Thermo-Chemo-Mechanically Robust, Multifunctional MXene/PVA/PAA-Hanji Textile with Energy Harvesting, EMI Shielding, Flame-Retardant, and Joule Heating Capabilities.

The rapid development of wearable electronics, personal mobile equipment, and Internet of Things systems demands smart textiles that integrate multiple functions with enhanced durability. Herein, the study reports robust and multifunctional textiles with energy harvesting, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, flame resistance, and Joule heating capabilities, fabricated by a facile yet effective integration method using the deposition of cross-linked MXene (Ti3C2Tx), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) onto traditional Korean paper, Hanji via vacuum filtration. Comprehensive analyses confirm robust cross-linking, structural integrity, and interface stability in the MXene/PVA/PAA-Hanji (MPP-H) textiles, which synergistically boost their multifunctional performance. The MPP-H textiles exhibit remarkable power generation lasting over 60 min with a power density of 102.2 µW cm-3 and an energy density of 31.0 mWh cm-3 upon the application of 20 µL of NaCl solution. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) per unit thickness in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) is up to 437.6 dB mm-1, with the ratio of absorption to reflection reaching 4.5, outperforming existing EMI shielding materials. Superior thermo-chemo-mechanical properties (flame resistance, rapid Joule heating, durability, and washability) further demonstrate their versatile usability. The MPP-H enables diverse functionalities within a single, robust textile through a scalable fabrication method, offering transformative potential for wearable and mobility platforms.

Life's Essential 8 and Mortality in US Adults With Obesity: A Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the relationship between the Life's Essential 8 (LE8) scoring system and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among obese individuals using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. METHODS: Data from 9143 obese participants (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) collected between 2005 and 2018 were analyzed. Participants were categorized based on their LE8 scores: low cardiovascular health (Low CVH, n = 2264), moderate cardiovascular health (Moderate CVH, n = 6541), and high cardiovascular health (High CVH, n = 338). Associations between LE8 scores and mortality were assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 7.3 years, there were 867 all-cause deaths (9.5%), including 246 cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths (2.7%) and 621 non-CVD deaths (6.8%). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, compared to the Low CVH group, the Moderate CVH group had an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality of 0.63 (95% CI: 0.55-0.72), and the High CVH group had an HR of 0.25 (95% CI: 0.10-0.60). For CVD mortality, the HRs were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.47-0.78) for Moderate CVH and 0.19 (95% CI: 0.03-1.38) for High CVH. For non-CVD mortality, the HRs were 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54-0.75) for Moderate CVH and 0.27 (95% CI: 0.10-0.72) for High CVH. Each 10-point increase in LE8 score was associated with a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality (P < .001), 21% reduction in CVD mortality (P < .001), and 20% reduction in non-CVD mortality (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Higher LE8 scores are significantly associated with lower rates of all-cause, CVD, and non-CVD mortality among obese individuals. These findings support the LE8 scoring system as an effective predictor of health status and mortality risk.

Discovery and Bioactivity Evaluation of Citrinin Derivatives from the Mangrove Sediment-Derived Fungus Talaromyces sp. SCSIO 41428.

A dimeric citrinin derivative with a unique spiro[chroman-2,3'-isochroman] skeleton, xerucitrinic acid C (1), and a new citrinin derivative, cladosporin E (6), along with ten known polyketides (2-5 and 7-12), were isolated from the mangrove sediment-derived fungus Talaromyces sp. SCSIO 41428. Their structures were elucidated through comprehensive spectral data analysis. The absolute configurations of 1 and 6 were determined by quantum chemical calculations. Compound 1 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus suis, with the MIC of 25 µg/mL for both bacterial strains. Xerucitrinin C (3) exhibited significant radical scavenging activity against DPPH, with an IC50 value of 25.4 µM, and also demonstrated inhibitory activity against phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4). Moreover, cladosporin C (7) notably inhibited prostate cancer cells PC-3 and 22Rv1, with IC50 values of 6.10 and 9.25 µM, respectively.

Facile Synthesis of Ln-Doped Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks with Rare-Earth-Characteristic Long Persistent Luminescence.

