Potential risk of heavy metals release in sediments and soils of the Yellow River Basin (Henan section): A perspective on bioavailability and bioaccessibility.

The ecology of watersheds plays an important role in regulating regional climate and human activities. The sediment-soil system in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin (Henan section) was explored. The spatial distribution characteristics of heavy metals (HMs) showed that tributaries, which are affected by anthropogenic activities, contain higher concentrations of HMs than the main channel.

Anchorable Polymers Enabling Ultra-Thin and Robust Hole-Transporting Layers for High-Efficiency Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Currently, the development of polymeric hole-transporting materials (HTMs) lags behind that of small-molecule HTMs in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A critical challenge is that conventional polymeric HTMs are incapable of forming ultra-thin and conformal coatings like self-assembly monolayers (SAMs), especially for substrates with rough surface morphology. Herein, we address this challenge by designing anchorable polymeric HTMs (CP1 to CP5).

Vadose-zone characteristic pollutants distribution, microbial community structure and functionality changes in response to long-term leachate pollution of an informal landfill site.

The study embarked on a comprehensive examination of the evolution and diversity of microorganisms within long-term leachate pollution environments, with a focus on varying depths and levels of contamination, and its linkage to soil characteristics and the presence of heavy metals. It was observed that microbial diversity presented distinct cross-depth trend, where archaeal communities were found to be particularly sensitive to alterations in soil depth. Noteworthily, Euryarchaeota increased by 4.

Analysis of Risk Factors for Death in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Population: Data Analysis from a Large General Hospital in Anhui, China.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, clinical prevention, early diagnosis, and hematological monitoring were challenging areas. This study aims to compare risk factors and hematological and biochemical data in non-survivor group patients with COVID-19 versus survivor group patients. A total of 204 patients with COVID-19 were selected as research subjects from December 2022 to January 2023.

Circ_0027791 contributes to the growth and immune evasion of hepatocellular carcinoma via the miR-496/programmed cell death ligand 1 axis in an m6A-dependent manner.

Emerging evidence indicates the critical roles of circular RNAs in the development of multiple cancers, containing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, our present research reported the biological function and mechanism of circ_0027791 in HCC progression. Circ_0027791, microRNA-496 (miR-496), programmed cell death ligand 1 (PDL1), and methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) levels were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Spatial distribution of heavy metal contaminants: The effects of water-sediment regulation in the Henan section of the Yellow River.

Water-sediment regulation (WSR) affects sediment transport in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River through periodic interception of sediment by dams and alteration of downstream flow rates, which leads to redistribution and recycling of elements. In this study, based on the evaluation of seven heavy metals (V, Cr, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, and Cd) in water, sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Henan section of the Yellow River, the effects of WSR on the redistribution and risk of release of metals to the downstream aquatic environment were investigated, and the range of impact and pollution sources were determined. Dissolved metals were well below guideline values for water quality, but Cd, Cr, and Cu were enriched in the sediments, especially in the reservoir, and the pollution load index (PLI) results indicated that the contamination in the study area remained very low.

Minimizing buried interfacial defects for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells.

Controlling the perovskite morphology and defects at the buried perovskite-substrate interface is challenging for inverted perovskite solar cells. In this work, we report an amphiphilic molecular hole transporter, (2-(4-(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)phenyl)-1-cyanovinyl)phosphonic acid, that features a multifunctional cyanovinyl phosphonic acid group and forms a superwetting underlayer for perovskite deposition, which enables high-quality perovskite films with minimized defects at the buried interface. The resulting perovskite film has a photoluminescence quantum yield of 17% and a Shockley-Read-Hall lifetime of nearly 7 microseconds and achieved a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.

Distribution, enrichment mechanisms, and health risk assessment of high-fluorine groundwater in the Yudong Plain, Henan Province, China.

The Yudong Plain is in the eastern part of Henan Province, China, where there is little rain and high evaporation. Compared to other areas in Henan Province, the groundwater fluorine content is generally high, which affects the health of residents. Based on the systematic analysis of water chemistry data of shallow and mid-depth groundwater samples in the Yudong Plain, the causes of shallow and mid-depth high-fluorine groundwater in the Yudong Plain were explored using mathematical statistics, spatial interpolation, and ion ratios.

Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk assessment of artificial sweeteners in surface and ground waters of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Henan section, China).

As a new class of water contaminants, artificial sweeteners (ASs) have attracted much attention due to their environmental persistence and potential adverse effects to human and the environment. This study systematically investigated the occurrence and distribution of four commonly used ASs in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), surface water and groundwater in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Henan section). Sucralose (SUC) was dominant in WWTP effluents and had the highest mass loading.

Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the surface water of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Henan section).

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are commonly seen emerging organic contaminants in aquatic environments. The transects for the occurrence and distribution of 24 PPCPs along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Henan section) were investigated in this study. All 24 targeted compounds were detected in surface water, with concentrations in the range from not detected (ND) to 527.

Low Serum Soluble Transferrin Receptor Levels Are Associated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Hepatitis B Virus-Related Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure.

Iron metabolism disorder is closely related to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). This study was conducted to analyze the serum levels of soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related ACLF and to evaluate the predictive value of sTfR for the short-term prognosis of HBV-ACLF. A total of 359 patients, including 139 with HBV-ACLF, 103 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and 117 healthy controls (HCs), participated in this study.

Heavy-Metal Speciation Distribution and Adsorption Characteristics of Cr (VI) in the Soil within Sewage Irrigation Areas.

