Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), used extensively as substitutes for polybrominated diphenyl ethers, are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. OPFR pollution in aquatic environments, the ...main sink of pollutants, has been studied extensively over the past decade. Here, we review the current knowledge on the consumption and applications of OPFRs, and on their ecotoxicity in aquatic environments worldwide. We also synthesize the available evidence on the occurrence of OPFRs in aquatic environments in China (wastewater treatment plant influent and effluent, surface water, sediment, aquatic biota, and drinking water). Across China, the measured concentrations of OPFRs differ by more than three orders of magnitude. Risk assessments based on these measurements indicate a low level of ecological risk from OPFRs in most aquatic environments in China, and a low risk to human health from drinking water and aquatic products. Finally, we identify gaps in the current knowledge and directions for further research on OPFRs in aquatic environments.
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•The ecotoxicity of OPFRs in aquatic environments were summarized.•Studies of OPFRs in aquatic environments in China were reviewed.•OPFRs were frequently detected in aquatic environments in China.•Ecological risk and human health risk of OPFRs in China's aquatic environments were low.•Knowledge gaps and research directions with OPFRs were identified.
Objectives
LncRNA nuclear‐enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) participates in the development and progression of multiple malignancies. However, the molecular mechanism by which NEAT1 contributes ...to colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear.
Methods
The association between lncRNA NEAT1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with CRC was analysed by TCGA RNA‐sequencing data. MTT, colony formation, flow cytometry, transwell assays and a xenograft tumour model were used to assess the functions of NEAT1. Bioinformatics and spearman correlation analysis were used to identify the NEAT1‐specific binding with miRNAs, and luciferase gene report and RIP assays were performed to confirm the interaction between miR‐193a‐3p (miR‐193a) and NEAT1 in CRC cells.
Results
Upregulation of NEAT1 expression was significantly correlated with TNM stage, poor survival and tumour recurrence in patients with CRC, and acted as an independent prognostic factor for tumour recurrence. Knockdown of NEAT1 suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation abilities and invasive potential and induced cell apoptosis, but overexpression of NEAT1 reversed these effects. Furthermore, NEAT1 was confirmed to act as a sponge of miR‐193a, and knockdown of NEAT1 attenuated miR‐193a inhibitor‐induced tumour promoting effects and L17RD expression in CRC cells. miR‐193a harboured negative correlation with NEAT1 and IL17RD expression in CRC specimens. In vivo experiment further validated the inhibitory effects of NEAT1 knockdown on xenograft tumour growth.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate that lncRNA NEAT1 acts as an oncogenic role in CRC cells by sponging miR‐193a and may represent a potential marker for CRC patients.
...we combined the opinions of frontline epidemic control experts and reviewed the evidence in relevant literature. Two members of the evidence assessment team performed independent computer searches ...of English databases (PubMed, Ovid, Embase), Chinese databases (Chinese Biological Medical Literature database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Medical Journal Database), and relevant online website bulletins on COVID-19 (the World Health Organization, Elsevier, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2019 Novel Coronavirus Resource (2019nCoVR), and the Chinese Medical Journal Network). The search terms included the English terms and their Chinese equivalents: “novel coronavirus pneumonia,” “NCP,” “severe acute respiratory syndrome,” “SARS,” “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome,” “MERS,” “influenza,” “psychological therapy,” “guideline,” “statement,” “recommendation,” “randomized controlled trial,” and other rehabilitation-related English search terms and their Chinese equivalents included “respiratory rehabilitation,” “pulmonary rehabilitation,” “physiotherapy,” “physical therapy,” and “occupational therapy.” 11 Recommendations Intervention timing for respiratory rehabilitation in moderately ill patients Due to the limited understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of COVID-19, current clinical observations found that around 3% to 5% of moderately ill patients develop severe or even critical disease after 7 to 14 days of infection. ...the exercise intensity should not be too high as its objective is to maintain the existing physical status.
The critical role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathological mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease (PD), is well established. Compelling evidence indicates ...that Parkinson's proteins (e.g., α‐synuclein, Parkin, PINK1, DJ‐1, and LRRK2) are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in PD. Significantly, there is a possible central role of alpha‐synuclein (α‐Syn) in the occurrence of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress by the mediation of different signaling pathways. Also, tau, traditionally considered as the main component of neurofibrillary tangles, aggregates and amplifies the neurotoxic effects on mitochondria by interacting with α‐Syn. Moreover, oxidative stress caused by mitochondrial dysfunction favors assembly of both α‐Syn and tau and also plays a key role in the formation of protein aggregates. In this review, we provide an overview of the relationship between these two pathological proteins and mitochondrial dysfunction in PD, and also summarize the underlying mechanisms in the interplay of α‐Syn aggregation and phosphorylated tau targeting the mitochondria, to find new strategies to prevent PD processing.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are considered as the pivotal pathomechanisms in Parkinson's disease. More importantly, they also contribute to α‐synuclein aggregation, which is the main pathological feature of Parkinson's disease. Recent advances indicate that α‐synuclein aggregation can interact with tau lesions, thereby disturbing mitochondrial functions and promoting the neurodegenerative process.
