Prenatal Deltamethrin Exposure-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Offspring Is Ameliorated by Memantine Through NMDAR/BDNF Signaling in Hippocampus

Background: Pyrethroids have been widely used in residential and agricultural areas. However, little is known about the effects of prenatal exposure to deltamethrin on cognition in early development of offspring. In this study, the effects of prenatal exposure to deltamethrin on learning and memory abilities, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunits, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) receptor, and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (pCREB) in the hippocampus of offspring rats were investigated.Experimental Approaches: Groups each of six female SD rats, as F0-generation, were administered with deltamethrin (0, 0.54, 1.35, and 2.7, 9 mg/kg), or memantine (10 mg/kg), or co-administered with deltamethrin (9 mg/kg) and memantine (10 mg/kg) daily by gavage during pregnancy. The learning and memory ability was evaluated using Morris water maze (MWM) task on postnatal day 21. The expression of NMDAR (GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B), BDNF, pTrkB/TrkB, and pCREB/CREB in hippocampus were assessed with western blotting.Results: Prenatal exposure to a relatively low dose of deltamethrin (2.7, 1.35, and 0.54 mg/kg) had no impact on learning and memory abilities or the expression of NMDAR, BDNF, pTrkB, and pCREB in the hippocampus of the exposed offspring. The group treated with 9 mg/kg deltamethrin showed impaired cognitive abilities and decreased expression levels of GluN1, GluN2A, GluN2B, BDNF, pCREB/CREB, and pTrkB/TrkB in the hippocampus. However, the declined cognitive ability were ameliorated by memantine treatment with increased GluN1, GluN2A, GluN2B, BDNF, pCREB/CREB, and pTrkB/TrkB expression in the hippocampus.Conclusion and Implications: Prenatal exposure to a relatively high does of deltamethrin (9 mg/kg) alters cognition in offsprings and that this cognitive dysfunction can be ameliorated by memantine treatment. Moreover, NMDAR/BDNF signaling may be associated with the effects of prenatal exposure to deltamethrin on cognitive ability in offspring

Do board secretaries influence management earnings forecasts?

The role of board secretaries is a unique institutional feature in China. Individuals in this senior executive role are responsible for coordinating information disclosure. We study the impact of board secretaries on management earnings forecasts and find that their legal expertise, accounting expertise and foreign experience help improve management earnings forecast quality. The quality of forecasts, as indicated by their occurrence, frequency, precision and accuracy, is also positively associated with the role duality (e.g. board director, CFO or other senior executive role) and equity holdings of board secretaries and negatively associated with their political connection. The quality of forecasts is found to increase the compensation of board secretaries. Finally, we show that the equity holding of board secretaries reduces litigation risks and increases corporate philanthropic giving

Establishment of a Multiplex PCR Assay to Detect Five Major Freshwater Bacteria

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) method for simultaneous detection of Aeromonas hydrophila, Streptococcus agalactiae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Edwardsiella tarda, and E. ictalur was developed to rapidly and accurately identify the five most common bacteria that infect aquatic animals. The expected amplicons for ahe2 gene of A. hydrophila, cpsE gene of S. agalactiae, khe gene of K. pneumoniae, mukF gene of E.tarda, and the serC gene of E. ictaluri were 853 bp, 685 bp, 428 bp, 356 bp, and 124 bp, respectively. In the single PCR assays, the minimum detectable DNA contents were 13.2 pg for A. hydrophila, 27.4 pg for S. agalactiae, 1.95 pg for K. pneumoniae, 1.63 pg for E. tarda, 1.02 pg for E. ictalur. The detection limits of the multiplex PCR were 0.66 ng, 1.91 ng, 0.68 ng, 0.41 ng, 0.71 ng for A. hydrophila, S. agalactiae, K. pneumoniae, E. tarda and E. ictalur, respectively. The established multiplex PCR is significant for the rapid detection of common pathogenic bacteria of aquatic animals and provides the basis for the diagnosis of fish diseases

Do women drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from gender diversity reforms around the world

In this study we investigate the effect of female director on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by taking the advantage of the introduction of legal gender quota that led to the exogenous change in the female representation in corporate board around the world. We find that the “gender quote” reforms effectively increase gender diversity and improve CSR performance. When comparing the legislation-based regulations with governance code-based regulations, we find that the former brings stronger effects on CSR performance. Finally, the effects are more pronounced in countries with higher gender equality or common law legal systems

Do women drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from gender diversity reforms around the world

In this study we investigate the effect of female director on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by taking the advantage of the introduction of legal gender quota that led to the exogenous change in the female representation in corporate board around the world. We find that the “gender quote” reforms effectively increase gender diversity and improve CSR performance. When comparing the legislation-based regulations with governance code-based regulations, we find that the former brings stronger effects on CSR performance. Finally, the effects are more pronounced in countries with higher gender equality or common law legal systems

Inconsistency Detection in Cross-Layer Tile Maps with Super-Pixel Segmentation

The consistency of geospatial data is of great significance for the application and updating of geographic information in web maps. Due to the multiple data sources and different temporal versions, the tile web maps usually meet the inconsistency question across different layers. This study tries to develop a method to detect this kind of inconsistency utilizing a raster-based scaling approach. Compared with vector-based handling, this method can be directly available for multi-level tile images in a pixel representation form. The proposed cross-layer raster tile map rendering method (CRTMRM) consists of four primary aspects: geographic object separation, consistency rendering rules, data scaling and derivation with super-pixel segmentation, and inconsistency detection. The scale transformation strategy with the super-pixel attempts to obtain a simplified representation. Taking the scale lifespan variation and geometric consistency rules into account, the inconsistency detection of tile maps is conducted between temporal versions, multi-sources, and different scales through actual and derived data overlay analysis. The experiment focuses on features of cross-layer water or vegetation areas with Level 9 to Level 14 in Baidu Maps, Amap, and Google Maps. This method is able to serve as a basis for massive unstructured web map data inconsistency detection and support intelligent web map rendering

Multifunctional imidazolium-based ionic liquid as additive for silicon/carbon lithium ion batteries

A novel multifunctional ionic liquid additive 1-(3-amino-3-oxopropyl)-3-vinylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([PIVM][TFSA]) is designed to enhance the electrochemical performance of silicon-based lithium ion batteries. Due to its multifunctional groups, this ionic liquid has the potential to improve silicon based lithium ion batteries. The basic group binds water and thereby keeps the formation of hydrogen fluoride (HF) at a low level. The vinyl group of the ionic liquid contributes to the formation of a uniform passivating solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film in silicon-based lithium ion batteries. The cycle life of the silicon-carbon half-cells with this ionic liquid is improved greatly. After 50 cycles, the capacity retention of half-cells with presence of ionic liquid is obviously higher than that of cells without ionic liquid. Electrochemical methods are used to analyze the effect of the ionic liquid. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are used to detect the structure and components of the SEI layer. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved