The protein corona spontaneously develops and evolves on the surface of nanoscale materials when they are exposed to biological environments, altering their physiochemical properties and affecting their subsequent interactions with biosystems. In this Review, we provide an overview of the current state of protein corona research in nanomedicine. We next discuss remaining challenges in the research methodology and characterization of the protein corona that slow the development of nanoparticle therapeutics and diagnostics, and we address how artificial intelligence can advance protein corona research as a complement to experimental research efforts. We then review emerging opportunities provided by the protein corona to address major issues in healthcare and environmental sciences. This Review details how mechanistic insights into nanoparticle protein corona formation can broadly address unmet clinical and environmental needs, as well as enhance the safety and efficacy of nanobiotechnology products. Understanding the protein corona can advance nanomedicinal developments and elucidate how nanomaterials impact the environment. This Review discusses the evolution and challenges in characterizing the protein corona, explores how artificial intelligence can supplement experimental efforts and exposes emerging opportunities in nanomedicine and the environment.
Ryan V. Crawford, Jamie L. Crawford, Julie L. Hansen
et al.
Abstract This study evaluated near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for nondestructive crude protein (CP) prediction in hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) grain and validated the biological basis of spectral predictions. Note that 149 whole grain samples from 38 cultivars were collected from New York trials (2017–2021) and validated for CP by combustion. Seven preprocessing methods were tested using 100 training/testing splits, with standard normal variate transformation following Savitzky–Golay filtering selected as optimal. Comparing algorithms showed that partial least squares regression (PLSR) significantly outperformed support vector machines and random forest. The best preprocessing method and algorithm was applied to 1000 additional splits. Optimal models contained 12 components with mean performance of root mean square error [RMSE] = 9.94, r2 = 0.84, relative predicted deviation [RPD] = 2.5, and ratio of performance to interquartile distance [RPIQ] = 3.94. More than 99% of the models had, at minimum, the ability to distinguish between high and low values, with 93.2% capable of quantitative prediction. To validate biological relevance, a protein‐focused model was developed using three known protein absorption bands (1200–1250, 1500–1550, and 2040–2090 nm). These models had substantially reduced performance with 86% of models capable of distinguishing between high and low values but only 14% of models capable of quantitative prediction. However, this targeted approach offers evidence that NIRS predictions are biologically grounded in protein‐specific spectral features rather than spurious correlations. This research demonstrates the promise and biological validity of NIRS for hemp grain CP assessment, supporting applications in breeding programs, although applications demanding more accurate prediction will require better models.
AbstractMany metals are essential for living organisms, but at higher doses they may be toxic and carcinogenic. Metal exposure occurs mainly in occupational settings and environmental contaminations in drinking water, air pollution and foods, which can result in serious health problems such as cancer. Arsenic (As), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) are classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current concepts of the molecular mechanisms of metal-induced carcinogenesis and focusing on a variety of pathways, including genotoxicity, mutagenesis, oxidative stress, epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone post-translational modification and alteration in microRNA regulation, competition with essential metal ions and cancer-related signaling pathways. This review takes a broader perspective and aims to assist in guiding future research with respect to the prevention and therapy of metal exposure in human diseases including cancer.
Guillaume Barbalat, Ariane Guilbert, Lucie Adelaïde
et al.
Abstract Background A number of negative developmental outcomes in response to extreme temperature have been documented. Yet, to our knowledge, environmental research has left the question of the effect of temperature on human neurodevelopment largely unexplored. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of ambient temperature on linguistic development at the age of 2 years-old. Methods We used data from the prospective national French birth cohort ELFE (N = 12,163) and highly-resolved exposure models with daily temporal resolution and 200 m to 1 km spatial resolution. We investigated the effect of weekly averages of overall, daytime and night-time temperature in the prenatal (first 30 weeks of gestation) and postnatal (91 weeks after birth) period on vocabulary production scores from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI) at 2 years-old. Exposure-response and lag-response relationships were modeled with confounder-adjusted distributed lag non-linear models. Results Scores at the MB-CDI decreased by 3.2% (relative risk (RR) 0.968, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.939–0.998) following exposure to severe night-time heat of 15.6 °C (95th percentile) vs. 8.3 °C (median) throughout gestational weeks 14 to 19. In the postnatal period, scores at the MB-CDI decreased by 14.8% (RR 0.852; 95% CI: [0.756–0.96]) for severe overall heat of 21.9 °C (95th percentile) vs. 11.5 °C (median) throughout weeks 1 to 28. Consistent results were found for daytime and night-time heat. We observed positive effects of overall and night-time heat in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Night-time cold in the pre-natal period also resulted in improved scores at the MB-CDI. Adjusting our models for air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10 and NO2) tended to confirm these observations. Finally, there were no significant differences in temperature effects between boys and girls. Conclusion In this large cohort study, we showed a negative impact of hot temperatures during pregnancy and after birth on language acquisition. Positive associations observed in the first few weeks of pregnancy are likely the results of methodological artifacts. Positive associations with night-time cold during the prenatal period are likely truly protective, as colder temperatures may encourage staying indoors at a comfortable temperature. Policymakers should consider neurodevelopment impairments as a deleterious effect of climate change.
