Angiotoxic effects of chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate, a novel perfluorooctane sulfonate substitute, in vivo and in vitro.

Chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (Cl-PFESA), a substitute for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), has been widely used in the Chinese electroplating industry under the trade name F-53B. The production and use of F-53B is keep increasing in recent years, consequently causing more emissions into the environment. Thus, there is a growing concern about the adverse effects of F-53B on human health. However, related research is very limited, particularly in terms of its toxicity to the vascular system. In this study, C57BL/6 J mice were exposed to 0.04, 0.2, and 1 mg/kg F-53B for 12 weeks to assess its impact on the vascular system. We found that F-53B exposure caused aortic wall thickening, collagen deposition, and reduced elasticity in mice. In addition, F-53B exposure led to a loss of vascular endothelial integrity and a vascular inflammatory response. Intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were found to be indispensable for this process. Furthermore, RNA sequencing analysis revealed that F-53B can decrease the repair capacity of endothelial cells by inhibiting their proliferation and migration. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that F-53B exposure induces vascular inflammation and loss of endothelial integrity as well as suppresses the repair capacity of endothelial cells, which ultimately results in vascular injury, highlighting the need for a more thorough risk assessment of F-53B to human health.

Discovery of novel tumor-targeted near-infrared probes with 6-substituted pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as targeting ligands.

Since the overexpression of folate receptors (FRs) in certain types of cancers, a variety of FR-targeted fluorescent probes for tumor detection have been developed. However, the reported probes almost all have the same targeting ligand of folic acid with various fluorophores and/or linkers. In the present study, a series of novel tumor-targeted near-infrared (NIR) molecular fluorescent probes were designed and synthesized based on previously reported 6-substituted pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine antifolates. All newly synthesized probes showed specific FR binding in vitro, whereas GT-NIR-4 and GT-NIR-5 with a benzene and a thiophene ring, respectively, on the side chain of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine exhibited better FR binding affinity than that of GT-NIR-6 with folic acid as targeting ligand. GT-NIR-4 also showed high tumor uptake in KB tumor-bearing mice with good pharmacokinetic properties and biological safety. This work demonstrates the first attempt to replace folic acid with antifolates as targeting ligands for tumor-targeted NIR probes.

First Fossil Record of Trichomanes sensu lato (Hymenophyllaceae) from the Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber, Myanmar.

Hymenophyllaceae (filmy ferns), with ca. 430 species, are the most species-rich family of early diverging leptosporangiate ferns but have a poor fossil record dating back to the Late Triassic period. Traditionally, Hymenophyllaceae comprise two species-rich genera or clades: Hymenophyllum (hymenophylloids) and Trichomanes sensu lato (s.l.) (trichomanoids). Unequivocal fossils of Hymenophyllum have been reported from the Early Cretaceous of central Mongolia and the early Eocene of Okanogan Highlands, Washington, USA. However, despite being a highly diversified lineage with an estimated 184 extant species, Trichomanes s.l. lack a definitive fossil record, which severely affects the reliability of the molecular dating of this group. Here, we report the first unequivocal fossil record of Trichomanes s.l. as T. angustum comb. nov. on the basis of fertile material with tubular involucres and long exserted receptacles from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, Myanmar. This species was previously tentatively assigned to Hymenophyllites due to a lack of fertile evidence. Inferred to be an epiphytic fern, T. angustum further enriches the species diversity of the epiphytic palaeocommunities in the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, which are mainly composed of Porellalean leafy liverworts and Dicranalean and Hypnodendralean mosses. Fossil records indicate that Hymenophyllaceae probably originated in the tropical Pangea at the latest in the Triassic when all continents were coalesced into a single landmass and had already accumulated some notable diversity in low-middle latitude areas of Laurasia by the mid-Cretaceous period.

Biomass Hierarchical Porous Carbonized Typha angustifolia Prepared by Green Pore-Making Technology for Energy Storage.

The cost-effective biomass-derived carbon with high electrochemical performance is highly desirable for the sustainable development of advanced energy storage devices. In this manuscript, Typha angustifolia with a large output and loose porous characteristics was selected as the raw material of biomass. In the synthesis process, KHCO3, which is more environmentally friendly, is used as a pore-forming agent, and the low-cost, easy-to-clean fluxing agent NaCl is used to assist the pore-forming process. Based on the analysis of thermogravimetric-infrared test results, the calcination procedure of porous carbon was designed reasonably, so that the functions of the pore-forming agent and fluxing agent could be fully exerted. Its high electrochemical performance is attributed to combined contributions from high surface area and hierarchical porous structures. The as-prepared carbon also showed an outstanding capacitance of 317.2 F/g at a current density of 1 A g-1 and a high capacitance retention of over 97.83% after 5000 cycles at a current density of 4 A g-1. This work provides an outstanding renewable candidate and a feasible route design strategy for the fabrication of high-performance electrodes.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate promotes atherosclerosis by modulating M1 polarization of macrophages through the NF-κB pathway.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a widely used and distributed perfluorinated compounds and is reported to be harmful to cardiovascular health; however, the direct association between PFOS exposure and atherosclerosis and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of PFOS exposure on the atherosclerosis progression and the underlying mechanisms. PFOS was administered through oral gavage to apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice for 12 weeks. PFOS exposure significantly increased pulse wave velocity (PWV) and intima-media thickness (IMT), increased aortic plaque burden and vulnerability, and elevated serum lipid and inflammatory cytokine levels. PFOS promoted aortic and RAW264.7 M1 macrophage polarization, which increased the secretion of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and pro-inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and interleukin-1ß [IL-1ß]), and suppressed M2 macrophage polarization, which decreased the expression of CD206, arginine I (Arg-1), and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Moreover, PFOS activated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the aorta and macrophages. BAY11-7082 was used to inhibit NF-κB-alleviated M1 macrophage polarization and the inflammatory response induced by PFOS in RAW264.7 macrophages. Our results are the first to reveal the acceleratory effect of PFOS on the atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- mice, which is associated with the NF-κB activation of macrophages to M1 polarization to induce inflammation.

