was used to match each case to 5 controls. We calculated the individual cumulative outdoor exposure doses for each period using an inverse distance weighted model, alongside the complex Simpson's formula, accounting for outdoor time and respiratory volume. The Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression was performed to screen for covariates. To analyze the joint effects of pollutants, we employed the weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression model in conjunction with conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: 84 cases and 420 controls were included in this study. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of the impact of cumulative exposure (mg/m3) after birth on childhood AW was 1.78 (1.15-2.74) for SO2, 1.69 (1.11-2.57) for NO2, and 1.65 (1.09-2.52) for PM2.5, respectively. Furthermore, with each 25th percentile increase in the WQS index, the overall risk of cumulative doses for six pollutants exposure after birth on AW increased by an adjusted OR of 1.10 (1.03, 1.18), and SO2, PM2.5, and NO2 contributed the most to the WQS index. However, no statistically significant association was found between cumulative exposure to all pollutants before birth and childhood AW. CONCLUSIONS: There was a joint effect of the cumulative exposure dose of outdoor air pollutants after birth on AW in children aged 0-2 years. And traffic-related pollutants (SO2, PM2.5, and NO2) make a greater contribution to the joint effect.

The Association Between Exercise During Pregnancy and the Risk of Preterm Birth.

Purpose: We aimed to examine the association between exercise during pregnancy and preterm birth (PTB). Methods: This study was a baseline survey of the Jinan birth cohort. The study subjects were the mothers one month after giving birth, which were investigated by questionnaires retrospectively containing physical exercise (frequency, time, and primary exercise patterns) during pregnancy and each trimester. Individual time spent on exercise and energy expenditure were assessed based on the questionnaires. PTB was clinically defined as a newborn born on or before the last day of the 37th week. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were estimated using logistic regression to assess the relationship between exercise during pregnancy and the risk of PTB. Variable selection for the multivariate models was guided by the directed acyclic graph. The median effect was analyzed by the sequential test. Results: The prevalence of PTB in this study was 4.38% (285/6501). The adjusted OR (95% CI) for the risk of PTB related to exercise during pregnancy was 0.74 (0.58-0.95). During the 1st and 2nd trimesters, the ORs (95% CI) for 2.5 to 7 hours of exercise per week were 0.77 (0.59-0.99) and 0.74 (0.57-0.96). During the 3rd trimester, the ORs (95% CI) for 2.5 to 7 hours and more than 7 hours of exercise per week were 0.74 (0.56-0.96) and 0.65 (0.44-0.94). After stratifying the subjects, the association was only found among subjects without pregnancy complications. Pregnancy complications partially mediated (52.40%) the relationship between exercise during pregnancy and PTB. Conclusion: Exercise during pregnancy can reduce the risk of PTB for women without pregnancy complications. 2.5 to 7 hours of exercise (like walking) per week may be appropriate in three trimesters of pregnancy, and the time could be extended in the 3rd trimester.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by starch nanocrystals prepared from various crystalline starches by ultrasonic assisted acetic acid: Stability and delivery of curcumin.

Ultrasonic assisted acetic acid hydrolysis was applied to prepare starch nanocrystals (SNCs) from native starches with different crystalline structures (A, B, and C types). The structure properties, morphology, Pickering emulsion stability and curcumin deliver capacity of both SNCs and native starches were investigated and compared. Compared with native starches, SNCs showed smaller size and higher crystallinity. The size of SNCs varied with different crystalline types, with C-type starch exhibiting the smallest SNCs (107.4 nm), followed by A-type (113.8 nm), and B-type displaying the largest particle size (149.0 nm). SNCs-Pickering emulsion showed enhanced stability with smaller emulsion droplets, higher static stability, and denser oil/water interface. SNCs-Pickering emulsions displayed higher curcumin loading efficiency (53.53 %-61.41 %) compared with native starch-Pickering emulsions (13.93 %-19.73 %). During in vitro digestion, SNCs-Pickering emulsions proved to be more proficient in protecting and prolonging the biological activity of curcumin due to their smaller size and better interfacial properties. These findings demonstrated the potential of SNCs for application in Pickering emulsion and delivery of bioactive components.

