Emerging threat of marine microplastics: Cigarette butt contamination on Yellow Sea beaches and the potential toxicity risks to rotifer growth and reproduction.

Cigarette butts have become one of the most common and persistent forms of debris in marine coastal areas, where they pose significant toxicity risks. This study investigated cigarette butt pollution along beaches of the Yellow Sea and used laboratory experiments to assess the toxicity of their leachate and fibers on the euryhaline rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. A pollution index confirmed pollution by this debris across all eight beaches surveyed, where the density of cigarette butts averaged 0.

Smartphone as an alternative to measure chlorophyll-a concentration in small waterbodies.

Monitoring chlorophyll-a concentrations (Chl-a, μg·L) in aquatic ecosystems has attracted much attention due to its direct link to harmful algal blooms. However, there has been a lack of a cost-effective method for measuring Chl-a in small waterbodies. Inspired by the increase of smartphone photography, a Smartphone-based convolutional neural networks (CNN) framework (SCCA) was developed to estimate Chl-a in Aquatic ecosystem.

Encapsulation of Pd Single-Atom Sites in Zeolite for Highly Efficient Semihydrogenation of Alkynes.

Palladium (Pd)-based single-atom catalysts (SACs) have shown outstanding selectivity for semihydrogenation of alkynes, but most Pd single sites coordinated with highly electronegative atoms (such as N, O, and S) of supports will result in a decrease in the electron density of Pd sites, thereby weakening the adsorption of reactants and reducing catalytic performance. Constructing a rich outer-shell electron environment of Pd single-atom sites by changing the coordination structure offers a novel opportunity to enhance the catalytic efficiency with excellent alkene selectivity. Therefore, in this work, we first propose the in situ preparation of isolated Pd sites encapsulated within Al/Si-rich ZSM-5 structure using the one-pot seed-assisted growth method.

Macrophage-Targeted GSH-Depleting Nanocomplexes for Synergistic Chemodynamic Therapy/Gas Therapy/Immunotherapy of Intracellular Bacterial Infection.

Intracellular pathogens can survive inside the macrophages to protect themselves from eradication by the innate immune system and conventional antibiotics, resulting in severe bacterial infections. In this work, an antibiotic-free nanocomplex (HA/GA-Fe@NO-DON), exhibiting macrophage-targeted synergistic gas therapy (nitric oxide, NO)/chemodynamic therapy/immunotherapy, was reported. HA/GA-Fe nanoparticles were synthesized by the strong coordination interactions among carboxyl groups of hyaluronic acid (HA), polyphenol groups of gallic acid (GA), and Fe(II) ions.

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic compounds in coal and coal-based solid wastes: Relationship with coal-forming paleoenvironment and implications for environmental pollution.

In this study, coal and coal-based solid wastes (coal gangue, fly ash, bottom ash, desulfurized gypsum and tar residue) were collected from major coal mines, power plants and coking plants in Lianghuai mining area (LH), China, and were analyzed for 76 polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), 27 n-alkanes and 2 isoprenoids (phytane and pristane). The total n-alkanes concentrations and ∑ PACs in raw coals (640 ± 600 and 180 ± 87 μg/g) were higher than those in coal-based solid wastes (47 ± 40 and 24 ± 25 μg/g), but were lower than those in tar residue (3700 and 63,000 μg/g). It was discovered that the depositional paleoenvironment in LH was mostly a lacustrine and freshwater environment with oxidizing conditions and mixed organic matter input, but the Huainan coalfield had stronger oxidizing conditions and more input of terrestrial organic matter than that of the Huaibei coalfield.

Identification of high-functioning autism spectrum disorders based on gray-white matter functional network connectivity.

In the field of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research on functional connectivity between gray matter and white matter remains under-researched. To address this gap, this study innovatively introduced a nested cross-validation method that integrates gray-white matter functional connectivity with an F-Score algorithm. This method calculates the correlation based on signals extracted from functional magnetic resonance imaging data using gray matter and white matter brain region templates.

