Focused liquid ultrasonography in dropsy protocol for quantitative assessment of subcutaneous edema.

BACKGROUND: Although subcutaneous edema is a common symptom of critically ill patients, it is still underreported due to the lack of a systematic method for evaluating it. The present study aims to describe the occurrence and distribution of subcutaneous edema, as well as the risk factors associated with it, in critically ill patients using the focused liquid ultrasonography in dropsy (FLUID) protocol, and to assess their impact on ICU mortality. METHODS: The FLUID protocol and the pitting test were performed on general ICU patients in China. Cohen's Kappa coefficient and Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between the two methods at each measurement site and between the whole-body subcutaneous edema scores, respectively, while a repeated measures ANOVA was performed to compare the differences between the two methods in whole-body and body-part measurements. A generalized linear model was used to evaluate the risk factors for subcutaneous edema development and the relationship between subcutaneous edema severity and ICU mortality. RESULTS: A total of 145 critically ill patients were evaluated using both approaches, of whom 40 (27.6%) experienced subcutaneous edema. Over 1440 measurements, it was found that ultrasound discovered more subcutaneous edema than the pitting test (ultrasound: 522[36.3%], pitting test: 444[30.8%], χ2 = 9.477, p = 0.002). The FLUID protocol scored edema severity significantly higher than the pitting test in the whole body and specific body parts, including the abdominal wall, thighs, chest wall, and hands. Subcutaneous edema exhibited gravity-dependent distribution patterns, particularly in the abdominal wall. The APACHE II, NT-proBNP, serum creatinine, and sepsis were independent risk factors for subcutaneous edema development. The score of ultrasonic subcutaneous edema was related to ICU mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The FLUID protocol provides a comprehensive strategy for the semi-quantitative assessment of subcutaneous edema in critically ill patients. In detecting the onset and severity of edema, ultrasound was found to outperform the pitting test. Subcutaneous edema showed a gravity-dependent distribution pattern, and its severity was associated with mortality.

Development of an audiological assessment and diagnostic model for high occupational noise exposure.

PURPOSE: To explore the diagnostic auditory indicators of high noise exposure and combine them into a diagnostic model of high noise exposure and possible development of hidden hearing loss (HHL). METHODS: We recruited 101 young adult subjects and divided them according to noise exposure history into high-risk and low-risk groups. All subjects completed demographic characteristic collection (including age, noise exposure, self-reported hearing status, and headset use) and related hearing examination. RESULTS: The 8 kHz (P = 0.039) and 10 kHz (P = 0.005) distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes (DPOAE) (DPs) in the high-risk group were lower than those in the low-risk group. The amplitudes of the summating potential (SP) (P = 0.017) and action potential (AP) (P = 0.012) of the electrocochleography (ECochG) in the high-risk group were smaller than those in the low-risk group. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave III amplitude in the high-risk group was higher than that in the low-risk group. When SNR = - 7.5 dB (P = 0.030) and - 5 dB (P = 0.000), the high-risk group had a lower speech discrimination score than that of the low-risk group. The 10 kHz DPOAE DP, ABR wave III amplitude and speech discrimination score under noise with SNR = - 5 dB were combined to construct a combination diagnostic indicator. The area under the ROC curve was 0.804 (95% CI 0.713-0.876), the sensitivity was 80.39%, and the specificity was 68.00%. CONCLUSIONS: We expect that high noise exposure can be detected early with this combined diagnostic indicator to prevent HHL or sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER/DATE OF REGISTRATION: ChiCTR2200057989, 2022/3/25.

