Metal-Free C60-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Nitride Drives Red-Light Photocatalysis.

The pursuit of novel strategies for synthesizing high-performance nanostructures of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has garnered increasing scholarly attention in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, we have successfully designed a metal-free photocatalyst by integrating mesoporous carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4) and C60 through a straightforward and innovative method, marking the first instance of such an achievement. Under red light, the C60/mpg-C3N4 composite exhibited a significantly accelerated rhodamine B (RhB) photodecomposition rate, surpassing bulk g-C3N4 by more than 25.8 times and outperforming pure mpg-C3N4 by 7.8 times. The synergistic effect of C60 and the mesoporous structure significantly enhanced the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 by adjusting its electronic structure, broadening the light absorption range, increasing the active sites, and reducing the recombination of photogenerated carriers. This work presents a promising avenue for harnessing a metal-free, stable, efficient photocatalyst driven by red light, with potential for enhancing solar energy utilization in environmental remediation.

Global trade-driven transfer of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions and associated human inhalation exposure risk.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of significant public concern because of their toxicity and long-range transport potential. Extensive studies have been conducted to explore the source-receptor relationships of PAHs via atmospheric transport. However, the transfer of trade-driven regional and global PAHs is poorly understood. This study estimated the virtual PAHs emission transfer embodied in global trade from 2004 to 2014 and simulated the impact of international trade on global contamination and associated human inhalation exposure risk of PAHs. Results show that trade-driven PAHs flowed primarily from developed to less-developed regions, particularly in those regions with intensive heavy industries and transportation. As the result, international trade resulted in an increasing risk of lung cancer induced by exposure to PAHs (27.8% in China, 14.7% in India, and 11.3% in Southeast Asia). In contrast, we found decreasing risks of PAHs-induced lung cancer in Western Europe (63.2%) and the United States (45.9%) in 2004. Our findings indicate that final demand and emission intensity are the key driving factors contributing to rising and falling consumption-based PAHs emissions and related health risk respectively. The results could provide a useful reference for global collaboration in the reduction of PAHs pollution and related health risks.

Response of Arctic Black Carbon Contamination and Climate Forcing to Global Supply Chain Relocation.

Black carbon (BC) plays a vital role in Arctic warming. Extensive investigations have been conducted to elucidate the source-receptor relationships of BC between the Arctic and mid-/high-latitude sources. However, it is unclear to what extent source relocation under globalization could disturb Arctic BC contamination and climate forcing from anthropogenic BC emissions. Here, we show that the global supply chain (GSC) relocation featured by the southward shift of industries from high-latitude developed countries to low-latitude developing countries markedly reduces the BC burden in the Arctic using a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and a multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO). We find that Arctic annual mean BC concentration associated with the GSC relocation drops by ∼15% from the case without the GSC relocation. The total net BC level declines 7% over the entire Arctic and 16% in the European Arctic. We also observed markedly declining BC deposition as well as direct and snow albedo radiative forcing in the Arctic. We show that the Arctic BC burden would be further reduced by decreasing BC emissions in China, attributable to its emission reduction and ongoing shift of the GSC from China to southern and southeastern Asia.

Population Aging Driven Slowdown in the Reduction of Economic Cost-Attributed to PM2.5 Pollution after 2013 in China.

Since seniors are more susceptible to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the high economic cost to protect the aged population from PM2.5 exposure is expected. Significant efforts have been made in China to mitigate PM2.5 since 2013 under the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action (APPCA) Plan, which remarkably reduced PM2.5 contamination and its associated economic and health burdens. However, to what extent population aging could influence the economic benefits from the APPCA Plan is unclear. Here, we estimate five driving factors contributing to the economic cost of mortality attributable to PM2.5 pollution. The results show that the economic cost attributed to PM2.5 pollution increased from 1980 to 2013 and decreased from 2013 to 2019 in China, benefiting from the APPCA Plan. Since 2013, population aging becomes the most significant positive driver that almost offsets declining economic cost from significantly declining PM2.5. Rapid aging has become an enormous burden to PM2.5-associated health and economic loss. Our findings suggest that we should further improve air quality and enhance health care for the elderly population.

Assessing Safety of Market-Sold Fresh Fish: Tracking Fish Origins and Toxic Chemical Origins.

