Prevalence, Medicaid use and mortality risk of low FEV1 in adults aged 20-35 years old in the USA: evidence from a population-based retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence, Medicaid use and mortality risk associated with low forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) among young adults aged 20-35 years are not well understood, despite its potential implications for the development of chronic pulmonary disease and overall prognosis. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among young adults aged 20-35 years old, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Death Index and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Participants were categorised into a low FEV1 group (pre-bronchodilator FEV1%pred <80%) and a normal FEV1 group (FEV1%pred ≥80%). Weighted logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the risk factors associated with low FEV1, while Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) for Medicaid use and the all-cause mortality between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 5346 participants aged 20-35 were included in the study, with 329 in the low FEV1 group and 5017 in the normal group. The weighted prevalence of low FEV1 among young adults was 7.1% (95% CI 6.0 to 8.2). Low body mass index (OR=3.06, 95% CI 1.79 to 5.24), doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR=2.25, 1.28 to 3.93), and wheezing or whistling (OR=1.57, 1.06 to 2.33) were identified as independent risk factors for low FEV1. Over a 15-year follow-up, individuals in the low FEV1 group exhibited a higher likelihood of Medicaid use compared with those in the normal group (HR=1.73, 1.07 to 2.79). However, there was no statistically significant increase in the risk of all-cause mortality over a 30-year follow-up period (HR=1.48, 1.00 to 2.19). CONCLUSIONS: A considerable portion of young adults demonstrated low FEV1 levels, a characteristic that was associated with a higher risk of Medicaid use over a long-term follow-up, yet not linked to an augmented risk of all-cause mortality.

Spatiotemporal variations and risk assessment of estrogens in the water of the southern Bohai Sea: A comprehensive investigation spanning three years.

The ubiquitous and adverse effects of estrogens have aroused global concerns. Natural and synthetic estrogens in 255 water samples from the southern Bohai Sea were analyzed over three years. Total estrogen concentrations were 11.0-268 ng/L in river water and 1.98-99.7 ng/L in seawater, with bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) being the predominant estrogens, respectively. Estrogen showed the highest concentrations in summer 2018, followed by spring 2021 and spring 2019, which was consistent with the higher estrogen flux from rivers during summer. Higher estrogen concentrations in 2021 than in 2019 were driven by the higher level of BPA, an additive used in personal protective equipment. Estrogen exhibited higher concentrations in the southern coast of the Yellow River Delta and the northeastern coast of Laizhou bay due to the riverine input and aquaculture. Estrogens could disturb the normal endocrine activities of organisms and edict high ecological risks (90th simulated RQT > 1.0) to aquatic organisms, especially to fish. EE2 was the main contributor of estrogenic potency and ecological risk, which requires special concern. This is the first comprehensive study of estrogen spatiotemporal variations and risks in the Bohai Sea, providing insights into the environmental behavior of estrogens in coastal regions.

Admix-kit: an integrated toolkit and pipeline for genetic analyses of admixed populations.

SUMMARY: Admixed populations, with their unique and diverse genetic backgrounds, are often underrepresented in genetic studies. This oversight not only limits our understanding but also exacerbates existing health disparities. One major barrier has been the lack of efficient tools tailored for the special challenges of genetic studies of admixed populations. Here, we present admix-kit, an integrated toolkit and pipeline for genetic analyses of admixed populations. Admix-kit implements a suite of methods to facilitate genotype and phenotype simulation, association testing, genetic architecture inference, and polygenic scoring in admixed populations. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Admix-kit package is open-source and available at https://github.com/KangchengHou/admix-kit. Additionally, users can use the pipeline designed for admixed genotype simulation available at https://github.com/UW-GAC/admix-kit_workflow.

