Prenatal exposure to nonylphenol (NP) and/or bisphenol A (BPA) has been reported to be associated with adverse birth outcomes; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The primary mechanism is endocrine disruption of the binding affinity for the estrogen receptor, but oxidative stress and inflammation might also play a contributory role. We aimed to investigate urinary NP and BPA levels in relation to biomarkers of oxidative/nitrative stress and inflammation and to explore whether changes in oxidative/nitrative stress are a function of prenatal exposure to NP/BPA and inflammation in 241 mother-fetus pairs. Third-trimester urinary biomarkers of oxidative/nitrative stress were simultaneously measured, including products of oxidatively and nitratively damaged DNA (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-nitroguanine (8-NOGua)) as well as products of lipid peroxidation (8-iso-prostaglandin F (8-isoPF) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-mercapturic acid (HNE-MA)). The antioxidant glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and inflammation biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and a panel of cytokines (interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)), were analyzed in maternal and umbilical cord plasma samples. In adjusted models, we observed significant positive associations between NP exposure and 8-OHdG and 8-NOGua levels, between BPA and 8-isoPF levels, and between maternal CRP levels and HNE-MA levels. Additionally, BPA and TNF-α levels in cord blood were inversely associated with maternal and GPx levels in cord blood as well as maternal TNF-α levels were inversely associated with maternal GPx levels. These results support a role for exposure to NP and BPA and possibly inflammation in increasing oxidative/nitrative stress and decreasing antioxidant activity during pregnancy.
CuB 2 O 4 has attracted considerable attention because of its unique chemical and physical properties and potential practical applications. In this paper, we investigated the optical properties of CuB 2 O 4 single crystals through spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The optical absorption spectrum at room temperature revealed a direct band gap at approximately 3.88 ± 0.01 eV and two bands near 4.49 and 5.90 eV. The observed bands were related to charge transfer of electrons from the 2p states of the oxygen ions to the 3d states of the copper ions. The band gap exhibited unusual redshift with a decrease in temperature. Upon cooling across 21 K, which is the canted antiferromagnetic ordering temperature, the band gap, peak energy, and normalized intensity of charge-transfer bands presented anomalies. Furthermore, 38 phonon modes were identified in the room-temperature Raman scattering spectrum of CuB 2 O 4 . The phonon modes at approximately 335, 393, 403, 445, 473, 598, 706, 787, and 900 cm −1 exhibited softening below 21 K. The spin−phonon coupling constants were estimated to be 0.02−0.03 cm −1 . These findings highlight a complex nature of spin− charge−lattice interactions in CuB 2 O 4 .
Temperature-dependent X-ray absorption near-edge structures, X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopic techniques were used to investigate the valence state, preferred orbital and local atomic structure that significantly affect the electrical and magnetic properties of a single crystal of YBaCuFeO5 (YBCFO). An onset of increase of resistivity at ~180 K, followed by a rapid increase at/below 125 K, is observed. An antiferromagnetic (AFM)-like transition is close to the temperature at which the resistivity starts to increase in the ab-plane and is also observed with strong anisotropy between the ab-plane and the c-axis. The XLD spectra at the Fe L3,2-edge revealed a change in Fe 3d eg holes from the preferential orbital at high temperature (300–150 K) to the orbital at/below 125 K. The analysis of the Fe K-edge EXAFS data of YBCFO further revealed an unusual increase in the Debye-Waller factor of the nearest-neighbor Fe-O bond length at/below 125 K, suggesting phonon-softening behavior, resulting in the breaking of lattice symmetry, particularly in the ab-plane of Fe-related square pyramids. These findings demonstrate a close correlation between electrical resistivity and coupling of the preferred Fe 3d orbital with lattice distortion of a single crystal of YBCFO.
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