A novel photoelectrochemical self-screening aptamer biosensor based on CAU-17-derived Bi2WO6/Bi2S3 for rapid detection of quorum sensing signal molecules.

Quorum sensing signal molecule is an important biomarker released by some microorganisms, which can regulate the adhesion and aggregation of marine microorganisms on the surface of engineering facilities. Thus, it is significant to exploit a convenient method that can effectively monitor the formation and development of marine biofouling. In this work, an advanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptamer biosensing platform was established and firstly applied for the rapid and ultrasensitive determination of N-(3-Oxodecanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (3-O-C10-HL) released from marine fouling microorganism Ponticoccus sp. PD-2. The visible-light-driven Bi2WO6/Bi2S3 heterojunction derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) CAU-17 and self-screened aptamer were employed as the photoactive materials and bioidentification elements, respectively. Appropriate amount of MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) conjugated with single-stranded DNA were introduced by hybridization to enhance the photocurrent response of the PEC biosensor. The self-screening aptamer can specifically recognize 3-O-C10-HL, accompanied by increasing the steric hindrance and forcing MoS2 QDs to leave the electrode surface, resulting in an obvious reduction of photocurrent and achieving a dual-inhibition signal amplification effect. Under the optimized conditions, the photocurrent response of PEC aptasensor was linear with 3-O-C10-HL concentration from 1 nM to 10 µM, and the detection limit was as low as 0.26 nM. The detection strategy also showed a high reproducibility, superior specificity and good stability. This work not only provides a simple, rapid and ultrasensitive PEC aptamer biosensing strategy for monitoring quorum sensing signal molecules in marine biofouling, but also broadens the application of MOFs-based heterojunctions in PEC sensors.

Quercetin attenuates brain apoptosis in mice with chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common psychiatric disorder with limited effective treatments. Research suggests that depression involves apoptosis mechanisms. Quercetin (QUE) has been reported to have anti-apoptotic activities. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of QUE in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression. METHODS: After establishing mouse models of CUMS-induced depression, the mice were randomly assigned into four groups: control, CUMS, CUMS+QUE, and CUMS+Fluoxetine (FLX). The body weight of the mice was measured during the study. Then, depression-associated behaviors were evaluated using the sucrose preference test (SPT), novelty suppressed feeding test (NSFT), forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). Apoptosis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex was determined using flow cytometry. Bcl-2 and Nrf2 protein expressions in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were also detected. Furthermore, Western blot was used to measure the protein levels of p-ERK, ERK, p-CREB, CREB, and Nrf2 in brain tissues. RESULTS: QUE or FLX administration increased the body weight of the CUMS mice. Behavioral tests indicated that CUMS mice developed a state of depression, but QUE or FLX treatment improved their depression-associated behaviors. Meanwhile, QUE or FLX treatment decreased apoptosis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, the decreased Nrf2 protein expression, ERK and CREB phosphorylation in CUMS group were enhanced by QUE or FLX administration. CONCLUSION: QUE could attenuate brain apoptosis in mice with CUMS-induced depression, and the mechanism may be related to the ERK/Nrf2 pathway, indicating that QUE could be a potential treatment for depression.

Occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution patterns,partitioning and risk assessments of multiple pesticide residues in typical estuarine water environments in eastern China.

