Birth weight (BW) is an indicator of fetal growth and development. Previous studies showed inconsistent results on the association of ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure with BW, and the role of ...maternal thyroid function has not been clarified.
We recruited 1711 gravidas between 2017 and 2019 in Henan, China. All participants were followed up until delivery. Daily concentrations of PM, including PM2.5 and PM10, were evaluated by using the spatial-temporal model. Maternal thyroid hormone (TH) levels were quantified by electrochemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Linear regression models were employed to examine the association among PM, BW, and maternal TH. Mediating effects of maternal TH interrelated with PM exposure on BW were investigated by causal mediation analyses.
A total of 1049 gravidas were identified. We found that per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and PM10 were associated with a decreased BW of 9.941 g, and 7.758 g (PM2.5: 95 %CI: −18.184, −1.698; PM10: 95 %CI: −14.436, −1.080). An inverse correlation of maternal FT4 levels with BW was found, with the pooled β of −319.983 g (95 %CI: −483.216, −156.750). We found a prominent positive correlation between gestational FT4 and PM exposure (PM2.5: β = 0.004, 95 %CI: 0.001, 0.007; PM10: β = 0.003, 95 %CI: 0.000, 0.006). Mediation analysis found that FT4 levels mediated the relationship between maternal PM exposure and BW, ranging from 5.55 % to 15.86 %.
Maternal PM exposure may induce a reduction in newborn BW by affecting the maternal TH concentrations.
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•Increased long- and short-term PM exposure was associated with decreased birth weight.•Negative associations between maternal FT4 with birth weight were found.•Maternal FT4 can mediate the association between PM exposure and birth weight.
Three kinds of multifunctional hexagonal copper sulfide crystals were successfully synthesized by adjusting the preparation process in this work. The supercapacitor performance of product-based ...electrodes was studied by CV, GCD and EIS measurements, respectively, from which the product synthesized at 140° was proved to have the most brilliant cycle stability and notable energy density. The impact of pH on photocatalytic decomposition of MO was investigated and a reasonable photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed, which suggested that it is at pH 5 that the surface state of the catalyst is most conducive to the photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, the result of a 5 cycle test at pH 5 indicated that the degradation rate still remained 80.9%. All the experimental results fully indicated that the synthesized CuS nanostructure possessed potential electrical and optical application value.
Pure hexagonal CuS nanoparticles with stable high capacitance and photocatalytic activity were obtained by a mild solvothermal method.
The alpine grassland ecosystem is characterized by high-altitude, hypoxia, harsh cold and strong radiation conditions, and the unique growth performance and stress resistance of indigenous domestic ...animals. Maduo sheep, a newly discovered Tibetan sheep breed living in the source area of the Yellow River, is famous for its high-quality wool and meat production. However, its genome and genetic features still need to be deciphered. The genomes of 12 Maduo sheep were sequenced on a genome-wide scale and compared with those of 6 other Tibetan sheep breeds. Population structure analyses revealed that Maduo sheep were distinctly separated from other Tibetan sheep breeds with a higher genetic diversity. Strong selective signatures were detected by the FST and XP-CLR results, identifying MREG, RXFP2 and SYNDIG1 in Maduo sheep. To explore the molecular regulation of Maduo sheep adaptability to the high-altitude environment, the muscle tissues of 3 Tibetan sheep populations living at different altitudes (1500 m, 2500 m and 4200 m) were sampled for RNA sequencing. We found 132, 269 and 149 specific transcripts from 1500 m, 2500 m and 4200 m groups respectively. A total of 327 differentially expressed transcripts were found in both 2500 m vs. 1500 m and 4200 m vs. 1500 m comparisons, which were closely related to stem cell differentiation, p38-MAPK cascade, skeletal system morphogenesis, etc. On the other hand, 122 differentially expressed transcripts were found in both 4200 m vs. 1500 m and 4200 m vs. 2500 m comparisons, which should be responsible for adaptive immune response, cytoskeleton, apoptotic regulation and so on. This study provides important genomic insights into the genetic resources of Maduo sheep and could be helpful for understanding the mechanisms of hypoxic adaptability.
•A unique Tibetan sheep resource, Maduo sheep, was identified by genome sequencing.•The genetic diversity of Maduo sheep was interpreted through comparing with other Tibetan sheep breeds.•Genes related with plateau adaptability were screened by genetic signature selection and expression level.
