Effects of Leonurine on oocyte maturation and parthenogenetic embryo development in sheep.

Leonurine (LEO), an alkaloid isolated from Leonurus spp., has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects and can prevent damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). These properties suggest that it can improve the maturation rate of oocytes and developmental ability of embryos, which are key parameters in animal breeding. In this study, the effects of LEO on in vitro maturation and early embryonic development in sheep oocytes were evaluated. Among various doses examined (0, 10, 20 and 40 µM), a dose of 20 µM was optimal with respect to the oocyte maturation rate. Compared with estimates in the control group, GSH levels and mitochondrial membrane potential of sheep oocytes treated with 20 µM LEO were significantly higher, and 40 µM LEO would affect oocyte maturation. Additionally, ROS levels were significantly lower, expression levels of the antioxidant genes CAT and SOD1 were significantly higher, and there was no significant difference in GPX3 expression. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and Caspase-3 expression were significantly reduced in the 20 µM LEO group. During early embryonic development in vitro, the cleavage rate and blastocyst rate were significantly higher in the 20 µM LEO treatment group compared to other groups. GSH levels and mitochondrial membrane potential were significantly higher, while ROS levels were significantly lower, and expression levels of the antioxidant genes CAT, GPX3 and SOD1 were significantly higher in eight-cell embryos treated with 20 µM LEO than in the control group. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and Caspase-3 levels were significantly decreased. In summary, LEO can reduce the effect of oxidative stress, improve the oocyte maturation rate and enhance embryonic development.

Intercropping of Pteris vittata and maize on multimetal contaminated soil can achieve remediation and safe agricultural production.

Soil contamination by multimetals is widespread. Hyperaccumulator-crop intercropping has been confirmed to be an effective method for arsenic (As)- or cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil that can achieve soil cleanup and agricultural production. However, the influencing factors and response of hyperaccumulator-crop intercropping to multimetal-contaminated soil are still unclear. In this study, intercropping of the As hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata and maize was conducted on two typical types of multimetal-contaminated soil, namely, Soil A contaminated by As, Cd, and lead (Pb) and Soil B contaminated by As, Cd, and chromium (Cr). Intercropping reduced As, Cd, and Pb in the maize grains by 60 %, 66.7 %, and 20.4 %, respectively. The concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Cr in P. vittata increased by 314 %, 300 %, 447.3 %, and 232.6 %, respectively, relative to their concentrations in the monoculture plants. Two soils with different levels of contamination showed that higher heavy metal content might diminish the ability of intercropping to reduce soil heavy metal risk. No notable difference in soil microbial diversity was found between the intercropped and monocultured plants. The composition of microbial communities of intercropping groups were more similar to those of monoculture P. vittata on two different soils (Soils A and B). An imbalance between the amount of As taken up by the plants and the reduction in As in the soil was observed, and this imbalance may be related to watering, As leaching, and heterogeneity of soil As distribution. Reducing the risk resulting from As leaching and enhancing the efficiency of phytoextraction should be emphasized in remediation practices.

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Regulates Lipid Metabolism in Sheep Trophoblast Cells through mTOR Pathway-Mediated Autophagy.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a key nuclear receptor transcription factor that is highly expressed in trophoblastic cells during embryonic attachment and is accompanied by rapid cell proliferation and increased lipid accumulation. We previously showed that the autophagy pathway is activated in cells after activation of PPARγ, accompanied by increased lipid accumulation. In this study, we used PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone and inhibitor GW9662, as well as autophagy activator rapamycin and inhibitor 3-methyladenine, to unravel the probable mechanism of PPARγ engaged in lipid metabolism in sheep trophoblast cells (STCs). After 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h of drug treatment, the levels of autophagy-related proteins were detected by Western blot, the triglyceride content and MDA level of cells were detected by colorimetry, and the lipid droplets and lysosomes were localized by immunofluorescence. We found that PPARγ inhibited the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in STCs for a certain period of time, promoted the increase of autophagy and lysosome formation, and enhanced the accumulation of lipid droplets and triglycerides. Compared with cells whose PPARγ function is activated, blocking autophagy before activating PPARγ will hinder lipid accumulation in STCs. Pretreatment of cells with rapamycin promoted autophagy with results similar to rosiglitazone treatment, while inhibition of autophagy with 3-methyladenine reduced lysosome and lipid accumulation. Based on these observations, we conclude that PPARγ can induce autophagy by blocking the mTOR pathway, thereby promoting the accumulation of lipid droplets and lysosomal degradation, providing an energy basis for the rapid proliferation of trophoblast cells during embryo implantation. In brief, this study partially revealed the molecular regulatory mechanism of PPARγ, mTOR pathway, and autophagy on trophoblast cell lipid metabolism, which provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the functional regulatory network of trophoblast cells during the attachment of sheep embryos.

