Stress responses in the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) midgut triggered by PFOA and PFHxS at environmental residue concentrations detected in bee products.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), as persistent global contaminants, pose substantial threats to pollinators like honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), yet their sub-lethal effects remain insufficiently explored. Here, we exposed bees to environmentally relevant concentrations (0.

DNA-based nanostructures for cell membrane receptor regulation and disease treatment.

The aberrant expression and dysfunction of cell membrane receptors are closely associated with the onset and progression of various major diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and inflammation. However, conventional membrane protein regulation strategies, such as small-molecule inhibitors or antibody-based therapies, face several challenges, including target dependency, limited degradation scope, and the development of drug resistance. In recent years, DNA nanostructure has emerged as an innovative solution for the precise modulation of membrane receptors, owing to its high programmability, precise spatial control, and dynamic responsiveness.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment Approaches Better Protect Susceptible Populations.

Across all of its program areas, the United States Environmental Protection Agency conducts risk assessments to evaluate the potential adverse effects of environmental hazards on ecological and human health. Traditionally, these assessments rely on deterministic methods that use point estimates for key parameters and incorporate uncertainty factors and precautionary assumptions to account for uncertainties in data and variability in environmental conditions, exposure pathways, and population characteristics. However, these approaches are unnecessarily conservative for the general population yet fail to transparently account for the vulnerabilities of susceptible populations.

The function and application potential of L-theanine: From biotechnological production, biosynthesis, bioactivity to food industry.

L-theanine (γ-glutamylethylamide), a unique amino acid predominantly biosynthesized in tea plants (Camellia sinensis), exhibits multifaceted roles in human health and food innovation. This review elucidates its biosynthesis regulated by nitrogen availability and epigenetic mechanisms, alongside sustainable biotechnological production strategies, including extraction technologies to biotransformation. Mechanistically, L-theanine modulates glutamate receptors to enhance neuroprotection (BDNF upregulation, cortisol reduction), activates AMPK for anti-obesity effects (lipid oxidation, adiponectin secretion), and activates of γδ T cells to bolster immunomodulation.

Advances in photonic crystal hydrogels for biomedical research: A review.

Photonic crystal hydrogel is an advanced material that combines the properties of photonic crystal and hydrogel with unique responsiveness and optical properties. By combining photonic crystals with hydrogels, the new material not only inherits the optical properties of photonic crystals, but also possesses the responsiveness and good biocompatibility of hydrogels. This makes the photonic crystal hydrogel show a broad application prospect in the field of sensors, clinical detection and biomedicine.

Bioinformatic workflows for deriving transcriptomic points of departure: current status, data gaps, and research priorities.

There is a pressing need to increase the efficiency and reliability of toxicological safety assessment for protecting human health and the environment. Although conventional toxicology tests rely on measuring apical changes in vertebrate models, there is increasing interest in the use of molecular information from animal and in vitro studies to inform safety assessment. One promising and pragmatic application of molecular information involves the derivation of transcriptomic points of departure (tPODs).

Development of a green cell factory for sustainable production of plant-derived sesquiterpene (-)-α-bisabolol.

(-)-α-Bisabolol is a plant-derived sesquiterpene derived from which can be used as a raw material in cosmetics and has anti-inflammatory function. In this study, we designed six mutation sites of the (-)-α-bisabolol synthase BOS using the plmDCA algorithm. Among these, the F324Y mutation demonstrated exceptional performance, increasing the product yield by 73 %.

Mixture toxic mechanism of phoxim and prochloraz in the hook snout carp Opsariichthysbidens.

Pesticides are usually found as mixtures in surface water bodies, even though their regulation in aquatic ecosystems is usually approached individually. In this context, this work aimed to investigate the enzymatic- and transcriptional-level responses after the mixture exposure of phoxim (PHX) and prochloraz (PRC) in the livers of hook snout carp Opsariichthys bidens. These data exhibited that co-exposure to PHX and PRC induced an acute synergistic impact on O.

Mechanistic insights into the parental co-exposure of T-2 toxin and epoxiconazole on the F1 generation of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Mycotoxins and pesticides frequently coexist in agricultural commodities on a global scale. The potential transgenerational consequences induced by these substances pose a significant threat to human health. However, there is a lack of data concerning the effects of co-contamination by these chemicals in the F1 generation following parental exposure.

Cathelicidin LL-37 promotes wound healing in diabetic mice by regulating TFEB-dependent autophagy.

