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Assessment and control of emerging organic pollutants in food have become critical for global food safety and health. The European Union has set standards for certain emerging organic pollutants, such as phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in food. Because of being endocrine disruptors, PAEs are toxic and carcinogenic to humans. Release of PAEs from packaging materials poses a potential risk to human health and causes environmental pollution. In this study, a highly sensitive analytical method for the detection of PAE contents in tea beverages was established using hydroxyl-functionalized covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coating. Results indicate that functionalization with hydroxyl groups enhances the adsorption of PAEs. The proposed method exhibits a wide linear range (1-20,000 ng L -1 ), low limits of detection (> 0.048 ng L -1 ), and satisfactory recovery (72.8 %-127.3 %). To investigate the PAE contamination in beverages, contamination levels of six typical PAEs and their health impacts were surveyed across various brands/types/packaging materials of tea beverages sold in China. Results of the hazard quotient and hazard index approaches suggest no or extremely low health concerns regarding PAE levels. We observe that hydroxyl groups functionalized on COFs enhance the adsorption of PAEs. Moreover, an important outcome of this study is development of an efficient and sensitive direct detection method for PAEs in complex tea matrices, providing a reliable approach for the assessment of PAEs in other complex matrices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Cellulose paper is a flammable and hygroscopic material, which limits its application. In this paper, melamine-formaldehyde resin (MF) and silane coupling agents were used to microencapsulate ammonium polyphosphate (Si@MFAPP) in turn and added to the fibers suspension to prepare hydrophobic and flame-retardant cellulose paper. It was found that the surface of the ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was smooth with the water solubility of 0.24 g/100 mL. After microencapsulation with MF, the surface of MFAPP became rough, and the solubility was reduced to 0.1 g/100 mL. When further encapsulation with polysiloxanes, the surface showed significantly higher roughness, and a lotus leaf-like microspherical structure was formed. Specifically, its solubility decreased to 0.04 g/100 mL. In addition, the residual char weight of Si@MFAPP at 800 °C was increased from 25.27 % to 38.56 %. The water contact angle (WCA) of MFAPP/Pulp increased from 84.23° to 90.78°, and the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased from 31.8 % to 34.1 %, meaning that the flame retardancy was obviously raised. The WCA of Si@MFAPP/Pulp enhanced to 96.45°, and the LOI was 34.5 %, meaning that the hydrophobicity was further raised. Therefore, Si@MFAPP significantly improved the flame-retardancy and hydrophobicity of the cellulose paper., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Phytohormones are a class of endogenous substances that separately or synergistically regulate the growth, development, and differentiation of plants. Accurately and efficiently detecting and monitoring the concentration of plant hormones in living plants is of significant importance. Herein, a novel mesoporous carbon hollow spheres (MCHS)-based in vivo solid phase microextraction (SPME) probe was designed for in vivo sampling of plant hormones. The designed MCHS features the advantages of high surface area, porous shells, and large hollow spaces, facilitating the dynamic adsorption and enrichment of target phytohormone. In addition, a cationic polyelectrolyte, (poly (diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA), was further modified onto the MCHS to expedite the extraction process by electrostatic interaction. Utilizing the MCHS@PDDA probe in combination with HPLC-MS/MS facilitated the continuous monitoring of three plant hormones (abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and gibberellin (GA3)) in Chinese aloe. The detection limit of this method was 0.016-0.090 μg/L, the linear range was 10-1000 μg/L, and both the RSD of the single probe (n = 6) and probe-to-probe test (n = 6) were less than 7.2 %. This method had excellent accuracy and good reproducibility comparable to the traditional sample pretreatment method. Ultimately, this established in-vivo SPME method was successfully adopted to quantify three selected plant hormones in living Chinese Aloes, providing a new method for the long-term monitoring of endogenous active substances in living system., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Spatial patterns in plant community structures within stressed ecosystems have drawn much attention in the field of ecology. However, the mechanisms underlying spatial formation and its impact on species coexistence and diversity remain controversial. In this study, we investigated concentric circular vegetation patches in coastal saline land, and analysed the spatial patterning of plant communities and associated soil physicochemical properties. Thereafter, we tested how the soil conditioned by plant communities from different locations within the vegetation patches influence the species growth and inter-specific competition. Our results show soil salinity enlarges in a centrifugal manner in horizontal direction in all patches. Soil salinity decreased and species diversity increased along with the increase of patch size. In addition, we found significant shifts in both the composition of plant communities and in soil physicochemical properties from outer to center. The results indicate that the pioneer species Suaeda salsa facilitated the subsequent species. However Suaeda salsa was inhibited and became inferior competitor in the soil conditioned by the subsequent species. We infer that the less-visible spatial patterns of soil physicochemical properties at small scales create ecological niches for specialized species, allowing them to coexist but not mix. We suggest that a trade-off between tolerance to salt stress and competitive ability under ameliorated conditions may underlie mechanisms of pattern formation in small scale. Our findings lend support to the idea that soil stress constraints community assembly and triggers spatial patterns, which, in turn, buffer the stress on plant communities and enhance species diversity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The management of diabetic wounds presents significant challenges due to persistent inflammation, microenvironmental disruptions, and impaired angiogenesis. To address these issues, this study developed a multifunctional chondroitin sulfate sponge (CSP@Cu-Mg) with anti-inflammatory properties, hemostatic effects, effusion absorption, and enhanced healing promotion. Through ion crosslinking, MgO and CuO were incorporated into the interpenetrating network structure of chondroitin sulfate and acellular dermal matrix, resulting in a sponge with impressive liquid absorption capacity (3450 %) and porosity (83 %). This sponge enabled sustained release of Mg 2+ /Cu 2+ ions, with approximately 40 % cumulative release over 7 days. This release helped reduce inflammation, promote the proliferation and migration of skin repair-related cells, and stimulate angiogenesis. In vivo studies demonstrated that the CSP@Cu-Mg sponge significantly improved diabetic wound healing by modulating inflammation and accelerating collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and re-epithelialization. This extracellular matrix sponge, which synergistically releases Mg 2+ /Cu 2+ , presents a promising strategy for comprehensive diabetic wound management with substantial clinical implications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Evidence on the associations of childhood parental education with late-life cognitive function remains inconsistent. Additionally, studies focusing on dimensions of cognitive function are scarce, with none from China. Therefore, we examined the associations of childhood parental education with late-life cognitive function and it's dimensions and investigated potential interactions., Study Design: A cross-sectional study., Methods: Participants were included from the third phase of Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Delayed 10-Word Recall Test (DWRT), and childhood parental literacy (could read or write) were collected. Multivariate linear and logistic regression were used., Results: Among 8891 participants aged ≥50 years, compared with those whose childhood parents could not read/write, those with only the father, only the mother, or both parents able to read/write during childhood had higher scores on the MMSE and its dimensions, and lower odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The coefficients (β) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for scores of MMSE were 1.25 (1.10, 1.41), 1.36 (0.86, 1.86), and 2.05 (1.89, 2.21) respectively; the odds ratios and 95 % CIs for MCI were 0.38 (0.33, 0.45), 0.35 (0.18, 0.67), and 0.15 (0.12, 0.19) respectively. More pronounced effects were found in women, those aged ≥60, those with ≤ primary education, and in those whose childhood parents could read/write. Socioeconomic position mediated the association. Cognitive functions of attention and calculation in children of only fathers who could read/write (β = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.35, 0.50) and memory in children of only mothers who could read/write (β = 0.34, 95%CI: 0.16, 0.51) were associated with better outcomes. Consistent results were also found using scores from the DWRT., Conclusions: Childhood parental literacy was associated with late-life cognitive function and it's dimensions, which mediated by socioeconomic position. Specifically, having only a father or only a mother who could read/write during childhood was associated with better cognitive function in attention/calculation and memory, respectively. These results add new evidence to support strategies for elderly cognitive health care., (Copyright © 2024 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Siglec-9 is a promising immune checkpoint molecule, and therapeutics targeting Siglec-9 have the potential to augment anti-tumor immunity. Here, we generated a bispecific antibody, named as aSE4-1-Fc, by fusing two distinct alpaca derived nanobodies, which can simultaneously target the extracellular Ig variable (V)-set domain and C2-set domains of murine Siglec-9 (also known as Siglec-E) with high affinity. In vivo studies showed that aSE4-1-Fc was better than its component antibodies in inhibiting tumor growth/metastasis, and Siglec-E blockade using aSE4-1-Fc generated protective anti-tumor T cell memory. Furthermore, the combination of aSE4-1-Fc with anti-PD-L1 therapy greatly improved the antitumor effects by augmenting both T and NK cells. Taken together, this study emphasizes the importance of Siglec-9 as a potential cancer therapeutic target, demonstrates the synergistic effect of co-inhibition of Siglec-9 and PD-L1, and may have implications for developing engineered antibodies targeting Siglec-9 with enhanced therapeutic efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Tengchuan Jin has patent pending to Tengchuan Jin, Dan Zhao. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Authors prepared a nanoselenium particle stabilized with Sargassum fusiforme polysaccharide (SFPS-Tw-SeNPs) and confirmed that it could effectively inhibit the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells in vitro. The aim of this study was to investigate its anti-lung cancer effect in vitro and in vivo and its possible mechanism. In cell experiments, AO/EB staining revealed that SFPS-Tw-SeNPs could induce the apoptosis of A549 cells and produce red fluorescence by inserting into DNA through damaged cell membranes, increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). SFPS-Tw-SeNPs that is loaded with coumarin-6 entered the cells in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner, acting on the mitochondria, reducing the mitochondrial membrane potential, increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and increasing the expression of Cleaved-Caspase 3, Cleaved-Caspase 9, Cleaved-PARP and Cytochrome C-induced apoptosis in cells. In addition, the SFPS-Tw-SeNPs blocked the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway, downregulated the expression of Cyclin-A and CDK2, upregulated the expression of P21, and arrested the cell in the G1 phase. In animal experiments, SFPS-Tw-SeNPs treatment significantly inhibited the growth of A549 tumour xenografts but did not significantly negatively affect the body of the animals. Overall, SFPS-Tw-SeNPs have the potential to be developed as a pharmaceutical drug to prevent and treat non-small cell lung cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Eyebrow transplant surgeries have become increasingly popular in recent years. Periauricular hair, with its slow growth rate and fine caliber similar to eyebrow hair, has been strategically used in eyebrow transplants to achieve enhanced and authentically natural aesthetic results., Objectives: This study aimed to assess the postoperative clinical outcomes of using periauricular hair for eyebrow transplantation., Methods: Data from 81 patients (72 women and 9 men) who underwent eyebrow transplantation with periauricular hair between October 2020 and September 2022 were analyzed. They were followed up for 15 months' post-surgery to evaluate recovery and complications. Patient satisfaction and quality of postoperative life were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale., Results: For female patients, the average total number of transplanted hair grafts and surgery duration were 402.33 ± 158.48 FU (follicular unit) and 193.86 ± 66.69 min, respectively. Contrastingly, male patients exhibited slightly higher values, with an average of 481.78 ± 126.43 FU and 229.00 ± 96.80 min, respectively. No significant complications were reported during the postoperative follow-up. Patients expressed general satisfaction with immediate and 15-month postoperative outcomes, reflected in a mean overall satisfaction score of 4.90. The overall satisfaction of the subjects at 15 months postoperative was significantly higher than the preoperative satisfaction (Z = -8.483, p < 0.001). The eyebrow/forehead surgery did not have a significant impact on postoperative satisfaction (H = 5.355, p = 0.374 > 0.05); however, patients without tattoos tended to report higher levels of postoperative satisfaction (Z = 8.056, p = 0.004 < 0.05). Patient satisfaction ratings for physical function, psychological function, social function, and quality of life post-operation were 5, 4.95, and 4.94, respectively., Conclusions: Eyebrow transplant using periauricular hair can improve cosmetic outcomes and is a viable option in clinical practice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The design of polyelectrolyte hydrogel with unique tensile and adhesive properties which can be applied across disciplines has gradually become a popular trend. However, the phenomenon of global warming and the emergence of extreme weather, it still faces some urgent problems that should be solved, such as the optimal utilization of polyelectrolyte hydrogel across a wide range of temperatures. Herein, a wide temperature sensitivity and conductivity hydrogel based on sodium alginate, acrylamide and N-isopropylacrylamide was constructed, which exhibited excellent adhesion and temperature conductivity. It is worth noting that after the inclusion of CaCO 3 and NaCl in the hydrogel, the hydrogel showed excellent tensile properties (fracture strain >2000 %). Within a wide temperature range (-15-50 °C), it exhibits exceptional electrical conductivity (2.75 S ∗ m -1 ) and sensitivity (GF = 8.76 under high strain). This innovative intelligent polyelectrolyte hydrogel provides suitable strategy for flexible sensors, smart wearable devices and medical monitoring equipment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Alginate-based packaging materials have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics due to their biodegradability, renewability, and versatile functionalities. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent advances in the development and application of alginate-based films and coatings for food packaging. The composition and fabrication methods of alginate-based packaging materials are discussed, highlighting the incorporation of various functional compounds to enhance their physicochemical properties. The mechanisms of action and the factors influencing the release and migration of active compounds from the alginate matrix are explored. The application of alginate-based packaging materials for the preservation of various food products, including meat, fish, dairy, fruits, and vegetables, is reviewed, demonstrating their effectiveness in extending shelf-life and maintaining quality. The development of alginate-based pH-sensitive indicators for intelligent food packaging is also discussed, focusing on the colorimetric response of natural pigments to spoilage-related pH changes. Furthermore, the review highlights the challenges and future perspectives of alginate-based packaging materials, emphasizing the need for novel strategies to improve their performance, sustainability, and industrial adoption., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Endowing biodegradable plastics with easy recyclability can reduce competition with food resources and further enhance their environmental friendliness. In this work, 4-carboxyphenylboronic acid was grafted onto the side chains of hydroxyethyl cellulose and compounded with inexpensive cornstarch. Upon the introduction of tannic acid, stable and reversible borate ester bond rapidly formed, yielding composite biodegradable plastic films with outstanding mechanical properties and facile recyclability. The formation of a dynamic cross-linked network mitigates the aggregation of gelatinized starch molecules, enhancing the flexibility and durability of the crosslinked film. Testing revealed that while maintaining high tensile strength, the elongation at break of the crosslinked film increased by 952.86 %. The static water contact angle was improved from 32.74° to 78.82°, with a change of <5° within 1 min, demonstrating enhanced water resistance. Excellent antioxidant and thermal stability were also characterized, the crosslinked film can be easily dissolved by heating in water at pH = 6.5 and reshaped in water at pH = 7.2. After five times of regeneration, the tensile strength loss was as low as 5.68 %. This eco-friendly and efficient recycling process is promising during green chemistry., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The rapid and non-destructive quantification of catechins in fermented black tea is crucial for evaluating the quality of black tea. The combination of hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics has been applied for quantitative detection, but its performance is usually constrained by the limited dataset size. Targeted at the challenge of insufficient samples in regression analysis of catechins, this study proposes an improved deep convolutional generative adversarial network with labeling module, named as DCGAN-L for hyperspectral data augmentation. The DCGAN-L consists of the spectral and label generating modules. First the synthetic spectra were generated, and an indicator was proposed to evaluate their quality. Then, the corresponding label values were generated, including epicatechin gallate (ECG), epicatechin (EGC), catechin (C), and total catechin (CC). For label generating, the Euclidean distances between the synthetic spectrum and all true spectra were measured, followed by allocating weights for calculating the label values based on these distances. Subsequently, the training dataset was augmented with the generated synthetic data. The effect of data augmentation was finally evaluated based on two regression models of random forest (RF) and broad learning system (BLS) for the quantification of catechins. Compared with the results before data augmentation, the average R 2 of RF and BLS models increased by 0.044 and 0.164, respectively. The proposed DCGAN-L model allows for the rapid, non-destructive quantification of catechins in black tea in the case of limited sample size., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an effective cancer treatment that circumvents the resistance caused by chemotherapy drugs. Conventional PTT has a relatively high temperature, which is better able to kill tumor tissues, but it is also more damaging to normal tissues. Mild PTT avoids these high temperatures, but its corresponding killing ability becomes lower and enhances the heat resistance of cancer cells, causing tumor self-protection and reducing the therapeutic effect of PTT. Here, we reported a new, remotely stimulable, mild-temperature PTT combined with electrical stimulation-induced ionic interference therapy. We introduced MXenes into alginate based thermoresponsive PVA/P(NIPAm-co-SA) hydrogel (PPS) to formulate mechanically reliable hydrogel electrolyte-based supercapacitors as an ion homeostasis perturbator. The artificially controlled duration of near-infrared radiation modulates the PTT cycle temperature, which is controllably maintained at a little under 45 °C to reduce Hsp90 overexpression. Light-induced phase transitions in the hydrogel produce voltages that resemble low-intensity, alternating