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• Gyral peaks, the highest foci on gyri, is under the regulation of genetic factors. • Genetic influence on gyral peaks is heterogeneous across cortical regions. • Genetic influence on gyral peaks is relatively hemispheric symmetry. • Heritability estimates are linearly decreasing with the gyrification timeline. • Earlier formed cortical folds are under stronger genetic influences than later ones. • The pits and peaks coupled by their time of appearance are also positively correlated in respect of their heritability estimates. Genetic mechanisms have been hypothesized to be a major determinant in the formation of cortical folding. Although there is an increasing number of studies examining the heritability of cortical folding, most of them focus on sulcal pits rather than gyral peaks. Gyral peaks, which reflect the highest local foci on gyri and are consistent across individuals, remain unstudied in terms of heritability. To address this knowledge gap, we used high-resolution data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to perform classical twin analysis and estimate the heritability of gyral peaks across various brain regions. Our results showed that the heritability of gyral peaks was heterogeneous across different cortical regions, but relatively symmetric between hemispheres. We also found that pits and peaks are different in a variety of anatomic and functional measures. Further, we explored the relationship between the levels of heritability and the formation of cortical folding by utilizing the evolutionary timeline of gyrification. Our findings indicate that the heritability estimates of both gyral peaks and sulcal pits decrease linearly with the evolution timeline of gyrification. This suggests that the cortical folds which formed earlier during gyrification are subject to stronger genetic influences than the later ones. Moreover, the pits and peaks coupled by their time of appearance are also positively correlated in respect of their heritability estimates. These results fill the knowledge gap regarding genetic influences on gyral peaks and significantly advance our understanding of how genetic factors shape the formation of cortical folding. The comparison between peaks and pits suggests that peaks are not a simple morphological mirror of pits but could help complete the understanding of folding patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to screen the synbiotics with good antibacterial effect against Salmonella Typhimurium and to investigate its antibacterial mechanism. Laboratory-isolated Lactobacillus paracasei VL8 were selected and combined with four prebiotics, fructooligosaccharide (FOS), inulin, galactooligosaccharide (GOS), and mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) for the comparison. Their growth, adhesion, tolerance and inhibition ability were evaluated by growth curve, non-specific adhesion test, simulated gastrointestinal fluid, and zone of inhibition method, respectively. The results showed that MOS had a better synbiotic effect with L. paracasei VL8, resulting in a significant increase in the growth of L. paracasei VL8, higher acid production, and a larger zone of inhibition of S. Typhimurium, reaching 16.75 mm. The time-kill curves showed that 20% (v/v) of metabolite in the medium could kill S. Typhimurium within 4h completely. Further, electron microscopic micrographs showed that the synbiotic metabolites caused damage to the cell membrane of S. Typhimurium, resulting in cytoplasmic efflux. The Findings indicated that the synbiotic combination between MOS and L. paracasei VL8 not only promoted the growth and acid production of the probiotic, but also exerted good inhibitory effects on S. Typhimurium by disrupting the cell membrane, which can be a potential natural antimicrobial agent for food applications. [Display omitted] • Mannan oligosaccharides- Lactobacillus paracasei VL8 combination are the most suitable synbiotics. • Mannan oligosaccharide enhances the antibacterial ability of Lactobacillus paracasei VL8. • Synbiotics cause membrane disruption and cytoplasmic leakage of S. Typhimurium. • Synbiotics completely kill S. Typhimurium within 4 h. • Synbiotics can be considered as preventive tools against S. Typhimurium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fast pace of urbanization worldwide, industrial sand mining activities have imposed great pressure on the environment, and consequently, these activities have led to serious environmental problems in aquatic ecosystems. However, the current understanding of the effect of sand mining on heavy metal remobilization in river sediments remains incomplete. The present study employed sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and the sequential extraction (SE) and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) techniques to comprehensively investigate the effect of sand mining on the remobilization process of heavy metals in the aquatic system of the Jialing River. The SQGs results indicated that stations (S1 to S4) with sand mining disturbance exhibited Pb and Cd accumulation in surface sediments. Both C total -Pb (61.78–122.04 mg·kg−1) and C total -Cd (0.85–3.96 mg·kg−1) were higher than CSQGI (60 mg·kg−1 for Pb and 0.5 mg·kg−1 for Cd) and TEC (35.8 mg·kg−1 for Pb and 0.99 mg·kg−1 for Cd) limitation in most