Untargeted and Targeted Metabolomics Reveal the Underlying Mechanism of Aspirin Eugenol Ester Ameliorating Rat Hyperlipidemia via Inhibiting FXR to Induce CYP7A1.

Hyperlipidemia is an important lipid disorder and a risk factor for health. Aspirin eugenol ester (AEE) is a novel synthetic compound which is made up of two chemical structural units from aspirin and eugenol. Therapeutic effect of AEE on hyperlipidemia has been confirmed in animal model. But the action mechanism of AEE on hyperlipidemia is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of AEE on liver and feces metabolic profile through UPLC-Q-TOF/MS-based untargeted metabolomics in hyperlipidemia hamster induced with high fat diet (HFD), and the effects of AEE on the expression of genes and proteins related to cholesterol and bile acid (BA) in HFD-induced hyperlipidemia SD rat. The concentrations of 26 bile acids (BAs) in the liver from hyperlipidemia SD rat were also quantified with the application of BA targeted metabolomics. The results of untargeted metabolomics showed that the underlying mechanism of AEE on hyperlipidemia was mainly associated with amino acid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, energy metabolism, BA metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. AEE induced the expression of the BA-synthetic enzymes cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) by the inhibition of BA nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in liver, which resulted in accelerating the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids and excrete in feces. The results of BA targeted metabolomics showed that AEE elevated the glycine-conjugated BA level and decreased the tauro-conjugated BA level. In conclusion, this study found that AEE decreased FXR and increased CYP7A1 in the liver, which might be the possible molecular mechanisms and targets of AEE for anti-hyperlipidemia therapies.

Temporal dynamic in the impact of COVID- 19 outbreak on cause-specific mortality in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Studies related to the SARS-CoV-2 spikes in the past few months, while there are limited studies on the entire outbreak-suppressed cycle of COVID-19. We estimate the cause-specific excess mortality during the complete circle of COVID-19 outbreak in Guangzhou, China, stratified by sociodemographic status. METHODS: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control Prevention provided the individual data of deaths in Guangzhou from 1 January 2018 through 30 June 2020. We applied Poisson regression models to daily cause-specific mortality between 1 January 2018 and 20 January 2020, accounting for effects of population size, calendar time, holiday, ambient temperature and PM2.5. Expected mortality was estimated for the period from 21 January through 30 June 2020 assuming that the effects of factors aforementioned remained the same as described in the models. Excess mortality was defined as the difference between the observed mortality and the expected mortality. Subgroup analyses were performed by place of death, age group, sex, marital status and occupation class. RESULTS: From 21 January (the date on which the first COVID-19 case occurred in Guangzhou) through 30 June 2020, there were three stages of COVID-19: first wave, second wave, and recovery stage, starting on 21 January, 11 March, and 17 May 2020, respectively. Mortality deficits were seen from late February through early April and in most of the time in the recovery stage. Excesses in hypertension deaths occurred immediately after the starting weeks of the two waves. Overall, we estimated a deficit of 1051 (95% eCI: 580, 1558) in all-cause deaths. Particularly, comparing with the expected mortality in the absence of COVID-19 outbreak, the observed deaths from pneumonia and influenza substantially decreased by 49.2%, while deaths due to hypertension and myocardial infarction increased by 14.5 and 8.6%, respectively. In-hospital all-cause deaths dropped by 10.2%. There were discrepancies by age, marital status and occupation class in the excess mortality during the COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: The excess deaths during the COVID-19 outbreak varied by cause of death and changed temporally. Overall, there was a deficit in deaths during the study period. Our findings can inform preparedness measures in different stages of the outbreak.

Degradation of sulfamethoxazole in bioelectrochemical system with power supplied by constructed wetland-coupled microbial fuel cells.

The removal rate and degradation pathway of Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in bioelectrochemical system (BES) and the elimination dynamics of SMX in a BES driven by stacked constructed wetland-coupled microbial fuel cells (CW-MFCs) were investigated. The results found that SMX (30mgL-1) was rapidly degraded in the BES, and the SMX removal kinetics was simulated well by a first-order kinetic model (R2>0.93). Low current had no effect on the degradation products but enhanced the SMX removal rate. Biotransformation was the main pathway for the SMX elimination in the BES. The CW-MFCs supplied adequate and stable electricity (0.84-1.01V) to support the BES for rapid SMX degradation without additional energy inputs. The relative abundance of Methanosarcina (18.7%) and VadinCA11 (3.1%) increased with an increase in voltage up to 1.2V. However, the opposite was observed for Methanosaeta and Methanomassiliicoccus. The current in the BES influenced the methanogenic communities.

Dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes in microbial fuel cell-coupled constructed wetlands treating antibiotic-polluted water.

Microbial fuel cell-coupled constructed wetlands (CW-MFCs) use electrochemical, biological, and ecological functions to treat wastewater. However, few studies have investigated the risks of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) when using such systems to remove antibiotics. Therefore, three CW-MFCs were designed to assess the dynamics of ARGs in filler biofilm and effluent over 5000 h of operation. The experimental results indicated that relatively high steady voltages of 605.8 mV, 613.7 mV, and 541.4 mV were obtained at total influent antibiotic concentrations of 400, 1,000, and 1600 µg L-1, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene level in the cathode layer was higher than those in the anode and two middle layers, but the opposite trend was observed for the sul and tet genes. The relative abundance of the three tested sul genes were in the order sulI > sulII > sulIII, and those of the five tet genes were in the order tetA > tetC > tetW > tetO > tetQ. The levels of sul and tet genes in the media biofilm showed an increase over the treatment period. The effluent water had relatively low abundances of sul and tet genes compared with the filler biofilm. No increases were observed for most ARGs over the treatment period, and no significant correlations were observed between the ARGs and 16S rRNA gene copy numbers, except for sulI and tetW in the effluent. However, significant correlations were observed among most of the ARG copy numbers.

