Survey data on livelihoods and inputs and outputs of crop production in Quzhou county on the North China Plain.

Farmers' decisions on crop choice, management practices, and livelihood strategies are essential to agricultural sustainability. This data article describes three datasets on crop production in Quzhou, a county in the central part of North China Plain. The three datasets cover different scales. The village dataset assembles basic data on all 342 villages of Quzhou county, including information on population, land area, crop grown, labour, irrigation and markets. Data was sourced from the yearbook data of 2017 and a village cadres survey in 2018. The village dataset was used to create a village typology from which 35 villages belonging to seven village types (five for each type) were selected for stratified random sampling to collect information on farm characteristics and cropping practices. We surveyed these 35 villages, interviewing fifteen farmer households per village (525 in total) in 2020. The interviewees represented two farm management models: smallholder farms and business farms. The resulting household dataset provides farm-level data, including demographic data of farming decision-makers and the number of household members, land use and machinery resources, crop production management practices, and government subsidies. The crop-level dataset was derived from the household survey and included input-output inventories for each crop grown during one year on each field greater than 1/30th ha (1/2 mu) on the 525 surveyed farms within a year. This dataset comprises information on cropping practices in 1352 fields. The three datasets provide a basis for analyses on cropping practices and sustainability attributes of farms and crops in a typical agricultural county on the North China Plain.

Improvement in the quality and productivity of Codonopsis pilosula seedlings by dazomet soil fumigation.

Dazomet is a dry powder formulation that releases toxic gas containing methyl isothiocyanate, which controls soil-borne pests and weeds, improving crop yields when applied to moist soils. To explore the efficacy of dazomet fumigation in the cultivation of the perennial herb Codonopsis pilosula, four typical cultivars (G1, G2, W1 and TCK) in Gansu Province were selected for seedling cultivation after soil fumigation (F) by dazomet, and non-fumigated soil was used as a control (CK). The experiments took 2 years to complete. The functional diversity of the soil enzymes and microorganisms, seedling emergence and physiological characteristics, and the quality and yield of Codonopsis seedlings and Radix were assessed. The results showed that the seed emergence rate, seedling re-green rate and several antioxidant enzymatic activities improved in the treatments involving soil fumigation with dazomet, and membrane lipid peroxidation in the seedlings decreased. On average, compared with those of the respective controls, the root viability and yield of the seedlings of the tested cultivars also increased by 34.87% and 42.4%, respectively, and the incidence of root rot in the seedlings was reduced by 83.9%, compared with their respective controls. After harvest, the yield increased by 23.9%, the incidence of root rot decreased by 61.3%, increase in yield and a 61.3% reduction in incidence, and the medicinal materials were determined to be safe and residue-free. The effects of fumigation were cultivar-specific and were especially prominent in G2. Therefore, soil fumigation with dazomet could improve the quality and productivity of Codonopsis pilosula seedlings. Taken together, these findings suggest that when herbs are bred by seedling transplantation, especially cultivars of good quality but poor resistance or species with rare germplasm resources, soil fumigation provides a way to improve cultivation effectiveness and, more importantly, ensures the probability of successfully breeding the species.

Objectively measured the impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity for older adults.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution poses a significant health risk to the human population, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, potentially discouraging their engagement in physical activity. However, there is a lack of sufficient objective and longitudinal data in current research on how air pollution affects physical activity among older adults. With these gaps, we aimed to explore the relationship between air pollution and objective measurement-based physical activity among older adults by engaging in a longitudinal study design. METHODS: A total of 184 older adults were recruited from three cities with varying levels of air quality. Mean daily minutes of physical activity were measured with 7 consecutive days of accelerometer monitoring (ActiGraph GT3X-BT). Corresponding air pollution data including daily PM2.5 (µg/m3), PM10 (µg/m3) and air quality index (AQI) were sourced from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre at monitor locations close to older adults' addresses. Associations between air quality and physical activity were estimated using a fixed effect model, adjusting for average daytime temperature, rain, age and weight. RESULTS: AQI and PM2.5 were observed to exhibit significant, inverse, and linear associations with mean daily walk steps, minutes of light physical activity (LPA), moderate physical activity (MPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in the single variable models. A one-level increase in AQI corresponded to a decline in 550.04 steps (95% [CI] = -858.97, -241.10; p < 0.001), 10.43 min (95% [CI] = -17.07, -3.79; p < 0.001), 4.03 min (95% [CI] = -7.48, -0.59; p < 0.001) and 4.16 min (95% [CI] = -7.77, -0.56; p < 0.001) in daily walking steps, LPA, MPA, and MVPA, respectively. A one-level increase in PM2.5 correlated with a decline in daily walk steps, LPA, MPA and MVPA by 361.85 steps (95% [CI] = -516.53, -207.16; p < 0.001), 8.97 min (95% [CI] = -12.28, -5.66; p < 0.001), 3.73 min (95% [CI] = -5.46, -2.01; p < 0.001,) and 3.79 min (95% [CI] = -5.59, -1.98; p < 0.001), respectively. However, PM10 displayed a significant negative association exclusively with LPA, with one-level increase in PM10 resulting in a 3.7-minute reduction in LPA (95% [CI] = -6.81, -0.59, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Air pollution demonstrates an inverse association with physical activity levels among older adults, potentially discouraging their engagement in physical activity. Different air quality indicators may exert varying impacts on physical activity. Future studies are warranted to enhance policy interventions aimed at reducing air pollution and promoting physical activity.

