Tetracyclines (TCs), used as human and veterinary medicines, are the most widely used antibiotics. More than 75% of TCs are excreted in an active form and released into the environment through human ...and animal urine and feces, causing adverse effects on the ecological system and human health. Few articles review the environmental occurrence and behaviors of TCs, as well as their risks and toxicities. Here, we comprehensively summarized the recent advances on the following important issues: (1) Environmental occurrence of TCs. TCs are used globally and their occurrence in the aquatic environment has been documented, including surface water, groundwater, drinking water, wastewater, sediment, and sludge. (2) Environmental behaviors of TCs, particularly the fate of TCs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Most WWTPs cannot effectively remove TCs from wastewater, so alternative methods for efficient removal of TCs need to be developed. The latest degradation methods of TCs are summarized, including adsorption, photocatalytic, photochemical and electrochemical, and biological degradations. (3) Toxicities and possible risks of TCs. The toxicological data of TCs indicate that several TCs are more toxic to algae than fish and daphnia. Risk assessments based on individual compound exposure indicate that the risks arising from the current concentrations of TCs in the aquatic environment cannot be ignored.
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•Occurrence, fate, toxicity and risk of typical TCs in the aquatic environment were summarized.•Huge amount of TCs are used and > 75% released in active form to the aquatic environment.•TCs can be degraded and mineralized by alternative advanced oxidation processes in WWTPs.•TCs are more toxic to algae than daphnia and fish, generally in the order TC > CTC > OTC.•Currently TCs exhibit non-negligible risks to aquatic ecosystem and organisms.
A total of 96 water, soil, and sediment samples, collected from 32 sampling sites in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, were analyzed for 9 phthalate esters (PAEs). The sum concentrations of 9 ...PAEs (∑9PAEs) in the water, soil, and sediment samples were 2.23–6.30 μg L−1 (mean: 4.11 μg L−1), 155–1410 μg kg−1 (408 μg kg−1), and 30.1–16,000 μg kg−1 (1200 μg kg−1), respectively. Among the 9 PAEs, di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP) are the predominant congeners in the YRD region. DBP was the dominant PAE congener in water, accounting for 50.6% of the Σ9PAEs, while DEHP was the predominant one in soil and sediment (accounting for 69.6% and 83.1% of the Σ9PAEs, respectively). Soil and sediment samples collected from Wuxi city manifested relatively higher PAE concentrations. The partitioning of PAEs between water and sediment was attributed to the fact that low molecular weight PAEs (e.g., dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP)) were dominant in water, medium molecular weight PAEs (e.g., BzBP) were close to the equilibrium between sediment–water, and high molecular weight PAEs (e.g., DEHP) were more prevalent in sediment. The ecological risk assessment of PAEs in the surface water showed that the potential environmental risks followed the order of DEHP > DIBP > DBP > DMP > DEP. Comparatively, DEHP posed high ecological risk to sensitive algae, crustaceans and fish, while DMP and DEP exhibited low risk. In the sediment, DIBP exhibited a high risk to the sensitive fish, whereas DMP, DEP, DBP and DEHP displayed no risk.
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•Nine PAEs were analyzed in water, soil, and sediment in Yangtze River Delta region.•The composition profiles of PAEs in water were different from those in soil and sediment.•The molecular weight of PAEs affects their partitioning in water-sediment system.•DEHP and DIBP posed a high ecological risk in the region investigated.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous in the environment, and human exposure to these pollutants has caused great public concern. Five groups of EDCs, including parabens, ...antimicrobials (triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC)), bisphenols (BPs), tetrabromobisphenol A and its alternatives (TBBPAs), and benzophenones, in urines of general populations from three cities with different economic levels in China were determined simultaneously to evaluate the coexposure levels of such chemicals. The total concentration of target compounds was approximately two times higher in the urines from Chengdu (a first-tier city; geometric mean: 2.50 μg/L) than that from Nantong (a second-tier city; 1.34 μg/L), and was one order of magnitude higher than that from Shehong (a fifth-tier city; 0.73 μg/L). Urinary target compounds were significantly correlated with gender, age, body mass index (BMI), education level, occupation, and diet. The estimated daily intakes of target chemicals ranged from 0.002 (benzophenones) to 10.2 µg/kg-bw/day (parabens). The exposure estimate showed that females were more vulnerable to exposure to these EDCs. This study profiles the regional and demographic-related differences in the concentrations and exposure risks of several typical EDCs in urines from general populations in three cities with different economic levels in China.
