Toxic effects and mechanisms of engineered nanoparticles and nanoplastics on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are typical nanoparticles in terrestrial environments. Till now, few studies have compared their toxicity and mechanism to plants. Here we investigated the effects of CuO, nZVI ENPs and polystyrene (PS) NPs on lettuce growth, metabolic functions, and microbial community structure. Results showed that low concentrations of nanoparticles decreased root biomass and promoted photosynthetic indicators, whereas increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected in roots exposed to high concentrations of nanoparticles. High-dose CuO ENP exposure significantly raised the MDA content by 124.6 % compared to CK, causing the most severe membrane damage in the roots among the three types of nanoparticles. Although linoleic acid metabolism was down-regulated, the roots alleviated CuO stress by up-regulating galactose metabolism. Uptake of PS by roots similarly caused ROS production and activated the oxidative stress system by altering amino acid and vitamin metabolism. Faster microbial responses to nanoparticles were observed in the nZVI and PS networks. The root toxicity was indirectly mediated by ion release, NP uptake, or ROS generation, ultimately impacting root cell metabolism, rhizospheric microorganism and plant growth. These findings provide theoretical basis for assessing environmental impact of nanoparticles and their possible ecological risks.

Phosphorus adsorption characteristics and release risk in saline soils: a case study of Songnen Plain, China.

Introduction: The Songnen Plain is one of the three major saline-alkali areas in China, covering a vast area, where drought and overgrazing have exacerbated the salinization trend, and will have great potential for development if utilized rationally. Phosphorus, as one of important soil nutrients, plays a crucial role in plant growth. How to minimize its loss and migration has become a current research hotspot. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the adsorption properties of phosphorus in soils affected by salinization and to establish the correlation between the potential for phosphorus release and soil properties. Methods: A batch treatment test was conducted in this study using three soils with the various salinization degrees to examine the impact of environmental factors on the adsorption properties and potential release of phosphorus. Results and discussion: It was found that the maximum phosphorus adsorption by the three salinization soils in 0-360 minutes accounted for 86.8%-90.5% of the total adsorption capacity; the equilibrium adsorption capacity was: HS> MS> LS. In cases where the phosphorus level in the surrounding liquid is low, the three levels of salinized soils exhibited varying levels of phosphorus discharge, with the adsorbent acting as the origin of contaminants. The Pseudo-second-order model kinetics and Langmuir equation can well describe the adsorption process, and the adsorption process is spontaneous heat absorption with entropy increase. Increasing the pH led to an increase in the adsorption of phosphorus from the three salinized soils. Additionally, the adsorption was enhanced by introducing varying concentrations of Na+, Ca2+, and Al3+ to the background solution. The phosphorus eutrophication release risk (ERI) demonstrated a gradual decline as temperature increased. Correlation analysis revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between TN, TP, and ERI, as well as a significant negative correlation between CEC, K+, and ERI. Furthermore, there was a highly significant negative correlation between coarse silt and fine silt. Considering local climatic and environmental factors is crucial for controlling the adsorption capacity of phosphorus in various salinized soils, as it can unveil the mechanism of phosphorus adsorption and impact its migration and release risk.

Gastrointestinal digestibility insights of different levels of coated complex trace minerals supplementation on growth performance of yellow-feathered broilers.

This study was designed to evaluate the optimum additional level of coated complex trace minerals (TMs) and its impacts on the growth performance of broilers through measurement of digestibility of nutrients and intestinal development. In a 56-day trial, a total of 360 one-day-old male yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into six dietary treatment groups. Each treatment contained six replicates, with 10 birds. The control group was supplemented with 1,000 mg/kg of uncoated complex TMs in the basal diet (UCCTM1000). The remaining 5 treatments were degressively supplemented with coated complex TMs from 1,000 to 200 mg/kg in the basal diet, which were considered as (CCTM1000), (CCTM800), (CCTM600), (CCTM400), (CCTM200), respectively. Results: On comparing the UCCTM1000 supplementation, the CCTM1000 supplementation decreased the feed to gain ratio (F/G) (P < 0.05), increased digestibility of crude protein (CP) (P < 0.05), crude fat (CF) (P < 0.05), villus height (VH) of duodenum (P < 0.05), and the mRNA expression level of occludin in jejunal mucosa (P < 0.05). In addition, the F/G was lower in the CCTE600 group than that in the CCTE200 group (P < 0.05). The VH to crypt depth (CD) ratio (V/C) of jejunum and ileum in the CCTM400 and CCTM600 groups was higher (P < 0.05) than that in the CCTM1000 group. The serum endotoxin and D-lactate level and CP digestibility were increased by dietary coated complex TMs addition level. The mRNA expression levels of claudin-1 and ZO-1 in the CCTM600 group were higher (P < 0.05) than that in the CCTM1000 group. In conclusion, adding 600 mg/kg of coated complex TMs showed the minimum F/G and the maximum crude protein digestibility and intestine development of yellow-feathered broilers compared with other treatments. This supplementation level of coated complex TMs could totally replace 1,000 mg/kg of uncoated complex TMs to further decrease the dose of TMs and raise economic benefit.