The association between preterm birth and the supplementation with vitamin D and calcium during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Although vitamin D (VD) supplementation or calcium supplementation during pregnancy has become publicly accepted and part of health care behavior, the effect of co-supplementation on preterm birth remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the supplementation with vitamin D and calcium during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth. METHODS: The study was the baseline survey from the birth cohort in Jinan, which was built at one month after the baby birth. Preterm birth and monthly VD and calcium supplementation during pregnancy were obtained by the questionnaire. The logistic model was conducted to exam the association. The distributed lag nonlinear model was applied to explore the critical window for the supplements. RESULTS: Preterm birth occurred in 4.4 % (285/6501) of the study subjects with single live births and the rates were 39.7% and 82.6% for single VD supplementation or calcium supplementation in pregnancy. The adjusted OR (95% CI) for preterm birth was 1.428 (1.115-1.829) related to VD and 0.883 (0.652-1.216) related to calcium. It is interesting to note that the increased risk of preterm birth with VD supplementation during pregnancy was only seen in pregnant women who supplemented with calcium (OR was 1.600) and had a significant increase in preterm birth weight (P = 0.040). Besides, supplementation VD with calcium during pregnancy from the 3rd to 6th month during pregnancy was associated with preterm birth (OR3rd = 1.216, 95% CI: 1.119-1.320; OR4th = 1.275, 95% CI: 1.152-1.411; OR5th = 1.279, 95% CI: 1.130-1.446; OR6th = 1.208, 95% CI: 1.076-1.356). Moreover, birth weight mediated 10.8% of the total effect of supplementation on preterm birth. CONCLUSION: Women who supplemented with VD among taking calcium during pregnancy were more likely to experience preterm birth, and birth weight partly mediates the effect. The critical window for association between supplements and preterm birth may be from the 3rd to 6th weeks of pregnancy.

FTO attenuates LPS-induced acute kidney injury by inhibiting autophagy via regulating SNHG14/miR-373-3p/ATG7 axis.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a master driver of RNA function and implicates in the pathogenesis of renal injury. LncRNA SNHG14 is highly expressed in sepsis patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and aggravates kidney cell dysfunction. This study aimed to explore whether demethylase FTO affect m6A methylation of SNHG14 in AKI injury and its underlying mechanism. The expression level of FTO was obviously downregulated in sepsis-associated AKI patients compared with normal controls. Mechanistically, FTO overexpression impeded SNHG14 expression by decreasing the stability of SNHG14 in an m6A-dependent manner in LPS-induced HK-2 cells. Additionally, FTO overexpression inhibited cell autophagy and apoptosis while promoting cell viability of LPS-induced HK-2 cells. Moreover, overexpression of FTO inhibited SNHG14 expression and autophagy in LPS-induced AKI mice. Functionally, SNHG14 acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) via directly sponging miR-373-3p in LPS induced HK-2 cells. Additionally, miR-373-3p directly targets ATG7. Inhibition of SNHG14 suppresses NF-κB signaling pathway and production of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß) via miR-373-3p/ATG7 in LPS-induced HK-2 cells. Furthermore, the SNHG14/miR-373-3p/ATG7 interaction network contributes to the regulatory effect of FTO on LPS-induced HK-2 cell viability, apoptosis and autophagy. These results suggested demethylase FTO suppressed the m6A modification of lncRNA SNHG14 and inhibits autophagy in LPS-induced AKI via regulating miR-373-3p/ATG7, which provided an important novel perspective for understanding sepsis-associated AKI and is conducive for developing new therapeutic targets and strategies.

Comparative analysis of millet bran nanocelluloses with various morphologies: Revealing differences in the formation mechanism and structure characteristics.

To investigate the differences of nanocelluloses with various morphologies, ammonium persulphate (APS) oxidation, H3PO4 dissolution and regeneration, and ball milling combined with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) as a medium were applied to isolate cellulose nanocrystals (MCNCs), cellulose nanospheres (MCNSs) and cellulose fibrils (MCNFs) from millet bran. The structure, properties, and formation mechanism of three nanocelluloses were comparatively investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscope, scanning electronic microscope, and emulsifying ability evaluation. MCNCs had needle-like structures due to the removal of amorphous regions, MCNFs appeared fibrous structures due to swelling and mechanical force, and MCNSs displayed spherical structures through self-assembly. MCNCs and MCNFs were confirmed to exhibit cellulose I structures with crystallinities of 61.24 % and 50.09 %, respectively. MCNSs showed the highest crystallinity of 68.41 % with a cellulose II structure. MCNFs and MCNSs exhibited higher initial decomposition temperatures, while MCNCs showed the highest residual mass. MCNFs suspension showed the highest apparent viscosity, while MCNSs suspension demonstrated superior dispersion. MCNSs-emulsion displayed the smallest droplet size, and MCNFs-emulsion exhibited the highest viscosity. This study reveals the formation mechanisms and relationship between morphologies and properties of three millet bran nanocelluloses, providing a theoretical basis for their application.

