Notes

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In 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued revised aquatic life water quality criteria for selenium (Se). The criteria ("elements") consisted of threshold concentrations applicable to fish tissue (three tissue types, though the egg and ovary tissue takes precedence over the whole-body and muscle tissue thresholds), and water column. The agency rationalized that measured concentrations of Se in fish tissue were more predictive of potential adverse reproductive effects than those measured in external media. The agency provided two mechanisms for derivation of site-specific Se water criteria a bioaccumulation factor (BAF) approach, and a partitioning-based bioaccumulation model approach. The use of either approach assumes that fish tissue concentrations exceed one or more of the tissue criteria. We compared the two approaches using fish tissue samples from various species in the Ohio River to evaluate resulting similarities and differences in the calculated Se water quality criteria. Fish (fiAssess Manag 2021;001-8. © 2021 SETAC.
The autofluorescence of dental hard tissues has been known for over 100 years. Thus, manufacturers add fluorophores to dental restorative materials to improve the esthetic properties of these materials. So far, there has been no study evaluating the ability of these fluorophores to reproduce the autofluorescence of dental hard tissues.

A total of 240 different color shades representing 17 different brands of fluorescent light-curing RBC and CAD/CAM restorative materials were analyzed with a monochromator-based microplate reader. Additionally, combined enamel-dentin specimens (n = 11) were analyzed as "gold standard". The total fluorescence (TF) and the physiologically relevant luminous efficiency function adjusted total fluorescence (TF
) were determined. The differences between the brands and the enamel-dentin specimens were further evaluated and visualized as contour plots.

Merely the TF
of the brands CERASMART™, Filtek Supreme XTE™, KZR-CAD HD 2, and LuxaCam composite were not significantly different to the enamel-dentin specimens. The analysis of the contour plots revealed that even these four materials showed a fluorescence excess for the excitation wavelengths below about 400 nm and a deficit above this wavelength.

None of the materials analyzed in this study were able to reproduce the natural fluorescence spectrum of the enamel-dentin specimens.

Unlike the statements and images of blue fluorescent materials in the manufacturers' brochures, none of the materials examined here is fully capable of reproducing the natural autofluorescence of teeth.
Unlike the statements and images of blue fluorescent materials in the manufacturers' brochures, none of the materials examined here is fully capable of reproducing the natural autofluorescence of teeth.Actinobacteria produce a variety of secondary metabolites that can influence the survival or behavior of other organisms. The understanding of the ecological roles of actinobacteria has significantly improved in the past decades, but a systematic insight into the interactions between actinobacteria and other microbes in nature is warranted. Here, we studied the pairwise effects of actinobacteria on other microbes isolated from red soils under different nutritional conditions. We found that neutral effects dominated the interactions, accounting for 68.1% of the interactions in eutrophic conditions and for a significantly higher proportion (86.2%) in oligotrophic conditions. High nutrient levels boosted active metabolism of actinobacteria and generally made them more aggressive, supporting the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH). The secondary metabolites produced by actinobacteria played a pivotal role in interference competition with other microbes, of which the role of desferrioxamine siderophores could not be ignored. Niche overlap seemed to be another cause of competition, notably under oligotrophic conditions. Moreover, the large-scale phylogeny had a much greater impact on the interaction than the location origin of the microbes. These results provide an understanding of the coexistence of actinobacteria with other microbes in nature and suggest neutrality as a key mechanism for maintaining microbial diversity in soils. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Overexpression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) plays a crucial role in the acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) in breast cancer. The elucidation of molecular events that confer BCRP-mediated MDR is of major therapeutic importance in breast cancer. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has been implicated in tumor progression and drug resistance in various types of cancers, including breast cancer. However, the role of EpCAM in BCRP-mediated MDR in breast cancer remains unknown. In the present study, we revealed that EpCAM expression was upregulated in BCRP-overexpressing breast cancer MCF-7/MX cells, and EpCAM knockdown using siRNA reduced BCRP expression and increased the sensitivity of MCF-7/MX cells to mitoxantrone (MX). The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) promoted BCRP-mediated MDR in breast cancer cells, and EpCAM knockdown partially suppressed EMT progression in MCF-7/MX cells. In addition, Wnt/β-catenin signaling was activated in MCF-7/MX cells, and the inhibition of this signaling attenuated EpCAM and BCRP expression and partially reversed EMT. Together, this study illustrates that EpCAM upregulation by Wnt/β-catenin signaling induces partial EMT to promote BCRP-mediated MDR resistance in breast cancer cells. EpCAM may be a potential therapeutic target for overcoming BCRP-mediated resistance in human breast cancer.It has been reported that CagA of Helicobacter pylori reduced PTEN expression by enhancing its promoter methylation. Furthermore, diabetes mellitus (DM) may also promote the methylation status of PTEN, a tumour suppressor gene in gastric cancer (GC). It is intriguing to explore whether DM may strengthen the tumorigenic effect of H pylori (HP) by promoting the methylation of PTEN promoter and whether the administration of metformin may reduce the risk of GC by suppressing the methylation of PTEN promoter. In this study, we enrolled 107 GC patients and grouped them as HP(-)DM(-) group, HP(+)DM(-) group and HP(+)DM(+) group. Bisulphite sequencing PCR evaluated methylation of PTEN promoter. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blot, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and MTT assay were performed accordingly. DNA methylation of PTEN promoter was synergistically enhanced in HP(+)DM(+) patients, and the expression of PTEN was suppressed in HP(+)DM(+) patients. Cell apoptosis was decreased in HP(+)DM(+) group. Metformin showed an apparent effect on restoring CagA-induced elevation of PTEN promoter methylation, thus attenuating the PTEN expression. The reduced PTEN level led to increased proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of HGC-27 cells. In this study, we collected GC tumour tissues from GC patients with or without DM/HP to compare their PTEN methylation and expression while testing the effect of metformin on the methylation of PTEN promoter. In summary, our study suggested that DM could strengthen the tumorigenic effect of HP by promoting the PTEN promoter methylation, while metformin reduces GC risk by suppressing PTEN promoter methylation.
The relationship between persistent loneliness and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear. We examined the relationship between different types of mid-life loneliness and the development of dementia and AD.