Non-Hermitian metagrating for perfect absorption of elastic waves.

Beyond the fashion of Hermitian physics, non-Hermiticity has inspired, most recently, a surge of nontrivial principles and significant applications in both open quantum and classical systems characterized by gain or loss. However, research on elastic wave manipulation is still predominantly focused on conservative Hermitian systems, overlooking the energy interaction with the environment. The unavoidable energy loss, originating from the inherent material properties, is normally ignored. Additionally, most existing materials for elastic wave absorption suffer from complex configurations, sophisticated designs, and large volumes. Achieving highly efficient absorption properties in advanced artificial materials with ultrathin size and easy fabrication is still a challenge. This work proposes a design strategy based on non-Hermitian modulation to address such a challenge. The proposed non-Hermitian metagrating (NHMG), featured with the subwavelength unit cell, achieves the perfect absorption of elastic waves under specific low-loss conditions. The loss-induced non-Hermitian effects for perfect absorption are theoretically elucidated and a design framework is established in the NHMG with irregular and arbitrary shapes. The robust performance of omnidirectional and perfect absorption capabilities with respect to the boundary shape, rotation angle, and wave source location is numerically and experimentally verified. Consequently, a cloaking device based on the NHMG is further designed to avoid arbitrary-shaped targets being detected. Our study enriches the ways to elastic wave manipulation in non-Hermitian materials and provides an ultra-compact solution for wave absorption in engineering applications.

Uptake and elimination of methylsiloxanes in hens after oral exposure: Implication for risk estimation.

Methylsiloxanes are accumulated easily in aquatic organisms and may pose potential risks. However, available information on their uptake and accumulation in terrestrial species remains scarce. This study investigated the uptake, elimination and accumulation of eight typical methylsiloxanes in hens after a single oral exposure. At 1440 min after oral exposure, methylsiloxanes were mainly accumulated in kidney, liver and ovary, representing for 29.5 %, 20.4 % and 17.4 % of the summed methylsiloxanes in all tissues, respectively; all investigated chemicals were also detected in brains and unformed yolks. We found much higher mass uptake fractions (MUFs) of cyclic (27.5-66.5 %) than linear chemicals (9.9-17.3 %) by hens via this exposure, and the observed MUFs of individual cyclic congeners were comparable to the higher values of those reported for rats or fish previously. However, the metabolic half-life (t1/2) of these chemicals in hen tissues were in the range of 1.04-57.5 h based on kinetic analyses, indicating higher clearances in comparison with those reported for fish and rats. More research is needed on the metabolic mechanism of these chemicals in hens. Our findings provide important information for further understanding of transportation and transformation of these chemicals in terrestrial organisms and the associated potential risks.

