Data_Sheet_1_Associations between genetically determined dietary factors and risk of autism spectrum disorder: a Mendelian randomization study.ZIP

BackgroundExisting studies confirm the importance of dietary factors in developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and disease progression. Still, these studies are primarily observational, and their causal relationship is unknown. Moreover, due to the extensive diversity of food types, the existing research remains somewhat limited in comprehensiveness. The inconsistency of the results of some studies is very disruptive to the clinic. This study infers a causal relationship between dietary factors on the risk of developing ASD from a genetic perspective, which may lead to significant low-cost benefits for children with ASD once the specificity of dietary factors interfering with ASD is confirmed.MethodsWe performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by selecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for 18 common dietary factors from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) database as instrumental variables (IVs) and obtaining pooled data for ASD (Sample size = 46,351) from the iPSYCH-PGC institution. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used as the primary analytical method to estimate causality, Cochran's Q test to assess heterogeneity, the Egger-intercept test to test for pleiotropy and sensitivity analysis to verify the reliability of causal association results.ResultsThe MR analysis identified four dietary factors with potential causal relationships: poultry intake (fixed-effects IVW: OR = 0.245, 95% CI: 0.084–0.718, P 0.05).ConclusionThis study revealed potential causal relationships between poultry intake, beef intake, cheese intake, dried fruit intake, and ASD. Poultry and beef intake were associated with a reduced risk of ASD, while cheese and dried fruit intake were associated with an increased risk. Other dietary factors included in this study were not associated with ASD.</p

Data_Sheet_2_Associations between genetically determined dietary factors and risk of autism spectrum disorder: a Mendelian randomization study.PDF

BackgroundExisting studies confirm the importance of dietary factors in developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and disease progression. Still, these studies are primarily observational, and their causal relationship is unknown. Moreover, due to the extensive diversity of food types, the existing research remains somewhat limited in comprehensiveness. The inconsistency of the results of some studies is very disruptive to the clinic. This study infers a causal relationship between dietary factors on the risk of developing ASD from a genetic perspective, which may lead to significant low-cost benefits for children with ASD once the specificity of dietary factors interfering with ASD is confirmed.MethodsWe performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by selecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for 18 common dietary factors from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) database as instrumental variables (IVs) and obtaining pooled data for ASD (Sample size = 46,351) from the iPSYCH-PGC institution. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used as the primary analytical method to estimate causality, Cochran's Q test to assess heterogeneity, the Egger-intercept test to test for pleiotropy and sensitivity analysis to verify the reliability of causal association results.ResultsThe MR analysis identified four dietary factors with potential causal relationships: poultry intake (fixed-effects IVW: OR = 0.245, 95% CI: 0.084–0.718, P 0.05).ConclusionThis study revealed potential causal relationships between poultry intake, beef intake, cheese intake, dried fruit intake, and ASD. Poultry and beef intake were associated with a reduced risk of ASD, while cheese and dried fruit intake were associated with an increased risk. Other dietary factors included in this study were not associated with ASD.</p

Data_Sheet_3_Associations between genetically determined dietary factors and risk of autism spectrum disorder: a Mendelian randomization study.PDF

BackgroundExisting studies confirm the importance of dietary factors in developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and disease progression. Still, these studies are primarily observational, and their causal relationship is unknown. Moreover, due to the extensive diversity of food types, the existing research remains somewhat limited in comprehensiveness. The inconsistency of the results of some studies is very disruptive to the clinic. This study infers a causal relationship between dietary factors on the risk of developing ASD from a genetic perspective, which may lead to significant low-cost benefits for children with ASD once the specificity of dietary factors interfering with ASD is confirmed.MethodsWe performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by selecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for 18 common dietary factors from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) database as instrumental variables (IVs) and obtaining pooled data for ASD (Sample size = 46,351) from the iPSYCH-PGC institution. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used as the primary analytical method to estimate causality, Cochran's Q test to assess heterogeneity, the Egger-intercept test to test for pleiotropy and sensitivity analysis to verify the reliability of causal association results.ResultsThe MR analysis identified four dietary factors with potential causal relationships: poultry intake (fixed-effects IVW: OR = 0.245, 95% CI: 0.084–0.718, P 0.05).ConclusionThis study revealed potential causal relationships between poultry intake, beef intake, cheese intake, dried fruit intake, and ASD. Poultry and beef intake were associated with a reduced risk of ASD, while cheese and dried fruit intake were associated with an increased risk. Other dietary factors included in this study were not associated with ASD.</p

MAGE-Targeted Gold Nanoparticles for Ultrasound Imaging-Guided Phototherapy in Melanoma

Gold nanorods exhibit a wide variety of applications such as tumor molecular imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) due to their tunable optical properties. Several studies have demonstrated that the combination of other therapeutic strategies may improve PTT efficiency. A method called optical droplet vaporization (ODV) was considered as another noninvasive imaging and therapy strategy. Via the ODV method, superheated perfluorocarbon droplets can be vaporized to a gas phase for enhancing ultrasound imaging; meanwhile, this violent process can cause damage to cells and tissue. In addition, active targeting through the functionalization with targeting ligands can effectively increase nanoprobe accumulation in the tumor area, improving the sensitivity and specificity of imaging and therapy. Our study prepared a nanoparticle loaded with gold nanorods and perfluorinated hexane and conjugated to a monoclonal antibody (MAGE-1 antibody) to melanoma-associated antigens (MAGE) targeting melanoma, investigated the synergistic effect of PTT/ODV therapy, and monitored the therapeutic effect using ultrasound. The prepared MAGE-Au-PFH-NPs achieved complete eradication of tumors. Meanwhile, the MAGE-Au-PFH-NPs also possess significant ultrasound imaging signal enhancement, which shows the potential for imaging-guided tumor therapy in the future

In-situ template etching synthesis of BiON/BiOCl0.9I0.1 heterojunction for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Hierarchical heterostructures have emerged as promising candidates for the efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics owing to their matched energy levels and tunable absorption bands. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of a heterojunction photocatalyst composed of basic bismuth nitrate (BiON) and BiOCl0.9I0.1 using a simple room-temperature hydrolysis method. Our results demonstrate that the BiON/BiOCl0.9I0.1 composite exhibits superior photodegradation performance compared to pure-phase materials owing to the catalytic enhancement at the heterointerface and the effective separation of the photogenerated carriers. Moreover, the unique three-dimensional microsphere morphology of the synthesized composite enhances its specific surface area and light absorption, further enhancing its photocatalytic activity. In the tetracycline (TC) photodegradation reaction as a model reaction, the catalyst could degrade 88% of TC in just 25 min. Overall, this work provides a promising strategy for the facile and low-cost synthesis of heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation materials

A high-efficiency solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell with P3HT polymer as a hole conductor and an assistant sensitizer

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was used in a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (S-DSC) with a broad-absorption metal-free organic dye sensitizer 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid (BzTCA). Under full-sunlight irradiation (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW/cm(2)), an overall conversion efficiency of 3.21% was achieved, which represents one of the highest efficiencies reported in an S-DSC. Our results indicate that the P3HT polymer is a promising material as both a hole conductor and an assistant sensitizer in the fabrication of solid-state DSCs. (C) 2013 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved