Dimethyl phthalate induced cardiovascular developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryos by regulating MAPK and calcium signaling pathways.

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), the lowest-molecular-weight phthalate ester (PAE), is one of the most commonly detected persistent organic pollutants in the environment, but its toxic effects, especially cardiovascular developmental toxicity, are largely unknown. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to sublethal concentrations of DMP from 4 to 96 hpf. Our results showed that DMP treatment induced yolk retention, pericardial edema, and swim bladder deficiency, as well as increased SV-BA distance and decreased heart rate, stroke volume, ventricular axis shortening rate and ejection fraction. In addition, oxidative stress and apoptosis were found to be highly involved in this process. The results of transcriptome sequencing and mRNA expression of related genes indicated that MAPK and calcium signaling pathways were perturbed by DMP. These findings have the potential to provide new insights into the potential developmental toxicity and cardiovascular disease risk of DMP.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Bi12O17Cl2 nano-sheets via surface modification of carbon nanotubes as electron carriers.

A novel carbon nanotubes modified Bi12O17Cl2 composite (CNTs/Bi12O17Cl2) was prepared via hydrothermal method. The chemical structures, morphologies, optical properties of the synthesized samples were revealed by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, BET and UV-vis DRS measurements. The photocatalytic activity of the CNTs/Bi12O17Cl2 composite was evaluated with degradation reaction of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light. CNTs/Bi12O17Cl2 exhibited improved photocatalytic activity in comparison with pure Bi12O17Cl2, and kept favorable stability and recyclability in the reaction. The relatively high photocatalytic activity of CNTs/Bi12O17Cl2 resulted from the enhanced separation efficiency of photo-induced charges, which were revealed by the photoluminescence spectra and transient photocurrent measurements. CNTs loaded at the surface of Bi12O17Cl2 sheets acted as electron carriers to efficiently transfer the photoinduced electrons, namely to promote the separation of photoinduced electrons and holes, thus improving the photocatalytic activity of the composite materials. At last, a possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism over the CNTs/Bi12O17Cl2 composite was proposed based on the results of trapping experiment, ESR measurements and the band energy analysis.