of sand mining stations. Pb and Cd were mainly bounded in the acid-soluble/exchangeable fraction (F1) and oxidizable fraction (F3) of the surface sediments. At the four stations with sand mining disturbance, about 5–10 folds of DGT-labile Pb and Cd were released in deep sediments (−9 to −12 cm), and Pb and Cd exhibited a transport trend from the sediments into the overlying water, while the above phenomenon was not observed at the two stations without sand mining activities. Correlation analysis revealed that DGT-labile Pb and Cd were suitably correlated with the F1 and F3 fractions, indicating that the acid-soluble/exchangeable and oxidizable fractions were the main sources leading to Pb and Cd remobilization in the sediments. A potential mechanism explanation may be that (1) intense sediment stirring could result in remobilization of the weakly bound fraction, which is related to the contribution of the F1 fraction, and (2) Cd/Pb experienced a corelease process with sulfur due to O 2 introduction (elevation of the dissolved oxygen level) attributed to sediment evacuation, which is related to the contribution of the F3 fraction. The above results suggested that sand mining in the Jialing River should be paid high attention to prevent heavy metal pollution in aquatic ecosystem. • Human activities lead to Pb and Cd accumulation in surficial sediment. • Sand mining activities can cause the release of labile Pb and Cd in sediments. • The labile Pb and Cd mainly originate from the F1 and F3 fractions. • Sediment stirring and O 2 introduction are the main reasons for Pb/Cd remobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) are two highly toxic elements. In recent years, many newly synthesized chemical materials have been used widely for treatments of As- and Cd-contaminated effluents. However, most materials do not exhibit high efficiencies for simultaneous removal of As and Cd from water systems. Our study established a simple scheme for synthesizing a sepiolite (SEP)-modified nanoscale zero-valent iron (S-nZVI) for simultaneous removal of coexisting As and Cd from water and illuminated a possible underlying mechanism. Batch experiments showed that the maximum capacities for adsorption of As(III) and Cd(II) by S-nZVI were 230.29 mg/g and 11.37 mg/g, respectively, which represented better effects than those of other materials, as reported previously. Removal of Cd(II) depended on pH, but As(III) removal showed little dependence on pH. Coexisting ions such as phosphate (PO 4 3−) and the conjugate base of humic acid (HA) significantly inhibited simultaneous removal of As(III) and Cd(II). In the mixed As(III)–Cd(II) system, the presence of As(III)-pretreated S-nZVI significantly enhanced Cd(II) adsorption by a factor of four over that seen for aqueous solution without As(III). XRD and XPS results showed that CdFe 2 O 4 (Fe–O–Cd), Fe 2 As 2 O 14 or FeAsO 4 (Fe–O–As) were formed after As(III) and Cd(II) were captured by S-nZVI. However, a further zeta (ζ) potential analysis showed that the mechanism for As(III) and Cd(II) adsorption by S-nZVI is not just simple formation of the above chemicals, since the adsorbed As(III) increased the negative charge of S-nZVI; this suggested an electrostatic attraction between S-nZVI and Cd(II) and indicated that adsorbed As(III) created new sorption sites for Cd(II), which enhanced Cd(II) sorption via formation of ternary complexes (Fe–As–Cd). These results suggested that S-nZVI is a promising material for in situ remediation of heavy metal-contaminated groundwaters or paddy soils. • A newly sepiolite modified nZVI was synthesized for co removal of As(III) and Cd(II). • S-nZVI has high sorption efficiency of As(III) and Cd(II). • Pre-treatment with As(III) can significantly promote Cd(II) adsorption by S-nZVI. • The mechanism of As–Cd co-removal is suggested by forming a ternary complex Fe–As–Cd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humic substances (HS) are widely known as important components in soil and significantly affect the mobility of metals due to their large surface area and abundant organic functional groups. Calcareous substances (CSs) are also commonly used as robust and cost-effective amendments for increasing the pH of acidic soils and decreasing the mobility of metals in soils. In this study, we developed a new remediation scheme for cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil remediation by coupling HS and CS. The results showed that regardless of the addition of fulvic acid (FA), all the CS-containing treatments significantly increased the soil pH by 0.32–0.60, and the concentration of bioavailable Cd decreased in the moderately (field experiment soil, maximum 62%) and highly (pot experiment soil, maximum 57%) Cd-contaminated soils. The Cd content in rice (Oryza sativa L.) tissues significantly decreased after all the treatments. The bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) decreased by over 50% in the roots, stems, leaves and husks in all treatments, while the translocation factors (TFs) only significantly decreased in the highly contaminated soil. Among all treatments, the two HS+CS treatments (FA+CaCO 3 and FA+CaO) had the greatest effect on decreasing the concentration of bioavailable Cd in soil and Cd in brown rice grains. The suggested mechanism for the effectiveness of coupled HS and CS was that CS first