Blandsummers7872

Crystalline silica (CS) is a universal environmental pollutant, which causes a typical inflammatory lung injury. Vitamin D shows huge potential against particles-induced lung injury, while little known about the molecular mechanism involved in macrophage autophagy. In this study, we aim to identify the protective effects of vitamin D on CS caused lung inflammatory injury and clarify the detail mechanism. After exposure to CS (3 mg/mice in 50 μl PBS), wildtype and Atg7flox/flox Lyz2-cre mice were treated with or without vitamin D3 (40,000 IU/kg). The results indicated that exposure to CS caused an obvious lung injury, manifesting as pathological structural changes, macrophage-dominated inflammatory cell infiltration and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines. Remarkably, these damages were more serious in Atg7flox/flox Lyz2-cre mice. Vitamin D was found to inverse CS-induced inflammatory cell infiltration and restored anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages by inducing autophagy, which attenuated lung injury, as determined by decreased levels of apoptosis and inflammatory response. While, this effects of vitamin D were slashed in Atg7flox/flox Lyz2-cre mice. This study reveals the adverse effect of CS on lung tissue and the protective mechanism of vitamin D involved in M2 macrophages autophagy, which attenuates CS-caused lung injury.The advent of the nanotechnology era offers a unique opportunity for sustainable agriculture, and the contribution of nanoparticles (NPs) to ameliorate abiotic stresses became the new area of interest for researchers due to their special physiochemical characteristics in the biological system. Salinity is a key devastating abiotic factor that hinders the development and yield of rapeseed. On the flip side, the impact of nanoparticles on plant hormones upon salt stress during seed imbibition and germination has been poorly understood. Hence, we aimed to study the influence of nanopriming on plant hormones and germination processes using selenium and zinc oxide nanoparticles (SeNPs and ZnONPs) during seed imbibition and the early seedling stage upon salinity stress. Nanopriming showed a positive effect on final germination percentage, germination rate, seed microstructure, and antioxidant enzyme activity of two rapeseed cultivars under salt stress. Moreover, nano-treatment decreased the expression of abscisic a early seedling growth. Overall, this work provides new insights into mechanisms underlying the interactions of SeNPs and ZnONPs with plant hormones during the seed imbibition and early seedling stage, consequently enhanced plant growth and development. Additionally, these findings portrayed that the application of SeNPs and ZnONPs could be a new strategy and useful approach to enhance tolerance against salinity in rapeseed plants.Coastal habitat mosaics are among the most productive ecosystems around the globe, with many ecological and social-economic services provided. Their natural challenging conditions have always been a subject of concern for ecologist and conservationist, with a particular interest in understanding how its spatial and temporal dynamics influence ecosystem functioning. In this context, we aimed to assess tropical coastal dynamics using an integrative approach, measuring the different facets of fish diversity across space (habitats) and time (seasons). Three different estuarine systems and their adjacent areas in the southwestern Atlantic were monthly sampled between July 2017 and June 2018, in a sampling design that encompassed three different coastal mosaics with three habitat types (mangroves, seagrass and sandy beaches), and both seasons of the studied region (dry and rainy). Taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity were then evaluated with equivalent diversity measures to allow comparisons between them. Different patterns of species occurrence and distribution were found between habitats and seasons, which resulted in different effects on the abundance-weighted diversity dimensions. Although taxonomic diversity of habitats was greater during the rainy season (p = 0.03), a seasonal increase in phylogenetic diversity was only observed in the sandy beach habitat (p = 0.04). In contrast for the functional diversity, no significant differences were found among habitats in both seasons (p = 0.15), indicating high levels of redundancy. Our results showed that patterns in the occurrence and abundance of tropical fish species among habitats that comprise a coastal mosaic have different effects on distinct diversity dimensions. More precisely, for tropical coastal systems with marked seasonality, both habitats and season appear to play a synergic role in the maintenance of ecosystem functioning by enhancing functional and phylogenetic redundancy.Increased rainfall has become a key threat in recent decades for subtropical coastal regions. On sandy beaches that are associated with streams and rivers, the intensification of freshwater inputs is expected to reduce the salinity of interstitial waters and affect benthic biodiversity. Large freshwater gradients are promoted by river mouths and also change beach morphodynamic and sediment organic contents, which are covariates that have hindered the understanding of salinity-specific effects on benthic species in previous studies. Here, we aimed to assess how salinity reduction affects macrobenthic communities at small spatial scales to control the effects of environmental covariates. We assessed the macrofaunal spatial changes across few-meters gradients of freshwater influence (30 m) that were promoted by small streams (~2 m wide) within three subtropical beaches in southeastern Brazil. Our results showed that salinity was the only environmental factor that explained the macrofaunal variations across such small-scale gradients. Eganelisib manufacturer We noted that salinity reductions decrease the overall macrobenthic abundance and richness in the first 15 m close to streams. Such variations are associated with changes in polychaete abundance (mainly