Spatial distribution and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments from the northern Bohai Strait, China.

The epicontinental seas to the east of China have become highly anthropogenically impacted due to rapid economic development in recent decades, resulting in various environmental problems, including heavy metal pollution. The Bohai Strait, as a key junction connecting the material-energy exchange between the Bohai and Yellow Seas, is extremely critical in regional pollution prevention and control. To ascertain the spatial distribution and contamination levels of heavy metals in the surface sediments of the northern Bohai Strait, a systematic investigation was conducted. Geochemical analysis revealed that the concentrations (in ppm) of heavy metal elements in surface sediments vary in the range of 4.19-77.6 for As, 0.04-0.21 for Cd, 5.1-65.7 for Pb, 0.30-39.40 for Cu, 7.77-46.50 for Ni, 1.50-86.60 for Cr, 11.70-91.80 for Zn, and 0.005-0.038 for Hg. Ecological statistics indicate that the northern Bohai Strait suffers from prominent heavy metal pollution primarily induced by As, Cd, and Pb, accompanied by relatively weak pollution of Cu and Ni. Sediments collected from the submarine depressions and the southeast region exhibit higher heavy metal concentrations, and as a consequence, more serious ecological risk. Correlation analysis indicated that the accumulations of Hg, Cr, and Zn were associated with the deposition of organic matter. Preliminary provenance discrimination suggested that the pollutants were mainly derived from the eastern parts of the North Yellow Sea, rather than the Bohai region.

Cost-Reference Particle Filter for Cognitive Radar Tracking Systems with Unknown Statistics.

A novel robust particle filtering algorithm is proposed for updating both the waveform and noise parameter for tracking accuracy simultaneously and adaptively. The approach is a significant step for cognitive radar towards more robust tracking in random dynamic systems with unknown statistics. Meanwhile, as an intelligent sensor, it would be most desirable for cognitive radar to develop the application of a traditional filter to be adaptive and to expand the adaptation to a wider scope. In this paper, after analysis of the Bayesian bounds and the corresponding cost function design, we propose the cognitive radar tracking method based on a particle filter by completely reconstructing the propagation and the update process with a cognitive structure. Moreover, we develop the cost-reference particle filter based on optimizing the cost function design according to the complicated system or environment with unknown statistics. With this method, the update of the estimation cost and variance arrives at the approximate optimization, and the estimation error can be more adjacent to corresponding low bounds. Simulations about the tracking implementation in unknown noise are utilized to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm to the existing methods in traditional radar.

Preclinical assessment of histone deacetylase inhibitor quisinostat as a therapeutic agent against esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most serious life-threatening malignancies. Although chemotherapeutic targets and agents for ESCC have made much progress recently, the efficacy is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is still an unmet medical need for patients with ESCC. Here, we report the expression status of HDAC1 in human ESCC and matched paracancerous tissues, and the results indicated that HDAC1 was generally upregulated in ESCC specimens. Furthermore, we comprehensively assessed the anti-ESCC activity of a highly active HDAC1 inhibitor quisinostat. Quisinostat could effectively suppress cellular viability and proliferation of ESCC cells, as well as induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis even at low treatment concentrations. The effectiveness was also observed in KYSE150 xenograft model when quisinostat was administered at tolerated doses (3 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg). Meanwhile, quisinostat also had the ability to suppress the migration and invasion (pivotal steps of tumor metastasis) of ESCC cells. Western blot analysis indicated that quisinostat exerted its anti-ESCC effects mainly through blockade of Akt/mTOR and MAPK/ERK signaling cascades. Overall, HDAC1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for ESCC, and quisinostat deserves to be further assessed as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of ESCC.

A long wait: barriers to discharge for long length of stay patients.

INTRODUCTION: Reducing long length of stay (LLOS, or inpatient stays lasting over 30 days) is an important way for hospitals to improve cost efficiency, bed availability and health outcomes. Discharge delays can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per patient, and LLOS represents a burden on bed availability for other potential patients. However, most research studies investigating discharge barriers are not LLOS-specific. Of those that do, nearly all are limited by further patient subpopulation focus or small sample size. To our knowledge, our study is the first to describe LLOS discharge barriers in an entire Department of Medicine. METHODS: We conducted a chart review of 172 LLOS patients in the Department of Medicine at an academic tertiary care hospital and quantified the most frequent causes of delay as well as factors causing the greatest amount of delay time. We also interviewed healthcare staff for their perceptions on barriers to discharge. RESULTS: Discharge site coordination was the most frequent cause of delay, affecting 56% of patients and accounting for 80% of total non-medical postponement days. Goals of care issues and establishment of follow-up care were the next most frequent contributors to delay. CONCLUSION: Together with perspectives from interviewed staff, these results highlight multiple different areas of opportunity for reducing LLOS and maximising the care capacity of inpatient hospitals.

Contamination source apportionment and health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil around municipal solid waste incinerator: A case study in North China.

Few studies have comprehensively taken into account the source apportionment and human health risk of soil heavy metals in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) in high population density area. In this study, 8 elements (Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Hg, and As) in fly ash, soil samples from different functional areas and vegetables collected surrounding the MSWI in North China were determined. The single pollution index, integrated Nemerow pollution index, principal component analysis (PCA), absolute principle component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model and dose-response model were used in this study. The results showed that the soils around the MSWI were moderately polluted by Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg, and heavily polluted by As and Cd. MSWI had a significant influence on the distribution of soil heavy metals in different distances from MSWI. The source apportionment results showed that MSWI, natural source, industrial discharges and coal combustion were the four major potential sources for heavy metals in the soils, with the contributions of 36.08%, 29.57%, 10.07%, and 4.55%, respectively. MSWI had a major impact on Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, and Hg contamination in soil. The non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk posed by soil heavy metals surrounding the MSWI were unacceptable. The soil heavy metals concentrations and health risks in different functional areas were distinct. MSWI was the predominate source of non-carcinogenic risk with the average contribution rate of 36.99% and carcinogenic risk to adult male, adult female and children with 4.23×10-4, 4.57×10-4, and 1.41×10-4 respectively, implying that the impact of MSWI on human health was apparent. This study provided a new insight for the source apportionment and health risk assessment of soil heavy metals in the vicinity of MSWI.

Noninvasive assessment of left atrial phasic function in patients with hypertension and diabetes using two-dimensional speckle tracking and volumetric parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the left atrial phasic function of hypertensive patients with or without coexisting diabetes using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE)-based strain and strain rate imaging and volumetric parameters. METHODS: The study included an isolated hypertension group (HT group) comprising 99 patients, a hypertension and diabetes group (HT + DM group) comprising 65 patients, and 26 age-matched healthy controls. The 2DSTE-based strain and strain rate images were studied, and the following parameters were measured: peak left atrial longitudinal strain (LAS-S ), early diastolic (LAS-E ) and late diastolic (LAS-A ) atrial longitudinal strains, and systolic (LASR-S ), early diastolic (LASR-E ) and late diastolic (LASR-A ) strain rates. RESULTS: The LAS-S and LASR-S were lower in the HT group and the HT + DM group compared with the control group (P < 0.001). The LAS-E and LASR-E were lower in the HT group (14.9 ± 5.5% and -1.1 ± 0.4/sec, respectively) than in the control group (22.1 ± 8.3% and -1.7 ± 0.6/sec, respectively) (P < 0.001), and they were further depressed in the HT + DM group (12.3 ± 6.3% and -1.0 ± 0.4/sec, respectively) (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in LAS-A or LASR-A among the 3 groups (P > 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that HT and DM were independently related to LAS-E and LASR-E . CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension can lead to abnormal left atrial reservoir and conduit functions, and coexisting diabetes can further impair conduit function. 2DSTE-derived strain and strain rate imaging are sensitive methods for evaluating left atrial phasic function.