The low terrain and the prosperous agriculture in the east of China, have caused the accumulation of pesticide residues in the estuaries. Therefore, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution and partition tendency of 106 pesticides based on their abundance, frequencies, and concentrations in the aquatic environment of 16 river estuaries in 7 major basins in the eastern China by using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‒MS/MS) and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC‒MS/MS). In addition, potential risk of multiple pesticides was also evaluated. The results showed that herbicides were the dominant pesticide type, while triazines were the predominate substance group of pesticide. In addition, triadimenol, vinclozolin, diethylatrazine, prometryn, thiamethoxam, atrazine, and metalachlor were the major pesticides in the water, while prometryn, metalachlor, and atrazine were the main pesticides in the sediment. The average total concentration of pesticide was 751.15 ng/L in the dry season, 651.17 ng/L in the wet season, and 617.37 ng/L in the normal season, respectively. The estuaries of the Huai River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, the Hai River Basin, and the Yellow River Basin have been affected by the low pollution treatment efficiency, weak infrastructure, and agricultural/non-agricultural activities in eastern China, resulting in relatively serious pesticide pollution. The estuaries of Huaihe River, Yangtze River, Xiaoqing River, and Luanhe River had large pesticide abundance and comparatively severe pesticide pollution, while the estuaries of Tuhai River and Haihe River had heavy pesticide contamination in the sediment, which might be induced by historical sedimentary factors. The log KOC values showed that except for thioketone, other pesticides were relatively stable due to the adsorption by sediment. The ecological risk assessment results indicated that insecticides had a high risk. Teenagers were the most severely affected by the noncarcinogenic risk of pesticides, while adults were mostly affected by the carcinogenic risk of pesticides. Therefore, pesticide hazards in the water environment of estuaries in eastern China needs to be further close supervision.

Enhanced Adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solutions by Iron- manganese Modified Cedarwood Biochar: Synthesis, Performance, Mechanism, and Variables.

Three modified biochar (Cunninghamia lanceolata) with iron and manganese elementals (FMBCs) were successfully prepared and used to remove hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from aqueous solutions. The biochar before and after decoration were characterized by advanced instruments. The adsorption capacities of modified biochar in different Cr(VI) (20 mg·L- 1, 1 mg·L- 1) solutions were 4868.28 mg·kg- 1 and 300 mg·kg- 1. The Cr(VI) removal was highest at pH 2. The possible adsorption was considered to be ion exchange adsorption, chemisorption, and electrostatic attraction. Meanwhile, interfering ions are conducive to increasing the adsorption content. FMBCs prepared at different temperatures showed different characteristics, single-use and cycle-use performance, and high and low concentration removal superiority. The result indicated that FMBCs had a promising potential as an adsorbent to remove toxic and harmful Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions.

Value of proteinuria in evaluating the severity of HELLP and its maternal and neonatal outcomes.

BACKGROUND: HELLP syndrome refers to a group of clinical syndromes characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet, and the evidence on the association between proteinuria and the severity of HELLP and its maternal and neonatal outcomes is rare. METHODS: 106 pregnant women were assigned to the proteinuric group (24-hUPro ≥ 0.3 g, 79 cases) and the non-proteinuric group (24-hUPro < 0.3 g, 27 cases). The proteinuric group was further divided into three subgroups: mild group (24-hUPro:0.3-2.0 g, 33 cases), moderate group (24-hUPro:2.0-5.0 g, 21 cases) and severe group (24-hUPro: ≥5.0 g, 25 cases). The general clinical data, laboratory indexes, complications and pregnancy outcome and adverse neonatal outcomes of HELLP with or without proteinuric were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with proteinuric group, the non-albuminuric group or in the three proteinuric subgroups of HELLP pregnant women's, increased proteinuria was associated with earlier onset gestations, higher incidence of abdominal pain, skin jaundice, headache, blurred vision (p < 0.05 respectively), and also the higher levels of ALT, AST, LDH, Fib, APTT, ATII, proportions of tubular urine and lower levels of ALB, PLT (p < 0.05 respectively). In the three subgroups of the proteinuric group, the ratio of fetal growth restriction, cesarean section and postpartum hemorrhage were compared, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05 respectively). Compared with the proteinuric group, the non-proteinuric group had higher birth weight, birth length, and lower SGA, admission rate in NICU (p < 0.05 respectively). In the three subgroups of the proteinuric group, significant differences were identified in the adverse outcomes of newborns (p < 0.05 respectively), and the incidence of adverse outcomes in neonates tended to be higher. Significant differences were identified in birth weight, birth length, and lower SGA and NICU occupancy rate among the three subgroups (p < 0.05 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: HELLP syndrome is a severe complication of pregnancy, involving multiple systems of the whole body. It has posed a great challenge to obstetricians for its acute onset, dangerous condition, rapid progress, and great harm. Thus, insights into HELLP syndrome should be gained, and early diagnosis, early treatment and timely termination of pregnancy should be conducted to reduce the incidence of maternal and fetal adverse outcomes and improve maternal and fetal prognosis.

