Potentially toxic metal concentration,spatial distribution,and health risk assessment in drinking groundwater resources of southeast Iran

In this study, the concentration and spatial distribution of potentially toxic metals(PTMs), including arsenic(As), cadmium(Cd), chromium(Cr), lead(Pb), copper(Cu), iron(Fe), manganese(Mn), and magnesium(Mg) in 23 wells and drinking groundwater distribution networks of Rafsanjan, located in southeast Iran were evaluated. Moreover, the assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation(MCS). The results showed that the concentrations of As and Pb in more than 99% and 23.46% of the study area, respectively, were higher than the maximum concentration level(10 μg/L). The mean concentration of other metals, including Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, and Mn in all drinking water resources was within the WHO standard level. The mean hazard quotient(HQ) for As in the age group of children was 9.246 and adults 2.972, indicating high non-carcinogenic risk of As in the study area. The lifetime cancer risk(LTCR) of As was 1.36 E-3 for adults and 1.52 E-2 for children, indicating high non-carcinogenic risk of As. The level of HQ and LTCR for Pb in both age groups was in the acceptable range. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the most effective variables were pollutant concentration and body weight(BW), respectively. Finally, it can be concluded that exposure to PTMs, especially As through drinking water in the study area can have significant effects on people’s health living in the area;therefore, it is necessary to treat and remove As from groundwater resources before drinking or using for domestic purpose.

Lake inventory and potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Nyang Qu Basin of China between 1970 and 2016

There are a large number of glaciers and lakes developed in the Nyang Qu Basin of China. Recent climate change has significant impacted on the high-mountain glacial environment. Rapid melting of glaciers contributes to the formation and expansion of moraine-dammed lakes which increase the probability of glacial lake outburst floods(GLOFs). We calculated a multi-temporal lake inventory based on(1) topographic maps in the 1970 s,(2) satellite imageries from 1990 to 2016,(3) First Chinese Glacier Inventory(FCGI),(4) Glacier Inventory of Southeastern Tibet(GIST) and(5) meteorological data. A total of 880 lakes(>0.01 km^2) have been mapped in 2016, with 318 being glacial lakes(GLs) and 462 non-glacier lakes(NGLs). Most of the lakes were mainly located at 4500 m a.s.l. and the lakes dominated by small lakes(<0.1 km^2) where the change of their actual sizes are more significant compared to the larger ones. Meanwhile, we found that there were 178 newly formed GLs and 51 of them had disappeared between 1970 and 2016. During the same period, there can be identified 157 newly formed GLs and 226 had disappeared. We additionally performed a hazard and risk assessment for GL in 2016 and exposed 14 potentially dangerous morainedammed lakes(PDMDLs), covering a total area of 5.88 km2 in the Nyang Qu Basin. There can be found 4 GLs with very high risk, 3 GLs with high risk, 4 GLs with medium risk and 4 GLs with low risk of GLOFs susceptibility. The findings of this study can be used for the future policy of risk management and also be adapted for promoting water resources management.

Development and validation of a risk model for noninvasive detection of cancer in oral potentially malignant disorders using DNA image cytometry

Objective:To elucidate whether DNA aneuploidy was an independent discriminator for carcinoma within oral potentially malignant disorders(OPMDs),and further establish and validate a risk model based on DNA aneuploidy for the detection of oral cancer.Methods:A total of 810 consecutive patients with OPMD were prospectively enrolled from March 2013 to December 2018,and divided into a training set(n=608)and a test set(n=202).Brushing and biopsy samples from each patient were processed by DNADNA image cytometry and histopathological examination,respectively.Results:DNA aneuploidy of an outside DNA index≥3.5 in OPMD was an independent marker strongly associated with malignant risk[adjusted odds ratio:13.04;95%confidence interval(CI):5.46-31.14].In the training and test sets,the area under the curve(AUC)was 0.87(95%CI:0.82-0.91)and 0.77(95%CI:0.57-0.97),respectively,for detecting carcinoma in OPMD patients.The independent risk factors of lateral/ventral tongue and non-homogenous type combined with a risk model built with a multivariate logistic regression revealed a more favorable diagnostic efficacy associated with the training set(AUC:0.93;95%CI:0.91-0.96)and test set(AUC:0.94;95%CI:0.90-0.98).The sensitivity and specificity of carcinoma detection within OPMD was improved to 100%and 88.1%,respectively.Conclusions:This large-scale diagnostic study established a risk model based on DNA aneuploidy that consisted of a noninvasive strategy with lateral/ventral tongue and non-homogenous features.The results showed favorable diagnostic efficacy for detecting carcinoma within OPMD,irrespective of the clinical and pathological diagnoses of OPMD.Multicenter validation and longitudinal studies are warranted to evaluate community practices and clinical applications.