mitigated the pH and precipitated Cd, followed by a complexation effect between HS and Cd. Although the Cd in rice grains in both cases was higher than the standard limit, HS+CS remediation can be advocated as a robust, simple and cost-effective scheme for Cd remediation if the additive dose is slightly increased, as this approach can simultaneously improve the pH of acidic soil and adsorb Cd in soil. [Display omitted] • Calcareous substance (CS)-containing treatments increased soil pH. • CS-containing treatments decreased the availability of cadmium in paddy soil. • All the amendments reduced the cadmium content in rice grains at maturity. • Coupled addition of CS and HS had a better effect than single treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired fertility is the major side effect of chemotherapy for female cancer patients, accumulated evidence indicates this is associated with damage on oocyte quality, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previously we reported that doxorubicin (DXR) exposure, one of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs, disrupted mouse oocyte meiotic maturation in vitro. In the current study, we identified that SIRT1 expression was remarkably reduced in DXR exposure oocytes. Next, we found that increasing SIRT1 expression by resveratrol partially alleviated the effects of DXR exposure on oocyte maturation, which was counteracted by SIRT1 inhibition. Furthermore, we revealed that increasing SIRT1 expression mitigated DXR induced oocyte damage through reducing ROS levels, increasing antioxidant enzyme MnSOD expression, and preventing spindle and chromosome disorganization, lowering the incidence of aneuploidy. Importantly, by performing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer assays, we demonstrated that increasing SIRT1 expression significantly improved the fertilization ability, developmental competence of oocytes and early embryos. In summary, our data uncover that SIRT1 reduction represents one mechanism that mediates the effects of DXR exposure on oocyte quality. [Display omitted] • SIRT1 is downregulated in chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin (DXR) exposure oocytes. • SIRT1 modulates MnSOD expression and ROS levels in DXR exposure oocytes. • SIRT1 regulates spindle assembly/ chromosome segregation in DXR-treated oocytes. • SIRT1 improves fertilization and developmental potential of DXR-treated oocytes. • SIRT1 could be a target for fertility preservation of female cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naturally-fermented mixed fruit products are popular in Asia for their abundant nutrition, potential antioxidant activity, and hypoglycemic activity. In this work, the changes in chemical composition (including pH, titratable acid, total and reducing sugar, total soluble solids, protein content, total phenols, and organic acids) and preliminary in vitro bioactivities (including ABTS radical scavenging activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase inhibition) of naturally-fermented mixed fruit products during a 120-day fermentation period and their correlations were investigated. Results showed that a variety of organic acids changed dramatically, such that lactic acid content raised from 0 mg/mL at 0 day to 9.11 mg/mL at 60 days; and citric acid content raised from 3.38 mg/mL at 0 day to 6.52 mg/mL at 90 days. Correlation analysis indicated that total phenols, citric acid, lactic acid, and titratable acid were the key factors influencing the continuous increase of ABTS, DPPH radical scavenging, and α-amylase inhibition during fermentation. In general, natural fermentation provides a great increase in the nutritional potential and functional value of the fruit and the results of this study provide evidence for the scientific guide in the industrial production of fermented fruit. • Lactic acid and citric acid continued to rise in the first 60 days of fermentation. • Functional activity is enhanced by the presence of phenols and organic acids. • Natural fermentation increases the functional value of the fruits considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jialing River is the tributary of the Yangtze River with the largest drainage area. In recent years, the Jialing River has suffered a series of environmental problems, such as discharge of industrial effluent and sand mining activities, which have severely threatened the aquatic ecosystem of the river. In the present study, we employed risk assessment indexes, sequential extraction and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique to assess environmental risks and study the remobilization of cobalt (Co) in sediments. The potential ecological risk index and risk assessment code results demonstrated that Co may pose a low environmental and ecological risk to the local aquatic environment. However, BCR sequential extraction showed that the sum of the F1, F2 and F3 fractions of Co still accounted for over 50% of the Co in the study areas, indicating that sediments may be a source of Co release. The DGT results showed an increasing trend for DGT-labile Co in deep sediments (−8 cm to −12 cm), and the calculated flux values ranged from 0.08 to 15.54 ng cm2·day−1, indicating that Co tends to transfer across the sediment-water interface at all sampling sites. Correlation analysis showed that F1–Co, F2–Co and F3–Co