Integrative lipidomic features identify plasma lipid signatures in chronic urticaria

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease mainly mediated by mast cells. Lipids exert essential functions in biological processes; however, the role of lipids in CU remains unclear. Nontargeted lipidomics was performed to investigate the differential lipid profiles between CU patients and healthy control (HC) subjects. Functional validation studies were performed in vitro and in vivo including β-hexosaminidase release examination from mast cells and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) mouse model. We detected dramatically altered glycerophospholipids in CU patients compared with HCs. Phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) were increased, while phosphatidylcholine (PC) was reduced in CU patients. The reduction in PC was related to a high weekly urticaria activity score (UAS7), while PS was positively associated with the dermatology life quality index (DLQI). We also identified the differential lipid profiles between chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), symptomatic dermographism (SD), and CSU coexist with SD. CU patients were classified into two subtypes (subtype 1 and subtype 2) based on consensus clustering of lipid profiling. Compared with patients in subtype 2, patients in subtype 1 had elevated levels of PC (18:0e/18:2) and PE (38:2), and lower urticaria control test (UCT) scores indicated worse clinical efficiency of secondary generation H1 antihistamines treatment. Importantly, we found that supplementation with PC could attenuate IgE-induced immune responses in mast cells. In general, We described the landscape of plasma lipid alterations in CU patients and provided novel insights into the role of PC in mast cells

Characteristics and changes of streamflow on the Tibetan Plateau: A review

Study region: The Tibetan Plateau (TP). Study focus: The TP exerts great influence on regional and global climate through thermal and mechanical forcings. The TP is also the headwater of large Asian rivers that provide water for billions of people and numerous ecosystems. Understanding the characteristics and changes of streamflow on the TP will help manage water resources under changing environment. Three categories of rivers (the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the interior) on the TP were examined for their seasonal and long term change patterns. Outstanding research issues were also identified. New hydrological insights for the region: Streamflow follows the monthly patterns of precipitation and temperature in that all peak in May–September. Streamflow changes are affected by climate change and human activities depending on the basins. Streamflow is precipitation dominated in the northern, eastern and southeastern basins. In the central and western basin either melt water or groundwater, or both contributes significantly to streamflow. Human activities have altered streamflow in the lower reaches of the eastern, northern and western basins. Long-term trends in streamflow vary with basins. Outstanding research issues include: (1) What are the linkages between streamflow and climate systems? (2) What are the basin-wide hydrological processes? And (3) What are the cryospheric change impacts on hydrological processes and water balance

Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on Indoor Air Quality and Health.

With the rapid increase in electronic cigarette (e-cig) users worldwide, secondhand exposure to e-cig aerosols has become a serious public health concern. We summarize the evidence on the effects of e-cigs on indoor air quality, chemical compositions of mainstream and secondhand e-cig aerosols, and associated respiratory and cardiovascular effects. The use of e-cigs in indoor environments leads to high levels of fine and ultrafine particles similar to tobacco cigarettes (t-cigs). Concentrations of chemical compounds in e-cig aerosols are generally lower than those in t-cig smoke, but a substantial amount of vaporized propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and toxic substances, such as aldehydes and heavy metals, has been reported. Exposures to mainstream e-cig aerosols have biologic effects but only limited evidence shows adverse respiratory and cardiovascular effects in humans. Long-term studies are needed to better understand the dosimetry and health effects of exposures to secondhand e-cig aerosols

Effects of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and nicotine on emissions and dynamics of electronic cigarette aerosols.