Association of exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and risk of the acute coronary syndrome: A case-control study in Shijiazhuang Hebei Province.

Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been reported to increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Therefore, PFAS exposure may be linked to the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but this association remains uncertain. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between PFAS exposure and ACS risk through a case-control study. The study included 355 newly diagnosed ACS cases and 355 controls matched by age (within 5 years) and sex. Twelve PFAS were measured in plasma by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The conditional logistic regression models were performed to investigate the association between the single and multiple PFAS and ACS risk. Furthermore, we investigated the association of PFAS mixture exposure with ACS risk using a quantile-based g-computation (qgcomp) approach. A mediating effect model was used to assess the mediating effect of platelet indices on the association between PFAS and ACS risk. The results showed that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were significantly positively associated with ACS risk in the multiple-PFAS model 2, and this effect was not significant in females. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for PFAS (z-score PFAS) and ACS risk were 1.51 (1.07, 2.15) for PFOA and 1.77 (1.15, 2.72) for PFOS. The dose-response relationships revealed an increasing trend for ACS risk with PFOA and PFOS and decreasing trend for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). There was no significant correlation between PFAS mixture exposure and ACS risk. Analysis of mediation indicated that platelet count mediated the relationship between PFOS and ACS risk. Our study suggests that higher levels of PFOA and PFOS, and lower levels of PFHxS and PFDA may increase the risk of ACS. However, the reported negative associations should not be considered as protective, and uncertain unresolved confounding may contribute to this result.

Integrating analysis of circular RNA and mRNA expression profiles in doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity mice.

Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity impedes its clinical application, but the mechanisms have not been thoroughly elucidated. Based on circRNA and mRNA expression profiles, we illustrated RNA expression signature changes during DOX-induced cardiotoxicity; mechanism exploration and biomarkers screening were also conducted. Twelve mice were randomly divided into two groups, induction group was treated with doxorubicin, and the control group was given an equal quantity of saline. After the confirmation of myocardial injury in induction group, the heart tissues from both groups were isolated for RNA high-throughput sequencing. The expression profiles were compared between the two groups; a total of 295 mRNAs and 11 circRNAs were shown as biased expression in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity mouse hearts. The dysregulation of three circRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR: mmu_circ_0015773, mmu_circ_0002106, and mmu_circ_001606. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses of the differentially expressed RNAs were performed; the results implied that DOX might cause cardiotoxicity by interfering hemoglobin-based oxygen delivery and DNA-associated signal pathways. We integrated the differential expressed mRNA and validated circRNAs by constructing a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network, which indicated that the alteration of the three circRNAs could activate apoptosis process of myocardial cells. This study provided novel insight into the mechanisms of DOX induced cardiotoxicity, and potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets were also proposed.

Adsorption of tetracycline hydrochloride onto ball-milled biochar: Governing factors and mechanisms.

Pristine and ball milled wheat stalk biochars pyrolysed at 300 °C, 450 °C, 600 °C were studied for tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) adsorption from aqueous solution. Surface characteristics of ball milled biochar (BM-biochar) were significantly enhanced over their pristine counterparts. TCH adsorption occurred largely on external surface and by filling pores of biochars as evidenced by strong positive correlation between adsorption and external specific surface area (SSA), total pore volume, or mesoporous volume. A two-stage intra-particle diffusion model, limited by the TCH diffusion through the boundary liquid layer, well described TCH adsorption. Maximum TCH adsorption occurred at about pH = 6-8. While solution cations including Na+, K+ and Mg2+ subdued TCH adsorption as they competed for adsorption sites, Ca2+ promoted TCH adsorption due to formation of tetracycline-Ca2+ complexes. The best performing BM-biochar was the one pyrolysed at 600 °C with TCH adsorption amount of 84.54 mg/g. Therefore, this BM-biochar has the potential for TCH removal from aqueous solutions. And the research shed light on the management of organic contaminants in real wastewater by BM-biochar.