Vital effects and the fractionation of rare earth elements and yttrium during uptake by and transfer within freshwater bivalves and their shells.

Mussels are commonly used as bioarchives in environmental monitoring, yet the impact of vital effects on the trace element or isotope ratios used as biogeochemical proxies is often only ill constrained. A prime example of such trace elements are the Rare Earth elements and Yttrium (REY) which have become (micro)contaminants in freshwater systems worldwide. We here report on the distribution of REY in different soft tissues and in the shells of freshwater bivalve A. anatina, commonly known as "duck mussel", from the Danube River in Hungary and the Vistula River in Poland. Both rivers are contaminated with anthropogenic Gd from contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Regardless of the mussels' origin, all of their compartments show very similar shale-normalised REY patterns. None of the samples show any anthropogenic Gd anomaly, implying that in freshwater anthropogenic Gd from MRI contrast agents is either not bioavailable or that REY from ambient river water are insignificant for the REY budget of freshwater mussels. Compared to ambient water, the bivalves bioaccumulate the REY with preferential uptake of Ce and of light REY over heavy REY. However, REY concentrations in mussels are similar to or lower than those in their potential food source, with minor fractionation along the REY series besides slight preferential uptake of La and Y. Comparison of shells and tissues reveals the systematic oxidative decoupling of Ce from its REY neighbours, probably due to the presence of Ce(IV) solution-complexes in the mussels' extrapallial fluid. Despite possible REY fractionation during their initial uptake, vital effects do not impose any major control on REY fractionation during REY transfer within the mussels or during formation of their shells. Mussel shells may, therefore, conveniently be used for environmental monitoring of REY without major disturbance from vital effects.

Meteorological impacts on the unexpected ozone pollution in coastal cities of China during the unprecedented hot summer of 2022.

Surface ozone pollution under climate warming has become a serious environmental issue. In the summer of 2022, abnormal warming spread over most of the Northern Hemisphere and resulted in the abnormal increase in O3 concentrations. In this study, we focused on the coastal cities in China and investigated the O3 trends in July during 2015 to 2022. Four regions with different locations and emission levels were selected for comparison. A significant increase of O3 concentration in July 2022 were observed in the southern coastal cities (16.7-22.8 µg m-3) while the opposite characteristics were found in the northern coastal cities (decrease of 0.26-2.18 µg m-3). The results indicated various distribution patterns of the O3 concentrations responded to heat wave across China. The weakening of East Asian summer monsoon, extension of the western Pacific subtropical high, significant warming, stronger solar radiation, lower relative humidity, less rainfall and sinking motion of atmosphere in 2022 were beneficial for O3 generation and accumulation in the southern coastal areas. Meteorological changes in July 2022 could lead to an increase of 15.6 % in O3 concentrations in southern coastal cities compared to that in 2015-2021, based on the analysis of machine learning. Air temperature was the main contributor to high O3 concentrations in the coast of Fujian province, while other coastal cities depended on relative humidity. This study indicated the challenge of O3 pollution control in coastal areas under global warming, especially in extreme heat wave events.

Distribution of pathogens and risk factors for post-replantation wound infection in patients with traumatic major limb mutilation.

PURPOSE: Even though replantation of limb mutilation is increasing, postoperative wound infection can result in increasing the financial and psychological burden of patients. Here, we sought to explore the distribution of pathogens and identify risk factors for postoperative wound infection to help early identification and managements of high-risk patients. METHODS: Adult inpatients with severed traumatic major limb mutilation who underwent replantation from Suzhou Ruixing Medical Group between November 09, 2014, and September 6, 2022 were included in this retrospective study. Demographic, and clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes were collected. Data were used to analyze risk factors for postoperative wound infection. RESULTS: Among the 249 patients, 185 (74.3%) were males, the median age was 47.0 years old. Postoperative wound infection in 74 (29.7%) patients, of whom 51 (20.5%) had infection with multi-drug resistant bacteria. Ischemia time (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13-1.53, P = 0.001), wound contamination (OR 6.01, 95% CI 2.38-15.19, P <0.001), and stress hyperglycemia (OR 23.37, 95% CI 2.30-236.93, P = 0.008) were independent risk factors, while the albumin level after surgery (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89-0.99, P = 0.031) was significant associated with the decrease of postoperative wound infection. Ischemia time (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.05-1.40, P = 0.010), wound contamination (OR 8.63, 95% CI 2.91-25.57, P <0.001), and MESS (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.02-1.71, P = 0.037 were independent risk factors for multi-drug resistant bacteria infection. CONCLUSIONS: Post-replantation wound infection was common in patients with severe traumatic major limb mutilation, and most were multi-drug resistant bacteria. Ischemia time and wound contamination were associated with the increase of postoperative wound infection, including caused by multi-drug resistant. Positive correction of hypoproteinemia and control of stress hyperglycemia may be beneficial.

