Do the residual metals in multiple environmental media surrounding mines pose ecological and health risks? A case of an abandoned mining area in central south China.

Despite effective mining environmental regulations, residual metal pollution persists, leading to significant ecological harm and posing substantial risks to human well-being. This study employed multiple-criteria methods to investigate the ecological and health risks caused by metals in multiple environmental media (e.g., arable soil, indoor dust, PM10, homegrown vegetables, and rice) around abandoned mine areas (MA) in central south China. The study also aimed to identify predominant risk factors and the main exposure pathway. The findings revealed that metal levels and risks in the environmental media surrounding the MA were significantly higher than those in the control areas (away from abandoned mines, CA). This indicates that the accumulation of metals in the environmental media surrounding the MA was attributed to the previous mining activities. Variations in metal content were observed among different environmental media in MA, with Cd from mining source being the primary pollutant in arable soil, indoor dust, PM10, and vegetables, while As from agricultural source was the main pollutant in rice. Additionally, the consumption of Cd-contaminated vegetables and As-contaminated rice emerged as the primary routes of health hazards for the local population, leading to significant non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks. Consequently, it is imperative for the government and mining companies to promptly establish risk control and remedial strategies for mitigating residual metal levels in multiple environmental media surrounding the MA.

High-fiber diet and rope-skipping benefit cardiometabolic health and modulate gut microbiota in young adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Previous studies have shown that high intake of dietary fiber (DF) and efficient levels of physical activity are beneficial for cardiometabolic health in middle-aged and elderly populations with cardiometabolic disease. However, evidence from young adults with low cardiometabolic risk is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the effects of various interventions including a high-fiber (HF) diet and the rope-skipping (RS) exercise on cardiometabolic risk factors (CRFs) and the composition of the gut microbiota in young adults. A 12-week parallel-designed randomized controlled trial was conducted in undergraduates (n = 96), who were randomly assigned to the HF group (≥20 g/d DF), the RS group (2000 jumps/week), and the control (CON) group. Among the 84 people who completed the trial, measurements of anthropometric characteristics, biochemical parameters, and gut microbiota were taken at the beginning and end of the intervention. After the intervention, the RS exercise led to a significant decrease in the heart rate and triglyceride levels compared to the CON group (all P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in CRFs between the HF and CON groups. When compared to baseline, the 12-week HF diet intervention resulted in an increase in fat-free mass, and a decrease in the percentage of body fat and waist circumference (all P < 0.05). With regard to gut microbiota alterations after intervention, we found that compared with the CON group, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus decreased significantly in both the HF group and the RS group, Muribaculaceae decreased in the RS group, and Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group decreased in the HF group (all P < 0.05). Finally, shifts in 7 metabolic pathways were detected in the RS group using predictive functional profiling, while only one pathway was altered in the HF group (all P < 0.05). In conclusion, the RS exercise improved body composition compared to the CON group in young adults, while the HF diet just enhanced CRFs in contrast to baseline. Furthermore, both RS and HF interventions altered Lactobacillus and various other gut microbiota. The results indicated that the HF diet and RS exercise could partly benefit cardiometabolic health and modulate gut microbiota in young adults. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04834687.

Elevated first-trimester hepcidin level is associated with reduced risk of iron deficiency anemia in late pregnancy: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy are highly prevalent worldwide. Hepcidin is considered an important biomarker of iron status. Currently, few longitudinal cohort studies have assessed the potential causal relationship between hepcidin and ID/IDA. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of first-trimester maternal serum hepcidin with third-trimester ID/IDA risk in a prospective cohort. Methods: Total of 353 non-ID/IDA pregnant women at 11-13 weeks' gestation were enrolled in Southern China and followed up to 38 weeks of gestation. Data on demography and anthropometry were obtained from a structured questionnaire at enrollment. Iron biomarkers including hepcidin were measured at enrollment and follow-up. Regression models were used to evaluate the association of first-trimester hepcidin with third-trimester ID/IDA risk. Results: Serum hepcidin levels substantially decreased from 19.39 ng/mL in the first trimester to 1.32 ng/mL in the third trimester. Incidences of third-trimester ID and IDA were 46.2 and 11.4%, respectively. Moreover, moderate and high levels of first-trimester hepcidin were positively related to third-trimester hepcidin (log-transformed ß = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.01, 1.00 and log-transformed ß = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.15, 1.17). Importantly, elevated first-trimester hepcidin was significantly associated with reduced risk of third-trimester IDA (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.15, 0.99), but not with ID after adjustment with potential confounders. Conclusion: First-trimester hepcidin was negatively associated with IDA risk in late pregnancy, indicating higher first-trimester hepcidin level may predict reduced risk for developing IDA. Nonetheless, given the limited sample size, larger studies are still needed.

Gut microbiota modulate distal symmetric polyneuropathy in patients with diabetes.

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN), a common neuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), are not fully understood. Here, we discover that the gut microbiota from patients with DSPN can induce a phenotype exhibiting more severe peripheral neuropathy in db/db mice. In a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial (ChiCTR1800017257), compared to 10 patients who received placebo, DSPN was significantly alleviated in the 22 patients who received fecal microbiota transplants from healthy donors, independent of glycemic control. The gut bacterial genomes that correlated with the Toronto Clinical Scoring System (TCSS) score were organized in two competing guilds. Increased guild 1, which had higher capacity in butyrate production, and decreased guild 2, which harbored more genes in synthetic pathway of endotoxin, were associated with improved gut barrier integrity and decreased proinflammatory cytokine levels. Moreover, matched enterotype between transplants and recipients showed better therapeutic efficacy with more enriched guild 1 and suppressed guild 2. Thus, changes in these two competing guilds may play a causative role in DSPN and have the potential for therapeutic targeting.

Vertical transmission of the gut microbiota influences glucose metabolism in offspring of mice with hyperglycaemia in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycaemia in pregnancy (HIP) is a common metabolic disorder that not only poses risks to maternal health but also associates with an increased risk of diabetes among offspring. Vertical transmission of microbiota may influence the offspring microbiome and subsequent glucose metabolism. However, the mechanism by which maternal gut microbiota may influence glucose metabolism of the offspring remains unclear and whether intervening microbiota vertical transmission could be used as a strategy to prevent diabetes in the offspring of mothers with HIP has not been investigated. So we blocked vertical transmission to investigate its effect on glucose metabolism in the offspring. RESULTS: We established a murine HIP model with a high-fat diet (HFD) and investigated the importance of vertical transmission of gut microbiota on the glucose metabolism of offspring via birth and nursing by blocking these events through caesarean section (C-section) and cross-fostering. After weaning, all offspring were fed a normal diet. Based on multi-omics analysis, biochemical and transcriptional assays, we found that the glucometabolic deficits in the mothers were subsequently 'transmitted' to the offspring. Meanwhile, the partial change in mothers' gut microbial community induced by HIP could be transmitted to offspring, supported by the closed clustering of the microbial structure and composition between the offspring and their mothers. Further study showed that the microbiota vertical transmission was blocked by C-section and cross-fostering, which resulted in improved insulin sensitivity and islet function of the offspring of the mothers with HIP. These effects were correlated with changes in the relative abundances of specific bacteria and their metabolites, such as increased relative abundances of Bifidobacterium and short-chain fatty acids. In particular, gut microbial communities of offspring were closely related to those of their foster mothers but not their biological mothers, and the effect of cross-fostering on the offspring's gut microbiota was more profound than that of C-section. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that the gut microbiota transmitted via birth and nursing are important contributors to the glucose metabolism phenotype in offspring. Video Abstract.

Soy Food Intake Associated with Obesity and Hypertension in Children and Adolescents in Guangzhou, Southern China.

The associations between soy food intake and cardio-metabolic risk factors in children remain unclear due to limited evidence. We aim to explore soy food intake and its association with the risks of obesity and hypertension in Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 10,536 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years (5125 boys and 5411 girls) were enrolled in a cross-sectional study in Guangzhou City, southern China. Data on demographic characteristics and dietary consumption were collected using self-reported questionnaires, and anthropometric characteristics were measured. Obesity, abdominal obesity, and hypertension were defined using Chinese criteria for children and adolescents. A multiple logistic regression model was applied to estimate the association between soy food intake and obesity and hypertension. Roughly 39.5% of the participants consumed soy food more than three times per week. The mean amounts of liquid and solid soy food intake were 0.35 ± 0.54 cups/day and 0.46 ± 0.63 servings/day, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) of hypertension among those with high liquid soy food intake and a high frequency of all soy food intake (more than three times/week) were 0.79 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.67-0.94), and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.70-0.97) compared to those with no intake. Additionally, the adjusted OR of obesity among those with high solid soy food intake and a high frequency of all soy food intake were 1.34 (95% CI, 1.09-1.63) and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.07-1.58), respectively. In conclusion, 39.5% of southern Chinese children and adolescents had high soy food intake (more than three times/week), which was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension and a greater prevalence of obesity.

GC-MS-based metabolite profiling of key differential metabolites between superior and inferior spikelets of rice during the grain filling stage.

