How indoor decoration materials contribute to phthalates pollution: Uncovering occurrences, sources, and their implications for environmental burdens in households.

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs), widely used as plasticizers in decoration materials, are significant indoor pollutants. However, research on their potential environmental impact in indoor settings remains limited. In this study, nine PAEs were determined in 177 decoration materials (41 furniture panels, 42 flooring, 52 wall coverings, and 42 paint and coatings) collected from China.

Curcumin relieves CFA-induced inflammatory pain by inhibiting the AP-1/c-Jun-CCL2-CCR2 pathway in the spinal dorsal horn.

Inflammatory pain is a pervasive clinical issue that severely diminishes individuals' quality of life. AP-1 (Activating protein-1) is a transcription factor composed of Jun and Fos proteins. Upregulation of AP-1/c-Jun activity is observed in a variety of diseases, particularly in inflammatory conditions.

Electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography-based patient- and segment-specific cardiac motion estimation method in stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation for ventricular tachycardia.

Background And Purpose: Motion management strategies such as gating under breath-hold can reduce breathing-induced motion during stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) for refractory ventricular tachycardia. However, heartbeat-induced motion is essential to define an appropriate cardiac internal target volume (ITV) margin. In this study, we introduce a patient- and segment-specific cardiac motion estimation method and cardiac motion data of the clinical target volume (CTV), ICD lead tips and left ventricle (LV) segments.

COTI-2 suppresses the malignancy of bladder cancer by inducing apoptosis via the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway.

Objectives: COTI-2, an innovative oral homocysteine, has shown promising antitumor results on multiple types of cancer. However, its effects in treating bladder cancer (BCa) and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. The present study aimed to explore the antitumor effects of COTI-2 on BCa and the potential mechanisms.

Exploring the genetic correlation and causal relationships between breast cancer and meningioma using bidirectional Mendelian randomization.

Previous studies have indicated a significantly higher prevalence of breast cancer (BC) among female patients with meningioma compared to the general female population. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the causal relationship between BC and meningioma at the genetic level. Genetic instrumental variables (IVs) for BC were identified from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), the Discovery Biology and Risk of Inherited Variants in Breast Cancer Consortium (DRIVE), the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (iCOGS), and 11 other BC genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Alterations in the Tongue Coating Microbiome in Patients With Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The gut microbiota plays a critical role in the occurrence and development of IBS-D, however, IBS-D-associated tongue coating microbiome dysbiosis has not yet been clearly defined. To address this, we analyzed the structure and composition of the tongue coating microbiome in 23 IBS-D patients and 12 healthy controls using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing analysis. The 16S rRNA sequencing results revealed that the overall observed OTUs of tongue coating microbiome in IBS-D patients exhibited a significant decrease compared with the healthy controls.

Elucidating the Causal Link Between Treg-Related Immune Traits and Atherosclerosis-Related Cardiovascular Diseases: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomisation Analysis.

Aim: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. However, the specific association between Treg immune traits and atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases remains unclear, impeding their potential for clinical therapeutic application.

Method: Fifty-eight Treg-related immune traits were obtained from the latest summary level genome-wide association study, which included 3,757 individuals from Sardinia.

Antibiotic-based micelles with bone-targeting and pH-responsive properties for infectious osteomyelitis treatment.

We developed antibiotic-based micelles with bone-targeting and charge-switchable properties (P-CASMs) for treating infectious osteomyelitis. The amphiphilic molecules are formed by combining ciprofloxacin (CIP) with ligand 1 through a mild salifying reaction, and spontaneously self-assemble into antibiotic-based micelles (ASMs) in aqueous solution. Acrylate groups on ligand 1 enable cross-linking of ASMs with pentaerythritol tetra(mercaptopropionate) via a click reaction, forming pH-sensitive cross-linked micelles (CASMs).

Open-set deep learning-enabled single-cell Raman spectroscopy for rapid identification of airborne pathogens in real-world environments.

Pathogenic bioaerosols are critical for outbreaks of airborne disease; however, rapidly and accurately identifying pathogens directly from complex air environments remains highly challenging. We present an advanced method that combines open-set deep learning (OSDL) with single-cell Raman spectroscopy to identify pathogens in real-world air containing diverse unknown indigenous bacteria that cannot be fully included in training sets. To test and further enhance identification, we constructed the Raman datasets of aerosolized bacteria.

Health and economic evaluation of herbal medicines for heart failure: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Heart failure (HF) represents an advanced stage of various cardiovascular disorders, with its elevated admission rates and resultant health economic burden posing an ongoing global concern.

Purpose: To evaluate the health and economic benefits of herbal medicine (HM) for patients with HF.

Study Design: Population-based cohort study.

