Remodel Heterogeneous Electrical Microenvironment at Nano-Scale Interface Optimizes Osteogenesis by Coupling of Immunomodulation and Angiogenesis.

Immunomodulation is essential for implants to regulate tissue regeneration, while bioelectricity plays a fundamental role in regulating immune activities. Under natural preferences, the bone matrix electrical microenvironment is heterogeneous in the nanoscale, which provides fundamental electrical cues to regulate bone immunity and regenerative repair. However, remodeling bone nanoscale heterogeneous electrical microenvironment remains a challenge, and the underlying immune modulation mechanism remains to be explored.

Typical Tire Additives in River Water: Leaching, Transformation, and Environmental Risk Assessment.

Tire wear particles (TWPs) released during vehicle driving can enter water bodies, leading to leaching of tire additives (TAs) in aquatic environments. However, the transformation behavior and related ecological impacts of TAs and their transformation products (TPs) remain unclear. In this study, laboratory-based simulation experiments and field investigations were conducted to explore the transformation mechanisms and ecological risks of TAs.

Design and Synthesis of Cyclic Dinucleotide Analogues Containing Triazolyl C-Nucleosides.

Natural cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) is the secondary messenger involved in bacterial hemostasis, human innate immunity, and bacterial antiphage immunity. Synthetic CDN and its analogues are key molecular probes and potential immunotherapeutic agents. Several CDN analogues are under clinical research for antitumor immunotherapy.

Microplastics in Hong Kong's marine waters: Impact of rainfall and Pearl River discharge.

This study provided a systematic investigation of microplastics in Hong Kong's surface marine waters during the pandemic from 2019 to 2021. Microplastics (2.07 ± 4.

Porter effect vs cost effect: The impact of China's low carbon city pilot on carbon emissions and economic performance.

Building a low-carbon economy can help cities effectively mitigate climate risks, but it is challenging for developing countries. Using a difference-in-difference and event study model, we investigate the joint impact of China's Low-Carbon City Pilot (LCCP) on carbon emissions and economic performance. Our findings show that the LCCP significantly reduces carbon emissions and increases gross revenues, employee count, and fixed assets without compromising the net profit of manufacturing firms.

Melatonin improves the storage quality of rabbiteye blueberry () by affecting cuticular wax profile.

Cuticular wax is the first line of structural defense for plants against external stresses. This study investigated the effects of melatonin (MT) on chemical composition and accumulation profile of wax, as well as fruit quality of rabbiteye blueberry during storage. The results indicated a significant reduction in the overall wax content during storage.

Particle size-dependent and route-specific exposure to liquid crystal monomers in indoor air: Implications for human health risk estimations.

In indoor environments, liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) released from display devices is a significant concern, necessitating a comprehensive investigation into their distribution behaviors and potential health risks. Herein, we examined various LCMs in educational and workplace air and compared their associated health risks through inhalation and dermal absorption routes. 4-propyl-4'-vinylbicyclohexyl (3VbcH) and 4,4'-bis(4-propylcyclohexyl) biphenyl (b3CHB) with median concentrations of 101 and 1460 pg m, were the predominant LCMs in gaseous and particulate phases, respectively.

3D autofluorescence imaging of hydronephrosis and renal anatomical structure using cryo-micro-optical sectioning tomography.

Mesoscopic visualization of the main anatomical structures of the whole kidney plays an important role in the pathological diagnosis and exploration of the etiology of hydronephrosis. However, traditional imaging methods cannot achieve whole-kidney imaging with micron resolution under conditions representing perfusion. We used cryofixation (IVCF) to fix acute obstructive hydronephrosis (unilateral ureteral obstruction, UUO), chronic spontaneous hydronephrosis (db/db mice), and their control mouse kidneys for cryo-micro-optical sectioning tomography (cryo-MOST) autofluorescence imaging.

New Perspective to Understand and Prioritize the Ecological Impacts of Organophosphate Esters and Transformation Products in Urban Stormwater and Sewage Effluents.

Due to their prevalence in urban contaminated water, the driving factors of organophosphate esters (OPEs) need to be well examined, and their related ecological impacts should include that of their transformation products (TPs). Additionally, a robust framework needs to be developed to integrate multiple variables related to ecological impacts for improving the ecological health assessment. Therefore, OPEs and TPs in urban stormwater and wastewater in Hong Kong were analyzed to fill these gaps.

Gut microbiota and integrative traditional Chinese and western medicine in prevention and treatment of heart failure.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the terminal stage of multiple cardiovascular diseases, with high mortality and morbidity. More and more studies have proved that gut microbiota may play a role in the process of HF, which is expected to become a new therapeutic target. The combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine has vast therapeutic potential of complementation against HF.

Positive Charge Holes Revealed by Energy Band Theory in Multiphase Ti O and Exploration of its Microscopic Electromagnetic Loss Mechanism.

Although numerous experimental investigations have been carried out on the problem of defect engineering in semiconductor absorbers, the relationship among charge carrier, defects, heterointerfaces, and electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption has not been established systematically. Herein, the new thermodynamic and kinetic control strategy is proposed to establish multiphase Ti O (1 ≤ x ≤ 6) through a hydrogenation calcination. The TiOC-900 composite shows the efficient EM wave absorption capability with a minimum reflection loss (RL ) of -69.

Microplastic occurrence and ecological risk assessment in the eight outlets of the Pearl River Estuary, a new insight into the riverine microplastic input to the northern South China Sea.

