Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease related to intestinal dysbiosis. Luteolin has been reported to reduce inflammation. However, it remains unclear whether luteolin ...ameliorates UC and regulates gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated the effects of luteolin on colonic structure and inflammation of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced rats using hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and evaluated the effects of luteolin on gut microbiota using 16S rDNA sequencing. We found that luteolin treatment significantly reduced colonic damage, and inhibited colonic inflammation in UC rats, evidenced by the decreased levels of NF-κB, IL-17 and IL-23 in UC rats and the increased level of PPAR-γ. In addition, the 16S rDNA sequencing analysis revealed that luteolin treatment could alter diversity and composition of gut microbiota in UC rats. Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Roseburia and Butyricicoccus were dominant genera in the luteolin group. Luteolin treatment reduced DSS-induced increased ratios of Lactobacillus and Prevotella_9. Furthermore, KEGG analysis revealed that gut microbiota was mainly related to DNA repair and recombination proteins, ribosome, purine metabolism, peptidases, and pyrimidine metabolism. In conclusion, our results revealed that luteolin could alleviate DSS-induced colitis in rats, and gut microbiota had the potential to serve as promising biomarkers for uncovering the mechanism by which luteolin improved UC.
•Luteolin treatment could ameliorate colonic damage and inflammation in UC rats.•Diversity of gut microbiota in UC rats was changed after luteolin therapy.•Luteolin might improve UC via regulating the structure and composition of gut microbiota.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
Are sleep characteristics associated with outcomes of IVF/ICSI treatment?
SUMMARY ANSWER
Nocturnal sleep <7 h/night and disturbed sleep are related to impaired oocyte and ...embryo yield, while longer nocturnal sleep might reduce the chance of a successful pregnancy, and the associations between nocturnal sleep duration and IVF/ICSI outcomes are modified by maternal age and subjective sleep quality.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Disturbed sleep and circadian rhythm contribute to impaired fecundity in the general population, but the effects of sleep characteristics on IVF/ICSI outcomes are largely unknown.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
This study was conducted among 1276 women undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment between December 2018 and September 2019 based on the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental cohort. Owing to the limited number of multiple cycles, we included only the outcomes of their first IVF/ICSI cycle in the current analysis.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Data on sleep characteristics were collected via questionnaires on the day of oocyte retrieval. IVF/ICSI outcomes were abstracted from medical records. Quasi-Poisson, quasi-binomial or logistic regression models were used to assess the relations between sleep characteristics and reproductive outcomes after adjusting for relevant confounders. We also performed stratified analyses by subjective sleep quality (good versus poor) and maternal age (≤30 versus >30 years).
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Compared with women who slept 7 to <8 h/night, those who slept <7 h/night exhibited decreases in the number of retrieved and mature oocytes of 11.5% (95% CI: −21.3%, −0.48%) and 11.9% (95% CI: −22.4%, −0.03%), respectively. A mid-sleep time (MST) earlier than 2:21 a.m. (<2:21 a.m.) or later than 3:00 a.m. (≥3:00 a.m.) and poor subjective sleep quality were inversely associated with the fertilization rate. Women who had trouble falling asleep more than three times per week had a lower number of mature oocytes (−10.5%, 95% CI: −18.6%, −1.6%), normal fertilized oocytes (−14.8%, 95% CI: −23.7%, −4.8%) and good-quality embryos (−15.1%, 95% CI: −25.4%, −3.5%) than those who had no such trouble. In addition, women who slept 9 to <10 h/night had a lower chance of clinical pregnancy compared to women who slept 7 to <8 h/night (odds ratio = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.98). In the stratified analyses, the positive associations of nocturnal sleep duration with the number of good-quality embryos and fertilization rate existed only among the women with poor subjective sleep quality (P for interaction = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively). Additionally, we found that the positive associations of nocturnal sleep duration with implantation or clinical pregnancy only existed among women aged over 30 years (P for interaction = 0.04 and 0.01, respectively).