Scolelepis squamata), which form larger patches with 1200-2800 individuals/m2 only at sites with high salinity (greater than 25). We also found that a salinity reduction from 33 to 20 may promote a decrease of 85% in polychaete abundance near the streams. Nevertheless, salinity reductions did not affect crustacea abundance across the gradient. In the current global change context, these results suggest that freshwater input has great potential to impact polychaete patches, reduce macrobenthic biomass and secondary production and thus threaten important beach functions and services, such as bioturbation and food provision for the top predators.In this work, a CdSe@CdS quantum dots (QDs) based label-free electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor was developed for the specific and sensitive detection of ochratoxin A (OTA). Chitosan (CHI) could immobilize abundant QDs on the surface of an Au electrode as the luminescent nanomaterials. Glutaraldehyde was used as the crosslinking agent for coupling a large number of OTA aptamers. Thanks to the excellent stability, good biocompatibility, and strong ECL intensity of CdSe@CdS QDs, as well as the quick reactions of the generated SO4•- in the electrolyte, strong ECL signals were measured. Because of the specific recognition of aptamer toward OTA, the reduced ECL signals caused by OTA in the samples were recorded for quantify the content of OTA. After optimizing a series of crucial conditions, the ECL aptasensor displayed superior sensitivity for OTA with a detection limit of 0.89 ng/mL and a wide linear concentration range of 1-100 ng/mL. The practicability and viability were verified through the rapid and facile analysis of OTA in real Lily and Rhubarb samples with recovery rates (n = 3) of 98.1-105.6% and 97.3-101.5%, respectively. The newly-developed QDs-based ECL aptasensor provided a new universal analytical tool for more mycotoxins in safety assessment of foods and feeds, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostics.Nowadays, air pollution due to urbanization and reduction of forestry is emerging as a serious threat to humans and the environment. According to the World Health Organization, respiratory diseases are the third most mortality factor in the world. Chemical research organizations and industries are producing a large number of new chemical compounds continuously. Although toxicity testing of those chemicals on animals is costly, resource and time consuming, these data cannot be properly extrapolated to humans and other animals, and also these raise ethical issues. In this background, we have developed Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models using the No Observed Adverse Effect Concentration (NOAEC) as the endpoint to assess inhalation toxicity of diverse organic chemicals, commonly used and exposed by us in our daily life. No Observed Adverse Effect Concentration (NOAEC) can be used for long term toxicity studies towards the human inhalation risk assessment, as recommended by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in guidance document 39. A particular QSAR model may not be equally effective for prediction of all query compounds from a given set of compounds; therefore, we have developed multiple models, which are robust, sound and well predictive from the statistical point of view to forecast the NOAEC values for the new untested compounds. Subsequently the validated individual models were employed to generate consensus models, in order to improve the quality of predictions and to reduce prediction errors. We have investigated some crucial structural features from these models which may regulate inhalation toxicity for newly produced molecules. Thus, our developed models may help in toxicity assessment towards reducing the health hazards for new chemicals.This paper presents the use of B and N co-doped reduced graphene oxide (BN-GN) as an electrode for paracetamol electrochemical degradation. The reaction mechanism, focused on active sites in the atom level and dominant radical species generated through the reaction, was analyzed by characterization, density functional theory (DFT) calculation, quenching experiments, and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis. The characterization results indicated that the introduction of N and B functionalities into GN improved catalytic activity due to the generation of new surface defects, active sites, and improvement of conductivity. Results of experiments and DFT showed that co-doping of B and N greatly improved the catalytic activity, and the B atoms in C-N-B groups were identified as main active sites. The main active substances of BN-GN generated in the electrocatalytic oxidation of paracetamol in the solution were O2•- and active chlorine. The influence of O2•- and active chlorine on the efficiency/path of catalytic oxidation and the proposed mechanism were also determined for paracetamol degradation. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of BN-GN catalysis and suggests possibilities for practical applications.Bio-char, a by-product of thermochemical conversion processes, has a great potential in phenolic compounds sorption from the waste aqueous phase produced from the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process while being a low-cost sorbent. This study investigated the effect of temperature, pH, bio-char concentration, and mixing speed on two types of bio-char sorption of phenolic compounds using Taguchi's design of experiment and response surface method. Isothermal kinetics and thermodynamic properties were also evaluated to explain the sorption mechanism. The experimental results were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for both types of bio-char. The Langmuir isotherm model was found to be more suitable at high sorption temperatures, while the Freundlich isotherm model was better at low temperatures. Finally, the alkaline desorption and regeneration experiments were examined, and the eluents with phenolic compounds were characterized using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer.