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ABSTRACT This study explores the effects of disinfectant and antibiotic exposure on gut health, focusing on gut microbiota balance and gut immune function. Our analysis indicates that disinfectants increase the proportion of Gram-positive bacteria, particularly increasing Staphylococcus levels, while antibiotics increase the proportion of Gram-negative bacteria, especially Bacteroides levels. These changes disrupt microbial harmony and affect the gut microbiome’s functional capacity. Additionally, our research reveals that both disinfectants and antibiotics reduce colon length and cause mucosal damage. A significant finding is the downregulation of NLRC4, a key immune system regulator in the gut, accompanied by changes in immune factor expression. This interaction between chemical exposure and immune system dysfunction increases susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and other gut conditions. Given the importance of disinfectants in disease prevention, this study advocates for a balanced approach to their use, aiming to protect public health while minimizing adverse effects on the gut microbiome and immune function.IMPORTANCEDisinfectants are extensively employed across various sectors, such as the food sector. Disinfectants are widely used in various sectors, including the food processing industry, animal husbandry, households, and pharmaceuticals. Their extensive application risks environmental contamination, impacting water and soil quality. However, the effect of disinfectant exposure on the gut microbiome and the immune function of animals remains a significant, unresolved issue with profound public health implications. This highlights the need for increased scrutiny and more regulated use of disinfectants to mitigate unintended consequences on gut health and maintain immune system integrity.

Low-temperature synthesis of Bi2Se3 thin film semiconductor thermoelectric materials is prepared by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. The Bi2Se3 film demonstrated excellent crystallinity due to the Se-rich environment. Experimental results show that the prepared Bi2Se3 film exhibited 90% higher transparency in the mid-IR region, demonstrating its potential as a functional material in the atmospheric window. Excellent mobility of 2094 cm2/V·s at room temperature is attributed to the n-type conductive properties of the film. Thermoelectrical properties indicate that with the increase in Se vapor, a slight decrease in conductivity of the film is observed at room temperature with an obvious increase in the Seebeck coefficient. In addition, Bi2Se3 thin film showed an enhanced power factor of as high as 3.41 μW/cmK2. Therefore, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)-grown Bi2Se3 films on Al2O3 (001) substrates demonstrated promising thermoelectric properties.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the clinical efficiency and safety of moxibustion for the treatment of poststroke insomnia (PSI). Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service platform (Wanfang Data), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and clinical rial for trandomized controlled trials on moxibustion as a treatment for PSI, including results from the creation of all databases until December 12, 2020. The functional languages used were Chinese and English. Two reviewers independently performed the literature search, data extraction, and quality evaluation. The primary and secondary outcome measures were the effective rate and adverse events, respectively. The meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan5.4 software and Stata15. Results: Of the 11 trials, 996 patients in mainland China were included. Compared to the control group, the combination of single moxibustion therapy or moxibustion combined with acupuncture in the treatment of DN could reduce the sleep quality score (SQS) (mean difference [MD] = −0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] [ − 0.89, −0.11], Z = 2.51, P = 0.01), time to falling asleep score (MD = −0.39, 95% CI [−0.49, −0.29], Z = 7.79, P < 0.00001), sleep time score (MD = −0.34, 95% CI [−0.59, −0.09], Z = 2.64, P = 0.008), sleep efficiency score (MD = −0.30, 95% CI [−0.52, −0.08], Z = 2.69, P = 0.007), sleep disorder score (MD = −0.29, 95% CI [−0.49, −0.09], Z = 2.85, P = 0.004), daily function disturbance score (MD = −0.54, 95% CI [−0.82, −0.26], Z = 3.78, P = 0.0002), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index aggregate score (MD = −2.30, 95% CI [−2.97, −1.63], Z = 6.71, P < 0.00001), SPIEGEL aggregate score (MD = −7.62, 95% CI [−8.12, −7.12], Z = 29.75, P < 0.00001), and stroke-specific quality of life aggregate score (MD = 12.68, 95% CI [0.92, 24.44], Z = 2.11, P = 0.03). Conclusion: This study indicates that moxibustion contributes to the treatment of PSI. Nevertheless, more extensive trials are required to validate the results due to the small sample sizes, few reports on adverse effects, and high risk of bias in the included studies.

Background: Heart failure patients with higher body mass index (BMI) exhibit better clinical outcomes. Therefore, we assessed whether the BMI can predict left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) improvement following heart failure.Methods and Results: We included 184 patients newly diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and reduced EF in our center and who underwent follow-up examination of EF via echocardiography after 6 months. The EF improved at 6 months in 88 participants, who were included in the heart failure with recovered EF (HFrecEF) subgroup. Patients in whom the EF remained reduced were included in the heart failure with persistently reduced EF (persistent HFrEF) subgroup. Our analyses revealed that EF increase correlated with age (r = −0.254, P = 0.001), left ventricular diastolic dimension (LVDD; r = −0.210, P = 0.004), diabetes (P = 0.034), brain natriuretic peptide (r = −0.199, P = 0.007), and BMI grade (P = 0.000). BMI grade was significantly associated with elevated EF after adjustment for other variables (P = 0.001). On multivariable analysis, compared to patients with persistent HFrEF, those with HFrecEF had higher BMI [odds ratio (OR) = 2.342 per one standard deviation increase; P = 0.001] and lower LVDD (OR = 0.466 per one standard deviation increase; P = 0.001). ROC-curve analysis data showed that BMI > 22.66 kg/m2 (sensitivity 84.1%, specificity 59.4%, AUC 0.745, P = 0.000) indicate high probability of EF recovery in 6 months.Conclusions: Our data suggest that higher BMI is strongly correlated with the recovered EF and that BMI is an effective predictor of EF improvement in patients with heart failure and reduced EF.

Abstract Background Air embolus penetrating into heart chamber as a complication during percutaneous radiofrequency catheter ablation has been infrequently reported. Case presentation A 55-year-old man with dextrocardia who suffered from abdominal pain was suspected to have multiple arterial thromboembolisms, which might have originated from left atrium thrombosis since he had atrial fibrillation. He received oral anticoagulant therapy and catheter ablation of the arrhythmia. During the ablation procedure, an iatrogenic aeroembolism penetrated into the left atrium due to improper operation. Ultimately, the entire air embolus was extracted from the patient, who was free of any aeroembolism events thereafter. Conclusions It is essential for an operator to pay full attention to all details of the procedure to avoid an aeroembolism during catheter ablation. In case of aeroembolism, removal by aspiration is an optimal and effective treatment.

OTUD7B, a multifunctional deubiquitinylase, plays an essential role in inflammation and proliferation signals. However, its function in lung cancer remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of OTUD7B in patients with lung adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma and to characterize its molecular mechanisms in lung cancer progression and metastasis. Two tissue microarrays containing 150 pairs of lung squamous carcinoma and matched adjacent non-cancer tissues, and one tissue microarray containing 75 pairs of lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent non-cancer tissues were included, and immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess the clinical relevance of OTUD7B in non-small cell lung cancer. OTUD7B is highly expressed in both lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma and correlates with a worse prognosis. MTT proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion assays and immunoblotting assay in NCI-H358 and A549 cell lines suggested that OTUD7B enhances EGF-induced Akt signal transduction and promotes lung cancer cell proliferation and migration. Immunohistochemical staining of large-scale lung cancer subjects (171 cases) revealed positive correlation of OTUD7B and VEGF expression. ELISA and tube formation assay revealed OTUD7B promotes VEGF production and angiogenesis. NCI-H358 tumor model demonstrated OTUD7B is required for lung tumor progression by facilitating activation of Akt signaling. These findings collectively identified OTUD7B as an independent predictive factor for the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer and revealed OTUD7B promotes lung cancer cell proliferation and metastasis via Akt/VEGF signal pathway.

The efficient treatment of the problem of air pollution is a practical issue related to human health. The development of multi-functional air treatment filters, which can remove various kinds of pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and organic gases, is a tireless pursuit aiming to address the actual needs of humans. Advanced materials and nano-manufacturing technology have brought about the opportunity to change conventional air filters for practical demands, with the aim of achieving the high-efficiency utilization of photons, a strong catalytic ability, and the synergetic degradation of multi-pollutants. In this work, visible-responding photocatalytic air treatment filters were prepared and combined with a fast and cost-effective electrospinning process. Firstly, we synthesized Ag-loaded TiO2 nanorod composites with a controlled size and number of loaded Ag nanoparticles. Then, multi-functional air treatment filters were designed by loading catalysts on electrospinning nanofibers combined with a programmable brush. We found that such Ag-TiO2 nanorod composite-loaded nanofibers displayed prominent PM filtration (~90%) and the degradation of organic pollutants (above 90%). The superior performance of purification could be demonstrated in two aspects. One was the improvement of the adsorption of pollutants derived from the increase of the specific surface area after the loading of catalysts, and the other was the plasmonic hot carriers, which induced a broadening of the optical absorption in the visible light range, meaning that many more photons were utilized effectively. The designed air treatment filters with synergistic effects for eliminating both PM and organic pollutants have promising potential for the future design and application of novel air treatment devices.