Chronic inhalation of e-cigarette vapor containing nicotine disrupts airway barrier function and induces systemic inflammation and multiorgan fibrosis in mice.

Electronic (e)-cigarettes theoretically may be safer than conventional tobacco. However, our prior studies demonstrated direct adverse effects of e-cigarette vapor (EV) on airway cells, including decreased viability and function. We hypothesize that repetitive, chronic inhalation of EV will diminish airway barrier function, leading to inflammatory protein release into circulation, creating a systemic inflammatory state, ultimately leading to distant organ injury and dysfunction. C57BL/6 and CD-1 mice underwent nose only EV exposure daily for 3-6 mo, followed by cardiorenal physiological testing. Primary human bronchial epithelial cells were grown at an air-liquid interface and exposed to EV for 15 min daily for 3-5 days before functional testing. Daily inhalation of EV increased circulating proinflammatory and profibrotic proteins in both C57BL/6 and CD-1 mice: the greatest increases observed were in angiopoietin-1 (31-fold) and EGF (25-fold). Proinflammatory responses were recapitulated by daily EV exposures in vitro of human airway epithelium, with EV epithelium secreting higher IL-8 in response to infection (227 vs. 37 pg/ml, respectively; P < 0.05). Chronic EV inhalation in vivo reduced renal filtration by 20% ( P = 0.017). Fibrosis, assessed by Masson's trichrome and Picrosirius red staining, was increased in EV kidneys (1.86-fold, C57BL/6; 3.2-fold, CD-1; P < 0.05), heart (2.75-fold, C57BL/6 mice; P < 0.05), and liver (1.77-fold in CD-1; P < 0.0001). Gene expression changes demonstrated profibrotic pathway activation. EV inhalation altered cardiovascular function, with decreased heart rate ( P < 0.01), and elevated blood pressure ( P = 0.016). These data demonstrate that chronic inhalation of EV may lead to increased inflammation, organ damage, and cardiorenal and hepatic disease.

Impact of silver nanoparticles size on SERS for detection and identification of filamentous fungi.

Using the proper size of nanoparticles as an active substrate, Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can provide a reliable technique for detecting and identifying fungi, including Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium verticilliodes, and Aspergillus parasiticus that have been associated to biodeterioration and biodegradation of cultural heritage materials. In this research spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of average size of 10, 30 and 60 nm were synthesized using the wet chemical method with good yield and their size and shape distributions were examined using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The protocol for fungi sample preparation proved to be critical for producing high-quality and reproducible SERS spectra. We found that the effect of AgNPs on SERS signal enhancement is size dependent under the same experimental conditions; the SERS intensity of fungal strains using 60 nm achieved up to 2.3x105 enhancement, about twice as intense as those produced with 30 nm, and 10 nm produced a minor broad weak peak barely discernible around 1400 cm-1, similar to the NR spectra profile in the 550-1700 cm-1 spectral region, and the SERS signals using 60 nm showed high reproducibility, with less than 20% variance. Furthermore, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to statistically classify the SERS spectrum into four separate clusters with 99 percent variability so that the four fungal strains could be clearly detected and identified. The SERS technique, in combination with the PCA developed in this study, provides a simple, rapid, accurate, and cost-effective analytical tool for detecting and identifying filamentous fungal strains.

Vaping-induced metabolomic signatures in the circulation of mice are driven by device type, e-liquid, exposure duration and sex.

Each type of vaping device (vape pen, box Mod and JUUL), as well as nicotine and flavourings, induces a disparate metabolite profile or signature, such that each device and liquid is likely to lead to its own set of health effects https://bit.ly/3eExKzi.