Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of common and severe congenital malformations. The PI3K-AKT signalling pathway plays a crucial role in the neural tube development. There is limited evidence concerning any possible association between aberrant methylation in PI3K-AKT signalling pathway genes and NTDs. Therefore, we aimed to investigate potential associations between aberrant methylation of PI3K-AKT pathway genes and NTDs. Methylation studies of PI3K-AKT pathway genes utilizing microarray genome-methylation data derived from neural tissues of ten NTD cases and eight non-malformed controls were performed. Targeted DNA methylation analysis was subsequently performed in an independent cohort of 73 NTD cases and 32 controls to validate the methylation levels of identified genes. siRNAs were used to pull-down the target genes in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to examine the effects of the aberrant expression of target genes on neural cells. As a result, 321 differentially hypermethylated CpG sites in the promoter regions of 30 PI3K-AKT pathway genes were identified in the microarray data. In target methylation analysis, CHRM1, FGF19, and ITGA7 were confirmed to be significantly hypermethylated in NTD cases and were associated with increased risk for NTDs. The down-regulation of FGF19, CHRM1, and ITGA7 impaired the formation of rosette-like cell aggregates. The down-regulation of those three genes affected the expression of PAX6, SOX2 and MAP2, implying their influence on the differentiation of neural cells. This study for the first time reported that hypermethylation of PI3K-AKT pathway genes such as CHRM1, FGF19, and ITGA7 is associated with human NTDs. Keywords: Neural tube defects,; PI3K-AKT signalling pathway; methylation.
The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection confers great threat to public health. Human breast milk is a complex nutritional composition to nourish infants and protect them from different kinds of infectious diseases including COVID-19. Here, we identified that lactoferrin (LF), mucin1 (MUC1), and α-lactalbumin (α-LA) from human breast milk inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection using a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus system and transcription and replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 virus-like-particles (trVLP). In addition, LF and MUC1 inhibited multiple steps including viral attachment, entry, and postentry replication, whereas α-LA inhibited viral attachment and entry. Importantly, LF, MUC1, and α-LA possess potent antiviral activities toward variants such as B.1.1.7 (alpha), B.1.351 (beta), P.1 (gamma), and B.1.617.1 (kappa). Taken together, our study provides evidence that human breast milk components (LF, MUC1, and α-LA) are promising antiviral and potential therapeutic candidates warranting further development for treating COVID-19.
Keywords: Biological sciences; Microbiology; Viral microbiology.
The successful preparation of immobilized nitrogen-doped carbon/cobalt @ porous spherical substrate (N-C/Co@PSS) catalyst derived from ZIF-67 was reported in this work. The oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TTC), and chlortetracycline (CTC) in the simulated wastewater were decomposed via the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by N-C/Co@PSS. The degradation of TCs was initially investigated by batch-type experiments, in which ca. 100% TCs with an initial concentration of 10.0 mg L-1 can be degraded over N-C/Co@PSS + PMS system within 15 min for 30 runs’ operation. In addition, detailed non-radical dominating degradation mechanism was explored by active species capture experiments, electron spin resonance (ESR) tests and electrochemical technology. Furthermore, continuous degradation of TCs antibiotics for up to 200 h in the packed N-C/Co@PSS fixed bed reactors could be accomplished. This work provides theoretical and technical support for the application of MOFs-based catalysts in large-scale wastewater remediation.
Students need to maintain certain living conditions in order to pursue online learning at home. However, there is a lack of a scientific explanation for the extent to which students’ performance in online at-home education is influenced by living conditions. Students from 2002 low-income households in China were surveyed, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted in order to explore the impact of living conditions on online education. The results showed that, rather than computers and smartphones, broadband Internet at home can affect students’ performance in online learning. The larger the residence area, the better the children’s performance in at-home e-learning. Moreover, children living in dilapidated houses are unable to satisfactorily perform in an e-learning environment. Contrarily, children who live in families with separate rooms and tap water show better performances. Additionally, the performance will be worse in the case of unattended students. Furthermore, children from low-income and -status families in the community are often at a disadvantage in an at-home e-learning environment. Cognition regarding the connection between living conditions and online education can be crucial for the improvement of the living conditions of low-income families in order to achieve online education equity.