YOLO-SCL: a lightweight detection model for citrus psyllid based on spatial channel interaction.

Efficient and accurate detection and providing early warning for citrus psyllids is crucial as they are the primary vector of citrus huanglongbing. In this study, we created a dataset comprising images of citrus psyllids in natural environments and proposed a lightweight detection model based on the spatial channel interaction. First, the YOLO-SCL model was based on the YOLOv5s architecture, which uses an efficient channel attention module to perform local channel attention on the inputs in the recursive gated convolutional modules to achieve a combination of global spatial and local channel interactions, improving the model's ability to express the features of the critical regions of small targets. Second, the lightweight design of the 21st layer C3 module in the neck network of the YOLO-SCL model and the small target feature information were retained to the maximum extent by deleting the two convolutional layers, whereas the number of parameters was reduced to improve the detection accuracy of the model. Third, with the detection accuracy of the YOLO-SCL model as the objective function, the black widow optimization algorithm was used to optimize the hyperparameters of the YOLO-SCL model, and the iterative mechanism of swarm intelligence was used to further improve the model performance. The experimental results showed that the YOLO-SCL model achieved a mAP@0.5 of 97.07% for citrus psyllids, which was 1.18% higher than that achieved using conventional YOLOv5s model. Meanwhile, the number of parameters and computation amount of the YOLO-SCL model are 6.92 M and 15.5 GFlops, respectively, which are 14.25% and 2.52% lower than those of the conventional YOLOv5s model. In addition, after using the black widow optimization algorithm to optimize the hyperparameters, the mAP@0.5 of the YOLO-SCL model for citrus psyllid improved to 97.18%, making it more suitable for the natural environments in which citrus psyllids are to be detected. The experimental results showed that the YOLO-SCL model has good detection accuracy for citrus psyllids, and the model was ported to the Jetson AGX Xavier edge computing platform, with an average processing time of 38.8 ms for a single-frame image and a power consumption of 16.85 W. This study provides a new technological solution for the safety of citrus production.

PPARγ regulates lipid metabolism and viability of sheep trophoblast cells.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is highly expressed in trophoblast tissues in pregnancy during which the protein participates in diverse events, including embryo implantation and placental formation. However, little is known about the role of PPARγ in embryonic development. This study investigated the function of PPARγ in sheep trophoblast cells. The coding sequence of sheep PPARγ encoded 475 amino acids and included one synonymou mutation compared with the sheep reference sequence for PPARγ. The PPARγ protein was localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm of sheep trophoblasts. The relative expression of PPARγ was elevated in cells treated with rosiglitazone and reduced following administration of GW9662. Activation of PPARγ promoted cell proliferation and mobility, but inhibited apoptosis. In addition, stimulation of PPARγ promoted the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes FABP4 and PLIN2. The expression of prostaglandin metabolism-related genes PLA2G4A, PTGS2 and PTGES also was upregulated significantly in trophoblast cells when PPARγ was activated. In contrast, activation of PPARγ did not impact expression of the prostaglandin-related genes PGFS and SLCO2A1. At the same time, activation of PPARγ activity increased the ratio of PGE2 to PGF2α. Furthermore, fluorescence labelling showed that the numbers of cell lipid droplets increased after stimulation of PPARγ activity, but decreased when PPARγ was inhibited. In conclusion, PPARγ is critical for the regulation of lipid metabolism and prostaglandin synthesis and secretion in sheep trophoblast cells and also has a potent effect on cell proliferation and viability.

Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus Strain GG (LGG) Regulate Gut Microbial Metabolites, an In Vitro Study Using Three Mature Human Gut Microbial Cultures in a Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME).

In the present research, we investigated changes in the gut metabolome that occurred in response to the administration of the Laticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG). The probiotics were added to the ascending colon region of mature microbial communities established in a human intestinal microbial ecosystem simulator. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing and metabolome analysis suggested that the changes in microbial community composition corresponded with changes to metabolic output, and we can infer linkages between some metabolites and microorganisms. The in vitro method permits a spatially-resolved view of metabolic transformations under human physiological conditions. By this method, we found that tryptophan and tyrosine were mainly produced in the ascending colon region, while their derivatives were detected in the transverse and descending regions, revealing sequential amino acid metabolic pathways along with the colonic tract. The addition of LGG appeared to promote the production of indole propionic acid, which is positively associated with human health. Furthermore, the microbial community responsible for the production of indole propionic acid may be broader than is currently known.

The influence of diverse fertilizer regimes on the phytoremediation potential of Pteris vittata in an abandoned nonferrous metallic mining site.

Organic waste comprises a large amount of hydrocarbon containing organic substances, which is regarded as a potential resource rather than simply a waste. A field experiment was conducted in a poly-metallic mining area to investigate the potential of organic waste to facilitate the soil remediation process. Different organic wastes and a commonly used commercial fertilizer were added to heavy metal contaminated soil, which was under phytoremediation using the As hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata. The influence of diverse fertilizer regimes on the biomass of P. vittata and heavy metal removal by P. vittata, was investigated. The soil properties were analyzed after the application of phytoremediation with or without the addition of organic wastes. Results indicated that sewage sludge compost is an appropriate amendment to improve the phytoremediation efficiency. Compared to the control, the application of sewage sludge compost significantly reduced the extractability of As in soil by 26.8 %, and increased the removal of As and Pb by 26.9 % and 186.5 %, respectively. The highest removal of As and Pb reached 33 and 34 kg/ha, respectively. The sewage sludge compost-strengthened phytoremediation improved soil quality. And the diversity and richness of the bacterial community were improved, as represented by the increase in Shannon and Chao index. With improved efficiency and acceptable cost, the organic waste-strengthened phytoremediation can be used to control the risks posed by high concentrations of heavy metals in mining areas.

Expanded catalogue of metagenome-assembled genomes reveals resistome characteristics and athletic performance-associated microbes in horse.

BACKGROUND: As a domesticated species vital to humans, horses are raised worldwide as a source of mechanical energy for sports, leisure, food production, and transportation. The gut microbiota plays an important role in the health, diseases, athletic performance, and behaviour of horses. RESULTS: Here, using approximately 2.2 Tb of metagenomic sequencing data from gut samples from 242 horses, including 110 samples from the caecum and 132 samples from the rectum (faeces), we assembled 4142 microbial metagenome-assembled genomes (MAG), 4015 (96.93%) of which appear to correspond to new species. From long-read data, we successfully assembled 13 circular whole-chromosome bacterial genomes representing novel species. The MAG contained over 313,568 predicted carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZy), over 59.77% of which had low similarity match in CAZy public databases. High abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) were identified in the MAG, likely showing the wide use of antibiotics in the management of horse. The abundances of at least 36 MAG (e.g. MAG belonging to Lachnospiraceae, Oscillospiraceae, and Ruminococcus) were higher in racehorses than in nonracehorses. These MAG enriched in racehorses contained every gene in a major pathway for producing acetate and butyrate by fibre fermentation, presenting potential for greater amount of short-chain fatty acids available to fuel athletic performance. CONCLUSION: Overall, we assembled 4142 MAG from short- and long-read sequence data in the horse gut. Our dataset represents an exhaustive microbial genome catalogue for the horse gut microbiome and provides a valuable resource for discovery of performance-enhancing microbes and studies of horse gut microbiome. Video Abstract.

An interpolation method incorporating the pollution diffusion characteristics for soil heavy metals - taking a coke plant as an example.

