Search

Background Previous studies have reported lower semen quality in malignant neoplasm patients before antineoplastic treatments, but the adverse effects of malignant neoplasms on semen quality have rarely been quantitatively evaluated. In addition, due to the lack of a comparable control group and limited types of studied malignant neoplasms, the results remain inconsistent and inconclusive. Objectives To quantitatively evaluate the potential adverse effects of specific malignant neoplasms on semen quality. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate 445 malignant neoplasm patients undergoing sperm cryopreservation for fertility preservation in Guangdong province, China during 2016-2019. A propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to select a comparable control group from 9,170 sperm donation volunteers. Each subject was analyzed for semen quality. Multivariate linear regression models were employed to assess the association between malignant neoplasm and semen quality. Results Using the PSM method, 413 (92.8%) malignant neoplasm patients were successfully matched with 798 sperm donation volunteers. Overall, malignant neoplasms were significantly associated with a 0.3 ml, 17.1 × 106 /ml, 67.6 × 106 , 9.8%, 10.2% and 6.4% reduction in semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm number, total motility, progressive motility and normal forms, respectively. Malignant neoplasm of testis, nasopharynx and digestive organs, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and leukemia were significantly associated with reduction in sperm motility and normal forms, while malignant neoplasm of testis, Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia were also significantly associated with reduced sperm concentration and/or total sperm number. The reduction in sperm concentration and total sperm number associated with malignant neoplasms was significantly greater in subjects Discussion and conclusion We found that malignant neoplasms were significantly associated with reduction in semen quality, which varied across type of malignant neoplasms. Our results highlight the needs to examine semen quality for young malignant neoplasm patients, especially those who are expected to conceive. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of mortality from a variety of causes, but its effects on mortality from dementia remain largely unknown.To investigate the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and dementia mortality, and quantitatively assess the excess mortality.In this time-stratified case-crossover study, 47,108 dementia deaths were identified in Jiangsu province, China during 2015-2019. Exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PMThere were 47,108 case days and 159,852 control days during the study period. Each 10 μg/mThis study provides consistent evidence that short-term exposure to PM

Whether ambient temperature exposure contributes to death from asthma remains unknown to date. We therefore conducted a case-crossover study in China to quantitatively evaluate the association and burden of ambient temperature exposure on asthma mortality.Using data from the National Mortality Surveillance System in China, we conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study of 15 888 individuals who lived in Hubei and Jiangsu province, China and died from asthma as the underlying cause in 2015-2019. Individual-level exposures to air temperature and apparent temperature on the date of death and 21 days prior were assessed based on each subject's residential address. Distributed lag nonlinear models based on conditional logistic regression were used to quantify exposure-response associations and calculate fraction and number of deaths attributable to non-optimum ambient temperatures.We observed a reverse J-shaped association between air temperature and risk of asthma mortality, with a minimum mortality temperature of 21.3 °C. Non-optimum ambient temperature is responsible for substantial excess mortality from asthma. In total, 26.3% of asthma mortality were attributable to non-optimum temperatures, with moderate cold, moderate hot, extreme cold and extreme hot responsible for 21.7%, 2.4%, 2.1% and 0.9% of asthma mortality, respectively. The total attributable fraction and number was significantly higher among adults aged less than 80 years in hot temperature.Exposure to non-optimum ambient temperature, especially moderate cold temperature, was responsible for substantial excess mortality from asthma. These findings have important implications for planning of public-health interventions to minimize the adverse respiratory damage from non-optimum ambient temperature.

The acute effects of ambient air pollution on recurrence of ischemic cerebrovascular events (ICEs) remains largely unknown. We therefore conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study of 43,896 patients who were 60 years or older and were admitted to hospital for recurrent ICEs including ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack in Guangzhou, China during 2016-2019. Based on each patient's home address and pollutant data from its neighboring air quality monitoring stations, we used an inverse distance weighting method to assess exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM

A key demand in biomass conversion is how to achieve high reactivity with immiscible reagents with the use of neither cosolvents nor additives. Pickering interfacial catalysis encompassing the design of amphiphilic catalysts behaving concomitantly as emulsifiers offers an elegant solution. In this study, we prepared a systematic series of amphiphilic Aquivion-carbon composites by the hydrothermal carbonization of guar gum with Aquivion perfluorosulfonic superacid. By tuning the Aquivion-carbon composition, materials with tunable hydrophilic-lipophilic properties could be prepared, showing high versatility for conducting biphasic reactions without stirring. In particular, an optimal formulation based on 5:1 Aquivion-carbon could be developed, showing high activity in the transesterification reaction of glyceryl trioleate with methanol at 100 °C with good reusability due to the genesis of stable Pickering emulsions.