Quality of life and oral potentially malignant disorders: Critical appraisal and prospects

Quality of life(QoL) is a vital and often required health outcome measure that is relevant to patient care. A healthy oral cavity enables person to perform daily activities without any limitations. However, any disturbance may result in impaired QoL. The oral health-remains an essential element of people's health and well-being. In recent years, the tradition of clinical practice and research has been changed by incorporating QoL assessment, as it helps in assessment of patients' needs and monitoring treatment responses. Oral potentially malignant disorders(OPMDs) are a group of chronic disorders including oral leukoplakia(OL), oral lichen planus and oral submucous fibrosis(OSF). It is evident that patients with OPMDs experience significant health-related symptoms, functional limitations and psycho-social impairment, compromising their Qo L. Moreover, the worsening of Qo L has been associated with advanced stages of OPMDs. Despite of increasing number of OPMD cases in recent decades, limited literature is available regarding QoL in this population. Although, there is higher prevalence of habit-related OPMDs, particularly OSF and OL in Southern Asian countries, only a few studies have been performed in these populations. Moreover, these studies administered generic Qo L instruments, which offer less sensitivity to clinical changes. However, condition-specific instruments are more sensitive and allows better measurement of QoL. As the impacts of different conditions on OHRQoL may vary, the development and validation of a QoL instrument specific to each clinical entity of OPMDs is currently needed.

The Massive Expansion and Spatial Transformation of Potentially Contaminated Land Across China in 1990–2020 Observed from Remote Sensing and Big-data

Identifying and monitoring the spatiotemporal patterns of potentially contaminated land(PCL) in China is a key concern of ecological governance. However, the dynamics of PCL’s expansion remain unclear nationwide. Integrating high-resolution remote sensing images, a land-use/cover change database, crawler data from websites, and other multisource data, we produced a new dataset of China’s PCL in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 using data fusion technology. Then we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of China’s PCL from 1990 to 2020. Our study shows that the acquired vector dataset of China’s PCL is of high quality and reliability, with an overall accuracy of 93.21%. The area of China’s PCL has kept growing for the past 30 years, and the growth rate was especially rapid during2000–2010, 2.32 and 6.13 times as rapid as that during 1990–2000 and 2010–2020, respectively. PCL has also been trending toward higher aggregation over markedly enlarged areas and has transferred progressively from north and southeast of China to northwest and southwest of China and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The patterns of China’s PCL have been driven by the joint factors of policies, mineral resources, economy, and others, among which policies and the economy have contributed more prominently to the long-term transition.Our study promotes the access to high-quality spatial data of PCL to facilitate environmental governance of mine wastes, pollution and land management.

Atmospheric deposition fluxes and health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in Caohai Lake(Guizhou Province,China)

In this study,the sources of potentially toxic elements(PTEs)from atmospheric deposition in the waters of Guizhou’s Caohai Lake were investigated in addition to the potential risks to human health.Moss bags were used to enrich PTEs from atmospheric deposition,and eight monitoring sites that best represented geographic variation were established around Caohai Lake.Moss bags were collected and examined at every 3 months to identify spatiotemporal patterns of dry and wet atmospheric deposition of PTEs.Zn was the most abundant metal identified from deposition in Caohai(72.07%–95.94%),followed by Pb and Cd,while Hg was the least abundant(0.008%–0.354%).The contributions of wet deposition of PTEs were greater than those of dry deposition,and deposition during the heating season from December to April was greater than that between April to July.Hg was mainly derived from atmospheric dry deposition(65.38%–84.44%).Spatial distribution analysis indicated that atmospheric deposition was associated with the intensity of human activities and heating emissions.Exposure via hand-to-mouth contact accounted for over 99%of the total exposure risk although overall exposure was lower than threshold acceptable levels for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic metals,indicating an overall lack of risk towards human health.Nevertheless,the health risk from atmospheric deposition of PTEs in Caohai Lake may be reduced by focusing on Zn,Pb,and Cd deposition in rainfall and minimizing the hazards associated with hand-to-mouth exposure to PTEs.