Tunable luminescence-assisted information storage and encryption holds increasing significance in today's society. A promising approach to incorporating the benefits of both organic long persistent luminescent (LPL) materials and rare-earth (RE) luminescence lies in utilizing organic host materials to sensitize RE luminescence, as well as hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) phosphorescence Förster resonance energy transfer to RE compound luminescence. This work introduces a one-pot, in situ pyrolytic condensation method, achieved through high-temperature melting calcination, to synthesize lanthanide ion-doped HOF materials. This method circumvents the drawback of molecular triplet energy annihilation, enabling the creation of organic LPL materials with RE characteristics. The HOF material serves as the host, exhibiting blue phosphorescence and cyan LPL. By fine-tuning the doping amount, the composite material U-Tb-100 achieves green LPL with a luminescent quantum yield of 56.4%, and an LPL duration of approximately 2-3 s, demonstrating tunable persistence. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, spectral analysis, and theoretical calculation unveil that U-Tb-100 exhibits exceptional quantum yield and long-lived luminescence primarily due to the efficient sensitization of U monomer to RE ions and the PRET process between U and RE complexes. This ingenious strategy not only expands the repertoire of HOF materials but also facilitates the design of multifunctional LPL materials.

Inverse metabolic engineering based on metabonomics for efficient production of hydroxytyrosol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Metabolic engineering provides a powerful approach to efficiently produce valuable compounds, with the aid of emerging gene editing tools and diverse metabolic regulation strategies. However, apart from the current known biochemical pathway information, a variety of unclear constraints commonly limited the optimization space of cell phenotype. Hydroxytyrosol is an important phenolic compound that serves various industries with prominent health-beneficial properties. In this study, the inverse metabolic engineering based on metabolome analysis was customized and implemented to disclose the hidden rate-limiting steps and thus to improve hydroxytyrosol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae). The potential rate-limiting steps involved three modules that were eliminated individually via reinforcing and balancing metabolic flow, optimizing cofactor supply, and weakening the competitive pathways. Ultimately, a 118.53 % improvement in hydroxytyrosol production (639.84 mg/L) was achieved by inverse metabolic engineering.

Design and synthesis of TH19P01-Camptothecin based hybrid peptides inducing effective anticancer responses on sortilin positive cancer cells.

Recently, the sortilin receptor (SORT1) was found to be preferentially over-expressed on the surface of many cancer cells, which makes SORT1 a novel anticancer target. The SORT1 binding proprietary peptide TH19P01 could achieve the SORT1-mediated cancer cell binding and subsequent internalization. Inspired by the peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) strategy, the TH19P01-camptothecin (CPT) conjugates were designed, efficiently synthesized, and evaluated for their anticancer potential in this study. The water solubility, in vitro anticancer activity, time-kill kinetics, cellular uptake, anti-migration activity, and hemolysis effects were systematically estimated. Besides, in order to monitor the release of CPT from conjugates in real-time, the CPT/Dnp-based "turn on" hybrid peptide was designed, which indicted that CPT could be sustainably released from the hybrid peptide in both human serum and cancer cellular environments. Strikingly, compared with free CPT, the water solubility, cellular uptake, and selectivity towards cancer cells of hybrid peptide LYJ-2 have all been significantly enhanced. Moreover, unlike free CPT or TH19P01, LYJ-2 exhibited selective anti-proliferative and anti-migration effects against SORT1-positive MDA-MB-231 cells. Collectively, this study not only established efficient strategies to improve the solubility and anticancer potential of chemotherapeutic agent CPT, but also provided important references for the future development of TH19P01 based PDCs targeting SORT1.

The Impact of Math-Gender Stereotypes on Students' Academic Performance: Evidence from China.

