Selenium nanoparticles(SeNPs)have been demonstrated potential for use in diseases associated with oxidative stress.Functionalized SeNPs with lower toxicity and higher biocompatibility could bring better therapeutic ac...Selenium nanoparticles(SeNPs)have been demonstrated potential for use in diseases associated with oxidative stress.Functionalized SeNPs with lower toxicity and higher biocompatibility could bring better therapeutic activity and clinical application value.Herein,this work was conducted to investigate the protective effect of Pleurotus tuber-regium polysaccharide-protein complex funtionnalized SeNPs(PTR-SeNPs)against acetaminophen(APAP)-induced oxidative injure in HepG2 cells and C57BL/6J mouse liver.Further elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanism,in particular their modulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway was also performed.The results showed that PTR-SeNPs could significantly ameliorate APAP-induced oxidative injury as evidenced by a range of biochemical analysis,histopathological examination and immunoblotting study.PTR-SeNPs could hosphorylate and activate PKCδ,depress Keap1,and increase nuclear accumulation of Nrf2,resulting in upregulation of GCLC,GCLM,HO-1 and NQO-1 expression.Besides,PTR-SeNPs suppressed the biotransformation of APAP to generate intracellular ROS through CYP 2E1 inhibition,restoring the mitochondrial morphology.Furthermore,the protective effect of PTR-SeNPs against APAP induced hepatotoxicity was weakened as Nrf2 was depleted in vivo,indicating the pivotal role of Nrf2 signaling pathway in PTR-SeNPs mediated hepatoprotective efficacy.Being a potential hepatic protectant,PTR-SeNPs could serve as a new source of selenium supplement for health-promoting and biomedical applications.展开更多
Plastic offers a new niche for microorganisms,the plastisphere.The everincreasing emission of plastic waste makes it critical to understand the microbial ecology of the plastisphere and associated effects.Here,we pres...Plastic offers a new niche for microorganisms,the plastisphere.The everincreasing emission of plastic waste makes it critical to understand the microbial ecology of the plastisphere and associated effects.Here,we present a global fingerprint of the plastisphere,analyzing samples collected from freshwater,seawater,and terrestrial ecosystems.The plastisphere assembles a distinct microbial community that has a clearly higher heterogeneity and a more deterministically dominated assembly compared to natural habitats.New coexistence patterns—loose and fragile networks with mostly specialist linkages among microorganisms that are rarely found in natural habitats—are seen in the plastisphere.Plastisphere microbiomes generally have a great potential to metabolize organic compounds,which could accelerate carbon turnover.Microorganisms involved in the nitrogen cycle are also altered in the plastisphere,especially in freshwater plastispheres,where a high abundance of denitrifiers may increase the release of nitrite(aquatic toxicant)and nitrous oxide(greenhouse gas).Enrichment of animal,plant,and human pathogens means that the plastisphere could become an increasingly mobile reservoir of harmful microorganisms.Our findings highlight that if the trajectory of plastic emissions is not reversed,the expanding plastisphere could pose critical planetary health challenges.展开更多
Anaerobic digestion(AD)has been considered as a promising technique for food waste(FW)recycling.However,the accumulation of volatile fatty acids(VFAs)restricts the stability of anaerobic reactors.The present study inv...Anaerobic digestion(AD)has been considered as a promising technique for food waste(FW)recycling.However,the accumulation of volatile fatty acids(VFAs)restricts the stability of anaerobic reactors.The present study investigated the use of biochar produced at different conditions(750℃-30 min,750℃-60 min,750℃-120 min,550℃-60 min,650℃-60 min,850℃-60 min,950℃-60 min)for enhancing the AD of FW.Batch experiments showed that all the biochar increased the methane production rates and biochar obtained at 750℃-60 min resulted in the highest enhance-ment by 21.5%.It was further showed surface oxygen-containing functional groups and graphitization degree of biochar were the critical factors for improving methane production.Microbial analysis showed that biochar addi-tion formed different microbial communities,and Methanosaeta,Romboutsia,and norank_f_Anaerolineaceae were enriched,which might be correlated with direct interspecies electron transfer(DIET).This research showed biochar could enhance the AD of FW and also revealed the main characteristics of biochar relating with the enhancement of AD.展开更多
Microplastics represent an emerging environmental problem worldwide, raising ecological and food safety concerns. Compared to microplastics, there is growing evidence of an even higher abundance of submicro-and nanopl...Microplastics represent an emerging environmental problem worldwide, raising ecological and food safety concerns. Compared to microplastics, there is growing evidence of an even higher abundance of submicro-and nanoplastics in the environment, but a reliable monitoring method for detecting these smaller-sized plastics is lacking. Herein we presented the application of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) for this purpose. Particles of polystyrene(PS;600 nm) were used as the probe analyte. Gold nanourchins(Au NU;50 nm),i.e. urchin-shaped nanoparticles with irregular spikes around the core, were used as the SERS-active substrate. The effectiveness of SERS on PS was evaluated at a single-particle level with different numbers of Au NU in order to determine the minimum conditions required for the onset of the SERS effect. Our findings suggest that SERS of a single particle of PS can be induced by as few as 1–5 particles of Au NU, and that the use of excitation wavelength at 785 nm is appropriate to meet the red-shifted surface plasmon resonance of Au NU upon aggregation. These specifications provide additional information for the development of SERS-based tools for detecting plastic particles < 1 μm in food and environmental samples.展开更多
基金financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(81700524)Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2022J01866)from Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology+1 种基金Key Project of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(X2021019)Collaborative Innovation and Platform Establishment Project of Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province(2019A050520003)。
文摘Selenium nanoparticles(SeNPs)have been demonstrated potential for use in diseases associated with oxidative stress.Functionalized SeNPs with lower toxicity and higher biocompatibility could bring better therapeutic activity and clinical application value.Herein,this work was conducted to investigate the protective effect of Pleurotus tuber-regium polysaccharide-protein complex funtionnalized SeNPs(PTR-SeNPs)against acetaminophen(APAP)-induced oxidative injure in HepG2 cells and C57BL/6J mouse liver.Further elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanism,in particular their modulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway was also performed.The results showed that PTR-SeNPs could significantly ameliorate APAP-induced oxidative injury as evidenced by a range of biochemical analysis,histopathological examination and immunoblotting study.PTR-SeNPs could hosphorylate and activate PKCδ,depress Keap1,and increase nuclear accumulation of Nrf2,resulting in upregulation of GCLC,GCLM,HO-1 and NQO-1 expression.Besides,PTR-SeNPs suppressed the biotransformation of APAP to generate intracellular ROS through CYP 2E1 inhibition,restoring the mitochondrial morphology.Furthermore,the protective effect of PTR-SeNPs against APAP induced hepatotoxicity was weakened as Nrf2 was depleted in vivo,indicating the pivotal role of Nrf2 signaling pathway in PTR-SeNPs mediated hepatoprotective efficacy.Being a potential hepatic protectant,PTR-SeNPs could serve as a new source of selenium supplement for health-promoting and biomedical applications.
基金This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB40020102)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22193063,32071523,and 42007229)+3 种基金the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution Collaborative Research Fund(SKLMP/CRF/0004 and SKLMP/SCRF/0030)the Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)Open Collaborative Research Fund(SMSEGL20SC02)the Hong Kong LNG Terminal Marine Conservation Enhancement Fund(MCEF20030)the Start-up Funds of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University(P0036173 and P0038311).C.L.acknowledges support from the Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University(1-YWCE).We are grateful to all of the principal investigators for uploading sequencing data as an open access resource.We also thank Mr.Lifei Wang of Shandong University for his contribution in the sampling process,Miss Yanfei Wang of Shanghai University of Electric Power for her input in programming,Prof.Beat Frey of Snow and Landscape Research(WSL)for kindly providing information on the samples,and Prof.Huijun Xie of Shandong University,Prof.Yong-Xin Liu of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,and Dr.Robyn J.Wright of Dalhousie University for their constructive comments on the manuscript.
文摘Plastic offers a new niche for microorganisms,the plastisphere.The everincreasing emission of plastic waste makes it critical to understand the microbial ecology of the plastisphere and associated effects.Here,we present a global fingerprint of the plastisphere,analyzing samples collected from freshwater,seawater,and terrestrial ecosystems.The plastisphere assembles a distinct microbial community that has a clearly higher heterogeneity and a more deterministically dominated assembly compared to natural habitats.New coexistence patterns—loose and fragile networks with mostly specialist linkages among microorganisms that are rarely found in natural habitats—are seen in the plastisphere.Plastisphere microbiomes generally have a great potential to metabolize organic compounds,which could accelerate carbon turnover.Microorganisms involved in the nitrogen cycle are also altered in the plastisphere,especially in freshwater plastispheres,where a high abundance of denitrifiers may increase the release of nitrite(aquatic toxicant)and nitrous oxide(greenhouse gas).Enrichment of animal,plant,and human pathogens means that the plastisphere could become an increasingly mobile reservoir of harmful microorganisms.Our findings highlight that if the trajectory of plastic emissions is not reversed,the expanding plastisphere could pose critical planetary health challenges.
基金Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(19DZ1204704,22ZR1405900)National Natural Science Foundation of China(31970117)Hong Kong Environment and Conservation Fund(Project 101/2020).
文摘Anaerobic digestion(AD)has been considered as a promising technique for food waste(FW)recycling.However,the accumulation of volatile fatty acids(VFAs)restricts the stability of anaerobic reactors.The present study investigated the use of biochar produced at different conditions(750℃-30 min,750℃-60 min,750℃-120 min,550℃-60 min,650℃-60 min,850℃-60 min,950℃-60 min)for enhancing the AD of FW.Batch experiments showed that all the biochar increased the methane production rates and biochar obtained at 750℃-60 min resulted in the highest enhance-ment by 21.5%.It was further showed surface oxygen-containing functional groups and graphitization degree of biochar were the critical factors for improving methane production.Microbial analysis showed that biochar addi-tion formed different microbial communities,and Methanosaeta,Romboutsia,and norank_f_Anaerolineaceae were enriched,which might be correlated with direct interspecies electron transfer(DIET).This research showed biochar could enhance the AD of FW and also revealed the main characteristics of biochar relating with the enhancement of AD.
基金supported by an internal research grant (P0001274) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China。
文摘Microplastics represent an emerging environmental problem worldwide, raising ecological and food safety concerns. Compared to microplastics, there is growing evidence of an even higher abundance of submicro-and nanoplastics in the environment, but a reliable monitoring method for detecting these smaller-sized plastics is lacking. Herein we presented the application of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) for this purpose. Particles of polystyrene(PS;600 nm) were used as the probe analyte. Gold nanourchins(Au NU;50 nm),i.e. urchin-shaped nanoparticles with irregular spikes around the core, were used as the SERS-active substrate. The effectiveness of SERS on PS was evaluated at a single-particle level with different numbers of Au NU in order to determine the minimum conditions required for the onset of the SERS effect. Our findings suggest that SERS of a single particle of PS can be induced by as few as 1–5 particles of Au NU, and that the use of excitation wavelength at 785 nm is appropriate to meet the red-shifted surface plasmon resonance of Au NU upon aggregation. These specifications provide additional information for the development of SERS-based tools for detecting plastic particles < 1 μm in food and environmental samples.