BACKGROUND: The asynchronous filling between superior spikelets (SS) and inferior spikelets (IS) in rice has become a research hotspot. The stagnant development and poor grain filling of IS limit yields and the formation of good quality rice. A large number of studies on this phenomenon have been carried out from the genome, transcriptome and proteome level, indicating that asynchronous filling of SS and IS filling is a complex, but orderly physiological and biochemical process involving changes of a large number of genes, protein expression and modification. However, the analysis of metabolomics differences between SS and IS is rarely reported currently. RESULTS: This study utilized untargeted metabolomics and identified 162 metabolites in rice spikelets. Among them, 17 differential metabolites associated with unsynchronized grain filling between SS and IS, 27 metabolites were related to the stagnant development of IS and 35 metabolites related to the lower maximum grain-filling rate of IS compared with the SS. We found that soluble sugars were an important metabolite during grain filling for SS and IS. Absolute quantification was used to further analyze the dynamic changes of 4 types of soluble sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose, and trehalose) between SS and IS. The results showed that sucrose and trehalose were closely associated with the dynamic characteristics of grain filling between SS and IS. The application of exogenous sugar showed that trehalose functioned as a key sugar signal during grain filling of IS. Trehalose regulated the expression of genes related to sucrose conversion and starch synthesis, thereby promoting the conversion of sucrose to starch. The difference in the spatiotemporal expression of TPS-2 and TPP-1 between SS and IS was an important reason that led to the asynchronous change in the trehalose content between SS and IS. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study are helpful for understanding the difference in grain filling between SS and IS at the metabolite level. In addition, the present results can also provide a theoretical basis for the next step of using metabolites to regulate the filling of IS.

[Effect of Calcium Magnesium Phosphate on Remediation Paddy Soil Contaminated with Cadmium Using Lime and Sepiolite].

The combined application of amendments, such as hydroxyhistidine and zeolite, can effectively reduce both the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by rice, thus improving the safety of agricultural products. In this work, the effect of calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer on the content of available Cd in paddy soil and Cd accumulation in various parts of rice by lime combined with sepiolite was studied using a plot experiment. The results show that calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer can significantly promote the remediation effect of lime combined with sepiolite. Compared with the treatment with lime combined with sepiolite, the application of calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer significantly decreases the available Cd content in the soil and the Cd accumulation in the brown rice. With calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer of 2250 kg·hm-2, Cd2+ in soil formed less soluble cadmium phosphate, the content of extractable, reducible and oxidizable Cd was reduced, and the percentage of available Cd content in the soil was significantly (P<0.05) reduced by 46.97%. Meanwhile, the Cd content in brown rice was decreased to 0.04 mg·kg-1, which is far lower than the level required by the National Standard for Food Safety (GB 2762-2017) (0.2 mg·kg-1). In addition, the production of brown rice was increased by 28.34%. Correlation analysis shows that the Cd content in rice roots, straw, and brown rice was positively correlated with the available Cd content in soil (P<0.01), and between the Cd content in brown rice and in roots and straw (P<0.01). In general, the results indicate that the available Cd content in soil was the key factor affecting the Cd content in brown rice. The application of calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer can improve the amendment of lime combined with sepiolite for available Cd in soil and reduce the Cd absorption of rice roots and straw so that the Cd content in brown rice is reduced. The results show that the application of calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer enhances the effect of reducing the Cd content in brown rice by lime combined with sepiolite. Finally, it can both meet the safety requirements of brown rice quality and increase the yield of brown rice in Cd-contaminated paddy soil.

Synthesis of FePcS-PMA-LDH Cointercalation Composite with Enhanced Visible Light Photo-Fenton Catalytic Activity for BPA Degradation at Circumneutral pH.

(1) Background: Iron tetrasulfophthalocyanine with a large nonlinear optical coefficient, good stability, and high catalytic activity has aroused the attention of researchers in the field of photo-Fenton reaction. Further improvement of the visible light photo-Fenton catalytic activity under circumneutral pH conditions for their practical application is still of great importance. (2) Methods: In this paper, iron tetrasulfophthalocyanine (FePcS) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) cointercalated layered double hydroxides (LDH) were synthesized by the ion-exchange method. All samples were fully characterized by various techniques and the results showed that FePcS and PMA were successfully intercalated in layered double hydroxides and the resulted compound exhibited strong absorption in the visible light region. The cointercalation compound was tested as a heterogeneous catalyst for the visible light photo-Fenton degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) at circumneutral pH. (3) Results: The results showed that the degradation and total organic carbon removal efficiencies of bisphenol A were 100% and 69.2%, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements demonstrated that the main contribution of PMA to the enhanced photo-Fenton activity of FePcS-PMA-LDH comes from the acceleration of electron transfer in the reaction system. Additionally, the possible reaction mechanism in the photo-Fenton system catalyzed by FePcS-PMA-LDH was also proposed.

