Risk assessment for sediment associated heavy metals using sediment quality guidelines modified by sediment properties.

Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) are a fundamental component of sediment quality assessment framework, frequently used in the first tier of assessment to predict the potential risks of contaminants in sediment. A recognized weakness of SQGs concerns the bioavailability of sediment contaminants, which may vary considerably with different physical-chemical properties. To better evaluate the ecological risks and predict the toxicity of the heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the sediments of Haihe River of China, the risk quotients derived from total metal concentrations and SQG values were modified using multiple linear regressions with sediment properties, i.

Combination of Polydopamine Coating and Plasma Pretreatment to Improve Bond Ability Between PEEK and Primary Teeth.

Preformed crowns are preferred to reduce the failure risk of restoration of primary teeth, but some drawback of conventional material is still a main barrier for their clinical use. Polyether etherketone (PEEK), a tooth colored, high-performance thermoplastic polymer, has been recognized as a promising alternative to manufacture the restoration of primary teeth. However, the hydrophobic surface and low surface energy of PEEK make it hard to establish a strong and durable adhesion.

Highly Stretchable, Tough, Resilient, and Antifatigue Hydrogels Based on Multiple Hydrogen Bonding Interactions Formed by Phenylalanine Derivatives.

Noncovalent cross-linked hydrogels with promising mechanical properties are on demand for applications in tissue engineering, flexible electronics, and actuators. However, integrating excellent mechanical properties with facile preparation for the design of hydrogen bond cross-linked hydrogels is still challenging. In this work, an advanced hydrogel was prepared from acrylamide and -acryloyl phenylalanine by one-pot free-radical copolymerization.

Continuous stimulation of dual-function peptide PGLP-1-VP inhibits the morbidity and mortality of NOD mice through anti-inflammation and immunoregulation.

Multiple animal and human studies have shown that administration of GLP-1RA can enhance β-cell recovery, reduce insulin dosage, reduce HbA1c content in the blood, reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and reduce inflammation. In the NOD mouse model, peptide VP treatment can prevent and treat type 1 diabetes through immunomodulation. Therefore, we designed a new dual-functional PGLP-1-VP, which is expected to combine the anti-inflammatory effect of PGLP-1 and the immunomodulatory effect of VP peptide.

Paroxysmal tonic upgaze accompanied by occipital discharge on electroencephalography: a case report and literature review.

Background: Paroxysmal tonic upgaze (PTU) is an infantile-onset paroxysmal neurological disorder that is characterized by episodes of sustained conjugate upward eye deviation. The paroxysmal abnormal eye movements need to be differentiated from seizures. We report a case of PTU with occipital discharge on electroencephalography (EEG), which made the diagnosis more complicated.

Regulating the Supramolecular Polymerization of Fibrous Crystalline Structures in Aqueous Solution.

Inspired by protein polymerizations, much progress has been made in making "polymer-like" supramolecular structures from small synthetic subunits through non-covalent bonds. A few regulation mechanisms have also been explored in synthetic platforms to create supramolecular polymers and materials with dynamic properties. Herein, a type of reactive regulator that facilitates the dimerization of the monomer precursors through dynamic bonds to trigger the supramolecular assembly from small molecules in an aqueous solution is described.

Stratification of hippocampal electrophysiological activation evoked by selective electrical stimulation of different angular and linear acceleration sensors in the rat peripheral vestibular system.

It has become well established that vestibular information is important for hippocampal function and spatial memory. However, as yet, relatively little is known about how different kinds of vestibular information are 'represented' in different parts of the hippocampus. This study used selective electrical stimulation of each of the 5 vestibular sensors (the horizontal (HC), anterior (AC) and posterior (PC) semi-circular canals, and the utricle and saccule) in the rat and recorded local field potentials (LFPs) across the hippocampus, using a 16 electrode microarray.

Enantioselective accumulation, elimination and metabolism of fenbuconazole in lizards (Eremias argus).

The enantioselective accumulation, elimination and metabolism of fenbuconazole in lizards were determined following a single-dose (25 mg/kg) exposure to racemic or enantiomeric fenbuconazole. Accumulation of fenbuconazole was found in lizard fat with rac-form > enantiopure enantiomers. The enantiomer fractions (EFs) were higher than 0.

Two-Dimensional Metallic Vanadium Ditelluride as a High-Performance Electrode Material.

Two-dimensional (2D) metallic transition-metal dichalcogenides (MTMDCs) are considered as ideal electrode materials for enhancing the device performances of 2D semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides, due to their similar atomic structures and complementary electronic properties. Vanadium ditelluride (VTe) behaves as a fascinating material in MTMDCs family, presenting room-temperature ferromagnetism, charge density waves order, and topological property. However, its practical applications in universal electrode/energy-related fields remain unexplored.

MdERDL6-mediated glucose efflux to the cytosol promotes sugar accumulation in the vacuole through up-regulating TSTs in apple and tomato.

Sugar transport across tonoplasts is essential for maintaining cellular sugar homeostasis and metabolic balance in plant cells. It remains unclear, however, how this process is regulated among different classes of sugar transporters. Here, we identified a tonoplast H/glucose symporter, MdERDL6-1, from apples, which was highly expressed in fruits and exhibited expression patterns similar to those of the tonoplast H/sugar antiporters MdTST1 and MdTST2.

Out-of-Plane Deformations Determined Mechanics of Vanadium Disulfide (VS) Sheets.

The rapid development of two-dimensional (2D) materials has significantly broadened the scope of 2D science in both fundamental scientific interests and emerging technological applications, wherein the mechanical properties play an indispensably key role. Nevertheless, particularly challenging is the ultrathin nature of 2D materials that makes their manipulations and characterizations considerably difficult. Herein, thanks to the excellent flexibility of vanadium disulfide (VS) sheets, their susceptibility to out-of-plane deformation is exploited to realize the controllable loading and enable the accurate measurements of mechanical properties.

Mechanisms for the impacts of graphene oxide on the developmental toxicity and endocrine disruption induced by bisphenol A on zebrafish larvae.

The huge production and application of bisphenol A (BPA) and graphene oxide (GO) inevitably lead to their co-presence in aquatic ecosystems, which might cause joint toxic effects to aquatic organisms. Herein, zebrafish larvae at 3 d post fertilization (dpf) were exposed to BPA, GO, and their mixtures until 7 dpf. GO was ingested and localized in the gut.

A Library of Atomically Thin 2D Materials Featuring the Conductive-Point Resistive Switching Phenomenon.

Non-volatile resistive switching (NVRS) is a widely available effect in transitional metal oxides, colloquially known as memristors, and of broad interest for memory technology and neuromorphic computing. Until recently, NVRS was not known in other transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), an important material class owing to their atomic thinness enabling the ultimate dimensional scaling. Here, various monolayer or few-layer 2D materials are presented in the conventional vertical structure that exhibit NVRS, including TMDs (MX , M = transitional metal, e.

EGLP-1 lowers body weight better than exendin-4 by reducing food intake and increasing basal energy expenditure in diet-induced obese mice.

It is well known that GLP-1 activates GLP-1R to reduce body weight by inhibiting eating. GLP-1 is cleaved by the neutral endopeptidase (NEP) 24.11 into a pentapeptide GLP-1 (32-36) amide, which increases basal energy expenditure and inhibits weight gain in obese mice.

Magnetic Moments Induced by Atomic Vacancies in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Flakes.

2D magnetism plays a key role in both fundamental physics and potential device applications. However, the instability of the discovered 2D magnetic materials has been one main obstacle in deep research and potential application of 2D magnetism. Here, a localized magnetic moment induced by Pt vacancies in air-stable type-II Dirac semimetal PtSe flakes is reported.

Effectiveness of WeChat for Improving Exclusive Breastfeeding in Huzhu County China: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers have been well recognized. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in China is low and decreasing. Mobile technologies have rapidly developed; communication apps such as WeChat (one of the largest social networking platforms in China) are widely used and have the potential to conveniently improve health behaviors.