Stressful life events, social support, and epigenetic aging in the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Elevated psychosocial stress has been linked with accelerated biological aging, including composite DNA methylation (DNAm) markers that predict aging-related outcomes ("epigenetic age"). However, no study has examined whether stressful life events (SLEs) are associated with epigenetic age acceleration in postmenopausal women, an aging population characterized by increased stress burden and disease risk. METHODS: We leveraged the Women's Health Initiative, a large muti-ancestry cohort of postmenopausal women with available psychosocial stress measures over the past year and epigenomic data. SLEs and social support were ascertained via self-report questionnaires. Whole blood DNAm array (450 K) data were used to calculate five DNAm-based predictors of chronological age, health span and life span, and telomere length (HorvathAge, HannumAge, PhenoAge, GrimAge, DNAmTL). RESULTS: After controlling for potential confounders, higher SLE burden was significantly associated with accelerated epigenetic aging, as measured by GrimAge (ß: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.59) and DNAmTL (ß: -0.016, 95% CI: -0.028, -0.004). Exploratory analyses showed that SLEs-GrimAge associations were stronger in Black women as compared to other races/ethnicities and in those with lower social support levels. In women with lower social support, SLEs-DNAmTL associations showed opposite association in Hispanic women as compared to other race/ethnicity groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that elevated stress burden is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging in postmenopausal women. Lower social support and/or self-reported race/ethnicity may modify the association of stress with epigenetic age acceleration. These findings advance understanding of how stress may contribute to aging-related outcomes and have important implications for disease prevention and treatment in aging women.

Soil quality and ecological benefits assessment of alpine desertified grassland following different ecological restoration measures.

Introduction: Soil quality plays an irreplaceable role in plant growth for restored grassland. However, few studies investigate the comprehensive effects considering soil and vegetation properties during the restoration of desertified grassland, which restrict the virtuous circle of restored grassland ecosystem. Methods: By setting three restoration patterns of enclosure plus grass (EG), enclosure intercropping shrub-grass (ESG), and enclosure plus sand-barrier and shrub-grass (ESSG) with three different restoration years (≤5, 7-9, and ≥15 years), we selected 28 physicochemical and microbial indicators, and constructed a minimum data set (MDS) to analyze the influences of restoration measurements on soil quality and ecological benefits in alpine desertified grassland. Results: The results showed that the MDS comprised seven soil quality indicators: silt, total nitrogen (TN), carbon-nitrogen ratio (C/N), total potassium (TK), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), and fungi. Soil quality index (SQI) and ecological restoration effect index (EREI) in restored grasslands significantly increased by 144.83-561.24% and 87.21-422.12%, respectively, compared with unrestored grassland, and their positive effects increased with extending restoration years. The increasing effects of SQI and EREI were the highest in ESSG, followed by EG and ESG. The increasing rate of SQI began to decrease after 5 years in EG and ESG, while it decreased after 7-9 years in ESSG, and that of EREI in EG was lower than ESSG in each restoration year. Our work revealed that ESSG was the optimum restoration pattern for desertified grassland, and anthropogenic monitoring and management measurements such as applying organic fertilization and mowing return reasonably should be carried out at the beginning of 5 years in EG and ESG as well as 7 years in ESSG to maintain sustainable ecological benefits. Discussion: The study highlights that soil quality, including microbial properties, is a key factor to evaluate the restoration effects of desertified grassland.

Admix-kit: An Integrated Toolkit and Pipeline for Genetic Analyses of Admixed Populations.

Admixed populations, with their unique and diverse genetic backgrounds, are often underrepresented in genetic studies. This oversight not only limits our understanding but also exacerbates existing health disparities. One major barrier has been the lack of efficient tools tailored for the special challenges of genetic study of admixed populations. Here, we present admix-kit, an integrated toolkit and pipeline for genetic analyses of admixed populations. Admix-kit implements a suite of methods to facilitate genotype and phenotype simulation, association testing, genetic architecture inference, and polygenic scoring in admixed populations.

Eosinophil extracellular traps in asthma: implications for pathogenesis and therapy.

Asthma is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that affects millions of people worldwide and is associated with significant healthcare costs. Eosinophils, a type of immune cell, play a critical role in the development and progression of asthma. Eosinophil extracellular traps (EETs) are reticular structures composed of DNA, histones, and granulins that eosinophils form and release into the extracellular space as part of the innate immune response. EETs have a protective effect by limiting the migration of pathogens and antimicrobial activity to a controlled range. However, chronic inflammation can lead to the overproduction of EETs, which can trigger and exacerbate allergic asthma. In this review, we examine the role of EETs in asthma.

A torus source and its application for non-primary radiation evaluation.

