Assessment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in sediments of the Eastern Indian Ocean.

The concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in sediments from the Eastern Indian Ocean were analyzed by GC-MS/MS to explore the status of contamination, distribution and their potential sources and risk. The average (±SD) concentrations of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (∑16PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (∑10PBDEs), dechlorane plus (∑2DP), organochlorine pesticides (∑22OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (∑31PCBs) in sediments were 79,900 ± 31,400, 173 ± 62, 42 ± 24, 1051 ± 305 and 147 ± 24 pg g-1 dw (or 11,200 ± 7200, 28 ± 26, 6 ± 6, 168 ± 121 and 24 ± 17 ng g-1 organic carbon), respectively. The concentrations of POPs in sediments were generally at low to median levels compared to those recorded in other ocean sediments. Composition analyses suggest that PAHs originate from both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources, while dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) mainly comes from technical-DDT, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) from lindane, and chlordane from fresh inputs. The risk assessments show that the targeted chemicals except for chlordane and naphthalene in sediments do not pose potential biological effects to the organisms in the Eastern Indian Ocean. The present study contributes to the very rare data on PAHs, PBDEs, DP, OCPs and PCBs in the vast deep-ocean and will deepen our knowledge of the fate of POPs in ocean environments.

Perfusion heterogeneity in breast tumors for assessment of angiogenesis.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perfusion heterogeneity of malignant and benign breast tumors and assay their vascular architecture changes and molecular expression, thereby evaluating the relevance between imaging and histologic characteristics of angiogenesis. METHODS: Real-time grayscale contrast-enhanced sonography was performed in 310 women with 317 breast tumors. The enhancement patterns and perfusion parameters for malignant and benign tumors were analyzed by contrast-enhanced sonography with microvascular imaging and quantitative time-intensity curve analysis. Structural characteristics were observed by light and electron microscopy. The microvessel density, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, and human kinase insert domain-containing receptor (KDR) expression for all tumors were assessed by immunohistochemical staining of CD31, KDR, and VEGF. RESULTS: Surgical pathologic analysis showed 163 malignant and 154 benign tumors. Significant morphologic differences, including perfusion defects, vessel distortion, vessel dilatation, and heterogeneous enhancement, were observed between the malignant and benign groups (P < .05). The mean perfusion parameters (peak intensity, ascending slope, area under the curve, and wash-out time) were greater in the malignant tumors (P < .05). There were significant differences in the peak intensity, ascending slope, area under the curve, and wash-out time between peripheral and central regions of the malignant tumors (P < .05) but none in the benign tumors. Vessels had various morphologic and distributional characteristics in the peripheral and central regions of the malignant tumors. The microvessel density and VEGF and KDR expression were significantly higher in the malignant group (P < .05), especially in the peripheral regions. CONCLUSIONS: Perfusion heterogeneity was closely associated with the tumor microvascular architecture and molecular expression. Perfusion features, especially regional morphologic and hemodynamic features, can provide valuable information for differentiating malignant from benign breast tumors.