EBV-Encoded MicroRNA-BART17-3p Targets DDX3X and Promotes EBV Infection in EBV-Associated T/Natural Killer-Cell Lymphoproliferative Diseases.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) persistently infects T/natural killer (NK) cells causing an array of refractory EBV-associated T/NK-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. EBV-encoded microRNAs are important regulators for EBV latent infection and tumorigenesis. However, the roles of most EBV microRNAs in EBV-infected T/NK cells remain poorly understood. Methods: On the basis of a search of the doRiNA database and the BiBiServ2-RNAhybrid website, we predicted that EBV-miR-BART17-3p targeted DDX3X, and we verified the hypothesis by dual-luciferase reporter assay and cell function experiments. In addition, we collected 50 EBV-positive T-, B-, and NK-cell samples from the peripheral blood of EBV-positive cases to examine the role of EBV-miR-BART17-3p in the disease. Results: We found that EBV-miR-BART17-3p directly targeted DDX3X and downregulated DDX3X expression. By analyzing EBV-positive cell samples from cell lines and patients, we found that EBV-miR-BART17-3p was highly expressed only in EBV-positive NK cells and that the overexpression was significantly related to high EBV loads in EBV-infected NK cells. Furthermore, we found that EBV-miR-BART17-3p downregulated the RIG-I-like receptor antiviral pathway and promoted the expression of EBV-encoded proteins in EBV-infected NK cells by targeting DDX3X. Conclusions: Our study showed that EBV-miR-BART17-3p was abundantly expressed in EBV-infected NK cells and inhibited the important antivirus immune responses of hosts by targeting DDX3X of the RIG-I-like receptor pathway. These findings could help us gain insights into the pathogenic mechanisms underlying EBV-associated T/NK-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and find the potential therapeutic target.

Functional diversification and dynamics of CAR-T cells in patients with B-ALL.

Understanding of cellular evolution and molecular programs of chimeric antigen receptor-engineered (CAR)-T cells post-infusion is pivotal for developing better treatment strategies. Here, we construct a longitudinal high-precision single-cell transcriptomic landscape of 7,578 CAR-T cells from 26 patients with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) post-infusion. We molecularly identify eight CAR-T cell subtypes, including three cytotoxic subtypes with distinct kinetics and three dual-identity subtypes with non-T cell characteristics. Remarkably, long-term remission is coincident with the dominance of cytotoxic subtypes, while leukemia progression is correlated with the emergence of subtypes with B cell transcriptional profiles, which have dysfunctional features and might predict relapse. We further validate in vitro that the generation of B-featured CAR-T cells is induced by excessive tumor antigen stimulation or suppressed TCR signaling, while it is relieved by exogenous IL-12. Moreover, we define transcriptional hallmarks of CAR-T cell subtypes and reveal their molecular changes along computationally inferred cellular evolution in vivo. Collectively, these results decipher functional diversification and dynamics of peripheral CAR-T cells post-infusion.

Case Report: Fatal cytomegalovirus pneumonia after CAR-T cell therapy in the long-term follow-up.

Introduction: The rapidly developed CAR-T cell therapy has a unique profile of side effects, which perhaps has not been totally realized and understood, especially the late-phase toxicity. CMV is prevalent world-wide and establishes a life-long latency infection. It can lead to life-threatening complications in immunocompromised host, and little is known about CMV disease in patients after CAR-T cell therapy. Here, we report a patient who developed possible CMV-pneumonia three months after anti-CD19 and anti-CD22 CAR-T cell therapy for relapsed B-ALL, contributing to the understanding of severe side-effects mediated by virus infection or reactivation in patients receiving CAR-T cell infusion. Case presentation: A 21-year old male patient with relapsed B-ALL received anti-CD19/22 CAR-T cell therapy, and achieved complete remission 2 weeks after the infusion. However, three months later, the patient was hospitalized again with a 10-day history of fever and cough and a 3-day history of palpitations and chest tightness. He was diagnosed with possible CMV pneumonia. Under treatment with antiviral medicine (ganciclovir/penciclovir), intravenous gamma globulin and methylprednisolone and the use of BiPAP ventilator, his symptoms improved, but after removing penciclovir his symptoms went out of control, and the patient died of respiratory failure 22 days after admission. Conclusion: CMV infection/reactivation can occur in patients long after receiving anti-CD19/22 CAR-T cell therapy, and induce fatal pneumonia, which reminds us of the late side effects associated with immunosuppression after CAR-T cell infusion.

Farmers perceive diminishing ecosystem services, but overlook dis-services in intensively used agricultural landscapes in the North China Plain.