The existing spatial interpolation methods in the prediction of soil heavy metal distribution are generally based on spatial auto correlation theory, rarely considering the pollution patterns. By contrast, in polluted sites, heavy metals have a strong heterogeneity even within a very small area, which is not exactly in line with auto correlation theory. This contradiction may lead to inaccuracy in spatial prediction. Atmospheric diffusion and deposition are one of the main sources of soil heavy metal pollution caused by coal-related production activities. To improve the prediction accuracy, the diffusion patterns of pollutants were considered in this paper by integrating Geodetector, Co-Kriging (COK), and partition interpolation. Geodetector was used to identify the main driving factors of soil pollution, based on which, the main driving factors were used as covariates introduced into the interpolation method (COK). Specifically, the amount of particulate matter deposition obtained by a pollutant diffusion model (AERMOD) was used as a covariate. For comparison, the distances to quenching, coke oven, and ammonium sulfate section were also used as covariates. Compared with the Ordinary Kriging method, the method COK-AERMOD established here decreased the root mean square error values of As (2.05 reduced to 1.89), Cd (0.18 reduced to 0.16), Cr (19.07 reduced to 12.97), Cu (6.92 reduced to 4.72), Hg (0.32 reduced to 0.28), Ni (16.92 reduced to 16.10), Pb (18.29 reduced to 16.62), and Zn (159.68 reduced to 153.66). This method in this paper is informative for the interpolation of soil elements in contaminated areas with known pollution source and diffusion patterns.

Composition of Three Common Chinese Herbal Medicines and the Influence of Preparation Types on the Bioaccessibility of Trace Elements.

The high concentration of trace elements in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is an important research topic for quality control. This study investigated the total concentration of trace elements in three herbs used as both medicine and supplementary food, including Astragalus membranaceus, Glycyrrhiza, and Isatidis. Further, the effects of different preparation ways, such as decoct, granule, and oral liquid, on the bioaccessibility of trace elements in CHM were disclosed. Results indicated that the total concentrations of trace elements in these three herbs were lower than the medical standards, but the concentrations of As and Pb in CHMs were higher than the standards for supplementary food. Different preparations ways affect bioaccessibility. Powder and oral liquid show a high bioaccessibility possibly because of the grinding process and the repeated extraction with ethanol. Among the three different CHMs, Isatidis showed higher bioaccessibility of As, which may be related to the sulfur fumigation process of this CHM. The three investigated CHMs were found to be safe as medicine but presented risks as supplementary food. The apparent influence of preparation procedures on the bioaccessibility of trace elements indicated that it is necessary to appropriately regulate preparation processes for CHMs.

Persistence of the Probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus Strain GG (LGG) in an In Vitro Model of the Gut Microbiome.

The consumption of probiotics is widely encouraged due to reports of their positive effects on human health. In particular, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) is an approved probiotic that has been reported to improve health outcomes, especially for gastrointestinal disorders. However, how LGG cooperates with the gut microbiome has not been fully explored. To understand the interaction between LGG and its ability to survive and grow within the gut microbiome, this study introduced LGG into established microbial communities using an in vitro model of the colon. LGG was inoculated into the simulated ascending colon and its persistence in, and transit through the subsequent transverse and descending colon regions was monitored over two weeks. The impact of LGG on the existing bacterial communities was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing and short-chain fatty acid analysis. LGG was able to engraft and proliferate in the ascending region for at least 10 days but was diminished in the transverse and descending colon regions with little effect on short-chain fatty acid abundance. These data suggest that the health benefits of the probiotic LGG rely on its ability to transiently engraft and modulate the host microbial community.

Environmental fate and effects of PAHs in tropical mariculture ponds near the northern South China Sea: Rainfall plays a key role.

The behavior and fate of PAHs are affected by multiple meteorological factors, but the main factors driving PAHs in tropical mariculture areas are still not clearly understood. This study continuously monitored PAHs in a few tropical land-based mariculture ponds, discussed their dynamic change trend, migration among the multiple media, and the relevant affected factors. Results indicated that PAHs were widely distributed in these environmental media, and the PAHs' concentration showed an obvious attenuation trend in the mariculture cycle. Wet deposition brought overwhelming majority atmospheric PAHs (92 % ± 5.7 %) to the aqueous system, and >72 % of these PAHs came from oil combustion-related sources and biomass combustion. Compared with the natural sea areas in the same region, mariculture ponds sediment could be changed from a sink at the early stage to a secondary release source of PAHs at the late stage of the rainy season, which intensifies the bioaccumulation of PAHs and the risk of edible carcinogenesis of aquatic products. Our research revealed that rainfall drove the occurrence and environmental behavior of PAHs in the tropical mariculture areas, while land-based mariculture ponds ecosystem affected the regional environmental fate of PAHs and weakened their transmission to the marine environment from land.

