Exogenous neuritin restores auditory following cochlear spiral ganglion neuron denervation of gerbils.

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) transmit sound signals received by hair cells to the auditory center to produce hearing. The quantity and function are important for maintaining normal hearing function. Limited by the regenerative capacity, SGNs are unable to regenerate spontaneously after injury. Various neurotrophic factors play an important role in the regeneration process. Neuritin is a neurite growth factor that plays an important role in neural plasticity and nerve injury repair. In this study, we used bioinformatics analysis to show that neuritin was negatively correlated with cochlear damage. Then, we aimed to establish a cochlear spiral ganglion-specific sensorineural deafness model in gerbils using ouabain and determine the effects of exogenous neuritin protein in protecting damaged cochlear SGNs and repairing damaged auditory nerve function. The provides a new research strategy and scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of sensorineural deafness caused by the loss of SGNs. We were discovered that neuritin is expressed throughout the development of the gerbil cochlea, primarily in the SGNs and Corti regions. The expression of neuritin was negatively correlated with the sensorineural deafness induced by ouabain. In vitro and in vivo revealed that neuritin significantly maintained the number and arrangement of SGNs and nerve fibers in the damaged cochlea and effectively protected the high-frequency listening function of gerbils.

Digital measurement and clinical significance of proximal femur in the older people of Inner Mongolia population, China.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure the parameters of the proximal femur in the older people of Inner Mongolia, China and understand the influence of age and gender so as to provide guidance for the design and improvement of prosthesis for total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: A total of 236 patients who underwent CT angiography of lower limbs in the Department of Imaging, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University of China were collected. They were divided into 4 groups according to age: < 60 (group A), 60-69 (group B), 70-79 (group C), and > 80 years (group D). Four anatomical parameters, including femoral head diameter (FHD), femoral neck-shaft angle (FNSA), femoral offset (FO), femoral neck anteversion (FNA), were measured by Mimics 21.0. Comparisons were made between age groups of the same gender and between genders in the same age group to analyze the correlation of the 4 parameters of proximal femur with age and gender. In addition, the results of this study were compared with previous studies. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in FHD and FO between age groups, indicating no correlation with age. FNSA and FNA were no significantly different between group C and group D in the same gender, whereas there were significant differences between other age groups and were negatively correlated with age. There were significant differences in FHD and FO between genders in the same age group, with the males being larger than the females. FNSA and FNA were no significant differences between genders in the same age group. CONCLUSIONS: FNSA and FNA decrease with age. FHD and FO were larger in males than in females in all age groups. Age and gender should be considered in the design of prosthesis.

Efficacy of aqueous extract of flower of Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn on glucose and lipid metabolism in KK/Upj-Ay/J mice.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of the flower of Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn (EWM) on glucose and lipid metabolism in KK/upj-Ay/J (KKAy) mice and investigate the possible mechanism of EWM in the liver of KKAy mice by transcriptome analysis. METHODS: Forty KKAy mice were fed a high-sugar and high-fat diet for 3 weeks to establish the animal model of metabolic syndrome. After 5 weeks of continuous administration of EWM, serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and free fatty acids (FFA) were detected by radioimmunoassay. Serum fasting insulin (Fins) and adiponectin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Liver tissue fixed with paraformaldehyde was stained with hematoxylin-eosin and oil red O. Transcriptome analysis was used to evaluate the liver tissue. The expressions of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), and fatty acid synthase (Fas) mRNA and protein in liver tissue were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: EWM slightly reduced FBG and Fins in KKAy mice. Furthermore, EWM was able to downregulate serum LDL, TG, TC, and FFA and upregulate the expression of serum HDL and adiponectin. Transcriptome analysis revealed the following differential pathways: the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway and the AMPK signaling pathway. RT-PCR and western blot analysis detected the associated genes and proteins. In addition, EWM was able to upregulate the expression of AMPK and downregulate the expression of PPARγ, SREBP1c, and Fas mRNA and protein and upregulate the expression of LPL mRNA. CONCLUSIONS: EWM can alleviate lipid metabolism disorders and to some extent improve glucose metabolism disorders in KKAy mice. These effects may be related to regulating PPARγ/LPL and activating the AMPK/SREBP1c/Fas pathway.

Phase trajectory entropy: A promising tool for passive diver detection.

Passive diver detection is really significant as it constitutes a potential real-time monitoring of serious underwater threats. Up to now, there is still a lack of an efficient approach to characterize the complexity and fickleness with non-parametric and non-information priors. To achieve an improvement, a phase trajectory entropy method is proposed that should be promising. A coarser-grained distribution is created during entropy counting. The value of phase trajectory entropy is demonstrated by simulation and applied to real recorded data. The results show that phase trajectory entropy method considerably outperforms narrowband energy detection and the bubble entropy method.

