Search

Exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) can cause adverse health effects in the female population. We investigated the dietary OCP intake of childbearing-age women living in large agricultural areas of Northern China, as well as their associated health risks. Ten childbearing-age women were recruited during 2015–2016. Their weekly dietary intake diaries and food samples were collected over the course of five visits. The OCP residues of 322 food samples from seven categories (i.e., cereal, vegetable, fruit, fish, meat, egg, and milk) were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The average concentrations of the total hexachlorocyclohexanes (ΣHCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes and their metabolites (ΣDDX), endosulfans (ΣES), and dieldrin and endrin (ΣDrin) in all food categories were, overall, much lower than the maximum residue limits. Relative high mean residues of ΣDrin and ΣES were found in fruits (ΣDrin: 0.687 ng g−1 wet weight (w.w.), ΣES: 2.24 ng g−1 w.w.) and vegetables (ΣDrin: 0.690 ng g−1 w.w., ΣES: 2.11 ng g−1 w.w.). The estimated daily dietary intake (EDI) of these compounds was calculated, with mean levels of 10.6 (ΣES) > 4.37 (ΣDrin) > 1.51 (ΣHCH) > 0.850 (ΣDDX) ng kg−1 day−1. Women during the heating period (from January to March) tended to ingest more ΣHCH, ΣDDX, ΣDrin, and ΣES. Overall, women had no obvious non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks due to intake of OCPs, but 83.9% of them has potential carcinogenic risk, with estimated life carcinogenic risk (LCR) exceeding 10−6. Furthermore, women had a higher potential carcinogenic risk during the heating period (mean LCR: 1.33 × 10−5) than during the non-heating period (mean LCR: 8.50 × 10−6). ΣDrin was the dominant OCP responsible for health risks, followed by ΣHCH. We concluded that women in North China still have some dietary OCP intake, especially during the heating period. [Display omitted] • The OCPs residues of 322 food samples from seven categories were analyzed. • We found high residues of endosulfans and dieldrin in some fruits and vegetables. • Women during the heating period tended to ingest more dietary OCPs in North China. • 83.9% of the women have potential carcinogenic risk due to dietary intake of OCPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete is significant for construction. A problem in application is the appearance of cracks that will damage its strength. An autogenous crack-healing mechanism based on bacteria receives increasing attention in recent years. The bacteria are able to form calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) precipitations in suitable conditions to protect and reinforce the concrete. However, a large number of spores are crushed in aged specimens, resulting in a loss of viability. A new kind of hydrogel crosslinked by alginate, chitosan and calcium ions was introduced in this study. It was observed that the addition of chitosan improved the swelling properties of calcium alginate. Opposite pH response to calcium alginate was observed when the chitosan content in the solution reached 1.0%. With an addition of 1.0% chitosan in hydrogel beads, 10.28% increase of compressive strength and 13.79% increase of flexural strength to the control were observed. The results reveal self-healing properties of concretes. A healing crack of 4 cm length and 1 mm width was observed when using cement PO325, with the addition of bacterial spores (2.54–3.07 × 105/cm3 concrete) encapsulated by hydrogel containing no chitosan. Image 1 • A new method to the bacterial encapsulation procedure used in concrete was proposed. • The opposite pH response to calcium alginate was observed when the addition of chitosan in the solution reached 1.0%. • 10.28% increase of compressive strength and 3.79% increase of flexual strength of cement were observed in this work. • A healing crack of 4 cm length and 1 mm width was observed in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C-type lectins (CTLs) function as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) by recognizing invading microorganisms, thereby triggering downstream immune events against infected pathogens. In this study, a novel CTL containing a low-density lipoprotein receptor class A (LDLa) domain was obtained from Litopenaeus vannamei , designed as LvLDLalec. Stimulation by the bacterial pathogen Vibrio anguillarum (V. anguillarum) resulted in remarkable up-regulation of LvLDLalec, as well as release of LvLDLalec into hemolymph. The rLvLDLalec protein possessed broad-spectrum bacterial binding and agglutinating activities, as well as hemocyte attachment ability. Importantly, LvLDLalec facilitated the bacterial clearance in shrimp hemolymph and protected shrimp from bacterial infection. Further studies revealed that LvLDLalec promoted hemocytes phagocytosis against V. anguillarum and lysosomes were involved in the process. Meanwhile, LvLDLalec participated in humoral immunity through activating and inducing nuclear translocation of Dorsal to regulate phagocytosis-related genes and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) genes, thereby accelerated the removal of invading pathogens in vivo and improved the survival rate of L. vannamei. These results unveil that LvLDLalec serves as a PRR participate in cellular and humoral immunity exerting opsonin activity to play vital roles in the immune regulatory system of L. vannamei. • LvLDLalec is activated by V. anguillarum and promotes bacterial clearance. • LvLDLalec binds to the surface of hemocytes to promote phagocytosis and lysis of ingested V. anguillarum in phagosomes. • LvLDLalec regulates the expression of immune-related genes by promoting the nuclear translocation of Dorsal. • LvLDLalec protectes shrimp from infection from V. anguillarum to improve the survival rate of L. vannamei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]