Using machine learning to aid treatment decision and risk assessment for severe three-vessel coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Three-vessel disease (TVD) with a SYNergy between PCI with TAXus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX) score of ≥ 23 is one of the most severe types of coronary artery disease. We aimed to take advantage of machine learning to help in decision-making and prognostic evaluation in such patients. METHODS: We analyzed 3786 patients who had TVD with a SYNTAX score of ≥ 23, had no history of previous revascularization, and underwent either coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after enrollment. The patients were randomly assigned to a training group and testing group. The C4.5 decision tree algorithm was applied in the training group, and all-cause death after a median follow-up of 6.6 years was regarded as the class label. RESULTS: The decision tree algorithm selected age and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) as splitting features and divided the patients into three subgroups: subgroup 1 (age of ≤ 67 years and LVEDD of ≤ 53 mm), subgroup 2 (age of ≤ 67 years and LVEDD of > 53 mm), and subgroup 3 (age of > 67 years). PCI conferred a patient survival benefit over CABG in subgroup 2. There was no significant difference in the risk of all-cause death between PCI and CABG in subgroup 1 and subgroup 3 in both the training data and testing data. Among the total study population, the multivariable analysis revealed significant differences in the risk of all-cause death among patients in three subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of age and LVEDD identified by machine learning can contribute to decision-making and risk assessment of death in patients with severe TVD. The present results suggest that PCI is a better choice for young patients with severe TVD characterized by left ventricular dilation.

Development of an in vitro model to simulate migration of organic contaminants from pad products to human sweat and enhance dermal exposure risk assessment.

Dermal sorption is an important route for human exposure to organic chemicals embedded in consumer products, but the related chemical migration from consumer products to sweats was often overlooked in assessing skin exposure risk. To address this issue, the present study selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalic acid esters (PAEs), and benzothiazoles (BTs) as the target compounds and developed an in vitro simulation model with two artificial sweats (i.e., acidic and alkaline), a sorbent, and a PVC standard material. An appropriate biological inhibitor (ampicillin) and incubation time of 20 d for assessing the maximum migration efficiency of chemicals were selected. The mass balance of the target compounds during the in vitro incubation was verified. The established in vitro simulation model was used to determine the migration ratios of PAEs and BTs in three types of mouse pads. The maximum migration ratios of DBP, DIBP, DEHP, and BT from leather pad to both sweats were less than those for silicone and rubber pads. Key controlling parameters in migration ratios should be examined in subsequent investigations. Risk assessment showed that the daily exposure doses of PAEs and BTs in mouse pads were higher than the literature data. The hazard index of PAEs in leather pad exceed 1, indicating that PAEs could induce non-carcinogenic effects to human health through hand contact. Overall, the established in vitro simulation model provides a feasible alternative for assessing the potential risk for dermal exposure to consumer products.

Unblocking Barriers of Access to Hepatitis C Treatment in China: Lessons Learned from Tianjin.

Background: The high price is a critical barrier of access to new direct-anting-antiviral (DAA) therapies for hepatitis C for both the patients and the society. Many countries continue to face the challenge of financing such expensive medicines. Such examples include both high-income and middle-income countries. Existing evidence about the efforts of China to address this challenge is limited. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed description of a novel financing model and comprehensive analysis of its impact on patient financial burden of hepatitis C treatment in China. Objective: To examine the evolution of approaches to navigating patients' barriers of access to DAA-based treatment of hepatitis C in Tianjin City, China. Methods: Review of publicly available literature, including published and grey literature. Conduct on-site data extraction and key informant interview. The patient financial burden of hepatitis C treatment was analyzed. The financial burden of hepatitis C patients with different treatment models and health insurance financing models was measured by calculating the number of annual income to cover patient out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure for the standard treatment course accordingly. Findings: Tianjin is the first area to pilot a capitated provider payment program for the treatment of hepatitis C. Through which, the retirees and employees spend 0.7 and 1.0 months of their salary, and residents spend 5.6-6.8 months of their salary for the treatment, the financial burden of patients were much relieved. By the end of March 2019, the first-year pilot program had 876 hepatitis C patients registered the new insurance coverage and treated in Tianjin. Conclusions: The study showed that the financial barriers of access to new hepatitis C treatment for patients could be unblocked with government commitment and novel financing models. International experiences demonstrated that centralized bulk procurement is a good leverage for price negotiation, primarily when using innovative payment approaches. To replicate the initial success of Tianjin, continued efforts are needed for stronger strategic price negotiation, preferably at central level. The case of Tianjin brings implications to the other areas of China and even other developing countries that government commitment, novel financing model and pooled procurement are critical elements of stronger purchasing power and a better secure of treatment.

Initial assessment of 3D magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) towards quantitative brain imaging for radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) provides quantitative T1/T2 maps, enabling applications in clinical radiotherapy such as large-scale, multi-center clinical trials for longitudinal assessment of therapy response. We evaluated the feasibility of a quantitative three-dimensional-MRF (3D-MRF) towards its radiotherapy applications of primary brain tumors. METHODS: A fast whole-brain 3D-MRF sequence initially developed for diagnostic radiology was optimized using flexible body coils, which is the typical MR imaging setup for radiotherapy treatment planning and for MR imaging (MRI)-guided treatment delivery. Optimization criteria included the accuracy and the precision of T1/T2 quantifications of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) solutions, compared to those from the 3D-MRF using a 32-channel head coil. The accuracy of T1/T2 quantifications from the optimized MRF was first examined in healthy volunteers with two different coil setups. The intra- and inter-scanner variations of image intensity from the optimized sequence were quantified by longitudinal scans of the PVP solutions on two 3T scanners. Using a 3D-printed MRI geometry phantom, susceptibility-induced distortion with the optimized 3D-MRF was quantified as the Dice coefficient of phantom contours, compared to those from CT images. By introducing intentional head motion during 10% of the scan, the robustness of the optimized 3D-MRF towards motion was evaluated through visual inspection of motion artifacts and through quantitative analysis of image sharpness in brain MRF maps. RESULTS: The optimized sequence acquired whole-brain T1, T2 and proton density maps and with a resolution of 1.2 × 1.2 × 3 mm3 in 10 min, similar to the total acquisition time of 3D T1- and T2-weighted images of the same resolution. In vivo T1 and T2 values of the white and gray matter were consistent with literature. The intra- and inter-scanner variability of the intensity-normalized MRF T1 was 1.0% ± 0.7% and 2.3% ± 1.0% respectively, in contrast to 5.3% ± 3.8% and 3.2% ± 1.6% from the normalized T1-weighted MRI. Repeatability and reproducibility of MRF T1 were independent of intensity normalization. Both phantom and human data demonstrated that the optimized 3D-MRF is more robust to subject motion and artifacts from subject-specific susceptibility difference. Compared to CT contours, the Dice coefficient of phantom contours from 3D-MRF was 0.93, improved from 0.87 from the T1-weighted MRI. CONCLUSION: Compared to conventional MRI, the optimized 3D-MRF demonstrated improved repeatability across time points and reproducibility across scanners for better tissue quantification, as well as improved robustness to subject-specific susceptibility and motion artifacts under a typical MR imaging setup for radiotherapy. More importantly, quantitative MRF T1/T2 measurements lead to promising potentials towards longitudinal quantitative assessment of treatment response for better adaptive therapy and for large-scale, multi-center clinical trials.

A comprehensive risk assessment of human inhalation exposure to atmospheric halogenated flame retardants and organophosphate esters in an urban zone.

Inhalation exposure to flame retardants used as additives to minimize fire risk and plasticizers is ubiquitous in human daily activities, but has not been adequately assessed. To address this research gap, the present study conducted an assessment of human health risk for four age groups through inhalation exposure to size fractionated particle-bound and gaseous halogenated flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative halogenated flame retardants (AHFRs)) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) at indoor and outdoor environments (school, office, and residence) in three districts of a megacity (Guangzhou, China). Results demonstrated that OPEs were the dominant components among all targets. Indoor daily intakes of PBDEs and OPEs were 13-16 times greater than outdoor levels for all age groups. Gaseous OPEs contributed significantly greater than particle-bound compounds to daily intakes of all target compounds. Based on the different life scenarios, hazard quotient (HQ) and incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) from adults exposure to PBDEs and OPEs in indoor and outdoor settings were the greatest, followed by adolescents, children, and seniors. The estimated HQ and ILCR for all age groups both indoors and outdoors were lower than the safe level (HQ = 1 and ILCR = 10-6), indicating that the potential health risk for local residents in Guangzhou via inhalation exposure to atmospheric halogenated flame retardants and OPEs was low.

