Sulforaphane Regulates Macrophage M1/M2 Polarization to Attenuate Macrophage-induced Caco-2 Cell Injury in an Inflammatory Environment.

Background: The imbalance between M1 and M2 macrophage activation is closely associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Sulforaphane (SFN) plays an important role in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Objective: To investigate the effect of SFN on macrophage polarization and its underlying regulatory mechanism. Methods: Mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were treated with SFN and an Nrf2 inhibitor, Brusatol. M1 macrophages were induced by LPS and IFN-γ stimulation, whereas M2 macrophages were induced by stimulation with IL-4 and IL-13. LPS-stimulated BMDMs were co-cultured with Caco-2 cells. Flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, and Western blot were performed to assess macrophage polarization. Cell function was assessed using CCK8 assay, transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) assay, and biochemical analysis. Results: Higher concentrations of SFN resulted in better intervention effects, with an optimal concentration of 10 µM. SFN decreased the levels of IL-12, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as the percentages of CD16/32 in M1 BMDMs. At the same time, SFN increased the levels of YM1, Fizz1, and Arg1 as well as the percentages of CD206+ cells in M2 BMDMs. In addition, SFN enhanced the accumulation of Nrf2, NQO1, and HO-1 in M1 BMDMs, and the downregulation of Nrf2 reversed the regulatory effect of SFN on M1/M2 macrophages. LPS-stimulated BMDMs induced Caco-2 cell damage, which was partially alleviated by SFN. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that SFN may act as an Nrf2 agonist to regulate macrophage polarization from M1 to M2. Furthermore, SFN may represent a potential protective ingredient against IBD.

Cities' low-carbon transformation and labor income share of companies: evidence from the low-carbon city pilot program in China.

This article investigates the impact of the low-carbon city pilot program on income distribution. The program is designed to reduce urban carbon emissions in China while also serving as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the income distribution effect of environmental regulatory policies. Using the firm-year level data during 2007-2020, we adopt the staggered difference-in-difference method to explore the impact of the program on labor income share. This study finds that the LCCP program significantly affects firms' labor income share. The proportion of highly educated employees and the level of financialization within the firm act as mediators that influence labor income share. This paper suggests that government should use reasonable environmental regulatory policy to facilitate labor income share to alleviate inequality, promote the scope of the program to more cities, and help firms to improve human capital level as well as serve more financial policies.

Consecutive Hypoalbuminemia Predicts Inferior Outcome in Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

The prognostic value of albumin changes between diagnosis and end-of-treatment (EoT) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unknown. We retrospectively analyzed 574 de novo DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP from our and two other centers. All patients were divided into a training cohort (n = 278) and validation cohort (n = 296) depending on the source of the patients. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by the method of Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression model. In the training cohort, 163 (58.6%) patients had low serum albumin at diagnosis, and 80 of them were present with consecutive hypoalbuminemia at EoT. Patients with consecutive hypoalbuminemia showed inferior OS and PFS (p = 0.010 and p = 0.079, respectively). Similar survival differences were also observed in the independent validation cohort (p = 0.006 and p = 0.030, respectively). Multivariable analysis revealed that consecutive hypoalbuminemia was an independent prognostic factor OS [relative risk (RR), 2.249; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.441-3.509, p < 0.001] and PFS (RR, 2.001; 95% CI, 1.443-2.773, p < 0.001) in all DLBCL patients independent of IPI. In conclusion, consecutive hypoalbuminemia is a simple and effective adverse prognostic factor in patients with DLBCL, which reminds us to pay more attention to patients with low serum albumin at EoT during follow-up.

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from different soil fractions by persulfate oxidation.

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from different soil fractions of contaminated soil was investigated by using activated persulfate oxidation remediation in our research. The results showed that the light fraction, which accounted for only 10% of the soil, contained 30% of the PAHs at a concentration of 4352 mg/kg. The heavy fraction contained more high-molecular-weight PAHs, and the total PAH concentration was 625 mg/kg. After being oxidized, the removal rate of PAHs was 39% in the light fraction and nearly 90% in the heavy fraction. Among the different fractions of the heavy fraction, humic acid contained the highest concentration of PAHs, and consequently, the highest removal efficiency of PAHs was also in humic acid. Compared with the light fraction, the heavy fraction has more aromatic compounds and those compounds were broken down during the oxidation process, which may be the removal mechanism involved in the oxidation of high-ring PAHs. Similarly, the enhancement of C=C bonds after oxidation can also explain the poor removal of high-ring PAHs in the light fraction. These results imply that different fractions of soil vary in composition and structure, leading to differences in the distribution and oxidation efficiencies of PAHs.

The combined effects of surfactant solubilization and chemical oxidation on the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon from soil.

A method for the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soils was proposed involving a combination of surfactant-aided soil washing and chemical oxidation by activated persulfate (SP). In this study, Triton X-100 (TX-100) and SP was applied to the soil, either concurrently or sequentially. Results indicated that surfactant followed by amendment with a solution of SP, TX-100 + SP(l), was most effective in decreasing PAHs concentrations in a sandy loam soil (SS) and a silty clay soil (NS) from 1220 mg/kg and 2730 mg·kg-1 to 414 mg·kg-1 and 180 mg·kg-1, respectively. Compared with extraction alone and oxidation alone, TX-100 + SP(l) increased the removal of PAHs by 10-20%. TX-100 improved the degradation of 3-4 ring PAHs (M-PAHs) and 5-6 ring PAHs (H-PAHs) in SS, by approximately 8%-11%. The oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) including furans and xanthene exhibited greater reductions in soil when amended with the TX-100 and SP, than under TX-100 extraction or SP oxidation alone. Overall, increased removal of PAHs in contaminated soil can occur through simultaneous application of TX-100 and SP, relative to the sole use of TX-100 or SP. The sequential combination of surfactant and oxidant was most effective for the elimination of PAHs, especially for M-PAHs and H-PAHs in sandy loam contaminated soil.

[Persulfate Oxidation Effect of Soil Organic Pollutants by Natural Organic Matters].

This study explored the degradation effect and mechanism of persulfate oxidation activated by different macromolecular substances (polysaccharides, humic acid, and citric acid), combined with ferrous ions and different kinds of carbohydrate (monosaccharide, disaccharide, and polysaccharide). The results showed that the oxidation effects of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by different activation treatments were in the order:humic acid combined with ferrous ion > polysaccharide > citric acid chelated with iron > polysaccharide combined with ferrous ion > disaccharides > monosaccharide > CK. Among them, humic acid combined with ferrous ion-activated persulfate achieved the highest removal rates (up to 79.21% and 79.89%, respectively), and also showed the weakest pollutant content rebound phenomenon. For oxidation of high-ring PAHs, humic acid combined with ferrous ion treatment and polysaccharide activation showed great advantages, with degradation rates being 77.96% and 84.37%, much higher than other treatments. Humic acid combined with ferrous ion-activated persulfate result in the highest Eh of soil (up to 618-676 mV), and polysaccharide treatment was secondary, indicating that macromolecular materials exhibited great oxidation ability and can degrade soil organic pollutants efficiently.