Concentration-dependent effects of reductive pulmonary inhalants on ultrafine particle-induced oxidative stress: Insights for health risk assessment.

The impact of reductive pulmonary inhalants on ultrafine particles (UFPs)-induced pulmonary oxidative stress remains a crucial consideration, yet the concentration-dependent effects of these inhalants have remained unexplored. Here we synthesized composite UFPs simulating atmospheric UFPs, primarily composed of metals and quinones. We subjected these UFPs to varying concentrations (0-7000 µM) of two reductive pulmonary inhalants, N-acetylcysteine and salbutamol, to assess their influence on oxidative potential, measured through the dithiothreitol assay (OPDTT). Simultaneously, we analysed the soluble metal content of UFPs to uncover potential relationships between oxidative potential and metal solubility. Our results unveil a dual role played by these inhalants in shaping the OPDTT of composite UFPs. Specifically, OPDTT generally increased as inhalant concentrations rose from 0 to 300 µM. However, an intriguing reversal occurred when concentrations exceeded 500 µM, resulting in a decline in OPDTT. Relative to untreated UFPs, these inhalants induced promotion and inhibition effects within concentration ranges of 100-500 and >1000 µM, respectively. While no significant correlation emerged between OPDTT and soluble metal content as inhalant concentrations ranged from 0 to 7000 µM, noteworthy positive correlations emerged at lower inhalant concentrations (e.g., N-acetylcysteine at 0-300 µM). These findings provide insights into the potential influence of reductive pulmonary inhalants on health risks associated with UFP exposure, further underscoring the need for continued research in this critical area.

Effects of endogenous and exogenous reductants in lung fluid on the bioaccessible metal concentration and oxidative potential of ultrafine particles.

Health risk posed by ultrafine particles (UFPs) is potentially increased by reducing substances present in lung fluid, although knowledge of the underlying mechanisms is insufficient. Here, UFPs mainly consisting of metals and quinones were prepared. The reducing substances examined included lung endogenous and exogenous reductants. UFPs were extracted in simulated lung fluid containing reductants. Extracts were used to analyze metrics relevant to health effects, including the bioaccessible metal concentration (MeBA) and oxidative potential (OPDTT). The MeBA of Mn (974.5-9896.9 µg L-1) was higher than those of Cu (155.0-599.6 µg L-1) and Fe (79.9-500.9 µg L-1). Correspondingly, UFPs containing Mn had higher OPDTT (2.07-12.0 pmol min-1 µg-1) than those containing Cu (2.03-7.11 pmol min-1 µg-1) and Fe (1.63-5.34 pmol min-1 µg-1). Endogenous and exogenous reductants can increase MeBA and OPDTT, and the increments were generally higher for composite than pure UFPs. Positive correlations between OPDTT and MeBA of UFPs in the presence of most reductants emphasized the importance of the bioaccessible metal fraction in UFPs for inducing oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating reactions between quinones, metals, and lung reductants. Present findings provide novel insight into the toxicity and health risks of UFPs.

Health risk of fluorine in soil from a phosphorus industrial area based on the in-vitro oral, inhalation, and dermal bioaccessibility.

Health risk of F in soil is of special concern due to the continuously elevated concentration of F in soil. However, there is still a dearth of risk assessments of F in soil based on in-vitro bioaccessibility posed by multiple exposure routes. Herein, the oral, inhalation, and dermal bioaccessibility of F in soil was firstly obtained by adapting and combining in-vitro methods, which then was introduced to remedy an information gap of a comprehensive risk of F in soil posed by a multi-exposure pathway. Combined in-vitro tests indicate the oral, inhalation, and dermal bioaccessibility of F was 13.15 ± 2.63%, 16.55 ± 2.63%, and 1.27 ± 0.73%, respectively. Plasma yielded a detoxic potential for the absorbed F after digesting in small intestine, while effects of enzymes, sweat, and food on the oral bioaccessibility of F were insignificant. Different with metals, the major dissolving phase of F was the interstitial fluid in the deep lung instead of in the alveolar macrophages intracellular environment. A potentially major release of F in the exocrine sweat was noted than in the apocrine sweat. Risk assessments based on the daily exposure incorporated with the in-vitro bioaccessibility suggested that compared with inhalation and dermal contact, oral ingestion was the main exposure route of F in soil to human. Present findings provide insights into the bioaccessibility and health risk of F in soil by multiple exposure routes, which are crucial for the risk control of F contamination in soil.