Physiological responses of Morus alba L. in heavy metal(loid)-contaminated soil and its associated improvement of the microbial diversity.

Woody plants have considerable application potential in the phytoremediation schemes, owing to their long-lived large biomass and prosperous root systems in heavy metal(loid)-contaminated soil. Under greenhouse conditions, the physiological response characteristics and phytoremediation possibility of Morus alba L. and its associated improvement of the bacterial and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) diversities in heavy metal(loid) co-contaminated soils were investigated. The results showed that the cultivated M. alba L. plant exhibited significant tolerance against the heavy metal(loid)s in co-contaminated soil and that the microbial diversities were improved notably. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in M. alba L. leaves decreased with cultivation from 90 to 270 days, while the superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase activities were maintained at normal levels to eliminate the production of lipid peroxides. The chemical compositions (e.g. amino acids, carbohydrates and proteins) in the root of M. alba L. fluctuated slightly throughout the cultivation period. Meanwhile, Cd, Pb and Zn were majorly concentrated in the M. alba L. roots, and the maximum contents were 23.4, 7.40 and 615.5 mg/kg, respectively. According to the polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis results, the influence of M. alba L. on the rhizosphere AMF community was greater than that on the bacteria community. Meanwhile, the bacterial and AMF Shannon diversity indexes in the contaminated soil were enhanced by 18.7-22.0% and 7.14-16.4%, respectively, with the presence of M. alba L. Furthermore, the correlations between the availability of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn and Shannon diversity indexes of the bacterial and AMF communities were significantly (p < 0.05) positive with the phytoremediation of M. alba L. Therefore, M. alba L. can be suggested as a potential plant candidate for ecological remediation and for simultaneously improving the activity and diversity of microorganisms in contaminated soils.

The important functionality of 14-3-3 isoforms in rice roots revealed by affinity chromatography.

Plant 14-3-3 proteins belong to a large family of proteins involved in numerous physiological processes, and function by binding to phosphorylated client proteins to regulate their function. However, little is known about their regulatory mechanisms in rice root growth. In this study, four 14-3-3 isoforms (GF14b, GF14c, GF14e, GF14f) exhibiting prominent expression profiles in rice roots, were selected for further investigation. Through a pull-down assay using four 14-3-3 isoforms in rice roots, 87 client proteins were identified that are involved in metabolism, protein synthesis and trafficking, energy metabolism, cell structure and growth, and other cellular processes. Importantly, we found that 14-3-3 proteins may play an important role in the root stress response through interactions with proteins functioning in oxidative stress, pathogenesis and secondary metabolism. By using real-time RT-PCR, it was found that 14-3-3 proteins exhibited diverse patterns of gene expression in response to salinity and drought stresses in rice root. The results revealed the isoform-specific functions of root 14-3-3 proteins. Our current study provides insight into understanding the functional roles of 14-3-3 proteins during rice root growth. SIGNIFICANCE: Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important food crops in the world, as it is consumed by more than 3 billion people. Regulation of root growth plays an important role in rice adaption to biotic and abiotic, stress such as rhizosphere microbes and nutrient stress, and this process is directly related to the final yield. 14-3-3 proteins form a multi-gene family regulating developmental processes in plants. However, the correlation between the 14-3-3 protein family and its role in rice root growth has very little study. We applied an affinity chromatographic approach, in combination with LC-MS/MS, to explore the client proteins of four 14-3-3 isoforms that exhibit much more prominent gene expression than other members of the 14-3-3 family in rice roots. Assessments of the identified client proteins are able to obtain novel information toward understanding the functional mechanism of 14-3-3 proteins in rice root growth as expected.

[Bacteria ecology in planting-culturing system].

Planting-culturing system in inter-tidal zone is a new type eco-culturing model. The survey on bacteria biomass and water quality in the designed planting-culturing system in inter-tidal zone showed that the mangrove planted in the system improved water quality and made water quality to II-III type, better than the IV and V type in the control pond. Designed ponds made heterotrophic bacteria, vibrio, phosphorus bacteria and enzyme-producing bacteria populations 1-2 order lower than the control pond without mongrove planting. Correlation analyses with CORREL software showed that the biomass of these bacteria was positively related with the nitrogen and phosphorus contents in water of the system, and the correlation coefficient for heterogeneous bacteria and vibrio was up to 0.9205. Heterotrophic bacteria and vibrio could be used as the water-quality monitoring organisms.