Industrial medicine. Industrial hygiene, Public aspects of medicine
Handrian Ginting Jonson, Afrida Afrida, Zulkifli Addina
et al.
This study examines the 2024 flash flood in Pandai Sikek, West Sumatra, through the lens of disaster anthropology and social memory. Based on preliminary research and one week of ethnographic fieldwork, the research reveals that while extreme rainfall triggered the event, socio-ecological drivers such as post-COVID return migration, deforestation, and land-use change significantly amplified its impacts. The community’s vulnerability was heightened by the absence of social memory: no oral traditions, rituals, or institutional practices existed to anticipate or respond to such a disaster. The flood therefore collapsed long-standing narratives of safety associated with Mount Singgalang and forced the community to confront a new reality of risk. Findings show that the disaster produced both trauma and solidarity, as
gotong royong, remittances from migrants, and local organizing supported immediate recovery. At the same time, new and contested memories of vulnerability began to emerge. Early mitigation efforts, including reforestation, canal reinforcement, and disaster awareness initiatives, indicate steps toward resilience, though challenges remain in institutionalizing these lessons. The study concludes that building resilience in Pandai Sikek requires not only ecological restoration but also the transformation of traumatic absence into enduring social memory.
Abstract The textile industry is one of the important and largest industry that consumes major chunk of the water in the world. This industry produces a large amount of wastewater during the processes such as sizing, de-sizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerizing, dyeing, printing, and finishing. The used water produced after such processes affects the environment heavily due to its composition such as mineral salts and oils present in suspended state, metals and metal complexes, dyes, various chemicals, some readily-biodegradable products and some constituents that are hard to biodegrade. The treatment of such hazardous effluent to reuse the water in certain water demanding processes is essential. Considering the worldwide application of the textiles, the appropriate management of water resources in the sector includes the treatment of effluent by efficient technology and the reuse of the water. This article displays an overview of waste management during textile industrial processes. It aims at giving oversight on waste minimization and reuse along with wastewater treatment methods. It also involves the cross-utilization of effluent between processes for achieving water efficiency. This review covers advanced waterless textile dyeing processes, zero liquid discharge techniques, advanced oxidation processes, biological treatment methods, which can be a sustainable and greener approach to reducing the waste generation.
Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes, Environmental sciences
On June 15, the Senate HELP Committee (Senator Tom Harkin [D-IA], Chairman) held a hearing on issues related to the Gulf oil spill. Dr. Aubrey Miller, Supervisor for Public Health Science, NIEHS, testified on the state of the science. Other DHHS witnesses included Dr. Lisa Kaplowitz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy; Dr. John Howard, Director, NIOSH, CDC; and Mike Taylor, J.D., Deputy Commissioner for Foods, FDA. On June 16, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health (Representative Frank Pallone [D-NJ], Chairman) held a hearing on issues related to the Gulf oil spill. The same witnesses testified.
<p>Groundwater is a vital resource for the development of
urban areas, where the problem focuses on the quantity and on the quality of
this freshwater resource. Barcelona is a good example as because currently
groundwater is used for irrigation of parks and gardens and street cleaning
due to its poor quality as drinking water source. Among the pollutants found
in groundwater, of special interest are contaminants of emerging concern
(CEC), as they pose a high risk to the aquatic environment and human health.