The UN sustainable development goals ask countries to advance sustainable production methods in agriculture. While the need for a transition to sustainable agricultural production is widely felt, there is little insight into local stakeholders' perceptions regarding agroecosystem (dis)services in areas with intensive production methods. The North China Plain is an agricultural production area with intensive production systems and simplified agricultural landscapes. We conducted a survey with 267 farmers in Quzhou county in the North China Plain in 2020 to measure the perceived level of agroecosystem (dis)services supply and the changes therein between 2015 and 2020. We analyzed which explanatory factors were associated with farmers' perceptions. Provisioning services were at a high level, while the regulating and supporting ecosystem services were considered to be in low supply, as evidenced by low scores for the presence of natural enemies and earthworms, and for natural habitats such as hedgerows and windbreaks. Most of the participants did not perceive dis-services from agriculture. Differences in perception between villages with contrasting biophysical and socio-economic conditions highlight the relevance of contextualized policy development for agricultural landscape composition and configuration to manage ecosystem (dis)services.

A New Method of Extracting Polygonatum sibiricum Polysaccharide with Antioxidant Function: Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction-Deep Eutectic Solvents Method.

Polygonatum sibiricum Polysaccharide (PsP) with antioxidant function is the main active component of Polygonatum sibiricum (P.sibiricum). The currently poor extraction yield and extraction methods of PsP cannot meet the application of that in food industrial production. In this research, an ultrasound-assisted extraction-deep eutectic solvents (UAE-DESs) method, which has never been used in the PsP industry, was first used to extract PsP. The extraction conditions were optimized by the response surface method (RSM). Both the extraction yield and antioxidant function were simultaneously considered during the optimization process. The indicators of PsP's level and antioxidant activity in vitro were used to present the extraction yield of the UAE-DESs method, the purity, and the antioxidant effect of PsP. Under the optimal conditions, which included a liquid-solid ratio of 26:1 (mL:g), extraction temperature of 80 °C, ultrasonic time of 51 min, and ultrasonic power of 82 W, the PsP extraction yield could reach (43.61 ± 0.09)%, which was obviously higher than single DESs (33.81%) and UAE (5.83%), respectively, and the PsP appeared favorably antioxidant function. This research proposed an efficient extraction method for PsP, filled the basic research gap, and further improved the development of PsP as a dietary supplement with antioxidant function in the food industry.

Occurrence and potential release of heavy metals in female underwear manufactured in China: Implication for women's health.

Underwear is a potential source of women's exposure to heavy metals owing to its direct contact with the skin, especially the skin of the vagina and vulva, which has a strong absorptive capacity. However, information regarding the prevalence of metals in female underwear, and its potential hazards, remains scarce. In the present study, we examined the concentrations and potential release of Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, Sb, and Pb in brassieres and briefs manufactured in China. We detected higher levels of Pb and moderate levels of other metals, relative to the metal levels reported for other textiles in the literature. Cu, As, Ni and Cd, had higher migration rates (MRs) from the underwear, with medians of 100%, 100%, 30.1%, and 20.7%, respectively. The median MRs of the other metals were in the range 1.07%-15.7%. On the whole, the total and extractable concentrations of these metals differed by item and fabric type. The pollution of raw materials and the use of chemical additives containing metals commonly contributed to the metals in the underwear. On the basis of the exposure estimation, the non-carcinogenic risks posed by the underwear metals were acceptable, but the carcinogenic risks from the metals in 5.18% of brassiere samples exceeded the acceptable level.

Revealing the impact of CD70 expression on the manufacture and functions of CAR-70 T-cells based on single-cell transcriptomics.

BACKGROUND: Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR T-cells) have shown exhilarative clinical efficacy for hematological malignancies. However, a shared antigen pool between healthy and malignant T-cells remains a concept to be technically and clinically explored for CAR T-cell therapy in T-cell cancers. No guidelines for engineering CAR T-cells targeting self-expressed antigens are currently available. METHOD: Based on anti-CD70 CAR (CAR-70) T-cells, we constructed CD70 knock-out and wild-type CAR (CAR-70KO and CAR-70WT) T-cells and evaluated their manufacturing and anti-tumor capability. Single-cell RNA sequencing and TCR sequencing were performed to further reveal the underlying differences between the two groups of CAR T-cells. RESULTS: Our data showed that the disruption of target genes in T-cells before CAR transduction advantaged the expansion and cell viability of CAR T-cells during manufacturing periods, as well as the degranulation, anti-tumor efficacy, and proliferation potency in response to tumor cells. Meanwhile, more naïve and central memory phenotype CAR+ T-cells, with higher TCR clonal diversity, remained in the final products in KO samples. Gene expression profiles revealed a higher activation and exhaustion level of CAR-70WT T-cells, while signaling transduction pathway analysis identified a higher level of the phosphorylation-related pathway in CAR-70KO T-cells. CONCLUSION: This study evidenced that CD70 stimulation during manufacturing process induced early exhaustion of CAR-70 T-cells. Knocking-out CD70 in T-cells prevented the exhaustion and led to a better-quality CAR-70 T-cell product. Our research will contribute to good engineering CAR T-cells targeting self-expressed antigens.

