An in-situ versatile screening method for identifying SVOC sources in indoor environments.

Indoor semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) pose a substantial threat to human health. However, identifying the sources of these emissions has been challenging owing to the scarcity of convenient and practical on-site methodologies. Herein, a novel method for source screening was proposed using aluminum silicate sampling strips to adsorb SVOCs from the surface air of indoor materials. The adsorbed SVOC levels indicate the emission intensity of these materials into indoor environments. Additionally, compact sampling strips can be readily fixed to any vertical surface using a static sticker, facilitating the characterization of various materials in practical settings. Laboratory-simulated experiments demonstrated the capability of the proposed method to differentiate between source and non-source materials within a 10-cm distance in the same space. In practical scenarios, the primary emission sources identified via this method exhibited a consistent correlation with the contents of the corresponding materials obtained from the traditional solvent-extraction method. As the adsorbed SVOCs were directly transferred to a GC-MS through thermal desorption instead of the solvent-extraction procedure, the proposed method demonstrated several-fold improvements in analytical sensitivity and efficiency. Using this versatile screening technique, some emerging and important SVOC species were identified within specific indoor materials. Eliminating these sources has been demonstrated as an effective approach to mitigate SVOC pollution. Overall, the proposed method offers a powerful tool for managing indoor pollutants and safeguarding human health.

[Effectiveness analysis of arthroscopic single/double-row suture techniques in repairing of moderate rotator cuff tears].

Objective: To compare the early effectiveness of arthroscopic repair of moderate rotator cuff tears with single-row modified Mason-Allen technique and double-row suture bridge technique. Methods: The clinical data of 40 patients with moderate rotator cuff tears who met the selection criteria between January 2021 and May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 20 cases were repaired with single-row modified Mason-Allen suture technique (single-row group) and 20 cases with double-row suture bridge technique (double-row group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, rotator cuff tear size, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Constant-Murley score, and T2* value between the two groups ( P>0.05). The VAS score, Constant-Murley score (including subjective influence, pain, flexion, internal rotation, external rotation, abduction, and muscle strength score) were compared between the two groups before operation and at 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. Functional MRI and ultrashort-echo-time (UTE)-T2* technique were performed to calculate T2* value and quantitatively evaluate the healing of rotator cuff tissue; and the healing of rotator cuff was evaluated by Sugaya classification at 12 months after operation. Results: Patients in both groups were followed up 1 year. There was no complication such as muscle atrophy, joint stiffness, or postoperative rotator cuff tear. The intra-group comparison showed that the scores of pain, subjective influence, flexion, abduction, and muscle strength in Constant-Murley scores at each time point after operation in the two groups were significantly higher than those before operation, while VAS scores were significantly lower than those before operation ( P<0.05). Internal rotation, external rotation, and total score of Constant-Murley score in the two groups were lower at 6 weeks due to abduction immobilization within 6 weeks after operation, and gradually increased at 6 months after operation, with significant differences at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation when compared with those before operation and at 6 weeks after operation ( P<0.05). The T2* values of the two groups showed a downward trend over time, and there were significant differences between the two groups at other time points ( P<0.05), except that there was no significant difference between at 6 and 12 months after operation in the single-row group and between at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation in the double-row group ( P>0.05). The comparison between groups showed that the VAS score and T2* values of the double-row group were significantly lower than those of the single-row group at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after operation ( P<0.05). The scores of subjective influence, flexion, abduction, and internal rotation in the double-row group were significantly better than those in the single-row group at 6 weeks and 3 months after operation ( P<0.05), and the external rotation score and total score in the double-row group were significantly better than those in the single-row group at 3 months after operation ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference at 6 and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in muscle strength and pain scores between the two groups at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the results of Sugaya classification between the two groups at 12 months after operation ( Z=1.060, P=0.289). Conclusion: The effectiveness of arthroscopic repair of moderate rotator cuff tears with modified Mason-Allen technique and double-row suture bridge technique is satisfactory, but suture bridge technique is helpful to the early rehabilitation training of shoulder joint and the recovery of motor function of patients.