Levels of rare earth elements on three abandoned mining sites of bauxite in southern Italy: A comparison between TXRF and ICP-MS.

The essential utilization of rare earth elements (REEs) for the production of several electronic devices is making the demand for them being increased all the time. This extensive use of these elements has also increased concern about human and environmental health. Previous studies have shown that REE levels are higher in environmental samples near mining sites, and they are highly possible to be transferred to biota. In this study, REE levels were determined in environmental samples collected from three abandoned mining sites of bauxite (Gargano, Otranto, and Spinazzola) in the region of Puglia, Southern Italy. The samples were digested and analyzed by two different techniques, Total X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) to investigate which technique is the most suitable for analysis of the REE content in samples from abandoned mining sites of bauxite. Only 6 REEs could be detected by TXRF, while all REEs were detected in all the samples by ICP-MS. Spinazzola is the richest site and Ce the most abundant REE in all three regions. REE levels are correlated between the soil and biota samples in many cases, although the calculation of the bioconcentration factor showed that REEs are not bioaccumulative. ICP-MS seems to be a more suitable technique for analysis of the whole REE content in environmental samples from abandoned mining sites of bauxite.

Risk and prognostic factors of replantation failure in patients with severe traumatic major limb mutilation.

PURPOSE: Traumatic mutilation of major limbs can result in limb loss, motor disability, or death. Patients who had replantation failure needed to undergo additional surgeries (even amputation) and had a longer length of hospital stay. Here, we determined the risk and prognostic factors of replantation failure in patients with traumatic major limb mutilation. METHODS: This retrospective study included adult inpatients with severed traumatic major limb mutilation who underwent replantation from Suzhou Ruixing Medical Group from October 18, 2016 to July 31, 2020. Demographic, and clinical characteristics including traumatic conditions, laboratory findings, mangled extremity severity scores (MESS), treatments, and outcomes of the patients were collected. Data were used to analyze predictors and risk factors for replantation failure. RESULTS: Among the 66 patients, 48 (72.7%) were males, the median age was 47.0 years old. Replantation failure occurred in 48 patients (72.7%). The area under the curve of the joint prediction of lactic acid on admission, 72-h cumulative fluid balance, and albumin level immediately postoperatively was 0.838 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.722-0.954; P < 0.001) with a sensitivity of 89.7% and a specificity of 69.2%. Lower limb trauma (odds ratio [OR] 8.65, 95% CI 1.64-45.56, P = 0.011), mangled extremity severity scores (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.25-4.01, P = 0.007), and first 72-h cumulative fluid balance > 4885.6 mL (OR 10.25, 95% CI 1.37-76.93, P = 0.024) were independent risk factors for replantation failure. CONCLUSIONS: Lower limb trauma, mangled extremity severity scores, and cumulative water balance were associated with replantation failure, implying that fluid management is necessary for major limb salvage. More studies are needed to explore the predictive power of indicators related to tissue oxygenation and wound healing for replantation failure.

Association between the epidermal growth factor gene and intelligence in major depression patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between the epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene and intelligence in patients with major depression. METHODS: Intelligence measurement using Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was performed on 120 unrelated patients with major depression and 46 control subjects. Blood was collected from all subjects for extraction of genomic DNA. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the EGF gene were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI- TOF-MS). RESULTS: Mean scores of both score lang and score task, two subtests in WAIS, differed significantly between major depression patients and controls (P<0.0001). Quantitative trait analysis showed that the genotype of rs2250724 was closely associated with score lang and score task in major depression patients. The associations were still significant after 10 000 permutations. CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary, our results provide evidence for association between the EGF gene and intelligence in patients with major depression. Genetic variation in the EGF gene may increase the susceptibility of major depression.