Diabetic patients often experience impaired wound healing. Human cathelicidin LL-37 possesses various biological functions, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and pro-wound healing activities. Autophagy has important effects on skin wound healing.

Quantitative Integration of Mode of Action Information in Dose-Response Modeling and POD Estimation for Nonmutagenic Carcinogens: A Case Study of TCDD.

Background: Traditional dose-response assessment applies different low-dose extrapolation methods for cancer and noncancer effects and assumes that all carcinogens are mutagenic unless strong evidence suggests otherwise. Additionally, primarily focusing on one critical effect, dose-response modeling utilizes limited mode of action (MOA) data to inform low-dose risk.

Objective: We aimed to build a dose-response modeling framework that continuously extends the curve into the low-dose region via a quantitative integration of MOA information and to estimate MOA-based points of departure (PODs) for nonmutagenic carcinogens.

Margin of exposure to free formaldehyde in personal care products containing formaldehyde-donor preservatives: Evidence for consumer safety.

Formaldehyde has been classified as carcinogenic to humans by International Agency for Research on Cancer and found in personal care (PC) products containing formaldehyde-donor (FD) preservatives. However, the cancer risk associated with the use of FD-containing PC products has not been well established. Our study provides the quantitative cancer risk assessment of formaldehyde in FD-containing PC products.

Probiotic-loaded edible films made from proteins, polysaccharides, and prebiotics as a quality factor for minimally processed fruits and vegetables: A review.

Minimally processed fruits and vegetables (MPFVs) are gaining popularity in households because of their freshness, convenience, and rapid consumption, all of which align with today's busy lifestyles. However, their exposure of large surface areas during peeling and slicing can result in contamination by foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria, posing potential food safety concerns. In addition, enzymatic browning of MPFVs can significantly reduce their consumer appeal.

A mode of action-based probabilistic framework of dose-response assessment for nonmutagenic liver carcinogens: a case study of PCB-126.

A main function of dose-response assessment is to estimate a "safe" dose in the target population to support chemical risk assessment. Typically, a "safe" dose is developed differently for cancer and noncancer effects based on a 2-step procedure, ie, point of departure (POD) derivation and low-dose extrapolation. However, the current dose-response assessment framework is criticized for its dichotomized strategy without integrating the mode of action (MOA) information.

The Effect of Historical Data-Based Informative Prior on Benchmark Dose Estimation of Toxicogenomics.

High-throughput toxicogenomics as an advanced toolbox of Tox21 plays an increasingly important role in facilitating the toxicity assessment of environmental chemicals. However, toxicogenomic dose-response analyses are typically challenged by limited data, which may result in significant uncertainties in parameter and benchmark dose (BMD) estimation. Integrating historical data via prior distribution using a Bayesian method is a useful but not-well-studied strategy.

Beyond the cancer slope factor: Broad application of Bayesian and probabilistic approaches for cancer dose-response assessment.

Traditional cancer slope factors derived from linear low-dose extrapolation give little consideration to uncertainties in dose-response model choice, interspecies extrapolation, and human variability. As noted previously by the National Academies, probabilistic methods can address these limitations, but have only been demonstrated in a few case studies. Here, we applied probabilistic approaches for Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA), interspecies extrapolation, and human variability distributions to 255 animal cancer bioassay datasets previously used by governmental agencies.

Chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid and other novel multifunctional hydrogel dressings for wound healing: A review.

Wound healing is a complex project, and effectively promoting skin repair is a huge clinical challenge. Hydrogels have great prospect in the field of wound dressings because their physical properties are very similar to those of living tissue and have excellent properties such as high water content, oxygen permeability and softness. However, the single performance of traditional hydrogels limits their application as wound dressings.

Using Prior Toxicological Data to Support Dose-Response Assessment─Identifying Plausible Prior Distributions for Dichotomous Dose-Response Models.

The benchmark dose (BMD) methodology has significantly advanced the practice of dose-response analysis and created substantial opportunities to enhance the plausibility of BMD estimation by synthesizing dose-response information from different sources. Particularly, integrating existing toxicological information via prior distribution in a Bayesian framework is a promising but not well-studied strategy. The study objective is to identify a plausible way to incorporate toxicological information through informative prior to support BMD estimation using dichotomous data.

Non-gelated polymeric photonic crystal films.

A rapid curing method for the preparation of colloidal photonic crystal films is presented. Firstly, a colloidal crystal array template was prepared by self-assembly of nanospheres, and then a dilute polymer solution was poured into the gap of the template. Then the composite photonic film was obtained as the polymer solution was cured.