Quercetin mitigates depression-like behavior via the suppression of neuroinflammation and oxidative damage in corticosterone-induced mice.

Depression is a clinically common and easily overlooked mental disease. Quercetin is a flavonoid compound, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant roles. Previous reports presented the anti-depressant role of quercetin. Nevertheless, the latent mechanism of the anti-depressant function of quercetin is blurry. This research aimed to probe its effects on corticosterone (CORT)-induced depression-like behaviors and explore the underlying mechanism. A depression model was established by subcutaneous injection of CORT (20 mg/kg). Thereafter, CORT-treated mice were given 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg of quercetin by gavage. This study found that quercetin mitigated depression-like behaviors, as evidenced by increased the number of line crossings, swimming time, and time spent in open arm and reduced thigmotaxis time in CORT-challenged mice in open field test and decreased immobility time as well as the swimming and climbing time in forced swim test and increased number of head dips, time spent and entries in open arm elevated plus maze test. Also, quercetin exerted anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation effects in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of CORT-induced mice. Additionally, quercetin alleviated the pathological injury of the liver tissue and weakened alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations of the serum in CORT-induced mice. Quercetin also suppressed Caspase-3 content but advanced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) contents in hippocampus of CORT-treated mice. Based on these results, quercetin mitigated CORT-induced depression-like behaviors, and the mechanism was partly related to the repression of neuroinflammation and oxidative damage.

DNA intercalation makes possible superior-gain organic photoelectrochemical transistor detection.

DNA intercalation has increasingly been studied for various scenario implementations due to the diverse functions of DNA/intercalators. Nascent organic photoelectrochemical transistor (OPECT) biosensing taking place in organic electronics and photoelectrochemical bioanalysis represents a promising technological frontier in the arena. In this work, we first devise DNA intercalation-enabled OPECT for miRNA detection with a superior gain up to 17100. Intercalation of [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ within the miRNA-initiated hybrid chain reaction (HCR)-derived duplex DNA is realized for producing anodic photocurrent upon light stimulation, causing the corresponding target-dependent alternation in gate voltage (VG) and hence the modulated channel current (IDS) of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) under specific drain voltage (VDS) for quantitative miRNA-21 analysis, which shows a wide linear relationship and a low detection limit of 5.5 × 10-15 mol L-1. This study features the DNA intercalation-enabled organic electronics with superior gain and is envisaged to attract more attention to explore DNA adducts for innovative bioelectronics and biosensing, given the diverse DNA binders with multiple functions.

Removal of antimonite and antimonate in aqueous solution by mugwort biochar modified by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans after pyrolysis.

In the research, iron oxides-biochar composites (ALBC) were prepared from pristine biochar modified by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) and pyrolyzed at 500 °C and 700 °C in order to remove antimonite (Sb(III)) and antimonate (Sb(V)) from water. The results indicated that biochar prepared at 500 °C and 700 °C (ALBC500 and ALBC700) were loaded with Fe2O3 and Fe3O4, respectively. In bacterial modification systems, ferrous iron and total iron concentrations decreased continuously. The pH values of bacterial modification systems including ALBC500 increased first and then decreased to a stable state, while the pH values of bacterial modification systems with ALBC700 continued to decrease. The bacterial modification systems can facilitate the formation of more jarosites by A. ferrooxidans. ALBC500 had optimal adsorbing capacities for Sb(III) (18.81 mg·g-1) and Sb(V) (14.64 mg·g-1). The main mechanisms of Sb(III) and Sb(V) adsorption by ALBC were electrostatic interaction and pore filling.