The behaviour, spatial distribution and processes that control them in the
aquatic environment are still uncertain and most of them are unregulated. In
this paper we study the inputs and processes controlling the hydrochemistry
of Barcelona urban groundwater with special emphasis on the CEC. We selected
29 CEC that were detected at high concentrations of up to 1 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>g L<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> (e.g.
gemfibrozil, benzotriazole, among others). Towards the higher zones we
identify groundwater with relative low mineralization more proximate to the
natural recharge composition, while towards the urban area the anthropic
inputs are evident (e.g. nitrate concentrations range from 50 to 200 mg L<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>).
Near the Besòs river there is a clear contribution from this superficial
water highly polluted, mostly from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)
discharges, and reducing conditions. The main contributor of CEC pollution
in groundwater was the river-aquifer interaction (Besòs river), while
towards the urban area it might come from sewage seepage and probably a
minor input from urban runoff. The redox state of these waters seems to
control the fate and occurrence of several of these CEC. The limitations of
this study are restricted to a single sampling campaign, therefore these
results should be corroborated with other sampling campaigns, including the
seasonal variations, which would allow establishing more robust conclusions.</p>
Background: The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism during 2020 have forced a conversation across many segments of our society, including the environmental health sciences (EHS) research community. We have seen the proliferation of statements of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and commitments to fight racism and health inequities from academia, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and private corporations. Actions must now arise from these promises. As public health and EHS scientists, we must examine the systems that produce and perpetuate inequities in exposure to environmental pollutants and associated health effects. Objectives: We outline five recommendations the EHS research community can implement to confront racism and move our science forward for eliminating racial inequities in environmental health. Discussion: Race is best considered a political label that promotes inequality. Thus, we should be wary of equating race with biology. Further, EHS researchers should seriously consider racism as a plausible explanation of racial disparities in health and consider structural racism as a factor in environmental health risk/impact assessments, as well as multiple explanations for racial differences in environmental exposures and health outcomes. Last, the EHS research community should develop metrics to measure racism and a set of guidelines on the use and interpretation of race and ethnicity within the environmental sciences. Numerous guidelines exist in other disciplines that can serve as models. By taking action on each of these recommendations, we can make significant progress toward eliminating racial disparities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8186
PurposeFungal keratitis is a sight-threatening corneal infection caused by fungal pathogens, and the pathogenic mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to determine whether NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis contributes to Candida albicans (C. albicans) keratitis and explore the underlying mechanism.MethodsAn in vivo mouse model of C. albicans keratitis and an in vitro culture model of human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) challenged with heat-killed C. albicans (HKCA) were established in this study. The degree of corneal infection was evaluated by clinical scoring. Gene expression was assessed using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis or immunofluorescence staining was performed to evaluate protein expression. TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was performed to examine the pyroptotic cell death. A lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay was performed to assess cytotoxicity.ResultsCompared with the mock-infected group, we observed that the mRNA levels of NLRP3, caspase-1 (CASP1), interleukin (IL)−1β and gasdermin-D (GSDMD) in C. albicans-infected mice cornea was significantly increased. Our data also demonstrated that the protein expression of NLRP3 and the pyroptosis-related markers apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), cleaved CASP1, N-GSDMD, cleaved IL-1β and cleaved IL-18 as well as pyroptotic cell death were dramatically elevated in the mouse model of C. albicans keratitis. More importantly, NLRP3 knockdown markedly alleviated pyroptosis and consequently reduced corneal inflammatory reaction in C. albicans keratitis. In vitro, the presence of activated NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptotic cell death were validated in HCECs exposed to HKCA. Furthermore, the potassium (K+) channel inhibitor glyburide decreased LDH release and suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis in HCECs exposed to HKCA.ConclusionIn conclusion, the current study revealed for the first time that NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis occur in C. albicans-infected mouse corneas and HCECs. Moreover, NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis signaling is involved in the disease severity of C. albicans keratitis. Therefore, This NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pathway may be an attractive target for the treatment of fungal keratitis.
Amidoxime functionalized chitosan (AC) was recommended as a chelator for uranium sequestration in vivo in this study, and the structure-activity relationship was also explored. Compared with ZnNa3-DTPA, which was a commercial uranium mobilization drug, AC exhibited excellent biocompatibility and uranium removal efficiency, whether by injection or orally, which could reduce the amounts of uranium deposited in kidneys and femurs by up to 43.6% and 32.3%. In particular, ACs still possessed the ability to mobilize uranium in vivo even if administration was delayed for 72 h.