Idioms are the crystallization of human wisdom and the essences of language. Animal idioms, which can reflect people's feelings or explain complicated phenomena and rules with vivid and expressive ...animal images, contain rich and unique cultural connotations. This paper studies a comparative analysis of English and Chinese animal idioms from perspective of culture, aiming to make people know the cultural differences, improve their intercultural awareness and use animal idioms accurately, to promote intercultural communication more smoothly and properly.
Shallow water hydrothermal vents are a source of heavy metals leading to their accumulation in marine organisms that manage to live under extreme environmental conditions. This is the case at ...Kueishantao (KST) shallow-sea vents system offshore northeast Taiwan, where the heavy metal distribution in vent fluids and ambient seawater is poorly understood. This shallow vent is an excellent natural laboratory to understand how heavy and volatile metals behave in the nearby water column and ecosystem. Here, we investigated the submarine venting of heavy metals from KST field and its impact on ambient surface seawater. The total heavy metal concentrations in the vent fluids and vertical plumes were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than the overlying seawater values. When compared with deep-sea hydrothermal systems, the estimated KST end-member fluids exhibited much lower concentrations of transition metals (e.g., Fe and Mn) but comparable concentrations of toxic metals such as Pb and As. This may be attributed to the lower temperature of the KST reaction zone and transporting fluids. Most of the heavy metals (Fe, Mn, As, Y, and Ba) in the plumes and seawater mainly originated from hydrothermal venting, while Cd and Pb were largely contributed by external sources such as contaminated waters (anthropogenic origin). The spatial distribution of heavy metals in the surface seawater indicated that seafloor venting impacts ambient seawater. The measurable influence of KST hydrothermal activity, however, was quite localized and limited to an area of <1km2. The estimated annual fluxes of heavy metals emanating from the yellow KST hydrothermal vent were: 430–2600kg Fe, 24–145kg Mn, 5–32kg Ba, 10–60kg As, 0.3–1.9kg Cd, and 2–10kg Pb. This study provides important data on heavy metals from a shallow-sea hydrothermal field, and it helps to better understand the environmental impact of submarine shallow hydrothermal venting.
•Metal contents of vent fluids were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than seawater.•Most metals in the plumes and surrounding seawater originated from venting.•The environmental impact of dissolved heavy metals is limited to the vents vicinity.•The annual fluxes of dissolved heavy metals from KST vents were calculated.
In this study, heavy metal pollution in sediment cores from the Yangzonghai Lake, a fault-controlled highland lake in China, was investigated. All of the sediment samples were unpolluted or slightly ...polluted with geoaccumulation indexes (
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geo
) of <1 and contamination factors (CF) of <2. In the sub-surface sediment (depth >20 cm), all of the heavy metals were controlled by groundwater, and the distributions of the concentrations, enrichments, and pollution indexes were closely associated with springs. The surface sediment at a depth of <10 cm, however, was contaminated by human activities, which significantly increased the
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geo
, CF, and enrichment factors covering most of the lake. All elements exhibit accumulations near the mouth of the Yangzong River, suggesting that the pollution predominantly came from the river. In addition, Hg/Cd and As/Pb also exhibit increased enrichments near the thermal plant and the springs, respectively. Combined with multi-statistical analyses, it is suggested that Hg and Cd were mainly polluted by the river and the thermal plant in the surface sediment, while As and Pb were contributed by the river and groundwater. Co, Ni, and Zn were strongly associated with Fe and mainly originated from lithogeochemical processes, although their occurrence was affected by the groundwater in the sub-surface sediment and the river in the surface sediment. This study provided essential information on the heavy metal contamination in both the surface and sub-surface sediments of the Yangzonghai Lake. In addition, it is suggested that groundwater should be taken into consideration to assess the heavy metal contamination in the sediment of fault-controlled plateau lakes.
The gut is colonized by many commensal microorganisms, and the diversity and metabolic patterns of microorganisms profoundly influence the intestinal health. These microbial imbalances can lead to ...disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Microorganisms produce byproducts that act as signaling molecules, triggering the immune system in the gut mucosa and controlling inflammation. For example, metabolites like short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and secondary bile acids can release inflammatory-mediated signals by binding to specific receptors. These metabolites indirectly affect host health and intestinal immunity by interacting with the intestinal epithelial and mucosal immune cells. Moreover, Tryptophan-derived metabolites also play a role in governing the immune response by binding to aromatic hydrocarbon receptors (AHR) located on the intestinal mucosa, enhancing the intestinal epithelial barrier. Dietary-derived indoles, which are synthetic precursors of AHR ligands, work together with SCFA and secondary bile acids to reduce stress on the intestinal epithelium and regulate inflammation. This review highlights the interaction between gut microbial metabolites and the intestinal immune system, as well as the crosstalk of dietary fiber intake in improving the host microbial metabolism and its beneficial effects on the organism.
Thousands of microorganisms reside in the human gut, and extensive research has demonstrated the crucial role of the gut microbiota in overall health and maintaining homeostasis. The disruption of ...microbial populations, known as dysbiosis, can impair the host’s metabolism and contribute to the development of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Furthermore, a growing body of evidence indicates that metabolites produced by the gut microbiota play a significant role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. These bioactive metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), trimethylamine (TMA), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), bile acids (BAs), and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), are implicated in conditions such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. These metabolites impact cardiovascular function through various pathways, such as altering the composition of the gut microbiota and activating specific signaling pathways. Targeting the gut microbiota and their metabolic pathways represents a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Intervention strategies, such as probiotic drug delivery and fecal transplantation, can selectively modify the composition of the gut microbiota and enhance its beneficial metabolic functions, ultimately leading to improved cardiovascular outcomes. These interventions hold the potential to reshape the gut microbial community and restore its balance, thereby promoting cardiovascular health. Harnessing the potential of these microbial metabolites through targeted interventions offers a novel avenue for tackling cardiovascular health issues. This manuscript provides an in-depth review of the recent advances in gut microbiota research and its impact on cardiovascular health and offers a promising avenue for tackling cardiovascular health issues through gut microbiome-targeted therapies.
