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In this article, ZnO quantum dots (QDs)-g-C3N4 complexes were prepared by a combined sol–gel method and ultrasound-assisted chemical method, and ZnO-g-C3N4 composites with different doping ratios were also prepared for photocatalytic degradation of dye wastewater. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. The photocatalytic performance of the best ZnO QDs-g-C3N4 complexes with different g-C3N4 doping amounts was investigated, and the kinetics of their photocatalytic reactions were analyzed, and it was found that the best effect of ZnO-g-C3N4 10% could reach 89.08% and ZnO QDs-g-C3N4 could reach 91.53%. It was also demonstrated that ZnO-g-C3N4 10%, ZnO QDs-g-C3N4 cyclic stability is better, and the reaction mechanism of ZnO QDs-g-C3N4 was investigated. It can be used for the degradation of dyes in environmental wastewater and the removal of harmful substances from the natural environment.

Interest relationship is are the most basic among all social relations. In the field of urban renewal, the game process, conflict mechanism, and coordination mechanism among multiple stakeholders are important issues for cities to improve their sustainability. The stakeholders involved in the transformation of village-level industrial parks are more diverse, the interest differentiation is more frequent, and interest conflicts are more intense. The existing research mainly tries to explore the status quo, mode strategy and interest game in the transformation process of village industrial park from the aspects of power, system and space, and points out the importance of interest balance among "land stakeholders" such as government, market and property owners, but there are still deficiencies in the multi-subject participation mechanism and interest coordination mechanism. Due to the lack of advantages in location value, public finance and industry introduction, peripheral cities in the Pearl River Delta represented by Jiangmen are unable to ensure the positive guidance of spatial value remodeling and the full expression of diverse interests, resulting in slow progress of the reconstruction. Therefore, based on the stakeholder perspective of the urban regime theory, and constructing the multi-scale and multi-subject analytical framework of "stakeholder identification-interest conflict analysis-interest mechanism coordination,"the stakeholders in the upgrading of the village industrial park in Heshan City were investigated through a literature review, expert rating, and questionnaire interview. This study examines the practical problems of the village industrial park in Heshan City, Guangdong Province,to identify the stakeholders, interest demands, and conflicts involved in the transformation of the aforementioned. Subsequently, combined with typical park reconstruction cases, the interest game process of core stakeholders such as government departments, state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, financial institutions, village collectives, and villagers is discussed.Additionally, the evolutionary path and micro-mechanism framework of the formation of diversified interest alliances, the achievement of diversified goals, and the coordination of multi-subject interests are revealed in this process. Research shows the main constraints to the implementation of village-level industrial parks are the unequal power of stakeholders, unfair participation of power, unreasonable benefit distribution, and compensation mechanism. The participant-subjects and related capital input, source and income, collaborative transformation of industry and space, as well as the responsibility and power relationship of the implementation subject are more complex. In turn, government departments such as the Finance Bureau and the Bureau of Natural Resources are forced to form formal or informal partnerships with developers, enterprises and original owners. In the less developed areas of the Pearl River Delta, the mode of "government-led plusdiversified participation"is usually adopted. By entrusting full power to governmental financial organizations such as the Finance Bureau and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, village collectives and villagers are united with developers, operators, and financial institutions to form formal and informal cooperation relations, such as government-village and government-enterprise alliances, as well as interest distribution and incentive mechanisms. Additionally, the achievement of political, economic, social, and ecological diversification goals is promoted.Finally, this study proposes the following areas for future research: First, research on the micro behavior decision-making and mechanism of the village industrial park reconstruction can be conducted to further explore the "institutional space" of the reconstruction and its incentive and constraint mechanismto reveal the underlying"power-capital-space"and the political economic logic behind it. Second, against the background of multiple driving factors, there are also significant differences in the form, process, and mechanism of cooperation between the interest subjects of the village-level industrial park transformation. The differences in the main subjects in different modes, their temporal and spatial effects, and the mechanisms of action need to be further explored. Finally, the study investigates the social and cultural spatial response, governance path, and subject initiative of the village industrial park transformation, and reveals the possible ways in which village collectives and farmers' active social spatial practicescan improve their own situation through the logic of spatial governance.