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Proteins existed in aquatic environments strongly influence the transport, fate of nanomaterials due to the formation of protein-corona surrounding nanomaterials. To date, how do proteins affect the aggregation behaviors of MXene, a new family of two-dimensional materials, in aquatic environment remains unknown. Here the aggregation kinetics of MXene Ti

Regulating the porosity of metal phosphonate frameworks is still challenging, even though this is not an issue for carboxylate-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Quaternary ammonium cations are common template reagents widely used for structure control. However, it is not successful for uranyl phosphonate frameworks (UPFs) because the large volume sizes of templates make it challenging to enter the channels constructed by phosphonate ligands with small pore sizes and low dimensions. In this work, three new porous three-dimensional UPFs were synthesized using the phosphonate ligand and template reagents with the same geometry, namely, (TEA)

Most osteoporosis (OP) fracture accidents in men are not only due to low BMD but also because of unhealthy muscle support. However, it has been a limited number of reports about how muscle metabolism is disturbed by OP in male patients. In this work, pathway analysis based on metabolomic research was carried out to fill this gap. Classical orchiectomy procedure was adapted to create OP animal model. Micro-CT and pathological section were applied for bone and muscle phenotype assessment and pathology analysis. UPLC-Q-TOF/MS and UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS were applied to measure metabolites in skeletal muscle samples among groups. In total, 31 significantly differential metabolites were detected by comparing between healthy model and OP animals, and 7 representative metabolites among the 31 significantly differential metabolites were identified and validated experimentally by UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS (xanthine, L-phenylalanine, choline, hypoxanthine, L-tryptophan, succinic acid, and L-tyrosine). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis analysis revealed significantly enriched pathways involved in inflammatory, oxidative stress, and necrosis. To our best knowledge, this is the first study that investigated early muscle disorder processes in OP cases at metabolic level, which facilitate early intervention and protection from OP fracture for aged men.

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging threat to ecological conservation and biodiversity; however, little is known of the types and possible impacts of MPs in pollinators. To examine whether MPs were present in honeybees, we analyzed the honeybee samples collected in fields from six provinces in China. Four types MPs were identified in honeybee including polystyrene (PS) by Raman spectroscopic analysis, and these plastic polymers were detected in 66.7% bee samples. Then, we assessed the physical and biological impacts of PS of three sizes (0.5, 5, and 50 μm) on bees for 21 days. Next, we measured how the presence of PS affected the Israeli acute paralysis virus proliferation, a small RNA virus associated with bee colony decline. Experimental evidence showed that a large mass of PS was ingested and accumulated within the midgut and enhanced the susceptibility of bees to viral infection. Not only histological analysis showed that PS, especially 0.5 μm PS, damaged the midgut tissue and was subsequently transferred to the hemolymph, trachea, and Malpighian tubules, but also qPCR and transcriptomic results indicated that genes correlated with membrane lipid metabolism, immune response, detoxification, and the respiratory system were significantly regulated after PS ingestion. Our results highlight neglected MP contamination to the bees, a pollination ecosystem stressed by the anthropogenic pollution, and have implications for human health via ingestion of bee products.

The ban and restriction of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and major brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), due to their confirmed detrimental effects on wildlife and humans have paved the way for the wide application of organophosphate esters (OPEs). OPEs have been extensively used as alternative flame retardants, plasticizer, and antifoaming agents in various industrial and consumer products, which leads to an increase in production, usage, and discharge in the environment. We compile recent information on the production/usage and physicochemical properties of OPEs and discussed and compared the available sample treatment and analysis techniques of OPEs, including extraction, clean-up, and instrumental analysis. The occurrence of OPEs in sediment, aquatic biota, surface, and drinking water is documented. Toxicity, human exposure, and ecological risks of OPEs were summarized; toxicological data of several OPEs shows different adverse health effects on aquatic organisms and humans. Much attention was given to document evidence regarding the bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential of OPEs in aquatic organisms. Finally, identified research gaps and avenues for future studies are forwarded.

The molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) plays a key role in insect development, metamorphosis, and reproduction. Previous studies have shown that ecdysteroid metabolism is regulated by a series of CYP genes in most of the insect species. However, the roles of these CYP genes in a Coleopteran beetle, Aethina tumida (small hive beetle, SHB) have not yet been explored.In the current study, we identified seven CYP genes (six Halloween genes and one AtCYP18A1 gene) related to 20E metabolism. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) showed that AtCYP307A1 and AtCYP307B1 were primarily expressed in the embryonic stage and in the cephalothorax of larvae. RNA interference (RNAi) screening revealed that suppression of AtCYP307A1 expression caused a lethal phenotype during the larval-pupal metamorphosis. Furthermore, Hematoxylin and Eosin staining of the integument showed that the RNAi of AtCYP307A1 inhibited the apolysis and degradation of the old cuticle. In addition, silencing of AtCYP307A1 resulted in significant down-regulation of 20E titers and the expression levels of 20E signaling pathway genes. Finally, the AtCYP307A1 RNAi phenotype was rescued by topical application of 20E.Our studies suggest that AtCYP307A1 involved in 20E synthesis is indispensable during the larval-pupal metamorphosis of beetles, which could serve as a putative insecticide target for pest control. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) based on Fenton and Fenton-like reactions induces cancer cell killing via in situ catalyzing H

Research on bullying and victimization has largely focused on univariate analyses on older children. Little is known regarding the bullying and victimization experience of young children with a person-centered approach, especially in Chinese affordable kindergarten settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and underlying profiles of bullying and victimization experiences. The study was based on a sample of 92,528 children aging from 2 to 6 years old enrolled in 582 Chinese affordable kindergartens. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify latent profiles of participants based on their bullying-victimization characteristics. The results suggested that the most common bullying form was physical bullying, followed by verbal bullying, and social bullying. A three-class model was identified from the involved participants: not involved class, physical bully-victim class, and verbal-physical victim class. Male children were more likely to be in the “physical bully-victim” and “verbal-physical victim” class than female children. Children with one or more siblings were more likely than children with no sibling to be in the “physical bully-victim” and “verbal-physical victim” class. Our study suggests that bullying may be prevalent in affordable kindergarten and it is urgent to create a policy framework to identify, intervene and prevent bullying behaviors.

This paper studies the stability of discrete-time time-varying stochastic systems with infinite Markov switching. First, the concepts of strongly exponentially stable in mean square and exponentially stable in mean square with conditions are introduced, and their equivalent conditions are given by operator theory and stochastic analysis. Second, we introduce the Lyapunov equation related to strongly exponentially stable in mean square. Third, as an application of the proposed Lyapunov stability criterion, the relationship between the internal stability and the [Formula: see text] input–output state stability is derived for the infinite Markov jump system disturbed by finite-energy random disturbance. Finally, an example is given to verify its correctness and validity.

Curcumin (Cur) is an active ingredient of Curcuma longa. Cur has many pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anticoagulation, hypolipidemic, anti-angiogenesis and anti-cancer. An injectable curcumin loaded chitosan/hydroxyapatite bone cement (Cur-CS/HA) was prepared as a bone scaffold and drug delivery. Tween 20, a nonionic surfactant, was incorporated into the cement to improve the solubility of curcumin. Four types of Cur-CS/HA (Group0, Group1, Group5 and Group10) were prepared with different Tween 20 ratios (0, 1, 5 and 10%, respectively). The samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Compression tests were carried out to evaluate the strength of the scaffolds. In addition, the inhibition assay was carried out on MG63 cells with the extracts of drug loaded materials. The results showed that Cur had an effect on the setting time (p