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•Several typical EDCs were ubiquitous in human urines from three cities in China.•The economic level of cities influenced human exposure to such EDCs.•Urinary EDCs were correlated with gender, age, and BMI in the general population.•Females are at higher risk of exposure to these EDCs than males.
Objective
Management of cryptorchidism is typically recommended within the first 18 months of life to maximize fertility potential. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal postoperative data for ...Chinese infants. We aim to evaluate the Testicular function change when the procedure is done within the first year of life.
Method
We prospectively enrolled 51 children diagnosed with unilateral inguinal cryptorchidism into the surgical group between January 2021 and January 2022. Orchidopexy was carried out through a single transverse scrotal incision. Assessments of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B (InhB), testosterone (T) levels, testicular volume and testicular atrophy index (TAI) were conducted at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year following surgery. Concurrently, clinical data from 42 healthy age-matched controls were collected during their routine physical examinations.
Results
At 6- and 12-months post-surgery, testicular volume increased significantly to 0.98 ± 0.12 mL and 1.01 ± 0.12ml. AMH levels also rose from 76.40 ± 15.77 ng/mL to 81.52 ± 15.32 ng/mL and 87.50 ± 15.36 ng/mL. However, these parameters are significantly lower than age-matched healthy controls (both
P
< 0.001). InhB levels significantly increased after surgery and even surpassed those of healthy controls after 6 months (both
P
< 0.001). The TAI was 16.7% and 8.6% at 6- and 12-months following surgery.
Conclusion
Although orchiopexy can improve testicular growth and function, the restoration of testicular function to the level of healthy peers might take longer. To expedite the recovery of testicular function and bring it in line with that of peers, we recommend addressing cryptorchidism at the earliest opportunity.
•The latest Chinese land titling reform did not affect the volume of land transfer.•The reform did not affect the duration of the rental contract.•The reform encouraged land transfer to agricultural ...enterprises and cooperatives.•The reform discouraged land transfer to other households.•The reform increased the use of pecuniary rents and written contract.
Based on 2010–2015 official surveys conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, we apply the difference-in-differences method to study how the latest land titling reform in China affected the land rental market. While we cannot attribute the rapid growth of the land rental market during this period to the land titling reform, the reform did have a significant impact on the composition of renters and certain features of the rental transaction. Specifically, we show that the land titling reform led to an increase in land transferred to agricultural enterprises and cooperatives, and a decrease in the probability of households renting land out to other households (which were likely to be relatives and friends). The land titling reform also encouraged households to use written contracts and to charge pecuniary rents, although it did not affect the duration of the contract. Our results suggest that the land titling reform improved the efficiency of the land rental market by promoting the formalisation of rental contracts and by facilitating the allocation of land to more productive users.
Previous studies suggested that zinc finger protein 536 (ZNF536) was abundant in the central brain and regulated neuronal differentiation. However, the role of ZNF536 in cancer has remained unclear.
...ZNF536 mutation, copy number alteration, DNA methylation, and RNA expression were explored using public portals. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were utilized to analyze pathways and tumor microenvironment (TME), with a focus on prognosis in both TCGA and immunotherapy pan-cancer cohorts. Methylated ZNF536 from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines were utilized to train with probes for conducting enrichment analysis. Single-cell RNA profile demonstrated the sublocalization and co-expression of ZNF536, and validated its targets by qPCR.
