Impact of edaravone on serum CXC chemokine ligand-13 levels and perioperative neurocognitive disorders in elderly patients with hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are a series of severe complications in the perioperative and anesthetic periods with a decline in memory, execution ability, and information processing speed as the primary clinical manifestation. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of edaravone (EDA) on PND and peripheral blood C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) levels in elderly patients with hip replacement. METHODS: A total of 160 elderly patients undergoing hip arthroplasty in Affiliated Dongguan People's Hospital of Southern Medical University (from March 2016 to March 2018) were randomly and double-blindly categorized into an EDA group and a control group (CON). Group EDA was administered intravenously EDA 30 min before surgery, and group CON was administered intravenously saline. The cognitive function of the two groups was evaluated 1-day before the operation and at 1 and 12 months after surgery, and the incidence of post-operative delirium was tested on days 1, 3, and 7 after surgery using the Chinese version of the confusion assessment method. Serum CXCL13 and interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations were measured before anesthesia, during surgery (30 min after skin incision), and on days 1, 3, and 7 after surgery. The continuous variables in accordance with normal distribution were tested using the Student's t test, the continuous variables without normal distribution using the Mann-Whitney U test, and categorical variables by the χ2 test or Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The incidence of post-operative delirium within 7 days after surgery was significantly higher in group CON than that in group EDA (31.3% vs. 15.0%, t = -5.6, P < 0.001). The modified telephone interview for cognitive status and activities of daily life scores were significantly higher in the group EDA than those in the group CON at 1 month (39.63 ±â€Š4.35 vs. 33.63 ±â€Š5.81, t = -2.13, P < 0.05 and 74.3 ±â€Š12.6 vs. 61.2 ±â€Š13.1, t = -1.69, P < 0.05) and 12 months (40.13 ±â€Š5.93 vs. 34.13 ±â€Š5.36, t = -3.37, P < 0.05 and 79.6 ±â€Š11.7 vs. 65.6 ±â€Š16.6, t = -2.08, P < 0.05) after surgery; and the incidence of neurocognitive dysfunction was significantly lower in the group EDA than that in the group CON (P < 0.05). Serum CXCL13 and IL-6 concentrations were significantly lower in the group EDA than those in the group CON during and after surgery (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: EDA can significantly reduce the serum concentrations of CXCL13 and IL-6 and improve the PND of patients.

Sr-90 soil to plant transfer factor reduction using calcium and polymer soil amendments.

Introducing calcium into soils can inhibit Sr-90 uptake by plants. To test the efficacy of calcium amendments on the inhibition of Sr-90 uptake by edible plants, a number of different calcium applications, including calcium nitrate, calcium thiosulfate and a mixture of both liquid solutions, were used in this study. Pea plants (Pisum sativum 'Sabre') grown in Sr-90 contaminated soil from seeds to maturity were watered with these calcium solutions. Two different polymers, one inert and one nutrient enriched, were incorporated into the contaminated soil where pea seeds were sowed to ascertain a continuous supply of calcium and essential nutrients. Results show that the heterogeneity of Sr-90 distribution in soil translated to disparate Sr-90 contents in plant tissues. However, on average, irrigation with calcium solutions in conjunction with the usage of polymers consistently yielded a reduction in Sr-90 uptake by the plants. The lowest soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF) values were measured in the edible pea part of the plant, followed by the flowers, roots, stems, pea shells and then leaves. TF values for pea shells were between 4.9 and 20.9, and between 0.3 and 2.8 for the peas. Results do not allow the identification of one particular chemical solution that would systematically be the best choice to minimize Sr-90 uptake.

Effects of in vivo exposure to tritium: a multi-biomarker approach using the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas.