In vitro inhalation bioaccessibility for particle-bound hydrophobic organic chemicals: Method development, effects of particle size and hydrophobicity, and risk assessment.

Bioaccessibility of particle-bound hydrophobic organic contaminants and related particle size effects are significant for assessing the potential human health risk via inhalation exposure, but have not been clearly evaluated. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study developed an in vitro method to estimate the inhalation bioaccessibility of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using simulated human lung fluids, i.e., a modified Gamble's solution (MGS) and artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF) with Tenax as the absorption media. Assay parameters, namely incubation time (10 d) and influence of filter use, were optimized for establishing the in vitro method. The results showed that the bioaccessibility of PAHs increased with increasing particle size, but other factors, such as total organic carbon and chemical hydrophobicity, also played a large role in the fate of these compounds. The results from this portion of the present study were then used to evaluate human health risk, which showed that the risk of these particle-bound PAHs by incorporating size-dependent PAHs bioaccessibility and deposition efficiency in the human respiratory tract into inhalation exposure risk calculations was reduced by >90% when compared to using total concentration. This suggested that the inhalation bioaccessibility and deposition efficiency of hydrophobic organic chemicals should be included in human health risk assessment.

[Spatial Distribution of DDTs and PCBs in Wild Fish from Hong Kong Coastal Areas and Potential Human Health Risk Assessment].

To examine the distributional patterns of persistent organic pollutants in the wild fish of Hong Kong and assess the health risks associated with consuming them, two typical kinds of persistent organic pollutants, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were determined in 31 kinds of fishes caught from the coastal areas of Hong Kong. The results indicate that the concentrations of DDTs and PCBs in the wild fishes were in the ranges of 0.44-17 ng·g-1 and 0.028-6.3 ng·g-1, respectively, which were at the low end of the global ranges. Spatially, the lowest concentrations of DDTs and PCBs were found in the fishes occurring in the west of Lantau Island and Tolo Harbor. Furthermore, the feeding habits and living environments of the fishes could have some influence on the accumulation of DDTs and PCBs in them. Source diagnostics indicated that DDTs in these fishes mainly originated from historical residues, but the fishes which migrate for relatively longer distances may be subject to DDT contamination in the estuaries. Finally, human health risk assessments suggested that the increased potential lifetime cancer risk of local adolescences and adults exposed to DDTs and PCBs via wild fish consumption was high. Therefore, the local residents in Hong Kong should reduce their daily intake of wild fish caught from the surrounding coastal regions.

Assessment of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a megacity of South China: Spatiotemporal variability, indoor-outdoor interplay and potential human health risk.

Although a number of studies have assessed the occurrence of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor environment, few studies have systemically examined the indoor-outdoor interplay of size-dependent particulate PAHs and potential health risk based on daily lifestyles. In the present study, size-dependent particle and gaseous samples were collected both indoors and outdoors within selected schools, offices and residences located in three districts of Guangzhou, China with different urbanization levels during the dry and wet weather seasons. Results from measurements of PAHs showed that higher total PAH concentrations occurred in residential areas than in other settings and in indoor than in outdoor environments. Compositional profiles and size distribution patterns of particle-bound PAHs were similar indoors and outdoors, predominated by 4-and 5-ring PAHs and the 0.56-1.0 µm particle fraction. Statistical analyses indicated that outdoor sources may have contributed to 38-99% and 62-100% of the variations for indoor particle-bound and gaseous PAH concentrations, respectively. Incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) from human exposure to indoor and outdoor PAHs based on different lifestyles followed the order of adults > children > adolescents > seniors. All average ILCR values for four age groups were below the lower limit of the Safe Acceptable Range (10-6). In addition, the ILCR value for adults (average: 7.2 × 10-7; 95% CI: 5.4 × 10-8‒2.5 × 10-6), estimated from outdoor air PAH levels with 24-h exposure time, was significantly higher than our assessment results (average: 5.9 × 10-7; 95% CI: 6.3 × 10-8‒1.9 × 10-6), suggesting the significance of assessing human inhalation exposure risks of indoor and outdoor PAHs in urban air based on daily lifestyles.