Potassium assisted pyrolysis of Chinese Baijiu distillers' grains to prepare biochar as controlled-release K fertilizer.

A novel K-loaded biochar as controlled-release K fertilizer was prepared through K assisted pyrolysis of distillers' grains (DGs, typical solid-byproducts of Chinese Baijiu) under different atmospheres (N2 and CO2) and temperatures (400 and 800 °C). The fabricated DGs-based biochar exhibited high K loading (200.20-232.33 mg/g), and the release kinetics and column leaching experiments suggested that K-loaded biochar exhibited excellent controlled release performance in a long term. Compared with other biochar, the K-loaded biochar prepared at CO2 and 400 °C has lower cumulative release ratio of 82.35 %, and could retain the durative K release at ~0.5 % for 25 d. The release kinetics suggested that the K release behavior was dominated by dissolution, electrostatic attraction, adsorption, confinement effect, and chemical interaction. Furthermore, pot experiments revealed that K-loaded biochar could promote the growth of Komatsuna, in which the fresh weight and chlorophyll relative content of Komatsuna cultivated with biochar prepared at CO2 and 400 °C reached 0.146 g and 41.95 after 25 d growth, respectively. The above results suggested that the K-loaded biochar exhibited excellent utilization potential as a controlled-release K fertilizer, facilitating the sustainable development and resource valorization of Baijiu industry.

MIP3α as an early prognostic predictor for patients with B-cell malignancies receiving CD19/CD22-redirected CAR-T cell cocktail therapy.

PURPOSE: Identifying the temporal pattern of recurrence and prognostic biomarkers would further help improve the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) -T therapy. METHODS: We examined the prognoses of 119 patients after sequential infusion of anti-CD19 and anti-CD22, a cocktail of 2 single-target CAR (CAR19/22) T cells in an open-label, single-center clinical trial (ChiCTR-OPN-16008526). And we, from a 70-biomarker panel, identified candidate cytokines that might predict the treatment failure, including primary non-response (NR) and early relapse (ER). RESULTS: In our study, 3 (11.5%) patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and 9 (12.2%) cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) failed to respond to sequential CAR19/22 T-cell infusion (NR). A total of 11 (42.3%) B-ALL patients and 30 (52.7%) B-NHL patients had relapses during follow-up. Most recurrence events (67.5%) occurred within six months of sequential CAR T-cell infusion (ER). We found that macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3α was a highly sensitive and specific prognostic predictor for patients with NR/ER and those attaining over-6-month remission. Patients who had higher MIP3α levels after sequential CAR19/22 T-cell infusion had significantly favorable progression-free survival (PFS) than their counterparts with relatively lower MIP3α expression. Our experiments demonstrated that MIP3α could enhance the therapeutic effect of CAR-T cells by promoting T-cell infiltration into and enriching memory-phenotype T cells in the tumor environment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that relapse occurred mainly within six months after sequential CAR19/22 T-cell infusion. Moreover, MIP3α could act as a valuable post-infusion biomarker for identifying patients with NR/ER.

Preclinical development and evaluation of nanobody-based CD70-specific CAR T cells for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment remains challenging. CD70 was reported as a promising AML-specific antigen. Preclinically, CAR T-cell with single-chain-variable fragment (scFv) or truncated CD27 targeting CD70 has been reported to treat AML. However, various disadvantages including spontaneous exhaustion, proteinase-mediated loss of functional receptors, and high immunogenicity, limited its further application to clinical settings. Alternatively, the single-variable domain on heavy chain (VHH), also known as nanobodies, with comparable binding ability and specificity, provides an optional solution. METHOD: We generated CD70 knocked-out novel nanobody-based anti-CD70-CAR T-cells (nb70CAR-T) with two different VHHs for antigen detection. Next, we detected the CD70 expression on primary AML blasts by flow cytometry and associated the efficacy of nb70CAR-T with the target antigen density. Finally, epigenetic modulators were investigated to regulate the CD70 expression on AML cells to promote the functionality of nb70CAR-T. RESULTS: Our nb70CAR-T exhibited expected tumoricidal functionality against CD70-expressed cell lines and primary AML blasts. However, CD70 expression in primary AML blasts was not consistently high and nb70CAR-T potently respond to an estimated 40.4% of AML patients when the CD70 expression level was over a threshold of 1.6 (MFI ratio). Epigenetic modulators, Decitabine and Chidamide can up-regulate CD70 expression on AML cells, enhancing the treatment efficacy of nb70CAR-T. CONCLUSION: CD70 expression in AML blasts was not fully supportive of its role in AML targeted therapy as reported. The combinational use of Chidamide and Decitabine with nb70CAR-T could provide a new potential for the treatment of AML.

