Soil heavy metal pollution has been becoming serious and widespread in China. To date, there are few studies assessing the nationwide soil heavy metal pollution induced by industrial and agricultural ...activities in China. This review obtained heavy metal concentrations in soils of 402 industrial sites and 1041 agricultural sites in China throughout the document retrieval. Based on the database, this review assessed soil heavy metal concentration and estimated the ecological and health risks on a national scale. The results revealed that heavy metal pollution and associated risks posed by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are more serious. Besides, heavy metal pollution and associated risks in industrial regions are severer than those in agricultural regions, meanwhile, those in southeast China are severer than those in northwest China. It is worth noting that children are more likely to be affected by heavy metal pollution than adults. Based on the assessment results, Cd, Pb and As are determined as the priority control heavy metals; mining areas are the priority control areas compared to other areas in industrial regions; food crop plantations are the priority control areas in agricultural regions; and children are determined as the priority protection population group. This paper provides a comprehensive ecological and health risk assessment on the heavy metals in soils in Chinese industrial and agricultural regions and thus provides insights for the policymakers regarding exposure reduction and management.
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•402 industrial and 1041 agricultural sites are reviewed.•Pollution and risks in industrial regions were severer than agricultural regions.•30% of industrial sites pose potential non-carcinogenic risk.•The majority of As carcinogenic risks are at a relatively unacceptable range.•The priority control components were identified.
The accuracy of a source location estimate is very sensitive to the accurate knowledge of receiver locations. This paper performs analysis and develops a solution for locating a moving source using ...time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) and frequency-difference-of-arrival (FDOA) measurements in the presence of random errors in receiver locations. The analysis starts with the Crameacuter-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the problem, and derives the increase in mean-square error (MSE) in source location estimate if the receiver locations are assumed correct but in fact have error. A solution is then proposed that takes the receiver error into account to reduce the estimation error, and it is shown analytically, under some mild approximations, to achieve the CRLB accuracy for far-field sources. The proposed solution is closed form, computationally efficient, and does not have divergence problem as in iterative techniques. Simulations corroborate the theoretical results and the good performance of the proposed method
•CAFs suppress the killing effect of PBMCs on lung cancer cells through PD-L1.•Exosomes derived from CAFs suppress the killing effect of PBMCs on lung cancer cells.•MiR-142-5p suppresses lung cancer ...development through regulating PD-L1 in vivo.
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most important stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TEM) and have been reported to regulate various cancer development. Exosomes are considered important elements involved in intercellular communication and TME regulation, while the potential function of CAFs in lung cancer immunosuppressive microenvironments remains unknown. CAFs-derived exosomes (CAFs-exo) and normal fibroblasts (NFs)-derived exosomes (NFs-exo) were isolated by ultra-centrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and western blot analysis. A549 cells were co-cultured with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Flow cytometry assay was performed to detect the killing role of PBMCs on A549 cells. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assays were used to analyze the relationship among microRNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and target gene. BALB/c mice were used to construct the lung cancer model by subcutaneous injection. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) was up-regulated in lung cancer tissues and cells. PD-L1 also up-regulated in CAFs cell medium-mediated A549 cells. CAFs decreased PBMCs induced-cell apoptosis through increasing PD-L1 in A549 cells. Moreover, CAFs transferred exosomes to lung cancer cells to suppress the killing effect of PBMCs through up-regulating PD-L1. Using microarray assays, opa-interacting protein 5 antisense RNA 1 (OIP5-AS1) level was highly expressed in CAFs-exos. After treatment by CAFs-exos, miR-142-5p level was significantly down-regulated in A549 cells. OIP5-AS1 served as a sponge to target miR-142-5p and negatively regulated miR-142-5p expression in lung cancer cells. In addition, PD-L1 was a direct target of miR-142-5p. CAFs derived exosomal OIP5-AS1 reduced PBMCs induced-cell apoptosis and promoted tumor growth through decreasing miR-142-5p and up-regulating PD-L1. CAFs-derived exosomes suppressed the role of PBMCs induced-killing of lung cancer cells and promoted lung cancer progression by OIP5-AS1/ miR-142-5p/ PD-L1 axis, which provided a potential opportunity for diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.
To endow wood plate with antimicrobial properties, waterborne polyurethane (WPU) coatings incorporated with nano cellulose crystalline (NCC) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared. AgNPs were ...obtained by the chemical reactions of silver nitrate solution and sodium borohydride solution. The scribe testing results showed that the adhesion of the NCC-WPU composites was improved with the addition of NCC. The adhesion reached its peak when the amount of NCC added was 1%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation displayed that the NCC dispersed into the WPU without aggregation. NCC was well able to bind WPU and wood cell walls tightly together. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) results revealed that WPU/NCC/AgNPs composites were homogeneous. This compatibility was also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The antibacterial property was improved too. When the adding amount of NCC was 0.5%, and the proportion of silver elements added was 5%, the antibacterial effect was at its best. As a comparison, the antibacterial effect of hybrid colloid without the addition of NCC was far less than that of including NCC. The WPU/NCC/AgNPs composite could be applied as an antibacterial coating in wood materials.
