Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is hypothesised to play a role in the development of allergic rhinitis (AR). Prenatal and early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution is considered ...critical for later respiratory health. However, we could not find any articles systematically reviewing the risk of prenatal and early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution for allergic rhinitis in children.
A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science and Medline was conducted to identify studies focused on the association between prenatal and early-life exposure to TRAP and AR in children. Other inclusion criteria were: 1) original articles; 2) based upon prospective or retrospective studies or case-control studies; and 3) publications were restricted to English. Literature quality assessment was processed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) evaluation scale. This systematic literature review has been registered on the prospero (crd.york.ac.uk/prospero) with the following registry number: CRD42022361179.
Only eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The exposure assessment indicators included PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance, PM10, NOx, CO, and black carbon. On the whole, exposure to TRAP during pregnancy and the first year of life were positively associated with the development of AR in children.
This systematic review presents supportive evidence about prenatal and early-life exposure to TRAP and the risk of AR in children.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Nano-assisted thermotherapy is an efficient method for subcutaneous tumors. However, an accurate prediction of the real-time temperature distribution and thermal damage during this thermotherapy ...process is still unachievable through non-invasive monitor. The present study proposed a theoretical method to predict the temperature distribution and burned area during the nano-assisted non-invasive thermotherapy process for the subcutaneous tumor. Governing equations are established for a laminated dual-phase-lag bio-thermal transfer model and are solved by Laplace transform method. The influences of heat flux phase lags and temperature gradient phase lags during the thermotherapy process are revealed, which indicate that the former delays the thermal equilibrium, while the later promotes the thermal balance progress. It is demonstrated that the gold nanoparticles can enhance the temperature in the tumor while reduce the temperature in healthy tissues, and the surface cooling method can decrease the temperature of skin effectively. This study illustrates that the subcutaneous tumor is efficiently eliminated while skin and healthy tissues are well protected from empyrosis by the combination of these two kinds of assistance. The results presented in this work can be employed to guide the bio-thermotherapy for the subcutaneous tumor.
The red yeast (
Rhodotorula mucilaginosa
: Rho) has abundant extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and intracellular vesicles (Ves). This study explored the mechanisms of Rho to resist Cu toxicity ...from extracellular to intracellular, i.e., EPS, membrane, and Ves. The Cu
2+
concentrations were set from 0 to 200 mg/L. In contrast to other heavy metals (e.g., Pb
2+
), low Cu
2+
stress has no evident stimulation to EPS production. In particular, GSH content in EPS did not show significant changes. The Cu removal was decreased from ~ 35 to ~ 0% as Cu stress raised from 0 to 200 mg/L, which confirmed the low binding of Cu cations to EPS. Moreover, redox peaks at − 0.35 V (reduction) and − 0.02 V (oxidation) in EPS were observed based on electrochemical analysis. Subsequently, the potential Haber-Weiss reaction in EPS lowered fungal ability to shield against the Cu toxicity. Then, the contrast of Cu concentration between the extracellular and intracellular regions was enlarged. Moreover, the thickness of cell membrane decreased from 450 to 116 nm during the elevation of Cu stress. These accelerated the transport of Cu cations into intracellular, but the redox reaction in both cell membrane and intracellular region was limited. Under transmission electron microscopy, the intracellular Ves showed evident sorption of Cu cations (100 mg/L). However, the Ves started to deform and gradually lost their activity at 200 mg/L. Therefore, this study successfully elucidated the correlated extracellular and intracellular mechanisms of metal detoxification by yeast.
Key points
•This study provides a comprehensive explanation for the invasion of Cu
2+
into fungal (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) cells based on microbial physiological and biochemical analysis, electrochemical analysis, and transmitted electron microscopy.
•Cu nanoparticles are involved in redox reactions in the EPS, thus greatly reducing the prophase protection for fungal cells by EPS.
•At 200 mg/L Cu
2+
stress, deformation of cell membrane intensifies the contrast of Cu concentrations between extra- and intracellular regions. This further suppresses the transportation of Cu
2+
by intracellular vesicles.