Rifampicin (RFP) is a first-line hydrophobic anti-tuberculosis drug. An injectable RFP-loaded cement was prepared as a bone scaffold and drug delivery vehicle in this paper. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The injection performance, compressive strength, degradation performance, cytotoxicity, and in vitro release of the drug-loaded cement were evaluated as well. Moreover, the effects of RFP on the properties of cement were discussed. The results showed that the cement had an appropriate setting time and good injectability to meet the clinical requirements for bone defect repair. RFP had no significant effect on the setting time of cement. But RFP increased the porosity of the cement and reduced its strength. The in vitro drug release studies demonstrated that the RFP-loaded cement had a good sustained release effect on RFP. It had great potential as a drug-loaded artificial bone material for bone repair and anti-tuberculosis.

To investigate and provide better medical service for the international students in Nanchong, 131 international students who sought for medical service in the Second Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from April 2018 to March 2021 were selected as the research subjects, one questionnaire with 25 questions on routine physical examination, medical satisfaction, medical expense, service quality and medical assistance was conducted, then, the results were analyzed by SPSS 22.0. According to the results, the international students encountered some difficulties in the process of seeking medical service, to solve these difficulties and provide better medical service for the international students, the collaborations of the enrollment units, the medical institutions and the international students are needed.

Fluorescently labeled calix[4]arene glycoconjugates demonstrate multifunctional potential in both Warburg effect mediated tumor imaging and GLUT1 targeted drug delivery. Nitrobenzoxadiazole and mannose conjugated NBD-Man-CA was found to be selectively recognized by GLUT1 and act as a "molecular carrier" for selective tumor targeting.

A series of rim-differentiated Co-pillar[4+1]arenes featuring penta-substituted "upper" rims and mono-functionalisable "lower" rims was successfully synthesised and fully characterised. These novel pillar[5]arene-based scaffolds with clickable moieties and extra synthetic handles are versatile platforms for self-assembled molecular architectures and biological applications.

The adsorption of five polycarboxylate ethers (PCEs) oligomers with different side-chain number and side-chain length on the ettringite (100) surface in explicit solution is studied by all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The adsorption conformations, adsorption energies, the radial distribution functions (RDF) between PCEs and ettringite surface and density distribution profile of water perpendicular to the substrate are analyzed. After dynamic equilibrium, negatively charged carboxylate groups are absorbed on the surface of the disordered ettringite crystal and the side-chains are extended to solution. The influence of the number of side-chain on the adsorption strength of PCEs on the ettringite (100) surface is more significant than that of the length of side-chain. The less number of grafted side-chains, the weaker electrostatic shielding, the electrostatic interaction between PCEs and ettringite (100) surface is stronger, which is favorable for the adsorption. The conformation of adsorbed PCEs is closely related to the length of side chain. The greater the length of side-chains is, the larger will be the coverage area of PCE on surface and the degree of water reduction. The mechanism of adsorption of PCEs on ettringite surface is concluded and the major contribution to the adsorption includes ion pairs, hydrogen bonds and an entropic compensation.

The low-carbon supply chain is key to promoting sustainable development and solving environmental pollution. Government policies related to lowering carbon emissions deeply affect supply chains. This paper builds a supply chain decision-making model under three different regulatory policies: a pure carbon tax, a pure low-carbon subsidy, and a mixed policy with both a carbon tax and a low-carbon subsidy, then compares and analyzes the impacts of these three different regulatory policies on carbon emissions, manufacturer and retailer income, and marginal profit in order to determine the best course of action with respect to supply chain decision-making. Our results indicate that the supply chain decision-making model under the mixed carbon tax and low-carbon subsidy policy results in a unique Nash equilibrium solution between the retailer subsidy rate and the manufacturing carbon reduction rate in a non-cooperative game. Although a carbon tax is beneficial to the ecological environment, retailer income increases slightly as the carbon tax coefficient increases before declining rapidly. Manufacturer income has a negative linear relationship with carbon tax, and an excessive amount of carbon tax increases the burden on companies. Therefore, the government must establish reasonable standards for carbon tax collection while offering moderate low-carbon subsidies at the same time as a means of optimizing social welfare.

