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Anthropogenic activities discharge zinc into aquatic ecosystems, and the effects of long-term and low-concentration zinc exposure on fish behavior are unclear. We evaluated the behavior and physiology of male zebrafish (Danio rerio) after a 6-week exposure to 1.0 or 1.5 ppm (mg/L) zinc chloride. The exposure caused anxiety-like behaviors and altered the social preferences in both exposure groups. Analysis of transcriptional changes suggested that in the brain, zinc exerted heterogenetic effects on immune and neurotransmitter functions. Exposure to 1.0 ppm zinc chloride resulted in constitutive immune dyshomeostasis, while exposure to 1.5 ppm zinc chloride impaired the neurotransmitter glutamate. In the intestine, zinc dysregulated self-renewal of intestinal cells, a potential loss of defense function. Moreover, exposure to 1.5 ppm zinc chloride suppressed intestinal immune functions and dysregulated tyrosine metabolism. These behavioral alterations suggested that the underlying mechanisms were distinct and concentration-specific. Overall, environmental levels of zinc can alter male zebrafish behaviors by dysregulating neurotransmitter and immunomodulation signatures.

A wing-body junction flow of a navigating underwater vehicle is considered to be a crucial source of the flow radiating acoustic noise, which attracts much research interest. In this paper, wing-plate junction flows are experimentally investigated in a low-speed wind tunnel by smoke-wire flow visualizations and time-resolved PIV measurements. To reveal the physical behavior of such flows, smoke-wire flow visualizations are conducted for a laminar wing-plate junction. A novel control strategy is proposed, to accurately locate the suction openings where the streamline is about to roll up to form a vortex in the turbulent junction flows. The control effect is discussed in perspectives of both the time-averaged and instantaneous flow fields.

The research and development for biomedical applications are recently focused on multifunctional nanoparticles. To integrate various functionalities, different methods of modifying the particle’s physical properties are developed. Among the considered, nanodiamond (ND) is a promising candidate for the development of multifunctional complex due to its variable features in size, structure, surface chemistry, physical properties, and biocompatibility. In addition to its well-studied structural, surface, electrochemical and photonic properties, strong magnetism of ND can be observed. In the present work, magnetically modified ND is introduced in terms of its bioapplications. Along with the soft ferromagnetism of ND, the increased fluorescence at one- and two-photon excitation is realized. Utilizing the combined magnetic and fluorescence properties of the magnetically modified ND, fluorescence imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging and manipulation of cells by magnetic field are demonstrated. The perspectives to use the magnetic ND for drug delivery, cells magnetic separation and filtration, in bioengineering to control the cell distribution combined with imaging and treatment are discussed.

In this paper, graft copolymer of starch-acrylamid-propylene hydroxamic acid was synthesized by inverse emulsion polymerization. Effects of the dosage of the graft copolymer, pH value and reaction time on the capability of trapping heavy metal ion Pb2+ were investigated. The results showed that the optimum conditions for treating lead-containing wastewater were: pH=7-9, reaction time≧30min , the dosage of polymeric ferric sulfate and graft copolymer in wastewater were 10mg·L-1 and 250-300mg·L-1, respectively. The Pb2+ removal rate is not less than 99.8% and meanwhile the copolymer possess good removal performance of turbidity.

This errata corrects an error in “Multifunctional biomedical applications of magnetic nanodiamond.”