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which spread all over the world at the beginning of 2020, exerted significant impacts on the substantial economic and social development in China, seriously affecting the production and operation of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As the COVID-19 pandemic was effectively controlled by the central government, China's economy manifested strong economic resilience during the process of recovery. Under these circumstances, it provided a valuable opportunity to examine the dynamic evolution and mechanism of economic resilience over a relatively short period. In economic geography research, structure and agency are the two main influencing factors for regional economic resilience; specifically, structural factors refer to the economic diversity and inherited structure of a regional economy in building resilience capacities, while agency factors focus on the role of agentsin a resilient economic system. However, the existing literature has focused heavily on structural factors, but the effect of agency factors has gained less attention. Based on interviews with 43 manufacturing SMEs in Dongguan in 2020, this study 1) investigates the dynamic evolution and characteristics of short-term economic resilience from an agency perspective and 2) demonstrates the micro-mechanism of reconstructing economic resilience at the enterprise level by constructing a structure-agency framework. The study derives several findings. First, economic resilience is not an inherent attribute of an economic agent. In the short term, the formation of economic resilience can be divided into a three stage process from cognition to adaptation, and then to reconstruction. Each stage manifests different agency characteristics. Second, the reconstruction of economic resilience is strongly influenced by the individual (entrepreneurs) and collective agency (supplies and customers) in the COVID-19 shock. For individual agencies, manufacturing SMEs are sensitive to perceiving and seizing the "opportunity space," which is technologically related to their primary products. For collective agency, many entrepreneurs actively offer financial support to their upper and lower reach enterprises to enhance economic resilience by forming collective networks. Third, structural factors (i.e., industrial structure, institutional arrangement, and infrastructure construction) also influence the formation of economic resilience in a short period. In the case of Dongguan, industrial structure and institutional arrangements contributed to enterprises' return to normal production during the COVID-19 crisis, while the imbalance of infrastructure structures (including basic social and public services) plays a constrained role in economic resilience. Moreover, three theoretical implications are proposed: emphasizing the transformation between short-term adaptation and long-term adaptability, concerning the shaping of structural factors caused by agency, and paying attention to the coupling between agents and external connections.

Study Design: Retrospective study. Objective: Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings are believed to be associated with low back pain (LBP). This study sought to develop a new predictive classification system for low back pain. Method: Normal subjects with repeated lumbar MRI scans were retrospectively enrolled. A new classification system, based on the radiological features on MRI, was developed using an unsupervised clustering method. Results: One hundred and fifty-nine subjects were included. Three distinguishable clusters were identified with unsupervised clustering that were significantly correlated with LBP (P =.017). The incidence of LBP was highest in cluster 3 (57.14%), nearly twice the incidence in cluster 1 (30.11%). There were obvious differences in the sagittal parameters among the 3 clusters. Cluster 3 had the smallest intervertebral height. Based on follow-up findings, 27% of subjects changed clusters. More subjects changed from cluster 1 to clusters 2 or 3 (14.5%) than changed from cluster 2 or cluster 3 to cluster 1 (5%). Participation in sport was more frequent in subjects who changed from cluster 3 to cluster 1. Conclusion: Using an unsupervised clustering method, we developed a new classification system comprising 3 clusters, which were significantly correlated with LBP. The prediction of LBP is independent of age and better than that based on individual sagittal parameters derived from MRI. A change in cluster during follow-up may partially predict lumbar degeneration. This study provides a new system for the prediction of LBP that should be useful for its diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has focused on a dialectical examination of neoliberalism and China's inherent authoritarian regulatory regime and the planned economy tradition. In the same vein, this study examines China's institutional reform and emergent goal-oriented governance since the early 1980s. It argues that China's four decades of marketization and decentralization reforms are not toward neoliberalism, but have been accompanied by increased authoritarian regulation and state intervention. The reform aimed at complementing rather than dismantling the socialist