IMMOBILIZATION OF POTENTIALLY BIOACTIVE MOIETIES ONTO POLYETHER WITH POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL)-SULFONATE SPACER

A new reactive graft copolymer, poly(tetramethylene glycol)-graft-omega-propyl sodium sulfonate-poly(ethylene glycol) (PTMG-g-PEG-CH2CH2CH2SO3-Na+), was synthesized by the cationic polymerization of alpha-omega-bifunctional PEG macromonomer ((sic)CH2-PEG-CH2CH2CH2SO3Na) and THF. The obtained copolymer exhibits the expected structure as indicated by the result of characterization. Two amino acids (L-arginine, L-tyrosine) were covalently attached to the copolymer after converting the sulfonate group, to sulfonyl chloride. So the new reactive graft copolymer (PTMG-g-PEG-CH2CH2CH2SO3-Na+) is expected to be very useful in attachment of potentially bioactive moieties to polymer via a hydrophilic PEG spacer.

On Potentially Graphical Sequences of G-E(H)

A loopless graph on n vertices in which vertices are connected at least by a and at most by b edges is called a(a,b,n)-graph. A(b,b,n)-graph is called(b,n)-graph and is denoted by K_n^b(it is a complete graph), its complement by K_n^b. A non increasing sequence π =(d_1,…,d_n) of nonnegative integers is said to be(a,b,n) graphic if it is realizable by an(a,b,n)-graph. We say a simple graphic sequence π=(d_1,…,d_n) is potentially K_4-K_2∪K_2-graphic if it has a a realization containing an K_4-K_2∪K_2 as a subgraph where K_4 is a complete graph on four vertices and K_2∪K_2 is a set of independent edges. In this paper, we find the smallest degree sum such that every n-term graphical sequence contains K_4-K_2∪K_2 as subgraph.

HIM_(1) AND HIM4, TWO MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES POTENTIALLY USEFUL FOR AUTOLOGOUS BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION IN CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

We developed two complement-fixing MoAbsHIMand HIM(murine)that were specifically reac-tive with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells.They were capable of fixing human or rabbit com-plement and suitable for CML cells purging of re-mission marrow from CML patients.HIMreactedwith majority leukemic cells form 7 out of 10 CMLpatients by complement-mediated cytotoxicity(C’MC)assay(positive cells 80%—90%),HIMreacted withmajority CML cells from 4 out of 5 CML by C’MCassay(positive cells 80%—90%).Treatment withHIMor HIMand human C’was capable of lysing97% of K562,U937,HL-60 and CML cells in a 20fold excess of unrelated cells by indirect FITC+EBstain.Using limited dilution culture,incubation withHIMand C’produced 1.5 logs inhibition of growthin K562 cells,and 1.9 logs in U937 cells,and withHIMand C’produced 2.9 logs inhibition in HL-60cells and 3.0 logs in U937 cells.Both MoAbs cocktailwas shown 1.8 logs in K562 cells and 3.2 logs in U937cells.They were no suppression on the growth o

Organic Materials Could Improve the Phytoremediation Efficiency of Soil Potentially Hazardous Metal by Sedum alfredii Hance

