Spatial distribution, source identification, and risk assessment of organochlorines in wild tilapia from Guangxi, South China.

Seventy-five wild tilapia samples from six rivers (ten sites) in Guangxi province were collected and analyzed for 53 organochlorine compounds. DDTs, endosulfan, and PCBs were the most dominant compounds found in this study. Tiandong County (TD) and Guigang City (GG) sites were found to be heavily contaminated with high levels of endosulfan (385-925 ng/g lw) and/or DDTs (20.1-422 ng/g lw). The diagnostic ratios indicated that the residues of DDTs and endosulfan in wild tilapia are associated with historical applications as well as the recent introduction of technical DDTs and endosulfan at some sampling sites. The correlation between total length, body mass, and organochlorines (OCs) was higher than the correlation between age and lipid content. There was no significant correlation between organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and lipid content. Therefore, for organisms, the feeding intensity (related to length and mass) of fish could better reflect degree of pollution than exposure time (age) of fish. The hazardous ratios for the 50th and 95th percentile data of OCPs and PCBs in fish were both below 1, suggesting that daily exposure to OCPs and PCBs yields a lifetime cancer risk lower than 1 in 10,000.

FaceTime validation study: Low-cost streaming video for cytology adequacy assessment.

BACKGROUND: Adequacy assessment for fine-needle aspiration procedures is a standard of care in large medical centers. Although the benefits of this approach include higher adequacy rates with fewer passes, it costs cytopathologist time and affects other clinical responsibilities. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the use of mobile video streaming (FaceTime) technology with the help of smartphone adapters attached to microscopes for remote adequacy assessment of cytologic samples. METHODS: The study consisted of 2 phases: Phase 1 was a retrospective assessment of 25 samples by a primary pathologist with simultaneous streaming to a second pathologist using a smartphone (iPhone/iPad) FaceTime connection. Data on the adequacy of each sample and preliminary diagnoses were recorded. In phase 2, live cases were assessed prospectively by an onsite primary pathologist and by a remote pathologist using an iPhone/iPad-FaceTime connection. The testing phase involved prospective assessment of additional samples with a resident or cytotechnologist as the slide driver. RESULTS: In phase 1, retrospective evaluation of 25 samples yielded considerable agreement (22 of 25 samples; 88%) between onsite and remote adequacy assessments. Three samples (12%) yielded results that did not agree, including 2 samples that were read as adequate in the onsite evaluation that were assessed as indeterminate using FaceTime. In phase 2 and in the testing phase, 14 samples exhibited considerable agreement on both adequacy and preliminary diagnosis (6 samples in phase 2 and 8 samples in the testing phase) and are currently available for reporting. Problems encountered include software version standardization, camera alignment, and (rarely) comprehension of the audio stream. CONCLUSIONS: The current data indicate that iPhone/iPad FaceTime technology can be used to perform remote adequacy assessments of fine-needle aspirations and can help save valuable time for pathologists.