Leaching behavior and evaluation of zebrafish embryo toxicity of microplastics and phthalates in take-away plastic containers.

Take-away containers are the common food contact materials (FCMs) that are widely used in daily life. However, little is known regarding the effects of different food simulants on the pollution characteristics of microplastics derived from food containers, as well as the toxic effects of the chemical substances that are leached from them. Extracts were obtained by adding organic solvents into plastic containers (polypropylene, PP; polystyrene, PS) to simulate aqueous, alcoholic, and fatty environments. The extracted substances and their toxic effects were then assessed by counting and characterizing the resulting microplastics and performing bio-acute toxicity assays. The results demonstrated that the highest abundance of microplastics occurred in PS containers in fatty environments, which was likely due to the rough surface of the PS. In contrast, organic solvents seemed more conducive to the migration of substances. Furthermore, the PP and PS extracts in an alcohol and fatty environment have significant impacts on zebrafish embryo development, including arrhythmia, pericardial cysts, and spinal curvature.

[Toxicity of PM2.5 Based on a Battery of Bioassays].

To accurately evaluate the biotoxicity of PM2.5, PM2.5 samples from winter fog-haze days, winter normal days, and summer days in Changzhou were selected for evaluation based on the acute toxicity of luminescent bacteria and zebrafish embryos and the cytotoxicity of human lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro (A549). The three atmospheric conditions and the physical and chemical indicators were also evaluated using correlation analysis. The PM2.5 samples showed either acute or developmental toxicity during all three periods. The toxicity unit (TU) of the luminescent bacteria for the winter fog-haze days, winter normal days, and summer days were 1.74 (toxic), 1.19 (toxic), and 0.92 (slightly toxic), respectively. The maximum TU of the zebrafish embryos was for winter normal days (TU=1.14, toxic) followed by winter fog-haze days (TU=0.79, slightly toxic), and summer days (TU=0, non-toxic). The highest TU of A549 was for winter fog-haze days (TU=0.61, toxic) followed by summer days (TU=0.38, toxic) and winter normal days (TU=0.31, toxic). With respect to developmental toxicity, with the exception of summer day samples, the PM2.5 samples from the other two periods had detrimental effects on the development of zebrafish embryos, mainly showing pericardial edema, a bent notochord, and tail deformity. The average toxicity (AvTx), toxic print (TxPr), and most sensitive test (MST) indices showed that the PM2.5 samples from winter fog-haze days and winter normal days exhibited toxicity, while samples from the summer days showed slight toxicity; PM2.5 samples from winter fog-haze days had the highest level of comprehensive toxicity. In addition, luminescent bacteria were the most sensitive to PM2.5 samples, followed by zebrafish embryos and A549. The results of chemical analysis and biological toxicity tests show that the pollutants contained in PM2.5 have a biological toxicity effect, which can provide a basis for the comprehensive assessment of PM2.5 biological toxicity and human health risks.

Addition of rituximab to standard chemotherapy improves the survival of both the germinal center B-cell-like and non-germinal center B-cell-like subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) includes at least two prognostically important subtypes (ie, germinal center B-cell-like [GCB] and activated B-cell-like [ABC] DLBCL), which initially were characterized by gene expression profiling and subsequently were confirmed by immunostaining. However, with the addition of rituximab to standard chemotherapy, the prognostic significance of this subclassification of DLBCL is unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 243 patient cases of de novo DLBCL, which included 131 patient cases treated with rituximab plus standard chemotherapy (rituximab group) and 112 patient cases treated with only standard chemotherapy (control group). The cases were assigned to GCB or non-GCB subgroups (the latter of which included both ABC DLBCL and unclassifiable DLBCL) on the basis of immunophenotype by using the Hans method. Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of the two patient groups were compared. RESULTS: The clinical characteristics of the patients in the rituximab and the control groups were similar. Compared with the control group, addition of rituximab improved the 3-year overall survival (OS; 42% v 77%; P < .001) of patients with DLBCL. Rituximab-treated patients in either the GCB or the non-GCB subgroups also had a significantly improved 3-year OS compared with their respective subgroups in the control group (P < .001). In the rituximab group, the GCB subgroup had a significantly better 3-year OS than the non-GCB subgroup (85% v 69%; P = .032). Multivariate analyses confirmed that rituximab treatment was predictive for survival in both the GCB and the non-GCB subgroups. CONCLUSION: In this retrospective study, we have shown that the subclassification of DLBCL on the basis of the cell of origin continues to have prognostic importance in the rituximab era.