[Industrial ecological development of Jilin Province, Northeast China based on structure optimization vision.] / 基于结构调整视角的吉林省产业生态化发展.

Based on the interactive coercing mechanism between the industrial system and the ecosystem, we evaluated Jilin's ecologicalization of industrial structure, employing the systematic ana-lysis method and the comprehensive index evaluation method, and explored the spatio-temporal cha-racteristics.The result showed that the ecological level of industrial structure as well as the industrial structure optimization and resource-environmental efficiency had been significantly improved in 2000-2013. The regional difference showed a trend of resource-environmental efficiency > industrial structure optimization > ecologicalization of industrial structure. Spatially, it demonstrated a "higher in west, lower in east" pattern, and at city scale, it showed a decreasing trend from the core (Changchun) to outside. According to the coordination of industrial structure optimization and resource-environmental efficiency, we categorized the nine cities in Jilin Province into four ecologica-lization types: high coordination type, low coordination type, economic development ahead, and ecological development ahead.

Crosslinking of peanut allergen Ara h 2 by polyphenol oxidase: digestibility and potential allergenicity assessment.

BACKGROUND: Peanut is one of the eight major food allergens. Its allergen, Ara h 2, can be recognized by over 90% of serum IgE samples from peanut-allergic patients. Therefore, reducing the allergenicity of Ara h 2 is especially important. RESULTS: In the present study, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), a protein cross-linking reaction catalyst that acts on tyrosine residue, was used to modify Ara h 2. After crosslinking, the microstructure, digestibility, IgG binding capability and IgE binding capability of Ara h 2 were analyzed. Cross-linking decreased the potential allergenicity of Ara h 2 by masking the allergen epitope, while the antigenicity of Ara h 2 changed slightly. After crosslinking, the apparent diameter of Ara h 2 was altered from 300 to 1700 nm or 220 nm, indicating that polymerization could either be inter- or intramolecular. Regarding digestibility, crosslinked Ara h 2 was relatively more easily digested by gastric fluid compared with the untreated Ara h 2, but much more difficult in the intestinal fluid. CONCLUSION: The crosslinking reaction catalyzed by PPO, as a non-thermal process, may be beneficial for avoiding food allergy. The reaction could mask allergen epitopes, decreasing the allergenicity of Ara h 2. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Global trends of research on emerging contaminants in the environment and humans: a literature assimilation.

Available literature data on five typical groups of emerging contaminants (EMCs), i.e., chlorinated paraffins (CPs), dechlorane plus and related compounds (DPs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), phthalate esters, and pyrethroids, accumulated between 2003 and 2013 were assimilated. Research efforts were categorized by environmental compartments and countries, so that global trends of research on EMCs and data gaps can be identified. The number of articles on the target EMCs ranged from 126 to 1,379 between 2003 and 2013. The numbers of articles on CPs, DPs, HBCDs, and pyrethroids largely followed the sequence of biota > sediment ≥ air > water ≥ soil > human tissue, whereas the sequence for phthalate esters was water > sediment > soil > human tissue ≥ biota ≥ air. Comprehensive studies on the target EMCs in biological samples and human tissues have been conducted worldwide. However, investigations into the occurrence of the target EMCs in soil of background areas and water are still scarce. Finally, developed and moderately developed countries, such as the USA, China, Canada, Japan, and Germany, were the main contributors to the global research efforts on EMCs, suggesting that economic prosperity may be one of the main factors propelling scientific research on EMCs.

[Spatial distribution and risk assessment of insecticides in surface soil from a rapidly urbanizing region].

To examine the distribution patterns of organic contaminants in rapidly urbanizing regions, the levels and spatial distributions of 19 overlooked insecticides, i. e., phenyl-pyrazole class (fipronil), chlordane, endosulfan, nonachlor, hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor, dieldrin, aldrin, endrin, methoxychlor and their metabolites, were examined in 229 soil samples collected from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and surrounding areas. The results indicated that higher insecticide levels distributed in the central PRD, while lower levels congested in the surrounding areas. The similar spatial patterns between the levels of insecticides and economic prosperity or population density demonstrated that social-economic factors may have dictated the spatial patterns of insecticides. In addition, the changing of land-use types during urbanization processes, e.g., historical plowlands have been converted into residential landscapes, resulted in high concentrations of banned insecticides in metropolis of the central PRD. Source diagnostics indicated that new inputs of technical chlordane products existed in the PRD and surrounding areas. Fipronil was degraded into fipronil sulfone and fipronil sulfide in most soil samples because of its low half-life in soil. Finally, a risk assessment of 19 insecticides in soil for human health suggested that six samples collected from the major administrative districts with dense population had potential cancer or non-cancer risk to human health. Therefore, these overlooked insecticides should be concerned in future environmental research.

Noninvasive assessment of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in osteosarcoma of long bones with diffusion-weighted imaging: an initial in vivo study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study is to investigate whether diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is useful for monitoring the therapeutic response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in osteosarcoma of long bones. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DWI were obtained from 35 patients with histologically proven osteosarcomas. MR examinations were performed in all patients before and after 4 courses of preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) were measured. The degree of tumor necrosis was assessed macroscopically and histologically by two experienced pathologists after operation. Student's t test was performed for testing changes in ADC value. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to estimate the correlation between necrosis rate and post- neoadjuvant chemotherapy ADC values. P<0.05 was considered to denote a significant difference. RESULTS: The difference of the whole osteosarcoma between pre- neoadjuvant chemotherapy ADC value (1.24±0.17×10(-3) mm(2)/s) and post- (1.93±0.39×10(-3) mm(2)/s) was significant difference (P<0.01). Regarding in patients with good response, the post- neoadjuvant chemotherapy values were significantly higher than the pre- neoadjuvant chemotherapy values (P<0.01). The post- neoadjuvant chemotherapy ADC value in patients with good response was higher than that of poor response (t = 8.995, P<0.01). The differences in post- neoadjuvant chemotherapy ADC between viable (1.03±0.17×10(-3) mm(2)/s) and necrotic (2.38±0.25×10(-3) mm(2)/s) tumor was highly significant (t = 23.905, P<0.01). A positive correlation between necrosis rates and the whole tumor ADC values (r = 0.769, P<0.01) was noted, but necrosis rates were not correlated with the ADC values of necrotic (r = -0.191, P = 0.272) and viable tumor areas (r = 0.292, P = 0.089). CONCLUSIONS: DWI can identify residual viable tumor tissues and tumor necrosis induced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy in osteosarcoma. The ADC value can directly reflect the degree of tumor necrosis, and it is useful to evaluate the preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy response in patients with osteosarcoma.

[Dynamic coupling and spatial disparity of economic development and water environmental quality in Songhua River Basin of Jilin Province, Northeast China].

By using coupling model, this paper analyzed the relationships between the economic development and water environment quality in Songhua River Basin of Jilin Province from 1991 to 2010. During the study period, both the economic development index and the water environment index in the Basin showed an uptrend, basically in a coordination state. From the perspective of coupling coordination degree, the economic development and the water environment system were in interactive coupling, with the features of complexity, nonlinearity, and time-variation. As a whole, the coupling experienced three stages, i.e., low level stage, antagonistic stage, and breaking-in stage. As for the coupling degree, the coupling of the economic development and the water environment system was in the first quadrant, i.e., at a development stage of basic coordination. From the perspective of spatial disparity, the coupling degree of the economic development and the water environment system was higher in the upper reaches of the Songhua River Basin, including Changchun and Jilin, than in the lower reaches, including Songyuan and Baicheng. The coupling degree was not only significantly positively correlated with regional economic development, but also affected by the links between the regions as well as the industrial structure within the regions. The economic development of the cities in the upper reaches of the Songhua River Basin was obviously higher than that in the lower reaches, and, due to the adopting of more strict and effective measures for environmental protection and pollution emissions reduction, the water environment quality in the upper reaches of the Songhua River Basin was better.

