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This research has suggested a link between major depressive disorder (MDD) and infertility, with interleukin‐18 (IL‐18) being proposed as a potential mediator due to its connections to both conditions. A Mendelian randomization (MR) approach was utilized in this study, which drew on genetic data from 500,199 European participants studied for MDD, along with additional IL‐18 and reproductive health data from the FinnGen consortium and GWAS datasets. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were employed as instrumental variables to examine the causal relationships between MDD, genetically predicted IL‐18 levels, and infertility. In our study, bidirectional MR analysis revealed a significant inverse causal relationship between MDD and genetically predicted IL‐18 levels, with a higher genetic predisposition to MDD, correlating with reduced IL‐18 levels (β: −0.40; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.69 to −0.11; P = 7.09 × 10−3). Additionally, MDD is found to significantly increase the risk of female infertility. Notably, genetically predicted IL‐18 levels demonstrated a protective effect against female infertility (odds ratio (OR): 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86–0.98; P = 1.17 × 10−2). Mediation analysis indicated that genetically predicted IL‐18 levels partially mediated the impact of MDD on female infertility associated with cervical, vaginal, other or unspecified origin, accounting for up to 14.61% of this effect. No evidence of pleiotropy or heterogeneity was detected. The role of genetic predispositions to MDD in influencing genetically predicted IL‐18 levels, and subsequently, female infertility, was highlighted by our study, offering insights into the complex interplay between mental health and reproductive biology. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the genetic and molecular pathways influencing these conditions, suggesting new directions for research and potential therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facile and efficient photocatalysts using sunlight, as well as fast and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, are urgently needed for practical degradation of tetracycline (TC). To meet these requirements, a new paradigm for PI/TiO2/Ag organic‒inorganic ternary flexible microfibers based on semiconducting titanium dioxide (TiO2), the noble metal silver (Ag) and the conjugated polymer polyimide (PI) was developed by engineering a simple method. Under sunlight, the photocatalytic characteristics of the PI/TiO2/Ag flexible microfibers containing varying amounts of Ag quantum dots (QDs) were evaluated with photocatalytic degradation of TC in aqueous solution. The results demonstrated that the amount of Ag affected the photocatalytic activity. Among the tested samples, PI/TiO2/Ag-0.07 (93.1%) exhibited a higher photocatalytic degradation rate than PI/TiO2 (25.7%), PI/TiO2/Ag-0.05 (77.7%), and PI/TiO2/Ag-0.09 (63.3%). This observation and evaluation conducted in the present work strongly indicated a charge transfer mechanism. Moreover, the PI/TiO2/Ag-0.07 flexible microfibers exhibited highly sensitive SERS detection, as demonstrated by the observation of the Raman peaks for TC even at an extremely low concentration of 10–10 moles per liter. The excellent photocatalytic performance and SERS detection capability of the PI/TiO2/Ag flexible microfibers arose from the Schottky barrier formed between Ag and TiO2 and also from the outstanding plasmonic resonance and visible light absorptivity of Ag, along with immobilization by the PI. The successful synthesis of PI/TiO2/Ag flexible microfibers holds significant promise for sensitive detection and efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facile and efficient photocatalysts using sunlight, as well as fast and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, are urgently needed for practical degradation of tetracycline (TC). To meet these requirements, a new paradigm for PI/TiO 2 /Ag organic‒inorganic ternary flexible microfibers based on semiconducting titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ), the noble metal silver (Ag) and the conjugated polymer polyimide (PI) was developed by engineering a simple method. Under sunlight, the photocatalytic characteristics of the PI/TiO 2 /Ag flexible microfibers containing varying amounts of Ag quantum dots (QDs) were evaluated with photocatalytic degradation of TC in aqueous solution. The results demonstrated that the amount of Ag affected the photocatalytic activity. Among the tested samples, PI/TiO 2 /Ag-0.07 (93.1%) exhibited a higher photocatalytic degradation rate than PI/TiO 2 (25.7%), PI/TiO 2 /Ag-0.05 (77.7%), and PI/TiO 2 /Ag-0.09 (63.3%). This observation and evaluation conducted in the present work strongly indicated a charge transfer mechanism. Moreover, the PI/TiO 2 /Ag-0.07 flexible microfibers exhibited highly sensitive SERS detection, as demonstrated by the observation of the Raman peaks for TC even at an extremely low concentration of 10 -10 moles per liter. The excellent photocatalytic performance and SERS detection capability of the PI/TiO 2 /Ag flexible microfibers arose from the Schottky barrier formed between Ag and TiO 2 and also from the outstanding plasmonic resonance and visible light absorptivity of Ag, along with immobilization by the PI. The successful synthesis of PI/TiO 2 /Ag flexible microfibers holds significant promise for sensitive detection and efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2023.)