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
Sleep characteristics are self-reported, which may lead to misclassification. MST serves as a proxy of chronotype and may be non-differentially misclassified resulting in an underestimate of the association of interest. Measuring sleep characteristics on the day of oocyte retrieval may lead to bias. Chance findings cannot be excluded because of the limited number of women with <7 h or ≥10 h nocturnal sleep and multiple testing. Our results may be biased by other confounders and may not be generalizable to women of other ethnicities.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Unhealthy sleep characteristics, including short nocturnal sleep, inappropriate sleep time, poor subjective sleep quality and having trouble falling asleep, may impair oocyte quantity and its potential to mature or be fertilized. Long nocturnal sleep might reduce the chance of clinical pregnancy among infertile females, especially women younger than 30 years old. Prolonged nocturnal sleep duration may be a potential beneficial behavior for improving IVF/ICSI outcomes for women aged over 30 years and women with poor subjective sleep quality, which requires further investigation.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771654) and the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFC1004201). There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A.
In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive investigation on the thermal transport in one-dimensional (1D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures by using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. ...As for the considered 1D vdW heterostructures having a base of (40,40) carbon nanotube (CNT), we find that the boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) coating can increase the thermal conductance of inner CNT base by 36%, while the molybdenum disulfide nanotube (MSNT) coating can reduce the thermal conductance by 47%. The different effects of nanotube coatings on the thermal transport behaviors of 1D vdW heterostructures are explained by the competition mechanism between the improved heat flux and the increased temperature gradient in 1D vdW heterostructures. The thermal transport in 1D vdW heterostructures containing three layers is also investigated. It is found that the coaxial BNNT-MSNT coating can significantly reduce the thermal conductance of inner CNT base by 61%, which is even larger than the influence of an individual MSNT coating. This work not only provides molecular insights into the heat transport behaviors of 1D vdW heterostructures but also provides guidance for the design of 1D vdW heterostructures with desired thermal properties.
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•Arsenic release mechanisms during clayey aquitard compaction under groundwater overextraction was revealed by an indoor compaction experiment.•Estimated results showed the aquiatrd compaction by ...groundwater overextraction would result in As concentration of 9.33–118.09 μg/L in groundwater.
Groundwater with low levels of arsenic (As) in deep aquifers has been overexploited for decades in many regions (such as South Asian and American countries), resulting in the compaction of clayey aquitards and the release of pore water with As into deeper aquifers. However, the release mechanism of arsenic during clayey aquitards compaction is poorly understood. An indoor compaction experiment using muddy sediments was conducted to identify the As-releasing mechanisms during clayey aquitards compaction. The chemical characteristics and As species in pore water and sediment samples collected at different stages during the compaction experiment were analyzed. Initially, the reductive dissolution of iron oxides was a key process controlling As release during compaction. With increased pressure, As desorption from Fe (hydr)oxides became more important than the reductive dissolution as the main driver for As release. At the end of the compaction, the release of As was weak and the dominant process was desorption of As from clay or carbonate minerals. Our estimate result in the Jianghan Plain suggested that As concentration release from aquitard compaction by overexploited into groundwater would be 9.33–118.09 μg/L.
Many studies have showed that phthalates have reproductive and embryonic toxicity, while the potential mechanisms are mostly unknown. Inflammation may play a mediating part in phthalate exposure and ...adverse reproductive endpoints. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the associations of phthalate metabolites with inflammatory cytokines in the follicular fluid (FF) of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). We determined the levels of eight phthalate metabolites and five cytokines in the FF of 76 women, including interleukin (IL)- 6, IL-8, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The associations of individual phthalate exposure with cytokines in FF samples were explored by multiple linear regression. We further evaluated the combined effects of multiple phthalate exposures on FF levels of cytokines by using Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models. We found that there was a positive relationship between mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) and IL-6 in the FF (percent change:12.4%; 95% CI: 1.3%, 24.9%). In contrast, elevated mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and %MEHP levels were associated with decreased MCP-1. In the BKMR models, phthalate metabolite mixtures were positively associated with TNF-α when the mixtures were lower than 65th percentile compared with their medians. In the stratified analyses, MEHP was inversely associated with MCP-1 among women with BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2 (test for interaction <0.05). Our results suggest that certain phthalate metabolites or their mixtures may alter levels of inflammatory cytokines in the FF, and further research is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between phthalates exposure, ovarian dysfunction and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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•Phthalate metabolites and inflammatory cytokines were detected in the follicular fluid (FF).•MEP was positively associated with IL-6, MBzP, MEHP and %MEHP showed negative relationships with MCP-1.•Mixtures of phthalates have revealed positive overall effects on TNF-α.
