Novel reduced heteropolyacid nanoparticles for effective treatment of drug-induced liver injury by manipulating reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and inflammatory signals.

With the rapid advancements in biomedicine, the use of clinical drugs has surged sharply. However, potential hepatotoxicity limits drug exploitation and widespread usage, posing serious threats to patient health. Hepatotoxic drugs disrupt liver enzyme levels and cause refractory pathological damage, creating a challenge in the application of diverse first-line drugs. The activation and deterioration of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and inflammatory signals are key pathological mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Herein, a novel reduced heteropolyacid nanoparticle (RNP) has been developed, possessing high RONS-scavenging ability, strong anti-inflammatory activity, and excellent biosafety. These features enable it to swiftly restore the redox and immune balance of the liver. Intravenous administration of RNP effectively scavenged RONS storm, reversing liver oxidative stress and restoring normal mitochondrial membrane potential and function. Furthermore, by inhibiting c-Jun-N-terminal kinase phosphorylation, RNP facilitated the restoration of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-mediated endogenous antioxidant signaling, ultimately rescuing the liver function and tissue morphology in acetaminophen-induced DILI mice. Crucially, the high biocompatible RNP exhibited superior efficacy in the DILI mouse model compared to the clinical antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. This targeted therapeutic approach, tailored to address the onset and progression of DILI, offers valuable new insights into controlling the condition and restoring liver structure and function.

Transition Metal (Molybdenum)-Doped Drug-like Conformational Nanoarchitectonics with Altered Valence States (Mn2+/Mn4+ and Mo5+/Mo6+) for Augmented Cancer Theranostics.

Despite the advancements in cancer therapy, delivering active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using nanoparticles remains challenging due to the failed conveyance of the required drug payload, poor targeting ability, and poor biodistribution, hampering their clinical translation. Recently, the appropriate design of materials with intrinsic therapeutic functionalities has garnered enormous interest in the development of various intelligent therapeutic nanoplatforms. In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of transition metal (molybdenum, Mo)-doped manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanoarchitectures, exhibiting diagnostic (magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) and therapeutic (chemodynamic therapy, CDT) functionalities. The facile hydrothermal approach-assisted Mo-doped MnO2 flower-like nanostructures offered tailorable morphologies in altered dimensions, precise therapeutic effects, exceptional biocompatibility, and biodegradability in the tumor microenvironment. The resultant defects due to doped Mo species exhibited peroxidase and oxidase activities, improving glutathione (GSH) oxidation. The two sets of variable valence metal ion pairs (Mn2+/Mn4+ and Mo5+/Mo6+) and their interplay could substantially improve the Fenton-like reaction and generate toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH), thus achieving CDT-assisted antitumor effects. As inherent T1-MRI agents, these MnO2 nanoparticles displayed excellent MRI efficacy in vitro. Together, we believe that these conformational Mo-doped MnO2 nanoarchitectures with two pairs of variable valence states could potentiate drugless therapy in pharmaceutics.

Efficacy of radiotherapy combined with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, TKI and ICI for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus: a retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a new combination therapy of radiotherapy (RT), hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients involving portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT). METHODS: A total of 71 HCC patients with PVTT were retrospectively analyzed: 45 patients were treated by 'HAIC + TKI + ICI' therapy and 26 patients by the new combination therapy. The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and cumulative survival rate. RESULTS: The PFS in the 'New combination therapy' group was longer than that in the 'HAIC + TKI + ICI' group (HR 0.459, 95%CI 0.253-0.832; P = 0.008). Meanwhile, the OS in the 'New combination therapy' group was also longer than that in the 'HAIC + TKI + ICI' group (HR 0.420, 95%CI 0.198-0.894; P = 0.024). Compared with 'HAIC + TKI + ICI' group patients, the 'New combination therapy' group patients had higher 1-year PFS rate and 1-year OS rate (P = 0.029; P = 0.015). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The new combination therapy was an effective and safe non-surgical treatment for HCC patients with PVTT and could be considered a preferred therapy option.

Lying or Standing of Thiophene on a Surface Determines the Reaction Difference.

