The role of gut microbiome in the complex relationship between respiratory tract infection and asthma.

Asthma is one of the common chronic respiratory diseases in children, which poses a serious threat to children's quality of life. Respiratory infection is a risk factor for asthma. Compared with healthy children, children with early respiratory infections have a higher risk of asthma and an increased chance of developing severe asthma.

Mitochondrial ROS Accumulation Contributes to Maternal Hypertension and Impaired Remodeling of Spiral Artery but Not IUGR in a Rat PE Model Caused by Maternal Glucocorticoid Exposure.

Increased maternal glucocorticoid levels have been implicated as a risk factor for preeclampsia (PE) development. We found that pregnant rats exposed to dexamethasone (DEX) showed hallmarks of PE features, impaired spiral artery (SA) remodeling, and elevated circulatory levels of sFlt1, sEng IL-1β, and TNFα. Abnormal mitochondrial morphology and mitochondrial dysfunction in placentas occurred in DEX rats.

Factors associated with negative conversion of viral RNA in hospitalized children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Shanghai, China: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the related risk factors and potential predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative conversion by describing the dynamics of viral shedding in infected children admitted to two hospitals from Shanghai during the Omicron variant outbreak.

Methods: This retrospective cohort included laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Shanghai between March 28 and May 31, 2022. Clinical characteristics, personal vaccination, and household vaccination rates were collected through electronic health records and telephone interviews.

Term and Preterm Birth Initiation Is Associated with the Macrophages Shifting to M1 Polarization in Gestational Tissues in Mice.

Inflammation in gestational tissues plays critical role in parturition initiation. We sought to investigate the leukocyte infiltration and cytokine profile in uterine tissues to understand the inflammation during term and preterm labor in the mouse model. Preterm birth was induced by the administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or RU38486.

Functional single-walled carbon nanotubes 'CAR' for targeting dopamine delivery into the brain of parkinsonian mice.

Current treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD) are limited, partly due to the difficulties posed by the blood brain barrier (BBB) when delivering drugs to the brain. Herein, we explore the feasibility and efficacy of functional single-walled carbon nanotubes 'CAR' (SWCNT-PEGs-Lf) which carry and target-deliver dopamine (DA) to the brain in PD mice for treatment. SWCNTs can penetrate the cell-membrane remarkably, with the characteristics including high drug-loading and pH-dependent therapeutic unloading capacities.

Oral exposure to diisodecyl phthalate aggravates allergic dermatitis by oxidative stress and enhancement of thymic stromal lymphopoietin.

Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) is extensively used as an environmentally friendly plasticizer. However, little is known about the adverse effects and the underlying mechanisms of DIDP exposure on immunological diseases. We aimed to determine the role and mechanisms of DIDP exposure in allergic contact dermatitis-like skin lesions.

Diisononyl phthalate aggravates allergic dermatitis by activation of NF-kB.

Several epidemiological studies have suggested a possible link between exposure to Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and the development of allergies. These findings remain controversial since there is insufficient scientific evidence to assess the ability of DINP to influence allergic immune responses. In addition, the mechanisms behind DINP-caused allergic diseases have not been fully elucidated.