Tritium (3H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. In the environment, the most common form of tritium is tritiated water (HTO). However, tritium can also be incorporated into organic molecules, forming organically bound tritium (OBT). The present study characterized the effects of tritium on the health of the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas. Fish were exposed to a gradient of HTO (activity concentrations of 12,000, 25,000, and 180,000 Bq/L) and OBT using food spiked with tritiated amino acids (OBT only, with an activity concentration of 27,000 Bq/L). A combined exposure condition where fish were placed in 25,000 Bq/L water and received OBT through feed was also studied. Fish were exposed for 60 days, followed by a 60-day depuration period. A battery of health biomarkers were measured in fish tissues at seven time points throughout the 120 days required to complete the exposure and depuration phases. HTO and OBT were also measured in fish tissues at the same time points. Results showed effects of increasing tritium activity concentrations in water after 60 days of exposure. The internal dose rates of tritium, estimated from the tissue free-water tritium (TFWT) and OBT activity concentrations, reached a maximum of 0.65 µGy/h, which is relatively low considering background levels. No effects were observed on survival, fish condition, and metabolic indices (gonado-, hepato-, and spleno-somatic indexes (GSI, HSI, SSI), RNA/DNA and proteins/DNA ratios). Multivariate analyses showed that several biomarkers (DNA damages, micronucleus frequency, brain acetylcholinesterase, lysosomal membrane integrity, phagocytosis activity, and reactive oxygen species production) were exclusively correlated with fish tritium internal dose rate, showing that tritium induced genotoxicity, as well as neural and immune responses. The results were compared with another study on the same fish species where fish were exposed to tritium and other contaminants in natural environments. Together with the field study, the present work provides useful data to identify biomarkers for tritium exposure and better understand modes of action of tritium on the fathead minnow.

Effects of 90Sr on Tree Swallow Nestlings Near Groundwater Contaminant Plumes.

Discharge of groundwater contaminant plumes has created elevated concentrations of Sr in some aquatic sediments at Chalk River Laboratories. Tree swallows (Tachycenita bicolor) feed and supply their nestlings almost exclusively with airborne insects that developed as larvae in aquatic sediments. To monitor the uptake and test for potential detriment due to Sr in a terrestrial animal, we measured the gross beta concentrations in the bone of 12-d-old tree swallow nestlings in areas having sediments with elevated levels of gross beta (Sr and Y) and in several control areas where sediment gross beta was primarily due to naturally occurring K. Nesting behavior and reproductive success of the tree swallows were similar regardless of the gross beta concentrations in sediments near their nest boxes. Radiation can damage DNA and cause micronuclei to form in cells, so we examined the frequency of micronuclei in erythrocytes of nestlings. The formation of micronuclei in the erythrocytes of the nestlings was also similar wherever nestlings were analyzed. The results revealed no significant increases even near sediments with the highest gross beta levels. At Perch Lake, where Chalk River Laboratories has a large area of Sr-contaminated sediments, the bones of 12-d-old nestlings contained gross beta concentrations as high as 29 Bq g. This would produce a skeletal dose rate of 9 µGy h, which is one-fourth of the threshold dose rate of 40 µGy h, above which detriment could occur. Failing to find any indication of detriment in the field study, we irradiated wild eggs in the lab and returned them to their nest for natural incubation, hatching, and feeding by the parents. There was an increase in formation of micronuclei following a dose of 3.2 Gy, and the other results were consistent with existing literature.

Correlated responses for DNA damage, phagocytosis activity and lysosomal function revealed in a comparison between field and laboratory studies: Fathead minnow exposed to tritium.

Tritium entering the aquatic environment can confer a whole body internal radiological dose to aquatic organisms. Multiple stressors inherent in natural environments, however, confound estimates for observable radiation specific responses. To disentangle differences between field and laboratory outcomes to tritium exposures, a multivariate analysis comparing biomarkers for radiation exposure at the cellular level with changes in biological processes within tissues is described for fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Over tritium activity concentrations up to 180,000 Bq/L, DNA damage in the field were lower than DNA damage in the laboratory. This finding does not support an increase in morbidity of biota in field exposures. Energy deposited by tritium decay produces oxidised free radicals, yet the biological responses in brain, muscle and liver to oxidative stress differed between the studies and were not related to the tritium. For both studies, DNA damage in gonad and blood increased with increased tritium as did the fluorescence associated with lysosomal function in spleen. The studies differed in spleen phagocytosis activity were, in the laboratory but not the field, activity increased with increased tritium-and was correlatd with lysosomal function (Spearman coefficient of 0.98 (p = 0.001). The higher phagocytosis activity in the field reflects exposures to unmeasured factors that were not present within the laboratory. In the laboratory, DNA damage and lysosomal function were correlated: Spearman coefficients of 0.9 (Comet, p = 0.03) and 0.9 (micronuclei, p = 0.08). In the field, DNA damage by the Comet assay, but not by micronucleus frequency, correlated with lysosomal function: Spearman coefficients of 0.91 (Comet, p < 0.001) and 0.47 (micronuclei, p = 0.21). These observations highlight a need for better physiologic understanding of linkages between radiation-induced damage within cells and responses at higher levels of biological organization.