Occurrence and ecological risks of organophosphate esters in the sediments of Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea.

This study investigated 17 organophosphate esters (OPEs) in the surface sediments of Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea. The mean concentration of ∑OPEs in Hangzhou Bay (235.3 ng/g) was slightly lower than that in the East China Sea (273.

Impact of prepubertal obesity induced by high-fat diet during lactation and post-weaning on puberty initiation and neuroendocrine function in a female mouse model.

Purpose: To explore the effects of prepubertal obesity induced by high-fat diet during lactation and post-weaning on puberty onset and the neuroendocrine changes before puberty onset in a female mouse model, which may explain obesity in children starting early puberty.

Methods: A total of 72 female mice were assigned to the high fat diet group (HFD) and the control diet group (CONT) during lactation and post-weaning. The bodily indexes; pathological changes; and protein and gene expression levels in the hypothalamus were examined on postnatal days (P) 15, 28, and 45, respectively.

Organophosphate esters in the seawater of the Bohai Sea: Environmental occurrence, sources and ecological risks.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely distributed in surface water systems, but limited information was available on the spatial occurrence and ecological risks of OPEs in the Bohai Sea. In this study, 89 water samples in the Bohai Sea and the five surrounding rivers were investigated for the determination of 15 OPEs. The concentration of ∑OPEs ranged from 373.

Sleep time and homework hours/daily are associated with reduced visual acuity among school students aged 9-18 in Shenyang in 2016.

Purpose: The purpose of this survey was to explore the prevalence of reduced visual acuity and its associated factors among school students in Shenyang in 2016.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the Ministry of Education' Student Physical Fitness (MESPF) monitoring in 2016. A total of 13,642 students aged 9-18 years were surveyed in Shenyang.

Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Increases Obesity-Induced Damage to the Male Reproductive System in Mice.

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and obesity on male reproductive organ function in male mice and the potential mechanism of male secondary hypogonadism (SH) in such mice.

Methods: 140 mice were assigned to six groups for 12 weeks: normal, DEHP, DIO, DIO + DEHP low, DIO + DEHP middle, and DIO + DEHP high. The effects of DEHP and obesity upon the reproductive organs were determined by measuring sperm count and motility, relative testis and epididymis weight, hormone level, and pathological changes.

NOD1 deficiency impairs CD44a/Lck as well as PI3K/Akt pathway.

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are crucial for host defense and tissue homeostasis against infecting pathogens. PRRs are highly conserved cross species, suggesting their key roles in fundamental biological processes. Though much have been learned for NOD1 receptor in the innate and adaptive immune responses, the roles of NOD1 during embryonic and larval stages remain poorly understood.

Role of zebrafish NLRC5 in antiviral response and transcriptional regulation of MHC related genes.

Intracellular NOD-like receptors (NLRs) are emerging as critical regulators of innate and adaptive immune responses. Although the NLR family member NLRC5 is functionally defined, the role of NLRC5 in regulating innate immune signaling has been controversial in mammals, and is poorly understood in teleost fish. In the present study, we report the functional characterization of zebrafish NLRC5.

Locating a modifier gene of Ovum mutant through crosses between DDK and C57BL/6J inbred strains in mice.

A striking infertile phenotype has been discovered in the DDK strain of mouse. The DDK females are usually infertile when crossed with males of other inbred strains, whereas DDK males exhibit normal fertility in reciprocal crosses. This phenomenon is caused by mutation in the ovum (Om) locus on chromosome 11 and known as the DDK syndrome.

MAVS splicing variants contribute to the induction of interferon and interferon-stimulated genes mediated by RIG-I-like receptors.

The mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) plays a key role in the signal transduction of RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs)-mediated antiviral response. In the present study, zebrafish MAVS transcript variants, namely MAVS_tv1 and MAVS_tv2, were cloned from zebrafish embryos. The putative MAVS_tv1 protein (full length form) contains an N-terminal CARD domain, a central proline region, and a C-terminal transmembrane domain (TM).

Acute cerebellitis in identical twins.

Acute cerebellitis is an inflammatory syndrome characterized by cerebellar dysfunction, which often develops in children after certain viral infections. We present for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a case of identical twin brothers who developed acute cerebellitis 8 days apart. The presence of the same magnetic resonance imaging lesions in both twins suggests viral transmission from one to the other.