Extensive research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted the daily mobility of older adults. However, very little attention has been paid to the role of individual and built ...environmental factors in decline in older adults' daily mobility during the pandemic.
Based on a cohort survey of 741 older adults in Hong Kong, we conducted a one-way ANOVA to explore the differences in determinants (individual or environmental factors) of older adults' daily mobility between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, multilevel linear regression was performed to examine how individual characteristics and built environment factors are associated with changes in older adults' daily mobility during the pandemic.
Results show that the duration of active travel declined from 174.72 to 76.92 min per week, and that the public transport use frequency decreased from an average of 6.14 to 3.96 trips per week during the COVID-19 pandemic (before the rollout of vaccination programme). We also found residential density (p < 0.05) and the number of bus stop was negatively associated with the decline in their active travel (p < 0.01), while a higher destination mix was associated with more significant decrease in active travel (p < 0.01). A higher availability of recreational facilities in neighbourhoods was associated with a greater decrease in public transport use (p < 0.05). In addition, those who were older or having depressive symptoms, which are considered a vulnerable group, were negatively associated with decrease in their mobility (p < 0.001).
Maintaining mobility and social interactions are crucial for older adults' health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that individual and environmental factors differentially affected older adults' active travel and public transport use during the pandemic. Our findings contribute to understanding the COVID-19 impact on daily mobility in older adults and support more effective active travel promotion policies in the post-pandemic future.
•Variations in the mineral structures occur during the clay compaction.•Physics instead of biochemistry dominate the solute mobilization in clay compaction.•Solute mobilization during clay compaction ...is significant in deep and closed aquifer.
Microbial-mediated redox reactions typically control the solute mobilization in groundwater systems, in which the clay aquitard is usually a triggering factor of the release of the dissolved organic carbon, ammonium, and iron into the aquifer during pore water discharge and clay compaction. However, solute mobilization inside the aquitard during clay compaction is generally mistaken for a similar water–rock interaction process in aquifers controlled by microbial-mediated redox reactions. Through a simulation experiment on argillaceous sediment compaction, we tested the currently accepted solute mobilization mechanism and determined that the variation in the mineral structure dominates it. The variation in the mineral structure occurs in low symmetry minerals, such as clay minerals, and is controlled by the sediment moisture content, the liquid-plastic limit, and the effective stress. When the sediment moisture content decreases to below the plastic limit through pore water discharge and compaction, sudden changes in the mineral structure occur, releasing iron and capturing ammonium through variations in the relative position of the Si-O tetrahedrons and isomorphism of similar atoms without the participation of microbial-mediated redox reactions. These results suggest that the biochemical reactivities of organic carbon, iron, and ammonium are sometimes overestimated, i.e., when the role of the physical processes is ignored, in solute mobilization during clay compaction, which warrants more attention and investigation.
We report herein a new two-dimensional zirconium-based luminescent coordination polymer Zr6(sdba)4(μ3-O)4(μ3-OH)4(HCOO)2(OH)2(H2O)2 (1) sdba = 4,4'-sulfonyldibenzoate exhibiting selective ...fluorescence responses towards a variety of volatile organic compounds upon exposure in the vapor phase. Having a unique two-dimensional signal response towards aromatic molecules, including but not limited to nitroaromatic explosives, it is capable of identifying a diverse set of analytes. In addition, compound 1 shows its remarkably high sensitivity toward acetone vapors.
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