Association between birth weight and insulin resistance in US adolescents: A retrospective cohort study exploring the role of concurrent body mass index.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the association between birth weight (BW) and abnormal HOMA-IR in US adolescents aged 12-15 years. The role of concurrent body mass index (BMI) in adolescence was also examined. METHODS AND RESULTS: This retrospective cohort study included 3429 participants from NHANES with data in 1999-2020. HOMA-IR ≥2.3 was considered abnormal. Participants were classified as low (LBW; <2.5 kg), normal (NBW; 2.5-4.0 kg), or high (HBW; >4.0 kg) BW. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between BW and HOMA-IR. Mediation analysis was used to examine whether BMI z-score in adolescence mediated the association between BW and HOMA-IR. Compared with those in NBW, the odds ratios (95 % CI) of abnormal HOMA-IR in LBW and HBW groups were 1.26 (0.99-1.60), and 0.62 (0.47-0.83) respectively. The association between BW and abnormal HOMA-IR was consistent in all subgroups with no significant interactions. Mediation analysis showed that BW is associated with lower risk of HOMA-IR directly, but with higher risk indirectly via BMI in adolescence. CONCLUSION: There was a negative linear relationship between BW and the prevalence of abnormal HOMA-IR in adolescents aged 12-15 independent of concurrent BMI. Children who were born with LBW but had high BMI in adolescence were of particularly higher risk of insulin resistance.

Unlocking multi-mode sensing potential: Phosphorus-doped graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots for Ag+, ciprofloxacin, and riboflavin analysis in environment and food matrices.

The simultaneous detection of multiple analytes through a single fluorescence sensor is highly attractive. In this study, phosphorus-doped graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (P-CNQDs) were developed, achieving multi-mode sensing through three distinct response mechanisms. The preparation involved using melamine as the carbon and nitrogen source and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate as the phosphorus source. Uniform and narrowly distributed P-CNQDs were successfully synthesized through chemical oxidation and hydrothermal methods, with an average size of 2.4 nm. These unique P-CNQDs exhibited fluorescence quenching through photo-induced electron transfer (PET) in response to Ag+. Additionally, the formation of hydrogen bonds and coordination interactions between P-CNQDs-Ag+ and ciprofloxacin (CIP) led to a pronounced fluorescence response to CIP by the chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) mechanism. Furthermore, leveraging the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), P-CNQDs-CIP served as a ratio fluorescence sensor for riboflavin (RF), enabling ultra-sensitive detection of RF. The combination of PET, CHEF, and FRET response mechanisms successfully facilitated multi-mode sensing for Ag+, CIP, and RF. The detection ranges were 0.05-100 µM, 0.002-2 µM, and 0.05-60 µM, with corresponding lowest detection limits of 17.1 nM, 1.1 nM, and 29.2 nM, respectively. This versatile sensor has been effectively applied to real samples, including the detection of river water and vitamin B2 tablets.

Highly Efficient Capture of Heavy Metal Ions on Amine-Functionalized Porous Polymer Gels.

Porous polymer gels (PPGs) are characterized by inherent porosity, a predictable structure, and tunable functionality, which makes them promising for the heavy metal ion trap in environmental remediation. However, their real-world application is obstructed by the balance between performance and economy in material preparation. Development of an efficient and cost-effective approach to produce PPGs with task-specific functionality remains a significant challenge. Here, a two-step strategy to fabricate amine-enriched PPGs, NUT-21-TETA (NUT means Nanjing Tech University, TETA indicates triethylenetetramine), is reported for the first time. The NUT-21-TETA was synthesized through a simple nucleophilic substitution using two readily available and low-cost monomers, mesitylene and α, α'-dichloro-p-xylene, followed by the successful post-synthetic amine functionalization. The obtained NUT-21-TETA demonstrates an extremely high Pb2+ capacity from aqueous solution. The maximum Pb2+ capacity, qm, assessed by the Langmuir model was as high as 1211 mg/g, which is much higher than most benchmark adsorbents including ZIF-8 (1120 mg/g), FGO (842 mg/g), 732-CR resin (397 mg/g), Zeolite 13X (541 mg/g), and AC (58 mg/g). The NUT-21-TETA can be regenerated easily and recycled five times without a noticeable decrease of adsorption capacity. The excellent Pb2+ uptake and perfect reusability, in combination with a low synthesis cost, gives the NUT-21-TETA a strong potential for heavy metal ion removal.

Facile fabrication of Eu-based metal-organic frameworks for highly efficient capture of tetracycline hydrochloride from aqueous solutions.

The tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) removal from wastewater is important for the environment and human health yet challenging. Herein, the Eu-based MOF, Eu(BTC) (BTC represents 1,3,5-trimesic acid) was prepared by an efficient and environmental-friendly strategy, and then was used for the TCH capture for the first time. The Eu(BTC) was characterized by different methods such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The TCH uptake of Eu(BTC) was investigated systematically. The influences of experiment conditions such as solution pH value, adsorption time and initial concentration on TCH capacity of Eu(BTC) were also studied. The Eu(BTC) obtained exhibited remarkable TCH uptake (qm was up to 397.65 mg/g), which was much higher than those of most materials such as UiO-66/PDA/BC (184.30 mg/g), PDA-NFsM (161.30 mg/g) and many carbon-based materials reported till now. Besides, the TCH adsorption behavior on Eu(BTC) was explored by Freundlich and Langmuir equations, and the adsorption mechanism was further analyzed. The experimental results suggested that the TCH adsorption mechanism of Eu(BTC) included the π-π interaction, electrostatic interaction and coordinate bonds. The excellent TCH adsorption performance and the efficient fabrication strategy make the Eu(BTC) prepared promising in TCH removal.

Development and validation of the UPLC-MS method for simultaneous determination of six new psychoactive substances.

The combined abuse of benzodiazepines and antipsychotics has become a global problem, and to develop a highly sensitive and selective method for monitoring of benzodiazepine hypnotics and antipsychotics is urgently necessary. In this work, we established a rapid method for the simultaneous determination of benzodiazepines (diazepam, alprazolam, triazolam, and estazolam) and antipsychotic drugs (clozapine, and chlorpromazine) based on ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). The accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), specificity, matrix effect and carry-over effect were verified in detail. The results of the recovery and repeat experiments proved that the proposed UPLC-MS method possessed very satisfactory accuracy and precision. The LOD and LOQ of the six psychoactive substances were as low as 0.001-0.005 and 0.005-0.01 µg L-1, respectively. The proposed method was employed to analyze urine samples which were pretreated with a protein precipitation process. The potential influences of precipitants on the analysis results were evaluated statistically, and 0.1% formic acid/acetonitrile/water was selected as the optimum precipitation agent. The detection of the targets was free from matrix and carryover effects.

Development and comparison of UPLC-ESI-MS and RP-HPLC-VWD methods for determining microcystin-LR.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) generated by cyanobacteria is a kind of potent hepatotoxin, which poses a considerable threat to human health. In the research field of MC-LR removal, the quantitative analysis in a wide concentration range of samples is inevitable. In this paper, we presented the pseudo united use of an Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography system with a Variable Wavelength Ultraviolet Detector (HPLC-VWD) approach to detect MC-LR. The UPLC-MS system was applied to determine MC-LR in trace concentration because of its high sensitivity. However, it is generally believed that the determination of high concentration samples by UPLC-MS will cause problems such as inaccurate quantification and contamination of ion sources. In consequence, the HPLC-VWD was employed to determine the high concentration of MC-LR. The sensitivity, precision and accuracy of the two methods were compared in detail. The linear ranges of UPLC-MS and HPLC-VWD methods were from 0.08 to 10 µg L-1 and 1 to 5000 µg L-1, respectively. The detection and quantification limits of UPLC-MS were 0.03-0.05 µg L-1 and 0.08 µg L-1, and the corresponding two values of HPLC-VWD were 0.6 and 1.0 µg L-1. The recoveries of UPLC-MS and HPLC-VWD were 88.5-106.7% and 98.7-101.6%, with the relative standard deviations of 3.72-5.45% and 0.38-1.69%, respectively. The potential adsorption properties of MC-LR on filter membranes with diverse materials and pore sizes were evaluated and the negative results were obtained. The detection of MC-LR by UPLC-MS was free from matrix effects. The presented UPLC-MS and HPLC-VWD methods were used to analyze the water samples from Erhai Lake, which is located in Dali, Yunnan, China. The results of UPLC-MS analysis indicated that the MC-LR was only identified in water samples of Shuanglang Bay and Xier River, with concentrations of 0.120 and 0.303 µg L-1, whereas MC-LR was not detected by HPLC-VWD.

Facile synthesis of carbon nitride quantum dots as a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent sensor for the tetracycline detection.

Enhanced blue fluorescent carbon nitride quantum dots (g-C3N4QDs) were synthesized by a simple solvothermal "tailoring" process from bulk g-C3N4 and analyzed by various characterization methods. The as-obtained g-C3N4QDs were successfully applied in the determination of tetracycline (TC) with a good linear relationship in the range of 0.23-202.70 µM. The proposed fluorescent sensor shows excellent stability, good repeatability, high selectivity and outstanding sensitivity to TC with a low detection limit of 0.19 µM. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of g-C3N4QDs with TC was mainly governed by static quenching and the inner filter effect. The method was successfully applied to monitor TC in tap water and milk powder samples.