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospitalization has been linked with ambient air pollution. However, the evidence on respiratory health benefits from air pollution control policy in China is limited. Objective To investigate benefits from the Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Battle for a Blue Sky (TYAP) for tackling COPD hospitalization due to ambient air pollution. Methods We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study of 138,015 COPD hospitalizations aged ≥ 60 years in Guangdong province, China during 2016–2019 to investigate respiratory health benefits from TYAP. Inverse distance weighting method was used to assess daily individual-level exposures to ambient air pollutants including particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3). Conditional logistic regression model was applied to analyze the associations between ambient air pollutants and COPD hospitalization. Results TYAP can modify the associations. Each 10 μg/m3 increase of exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 and 1 mg/m3 increase of exposure to CO were significantly associated with 2.5%, 2.0%, 3.0%, and 14.4% increase in odds of COPD hospitalization before TYAP, respectively; while 1.0%, 0.9%, 1.5%, and 5.8% increase in odds during TYAP. We found prominent declines in health burden of COPD hospitalizations due to air pollution among the elderly after TYAP implication when compared with that before TYAP. Conclusion Reduced levels of ambient air pollutants by TYAP can effectively lower the risk for COPD hospitalization among the elderly, which provides evidence on the respiratory health benefits from consistent and effective air pollution control policy.

Background: Exposure to residential greenness has been associated with benefits on certain reproductive health outcomes. However, its potential benefits on semen quality remain unknown. Objectives: To quantitatively explore the association between exposure to residential greenness and semen quality. Methods: We investigated 9142 sperm donation volunteers who underwent 38,682 semen examinations at Guangdong provincial human sperm bank in China during 2016–2019. Exposure to residential greenness was assessed using mean daily Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at each subject’s residential address with a 400 m buffer during 0–90 days before each semen collection. Multivariate linear mixed models and linear regression models were used to assess the association between exposure to residential greenness and semen quality. Results: An interquartile range increase in exposure to residential greenness was significantly associated with a 0.034 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.005, 0.063) ml, 4.06 (95% CI: 0.76, 7.37) × 106, and 0.32% (95% CI: 0.22%, 0.41%) increase in semen volume, total sperm number, and normal forms, respectively; similar trends were observed across quartiles of exposure to residential greenness (all p-values for liner trend

Rational design of the surface properties of heterogeneous catalysts can boost the interfacial activity in biphasic reactions through the generation of Pickering emulsions. This concept, termed Pickering interfacial catalysis (PIC), has shown promising credentials in acid-catalyzed transesterification, ester hydrolysis, acetalization, etherification, and alkylation reactions. PIC has now been applied to the efficient, solvent-free hydrolysis of the triglyceride glyceryl trilaurate to lauric acid, catalyzed by Aquivion perfluorosulfonic superacid at mild conditions (100 °C and ambient pressure).

Chitin is a very important and widely-used biopolymer in fungi and lower metazoans, but mysteriously disappears in mammals. Recent studies reveal that at least lower vertebrates have chitin synthases (CS) and use them to synthesize endogenous chitin. Amphioxus, a basal chordate, therefore becomes critical to understand the evolution of CS, as it occupies the transitional position from invertebrates to vertebrates, and is considered as a good proxy to the chordate ancestor. Here, by exploiting multiple genome assemblies, high-depth RNA-seq data and synteny relations, we identify 11-12 CS genes for each amphioxus species. It represents the largest CS gene pool ever found in eukaryotes so far. As comparison, most metazoans have one or two CSs. Amphioxus is the only chordate that has both the very ancient type-I CS family and the more broadly distributed type-II CS family. Specifically, amphioxus has only one type-II CS but 10-11 type-I CSs, which means that amphioxus is the only metazoan with a greatly expanded type-I CS family. Further analysis suggests that the chordate ancestor have at least one type-II CS and an expanded of type-I CS family. We hypothesize that: these ancient CSs are mostly retained in amphioxus; but the whole type-I CS family was lost in urochordates and vertebrates; the type-II CS was later duplicated into two lineages in vertebrates and followed by stochastic losses, till all type-II CSs were eventually lost in birds and mammals. Finally, our expression profiling and preliminary gene knockout analysis suggest that amphioxus CSs could have highly diverse but mildly overlapping functions in various tissues and organs. Taken together, these findings not only provide insights into the evolution of chordate CSs, lay a foundation for further functional study of the chordate CSs. After all, it is mysterious that our chordate ancestor needed so many isoenzymes for chitin formation.

In this paper, we studied an original synthetic strategy to prepare bio-based surfactants by direct solvent-free etherification of glycerol with dodecanol using heterogeneous interfacial acidic catalysts dubbed Pickering Interfacial Catalysis. The conversion of dodecanol could be achieved to 60–71% with limited production of didodecyl ether (DE) as the main side product. The selectivity of the final product, alkylpolyglycerylether (AGEM), could be pushed to >80% with a water removal process at 150 °C, as a mixture of monolauryl polyglyceryl ethers, multilauryl polyglyceryl ethers and multilauryl cyclicpolyglyceryl ethers. AGEM could be isolated with a suitable work-up and was fully characterized by GC (MS), HPLC, SFC/HRMS, etc. The physicochemical properties of these new surfactants were evaluated, as well as their laundry performances. This solvent-free direct etherification process paves the way towards new value-added applications of glycerol.