planned economy through the localization of marketization and the adoption of a "small government" logic. A survey on the revitalization of an old industrial base in Lanzhou detailed the flow of power and its operation under the post-reform regulatory centralism. By delegating the power to formulate planning, the right to intervene in the land market, and the autonomy of policy innovation to the local governments, the central government can achieve precise intervention in local governance and land development, thereby achieving the strategic goal of national accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus contributes to intervertebral disc degeneration. Nucleus pulposus cell senescence plays an important role in intervertebral disc degeneration. However, the effects of hyperglycemia on human nucleus pulposus cells and the underlying process remains poorly understood. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of high glucose levels on human nucleus pulposus cell senescence in vitro and the effects of hyperglycemia on rat nucleus pulposus aging in vivo. Human nucleus pulposus cells were cultured in high‐glucose medium (200 mM glucose) for 48 h. Senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase staining, western blot analysis, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays were performed to evaluate human nucleus pulposus cell senescence. Flow cytometry and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays were used to evaluate reactive oxygen species and advanced glycation end‐product levels. Transcriptome sequencing followed by bioinformatics analysis was used to understand the abnormal biological processes of nucleus pulposus cells cultured in high‐glucose medium. Diabetes mellitus rat models were established and histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis was conducted to examine nucleus pulposus tissue senescence in vivo. Exposure to a high glucose concentration promoted human nucleus pulposus cell senescence and increased the senescence‐related secretion phenotype in human nucleus pulposus cells in vitro and in rat nucleus pulposus tissue in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis showed that hub genes were involved in nucleus pulposus cell cycle activities and cell senescence. The results suggest that appropriate blood glucose control may be key to preventing intervertebral disc degeneration in diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yersinia pestis has been historically divided into three biovars: antiqua, mediaevalis, and orientalis. On the basis of this study, strains from Microtus-related plague foci are proposed to constitute a new biovar, microtus. Based on the ability to ferment glycerol and arabinose and to reduce nitrate, Y. pestis strains can be assigned to one of four biovars: antiqua (glycerol positive, arabinose positive, and nitrate positive), mediaevalis (glycerol positive, arabinose positive, and nitrate negative), orientalis (glycerol negative, arabinose positive, and nitrate positive), and microtus (glycerol positive, arabinose negative, and nitrate negative). A 93-bp in-frame deletion in glpD gene results in the glycerol-negative characteristic of biovar orientalis strains. Two kinds of point mutations in the napA gene may cause the nitrate reduction-negative characteristic in biovars mediaevalis and microtus, respectively. A 122-bp frameshift deletion in the araC gene may lead to the arabinose-negative phenotype of biovar microtus strains. Biovar microtus strains have a unique genomic profile of gene loss and pseudogene distribution, which most likely accounts for the human attenuation of this new biovar. Focused, hypothesis-based investigations on these specific genes will help delineate the determinants that enable this deadly pathogen to be virulent to humans and give insight into the evolution of Y. pestis and plague pathogenesis. Moreover, there may be the implications for development of biovar microtus strains as a potential vaccine.

Genomics research provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to probe into the pathogenicity and evolution of the world's most deadly pathogenic bacterium, Yersinia pestis, in minute detail. In our present work, extensive microarray analysis in conjunction with PCR validation revealed that there are considerable genome dynamics, due to gene acquisition and loss, in natural populations of Y. pestis. We established a genomotyping system to group homologous isolates of Y. pestis, based on profiling or gene acquisition and loss in their genomes, and then drew an outline of parallel microevolution of the Y. pestis genome. The acquisition of a number of genomic islands and plasmids most likely induced Y. pestis to evolve rapidly from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis to a new, deadly pathogen. Horizontal gene acquisition also plays a key role in the dramatic evolutionary segregation of Y. pestis lineages (biovars and genomovars). In contrast to selective genome expansion by gene acquisition, genome reduction occurs in Y. pestis through the loss of DNA regions. We also theorized about the links between niche adaptation and genome microevolution. The transmission, colonization, and expansion of Y. pestis in the natural foci of endemic plague are parallel and directional and involve gradual adaptation to the complex of interactions between the environment, the hosts, and the pathogen itself. These adaptations are based on the natural selections against the accumulation of genetic changes within genome. Our data strongly support that the modern plague originated from Yunnan Province in China, due to the arising of biovar orientalis from biovar antiqua rather than mediaevalis.