Assessing the impact of air pollution exposure on preterm birth risk in different subtypes of twin pregnancies and identifying critical sensitive windows.

Recent studies on maternal exposure to air pollution and preterm birth (PTB) have yielded inconsistent results, with varying critical windows of exposure. This study aims to explore the association between air pollution and the risk of preterm birth in different subtypes of twin pregnancies, while identifying the sensitive time windows. In this retrospective study, we analyzed 3623 twin-pregnant women, categorized by timing and clinical condition of preterm birth.

The different impacts of ambient air pollution exposure on the risks of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in twin pregnancies.

Air pollution may raise hypertension risk, but its effects on gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in twin pregnancies are unclear. This retrospective study of 3670 twin pregnancies divided participants into three groups: gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and no hypertension. The preeclampsia group was further split into mild and severe preeclampsia.

The trajectory of frailty index and its association with rapid decline in kidney function and the incidence of chronic kidney disease: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the association between the frailty index trajectory in older adults from a longitudinal cohort and rapid decline in kidney function as well as the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Method: This study included 4,207 participants aged 45 and above from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), who underwent baseline assessments in 2011-2012 and were followed up in 2013 and 2015. The study selected 31 items to construct the frailty index (FI), with the FI value positively correlated with the degree of frailty in individuals.

Identifying the impact and critical windows of extreme temperatures on the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in twin pregnancies.

Extreme temperature events have become more frequent due to industrialization, urbanization, and climate change, leading to health risks. Women with twin pregnancies are particularly vulnerable, yet research on how these temperatures affect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains limited. This study investigates the impact of extreme temperatures on GDM incidence in twin pregnancies, focusing on identifying critical periods of susceptibility.

Chirality Determination and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Phthalide Monomers in .

, commonly known as Dang-gui, is a renowned medicinal and edible plant. Phthalide monomers are the key bioactive components in , yet their optical purities and absolute configurations remain unclear. In this study, three new phthalide monomers (-) and 10 known ones (-) were isolated from ; their chiral resolutions, absolute configurations, and anti-inflammatory activities were systematically elucidated.

Catalytic Enantioselective Chlorofunctionalizations of -Substituted Amides Using Generated HOCl as Hydrogen Bond Source.

Asymmetric organocatalytic halocyclization represents a powerful method for the synthesis of valuable chiral haloheterocycles. However, its heavy dependence on substrates that contain hydrogen bond donors for enantiocontrol limits its broader application. Here we report a catalytic asymmetric chlorofunctionalization of olefinic amides that do not bear hydrogen bond donors, allowing for the efficient production of chlorooxazolidin-2-ones and chloroamino esters featuring quaternary stereocenters, achieved with high yields and excellent enantioselectivity.

Causal Relationships Between Leukocyte Subsets and Adverse Fetal Outcomes: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

The tolerance and dynamic regulation of the maternal immune system during pregnancy are pivotal for ensuring fetal health. Immune cell subsets play a complex and crucial role in this process, closely linked to the neonatal health status. Despite recognizing the significance of dysregulation in the quantity and activity of immune cells in neonatal disease occurrence, their specific roles remain elusive, resulting in a dearth of clinically viable interventions for immune-mediated neonatal diseases.

SiO Induces Iron Overload and Ferroptosis in Cardiomyocytes in a Silicosis Mouse Model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the role and mechanism of ferroptosis in SiO -induced cardiac injury using a mouse model.

Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were intratracheally instilled with SiO to create a silicosis model. Ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) and deferoxamine (DFO) were used to suppress ferroptosis.

A Functional Switch Between Asperfumene and Fusicoccadiene Synthase and Entrance to Asperfumene Biosynthesis through a Vicinal Deprotonation-Reprotonation Process.

The diterpene synthase AfAS was identified from Aspergillus fumigatiaffinis. Its amino acid sequence and-according to a structural model-active site architecture are highly similar to those of the fusicocca-2,10(14)-diene synthase PaFS, but AfAS produces a structurally much more complex diterpene with a novel 6-5-5-5 tetracyclic skeleton called asperfumene. The cyclisation mechanism of AfAS was elucidated through isotopic labelling experiments and DFT calculations.

Functional and structural dissection of glycosyltransferases underlying the glycodiversity of wolfberry-derived bioactive ingredients lycibarbarspermidines.

Lycibarbarspermidines are unusual phenolamide glycosides characterized by a dicaffeoylspermidine core with multiple glycosyl substitutions, and serve as a major class of bioactive ingredients in the wolfberry. So far, little is known about the enzymatic basis of the glycosylation of phenolamides including dicaffeoylspermidine. Here, we identify five lycibarbarspermidine glycosyltransferases, LbUGT1-5, which are the first phenolamide-type glycosyltransferases and catalyze regioselective glycosylation of dicaffeoylspermidines to form structurally diverse lycibarbarspermidines in wolfberry.

Discovery of a Potent Antiosteoporotic Drug Molecular Scaffold Derived from and Its Bioinspired Total Synthesis.

, commonly known as Dong Quai in Europe and America and as Dang-gui in China, is a medicinal plant widely utilized for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. In this study, we report the discovery of a new category of phthalide from , namely falcarinphthalides A and B ( and ), which contains two fragments, (3,8)-falcarindiol () and ()-ligustilide (). Falcarinphthalides A and B ( and ) represent two unprecedented carbon skeletons of phthalide in natural products, and their antiosteoporotic activities were evaluated.

Gestational diabetes mellitus aggravates adverse perinatal outcomes in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on perinatal outcomes and establish a prediction model of adverse perinatal outcomes in women with ICP.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included the clinical data of 2,178 pregnant women with ICP, including 1,788 women with ICP and 390 co-occurrence ICP and GDM. The data of all subjects were collected from hospital electronic medical records.