Adsorption configurations of molecules on a surface play an important role in the on-surface reaction. In the on-surface synthesis reaction, most of the molecules prefer the lying adsorption configuration to maximize the interaction between the molecule and substrate. In this work, we report an on-surface study of 2,3,4,5-tetrabromothiophene by scanning tunneling microscopy, density functional theory, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Due to different interactions between thiophene and metal surfaces, lying or standing configurations of 2,3,4,5-tetrabromothiophene can be selected by the choice of metal substrates. Moreover, a catalytic role of the metal substrate in the molecular reaction with lying and standing adsorption configurations is demonstrated at the molecular level. This work broadens the understanding of thiophene's configurations in surface reactions and the product diversity driven by adsorption configurations. It also offers a guiding framework for synthesizing multifunctional materials by thiophene derivatives.

Two different mutational types of familial gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and cases of GISTs tend to be of the disseminated type, with a global incidence of 10 to 15 cases/million each year. The rarer familial GISTs, which often represent a population, differ in screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Familial GISTs include primary familial GISTs with predominantly KIT/PDGFRA mutations and wild-type GISTs. However, whether the same genetic family has different phenotypes has not been reported. CASE SUMMARY: We report two cases of rare GISTs in the same family: A male patient with the V561D mutation in exon 12 of the PDGFRA gene, who has been taking the targeted drug imatinib since undergoing surgery, and a female patient diagnosed with wild-type GIST, who has been taking imatinib for 3 years since undergoing surgery. The favorable prognosis of these patients during the 7-year follow-up period validates the accuracy of our treatment strategy, and we have refined the entire process of diagnosis and treatment of familial GISTs in order to better manage this rare familial disease. CONCLUSION: Different mutation types of familial GISTs in the same family are very rare, thus it is very important to make the correct diagnosis and treatment strategies according to the results of molecular detection for the management of familial GISTs.

Systemic administration of a potent mouse monoclonal antibody provides multisite protection against HPV16 infection.

Although preventive vaccines for Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) are available, a definitive cure for the viral infection itself is currently lacking. There is a sizable population that remains inaccessible to HPV vaccination due to reasons such as high costs or lack of availability of the vaccines. Therefore, there remains a significant population susceptible to HPV infection. Persistent multisite infections with high-risk HPV types can cause cancer at several different anatomic sites.Especially HPV16 is a key etiologic factor for cervical, other ano-genital and oropharyngeal cancers. Therefore, it is imperative to develop pharmaceutical interventions for the treatment of viral infections. In this study, a panel of 9 neutralizing antibodies was screened using the hybridoma technique, with 20F6 being identified as the representative antibody. The purified 20F6 exhibited an IC50 of 0.0011 µg/ml against HPV16, demonstrating potent viral inhibitory activity. Moreover, it displayed cross-neutralizing efficacy towards other Alphapapillom 9 subtypes including HPV31, HPV33, HPV52, and HPV58 with respective IC50 values of 2.0 µg/ml, 7.3 µg/ml, 1.7 µg/ml, and 3.0 µg/ml. 20F6 recognizes the linear epitope MSLW, the first four amino-acids located at the very N-terminus of the HPV16 L1 protein. Administration of 20F6, 24 h prior to and following HPV16 pseudo-virion (PSV) challenge, conferred protection against infection in mice at doses as low as 1 mg/kg. Following intraperitoneal administration of 20F6, neutralizing antibodies were consistently detected at both oral and vaginal sites, indicating that prophylactic systemic administration of 20F6 may confer efficient protection against multiple susceptible mucosal sites.

Molecular detection and genetic characteristics of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in central China.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the most economically devastating viral diseases in the global pork industry. To further clarify the epidemic characteristics of the virus, 365 clinical samples were collected from diseased pigs suffering from abortion and respiratory disease from 2018 to 2023 on 63 pig farms in Henan and Shanxi provinces, and screened for the presence of PRRSV using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A total of 62 clinical samples (62/365, 16.99 %) were positive for PRRSV, and subsequently, full-length ORF5 gene sequences of 29 PRRSV strains and the complete genome sequence of one PRRSV HeN-HC isolate were obtained and analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ORF5 gene showed that 22 of the 29 PRRSV2 strains belonged to sublineage 1.8 (NADC30-like), 5 belonged to sublineage 8.5 (HP-PRRSV), and 2 belonged to sublineage 5.1 (VR-2332-like), indicating that both HP-PRRSV and NADC30-like strains were mainly circulating in Henan and Shanxi provinces. Compared to VR-2332 strain, different types of amino acid mutations were found in the GP5 protein of these 29 strains, and the amino acid deletions were displayed in the Nsp2 protein of the HeN-HC isolate, leading to the variation of protein structures. It is noteworthy that recombination events were identified in the HeN-Ping and HeN-B strains. In addition, a total of 60, 094 pig serum samples from Henan province were collected, and the positive rate of specific antibodies against PRRSV was 86.37 % from 2019 to 2022, and 86.66 %, 84.85 %, 87.54 % and 86.30 % in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the molecular epidemiology and evolution of PRRSV circulating in central China.