Apportionment and location of heavy metal(loid)s pollution sources for soil and dust using the combination of principal component analysis, Geodetector, and multiple linear regression of distance.

The accurate identification of sources for soil heavy metal(loid) is difficult, especially for multi-functional parks, which include multiple pollution sources. Aiming to identify the apportionment and location of heavy metal(loid)s pollution sources, this study established a method combining principal component analysis (PCA), Geodetector, and multiple linear regression of distance (MLRD) in soil and dust, taking a multi-functional industrial park in Anhui Province, China, as an example. PCA and Geodetector were used to determine the type and possible location of the source. Source apportionment of individual elements is achieved by MLRD. The detection results quantified the spatial explanatory power (0.21 ≤ q ≤ 0.51) of the potential source targets (e.g., river and mining area) for the PCA factors. A comparative analysis of the regression equation (Model 1 and Model 3) indicated that the river (0.50 ≤ R2 ≤0.78), main road (0.47 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.81), and mine (0.14 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.92) (p < 0.01) were the main sources. Different from the traditional source apportionment methods, the current method could obtain the exact contributing sources, not just the type of source (e.g., industrial activities), which could be useful for pollution control in areas with multiple sources.

Hair Dye Ingredients and Potential Health Risks from Exposure to Hair Dyeing.

Given the worldwide popularity of hair dyeing, there is an urgent need to understand the toxicities and risks associated with exposure to chemicals found in hair dye formulations. Hair dyes are categorized as oxidative and nonoxidative in terms of their chemical composition and ingredients. For several decades, the expert panel's Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) has assessed the safety of many of the chemicals used in hair dyes; however, a comprehensive review of hair dye ingredients and the risk of exposure to hair dyeing has not been documented. Herein, we review the safety of the various chemicals in oxidative and nonoxidative hair dyes, toxicities associated with hair dyeing, and the carcinogenic risks related to hair dyeing. While many compounds are considered safe for users at the concentrations in hair dyes, there are conflicting data about a large number of hair dye formulations. The CIR expert panel has ratified a number of coloring ingredients for hair dyes and banned a series of chemicals as carcinogenic to animals and unsafe for this application. The use of these chemicals as raw materials for producing hair dyes may result in the synthesis of other contaminants with potential toxicities and increased risk of carcinogenesis. It is an open question whether personal or occupational hair dyeing increases the risk of cancer; however, in specific subpopulations, a positive association between hair dye use and cancer occurrence has been reported. To address this question, a better understanding of the chemical and mechanistic basis of the reported toxicities of hair dye mixtures and individual hair dye ingredients is needed. It is anticipated that in-depth chemical and systems toxicology studies harnessing modern and emerging techniques can shed light on this public health concern in the future.

Occurrence, distribution, source identification, and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in the coastal waters of Beibu Gulf, South China Sea: Impacts of riverine discharge and fishery.

As emerging pollutants, the environmental geochemistry of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in the coastal zone with multiple functional areas are still less recognized. This study investigated spatiotemporal distribution, sources and risks of 11 widely used OPEs in surface waters from seagoing rivers and multiple coastal functional areas of the Beibu Gulf. The results indicated that significantly higher ∑11OPEs (total concentrations of 11 OPEs, ng/L) occurred in summer (34.2-1227) than in winter (20.6-840), as a result of the high emission caused by climate reasons. In general, higher ∑11OPEs occurred in rivers (41.2-1227) than in the coast (34.2-809) in summer, especially in the urban rivers, while in winter, higher ∑11OPEs occurred in the coast (23.4-840 vs 20.6-319 in rivers) because of obviously higher ∑11OPEs in marine fishery areas (99-840). Source identification revealed that fishery activity, especially fishing vessels, and urban rivers were the main sources of OPEs in the Beibu Gulf. For the individual OPE, only tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP) may have ecological risks to aquatic organisms in a few sites, but if considering the additive effects, the OPEs mixtures would pose a high risk to algae and low to medium threats to crustaceans and fish.