Monitoring anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cell population by flow cytometry and its consistency with digital droplet polymerase chain reaction.

Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR19) T cell therapy has produced impressive clinical efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. As a living drug, monitoring the pharmacokinetics of CAR T cells in vivo is an important part of clinical work, which provides valuable information for assessing therapeutic response and related side effects. However, no guidelines are available regarding the detection and quantification of CAR T cells. Flow cytometry is a convenient and commonly used method in monitoring CAR T cell kinetics, but its performance remains to be validated. By using a commercial anti-idiotype antibody that detects unique epitopes on the most popular CAR19 construct, we evaluated important performance parameters, including specificity, lower limit of detection, lower limit of quantification, and precision of flow cytometry in the detection and quantification of CAR19 T cells. Consistency between the results generated by flow cytometry and droplet digital PCR was then investigated in 188 pairs of clinical data and in cell line experiments. Rabbit anti-mouse FMC63 monoclonal antibody possesses high specificity in the detection of CAR19 positive cells by FCM with a cut-off value of 0.05%. The results produced by flow cytometry and ddPCR were well correlated in the clinical samples and in cell lines, but the correlation deteriorated as the abundance of CAR19 positive cells decreased. This was especially evident with less than 0.5% of lymphocytes in clinical data, possibly due to reduced precision (indicated by intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variability) of both droplet digital PCR and flow cytometry. We demonstrated that flow cytometry using anti-idiotype antibody is a reliable and robust approach in the detection and quantification of CAR19 T cells in vivo and has good consistency with droplet digital PCR in monitoring CAR19 T cell kinetics.

Green Preparation of Durian Rind-Based Cellulose Nanofiber and Its Application in Aerogel.

In this study, a green, highly efficient and low energy consumption preparation method of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) was developed by using agricultural and forestry waste durian rinds as raw materials. The power of ultrasonic treatment was successfully reduced to only 360 W with low molecular weight liquid DMSO. The obtained durian rind-based CNF had a diameter of 8-20 nm and a length of several micrometers. It had good dispersion and stability in water, and could spontaneously cross-link to form hydrogel at room temperature when the concentration was more than 0.5%. The microscopic morphology and compressive properties of CNF aerogels and composite cellulose aerogels prepared from durian rind-based CNF were evaluated. It was found that CNF could effectively prevent the volume shrinkage of aerogel, and the concentration of CNF had a significant effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of aerogel. The CNF aerogel with 1% CNF exhibited a sheet structure braced by fibers, which had the strongest compression performance. The porosity of CNF aerogels was high to 99%. The compressive strength of the composite cellulose aerogel with durian rind-based CNF was effectively enhanced.

Occurrence and health implications of heavy metals in preschool children's clothing manufactured in four Asian regions.

Clothing may be a potential contributor to body metal burden in children. However, available information on heavy metals in children's clothing is extremely limited and the associated health risks remain poorly understood. This study investigated the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Co, Zn, Cr, As, Cu and Ni in new preschool children's clothing manufactured in four Asian regions. The children's clothing had higher levels of Ni and Cr but lower levels of Pb and Cd in comparison to the concentrations reported in other textile products. The concentrations of Cd were higher in the black clothing than those in the white and color samples. The non-cotton samples contained higher Co concentrations. The Pb concentrations in the samples manufactured in China were significantly higher than those in the other three regions. We estimated the dermal exposure doses for these metals and calculated the associated risks. The results indicated that the health risks from exposure to these metals in the children's clothing were acceptable. However, more research is required to investigate heavy metals and the associated risks in child clothing due to the increasing complexity of their materials and manufacturing processes.