A Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Prenatal and Early Childhood Antimicrobial Use on Autism Spectrum Disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of prenatal and early childhood antimicrobial use on autism spectrum disorders (ASD). DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed and Embase databases for relevant studies from inception to August 2022. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Peer-reviewed, observational studies were all acceptable. Raw data were extracted into a predefined worksheet and quality analysis was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nineteen studies were identified in the meta-analysis. Prenatal antimicrobial exposure was not associated with ASD (P = 0.06 > 0.05), whereas early childhood antimicrobial exposure was associated with an increased odds ratio of ASD (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = [1.08-1.27], P value < 0.001). The sibling-matched analysis, with a very limited sample size, suggested that neither prenatal (P = 0.47 > 0.05) nor early childhood (P = 0.13 > 0.05) antimicrobial exposure was associated with ASD. Medical professionals may need to take the possible association into consideration when prescribing an antimicrobial in children. CONCLUSIONS: Early childhood antimicrobial exposure could increase the incidence of ASD. In future studies, it would be necessary to control for confounding factors, such as genetic factors, parenteral age at birth, or low birthweight, to further validate the association.

Photo-Controlled Nano-Supramolecular Size and Reversible Luminescent Behaviors Based on Cucurbit[7]uril Cascaded Assembly.

Supramolecular luminescent material with switchable behavior and photo-induced aggregation with emission enhancement is a current research hot spot. Herein, a size-tunable nano-supramolecular assembly with reversible photoluminescent behavior was constructed by noncovalent polymerization of diarylethene-bridged bis(coumarin) derivative (DAE-CO), cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), and ß-cyclodextrin-grafted hyaluronic acid (HACD). Benefiting from the macrocyclic confinement effect, the guest molecule DAE-CO was included into the cavity of CB[7] to give enhanced fluorescence emission of the resulting DAE-CO⊂CB[7]2 with longer lifetime at 432 nm to 1.43 ns, thereby further enhancing fluorescence output and lifetime (1.46 ns) when further assembled with HACD, compared with the free DAE-CO (0.95 ns). In addition, DAE-CO, DAE-CO⊂CB[7]2, and DAE-CO⊂CB[7]2&HACD all possessed characteristics of aggregation-induced emission and reversible photo-switched structural interconversion, exhibiting an obvious photophysical activation phenomenon of self-aggregation into larger nanoparticles with increase in fluorescence emission intensity, lifetime, and size after irradiation, which could be increased step by step with the alternating irradiation of 254 nm (5 min) or >600 nm (30 s) repeated 7 times. These supramolecular assemblies were successfully used in the tumor cells' targeted imaging and anti-counterfeiting because of the capability of HACD for recognizing specific receptors overexpressed on the surface of tumor cells and the excellent photo-regulated switch ability of DAE-CO, providing an approach of constructing photo-induced emission-enhanced luminescent materials.

Electroacupuncture at Zusanli ameliorates the autistic-like behaviors of rats through activating the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant responses.

OBJECTIVE: Emerging evidence suggests that acupuncture plays a neuroprotective role in autism. This study aimed to explore the effect of electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) on autistic-like behaviors and the underlying mechanism. METHOD: Pregnant rats were administered with valproic acid (VPA) on gestational day 12.5 to induce an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) model. The pups were given electroacupuncture at ST36 daily from postnatal day (PND) 28-48. On PND28, the adenoviral vector containing small interfering RNA Nrf2 (Ad-siRNA-Nrf2) was injected into the prefrontal cortex of rats. The behavioral analysis was performed on PND 44-48. On PND48, the animals were euthanized and the brains were collected for further detection. Nissl staining was performed to detect neuronal viability. The biochemical markers of oxidative stress were subsequently measured. RESULT: Electroacupuncture at ST36 ameliorated the locomotor activity, social behavior, spatial learning and memory and repetitive behavior compared with ASD rats. It was notable that the electroacupuncture decreased oxidative stress markers in the tissues of prefrontal cortex, enhanced translocation of nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor2 (Nrf2) from cytoplasm to nucleus, and up-regulated the levels of NADP(H) quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) and heme oxygenase (HO-1). However, these effects induced by electroacupuncture at ST36 were abolished after injection of Ad-siRNA-Nrf2. CONCLUSION: These data suggested that electroacupuncture at ST36 protected nerve function in ASD rats through Nrf2 activation and the antioxidant response.

Novel Porous Rhodium Metal-Organic Aerogel for Efficient Removal of Organic Dyes and Catalysis of Si-H Insertion Reactions.

Metal-organic gels (MOGs) are attracting increasing attention for removal of organic dyes from aqueous solution and for catalysis of Si-H insertion reactions. Herein, we report that a reaction of porphyrin derivative 1 with Rh2(OAc)4 generates stable metal-organic gels and subsequent subcritical carbon dioxide drying affords metal-organic aerogels. Owing to their micro- and mesoporosity, the aerogels adsorbed dyes. Moreover, aerogel I catalyzed Si-H insertion reactions to give organosilicon compounds in high yields.

Reversible Emitting Anti-Counterfeiting Ink Prepared by Anthraquinone-Modified ß-Cyclodextrin Supramolecular Polymer.