Objective. Non-primary radiation doses to normal tissues from proton therapy may be associated with an increased risk of secondary malignancies, particularly in long-term survivors. Thus, a systematic method to evaluate if the dose level of non-primary radiation meets the IEC standard requirements is needed.Approach. Different from the traditional photon radiation therapy system, proton therapy systems are composed of several subsystems in a thick bunker. These subsystems are all possible sources of non-primary radiation threatening the patient. As a case study, 7 sources in the P-Cure synchrotron-based proton therapy system are modeled in Monte Carlo (MC) code: tandem injector, injection, synchrotron ring, extraction, beam transport line, scanning nozzle and concrete reflection/scattering. To accurately evaluate the synchrotron beam loss and non-primary dose, a new model called the torus source model is developed. Its parametric equations define the position and direction of the off-orbit particle bombardment on the torus pipe shell in the Cartesian coordinate system. Non-primary doses are finally calculated by several FLUKA simulations.Main results. The ratios of summarized non-primary doses from different sources to the planned dose of 2 Gy are all much smaller than the IEC requirements in both the 15-50 cm and 50-200 cm regions. Thus, the P-Cure synchrotron-based proton therapy system is clean and patient-friendly, and there is no need an inner shielding concrete between the accelerator and patient.Significance. Non-primary radiation dose level is a very important indicator to evaluate the quality of a PT system. This manuscript provides a feasible MC procedure for synchrotron-based proton therapy with new beam loss model. Which could help people figure out precisely whether this level complies with the IEC standard before the system put into clinical treatment. What' more, the torus source model could be widely used for bending magnets in gantries and synchrotrons to evaluate non-primary doses or other radiation doses.

Global, regional, and national burden of asthma and its attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

BACKGROUND: The burden of asthma in terms of premature death or reduced quality of life remains a huge issue. It is of great importance to evaluate asthma burden geographically and time trends from 1990 to 2019 and to assess the contributions of age, period, and cohort effects at global level. METHODS: Asthma prevalence, deaths, and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) as well as risk-attributable burden were collected from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 database and were compared by age and sex. The Smoothing Splines models were used to estimate the relationship between asthma DALYs and the sociodemographic index (SDI). The Age-Period-Cohort model was used to determine effects of ages, periods, and birth cohorts on disease rates. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2019, the declines were 24.05% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] - 27.24 to - 20.82) in age-standardized asthma prevalence, 51.3% (- 59.08 to - 43.71) in mortality, and 42.55% (- 48.48 to - 36.61) in DALYs rate. However, the burden of asthma continued to rise, with an estimated 262.41 million prevalent cases globally (95% UI 224.05 to 309.45). Asthma caused greater DALYs in females than in males among people aged 20 years and older. The lowest age-standardized DALYs rate was observed at a SDI of approximately 0.70. The Longitudinal age curves showed an approximate W-shaped pattern for asthma prevalence and a likely J-shaped pattern for asthma mortality. The period effect on prevalence and mortality of asthma decreased from 1990 to 2019. Compared with the 1955-1959 birth cohort, the prevalence relative risk (RR) of asthma was highest in the 1905-1909 birth cohort, whereas the mortality RR continued to decline. At the global level, the percentages of high body-mass index, occupational asthmagens, and smoking contributing to DALYs due to asthma were 16.94%, 8.82%, and 9.87%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although the age-standardized rates of asthma burden declined in the past 30 years, the overall burden of asthma remains severe. High body mass index becomes the most important risk factor for DALYs due to asthma at the global level.

Assessment of exposure and DNA damage from second-hand smoke using potential biomarker in urine: cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Second-hand smoke exposure is an established cause of several adverse health effects. Tobacco smoke exposure in the environment has been improved by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. However, concerns have been raised regarding the health effects of heated tobacco products. Analysis of tobacco smoke biomarkers is critical for assessing the health effects of second-hand tobacco smoke exposure. In this study, nicotine metabolites (nicotine, cotinine, trans-3'-hydroxycotinine) and carcinogenic 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol were analysed in the urine of non-smokers with or without passive exposure to cigarettes and heated tobacco products. In addition, 7-methylguanine and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine were simultaneously measured as DNA damage markers. The results revealed higher levels of urinary nicotine metabolites and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol in participants exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke (both cigarettes and heated tobacco products) at home. In addition, the urinary levels of 7-methylguanine and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine tended to be higher in the second-hand tobacco smoke-exposed group. The urinary levels of nicotine metabolites and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol were high in workplaces with no protection against passive smoking. These biomarkers will be useful for evaluating passive exposure to tobacco products.