This study investigates the impact of math-gender stereotypes on students' academic performance using data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), which surveyed nationally representative middle schools in China. Our sample comprises over 2000 seventh-grade students, with an average age of 13 and a standard deviation of 0.711. Among these students, 52.4% are male, and 47.6% are female. Employing a fixed effects model and instrumental variable, our findings are as follows. First, over half of the male students believe that boys are better at math than girls, and they also perceive that their parents and society hold the same belief. In contrast, fewer than half of the female students hold this belief or perception. Intriguingly, among these students, female math performance surpasses that of males. Second, stereotypes hinder female math performance, especially among low-achieving ones, while benefiting high-achieving male students. Finally, perceptions of societal stereotypes have the greatest effect on math performance, followed by self-stereotypes and perceptions of parental stereotypes. Understanding the implications of these findings highlights the importance of addressing math-gender stereotypes to promote equal participation and success for both genders in STEM fields.

Depressive symptoms were associated with an elevated prevalence of gallstones among adults in the United States: A cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2017-2020.

Background:  Gallstone disease is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders. Despite extensive research exploring the risk factors associated with gallstones, the association between depressive symptoms and gallstones remains inadequately understood. This study aimed to assess the association between depressive symptoms and the prevalence of gallstones among adults in the United States. Methods: In this study, a cross-sectional design utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning the years 2017 to 2020. The assessment of depressive symptoms was conducted through the utilization of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), which assigns total scores ranging from 0 to 27. Participants with PHQ-9 scores equal to or exceeding 10 were categorized as having clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression and subgroup analysis were used to assess the association between depressive symptoms and gallstone prevalence. Results: A total of 7,797 participants aged 20 years or older were enrolled in this study, of whom 835 had a self-reported history of gallstones. After multiple adjustments, each one-point increase in PHQ-9 scores was associated with a 5 % increase in the risk of gallstones (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.03, 1.07, P < 0.001). Compared to individuals with PHQ-9 scores < 10, participants with PHQ-9 total scores ≥ 10 exhibited a 79 % higher risk of gallstones (OR = 1.79, 95 % CI: 1.43, 2.23, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were associated with an elevated prevalence of gallstones. However, it is important to note that further validation through prospective cohort studies is warranted to confirm this finding.

Wind-driven post-bloom dispersion of Microcystis in a large shallow eutrophic lake: A case study in Lake Taihu.

To clarify the wind-driven post-bloom dispersion range of Microcystis, which originally clustered on the water surface, an Individual-Based Model (IBM) of Microcystis movement considering the combined effects of wind and light was developed based on actual hydrodynamic data and Microcystis biomass. After calibrating the effects of hydrodynamics and light, 66 cases of short-term (within a week) post-bloom with satellite images from 2011 to 2017 were simulated. The results showed that there were three short-term post-bloom types: vertical reduction (VR), horizontal reduction (HR) and mixed reduction (MR). For VR type, the cyanobacterial bloom reduction rate was rapid (>160 km2/day), but the dispersion range of Microcystis was limited (<2 km/day), and a larger bloom area was likely to form in the original location when wind speed decreased. For HR type, the cyanobacterial bloom reduction rate was slow (<10 km2/day), but Microcystis exhibited a broad dispersion range (>4 km/day), often leading to smaller, thicker, and longer-lasting cyanobacterial blooms downwind, albeit with a lower probability of occurrence. The characteristics of MR lay between the two aforementioned types.

C-reactive protein/lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic biomarker in acute pancreatitis: a cross-sectional study assessing disease severity.

BACKGROUND: The C-reactive protein/lymphocyte ratio (CLR) is a prognostic biomarker of various diseases. However, its significance in acute pancreatitis (AP) remains unknown. The main aim of this study was to investigate the association between the CLR and disease severity in patients with AP. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 476 AP patients [mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), n =176; moderately severe acute pancreatitis (MSAP) and severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), n =300]. The primary exposure of interest was the baseline CLR. The primary outcome was the incidence of moderate to severe AP. Multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analyses were performed to evaluate the association between the CLR and the incidence of moderate to severe AP. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to assess the predictive efficacy, sensitivity, and specificity of CLR in predicting the incidence of moderate to severe AP. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 44±13.2 years, and 76.5% were male. The distribution of CLR was 31.6 (interquartile range, 4.5, 101.7). Moderate to severe AP occurred in 300 cases (63.0%). After multiple adjustments, CLR was independently associated with the incidence of moderate to severe AP (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI: 1.03-1.05; P < 0.001). A nonlinear relationship was found between CLR and the incidence of moderate to severe AP, with a threshold of approximately 45. The effect size and CI below and above the threshold value were 1.061 (1.033-1.089) and 1.014 (0.997-1.031), respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for CLR was 87.577% (95% CI: 84.443- 90.710%) with an optimal cut-off value of 30.835, resulting in a sensitivity of 73.7% and a specificity of 88.6%. CONCLUSIONS: There was a nonlinear relationship with a saturation effect between the CLR and the incidence of moderate to severe AP. The CLR measured within 24 h of admission may serve as a promising biomarker for predicting the emergence of moderate to severe AP, thereby providing a more scientifically grounded basis for preventing such cases. Nonetheless, further research is warranted to validate and strengthen these findings.

Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies ESPL1 limits the response of gastric cancer cells to apatinib.

Apatinib was the first anti-angiogenic agent approved for treatment of metastatic gastric cancer (GC). However, the emergence of resistance was inevitable. Thus investigating new and valuable off-target effect of apatinib directly against cancer cells is of great significance. Here, we identified extra spindle pole bodies-like 1 (ESPL1) was responsible for apatinib resistance in GC cells through CRISPR genome-wide gain-of-function screening. Loss of function studies further showed that ESPL1 inhibition suppressed cell proliferation, migration and promoted apoptosis in vitro, and accordingly ESPL1 knockdown sensitized GC cells to apatinib. In addition, we found ESPL1 interacted with mouse double minute 2 (MDM2), a E3 ubiquitin protein ligase, and the combination of MDM2 siRNA with apatinib synergistically ameliorated the resistance induced by ESPL1 overexpression. In summary, our study indicated that ESPL1 played a critical role in apatinib resistance in GC cells. Inhibition of MDM2 could rescue the sensitivity of GC cells to apatinib and reverse ESPL1-mediated resistance.

Ball milling synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles-functionalized porous boron nitride with enhanced cationic dye removal performance.

Enhancement of the adsorption performance and recyclability of adsorbents is a crucial aspect of water treatment. Herein, we used one-dimensional porous boron nitride (PBN) as a carrier to load Fe3O4 nanoparticles for the preparation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles-functionalized porous boron nitride (Fe3O4/PBN) via a ball milling method. The high-energy ball milling promoted the creation of a negatively charged PBN surface and facilitated the uniform distribution of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of PBN. The adsorption performance of Fe3O4/PBN toward cationic dyes could be significantly improved while no enhancement was observed for anionic dyes. The great adsorption performance of Fe3O4/PBN is due to its surface functional groups and surface defects formed in the ball milling process. Moreover, the strong interaction force between Fe3O4/PBN and cationic dyes promotes rapid initial adsorption due to their negatively charged surface. Magnetic measurements demonstrated that Fe3O4/PBN is superparamagnetic. The composites with low loadings of Fe3O4 nanoparticles could be quickly separated from the aqueous solution under a low applied magnetic field, improving their recyclability. This work highlights the role of ball milling in improving the adsorption performance of Fe3O4/PBN and greatly promotes the practical application of Fe3O4/PBN in the field of environmental purification.

Ultrathin silicon nitride microchip for in situ/operando microscopy with high spatial resolution and spectral visibility.

Utilization of in situ/operando methods with broad beams and localized probes has accelerated our understanding of fluid-surface interactions in recent decades. The closed-cell microchips based on silicon nitride (SiNx) are widely used as "nanoscale reactors" inside the high-vacuum electron microscopes. However, the field has been stalled by the high background scattering from encapsulation (typically ~100 nanometers) that severely limits the figures of merit for in situ performance. This adverse effect is particularly notorious for gas cell as the sealing membranes dominate the overall scattering, thereby blurring any meaningful signals and limiting the resolution. Herein, we show that by adopting the back-supporting strategy, encapsulating membrane can be reduced substantially, down to ~10 nanometers while maintaining structural resiliency. The systematic gas cell work demonstrates advantages in figures of merit for hitherto the highest spatial resolution and spectral visibility. Furthermore, this strategy can be broadly adopted into other types of microchips, thus having broader impact beyond the in situ/operando fields.

