Impacts of shipyard oil leakage on the PAHs and PCBs occurrence in Xiangshan Bay, China.

Here, we studied the shipyard impacts on the distribution of PAHs and PCBs in the semi-enclosed Xiangshan Bay, an important mariculture zone in China. The results showed that the shipyard caused a pollution plume for PAHs but not for PCBs. As characteristic pollutants of oil leakage, the PAHs had concentrations of up to 55.82 ng L-1 in the water, 2235.04 ng g-1 in suspended particulate matter (SPM), and 1489.60 ng g-1 in sediment. The PAHs in water and SPM were dominated by phenanthrene and pyrene that were mostly derived from lubricant and diesel, while those in sediments were dominated by the high-molecular-weight PAHs, such as indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene. In contrast, the PCBs concentrations reached up to 10.17 ng L-1, 79.72 ng g-1, and 124.33 ng g-1 in the seawater, SPM, and sediment samples, respectively, and they did not show spatial patterns affected by the shipyard. Moreover, the health risk assessment indicated that the shipyard discharge caused a substantial PAHs ecological risk to the adjacent and downstream water environment. Therefore, point source discharge in semi-enclosed bays should be paid close attention to due to the strong pollutant transport effect.

Comparative lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and their reduction potential for typical petrochemical enterprises in China.

Petrochemical enterprises have become a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, due to the unavailability of basic data, there is still a lack of case studies to quantify GHG emissions and provide petrochemical enterprises with guidelines for implementing energy conservation and emission reduction strategies. Therefore, this study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis to estimate the GHG emissions of four typical petrochemical enterprises in China, using first-hand data, to determine possible emission reduction measures. The analytical data revealed that Dushanzi Petrochemical (DSP) has the highest GHG emission intensity (1.17 tons CO2e/ton), followed by Urumqi Petrochemical (UP) (1.08 tons CO2e/ton), Dalian Petrochemical (DLP) (average 0.58 tons CO2e/ton) and Karamay Petrochemical (KP) (average 0.50 tons CO2e/ton) over the whole life cycle. At the same time, GHG emissions during fossil fuel combustion were the largest contributor to the whole life cycle, accounting for about 77.31%-94.27% of the total emissions. In the fossil-fuel combustion phase, DSP had the highest unit GHG emissions (1.20 tons CO2e), followed by UP (0.89 tons CO2e). In the industrial production phase, DLP had the highest unit GHG emissions (average 0.13 tons CO2e/ton), followed by UP (0.10 tons CO2e/ton). During the torch burning phase, torch burning under accident conditions was the main source of GHG emissions. It is worth noting that the CO2 recovery stage has "negative value," indicating that it will bring some environmental benefits. Further scenario analysis shows that effective policies and advanced technologies can further reduce GHG emissions.

Composition changes, releases, and potential exposure risk of PBDEs from typical E-waste plastics.

Since Stockholm Convention listed polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as persistent organic pollutants and banned their addition, alternative halogen flame retardants (AHFRs) have been substituted for PBDEs. This study systematically investigates the change trends of PBDEs and AHFRs from typical e-waste plastics and dust, as well as clarifying human exposure risks of PBDEs in formal and informal e-waste recycling enterprises, repair store and residential building. The results show that the PBDEs levels in five typical types of e-waste vary in the range of 1.08 × 10-3-30.8 µg/g, meeting the requirements of RoHS regulation. Compared with the residential buildings (1.49-1.68 µg/g), PBDEs in the dust from the formal and informal e-waste recycling enterprises are much higher, ranging from 4.70 to 536 µg/g. BDE-209 is the main congener in most e-waste plastic and dust samples. Meanwhile, AHFRs have become the important composition (3.5-61.5%) in e-waste plastics, while its contribution is lower in dust, implying the higher enrichment efficiency of PBDEs. For PBDEs exposure, the dust intake risk of PBDEs is much higher than skin contact for the workers, and the highest hazard quotient (HQ) value (1.40 × 10-1) and cancer risk (CR) value (1.21 × 10-7) both imply safe exposure levels.

Microwave-assisted chemical recovery of glass fiber and epoxy resin from non-metallic components in waste printed circuit boards.