Predictive roles of cognitive biases in health anxiety: A machine learning approach.

Prior work suggests that cognitive biases may contribute to health anxiety. Yet there is little research investigating how biased attention, interpretation, and memory for health threats are collectively associated with health anxiety, as well as the relative importance of these cognitive processes in predicting health anxiety. This study aimed to build a prediction model for health anxiety with multiple cognitive biases as potential predictors and to identify the biased cognitive processes that best predict individual differences in health anxiety.

self-assembled near-infrared phototherapeutic agent: unleashing hydrogen free radicals and coupling with NADPH oxidation.

Investigation of electron transfer (ET) between photosensitizers (PSs) and adjacent substrates in hypoxic tumors is integral to highly efficient tumor therapy. Herein, the oxygen-independent ET pathway to generate hydrogen free radicals (H˙) was established by the self-assembled phototherapeutic agent -S under near-infrared (NIR)-light irradiation, coupled with the oxidation of reduced coenzyme NADPH, which induced ferroptosis and effectively elevated the therapeutic performance in hypoxic tumors. The higher surface energy and longer exciton lifetimes of the fine crystalline -S nanofibers were conducive to improving ET efficiency.

Thermo-responsive aqueous two-phase system for two-level compartmentalization.

Hierarchical compartmentalization responding to changes in intracellular and extracellular environments is ubiquitous in living eukaryotic cells but remains a formidable task in synthetic systems. Here we report a two-level compartmentalization approach based on a thermo-responsive aqueous two-phase system (TR-ATPS) comprising poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and dextran (DEX). Liquid membraneless compartments enriched in PNIPAM are phase-separated from the continuous DEX solution via liquid-liquid phase separation at 25 °C and shrink dramatically with small second-level compartments generated at the interface, resembling the structure of colloidosome, by increasing the temperature to 35 °C.

Novel 4-chlorophenoxyacetate dioxygenase-mediated phenoxyalkanoic acid herbicides initial catabolism in Cupriavidus sp. DL-D2.

Microbial metabolism is an important driving force for the elimination of 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid residues in the environment. The α-Ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (TfdA) or 2,4-D oxygenase (CadAB) catalyzes the cleavage of the aryl ether bond of 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid to 4-chlorophenol, which is one of the important pathways for the initial metabolism of 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid by microorganisms. However, strain Cupriavidus sp.

Selective CO Electroreduction to Multi-Carbon Products on Organic-Functionalized CuO Nanoparticles by Local Micro-Environment Modulation.

Surface functionalization of Cu-based catalysts has demonstrated promising potential for enhancing the electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) toward multi-carbon (C) products, primarily by suppressing the parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction and facilitating a localized CO/CO concentration at the electrode. Building upon this approach, we developed surface-functionalized catalysts with exceptional activity and selectivity for electrocatalytic CORR to C in a neutral electrolyte. Employing CuO nanoparticles coated with hexaethynylbenzene organic molecules (HEB-CuO NPs), a remarkable C Faradaic efficiency of nearly 90% was achieved at an unprecedented current density of 300 mA cm, and a high FE (> 80%) was maintained at a wide range of current densities (100-600 mA cm) in neutral environments using a flow cell.

Conventional and Unconventional Protein Secretion in Yeast and Animal Cells.

Protein secretion mediated by the secretory transport pathway is a sophisticated and highly regulated cellular process in eukaryotic cells. In the conventional secretory transport pathway, newly synthesized proteins pass through several endomembrane compartments to reach their destinations. This transport occurs via small, membrane-enclosed vesicles.

Unveiling the molecular dynamics of low temperature preservation in postharvest lotus seeds: a transcriptomic perspective.

Background: Postharvest quality deterioration poses a significant challenge to the commercial value of fresh lotus seeds. Low temperature storage is widely employed as the primary method for preserving postharvest lotus seeds during storage and transportation.