Changes in the concentration, distribution, and speciation of arsenic in the hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata at different growth stages.

The arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator has become a model plant for the study of the interaction between plants and trace elements. However, the change in As concentration, distribution and speciation of hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata at different growth stages, especially with the aging process remains unknown. We collected P. vittata at different growth ages and analyzed As concentration, distribution, and speciation. Furthermore, metabolic profiling was conducted for P. vittata at different growth stages. With aging, the reduced glutathione/ oxidized glutathione ratio decreased while the malondialdehyde content increased, accompanied by the change in the main As speciation in P. vittata from arsenite to arsenate. Metabolic profiling also indicated significant difference in the compositions of metabolites during different growth stages. Specifically, flavonoid compounds were found to be positively correlated with As concentration. Results indicated that with the aging of P. vittata, the redox potential increased in the pinnae, leading to the oxidation of As, which may have impacted the distribution of As in this fern. Furthermore, the correlation between As concentration and flavonoid compounds implied the essential role of flavonoid metabolism in the accumulation and transport of As in this plant.

Discharge Patterns of Potentially Harmful Elements (PHEs) from Coking Plants and Its Relationship with Soil PHE Contents in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China is a rapid development area with a dense population and high-pollution, high-energy-consumption industries. Despite the general idea that the coking industry contributes greatly to the total emission of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in BTH, quantitative analysis on the PHE pollution caused by coking is rare. This study collected the pollutant discharge data of coking enterprises and assessed the risks of coking plants in BTH using the soil accumulation model and ecological risk index. The average contribution rate of coking emissions to the total emissions of PHEs in BTH was ~7.73%. Cross table analysis indicated that there was a close relationship between PHEs discharged by coking plants and PHEs in soil. The accumulation of PHEs in soil and their associated risks were calculated, indicating that nearly 70% of the coking plants posed a significant ecological risk. Mercury, arsenic, and cadmium were the main PHEs leading to ecological risks. Scenario analysis indicated that the percentage of coking plants with high ecological risk might rise from 8.50% to 20.00% as time progresses. Therefore, the control of PHEs discharged from coking plants in BTH should be strengthened. Furthermore, regionalized strategies should be applied to different areas due to the spatial heterogeneity of risk levels.

Fat content in lumbar paravertebral muscles: Quantitative and qualitative analysis using dual-energy CT in correlation to MR imaging.

PURPOSE: This study aims to assess the diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) on lumbar paravertebral muscles fat infiltration (PMFI) in participants with low back pain (LBP). METHOD: In this prospective study, 21 participants with LBP were performed with noncontrast DECT scans within 1 week after magnetic resonance (MR) examinations. The assessment was based on the selected region of interest obtained from the paravertebral L1/L2-L5/S1 muscle. On visual evaluation, PMFI was assessed at DECT virtual monoenergetic images (80 keV) with Goutallier classification system using MR results as a reference. Quantitative parameters fat fraction, CT number, ΔCT number (difference of CT number at 140 and 80 keV), and optimal cutoff values above the indicators between MR adjacent grades were measured. RESULTS: In this study, 582 ROIs from 21 participants (mean age, 60 ± 16 years old; 15 females) were evaluated. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of readers 1 and 2 at severe grade (grades 3 and 4) were 67% and 85% (22 and 28 of 33), 99% and 99% (159 and 160 of 161), and 93% and 97% (181 and 188 of 194), respectively. Interobserver reliability was high with κ = 0.85 (p < 0.001). For DECT quantification parameters, significance was all represented between five grades (all p < 0.01). The area under the curve of indicators for discrimination between severe (grades 3 and 4) and normal and moderate (grades 0, 1, and 2) grades were > 0.80 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: DECT was a promising qualitative and quantitative imaging technique to assess lumbar PMFI in participants with LBP and could provide accurate quantification for different fat infiltration (FI) degrees. Moreover, visual DECT assessment could excellently distinguish severe from normal and moderate FI of MR grades.

