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The development of highly efficient photocatalysts for conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) with water (H2O) into chemical fuels is of great importance for energy sustainability and carbon resource utilization. Herein, we demonstrated a facile hydrothermal method for in situ construction of subnanometric Bi metallic clusters in pyrochlore‐Bi2Sn2O7 frameworks, leading to the remarkable improvements of photocatalytic performances for CO2 reduction into CO in the absence of sacrificial reagent. More specifically, an outstanding CO evolution activity of 114.1 μmol g−1 h−1 has been achieved, more than 20‐fold improvement compared with the pristine Bi2Sn2O7 (5.7 μmol g−1 h−1). Detailed experiments together with in situ characterizations reveal that the spatially confined Bi clusters could significantly promote charge‐separation/electron‐enrichment and adsorption/activation of CO2 molecules, which provides highly efficient reaction channels to facilitate the generation of *COOH intermediate as well as the subsequent desorption of *CO towards CO formation. These demonstrations provide an important knowledge for precise design and fabrication of highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 conversion into solar fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of highly efficient photocatalysts for conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) with water (H2O) into chemical fuels is of great importance for energy sustainability and carbon resource utilization. Herein, we demonstrated a facile hydrothermal method for in situ construction of subnanometric Bi metallic clusters in pyrochlore‐Bi2Sn2O7 frameworks, leading to the remarkable improvements of photocatalytic performances for CO2 reduction into CO in the absence of sacrificial reagent. More specifically, an outstanding CO evolution activity of 114.1 μmol g−1 h−1 has been achieved, more than 20‐fold improvement compared with the pristine Bi2Sn2O7 (5.7 μmol g−1 h−1). Detailed experiments together with in situ characterizations reveal that the spatially confined Bi clusters could significantly promote charge‐separation/electron‐enrichment and adsorption/activation of CO2 molecules, which provides highly efficient reaction channels to facilitate the generation of *COOH intermediate as well as the subsequent desorption of *CO towards CO formation. These demonstrations provide an important knowledge for precise design and fabrication of highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 conversion into solar fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major threat to rice production is the disease epidemics caused by insect-borne viruses that emerge and re-emerge with undefined origins. It is well known that some human viruses have zoonotic origins from wild animals. However, it remains unknown whether native plants host uncharacterized endemic viruses with spillover potential to rice (Oryza sativa) as emerging pathogens. Here, we discovered rice tiller inhibition virus (RTIV), a novel RNA virus species, from colonies of Asian wild rice (O. rufipogon) in a genetic reserve by metagenomic sequencing. We identified the specific aphid vector that is able to transmit RTIV and found that RTIV would cause low-tillering disease in rice cultivar after transmission. We further demonstrated that an infectious molecular clone of RTIV initiated systemic infection and causes low-tillering disease in an elite rice variety after Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation or stable plant transformation, and RTIV can also be transmitted from transgenic rice plant through its aphid vector to cause disease. Finally, global transcriptome analysis indicated that RTIV may disturb defense and tillering pathway to cause low tillering disease in rice cultivar. Thus, our results show that new rice viral pathogens can emerge from native habitats, and RTIV, a rare aphid-transmitted rice viral pathogen from native wild rice, can threaten the production of rice cultivar after spillover. Author summary: Emerging and re-emerging dangerous viruses cause epidemics or pandemics to threaten human and economically important crops and animals. Some of the most dangerous human viruses have zoonotic origins from wild animals. Native plants may also host new endemic viruses that can spread to cause epidemics in cultivated rice, one of the most important staple plants in the world. In the research, we discovered Rice tiller inhibition virus (RTIV), a new insect-borne positive-strand RNA virus, from Asian wild rice plants through metagenomic sequencing, and demonstrated that RTIV could be transmitted by a wide-distributed specific species of aphids to cultivated rice and inhibited tillering, an important agronomic trait of rice plants. We further rescued RTIV by developing infectious clone and confirmed that it can be a dangerous aphid-transmitted viral pathogen of cultivated rice plants. Thus, not only a rare aphid-transmitted viral pathogen of rice plants was discovered in the research, our findings also indicate that novel pathogenic viruses could spread out from native plants to threaten important crop plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) is essential to understanding of gene regulation. Designing