Concentration, distribution, and bioconcentration of short- and long-chain perfluoroalkyl substances in the water, suspended particulate matter, and surface sediment of a typical semi-enclosed bay.

This study investigated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in the surface water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), sediment, and fishes in the Laizhou Bay (LZB) and its inflow river estuaries in dry, normal, and wet seasons. The results demonstrated that the short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA) accounted for about 60 % of the total PFAA (∑PFAA) concentration in water, while long-chain PFAA were the dominant compounds in the sediment and SPM. The levels of the ∑PFAA and their precursors decreased from the estuaries to the bay, which implied that terrigenous input (pollutant in land flowed into sea) was the main pollution source of PFAA in the LZB. The PFAAs levels in surface water were ranked as the order of dry > normal > wet season. The distribution coefficients of PFAA showed that the long-chain PFAA were more prone to be adsorbed by sediment and SPM than short-chain PFAA. The increase of ∑PFAA concentrations was in the range of 0.32-36.7 ng·L-1 after the oxidation conversion of water samples. Precursors were the important source of the PFAA in the surface water. The perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the dominant compound in fish tissues. These results provide hints for understanding PFAS pollution in LZB.

Beneficial effects and safety of traditional Chinese medicine for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: A case report and literature review.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is an immune-mediated neuropathy. First-line treatments for CIDP include corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange. However, the application is always limited by high costs, effectiveness, and adverse events. This study investigated a new potentially effective and safe therapeutic treatment to alleviate CIDP symptoms and improve the quality of life. In the present case, a 47-year-old rural woman presented with weakness and numbness of progressive extremities. She was diagnosed with CIDP based on abnormal cerebrospinal fluid and electromyography. The patient was treated with intravenous dexamethasone for 1 week and with Huangqi-Guizhi-Wuwu and Bu-Yang-Huan-Wu decoctions for 90 days. Surprisingly, after the treatment, the weakness and numbness were eliminated, and the quality of life improved. The varying INCAT, MRC, and BI scores also reflected the treatment effects. After 8 months of discharge, the symptoms did not relapse during the follow-up. We also searched "traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)" and "CIDP" in PubMed, EMBASE, the Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Databases, Wanfang Data, and the Chongqing Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database. Finally, only ten studies were included in the literature review. Three studies were randomized controlled trials, and seven were case reports or case series. There were 419 CIDP patients, but all study sites were in China. Nine TCM formulas involving 44 herbs were reported, with Huang Qi (Astragalus membranaceus) being the most important herb. In conclusion, the case and literature demonstrated that TCM treatment might be a more effective, low-cost, and safe option for treating CIDP. Although these preliminary findings are promising, a larger sample size and higher-quality randomized clinical trials are urgently required to confirm our findings.

PKCε inhibition prevents ischemia­induced dendritic spine impairment in cultured primary neurons.

Brain ischemia is an independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the mechanisms underlining ischemic stroke and AD remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the function of the ε isoform of protein kinase C (PKCε) in brain ischemia-induced dendritic spine dysfunction to elucidate how brain ischemia causes AD. In the present study, primary hippocampus and cortical neurons were cultured while an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model was used to simulate brain ischemia. In the OGD cell model, in vitro kinase activity assay was performed to investigate whether the PKCε kinase activity changed after OGD treatment. Confocal microscopy was performed to investigate whether inhibiting PKCε kinase activity protects dendritic spine morphology and function. G-LISA was used to investigate whether small GTPases worked downstream of PKCε. The results showed that PKCε kinase activity was significantly increased following OGD treatment in primary neurons, leading to dendritic spine dysfunction. Pre-treatment with PKCε-inhibiting peptide, which blocks PKCε activity, significantly rescued dendritic spine function following OGD treatment. Furthermore, PKCε could activate Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) as a downstream molecule, which mediated OGD-induced dendritic spine morphology changes and caused dendritic spine dysfunction. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the PKCε/RhoA signalling pathway is a novel mechanism mediating brain ischemia-induced dendritic spine dysfunction. Developing therapeutic targets for this pathway may protect against and prevent brain ischemia-induced cognitive impairment and AD.