Distribution, co-existing metals, and potential health risk of fluorine in farmland soil in different anthropogenic activity dominated districts in a county-level city in Sichuan province, Southwest China, in 2015.

Continuous fluorine (F) accumulation in soil by anthropogenic activities leads to variously global environmental and health issues. Herein, 300 farmland soil samples were collected from different anthropogenic activity dominated districts for studying the distribution and related health risk of F in soils. Co-existing metal concentrations in soil samples were also analysed to evaluate the relationship between the distribution of F and metals in soil. The median value of the total F concentration of 488 mg kg-1 in the present samples was higher than the median background F concentration in topsoil in Sichuan province of China (261 mg kg-1). Concentration of water-soluble F (1.33-26.2 mg kg-1) was two or three orders of magnitude less than that of total F in soil. Levels of total and water-soluble F in soils collected from the district with longer contamination history were higher than that from other districts with shorter contamination period, indicating a historical contribution of anthropogenic activities to F accumulation in soil. Notable positive correlation between the total F and vanadium (V) concentration in soil can be partly linked to the usually negative charged form or a common source of F and V in soil (e.g. coal combustion). Compared with inhalation and dermal contact, present human exposure of F in soil was mainly caused by oral ingestion, and the health risks posed by F in soil for both children and adults were acceptable. However, considering the higher potential risk for children than adults, the accumulation of F in soil induced by anthropogenic activities should not be neglect.

Transfer characteristic of fluorine from atmospheric dry deposition, fertilizers, pesticides, and phosphogypsum into soil.

Fluorine (F) is widely dispersed in the environment and frequently used in industry and agriculture with a high migration ability. Thus, it is essential to understand the leaching characteristic of F in soil from industry and agriculture sources. Several sources of F pollutants in soil, including fertilizers, pesticides, phosphogypsum, and atmospheric deposition, were selected to investigate leaching characteristics of F in soil by leaching experiments. The addition of phosphate fertilizer and compound fertilizer (N:P:K = 20:10:15) enhanced the leachability of F in soil and the proportion of F leached out from soil treated by these fertilizers were 0.25% and 0.24%, respectively. However, unanticipated lower leachability of F appeared in compound fertilizer (N:P:K = 17:17:17), nitrogen fertilizer, dipterex, fluoroglycofen, fluopimomide, simulative dry deposition (YF3), and phosphogypsum loaded soils compared with additive-absent treatment. Although phosphogysum had a high F concentration, minimum proportion of F released (0.18%) was observed in phosphogypsum-coverd soil. The amounts of F leaching-out from surface soils (0-25 cm) treated with nitrogen fertilizer decreased 1.03 kg ha-1 comparing with blank control. Soil with phosphate fertilizer leached 5.47 kg F ha-1 a year, having the highest environment risk to deeper soil and groundwater. However, phosphogypsum and dry deposition of airbone F chemical had few effects on F leaching in soil. F-containing materials from agricultural process may leach more F from surface soils than industrial sources.

Growth responses, accumulation, translocation and distribution of vanadium in tobacco and its potential in phytoremediation.