Estuaries are unique transition zones connecting terrestrial and coastal environments and are recognized as primary conveyors for land-derived plastics to open oceans. Riverine microplastics (MPs) have been commonly investigated using sequential sampling which might not effectively reflect the actual load. In this study, sampling at eight outlets was performed during a complete tidal cycle to estimate the MP flux to the Pearl River Estuarine (PRE) using a concurrent sampling strategy.

Embryo developmental toxicity in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) due to parental and embryonic 17α-ethinylestradiol exposure.

The synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is a common component of hormone therapy and oral contraceptives and has been widely used for nearly 60 years. Numerous studies have shown that exposure to EE2 can affect embryonic development in a number of fish species. The effects of parental and embryonic EE2 exposure on embryo developmental toxicity and the underlying molecular mechanisms, however, have rarely been examined.

A systematic study of microplastic occurrence in urban water networks of a metropolis.

The release of microplastics from sewage treatment works (STWs) into the oceans around coastal cities is well documented. However, there are fewer studies on the microplastic abundance in stormwater drains and their emissions into the coastal marine environment via sewage and stormwater drainage networks. Here, we comprehensively investigated microplastic abundance in 66 sewage and 18 sludge samples collected from different process stages at three typical STWs and 36 water samples taken from six major stormwater drains during the dry and wet seasons in Hong Kong, which is a metropolitan city in south China.

Significant riverine inputs of typical plastic additives-phthalate esters from the Pearl River Delta to the northern South China Sea.

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are representative additives used extensively in plastics. In this study, 15 PAEs were investigated at the eight riverine outlets of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The total concentrations of ΣPAEs, including both the dissolved and particulate phases, ranged from 562 to 1460 ng/L and 679 ng/L-2830 ng/L in the surface and bottom layers, respectively.

Spatiotemporal occurrence of phthalate esters in stormwater drains of Hong Kong, China: Mass loading and source identification.

Urban stormwater is an important pathway for transporting anthropogenic pollutants to water bodies. Phthalate esters (PAEs) are endocrine disruptors owing to their estrogenic activity and potential carcinogenicity and their ubiquitous presence has garnered global interest. However, their transportation by urban stormwater has been largely overlooked.

Microplastics: A major source of phthalate esters in aquatic environments.

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are predominant additives in plastics, their widespread contamination in aquatic environments has raised global concern. Here, twelve plastic products were prepared as microplastics to investigate their release behaviors of PAEs. Six out of 15 PAEs were quantified after 14 days of incubation in water.

Melatonin affects cuticular wax profile in rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) during fruit development.

Cuticular wax has been implicated in the first line of plant defense mechanism against external stresses. In this study, cuticular wax on the fruits of two rabbiteye blueberry cultivars cv. Baldwin and Brightwell were examined in terms of the morphology and chemical composition during fruit development in the presence and absence of pre-harvest melatonin (MT) treatment.

Does air pollution inhibit manufacturing productivity in Yangtze River Delta, China? Moderating effects of temperature.

China has been experiencing serious and recurrent incidences of air pollution in recent years. The frequency and timespans of such incidences are uncertain because of variable urban weather conditions, especially temperature, that inhibit the productivity of manufacturing companies. Matching data about listed manufacturing companies in China's Yangtze River Delta urban cluster from 2003 to 2018 with data on urban air pollution and weather, we explored the effects of air pollution on corporate productivity and the moderating role of temperature.

Phthalate esters in seawater and sediment of the northern South China Sea: Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risks.

In this study, the occurrence and distribution of 15 phthalate esters (PAEs) in seawater and sediment from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) were investigated for the first time to improve understanding on the contamination status of PAEs in this region. The concentrations of total PAEs (∑ PAEs) were found to range from 68.8 to 1500 ng/L, 46.

Intra-day microplastic variations in wastewater: A case study of a sewage treatment plant in Hong Kong.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in coastal region play a primary role in transferring microplastics into the marine environment. Wastewater is closely related to anthropogenic activities, thus the intra-day variation of abundance of microplastics in the influent should be large and could have significant impact on their estimation of the daily mass load. In this study, a 2-hour interval sampling campaign was conducted at a secondary WWTP in Hong Kong to investigate the intra-day variations and daily loads of microplastics in influent.

Impact of environmental regulation on green growth in China's manufacturing industry-based on the Malmquist-Luenberger index and the system GMM model.

Green growth in manufacturing is critical to the sustainable development of manufacturing, and environmental regulations can help ensure green growth. The impact of environmental regulations on China's manufacturing industry sectors is investigated to further green development in manufacturing. Using panel data for manufacturing industry sectors from 2008 to 2015, the Malmquist-Luenberger index model is employed to calculate green growth efficiency and an econometric model is constructed to measure the impact of environmental regulations on green growth.

CYP4A11 is involved in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease via ROS‑induced lipid peroxidation and inflammation.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a fat metabolism disorder that occurs in liver cells. The development of NAFLD is considered to be associated with hepatic oxidative stress. The present study aimed to investigate the role of cytochrome P450 4A11 (CYP4A11) in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Development and Evaluation of a Water-in-oil Microemulsion Formulation for the Transdermal Drug Delivery of Teriflunomide (A771726).

Teriflunomide (TEF, A771726) is the active metabolite of leflunomide (LEF), a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug. The main purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion formulation of TEF. The W/O microemulsion was optimized formula is the physical and chemical stability of lecithin, ethanol, isopropyl myristate (IPM) and water (20.