Steroid hormone-inducible biosensor based on EGFP-tagged and environmental application.

Steroid hormones as a class of emerging organic pollutant and high concern, due to their potential risks for human and environmental. Accurate analytical methods of steroid hormones are necessary in quantifying and monitoring. Biosensor is a promising technique. In this study, though part of 3α-HSD DNA to construct a regulatory plasmid and with the EGFP reporter gene to generate a reporter plasmid. Separately transformed into Escherichia coli strain BL21 and extracted the cell lysates as novel biosensor reagents. Analyzed the total amounts of steroid hormones in water, sediment, and soil samples using biosensor reagents, and compared these results with those obtained by HPLC. In summary, detection method using an EGFP reporter that can detect trace amounts of steroid hormones to reached fg/L. The optimal reaction time range and temperature were 30 min and 30 °C, respectively, while the most suitable organic solvent for the steroid hormone was 100% ethanol, up to 96-well plate format. This method is very suitable for high-throughput detection of environmental steroid hormone pollutants.

The Key Genes for Perineural Invasion in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Identified With Monte-Carlo Feature Selection Method.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. Its 5-year survival rate is only 3-5%. Perineural invasion (PNI) is a process of cancer cells invading the surrounding nerves and perineural spaces. It is considered to be associated with the poor prognosis of PDAC. About 90% of pancreatic cancer patients have PNI. The high incidence of PNI in pancreatic cancer limits radical resection and promotes local recurrence, which negatively affects life quality and survival time of the patients with pancreatic cancer. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the mechanism of PNI in pancreatic cancer, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of tumors and adjacent tissues from 50 PDAC patients which included 28 patients with perineural invasion and 22 patients without perineural invasion. METHOD: Using Monte-Carlo feature selection and Incremental Feature Selection (IFS) method, we identified 26 key features within which 15 features were from tumor tissues and 11 features were from adjacent tissues. RESULTS: Our results suggested that not only the tumor tissue, but also the adjacent tissue, was informative for perineural invasion prediction. The SVM classifier based on these 26 key features can predict perineural invasion accurately, with a high accuracy of 0.94 evaluated with leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV). CONCLUSION: The in-depth biological analysis of key feature genes, such as TNFRSF14, XPO1, and ATF3, shed light on the understanding of perineural invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

MicroRNA­199a­5p suppresses cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting ITGA3 in colorectal cancer.

As a member of the integrin family, integrin α3ß1 (ITGA3) has been linked to intercellular communication and serves an important role in the signaling among cells and the extracellular matrix. MicroRNA (miR)­199a­5p has been demonstrated to be related to the pathogenesis and progression of multiple malignant diseases. However, the biological functions of miR­199a­5p and ITGA3 in colorectal cancer (CRC) have rarely been reported. The aim of the present study was to explore the roles of miR­199a­5p and ITGA3 in CRC. Immunohistochemistry staining and western blotting were applied to detect the protein expression of ITGA3 in CRC tissues and cells. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR was performed to investigate the expression of miR­199a­5p and ITGA3 mRNA. HCT­116 cells were transfected with miR­199a­5p mimics, mimics control, short hairpin RNA targeting ITGA3, or pcDNA­ITGA3 for the functional experiments. Dual luciferase reporter assay was applied to confirm whether miR­199a­5p targeted the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of ITGA3. The MTT, Transwell and wound healing assays were used to evaluate the proliferation, invasion and migration of CRC cells. Immunofluorescence assay was used to monitor the epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarker expression. The results demonstrated downregulation of miR­199a­5p and upregulation of ITGA3 in CRC tissues and cell lines. miR­199a­5p mimics and knockdown of ITGA3 suppressed the proliferation, invasion and migration of CRC cells. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR­199a­5p targeted the 3'UTR of the ITGA3 transcript, and overexpression of ITGA3 reversed the tumor­suppressive effects of miR­199a­5p elevation. In addition, the immunofluorescence assay suggested that miR­199a­5p mimics suppressed the EMT of CRC cells, whereas the overexpression of ITGA3 restored this effect. In conclusion, miR­199a­5p may act as a tumor suppressor by targeting and negatively regulating ITGA3 in CRC.