Reversible Acid-Base Long Persistent Luminescence Switch Based on Amino-Functionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with long persistent luminescence (LPL) have attracted extensive research attention from researchers due to their potential applications in information encryption, anticounterfeiting technology, and security logic. In contrast to short-lived fluorescent materials, LPL materials offer a visible response that can be easily distinguished by the naked eye, thereby facilitating a much clearer visualization. However, there are few reports on functional LPL MOF materials as probes. In this article, two amino-functional LPL MOFs (VB4-2D and VB4-1D) were synthesized. They both exhibited adjustable fluorescence and phosphorescence from blue to green and from cyan to green, respectively. Notably, the MOFs emitted bright and adjustable LPL upon the removal of the different radiation sources. The basic amino functional groups in the MOFs exhibited acid and ammonia sensitivity, and fluorescence and phosphorescence emission intensities can be burst and restored in two atmospheres, respectively, which can be cycled multiple times. Furthermore, LPL intensity undergoes switching between two different conditions as well, which can be visually discerned by the naked eye, enabling visual sensing of volatiles by LPL. This combination of photoluminescence and the visual LPL switching behavior of acids and bases in functional MOFs may provide an effective avenue for stimulus response, anticounterfeiting, and encryption applications.

Ferroelectric Resistance Switching in Epitaxial BiFeO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 Heterostructures.

BiFeO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (BFO/LSMO) epitaxial heterostructures were successfully synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 single-crystal substrates with Au top electrodes. Stable bipolar resistive switching characteristics regulated by ferroelectric polarization reversal was observed in the Au/BFO/LSMO heterostructures. The conduction mechanism was revealed to follow the Schottky emission model, and the Schottky barriers in high-resistance and low-resistance states were estimated based on temperature-dependent current-voltage curves. Further, the observed memristive behavior was interpreted via the modulation effect on the depletion region width and the Schottky barrier height caused by ferroelectric polarization reversal, combining with the oxygen vacancies migration near the BFO/LSMO interface.

Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Crystal-Assisted Etching of Nickel Foam for the Collectively Exhaustive Electrochemical Performance of Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

In this work, an organic-inorganic hybrid crystal, violet-crystal (VC), was used to etch the nickel foam (NF) to fabricate a self-standing electrode for the water oxidation reaction. The efficacy of VC-assisted etching manifests the promising electrochemical performance towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), requiring only ~356 and ~376 mV overpotentials to reach 50 and 100 mA cm-2 , respectively. The OER activity improvement is attributed to the collectively exhaustive effects arising from the incorporation of various elements in the NF, and the enhancement of active site density. Furthermore, the self-standing electrode is robust, exhibiting a stable OER activity after 4,000 cyclic voltammetry cycles, and ~50 h. The anodic transfer coefficients (αa ) show that the first electron transfer step is the rate-determining step on the surface of NF-VCs-1.0 (NF etched by 1 g of VCs) electrode, while the chemical step involving dissociation following the first electron transfer step is identified as the rate-limiting step in other electrodes. The lowest Tafel slope value observed in the NF-VCs-1.0 electrode indicates the high surface coverage of oxygen intermediates and more favorable OER reaction kinetics, as confirmed by high interfacial chemical capacitance and low charge transport/interfacial resistance. This work demonstrates the importance of VCs-assisted etching of NF to activate the OER, and the ability to predict reaction kinetics and rate-limiting step based on αa values, which will open new avenues to identify advanced electrocatalysts for the water oxidation reaction.

Mass Spectrometry-Guided Discovery of Multi-N-Methylated Cyclodecapeptides Auyuittuqamides E-H from Sesquicillium sp. QL0466.