Increasing global and domestic food trade and required logistics create uncertainties in food safety inspection due to uncertainties in food origins and extensive trade activities. Modern blockchain techniques have been developed to inform consumers of food origins but do not provide food safety information in many cases. A novel food safety tracking and modeling framework for quantifying toxic chemical levels in the food and the food origins was developed. By integrating chemicals' multimedia environment exchange, food web, and source tracking systems, the framework was implemented to identify short-chain chlorinated paraffin (SCCP) contamination of fresh hairtail fish sold by a Walmart supermarket in Xi'an, northwestern China, and sourced in Eastern China Sea coastal waters. The framework was shown to successfully predict SCCP level with a mean of 17.8 ng g-1 in Walmart-sold hairtails, which was comparable to lab-analyzed 21.9 ng g-1 in Walmart-sold hairtails. The framework provides an alternative and cost-effective approach for safe food inspection compared to traditional food safety inspection techniques. These encouraging results suggest that the approach and rationale reported here could add additional information to the food origin tracking system to enhance transparency and consumers' confidence in the traded food they consumed.

Globalization-Driven Industry Relocation Significantly Reduces Arctic PAH Contamination.

Industry relocation under globalization has altered the origins and strength of emission sources of many air pollutants. We develop global emission inventories of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) embodied in the production and consumption of goods and services. We implement these inventories within a global atmospheric transport model and simulate spatial-temporal changes in atmospheric concentrations of benzo[α]pyrene (BaP), the most toxic congener in unsubstituted PAHs, and depositions across the Arctic subject to global trade and industry relocation. We show that interregional trade and industry relocation dramatically reduce the atmospheric levels and deposition of BaP in the Arctic. The most significant BaP decline occurs in the European and North American Arctic regions due to attenuated sources in the two well-developed continents proximate to the polar region induced by the relocation of high-PAH pollution industries to many developing countries far from the Arctic. Although BaP emissions embodied in industry relocations in China, India, and South and Southeast Asia resulted in increased BaP contamination in the Asian Arctic, such increases in pollution are minor compared to significant BaP reductions occurring in the European and North American Arctic regions. We find that "North-to-South" industry transfer could reduce trade-related BaP contamination by 60% in the Arctic.

The short-term effects and burden of particle air pollution on hospitalization for coronary heart disease: a time-stratified case-crossover study in Sichuan, China.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading cause of death globally, might be developed or exacerbated by air pollution, resulting high burden to patients. To date, limited studies have estimated the relations between short-term exposure to air pollution and CHD disease burden in China, with inconsistent results. Hence, we aimed to estimate the short-term impact and burden of ambient PM pollutants on hospitalizations of CHD and specific CHD. METHODS: PM10 and PM2.5 were measured at 82 monitoring stations in 9 cities in Sichuan Province, China during 2017-2018. Based on the time-stratified case-crossover design, the effects of short-term exposure to particle matter (PM) pollution on coronary heart disease (CHD) hospital admissions were estimated. Meanwhile, the linked burden of CHD owing to ambient PM pollution were estimated. RESULTS: A total of 104,779 CHD records were derived from 153 hospitals from these 9 cities. There were significant effects of PM pollution on hospital admissions (HAs) for CHD and specific CHD in Sichuan Province. A 10 µg/m3 increase of PM10 and PM2.5 was linked with a 0.46% (95% CI: 0.08, 0.84%), and 0.57% (95% CI: 0.05, 1.09%) increments in HAs for CHD at lag7, respectively. The health effects of air pollutants were comparable modified by age, season and gender, showing old (≥ 65 years) and in cold season being more vulnerable to the effects of ambient air pollution, while gender-specific effects is positive but not conclusive. Involving the WHO's air quality guidelines as the reference, 1784 and 2847 total cases of HAs for CHD could be attributable to PM10 and PM2.5, separately. The total medical cost that could be attributable to exceeding PM10 and PM2.5 were 42.04 and 67.25 million CNY from 2017 to 2018, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that the short-term exposure to air pollutants were associated with increased HAs for CHD in Sichuan Province, which could be implications for local environment improvement and policy reference.

Atmospheric deposition contributed mostly to organophosphorus flame retardant entering into the Bohai Sea, China.

