Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are identified as an important source of microplastics (MPs) released into the aquatic environments. The purpose of this study is to compare the abundance and ...removal of MPs of two WWTPs located in Wuhan City, China, and to evaluate the characteristics of MPs in household wastewater. The results showed that the abundance of MPs in the wastewater of two WWTPs has decreased sharply from 23.3 to 7.9 n L−1 and 80.5 to 30.3 n L−1 with corresponding removal rates of 66.1 and 62.7%, respectively. The fiber, fragment, and microbead present in the three sources of household wastewater (toothpaste, facial cleanser and laundry wastewater) and WWTPs have similarity in shape, and further the main component of MPs in household wastewater and WWTPs is polyvinyl chloride, as is evident from Raman spectrum analysis. Each use of 1 g facial cleanser can release about 1000 MPs, which is higher than that of toothpaste; however, microbeads are only found in the frosting cleanser. An interesting finding is that toothpaste contained fewer amounts of MPs than expected; hence, we observed absence of microbeads in toothpaste. However, over 150,000 fibers are released while washing an average washing of 1 kg of clothing. It has further been estimated that the daily discharge of MPs from household wastewater to WWTPs in China is 9.1 × 1010. Thus, the results indicate that the MPs in household wastewater mainly contribute to the MPs in wastewater of WWTP, therefore, the use of MPs in the personal care products should be banned or alternatives of primary MPs use in these products must be developed.
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•The abundance of MPs in two WWTPs declined with a removal rate of 66.1% and 62.7%.•There are few MPs in toothpaste, and no microbeads was found in different types of toothpaste.•Microbead was detected only in frosted cleanser, but not in other types of cleanser.•China releases about 9.1 × 1010 MPs from the household wastewater every day.
Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology for energy-efficient water desalination, and attracts more and more attention in recent years. It has been concluded that CDI technology shows ...competitiveness and perspectives on seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. The ionic adsorption mechanism can be clarified by electric double-layer capacitive adsorption and pseudocapacitive adsorption. The performance of CDI depends on both device and materials. The adsorption capacity and energy efficiency was improved significantly with fast growth of researches on material and novel energy storage techniques. This review summarizes researches on CDI technologies with an emphasis on electrode material design and improved adsorption performance.
This review outlines the ion storage mechanisms and electrode materials of capacitive deionization. Display omitted
•Electrochemical extraction of ions from seawater/brine was reviewed systematically.•An emphasis on electrode material design thought has been analyzed.•The performance of various extraction devices has been summarized and compared.•Future challenge on this technology has been clarified.
Very little information is now available about the occurrence of microplastics in the soils of various land-use types. In this study, 18 sampling sites with two soil layers were investigated for four ...different land-use types (grassland, dry land, paddy field, and plastic greenhouses) in Sheshui River basin of central China. The results demonstrated that the total abundance of microplastics in all sites lied within the range of 875 ± 229–6075 ± 865 n kg−1, and had an average value of 2522 ± 1276 n kg−1 (‘n’ being the number of microplastics). The abundance of microplastics in dry land had the highest value, whereas the greenhouse had the lowest value. There were no significant differences in the number of microplastics among the four land-use types. Except for four sites, no significant difference was observed in the abundance of microplastics between 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm layers. Fiber and fragment were the leading shapes of the microplastics along with brown color and the size of less than 1 mm. Combined with the site survey, the potential sources of microplastics in the studied region were mainly the wastewater irrigation, application of organic fertilizer, and plastic mulching film. Multivariate analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated that the carbon and nitrogen in soil samples were positively correlated with the abundance of microplastics, whereas a significantly negative correlation was observed between the soil δ13C and the abundance of microplastics. It was inferred that the transformation and degradation of aging microplastics were primarily associated with the turnover of soil's carbon and nitrogen. The results of the current study contribute towards an in-depth understanding of the level of microplastics pollution for various land-use types and corresponding policy-making regarding the management of microplastics.
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•MPs abundance ranged from 875 to 6075 n kg−1, with an average of 2522 n kg−1.•MPs abundance in dry land had the highest value, whereas the greenhouse the lowest.•Fiber and fragment are leading MPs particles with the size of less than 1 mm.•No obvious difference in MPs abundance between surface and deep soil were observed.•Migration and degradation of aging MPs were associated with soil C and N turnover.
In recent years, DNA has been widely noted as a kind of material that can be used to construct building blocks for biosensing,
in vivo
imaging, drug development, and disease therapy because of its ...advantages of good biocompatibility and programmable properties. However, traditional DNA-based sensing processes are mostly achieved by random diffusion of free DNA probes, which were restricted by limited dynamics and relatively low efficiency. Moreover, in the application of biosystems, single-stranded DNA probes face challenges such as being difficult to internalize into cells and being easily decomposed in the cellular microenvironment. To overcome the above limitations, DNA nanostructure-based probes have attracted intense attention. This kind of probe showed a series of advantages compared to the conventional ones, including increased biostability, enhanced cell internalization efficiency, accelerated reaction rate, and amplified signal output, and thus improved
in vitro
and
in vivo
applications. Therefore, reviewing and summarizing the important roles of DNA nanostructures in improving biosensor design is very necessary for the development of DNA nanotechnology and its applications in biology and pharmacology. In this perspective, DNA nanostructure-based probes are reviewed and summarized from several aspects: probe classification according to the dimensions of DNA nanostructures (one, two, and three-dimensional nanostructures), the common connection modes between nucleic acid probes and DNA nanostructures, and the most important advantages of DNA self-assembled nanostructures in the applications of biosensing, imaging analysis, cell assembly, cell capture, and theranostics. Finally, the challenges and prospects for the future development of DNA nanostructure-based nucleic acid probes are also discussed.
In recent years, DNA has been widely noted as a kind of material that can be used to construct building blocks for biosensing,
in vivo
imaging, drug development, and disease therapy because of its advantages of good biocompatibility and programmable properties.
An ultimate goal of synthetic DNA motor studies is to mimic natural protein motors in biological systems. Here, we rationally designed a highly integrated and biostable DNA motor system with high ...potential for living body operation, through simple assembly of a Mn2+-dependent DNAzyme-powered DNA motor with a degradable MnO2 nanosheet. The motor system shows outstanding high integration and improved biostability. High integration confers the motor system with the ability to deliver all the core components to the target sites as a whole, thus, enabling precise control of the spatiotemporal distribution of these components and achieving high local concentrations. At the target sites, reduction of the MnO2 nanosheet by intracellular glutathione (GSH) not only releases the DNA motor, which can then be initiated by the intracellular target, but also produces Mn2+ in situ to power the autonomous and progressive operation of the DNA motor. Interestingly, the resultant consumption of GSH in turn protects the DNA motor from destruction by physiological GSH, thus, conferring our motor system with improved biostability, reduced false-positive outputs, and consequently, an increased potential to be applied in a living body. As a proof of concept, the highly integrated DNA motor system was demonstrated to work well for amplified imaging detection of survivin mRNA (mRNA), an important tumor biomarker, in both living cancer cells and living tumor-bearing mice. This work reveals concepts and strategies promoting synthetic DNA motor applications in biological systems.
Recent studies have shown that microRNA (miRNAs) can play important roles in the regulation of endothelial cell (EC) function. However, the expression profile of miRNAs and their effects on the ...apoptosis of ECs under microgravity conditions remains unclear. In this study, the apoptosis of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) under simulated microgravity was identified by Annexin V and propidium iodide double staining and transmission electron microscopy. miRNA microarray assay was used to screen the differentially expressed miRNAs in HPMECs under simulated microgravity, and eight differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. Specifically, miR‐503‐5p, which was found to be most significantly upregulated in both microarray and quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction assays, was selected for further functional investigation. Overexpression of miR‐503‐5p induced apoptosis of HPMECs under normal gravity and aggravated the negative effects of simulated microgravity on HPMECs. Furthermore, silencing of miR‐503‐5p expression effectively attenuated the negative effects of simulated microgravity on HPMECs. Further experiments showed that the mRNA and protein expression of anti‐apoptotic factor B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (Bcl‐2), which has been confirmed as a direct target of miR‐503‐5p, was inhibited by the upregulation of miR‐503‐5p and increased by the downregulation of miR‐503‐5p. Taken together, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that miR‐503‐5p can induce apoptosis of HPMECs under simulated microgravity through, at least in part, inhibiting the expression of Bcl‐2.
Eight differentially expressed microRNA (miRNAs) were identified in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) under simulated microgravity, in which miR‐503‐5p was found to be the most significantly upregulated in both microarray and quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) assays. Further functional investigation showed that miR‐503‐5p can induce apoptosis of HPMECs under simulated microgravity through the inhibiting of Bcl‐2.
Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural polyphenol and possesses excellent in vivo bioactivity and antioxidant behaviors, which play an important role in the treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases, ...such as cancer. Additionally, EA is also known as a skin-whitening ingredient. The content of EA would determine its efficacy. Therefore, the accurate analysis of EA content can provide more information for the scientific consumption of EA-rich foods and cosmetics. Nevertheless, the analysis of EA in these samples is challenging due to the low concentration level and the presence of interfering components with high abundance. Molecularly imprinted polymers are highly efficient pretreatment materials in achieving specific recognition of target molecules. However, the traditional template molecule (EA) could not be absolutely removed. Hence, template leakage continues to occur during the sample preparation process, leading to a lack of accuracy in the quantification of EA in actual samples, particularly for trace analytes. In addition, another drawback of EA as an imprinting template is that EA possesses poor solubility and a high price. Gallic acid (GA), called dummy templates, was employed for the synthesis of MIPs as a solution to these challenges. The approach used in this study was boronate affinity-based oriented surface imprinting. The prepared dummy-imprinted nanoparticles exhibited several significant advantages, such as good specificity, high binding affinity ((4.89 ± 0.46) × 10−5 M), high binding capacity (6.56 ± 0.35 mg/g), fast kinetics (6 min), and low binding pH (pH 5.0) toward EA. The reproducibility of the dummy-imprinted nanoparticles was satisfactory. The dummy-imprinted nanoparticles could still be reused even after six adsorption–desorption cycles. In addition, the recoveries of the proposed method for EA at three spiked levels of analysis in strawberry and pineapple were 91.0–106.8% and 93.8–104.0%, respectively, which indicated the successful application to real samples.