Riverine antibiotic occurrence and potential ecological risks in a low-urbanized and rural basin of the middle Yangtze River: Socioeconomic, land use, and seasonal effects.

This study firstly investigated the effects of season, land use, and socioeconomic on the spatiotemporal changes of riverine antibiotic concentrations in a low urbanized and rural watershed. In the dry and wet seasons, water samples were collected and analyzed for 15 antibiotics. The results indicated that 14 antibiotics, excluding leucomycin, were detected. Monsoon led to significantly lower total antibiotic concentrations in the wet season (22.0ngL-1) than in the dry season (51.2ngL-1). Total antibiotic concentrations were dominated by amoxicillin (below limit of detection (

Variation and internal-external driving forces of grey water footprint efficiency in China's Yellow River Basin.

Grey water footprint (GWF) efficiency is a reflection of both water pollution and the economy. The assessment of GWF and its efficiency is conducive to improving water environment quality and achieving sustainable development. This study introduces a comprehensive approach to assessing and analyzing the GWF efficiency. Based on the measurement of the GWF efficiency, the kernel density estimation and the Dagum Gini coefficient method are introduced to investigate the spatial and temporal variation of the GWF efficiency. The Geodetector method is also innovatively used to investigate the internal and external driving forces of GWF efficiency, not only revealing the effects of individual factors, but also probing the interaction between different drivers. For demonstrating this assessment approach, nine provinces in China's Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2020 are chosen for the study. The results show that: (1) the GWF efficiency of the basin increases from 23.92 yuan/m3 in 2005 to 164.87 yuan/m3 in 2020, showing a distribution pattern of "low in the western and high in the eastern". Agricultural GWF is the main contributor to the GWF. (2) The temporal variation of the GWF efficiency shows a rising trend, and the kernel density curve has noticeable left trailing and polarization characteristics. The spatial variation of the GWF efficiency fluctuates upwards, accompanied by a rise in the overall Gini coefficient from 0.25 to 0.28. Inter-regional variation of the GWF efficiency is the primary source of spatial variation, with an average contribution of 73.39%. (3) For internal driving forces, economic development is the main driver of the GWF efficiency, and the interaction of any two internal factors enhances the explanatory power. For external driving forces, capital stock reflects the greatest impact. The interaction combinations with the highest q statistics for upstream, midstream and downstream are capital stock and population density, technological innovation and population density, and industrial structure and population density, respectively.

Effects of Critical Operation and Cleaning Parameters on Performances and Economic Benefits of Biogas Slurry Concentration by Forward Osmosis Membrane.

Forward osmosis membrane technology (FO) shows potential application prospects in biogas slurry concentration, which is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of biogas projects. However, at present, the key influencing factors of membrane concentration using FO are not well understood. Therefore, this study analyzed the influence of draw solution concentration, pH, temperature and cross-flow velocity on the concentration efficiency of FO membrane, and optimized the operation parameters of FO membrane. The results showed that the concentration effect of the NaCl draw solution at pH 5 or 9 was better than that at pH 7. The order of factor influencing the water flux was as follows: draw liquid concentration > cross-flow velocity > operating temperature. The optimal combination obtained by orthogonal analysis was under 45 °C, with a cross-flow velocity of 1 L/min and the use of 1.5 mol/L NaCl as draw solution. The results of the membrane cleaning implied that the recovery rate of the fouled membrane after acid-base cleaning is significantly higher (88%) than other cleaning solutions. This research offers a scientific reference for applying positive osmosis technology to re-utilize biogas slurry resources.

Soil potentially toxic element pollution at different urbanization intensities: Quantitative source apportionment and source-oriented health risk assessment.