computational models for accurate prediction of TFBSs is crucial because it is not feasible to experimentally assay all transcription factors (TFs) in all sequenced eukaryotic genomes. Although many methods have been proposed for the identification of TFBSs in humans, methods designed for plants are comparatively underdeveloped. Here, we present PlantBind, a method for integrated prediction and interpretation of TFBSs based on DNA sequences and DNA shape profiles. Built on an attention-based multi-label deep learning framework, PlantBind not only simultaneously predicts the potential binding sites of 315 TFs, but also identifies the motifs bound by transcription factors. During the training process, this model revealed a strong similarity among TF family members with respect to target binding sequences. Trans-species prediction performance using four Zea mays TFs demonstrated the suitability of this model for transfer learning. Overall, this study provides an effective solution for identifying plant TFBSs, which will promote greater understanding of transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic evolutions of atomic and electronic structure on Cu 2 MoS 4 catalysts were firstly explored by combining synchronous-illumination X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with X-ray diffraction. Benefitting from the above structure characteristics, Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets exhibit excellent activity enhancement (8.7 μmol g−1 h−1) for CO 2 reduction to C 2 H 4 under the visible light irradiation in comparison with the trace amount of Cu-doped MoS 2 and pure MoS 2. [Display omitted] • The dynamic evolutions of surface structures in Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets were observed. • The novel SI-XPS and SI-XRD technologies were first applied. • The Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets exhibited excellent photocatalytic CO 2 to C 2 H 4 activity. • A new and valuable insight into the photocatalysis for CO 2 reduction was put forward. Understanding the charge dynamic behavior of the catalyst is crucial to unravel the underlying mechanism for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction to C 2+ products. However, the structure–activity relationships are not intuitive because of the dynamic evolution of electronic and atomic structures for catalysts under the excitation state. Herein, modeling on layered Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets, we for the first time observe charge migration-induced evolution of electronic and atomic structure on Cu 2 MoS 4 catalyst during the CO 2 reduction process by combining synchronous-illumination X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SI-XPS) with X-ray diffraction (SI-XRD). During the dissociation of CO 2 molecules as well as the charge migration process under the visible light irradiation condition, the surface S atoms return back to the lattice phase, leading to the valence-state normalization of Cu, Mo and S atoms and the increases of the interlayer lattice spacing. By virtue of the above unique characteristic changes, Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets exhibit excellent activity enhancement (8.7 μmol g−1 h−1) for CO 2 reduction to C 2 H 4 under the visible light irradiation in comparison with the trace amount of Cu-doped MoS 2 and pure MoS 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Highest nitrogen removal was achieved at 20 °C in the hybrid CANON reactor. • Performance was not always deteriorated with temperature reduction. • Activities of key enzymes were analyzed with temperature reduction. • The factors for maintaining nitrogen removal performance varied with temperature. Abstract Recently, a flocculent-granular hybrid reactor was reported as a novel nitrogen removal system; however, the mechanisms of stable operation in the system remain unclear. In this study, the mechanisms of the stable nitrogen removal performance in a flocculent-granular hybrid system were investigated with temperature reduction. The operational period was divided into three phases with different temperatures ranges. In phase I, the nitrogen removal efficiency was stabilized at about 90% with nitrogen removal load maintained at approximately 0.28 kg N/(m3·day). In phase II, while decreasing the temperature to 20 °C, the activities of key enzymes were reduced immediately and were then maintained at a certain level. The relative abundances of aerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria gradually increased at this phase. In phase III, after the temperature dropped to 15 °C, the activities of key enzymes gradually increased due to adaptation to low temperature, boosting the nitrogen removal efficiency to 83%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a high morbidity and disability disease with numerous inflammatory cells infiltrating in interstitial of articular cartilages and bones. As the most abundant inflammatory cells, neutrophil has been reported that their apoptosis changed gradually in the circumstance of RA. Apoptosis, one modality of programmed cell death (PCD), is closely associated with autophagy, which indicates neutrophil autophagy may also alter in RA. Flow cytometry, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscope and multiplex antibody microarray were used to comparative investigate the status of neutrophil autophagy in patients with RA and in vitro. The results showed that the expression of autophagy related LC3 protein was up-regulated with lower lysosomal pH in neutrophils from synovial fluid of RA and changed under stimulation of CQ and small RNA interferences (siRNAs) Atg5 transfection, which proved in acute promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell lines, predominantly a neutrophilic promyelocyte, treated by plasma and synovial fluid from RA. We further found out the concentration of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and MCP-1 was higher in their synovial fluid which may mediate neutrophil autophagy in RA via cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and IL-17 signaling pathway. Our results indicate that neutrophil autophagy may be a novel perspective to understand the pathology which may provide a new maker to diagnose RA and IL-8, IL-10, MCP-1 specific antagonists and neutrophil autophagy target inhibitors may improve the therapeutic effect of RA someday. Highlights • Neutrophil autophagy was enhanced in RA patients. • High concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and MCP-1 in RA synovial fluid. • Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and IL-17 signaling pathway etc. were enriched by bioinformatics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterised the virus-derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNA) of bamboo mosaic virus (Ba-vsiRNAs) and its associated satellite RNA (satRNA)-derived siRNAs (satsiRNAs) in a bamboo plant ( Dendrocalamus latiflorus) by deep sequencing. Ba-vsiRNAs and satsiRNAs of 21-22 nt in length, with both (+) and (-) polarity, predominated. The 5′-terminal base of Ba-vsiRNA was biased towards A, whereas a bias towards C/U was observed in sense satsiRNAs, and towards A in antisense satsiRNAs. A large set of bamboo genes were identified as potential targets of Ba-vsiRNAs and satsiRNAs, revealing RNA silencing-based virus-host interactions in plants. Moreover, we isolated and characterised new isolates of bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV; 6,350 nt) and BaMV-associated satRNA (satBaMV; 834 nt), designated BaMV-MAZSL1 and satBaMV-MAZSL1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A SNP mutation in CmYGP gene encoding Golden2-like transcription factor is responsible for melon yellow-green plant trait. Chlorophylls are essential and beneficial substances for both plant and human health. Identifying the regulatory network of chlorophyll is necessary to improve the nutritional quality of fruits. At least six etiolation genes have been identified in different melon varieties, but none of them have been cloned, and the molecular mechanisms underlying chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development in melon remain unclear. Here, the NSL73046, a yellow-green plant (Cmygp) mutant, enabled the map-based cloning of the first etiolation gene in melon. CmYGP encodes a Golden2-like transcription factor. Spatiotemporal expression analyses confirmed the high CmYGP expression in all green tissues, particularly in young leaves and fruit peels. Virus-induced gene silencing and the development of near-isogenic line by marker-assisted selection further confirmed that downregulation of CmYGP can reduce chloroplast number and chlorophyll content, thereby resulting in yellow-green leaves and fruits in melon, and overexpression of CmYGP in tomatoes also led to dark-green leaves and fruits. RNA-seq analysis revealed that CmYGP greatly affected the expression of key genes associated with chloroplast development. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that CmYGP regulate chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development thus affect fruit development in melon. This study also offers a new strategy to enhance fruit quality in melon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiologically induced calcium carbonate precipitation shows the potential for use in bioremediation and construction consolidation, but the efficiency of this process must be improved. Lysinibacillus sphaericus LMG 22257 is a gram-positive ureolytic strain that has recently been applied for consolidating construction by mediating calcium carbonate precipitation. The complete genome sequence of L. sphaericus LMG 22257 is 3,436,578 base pairs with a GC content of 38.99%. The urea degradation pathway and genes related to extracellular polymeric substance biosynthesis were also identified. The strain can tolerate high alkalinity (pH up to 10) and high urea concentration (up to 3 M). These findings provide insights into the microbiologically induced carbonate precipitation and extend the application of the metabolic potential of L. sphaericus LMG 22257 for bioremediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Boron-doped graphene (BDG) sheets were grown directly on boron-doped diamond (BDD). • A BDG/BDD cathode and BDG/nanocrystals BDD/TiO 2 nanotubes anode were designed. • Aqueous sodium and lithium ion capacitors were assembled using above electrodes. • These devices with high operating voltages of 2.5 V showed high energy-/power-densities. • The devices can filter AC current for a wide frequency range of 50–10000 Hz. This paper reports our investigation of aqueous sodium and lithium ion capacitors (SIC and LIC, respectively) with a boron-doped graphene (BDG)/boron-doped diamond (BDD) cathode and BDG/nanocrystal BDD/TiO 2 nanotube array anode. Vertically grown BDG nanosheets formed a porous three-dimensional morphology rich in charge storage sites with a short ion-diffusion distance and, high structural stability. In an aqueous NaCl solution, the potential windows are 0–1.1 V and −1.2–0 V for the cathode and anode, respectively, and their specific capacitances are 66.76 and 23.86 mF cm−2 at a current density of 3 mA cm−2, respectively. The devices exhibit high energy densities (SIC: 47.8 μWh cm−2; LIC: 33.9 μWh cm−2) and high power densities (SIC: 77.7 mW cm−2; LIC: 65.3 mW cm−2) at an operating voltage of 2.5 V. The SIC and LIC exhibited 100% coulombic efficiency over 10,000 cycles, with a capacitance retention of 99.5% and 97.8%, respectively, at a high current density of 90 mA cm−2 over 2000 cycles. Moreover, the capacitors exhibit effective AC current filtering over a wide frequency range of 50–10,000 Hz. The coulombic efficiencies and long-term stabilities of these aqueous devices are better at high current densities, and large energy densities are retained at high power densities, which is advantageous for high-frequency filtering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporosarcina psychrophila DSM 6497 is a gram positive, spore-formation psychrophilic bacterial strain, widely distributed in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Here we report its complete sequence including one circular chromosome of 4674191 bp with a GC content of 40.3%. Genes encoding urease are predicted in the genome, which provide insight information on the microbiologically mediated urea hydrolysis process. This urea hydrolysis can further lead to an increase of carbonate anion and alkalinity in the environment, which promotes the microbiologically induced carbonate precipitation with various applications, such as the bioremediation of calcium rich wastewater and bio-reservation of architectural patrimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chromosome painting is a powerful technique for chromosome and genome studies. We developed a flexible chromosome painting technique based on multiplex PCR of a synthetic oligonucleotide (oligo) library in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L., 2n = 14). Each oligo in the library was associated with a universal as well as nested specific primers for amplification, which allow the generation of different probes from the same oligo library. We were also able to generate double‐stranded labelled oligos, which produced much stronger signals than single‐stranded labelled oligos, by amplification using fluorophore‐conjugated primer pairs. Oligos covering cucumber chromosome 1 (Chr1) and chromosome 4 (Chr4) consisting of eight segments were synthesized in one library. Different oligo probes generated from the library painted the corresponding chromosomes/segments unambiguously, especially on pachytene chromosomes. This technique was then applied to study the homoeologous relationships among cucumber, C. hystrix and C. melo chromosomes based on cross‐species chromosome painting using Chr4 probes. We demonstrated that the probe was feasible to detect interspecies chromosome homoeologous relationships and chromosomal rearrangement events. Based on its advantages and great convenience, we anticipate that this flexible oligo‐painting technique has great potential for the studies of the structure, organization, and evolution of chromosomes in any species with a sequenced genome. Significance Statement: A chromosome painting technique that allows flexible and simple generation of probes for any specific chromosome/segment was developed through applying multiplex PCR using one synthetic oligonucleotide library as template. This technique was applied in Cucumis species to elucidate the homoeologous relationships and rearrangement features of specific chromosomes, and it will be suitable for any higher organisms with a sequenced genome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) is a well-characterized virus and a model of virus-host interaction in plants. Here, we identified naturally occurring BaMV isolates from Fujian Province, China and furthermore describe a naturally occurring BaMV coinfection in bamboo ( Bambusa xiashanensis) plants. Two different types of BaMV were identified, represented by isolates BaMV-XSNZHA7 (X7) and BaMV-XSNZHA10 (X10). The phylogenetic relationships between X7- and X10-like isolates and published BaMV isolates were determined based on genomic RNA and amino acid sequences. Three clusters were identified, indicating that BaMV is highly diverse. The in planta viral replication kinetics were determined for X7 and X10 in single infections and in an X7/X10 coinfection. The peak viral load during coinfection was significantly greater than that during single infection with either virus and contained a slightly higher proportion of X10 virus than X7, suggesting that X10-like viruses may have a fitness advantage when compared to X7-like viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nitrogen (N) is an important nutrient for plant growth, development, and agricultural production. Nitrogen stress