Profiling neuroinflammatory markers and response to nusinersen in paediatric spinal muscular atrophy.

Neuroinflammation is an emerging clinical feature in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Characterizing neuroinflammatory cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in SMA and their response to nusinersen is important for identifying new biomarkers and understanding the pathophysiology of SMA. We measured twenty-seven neuroinflammatory markers in CSF from twenty SMA children at different time points, and correlated the findings with motor function improvement. At baseline, MCP-1, IL-7 and IL-8 were significantly increased in SMA1 patients compared to SMA2, and were significantly correlated with disease severity. After six months of nusinersen treatment, CSF levels of eotaxin and MIP-1ß were markedly reduced, while IL-2, IL-4 and VEGF-A were increased. The decreases in eotaxin and MIP-1ß were associated with changes in motor scores in SMA1. We also detected a transient increase in MCP-1, MDC, MIP-1α, IL-12/IL-23p40 and IL-8 after the first or second injection of nusinersen, followed by a steady return to baseline levels within six months. Our study provides a detailed profile of neuroinflammatory markers in SMA CSF. Our data confirms the potential of MCP-1, eotaxin and MIP-1ß as new neuroinflammatory biomarkers in SMA1 and indicates the presence of a subtle inflammatory response to nusinersen during the early phase of treatment.

Impact of fluoride and aluminum co-exposure on bone growth and quality in juvenile rats: dose and duration effects.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the dosage and duration of fluoride and aluminum(F and Al) co-exposure on the skeletal growth and bone quality of juvenile rats. Forty-eight 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to normal control, low F and Al exposure, and high F and Al exposure groups, with 45-day and 90-day subgroups established for each. We measured body length, tibia length, conducted bone histomorphometric analysis of the proximal tibia, performed micro-CT scans and three-point bending tests of the femur. Compared to the age-matched control group, the low F and Al group at 45 days exhibited increased bone formation and stiffness; the low F and Al group at 90 days and the high F and Al group at 45 days showed increases in body length, tibia length, growth plate width, longitudinal bone growth rate, bone turnover, and improved microstructure. Notably, bone elastic stress only elevated in the high F and Al group at 45 days. Conversely, the high F and Al exposure group at 90 days experienced decreases in the aforementioned parameters, with the exception of growth plate width, and displayed abnormal hypertrophic chondrocyte morphology in the growth plate. In summary, long-term exposure to low levels of F and Al and short-term exposure to high levels of F and Al promote bone formation followed by bone resorption in juvenile rats, stimulating bone growth and enhancing bone quality. However, long-term exposure to high levels F and Al results in low bone turnover, slow bone growth, and reduced bone property.

[Key Issues and Challenges in Establishing Regionally Differentiated Water Quality Standard in China].

The goal of environmental management in China is transitioning from pollution control to the improvement of ecological quality. The establishment of regional differential water quality standards can better adapt to the ecological characteristics and development needs of different regions. Given the shortcomings of current water quality standards and the needs of technological development, this study analyzed the causes and influencing factors of regional differences in water quality standards and summarized China's regional variations in areas such as the characteristics of receiving water bodies, social attributes, climate conditions, physicochemical properties of water, and aquatic biotic populations. It also examined the impact of regional characteristics on the assessment of biological toxicity. Based on these analyses, the study identified key scientific questions that may arise in the development of regional differential water quality standards in China and outlined future critical research directions in this field. These directions include developing theories and methods for determining the effluent dilution coefficient, establishing methods for identifying regional key water quality indicators and assessing their impact on water quality standards, determining regional characteristic species and their influence on water quality standards, and formulating theories and methods for categorizing different regions across the country. The aim of the study was to provide a reference for the scientific establishment of water quality standards in China.