The metal tolerance mechanism of plants is of great importance to explore the plant-based clean-up of environmental substrata contaminated by heavy metals. Indoor experiment of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) seedlings growing hydroponically in nutrient solution containing 0, 0.1, 0.5, 2.0, and 4.0 mg L-1 V was conducted. The results indicated that plant overall growth performance was significantly affected at ≥ 2.0 mg L-1 V. Oxidative stress degree as indicated by foliar O2-· and H2O2 content intensified markedly at ≥ 0.5 mg L-1 V treatments. In response, the plant activated its enzyme and non-enzyme protecting mechanism to cope with oxidative stress inflicted by vanadium. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, including SOD, POD, CAT, APX, and the concentration of non-enzyme antioxidants, e.g., AsA and GSH were all conspicuously (p < 0.5 or p < 0.1) enhanced at ≥ 0.5 mg L-1 V treatments. Vanadium accumulated in leaves, stems, and roots increased with increasing vanadium level. The majority of the absorbed vanadium retained in plant root, and minor portions were transferred to aerial parts. Vanadium concentration in plant tissues ordered as root ˃ stem ˃ leaf. Translocation factors (TF) in vanadium-treated tobaccos (TF « 1) were significantly lower than that of control (TF ˃ 1). In conclusion, although vanadium at ≥ 2.0 mg L-1 inhibited plant growth, tobacco exhibited a relatively good vanadium tolerance through self-adaptive regulation and has the potential as a phytostabilizer in decontaminating the environment contaminated by vanadium.

Long Non-Coding RNA MALAT1 as a Detection and Diagnostic Molecular Marker in Various Human Cancers: A Pooled Analysis Based on 3255 Subjects.

PURPOSE: Accumulating studies have explored the potential diagnostic value of lncRNA MALAT1 in various cancers. However, there are still inconsistent results in diagnostic accuracy and reliability in individual studies. The aim of this pooled study was to summarize the overall diagnostic capacity of lncRNA MALAT1 in cancer detection and diagnosis. METHODS: Eligible studies satisfying the inclusion criteria were screened and selected from the online database. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata 14.0. RESULTS: A total of 17 eligible studies were included in this pooled analysis, with 1777 cases and 1478 controls. The overall results were shown as follows: sensitivity, 0.74 (95% CI=0.65-0.81), specificity, 0.79 (95% CI=0.73-0.84), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), 3.48 (95% CI=2.79-4.32), negative likelihood, 0.33 (95% CI=0.25-0.44), diagnostic score, 2.34 (95% CI=1.99-2.69), diagnostic odds ratio, 10.41 (95% CI=7.33-14.78) and area under the curve, 0.83 (95% CI=0.80-0.86). Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test (p = 0.66) suggested no potential publication bias. CONCLUSION: All these results indicate that lncRNA MALAT1 achieves a relatively moderate accuracy in cancer detection and diagnosis, and could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for cancers.

Mechanism of vanadium(IV) resistance of the strains isolated from a vanadium titanomagnetite mining region.

Microbial treatment for vanadium contamination of soils is a favorable and environment-friendly method. However, information of the resistant mechanism of the strains in soils to vanadium, especially to tetravalent vanadium [vanadium(IV)], is still limited. Herein, potential of the vanadium(IV) biosorption and biotransformation of the strains (4K1, 4K2, 4K3 and 4K4) which were capable of tolerating vanadium(IV) was determined. For biosorption, the bioadsorption and the bioabsorption of vanadium(IV) occur on the bacterial cell wall and within the cell, respectively, were taken into consideration. Comparison of the vanadium(IV) adsorbed on the bacterial cell walls and remained in the cells after sorption indicated the major bacterial vanadium(IV) sorption role of the bioadsorption which was at least one order of magnitude higher than the bioabsorption amount. Isotherm study using various isotherm models revealed a monolayer and a multilayer vanadium(IV) biosorption by 4K2 and the others (4K1, 4K3 and 4K4), respectively. Higher biosorption was observed in acidic conditions than in alkaline conditions, and the maximum biosorption was 2.41, 9.35, 7.76 and 8.44 mg g-1 observed at pH 6 for 4K1, at pH 3 for 4K2, and at pH 4 for 4K3 and 4K4, respectively. At the present experimental range of the initial vanadium(IV) concentration, optimal biosorption capacity of the bacteria was observed at the vanadium(IV) level of 100-250 mg L-1. Different biotransformation level of vanadium(IV) in soils by the stains was observed during a 28-d pot incubation of the soils mixed with the strains, which can be attributed to the discrepancy of both soil properties and bacterial species. Present study can help to fill up the gaps of the insufficient knowledge of the vanadium(IV) resistant mechanism of the strains in soils.