Adaptive Intrawell Matched Stochastic Resonance with a Potential Constraint Aided Line Enhancer for Passive Sonars.

Remote passive sonar detection and classification are challenging problems that require the user to extract signatures under low signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio conditions. Adaptive line enhancers (ALEs) have been widely utilized in passive sonars for enhancing narrowband discrete components, but the performance is limited. In this paper, we propose an adaptive intrawell matched stochastic resonance (AIMSR) method, aiming to break through the limitation of the conventional ALE by nonlinear filtering effects. To make it practically applicable, we addressed two problems: (1) the parameterized implementation of stochastic resonance (SR) under the low sampling rate condition and (2) the feasibility of realization in an embedded system with low computational complexity. For the first problem, the framework of intrawell matched stochastic resonance with potential constraint is implemented with three distinct merits: (a) it can ease the insufficient time-scale matching constraint so as to weaken the uncertain affect on potential parameter tuning; (b) the inaccurate noise intensity estimation can be eased; (c) it can release the limitation on system response which allows a higher input frequency in breaking through the large sampling rate limitation. For the second problem, we assumed a particular case to ease the potential parameter a o p t = 1 . As a result, the computation complexity is greatly reduced, and the extremely large parameter limitation is relaxed simultaneously. Simulation analyses are conducted with a discrete line signature and harmonic related line signature that reflect the superior filtering performance with limited sampling rate conditions; without loss of generality of detection, we considered two circumstances corresponding to H 1 (periodic signal with noise) and H 0 (pure noise) hypotheses, respectively, which indicates the detection performance fairly well. Application verification was experimentally conducted in a reservoir with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to validate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method surpasses the conventional ALE method in lower frequency contexts, where there is about 10 dB improvement for the fundamental frequency in the sense of power spectrum density (PSD).

Correlation between expression levels of PTEN and p53 genes and the clinical features of HBsAg-positive liver cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the expression levels of PTEN and p53 genes in HBsAg-positive liver tumors and analyze the data for correlations of the expression levels of each gene with pathological features of primary liver cancer (PLC). METHODS: Blood and postoperative tissues were collected from 43 cases diagnosed with PLC treated in our hospital. The cases included 29 HBsAg-positive and 14 HBsAg-negative PLC. The mRNA expression levels of PTEN and p53 in normal liver, tumor-adjacent and liver tumor samples were detected via RT-PCR. Additionally, protein expression levels of PTEN and p53 in different liver tissues were detected via immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: RT-PCR results showed that the relative mRNA expression levels of PTEN and mutant p53 in PLC and tumor-adjacent tissues were significantly different (p<0.05). IHC showed that the positive rate of protein expression of PTEN was only 34.88% in PLC and 86.05% in tumor-adjacent tissues. The protein expression levels of PTEN were further related to tumor characteristics such as the pathologic grade, and metastasis and invasion capabilities of the tumor cells (p<0.05). However, the levels of PTEN were not associated to the presence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen, the tumor diameter or the AFP levels (p>0.05). The protein expression levels of p53 were highest in cancer tissues, but the levels revealed no correlation with the presence of the HBV antigen, the tumor diameter, the AFP levels, the pathologic grade, or the invasion and metastasis capabilities of the tumor tissues (p>0.05). Finally, Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of PTEN exhibited no correlation with the levels of mutant p53 (rs=-0.021, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the expression of PTEN was significantly reduced in PLC when compared to its expression in normal liver; and the expression levels were associated with the pathologic grade, invasion and metastasis capabilities of the tumor. On the other hand, p53 expression was high in PLC tissues but no correlations to the cancer's characteristics were found.

Tracheoesophageal Fistula Caused by Tracheostomy in a Patient with Myasthenia Gravis after a Myasthenic Crisis.

A 57-year-old woman with myasthenia gravis (MG), who had experienced a myasthenic crisis, complained of coughing while drinking. At first, this appeared to be a sequela of the myasthenic crisis. However, after further investigation, the problem was identified as a tracheoesophageal fistula, a complication of tracheostomy. Here, we describe this special case in the hope that we can improve diagnostic accuracy by providing a reminder for other physicians to consider the differences between MG and tracheoesophageal fistula. It is very important to pay more attention to such situations in clinical scenarios and administer the most appropriate treatment without delay.

