The nutritional roles of zinc for immune system and COVID-19 patients.

Zinc (Zn) is a vital micronutrient that strengthens the immune system, aids cellular activities, and treats infectious diseases. A deficiency in Zn can lead to an imbalance in the immune system. This imbalance is particularly evident in severe deficiency cases, where there is a high susceptibility to various viral infections, including COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Single-atom Mn-embedded carbon nitride as highly efficient peroxymonosulfate catalyst for the harmful algal blooms control.

In recent years, water quality deterioration caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs) has become one of the global drinking water safety issues, and sulfate radical driven heterogeneous advanced oxidation technology has been widely used for algae removal. However, the shortages of low active site exposure, metal leaching, and secondary contamination limit its further application. Therefore, the single-atom Mn anchored on inorganic carbon nitride was constructed to enhance the oxidation and coagulation of algal cells while maintaining cell integrity in this study.

Construction of cubic CaTiO perovskite modified by highly-dispersed cobalt for efficient catalytic degradation of psychoactive pharmaceuticals.

Sulfate radical mediated advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) have emerged as a promising alternative for emerging contaminants degradation. However, high activity and great stability are commonly difficult to juggle, and the structure-activity correlations are still ambiguous. This study constructed the cubic CaTiO perovskite modified by highly-dispersed cobalt for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to improve the specific lattice plane exposure and reduce the metal leaching simultaneously.

Identification of a neutralizing linear epitope within the VP1 protein of coxsackievirus A10.

Background: Coxsackievirus A10 (CV-A10) is a leading cause of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). It is necessary to identify neutralizing epitopes to investigate and develop an epitope-based vaccine against CV-A10. The viral protein VP1 is the immunodominant capsid protein and contains the critical neutralizing epitope.

Neurotoxic Anatoxin-a Can Also Exert Immunotoxicity by the Induction of Apoptosis on Lymphocytes When Exposed to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations.

Hazardous anatoxin-a (ANTX-a) is produced by freshwater algal blooms worldwide, which greatly increases the risk of consumer exposure. Although ANTX-a shows widespread neurotoxicity in aquatic animals, little is known about its mechanism of action and biotransformation in biological systems, especially in immunobiological models. In this study, transmission electron microscopy results showed that ANTX-a can destroy lymphocytes of by inducing cytoplasmic concentration, vacuolation, and swollen mitochondria.

Mechanism of immunosuppression in zebrafish (Danio rerio) spleen induced by environmentally relevant concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been identified as a new persistent organic pollutant. This pollutant is ubiquitous in water and environments. Although PFOA is toxic to fishes, the precise immunotoxicological mechanism remains unclear.

Greater analgesic effects of sucrose in the neonate predict greater weight gain to age 18 months.

Intraoral sucrose has analgesic effects in the newborn period. The hedonic and analgesic effects of sucrose overlap and hedonic response to sweet food is associated with adiposity. The potential association between the analgesic effects of intraoral sucrose in the newborn period and subsequent weight gain has not been examined.