Adsorption-desorption and co-migration of vanadium on colloidal kaolinite.

Vanadium (V) pollution in soil has been widely noted, while knowledge about the effect of soil colloid on migration of V is scarce. Batch adsorption-desorption and transportation of the colloid-adsorbed V in columns packed with quartz sand under various environment conditions were carried out to explore the retention and transportation of V by colloidal kaolinite. Batch adsorption-desorption studies show that the adsorption of V by the colloidal kaolinite was mainly specific adsorption and redox played a limited role in the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity of the colloidal kaolinite was 712.4 mg g-1, and about 5.9-8.7% of the adsorbed V could be desorbed. Both the adsorption-desorption and migration of V with colloidal kaolinite were highly ambient condition dependent. The column studies show that V was highly mobile in the saturated porous media. An easier transfer of V with an increase in pH, IS, and velocity of flow was noted. However, the increase of IS lead to the blockage of the colloidal kaolinite transportation. The recovery rate of the colloidal kaolinite at pH 7 and 9 was 2.0 and 2.1 times that at pH 5, respectively. The migration of colloidal-adsorbed V in sand column preceded that of V ion, but more colloidal-bound V than V ion remained in the column. Lack of consideration of the combination and co-transportation of V and colloidal kaolinite will lead to an overestimation of the risk of V to deeper soil profiles and groundwater. Graphical abstract.

Distribution and superposed health risk assessment of fluorine co-effect in phosphorous chemical industrial and agricultural sources.

The industrial and agricultural activities based on phosphorous can increase the F content in the surrounding area, causing a widespread adverse effect on the organisms. However, the current information on the superposed health risk posed by the multi-exposure to the F contamination in an area jointly affected by agricultural and industrial activities (DA) is limited. Herein, the F distribution in multi-environmental media and the exposure risk to humans by ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact pathways are studied in an DA. The content of soil water-soluble fluorine (WF) was higher in the DA than in the area individually affected by agricultural activities (SA). This indicated a superposed contribution of the industrial and agricultural activities to increase the F toxicity in the soil. The correlation of the soil pH and the organic matter content with the soil WF concentration in DA suggested an inter-relationship between the soil physicochemical properties and the toxicity of F in the soil by industrial and agricultural activities. Irrigation water was not a major anthropogenic source of the cropland soil F. The large variation in F concentration in the crops (101.8-195.6%) might have originated from the discrepancies in the soil F content and air F concentration. The air F pollution (0.6-1.6 µg dm-2 d-1) in the area particularly influenced by intensive industrial activities should be important. The exposure of residents to F was mainly from the ingestion of F-enriched crops. The higher exposure of adults to F than that of children could be attributed to more industrial and agricultural outdoor activities, larger exposure area of the skin, and more daily ingestion of F-enriched food by adults. Overall, present insights into the distribution of and the multi-exposure to F may be beneficial for decreasing the adverse F effects on the residents in DAs worldwide.

Health risk assessment of fluorine in fertilizers from a fluorine contaminated region based on the oral bioaccessibility determined by Biomimetic Whole Digestion-Plasma in-vitro Method (BWDPM).

Due to potential adverse effects of excessive fluorine (F), interests regarding considerable accumulation of F in agricultural soils from application of fertilizers are increasing continually. However, less detailed information of hazard and risk of F in fertilizers to human directly by hand-to-mouth pathway can be obtained. Herein, the bioaccessibility of F (Fbio) in fertilizers is determined by Biomimetic Whole Digestion-Plasma in-vitro Method (BWDPM), which is developed to detect the behaviour of bioaccessible F in both the whole digestive system and plasma for the first time. Observations of higher Fbio in small intestinal phases (4.35-56.33%), large intestine (1.01-40.52%) and plasma (8.07-66.70%) yielded them as the major phases which are faced with higher exposure risk of F. Compared with phosphate fertilizer, more bioaccessible F was observed in compound fertilizer. Some studied factors, such as sweat and food, yield insignificant influences on Fbio, whereas can affect the exposure estimations of F considerably. Exposure risks based on Fbio of fertilizers should be highly concerned, especially the occupational exposure to local farmers. In a word, more explicit and realistic information of the potential risk of F on human health could be obtained by the introduction of Fbio.