Atmospheric emission sources of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in China's eastern seaboard regions cause heavy POP contamination in the Bohai Sea (BS), China. Because many rivers are emptying into the BS, terrestrial runoff has been considered a dominant pathway of POPs onto the BS. Here, we explored the contribution of atmospheric transport and terrestrial runoff to organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) to the BS by using an atmospheric transport model and a terrestrial runoff model. We examined the sensitivity and response of OPFR in the BS seawater to its atmospheric transport, deposition, and riverine discharge via terrestrial runoff. Both terrestrial runoff and atmospheric transport model simulations reveal that the atmospheric transport and deposition, including dry, wet, and diffusive gaseous deposition, dominate OPFR input into the BS. The total OPFR fluxes entering the BS via the atmospheric pathway and riverine input were 70.4 and 2.8 t/yr in 2013, respectively.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics for early psychosis: A comprehensive systematic review.

AIM: Long acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are an alternative to oral antipsychotic (OAP) treatment and may be beneficial for patients in the early stages of schizophrenia. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the efficacy of first-generation and second-generation LAI antipsychotics in recent-onset, first-episode, and early psychosis patients. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science Core databases were used to search for studies that used LAIs in early psychosis patients. Studies published up to 06 Jun 2019 were included with no language restrictions applied. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of schizophrenia or related disorder, where patients were in their first episode or had a duration of illness ≤5 years. RESULTS: 33 studies were included: 8 RCTs, 4 post-hoc analyses, 2 case reports, and 19 naturalistic studies. The majority of studies evaluated risperidone LAIs (N = 14) and paliperidone palmitate (N = 10), while the remainder investigated fluphenazine decanoate (N = 3), flupentixol decanoate (N = 2), and aripiprazole (N = 1). Two studies did not specify the LAI formulation used, and one cohort study compared the efficacy of multiple different LAI formulations. CONCLUSIONS: While the majority of data is based on naturalistic studies investigating risperidone LAIs or paliperidone palmitate, LAIs may be an effective treatment for early psychosis patients in terms of adherence, relapse reduction, and symptom improvements. There is still a need to conduct more high quality RCTs that investigate the efficacy of different LAI formulations in early psychosis patients.

Efficacy of long-acting injectable versus oral antipsychotic drugs in early psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: Long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs (LAIs) are often used as an alternative to oral antipsychotics (OAPs) in individuals with psychosis who demonstrate poor medication adherence. Previous meta-analyses have found mixed results on the efficacy of LAIs, compared to OAPs, in patients with psychotic disorders. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the effectiveness of using LAIs versus OAPs in the early stages of psychosis. METHODS: Major electronic databases were used to search for any studies examining the comparative effectiveness (i.e., relapse, adherence, hospitalization, and all-cause discontinuation) of any LAIs versus OAPs in early stages of psychosis. Studies published up to 6 June, 2019 were included and no language restriction was applied. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of schizophrenia or related disorder, where patients were in their first episode or had a duration of illness ≤5 years. Data were analysed using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Fifteen studies (n = 10 584) were included, of which were 7 RCTs, 7 observational studies, and 1 post-hoc analysis. We found that LAIs provided advantages over OAPs in terms of relapse rates. No significant differences were found between LAI and OAP groups in terms of all-cause discontinuation, hospitalization, and adherence rates. However, considering only RCTs revealed advantages of LAIs over OAPs in terms of hospitalization rates. CONCLUSIONS: LAIs may provide benefits over OAPs with respect to reducing relapse and hospitalization rates in early psychosis patients. There is a need for larger and better-designed studies comparing OAPs and LAIs specifically in early psychosis patients.

Effects of African BaP emission from wildfire biomass burning on regional and global environment and human health.

The vegetation burning caused by wildfires can release significant quantities of aerosols and toxic chemicals into the atmosphere and result in health risk. Among these emitted pollutants, Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), the most toxic congener of 16 parent PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), has received widespread concerns because of its carcinogenicity to human health. Efforts have been made to investigate the environmental and health consequences of wildfire-induced BaP emissions in Africa. Still, uncertainties remain due to knowledge and data gaps in wildfire incidences and biomass burning emissions. Based on a newly-developed BaP emission inventory, the present study assesses quantitatively the BaP environment cycling in Africa and its effects on other continents from 2001 to 2014. The new inventory reveals the increasing contribution of BaP emission from African wildfires to the global total primarily from anthropogenic sources, accounting for 48% since the 2000 s. We identify significantly higher BaP emissions and concentrations across sub-Saharan Africa, where the annual averaged BaP concentrations were as high as 5-8 ng/m3. The modeled BaP concentrations were implemented to estimate the lifetime cancer risk (LCR) from the inhalation exposure to BaP concentrations. The results reveal that the LCR values in many African countries exceeded the acceptable risk level at 1 × 10-6, some of which suffer from very high exposure risk with the LCR>1 × 10-4. We show that the African BaP emission from wildfires contributed, to some extent, BaP contamination to Europe as well as other regions, depending on source proximity and atmospheric pathways under favorable atmospheric circulation patterns.

Efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole versus D2 antagonists in the early course of schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Early intervention is essential for favorable long-term outcomes in schizophrenia. However, there is limited guidance in the scientific literature on how best to choose between dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) partial agonists and D2R antagonists in early stages of schizophrenia. The aim of this meta-analysis was to directly compare D2R partial agonists with D2R antagonists for efficacy and tolerability, using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that involved participants diagnosed with first-episode psychosis, schizophrenia, or related psychotic disorders with a duration of illness ≤5 years. Fourteen RCTs, involving 2494 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. Aripiprazole was the only identified D2R partial agonist, and was not significantly different from pooled D2R antagonists for overall symptom reduction or all-cause discontinuation. However, aripiprazole was more favorable than pooled D2R antagonists for depressive symptoms, prolactin levels, and triglyceride levels. Specifically, aripiprazole was more favorable than paliperidone for triglyceride levels and more favorable than risperidone and olanzapine, but less favorable than ziprasidone, for weight gain. In addition, aripiprazole was less favorable for akathisia compared with second-generation D2R antagonists, in particular olanzapine and quetiapine, and less favorable for discontinuation due to inefficacy than risperidone. Lastly, aripiprazole was more favorable than haloperidol for various efficacy and tolerability outcomes. In conclusion, aripiprazole's efficacy did not differ substantially from D2R antagonists in the early course of schizophrenia, whereas differential tolerability profiles were noted. More double-blind RCTs are required comparing the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole as well as other D2R partial agonists with D2R antagonists in early stages of schizophrenia.

The atmospheric lead emission, deposition, and environmental inequality driven by interprovincial trade in China.

Lead (Pb) as a hazardous air pollutant has raised widespread concerns due to its adverse and toxic effects on the ecological environment and human health. Here we integrated the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model and an atmospheric transport model to examine regional environmental inequality (REI) index induced by Pb emission transfers, and to evaluate the impacts of interprovincial trade on regional atmospheric Pb concentrations and dry deposition fluxes in China in 2012. In 2012, approximately 57.4% ~ 72.6% of Pb emissions in well-developed eastern regions (Beijing-Tianjin, Yangtze River Delta (YRD)) and the southern seaboard of China were embodied in other regions in China subject to the demands from these well-developed regions to industrial products and services. Our results, based on the net virtual flows of Pb emission and value-added, indicate that most provinces in the eastern seaboard of China outsource Pb emission and benefit from the interprovincial trade by reducing their Pb emissions. REI indexes show that the well-developed Guangdong province outsources its Pb emission but has low economic gains. Many less-developed provinces in central China enhance virtual Pb emission inflow but have high economic gains. Whereas, inland provinces in western China not only experience Pb emission increase, but also suffer from indirect economic loss due to trade with well-developed provinces to meet their increasing demands to Pb emission abundant industrial products from these provinces in eastern China which are mostly provided by less-developed but energy and mineral product abundant provinces in western China. For example, the province pair with highest REI index was Jiangsu-Inner Mongolia (REI = 2.47), which revealed that Jiangsu was the largest beneficiary which exported 37.2 t of net Pb emission and gained value-added of 521.4 billion RMB through trade with Inner Mongolia which suffered from both virtual Pb inflow and economic loss in 2012. As a result of interprovincial trade, Pb dry deposition in central and eastern China was decreased but increased in western China. Overall, interprovincial trade reduced 17.6% of atmospheric Pb dry deposition in China.

Molecular Model Construction of the Dense Medium Component Scaffold in Coal for Molecular Aggregate Simulation.