FAS Grafted Electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofiber Membranes with Robust Superhydrophobicity for Membrane Distillation.

This study develops a novel type of electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENMs) with high permeability and robust superhydrophobicity for membrane distillation (MD) process by mimicking the unique unitary microstructures of ramee leaves. The superhydrophobic ENMs were fabricated by the eletrospinning of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), followed by chemical cross-linking with glutaraldehyde and surface modification via low surface energy fluoroalkylsilane (FAS). The resultant FAS grafted PVA (F-PVA) nanofiber membranes were endowed with self-cleaning properties with water contact angles of 158° and sliding angles of 4° via the modification process, while retaining their high porosities and interconnected open structures. For the first time, the robust superhydrophobicity of the ENMs for MD was confirmed by testing the F-PVA nanofiber membranes under violent ultrasonic treatment and harsh chemical conditions. Furthermore, vacuum membrane distillation experiments illustrated that the F-PVA membranes presented a high and stable permeate flux of 25.2 kg/m2 h, 70% higher than those of the commercial PTFE membranes, with satisfied permeate conductivity (<5 µm/cm) during a continuous test of 16 h (3.5 wt % NaCl as the feed solution, and feed temperature and permeate pressure were set as 333 K and 9 kPa, respectively), suggesting their great potentials in myriad MD processes such as high salinity water desalination and volatile organiccompounds removal.

Effects of promethazine or dexamethasone pretreatment on mivacurium-induced histamine release in children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of pretreatment with either promethazine or dexamethasone on mivacurium-induced histamine release in children. METHODS: Eighty ASA I-II children (4-10 years of age) scheduled for tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 20 per group) designated as either the rocuronium, mivacurium, dexamethasone (DXM), or promethazine group. Children in the DXM and promethazine groups were treated separately with intramuscular DXM 0.2 mg·kg(-1) or promethazine 0.5 mg·kg(-1) injections 60 min before operation. Radial artery blood samples were collected to quantify plasma histamine concentrations 1 min before and 1, 3, and 5 min after administration of the relaxant. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and skin flushing were recorded at the same time. RESULTS: No significant decreases in plasma histamine concentrations were observed between groups; however, more stable MAP and HR and less skin flushing were observed in DXM group participants compared with individuals in the mivacurium group (P < 0.05). By contrast, children in the promethazine group had significantly decreased plasma histamine concentrations and stable MAP and HR (without a significant increase in HR) compared with patients in mivacurium group. In addition, skin flushing was significantly decreased compared with that observed in the rocuronium group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with promethazine significantly decreased mivacurium-induced histamine release in children and provided stable hemodynamics during administration of anesthesia.

Liquid-gas dual phase microfluidic system for biocompatible CaCO3 hollow nanoparticles generation and simultaneous molecule doping.

Continuous CaCO(3) hollow nanoparticle generation at room temperature with simultaneous molecule doping is realized on a liquid-gas dual phase microfluidic system.

1-[(3-Nitro-phen-yl)(piperidin-1-yl)methyl]piperidine.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(17)H(25)N(3)O(2), one-dimensional chains are formed via inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds along the a axis.

[Nitrogen removal in earthworm ecofilter treating domestic wastewater].

The removal efficiency of different forms of nitrogen was studied in earthworm ecofilter treating domestic wastewater, and the mechanisms were discussed. Results indicated that, the major form of total nitrogen (TN) in influent water and effluent water were existed as ammonia-nitrogen (NH4+ -N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3- -N), respectively. NH4+ -N /TN in influent water and NO3- -N /TN in effluent water were 83.88% and 76.46%, respectively, NH4+ -N decreased and NO3- -N increased during the process. The average removal efficiency of TN and NH4+ -N were 28.08% and 90.44%, respectively, nitrate-nitrogen accumulated massively and nitrite-nitrogen (NO2- -N) accumulated a little. It was also observed that nitrification in earthworm ecofilter was strong and the denitrification was inhibited, TN removal was not as obvious as the NH4+ -N removal due to the poor denitrification environment. The overall removal of TN can be improved by increasing wet/dry ratio, modifying the structure of filter, multistage filter series, following by constructed wetland, and increasing C/N ratio of the influent water.

6-Fluoro-4-oxochroman-2-carboxylic acid.

The title compound, C(10)H(7)FO(4), is an inter-mediate in the synthesis of the drug Fidarestat, (2S,4S)-2-aminoformyl-6-fluoro-spiro[chroman-4,4'-imidazolidine]-2',5'-dione. The di-hydro-pyran-one ring adopts an envelope conformation with the asymmetric C atom in the flap position. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked into zigzag chains along [100] by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C-H⋯π inter-actions involving the benzene ring.

Expression of endothelin receptor subtypes in the spiral ganglion neurons of the guinea pig.

OBJECTIVE: Endothelin 1 has many biological activities including regulating the functions of auditory system. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of the endothelin receptors in spiral ganglion neurons and its significance in the auditory transmission. METHODS: The cochleae of healthy guinea pigs were fixed, decalcified, embedded in paraffin and serially sectioned. The expression of endothelin receptor subunits, ET receptor A (ET-A) and ET receptor B (ET-B), was examined in the spiral ganglion neurons of guinea pig using immunohistochemical technique. RESULTS: Different degrees of ET-A and ET-B positive reactivity appeared in all spiral ganglion neurons from the basal turn to the apical turn. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the suggestion that endothelin via the endothelin receptor may play a physiological role in the spiral ganglion neurons.