Graphical abstract
•A living bio-tissue is irradiated by a scanning laser beam.•3-dimensional DPL model of bio-heat conduction is applied.•Temperature is derived analytically by using Green’s function ...approach.•Influences of moving speed and spot size of laser beam are discussed.•Influences of two phase lags are discussed.
At present, laser plays an important role in biomedical treatments and surgical techniques. To guarantee patients’ safety, a deeply understanding of thermal responses of biological tissues during laser-tissue interaction is required. The existing analytical researches usually explore the bio-thermal process based on a one-dimensional heat conduction model because of the complication of the governing equations in three-dimensional case. The present study developed an analytical solution for the laser-tissue thermal interaction with a moving heat source based on a three-dimensional DPL thermal transfer model. The effects of the capillary vessel system and metabolism were under consideration. The expression of temperature in the cuboid bio-tissue was derived analytically by utilizing the Green’s function approach and its accuracy was verified through agreement with a numerical simulation. The influences of the laser moving speed, the spot size of laser beam and the two parameters of relaxation times were discussed.
A major shift in the "dynamic zero-COVID" policy was announced by China's National Health Commission on December 7, 2022, and the subsequent immediate large-scale outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections in ...the entire country has caused worldwide concern. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak in Sichuan, China.
All data were self-reported online by volunteers. We described the epidemic by characterizing the infection, symptoms, clinical duration, severity, spatiotemporal clustering, and dynamic features of the disease. Prevalence ratio (PR), Odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs were calculated to analyze the associations between risk factors and infection and the associations of risk factors with clinical severity using log-binomial and multivariable logistic regression models; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and Wald test results were reported. The prevalence rates and clinical severity among different subgroups were compared using the Chi-square and trend Chi-square tests.
Between January 6 and 12, 2023, 138,073 volunteers were enrolled in this survey, and 102,645 were infected with COVID-19, holding a prevalence rate of 74.34%; the proportion of asymptomatic infections was 1.58%. Log-binomial regression revealed that the risk of infection increased among those living in urban areas. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that female sex, chronic diseases, older age and the fewer doses of vaccine received were associated with an increased risk of severe clinical outcomes after infection. We estimated the mean reproduction number during this pandemic was 1.83. The highest time-dependent reproduction number was 4.15; this number decreased below 1 after 11 days from December 7, 2022. Temporal trends revealed a single peak curve with a plateau pattern of incidence during the outbreak, whereas spatiotemporal clustering analysis showed that the onset in 21 cities in the Sichuan province had four-wave peaks.
The peak of the first wave of Omicron infection in Sichuan Province had passed and could be considered a snapshot of China under the new control strategy. There were significant increases in the risk of severe clinical outcomes after infection among females, with chronic diseases, and the elderly. The vaccines have been effective in reducing poor clinical outcomes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are widely used in lightweight structures because of their high specific strength, specific modulus, and low coefficient of thermal expansion. ...Additionally, the unidirectionally arrayed chopped strand (UACS) laminates have excellent mechanical properties and flowability, making them suitable for fabricating structures with complex geometry. In this paper, the damage process of UACS quasi-isotropic laminates under tensile load was tested using acoustic emission detection technology. The mechanical properties and damage failure mechanism of UACS laminates were studied combined with finite element calculation. By comparing and analyzing the characteristic parameters of acoustic emission signals such as amplitude, relative energy, and impact event, it is found that acoustic emission behavior can accurately describe the damage evolution of specimens during loading. The results show that the high-amplitude signals representing fiber fracture in continuous fiber laminates are concentrated in the last 41%, while in UACS laminates they are concentrated in the last 30%. In UACS laminates, more of the damage is caused by matrix cracks and delamination with medium- and low-amplitude signals, which indicates that UACS laminates have a good suppression effect on damage propagation. The stress-strain curves obtained from finite element analysis agree well with the experiment results, showing the same damage sequence, which confirms that the model described in this research is reliable.