Transcription analysis of the porcine alveolar macrophage response to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is considered the major causative agent of porcine respiratory disease complex, occurs worldwide and causes major economic losses to the pig industry. To gain more insights into the pathogenesis of this organism, the high throughput cDNA microarray assays were employed to evaluate host responses of porcine alveolar macrophages to M. hyopneumoniae infection. A total of 1033 and 1235 differentially expressed genes were identified in porcine alveolar macrophages in responses to exposure to M. hyopneumoniae at 6 and 15 hours post infection, respectively. The differentially expressed genes were involved in many vital functional classes, including inflammatory response, immune response, apoptosis, cell adhesion, defense response, signal transduction, protein folding, protein ubiquitination and so on. The pathway analysis demonstrated that the most significant pathways were the chemokine signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domains (Nod)-like receptor signaling pathway and apoptosis signaling pathway. The reliability of the data obtained from the microarray was verified by performing quantitative real-time PCR. The expression kinetics of chemokines was further analyzed. The present study is the first to document the response of porcine alveolar macrophages to M. hyopneumoniae infection. The data further developed our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of M. hyopneumoniae.

Detection of telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with liver failure.

BACKGROUND: Telomerase activity is closely associated with the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA; although it can be induced in hepatocytes during liver regeneration, its dynamic change in patients with liver failure has remained unclear. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the variation and significance of hTERT mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the patients with liver failure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this clinical experimental study, 76 Chinese patients were enrolled in the study between 2010 and 2012. The level of PBMCs hTERT mRNA was detected by relative quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the samples taken before treatment and at seven-day intervals during a 28-day treatment period. The patients were divided into survivor and non-survivor groups according to the 3-months mortality after treatment. The dynamic variation of PBMCs hTERT mRNA was analyzed and its association with prognosis was assessed by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: The median level of PBMCs hTERT mRNA in survivors increased with treatment time and was significantly higher than the corresponding level in non-survivors after 14 days of treatment (P < 0.001). Subgroup analyses showed that the levels of PBMCs hTERT mRNA were remarkably higher in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure than in those with chronic liver failure (P < 0.05). In patients with the same clinical type of liver failure, the level was markedly higher in survivors than in non-survivors after 14 days of treatment (P < 0.05); however, the levels were not significantly different between subgroups with different clinical type but the same prognosis. The sensitivity and specificity of PBMCs hTERT mRNA was high in evaluating the prognosis at day 14 and became much higher at days 21 and 28 post treatment. The expression of PBMCs hTERT mRNA had high sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the prognosis as early as day 14 post treatment and was significantly superior to the prognostic value of serum alpha-fetoprotein. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of PBMCs hTERT mRNA is closely associated with patient outcome, which indicates that hTERT mRNA in PBMCs might be useful as a prognostic biomarker of liver failure.

Antinociceptive effects of matrine on neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury.

CONTEXT: Sophora alopecuroides L. (Leguminosae) is a commonly used Chinese herbal drug that possesses antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Among various alkaloids isolated from S. alopecuroides, matrine has been identified as the major bioactive component contributing to a variety of pharmacological effects, and studies have also shown that matrine has an analgesic effect. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antinociceptive effects of matrine on neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The von Frey, plantar, cold-plate, locomotor activity and rota-rod test were performed to assess the degree of mechanical, radiant, thermal, spontaneous locomotor activity and motor coordination changes respectively, at different time intervals, i.e., one day before surgery and 7, 8, 10, 12 and 14 days post surgery. Matrine was administered from the 8th day after the surgery for seven days. RESULTS: Our present study shows that matrine at the dose of 30 mg/kg i.p. increased the paw withdrawal threshold (0.88 ± 0.16), paw withdrawal latency (7.01 ± 0.11) and the counts of paw withdrawal (19.7 ± 1.15) from the day 8 for the nerve injured paw compared to the CCI group (0.18 ± 0.04, 4.62 ± 0.18, 44.3 ± 2.99, respectively). Matrine, in a dose-dependent effect, was also found to produce a protective role in both plantar and cold-plate tests. The analysis of the effect supports the hypothesis that matrine is useful in neuropathic pain therapy. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that matrine could be useful in the treatment of different kinds of neuropathic pains as an adjuvant to conventional medicines.