Novel ligustilide derivatives target quorum sensing system LasR/LasB and relieve inflammatory response against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

The increasing antibiotic resistance driven by Pseudomonas aeruginosa typically leads to uncontrolled and persistent inflammatory damage, which is primarily attributed to the virulence and biofilms produced by the bacteria. Herein, we present a novel anti-infective drug strategy designed to inhibit the bacterial quorum sensing system, thereby attenuating P. aeruginosa virulence, and modulating inflammation from drug-resistant bacterial infections.

Oxidative aromatization mechanism of ligustilide.

The aromatization mechanisms of ligustilide (1), a versatile monomeric phthalide, were investigated. DFT calculations combined with control experiments prove that the aromatization could result from direct oxidation by triplet oxygen in mild conditions with no catalyst, which is generally thought to be difficult. Moreover, it is predicted that the aromatization could rapidly clear away the harmful-to-organism singlet oxygen, which may be relevant to the general antioxidation activity of phthalides, providing a new point of view to understand the bioactivity from chemical reaction.

Identification of highly reliable risk genes for Alzheimer's disease through joint-tissue integrative analysis.

Numerous genetic variants associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), but their interpretation is hindered by the strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) among the variants, making it difficult to identify the causal variants directly. To address this issue, the transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) was employed to infer the association between gene expression and a trait at the genetic level using expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) cohorts. In this study, we applied the TWAS theory and utilized the improved Joint-Tissue Imputation (JTI) approach and Mendelian Randomization (MR) framework (MR-JTI) to identify potential AD-associated genes.

Enantioselective synthesis of α,α-diarylketones by sequential visible light photoactivation and phosphoric acid catalysis.

Chiral ketones and their derivatives are useful synthetic intermediates for the synthesis of biologically active natural products and medicinally relevant molecules. Nevertheless, general and broadly applicable methods for enantioenriched acyclic α,α-disubstituted ketones, especially α,α-diarylketones, remain largely underdeveloped, owing to the easy racemization. Here, we report a visible light photoactivation and phosphoric acid-catalyzed alkyne-carbonyl metathesis/transfer hydrogenation one-pot reaction using arylalkyne, benzoquinone, and Hantzsch ester for the expeditious synthesis of α,α-diarylketones with excellent yields and enantioselectivities.

[HADHA Inhibits the Migration and Invasion of HTR-8/SVneo Cells by Regulating PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway].

Objective: To explore the effects of hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase alpha subunit (HADHA) on the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells, a human trophoblast cell line, and its potential mechanism of action.

Methods: Immunofluorescence staining was done to evaluate the expression levels of HADHA in samples of normal villi and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) villi at 6-8 weeks. Lentiviral infection system was used to construct stable HTR-8/SVneo cell lines with overexpression and knockdown.

Home Quarantine: A Double-Edged Sword During COVID-19 Pandemic for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and the Related Complications.

Object: COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide quarantine seriously affected the physical and mental health of the general public. Our study aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 quarantine on pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study collected complete clinical data of HDP patients with a history of home quarantine in The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (Chongqing, China) in 2020 as well as the patients without home quarantine in 2018 and 2019.

The Oxidation Cascade of a Rare Multifunctional P450 Enzyme Involved in Asperterpenoid A Biosynthesis.

The cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s or CYPs) are heme-containing enzymes which catalyze a wide range of oxidation reactions in nature. In our previous study, a rare multifunctional P450 AstB was found, which can dually oxidize two methyl groups (C-19 and C-21) of preasperterpenoid A to asperterpenoid A with 3-carboxyl and 11-hydroxymethyl groups. However, the oxidation order of C-19 and C-21 catalyzed by AstB is unclear.

Biotransformation of α-asarone by Alternaria longipes CGMCC 3.2875.

Biotransformation of α-asarone by Alternaria longipes CGMCC 3.2875 yielded two pairs of new neolignans, (+) (7S, 8S, 7'S, 8'R) iso-magnosalicin (1a)/(-) (7R, 8R, 7'R, 8'S) iso-magnosalicin (1b) and (+) (7R, 8R, 7'S, 8'R) magnosalicin (2a)/(-) (7S, 8S, 7'R, 8'S) magnosalicin (2b), and four known metabolites, (±) acoraminol A (3), (±) acoraminol B (4), asaraldehyde (5), and 2, 4, 5-trimethoxybenzoic acid (6). Their structures, including absolute configurations, were determined by extensive analysis of NMR spectra, X-ray crystallography, and quantum chemical ECD calculations.

THBS1 regulates trophoblast fusion through a CD36-dependent inhibition of cAMP, and its upregulation participates in preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication which threatens the survival of mothers and fetuses. It originates from abnormal placentation, especially insufficient fusion of the cytotrophoblast cells to form the syncytiotrophoblast. In this study, we found that THBS1, a matricellular protein that mediates cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interactions, is downregulated during the fusion of primary cytotrophoblast and BeWo cells, but upregulated in the placenta of pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia.

Appropriate expression of P57kip2 drives trophoblast fusion via cell cycle arrest.

The syncytiotrophoblast, derived from cytotrophoblast fusion, is responsible for maternal-fetal exchanges, secretion of pregnancy-related hormones, and fetal defense against pathogens. Inadequate cytotrophoblast fusion can lead to pregnancy disorders, such as preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. However, little is known about the mechanism of cytotrophoblast fusion in both physiological and pathological pregnancy conditions.