Occurrence, maternal transfer, and risk implications of parabens in humpback dolphins from the South China Sea.

Parabens (PBs), extensively used as preservatives in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, are increasingly detected across diverse environmental matrices. Nevertheless, their presence and potential impacts on marine apex predators remain poorly understood. Here, hepatic tissues from 87 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins collected from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) during 2004-2021 were analyzed for four PBs and five paraben metabolites (m-PBs) to investigate their bioaccumulation characters and potential health risks.

Prioritization of legacy and emerging halogenated organic contaminants in humpback dolphins from northern South China Sea.

Marine mammals are prone to accumulating elevated levels of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs) due to their long lifespans, high trophic positions, and substantial lipid stores. However, which HOCs are of greatest concern in these apex predators remain largely unknown. Here, we constructed a toxicological prioritization index (ToxPi) model that integrates detection frequency, persistence, bioaccumulation, and endocrine-disrupting potential to evaluate priority HOCs in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis, n = 70) from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) between 2008 and 2018.

RC48 Induces Senescence in HER2-Expressing Colon Cancer Cells by Activating the CDKN1A-RB-E2F1 Pathway.

Introduction: RC48 is an anti-HER2 antibody‒drug conjugate that demonstrates antitumor activity in colon cancer with both high and low HER2 expression. Our study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of RC48 on colon cancer cells with varying levels of HER2 expression.

Methods: The effects of RC48 on HER2 high-expressing HT29 colon cancer cells and low-expressing SW480 cells were assessed using transwell assays and flow cytometry.

Predicting suspended floc size in estuarine waters using self-adaptive parameterized physics-informed neural networks.

The size dynamics of suspended flocs play fundamental roles in sediment transport processes and ecological functioning in estuarine waters. However, conventional flocculation dynamic models typically rely on fixed empirical parameters, limiting their adaptability under complex hydrodynamic conditions and reducing predictive accuracy. This study presents a new self-adaptive parameterized physics-informed neural networks (SAP-PINNs) model, dynamically optimizing aggregation coefficient, breakage coefficient and erosion parameters within the flocculation dynamic equation, enhancing the accuracy and physical consistency of floc size predictions by integrating data-driven methodologies with physical constraints.

Early Retinal Microcirculation Loss in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas Before Visual Field Defect by Wide-Field Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography.

Background And Objectives: So far, little is known about early macular microcirculation changes in nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA), particularly in patients before visual field defects (VFD) occur. The aim of our study was to evaluate the early retinal microcirculation alteration in NFPA before VFD by wide-field swept source optical coherence tomography (WF SS-OCTA).

Methods: A total of 64 NFPA patients without VFD and 64 healthy controls were included.

Role of biophysical flocculation on microplastics and sediment interactions in a microtidal estuary.

Microplastics pose environmental risks in estuarine ecosystems due to their persistence and widespread distribution in water and sediment. This study investigates the role of biophysical flocculation in microplastics transport and accumulation in a microtidal estuary. Both field surveys and laboratory experiments were conducted to analyze microplastics aggregation with clastic sediment and their settling behaviors.

LigDockTailor: Ligand-specific docking tool matching using multidimensional descriptors.

Molecular docking is a widely used technique in computer-aided drug design, facilitating the prediction of ligand-receptor interactions. However, selecting the effective docking program for a given ligand remains challenging due to the diversity of ligand and the varying algorithms employed by docking software. In this study, we investigated the relationship between several ligand physicochemical properties and the performance of various molecular docking programs.

Increased temperature enhances microbial-mediated lignin decomposition in river sediment.

Background: Lignin, as the most abundant recalcitrant organic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, plays a crucial role in the Earth's carbon cycle. After lignin entering aquatic environments, portion of it tends to accumulate in sediments, forming a stable carbon relatively reservoir. However, the increasing temperature caused by human activities may impact microbial-mediated lignin decomposition, thereby affecting sedimentary carbon reservoirs.