The Serum MicroRNA Signatures for Pancreatic Cancer Detection and Operability Evaluation.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has high morbidity and mortality. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Its diagnosis and treatment are difficult. Liquid biopsy makes early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer possible. We analyzed the expression profiles of 2,555 serum miRNAs in 100 pancreatic cancer patients and 150 healthy controls. With advanced feature selection methods, we identified 13 pancreatic cancer signature miRNAs that can classify the pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls. For pancreatic cancer treatment, operation is still the first choice. But many pancreatic cancer patients are already inoperable. Therefore, we compared the 79 inoperable and 21 operable patients and identified 432 miRNAs that can predict whether a pancreatic cancer patient was operable. The functional analysis of the 13 pancreatic cancer signatures and the 432 operability miRNAs revealed the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic cancer and shield light on the diagnosis and therapy of pancreatic cancer in clinical practice.

MiR-139-5p/SLC7A11 inhibits the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic carcinoma (PANC) is one of the important aggressive cancers, with deficiency in effective therapeutics. The study aimed to investigate the effects and molecular mechanism of miR-139-5p/SLC7A11 on the proliferation and metastasis of PANC. METHODS: Bioinformatics was used to analyze the differentially expressed genes in the TCGA database. PANC cell lines with overexpressed miR-139-5p and Solute Carrier Family 7, Member 11 (SLC7A11) was established, and have been used to detect cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis of PANC Subsequently, bioinformatic analysis and dual luciferase reporter assay were performed to confirm that SLC7A11 was a target gene of miR-139-5p. Xenograft mice model was used to explore the functions of miR-139-5p in PANC tumorigenicity. RESULTS: MiR-139-5p could regulate and affect the protein expression of P13K and Akt associated with phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway by inhibiting SLC7A11. MiR-139-5p was found to be lowly expressed in PANC tissues, while SLC7A11 was highly expressed. Low expression of miR-139-5p and high expression of SLC7A11 were positively associated with poor clinical outcomes. PANC cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis could be inhibited by miR-139-5p overexpression and be promoted by SLC7A11 overexpression. MiR-139-5p overexpression could suppress PANC tumor growth and the expressions of SLC7A11, p-PI3K, p-Akt in tumor tissues. Therefore, the inhibitory of miR-139-5p to PANC cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis was partly due to its inhibiting effect on SLC7A11 expression. CONCLUSION: Our study proves that miR-139-5p/SLC7A11 has important functions on PANC, suggesting that miR-139-5p can be used as a biomarker for PANC patients.

Autologous Blood Transfusion and Pringle Maneuver in Laparoscopic Segmental Hepatectomy for Benign Hepatic Neoplasms: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of autologous blood transfusion (ABT) and Pringle maneuver (PM) on postoperative early liver function and short-term postoperative results following laparoscopic liver resection in patients with benign hepatic neoplasms. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 125 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic segmental hepatectomy from January 2015 to May 2018 (68 in the ABT group versus 57 in the PM group). We compared patients' characteristics and intra- and postoperative short-term outcomes between the groups. Results: The 2 groups were well matched regarding patients' clinical characteristics, types of liver resection, operative time, and histopathological findings (P > .05). Median blood loss was significantly lower in the PM group versus the ABT group (200 mL versus 750 mL, respectively; P < .01), and overall complication rates were similar (n = 12 [17%] versus n = 9 [16%], respectively; P > .05). The ABT group had significantly lower mean levels of total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, aspartate transaminase, and alanine aminotransferase on postoperative days 1 and 3 (P < .05). The ABT group had a shorter hospital stay compared with the PM group (5.8 days versus 7.7 days, respectively; P < .05) and lower hospitalization costs (55,400 ± 15,400 versus 667,000 ± 21,600 CN dollars, respectively; P < .05). Conclusions: Compared with Pringle's maneuver, laparoscopic hepatectomy with ABT promoted early recovery of liver function and reduced hospitalization costs in select patients with benign hepatic neoplasms.

