[Ecological Toxic Effect of Perfluorinated Compounds on Fish Based on Meta-analysis].

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are refractory organic pollutants, which are characterized by ubiquity, bioaccumulation, and biological toxicity. To explore the biotoxic effects of PFAS on fish, this study reviewed 64 publications. The toxicity of PFAS on functional traits of fish exposed to PFAS was analyzed based on Meta-analysis combined with effect sizes, which provided reference for the toxicity assessment of PFAS and was conducive to the priority control and management of PFAS pollution. The results showed that:① of the 12 functional traits studied, seven were found to be vulnerable in fish; the order of toxicity response was malformation (lnRR=-2.5599), development (lnRR=-0.4103), cell damage (lnRR=-0.3962), reproduction (lnRR=-0.3724), thyroid response (lnRR=-0.2492), growth (lnRR=-0.2194), and survival (lnRR=-0.2192). ② The aquatic toxicity of PFAS was significantly affected by the sex and developmental stage of fish. PFAS tended to have adverse effects on female fish (lnRR=-0.1628), and the physiological function of embryos was most significantly affected by PFAS (lnRR=-0.3553). ③ A total of 13 PFAS were involved in the study, among which PFAS with sulfonate groups and long-chains were more likely to have significant toxicity to the functional traits of fish (P<0.05).④ Existing data revealed that PFAS tended to produce acute toxicity to fish at medium and low concentrations (0.01-10 mg·L-1, P<0.05).

Liquid Crystal Elastomer Electric Locomotives.

In this letter, we present an electro-driven cylindrical actuator system composed of a bilayered liquid crystal elastomer/carbon black (LCE/CB) electro-driven soft actuator and a conductive track. The bilayered LCE/CB electro-driven actuator consists of an inner LCE circular band and several U-shaped CB conductive regions stuck on the outer surface of the LCE ring. Benefiting from the effective Joule heating of CB powder and the consequential inhomogeneous stress generated inside the bilayered LCE/CB film, the cylindrical actuator can roll forward with a rate of 1.6 mm/s along a stationary copper conductive track powered by a 50 V direct current supply. The dynamic connection between the rolling actuator and the conductive track effectively eliminates the limitation of electric wires in the complicated actuation set-ups of the LCE materials. This work might promote the development of electro-driven LCE actuators and have potential applications in the fields of soft robots and electric devices.

Low expression of BEX1 predicts poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer.

The brain expressed x­linked gene 1 (BEX1) is a member of the BEX family and is aberrantly expressed in many cancers. However, the clinical significance of BEX1 expression level and its role in the pathology of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) remain unknown. In the present study, we determined BEX1 expression in the tumor and adjacent normal tissues from 118 ESCC patients by immunohistochemistry and determined the proliferation and growth of ESCC cells following ectopic overexpression of BEX1 in cultured cells and in mouse­ESCC xenografts. We observed that BEX1 was downregulated in ESCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and low BEX1 expression was significantly associated with larger ESCC tumor volume (P<0.001), advanced T stage (P=0.011) and advanced clinical stage (P=0.039). Additionally, survival analysis revealed that low expression of BEX1 significantly predicted poor prognosis in patients with ESCC (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that low BEX1 expression was an independent prognostic factor of poor survival (P=0.039). In vitro analysis revealed that overexpression of BEX1 inhibited ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Furthermore, in vivo tumorigenesis assays revealed that ectopic overexpression of BEX1 suppressed ESCC tumor growth in mice. Further immunoblotting analysis demonstrated that BEX1 upregulation led to reduced expression and phosphorylation of NF­κB p65, indicating inhibition of the NF­κB signaling pathway by BEX1. Our findings indicated that low BEX1 expression may be an independent prognostic marker for poor survival and may serve as a potential target for ESCC therapy.