[Health risk assessment of typical metalloid and heavy metals in rural drinking water in Shaanxi Province in 2020].

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the health risks of metalloid and heavy metals in rural drinking water in Shaanxi Province, and provide a scientific basis for ensuring the safety of drinking water for rural residents. METHODS: In 2020, the rural drinking water in Shaanxi Province were monitored, referring to the "Sanitary Standards for Drinking Water"(GB 5749-2006) for arsenic(As), cadmium(Cd), chromium(Cr~(6+)), lead(Pb), and mercury(Hg) in the water. To evaluate the concentration of five metalloid and heavy metals, the health risk assessment method recommended by United States Environmental Protection Agency was used to evaluate the health risks of adults in rural areas exposed to metalloid and heavy metals through drinking water. RESULTS: In 2020, a total of 6232 water samples were monitored. The concentrations of Cd, Pb and Hg in the water all met the standards, and the compliance rates of As and Cr~(6+) were 99.98% and 98.09%, respectively. The carcinogenic risk level of As was 3.53×10~(-5), and the non-carcinogenic health risk levels of the four heavy metals in descending order were Pb>Cr~(6+)>Cd>Hg, and the total risk level was 0.105. The concentration level of As and the distribution of health risk levels were all in northern Shaanxi>Guanzhong region>southern Shaanxi(P<0.05). The concentration level and health risk level distribution of As and Cr~(6+) were all groundwater>surface water(P<0.05), and the concentration level and health risk level distribution of Cd, Pb and Hg were all surface water>groundwater(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a potential health risk of As exposure in rural drinking water in Shaanxi Province in 2020. The non-carcinogenic health risks of four heavy metals intake of Cd, Hg, Pb and Cr~(6+) through drinking water were still at an acceptable level. The control of arsenic pollution in drinking water should be further strengthened to ensure drinking water safety.

[Rural environmental sanitation in the central, southern and northern regions of Shaanxi Province in 2018].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the rural sanitary conditions in different geographical areas of Shaanxi Province. METHODS: According to the stratified random sampling method, 30 agriculture-related counties were selected(The central area includes 13 counties in Xi'an, Tongchuan, Weinan, Xianyang and Baoji cities. The southern area includes 10 counties in Hanzhong, Ankang, Shangluo cities. The northern area includes 7 counties in Yulin, Yan'an cities. ). Five townships were selected randomly in each county(excluding Chengguan Town), and 4 administrative villages were selected randomly in each township as survey villages, which were collected the soil samples for testing lead, cadmium and chromium in each subject village, and 5 households were randomly selected in each villages as survey households. The data was obtained through data reading, interviews, on-site observations, and laboratory testing, etc. The detection of soil lead and cadmium was carried out according to the Measurement of Soil Quality Lead and Cadmium by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry(GB/T 17141-1997), and the detection of chromium was carried out according to the Determination of Total Chromium in Soil by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry(HJ 491). The data was statistically analyzed and evaluated according to the central, southern and northern regions. RESULTS: The population coverage of rural centralized water supply in the three regions(central、southern and northern area) was 92. 86%, 75. 49% and 70. 41%, respectively. The penetration rate of sanitary toilets was 28. 18%, 45. 38% and 9. 90%, respectively. The proportion of villages where domestic garbage was randomly stacked was 0. 38%, 4. 00% and 32. 86%, respectively. The proportion of villages where domestic sewage was randomly discharged was 30. 38%, 40. 00% and 60. 00%, respectively. The heavy metals exceeding the standard in the soil were mainly cadmium. The over-standard rates were 4. 62%, 21. 50% and 0. 71%, respectively. The three regional differences of the above result were statistically significant(χ~2=57 676. 74, 18 143. 94, 124. 86, 33. 15 and 54. 12, P<0. 01). CONCLUSION: There was still some decentralized water supply population in the province. The coverage rate of the centralized water supply population and the proportion of drinking water after complete treatment projects were both higher in the central area than in the southern area and northern area. Sanitation toilets have a low penetration rate in the province, which was higher in the southern area than in the central area and the northern area. The domestic garbage was randomly discarded, and domestic sewage was randomly discharged, which was more in the northern area than in the central area and the southern area. Soil cadmium pollution was relatively heavy, mainly in the southern area.

[Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution characteristics in PM_(2. 5) in two districts of Xi'an City from 2016 to 2018].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) in atmospheric PM_(2. 5) in Lianhu district and Yanta district of Xi'an City. METHODS: From 2016-2018, PM_(2. 5) samples were regularly collected at monitoring points in two districts of Xi'an City, and analyzed the content of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, fluorene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenz(a, h)anthracene, benzo(g, h, i)perylene, indeno(1, 2, 3-cd)pyrene in the samples according to Ambient air and stationary source emissions-Determination of gas and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-High performance liquid chromatography(HJ 647-2013). The test result were analyzed and evaluated according to different years, regions and seasons. RESULTS: The median total PAHs mass concentrations(ΣPAHs) in Lianhu district and Yanta district were 11. 68 and 12. 53 ng/m~3, respectively, with no significant difference(P>0. 05). The ΣPAHs of the two districts were decreasing year by year(P<0. 05). The median ΣPAHs in Lianhu district and Yanta district were highest in winter(55. 50, 55. 61 ng/m~3) and lowest in summer(4. 62, 4. 57 ng/m~3). The top three single indicators of the median PAHs in Lianhu district were benz(b)fluoranthene(1. 90 ng/m~3), benzo(g, h, i)perylene(1. 67 ng/m~3) and chrysene(1. 34 ng/m~3), In Yanta district, they were benz(b)fluoranthene(1. 95 ng/m~3), benzo(g, h, i)perylene(1. 63 ng/m~3) and pyrene(1. 47 ng/m~3). The average mass concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene in Lianhu district and Yanta district were 1. 33 ng/m~3 and 1. 10 ng/m~3, respectively. Among all the samples, the qualified samples of benzo(a)pyrene accounted for 72. 75% of the total samples, and the Lianhu district and Yanta district were 71. 20% and 74. 30%, respectively(P>0. 05). CONCLUSION: The degree of atmospheric PAHs pollution in Xi'an had decreased year by year, and PAHs pollution in winter was more serious.

[Analysis on monitoring results of toxicological indicators of rural drinking water in Shaanxi Province from 2016 to 2018].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the toxicological indexes of rural drinking water quality in 2016-2018 in Shaanxi Province. METHODS: From 2016 to2018, rural drinking water monitoring points were set up in all( 102) agriculture-related counties( districts) in Shaanxi Province. Each township selected 1-2 rural water supply systems for terminal water supply and terminal water and waste water for distributed water supply as monitoring points. A total of 18 284 monitoring points were set. Water samples were collected during the dry season from April to June and from July to September, according to the Standard Test Method for Drinking Water( GB/T 5750. 5-2006, GB/T5750. 6-2006, GB/T 5750. 8-2006). Carried out experimental analysis and collected water quality monitoring information through the "National Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Information System ". Experimental analysis according to the Standard Test Method for Drinking Water( GB/T 5750. 5-2006, GB/T 5750. 6-2006, GB/T5750. 8-2006); 11 toxicological indicators of the routine indicators were analyzed and evaluated according to the Standard of Drinking Water Hygiene( GB 5749-2006). RESULTS: From 2016 to 2018, the overall compliance rate of drinking water toxicology indicators in rural areas of Shaanxi Province was 81. 02%. The top four indicators exceeding the standard were fluoride( 9. 74%), nitrate nitrogen( 6. 09%) and hexavalent chromium. ( 4. 50%) and arsenic( 1. 44%), the other indicators exceeding the standard exceeds the range of 0. 01%-0. 32%. The difference of water quality compliance rates of cadmium, selenium, cyanide, fluoride and nitrate nitrogen in different years was statistically significant( P<0. 05), and the compliance rate of selenium, cyanide, fluoride and nitrate nitrogen increased with the year. Increasing trend( P<0. 05). The compliance rate of cadmium and selenium in the wet season was higher than that in the dry season, and the compliance rate of nitrate nitrogen in the dry season was higher than that in the wet season, the difference was statistically significant( P<0. 05). The compliance rate of arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, selenium, fluoride and nitrate nitrogen in surface water were higher than that of groundwater( P < 0. 05). There was a statistically significant difference in the overall compliance rate of water toxicology between different water supply method in centralized water supply projects( P < 0. 001). The highest standard rate of water quality was observed in conventional water treatment, followed by sedimentation and filtration. There were 10, 10 and 4 types of over-standard indicators in Guanzhong, northern Shaanxi and southern Shaanxi, and the regional differences of 7 indicators including arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, selenium, fluoride and nitrate nitrogen had statistics significance( P<0. 05). CONCLUSION: The overall compliance rate of toxicological indicators of drinking water in rural areas of Shaanxi Province is low, fluoride, nitrate nitrogen, hexavalent chromium and arsenic are serious and have obvious regional characteristics. In the future, we should focus on the excessive toxicological indicators, and ensure the safety and hygiene of drinking water from the aspects of water supply and treatment technology.