Potentially toxic element (PTE) pollution of urban soils has become the focus of social concern, but the differences of the sources, pollution levels and source-oriented human health risks (HHR) of PTE in urban soils among different urban intensity areas is rarely known. This study explored a comprehensive scheme that combined positive matrix factorization model and source-oriented assessment to quantitatively assess the priority pollution sources and HHR in urban soils from areas with different urbanization intensities. All the average values for PTE concentrations, except for Cr, were higher than their corresponding background values. The contributions made by the four sources (atmospheric deposition, agricultural activities, traffic activities, and natural sources) were relatively similar (22.29-29.89%) in the low urbanization intensity (LUI) area, whereas traffic activities and atmospheric deposition made the greatest contributions in the medium urbanization intensity (MUI) (29.12%) and the high urbanization intensity (HUI) (38.97%) areas, respectively. The geo-accumulation index results revealed that Cd was the most polluting element and the HUI area had the highest pollution levels. The content-oriented assessment of HHR demonstrated that the non-carcinogenic risks were acceptable, but the carcinogenic risks were unacceptable. According to the source-oriented HHR assessment, among the anthropogenic activities, atmospheric deposition contributed the most to carcinogenic risk of children in all areas, and atmospheric deposition, traffic activities and agricultural activities contributed the most to the carcinogenic risk of adults in HUI, MUI and LUI, respectively. This suggest that control measures need to be tailored to the appropriate urbanization intensity to effectively curb PTE pollution caused by anthropogenic activities.

Heterogeneous impacts of multi-energy power generation on carbon emissions: evidence from China's provincial data.

The goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality have put forward higher requirements for the low-carbon development of power supply. This paper discusses the impacts of multi-energy power generation on carbon emissions for 30 regions in China and proposes low-carbon development suggestions for the electric power industry. The research found that firstly there is a significant strong positive correlation between thermal power and carbon emissions in most regions of China, so the carbon emission reduction of power supply should still focus on thermal power. Secondly, wind power and photovoltaic power have positive effects or negative effects on carbon emissions in different regions. But combined with the analysis results in regions with the rapid development of wind power or photovoltaic power, it could be found that wind power and photovoltaic power contributed to reducing carbon emissions when they developed to a certain scale. It is proposed to speed up the construction of wind power and photovoltaic power in regions with rich wind resources or solar resources such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Liaoning, and Gansu. Thirdly, hydropower and nuclear power both have negative effects on carbon emissions. Considering the large demand for electricity in coastal regions where nuclear power is located, it is suggested that coastal regions should gradually promote the construction and application of nuclear power on the basis of safety.

Prevalence of psychological symptoms and associated risk factors among nurses in 30 provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Background: With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), nurses have won well-deserved recognition for their indispensable roles in providing humane and professional healthcare for patients. However, by the nature of their role working at the forefront of patient care, nurses are prone to experiencing mental health consequences. Therefore, we pay attention to measuring the magnitude of psychological symptoms and identifying associated factors among nurses in China. Methods: We launched a nationwide, cross-sectional survey of nurses who worked in secondary or tertiary hospitals and public or private hospitals from 30 provinces in China. The prevalence and severity of symptoms of burnout, depression, and anxiety were investigated, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with each psychological symptom. Findings: A total of 138 279 respondents who worked in 243 hospitals completed this survey. A substantial proportion of nurses reported symptoms of burnout (34%), depression (55·5%), and anxiety (41·8%). In line with the disproportionality of economic development, we noted that the middle or western region was an independent risk factor for depression and anxiety. Compared with those working in the secondary hospital, nurses who worked in tertiary hospitals were associated with a higher likelihood of burnout and depression. Interpretation: Nurses are experiencing emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion during the COVID-19 epidemic. Governments and health policymakers need to draw attention to reinforcing prevention and ameliorating countermeasures to safeguard nurses' health. Funding: The strategic consulting project of the Chinese Academy of Engineering [2021-32-5]. Advanced Institute of Infomation Technology, Peking University, Zhejiang Province [2020-Z-17].

Management of cancer-related fatigue in Taiwan: an evidence-based consensus for screening, assessment and treatment.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and persistent issues experienced by cancer patients. Cancer-related fatigue is a distinct form of fatigue that is subjective, long-lasting and unalleviated by rest or sleep. Studies have shown that almost all cancer patients experience severe fatigue that disrupts the quality of life and physical function, but cancer-related fatigue remains under-addressed in clinical care, and only about half of all patients receive treatment. METHODS: To increase the awareness of cancer-related fatigue and improve current management, the Taiwan Society of Cancer Palliative Medicine and the Taiwan Oncology Nursing Society convened a consensus committee to develop recommendations for the screening, assessment and treatment of cancer-related fatigue. RESULTS: Thirteen consensus recommendations were subsequently developed based on the best available evidence and the clinical experience of committee members. CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations are expected to facilitate the standardization of cancer-related fatigue management across Taiwan and may also serve as a reference for other clinicians.