Reward deficits and associated striatal circuitry disturbances have been implicated in the onset and progression of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, no studies have been conducted to ...investigate how the striatal circuitry changes during standard antidepressant, which is important for development of novel and targeted treatments for MDD. We examined the seed‐to‐whole‐brain functional connectivity (FC) for six striatal subregions based on resting‐state fMRI data of 23 MDD patients before and after 8‐week duloxetine, a serotonin, and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. Twenty‐three healthy controls (HCs) were also scanned twice with an 8‐week interval. After the analysis of covariance, we observed significant group‐by‐time interaction on FC of the dorsal caudate (DC), ventral striatum (VS), and putamen seeds. Post hoc analyses revealed that the FC between several right striatal seeds and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), between right DC and left precuneus, between right superior VS and left inferior parietal lobe, were significantly higher in MDD patients compared to HCs at baseline and were reduced after treatment. Conversely, the FC between right inferior VS and left cerebellum was lower in MDD patients and was increased after treatment. Patients with larger reduction in right superior VS—left SFG FC exhibited larger alleviation of rumination. These findings suggest that duloxetine modulates the striatal FC with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior default mode network, and cerebellum, and partly, these changes underlie symptomatic improvement. This study adds to our understanding of antidepressant mechanism and future therapeutic development might benefit from considering these striatal circuitry as potential targets.
Drosophila suzukii
is native to East Asia and an invasive pest of fruit crops widely established in the Americas and Europe. The lack of effective indigenous parasitoids of
D. suzukii
in the invaded ...regions prompted surveys for co-evolved parasitoids in Yunnan Province, China, from 2013 to 2016. From banana-baited traps (2013–2015), 458 parasitoids of drosophilids were reared, comprised of Braconidae (49.56%), Figitidae (37.55%), Diapriidae (7.42%), and Pteromalidae (5.46%). Larval parasitoids included seven braconid species, all
Asobara
and primarily
Asobara mesocauda
, and five figitid species, primarily
Leptopilina japonica japonica
. Pupal parasitoids were the diapriid
Trichopria drosophilae
and the pteromalid
Pachycrepoideus vindemiae
. Collections from wild fruits (2016) provided more interesting results. From the puparia of drosophilids collected, comprised of
D. suzukii
and
Drosophila pulchrella
, emerged 1354 parasitoids. The larval parasitoids
Ganaspis brasiliensis
and
L. j. japonica
were the prevalent species, reaching a fairly high percentage parasitism of fly puparia collected from berries of
Rubus foliosus
(22.35%),
R. niveus
(18.81%),
Fragaria moupinensis
(19.75%), and
Sambucus adnata
(63.46%).
Ganaspis brasiliensis
was the dominant species and was collected only from
D. suzukii
and
D. pulchrella
-infested fruits and never from banana-baited traps. Molecular analysis showed two
G. brasiliensis
lineages, which are discussed with respect to previous Japanese collections. Quarantine tests showed that
G. brasiliensis
developed from
D. suzukii
and two closely related hosts (
Drosophila melanogaster
and
Drosophila simulans
) but did not develop from seven non-target drosophilid species. Our results suggest that
G. brasiliensis
is a promising classical biocontrol agent for release in invaded regions.
Argonaute 2 (AGO2), the core component of microRNA (miRNA)-induced silencing complex, plays a compelling role in tumorigenesis and aggressiveness. However, the mechanisms regulating the functions of ...AGO2 in cancer still remain elusive. Herein, we indentify one intronic circular RNA (circRNA) generated from AGO2 gene (circAGO2) as a novel regulator of AGO2-miRNA complexes and cancer progression. CircAGO2 is up-regulated in gastric cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and neuroblastoma, and is associated with poor prognosis of patients. CircAGO2 promotes the growth, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies reveal that circAGO2 physically interacts with human antigen R (HuR) protein to facilitate its activation and enrichment on the 3'-untranslated region of target genes, resulting in reduction of AGO2 binding and repression of AGO2/miRNA-mediated gene silencing associated with cancer progression. Pre-clinically, administration of lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA targeting circAGO2 inhibits the expression of downstream target genes, and suppresses the tumorigenesis and aggressiveness of xenografts in nude mice. In addition, blocking the interaction between circAGO2 and HuR by cell-penetrating inhibitory peptide represses the tumorigenesis and aggressiveness of cancer cells. Taken together, these results indicate that oncogenic circAGO2 drives cancer progression through facilitating HuR-repressed functions of AGO2-miRNA complexes.
This is the first report of full‐color afterglow composites composed of four multicolored (blue, green, orange, and red) carbon dots (CDs) in polyacrylamide (PAM) matrix. Thus, adjustable four‐color ...room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) CDs@PAM composites are prepared on a PAM platform. The abundant amide groups in PAM are connected to the functional groups in CDs by hydrogen bonds, which promote the intersystem crossover and inhibit the non‐radiative relaxation of triple states (T1) in CDs@PAM and effectively shield the quenching agents such as oxygen. Furthermore, the rigid hydrogen bond mesh structure is beneficial to the stability of T1 in CDs@PAM. In addition, the results of electron spin resonance reveal that the afterglow of CDs@PAM composites is not caused by oxygen defects and the increase of oxygen defects hinders the emission of phosphorescence. The CDs@PAM composites display not only multi‐color fluorescence from blue to red, but also display full‐color RTP emission from blue to red with average phosphorescence lifetime in the range of 637–478.97 ms. These composites, in addition to the full‐color RTP performance, are promising for multi‐color pattern anti‐counterfeiting and information encryption.
Full‐color (blue, green, yellow, and red) room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) composites have been composed of four multicolored carbon dots (CDs) (blue, green, orange, and red) in a polyacrylamide (PAM) matrix. The abundant amide groups in PAM are connected to the functional groups in CDs by hydrogen bonds. These composites, in addition to the full‐color RTP performance, are promising for multi‐color pattern anti‐counterfeiting and information encryption.
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