Functional role and mechanism of lncRNA LOC728228 in malignant 16HBE cells transformed by anti-benzopyrene-trans-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide.

Lung cancer is a major health problem, and is considered one of the deadliest cancers in humans. It is refractory to current treatments, and the mechanisms of lung cancer are unknown. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in various biological processes and human diseases. However, the exact functional roles and mechanisms of lncRNAs are largely unclear. In this study, we attempted to identify lung-cancer-related lncRNAs. We found changes in lncRNA expression in the anti-benzo(a) pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (anti-BPDE)-transformed human bronchial epithelial cell line (16HBE-T cells) using microarrays and qRT-PCR. Of these lncRNAs, LOC728228 was upregulated relative to its expression in control untransformed16HBE (16HBE-N) cells. LOC728228 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, caused G0/G1-phase cell-cycle arrest, reduced cellular migration, suppressed colony formation in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in a nude mouse xenograft model. LOC728228 knockdown also suppressed cyclin D1 expression, and the depletion of cyclin D1 induced G0/G1-phase cell-cycle arrest and inhibited cell proliferation, thus influencing the malignant potential of cancer cells. In summary, our results suggest that lncRNA LOC728228 has an oncogene-like function and plays a vital role in human lung cancer.

Hymenobacter arcticus sp. nov., isolated from glacial till.

A novel, red-pink-pigmented strain, designated R2-4(T), was isolated from a till sample near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. Cells were aerobic, Gram-stain-negative and rod-shaped. Growth occurred at 4-30 °C (optimum, 20-22 °C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 0-1% NaCl added to R2A agar. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain R2-4(T) belonged to the genus Hymenobacter. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain R2-4(T) and the type strains of related species of the genus ranged from 94.51 to 96.05%. Strain R2-4(T) contained iso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(15 : 0), summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)ω6c and/or C(16 : 1)ω7c), summed feature 4 (C(17 : 1) anteiso B and/or iso I) and C(16 : 1)ω5c as the major cellular fatty acids, MK-7 as the major respiratory quinone, and phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown aminophospholipids, unknown aminolipids and unknown lipids as the main polar lipids. The polyamine was sym-homospermidine. The DNA G+C content of strain R2-4(T) was 61.6 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic, physiological and chemotaxonomic data, strain R2-4(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacter arcticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is R2-4(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2012104(T) = KACC 16881(T)).

Conjoint analysis for hepatic carcinoma with hub genes and multi-slice spiral CT.

Hepatic carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor, with insidious onset and poor prognosis. However, more hub genes associated with hepatocellular carcinoma are unknown. And there are few researches about the conjoint analysis with the hub genes and multi-slice spiral computerized tomography (CT).A total of 100 HCC participates were recruited, who all received the examination of multi-slice spiral CT. Two expression profile data sets (GSE101728 and GSE101685) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. GEO2R can perform a command to compare gene expression profiles between groups in order to identify differently expressed genes (DEGs). Functional annotation of DEGs via Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis was made with Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Construction and analysis of protein-protein interaction network were performed. Furthermore, the study could mine of hub genes and explore the correlation with the multi-slice CT. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay was used the exam the expression of hub genes.A total of 10 genes were identified as hub genes with degrees ≥10. The hub genes (NIMA Related Kinase 2 [NEK2], Anillin Actin Binding Protein [ANLN], DNA Topoisomerase II Alpha [TOP2A], Centromere Protein F [CENPF], Assembly Factor For Spindle Microtubules [ASPM], Cell Division Cycle 20 [CDC20], Cyclin Dependent Kinase 1 [CDK1], Cyclin B1 [CCNB1], Epithelial Cell Transforming 2 [ECT2], Cyclin B2 [CCNB2]) were identified from the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) network. These hub genes were highly expressed in HCC tissues, and when these genes were highly expressed, the survival prognosis of HCC patients was poor. The type of CT enhancement was significantly related with the expression of NEK2 (P < .001), ANLN (P < .001), and TOP2A (P = .006).The combination between the gene expression (NEK2, ANLN, and TOP2A) and type of CT enhancement might provide a new idea for future basic research and targeted therapy of HCC.

Interleukin-33 predicts poor prognosis and promotes ovarian cancer cell growth and metastasis through regulating ERK and JNK signaling pathways.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecological cancer, it remains a huge challenge to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the aggressive behavior of EOC cells. Here we investigated the role of an immunomodulatory cytokine IL-33 and its receptor ST2 in mediating the growth and metastasis of EOC. Our data show that both IL-33 and ST2 were highly up-regulated in EOC tumors compared with normal ovary and ovarian benign tumors, and the expression levels were further increased in tumor tissues at the metastatic site. The expression levels of IL-33 and ST2 were positively correlated with the Ki-67 expression, and negatively correlated with the patient survival time. Using EOC cell lines, we observed that cells knocked down of IL-33 gene by siRNA had reduced migratory and invasive potential, while full length human IL-33 (fl-hIL-33) promoted the invasive, migratory and proliferative capacity of EOC cells and this process could be inhibited by IL-33 decoy receptor sST2. Signaling pathway analysis suggested that IL-33 increased the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK which was blocked by sST2. Fl-hIL-33-induced increases in EOC cell migration, invasive potential and proliferation were specifically abrogated by treatment with the ERK inhibitor U0126 while JNK inhibitor SP600125 only disrupted IL-33-induced enhancement of cell viability. Taken together, our data suggest that IL-33/ST2 axis closely associates with poor prognosis of EOC patients, and it promotes ovarian cancer growth and metastasis through regulating ERK and JNK signaling pathways. Thus IL-33/ST2 might be potential prognosis markers and therapeutic targets for EOC patients.

LncRNA-DQ786227-mediated cell malignant transformation induced by benzo(a)pyrene.

It has recently been found that the new class of transcripts, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), are pervasively transcribed in the genome. LncRNAs are a large family of non-coding RNAs and regulate many protein-coding genes. Growing evidence indicates that lncRNAs may play an important functional role in cancer biology. Emerging data have shown that lncRNAs are closely related to the occurrence and development of lung cancer. However, the function and mechanism of lncRNAs in lung cancer remain elusive. Here, we investigated the role of a novel lncRNA in transformed human bronchial epithelial cells induced by benzo(a)pyrene. After establishing the transformed cell model using the BEAS-2B cell line in vitro, we found that expression of lncRNA-DQ786227 was high and changed during the transformation of BEAS-2B cells. Silencing of lncRNA-DQ786227 expression in malignant transformed BEAS-2B cells led to inhibition of cell proliferation and colony formation, and increased apoptosis. LncRNA-DQ786227 dramatically promoted the ability of BEAS-2B-T cells to form colonies in vitro and develop tumors in nude mice. These findings revealed that lncRNA-DQ786227 acts as an oncogene in malignantly transformed BEAS-2B cells induced by benzo(a)pyrene. The identification of lncRNA could provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis.

Altered miRNA expression profiles and miR-1a associated with urethane-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules that regulate posttranscriptional gene expression. Previous research has suggested that aberrant miRNA expression often plays a critical role in many types of cancer, including lung cancer. However, the exact miRNAs that are involved in pulmonary carcinogenesis remain unclear. We investigated the miRNA-based molecular changes that occur in urethane-induced carcinogenicity and identified specific miRNA deregulation in pulmonary carcinogenesis induced by urethane. In this study, we used a lung cancer model in which Balb/c mice were exposed to urethane via ip injection once a week for four consecutive weeks. The mice were then killed in weeks 6, 12, or 24. Two small RNA libraries were constructed with the total RNA from the lung tumor and normal adjacent lung tissues of the urethane-injected mice collected in week 24. Using Solexa sequencing, we identified a plethora of differentially expressed miRNAs and predicted nine novel miRNAs. Further analysis demonstrated the sustainable downregulation of miR-1a in the lung tissues in lung carcinogenesis induced by urethane. The levels of miR-1a were also reduced in the serum. Our findings indicate that urethane exposure alters the expression of a cluster of miRNAs. The simultaneous downregulation of miR-1a in lung tissues and serum in urethane-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis suggests that miR-1a is associated with tumorigenesis.