This study aimed to analyze the polymorphism of the vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor-1 (VIPR-1) gene and its association with growth traits in quail using the PCR-RFLP and sequencing ...techniques. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of 36 female Savimalt (SV) quails and 49 female French Giant (FG) quails. Growth traits were measured and used for VIPR-1 gene analysis, as body weight (BW), tibia length (TL), chest width (CW), chest depth (CD), sternum length (SL), body length (BL), and tibia circumference (TC). The results showed that 2 SNPs (BsrD I and HpyCH4 IV) were detected in exon 4 to 5 and exon 6 to 7 of the VIPR-1 gene, respectively. The results of association showed that the BsrD I site was not significantly associated with growth traits at 3 or 5 wk of age in the SV strain (P < 0.05), while the BsrD I site was significantly associated with BL at 3 or 5 wk of age in FG (P < 0.05). The HpyCH4 IV site was significantly associated with TL, CW, CD, SL, and BL at 3 wk of age in the SV strain (P < 0.05), while the HpyCH4 IV site was significantly correlated with BW, CW, SL, and BL at 5 wk of age in SV (P < 0.05). The HpyCH4 IV site was significantly associated with TL and TC at 3 wk of age in FG (P < 0.05), while the HpyCH4 IV site was significantly associated with TC at 5 wk of age in FG (P < 0.05). Four haplotype combinations based on 2 SNPs showed significantly association with BW, CW, CD, SL, BL, and TC at 3 or 5 wk of age in SV (P < 0.05). There was not significant association between 3 haplotype combinations with growth trait at 3 or 5 wk of age in FG (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the VIPR-1 gene could be used as a molecular genetic marker to improve growth traits in quail.
Gully headcut retreat (GHR) is an important processes in gully development, and previous studies have tried to predict GHR rates based on flow hydraulic parameters during runoff scouring, but other ...dynamics such as gravity also affect GHR processes in addition to flow hydraulics. The aim of this study is to examine the influences of mass failures due to gravity on the erosion and hydraulics processes of gully headcuts during runoff scouring. A flow scouring experiment including 11 tests with two discharges (i.e., 7 tests with 83.3 l min−1 and 4 tests with 166.7 l min−1) was conducted on 5 in situ gully head plots with similar initial topographies. Totally 36 mass failure events were observed of all the 5 gully heads during the experiment, and 63.9% of the events were occurred during the first 10 min of the tests after drying-rewetting cycles. The tests were classified into two series according to whether the mass failure occurred during the scouring. The tests with mass failures (Series I) contributed 81.7% of the total soil loss of GHR, and the average GHR rates by mass (GHRm) was about 5 times higher than that of the tests without mass failures (Series II). The mass failure clearly influenced the flow resistances on gully beds by increasing the surfaces roughness and the sediment load to gully beds, and the average Darcy–Weisbach friction factor (f) and Manning coefficient (n) of Series I were clearly higher than those of Series II. Compared to the previous studies without significant soil collapse from gully heads, the logarithmic growth relationship between GHRm and the energy consumption (ΔEt) was quite weak in this study, but the R2 between GHRm and ΔEt increased for longer time scales. The results indicated that for individual runoff events, GHR rates could not be predicted by flow hydraulics alone because mass failures due to gravity made great contribution, but on longer time scales, the influence of soil collapse is reduced, and flow hydraulics become the key factor impacting GHR processes.
•Mass failure is prone to occur at the beginning of scouring after drying-rewetting cycles.•Mass failure made great contribution on soil loss during headcut retreat.•The headcut retreat cannot be explained by hydraulics alone when mass failure occurs.•The influences of mass failure are reduced with longer timescales.
Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) gene is the main effector of insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which plays an important role in growth, development and reproduction of the animal ...organism. This study aimed to investigate the association of IGF-1R gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with egg quality and carcass traits of quail by direct sequencing. In this study, genomic DNA was extracted from quail blood samples of 46 Chinese yellow (CY) quail, 49 Beijing white (BW) quail and 48 Korean (KO) quail strains. Egg quality and carcass traits were measured and used for IGF-1R gene analysis in 3 quail strains. The results showed that 2 SNPs (A57G and A72T) of the IGF-1R gene were detected in 3 quail strains. The A57G was significantly associated with yolk width (YWI) in BW strain (P < 0.05). Whereas A72T was significantly associated with egg shell thickness (EST) in BW strain (P < 0.05), and significantly associated with egg weight (EW), egg long (EL), and egg short (ES) in KO strain (P < 0.05). Haplotypes based on 2 SNPs showed significant effect on EST in 3 quail strains (P < 0.05), it also has a significant effect on EW in KO strain (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, A72T was significantly associated with liver weight (LW) and dressing percentage (DP) in 3 strains (P < 0.05). Haplotypes showed significant effect on LW (P < 0.05). Therefore, the IGF-1R gene may be a molecular genetic marker to improve egg quality and carcass traits in quails.