The genetic variants at the HLA-DRB1 gene are associated with primary IgA nephropathy in Han Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), an immune-complex-mediated glomerulonephritis defined immunohistologically by the presence of glomerular IgA deposits, is the most common primary glomerular disease worldwide and a significant cause of end-stage renal disease. Familial clustering of patients with IgAN suggests a genetic predisposition. METHODS: In this study, 192 patients with IgAN and 192 normal controls in the Sichuan cohort and 935 patients with IgAN and 2,103 normal controls in the Beijing cohort were investigated. HLA-DRB1*01-DRB1*10 specificities were genotyped by the PCR-SSP technique in both cohorts. Based on the HLA-DRB1*04-positive results, the subtypes of HLA-DRB1*04 were analyzed using sequencing-based typing (SBT) in 291 IgAN cases and 420 matched controls. RESULTS: The frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 in the IgAN group was significantly higher than that in the control group (0.129 vs. 0.092, P = 8.29 × 10-5, odds ratio (OR) =1.381, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.178-1.619). Other alleles at the HLA-DRB1 locus were observed with no significant differences between the case and control groups. The dominant alleles of the HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes were DRB1*0405 in both cohorts. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*0405 and 0403 were significantly increased in the patients compared to healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: HLA-DRB1*04 was significantly associated with primary IgAN in Chinese population. This result implies that HLA-DRB1 gene plays a major role in primary IgAN.

Isolation and identification of a distinct strain of Culex Flavivirus from mosquitoes collected in Mainland China.

BACKGROUND: Culexflavivirus (CxFV) is an insect specific virus that has been isolated from Culexpipiens, Culexquinquefasciatus, Culextritaeniorhynchus and other Culex mosquitoes. It is a novel flavivirus isolated in Asia, North America, Central America and Africa. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, based on the envelope gene (E gene) sequence, the worldwide CxFV strains can be divided into two genotypes. RESULT: A virus (SDDM06-11) was isolated from Culexpipiens collected in Shandong Province, China in 2006. The strain caused cytopathic effect (CPE) in Aedesalbopictus (C6/36) cells by 3 days post-infection and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) showed a reaction with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) polyclonal antibodies. Phylogenetic analysis of the E gene sequence showed CxFV formed two genotypes with the SDDM06-11 strain assigned to genotype 1. Analysis of the E gene nucleotide homology showed the virus possessed characteristic amino acids at specific sites. The nucleotide homology of the open reading frame (ORF) was 94.8%-95.1% between SDDM06-11 and isolates from Japan, Iowa and Texas, and 90.2%-90.5% between SDDM06-11 and isolates from Uganda and Mexico. CONCLUSION: In this paper we report the first isolation and identification of an isolate of CxFV in mainland China. Phylogenetic analysis indicates the isolate belongs to genotype 1. Our findings provide insight into the occurrence of CxFV in Culex mosquito populations and its distribution on a global scale.

Importance and benefits of dietary sodium restriction in the management of chronic kidney disease patients: experience from a single Chinese center.

AIM: Several studies have suggested that sodium intake may affect blood pressure (BP), proteinuria, and intrarenal transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) production in patients and animal models with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The Chinese population has a high prevalence of CKD and is well known for consuming salty foods. This study will investigate the role of dietary sodium intake on BP control among non-dialysis Chinese CKD patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in a cohort of 176 non-dialysis hypertensive CKD patients to investigate their sodium intake and its effect on BP control by measuring 24-h urine sodium excretion (24-h UNa). A total of 20 patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) participated in a 7-day sodium restriction study (100 mmol/day). Their changes in BP, proteinuria, and urinary TGF-ß1 excretion were subsequently analyzed. Another 23 IgAN patients without salt restriction were included as controls. RESULTS: The average 24-h UNa of the study cohort was 149.0 ± 66.4 mmol/day. Only 31.8% patients had a 24-h UNa less than 100 mmol/day. The OR for each 17 mmol increment in 24-h UNa (salt 1 g/day) for BP > 130/80 mmHg was 1.26 (95% CI 1.10-1.44, P = 0.001). The sodium restriction group achieved significantly more reduction in SBP (-11.1 mmHg vs. -5.0 mmHg, P = 0.022), DBP (-9.4 mmHg vs. -2.1 mmHg, P = 0.009), and urine protein excretion [-465 (-855 to -340) mg/day vs. -150 (-570 to 40) mg/day, P = 0.024]. A positive correlation was observed between the change of 24-h UNa and the change of SBP (r = 0.450, P = 0.047) in the sodium restriction group. The change of 24-h UNa was also correlated with the 24-h TGF-ß1 excretion (r = 0.558, P = 0.011) in these patients. CONCLUSION: Dietary sodium intake restriction should be monitored and intensified in the treatment of Chinese CKD patients.

