[Potential Source Identification and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Soil of Heze Oil Peony Planting Area Based on PMF-PCA/APCS and PERI].

To study the sources and potential risks of heavy metals in soils of characteristic agricultural product producing areas is of great significance for the scientific management and safe utilization of soil and crop resources. The contents of heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the 254 surface soil samples collected from the Heze oil peony planting area were determined. The content characteristics and correlation of heavy metals were analyzed using multivariate statistical methods. The sources of heavy metals in topsoil were analyzed using Igeo, PMF, and PCA/APCS. The ecological risks of the eight heavy metals were assessed through the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The results showed that the average contents of seven heavy metals in the soil were basically consistent with the background values of soil elements in Heze City, except that the average value of Cd was 1.44 times higher than the background value in Heze City. Correlation analysis and cluster analysis revealed that Pb, Hg, and Cd elements in the soil were greatly affected by human activities in the later period. The sources of eight heavy metals in the study area were natural sources, agricultural fertilizer sources, industrial coal sources, and domestic transportation sources, with the contribution rates of 81.31%, 15.45%, 2.74%, and 0.50%, respectively; 84.25% of the sites in the study area were at slight ecological risk, whereas the moderate risk and strong risk sites accounted for 14.96% and 0.79%, respectively. Among them, Cd and Hg were the dominant elements of ecological risk in the study area.

The hepatotoxicity assessment of micro/nanoplastics: A preliminary study to apply the adverse outcome pathways.

Plastic pollution has become a significant global problem over the years, leading to the continuous decomposition and accumulation of micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) in the environment. As a result, human exposure to these MNPLs is inevitable. The liver, in particular, is highly susceptible to potential MNPL toxicity. In this study, we systematically reviewed the current literature on MNPLs-induced hepatotoxicity and collected data on toxic events occurring at different biological levels. Then, to better understand the cause-mechanism causality, we developed an Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework for MNPLs-induced hepatotoxicity. The AOP framework provided insights into the mechanism of MNPL-induced hepatotoxicity and highlighted potential health risks such as liver dysfunction and inflammation, metabolism disorders and liver fibrosis. Moreover, we discussed the potential application of emerging toxicological models in the hepatotoxicity study. Liver organoids and liver-on-chips, which can simulate the structure and function of the liver in vitro, offer a promising alternative platform for toxicity testing and risk assessment. We proposed combining the AOP framework with these emerging toxicological models to improve our understanding of the hepatotoxic effects of MNPLs. Overall, this study performed a preliminary exploration of novel toxicological methodologies to assess the hepatotoxicity of MNPLs, providing a deeper understanding of environmental toxicology.

Local-to-Remote Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients with Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy and Assessment of Its Predictive Value Using Machine Learning.

Purpose: To explore the alterations in both local and remote brain connectivity in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and to investigate whether the alterations of local neural function could be used to distinguish patients with TAO from healthy controls (HCs) using support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Materials and Methods: In total, 21 patients with TAO and 21 well-matched HCs were enrolled in our study and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning. We employed regional homogeneity (ReHo) algorithm to evaluate local neural function and selected significantly altered brain regions as seed areas for subsequent study of the remote functional connectivity (FC). Moreover, we chose the observed alterations in the ReHo analysis as classification features to differentiate patients with TAO from HCs through SVM classification method. Results: Compared with the HCs, TAO patients showed significantly lower ReHo values in the right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) and right angular (ANG). In contrast, TAO patients displayed higher ReHo values in the left hippocampus (Hipp). We further found TAO patients exhibited decreased FC between the left and right Hipp, right MOG and left cerebellum (CER), right ANG and left rectus, right superior temporal pole gyrus (PSTG) (voxel-level p < 0.01, Gaussian random field correction, cluster-level p < 0.05). The alterations in local neural function exhibited an accuracy of 78.57% and area under curve of 0.81 for distinguishing the patients from HCs. Conclusion: We mainly found the results that patients with TAO showed significantly dysfunctional local and remote brain functional connectivity in several brain regions associated with visual and cognitive functions. The ReHo variability has potential value in differentiating patients with TAO from HCs. These findings may provide novel insights into the neurological mechanisms underlying visual and cognitive disorders in patients with TAO.

Disease burden of primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancers associated with body mass index in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) of the global burden from 1990 to 2017. METHODS: Data of 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017 were extracted from the Global Health Data Exchange. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) were employed to quantify trends in the incidence of primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancer. The age-standardized death rate (ASDR), age-standardized DALY and their corresponding EAPC were used to evaluate mortality trends. RESULTS: The global incidence of primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancer rose by 75.9% from 119 900 cases in 1990 to 210 900 cases in 2017. The highest ASIR was observed in Chile (10.8 per 100 000 in 2017), followed by Japan and South Korea. Regions with the highest social development index (SDI) quintile also had the highest death cases associated with primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancer in 2017 (60 100, 95% UI 55 800-62 700). A high body mass index (BMI) was found to be closely related to age-standardized deaths and age-standardized DALY in most of the regions analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Primary gallbladder and biliary tract cancer remains a serious threat to global public health, especially in high-SDI countries. The ASDR and age-standardized DALY decreased from 1990 to 2017. A high BMI may be associated with this cancer burden.

Assessment of mental health among nursing staff at different levels.

To assess the mental health of nurses and to find the post responsibility and psychological status of clinical nurses.A total of 447 nursing staff at different levels in a teaching hospital was assessed by nursing post responsibility scale and mental symptom checklist (SCL-90) then compared with each other. The study period was from April 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018.There was a positive correlation between the responsibility of post and interpersonal relationship (r = 0.11, P < .05), depression (r = 0.10, P < .05) and hostility (r = 0.10, P < .05). Post risk was negatively correlated with somatization (r = -0.10, P < .05), job involvement scope and communication ability were negatively correlated (r = -0.11, P < .05). Based on the multiple linear regression, knowledge and skills (ß = -0.20, P = .02) and risks of the post (ß=0.20, P < .01) both significantly related to SCL-90 total score.In conclusion, knowledge and skills and risks of the post associated with mental health of clinical nurses. The sustainable development of nursing post responsibility requires healthy physiological and mental health.

Ultrafast Na intercalation chemistry of Na2Ti3/2Mn1/2(PO4)3 nanodots planted in a carbon matrix as a low cost anode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries.

Na2Ti3/2Mn1/2(PO4)3 nanodots uniformly planted in a carbon matrix are reported for the first time as a promising low-cost anode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries, showing ultrafast Na-intercalation chemistry with stable capacities of 78.8 mA h g-1 at 0.5C and 65.1 mA h g-1 at 10C, and a capacity retention of 93% after 200 cycles.

Cost-effective synthesis and superior electrochemical performance of sodium vanadium fluorophosphate nanoparticles encapsulated in conductive graphene network as high-voltage cathode for sodium-ion batteries.

Sodium vanadium fluorophosphate (Na3(VO)2(PO4)2F, denoted as NVPF) has attracted particular interests as cathode for high-energy sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) owing to the high working potential, high specific capacity, and robust structural framework. However, it is challenged by the low electron conductivity and lack of available facile synthesis method. Herein, an environmentally benign, cost-effective synthesis route is reported to produce NVPF nanoparticles encapsulated in conductive graphene network (NVPF/C), involving low-temperature synthesis of NVPF nanoparticles in absolute aqueous solvents and subsequent construction of conductive network through thermally induced transformation of graphene-oxide nanosheets. The resultant product is structurally and electrochemically investigated by combining X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transition electron microscope, and electrochemical analysis. Experimental results show that the optimized NVPF/C product possesses a three-dimensional graphene-encapsulation nanostructure composed of ∼100 nm NVPF nanoparticles and ∼4 nm carbon-coating layer. The unique hierarchical structure enables it cycling with excellent electrochemical performance in terms of a high reversible capacity (116.4 mA h g-1 at 0.2 C), excellent high-rate capability (87.4 mA h g-1 at 10 C) and long-term lifetime (82.1% capacity retention after 1200 cycles). It is indicated that the facile synthesis route can achieve high-performance NVPF/C material for SIBs.

Metro passenger behaviors and their relations to metro incident involvement.

The frequent incidents caused by metro passengers in China suggest that it is necessary to explore the classification and effects of passenger behaviors and their relations to incident involvement. A metro passenger behavior questionnaire (MPBQ) and a metro station staff questionnaire (MSSQ), both comprising 32 behavior items, were developed and surveyed on a sample of metro passengers (N=579) and metro staff (N=99). Using the MPBQ, the self-reported frequency of each aberrant behavior was measured and subjected to explanatory factor analysis, which revealed a three-factor solution on the 28 retained behavior items: transgressions, self-willed inattentions and abrupt violations. ANOVA was used to examine the effects of demographic and riding profile variables on different types of behaviors. The MSSQ was used to collect metro staff opinions on behavior frequency, severity and entities that might be affected, given that a specific behavior occurred. An importance hierarchy was established over the 32 identified behaviors to determine the most important riding behaviors. Finally, logistic regression showed that riding time, number of stops experienced by a passenger and, more importantly, transgressions and abrupt violations, were significant predictors of incident involvement. The possible explanations and implications of the findings might help in understanding passenger behaviors and targeting metro safety interventions in ways that promote safer operations.