A novel bio-washing eluent obtained from fermentation of fruit wastes for removal of soil Pb: efficiency, mechanism, and risk assessment.

Agricultural wastes are inexpensive materials for soil remediation. However, the direct water extracts from these wastes showed low efficiency for Pb removal, thus limiting their application. In this study, citrus pericarp (CP) and pineapple peel (PP), as the common agricultural wastes, were inoculated with lactic acid bacteria to produce fermentation liquors (FCP and FPP) for improving Pb removal efficiency. Results showed that the Pb removal rates by FCP and FPP reached 37.3 and 43.6%, and increased by almost 50.0% than those by CP and PP. The ecological risk of Pb reduced by 83.0-88.2% after five times continuous washing with FCP and FPP, and the Pb concentrations conformed to soil remediation standard of China. Moreover, soil organic carbon 1.5 times increased in the washed soils, while total potassium improved by 40.7-68.0%. The mechanisms of Pb removal by these wastes involved in adsorption-desorption of Pb2+, complexation with organic ligands, and co-precipitation of Pb complexes. The increase of low molecular organic acids during the fermentation promoted dissolution of Pb and provided more hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amine groups to interact with Pb2+, thus improving its removal rate. Therefore, fermentation liquid from fruit wastes is a novel, effective, and ecofriendly bio-washing eluent for Pb removal from contaminated soils.

A large geographic-scale characterization of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in surface sediments and multiple aquatic foods of inland freshwater aquaculture ponds in China: Co-occurrence, source and risk assessment.

Inland freshwater aquaculture ponds (IFAPs) represent the key component of the global lentic freshwater environment and are increasingly important for global aquaculture production, yet the occurrence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in these pond systems remains largely unknown. Here, we characterized the residual concentrations of 19 individual OCPs in sediments and in cultured fish and crustacean species (crabs, shrimp, crayfish and lobster), which were on-spot sampled from the IFAPs at a large region-scale in China. The total OCP levels in sediments varied dramatically between regions. Crabs presented the greatest OCP contamination among the studied species. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) was the dominating contaminant in sediments and crabs and its stable degradation products 4,4'-DDE and 4,4'-DDD were co-occurrent between these two compartments. The diagnostic ratio analysis indicated fresh inputs of DDTs, lindane and aldrin in multiple regions, which may be resulted from agricultural soil erosion, surface runoff and local anthropogenic activities. Ecological impacts of these pesticides could be expected at some sites due to their levels in sediments above the risk level. Risk assessment based on the OCP levels corrected by the cooking loss revealed that daily consumption of the IFAPs-derived aquatic foods may pose carcinogenic risks in humans.

Estimation of the fraction of soil-borne particulates in indoor air by PMF and its impact on health risk assessment of soil contamination in Guangzhou, China.

The fraction of soil-borne particulates in indoor air (fspi), a principal exposure factor in health risk assessment of soil, is used to calculate the inhaled dose of contaminants in air particulates (PM10) from soil. To investigate the fspi, consecutive 24-h PM10 samples (n = 180) of indoor ambient were collected from September 2019 to January 2020 in Guangzhou main urban areas, China. The concentrations of twenty-six metal elements, five anions, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in samples were measured. The sources of indoor ambient PM10 and the value of fspi were identified by the method of Positive Matrix Factor analysis (PMF). Results showed that the main sources contributing to indoor PM10 content were combustion sources (50.53%) and vehicular sources (28.17%). The soil sources (the local fspi) were 19.96%. The soil contents of indoor PM10 in Guangzhou main urban areas were in accordance with those in similar monsoon climate regions, such as Malaysia. The health risks of the inhalation route were dropped by about 62% for some common brownfield contaminants (Cr (VI), Ni, Be and Cd) with the investigated local fspi in Guangzhou main urban areas, compared with using the fspi (0.8) recommended by the C-RAG model in China. The results supplied a new effective methodology for estimation of the local fspi value in health risk assessment of soil contamination in urban areas.