Association Between the Serum Phosphate Levels and Hospital Mortality as Well as 90-Day Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: COPD patients frequently have abnormal serum phosphorus levels. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between serum phosphorus levels with hospital and 90-day mortality in critically ill patients with COPD. Patients and Methods: The MIMIC IV database was used for this retrospective cohort analysis. We extracted demographics, vital signs, laboratory tests, comorbidity, antibiotic usage, ventilation and scoring systems within the first 24 hours of ICU admission. Restricted cubic splines and multivariate cox regression analysis models were used to evaluate the connection between serum phosphorus with hospital and 90-day mortality. We assessed and classified various factors including gender, age, renal disease, severe liver disease, the utilization of antibiotics and congestive heart failure. Results: We included a total of 3611 patients with COPD, with a median age of 70.7 years. After adjusting for all other factors, we observed a significant positive association between serum phosphate levels with both hospital mortality (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.07-1.31, p<0.001) and 90-day mortality (HR 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06-1.24, p<0.001). Compared to the medium group (Q2 ≥3.15, <4.0), the adjusted hazard ratios for hospital mortality were 1.47 (95% CI: 1.08-2, p=0.013), and 1.31 (95% CI: 1.06-1.61, p=0.013) for 90-day mortality in the high group (Q3≥4.0). Hospital mortality decreased at serum phosphate levels below 3.8 mg/dl (HR 0.664, 95% CI: 0.468-0.943, p=0.022), but increased for both hospital (HR 1.312, 95% CI: 1.141-1.509, p<0.001) and 90-day mortality (HR 1.236, 95% CI: 1.102-1.386, p<0.001) when levels were above 3.8 mg/dl. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results. Conclusion: In critical ill COPD patients, this study demonstrated a non-linear association between serum phosphate levels and both hospital and 90-day mortality. Notably, there was an inflection point at 3.8 mg/dl, indicating a significant shift in outcomes. Future prospective research is necessary to validate this correlation.

Sliding Memristor in Parallel-Stacked Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

Sliding ferroelectricity in 2D materials, arising from interlayer sliding-induced interlayer hybridization and charge redistribution at the van der Waals interface, offers a means to manipulate spontaneous polarization at the atomic scale through various methods such as stacking order, interfacial contact, and electric field. However, the practical application of extending 2D sliding ferroelectricity remains challenging due to the contentious mechanisms and the complex device structures required for ferroelectric switching. Here, a sliding memristor based on a graphene/parallel-stacked hexagonal boron nitride/graphene tunneling device, featuring a stable memristive hysteresis induced by interfacial polarizations and barrier height modulations, is presented. As the tunneling current density increases, the memristive window broadens, achieving an on/off ratio of ≈103 and 2 order decrease of the trigger current density, attributed to the interlayer migration of positively charged boron ions and the formation of conductive filaments, as supported by the theoretical calculations. The findings open a path for exploring the sliding memristor via a tunneling device and bridge the gap between sliding ferroelectricity and memory applications.

Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation on the structure, physicochemical properties, and digestibility of foxtail millet starches.

This study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation on the structural, physicochemical, and digestive properties of foxtail millet starches. The fermented starch granules formed a structure with honeycomb-like dents, uneven pores, and reduced particle size. As the fermentation time extended, the amylose content of waxy (0.88 %) and non-waxy (33.71 %) foxtail millet starches decreased to the minimum value at 24 h (0.59 % and 29.19 %, respectively), and then increased to 0.85 % and 31.87 % at 72 h, respectively. Both native and fermented foxtail millet starches exhibited an A-type crystal structure. Compared with native samples, the fermented samples performed enhanced proportion of short-branched chain, crystallinity, and short-range ordered degree. After fermentation for 24 h, the solubility, adsorption capacity, and pasting viscosity of foxtail millet starches improved, whereas the swelling power, pasting temperature, breakdown, setback, and degree of retrogradation reduced. Additionally, fermentation increased the transition temperatures, enthalpy, and digestibility. Overall, Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation is considered a competent choice to regulate the characteristics of foxtail millet starch.

Directed Evolution of the UDP-Glycosyltransferase UGTBL1 for Highly Regioselective and Efficient Biosynthesis of Natural Phenolic Glycosides.

The O-glycosylation of polyphenols for the synthesis of glycosides has garnered substantial attention in food research applications. However, the practical utility of UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) is significantly hindered by their low catalytic efficiency and suboptimal regioselectivity. The concurrent optimization of the regioselectivity and activity during the glycosylation of polyphenols presents a formidable challenge. Here, we addressed the long-standing activity-regioselectivity tradeoff in glycosyltransferase UGTBL1 through systematic enzyme engineering. The optimal combination of mutants, N61S/I62M/D63W/A208R/P218W/R282W (SMWRW1W2), yielded a 6.1-fold improvement in relative activity and a 17.3-fold increase in the ratio of gastrodin to para-hydroxybenzyl alcohol-4'-O-ß-glucoside (with 89.5% regioselectivity for gastrodin) compared to those of the wild-type enzyme and ultimately allowed gram-scale production of gastrodin (1,066.2 mg/L) using whole-cell biocatalysis. In addition, variant SMWRW1W2 exhibited a preference for producing phenolic glycosides from several substrates. This study lays the foundation for the engineering of additional UGTs and the practical applications of UGTs in regioselective retrofitting.