An efficient, microwave-assisted chemical recovery approach for epoxy resin and glass fiber from non-metallic components (NMC) in waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) for resource reutilization was developed in this research. HNO3 was selected as the chemical reagent because epoxy resin has low corrosion resistance to HNO3. The influence of reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, concentration of HNO3, liquid-solid ratio, and power of the microwave synthesizer on the separation efficiency of NMC (epoxy resin and glass fiber) and the reaction mechanism were investigated. The physical and chemical properties of NMC, reaction solvent, and decomposed products were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that up to 88.42% of epoxy resin and glass fiber ((5 g) 10 mL/g) could be separated under the action of 300 W microwave power at 95 ℃ for 12 h and a HNO3 concentration of 7 mol/L. During the reaction, C-N bonds formed by the crosslinking agent and the three-dimensional network structure of the thermosetting epoxy resin were destroyed. The carbon chain structure and chemical properties of epoxy resin did not change significantly and the functional groups of ethyl acetate maintained the chemical structure before and after the reaction. This uncomplicated and efficient inorganic acid chemical microwave-assisted process holds promise for use as a feasible recovery technology for epoxy resin and glass fibers in NMC. The proposed process is particularly appealing because of its high selectivity, considerable economic advantages, and environmental benefits.

Activated E2F activity induces cell death in papillary thyroid carcinoma K1 cells with enhanced Wnt signaling.

Disruption of Wnt signaling often happens in tumorigenesis, but whether Wnt signaling affects the early stages of thyroid tumor, such as papillary thyroid carcinoma, is still a question, especially in the papillary thyroid carcinoma without genomic RET/PTC mutation. In this study, we demonstrated the important function of Wnt signaling in papillary thyroid carcinoma K1 cells, which have no RET/PTC mutation. We found that K1 cells have enhanced Wnt signaling in comparison to normal thyroid cells. We further demonstrated that K1 cells require the enhanced Wnt signaling for growth and survival. Interestingly, we identified that enhancing E2F activity by either knockdown of Rb or overexpression of Cyclin D1 induces cell death in K1 cells. And we further revealed that the cell death is caused by enhanced oxidative stress. Our studies present a novel cell model to support the key roles of Wnt signaling in early stage of thyroid tumor, and also provide an alternative way to limit thyroid cancer.

Circulating miR-25-3p and miR-451a May Be Potential Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: There is no effective and reliable biomarker to distinguish benign thyroid nodules from papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC). This study aimed at examining the levels of plasma miRNAs in patients with PTC or benign nodules to explore the potential miRNA biomarkers for PTC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Genome-wide plasma miRNA expression profiles were determined by the miRNA Microarray and the significantly higher levels of miRNAs were validated in plasma and tissues by quantitative RT-PCR. The levels of two miRNAs were further tested in seven patients before and after tumor excision and the potential values for the diagnosis of PTC were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). RESULTS: In comparison with that in the patients with benign nodules, eight significantly higher and three lower levels of plasma miRNAs were detected in the PTC patients. Further validation indicated that the levels of plasma miR-25-3p, miR-451a, miR-140-3p and let-7i were significantly higher in the PTC cases than in those with benign nodules or the healthy controls. Significantly higher levels of miR-25-3p and miR-451a were detected in the thyroid tissues from the PTC patients. The levels of plasma miR-25-3p and miR-451a in seven patients significantly decreased after tumor excision. ROC analyses revealed that the levels of plasma miR-25-3p at cut-off 1.41 and miR-451a at 1.38 had sensitivity of 92.8% and 88.9%, and specificity of 68.8% and 66.7% for distinguishing PTC from benign nodules, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the levels of plasma miR-25-3p and miR-451a may be valuable for the diagnosis of PTC.

Environmental risk assessment of CRT and PCB workshops in a mobile e-waste recycling plant.

The mobile e-waste recycling equipment was chosen as the object of this study, including manual dismantling, mechanical separation of cathode ray tubes (CRTs), and printed circuit boards (PCBs) in the two independent workshops. To determine the potential environmental contamination, the noise, the heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb), and the environmental impacts of the e-waste recycling processes in the two workshops of the mobile plant have been evaluated in this paper. This study determined that when control measures are employed, the noise within the two workshops (<80 dB) will meet the national standards. In the CRT workshop, Pb was the most polluting metal, with 2.3 µg/m(3) and 10.53 mg/g in the air and floor dust, respectively. The result of a health risk assessment shows that noncancerous effects are possible for Pb (hazard index (HI) = 3.54 in the CRT workshop and HI = 1.27 in the PCB workshop). The carcinogenic risks to workers for Cd are relatively light in both the workshops. From the results of life cycle assessment (LCA), it can be seen that there was an environmental benefit from the e-waste recycling process as a whole.

Maturation inside and outside bone marrow dendritic cells (BMDCs) modulated by interferon-α (IFN-α).