Benzophenone(BP)-type UV filters are continuously released into various aquatic environments via the effluent discharge of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and recreational activities in coastal beaches. In this study, we developed a robust and reliable sampling approach, diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT), for seasonal monitoring of six BP derivatives in coastal waters to investigate their occurrence and environmental risk. The binding capacities of both XAD-2 and HLB gels for test BPs were over 252 μg with no significant deterioration in marine environment, suggesting that theoretically, DGT is capable of sampling for at least 3 months effectively. The diffusion coefficients of BPs in freshwater and seawater were determined for the first time. The sampling performance showed no dependence on environmental conditions including pH (4.0-8.5), ionic strength (0.0001-0.5 M) and dissolved organic matter (0-20 mg L

Though activatable DNA nanomachines in response to external and internal stimuli successfully improve the temporal and spatial controllability of biosensing and bioimaging, current strategies usually apply different irradiation lights for DNA nanomachine activation and imaging processes. The involvement of short wavelength excitation results in shallow tissue penetration and high background interference. Here we design a photo-locked DNA nanomachine (P-DNA nanomachine) that uses single NIR irradiation for spatiotemporally activating nanomachine operation and metal ion imaging in cancer cells. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are modified with energy collector dye FITC, photo-locked DNAzyme and its substrate strands labelled with BHQ1. Part of the UCNPs emission at 450 nm was collected by FITC and quenched by BHQ1 originally. 980 nm irradiation photolyzes PC linker, activates DNAzyme catalytic reaction in the presence of Zn

Bioaccumulation of organophosphate esters (OPEs) by plants has been widely studied, but how root exudates influence their bioavailability to plants is poorly understood. Here, we examined whether root exudates could promote desorption of OPEs, thereby enhancing bioavailability and subsequent accumulation potential. Root exudate components exert great influences on the sorption/desorption isotherms of OPEs in soils, resulting in activating OPEs and enhanced bioavailability. Among root exudate components, citric acid was confirmed to play a crucial role in driving OPEs, with 77.7-90.3 % attribution. Citric acid at rhizosphere levels (0.01-0.4 mM) can successfully reduce OPEs sorption to soils by decreasing electrostatic interaction, ligand exchange, and hydrophobic force. Pot experiments indicated that the addition of citric acid can significantly increase OPEs dissolution and bioaccumulation from the rhizosphere soil to Suaeda salsa. A higher level of citric acid in rhizosphere soil resulted in a higher accumulation of OPEs in Suaeda salsa, which was partly attributed to the enhanced OPEs mobility, and the increased root lengths (13.4-29.0 %) and tip numbers (60.2-120 %), promoting OPEs uptake by roots. Our findings suggest the activation process of OPEs in soils by citric acid at rhizosphere levels and provide insights into designing LMWOAs-enhanced phytoremediation techniques in natural environment.

This work proposes a fast and accurate method based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and aquaphotomics to identify toxic honeys. PLS-DA was used to construct an optimal model for distinguishing toxic honey from non-toxic honey. The models based on preprocessed NIR spectra have an accuracy of 92.73% and were more accurate than the model based on raw NIR spectra. Based on the aquaphotomics analysis of the first overtone of water (1300–1600 nm), we found that the 1398 nm, 1440 nm, and 1472 nm bands can be used as markers to distinguish toxic honeys. Compared to non-toxic honeys, G. elegans-containing toxic honeys have a significantly smaller number of water molecules with multiple hydrogen bonds, due to the hydrogen bonding of the C-O-C, C = O, and NH2 groups of gelsemine and koumine. These groups replace hydrogen bonds between glucose/polysaccharide molecules and water.