Primary versus secondary splenic pedicle dissection in laparoscopic splenectomy for splenic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Some areas of laparoscopic splenectomy (LS), such as the approach to splenic pedicle dissection, remain controversial. Here we recommend a technique for dissecting the secondary splenic pedicle vessels on the basis of analysis of retrospective data. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review (April 2006 to October 2011) of databases at 2 institutions identified 136 patients who had undergone LS. In 34 patients with massive splenomegaly, primary splenic pedicle dissection technique (PSPD) had been used in 19 patients and secondary splenic pedicle dissection technique (SSPD) had been used in 15 patients. In 102 patients with normal-sized spleen or moderate splenomegaly, PSPD had been used in 56 patients and SSPD in 46 patients. We compared perioperative and follow-up data. RESULTS: Laparoscopic splenectomy was completed in 128 patients. In the massive splenomegaly group, the conversion rate was 5.3% for PSPD and 33.3% for SSPD, the complication rate was 42.1% vs 20%, hospital stay was 3.2 ± 2.0 days vs 7.5 ± 3.5 days, and transfusion requirement was 1.1 ± 1.2 U vs 3.2 ± 0.9 U, respectively. However, in the normal or moderate splenomegaly group, except for complications, there were no significant differences between PSPD and SSPD techniques in perioperative findings. In the 2 groups, there were significant differences between the PSPD and SSPD techniques in pancreatic leakage (15.8% vs 0 and 8.9% vs 0, respectively) and postoperative fever (15.8% vs 6.7% and 10.7% vs 2.2%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Secondary splenic pedicle dissection can decrease the incidence of splenic fever and pancreatic leakage and is a valuable technique for LS for normal-sized spleen or moderate splenomegaly. It is not a safe procedure for massive splenomegaly because of the high conversion rate.

Effects of different levels of selenium on growth performance and immunocompetence of broilers under heat stress.

An experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of dietary selenium (Se) levels on growth performance and immune competence of broilers under heat stress. Birds were raised in either a thermoneutral (TN, 23.9 degrees C constant) or heat stress conditions (HS, 23.9 degrees C to 38 degrees C cycling) and were fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet supplemented with Se at 0, 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg. A total of 240 one-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six groups; each group had four replicates of 10 birds. Body weight and feed intake were not influenced by dietary Se, while feed conversion was significantly improved by a Se-supplementation of 0.2 mg/kg. HS significantly reduced body weight, feed intake and feed conversion. Numbers of abdominal exudate cells (AEC), percentage of macrophages in AEC, phagocytic macrophages, internalized opsonised and unopsonised sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were significantly increased by dietary Se. Both primary and secondary antibody responses were characterised by increasing titres of antibody to SRBC by dietary Se when birds were exposed to HS (p < 0.05). Lymphoid organ weights, antibody responses, incidence of macrophages in AEC, and phagocytic ability of macrophages were also significantly reduced under HS. These results indicated that HS severely reduced growth performance and immunocompetence of broilers, whereas the immune response of broilers improved by dietary Se supplementation under HS.

Identification of microsatellites in cattle unigenes.

To identify EST-SSR molecular markers, 41,986 cattle UniGene sequences from NCBI were mined for analyzing SSRs. A total of 1,831 SSRs were identified from 1,666 ESTs, which represented an average density of 19.88 kb per SSR. The frequency of EST-SSRs was 4.0%. The dinucleotide repeat motif was the most abundant SSR, accounting for 54%, followed by 22%, 13%, 7% and 4%, respectively, for tri-, hexa-, penta- and tetra-nucleotide repeats. Depending upon the length of the repeat unit, the length of microsatellites varied from 14 to 86 bp. Among the di- and tri-nucleotide repeats, AC/TG (57%) and AGC (12%) were the most abundant type. Annotation of EST-SSRs was also carried out. Three hundred primer pairs were randomly designed using Prime Premier 5.0 program and Oligo 5.0 for further experimental validation.