Occurrences and migration characteristics of photoinitiators in paper food packaging: Implication for human exposure.

Photoinitiators (PIs), as an important component of UV inks, are widely used in the printing of paper food packaging. Nevertheless, there is limited information concerning the identification of PIs in food packaging and their potential migration rules under natural storage condition. In this study, 23 target PIs detected in paper food packaging were dominated by benzophenones (BZPs), followed by amine co-initiators (ACIs), thioxanthones (TXs) and phosphine oxides (POs).

Gut microbiota regulates serum metabolites in mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease via gut metabolites: mechanisms involving branched-chain amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids.

Introduction: In recent years, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease globally. Studies indicate that the gut-liver axis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of this disease. Our previous studies showed that the gut microbiota and gut metabolites in mice with NAFLD changed significantly.

Trophic Transfer of Metal Nanoparticles in an Aquatic Food Chain Diminishes Their Toxicity Disparities.

Engineered nanoparticles (ENP) threaten aquatic ecosystems as they are increasingly released into the aquatic environment, which is the sink for most contaminants, throughout their life cycle. How the food web responds to ENPs or how they shape the food web remains unclear. Here, we report the environmental behavior and toxicity of four ENPs in an aquatic food chain, focusing on their uptake, depuration, and trophic transfer efficiency.

Photoelectrochemical glycerol oxidation to high value-added products over BiVO/CuWO heterojunction photoanodes.

Developing high-efficiency, long-term stable photoanodes to harness solar energy for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) glycerol oxidation into value-added chemicals is pivotal for advancing green chemistry. However, controlling selectivity while achieving high efficiency and stability poses a significant challenge in photoelectrode design. Here, a BiVO/CuWO (abbreviated as BVO/CWO) heterojunction photoanode was synthesized via an electrodeposition method followed by spin-coating.

Deep eutectic solvent-mediated extraction of lignin: A novel strategy for producing high-quality biopolymers in controlled-release mulching applications.

Microplastic contamination of low-density polyethylene mulch and nutrient loss from fertilizers present significant challenges in the crop-growing. In this study, the focus was on creating a biodegradable film that combines the advantages of plastic film, thermal insulation and water retention, as well as the controlled release of fertilizer. A key innovation was the efficient introduction of low molecular weight and low dispersibility of poplar lignin into chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol matrices.

Prediction of perovskite oxygen vacancies for oxygen electrocatalysis at different temperatures.

Efficient catalysts are imperative to accelerate the slow oxygen reaction kinetics for the development of emerging electrochemical energy systems ranging from room-temperature alkaline water electrolysis to high-temperature ceramic fuel cells. In this work, we reveal the role of cationic inductive interactions in predetermining the oxygen vacancy concentrations of 235 cobalt-based and 200 iron-based perovskite catalysts at different temperatures, and this trend can be well predicted from machine learning techniques based on the cationic lattice environment, requiring no heavy computational and experimental inputs. Our results further show that the catalytic activity of the perovskites is strongly correlated with their oxygen vacancy concentration and operating temperatures.

Proteomic insights from extracellular vesicles into the molecular mechanisms of health effects induced by Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can induce a range of adverse health effects, with the precise molecular mechanisms remaining elusive. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have demonstrated their potential to elucidate unknown molecular mechanisms. Building upon the close alignment of their biological functions with the observed health effects of PFASs, this study innovatively focuses on proteomic insights from EVs into the molecular mechanisms underlying the systemic health effects of PFASs.

Matcha alleviates obesity by modulating gut microbiota and its metabolites.

Matcha shows promise for diabetes, obesity, and gut microbiota disorders. Studies suggest a significant link between gut microbiota, metabolites, and obesity. Thus, matcha may have a positive impact on obesity by modulating gut microbiota and metabolites.

Integrative approach to mitigate chromium toxicity in soil and enhance antioxidant activities in rice (Oryza sativa L.) using magnesium-iron nanocomposite and Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Pollutants in soil, particularly chromium (Cr), pose high environmental and health risks due to their persistence, bioavailability, and potential for causing toxicity. Cr impairment in plants act as a deleterious environmental pollutant that enters the food chain and eventually disturbs human health. Current study demonstrated the potential of integrative foliar application of magnesium-iron (Mg + Fe) nanocomposite with Staphylococcus aureus strains to alleviate Cr toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa) crops by improving yield and defense system.

Konjac supplementation can alleviate obesity induced by high-fat diet in mice by modulating gut microbiota and its metabolites.

As a multi-factorial disease, obesity has become one of the major health problems in the world, and it is still increasing rapidly. Konjac supplementation, as a convenient dietary therapy, has been shown to be able to regulate gut microbiota and improve obesity. However, the specific mechanism by which konjac improves obesity through gut microbiota remains to be studied.

A Chinese individual with DEL phenotype caused by a novel RHD allele.

Background: RhD variants are categorized into partial D, weak D, and DEL. The detection of DEL can only be achieved through the adsorption and elution method or molecular techniques. Here, we report a case of DEL phenotypes associated with a novel allele in a Chinese individual.

Prenatal Exposure of PFAS in Cohorts of Pregnant Women: Identifying the Critical Windows of Vulnerability and Health Implications.