Synergistic Functionality of Dopants and Defects in Co-Phthalocyanine/B-CN Z-Scheme Photocatalysts for Promoting Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Reactions.

The realization of solar-light-driven CO2  reduction reactions (CO2 RR) is essential for the commercial development of renewable energy modules and the reduction of global CO2 emissions. Combining experimental measurements and theoretical calculations, to introduce boron dopants and nitrogen defects in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ), sodium borohydride is simply calcined with the mixture of g-C3 N4 (CN), followed by the introduction of ultrathin Co phthalocyanine through phosphate groups. By strengthening H-bonding interactions, the resultant CoPc/P-BNDCN nanocomposite showed excellent photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity, releasing 197.76 and 130.32 µmol h-1  g-1 CO and CH4 , respectively, and conveying an unprecedented 10-26-time improvement under visible-light irradiation. The substantial tuning is performed towards the conduction and valance band locations by B-dopants and N-defects to modulate the band structure for significantly accelerated CO2 RR. Through the use of ultrathin metal phthalocyanine assemblies that have a lot of single-atom sites, this work demonstrates a sustainable approach for achieving effective photocatalytic CO2 activation. More importantly, the excellent photoactivity is attributed to the fast charge separation via Z-scheme transfer mechanism formed by the universally facile strategy of dimension-matched ultrathin (≈4 nm) metal phthalocyanine-assisted nanocomposites.

Influences of Metal Core and Carbon Shell on the Microwave Absorption Performance of Cu-C Core-Shell Nanoparticles.

Metal-C core-shell nanoparticles have been recently demonstrated to be promising candidates for microwave absorption applications. However, the underlying absorption mechanism, such as the contributions of the metal cores and C shells on their absorption performance, remains far from clear due to the complicated interfaces and synergetic effects between metal cores and C shells, as well as the significant challenges in the preparation of samples with well-defined comparability. In this study, Cu-C core-shell nanoparticles and their derivatives, i.e., bare Cu and hollow C nanoparticles, were synthesized for a comparative study on their microwave absorption properties. Electric energy loss models of the three samples were established, and based on these models, the comparative study suggested that the polarization loss could be significantly improved by C shells, and Cu cores had negligible influences on the conduction loss of Cu-C core-shell nanoparticles. The interface between C shells and Cu cores tuned the conduction loss and polarization loss to establish improved impedance matching and achieve optimal microwave absorption performances. A wide effective bandwidth of 5.4 GHz and a low reflection loss of -42.6 dB were achieved for Cu-C core-shell nanoparticles. This work provides new insights into how metal nanocores and C nanoshells affect the microwave absorption of core-shell nanostructures from experimental and theoretical points of view, which has reference values for the construction of highly efficient metal-C-based absorbers.

Bioderived establishment of three-dimensional type-I Ag2S/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction for high-efficacy organic photoelectrochemical transistor biomolecular detection.

Advanced optoelectronic devices have attracted extensive interdisciplinary interest but lags far behind in biomolecular detection. The nascent organic photoelectrochemical transistor (OPECT) is expected to become a versatile platform to this end. Herein, using biological derivation of type-I Ag2S/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction, a light-fueled high-efficacy OPECT system with zero-gate-biased operation is successfully developed for biomolecular detection. Exemplified by a sandwich immunocomplexing towards mouse IgG (MIgG) with Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) as the label, steering the acidolysis-release of Ag+ toward ZnIn2S4 could induce the in-situ formation of type-I Ag2S/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction, increasing the recombination of light-activated excitons and thus inhibiting the photo-responsibility of ZnIn2S4, as sensitively monitored by the amplified OPECT response. The proposed device could achieve good analytical performance in terms of high specificity and sensitivity, with a detection limit as low as 33.7 fg mL-1. This OPECT device based on bio-induced formation of type-I heterojunction can provide a novel route to biomolecular detection, and offered a new perspective for the optoelectronic sensors to be used in futuristic physiological and pathological detection.