Intelligent fluorescent materials have been paid more and more attention due to their wide application in information encryption and anti-counterfeiting materials. Herein, a supramolecular polymer is constructed through the host-guest interaction of anthraquinone-modified ß-cyclodextrin (AQ-ß-CD) in aqueous solution. Thanks to the hydrophobic microenvironment of the cyclodextrin cavity and the shielding effect on oxygen molecules, the anthraquinone group, as the guest molecule, can rapidly produce 9,10-anthracenediol (QH2) with strong fluorescence by photoreduction. Interestingly, the generated anthracenediol group is still sensitive to oxygen and can be converted to anthraquinone by oxygen. Significantly, aqueous solution of AQ-ß-CD supermolecular polymer is used as emitting ink, which decrypts the information by ultraviolet light and encrypts the information in the air.

Polysaccharide-Based Nanoparticles for Two-Step Responsive Release of Antitumor Drug.

A novel two-step in situ method for targeted antitumor drug release by supramolecular assembly (Fc-CPT@HACD) was constructed using camptothecin prodrug (Fc-CPT) and ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD)-modified hyaluronic acid (HACD). Benefiting from the overexpressed H2O2 and glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells, Fc-CPT@HACD can be disassembled by oxidation of ferrocene (Fc) to Fc+, leading to an efficient release of the anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT) to induce tumor cell apoptosis without affecting normal cells. The in vivo experiment results also demonstrated that Fc-CPT@HACD possessed higher anticancer efficiency than free CPT, accompanied by negligible side effects.

Multistimuli-Responsive and Photocontrolled Supramolecular Luminescent Gels Constructed by Anthracene-Bridged Bis(dibenzo-24-crown-8) with Secondary Ammonium Salt Polymer.

A novel multistimuli-responsive and photcontrolled supramolecular luminescent gel is fabricated from anthracene-bridged bis(dibenzo-24-crown-8) (1) and secondary ammonium salt-functionalized graft polymer (3). X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that the dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) ring is located at the opposite site of 1, which will greatly hinder the mutual intermolecular π-π stacking between anthracene groups. By taking advantage of the controllable binding of 1 with 3, the unique gel-sol transition could occur under different temperatures, pH, and competitive guest bindings. Benefiting from the photo-oxygenation of anthracene, the luminescence behavior of the supramolecular gel could be switched off and on under UV light (365 nm) and heating treatment, which provides a new approach for constructing photocontrolled supramolecular luminescent gel.

A tumor-targeting Ru/polysaccharide/protein supramolecular assembly with high photodynamic therapy ability.

Supramolecular assembly with tumor-targeting properties or photodynamic therapy (PDT) ability has recently become a focus of interest in biomaterial field because of its high therapeutic efficacy against tumor cells. Herein, we reported a new type of targeted supramolecular nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy of tumor cells constructed using adamantane-functionalized transferrin protein (Ad-TRF) and a ß-cyclodextrin-functionalized ruthenium complex (Ru-HOP-CD), wherein Ad-TRFs acted as the targeted sites for tumor cells, the coordinated Ru(ii) centers acted as the PDT active sites, and the biocompatible polysaccharide ß-cyclodextrins acted as the non-covalent linkers. Significantly, the resultant Ru/polysaccharide/protein exhibited not only specific targeting properties towards tumor cells but also high PDT ability under the irradiation of visible light. Furthermore, the assembly showed selective killing towards tumor cells along with negligible toxicity towards normal cells.

Photo-controlled chirality transfer and FRET effects based on pseudo[3]rotaxane.

The use of light to regulate the chirality of supramolecular assemblies in a non-invasive manner remains a challenge. Herein, we report a novel photochromic pseudo[3]rotaxane based on a (R/S)-2,2'-binaphthyl secondary ammonium salt guest (2) and anthracene-bridged bis(dibenzo-24-crown-8) (1), which features a chirality transfer and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from 2 to 1. Benefiting from the photo-oxidation of anthracene, the induced circular dichroism (ICD) signals of (R/S)-2@1 can be switched off/on by irradiation with 365 nm UV light and heating. This noncovalent supramolecular assembly strategy provides us with unique opportunities to design and construct further smart photo-responsive chiral molecular switches.

Impact of CYP2D6 Polymorphisms on Postoperative Fentanyl Analgesia in Gastric Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the influence of human cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) gene polymorphism in gastric cancer (GC) patients to understand the pharmacogenomic basis for patient response to postoperative fentanyl analgesia. METHODS: The prospective study design contained 212 patients recovering from radical gastrectomy. Peripheral blood samples were collected after general anesthesia, and CYP2D6 genotypes were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. After providing adequate instructions to operate the analgesia pump, patients self-administered fentanyl via patient controlled intravenous analgesia. The cumulative amount of fentanyl self-administered and the associated adverse effects were recorded at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h postoperatively. RESULTS: Five patients, out of the 212 patients recruited to this study, failed to complete the study. The remaining 207 patients were classified into three groups based on their genotypes: W/W group (n=44), M/W group (n=112), and M/M group (n=51). Our results demonstrated that the cumulative amount of fentanyl consumption significantly increased in the M/M group at 6, 12, and 24 h postoperatively, compared with the W/W group (p<0.05). In addition, visual analogue scale (VAS) score in the M/M group was significantly higher than the W/W group in the analepsia period after general anesthesia and at 6 h postoperatively (p<0.05). No significant adverse effects were observed in all the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: CYP2D6 polymorphism influenced patient response to postoperative fentanyl analgesia in GC patients.