Deposition and water repelling of temperature-responsive nanopesticides on leaves.

Pesticides are widely used to increase agricultural productivity, however, weak adhesion and deposition lead to low efficient utilization. Herein, we prepare a nanopesticide formulation (tebuconazole nanopesticides) which is leaf-adhesive, and water-dispersed via a rapid nanoparticle precipitation method, flash nanoprecipitation, using temperature-responsive copolymers poly-(2-(dimethylamino)ethylmethylacrylate)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) as the carrier. Compared with commercial suspensions, the encapsulation by the polymer improves the deposition of TEB, and the contact angle on foliage is lowered by 40.0°. Due to the small size and strong van der Waals interactions, the anti-washing efficiency of TEB NPs is increased by 37% in contrast to commercial ones. Finally, the acute toxicity of TEB NPs to zebrafish shows a more than 25-fold reduction as compared to commercial formulation indicating good biocompatibility of the nanopesticides. This work is expected to enhance pesticide droplet deposition and adhesion, maximize the use of pesticides, tackling one of the application challenges of pesticides.

Synergistic effect of non-ionic surfactants Tween 80 and PEG6000 on cytotoxicity of insecticides.

The use of surfactants in the development of a suitable formulation for insecticides should improve the solubility behavior, the permeability and the efficiency against pests meanwhile decrease the toxic risks of insecticides on human health. Cytotoxicity of insecticides including abamectin, chlorfluazuron, hexaflumuron, chlorpyrifos, and tebufenozide was assessed on human HepG2 and lepidopteran Tn5B1-4 cells utilizing insecticide alone and in combination with nontoxic concentrations of nonionic surfactants Tween 80 and PEG6000. The results showed avermection revealed high cytotoxicity, chlorfluazuron and hexaflumuron possessed median cytotoxicity, and chlorpyrifos and tebufenozide had little cytotoxicity on HepG2 and Tn5B1-4 cells. The co-incubation with Tween 80 and PEG6000 powerfully counteracted the cytotoxicity of avermectin. Tween 80 enhanced, whereas PEG6000 compressed, the cytotoxicity of chlorfluazuron on Tn5B1-4 cells, and also improved a bit of the cytotoxicity of chlorpyrifos or tebufenozide on HepG2 cells. PEG6000 was more suitable to be used as surfactant in improving insecticide solubility and reducing the cytotoxicity. The present investigation demonstrates the necessity of utilizing surfactants to weaken the cytotoxicity of insecticides.

The oral and gut microbiomes are perturbed in rheumatoid arthritis and partly normalized after treatment.

We carried out metagenomic shotgun sequencing and a metagenome-wide association study (MGWAS) of fecal, dental and salivary samples from a cohort of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls. Concordance was observed between the gut and oral microbiomes, suggesting overlap in the abundance and function of species at different body sites. Dysbiosis was detected in the gut and oral microbiomes of RA patients, but it was partially resolved after RA treatment. Alterations in the gut, dental or saliva microbiome distinguished individuals with RA from healthy controls, were correlated with clinical measures and could be used to stratify individuals on the basis of their response to therapy. In particular, Haemophilus spp. were depleted in individuals with RA at all three sites and negatively correlated with levels of serum autoantibodies, whereas Lactobacillus salivarius was over-represented in individuals with RA at all three sites and was present in increased amounts in cases of very active RA. Functionally, the redox environment, transport and metabolism of iron, sulfur, zinc and arginine were altered in the microbiota of individuals with RA. Molecular mimicry of human antigens related to RA was also detectable. Our results establish specific alterations in the gut and oral microbiomes in individuals with RA and suggest potential ways of using microbiome composition for prognosis and diagnosis.