Exclusion and enrollment of participants in the Health and Environmental Exposure Research study.

<p>Exclusion and enrollment of participants in the Health and Environmental Exposure Research study.</p

Cadmium exposure and endometrial cancer risk: A large midwestern U.S. population-based case-control study

<div><p>Estrogen-mimicking chemicals, such as cadmium, may be associated with increased susceptibility to hormone-dependent cancers, though supporting data are sparse, particularly for endometrial cancer. The Health and Environmental Exposure Research (HEER) study worked with the Arkansas Central Cancer Registry, Iowa Cancer Registry and Missouri Cancer Registry to obtain names of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer who were willing to be contacted for participation in our case control study. Voter registration lists from Iowa and Missouri were used to randomly select similarly aged women as represented in the case population. Participants were interviewed by telephone to obtain information on known or suspected endometrial risk factors. Urine kits were sent to participants for home collection and returned for analysis. Our case-control study consisted of 631 incident cases of endometrial cancer diagnosed from January 2010 to October 2012 and 879 age-matched population-based controls, ages 18–81 years (mean age 65 years). We quantified cadmium amounts in urine and standardized these values through creatinine adjustment. Using data from all survey completers, we developed a multivariable model for endometrial cancer. Creatinine-adjusted cadmium concentration was added to this model. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for endometrial cancer were calculated. After multivariable adjustment, higher creatinine-adjusted cadmium exposure was associated with a statistically significant increase of endometrial cancer risk (OR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.03–1.44). Our results provide evidence that cadmium may increase the risk of endometrial cancer, possibly through estrogenic effects.</p></div

<i>ttm-1</i> Encodes CDF Transporters That Excrete Zinc from Intestinal Cells of <i>C. elegans</i> and Act in a Parallel Negative Feedback Circuit That Promotes Homeostasis

<div><p>Zinc is an essential metal involved in a wide range of biological processes, and aberrant zinc metabolism is implicated in human diseases. The gastrointestinal tract of animals is a critical site of zinc metabolism that is responsible for dietary zinc uptake and distribution to the body. However, the role of the gastrointestinal tract in zinc excretion remains unclear. Zinc transporters are key regulators of zinc metabolism that mediate the movement of zinc ions across membranes. Here, we identified a comprehensive list of 14 predicted Cation Diffusion Facilitator (CDF) family zinc transporters in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> and demonstrated that zinc is excreted from intestinal cells by one of these CDF proteins, TTM-1B. The <i>ttm-1</i> locus encodes two transcripts, <i>ttm-1a</i> and <i>ttm-1b</i>, that use different transcription start sites. <i>ttm-1b</i> expression was induced by high levels of zinc specifically in intestinal cells, whereas <i>ttm-1a</i> was not induced by zinc. TTM-1B was localized to the apical plasma membrane of intestinal cells, and analyses of loss-of-function mutant animals indicated that TTM-1B promotes zinc excretion into the intestinal lumen. Zinc excretion mediated by TTM-1B contributes to zinc detoxification. These observations indicate that <i>ttm-1</i> is a component of a negative feedback circuit, since high levels of cytoplasmic zinc increase <i>ttm-1b</i> transcript levels and TTM-1B protein functions to reduce the level of cytoplasmic zinc. We showed that TTM-1 isoforms function in tandem with CDF-2, which is also induced by high levels of cytoplasmic zinc and reduces cytoplasmic zinc levels by sequestering zinc in lysosome-related organelles. These findings define a parallel negative feedback circuit that promotes zinc homeostasis and advance the understanding of the physiological roles of the gastrointestinal tract in zinc metabolism in animals.</p></div

Exclusion and enrollment of participants in the Health and Environmental Exposure Research study.

<p>Exclusion and enrollment of participants in the Health and Environmental Exposure Research study.</p

Characteristics of endometrial cancer cases and population-based controls^*.

<p>Characteristics of endometrial cancer cases and population-based controls^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0179360#t001fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}.</p

Ionic Liquid-Assisted Synthesis of Nanoscale (MoS₂)_<i>x</i>(SnO₂)_1–<i>x</i> on Reduced Graphene Oxide for the Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted increased attention due to their enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. More specifically, ternary TMD nanohybrids, such as MoS_{2(1–<i>x</i>)}Se_2<i>x</i> or bimetallic sulfides, have arisen as promising electrocatalysts compared to MoS₂ and MoSe₂ due to their electronic, morphologic, and size tunabilities. Herein, we report the successful synthesis of few-layered MoS₂/rGO, SnS₂/rGO, and (MoS₂)_<i>x</i>(SnO₂)_1–<i>x</i>/rGO nanohybrids anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through a facile hydrothermal reaction in the presence of ionic liquids as stabilizing, delayering agents. Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, neutron activation analysis, and UV–vis spectrophotometry) are used to validate the hierarchical properties, phase identity, and the smooth compositional tunability of the (MoS₂)_<i>x</i>(SnO₂)_1–<i>x</i>/rGO nanohybrids. Linear sweep voltammetry measurements reveal that incorporation of Sn into the ternary nanohybrids (as a discrete SnO₂ phase) greatly reduces the overpotential by 90–130 mV relative to the MoS₂ electrocatalyst. Significantly, the (MoS₂)_0.6(SnO₂)_0.4/rGO nanohybrid displays superior catalytic performance over MoS₂ alone, exhibiting a low overpotential (η₁₀) of 263 ± 5 mV and a small Tafel slope of 50.8 mV dec^–1. The hybrid catalyst shows high stability for the HER in acidic solutions, with negligible activity loss after 1000 cycles. The hierarchical structures and large surface areas possessing exposed, active edge sites make few-layered (MoS₂)_<i>x</i>(SnO₂)_1–<i>x</i>/rGO nanohybrids promising nonprecious metal electrocatalysts for the HER

Biodistribution of NPs following tail vein injection in mice at 1 hour (n = 3).

<p>Biodistribution of NPs following tail vein injection in mice at 1 hour (n = 3).</p

Growth of NP diameter as a function of shell addition as measured by TEM.

<p>Growth of NP diameter as a function of shell addition as measured by TEM.</p

Dynamic light scattering of NPs in 18 MΩ water.

<p>Dynamic light scattering of NPs in 18 MΩ water.</p

TEM of a characteristic cluster of NPs.

<p>EELS analysis indicates the presence of La, Gd, and Au in all particles in the cluster.</p