Genetic diversity assessment of clonal plant Rosa persica in China.

Rosa persica is considered a clonal plant because it is mainly propagated by clonal growth. Due to environmental degradation and habitat devastation, R. persica has been listed as a national second-class protected plant in China.

Enhanced pollution control using sediment microbial fuel cells for ecological remediation.

Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) technology is an innovative approach to facilitate the degradation of sedimentary organic matter by electroactive microorganisms, transforming chemical energy into electrical energy and modulating the redox potential at the sediment-water interface, consequently controlling the release of endogenous pollutants. The synergistic effects of various environmental factors and intrinsic conditions can significantly impact SMFC performance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of SMFC development in research and application for water environment treatment and ecological remediation, a perspective rarely explored in previous reviews.

Effect of Pretreatment with a Small Dose of Esketamine on Myoclonus Induced by Etomidate: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Etomidate has been observed to precipitate myoclonus in patients undergoing induction of general anaesthesia. This study was designed to investigate the effect of pretreatment with a small dose of esketamine on the incidence of myoclonus induced by etomidate.

Methods: One hundred adult patients, who were scheduled to undergo selective operations with general anesthesia, were randomly divided into two groups, with one group receiving esketamine (Group E) and the other receiving normal saline (Group C).

Factors influencing cancer-related fatigue in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing radiotherapy: pathway analysis.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue symptoms persist throughout the radiotherapy period in patients with esophageal cancer and show a continuous worsening trend, which seriously affects the quality of survival of patients. Therefore, monitoring patients' fatigue status promptly, recognizing highly fatigued patients, and providing physical and psychological support are essential for improving their quality of life. As a positive psychological trait, self-efficacy can influence the level of fatigue in patients undergoing radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Barrier-free tomato fruit selection and location based on optimized semantic segmentation and obstacle perception algorithm.

With the advancement of computer vision technology, vision-based target perception has emerged as a predominant approach for harvesting robots to identify and locate fruits. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that fruits may be obscured by stems or other objects. In order to improve the vision detection ability of fruit harvesting robot, a fruit target selection and location approach considering obstacle perception was proposed.

Effect of smoking behaviour and related blood DNA methylation on visceral adipose tissues.

Background: Recent studies have found that tobacco smoking is associated with fat distribution, yet limited research has focused on its relationship with visceral adipose tissues (VATs). Furthermore, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions among smoking, epigenetic modifications, and VATs remain unknown.

Method: We performed univariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to elucidate the causal relationship between smoking behaviours and VATs, including epicardial and pericardial adipose tissue (EPAT), liver fat (LF), and pancreas fat (PF).

Micheliolide ameliorates severe acute pancreatitis in mice through potentiating Nrf2-mediated anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation effects.

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is an acute inflammatory injury disease with significant mortality rate and currently without effective strategy being available. Inflammation and oxidative stress play central roles in the etiology of SAP. Micheliolide (MCL), an active monomeric component isolated from Michelia champaca, has been proved its multiple therapeutic properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer.

Evaluation of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Expression with Novel Ga-Labeled Peptides Originated from the Coronavirus Receptor-Binding Domain.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is not only a key to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and related diseases, but also the main entry point on cell surfaces for certain coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. By analyzing the different key binding sites from the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, nine new ACE2-targeting peptides (A to A) were designed, synthesized and connected with a chelator, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-'-triacetic acid (NOTA). NOTA-A, NOTA-A, NOTA-A, NOTA-A, and NOTA-A were successfully labeled with [Ga]Ga and were used for biological evaluation.

Combining Metagenomics, Network Pharmacology and RNA-Seq Strategies to Reveal the Therapeutic Effects and Mechanisms of Qingchang Wenzhong Decoction on Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease that lacks effective treatments. Qingchang Wenzhong Decoction (QCWZD) is a clinically effective herbal prescription that has been proven to attenuate intestinal inflammation in IBD. However, its molecular mechanism of action has not been clearly elucidated.

Surface charge switchable fluorinated small molecular micelles for enhanced photodynamic therapy for bacterial infections.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) employs reactive oxygen species (ROS) from a photosensitizer (PS) under light, inhibiting multi-drug resistance in bacteria. However, hypoxic conditions in infection sites and biofilms challenge PDT efficiency. We developed fluorinated small molecular micelles (PF-CBMs) as PS carriers to address this, relieving hypoxia and enhancing PS penetration into biofilms.

Interpregnancy interval, air pollution, and the risk of low birth weight: a retrospective study in China.

Background: Both interpregnancy intervals (IPI) and environmental factors might contribute to low birth weight (LBW). However, the extent to which air pollution influences the effect of IPIs on LBW remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether IPI and air pollution jointly affect LBW.