Soil potentially hazardous metal(PHM)is continually attracting public attention worldwide,due to its highly toxic properties and potentially huge damage to human being through food chain.Phytoremediation is an effective and eco-friendly way in remediation technology.A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different organic materials(biogas residue(BR),mushroom residue(MR),and bamboo-shoot shell(BS))application on phytoremediation of two PHM-contaminated soils(Fuyang soil as‘heavily-polluted soil’and Wenzhou soil as‘moderately-polluted soil’,respectively)by Sedum alfrecdii Hance.The results indicated:1)for moderately-polluted soil,the 5%BR treatment had the strongest activation to Cu and Zn,for heavily-polluted soil,1%BS treatment had the highest activation effect for Cu,Zn,Pb and Cd.2)the above-ground biomass of Sedum alfredii Hance increased with the addition rate of organic materials.3)for Cd uptake of Sedum alfredii Hance in moderately-polluted soil,only 1%BS treatment had a better accumulation effect,compared to the control,for Zn element,MR treatments were weaker than the control,while other treatments were better than the control,of which 5%BR,1%BS and 5%BS accumulated more Zn element by 39.6%,32.6%and 23.8%,respectively;in heavily-polluted soil,the treatments of 5%BS,1%BR and 5%BR accumulated more Cd than the control by 12.9%,12.8%and 6.2%,respectively,the treatments with organic materials addition promoted Zn accumulation in shoots of Sedum alfredii Hance,and the best treatment was 5%BS.Therefore,an appropriate application rate of BS and BR could improve the remediation efficiency for Zn/Cd contaminated soils by Sedum alfredii Hance.

A Genetic Susceptibility Study of Lung Cancer Risk Potentially Associated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Inhalation Exposure

For lifetime non-smokers, lung cancer risk is mainly associated with inhalation exposure to air pollution. For the Chinese population, indoor air pollution due to solid fuel combustion has been the primary source of inhalation exposure for decades. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） are the by-products of incomplete combustion.

Potentially harmful metals,and health risk evaluation in groundwater of Mardan,Pakistan:Application of geostatistical approach and geographic information system

This study investigates the values of pH,total dissolved solids(TDS),elevation,oxidative reduction potential(ORP),temperature,and depth,while the concentrations of Br,and potentially harmful metals(PHMs)such as Cr,Ni,Cd,Mn,Cu,Pb,Co,Zn,and Fe in the groundwater samples.Moreover,geographic information system(GIS),XLSTAT,and IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software were used for spatial distribution modeling,principal component analysis(PCA),cluster analysis(CA),and Quantile-Quantile(Q-Q)plotting to determine groundwater pollution sources,similarity index,and normal distribution reference line for the selected parameters.The mean values of pH,TDS,elevation,ORP,temperature,depth,and Br were 7.2,322 mg/L,364 m,188 mV,29.6℃,70 m,0.20 mg/L,and PHMs like Cr,Ni,Cd,Mn,Cu,Pb,Co,Zn,and Fe were 0.38,0.26,0.08,0.27,0.36,0.22,0.04,0.43 and 0.86 mg/L,respectively.PHMs including Cr(89%),Cd(43%),Mn(23%),Pb(79%),Co(20%),and Fe(91%)exceeded the guideline values set by the world health organization(WHO).The significant R^(2)values of PCA for selected parameters were also determined(0.62,0.67,0.78,0.73,0.60,0.87,-0.50,0.69,0.70,0.74,-0.50,0.70,0.67,0.79,0.59,and-0.55,respectively).PCA revealed three geochemical processes such as geogenic,anthropogenic,and reducing conditions.The mineral phases of Cd(OH)_(2),Fe(OH)_(3),FeOOH,Mn_(3)O_(4),Fe_(2)O_(3),MnOOH,Pb(OH)_(2),Mn(OH)_(2),MnO_(2),and Zn(OH)_(2)(-3.7,3.75,9.7,-5.8,8.9,-3.6,2.2,-4.6,-7.7,-0.9,and 0.003,respectively)showed super-saturation and under-saturation conditions.Health risk assessment(HRA)values for PHMs were also calculated and the values of hazard quotient(HQ),and hazard indices(HI)for the entire study area were increased in the following order:Cd>Ni>Cu>Pb>Mn>Zn>Cr.Relatively higher HQ and HI values of Ni,Cd,Pb,and Cu were greater than one showing unsuitability of groundwater for domestic,agriculture,and drinking purposes.The long-term ingestion of groundwater could also cause severe health concerns such as kidney,brain dysfunction,liver,stomach problems,and even cancer.