This study aimed to identify polymorphisms of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene and their association with growth traits in quail by PCR and direct sequencing. Genomic DNA was extracted from ...quail blood samples of 36 from Savimalt (SV) and 49 from French Giant (FG). Growth traits were measured and used for candidate gene analysis, as body weight (BW), shank length (SL), chest width (CW), chest depth (CD), breastbone length (BBL), body length (BL), and shank circumference (SC). The results showed that a total of 20 SNPs were detected in GnRH gene, whereas 8 SNPs were significantly associated with growth traits (P < 0.05). The T215C, G279A, C458T, A520G, and C547G were significantly associated with SL at 3 wk of age in the FG strain, whereas A583T was significantly related to BBL and BL, and C591T was significantly related to SL, BBL, and BL, whereas A592G was significantly correlated with SL, CW, CD, BBL, and BL (P < 0.05). The 8 SNPs were significantly related to CW, CD, and BBL at 3 wk of age in the SV strain, whereas A583T, C591T, and A592G were significantly associated with BW (P < 0.05). The G279A showed significant correlations with SL at 5 wk of age in FG, whereas A583T showed significant associations with SC in FG, and C591T was significantly associated with BW and SC in FG, whereas A592T was significantly related to BW, SL, and CD in FG (P < 0.05). The T215C, G279A, C458T, A520G, and C547G were significantly correlated with BW, CW, BBL, and BL at 5 wk of age in SV, whereas A583T, C591T, and A592G were significantly related to BW, SL, CW, BBL, and BL (P < 0.05). Haplotypes based on 8 SNPs showed significant correlation with BW, SL, CW, CD, BBL, BL, and SC in FG (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the GnRH gene could be used as a molecular genetic marker to provide theoretical foundation to improve growth traits in quail.
As a typical lake in the early stage of eutrophication, the non-point source pollution (NSP) in Erhai Lake was highly concerned. Since 2017, protection and rescue actions have been implemented in the ...Erhai Lake basin which significantly improved the water quality of Erhai Lake. But little attention has been paid to the interception effects of these actions on NSP. Based on high resolution datasets, including refinement land use/land cover (LU/LC) data, China Meteorological Assimilation Driving Database for the SWAT (CMADS), and Advanced Land Observing Satellite-1 (ALOS-12) data, the interception effects of ecological ponds newly built in 2018 on NSP was discussed with the support of the soil and water assessment (SWAT) model. These three high resolution datasets can meet the needs for simulating NSP by SWAT model, which was conductive to better reveal the interception effects of ecological ponds on NSP. Besides, the pollution load of shrubbery on Total nitrogen (TN)/Total phosphorous (TP), which has never been involved in similar research works in the Erhai Lake basin, was measured. Compared the temporal and spatial variations in TN/TP concentration before and after 2018, the interception effects of ecological ponds on NSP in the Erhai Lake basin were revealed by a sharp decrease in TN/TP concentration and a delayed presence of annual peak value about 1 month late in TN concentration before and after 2018. The interception intensity of NSP was determined by the number and volume of ecological ponds in each sub-basin and their corresponding upstream.
Based on the increasing trend in drought hazards and the current drought risk assessments limited within a static spatial dimension, this study takes the Sichuan Basin (SB), a large agricultural ...planting area in southwestern China, as the study area and develops a comprehensive drought risk assessment. This assessment includes five components—hazard, exposure, vulnerability, mitigation capability and resilience—in three dimensions, i.e., the static dimension of space (SDS), the dynamic dimension of time (DDT), and the coupled dimension of space and time (CDTS), and this study uses the random forest algorithm to determine the weight coefficients for 18 factors in the drought assessment system. The results show that (1) there is obvious spatial heterogeneity between the drought risk in the SDS and that in the DDT, the centroid of each drought risk level in the CDTS is closer to that in the SDS. (2) The drought risk in the SDS in the SB is primarily determined by the precipitation, cultivated land ratio, and temperature, while that in the DDT is mainly affected by the trends in precipitation and gross domestic product (GDP). (3) The regions with a high level of drought risk in the SDS are mainly located in the central SB, owing to low precipitation, a high ratio of cultivated land, and low vegetation coverage. The regions with a high level of drought risk in the DDT are concentrated in the northeastern SB due to the weak increasing trends in precipitation and GDP. The necessity and scientific nature of the drought assessment in the CDTS proposed in this study are demonstrated.
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