A Systematic Assessment of Blood Lead Level in Children and Associated Risk Factors in China

In this study, we searched multiple databases for all relevant original articles (1996-2013). To investigate blood lead levels (BLL) and possible risk factors for lead exposure among children in China A total of 388 articles met our inclusion criteria. The overall geometric mean (GM) BLL was 71 μg/L, and the prevalence of elevated BLL (EBLL, defined as BLL ≥100 μg/L) was 18.48% among children. The prevalence of EBLL remained significantly higher among boys. In children less than 6 years of age, there were significantly increasing trends in both BLL and prevalence of EBLL in an age-dependent manner. The ban on leaded gasoline significantly reduced the BLL as well as EBLL prevalence; however, children whose parents had lower educational levels or were exposed to lead in the workplace had a higher EBLL prevalence. Despite its decline over time, the average BLL among children in China remains higher than the average level most recently reported in the United States. Childhood lead poisoning remains a public health problem in China.

Water Security-based Hydrological Regime Assessment Method for Lakes with Extreme Seasonal Water Level Fluctuations：A Case Study of Poyang Lake,China

Extreme seasonal water level fluctuations characterize natural floodplain lakes in monsoon regions, which are crucial for ensuring lake water security, including flood prevention water supply and health of aquatic ecosystem. In order to achieve this goal, we established a hydrological regime assessment method based on a set of hydrological indicators for lakes with heavy seasonal water level fluctuations. The results suggest that time-sensitive hydrological indicators and specific time scales for various water security aspects must be considered. We discovered that it is more practical and meaningful to combine the water level classification derived from statistical analyses with characteristic hydrological values linked to water security. The case study of Poyang Lake results show that there are no discernable trends of Poyang Lake water regime status over the last 35 years, and the two periods of poor status are in accordance with climate variation in the lake basin area. Scholars and policy makers should focus on both floods and droughts, which are the main water security problems for Poyang Lake. It is hoped that this multi-scale and multi-element hydrological regime assessment method will provide new guidelines and methods for other international scholars of river and lake water assessment.

Combination of blood lactate level with assessment of blood consumption （ABC） scoring system： A more accurate predictor of massive transfusion requirement

Purpose： Exsanguination is the most common leading cause of death in trauma patients. The massive transfusion （MT） protocol may influence therapeutic strategies and help provide blood components in timely manner. The assessment of blood consumption （ABC） score is a popular MT protocol but has low predictability. The lactate level is a good parameter to reflect poor tissue perfusion or shock states that can guide the management. This study aimed to modify the ABC scoring system by adding the lactate level for better prediction of MTo Methods： The data were retrospectively collected from 165 trauma patients following the trauma acti- vated criteria at Songklanagarind Hospital from January 2014 to December 2014. The ABC scoring system was applied in all patients. The patients who had an ABC score 〉2 as the cut point for MT were defined as the ABC group. All patients who had a score 〉2 with a lactate level 〉4 mmol/dL were defined as the ABC plus lactate level （ABC ＋ L） group. The prediction for the requirement of massive blood transfusion was compared between the ABC and ABC ＋ L groups. The ability of ABC and ABC ＋ L groups to predict MT was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve （AUROC）. Results： Among 165 patients, 15 patients （9%） required massive blood transfusion. There were no sig- nificant differences in age, gender, mechanism of injury or initial vital signs bet^teen the MT group and the non-MT group. The group that required MT had a higher Injury Severity Score and mortality. The sensitivity and specificity of the ABC scoring system in our institution were low （81%, 34%, AUC 0.573）. The sensitivity and specificity were significantly better in the ABC ＋ L group （92%, 42%, AUC = 0.745）. Conclusion： The ABC scoring system plus lactate increased the sensitivity and specificity compared with the ABC scoring system alone.

Game Theory Based Sensor Management in Reducing Target Threat Level Assessment Risk

Sensor management schemes are calculated to reduce target threat level assessment risk in this paper.Hidden Markov model and risk theory are combined to build the target threat level model firstly.Then the target threat level estimation risk is defined.And the sensor management schemes are optimized with the smallest target threat level assessment risk.What’s more,the game theory is applied to calculate the optimal sensor management scheme.Some simulations are conducted to prove that the proposed sensor management method is effective.

A SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of pr ior itised pharmaceuticals and EDCs with high environmental risk potential in freshwater

This work describes the development,optimisation and validation of an analytical method for the rapid determination of 17 priority pharmaceutical compounds and endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs).Rather than studying compounds from the same therapeutic class,the analyses aimed to determine target compounds with the highest risk potential(with particular regard to Scotland),providing a tool for further monitoring in different water matrices.Prioritisation was based on a systematic environmental risk assessment approach,using consumption data;wastewater treatment removal efficiency;environmental occurrence;toxicological effects;and pre-existing regulatory indicators.This process highlighted 17 compounds across various therapeutic classes,which were then quantified,at environmentally relevant concentrations,by a single analytical methodology.Analytical determination was achieved using a single-step solid phase extraction(SPE)procedure followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS).The fully optimised method performed well for the majority of target compounds,with recoveries>71%for 15 of 17 analytes.The limits of quantification for most target analytes(14 of 17)ranged from 0.07 ng/L to 1.88 ng/L in river waters.The utility of this method was then demonstrated using real water samples associated with a rural hospital/setting.Eight compounds were targeted and detected,with the highest levels found for the analgesic,paracetamol(at up to 105,910 ng/L in the hospital discharge).This method offers a robust tool to monitor high priority pharmaceutical and EDC levels in various aqueous sample matrices.

Mercury in alpine fish from four rivers in the Tibetan Plateau

As a global pollutant, high levels of mercury（Hg） have been found in remote ecosystem due to the long range atmospheric transport. In this study, a total of 60 fish samples were collected from four rivers across the Tibetan Plateau to study the accumulation of Hg in remote and high-altitude aquatic environment. The total Hg（THg） and methylmercury（MeHg） in fish muscles ranged from 11 to 2097 ng/g dry weight（dw）（average： 819 ng/g dw）and from 14 to 1960 ng/g dw（average： 756 ng/g dw）, respectively. Significantly positive linear relationships were observed between the THg（r = 0.591, p 〈 0.01, n = 36） and MeHg concentrations（r = 0.473, p 〈 0.01, n = 36） with the trophic level of fish from Lhasa River,suggesting trophic transfer and biomagnification of Hg in this aquatic ecosystem. Moreover,the THg levels in fish had significantly positive correlations with the length（r = 0.316,p 〈 0.05, n = 60） and weight（r = 0.271, p 〈 0.05, n = 60） of fish. The high levels of Hg were attributed to the slow growth and long lifespan of the fish under this sterile and cold environment. Risk assessment revealed that the consumption of Oxygymnocypris stewartii,Schizothorax macropogon, Schizothorax waltoni, Schizopygopsis younghusbandi and Schizothorax o＇connori would lead to a high exposure to Me Hg.