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the phenomenon of urban shrinkage, accompanied by symptoms of a structural crisis in urban areas, has spread on a global scale. The recent 2008 global economic crisis has been proven to have accelerated urban shrinkage in many previously prosperous cities. The city of Dongguan, which is known as the World's Factory, suffered a manufacturing downturn and labor outflow induced by the crisis; however, it exhibited high resilience as it displayed a quick recovery in the postcrisis period. The notion of regional resilience and its potential applications can explain why urban and regional economies resist and adjust to internal and external challenges in a long-term development process. Based on the adaptive cycle analytical framework, this study focused on specific policies and plans initiated by the Dongguan municipality when it faced the financial crisis and its implementation effects. It contributes to current knowledge by elaborating on how the local state reacted to and coped with crisis-induced shrinkage and by providing a valuable case for exploring the dynamic evolution of shrinkage and resurgence in the context of globalization. Three main resilient strategies are identified: (1) moving toward a more diversified industrial structure; (2) highlighting endogenous momentums in economic transition; and (3) advancing the equalization of social welfare for local residences. Moreover, it provides implications for the urban planning community on how to respond to uncertainty and vulnerability from the perspective of regional resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Return migration has become a critical socio‐economic phenomenon—both between countries and within countries—and profoundly affects the development prospects in a migrants' country or region of origin. Studies have mainly focused on the return of overseas migrants and their employment transformation and social integration upon return; few studies have investigated internal return migrants and their residential choice and urbanisation effect. To fill this gap, the present study used nationally representative data from China to construct a moderated mediation model for examining the relationship between internal return migration, nonagricultural employment, and urban settlement intention. The empirical results indicated that return migration affected urban settlement intention through two paths. In addition to directly strengthening migrants' urban settlement intention, return migration indirectly strengthened this intention by promoting nonagricultural employment. Compared with those returning to eastern China, returnees to central China were less likely to be in nonagricultural employment and had weaker intention to settle in a town. Among return migrants, the impacts of age at return and workplace during migration on the urban settlement intention were mainly through direct effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. AMG 232 is a novel inhibitor of the p53-MDM2 protein-protein interaction currently in Phase I clinical trials for multiple tumor indications. The objectives of the investigations reported in this article were to characterize the pharmacokinetic and drug metabolism properties of AMG 232 in pre-clinical species in vivo and in vitro, and in humans in vitro, and to predict its pharmacokinetics in humans through integrating PKDM data. 2. AMG 232 exhibited low clearance (<0.25 × Qh) and moderate to high oral bioavailability in mice, rats and monkeys (>42%), but high clearance (0.74 × Qh) and low oral exposure in dogs (18%). 3. Biotransformation was the major route of elimination of AMG 232 in rats, with only 7% of intravenously administered 14C-labeled AMG 232 recovered as parent molecule in bile. The major metabolite was an acyl glucuronide as measured by in vivo rat studies and in vitro hepatocyte incubations in multiple species. 4. The in vitro-in vivo correlation of AMG 232 clearance was within 2-fold in pre-clinical species using hepatocytes. AMG 232 was predicted to exhibit low clearance, high volume distribution and long half-life in humans. The predictions are consistent with the preliminary human pharmacokinetic parameters of AMG 232 in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent developments in nanotechnology may lead to the release of nanomaterials into the natural environment, such as soils, with largely unknown consequences. We investigated the effects of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), one of the most widely used nanomaterials, on soil microbial communities by incubation of soils to which powder or suspended forms of SWCNTs were added (0.03 to 1mgg−1 soil). To determine changes in soil microbial community composition, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles were analyzed at 25th day of the incubation experiment. The biomass of major microbial groups including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi showed a significant negative relationship with SWCNT concentration, while the relative abundance of bacteria showed a positive relationship with SWCNT concentration. Furthermore, soils under distinct concentrations of SWCNT treatments had PLFA profiles that were significantly different