Replicase 1a gene plays a critical role in pathogenesis of avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus.

Avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is an important pathogen threatening poultry production worldwide. Here, two recombinant IBVs (rYN-1a-aYN and rYN-1b-aYN) were generated in which ORF1a or ORF1b of the virulent YN genome were replaced by the corresponding regions from the attenuated strain aYN. The pathogenicity and virulence of rIBVs were evaluated in ovo and in vivo. The results revealed that mutations in the ORF1a gene during passage in embryonated eggs caused the decreased pathogenicity of virulent IBV YN strain, proven by determination of virus replication in ECEs and CEK cells, the observation of clinical signs, gross lesions, microscopic lesions, tracheal ciliary activity and virus distribution in chickens following exposure to rIBVs. However, mutations in ORF1b had no obvious effect on virus replication in both ECEs and CEK cells, or pathogenicity in chickens. Our findings demonstrate that the replicase 1a gene of avian coronavirus IBV is a determinant of pathogenicity.

Development and Application of an MRT-qPCR Assay for Detecting Coinfection of Six Vertically Transmitted or Immunosuppressive Avian Viruses.

Marek's disease virus (MDV), reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), avian reovirus (ARV), chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), and fowl adenovirus (FAdV) are important causes of disease in poultry. To investigate the infection status of the above six viruses in chickens in China, 1,187 samples from chicken flocks were collected and tested using a newly developed multiplex reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (MRT-qPCR) assay in the study. A series of validation tests confirmed that the MRT-qPCR assay has high specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability. As for six detected pathogens, CIAV had the highest detection ratio, while ARV was not detected in any samples. In the spleen samples, the coinfection rate for MDV and CIAV was 1.6%, and that for REV and CIAV was 0.4%. In the bursa samples, the coinfection rate for FAdV and CIAV was 0.3%, and that for IBDV and CIAV was 1%. In the thymus samples, the coinfection rates for MDV and CIAV and for REV and CIAV were both 0.8%. Our study indicates that the coinfection of these viruses was existing in chickens in China. Through the detection of clinical samples, this study provides data on the coinfections of the above six pathogens and provides a basis for the further study of viral coinfection in chickens.

Phylogenetic analyses and pathogenicity of a variant infectious bursal disease virus strain isolated in China.

Infectious bursal disease is an acute, highly contagious, immunosuppressive disease of young chickens caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the isolation rates of variant IBDV strains in China; however, the pathogenicity of these variants is unclear. In the current study, we characterized variant IBDV strain ZD-2018-1 and assessed its pathogenicity in specific-pathogen-free chickens. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ZD-2018-1 belonged to the variant IBDV strain, which showed several unique amino acid mutations compared with other previously-isolated variant IBDV strains. Pathogenicity assays showed that ZD-2018-1 was less virulent than very virulent IBDV strain SD-2013-1, and did not cause an obvious symptoms or death. In comparison, strain SD-2013-1 had a high mortality rate and caused severe lesions in various tissues. However, both of the strains induced obvious pathological lesions on the bursa of Fabricius, resulting in severe immunosuppression in the infected chickens. The results of this study present a systematic evaluation of the genetic characteristics, pathogenicity, and immunosuppressive properties of a new variant IBDV strain, and may help in the development of strategies for the prevention and control of IBDV in poultry.

S gene and 5a accessory gene are responsible for the attenuation of virulent infectious bronchitis coronavirus.

To explore the critical genes associated with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) virulence, we compared the genome sequences of virulent YN strain and its attenuated strain aYN. Accumulation of mutations in the S gene and the accessory gene 5a were observed, suggesting a potential role in the loss of viral pathogenicity. Two recombinant IBVs (rIBVs) with replacement of the S gene or 5a with corresponding regions from aYN were rescued to verify this speculation. Embryo mortality time/rate showed that rYN-S-aYN and rYN-5a-aYN had an attenuated phenotype in ovo. Replication assay in ovo and in vitro demonstrated the rIBVs had similar replication patterns with wild-type rIBV. Both rIBVs showed reduced mortality, tissue lesions and tissue virus titers in chicken. In conclusion, S gene and 5a accessory gene are responsible for the attenuation of virulent IBV. Insight into the genes responsible for virus attenuation will facilitate the development of future vaccines against IBV.