Cohorts of pregnant women in 2018 and 2020 were selected to explore prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Maternal serum during the whole pregnancy (first to third trimesters) and matched cord serum were collected for the analysis of 50 PFAS. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS) were the dominant PFAS in both the maternal and cord serum.

Gut microbiota is involved in male reproductive function: a review.

Globally, ~8%-12% of couples confront infertility issues, male-related issues being accountable for 50%. This review focuses on the influence of gut microbiota and their metabolites on the male reproductive system from five perspectives: sperm quality, testicular structure, sex hormones, sexual behavior, and probiotic supplementation. To improve sperm quality, gut microbiota can secrete metabolites by themselves or regulate host metabolites.

Gut microbiota affects obesity susceptibility in mice through gut metabolites.

Introduction: It is well-known that different populations and animals, even experimental animals with the same rearing conditions, differ in their susceptibility to obesity. The disparity in gut microbiota could potentially account for the variation in susceptibility to obesity. However, the precise impact of gut microbiota on gut metabolites and its subsequent influence on susceptibility to obesity remains uncertain.

Supplementing Glucose Intake Reverses the Inflammation Induced by a High-Fat Diet by Increasing the Expression of Siglec-E Ligands on Erythrocytes.

Siglec-9/E is a cell surface receptor expressed on immune cells and can be activated by sialoglycan ligands to play an immunosuppressive role. Our previous study showed that increasing the expression of Siglec-9 (the human paralog of mouse Siglec-E) ligands maintains functionally quiescent immune cells in the bloodstream, but the biological effects of Siglec-9 ligand alteration on atherogenesis were not further explored. In the present study, we demonstrated that the atherosclerosis risk factor ox-LDL or a high-fat diet could decrease the expression of Siglec-9/E ligands on erythrocytes.

Butyrate alleviates renal fibrosis in CKD by regulating NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis via the STING/NF-κB/p65 pathway.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious and irreversible disease primarily characterized by chronic inflammation and renal fibrosis. Recent studies have suggested that gut microbiota-related metabolites, particularly short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are significantly associated with kidney diseases. Notably, butyrate, a type of SCFAs, plays a crucial role in this correlation.

Fabrication and optimization of paper chips from calcinated Fe-MOFs for rapid and in situ visual detection of tetracyclines in water environments.

Antibiotics such as tetracyclines (TCs) have become a major threat to ecosystem safety and human health, as their abuse has caused the occurrence and proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes. Currently, there is still a lack of convenient in situ methods for the detection and monitoring of TC pollution in actual water systems. This research reports a paper chip based on the complexation of iron-based metal organic frameworks (Fe-MOFs) and TCs for rapid and in situ visual detection of representative oxytetracycline (OTC) pollution in water environments.

Source-Free Progressive Graph Learning for Open-Set Domain Adaptation.

Open-set domain adaptation (OSDA) aims to transfer knowledge from a label-rich source domain to a label-scarce target domain while addressing disturbances from irrelevant target classes not present in the source data. However, most OSDA approaches are limited due to the lack of essential theoretical analysis of generalization bound, reliance on the coexistence of source and target data during adaptation, and failure to accurately estimate model predictions' uncertainty. To address these limitations, the Progressive Graph Learning (PGL) framework is proposed.

Pretreatment of poplar with eco-friendly levulinic acid to achieve efficient utilization of biomass.

Organic acid pretreatment is an effective method for green separation of lignocellulosic biomass. However, repolymerization of lignin seriously affects the dissolution of hemicellulose and the conversion of cellulose during organic acid pretreatment. Therefore, a new organic acid pretreatment, levulinic acid (Lev) pretreatment, was studied for the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass without adding additional additives.

Characteristics of intestinal microbiota in C57BL/6 mice with non-alcoholic fatty liver induced by high-fat diet.

Introduction: As a representation of the gut microbiota, fecal and cecal samples are most often used in human and animal studies, including in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) research. However, due to the regional structure and function of intestinal microbiota, whether it is representative to use cecal or fecal contents to study intestinal microbiota in the study of NAFLD remains to be shown.

Methods: The NAFLD mouse model was established by high-fat diet induction, and the contents of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon (formed fecal balls) were collected for 16S rRNA gene analysis.

Bromophenol Induced Multiple Stress Responses in Rice Plants: Impact of Doses and Congener Structures.

Bromophenols (BPs) have both natural and artificial sources in the environment and are frequently detected in plants. Herein, the ubiquitous 2,4,6-TriBP was hydroponically exposed to rice seedlings at two concentrations (0.2 and 2.

Enhancement of separation selectivity of hemicellulose from bamboo using freeze-thaw-assisted p-toluenesulfonic acid treatment at low acid concentration and high temperature.

The cellulose-rich residual solids are obtained with p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) treatment. However, better fractionation of hemicellulose and separation is difficult to obtain during treatment. This study aims at investigating the separation selectivity of bamboo hemicellulose using freeze-thaw-assisted p-TsOH (F/p-TsOH) treatment.

Percutaneous absorption and exposure risk assessment of organophosphate esters in children's toys.

The percutaneous penetration and exposure risk of organophosphate esters (OPEs) from children's toys remains largely unknown. Percutaneous penetration of OPEs was evaluated by EPISkin™ model. Chlorinated OPEs (Cl-OPEs) and alkyl OPEs, except tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate, exhibited a fast absorption rate and good dermal penetration ability with cumulative absorptions of 57.