Cation-π interactions are the major noncovalent interactions for molecular recognition and play a central role in a broad area of chemistry and biology. Despite tremendous success in understanding the origin and biological importance of cation-π interactions, the design and synthesis of stronger cation-π interactions remain elusive. Here, we report an approach that greatly increases the binding energy of cation-π interactions by replacing Trp in the aromatic box with an electron-rich Trp derivative using the genetic code expansion strategy. The binding affinity between histone H3K4me3 and its reader is increased more than eightfold using genetically encoded 6-methoxy-Trp. Furthermore, through a systematic engineering process, we construct an H3K4me3 Super-Reader with single-digit nM affinity for H3K4me3 detection and imaging. More broadly, this approach paves the way for manipulating cation-π interactions for a variety of applications.

The material for managing and monitoring waste made from the waste itself is an excellent example of cyclic utilization, which could reduce issues and be more sustainable. A three-dimensional porous uranyl phosphonate MOF (

Although honey bee responses to pathogens have been systematically described in the past decades, antiviral signalling pathways mechanisms are not thoroughly characterized. To decipher direct antiviral roles of an immune pathway, we firstly used the infectious clone of Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) to screen 42 immune genes involved in mTOR, MAPK, Toll, Endocytosis, Jak-STAT pathway and homeobox protein, heat shock protein, as well as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and found that Toll pathway was a potential predominant immune pathway in Apis mellifera. Consistent with this, only dsRNA-PGRP-S2 treated A. mellifera significantly exhibited impaired activation of Toll pathway, promoting susceptibility to the IAPV infection. Finally, immunofluorescence results confirmed that the Toll pathway was initiated by peptidoglycan recognition protein S2 (PGRP-S2) interacting with Toll protein. Co-immunoprecipitation findings also further preliminarily confirmed PGRP-S2 directly interacting with viral capsid protein IAPV-VP3 to induce the activation of the Toll pathway in A. mellifera. These findings highlight that the Toll pathway is demanded efficient inhibitions of IAPV replication as a specific antiviral pathway in A. mellifera, and PGRP-S2, acting as a pattern recognition receptor, could be a new approach for control of the viral disease.Author summaryHoney bee viruses, particularly IAPV, had been implicated in the colony decline with a global distribution resulting in insufficient pollination services. However, little is known about the antiviral mechanism of honey bee. In this study, we found that the Toll pathway was required for A. mellifera against IAPV infection and initiated by PGRP-S2. We also confirmed that dsRNA-PGRP-S2 treated A. mellifera exhibited impaired Toll pathway activation and promoted susceptibility to the IAPV infection. As a result, we employed co-immunoprecipitation technique to identify the interaction between the PGRP-S2 with Toll. Moreover, it was found the PGRP-S2 directly recognized IAPV-VP3 to activate the immune pathway against IAPV infection. Our work provides novel evidence that honey bees own a specific antiviral immune pathway and suggests that targeting PGRP-S2 could be a new approach for controlling the viral disease.

In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Stichopus chloronotus. The mitogenome was 16,247 base pairs (58.55% A + T content) in length, comprising a total of 37 genes, including...

A pump is needed in an ejector refrigeration system, which makes the system high cost and complicated and hinders its application. A pump-free double heat source ejector refrigeration system using R1234yf as working fluid is proposed in which an injector driven by another heat source replaces the liquid circulating pump, making the system more affordable, simpler and more stable. The effect of different operation conditions on entrainment ratios and the influence of different factors on system performance are analyzed on the basis of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. The influence degree of each factor on system performance is investigated by the orthogonal test method. The condenser temperature has the largest effect on system performance. The pressure drop in the suction chamber of gas-liquid injector has the least impact on system performance. The COP can reach about 0.35 under a certain working condition. The system can be driven by two different temperature heat sources with no electricity needed, and it is a good choice for places with abundant heat resources or lack of electricity.