from one another. Our results indicate that the biomass of a broad range of soil microbial groups is negatively related with SWCNT concentration and upon entry into soils, SWCNTs may alter microbial community composition. Our results may serve as foundation for scientific guideline on regulating the discharge of nanomaterials such as SWCNTs to the soil ecosystem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nanomaterials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) may enter the soil environment with unknown consequences resulting from the development of nanotechnology for a variety of applications. We determined the effects of SWCNTs on soil enzyme activity and microbial biomass through a 3-week incubation of urban soils treated with different concentrations of SWCNTs ranging from 0 to 1000μgg−1 soil. The activities of cellobiohydrolase, β-1,4-glucosidase, β-1,4-xylosidase, β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase, l-leucine aminopeptidase, and acid phosphatase and microbial biomass were measured in soils treated with powder and suspended forms of SWCNTs. SWCNTs of concentrations at 300–1000μgg−1 soil significantly lowered activities of most enzymes and microbial biomass. It is noteworthy that the SWCNTs showed similar effects to that of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), but at a concentration approximately 5 times lower; we suggest that this is mainly due to the higher surface area of SWCNTs than that of MWCNTs. Indeed, our results show that surface area of CNTs has significant negative relationship with relative enzyme activity and biomass, which suggests that greater microorganism—CNT interactions could increase the negative effect of CNTs on microorganisms. Current work may contribute to the preparation of a regulatory guideline for the release of CNTs to the soil environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An efficient and sensitive enantioselective method for simultaneous determination of three acylamino acid fungicides in vegetables and fruits was presented by high-performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The three fungicides (benalaxyl, furalaxyl, and metalaxyl) residues in samples were extracted with acetonitrile containing 1% acetic acid and an aliquot was cleaned up with Si-(CH2)3-NH-(CH2)2-NH2 and C18 sorbent. Complete enantioseparation of three acylamino acid fungicides enantiomers was obtained under reversed-phase conditions on a cellulose tris (4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) column at 25°C using acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid solution (45:55, v/v) as a mobile phase. The elution orders of the eluted enantiomers were determined by a circular dichroism ( CD) detector. The linearity, matrix effect, recovery, and precision were evaluated. Good linearity was obtained over the concentration range of 0.5-250 μg/L for each enantiomer in the standard solution and sample matrix calibration curves. There was no significant matrix effect for three fungicides determination based on the method. The inter-day mean recoveries, intra-day repeatability, and inter-day reproducibility varied from 81.3 to 95.7%, 2.2 to 9.4%, and 2.3 to 9.6%, respectively. The method provided high selectivity and sensitivity, and limits of quantification for enantiomers of three fungicides in vegetables and fruits were both 1 μg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorption isotherms of Norfloxacin (NOF) to different fractions from six typical sediments in China were determined to compare the NOF sorption behavior and contribution of different fractions to total sorption. All sorption isotherms were nonlinear and fitted well with the Freundlich model. Sorption coefficients (Kf) by original sediments changed in larger magnitude, from 114 (mg/g)/(mg/L)n to 5271 (mg/g)/(mg/L)n, and black carbon with more aromatic carbon has more sorption capacity and nonlinearity. The sorption capacity Kf values were found to significantly correlate with SSA (specific surface area), OC (organic carbon), BC (black carbon), and TON (total organic nitrogen) (p < 0.05), but had no obvious relation with pH, CEC (cation exchange capacity), TOC/TON, and BC/TOC. The DOC removed, NaOH extracted, and 375°C heated fractions showed more nonlinear sorption than the original sediments, suggesting more heterogeneous sorption sites in these fractions. Among different sediment fractions, the 375°C heating fractions were responsible for >50% of the total NOF sorption over the whole concentration range. The contribution of DOC removed fractions to the total sorption was the highest at higher NOF concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomics provides an unprecedented opportunity to probe in minute detail into the genomes of the world's most deadly pathogenic bacteria-Yersinia pestis. Here we report the complete genome sequence of Y. pestis strain 91001, a human-avirulent strain isolated from the rodent Brandt's vole-Microtus brandti. The genome of strain 91001 consists of one chromosome and four plasmids (pPCP1, pCD1, pMT1 and pCRY). The 9609-bp pPCP1 plasmid of strain 91001 is almost identical to the counterparts from reference strains (CO92 and KIM). There are 98 genes in the 70,159-bp range of plasmid pCD1. The 106,642-bp plasmid pMT1 has slightly different architecture compared with the reference ones. pCRY is a novel plasmid discovered in this work. It is 21,742 bp long and harbors a cryptic type IV secretory system. The