The correlation between fruit intake and all-cause mortality in hypertensive patients: a 10-year follow-up study.

Objective: Extensive research has consistently shown the beneficial impact of fruit consumption on overall health. While some studies have proposed a potential association between fruit consumption and hypertension management, the influence of fruit consumption on mortality rates among hypertensive individuals remains uncertain. Consequently, aim of this study is to evaluate whether fruit consumption is associated with all-cause mortality among hypertensive patients. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted between 2003 and 2006. Ten-year follow-up data from the National Death Index (NDI) were used to assess all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazard model was utilized to explore the impact of fruit intake on all-cause mortality among hypertensive individuals. Results: The study included a cohort of 2,480 patients diagnosed with hypertension, and during the follow-up period, a total of 658 deaths from various causes were recorded. The COX regression analysis demonstrated that hypertensive patients who consumed apples three to six times per week exhibited a significantly reduced risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.60, 95%CI: 0.45-0.78, p < 0.001) in comparison to those who consumed apples less than once per month. Likewise, consuming bananas three to six times per week also led to a comparable outcome (HR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.59-0.97, p = 0.027). Moreover, Combined consumption of bananas and apples three to six times per week exhibited a noteworthy decrease in all-cause mortality (HR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.39-0.84, p = 0.005) when compared to individuals who consumed these fruits less frequently. Conversely, no significant association was found between the consumption of other fruits, including pears, pineapples, and grapes, and all-cause mortality. Conclusion: The study discovered that moderate consumption of apples and bananas was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality in patients with hypertension.

Association of PFDeA exposure with hypertension (NHANES, 2013-2018).

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is a series of artificial compounds which is associated with human health. However, there are few studies on the relationship between PFASs and hypertension. In this study, we examined the association between different kinds of PFASs and hypertension. Multivariable logistic regression and subgroup analysis were adopted to assess the associations between PFASs and hypertension. Spline smoothing plots and linear regression were used to assess the relationship between PFASs and blood pressure. We found a positive association between serum PFDeA concentrations and the prevalence of hypertension after fully adjusting confounders (OR = 1.2, P = 0.01), but other types of PFASs showed no positive results. Subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity showed there was a stronger relationship among non-Hispanics than Hispanics. Serum PFDeA concentrations were positively associated with systolic pressure (ß = 0.7, P< 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (ß = 0.8, P< 0.01) among non-Hispanics who did not take antihypertensive drugs. This study showed that PFDeA exposure was associated with hypertension in Americans who identify as non-Hispanic. There was a positive association between PFDeA and blood pressure in non-Hispanic Americans who did not take antihypertensive drugs.

Rice husk-derived biochar can aggravate arsenic mobility in ferrous-rich groundwater during oxygenation.

Elevated As(III) and Fe(II) in shallow reducing groundwater can be frequently re-oxidized by introducing O2 due to natural/anthropogenic processes, thus leading to oxidative precipitation of As as well as Fe. Nevertheless, the geochemical process may be impacted by co-existing engineered black carbon due to its considerable applications, which remains poorly understood. Taking rice husk-derived biochar prepared at 500 °C as an example, we explored its impact on the process particularly for the As(III) oxidation and (im)mobilization during the oxygenation. The presence of the biochar had a negligible effect on the As(III) oxidation and immobilization extents within 1 d, while accelerating their rates. However, the immobilized As(III) was significantly liberated from the formed Fe(III) minerals afterward within 21 d, which was 2.2-fold higher than that in the absence of the biochar. The enhanced As(III) liberation was attributed to the presence of the surface silicon-carbon structure, consisting of the outer silicon and inner carbon layers, of the rice husk-derived biochar. The outer silicon components, particularly for the dissolved silicate primarily promoted the As(III) release via ligand exchange, while significantly impeding the transformation of ferrihydrite to lepidocrocite and goethite still resulted secondarily in the As(III) release. Our findings reveal the possible impact of biochar on the environmental behavior and fate of As(III) in the Fe(II)-rich groundwater during the oxygenation. This work highlights that biochar, particularly for its structural features should be a concern in re-mobilizing As in such scenarios when the oxygenation time reaches several days or weeks.

pH Dependence of Arsenic Oxidation by Rice-Husk-Derived Biochar: Roles of Redox-Active Moieties.

Biochars have demonstrated great potential for water decontamination and soil remediation; however, their redox reactivity toward trace contaminants and the corresponding redox-active moieties (RAMs, i.e., phenolic -OH, semiquinone-type persistent free radicals (PFRs), and quinoid C═O) remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the roles of the RAMs on biochar in oxidation of As(III) under varying pH and O2 conditions. The results showed that the promoted oxidation of As(III) by the RAMs is strongly pH dependent. Under acidic and neutral conditions, only the oxidation of As(III) by •OH and H2O2 produced from activation of O2 by phenolic -OH and semiquinone-type PFRs occurred. In contrast, the oxidation by semiquinone-type PFRs, quinoid C═O, and H2O2 (if O2 was introduced) appeared under alkaline conditions. This pH-dependent oxidation behavior was attributed to the varying redox activities of RAMs, as confirmed by multiple characterization and validation experiments using biochar with tuned RAMs compositions, as well as thermodynamics evaluation. Our findings provide new insights into the roles of the RAMs on biochar in the promoted oxidation of trace As(III) over a broader pH range under both anoxic and oxic conditions. This study also paves a promising way to oxidize As(III) with biochar.

Mechanistic insights into adsorption and reduction of hexavalent chromium from water using magnetic biochar composite: Key roles of Fe3O4 and persistent free radicals.

Magnetic biochar (MBC) has been used to remove hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from water, but the roles of Fe3O4 and persistent free radicals (PFRs) in MBC in Cr(VI) removal are still less investigated. In this work, the MBC synthesized by microwave co-pyrolysis of solid-state FeSO4 and rice husk was employed to remove Cr(VI) from water. In comparison to the rice husk biochar (BC), the MBC exhibits the 3.2- and 11.7-fold higher adsorption and reduction efficiency of Cr(VI), resulting in the higher Cr(VI) removal efficiency (84.3%) and equilibrium adsorption capacity of MBC (8.35 mg g-1) than that (26.5% and 2.63 mg g-1) of BC. Multiple characterization results revealed that the high Cr(VI) removal performance of MBC was mainly attributed to the presence of active Fe3O4 and carbon-centered PFRs in the porous and graphitic MBC. The Fe3O4 not only provided active chemisorption/reduction sites for Cr(VI) via its Fe(II)oct and Fe(III)oct coordination, but also facilitated the generation of more active electron donating carbon-centered PFRs than carbon-centered PFRs with an oxygen atom in the graphitic structure to reduce Cr(VI). The presence of Fe3O4 also elevated 36.7 m2 g-1 of BET-surface area and 0.043 cm2 g-1 of pore volume of MBC, promoting the Cr(VI) removal. The Fe3O4 and carbon-centered PFRs contributed to ∼81.8% and ∼18.2% of total Cr(III) generation, respectively. In addition, the initial solution pH was responsible for determining the relative significance of Cr(VI) adsorption and reduction. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of Cr(VI) removal from water by the MBC.