Human beta-defensin-3 (hBD-3) upregulated by LPS via epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathways to enhance lymphatic invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the hypothesis that hBD-3 is upregulated by LPS via epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathways to enhance metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was tested. STUDY DESIGN: hBD-3 expression in human tissue specimens was evaluated by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining. The presence of hBD-3 peptide in the culture supernatants of each type of treated cells was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The chemotaxis response to LPS or hBD-3 protein of SCC-25 cells or siRNA-hBD-3 transfected cells were also measured by chemotaxis assay. Paired, 2-tailed Student t test and analysis of variance was used to assess the statistical significance between 2 groups or many groups. RESULTS: hBD-3 is highly expressed and associated with lymphatic invasion of OSCC. hBD-3 expression and EGFR phosphorylation were markedly upregulated when SCC-25 cells were treated with LPS. When SCC-25 cells were preincubated with EGFR inhibitor or TLR4-neutralizing Ab before LPS stimulation, a decrease in the expression of hBD-3 was observed. hBD-3 markedly enhanced cancer metastasis, and the chemotaxis response to LPS of SCC-25 cells was partly blocked by siRNA target hBD-3. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that hBD-3 is upregulated by LPS via EGFR signaling pathways to enhance lymphatic invasion of OSCC.

General anesthesia-associated DNA damage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate retrospectively the effect of general anesthesia on DNA damage in the blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of surgical patients in order to provide evidence for a better nursing care during the procedure. METHODS: Clinical charts of 76 patients who underwent operation under general anesthesia and 76 healthy control subjects with documented results of DNA damage extent in PBMCs from the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or comet assay and serum contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) from biochemical analyses were reviewed. The percentage of comet PBMCs and tail DNA and serum contents of SOD and MAD were analyzed by student t-test. RESULTS: Compared with healthy control subjects, generally anesthetized surgical patients had significantly higher % comet PBMCs and % tail DNA (P <0.05) and significantly lower serum concentrations of SOD (P<0.05) and significantly higher serum concentrations of MAD (P<0.05). Compared with levels before general anesthesia in surgical patients, % comet PBMCs, % tail DNA, and serum levels of MAD were significantly higher (P<0.05 or 0.01, and serum levels of SOD were significantly lower (P<0.05, after general anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: General anesthesia during surgery causes a certain degree of hypoxia and PBMC damage. Particular attention should be paid to monitoring and maintenance of blood oxygen saturation in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia.

Transformation of (14)C-pyrimidynyloxybenzoic herbicide ZJ0273 in aerobic soils.

A soil metabolism study of propyl 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoate (ZJ0273), a novel broad-spectrum herbicide, was carried out using (14)C labeled on two different rings, i.e., [pyrimidine-4,6-(14)C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-(14)C] ZJ0273. Ultralow liquid scintillation counting and LC-MS/MS were used to identify the degradation intermediates and quantify their dynamics in aerobic soils. Four aromatic intermediates, 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid (M1), 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzamido)benzoic acid (M2), 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid (M3), and 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-ol (M4), were identified and their identity was further confirmed against authentic standards. Analysis of metabolites suggested two degradation pathways: (1) Upon loss of the propyl group, M1 was produced via hydrolysis of propyl 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoate after which the C-N bond between rings A and B was cleaved by oxidation and biochemical degradation to yield M3, which was further converted into M4 and finally mineralized to CO(2); and (2) the first step was the same as in pathway 1, but M1 first underwent a carbonylation to form M2. The C-N bond between rings A and B of M2 was cleaved by hydrolysis to yield M3. Dynamic changes in the four metabolites in aerobic soils were also investigated by HPLC coupled analysis of radioactivity of isolated peaks. After a 100-day incubation, 1.7-9.7% of applied (14)C was found as M1, 0.3-1.1% as M2, 14.5-20.9% as M3, and 3.7-6.7% as M4 in the soils, and pH appeared to be the most influential soil property affecting the formation and dissipation of these metabolites.

Assessment and prediction of overall environmental quality of Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, China.

Fuzzy comprehensive assessment was applied to assess the quality of air, water and soil in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, China based on the monitoring data of 1997 and National Environmental Quality Standards of China. Results show that Zhuzhou air quality belonged to Class II with industry and traffic as the main control areas and SO2 as the major pollutant. Water quality within the Zhuzhou section of the Xiang River belonged to Class IV, with the Xiawan section as the main control area and NH3-N as the major pollutant. Soil environmental quality with respect to heavy metal pollution belonged to Class III, with Cd as the major pollutant. For those pollutants showing significant differences between the years of 1990-1997, predictions were made for the environmental quality for the period 1998-2003. According to the assessment results, cleaner production in the key pollution sources and the establishment of a municipal sewage treatment plant are proposed to improve the environmental quality of Zhuzhou City.