electric fields. Moreover, chronic piezoelectric stimulation can inhibit cancer cell proliferation by upregulating the expression of genes encoding Kir3.2 inwardly rectifying potassium channels, by interfering with Ca 2+ homeostasis, and by affecting mitotic spindle organization during mitosis. In vivo and in vitro antitumor studies on the 4T1 model suggest that this functionalized, remote, light-responsive transducer is an effective and promising tool for the treatment of tumors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical problem with no effective treatment. Excessive folic acid (FA) induced kidney tubular injury is characterized by oxidative stress and inflammation, and is a common model of AKI. The excellent pharmacological activity of naringenin (NAR) makes it a potential agent for treating AKI, but its poor solubility limits its application. This study prepared NAR loaded nanoparticles (FU/PVP-NAR) using fucoidan (FU) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as carriers, with a particle size of 23.96 ± 2.77 nm. In vitro studies showed that FU/PVP-NAR inhibited excessive FA induced proliferation inhibition, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of HK-2 cells. Further confirmed that FU/PVP-NAR inhibited FA induced DNA damage and Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) activation. In vivo studies showed that excessive FA induced AKI features in mice, such as elevated serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, accompanied by pathological damage to kidney tissues. The above AKI characteristics induced by FA were alleviated by FU/PVP-NAR. FU/PVP-NAR also inhibited the decrease in antioxidant enzyme levels in kidney tissues induced by FA. Furthermore, in vivo mechanism studies indicated that FU/PVP-NAR inhibited the release of inflammatory factors by inhibiting DNA damage-cGAS-STING pathway. In summary, this study provided the possibility for FU/PVP-NAR as a potential candidate drug for treating FA induced AKI., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Freeze-tolerance is an important physiological trait for terrestrial environmental adaptation and intraspecific geographic-lineage diversification in ectothermic animals, yet there remains a lack of systematic studies on its underlying genetic mechanisms and evolution. To address this problem, we employed the widely distributed rice pest, the Chilo suppressalis, as a model to explore the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary history of freeze-tolerance. First, we systematically characterized its antifreeze mechanisms by performing functional validation of potential key genes in laboratory-reared lines. This revealed the functional roles of glycerol biosynthesis in freeze-tolerance, including the triacylglycerol-originated pathway via triacylglycerol lipase (Tgl) hydrolysis and the glycogen-originated pathway via α-amylase (Aa) and maltase (Ma) hydrolysis, as well as the roles of the cellular chaperones Hsc70 and Hsf1. Then, we investigated the evolution of freeze-tolerance by collecting representative geographical samples and performing population genetic analyses, which suggested differentiated strategies of cold adaptation in different geographic populations. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the functional basis of cold resistance in Chilo suppressalis and reveal the evolutionary history of freeze-tolerance in natural populations, providing insights into organismal freeze-tolerance and clues for pest control., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Substituted p-phenylenediamines (PPDs), a class of antioxidants, have been widely used to extend the lifespan of rubber products, such as tires and pipes. During use, PPDs will generate their quinone derivatives (PPD-Qs). In recent years, PPDs and PPD-Qs have been detected in the global environment. Among them, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine quinone (6PPD-Q), the oxidation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD), has been identified as highly toxic to coho salmon, with the lethal concentration of 50 % (LC50) being 95 ng/L, highlighting it as an emerging pollutant of great concern. This review summarizes the physicochemical properties, global environmental distribution, bioaccessibility, potential toxicity, human exposure risk, and green measures of PPDs and PPD-Qs. These chemicals exhibit lipophilicity, bioaccumulation potential, and poor aqueous stability. They have been found in water, air, dust, soil, and sediment worldwide, indicating their significance as emerging pollutants. Notably, current studies have identified electronic waste (e-waste), such as discarded wires and cables, as a non-negligible source of PPDs and PPD-Qs, in addition to tire wear. PPDs and PPD-Qs exhibit strong bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms and mammals, with a tendency for biomagnification within the food web, posing health threats to humans. Available toxicity data indicate that PPDs and PPD-Qs have negative effects on aquatic organisms, mammals, and invertebrates. Acute exposure leads to death and acute damage, and long-term exposure can cause a series of adverse effects, including growth and development toxicity, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, intestinal toxicity, and multi-organ damage. This paper discusses current research gaps and offers recommendations to understand better the occurrence, behavior, toxicity, and environmental exposure risks of PPDs and PPD-Qs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To construct a diagnostic model for mixed dentition using a multistage deep-learning network to predict potential ectopic eruption in permanent teeth by integrating dentition segmentation into the process of automatic classification of dental development stages., Methods: A database was established by reviewing 1576 anonymous panoramic radiographs of children aged 6-12 years, collected at the Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. These radiographs were categorised as normal or ectopic eruption, with expert diagnoses serving as a benchmark for training and evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) models. Furthermore, tooth boundaries and dental development stages were manually annotated by three pediatric dentistry experts. The dataset was split into training, validation, and test sets at an 8:1:1 ratio., Results: The diagnostic performance of the deep-learning model was rigorously evaluated. The model demonstrated accuracy in tooth segmentation, with Intersection over Union, precision, sensitivity, and F1 scores of 0.959, 0.993, 0.966, and 0.979, respectively. Furthermore, its ability to identify tooth ectopic eruptions on panoramic radiographs, when compared to evaluations by three dentists. Based on McNemar's test, the model's specificity and accuracy in identifying ectopic tooth eruptions on the test dataset surpassed that of Dentist 1 (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was observed compared to the other two dentists. Besides, the deep learning model also showed its potential in classifying dental development stages, as tested against three different standards., Conclusions: The adaptability of the AI-enabled model in this study was demonstrated across multiple scenarios, with clinical validation highlighting its efficacy in diagnosing ectopic eruptions using a multistage deep-learning approach., Clinical Significance: Our findings provide new insights and technical support for the prevention and treatment of abnormal tooth eruption, laying the groundwork for predictive models for other prevalent pediatric dentistry conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Burn caused by exposure to hot substances is a common occurrence but there is little data on prevalence trends and disease burden. This research report the burden of burn injuries globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2019, identify hotspots, and analyze factors affecting disease burden with data from Global Burden of Disease 2019 survey., Methods: The Global Burden of Disease 2019 estimated the incidence, death rate, and disease-adjusted life years (DALY) for injuries due to exposure to fire, heat, and hot substances from 1990 to 2019. For comparison, all rates were age standardized. And the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was used to reflect the degree of change of the annual rate., Results: Globally, there were an estimated 8,378,122 (95 % uncertainty interval [UI]: 6,531,887-10,363,109) burn injuries in 2019, with age-standardized incidence, death, and DALY rates of 118 (95 % UI: 89-147), 1.44 (95 % UI: 1.14-1.72), and 96.6 (95 % UI: 75.03-123.05) per 100,000 people, which were 22 %, 43 %, and 43 % lower than those in 1990, respectively. Regionally, age-standardized incidence rate showed a positive association with Socio-demographic Index (SDI) from 1990 to 2019, whereas age-standardized death and DALY rates were negatively associated with SDI. The variation in the age-standardized incidence rate was intrinsic, and the variation in the age-standardized death rate was related to the human development index in the country. The global burn incidence population was skewed, with peaks mainly in the 5 to 19 years age group, but age-specific death rates and disease burden were higher in the under-5 and older age groups., Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the need to consider regional differences in burns when allocating health resources. Despite the reduced global burden of burns, incidence and deaths remain high. Moreover, there are significant differences between regions which are associated with the SDI and the human development index. Additionally, differences exist in the age and sex of the affected populations. Although the exact causes require further study, there is no doubt that the prevention of burns requires serious attention., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Morroniside (MOR) has shown great potential in treating atrazine (ATZ)-induced skin damage. This study aims to elucidate MOR's mechanism of action in mitigating lipid metabolism disorders and inhibiting ferroptosis to repair ATZ-induced skin damage. Twenty C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups: the control group, the ATZ group, the MOR-H group and the MOR-L group, each comprising five mice. Following a one-month intervention, mouse skin tissues were harvested for untargeted lipid metabolomics analysis. Subsequently, the samples were assessed for indices related to ferroptosis. Untargeted lipid metabolomics analysis showed 127 differential metabolites in the ATZ vs. Ctrl group. There were 57 differential metabolites in the MOR-L vs. ATZ group. 34 differential metabolites in the MOR-H vs. ATZ group. the most obvious lipid reversal occurred after MOR-L administration, which primarily involved phospholipids, ceramides, and sphingomyelins. The levels of GPX4, Ferritin, MDA, SOD and GSH-PX, ferroptosis-related indicators, and the levels of p21 and p53, apoptosis-related indicators, were most significantly regressed in the MOR-L group (all P < 0.05). MOR may delay cellular aging and correct skin damage by reversing ATZ-induced lipid metabolism disorders, inhibiting ferroptosis and excessive oxidative stress occurrence., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Indigenous microbial communities in smelting areas are crucial for maintaining fragile ecosystem functions. However, the community assembly process and their responses to polymetallic pollution are poorly understood, especially the taxa in each bin from the amplicons that contributed to the assembly process. Herein, microbial diversity, co-occurrence patterns, assembly process and the intrinsic mechanisms across contamination gradients at a typical PbZn smelting site were systematically unravelled by high-throughput sequencing. The results showed a consistent compositional profile among the indigenous communities across sampling sites, wherein genera KD4-96 from Chloroflexi and Sphingomonas from Proteobacteria emerged as the most abundant taxa. Network modularity of the high- and middle-contaminated communities at Pb and Zn smelting sites was >0.44, indicating that community populations were clustered into modules to resist high heavy metal stress. Stochastic processes dominated the community assembly, with the greatest contribution from drift (DR), which was significantly correlated with Pb, Zn, Cr and Cu contents. What's particular was that the DR-controlled bins were dominated by Proteobacteria (typical r-strategists), while the HoS-controlled bins were by Chloroflexi (typical K-strategists). Furthermore, the proportion of DR in the bins dominated by Sphingomonadaceae (phylum Proteobacteria) increased gradually with the increase of heavy metal contents. These discoveries provide essential insights for community control in restoring and mitigating soil degradation at PbZn smelting sites., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present study aims to evaluate the effects of 2-ethylhexyldiphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) on glycolipid metabolism in vivo. Adult male zebrafish were exposed to various concentrations (0, 1, 10, 100 and 250 μg/L) of EHDPP for 28 days, and changes in lipid and glucose levels were measured. Results indicated significant liver damages in the 100 and 250 μg/L EHDPP groups, which both exhibited significant decreases in hepatic somatic index (HSI), elevated activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in serum and liver, as well as hepatocyte vacuolation and nuclear pyknosis. Exposure to 100 and 250 μg/L EHDPP led to significant reductions in serum and liver cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), and lipid droplet deposition, indicating a significant inhibition of EHDPP on hepatic lipid accumulation. Lipidomic analyses manifested that 250 μg/L EHDPP reduced the levels of 103 lipid metabolites which belong to glycerides (TGs, diglycerides, and monoglycerides), fatty acyles (fatty acids), sterol lipids (cholesterol, bile acids), sphingolipids, and glycerophospholipids, and downregulated genes involved in de novo synthesis of fatty acids (fas, acc, srebp1, and dagt2), while upregulated genes involved in fatty acid β-oxidation (pparα and cpt1). KEGG analyses revealed that EHDPP significantly disrupted glycerolipid metabolism, steroid biosynthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis pathways. Collectively, the results showed that EHDPP induced lipid reduction in zebrafish liver, possibly through inhibiting lipid synthesis and disrupting glycerolipid metabolism. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the ecological hazards and health effects of EHDPP on glycolipid metabolism., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The potential pesticide hazard to non-target organisms is a global concern. It is critical to develop the sensitive detection methods of multiple pesticides in various complex matrices. Here, benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (BTCA) and 1,3,5-Tri (4-aminophenyl) benzene (TAPB) were employed as precursors for the in-situ growth of COF TAPB-BTCA on the surface of amino-functionalized stainless steel wire (SS) via a solvothermal method. The successful COF TAPB-BTCA bonded fiber exhibited significant enrichment capability of pyrethroids insecticides (PYs), organophosphorus (OPPs), and organochlorine (OCPs), with enrichment factors (EFs) ranging from 1133-7762, 1319-7291, and 734.1-2882, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that various interactions contributed to its high enrichment capacity. Automated detection of PYs, OPPs, and OCPs in water, foods, and biological samples was realized by coupling this fiber with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The detection limits were as low as 0.0370-0.657 ng/L, 0.0128-0.400 ng/L, and 0.0329-0.202 ng/L for PYs, OPPs, and OCPs, respectively. In addition, the environmental risks of these samples were assessed based on the above data. This work not only provided a straightforward technique for sensitive monitoring of pesticides in complex matrices but also presented a novel approach for the in-situ controlled growth of versatile adsorbents with broad-spectrum properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Oridonin is an antitumor ent-kaurane diterpenoid that medicinal chemists have been paying close attention to in recent years. Herein, a novel 6,20-epoxy A-ring modified oridonin derivative 2 was obtained by a 6-step synthesis. A series of 14-O derivatives of 2 (EpskA1-EpskA24) were synthesized to further enhance the activity. Based on their cytotoxicity against MCF-7, A549 and L-02 cells, EpskA9, EpskA10 and EpskA21 were chosen for further screening to obtain a wider antitumor spectrum. Collectively, EpskA21 showed the most potent antiproliferative activity, inhibiting proliferation and migration, and inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 and MIA-PaCa-2 cells. With the help of network pharmacology analysis, apoptosis-related proteins were selected and further tested by western blot assay. The inhibition of PI3K/AKT and an increase in the levels of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, Cyt-C, cleaved-Caspase-9, cleaved-Caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP was observed, indicating that EpskA21 induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Given that an increase in DR5 expression and activated Caspase-8 were also observed, the extrinsic apoptosis pathway might also be related to the antitumor effect., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe gastrointestinal disease in preterm infants and the most common cause of neonatal death, whereas the molecular mechanism of intestinal injury remains unclear accompanied by deficiency of effective therapeutic approaches. GIT2 (G-protein-coupled receptor kinase interacting proteins 2) can affect innate and adaptive immunity and has been involved in multiple inflammatory disorders. In this study, we investigated whether GIT2 participates in the pathogenesis of NEC. Here we found that intestinal Git2 gene expression was significantly increased in NEC patients and NEC mice, which positively correlated with the tissue damage severity, and Git2 deficiency could potently protect against NEC development in mice. Mechanistically, Git2 gene knockout dramatically increased the recruitment of MDSCs in the intestine, and in vivo depletion of MDSCs almost completely abrogated the protective effect of Git2 deficiency on NEC. Moreover, Git2 deficiency induced MDSCs intestinal accumulation mainly relied on CXCL1/CXCL12 signaling, as evidenced by the significant increment of CXCL1 and CXCL12 levels in intestinal epithelium of Git2 -/- mice and dramatically decrease of MDSCs accumulation in intestine as well as increase of NEC severity upon treatment of CXCL1/CXCL12 pathway inhibitors. In addition, Git2 deficiency induced up-regulation of CXCL1 and CXCL12 is at least partially mediated through activating NF-κB signaling. Thus, our findings suggest that GIT2 is involved in the pathogenesis of NEC, and targeting GIT2 may be a potential preventive and therapeutic approach for NEC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The preparation of biodegradable and antibacterial hydrogels has important clinical value. In this work, a novel strategy has been developed to prepare degradable hydrogel dressings without chemical crosslinking agent using methacrylate anhydride (MA)-modified amylopectin (APMA) and polyacrylamide (PAM). After introducing CC bonds, APMA/PAM hydrogels can be formed under light irradiation. This strategy improves the gelling ability of AP and degradation properties of the hydrogel by avoiding the addition of crosslinking agent. The degradation rate of APMA/PAM hydrogel is 74.04 ± 0.69 % within 12 weeks, while that of APMA/PAM hydrogel containing crosslinking agent is only 38.5 ± 0.1 %. The APMA/PAM hydrogel loading curcumin (Cur) (APMA/PAM-Cur) exhibits high antibacterial efficiency of 98.29 ± 0.41 % and 97.18 ± 0.81 % against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, with light irradiation. Animal experiments show that the APMA/PAM-Cur hydrogel reduces the infiltration of inflammatory factors, increases the density of collagen, and makes the newly formed granulation tissue thicker and tighter. This study not only proves the promising potential of the APMA/PAM-Cur hydrogel as degradable and antibacterial wound dressing for clinical treatment, but also provides a new strategy for developing low-cost, degradable, and antibacterial wound dressings and reducing antibiotic abuse and environmental pollution caused by medical waste., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Due to dwindling petroleum resources and the need for environmental protection, the development of bio-based flame retardants has received much attention. In order to explore the feasibility of fully biomass polyelectrolyte complexes (PEC) for polyolefin flame retardant applications, chitosan (CS), sodium alginate (SA), and sodium phytate (SP) were used to prepare CS-based fully biomass PEC intercalated montmorillonite (MMT) hybrid biomaterials (SA-CS@MMT and SP-CS@MMT). The effects of two hybrid biomaterials on the fire safety and mechanical properties of intumescent flame-retardant polypropylene (PP) composites were compared. The SP-CS@MMT showed the best flame retardancy and toughening effect at the same addition amount. After adding 5 wt% SP-CS@MMT, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of PP5 reached 30.9 %, and the peak heat release rate (pHRR) decreased from 1348 kW/m 2 to 163 kW/m 2 . In addition, the hydrogen bonding between polyelectrolyte complexes significantly improved the mechanical properties of PP composites. Compared with PP2, the tensile strength of PP5 increased by 59 %. This study provided an efficient and eco-friendly strategy for the large-scale production of renewable biomaterials with good thermal stability and expanded the application of macromolecular biomaterials in the field of fire safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