Construction and Immunogenicity of a Recombinant Porcine Pseudorabies Virus (PRV) Expressing the Major Neutralizing Epitope Regions of S1 Protein of Variant PEDV.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection causes severe diarrhea and high mortality in neonatal piglets. Pseudorabies causes acute and often fatal infections in young piglets, respiratory disorders in growing pigs, and reproductive failure in sows. In late 2011, pseudorabies virus (PRV) variants occurred in Bartha-K61-vaccine-immunized swine herds, resulting in economic losses to the global pig industry. Therefore, it is essential to develop a safe and effective vaccine against both PEDV and PRV infections. In this study, we constructed a recombinant virus rPRV-PEDV S1 expressing the major neutralizing epitope region (COE, SS2, and SS6) of the PEDV S1 protein by homologous recombination technology and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, and then evaluated its biological characteristics in vitro and immunogenicity in pigs. The recombinant virus rPRV-PEDV S1 had similar growth kinetics in vitro to the parental rPRV NY-gE-/gI-/TK- strain, and was proven genetically stable in swine testicle (ST) cells and safe for piglets. PEDV S1-specific antibodies were detected in piglets immunized with rPRV-PEDV S1 on the 7th day post-immunization (dpi), and the antibody level increased rapidly at 14-21 dpi. Moreover, the immunized piglets receiving the recombinant virus exhibited alleviated clinical signs and reduced viral load compared to the unvaccinated group following a virulent PEDV HN2021 strain challenge. Also, piglets immunized with rPRV-PEDV S1 developed a PRV-specific humoral immune response and elicited complete protection against a lethal PRV NY challenge. These data indicate that the recombinant rPRV-PEDV S1 is a promising vaccine candidate strain for the prevention and control of PEDV and PRV infections.

One-step high-speed thermal-electric aerosol printing of piezoelectric bio-organic films for wirelessly powering bioelectronics.

Piezoelectric biomaterials hold a pivotal role in the progression of bioelectronics and biomedicine, owing to their remarkable electromechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bioresorbability. However, their technological potential is restrained by certain challenges, including precise manipulation of nanobiomolecules, controlling their growth across nano-to-macro hierarchy, and tuning desirable mechanical properties. We report a high-speed thermal-electric driven aerosol (TEA) printing method capable of fabricating piezoelectric biofilms in a singular step. Electrohydrodynamic aerosolizing and in situ electrical poling allow instantaneous tuning of the spatial organization of biomolecular inks. We demonstrate TEA printing of ß-glycine/polyvinylpyrrolidone films, and such films exhibit the piezoelectric voltage coefficient of 190 × 10-3 volt-meters per newton, surpassing that of industry-standard lead zirconate titanate by approximately 10-fold. Furthermore, these films demonstrate nearly two orders of magnitude improvement in mechanical flexibility compared to glycine crystals. We also demonstrate the ultrasonic energy harvesters based on the biofilms, providing the possibility of wirelessly powering bioelectronics.

ent-Abietane-type lactones with anti-inflammatory activity from Euphorbia helioscopia.

Euphohelinodes D-I (1-6), six previously unreported ent-abietane lactones, along with two known analogues (7 and 8), were isolated from the anti-inflammatory fraction extracted from E. helioscopia by a bioactivity-guided isolation. Their structures were characterized using a combination of spectroscopic data interpretation, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ECD analysis. The anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds was evaluated by measuring their inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. The most active candidate, euphohelinode H (5), had better inhibitory activity against NO production with an IC50 value of 30.23 ± 2.33 µM. Further study revealed that 5 significantly suppressed the expressions of iNOS and COX-2 through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Synthesis of {AlMo14O44}-Based Supramolecular Structures with High Proton Conductivity.

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are esteemed for their remarkable stability and exceptionally high proton conductivity, rendering them ripe for extensive exploration owing to their research significance. Herein, we synthesized two bimolybdenum-capped {AlMoVI8MoV6O44} cluster-based coordination polymers through a solvothermal method. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis elucidates that H[(H2bimb)3(AlMoVI8MoV6O44)] [bimb = 1,4-bis(imidazole-1-ylmethyl)benzene, compound 1] is the POMs-organic supramolecular structure. The introduction of zinc ions into the reaction environment facilitated the connection of initially dispersed ligands, which yielded the well-ordered structure H3[Zn2(bimb)4(AlMoVI8MoV6O44)]·4H2O (compound 2) with a layer distance of 11.8 Å. The proton conductivities (σ) of two compounds were measured under conditions of 85 °C and 98% relative humidity (RH), resulting in values of 3.89 × 10-2 and 4.76 × 10-2 S·cm-1, respectively. This study presents a novel approach to fabricating POMs as proton conductors through structural design and manufacturing adjustments.

From negative feelings to impairments: A longitudinal study on the development of climate change anxiety.