Fatty Acid Profiles Linked to Organohalogen Exposure in Cetaceans from the Northern South China Sea.

Increasing evidence suggests that organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) could disrupt lipid metabolism in organisms, prompting consideration of fatty acids (FAs) as biological tools for assessing chemical stress in biological systems. This study examined 87 OHCs and 32 FAs in two sentinel cetacean species─Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins ( = 128) and Indo-Pacific finless porpoises ( = 26)─from the northern South China Sea (NSCS), a global hotspot for OHCs. Our results revealed higher OHC levels in these cetaceans than global averages.

Long-term trends in summer hypoxia and associated driving factors in the Pearl River Estuary, China.

In this study, we collected in situ water quality data during the summer months from 1985 to 2021 and surface sediment organic carbon and stable carbon isotope (δC) data from 2002 and 2020 in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), to analyze long-term trends in hypoxia and explore changes in deoxygenation processes and their potential drivers. Our results showed that hypoxic events in the PRE transitioned from episodic in Lingdingyang Bay in the 2000s to periodic in the lower estuary by the late 2010s. During this transition, the dominant deoxygenation processes shifted from being caused by terrestrial and wastewater emissions to eutrophication.

Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of metabolism‑related microRNAs in high myopia in young and old adults with age‑related cataracts.

High myopia and age‑related cataracts are prevalent ocular disorders that compromise visual acuity. The molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions remain largely unclear. Here, microRNA (miRNA or miR) sequencing was performed on aqueous humor samples obtained from individuals with age‑related cataracts and high myopia (AH, n=9), young patients with high myopia (YH, n=9) and a control group of elderly patients with age‑related cataracts, matched in terms of sex and age (AN, n=9).

Patterns of trace elements deposition in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) teeth reflect early life history: A pilot study.

Understanding early life history events within a population is imperative for developing effective conservation and management practices, particularly for vulnerable species in degraded environments with high environmental variability. Here, we first investigated the lifetime record of trace element (TE) accumulation in the teeth of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins from the Pearl River Estuary, China, using in-situ laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry microanalysis, and further explored the suitability of teeth TEs as bioindicators of critical life stages. A total of 26 TEs were detected in the teeth of eight dolphins, with concentrations ranging from 0.

Biomagnification potential and health risks of organophosphate esters in prey to humpback dolphins based on dietary correction.

Information on the biomagnification of organophosphate esters (OPEs) is limited, and the results are inconclusive, mainly because precise predatorprey relationships have not been determined. Herein, we first evaluated the biomagnification potential and dietary exposure risk of 15 OPEs in 14 prey species (n = 234) to Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins from the northern South China Sea using quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA). QFASA identified Chinese gizzard shad as the primary prey of dolphins.

Community structure and carbon metabolism functions of bacterioplankton in the Guangdong coastal zone.

Unlabelled: Coastal ecosystems are an important region for biogeochemical cycling, are a hotspot of anthropogenic disturbance and play a crucial role in global carbon cycling through the metabolic activities of bacterioplankton. Bacterioplankton can be broadly classified into two lifestyles: free-living (FL) and particle-attached (PA). However, how coastal bacterioplankton the community structure, co-occurrence networks and carbon metabolic functions with different lifestyles are differentiated is still largely unknown.

Identification of Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase 9 (PARP9) as a Potent Suppressor for Infection.

Unlabelled: ADP-ribosylation is a reversible and dynamic post-translational modification mediated by ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs). Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) are an important family of human ARTs. ADP-ribosylation and PARPs have crucial functions in host-pathogen interaction, especially in viral infections.

Volumetric reconstruction of settling mud flocs: A new insight of equilibrium flocculation in saline water.