MiR-1246 in breast cancer-derived exosomes was a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of breast cancer(BC). However, the low abundance, high homology and complex background interference make the accurate quantitative detection of miR-1246 facing great challenges. In this study, we developed an electrochemical biosensor based on the subtly combined of CRISPR/Cas12a, double-stranded specific nuclease(DSN) and magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs) for the detection of miR-1246 in BC-derived exosomes. Ascribed to the good synergistic effect of DSN, Cas12a and MNPs, the developed electrochemical biosensor exhibited excellent performance with the linear range from 500 aM to 5 pM, and the detection limit as low down to about 50 aM. The target-specific triggered enzyme-digest activity of DSN and Cas12a system, as well as the powerful separation ability of MNPs ensure the high specificity of developed electrochemical biosensor which can distinguish single base mismatches. In addition, the developed electrochemical biosensor has been successfully applied to detect miR-1246 in blood-derived exosomes and realize distinguishing the BC patients from the healthy individuals. It is expected that the well-designed biosensing platform will open up new avenues for clinical liquid biopsy and early screening of breast cancer, as well as provide deeper insights into clinical oncology treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a major inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by intestinal epithelium damage. Recently, Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has been identified as a potential fecal biomarker for patients with UC. However, further investigation is required to explore its pro-inflammatory role in UC and the underlying mechanism. The biological analysis revealed that Lcn2 serves as a putative signature gene in the colon mucosa of patients with UC and its association with the capsase/pyroptosis signaling pathway in UC. In wild-type mice with DSS-induced colitis, LCN2 overexpression in colon mucosa via in vivo administration of Lcn2 overexpression plasmid resulted in exacerbation of colitis symptoms and epithelium damage, as well as increased expression levels of pyroptosis markers (cleaved caspase1, GSDMD, IL-1β, HMGB1 and IL-18). Additionally, we observed downregulation in the expression levels of pyroptosis markers following in vivo silencing of LCN2. However, the pro-inflammatory effect of LCN2 overexpression was effectively restrained in GSDMD-KO mice. Moreover, single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that Lcn2 was predominantly expressed in the intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) within the colon mucosa of patients with UC. We found that LCN2 effectively regulated pyroptosis events by modulating the NF-κB/NLRP3/GSDMD signaling axis in NCM460 cells stimulated by LPS and ATP. These findings demonstrate the pro-inflammatory role of LCN2 in colon epithelium and provide a potential target for inhibiting pyroptosis in UC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nano-structured hydrogel with unique anti-oil fouling property exhibits big advantage in oil/water separation, but its application in complex oily wastewater (contain oils, organic matter, bacteria, etc.) cleanup is hampered by the insufficient capabilities in multi-antifouling and synergistic treatment. Herein, we constructed the amino-rich NH 2 -AgBiS 2 /PANI (polyaniline)-g-C 3 N 4 based multi-functional hydrogel functional layer onto the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber membrane via polyphenol-mediated chitosan gelation and vacuum-assisted self-assembly techniques. The unique honeycomb-like structure and super-wetting feature synergistically contributed to the powerful oil resistance and flux breakthrough of composite membrane. Such membrane achieved superior permeability (up to 3558 L -1 m -2 h -1 ) for various SDS-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions and remarkable synergistic treatment efficiency of multicomponent pollutant-oil-water emulsion. The rational design of hydrogel layer on membrane surface intensified the photo-response ability and multiple electron transport channels, which offered the favorable photocatalytic self-cleaning performance towards degradation of organic dyes. According to the free radical quenching and EPR experiments, the photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. In addition, the inhibition rate of E. coli could reach 100 % under illumination of 24 h. Therefore, the integration of ultra-low oil adhesion, photocatalytic self-cleaning, and antibacterial features endows membrane with exceptional multiple anti-fouling performance, exhibiting unique advantages over traditional membranes in handling complex membrane fouling issues., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Citric acid esters (CAEs), as one class of important alternative plasticizers, have been proven to be ubiquitous in the environments, leading to an increasing concern regarding their potential health risk to humans. However, information regarding the biomarkers for human CAE biomonitoring is currently unknown. In the present study, we investigated the metabolism characteristics of CAEs by use of in vitro rat liver microsomes (RLMs) and in vivo mice. We observed that CAEs would undergo a rapid metabolism in both in vitro and in vivo conditions, implying that parent CAEs could be not suitable for biomonitoring of human CAE exposure. By use of high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS), ten molecules were tentatively identified as CAE potential metabolites on the basis of their MS and MS/MS characteristics, and CAEs could be metabolized via multiple pathways, i.e. hydrolyzation, hydroxylation, O-dealkylation. Further MS screening in human serum samples demonstrated that most of parent CAEs were not detectable, whereas numerous CAE metabolites were detected in the same batch of analyzed samples. Especially, one of metabolites of tributyl citrate (named with TBC-M1), exhibited a high detection frequency of 73.3%. By use of TBC-M1 as the biomarker of human CAE exposure, alteration of lipid metabolism was further examined in human serum. Interestingly, we observed statistically significant correlations between TBC-M1 levels and population characteristics (i.e., age, BMI, and drinking). Beyond that, we also observed statistically significant correlation between levels of TBC-M1 and lipid molecules (phosphatidylinositol (18:0/20:4) and sphingomyelin (d34:1)). Collectively, this study underscored the property of