A new cubic polymorph of sodium iron silicate, Na2FeSiO4, is reported for the first time as a cathode material for Na-ion batteries. It adopts an unprecedented cubic rigid tetrahedral open framework ...structure, i.e., F4̅3m, leading to a polyanion cathode material without apparent cell volume change during the charge/discharge processes. This cathode shows a reversible capacity of 106 mAh g–1 and a capacity retention of 96% at 5 mA g–1 after 20 cycles.
Recently, so-called “vegetative” and “generative” rootstocks have been identified by seed companies as rootstock types that have different impacts on tomato scions. In this experiment of grafted ...grape tomato production in an organically managed high tunnel system, we characterized the effects of vegetative and generative rootstock cultivars on tomato yield components and fruit mineral contents. Grape tomato scions ‘BHN 1022’ (determinate) and ‘Sweet Hearts’ (indeterminate) were grafted onto ‘DR0141TX’ (vegetative), ‘Estamino’ (generative), and ‘Multifort’ (noncharacterized) rootstocks with self- and nongrafted scions as controls. Experiments were conducted twice with different transplanting dates (Expt. 1: 31 Jan. vs. Expt. 2: 9 Mar.) in 2018. No rootstock by scion interaction effects on whole-season fruit yield components were observed, indicating similar responses of determinate and indeterminate grape tomato scions to all rootstocks tested. For Expt. 1, the three rootstocks increased marketable fruit number, marketable yield, and total yield by 23.3%, 37.9%, and 34.4% on average, respectively, compared with the self- and nongrafted controls, primarily due to improved productivity during the peak and late harvest periods. For Expt. 2, the rootstocks did not significantly benefit any whole-season yield components. ‘DR0141TX’ and ‘Multifort’ increased stem diameter in both experiments, whereas ‘Estamino’ only increased stem diameter in Expt. 2 relative to the nongrafted controls. Consistent increase in aboveground dry biomass of rootstock treatments at crop termination in Expt. 1 corresponded to the greater yield of rootstock-grafted plants in that experiment. All rootstocks in both experiments consistently increased fruit P, K, Ca, Zn, and Fe contents on a dry weight basis at peak harvest regardless of the tomato scion used. Despite a relatively low level of root-knot nematode infestation, plants grafted with ‘DR0141TX’ or ‘Estamino’ tended to have lower root galling index ratings than scion controls and ‘Multifort’-grafted plants, which was more evident in Expt. 1. Given the different environmental conditions during the tomato production period between the two experiments conducted in high tunnels, our findings highlight the important influence of production environment on grafted tomato performance. This study on grafted grape tomatoes in high tunnel organic production systems also demonstrated that so-called “vegetative” and “generative” rootstocks had similar impacts on tomato scion yield components and fruit mineral contents.
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•We have successfully synthesized granular CuS by via solvothermal method.•The degradation rates of MB solution for CuS catalyst reached 97.88% during 40 min reaction.•After five ...cycles, the degradation rate of MB still reached 79.54%.•The experimental data revealed that 4 mL H2O2 was added to the solution, the reaction rate constant was 1.16 × 10−1 (min−1).
We have successfully synthesized CuS nano-material by a mild and simple method and characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD and UV–Vis, confirmed that the obtained CuS was a granular, pure hexagonal phase. The possible formation process of CuS was deduced and the optical properties was also studied by using MB as target degradant, showed that the degradation rates reached 97.88% and CuS has efficient photocatalytic activity. The catalyst dosage, cyclic stability of catalysts, the effects of H2O2 and the photocatalytic mechanism were discussed.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness has profound effects on the regulation of cell functions. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification governing gene expression. However, the effects ...of ECM stiffness on DNA methylation remain elusive. Here, it is reported that DNA methylation is sensitive to ECM stiffness, with a global hypermethylation under stiff ECM condition in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and embryonic fibroblasts compared with soft ECM. Stiff ECM enhances DNA methylation of both promoters and gene bodies, especially the 5' promoter regions of pluripotent genes. The enhanced DNA methylation is functionally required for the loss of pluripotent gene expression in mESCs grown on stiff ECM. Further experiments reveal that the nuclear transport of DNA methyltransferase 3-like (DNMT3L) is promoted by stiff ECM in a protein kinase C α (PKCα)-dependent manner and DNMT3L can be binding to Nanog promoter regions during cell-ECM interactions. These findings unveil DNA methylation as a novel target for the mechanical sensing mechanism of ECM stiffness, which provides a conserved mechanism for gene expression regulation during cell-ECM interactions.
extract 50 (GBE50) has a variety of pharmacological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and maintenance of glucose and lipid metabolism homeostasis. However, the therapeutic effects and ...mechanisms of GBE50 on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of GBE50 in NAFLD by using a high-fat diet (HFD) mice model.