Studies have shown that PM2.5 exposure can induce neuronal apoptosis and neurobehavioral changes in animal experiments due partly to the mitochondria-mediated oxidative damage. How does it affect the ...mitochondrial energy metabolism as well as the neuronal damage, however, remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the molecular processes of energy metabolism and oxidative damage induced by ambient PM2.5 exposure in SH-SY5Y cells. SH-SY5Y cells were treated with PM2.5 to establish a cytotoxicity model. A Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyzer (XFp) was performed to evaluate the cellular mitochondrial respiratory and glycolysis after exposure to PM2.5. The dose- and time-dependent effects of PM2.5 on oxidative damage and apoptosis were analyzed. To further explore the relationship among oxidative damage, energy metabolism and apoptosis, SH-SY5Y cells were co-cultured with BHA and PM2.5 for 24 h. The results demonstrated that the basic respiration and ATP production, the typical index of mitochondrial respiration as well as glycolysis, significantly reduced in SH-SY5Y cells with dose and time dependent. At the same time, the PM2.5 could significantly decrease the cell viability and Mn-SOD activity, and increase the ROS levels and apoptosis rate as the escalation of dose and the extension of time. Importantly, the application of BHA could synchronously recover the PM2.5 induced cell energy metabolism disorder, oxidative damage, and apoptosis. It seems that the abnormal cellular energy metabolism may be caused by oxidative damage following fine particles exposure, and further led to apoptosis.
•The alteration of the molecular processes of energy metabolism induced by ambient PM2.5 is proposed.•Cellular mitochondrial respiration is more sensitive to PM2.5 treatment, while glycolysis only shows damage at high doses and prolonged treatment time.•BHA significantly recovered the effects of PM2.5 on mitochondrial respiration.
As a major air pollutant, PM2.5 can induce apoptosis of nerve cells, causing impairment of the learning and memory capabilities of humans and animals. Ferroptosis is a newly discovered way of ...programmed cell death. It is unclear whether the neurotoxicity induced by PM2.5 is related to the ferroptosis of nerve cells. In this study, we observed the changes in ferroptosis hallmarks of SH-SY5Y cells after exposure to various doses (40, 80, and 160 μg/mL PM2.5) for 24 h, exposure to 40 μg/mL PM2.5 for various times (24, 48, and 72 h), as well as exposure to various components (Po, organic extracts; Pw, water-soluble extracts; Pc, carbon core component). The results showed that PM2.5 reduced the cell viability, the content of GSH, and the activity of GSH-PX and SOD in SH-SY5Y cells with exposure dose and duration increasing. On the other hand, PM2.5 increased the content of iron, MDA, and the level of lipid ROS in SH-SY5Y cells with exposure dose and duration increasing. Additionally, PM2.5 reduced the expression levels of HO-1, NRF2, SLC7A11, and GPX4. The ferroptosis inhibitors Fer-1 and DFO significantly increase the cells viabilities and significantly reversed the changes of other above ferroptosis hallmarks. We also observed the different effects on ferroptosis hallmarks in the SH-SY5Y cells exposed to PM2.5 (160 μg/mL) and its various components (organic extracts, water-soluble extracts, and carbon core) for 24 h. We found that only the organic extracts shared similar results with PM2.5 (160 μg/mL). This study demonstrated that PM2.5 induced ferroptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, and organic extracts might be the primary component that caused ferroptosis.
•PM2.5 could induce ferroptosis in SH-SY5Y cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner.•The organic extracts of PM2.5 plays a vital role in inducing ferroptosis of SH-SY5Y cells.•PM2.5 induced ferroptosis might be a key pathogenic factor and could be targeted for the protective strategy in its neurotoxic damages.
Aquatic products are important sources of protein and food consumption, which are pivotal to solving the problem of food shortage. As the world’s largest producer of aquatic products, China’s ...aquaculture has developed rapidly. However, a large quantity of pollutants has also been generated in the fish farming process, which is detrimental to the sustainable development of China’s aquaculture. Therefore, under double constraints with regard to resources and the environment, fishery development must achieve cleaner production. Measuring green total factor productivity in aquaculture is fundamental to improving aquaculture production efficiency and reducing pollution emissions. This paper investigated the green total factor productivity in China using the SBM-ML method and analyzed the dynamic evolution of fish farming, measuring its change characteristics with regard to time and spatial differences. The results indicated that the total factor productivity indexes of mariculture and freshwater aquaculture in China are 1.050 and 1.060, respectively. Regionally, mariculture in the East China Sea region has the highest green total factor productivity of 1.072, followed by the South China Sea region with 1.056, and the green total factor productivity in the Yellow Sea region is the lowest—only 1.030. The results of the freshwater aquaculture calculations showed the opposite geographical distribution characteristics in China, with the highest in the western region (1.098), followed by the central region (1.046), with the lowest being in the eastern region (1.038). Evidently, both mariculture and freshwater aquaculture have noticeable spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Relevant policy recommendations are provided to improve the green production efficiency of fishery.
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