A Light-Deprivation Mouse Model Potentially for Studying the Complete Congenital Stationary Night Blindness

Current rodent models of the complete congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1) were time- consuming in breeding and validation, which makes it imperative to find a more “easily handle” animal model to broaden our understanding of this disorder. In the present study, a light-deprivation (LD) mouse model was made to validate whether it was a more “suitable” animal mode for investigating the pathogenesis of the CSNB1. Compared with controls, the LD mice exhibited a remarkable reduction in the amplitude of the dark-adapted electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave, the Max-ERG b-wave and also the oscillatory potentials (Ops), indicating an abnormal activity of rod bipolar cells in the retina. However, the ERG a-wave was relatively normal in the LD mice, which was quite consistent with what was confirmed in previously reported animal models of the CSNB1 and CSNB patients. Taken together, the LD mouse model showed CSNB1-like negative ERG responses as evidenced by the abnormal b-wave. Our study will provide a potentially useful animal model to decipher the pathogenesis of the CSNB1.

The Erds-Jacobson-Lehel conjecture on potentially P_k-graphic sequence is true

A variation in the classical Turn extremal problem is studied. A simple graph G of order n is said to have property P k if it contains a clique of size k+1 as its subgraph. An n term nonincreasing nonnegative integer sequence π=(d 1,d 2,...,d n) is said to be graphic if it is the degree sequence of a simple graph G of order n and such a graph G is referred to as a realization of π . A graphic sequence π is said to be potentially P k graphic if it has a realization G having property P k . The problem: determine the smallest positive even number σ(k,n) such that every n term graphic sequence π=(d 1,d 2,...,d n) without zero terms and with degree sum σ(π)=d 1+d 2+...+d n at least σ(k,n) is potentially P k graphic has been proved positive.

Patients Aged 80 Years or Older are Encountered More Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use

Background： Polyphamlacy and potentially inappropriate medications （PIMs） are prominent prescribing issties in elderly patients. This study was to investigate the different prevalence of PIM use in elderly inpatients between 65-70 years of age and 80 years or older, who were discharged from Geriatric Depamnent in West China Hospital. Methods： A large-scale cohort of 1796 inpatients aged 65 years or over was recruited. Respectively. 618 patients were 65 79 years and 1178 patients were 80 years or older. Updated 2012 Beers Criteria by the Anaerican Geriatric Society was applied to assess the use of PIM among the investigated samples. Results： A review of the prescribed medications identified 686 patients aged 80 years or older constimed at least one PIM giving a rate of 58.2%. Conversely, 268 （43.4%） patients aged 65-79 years consumed at least one PIM （x^2=40.18, P 〈 0.001）. Patients aged 80 years or older had higher hospitalization expenses, length of stay, co-morbidities, medical prescription, and mortality than patients aged 65-79 years （all with P 〈 0.001 ）. Patients aged 80 years or older were prescribed with more benzodiazepines, drugs with strong anticholmergic properties, megestrol, antipsychotics, theophylline, and aspirin. In multiple regression analysis, PIM use was significantly associated with female gender, age, number of diagnostic disease, and number of prescribed medication. Conclusions： The finding from this study revealed that inpatients aged 80 years or older encountered more PIM use than those aged 65-79 years. Anticholinergic properties, megestrol. antipsychotics, theophylline, and aspirin are medications that often prescribed to inpatients aged 80 years or older. Doctors should carefully choose drugs for the elderly, especially the elderly aged 80 years or older.

The smallest degree sum that yields potentially K_(r,r)-graphic sequences

We consider a variation of a classical Turán-type extremal problem as follows: Determine the smallest even integer σ(Kr,r,n) such that every n-term graphic sequence π = (d1,d2,...,dn) with term sum σ(π) = d1 + d2 + ... + dn ≥ σ(Kr,r,n) is potentially Kr,r-graphic, where Kr,r is an r × r complete bipartite graph, i.e. π has a realization G containing Kr,r as its subgraph. In this paper, the values σ(Kr,r,n) for even r and n ≥ 4r2 - r - 6 and for odd r and n ≥ 4r2 + 3r - 8 are determined.