are the fractions readily captured by DGT and can be used for predicting Co remobilization in sediment. Sand mining activities contribute substantially to the release of Co from the F1 and F3 fractions as a result of strong stirring of sediments and introduction of oxygen into the sediments. The reductive dissolution of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) hydroxides or oxides causes the release of Co and Fe/Mn in the sediment, which leads to Co release from the reducible fraction. The above work suggests that sand mining in the Jialing River should be reasonably regulated to prohibit illegal sand mining activities. • Cobalt may pose low environmental and ecological risk to the Jialing River. • Cobalt was released in the sediment and tended to transfer from sediment to water. • DGT-labile cobalt mainly originated from the F1, F2 and F3 fractions of sediment. • Sand mining contributes substantially to the remobilization of cobalt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilizers are important for agricultural production because they can effectively promote crop productivity. However, long-term fertilization can cause heavy metal accumulation in soils and crops. This study utilized sequential extraction, the diffusive gradient in the thin films (DGT) technique and risk assessment models to estimate the effects of the longest long-term fertilization (38 years) in China on cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) accumulation in soils. The treatments included no fertilization (CK); inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilization (NPK); manure fertilization (M); and NPK plus M cofertilization (NPKM). The results indicated that the soils treated with NPKM, M and NPK had significantly increased total and available concentrations of Cd and As after 38 years of long-term fertilization. Cd mainly originates from cattle manure, while As originates from phosphate fertilizer. Sequential extraction results indicated that the application of manure increased the acid/exchangeable fraction (F1) and organic matter-bound fraction (F3) of Cd and As. The risk assessment results showed that the environmental risks of both Cd and As increased during long-term fertilization, and Cd contamination in the soil was at a moderate-high level, while As remained at a relatively low level. According to the calculations of the maximum numbers of years of soil productivity and rice production, Cd was labile and accumulated in the soils, and As was more labile than Cd in terms of accumulating in rice, indicating that the true risk from As in rice is higher than that from Cd. Controlling the heavy metals in fertilizers, mitigating effective amendments, and identifying plant types that accumulate low amounts of contaminants may be good choices for cleaner crop production. [Display omitted] • 38 years long-term fertilization leaded to a significant increment of cadmium and arsenic in soils. • Manure and phosphate fertilizer were the sources for cadmium arsenic input. • Cadmium and arsenic posed a medium-strong and low environmental risk to the farmland respectively. • Cadmium tended to accumulate in soil and arsenic was labile to accumulate in rice seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that the sand mining industry causes severe destruction in river basin environments. In this study, six sediment cores were collected, and sequential extraction was applied in conjunction with the diffusive gradients in the thin films (DGT) technique to explore the effect of sand mining on the remobilization of Cu and Zn in the sediments. The results showed that Cu and Zn were mainly bound in the residual fraction in the sediments. C DGT -Cu/Zn in the sediments presented obvious increasing trends at the bottom (−9 to −12 cm) at the four sites that experienced sand mining and a decreasing trend at the sites with no sand mining disturbance. Cu and Zn also tended to be transported from the sediments to the overlying water at the four sand mining sites. A correlation analysis found that F1 and F3 correlated well with C DGT -Cu/Zn, indicating that the water/exchangeable fraction and oxidized fraction were the main fractions that led to increases in DGT-labile Cu and Zn in the sediments. Further analysis found that the introduction of oxygen (O 2) was the main reason for the simultaneous release of sulfur (S), Cu and Zn in the sediments, as indicated by the "dark area" of AgI gel appearing at the same position as the "hot spot area" of Chelex gel. Two main sand mining effects on the release of Cu and Zn were hypothesized: (1) intense sand disturbance leads to the transfer of the water/exchangeable fraction (F1) to the DGT-labile fraction and (2) O 2 introduction promotes the reaction of stable sulfide (F3), thus transferring it to the DGT-labile fraction. The above results indicated that the sand mining industry should be paid much attention in the Jialing River, as it can obviously cause labile Cu and Zn release into the water. • Sand mining caused the release of labile Cu and Zn in sediments as measured by DGT probes. • The released Cu and Zn mainly originate from the water/acid exchangeable fraction and oxidized fraction, respectively. • Sediment disturbance and oxygen introduction into sediment are the two main reasons for Cu and Zn remobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]