Intein-mediated intracellular production of active microbial transglutaminase in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

The microbial transglutaminase (mTGase) from Streptomyces mobaraense is widely used in the food industry. However, recombinant production of mTGase is challenging because the mTGase is synthesized as an inactive zymogen, and needs to be activated by proteolytic processing. In this study, self-cleaving intein Ssp DnaB was applied to activate the mTGase in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Highly Conductive Nitrogen-Doped Vertically Oriented Graphene toward Versatile Electrode-Related Applications.

The direct growth of vertically oriented graphene (VG) on low-priced, easily accessible soda-lime glass can propel its applications in transparent electrodes and energy-relevant areas. However, graphene deposited at low temperature (∼600 °C) on the catalysis-free insulating substrates usually presents high defect density, poor crystalline quality, and unsatisfactory electrical conductivity. To tackle this issue, we select high borosilicate glass as the growth substrate (softening point ∼850 °C), which can resist higher growth temperature and thus afford higher graphene crystalline quality, by using a radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD) route.

A novel mutation in the ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase synthesis-like gene associated with complex III deficiency and Björnstad syndrome: A case report.

Rationale: The ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase synthesis-like (BCS1L) gene is located on chromosome 2 (2q35) and encodes an ATPase that is associated with various cellular activities and is embedded in the mitochondrial inner membrane; this ATPase is presumed to facilitate the insertion of the Rieske Fe/S protein into precursors of Complex III (CIII) during the assembly of the respiratory chain. We report the first case of a compound heterozygous mutation in the BCS1L gene in China.

Patient Concerns: A 7-month-old girl presented with a 3-month history of psychomotor developmental retardation and a 1-month history of epilepsy combined with parallel psychomotor developmental deterioration.

Effect of substrate symmetry on the orientations of MoS monolayers.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising platforms for developing next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices due to their unique properties. To achieve this, the growth of large single-crystal TMDs is a critical issue. Unraveling the factors affecting the nucleation and domain orientation should hold fundamental significance.

Gut bacteria is associated with reduced risk of obesity: evidence from the American Gut Project.

Background: Gut bacteria has been shown an anti-obesity protective effect in previous studies and may be used as promising probiotics. However, the above effect may be confounded by common factors, such as sex, age and diets, which should be verified in a generalized population.

Methods: We used datasets from the American Gut Project to strictly reassess the association and further examined the effect of aging on it.

Peptide modified polycations with pH triggered lytic activity for efficient gene delivery.

Endo/lysosome entrapment is the key barrier for gene delivery using synthetic polycations. Although the introduction of a membrane-lytic peptide into polycations could facilitate efficient endo/lysosome release and improve gene delivery efficiency, it is always accompanied by serious safety concerns. In this work, the widely used polycations, poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (PDMAEMA), poly(l-lysine) (PLL) and polyethylenimine (PEI), are modified with a pH-sensitive peptide (C6M3) with selective lytic activity to produce three functional polycations to address the issue of endo/lysosome entrapment and facilitate efficient gene transfer.

Polythiourethane Covalent Adaptable Networks for Strong and Reworkable Adhesives and Fully Recyclable Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites.

The development of adhesives with superior optical and mechanical performance, solvent resistance, and reworkability is gaining increasing attention in recent years. However, traditional materials do not possess reprocessability and healing characteristics for sustainable development. Here, a superior dynamic polythiourethane (PTU) adhesive with high reprocessability was developed by introducing covalent adaptable networks (CANs).

Molten-Salt-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition Process for Substitutional Doping of Monolayer MoS and Effectively Altering the Electronic Structure and Phononic Properties.

Substitutional doping of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has been proved to be an effective route to alter their intrinsic properties and achieve tunable bandgap, electrical conductivity and magnetism, thus greatly broadening their applications. However, achieving valid substitutional doping of TMDs remains a great challenge to date. Herein, a distinctive molten-salt-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MACVD) method is developed to match the volatilization of the dopants perfectly with the growth process of monolayer MoS, realizing the substitutional doping of transition metal Fe, Co, and Mn.