First report on liquid crystal monomers in tree barks surrounding a display manufacturer: Insights for atmospheric transport and establishment of priority list.

Tree bark has been proven as an effective passive air sampler, particularly where access to active sampling methods is limited. In this study, 60 target liquid crystal monomers (LCMs; comprising 10 cyanobiphenyl and analogs (CBAs), 13 biphenyl and analogs (BAs), and 37 fluorinated biphenyl and analogs (FBAs)) were analyzed in 34 tree barks collected from the vicinity of a liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturer situated in the Pearl River Delta, South China. The concentrations of LCMs in tree barks ranged from 1400 to 16000 ng/g lipid weight, with an average of 5900 ng/g lipid weight. Generally, bark levels of BAs exponentially decreased within 5 km of the LCD manufacturer. The profiles of LCMs in tree barks are similar to previously reported patterns in gaseous phase, suggesting bark's efficacy as a sampler for gaseous LCMs. The inclusion of different congeners in existing studies on the environmental occurrence of LCMs has hindered the horizontal comparisons. Therefore, this study established a list of priority LCMs based on environmental monitoring data and the publicly accessible production data. This list comprised 146 LCMs, including 63 REACH registered LCMs that haven't been analyzed in any study and 56 belonging to 4 types of mainstream LCMs.

Luteolin-Loaded Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Melanoma.

Background and Purpose: Luteolin (LUT), a flavonoid found in various plants, has been reported to have potential therapeutic effects in melanoma. However, poor water solubility and low bioactivity have severely restricted the clinical application of LUT. Based on the high reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in melanoma cells, we developed nanoparticles encapsulating LUT with the ROS-responsive material poly(propylene sulfide)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PPS-PEG) to enhance the water solubility of LUT, accelerate the release of LUT in melanoma cells, and further enhance its anti-melanoma effect, providing a viable solution for the application of LUT nano-delivery systems in melanoma therapy. Methods: In this study, LUT-loaded nanoparticles were prepared with PPS-PEG and named as LUT-PPS-NPs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied to determine the size and morphology of LUT-PPS-NPs. In vitro studies were carried out to determine the uptake and mechanism of LUT-PPS-NPs by SK-MEL-28 melanoma cells. According to the CCK-8 assay, the cytotoxic effects of LUT-PPS-NPs on human skin fibroblasts (HSF) and SK-MEL-28 cells were assessed. Apoptosis assays, cell migration and invasion assays, and proliferation inhibition assays with low and normal density plating were also applied to test the in vitro anti-melanoma effect. Additionally, melanoma models were established utilizing BALB/c nude mice and initially evaluated the growth inhibitory impact following intratumoral injection of LUT-PPS-NPs. Results: The size of LUT-PPS-NPs was 169.77 ± 7.33 nm with high drug loading (15.05 ± 0.07%). In vitro, cellular assays confirmed that LUT-PPS-NPs were efficiently internalized by SK-MEL-28 cells and showed low cytotoxicity against HSF. Moreover, LUT released from LUT-PPS-NPs significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Animal experiments showed that LUT-PPS-NPs inhibited tumor growth more than 2-fold compared with the LUT group. Conclusion: In conclusion, the LUT-PPS-NPs developed in our study enhanced the anti-melanoma effect of LUT.

[Carbon footprint of major grain crops in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River during 2011-2020]. / 2011­2020年长江中下游地区主要粮食作物生产碳足迹.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is one of main grain production areas in China, which is of great significance to food security. Understanding the carbon footprint of major grain crop production is helpful to develop high-yield and low-carbon agriculture. Based on the data of yield, sown area and farmland production input of main grain crops (rice, wheat and maize) in six provinces (Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and Zhejiang) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from 2011 to 2020, we estimated carbon footprint in the production of the three grain crops. The results showed that from 2011 to 2020, yield per unit area, planting area, and total yield of rice, wheat and maize were the highest in Jiangsu Province. In terms of area-scaled carbon footprint, rice in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River had the highest area-scaled carbon footprint, with an average of 2.0 t CE·hm-2, followed by wheat and maize. The area-scaled carbon footprint of the three staple crops was increasing. In terms of yield-scaled carbon footprint, rice was the highest, with an average of 0.8 kg CE·kg-1, followed by wheat and maize. In terms of carbon input structure, irrigation electricity, chemical fertilizers and pesticides accounted for a relatively high proportion. Irrigation electricity accounted for 35.0%, 36.3%, and 33.2% of the total carbon input of rice, wheat and maize, respectively. Chemical fertilizers accounted for 28.8%, 32.5%, and 32.5%, respectively, while pesticides accounted for 24.2%, 13.3% and 11.5%, respectively. In terms of carbon efficiency, maize had the highest (3.9 kg·kg-1 CE), followed by rice and wheat. With the green development of agriculture, carbon emission in the production of major grain crops in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River could be reduced by improving irrigation efficiency, fertilizer utilization efficiency, pesticide utilization efficiency and mechanized operation efficiency, as well as diversification of straw returning, cultivation of new varieties and policy leverage.

Photoredox Catalyzed Radical Cascade Aroylation (Sulfonylation)/Cyclization Enables Access to Fused Indolo-pyridones.

A visible-light-initiated radical cascade reaction toward the synthesis of structurally diverse fused Indolo-pyridones is described. The reaction involves the addition of aroyl or sulfonyl radicals to N-alkyl-acryloyl-1H-indole-3-carboxamides, cyclization, and oxidative aromatization. This telescoped method circumvents lengthy prefunctionalization steps of radical precursors, which is further underpinned by the superior compatibility with a series of C-centered radicals, allowing the rapid and facile construction of numerous valuable architectures.

The m6A mRNA demethylase FTO in granulosa cells retards FOS-dependent ovarian aging.

Multifunctional N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has been revealed to be an important epigenetic component in various physiological and pathological processes, but its role in female ovarian aging remains unclear. Thus, we demonstrated m6A demethylase FTO downregulation and the ensuing increased m6A in granulosa cells (GCs) of human aged ovaries, while FTO-knockdown GCs showed faster aging-related phenotypes mediated. Using the m6A-RNA-sequence technique (m6A-seq), increased m6A was found in the FOS-mRNA-3'UTR, which is suggested to be an erasing target of FTO that slows the degradation of FOS-mRNA to upregulate FOS expression in GCs, eventually resulting in GC-mediated ovarian aging. FTO acts as a senescence-retarding protein via m6A, and FOS knockdown significantly alleviates the aging of FTO-knockdown GCs. Altogether, the abovementioned results indicate that FTO in GCs retards FOS-dependent ovarian aging, which is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target against ovarian aging and age-related reproductive diseases.

Photoinduced umpolung addition of carbonyl compounds with α,ß-unsaturated esters enables the polysubstituted γ-lactone formation.

We herein report the photoinduced intermolecular umpolung addition of aromatic ketones/aldehydes with α,ß-unsaturated esters via ketyl radical intermediates. Following an intramolecular transesterification, a variety of γ-lactone derivatives are readily accessed. Mechanistic investigations demonstrate the significant role of Hantzsch ester, which serves both as the electron and proton donor.