Mass spectrometry-based dereplication and prioritization led to the discovery of four multi-N-methylated cyclodecapeptides, auyuittuqamides E-H (1-4), from a soil-derived Sesquicillium sp. The planar structures of these compounds were elucidated based on analysis of HRESIMS and NMR data. Absolute configurations of the chiral amino acid residues were assigned by a combination of the advanced Marfey's method, chiral-phase LC-MS analysis, and J-based configuration analysis, revealing that 1-4 contain both d- and l-isomers of N-methylleucine (MeLeu). Differentiation of d- and l-MeLeu in the sequence was achieved by advanced Marfey's analysis of the diagnostic peptide fragments generated from partial hydrolysis of 1. Bioinformatic analysis identified a putative biosynthetic gene cluster (auy) for auyuittuqamides E-H, and a plausible biosynthetic pathway was proposed. These newly identified fungal cyclodecapeptides (1-4) displayed in vitro growth inhibitory activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium with MIC values of 8 µg/mL.

Dose-Response Efficacy and Mechanisms of Orally Administered Bifidobacterium breve CCFM683 on IMQ-Induced Psoriasis in Mice.

This study aimed to investigate the dose-response effect of Bifidobacterium breve CCFM683 on relieving psoriasis and its underlying patterns. Specifically, the expression of keratin 16, keratin 17, and involucrin were substantially decreased by administration of 109 CFU and 1010 CFU per day. Moreover, interleukin (IL)-17 and TNF-α levels were substantially decreased by 109 and 1010 CFU/day. Furthermore, the gut microbiota in mice treated with 109 or 1010 CFU/day was rebalanced by improving the diversity, regulating microbe interactions, increasing Lachnoclostridium, and decreasing Oscillibacter. Moreover, the concentrations of colonic bile acids were positively correlated with the effectiveness of the strain in relieving psoriasis. The gavage dose should be more than 108.42 CFU/day to improve psoriasis according to the dose-effect curve. In conclusion, CCFM683 supplementation alleviated psoriasis in a dose-dependent manner by recovering microbiota, promoting bile acid production, regulating the FXR/NF-κB pathway, diminishing proinflammatory cytokines, regulating keratinocytes, and maintaining the epidermal barrier function. These results may help guide probiotic product development and clinical trials in psoriasis.

A soil-inspired dynamically responsive chemical system for microbial modulation.

Interactions between the microbiota and their colonized environments mediate critical pathways from biogeochemical cycles to homeostasis in human health. Here we report a soil-inspired chemical system that consists of nanostructured minerals, starch granules and liquid metals. Fabricated via a bottom-up synthesis, the soil-inspired chemical system can enable chemical redistribution and modulation of microbial communities. We characterize the composite, confirming its structural similarity to the soil, with three-dimensional X-ray fluorescence and ptychographic tomography and electron microscopy imaging. We also demonstrate that post-synthetic modifications formed by laser irradiation led to chemical heterogeneities from the atomic to the macroscopic level. The soil-inspired material possesses chemical, optical and mechanical responsiveness to yield write-erase functions in electrical performance. The composite can also enhance microbial culture/biofilm growth and biofuel production in vitro. Finally, we show that the soil-inspired system enriches gut bacteria diversity, rectifies tetracycline-induced gut microbiome dysbiosis and ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced rodent colitis symptoms within in vivo rodent models.

The Effects of Paroxetine on Benthic Microbial Food Web and Nitrogen Transformation in River Sediments.

Paroxetine is a common pharmaceutical to treat depression and has been found to pose threats to aquatic organisms. However, little is known about the effects of paroxetine on the nutrient cycle in aquatic environments. Therefore, DNA metabarcoding is used in this study to analyze the effects of paroxetine on multi-trophic microorganisms and nitrogen transformation in river sediments. Although paroxetine has no significant effect on the diversity of microbenthos, changes in benthic nitrogen-converting bacteria are consistent with the change in the various forms of nitrogen in the sediment, indicating that paroxetine affects the nitrogen conversion process by affecting nitrogen-converting bacteria. In addition, it is found that paroxetine has the ability to influence nitrogen transformation in an indirect way by affecting the trophic transfer efficiency of higher trophic levels (meiofauna and protozoa, protozoa and protozoa), subsequently affecting the growth of nitrogen-converting bacteria through a top-down mechanism (i.e., predation).The results show that paroxetine affects nitrogen transformation directly by affecting nitrogen-converting bacteria and indirectly through top-down effects, emphasizing that the assessment of paroxetine's ecological risks should consider species within different trophic levels.