rapid metabolism of CAEs in exposed organism, and proposed a potential biomarker that could be greatly helpful for further investigating the human CAE exposure and understanding their potential health risks., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recent studies show that biodegradable microplastics (BMPs) could increase soil CO 2 emission, but whether altered carbon emission results from modified soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition remains underexplored. In this study, the effect and mechanisms of BMPs on CO 2 emission from soil were investigated, using poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT, the main component of agricultural film) as an example. Considering that straw returning is a common agronomic measure which may interact with microplastics through affecting microbial activity, both soils with and without wheat straw were included. After 120 d, 1 % (w/w) PBAT BMPs ificantly increased cumulative CO 2 emission by 1605.6 and 1827.7 mg C kg -1 in soils without and with straw, respectively. Cracks occurred on the surface of microplastics, indicating that CO 2 was partly originated from plastic degradation. Soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) content, carbon degradation gene abundance (such as abfA, xylA and manB for hemicellulose, mnp, glx and lig for lignin, and chiA for chitin) and enzyme activities increased, which significantly positively correlated with CO 2 emission rate (p < 0.05), suggesting that PBAT enhanced carbon emission by stimulating the decomposition of SOM (and possibly the newly added straw) via co-metabolism and nitrogen mining. This is supported by DOM molecular composition analysis which also demonstrated stimulated turnover of carbohydrates, amino sugars and lignin following PBAT addition. The findings highlight the potential of BMPs to affect SOM stability and carbon emission., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As one of the reclamation methods of sewage sludge, land application is commonly used. Because almost all organic waste is supposed to be recycled in land use, higher application ratio is necessary. This study conducted sludge land use experiments under high application ratio, and the migration of heavy metals in soil-plant system were studied. The mixture ratio of sludge to soil was 0:1, 0.00862:1, 0.2:1 (240 DS t/hm 2 ), and 0.75:1 (900 DS t/hm 2 ), which is higher than ISO 19698: 2020 and all the Chinese standards. The results showed that the high ratio of sludge application increased the concentration of heavy metals in soil, but after planting plants, the concentration of heavy metals decreased. And compared to sunflower and black-eyed Susan, ryegrass had the best bioaccumulation and transport capacity for heavy metals. As for the residual heavy metals in the soil, compared to the application ratio of 0.00862:1, increasing the application ratio to 0.2:1 did not significantly increase the risk of heavy metals. And if sludge was applied continuously for 15 years, only Hg may have a cumulative risk at the ratio of 0.2:1, but did not exceed GB 36600-2018. Controlling the maximum application rate at 0.2 and planting ryegrass can be a feasible strategy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mitophagy influences the progression and prognosis of ischemic stroke (IS). However, whether DNA methylation in the brain is associated with altered mitophagy in hypoxia-injured neurons remains unclear. Here, miR-138-5p was found to be highly expressed in exosomes secreted by astrocytes stimulated with oxygen and glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R), which could influence the recovery of OGD/R-injured neurons through autophagy. Mechanistically, miR-138-5p promotes the stable expression of Ras homolog enriched in brain like 1(Rhebl1) through DNA-methyltransferase-3a (DNMT3A), thereby enhancing ubiquitin-dependent mitophagy to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Furthermore, we employed glycosylation engineering and bioorthogonal click reactions to load mirna onto the surface of microglia and deliver them to injured region utilising the inflammatory chemotactic properties of microglia to achieve drug-targeted delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). Our findings demonstrate miR-138-5p improves mitochondrial function in neurons through the miR-138-5p/DNMT3A/Rhebl1 axis. Additionally, our engineered cell vector-targeted delivery system could be promising for treating IS. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we demonstrated that miR-138-5p in exosomes secreted by astrocytes under hypoxia plays a critical role in the treatment of hypoxia-injured neurons. And we find a new target of miR-138-5p, DNMT3A, which affects neuronal mitophagy and thus exerts a protective effect by regulating the methylation of Rbebl1. Furthermore, we have developed a carrier delivery system by combining miR-138-5p with the cell membrane of microglia and utilized the inflammatory chemotactic properties of microglia to deliver this system to the brain via intravenous injection. This groundbreaking study not only provides a novel therapeutic approach for ischemia-reperfusion treatment but also establishes a solid theoretical foundation for further research on targeted drug delivery for central nervous system diseases with promising clinical applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Rhizosphere bacteria are critical for supporting plant performance in stressful environments. Understanding the assembly and co-occurrence of rhizosphere bacterial communities contributes significantly to both plant growth and heavy metal accumulation. In this study, Ligustrum lucidum and Melia azedarach were planted in soils with simulated varying levels of Pb-Zn contamination. The Rhizosphere bacterial communities were investigated by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The impacts of Pb-Zn contamination on the diversity and structure of the rhizosphere bacterial community were found to be greater than those of both tree species. The variation in bacterial community structure in both trees was mainly driven by the combinations of Pb-Zn and soil properties. Deterministic processes (non-planted, 82 %; L. lucidum, 73 %; M. azedarach, 55 %) proved to be the most important assembly processes for soil bacterial communities, but both trees increased the importance of stochastic processes (18 %, 27 %, 45 %). The rhizosphere co-occurrence networks exhibited greater stability compared to the non-planted soil networks. Rare taxa played a dominant role in maintaining the stability of rhizosphere networks, as most of the keystone taxa within rhizosphere networks belonged to rare taxa. Dissimilarities in the structure and network complexity of rhizosphere bacterial communities were significantly associated with differences in tree biomass and metal accumulation. These variations in response varied between both trees, with L. lucidum exhibiting greater potential for phytoremediation in its rhizosphere compared to M. azedarach. Our results offer valuable insights for designing effective microbe-assisted phytoremediation systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)