An electronic cigarette (e-cig) generates aerosols by vaporizing the e-liquid, which mainly consists of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and nicotine. Understanding the effects of e-liquid main compositions on e-cig aerosols is important for exposure assessment. This study investigated how the PG/VG ratio and nicotine content affect e-cig aerosol emissions and dynamics. A tank-based e-cig device with 10 different flavorless e-liquid mixtures (e.g., PG/VG ratios of 0/100, 10/90, 30/70, 50/50, and 100/0 with 0.0% or 2.4% nicotine) was used to puff aerosols into a 0.46 m3 stainless steel chamber for 0.5 h. Real-time measurements of particle number concentration (PNC), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and particle size distributions were conducted continuously throughout the puffing and the following 2-h decay period. During the decay period, particle loss rates were determined by a first-order log-linear regression and used to calculate the emission factor. The addition of nicotine in the e-liquid significantly decreased the particle number emission factor by 33%. The PM2.5 emission factor significantly decreased with greater PG content in the e-liquid. For nicotine-free e-liquids, increasing the PG/VG ratio resulted in increased particle loss rates measured by PNC and PM2.5. This pattern was not observed with nicotine in the e-liquids. The particle loss rates, however, were significantly different with and without nicotine especially when the PG/VG ratios were greater than 30/70. Compared with nonvolatile diethyl-hexyl subacute (DEHS) aerosols, e-cig particle concentration decayed faster inside the chamber, presumably due to evaporation. These results have potential implications for assessing human exposure to e-cig aerosols

Effects of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and nicotine on emissions and dynamics of electronic cigarette aerosols.

An electronic cigarette (e-cig) generates aerosols by vaporizing the e-liquid, which mainly consists of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and nicotine. Understanding the effects of e-liquid main compositions on e-cig aerosols is important for exposure assessment. This study investigated how the PG/VG ratio and nicotine content affect e-cig aerosol emissions and dynamics. A tank-based e-cig device with 10 different flavorless e-liquid mixtures (e.g., PG/VG ratios of 0/100, 10/90, 30/70, 50/50, and 100/0 with 0.0% or 2.4% nicotine) was used to puff aerosols into a 0.46 m3 stainless steel chamber for 0.5 h. Real-time measurements of particle number concentration (PNC), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and particle size distributions were conducted continuously throughout the puffing and the following 2-h decay period. During the decay period, particle loss rates were determined by a first-order log-linear regression and used to calculate the emission factor. The addition of nicotine in the e-liquid significantly decreased the particle number emission factor by 33%. The PM2.5 emission factor significantly decreased with greater PG content in the e-liquid. For nicotine-free e-liquids, increasing the PG/VG ratio resulted in increased particle loss rates measured by PNC and PM2.5. This pattern was not observed with nicotine in the e-liquids. The particle loss rates, however, were significantly different with and without nicotine especially when the PG/VG ratios were greater than 30/70. Compared with nonvolatile diethyl-hexyl subacute (DEHS) aerosols, e-cig particle concentration decayed faster inside the chamber, presumably due to evaporation. These results have potential implications for assessing human exposure to e-cig aerosols

Strategies for Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement and Toxicity Reduction of Norcantharidin

Cantharidin (CTD) is the main active ingredient isolated from Mylabris, and norcantharidin (NCTD) is a demethylated derivative of CTD, which has similar antitumor activity to CTD and lower toxicity than CTD. However, the clinical use of NCTD is limited due to its poor solubility, low bioavailability, and toxic effects on normal cells. To overcome these shortcomings, researchers have explored a number of strategies, such as chemical structural modifications, microsphere dispersion systems, and nanodrug delivery systems. This review summarizes the structure–activity relationship of NCTD and novel strategies to improve the solubility and bioavailability of NCTD as well as reduce the toxicity. This review can provide evidence for further research of NCTD

Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement of Oridonin: A Review

Oridonin (ORI), an ent-kaurene tetracyclic diterpenoid compound, is isolated from Chinese herb Rabdosia rubescens with various biological and pharmacological activities including anti-tumor, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the clinical application of ORI is limited due to its low solubility and poor bioavailability. In order to overcome these shortcomings, many strategies have been explored such as structural modification, new dosage form, etc. This review provides a detailed discussion on the research progress to increase the solubility and bioavailability of ORI

Electronic cigarette aerosols induce oxidative stress-dependent cell death and NF-κB mediated acute lung inflammation in mice.