Interferons are made by cells in response to appropriate stimuli such as viruses, bacteria, parasites or tumor cells and are released into the surrounding medium. They then bind to receptors on target cells to allow for communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors. IFN-α is produced by leukocytes and is mainly involved in innate immune response against viral or bacterial infections and for tumor control. The aim of this work is to explore the detailed modulation of IFN-α on phenotypic and functional maturation inside and outside murine bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). The maturity of BMDCs post treatment with IFN-α was evaluated with conventional light microscope and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for morphology changes; flow cytometry (FCM) for changes of surface molecules on BMDCs; cytochemistry, acid phosphatase activity (ACP) test, and FITC-dextran bio-assay for biochemistry analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for cytokine production by BMDCs. We have shown that IFN-α 1) up-regulates the expression of MHC II, CD40, CD83, CD80 and CD86 molecules on BMDCs; 2) down-regulates the rates of pinocytosis and phagocytosis by BMDCs as evidenced by the results of decreased ACP, and FITC-dextran bio-assay; 3) enhances the ability of BMDCs to drive T cell function; and 4) induces higher levels of IL-12 and TNF-α secreted by BMDCs. Therefore, we conclude that IFN-α can efficiently promote the maturation of BMDCs through detailed modulation inside and outside BMDCs. Our study has provided more detailed data on changes of BMDCs modulated by IFN-α, and rationale on future application of IFN-α for enhancing host immunity and potent adjuvant administration in the design of DC-based vaccines.

Promoter hypermethylation of ARID1A gene is responsible for its low mRNA expression in many invasive breast cancers.

ARID1A (AT-rich interactive domain 1A) has recently been identified as a tumor suppressor gene. Its mRNA expression is significantly low in many breast cancers; this is often associated with more aggressive phenotypes. However, the underlying molecular mechanism for its low expression has not been fully understood. This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of gene copy number variation, mutations, promoter methylation and histone modification to ARID1A's low expression. 38 pairs of breast invasive ductal carcinomas and their normal breast tissue counterparts from the same patients were randomly selected for gene expression and copy number variation detection. Promoter methylation and histone modification levels were evaluated by MeDIP-qPCR and ChIP-qPCR, respectively. PCR product Sanger sequencing was carried out to detect the exon mutation rate. Twenty-two out of 38 invasive ductal carcinomas in the study (57.9%) revealed ARID1A mRNA low expression by realtime RT-PCR. The relative promoter methylation level was, significantly higher in ARID1A mRNA low expression group compared with its high expression group (p<0.001). In the low expression group, nineteen out of 22 invasive ductal carcinomas (86.4%) exhibited ARID1A promoter hypermthylation. In addition, the promoter hypermethylation was accompanied with repressive histone modification (H3K27Me3). Although five out of 38 invasive ductal carcinomas (13.2%) exhibited loss of ARID1A gene copy number by realtime PCR and nine exon novel mutations are seen from eight out of 33 invasive ductal carcinomas (24.2%), there was no statistically significant difference in both ARID1A mRNA low and high expression groups (p=0.25,and p=0.68, respectively). We demonstrate that promoter hypermethylation was the main culprit for ARID1A mRNA low expression in invasive ductal carcinomas. The influence of mutation and copy number variation on the expression were statistically insignificant at mRNA level, and were, therefore, not considered the main causes for ARID1A mRNA low expression in invasive breast cancer.

Diagnostic significance of CK19, TG, Ki67 and galectin-3 expression for papillary thyroid carcinoma in the northeastern region of China.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the expression and differential diagnostic significance of CK19, TG, Ki67 and galectin-3 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (metastatic and non metastatic), follicular adenoma and nodular goiter in patients from the northeastern part of China. METHODS: 441 PTC specimens and 151 other benign thyroid specimens (97 cases of nodular goiter, 54 cases of nonmalignant follicular adenoma) were collected. Immunohistochemistry for CK19, TG, Ki67 and galectin-3 was performed. RESULTS: CK19, TG, Ki67 and galectin-3 expression was 96.37% (425/441), 82.77% (365/441), and 40.59% (179/441), 96.82% (427/441), respectively, for the PTC group and the expression of these markers in the benign thyroid lesions group was 25.83% (39/151), 79.47% (120/151), and 37.09% (56/151), 50.99% (77/151), respectively. The expression of CK19 and galectin-3 in PTC was much higher than that in the nonmalignant group (p < 0.05). However, the expression of TG, Ki67 did not differ among these two groups (p > 0.05). The diagnostic efficiency of CK19 and galectin-3 for PTC was 96.37% (537/592) and 84.63% (501/592). CK19 and galectin-3 expression rate in PTC was higher than that in benign disease cases. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic efficiency of CK19 for PTC was slightly better than galectin-3. The utilization of these markers combined with morphologic evaluation may be helpful in the differential diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma in the northeastern region of China.

[Analysis of death-related factors of type B aortic dissection treated medically during the acute phase].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the death-related risk factors of type B aortic dissection treated medically during the acute phase (symptoms presenting within 14 d), and to determine the predictors of surgical indications for acute type B aortic dissection. METHODS: Clinical data of 42 patients with acute type B aortic dissection admitted from January 2007 to May 2009 was retrospectively reviewed. There were 33 male and 9 female with a mean age of (50 +/- 12) years old. Therapy included analgesia, controlled hypotension and beta-receptor blocker, the mortality in acute phase was 33.3% (14/42). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the predictors of the death in acute phase. RESULTS: In univariate logistic regression analysis, the malperfusion of aortic branches (P = 0.018) and maximum aortic diameter (P = 0.002) were significant predictors of death. In the multivariate logistic regression model, the malperfusion of aortic branches (P = 0.041) and maximum aortic diameter (P = 0.005) were also considered as the significant death-related factors.Risk of death augmented significantly (P = 0.000) when the maximum aortic diameter over 40 mm. CONCLUSION: Malperfusion of aortic branches and the large maximum aortic diameter (> 40 mm) are the indications of surgery or endovascular therapy for acute type B aortic dissection.

[Evaluation by perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance to hemodynamic character and surgical effect of carotid system stenoses or occlusion].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate hemodynamic character and surgical effect of stenoses or occlusion of carotid artery system by perfusion-weighted MRI. METHODS: Twenty-one patients with stenoses or occlusion of carotid artery system underwent surgical treatment. Two patients underwent endarterectomy, extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass to 10 patients, and percutaneous stent angioplasty to 9 patients. RESULTS: Preoperative perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) revealed normal regional cerebral blood flow in all patients, with delayed time to peak in both middle cerebral artery distribution and border zone. Postoperative perfusion-weighted MR revealed normal time to peak in border zone, but abnormal in middle cerebral artery distribution. Evaluated by perfusion-weighted MR, it showed that surgical method can improve the hemodynamic disorder of this kind of disease. The early curative effect of endarterectomy and percutaneous stent angioplasty is better than extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass. CONCLUSIONS: Perfusion-weighted MR is a good method to evaluate hemodynamic character of stenoses or occlusion of carotid artery system. Surgical method is helpful to this kind of disease, and its curative effect can be evaluated impersonally and accurately by this new technique.

[Strategy for the treatment of intractable aneurysms].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the treatment of various intractable aneurysms and analyze the results. METHODS: A retro-respective review was made to the clinical data of 24 patients, 20 males and 4 females, aged 15 approximately 71 with an average age of 45.8, with intractable aneurysms, caused by arteriosclerosis in 13 cases, by trauma in 8 cases, and by vascular deformity. RESULTS: The 24 patients were diagnosed as intractable aneurysms by color Doppler ultrasonic examination or digital subtraction angiography. They all underwent different operations with a general mortality of 8.39%. CONCLUSION: Enough preoperative evaluation based on the size, location, relation with nearby organs and systematic complications. for different intractable aneurysm is necessary. Incision design and operation method are important for the treatment.

[Experience with transluminal stent-assisted angioplasty for intracranial vascular diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of stent-assistant angioplasty for intracranial vascular diseases. METHODS: Thirteen patients with intracranial vascular diseases were treated consecutively by stent-assistant angioplasty for different purposes. Of these patients 7 had symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis, 3 intracranial wide-neck aneurysms, 2 intracranial pseudoaneurysms, and 1 bilateral transverse sinus stenosis. Clinical procedures and technical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In the 7 patients, the degree of intracranial artery stenosis reduced from 83% to 5%. Three months after the operation they exhibited good patency of stented lesions. Intracranial wide neck aneurysms (with 2 pseudoaneurysms) were successfully embolized with GDC in 5 patients. The patients with bilateral transverse sinus stenosis were implanted a self-expanded stent in the right transverse sinus. One patient failed because of the tortuous configuration of the left jugular bulb, but the patient's symptoms were improved quickly after the procedure. CONCLUSION: Stent-assistant angioplasty is a useful technique for selected intracranial vascular diseases, and it needs further investigation.