C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD diet for 15 weeks and were given respectively 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg GBE50 daily by gavage from 3 to 15 weeks. After the administration, blood samples and liver tissues were collected for biochemical detection, histological measurement, immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively.
We found that GBE50 treatment could ameliorate insulin resistance (IR), glucose intolerance, lipid accumulation, hepatic steatosis and liver injury in HFD-fed mice. Further mechanism exploration discovered that the hepatoprotective effects of GBE50 on NAFLD may be related to the strengthening of IRS-1 signal activation and the weakening of NF-κB, Akt and endoplasmic reticulum stress signals activation.
GBE50 is a potentially powerful therapeutic agent for the treatment of NAFLD.
A recent breakthrough in agricultural biotechnology is the introduction of RNAi-mediated strategies in pest control. However, the off-target effects of RNAi pest control are still not fully ...understood. Here, we studied the off-target effects of two insecticidal siRNAs in both target and non-target insects. The results revealed that off-target effects of insecticidal siRNAs occur widely in both target and non-target insects. We classified the expression-changed genes according to their homology to the siRNA-targeted gene, related KEGG pathways with the siRNA-targeted gene and continuous matches with siRNAs. Surprisingly, the unintended significant changes in gene expression levels did not strictly match with the number of contiguous nucleotides in the siRNAs. As expected, the expression of small portions of the homologous and KEGG-related genes were significantly changed. We calculated the Shannon entropy of the transcriptome profile of the insects after injecting them with insecticidal siRNAs. Though hundreds of genes were affected in their expression levels post siRNA-treatment, the Shannon entropy of the transcriptome remained unchanged, suggesting that the transcriptome expression was balanced. Our results provide evidence that siRNAs cross-reacted with individual genes in non-target species, but did not have significant effects on the integrity of the transcriptome profiles in either target or non-target species on a genomic scale. The metric we proposed can be used to estimate the off-target effects of insecticidal siRNAs, which might be useful for evaluating the safety of RNAi in pest control.
General anesthetics can induce cognitive impairments and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Our previous studies shown that long-term ...isoflurane exposure induced peripheral and central insulin resistance (IR) in adult mice and aggravated IR in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice. Clinical and preclinical studies revealed an association between impaired insulin signaling and tau pathology in AD and other tauopathies. We investigated if alleviation of hippocampal IR by the antidiabetic agent metformin could reduce tau hyperphosphorylation and cognitive decline induced by isoflurane in mice. The effects of prolonged (6 h) isoflurane anesthesia on hippocampal IR, hippocampal tau hyperphosphorylation, and hippocampus-dependent cognitive function were evaluated in wild type (WT) adult mice and the high-fat diet plus streptozotocin (HFD/STZ) mouse model of T2DM. Here we shown that isoflurane and HFD/STZ dramatically and synergistically induced hippocampal IR and fear memory impairment. Metformin pretreatment strongly ameliorated hippocampal IR and cognitive dysfunction caused by isoflurane in WT mice, but was less effective in T2DM mice. Isoflurane also induced hippocampal tau hyperphosphorylation and metformin reversed this effect. In addition, isoflurane significantly increased blood glucose levels in both adult and T2DM mice, and metformin reversed this effect as well. Administration of 25% glucose to metformin-pretreated mice induced hyperglycemia, but surprisingly did not reverse the benefits of metformin on hippocampal insulin signaling and fear memory following isoflurane anesthesia. Our findings show hippocampal IR and tau hyperphosphorylation contribute to acute isoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction. Brief metformin treatment can mitigate these effects through a mechanism independent of glycemic control. Future studies are needed to investigate whether long-term metformin treatment can also prevent T2DM-induced hippocampal IR and cognitive decline.
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