Spatiotemporal distribution patterns and ecological risk of multi-pesticide residues in the surface water of a typical agriculture area in China.

This study systematically investigated the occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, and ecological risk of 106 pesticides in the surface water of the Jiaodong Peninsula in China. The results show that 52 pesticides, including 21 insecticides, 10 fungicides, and 21 herbicides, were detectable in the surface water. The concentrations of target pesticides in water samples ranged from 0.42 (tebuconazole in the wet season) to 645.31 ng/L (thiamethoxam in the normal season). The two most polluting and widespread pesticides were quintozene (maximum concentration of 481.46 ng/L and detection rate of 94 %) and atrazine (maximum concentration of 465.73 ng/L and detection rate of 100 %). The total pesticide concentrations in surface water in different seasons revealed the order of dry season > wet season > normal season. Based on aquatic pesticide concentrations, their frequency of occurrence, and effect concentrations, insecticides posed higher risks to aquatic organisms and human health than either fungicides or herbicides. Total pesticide concentrations were significantly positively correlated with suspended particulate matter, dissolved organic carbon, soil pH, normalized difference vegetation index, adjacent cropland area; and were negatively associated with adjacent grassland area. The cropland area largely influences pesticide distribution in the surface water of the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Occurrence, spatiotemporal variation, and ecological risks of organophosphate esters in the water and sediment of the middle and lower streams of the Yellow River and its important tributaries.

Research on the environmental occurrence and behavior of organophosphate esters (OPEs) is very imperative. In this study, 12 targeted OPEs in the water and sediment samples collected from the middle and lower streams of the Yellow River (YR) and its tributaries during the dry, normal, and wet season were analyzed, to reveal their concentration, spatiotemporal variations, and ecological risks. The results indicated that the total concentration of OPEs (ΣOPE) ranged from 97.66 to 2433.30 ng/L in water, and from 47.33 to 234.08 ng/g in sediment. Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-chloroisopropyl)phosphate (TCIPP), and triethyl phosphate (TEP) were the most abundant OPEs in the surface water and sediment. The OPEs levels in river water were ranked as the order of dry > normal > wet season. The ΣOPE concentrations in water and sediment were relatively high in the central and lower sections of the YR. The resorcinol-bis(diphenyl)phosphate (RDP) effectively transferred from the overlying water to the sediment. TCEP and RDP posed relatively higher ecological risk than other OPEs. Municipal and chemical industrial discharge might be sources of OPEs in the middle and lower streams of the YR.

Occurrence and behavior of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and conversion of oxidizable precursors in the waters of coastal tourist resorts in China.

Per- and polyfluorolkyl substances (PFAS) were measured in the water and fish from 20 coastal tourist resorts in China, to investigate their sources, seasonal differences, and bioconcentration. An oxidative method with hydroxyl radicals was used to extract potential perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors in the water of resorts. The results indicated that the total concentrations of target chemicals (i.e., ΣPFAS) in the original water were 59.4-138, 32.7-77.2, and 14.6-29.9 ng L-1 in December, April, and August, respectively. C4-C10 perfluorocarboxlate (PFCA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) accounted for 67%-92% of the ΣPFAS contents in all water samples. The PFAS concentrations in the muscles and liver of fish were 16.0-162 ng g-1 ww and 186-1240 ng g-1 ww, respectively. The dominant compounds were perfluorobutanoate acid (PFBA) and PFOS in the water, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and PFOS in fish tissues. High bioconcentration were observed for PFCA (C ≥ 8) and perfluorosulfonate (PFSA, C ≥ 6). After oxidative conversion, the water exhibited a noticeable increase in the ΣPFAS value. Precursors that generated C4-C9 PFCA were more prevalent than precursors that generated other PFCA upon oxidation. The concentration of C8-based precursor was higher than that of C6-based precursor in wet and dry seasons. This study is the first to apply an oxidative method to investigate PFAS pollution in the water of coastal tourist resorts. The results verified that PFAA precursors exist in the water of coastal tourist resorts, and more attention should be given to the existence of PFAA precursors and the safety of water in coastal tourist resorts.