could induce epigenetic changes in plants. In our research, overexpression of the OsNAR2.1 line was used as a testing target in rice plants with high nitrogen-use efficiency to study the changes of rice methylation and growth in respond of the endogenous and external nitrogen stress. Results: Our results showed that external N deficiency could decrease seed N content and plant growth of the overexpression line. During the filial growth, we found that the low parent seed nitrogen (LPSN) in the overexpression line could lead to a decrease in the filial seed nitrogen content, total plant nitrogen content, yield, and OsNAR2.1 expression (28, 35, 23, and 55%, respectively) compared with high parent seed nitrogen (HPSN) in high nitrogen external supply. However, such decreases were not observed in wild type. Furthermore, methylation sequencing results showed that LPSN caused massive gene methylation changes, which enriched in over 20 GO pathways in the filial overexpression line, and the expression of OsNAR2.1 in LPSN filial overexpression plants was significantly reduced compared to HPSN filial plants in high external N, which was not shown in wild type. Conclusions: We suggest that the parent seed nitrogen content decreased induced DNA methylation changes at the epigenetic level and significantly decreased the expression of OsNAR2.1, resulting in a heritable phenotype of N deficiency over two generations of the overexpression line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A porous β-PbO 2 electrode is prepared by adding Sn-Sb-RuO x interlayer. • The pores with diameters ranging between 50–180 μm. • The porous β-PbO 2 electrode prepared by electrodepositing at 20 mA/cm2 demonstrate good activity and high stability. • The lifetime reaches 96 h at 1 A/cm2 in 1 g/L C1− and 150 g/L H 2 SO 4 solution. Abstract Sn-SbO x , Sn-Sb-RuO x , and β-PbO 2 coatings were successfully deposited on a titanium substrate by using the thermal deposition and electrodeposition methods, and their electrochemical properties were investigated in detail. The Sn-Sb-RuO x interlayer played a very important role in enhancing the stability of the PbO 2 coating electrodeposited at a low current density. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that the cracks in the Sn-Sb-RuO x coating were larger than those in the Sn-SbO x coating. Moreover, the Ti/Sn-Sb-RuO x /β-PbO 2 coating had many large pits with pore diameters in the range of 50–180 μm and pore depths of <18.4 μm. The electrodeposition mechanism of β-PbO 2 was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Compared to the compact β-PbO 2 anode, the porous β-PbO 2 anode showed superior electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability. A service life of 96 h was achieved for this anode under the accelerated-life-test conditions at a current density of 1 A/cm2 in a solution of 150 g/L H 2 SO 4 and 1 g/L Cl−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium has been suggested to accumulate in the body over a lifetime, posing a great threat to human health. So far, few studies have studied the association between cadmium exposure and long-term health outcomes in adults. To investigate the risk of mortality with blood cadmium level in adults (participants of NHANES, 1999–2014). We evaluated the associations between cadmium and risk of mortality. Data on mortality and cadmium exposure were collected in NHANES database including 39,865 participants. Multivariate Cox regression models were established for calculating hazard ratios (HRs) and 95%CI between cadmium exposure and all-cause and specific-cause mortality outcomes. Totally, 39,865 individuals with 19,260 males (48.3%) and 20,605 females (51.7%) were included in the study. During a total of 341,017 person-years of follow-up 5,094 deaths were documented, including 1,067 cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 890 cancers. Compared with the lowest quantile of cadmium exposure level group, the adjusted HRs in the highest quantile cadmium exposure level group were 1.73 (95%CI: 1.52–1.97) for all-cause mortality, 1.72 (95%CI: 1.28–2.30) for CVD mortality and 1.87 (95%CI: 1.49–2.36) for cancer mortality, respectively (P for trend: <0.001). Additionally, significant interactions with smoking status in the stratified analyses of all-cause mortality and cancer mortality, age in the stratified analyses of cancer mortality were found (P for interaction: 0.002, <0.001 and 0.012). In this nationwide representative sample of the population, we found that higher blood cadmium concentration was associated with increased risks of all-cause and specific-cause mortality. These data further evidence the link between mortality and cadmium concentration. It is of great importance for both policy makers and the public to minimize cadmium exposure, and to reduce long-term adverse health effects. [Display omitted] • We explored independent effects of cadmium on all-cause and specific cause mortality. • Cadmium was positively related to all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality. • Smoking modified upwards the association between Cd and all-cause, cancer mortality. • Age modified upwards the association between Cd and cancer mortality. • The U-shaped dose-response curves between cadmium and mortality