Mud flocculation and settling play key role in understanding sediment transport cycle and affect water quality in estuaries and coastal seas. However, the morphological irregularity and structural instability of fragile mud flocs set huge obstacles for quantifying geometric property accurately and establishing reliable predicting tools in settling dynamics via previous observing strategies based on instant measured and 2-dimensional imagery floc parameterizations. Here we designed a multi-camera apparatus targeting capturing multiple angles of individual flocs, and developed a multi-view segmentation algorithm on floc images analysis.

Magnetic natural lipid nanoparticles for oral treatment of colorectal cancer through potentiated antitumor immunity and microbiota metabolite regulation.

The therapeutic efficacy of oral nanotherapeutics against colorectal cancer (CRC) is restricted by inadequate drug accumulation, immunosuppressive microenvironment, and intestinal microbiota imbalance. To overcome these challenges, we elaborately constructed 6-gingerol (Gin)-loaded magnetic mesoporous silicon nanoparticles and functionalized their surface with mulberry leaf-extracted lipids (MLLs) and Pluronic F127 (P). In vitro experiments revealed that P functionalization and alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) promoted internalization of the obtained P-MLL@Gins by colorectal tumor cells and induced their apoptosis/ferroptosis through Gin/ferrous ion-induced oxidative stress and magneto-thermal effect.

ARRDC3 regulates the targeted therapy sensitivity of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by promoting AXL degradation.

AXL plays crucial roles in the tumorigenesis, progression, and drug resistance of neoplasms; however, the mechanisms associated with AXL overexpression in tumors remain largely unknown. In this study, to investigate these molecular mechanisms, wildtype and mutant proteins of arrestin domain-containing protein 3 (ARRDC3) and AXL were expressed, and co-immunoprecipitation analyses were performed. ARRDC3-deficient cells generated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system were treated with different concentrations of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib and subjected to cell biological, molecular, and pharmacological experiments.

Bioaccumulation and Potential Endocrine Disruption Risk of Legacy and Emerging Organophosphate Esters in Cetaceans from the Northern South China Sea.

Despite the increasing health risks shown by the continuous detection of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in biota in recent years, information on the occurrence and potential risks of OPEs in marine mammals remains limited. This study conducted the first investigation into the body burdens and potential risks of 10 traditional OPEs (tOPEs) and five emerging OPEs (eOPEs) in 10 cetacean species ( = 84) from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) during 2005-2021. All OPEs, except for 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP), were detected in these cetaceans, indicating their widespread occurrence in the NSCS.

Organohalogen contaminants threaten the survival of indo-pacific humpback dolphin calves in their largest habitat.

As long-lived apex predators, marine mammal adults often accumulate alarmingly levels of environmental contaminants. Nevertheless, the accumulation and risks of these contaminants in the critical calf stage of marine mammals remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the exposure status and health risks of 74 organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin calves (Sousa chinensis) collected from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China, during 2005-2019.

First determination of elevated levels of plastic additives in finless porpoises from the South China Sea.

Plastic additives, such as organophosphate esters (OPEs) and phthalate esters (PAEs), are raising public concerns due to their widespread presence and potential health risks. Nonetheless, the occurrences and potential health risks of these additives in marine mammals remain limited. Here, we first investigated the accumulation patterns and potential risks of OPEs and metabolites of PAEs (mPAEs) in Indo-Pacific finless porpoises inhabiting the northern South China Sea (NSCS) during 2007-2020.

Flocculation under combined effects of hydrodynamic and subaqueous biomass in the bottom boundary layer (BBL) of a microtidal estuary.

The flocculation dynamics within the bottom boundary layer (BBL) of tidal estuaries constitute a pivotal and intricate aspect entwined with hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. In microtidal estuaries, where saltwater intrusion occurs, the ensuing impacts on ecosystems, biological habitats, and human activities underscore necessity for comprehensive understanding. In pursuit of elucidating flocculation dynamics within estuarine BBLs, an extensive 25-hour survey was conducted throughout a complete tidal-cycle in the Huangmaohai estuary, China.