International audience; A key challenge in biomass conversion is how to achieve valuable molecules with optimal reactivity in the presence of immiscible reactants. This issue is usually tackled using either organic solvents or surfactants to promote emulsification, making industrial processes expensive and not environmentally friendly. As an alternative, Pickering emulsions using solid particles with tailored designed surface properties can promote phase contact within intrinsically biphasic systems. Here we show that amphiphilic silica nanoparticles bearing a proper combination of alkyl and strong acidic surface groups can generate stable Pickering emulsions of the glycerol/dodecanol system in the temperature range of 35–130 °C. We also show that such particles can perform as Pickering Interfacial Catalysts for the acid-catalyzed etherification of glycerol with dodecanol at 150 °C. Our findings shed light on some key parameters governing emulsion stability and catalytic activity of Pickering interfacial catalytic systems. This understanding is critical to pave the way toward technological solutions for biomass upgrading able to promote eco-efficient reactions between immiscible organic reagents with neither use of solvents nor surfactants.

International audience; Stabilization of oil/oil Pickering emulsions using robust and recyclable catalytic amphiphilic silica nanoparticles bearing alkyl and propylsulfonic acid groups allows fast and efficient solvent-free acetalization of immiscible long-chain fatty aldehydes with ethylene glycol.

In the frame of biomass valorization, a novel and simple cyclic glyceryl sulfate was efficiently prepared in two steps from glycerol. It was shown to react efficiently with primary, secondary as well as tertiary amines to afford either the corresponding anionic or zwitterionic surface-active agents.

Pickering emulsions combining surface-active and catalytic properties offer a promising platform for conducting interfacial reactions between immiscible reagents. Despite the significant progress in the design of Pickering interfacial catalysts for a broad panel of reactions, the dynamics of Pickering emulsions under reaction conditions is still poorly understood. Herein, using benzene hydroxylation with aqueous H2O2 as a model system, we explored the dynamics of benzene/water Pickering emulsions during reaction by dissipative particle dynamics. Our study points out that the surface wettability of the silica nanoparticles is affected to a higher extent by the degree of polymer grafting rather than an increase of the chain length of hydrophobic polymer moieties. A remarkable decline of the oil-in-water (O/W) interfacial tension was observed when increasing the yield of the reaction product (phenol), affecting the emulsion stability. However, phenol did not alter to an important extent the distribution of i...

International audience; Polystyrene-grafted silica nanoparticles bearing sulfonic acid centers and with tunable amphiphilic properties were designed to perform the biphasic etherification reaction of glycerol with dodecanol at the interface of Pickering emulsions. By optimizing the hydrophobic properties of the particles, double Pickering emulsions could be generated allowing a facilitated diffusion of glycerol and dodecanol into the microenvironment near the acid centers.

Mannich reaction of acetophenone, aldehydes and aromatic amines catalyzed efficiently by RE(PFO)3 was described firstly, which carried out smoothly in high yields with three component one-pot method. Furthermore, it was found these catalysts were completely recovered and reused without loss of their catalytic activities and are thus environmentally conscious, and this procedure is a new choice to synthesis β-aminocarbonyl compounds.

An array of aromatic aldehydes undergoes crossed aldol condensation with ketones in the presence of a catalytic amount of Yb(OTf) 3 under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding α,α'-bis(substituted benzylidene)cycloalkanones in excellent yields without occurrence of any side reactions. This method is very general, simple and environmental friendly in contrast with the existing methods, which use many classical Lewis acids. Furthermore, the catalyst can be recovered conveniently and reused efficiently without the loss of activity.

International audience; Here we report the screening of various homogeneous acid catalysts in the oligomerization of glycerol at 150 degrees C. Under optimized conditions, a mixture of oligoglycerol with an average degree of oligomerization of 3.4 was obtained at a glycerol conversion of 80%. At such a conversion, the selectivity to oligoglycerols was higher than 90%. Oligoglycerols were then successfully alkylated, offering an attractive route to valuable molecules (biosurfactants or hydrotropes).

New rare earth perfluorooctanoates [RE(PFO) 3 ] were developed and applied to the condensation reactions of indole with carbonyl compounds at ambient temperature. It was found that these catalysts could be completely recovered and reused without loss of catalytic activities.

Yb(OTf)3 catalyzed efficient Hantzsch reaction via four-component coupling reactions of aldehydes, dimedone, ethyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate at ambient temperature was described as the preparation of polyhydroquinoline derivatives. The process presented here is operationally simple, environmentally benign and has excellent yield. Furthermore, the catalyst can be recovered conveniently and reused efficiently.

An array of aromatic aldehydes undergoes crossed aldol condensation with ketones in the presence of a catalytic amount of Yb(OTf) 3 under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding α,α'-bis(substituted benzylidene)cycloalkanones in excellent yields without occurrence of any side reactions. This method is very general, simple and environmental friendly in contrast with the existing methods, which use many classical Lewis acids. Furthermore, the catalyst can be recovered conveniently and reused efficiently without the loss of activity.