Oral bioaccessibility and health risk assessment of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) in a vanadium titanomagnetite mining region by a whole digestive system in-vitro method (WDSM).

Oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) in soil, dust and concentrate fines from a vanadium titanomagnetite mining region was assessed by a whole digestive system in-vitro scheme. The scheme including the addition of sweat and the large intestinal digestion was used to estimate the oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) in the whole digestive system for the first time. Higher oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) was determined in gastric and small intestinal phases demonstrating that their major roles for vanadium digestion and absorption. The decreasing order of the oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) in each digestive phase was stomach, small intestine, large intestine and mouth. Higher oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(V) in the whole digestion indicated its higher risk potential for human than vanadium(IV). Lower oral bioaccessibility of vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) determined in bionic digestion illustrated detoxicity potential of human body for ingested vanadium. Compared with soil and dust, higher digestion rate of vanadium in vanadium titanomagnetite concentrate fines indicated its higher risk for human, especially for mining workers. Based on vanadium oral bioaccessibility, hazard quotients of the vanadium were much less than the critical level suggested for no non-carcinogenic risks to the populations surrounding the sampling sites. Indeed, compared with the estimations based on total vanadium content, the incorporation of oral vanadium bioaccessibility into risk assessments could give more realistic information.

Decreased nuclear expression of FTO in human primary hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis.

Fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) has been well known for a pivotal role in regulation of fat mass, adipogenesis and body weight. In recent years, increasing studies revealed a strong association between FTO and various types of cancer. Its role in human hepatocellular carcinoma, however, remains unclear. We aimed at investigating the expression pattern and clinical significance of FTO in hepatocellular carcinoma. We found that FTO mRNA levels were significantly lower in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis showed the expression of FTO was reduced in the nuclei in hepatocellular carcinoma, and was associated with AFP level (P < 0.001), tumor size (P < 0.001), metastasis (P = 0.025) and vascular invasion (P < 0.001). Patients with decreased FTO expression had a shorter overall and tumor-free survival time (P = 0.004 and P = 0.006) than those with normal FTO expression. Cox's proportional hazard regression model revealed that reduced expression of FTO was a risk factor associated with the prognosis of HCC patients (P = 0.022). These results indicated that decreased FTO expression is correlated with clinicopathological factors, implying that FTO could be a vital predictor of poor outcome in HCC patients and serves as a novel biomarker for HCC.

[Isolation, charcaterization of an anthracene degrading bacterium Martelella sp. AD-3 and cloning of dioxygenase gene].

Anthracene, among the 16 US EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is a typical low molecular weight environmental contaminant, which gains concern on its biodegradation under hypersaline condition. In this study, an anthracene-degrading bacterial strain was isolated from highly saline petroleum-contaminated soil. Based on its physiological, biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the bacteria was preliminary identified and named as Martelella sp. AD-3. The strain was able to utilize anthracene as sole carbon source for growth and the degradation occurred under broad salinities (0.1% to 10%) and varying pHs (6.0 to 10.0). The optimized degradation conditions were initial concentration 25 mg x L(-1), culture temperature 30 degrees C, pH 9.0 and salinity 3%. And 94.6% of anthracene was degraded by strain AD-3 under the optimal conditions within 6 days. Degenerate primers design was performed with a reported dioxygenase alpha subunit homologous gene. A length of 307 bp fragment of the partial dioxygenase gene sequences (GenBank accession: JF823991.1) was amplified by nested PCR. The clones amino acid sequence from strain AD-3 showed 95% identity to that of the partial naphthalene dioxygenase large-subunit from Marinobacter sp. NCE312 (AF295033). The results lay a foundation for the further study of molecular mechanism involved in the PAHs biodegradation by strain AD-3.