Loneliness was assessed in cognitively normal adults using one item from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. We defined loneliness as no loneliness, transient loneliness, incident loneliness,or persistent loneliness, and applied Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier plots with dementia and AD as outcomes (n=2880).

After adjusting for demographics, social network, physical health, and apolipoprotein E ε4, persistent loneliness was associated with higher (hazard ratio [HR], 1.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25-2.90; P<.01), and transient loneliness with lower (HR, 0.34; 95% CI 0.14-0.84; P<.05), risk of dementia onset, compared to no loneliness. Results were similar for AD risk.

Persistent loneliness in mid-life is an independent risk factor for dementia and AD, whereas recovery from loneliness suggests resilience to dementia risk.
Persistent loneliness in mid-life is an independent risk factor for dementia and AD, whereas recovery from loneliness suggests resilience to dementia risk.Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a contiguous gene disorder, clinically delineated by prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency, distinctive craniofacial features, intellectual disability, and seizures. The disorder is caused by partial loss of material from the distal portion of the short arm of chromosome 4 (4p16.3). Although more than 300 persons with WHS have been reported in the literature, there is sparse, if any, long-term follow-up of these individuals and thus little knowledge about course and potential further complications and health risks during adulthood and advanced age. This study attempted to assess medical conditions and function of adult individuals with WHS. It was one component of a two-part investigation on adults with WHS. The other part of the study is the patient-reported outcomes study reported elsewhere. About 35 individuals with WHS (26 females; nine males), aged between 19 and 55 years were recruited. PKM activator About 25 individuals were personally observed at the IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation by A.B. and followed up between 5 and 20 years; and 10 were recruited from the 4p-Support Group, The United States. Of note, 23/35 (66%) are close to total care. About 11 out of 35 (31%) were partly self-independent, requiring supervision on certain daily routines, and 1 out of 35 (3%) was fully independent. However, a positive perspective is given by the overall good health enjoyed by the 66% of our cohort of individuals. Overall, quality of life and level of function into adulthood appear to be less critical than anticipated from previous studies.
This study aimed to document early left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in chronic kidney disease (CKD) using methods such as tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and myocardial performance index (MPI).

A total of 40 patients diagnosed with CKD (mean age, 10.1 ± 4.1 years) and 40 sex- and age- matched healthy controls (mean age, 9.6 ± 4.3 years) were examined. In the patient group, 20 patients had early-stage (Stage 2-3) and 20 patients had late-stage (stage 4-5) CKD, and 18 patients had hypertension.

Pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PAPs), and LV mass index (LVMI) were significantly higher in the patient group (P< 0.05). LV septal and lateral margins of the mitral annulus E'/A' ratio, E/E' ratio, and MPI results were statistically significantly different in between the groups (P< 0.05). MPI were higher in late-stage CKD than in early-stage CKD (P< 0.05). The E'/A' ratio was lower and the MPI was higher in the hypertensive CKD group compared with the normotensive CKD group (P< 0.05). The E/E' ratio was correlated positively with LVMI, PAPs; negatively with glomerular filtration rate, S' value, E'/A' ratio.
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