The demand for Internet of Things services is increasing exponentially, and consequently a large number of devices are being deployed. To efficiently authenticate these objects, the use of physical ...unclonable functions (PUFs) has been introduced as a promising solution for the resource-constrained nature of these devices. The use of machine learning PUF models has been recently proposed to authenticate the IoT objects while reducing the storage space requirement for each device. Nonetheless, the use of a mathematically clonable PUFs requires careful design of the enrollment process. Furthermore, the secrecy of the machine learning models used for PUFs and the scenario of leakage of sensitive information to an adversary due to an insider threat within the organization have not been discussed. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art model-based PUF enrollment protocols. We identity two architectures of enrollment protocols based on the participating entities and the building blocks that are relevant to the security of the authentication procedure. In addition, we discuss their respective weaknesses with respect to insider and outsider threats. Our work serves as a comprehensive overview of the ML PUF-based methods and provides design guidelines for future enrollment protocol designers.
Silver is a well-established antimicrobial agent. Conjugation of organic ligands with silver nanoparticles has been shown to create antimicrobial nanoparticles with improved pharmacodynamic ...properties and reduced toxicity. Twelve novel organic ligand functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared via a light-controlled reaction with derivatives of benzothiazole, benzoxazine, quinazolinone, 2-butyne-1,4-diol, 3-butyne-1-ol, and heptane-1,7-dioic. UV-vis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis were used to confirm the successful formation of ligand-functionalized nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed mean nanoparticle diameters between 25 and 278 nm. Spherical and nanotube-like morphologies were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Seven of the twelve nanoparticles exhibited strong antimicrobial activity and five of the twelve demonstrated significant antibacterial capabilities against
in a zone-of-inhibition assay. The synthesis of functionalized silver nanoparticles such as the twelve presented is critical for the further development of silver-nanoconjugated antibacterial agents.
Non-invasive thermal therapy for subcutaneous tumors with the assistance of gold nanoparticles and surface cooling measures was proposed in the present study. To achieve real-time monitoring of 3-D ...temperature distribution and accurate measurement of thermal response, we developed a theoretical approach in which the dual-phase-lag (DPL) biological heat transfer model and Henriques' burn estimation model were employed. A closed-form solution for temperature distribution in the skin tissue can be obtained from this new model by employing the Green's function method. In addition, the influences of the embedment of gold nanoparticles, surface cooling, and non-Fourier effects on the temperature, thermal damage, and size of the burnt region were discussed in detail. The present model performs well in addressing the difficult issue of temperature and burn prediction inside human tissue. It is found that the combination of gold nanoparticles and surface cooling can concentrate thermal empyrosis in the subcutaneous tumor to enhance tumor elimination and protect both skin and deeper healthy tissue. This study provides theoretical support for the improvement and development of laser thermotherapy for subcutaneous tumors.
Clay minerals can adsorb both microorganisms and heavy metals. In this study, typical soil bacterium, Enterobacter sp. was applied to investigate the potential protection of the bacterial cells from ...Pb2+ stress by clay minerals. The sorption by two representative types of montmorillonite (Mt) were contrasted, i.e., Mts/Mtw with strong/weak CEC. There was no significant difference between the two clay minerals regarding their adsorption of Pb2+ cations in water (i.e., ~55 mg L-1). However, the sorption of bacterial cells on the two clay minerals showed evident contrasts, which resulted in the different capacity of Pb sorption. Mts with high CEC preferentially adsorbed abundant bacterial cells (rather than Pb2+) on its surface. The residual Pb2+ concentration in solution actually raised by 7.5% after the addition of Enterobacter sp. In addition, both the Pb-contaminated cells and “healthy” cells (with low Pb contamination) could be adsorbed onto Mt surface, whereas the latter dominated the adsorbents on Mts. This was due to that the Mts with high CEC could provide more exchangeable cations, building more cation bridging ligands between the microbial cells (whatever the types of cells) and clay surface. Furthermore, the adsorbed “healthy” bacterial cells might escape from clay surface via “self-liberating” mechanism, i.e., increasing electrostatic repulsion between the bacteria and clay during microbial decomposition of the medium. This study hence elucidated the protection of microorganisms from Pb2+ stress by Mt.
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•There was no significant difference of Pb2+ sorption between the two Mt with different sorption capacity.•Mt with higher CEC can adsorbed more bacterial cells on its surface.•Pb2+ created bridging ligands between the microbial cells and clay surface.•The adsorbed cells might escape from clay surface via increasing electrostatic repulsion between the bacteria and clay.
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