Aims
The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the overall incidence and risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in cancer patients receiving denosumab.
Methods
We performed a ...meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials identified in Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Abstracts presented at the conferences were also searched. Overall incidence rates, relative risk (RR), and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calculated employing fixed- or random-effects models depending on the heterogeneity of the included trials.
Results
A total of 8963 patients with a variety of solid tumors from 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included for the meta-analysis. The overall incidence of ONJ in cancer patients receiving denosumab was 1.7 % 95 % CI: 0.9–3.1 %. Also, the use of denosumab was associated with significantly increased risk of ONJ in comparison with bisphosphonates (BPs)/placebo treatment (RR 1.61, 95 % CI: 1.05–2.48,
P
= 0.029). Subgroup analysis based on controlled therapies demonstrated an increased risk of ONJ in denosumab therapy, when compared with BPs (RR 1.48, 95 % CI: 0.96–2.29,
P
= 0.078) or placebo (RR 16.28, 95 % CI: 1.68–158.05,
P
= 0.017). Similar results were observed in prostate cancer (RR 3.358, 95 % CI: 1.573–7.166,
P
= 0.002) while there was a non-significantly increased risk of denosumab-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (DONJ) in non-prostate cancers (RR 1.142, 95 % CI: 0.678–1.921,
P
= 0.618).
Conclusions
The use of denosumab is associated with an increased risk of developing ONJ when compared with BP treatment or placebo, although the increased risk was not statistically significant between denosumab and BP treatment. Further studies are still needed to establish guidelines for the prevention and effective treatment of ONJ.
Besides gene-editing, the CRISPR/Cas12a system has also been widely used in in vitro biosensing, but its applications in live-cell biosensing are rare. One reason is lacking appropriate carriers to ...synchronously deliver all components of the CRISPR/Cas12a system into living cells. Herein, we demonstrate that MnO2 nanosheets are an excellent carrier of CRISPR/Cas12a due to the two important roles played by them. Through a simple mixing operation, all components of the CRISPR/Cas12a system can be loaded on MnO2 nanosheets and thus synchronously delivered into cells. Intracellular glutathione (GSH)-induced decomposition of MnO2 nanosheets not only results in the rapid release of the CRISPR/Cas12a system in cells but also provides Mn2+ as an accelerator to promote CRISPR/Cas12a-based biosensing of intracellular targets. Due to the merits of highly efficient delivery, rapid intracellular release, and the accelerated signal output reaction, MnO2 nanosheets work better than commercial liposome carriers in live-cell biosensing analysis of survivin messenger RNA (mRNA), producing much brighter fluorescence images in a shorter time. The use of MnO2 nanosheets might provide a good carrier for different CRISPR/Cas systems and achieve the rapid and sensitive live-cell biosensing analysis of different intracellular targets, thus paving a promising way to promote the applications of CRISPR/Cas systems in living cells.
Summary
Buckwheat is an important crop which originated in China and spread widely across Eurasia. However, exactly where in China domestication took place remains controversial. Archaeological and ...palynological records suggest a longer cultivation history of buckwheat in northern China than in southwestern China, but this conflicts with phylogenetic evidence implicating southwestern China as the centre of origin and diversity of buckwheat.
We investigate alternative methodologies for inferring the occurrence of buckwheat cultivation and suggest that relative abundance could provide a reliable measure for distinguishing between wild and cultivated buckwheat in both present‐day and fossil samples.
Approximately 12 800‐yr palaeoecological record shows that Fagopyrum pollen occurred only infrequently before the early Holocene. As southwestern China entered the early agricultural period, c. 8000–7000 yr ago, a slight increase in abundance of Fagopyrum pollen was observed. Approximately 4000 yr ago, concurrent with the Pu minority beginning to develop dry‐land agriculture, the abundance of Fagopyrum pollen increased significantly, suggesting the cultivation of this crop. Fagopyrum pollen rose to a maximum value c. 1270 yr ago, suggesting an intensification of agricultural activity.
These findings fill a gap in the Fagopyrum pollen record in southwestern China and provide new indications that early cultivation may have occurred in this region.
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