People may experience anxiety and related distress when they come in contact with climate change (i.e., climate change anxiety). Climate change anxiety can be conceptualized as either emotional-based response (the experience of anxiety-related emotions) or impairment-based response (the experience of impairment in daily functioning). To date, it remains uncertain how these distinct manifestations of climate change anxiety are related. Conceptually, the experience of climate change anxiety may transform from an adaptive and healthy emotional response to an impairment in daily functioning. We conducted two two-wave longitudinal studies to examine the possible bidirectional relationships between three manifestations of climate change anxiety. We recruited 942 adults (mean age = 43.1) and 683 parents (mean age = 46.2) in Studies 1 and 2, respectively. We found that Time 1 emotion-based response was positively linked to Time 2 cognitive-emotional impairment, while Time 1 cognitive-emotional impairment was positively related to Time 2 functional impairment. In Study 2, we also found a bidirectional positive relationship between generalized anxiety and emotion-based climate change anxiety over time. Overall, our findings provide initial support to the temporal relationships between different manifestations of climate change anxiety, corroborating that climate change anxiety may develop from emotional responses to impairment in functioning.

Ozone-Resistant Bacteria, an Inconvenient Hazard in Water Reclamation: Resistance Mechanism, Propagating Capacity, and Potential Risks.

Resistant bacteria have always been of research interest worldwide. In the urban water system, the increased disinfectant usage gives more chances for undesirable disinfection-resistant bacteria. As the strongest oxidative disinfectant in large-scale water treatment, ozone might select ozone-resistant bacteria (ORB), which, however, have rarely been reported and are inexplicit for their resistant mechanisms and physiological characteristics. In this study, six strains of ORB were screened from a water reclamation plant in Beijing. Three of them (O7, CR19, and O4) were more resistant to ozone than all previously reported ORB or even spores. The ozone consumption capacity of extracellular polymeric substances and cell walls was proved to be the main sources of bacterial ozone resistance, rather than intracellular antioxidant enzymes. The transcriptome results elucidated that strong ORB possessed a combined antioxidant mechanism consisting of the enhanced transcription of protein synthesis, protein export, and polysaccharide export genes (LptF, LptB, NodJ, LivK, LviG, MetQ, MetN, and GltU). This study confirmed the existence of ORB in urban water systems and brought doubts to the idea of a traditional control strategy against chlorine-resistant bacteria. A salient "trade-off" effect between the ozone resistance and propagation ability indicated the weakness and potential control approaches of ORB.

Simulation of climate change effect on the global distribution of Rosa multiflora.

Rosa multiflora, originated from East Asia, is one of the original ancestors of modern roses. It is also an important genetic resource and rootstock for rose cultivation. Due to its high resistance and vigorous growth, R. multiflora has become an invasive species in some introduction sites, such as North America. To explore the correlation between the suitable habitat of R. multiflora and climate change, we predicted its potential geographic distribution with an optimized MaxEnt model based on 1246 distribution records and nine bioclimatic variables. The results showed that the mean temperature of the coldest quarter, minimum temperature of the coldest month, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and isothermality were significant bioclimatic variables affecting the potential geographic distribution of R. multiflora. Under current climate conditions, R. multiflora naturally distributed in the plains and hilly areas to the east and south of the Loess Plateau. The distribution pattern in the mid-holocene was similar to its current distribution, but the highly suitable distribution area was in the south of North China Plain, the Sichuan Basin, and parts of the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain. During the last interglacial, the suitable areas generally contrac-ted southward, while the highly suitable areas significantly expanded and mainly located in the Sichuan Basin, the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plains, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the Southeast Hills. Beyond its natural distribution in East Asia, R. multiflora had been introduced and spread to most parts of Europe and the central and eastern United States. The distribution area of R. multiflora would expand under three warming scenarios of different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5) during 2041-2060 and 2081-2100. Its average distribution center (centroid) would shift towards higher latitude, indicating that the distribution of R. multiflora was closely related to climate change and that global warming might lead to an expansion of its distribution area. These results would improve our understanding of the ecological adaptability of R. multiflora, facilitate the predicting of its future distribution, and provide a theoretical basis for monitoring and early warning measures following its introduction.