chromosome of 91001 is 4,595,065 bp in length. Among the 4037 predicted genes, 141 are possible pseudogenes. Due to the rearrangements mediated by insertion elements, the structure of the 91001 chromosome shows dramatic differences compared with CO92 and KIM. Based on the analysis of plasmids and chromosome architectures, pseudogene distribution, nitrate reduction negative mechanism and gene comparison, we conclude that strain 91001 and other strains isolated from M. brandti might have evolved from ancestral Y. pestis in a different lineage. The large genome fragment deletions in the 91001 chromosome and some pseudogenes may contribute to its unique nonpathogenicity to humans and host-specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The location selection mechanism and effect of industrial transfer have been widely considered in academia, but the influence of institutional factors on cross-regional industrial transfer and regional differences still need further investigation. Based on theories of economic geography as well as new economic geography (NEG) and its' institutional transformation, this paper studies the form, mechanism, and effect of the "core–periphery" regional relationship between the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and non-Pearl River Delta (NPRD) areas in Guangdong Province from the micro perspective of industrial spatial organization. Based on a case study on the change of the cross-regional production spatial organization of ceramics enterprises between Foshan and Qingyuan, it is found that after three rounds of spatial reorganization, the production spatial organization of Foshan's and Qingyuan's ceramics industries has changed significantly, forming a multifactory, multilocation production spatial structure and regional production network, which further drives to form the regional functional division of "core–periphery". Institution factors, especially environmental regulation and industrial transfer institutional arrangements, have become an important driving force for the current industrial transfer, but its impact on regional relations is still not a decisive factor. The path locking of the "core–periphery" mode has not been fundamentally broken through. Although the form of spatial inequality has greatly changed, in fact, it produces a new form of inequality. The economic, geographical, and political theoretical framework from the micro-perspective of enterprises will provide a possible theoretical explanation for the phenomenon of "pollution moving to the West, high-tech industry moving to the East, industrial output gathering to the East" in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This note points out that the comment article by , refer to ‘K-comment’ hereafter) was based on the code analysis with methodological and mathematical errors. The incorrect modification of the original code and FDOD method has resulted in the wrong conclusions in K-comment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Caffeic acid (CA) is a phenolic acid widely found in fruits and plants, which exhibits anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties. Because increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is related to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we treated RA-derived fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) with CA, and investigated its effects on cytokine production, expression levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-1. Our results showed that high level of CA induced cell apoptosis in RA-FLS. CA significantly reduced productions of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in FLS. Moreover, PGE2 and MMP-1, which play vital roles in RA development, were significantly repressed by CA at both transcriptional and translational levels. To reveal the underlying mechanisms, we compared the levels of proteins involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathways between CA and vehicle treated groups, and found that CA exerted its regulatory function on cytokine production via inhibiting phosphorylation of NF-κB inhibitor kinase (IκB kinase/IKK) α/β and IκBα. In conclusion, this study has, for the first time, demonstrated the effects of CA on repressing IL-6 and TNF-α to alleviate inflammation response in RA-FLS by blocking phosphorylation of IκB and IκB kinase. Clinical use of CA may be effective in RA treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The spatial distribution and source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 30 surface sediments of Yueqing Bay, Xiangshan Bay, and Sanmen Bay in Eastern China were analysed. Total concentrations of PCBs ranged from 9.33 to 19.60ngg−1 dry weight for all the sampling stations. The observed PCB levels were lower than those in areas of high urbanisation or contamination in the bay. Low-chlorinated PCBs, dominated by tri-PCB, were identified as the prevalent contaminate of surface sediments, and the top three PCB congeners were lighter chlorinated congeners (PCB 8, PCB 18 and PCB 28). These results were in agreement with the fact that tri-PCB compounds are the dominant contaminants in China. The result of the principal component analysis revealed that all samples were similar in composition to Aroclor 1242, suggesting they might originate from electrical capacitors and transformers. The levels of PCBs were significantly correlated with the total organic carbon in the sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]