Complex impact of metals on the fate of disinfection by-products in drinking water pipelines: A systematic review.

Metals in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) play an important role on the fate of disinfection by-products (DBPs). They can increase the formation of DBPs through several mechanisms, such as enhancing the proportion of reactive halogen species (RHS), catalysing the reaction between natural organic matter (NOM) and RHS through complexation, or by increasing the conversion of NOM into DBP precursors. This review comprehensively summarizes these complex processes, focusing on the most important metals (copper, iron, manganese) in DWDS and their impact on various DBPs. It organizes the dispersed 'metals-DBPs' experimental results into an easily accessible content structure and presents their underlying common or unique mechanisms. Furthermore, the practically valuable application directions of these research findings were analysed, including the toxicity changes of DBPs in DWDS under the influence of metals and the potential enhancement of generalization in DBP model research by the introduction of metals. Overall, this review revealed that the metal environment within DWDS is a crucial factor influencing DBP levels in tap water.

Kidney function decline mediates the adverse effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on uric acid levels and hyperuricemia risk.

Previous studies indicated per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were related to uric acid and hyperuricemia risk, but evidence for the exposure-response (E-R) curves and combined effect of PFAS mixture is limited. Moreover, the potential mediation effect of kidney function was not assessed. Hence, we conducted a national cross-sectional study involving 13,979 US adults in NHANES 2003-2018 to examine the associations of serum PFAS with uric acid and hyperuricemia risk, and the mediation effects of kidney function. Generalized linear models and E-R curves showed positive associations of individual PFAS with uric acid and hyperuricemia risk, and nearly linear E-R curves indicated no safe threshold for PFAS. Weighted quantile sum regression found positive associations of PFAS mixture with uric acid and hyperuricemia risk, and PFOA was the dominant contributor to the adverse effect of PFAS on uric acid and hyperuricemia risk. Causal mediation analysis indicated significant mediation effects of kidney function decline in the associations of PFAS with uric acid and hyperuricemia risk, with the mediated proportion ranging from 19 % to 57 %. Our findings suggested that PFAS, especially PFOA, may cause increased uric acid and hyperuricemia risk increase even at low levels, and kidney function decline plays a crucial mediation effect.

Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis of Intrinsic High-Temperature Ferroelectric 2D CuCrSe2.

Ultrathin 2D ferroelectrics with high Curie temperature are critical for multifunctional ferroelectric devices. However, the ferroelectric spontaneous polarization is consistently broken by the strong thermal fluctuations at high temperature, resulting in the rare discovery of high-temperature ferroelectricity in 2D materials. Here, a chemical vapor deposition method is reported to synthesize 2D CuCrSe2 nanosheets. The crystal structure is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy characterization. The measured ferroelectric phase transition temperature of ultrathin CuCrSe2 is about ≈800 K. Significantly, the switchable ferroelectric polarization is observed in ≈5.2 nm nanosheet. Moreover, the in-plane and out-of-plane ferroelectric response are modulated by different maximum bias voltage. This work provides a new insight into the construction of 2D ferroelectrics with high Curie temperature.

Indoor metabolites and chemicals outperform microbiome in classifying childhood asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Indoor microorganisms impact asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR), but the associated microbial taxa often vary extensively due to climate and geographical variations. To provide more consistent environmental assessments, new perspectives on microbial exposure for asthma and AR are needed. Home dust from 97 cases (32 asthma alone, 37 AR alone, 28 comorbidity) and 52 age- and gender-matched controls in Shanghai, China, were analyzed using high-throughput shotgun metagenomic sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Homes of healthy children were enriched with environmental microbes, including Paracoccus, Pseudomonas, and Psychrobacter, and metabolites like keto acids, indoles, pyridines, and flavonoids (astragalin, hesperidin) (False Discovery Rate < 0.05). A neural network co-occurrence probability analysis revealed that environmental microorganisms were involved in producing these keto acids, indoles, and pyridines. Conversely, homes of diseased children were enriched with mycotoxins and synthetic chemicals, including herbicides, insecticides, and food/cosmetic additives. Using a random forest model, characteristic metabolites and microorganisms in Shanghai homes were used to classify high and low prevalence of asthma/AR in an independent dataset in Malaysian schools (N = 1290). Indoor metabolites achieved an average accuracy of 74.9% and 77.1% in differentiating schools with high and low prevalence of asthma and AR, respectively, whereas indoor microorganisms only achieved 51.0% and 59.5%, respectively. These results suggest that indoor metabolites and chemicals rather than indoor microbiome are potentially superior environmental indicators for childhood asthma and AR. This study extends the traditional risk assessment focusing on allergens or air pollutants in childhood asthma and AR, thereby revealing potential novel intervention strategies for these diseases.