Objectives: We aimed to examine how COVID-19 incidence is associated with depressive symptoms in China, whether the association is transient, and whether the association differs across groups. Methods: We used a longitudinal sample from 2018 and 2020 waves of the China Family Panel Study. We constructed COVID-19 incidence rates as the number of new cases per 100,000 population in respondents’ resident provinces in the past 7, 14, and 28 days when a respondent was surveyed. We performed linear or logistic regressions to examine the associations, and performed stratified analyses to explore the heterogeneity of the associations. Results: Our sample included 13,655 adults. The 7-day incidence rate was positively associated with the CES-D score (coef.=2.551, 95% CI: 1.959-3.142), and likelihood of being more depressed (adjusted odds ratio=6.916, 95% CI: 4.715–10.144). The associations were larger among those with less education, pre-existing depression, or chronic conditions. We did not find any significant association between the 14- or 28-day local incidence rates and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The impact of COVID-19 incidence on mental health in China’s general population was statistically significant and moderate in magnitude and transient. Disadvantaged groups experienced higher increases in depressive symptoms.
Weather constitutes a major source of risks facing households in rural areas, which are being amplified under climate change. In this context, two main rural financial services, weather index insurance and microcredit, have been increasingly adopted by farmers worldwide. However, the understanding of the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of these rural finance schemes, including potential maladaptive outcomes, remains ambiguous. We review the recent literature on weather index insurance and microcredit for farmers and find that both rural financial services have positive economic impacts, though benefits to the poorest populations remain controversial. Moreover, their impacts on the ecological systems are less studied and are found to be mainly negative. In addition, considering that both financial instruments have strengths and limitations, we argue that combination schemes (e.g. a hybrid product) may generate positive synergistic effects on building socioeconomic resilience to climate risks in agricultural regions. However, this may also add new economic risk to local financial institutions. This comprehensive review provides a reference for the potential benefits and risks of agricultural finance innovations. Further studies on the ecological impacts of rural financial services and the synergistic effects of the combination on socioeconomic and ecosystem resilience in rural contexts are needed to fill the current research gap.
The wide presence of antibiotics and minerals warrants their combined effects on the denitrification in natural aquatic environment. Herein, we investigated the effects of two antibiotics, sulfamethazine (SMZ) and chlortetracycline (CTC), on the reduction of NO3--N and accumulation of NO2--N in the absence and presence of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) (Al2O3, SiO2, and geothite) using 16 S rRNA sequencing and high-throughput quantitative PCR. The results showed that the addition of antibiotics inhibited the reduction of NO3--N by changing the bacterial community structure and reducing the abundance of denitrification genes, while engineered NPs promoted the denitrification by increasing the abundance of denitrification genes. In the binary systems, engineered NPs alleviated the inhibitory effect of antibiotics through enriching the denitrification genes and adsorbing antibiotics. Antibiotics and its combination with engineered NPs changed the composition of functional genes related to C, N, P, S metabolisms (p < 0.01). The addition of antibiotics and/or engineered NPs altered the bacterial community structure, which is dominated by the genera of Enterobacter (40.7-90.5%), Bacillus (4.9-58.5%), and Pseudomonas (0.21-12.7%). The significant relationship between denitrification, carbon metabolism genes, and antibiotic resistance genes revealed that the heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria may host the antibiotic resistance genes and denitrification genes simultaneously. The findings underscore the significance of engineered NPs in the toxicity assessment of pollutants, and provide a more realistic insight into the toxicity of antibiotics in the natural aquatic environment.
ABSTR A C T Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents carrying plenty of nutrients and micropollutants pose serious threats to receiving rivers, however, the response of microbial community structure and function to WWTP ef-fluents discharge is still poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, paired water and sediment samples from 17 sites of the Huangshui River, and effluents from 6 WWTPs were collected to investigate the effect of WWTP discharge on riverine microbial communities. Our results revealed that WWTP effluents exerted signif-icant effects on planktonic rather than sedimentary microorganisms in the receiving river. Notably, lower di-versity and richness of planktonic communities were observed in the effluent-influenced section (WRW) than other river sections (RW) along the urban river. Meanwhile, network analysis potentially revealed lower stability of co-occurrence patterns of microbial communities in WRW. The remarkably higher antibiotics, nitrate-nitrogen, and water temperature in WRW samples caused by WWTPs played essential roles in shaping the structure and function of planktonic microbial communities. This study suggested the enrichment of multiple-drug resistance genes and destruction of energy metabolisms were caused by sewage effluents, and high-lighted the importance of effective management strategies for protecting the ecological health of the receiving river.