were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widely used plasticizer and has been identified as a male prenatal reproductive toxicant. A high fat diet (HFD) has also been suggested as another potential disruptor of male reproductive function. Despite this potential synergism between DEHP exposure and HFD, little is known about the concomitant effects of prenatal DEHP and a subsequent HFD exposure on male offspring reproductive injury. Here we established a mouse model of prenatal exposure to DEHP (0.2 mg/kg/day) to assess the testicular development and spermatogenesis in offspring subjected to obesogenic diet during the pubertal period. Gross phenotype, hormone profiles and the testicular metabolome were analyzed to determine the underlying mechanism. We found that prenatal exposure to low-dose DEHP resulted in decreased sperm density, decreased testosterone (T) levels, increased luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and testicular germ cell apoptosis. Furthermore, these injury phenotypes were aggravated by pubertal HFD treatment. Testicular riboflavin and biotin metabolites were enriched implying their roles in contributing HFD to exacerbate offspring spermatogenesis disorders due to prenatal low-dose DEHP exposure. Our findings suggest that pubertal HFD exacerbates reproductive dysfunction associated with prenatal exposure to low-dose DEHP in male adult offspring. [Display omitted] • Pubertal HFD exacerbates the male offspring reproductive dysfunction resulting from prenatal low-dose DEHP exposure. • Pubertal HFD exacerbates sex hormone alterations and testicular apoptosis in offspring exposed to prenatal low-dose DEHP. • Testicular metabolites are significantly associated with the phenotypes altered by prenatal DEHP exposure and pubertal HFD. • Riboflavin and biotin contribute to HFD exacerbated spermatogenesis disorders due to prenatal low-dose DEHP exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Existing evidence suggests that perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) exposure might contribute to the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis to identify the association between PFAS and the risk of GDM.Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for appropriate articles about the association between PFASs exposure and the risk of GDM before September 28, 2020. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were summarized by Stata 16.0 through fixed effect models according to heterogeneity. We also carried out subgroup analyses by geographic location, blood sampling time of subjects, method of chemical analysis, study design, sample size, and sampling year. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the robustness of the results.Results: A total of eight studies involving 5654 pregnant women were included in the meta-analysis. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure was positively and significantly associated with the risk of GDM (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.02-1.59). Exposure to other types of PFASs such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was not statistically significantly associated with the risk of GDM with the pooled effect estimates of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.86-1.09), 1.03 (95% CI: 0.86-1.24), and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.55-1.16) respectively.Conclusion: We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between PFASs exposure and GDM and found that PFOA concentration was significantly associated with a higher risk of GDM, which is of great significance for the prevention and control of GDM in public health. Further studies are needed in order to establish causality and clarify the potential mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag doped β-PbO 2 anode material was prepared on Ti/Sn–Sb-RuO x /α-PbO 2 through electrodeposition technique to improve its electrochemical properties and corrosion resistance in zinc electrowinning. The chemical composition and surface morphology of the anodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties and corrosion resistance of the anode materials were established via linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and accelerated life tests. Results showed that the grain size of β-PbO 2 increased with AgNO 3 concentration while Ag+ was oxidized to AgO and adsorbed on the electrode surface to accelerate the growth of β-PbO 2 grains. We also proposed the nucleation/deposition mechanism of β-PbO 2 electrode while verifying the role of Ag ion doping. The optimum electrocatalytic performance could be achieved when the concentration of AgNO 3 was 6 g L−1. Compared with that of the undoped pure β-PbO 2 anode, the oxygen evolution potential of the Ti/Sn–Sb-RuO x /α-PbO 2 /Ag–F-β-PbO 2 was decreased by 64 mV. The service life of the doped F–Ag-β-PbO 2 anode could reach up as high as 249 h, which was 1.66 times of pure β-PbO 2 anode. • Ag ion doping is proposed to boost the oxygen evolution kinetics. • Ag ions could increase the grain size and accelerate the growth of β-PbO 2. • The deposition mechanism of Ag doped β-PbO 2 electrode is proposed and verified. • 6 g L−1 AgNO 3 is considered as the optimum parameter. • PbO 2 -6 presents the longest service life of 249 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]