Results: This approach effectively extends the storage life of lotus seeds, resulting in distinct physiological changes compared to room temperature storage, including a notable reduction in starch, protein, HO, and MDA content.

Chinese Migrant Workers' Financial Security in Old Age-A Cultural Shift From Reliance on Filial Piety to Public Pension.

Migrant workers' retirement in rural China need not mean that they are financially ready for retirement. This study examines which factors influence migrant workers' public pension savings. Using a mixed-methods approach comprising surveys and interviews with Chinese migrant workers from three emigration provinces (Anhui, Henan, and Sichuan), we find that migrant workers with more social support and less spending on children are more likely to have public pension savings than their counterparts.

Partial asynchrony of coniferous forest carbon sources and sinks at the intra-annual time scale.

As major terrestrial carbon sinks, forests play an important role in mitigating climate change. The relationship between the seasonal uptake of carbon and its allocation to woody biomass remains poorly understood, leaving a significant gap in our capacity to predict carbon sequestration by forests. Here, we compare the intra-annual dynamics of carbon fluxes and wood formation across the Northern hemisphere, from carbon assimilation and the formation of non-structural carbon compounds to their incorporation in woody tissues.

Reversible Modulation of Cell-Cell Interactions Using Electrochemistry.

Cell-cell interactions play an important role in many biological processes, and various methods have been developed for controlling the cell-cell interactions. However, the effective and rapid control of intercellular interactions remains challenging. Herein, we report a novel, rapid, and effective electrochemical strategy without destroying the basic life processes for the dynamic control of intercellular interactions via liposome fusion.

Structure based screening and molecular docking with dynamic simulation of natural secondary metabolites to target RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of five different retroviruses.

Viral diseases pose a serious global health threat due to their rapid transmission and widespread impact. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) participates in the synthesis, transcription, and replication of viral RNA in host. The current study investigates the antiviral potential of secondary metabolites particularly those derived from bacteria, fungi, and plants to develop novel medicines.

Electrosynthesis of Amides through Cu- and Co-Incorporated Nickel Hydroxide-Catalyzed Oxidation of Primary Amines Coupled with Hydrogen Evolution.

The electrocatalytic oxidation of organic molecules coupled with hydrogen evolution reaction can reduce overpotential and can be connected in series with nonelectrochemical processes to achieve the preparation of more high-value compounds. Herein, Cu- and Co-incorporated nickel hydroxide (CuCo-Ni(OH)) was synthesized and applied to the anodic benzylamine oxidation reaction, which is 280 mV lower than the corresponding oxygen evolution reaction to reach the current density of 50 mA cm. When the electrocatalytic oxidation of benzylamine and hydrogen evolution reaction are coupled to form an electrolytic cell, the potential to reach 10 mA cm is reduced by 197 mV compared to the overall water splitting.

NIR-Absorbing Tetraphenylethene-Containing bisBODIPY Nanoplatforms Demonstrate Effective Lysosome-Targeting and Combinational Phototherapy.

Photosensitizer-based phototherapies, including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), offer safe treatment modalities for tumor ablation with spatiotemporal precision. After photons are absorbed, PDT creates localized chemical damage by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), while PTT induces localized thermal damage. However, PDT still faces hypoxic tumor challenges, while PTT encounters issues related to heat resistance and potential overheating.

Prediction of Halogenated MXenes as Electrode Materials for Halide-Ion Batteries.

Exploring and developing new rechargeable halide-ion batteries plays an important role in the advancement and growth of the ion battery family. Here, we systematically explored the feasibility of single-layer MXenes and their hydrogenated derivatives as electrode materials for halide-ion batteries via first-principles theory. The calculated results indicate that halide ions (T ions) can be stably and efficiently adsorbed on the surfaces of MX and MXH, with theoretical specific capacities ranging from 227 to 497 mAh g.