The morphologically differentiated benthic macrofossils of algae and putative animal affinities of the Lantian biota in China represents the oldest known Ediacaran macroscopic eukaryotic assemblage. Although the biota provides remarkable insights into the early evolution of complex macroeukaryotes in the Ediacaran, the uncertainty in its age has hampered any robust biological evaluation. We resolve this issue by applying a petrographic-guided rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) organic-bearing sedimentary unit study on the Lantian biota. This work confines a minimum age for the first appearance of the Lantian biota to 602 +/- 7 Ma (2 sigma, including decay constant uncertainty). This new Re-Os date confirms that the Lantian biota is of early-mid Ediacaran age and temporally distinct from the typical Ediacaran macrobiotas. Our results indicate that the differentiation and radiation of macroscopic eukaryotes, and the evolution of the primitive, erect epibenthic ecosystem, occurred in the early-mid Ediacaran and were associated with highly fluctuating oceanic redox conditions. The radiogenic initial 187Os/188Os ratios derived from the Lantian (1.14 +/- 0.02) and other Ediacaran shales invoke oxidative weathering of upper continental crust in the early-middle Ediacaran, which may have stimulated the evolution of life and oceanic-atmospheric oxygenation. Integrated with published Ediacaran chronological and geochemical data, our new Re-Os geochemical study of the Lantian black shale provides a refined, time-calibrated record of environment and eukaryote evolution during the Ediacaran.
While household conversion to clean cooking fuels is well documented, the peer influence of neighbors on rural households using clean cooking fuels has not been investigated. This study examines the influence of neighbors on rural households switching to cleaner cooking fuels. Based on data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, this paper uses a spatial econometric model to analyze the neighborhood effects in the process of adopting clean cooking fuels among rural households in China. The findings show that neighborhood effects influence the adoption of clean cooking fuels by rural households in the same village through social norms and social multiplier effects. Neighborhood effects also indirectly promote the adoption of clean cooking fuels by rural households through the Internet. There is heterogeneity in the neighborhood effects on the adoption of clean cooking fuels by rural households. Therefore, this study recommends related policies to facilitate the transition to clean cooking fuel in rural regions.
Bacterial removal by sand filtration system is commonly inefficient due to the low bacterial adsorption capacity of sand. To improve the bacterial removal performance, biochar fabricated at different temperatures (400 °C, 550 °C and 700 °C) and arginine modified biochar were added into sand filtration columns as filter layers (0.5 and 1 wt%). Addition of biochar into sand columns could improve the removal efficiency for both Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis under both slow (4 m/day) and fast (240 m/day) filtration conditions. Bacterial removal efficiency in sand columns with the addition of biochar fabricated at 700 °C were higher than those fabricated at 400 °C and 550 °C due to its best bacterial adsorption capacity. Modification of biochar with arginine could further improve the bacterial removal performance. Specifically, complete bacterial removal (1.35 × 107 ± 10% cells/mL) could be achieved under both slow and fast filtration conditions in sand columns with 1 wt% arginine functionalized biochar amendment. The enhanced bacterial adsorption capacity mainly contributed to the increased bacterial capture performance in columns with addition of arginine-modified biochar. Bacteria more tightly bounded with arginine-modified biochar than bulk biochar. Moreover, complete bacterial removal with the copresence of 5 mg/L humic acid in suspensions was acquired in columns with addition of 1 wt% arginine-modified biochar. Efficient bacterial removal in actual river water, multiple filtration cycles as well as longtime injection duration (100 pore volumes injection) was also obtained. The results of this study demonstrated that arginine-modified biochar had great potential to treat water contaminated by pathogenic bacteria.