The Smallest Degree Sum That Yields Potentially Kr＋1 - K3-Graphic Sequences

Let a（Kr,＋1 - K3,n） be the smallest even integer such that each n-term graphic sequence п= （d1,d2,…dn） with term sum σ（п） = d1 ＋ d2 ＋…＋ dn 〉 σ（Kr＋1 -K3,n） has a realization containing Kr＋1 - K3 as a subgraph, where Kr＋1 -K3 is a graph obtained from a complete graph Kr＋1 by deleting three edges which form a triangle. In this paper, we determine the value σ（Kr＋1 - K3,n） for r ≥ 3 and n ≥ 3r＋ 5.

Assessment of pollution of potentially harmful elements in soils surrounding a municipal solid waste incinerator, China

We assessed the contamination levels of Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, As and Hg and the risks posed by these potentially harmful elements in top-soils around a municipal solid waste incinerator （MSWI）. We collected 20 soil samples, with an average pH of 8.1, and another fly ash sample emitted from the MSWI to investigate the concentrations of these elements in soils. We determined the concentrations of these elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer （ICP-OES）, except for Hg, which we measured by AF-610B atomic fluorescence spectrometer （AFS）. We assessed the risks of these elements through the use of geoaccumulation index （/geo）, potential ecological risk index （R/）, hazard quotient （HQi） and cancer risk （Riski）. The results showed that concentrations of potentially harmful elements in soil were influenced by the wind direction, and the concentrations of most elements were higher in the area northwest of the MSWI, compared with the area southeast of the incinerator, with the exception of As; these results were in accordance with those results acquired from our contour maps. According to the I^o values, some soil samples were clearly polluted by Hg emissions. However, the health risk assessment indicated that the concentrations of Hg and other elements in soil did not pose non-carcinogenic risks to the local populations. This was also the case for the carcinogenic risks posed by As Cr and Ni. The carcinogenic risk posed by As was higher in the range 6.49 × 10 -9.58 × 10 -6, but this was still considered to be an acceptable level of risk.

The concentration and probabilistic risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in fillets of silver pomfret(Pampus argenteus):A global systematic review and meta-analysis

The contamination of fish type products such as silver pomfret fish fillets by potentially toxic elements(PTEs)has raised global health concerns.Related studies regarding the concentration of PTEs in fillets of silver pomfret fish were retrieved among some international databases such as Scopus,Pub Med and Embase between 1 January 1983 and 10 March 2020.The pooled(mean)concentration of PTEs in fillets of silver pomfret fish was meta-analyzed with the aid of a random-effect model(REM).Also,the non-carcinogenic risk was estimated via calculating the 95 th percentile of the total target hazard quotient(TTHQ).The meta-analysis of 21 articles(containing 25 studies or data reports)indicated that the ranking of PTEs in fillets of silver pomfret fish was Fe(11,414.81μg/kg wet weight,ww)>Zn(6055.72μg/kg ww)>Cr(1825.79μg/kg ww)>Pb(1486.44μg/kg ww)>Se(1053.47μg/kg ww)>Cd(992.50μg/kg ww)>Ni(745.23μg/kg ww)>Cu(669.71μg/kg ww)>total As(408.24μg/kg ww)>Co(87.03μg/kg ww)>methyl Hg(46.58μg/kg ww).The rank order of health risk assessment by country based on the TTHQ for adult consumers was Malaysia(2.500)>Bangladesh(0.886)>Iran(0.144)>China(0.045)>Pakistan(0.020)>India(0.015),while the corresponding values for child consumers was Malaysia(11.790)>Bangladesh(4.146)>Iran(0.675)>China(0.206)>Pakistan(0.096)>India(0.077).The adult consumers in Malaysia and children in Malaysia and Bangladesh were at considerable non-carcinogenic risk.Therefore,following the recommended control plans in order to reduce the health risk associated with the ingestion of PTEs via consumption of silver pomfret fish fillets is crucial.