Occupational Exposure to Silica Dust and Silicosis Risk in Chinese Noncoal Mines: Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing awareness, silica dust-induced silicosis still contributes to the huge disease burden in China. Worryingly, recent silica dust exposure levels and silicosis risk in Chinese noncoal mines remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine recent silica dust exposure levels and assess the risk of silicosis in Chinese noncoal mines. METHODS: Between May and December 2020, we conducted a retrospective cohort study on 3 noncoal mines and 1 public hospital to establish, using multivariable Cox regression analyses, prediction formulas of the silicosis cumulative hazard ratio (H) and incidence (I) and a cross-sectional study on 155 noncoal mines in 10 Chinese provinces to determine the prevalence of silica dust exposure (PDE), free silica content, and total dust and respirable dust concentrations. The qualitative risk of silicosis was assessed using the International Mining and Metals Commission's risk-rating table and the occupational hazard risk index; the quantitative risk was assessed using prediction formulas. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed significant differences in the silicosis probability between silica dust-exposed male and female miners (log-rank test χ21=7.52, P=.01). A total of 126 noncoal mines, with 29,835 miners and 4623 dust samples, were included; 13,037 (43.7%) miners were exposed to silica dust, of which 12,952 (99.3%) were male. The median PDE, free silica content, total dust concentration, and respirable dust concentration were 61.6%, 27.6%, 1.30 mg/m3, and 0.58 mg/m3, respectively, indicating that miners in nonmetal, nonferrous metal, small, and open-pit mines suffer high-level exposure to silica dust. Comprehensive qualitative risk assessment showed noncoal miners had a medium risk of silicosis, and the risks caused by total silica dust and respirable silica dust exposure were high and medium, respectively. When predicting H and I over the next 10, 20, and 30 years, we assumed that the miner gender was male. Under exposure to current total silica dust concentrations, median I10, I20, and I30 would be 6.8%, 25.1%, and 49.9%, respectively. Under exposure to current respirable silica dust concentrations, median I10, I20, and I30 would be 6.8%, 27.7%, and 57.4%, respectively. These findings showed that miners in nonmetal, nonferrous metal, small, and open-pit mines have a higher I and higher qualitative silicosis risk. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese noncoal miners, especially those in nonmetal, nonferrous metal, small, and open-pit mines, still suffer high-level exposure to silica dust and a medium-level risk of silicosis. Data of both total silica dust and respirable silica dust are vital for occupational health risk assessment in order to devise effective control measures to reduce noncoal mine silica dust levels, improve miners' working environment, and reduce the risk of silicosis.

Tailor-made ammonia nitrogen risk management with machine learning models for aquatic environments in the Mainland of China.

Efficient management of pollutant risks in water bodies is crucial for public health and aquatic ecosystem sustainability. However, the toxicities of pollutants, such as ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), are often affected by multiple water quality factors, including the pH and water temperature. Extensive spatial and temporal variability in these factors hinders tailor-made management of risk. This study used high-frequency monitoring data collected over 1 year to evaluate the long-term NH3-N risk in China's aquatic ecosystems. High accuracy and interpretability were achieved by decomposing NH3-N risk into the contributions of key influencing factors using random forest models and Shapley Additive Explanations. Two distinct types of NH3-N risk hotspots were identified across 18 cities: 15 cities with high NH3-N concentrations and 3 cities with low environmental carrying capacity due to high pH levels or elevated water temperatures. For the former, rapid NH3-N abatement measures are necessary to bring NH3-N concentrations back below the environmental capacity. For the latter, it is recommended that NH3-N related industries are relocated to regions with high environmental capacities because fragile environments are not suitable for such industries. Importantly, this study investigated methods for attributing pollutant risks in the context of non-linear influencing factors, and the risk of NH3-N was predicted to increase by 6.1 % by the end of 2100 in the context of increasing temperatures under the SSP 2-4.5 scenario. The methodology is also adaptable and suitable for integration into global ecosystem risk management efforts to balance development and aquatic ecological sustainability.

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination rate on traffic recovery.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, traffic sharply fell due to social distancing policies in many locations. Correspondingly, many regions observed an increase in traffic volume (traffic recovery) as the pandemic eased in 2022. We examine how vaccination rates influence traffic recovery in Los Angeles County (LAC), controlling for differences in case counts, demographics, and socioeconomic factors across areas with different vaccination rates. We use arterial road sensor data as a proxy for the traffic volume within each ZIP code, alongside their respective demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. We find that a higher vaccination rate is statistically significantly associated with a larger traffic recovery, a finding that remains consistent across all explored models. This implies that an increased vaccination rate could reduce the public's perception of the risks of disease infection, leading to a larger traffic recovery. Moreover, we found that variables including population, income, race, work industry, and commuting preferences were correlated with vaccination rates. This highlights potential inequalities based on race, income, and industry sectors in the COVID-19 vaccination and a return to normal traffic flow.