Pathogenicity of a GI-22 genotype infectious bronchitis virus isolated in China and protection against it afforded by GI-19 vaccine.

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB) is a globally circulating bird disease caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). In China, the most prevalent IBV genotype is GI-19/QX-like because the protective efficiency of the classical IBV vaccine is low, and new GI-19 vaccines are under development. In 2018, a GI-22 genotype strain CK/CH/LGD/2018 (abbreviated 'LGD') was isolated in northern China, which caused 10%-30% morality in H120-vaccinated chickens. A phylogenetic analysis showed that this new isolate displays novel features compared with other earlier-isolated reference strains. To monitor the epidemic trend of IBV in China, the pathogenicity of LGD was first evaluated in 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free chickens. LGD induced classical IBV damage in the trachea and kidney, whereas it also infected and damaged the bursa of Fabricius, an important immune organ of chickens. The efficacy of our earlier-developed GI-19 vaccine, strain SZ200, against LGD was also evaluated in this study. The GI-19 genotype vaccine provided sufficient protection against the new GI-22 genotype strain, and may be a promising candidate vaccine with which to control both wild GI-19 and GI-22 strains in the future.

The S2 Subunit of QX-type Infectious Bronchitis Coronavirus Spike Protein Is an Essential Determinant of Neurotropism.

Some coronaviruses (CoVs) have an extra furin cleavage site (RRKR/S, furin-S2' site) upstream of the fusion peptide in the spike protein, which plays roles in virion adsorption and fusion. Mutation of the S2' site of QX genotype (QX-type) infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) spike protein (S) in a recombinant virus background results in higher pathogenicity, pronounced neural symptoms and neurotropism when compared with conditions in wild-type IBV (WT-IBV) infected chickens. In this study, we present evidence suggesting that recombinant IBV with a mutant S2' site (furin-S2' site) leads to higher mortality. Infection with mutant IBV induces severe encephalitis and breaks the blood-brain barrier. The results of a neutralization test and immunoprotection experiment show that an original serum and vaccine can still provide effective protection in vivo and in vitro. This is the first demonstration of IBV-induced neural symptoms in chickens with encephalitis and the furin-S2' site as a determinant of neurotropism.

Quantitative analysis of influencing factors to aerosol pH and its responses to PM2.5 and O3 pollution in a coastal city.

Aerosol acidity (pH) plays an important role in the multiphase chemical processes of atmospheric particles. In this study, we demonstrated the seasonal trends of aerosol pH calculated with the ISORROPIA-II model in a coastal city of southeast China. We performed quantitative analysis on the various influencing factors on aerosol pH, and explored the responses of aerosol pH to different PM2.5 and O3 pollution levels. The results showed that the average aerosol pH was 2.92 ± 0.61, following the order of winter > spring > summer > autumn. Sensitivity tests revealed that SO42-, NHx, T and RH triggered the variations of aerosol pH. Quantitative analysis results showed that T (37.9%-51.2%) was the main factors affecting pH variations in four seasons, followed by SO42- (6.1%-23.7%), NHx (7.2%-22.2%) and RH (0-14.2%). Totally, annual mean meteorological factors (52.9%) and chemical compositions (41.3%) commonly contributed the aerosol ΔpH in the coastal city. The concentrations of PM2.5 was positively correlated with aerosol liquid water content (R2 = 0.53) and aerosol pH (R2 = 0.26), indicating that the increase in pH was related with the elevated NH4NO3 and decreased SO42-, and also the changes of T and RH. The Ox (O3 + NO2) was moderately correlated with aerosol pH (R2 = -0.48), attributable to the fact that the proportion of SO42- increased under high T and low RH conditions. The study strengthened our understanding of the contributions of influencing factors to aerosol pH, and also provided scientific evidences for chemical processes of atmospheric particles in coastal areas.