While sewage irrigation relieves water shortages in Northern China, its excessive application triggers a series of environmental problems, such as heavy-metal pollution. Soil profile and river sediment profile samples from the sewage irrigation area (SIA) were collected by selecting the farmlands in which sewage irrigation activity has been reported since the 1960s, around Huiji River (HJR) and Huafei River (HFR) in Kaifeng, Henan Province, China, as research areas. In this study, the total amount of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn, and Ni) and the heavy-metal speciation analysis using the modified BCR sequential extraction method were used to evaluate the impacts of wastewater on agricultural soils and the potential risk.

Red blood cell distribution width-standard deviation but not red blood cell distribution width-coefficient of variation as a potential index for the diagnosis of iron-deficiency anemia in mid-pregnancy women.

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic values of red blood cell distribution width-coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) and red blood cell distribution width-standard deviation (RDW-SD) in mid-pregnancy women with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). To obtain the results, 115 mid-pregnancy women with IDA, defined as the IDA group, and 142 healthy mid-pregnancy women, selected as the control group, were enrolled in this study. Hematological parameters and ferritin concentrations in the serum were analyzed.

AHNAK suppresses ovarian cancer progression through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Globally, ovarian cancer is the 2nd most frequent cause of gynecologic-associated cancer fatalities among women. It has an unfavorable prognosis. There is a need to elucidate on the mechanisms involved in ovarian cancer progression and to identify novel cancer targets.

Serum sCD14 as a Biomarker for Significant Liver Inflammation in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with Normal or Mildly Elevated ALT.

Background: CD14 is a pattern recognition receptor constitutively expressed in different types of immune cells, either in a membrane-anchored (mCD14) or in a soluble (sCD14) form. This study investigated whether hepatic CD14 expression levels were correlated with the grades of liver inflammation as well as the potential usefulness of serum sCD14 as a biomarker for predicting liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT.

Methods: A total of 216 treatment-naive CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT who underwent liver biopsy were recruited.

The diagnostic value of miR-145 and miR-205 in patients with cervical cancer.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of miRNA-145 (miR-145) and miRNA-205 (miR-205) in cervical cancer patients.

Methods: Cervical tissue samples were collected from 144 patients diagnosed with and suspected to have cervical cancer in our hospital. Confirmed by pathology, 84 samples were obtained from cervical cancer patients and 60 samples were from patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Silencing of hsa_circ_0009035 Suppresses Cervical Cancer Progression and Enhances Radiosensitivity through MicroRNA 889-3p-Dependent Regulation of HOXB7.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel type of endogenous noncoding RNAs, have been identified as critical regulators in human carcinogenesis. Here, we investigated the precise actions of hsa_circ_0009035 in the progression and radioresistance of cervical cancer (CC). The levels of hsa_circ_0009035, microRNA 889-3p (miR-889-3p), and homeobox B7 (HOXB7) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) or Western blotting.

Occurrence, sources and fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and artificial sweeteners in groundwater.

Groundwater is considered as the main source for supplying the public drinking water in many countries and regions; however, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and artificial sweeteners (ASs) found in groundwater can exert harmful effects on human health and aquatic ecosystems, and therefore, they are of persistent concern. The recent data on the occurrence of a series of PPCPs (including antibiotics, excitants and lipid regulators) and ASs often detected in groundwater are reviewed, in which the PPCPs and ASs occur in groundwater at the concentration from several nanograms to several micrograms per litre. In addition, the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of PPCPs and ASs are discussed and the main sources and possibly pollution pathways of PPCPs and ASs in groundwater are summarised and analysed.

Cytotoxic polyprenylated phloroglucinol derivatives from Hypericum elodeoides Choisy modulating the transactivation of RXRα.

Hyperelodione D (1), an undescribed polyprenylated phloroglucinol derivative possessing 6/6/5/5 fused tetracyclic core, together with hyperelodiones E-F (2-3), two unreported analogues bearing 6/5/5 fused tricyclic structure, were isolated from Hypericum elodeoides Choisy. Their planar structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR) and their absolute configurations were determined by comparison of experimental and calculated ECD data. The cytotoxicity and retinoid X receptor-α (RXRα) related activities of the isolates were evaluated and the plausible biogenetic pathways of 1-3 were proposed.

TruScreen detection of cervical tissues for high-risk human papillomavirus-infected women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To evaluate the efficacy of TruScreen (TS01) for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) women compared with other methods in reducing colposcopy referral rates in hospitals. A single-center, prospective, case-control study was conducted from December 2019 to June 2020. Among 139 (46.

circKIF4A sponges miR-127 to promote ovarian cancer progression.

Ovarian cancer is a major gynecologic cancer and common cause of gynecologic cancer death worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of ovarian cancer progression are still unclear. circular RNAs (circRNAs) are recently reported to be involved in cancer progression regulation but the potential functions of circRNAs in ovarian cancer remains unknown.

Hyperelodiones A-C, monoterpenoid polyprenylated acylphoroglucinols from Hypericum elodeoides, induce cancer cells apoptosis by targeting RXRα.

Hyperelodiones A-C, three undescribed monoterpenoid polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols possessing 6/6/6 fused tricyclic core, were isolated from Hypericum elodeoides Choisy. Their gross structures were elucidated by HRESIMS and NMR data. The absolute configurations of hyperelodiones A-C were assigned by their calculated and compared electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra combined with their common biosynthetic origin.

circGFRA1 Promotes Ovarian Cancer Progression By Sponging miR-449a.

Increasing studies show that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in tumor progression. However, the function of circRNAs in ovarian cancer is mostly unclear. We detected the expression of circGFRA1 by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 50 pairs of ovarian cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues.