Concentration, spatial distribution, and health risk assessment of PFASs in serum of teenagers, tap water and soil near a Chinese fluorochemical industrial plant.

Discharges released from fluorochemical industrial plants lead to severe contamination of the environment with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which may pose risks to human health. In this study, 187 serum samples from teenagers (age = 14 years), 22 tap water samples and 40 soil samples were collected in areas within 0-11 km of a fluorochemical industrial plant in Huantai County, Shandong Province, and concentrations of 18 PFASs were quantified by UPLC-MS/MS. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was found to be predominant, concentrations of which ranged from 40.4 to 845 ng/mL in serum, from 2.88 to 19.3 ng/L in tap water, from 4.40 to 189 ng/g in soil, and accounting for 84.1-98.6%, 15.9-79.8%, and 73.8-96.7% of the total PFASs, respectively. Statistical analysis demonstrated that concentrations of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in soil (C5-C9) and serum (C8-C10) were associated with the industrial plant. And PFOA concentrations in tap water were not relevant to the industrial plant, which were comparable with the non-contaminated area and lower than the threshold value recommended by U.S. EPA (70 ng/mL), indicating that the contribution to the high concentration of serum PFOA of local teenagers by drinking water was limited. Moreover, PFCAs in soil only made a limited contribution to the serum PFCAs of local residents by direct inhalation and dermal exposure, but the potential health risk by the soil via food chain should be paid attention to. Furthermore, health risk assessment demonstrated that high concentrations of PFOA in serum could pose potential health risk to local teenagers. Therefore, effective measures should be taken to attenuate the health risks caused by the industrial plant to local residents, and further epidemiological studies should be carried out in the future.

[Application of 16-slice spiral CT angiography in aortic dissection].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of 16-slice spiral CT angiography in the diagnosis of aortic dissection (AD). METHODS: Twenty patients with AD underwent 16-slice spiral CT angiography with multi-planar reformation (MPR), curved planar reformation (CPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), volume rendering (VR) and CT virtual endoscopy (CTVE). All the original and reconstructed images were studied. RESULTS: The original transverse axial images most reliably preserved the fundamental information. The reconstructed images gave better performance in displaying the spatial relation between the blood vessels and the lesions. Images obtained by different reconstruction methods had different characteristics, and combining different display modes allowed clear representation of the features of aortic dissection such as the extension of the lesion, true and false cavity, disrepair of the intimal flap, aortal branch involvement, thrombi and outcome of endoluminal stenting. CONCLUSION: Multislice spiral CT angiography can fully display the details of aortic dissection and is therefore of important value for the diagnosis and preoperative and postoperative evaluations.

[Clinical and imaging diagnosis of primary hepatic lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and imaging features of primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL). METHODS: Four PHL cases were analyzed retrospectively for clinical manifestations, transcatheter hepatic arterial angiography and CT features. RESULTS: All the four cases were B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma proven by histological and immunohistochemical examination. The main clinical manifestations included pain in the right upper quadrant and B symptoms of the lymphoma (fever, night sweating, and weight loss) in 3 patients. Three cases were complicated by chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, and the other had renal transplantation two years ago. All these cases exhibited elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, which was reduced after surgery or chemotherapy. Plain CT scan all identified hypodense lesions which did not display marked enhancement on the arterial phase and portal venous phase scans. On delayed phase scan, the border of the lesions became clear, and slight enhancement was observed in the peripheral and some partitions of the lesions. Angiographic imaging displayed slight tumor staining and arterial displacement in the liver in all the cases with thin tumor-supplying vessels. Global staining or abnormally thickened vessels were not seen. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive evaluation of the clinical manifestations and imaging features can be helpful in the diagnosis of PHL, and serum LDH level may help to assess the therapeutic effect.

[18F-FDG positron emission tomography for mediastinal staging of lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of (18)F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) in mediastinal staging of lung cancer. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of mediastinal staging was carried out in 41 cases of lung cancer by comparing the preoperative mediastinal FDG PET and CT findings with the pathological results. RESULTS: According to the pathological results, 18 patients had mediastinal metastasis, 17 of whom were correctly identified by FDG PET, and 10 by CT. Of the other 23 patients without mediastinal metastasis pathologically, 22 were correctly diagnosed by FDG PET and 20 by CT. The sensitivity and accuracy for diagnosis of regional mediastinal lymph node metastasis with FDG PET were 94.4% and 95.1%, obviously higher than those of CT (55.6% and 73.2%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FDG PET is a better alternative for mediastinal staging of lung cancer, specially for identification of small lymph node metastasis escaping detection by CT, to provide important evidence for clinical staging and treatment planning of lung cancer.

[18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in hepatocellular carcinoma on positron emission tomography correlates with alpha-fetoprotein].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether (18)F-fluorodexyglucose (FDG) uptake in the primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) correlates with serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). METHODS: Forty-five patients with histologically confirmed HCC underwent whole-body (18)F-FDG PET examination. Standardized uptake value (SUV) and tumor-to-nontumor ratio of the SUV (SUVratio) were calculated, and the relationship between serum AFP and glucose metabolism in HCC was analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 45 cases, the primary tumor and metastatic lymph nodes were clearly displayed on PET images in 43 cases and the well-differentiated tumors were shown negative in the other 2 cases. A linear correlation of the AFP with SUV (r=0.426, P<0.05) and SUVratio (r=0.532, P<0.001) was noted. CONCLUSION: Serum AFP correlates significantly with both SUV and SUN ratio, indicating that AFP is involved in glucose metabolism and cell proliferation in HCC.