[Personal nitrogen oxides exposure levels and related influencing factors in adults over 35 years old in Tianjin and Shanghai].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate personal exposures to nitrogen oxides (NOX) and nitrogen di-oxide (NO2) and the influence of baseline personal characteristics, living environment and daily activity patterns of the participants on the exposures among adults over 35 in Tianjin and Shanghai. METHODS: In this panel study, 91 healthy nonsmoking adults aged over 35 from Tianjin and Shanghai participated in our study. The study was conducted in summer and winter. The participants were followed for three times with an interval of at least two weeks. Only participants in Shanghai were followed once in winter because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-seven participants completed follow-up visits in both seasons. We measured their 24 h personal exposures to NOX and NO2and collected their baseline and time-activity information through questionnaire/diary. The linear mixed model was used to analyze the associations between potential influencing factors and personal NOX and NO2 exposure levels. RESULTS: There were 349 follow-up visits with valid 24 h personal NO2 and NOX exposure measurements in the two cities. The ave-rage 24 h personal exposures to NO2 and NOX (volume fraction) in Tianjin participants were 18.0×10-9 and 26.2×10-9 in summer, and 31.0×10-9 and 54.9×10-9 in winter, respectively; and the average 24 h personal exposures to NO2 and NOX in Shanghai participants were 38.7×10-9 and 100.0×10-9 in summer, and 45.5×10-9 and 139.2×10-9 in winter, respectively. The results of univariate regression analysis showed that their personal NOX exposure levels were significantly associated with city, season, gender, average daily cooking times, and ambient NO2 concentrations measured at fixed-site monitoring stations. In addition to the above factors, the personal NOX exposure levels were also significantly associated with educational level and the personal NO2 exposure levels were also significantly associated with passive smoking, average daily home time, cooking energy type, residential distance from main traffic road, and use of kitchen ventilators. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the personal exposure levels of NO2 and NOX were significantly lower in Tianjin than that in Shanghai, were significantly lower in summer than that in winter, and were significantly and positively associated with ambient NO2 concentrations measured at fixed-site monitoring stations. In addition, personal NOX exposure levels were significantly lower in females than in males, and personal NO2 exposure levels were significantly positively associated with average daily cooking times and significantly inversely associated with average daily home time. For every interquartile range (IQR) increase (12.7×10-9) in ambient NO2, the personal NO2 exposure levels increased by 27.5% (95%CI: 17.0%-38.9%), and personal NOX exposure levels increased by 16.1% (95%CI: 7.1%-25.8%). CONCLUSION: Season, city and ambient NO2 concentrations are significant influencing factors of personal exposure levels of NO2and NOX. At the same time, the personal exposures levels of NO2are also affected by lifestyle factors. Our study provides scientific evidence for making precise air pollution control decisions and reducing the exposure levels of NOX in the population.

A novel method for colposcopic shunting in HPV-positive women: Quantitative detection of HPV E7 oncoprotein.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical application potential of quantitatively detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) E7 oncoprotein in HPV-positive women, with the goal of detecting potential high-grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and cervical cancer improving the accuracy of colposcopic shunting in these patients.HPV-positive women (N = 611) were selected for quantitatively detecting HPV E7 protein levels by magnetic particle-based chemiluminescence immunoassay before colposcopy. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed (n = 400) to determine diagnostic detection thresholds for HPV E7 oncoprotein. ThinPrep cytology test (TCT) and Aptima HPV E6/E7 mRNA analysis were also performed (n = 211). The diagnostic performance of these three diagnostic methods in detecting HSIL and cervical cancer was compared with the gold standard of pathological diagnosis. The area under the ROC curve was 0.724. The diagnostic detection threshold of HPV E7 oncoprotein was ≥10.88 ng/mL. The sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and Youden index of HPV E7 oncoprotein for the identification of HSIL and cervical cancer were 78.7 %, 77.9 %, 72.2 %, 83.3 %, and 56.6 %, respectively, which were higher than those of TCT and HPV E6/E7 mRNA.The results indicate that quantitative detection of HPV E7 oncoprotein can effectively shunt HPV-positive women and reduce unnecessary colposcopy and biopsy. It can detect potential HSIL and cervical cancer in a timely manner and prevent high-risk patients from missing diagnosis.

Antiaging Strategies and Remedies: A Landscape of Research Progress and Promise.