Coal as an important fossil energy has been comprehensively studied in terms of its structure, reactivity, and application. However, there are few publications reported about the formation mechanism of coal. In order to explore the molecular mechanism of the formation of the dense medium component (DMC) aggregate, which is extracted from coal, the molecular model of the DMC scaffold (DMC-S) was constructed based on a number of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, 13C NMR, and ultimate analysis. Then, DMC-S was further optimized, and the periodic boundary condition was added for molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics simulation. The DMC-S molecule model with a density of 1.05 g/cm3 and a different number of unit cells was obtained after the aforementioned experiments and simulations. When the unit cell contained 12 DMC-S molecules, the absolute value of electrostatic energy significantly increased and the peripheral branch chains in DMC-S interlaced with each other, forming a compact aggregate. The density and macrosize calculated values are all slightly lower than the true relative values because the presence of minerals or small molecules was not included in the model construction. Despite some unavoidable defects, the comparison between the simulated and experimental results validates the DMC-S aggregate model and lays a solid foundation for an in-depth study of DMC and its reactivity.

WRF-Chem simulations of ozone pollution and control strategy in petrochemical industrialized and heavily polluted Lanzhou City, Northwestern China.

As the largest petrochemical industrialized city in northwestern China since the 1950s, Lanzhou has been well-known for its heavy surface ozone pollution. Given abundant emission sources of ozone precursors and the favorable environmental conditions for O3 formation, this study performed extensive atmospheric chemistry modeling investigations subject to 11 emission control scenarios. These scenarios increased and decreased emission levels of total volatile organic compound (TVOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the two surface ozone (O3) precursor gases, to examine the relationships between O3 and NOx and TVOC. The modeling investigation was carried out for the summer of 2016 in the downtown and petrochemical industrial suburb in the city of Lanzhou. The results revealed that surface O3 in the downtown area of Lanzhou was controlled by VOCs and in the petrochemical-industrialized western suburb by NOx. Higher ozone levels were simulated in the west suburb of the city as compared with the downtown area, agreeing with measured data. The relationships between modeled TVOC/NOx ratios and O3 reductions, as well as the titration effect, were also discussed. The model results provided useful references for the mitigation strategy of ozone reduction in Lanzhou and other major cities in northwest China with similar climate and topography conditions.

Chemical composition and source apportionment of PM1 and PM2.5 in a national coal chemical industrial base of the Golden Energy Triangle, Northwest China.

As part of the Energy Golden Triangle in northwest China and the largest coal-to-liquids industry in the world, the emission and contamination of fine particles in the Ningdong National Energy and Chemical Industrial Base (NECIB) are unknown. There are also large knowledge gaps in the association of air pollution with coal-to-liquids industry. This paper reports the chemical composition and source apportionment of PM1 and PM2.5 collected at two industrial sites Yinglite (YLT) and Baofeng (BF) from a field campaign during summer 2016 and winter 2017. Major chemical components in PM1 and PM2.5, including carbonaceous aerosols, water-soluble inorganic ions, and metal elements were analyzed. The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model and the ISORROPIA II thermodynamic equilibrium model were used to track possible sources and contributions of these chemical components to the formation of the two fine particles. The results identified four primary sources of the fine particles, including vehicle emissions, biomass burning and waste incineration, the secondary aerosols and coal combustion, and soil dust. The PM1 and PM2.5 concentrations were higher in winter than summer. The summed secondary inorganic and carbonaceous aerosols accounted for 36.1-40.0% of PM2.5 mass. The total mass of chemical components identified in the source apportionment only explained about 64.2 to 72.4% of the PM2.5 mass. These results imply some missing sources in this large-scale coal chemical industry base. A coupled weather forecasting and atmospheric chemistry model WRF-Chem was employed to simulate the PM2.5 mass and concentrations of OC and EC, and to examine the origins of PM2.5 across the NECIB. The modeled concentrations of OC and EC were consistent with the sampled data, but the modeled mass of PM2.5 is lower considerably than the measurements, again suggesting unknown sources of fine particles in this energy industrial base.

Tagged sources of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in China's marine environment and fish.

Most emitters of short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in China are located in eastern China, posing potential risks to the marine environment and food web. Here we employed a comprehensive atmospheric transport model combined with multiple environmental compartment exchange modules and a marine food web model to simulate levels and risks of SCCPs in the marine environment and fish in the Yellow Sea (YS), East China Sea (ECS), and South China Sea (SCS). Results unveiled a decreasing SCCP level in seawaters and sediments towards offshore. The modeled SCCP total (dry + wet) loadings to the three seawater bodies ranged from 0.0013 to 0.1635 mg/m2/season and gaseous diffusive deposition ranged from 43 to 4443 kg/month. The meteorological factors and secondary emission contributing to seasonal changes in SCCPs were also discussed. A tagging technique was used to trace origins of SCCPs, demonstrating that source proximity contributes most in SCCP contamination to these seawater bodies. Modeled SCCP levels in 5 marine fish in the YS, ECS, and SCS ranged from 23 to 111 ng/g. Our results showed the current SCCP levels in the marine environment and fish did not pose exposure risks to fish consumers for different age groups and genders. However, if consumed fish were harvested and imported from more seriously contaminated seawaters by SCCPs, the estimated dietary intake (EDI) would considerably increase.

Polymorphisms of human T cell epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis indicate divergence of host immune pressure on different categories of proteins.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most successful pathogen with multiple mechanisms to subvert host immune response, resulting in insidious disease. There are few studies on whether the bacteria undergo antigenic variation in response to host immune pressure. Studies on T cell epitopes of M. tuberculosis can help us further understand the mechanism of interaction between the bacteria and host immune system. Here, we selected 180 M. tuberculosis complex in China, amplified 462 experimentally verified human T cell epitopes, sequenced and compared the results to analyze the diversity of those epitopes. It proved that a large majority human T cell epitopes of M. tuberculosis are conserved. However, polymorphisms of T cell epitopes indicated different categories of proteins suffered divergence from host immune pressure. Moreover, Beijing strains are more conservative than non-Beijing strains in T cell epitopes, which might make them easier to transmit than non-Beijing strains.

Contamination of short-chain chlorinated paraffins to the biotic and abiotic environments in the Bohai Sea.

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) have been produced and emitted intensively around the Bohai Sea, potentially causing risks to this unique ecosystem and one of primary fishery resources in China and busiest seaways in the world. Little is known about fate, cycling, and sources of SCCPs in the Bohai Sea biotic and abiotic environment. In this study, we combined a marine food web model with a comprehensive atmospheric transport-multiple phase exchange model to quantify SCCPs in the biotic and abiotic environment in the Bohai Sea. We performed multiple modeling scenario investigations to examine SCCP levels in water, sediment, and phytoplankton. We assessed numerically dry and wet depositions, biomagnification and bioaccumulation of SCCPs in the Bohai Sea marine food web. Results showed declining SCCP levels in water and sediment with increasing distance from the coastline, and so do dry and wet depositions. The net deposition overwhelmed the water-air exchange of SCCPs due to their current use in China, though the diffusive gas deposition fluctuated monthly subject to mean wind speed and temperature. A risk assessment manifests that SCCPs levels in the Bohai Sea fish species are at present not posing risks to the residents in the Bohai Sea Rim region. We identified that the SCCP emission sources in the south of the Bohai Sea made a primary contribution to its loadings to the seawater and fish contamination associated with the East Asian summer monsoon. In contrast, the SCCP emissions from the north and northwest regions of the Bohai Sea were major sources contributing to their loading and contamination to Bohai Sea food web during the wintertime, potentially driven by the East Asian winter monsoon.

Genotypic Diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates in the Multiethnic Area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China.

Objectives. We studied the genetic diversity of clinical isolates from patients with tuberculosis in the multiethnic area of Xinjiang autonomous region in China. A total of 311 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates were collected in 2006 and 2011 and genotyped by two genotyping methods. All isolates were grouped into 68 distinct spoligotypes using the spoligotyping method. The Beijing family was dominant, followed by T1 and CAS. MIRU-VNTR results showed that a total of 195 different VNTR types were identified. Ten of the 15 loci were highly or moderately discriminant according to their HGDI scores, and 13 loci had good discriminatory power in non-Beijing family strains, whereas only two loci had good discriminatory power in Beijing family strains. Chi-square tests demonstrated that there were no correlations between four characteristics (sex, age, type of case, and treatment history) and the Beijing family. In summary, Beijing family strains were predominant in Xinjiang, and the VNTR-15China locus-set was suitable for genotyping all Xinjiang strains, but not for the Beijing family strains. Thus, these data suggested that different genotype distributions may exist in different regions; MLVA locus-sets should be adjusted accordingly, with newly added loci to increase resolution if necessary.