Combustion and Emission Characteristics of Gasoline Engine Blended Combustion Syngas.

It is an effective way to introduce syngas fuel into gasoline engine for blending combustion to improve combustion and reduce emissions. In this paper, the combustion and emission characteristics of the direct injection engine under the condition of mixed combustion of syngas were analyzed by a numerical simulation method. The engine ran at 2000 rpm, and the mass fraction of syngas was from 0 to 20%. The results showed that with the increase in the mass ratio of syngas in the dual fuel, the average pressure and temperature in the cylinder increased first and then decreased. The maximum in-cylinder pressure and in-cylinder temperature increased by 27.5 and 2.97%, respectively. The instantaneous heat release rate also showed a law of first increasing and then decreasing, in which the peak value of the instantaneous heat release rate increased by 32.1% at the highest. In addition, with the increase in the ratio of syngas, the emission of nitrogen oxides in the cylinder gradually decreased, with a maximum reduction of 27.4%. The unburned hydrocarbons first decreased and then increased, with a maximum reduction of 7.6%. Meanwhile, the emission of carbon dioxide was negatively correlated with the ratio of syngas in the dual fuel. With the increase in hydrogen ratio in syngas, the carbon monoxide was gradually reduced, with a maximum reduction of 65%. The carbon dioxide increased first and then decreased, with a maximum addition of 4.8%. The ratio of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in syngas had little effect on the emission of unburned hydrocarbons.

Complete remission of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis after anti-tuberculous chemotherapy: a case report.

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare respiratory system disorder. Patients with PAP are at risk for a wide variety of secondary infections. This current case report describes a patient with PAP complicated by tuberculosis. A 48-year-old male patient with multiple follow-up chest computed tomography scans that showed predominant diffuse ground glass opacity in both lung fields, presented a few years later with new calcified lesions and pleural effusion. At this point, the associated auxiliary examination indicated the possibility of PAP combined with tuberculosis infection. The patient achieved complete remission after anti-tuberculosis treatment. PAP is an easily overlooked clinical syndrome due to its low prevalence and lack of specific clinical manifestations, especially when combined with other pulmonary lesions. Therefore, clinicians should consider this rare disease in patients presenting with pulmonary disease and plan for its co-morbidity with other secondary outcomes, such as opportunistic infections, which are a common and life-threatening complication in patients with PAP. This case indicates the possibility that anti-tuberculosis therapy can improve alveolar proteinosis in patients with PAP and secondary Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Common SVOCs in house dust from urban dwellings with schoolchildren in six typical cities of China and associated non-dietary exposure and health risk assessment.

This paper presents concentrations of common SVOCs in house dusts from urban dwellings with schoolchildren in six typical Chinese cities in winter and summer. Among the detected SVOCs, DBP and DEHP have a higher detection rate. The levels of these two substances contribute an average proportion of over 90% of the total SVOCs' levels, and show a significant correlation in most cities. Based on measured concentrations, schoolchildren's non-dietary exposures to DBP and DEHP at homes are estimated. Due to a longer time spent in child's bedrooms, children's non-dietary exposures to phthalates in child's bedrooms are greatly higher than that in living rooms. As for DBP non-dietary exposure, the most significant pathway is dermal absorption from air, accounting for >70%, whereas, the most predominant pathway for DEHP non-dietary exposure is dust ingestion, contributing from 61.5% to 91.9%. Based on estimated exposure doses, child-specific reproductive and cancer risk are assessed by comparing the exposure doses with DBP and DEHP benchmarks specified in California's Proposition 65. Owing to the high DBP exposure, nearly all of target schoolchildren appear to have a severe reproductive risk, although only non-dietary exposures at home are considered in this study. The average risk quotient of DBP exposure for child-specific MADL in all cities is 31.27 in winter and 10.35 in summer. Also, some schoolchildren are confronted with potential carcinogenic risk, because DEHP exposure exceeds child-specific NSRLs. The maximum DEHP exposure exceeds the cancer benchmark by over 6 times. These results also indicate that controlling indoor phthalates pollution at home is urgent to ensure the healthy development of children in China.