[Coordinated evolvement of dynamic coupling between economic and environmental systems in Shenyang Metropolitan area].

By using coupling coordinated degree model, scissors difference methods, and coupling degree model, this paper analyzed the coupling coordinated status, development speed difference, and coupling development trend between economic and environmental systems in Shenyang Metropolitan Area in 1990-2009. In the study period, the coupling level of the relations between economic and environmental development was ascending, with the coupling degree increased from 0.42 to 0.89, which reflected the more and more harmonious relationships between economy and environment. The decrease of economic development speed and the increase of environmental construction speed reduced the scissor difference of the two systems from 0.63 degrees to 0.22 degrees, demonstrating the contribution of the economic development speed to the coupling coordinated status. The coupling degree between the economic and environmental systems stretched across in a [45 degrees, 90 degrees] region, which meant that the two systems were in a co-developing status. As the discrepancy between the development speeds of the two systems became smaller, the coupling degree was closer to 45 degrees, and the two systems were becoming better coordinated.

[Shift-share analysis on regional industrial pollution growth].

Based on the statistical calculation of industrial pollution charge, an extended shift share analysis method was employed to study the regional industrial pollution growth in Jilin Province, and the preferred action for regional industrial ecological transition was discussed from a view point of pollution treatment. The results could be summarized as follows: 1) Proportional shift could suggest some ways to promote industrial ecological transition from the aspect of industrial organization, while differential shift can provide some enlightenment for pollution treatment in terms of technology. The variation coefficients of proportional shift and differential shift at regional scale are 15.78 and 34.05 respectively, and the difference between them implies that production technology plays a much more important role than that of industrial organization in the course of regional industrial ecological transition. 2) Comparing the corresponding components at regional scale and neighborhood scale is meaningful to discover the area which has a dominant effect on regional pollution. As to Jilin Province, it should pay more attention on the pollution reducing in Changchun City and Jilin City. 3) By means of identifying sectoral linkage influence and non-linkage influence on pollutants output, regional pollution types can be grouped into compound category and monomial category, and relevant countermeasures could be adopted to control industrial pollution through industrial organization. 4) The spatial structure of industrial ecological transition in Jilin Province can be divided into four regions which are central area, southeast area, western area and eastern area.

[Factor decomposition and reduction effect on the changes of industrial wastewater discharge].

After describing the volume of industrial wastewater discharge, economic growth, economic space structure and industrial wastewater discharge intensity, the non-residue complete decomposition model was applied to analyze the effects of three economically factors, which were economic scale, discharge intensity and space structure, on the changes of industrial wastewater discharge quantitatively from 1981 to 2006 in China. Then industrial wastewater reduction effect was computed by use of H-P filter method. The main results could be summarized as follows: (1) The average annual growth of industrial wastewater discharge is 0.25 x 10(8) t, and the scale of economic development, the space structure and the industrial wastewater discharge intensity have different contributions to the change, being 25.9 x 10(8) t, - 25.5 x 10(8) t, -0.16 x 10(8) t respectively. (2) Accumulative quantity of industrial wastewater discharge reduction is 641.8 x 10(8) t from 1981 to 2006 in China. During this period, with the impact of macroeconomic policies, reduction gap has been fluctuating; however, total reduction gap is a positive number. It is to say that actual reduction volume is more than potential reduction one. (3) With the shift of time, potential reduction efficiency tends to increase firstly and then decline. (4) During 1982-1990 and 1997-2006, industry is high-pollution, while during 1991-1996, industry is low-pollution correspondingly.