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has been linked to recent acute lung injury case clusters in over 2000 patients and dozens of deaths in the United States, however, the mechanism leading to lung injury is not certain although ultrafine particles, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and other harmful ingredients have been implicated. To systematically evaluate e-cigarette toxicity, we generated e-cigarette aerosols by varying the puff numbers (20-480), nicotine contents (0-24 mg/mL), and collected e-cigarette samples through an impinger system for biological assays. The calculated samples' concentration ranged from 1.96 to 47.06 mg/mL. THP-1 monocyte-differentiated macrophages, BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells, wild-type C57BL/6 mice, and NF-κB-luc transgenic mice were used to test the effects of these samples. E-cigarette samples showed cytotoxicity to THP-1 cells and BEAS-2B in vitro, leading to increased oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokine production with or without nicotine, and cell death. Furthermore, aerosol generated from PG is more toxic than VG. The toxicity of e-cigarette samples is at least partially due to the reactive oxygen species and aldehydes, which are generated during the aerosolization processes by the e-cigarette device. After NF-κB-luc mice exposed with e-cigarette samples by oropharyngeal aspiration, NF-κB expressions were observed in a dose-response fashion with or without nicotine. In addition, the e-cigarette samples induced neutrophil infiltration, IL-1β production, oxidative stress marker heme oxygenase-1 expression in wild-type C57BL/6 mice. These results suggested that oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory NF-κB pathway activation, and cell death are involved in e-cigarette aerosol-induced acute lung inflammation

Impacts of electronic cigarettes usage on air quality of vape shops and their nearby areas.

With the rapid growth of the electronic cigarette (e-cig) market, there is an increasing number of vape shops that exclusively sell e-cigs. The use of e-cigs in the vape shop is a primary source of indoor particles, which might transport to its nearby indoor spaces in the multiunit setting. In this study, six pairs of vape shops and neighboring businesses in Southern California were recruited for real-time measurements of particulate pollutants between February 2017 and October 2019. The mean (SD) particle number concentration (PNC) and PM2.5 concentration in the studied vape shops were 2.8 × 104 (2.3 × 104) particles/cm3 and 276 (546) μg/m3, which were substantially higher than those in neighboring businesses and outdoor areas. In addition, 24-h time-weighted average (TWA) nicotine sampling was conducted in the six pairs and three additional pairs. Nicotine was detected in the air of all the studied vape shops and neighboring businesses, in which the mean (SD) concentration was 2.59 (1.02) and 0.17 (0.13) μg/m3, respectively. Inside vape shops, the dilution-corrected vaping density (puffs/h/100 m3) is a strong predictor of the particle concentration, and nicotine concentration highly depends on the air exchange rate (AER). Out of the six studied pairs, PNCs in five vape shops and PM2.5 in two vape shops were significantly correlated with those in their neighboring businesses. This correlation was stronger when the door of the vape shop was closed. When the door was open, environmental electronic vaping (EEV) aerosols, especially smaller particles, could transport from the vape shop to the outdoor environment. Overall, e-cig usage in the vape shop impacts both its own and nearby air quality, raising concerns regarding the risk of exposure to EEV aerosols in the surrounding environments

Surfactant-Assisted Synthesis of Micro/Nano-Structured LiFePO4 Electrode Materials with Improved Electrochemical Performance

As an electrode material, LiFePO4 has been extensively studied in the field of energy conversion and storage due to its inexpensive cost and excellent safety, as well as good cycling stability. However, it remains a challenge to obtain LiFePO4 electrode materials with acceptable discharge capacity at low temperature. Here, micro/nano-structured LiFePO4 electrode materials with grape-like morphology were fabricated via a facile solvothermal approach using ethanol and OA as the co-solvent, the surfactant as well as the carbon source. The structure and electrochemical properties of the LiFePO4 material were investigated with x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the formation mechanism of the self-assembled micro/nano-structured LiFePO4 was discussed as well. The micro/nano-structured LiFePO4 electrode materials exhibited a high discharge capacity (142 mAh·g−1) at a low temperature of 0 °C, and retained 102 mAh·g−1 when the temperature was decreased to −20 °C. This investigation can provide a reference for the design of micro/nano-structured electrode materials with improvement of the electrochemical performance at low temperature