Spatiotemporal variations and bioaccumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and oxidative conversion of precursors in shallow lake water.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water and fish from Nansi Lake, Chian and in inflowing tributaries and nearby sewage treatment plants (STPs) were determined to evaluate their distribution and bioaccumulation. The potential precursors of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) present in the water were converted via hydroxyl radical oxidation. Over 3 seasons, the average concentration ranges of the 15 PFAA (∑15PFAA) concentrations in Nansi Lake, inflowing tributaries, and STPs were 22.8-70.3, 19.5-43.5, and 84.1-129 ng L-1, respectively. Perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and short-chain PFAA (perfluorocarboxlate acid <8, perfluorosulfonate acids <6) were present in high concentrations in the lake and tributaries. PFAA concentration was the lowest during the wet season and the highest during the dry season. Moreover, PFAA precursors were converted to perfluorocarboxlate acid. The concentration of C8-based precursors was higher than that of the C6-based precursors in the lake and tributaries. The concentration of PFAA in the fish liver was higher than that in fish muscles, and PFOS was the dominant chemical present in fish. Potential risk assessment based on Environment Quality Standard revealed heavy PFOS contamination in the fish. Thus, the water of Nansi Lake was heavily polluted by PFAS.

A multi-omic single cell sequencing approach to develop a CD8 T cell specific gene signature for anti-PD1 response in solid tumors.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has led to durable clinical responses in multiple cancer types. However, biomarkers that identify which patients are most likely to respond to ICB are not well defined. Many putative biomarkers developed from a small number of samples often fail to maintain their predictive status in larger validation cohorts. We show across multiple human malignancies and syngeneic murine tumor models that neither pretreatment T cell receptor (TCR) clonality nor changes in clonality after ICB correlate with response. Dissection of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes pre- and post-ICB by paired single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell TCR sequencing reveals conserved and distinct transcriptomic features in expanded TCR clonotypes between anti-PD1 responder and nonresponder murine tumor models. Overall, our results indicate a productive anti-tumor response is agnostic of TCR clonal expansion. Further, we used single-cell transcriptomics to develop a CD8+ T cell specific gene signature for a productive anti-tumor response and show the response signature to be associated with overall survival (OS) on nivolumab monotherapy in CheckMate-067, a phase 3 clinical trial in metastatic melanoma. These results highlight the value of leveraging single-cell assays to dissect heterogeneous tumor and immune subsets and define cell-type specific transcriptomic biomarkers of ICB response.

Impact of Biochars on the Iron Plaque Formation and the Antimony Accumulation in Rice Seedings.

Biochar was a kind of restoration material for soil pollution. Investigation about biochar amendment on the Sb transformation in rice plants is scarce. The pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of biochar on the iron plaque formation in Sb-contaminated soil, and the translocation and accumulation of Sb in rice seedings. After the straw and husk biochar amendments (5% by weight), the levels increased on average by 20.0% and 16.0% for exchangeable Sb in soil, and by 233.3% and 74.8% for soluble Sb in pore water, respectively; but the residual fractions of Sb decreased by 18.5% and 15.1%. The iron plaque formation on rice root surface was enhanced, but its sequestration capacity for Sb decreased due to increasing competition for binding sites led by the elevated phosphorus and silicon levels in pore water after biochar application. The shoot Sb content sharply increased by 215.8% upon straw biochar application.