Aging is typified by a gradual loss of physiological fitness and accumulation of cellular damage, leading to deteriorated functions and enhanced vulnerability to diseases. Antiaging research has a long history throughout civilization, with many efforts put forth to understand and prevent the effects of aging. Multiple strategies aiming to promote healthy aging and extend the lifespan have been developed including lifestyle adjustments, medical treatments, and social programs. A multitude of antiaging medicines and remedies have also been explored. Here, we use data from the CAS Content Collection to analyze the publication landscape of recent research related to antiaging strategies and treatments. We review the recent advances and delineate trends in research headway of antiaging knowledge and practice across time, geography, and development pipelines. We further assess the state-of-the-art antiaging approaches and explore their correlations with age-related diseases. The landscape of antiaging drugs has been outlined and explored. Well-recognized and novel, currently evaluated antiaging agents have also been summarized. Finally, we review clinical applications of antiaging products with their development pipelines. The objective of this review is to summarize current knowledge on preventive strategies and treatment remedies in the field of aging, to outline challenges and evaluate growth opportunities, in order to further efforts to solve the problems that remain.

Coupling-Based Multiple Bound States in the Continuum and Grating-Assisted Permittivity Retrieval in the Terahertz Metasurface.

The terahertz (THz) metasurfaces that support bound states in the continuum (BICs) provide a promising platform for various applications due to their high Q-factor resonance. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate multiple BICs with different resonance symmetries in the THz metasurface based on mode coupling. The proposed metasurface is composed of 2 × 2 split ring resonators (SRRs) metamolecules. The SRRs of two different gap angles in the metamolecule lattice provide intrinsic resonance with different frequencies, and the coupling between them exhibits high transmission quasi-BIC resonance, which can be tuned by varying the gap angle. The arrangement of SRRs in the 2 × 2 metamolecule lattice determines the types of coupling that govern the resonance symmetry of quasi-BIC. More interestingly, the multiple quasi-BICs enabled by different couplings can be simultaneously achieved in a metasurface. Apart from tuning the gap angles, the permittivity in the vicinity of SRRs also changes the resonance frequency. Consequently, quasi-BIC can be artificially formed by deliberately constructing the permittivity difference of the dielectric environment on the SRRs. In view of this, we introduce the scheme of permittivity retrieval for the dispersive analyte, assisted by the fixed-permittivity gratings. In addition, we experimentally demonstrate the metasurface in combination with the microfluidic chip for the sensing of the glucose solution concentration. Our findings offer a possible strategy for the existing manufactured metasurface to achieve quasi-BIC resonance and provide a promising candidate for approaching the spectral analysis of the biochemical.

In vitro pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of FL058 (a novel beta-lactamase inhibitor) combined with meropenem against carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales.

Objective: FL058 is a novel beta-lactamase inhibitor with a broad spectrum of activity and a favorable safety profile. The objective of this study was to evaluate pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) relationships for the combination of FL058 and meropenem in an in vitro infection model. Methods: By simulating human concentration-time profiles in the in vitro model, meropenem combined with FL058 when administered 1 g/0.5 g, 1 g/1 g, 2 g/1 g, and 2 g/2 g q8h by 3-h infusion achieved approximately 2- and 4-log10 kill to KPC/OXA-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli; the combination therapy could not inhibit NDM-producing K. pneumoniae but could maintain NDM-producing E. coli around a baseline. Results: The PK/PD indexes that best described the bacterial killing from baseline in log10 CFU/mL at 24 h were the percent time of free drug above the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) (%fT > MIC, MIC with FL058 at 4 mg/L) for meropenem and the percent time of free drug above 1 mg/L (%fT > 1 mg/L) for FL058. The targets for achieving a static effect and the 1- and 2-log10 kill were 74, 83, and 99 for %fT > MIC of meropenem and 40, 48, and 64 for %fT > 1 mg/L of FL058, respectively. The PK/PD index of %fT > 1 mg/L can provide a basis for evaluating clinical dosing regimens for FL058 combined with meropenem. Conclusion: FL058 combined with meropenem might be a potential treatment for KPC- and/or OXA-48-producing Enterobacterales infection.

Ethyl acetate as an acetyl source and solvent for acetylation of alcohols by KOH.

A KOH mediated mild, efficient, convenient and gram-scalable protocol for the acetylation of alcohols with EtOAc as acetyl source and solvent. Various types of alcohols were successfully transformed into according acetylated products. Good to excellent yields were offered by primary alcohols and low to moderate yields were offered by secondary alcohols.