Influencing factors and prediction of arsenic concentration in Pteris vittata: A combination of geodetector and empirical models.

Phytoextraction using hyperaccumulator, Pteris vittata, to extract arsenic (As) from soil has been applied to large areas to achieve an As removal rate of 18% per year. However, remarkable difference among different studies and field practices has led to difficulties in the standardization of phytoextraction technology. In this study, data on As concentration in P. vittata and related environmental conditions were collected through literature search. A conceptual framework was proposed to guide the improvement of phytoextraction efficiency in the field. The following influencing factors of As concentration in this hyperaccumulator were identified: total As concentration in soil, soil available As, organic matter in soil, total potassium (K) concentration in soil, and annual rainfall. The geodetection results show that the main factors that affect As concentration in P. vittata include soil organic matter (q = 0.75), soil available As (q = 0.67), total K (q = 0.54), and rainfall (q = 0.42). The predictive models of As concentration in P. vittata were established separately for greenhouse and field conditions through multivariate linear stepwise regression method. Under greenhouse condition, soil available As was the most important influencing factor and could explain 41.4% of As concentration in P. vittata. Two dominant factors were detected in the field: soil available As concentration and average annual rainfall. The combination of these two factors gave better prediction results with R2 = 0.762. The establishment of the model might help predict phytoextraction efficiency and contribute to technological standardization. The strategies that were used to promote As removal from soil by P. vittata were summarized and analyzed. Intercropping with suitable plants or a combination of different measures (e.g., phosphate fertilizer and water retention) was recommended in practice to increase As concentration in P. vittata.

[Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Heavy Metals in Soil from a Coking Plant and Its Driving Factors].

Coking plants are typical industrial pollution sites and may release heavy metals into the environment, posing a threat to human health. Scholars have discovered that different types of heavy metals are released during different coking production processes and lead to spatial differences in heavy metals. Research on the spatial distribution and driving factors of pollutants in the soil inside and outside coking plants is important for sampling design, risk assessment, pollution prevention and control, etc.. Inverse distance weight was used to analyze the spatial distribution of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn inside and outside of the coking plant. A geo-detector was used to find out the difference in the driving factors for the spatial distribution of heavy metals between soil from inside and outside the coking plant. The results showed that except As, Ni, and Zn, the overall background value rate of other heavy metals was above 50%, and the continuity of the spatial distribution of heavy metals in the soil was poor. The coefficient of variation (CV) exceeded 30%, representing a moderate variation. The average degree of CV inside the coking plant was Hg > Cd > As > Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Ni, and the external average degree of CV was Hg > Cu > Cd > As > Zn > Pb > Cr > Ni. An analysis of heavy metal content showed that the content of As, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn outside the coking plant was bigger than inside. According to geo-detector results, the physicochemical properties factors with a large contribution rate to the spatial distribution of heavy metals inside and outside the coking plant was the soil's total nitrogen, organic matter, and available medium-micro element content. Pollution source factors that contributed the most to the spatial distribution of heavy metals inside were the crude benzol and cold drum section, while the coke oven and quench section determined the outside spatial distribution of heavy metals. The q value of the strongest factor inside the coking plant was more than 0.5 while outside the coking plant it was less than 0.5. According to the interaction detector result, the interaction factors values of pollution sources and soil physicochemical properties to the inside spatial distribution of heavy metals was higher than outside. According to the distribution and geo-detector results, the strongest physicochemical properties driving factors that determined the inside and outside spatial distribution of heavy metals were relatively consistent. These factors were soil nutrient factors, which mainly influenced the availability of heavy metals. The differences in the production processes led to the difference between the inside and outside spatial distribution of heavy metals. The content of heavy metals outside the coking plant was higher than inside because the heavy metals came from various pollution sources. The driving forces for the distribution of heavy metals inside the plant were higher than outside and showed that the heavy metals inside of the plant were mainly from the coking plant. Heavy metal distribution inside the coking plant was mainly driven by the pollution source factor of the coking refining process and coking water, while heavy metal distribution outside the coking plant was mainly driven by the coking gas production process and other emission pollution source factors.