Extensive application of antibiotics leads to their ubiquitous occurrence in coastal aquatic environments. However, it remains largely unknown whether antibiotics can be bioaccumulated and biotransformed in major mariculture organisms such as sea cucumbers and toxicokinetic models for Echinodermata are lacking. In this study, laboratory exposure experiments on juvenile sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) were performed for seven antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, enrofloxacin, ofloxacin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin). Field sea cucumber and surrounding seawater samples were also analyzed. Results show that the sea cucumbers tend to accumulate high concentrations of the antibiotics with kinetic bioconcentration factors (BCFs) up to 1719.7 L·kg-1 for ofloxacin. The BCFs determined in the laboratory agree well with those estimated from the field measurements. Seven biotransformation products (BTPs) of the antibiotics were identified, four of which were not reported previously in aquatic organisms. The BTPs were mainly found in the digestive tract, indicating its high capacity in the biotransformation. A multicompartmental toxicokinetic model based on the principles of passive diffusion was developed, which can successfully predict time-course concentrations of the antibiotics in different compartments of the juvenile sea cucumbers. The findings may offer a scientific basis for assessing health risks and guiding healthy mariculture of sea cucumbers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the bidirectional relationship between children’s language development and challenging behaviors as well as the moderating roles of gender and race/ethnicity. We conducted a number of structural equation modeling analyses with a national representative sample ( N = 2,462) of Head Start children from the 2014 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey. Results suggest that there is no bidirectional relationship between vocabulary development and challenging behavior in the full sample. However, gender, race/ethnicity, and the interaction between the two moderate associations between language and behavior.

Family systems are dynamic and interconnected, yet very limited research has considered both fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of family support, stress and Family Quality of Life (FQOL) in a dynamic manner, especially in the Chinese context. The current study examines the association between parenting stress, FQOL and family support using a dyadic approach. We employed the actor-partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) to analyze a sample (N = 219 dyads) of Chinese fathers’ and mothers’ of children with autism spectrum disorder. Results suggested a strong actor effect of family support on decreasing stress and improving FQOL for mother and father respectively. However, the partner effect was largely contrasted with mothers’ perceived family support and positively associated with fathers’ FQOL, and fathers’ perceived family support negatively associated with mothers’ FQOL. There were no mediating effects of stress on partners’ perceived support on FQOL. Despite being in a family system, the contrast pattern (opposite direction of the effects) between mothers and fathers suggest large discrepancies and perceptions, which may be due to different family roles and parenting involvement. Policy and practical implications are provided.

This study aimed to explore the association between vaginal microbiota and infertility. We searched a range of electronic databases for appropriate articles, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang, from inception to 8th September 2019. Identified articles were then screened using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. By referring to Tamarelle’s method, we divided vaginal microbiota into two categories: low-Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota (LL-VMB) and high-Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota (HL-VMB). Patients were defined as HL-VMB if they had a Nugent score of 0–3, a negative Amesel/Spiegel’s test, or if the vaginal community status was dominated by either L. crispatus, L. iners, L. gasseri and L. jensenii via 16S rRNA sequencing. Otherwise, cases were regarded as LL-VMB. Statistical analyses were performed with STATA 13.0 statistical software. Effect estimates are presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Fifteen articles were included in our final analysis. The HL-VMB was negatively related to infertility; a fixed model showed that the pooled OR was 0.83 (95% CI 0.77–0.90). There was no significant publication bias, as determined by Begg’s test (P = 0.488) and Egger’s test (P = 0.652). Using a random effect model, the pooled OR for intermediate bacterial vaginitis (BV) and infertility was 1.39 (95% CI 1.10–1.76) and the pooled OR for positive BV was 1.72 (95% CI 1.10–2.69). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses further demonstrated that the associations identified were stable. However, the acquired evidence was not sufficient to make inferences with regards to the mechanisms underlying these relationships. This systematic review and meta-analysis identified a negative correlation between HL-VMB and female infertility. However, due to a variety of limitations, the evidence acquired does not allow us to identify the specific mechanisms underlying this association. Further high-quality studies are needed to verify the causal relationship and explore the molecular mechanisms involved.