Genetic alterations in ZNF536 were found to be high-frequency and a single sample could harbor different variations. ZNF536 at chromosome 19q12 exerted a bypass effect on CCNE1, supported by CRISPR data. For lung cancer, ZNF536 mutation was associated with longer survival in primary lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), but its prognosis was poor in metastatic LUAD and SCLC. Importantly, ZNF536 mutation and amplification had opposite prognoses in Stand Up To Cancer-Mark Foundation (SU2C-MARK) LUAD cohort. ZNF536 mutation altered the patterns of genomic alterations in tumors, and had distinct impacts on the signaling pathways and TME compared to ZNF536 amplification. Additionally, ZNF536 expression was predominantly in endocrine tumors and brain tissues. High-dimensional analysis supported this finding and further revealed regulators of ZNF536. Considering that the methylation of ZNF536 was involved in the synaptic pathway associated with neuroendocrine neoplasms, demonstrating both diagnostic and prognostic value. Moreover, we experimentally verified ZNF536 upregulated neuroendocrine markers.
Our results showed that ZNF536 alterations in cancer, including variations in copy number, mutation, and methylation. We proved the involvement of ZNF536 in neuroendocrine regulation, and identified highly altered ZNF536 as a potential biomarker for immunotherapy.
Dietary threonine imbalance is known to reduce the growth of the small intestine, liver, and skeletal muscle in young animals, but the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Using the pig model, ...this study was conducted to test the hypothesis that either a deficiency or an excess of dietary threonine impairs protein synthesis in these tissues. Young pigs (25 d of age) were fed diets containing 0.37, 0.74 (current NRC requirement) or 1.11% true ileal digestible threonine (TIDT) (n = 6/diet). Pigs receiving the 0.74 and 1.11% TIDT diets were pair-fed with the same amount of feed as pigs receiving the 0.37% TIDT diet. After a 14-d dietary treatment, the fractional synthesis rate (FSR) of protein in tissues was measured using a flooding dose of L-phenylalanine plus L-ring-²H₅phenylalanine. The results indicated that the FSR of protein in liver was reduced (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the 0.37% TIDT diet compared with pigs fed the 0.74 or 1.11% TIDT diet, and did not differ between pigs fed the 0.74 and 1.11% TIDT diets. The FSR of protein in longissimus muscle, jejunal mucosa, and mucins was reduced (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the 0.37 or 1.11% TIDT diet compared with pigs fed the 0.74% TIDT diet. The absolute synthesis rate of protein in the jejunal mucosa and muscle was also reduced (P < 0.01) in pigs fed the 0.37 and 1.11% TIDT diets compared with the controls. The absolute synthesis rate of hepatic protein was lower (P < 0.01) in pigs fed the 0.37% TIDT diets when compared with pigs fed the 0.74% TIDT diet. Protein synthesis in skeletal muscle as well as jejunal mucosa and mucins was reduced to a greater extent than that in liver in response to an imbalance of dietary threonine. Collectively, these results indicate that either an excess or a deficiency of dietary threonine decreases protein synthesis in rapidly growing tissues of young pigs. The findings provide a mechanism for the low growth performance of animals fed a threonine-imbalanced diet.
China has sustained a high rate of economic growth even after the outbreak of global financial crisis around 2008 and 2009. Much of the growth stemmed from consistently high levels of lending after ...this period. Using a unique large dataset from all banking institutions in 90 counties across 14 provinces of China from 2005 to 2013, this paper examines the patterns of credit expansion by Chinese banks. Our study results reveal a clear pattern of counter-cyclical credit expansion by Chinese banks in response to the outbreak of global financial crisis. We find that ownership structure and bank governance do impact on bank lending: the large state-owned banks have responded more to political pressure to lend while the joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have been more profit oriented. The latter had increased their lending more to increase their presence at the county markets. Overall, compared with county-based small banks, cross-regional banks have expanded their lending much more aggressively. Differences in liquidity and deposit growth, risk management strategies, or legal enforcement cannot explain these results.
•We study the counter-cyclical credit expansion pattern of Chinese banks following the outbreak of the GFC.•We use county fixed effects in first-differenced data to disentangle credit supply and demand.•State-owned large commercial banks have responded more to political pressure for credit expand.•Joint stock banks and city commercial banks have provided more credit for territorial expansion.•Cross-regional banks have expanded their lending much more aggressively than county-based small banks.
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