Fine particle contents in sediment drive silica transport and deposition to the estuary in the turbid river basin

Changes in riverine sediment transport are an important part of land-sea geochemical cycling and further impact geochemical element fluxes in turbid rivers. However, as a vital nutrient element supporting primary productivity, silica mobilization from drainage in turbid rivers is overlooked. The turbid Yellow River has a strong ability to adsorb reactive silica, thereby exerting a substantial impact on the estuarine deposition of silica. Through an integration of monitoring databases, field sampling and historical hydrological data, we concluded that riverine fine particles control the exchangeable silica in the river and its estuary under soil erosion. Indoor simulation further revealed that the adsorbed content of exchangeable silica (ex-Si) in fine sediment constituted 35 % of total sediment matter. In addition, the transport of phosphorus and ex-Si was jointly regulated by fine sediment in global fluvial sediment transport, thereby exerting additional influence on the trophic structure of estuarine ecosystems. Against the backdrop of sediment budget deficit in the estuary, the heightened content of fine particles is depleting the silica storage from estuarine sediments.

Occurrence, bioaccumulation and trophodynamics of organophosphate esters in the marine biota web of Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea

The trophodynamic of organophosphate esters (OPEs) has not been known well despite their widespread occurrence in the aquatic environments. In this study, ten species of crustacean, seven species of mollusk, and 22 species of fish were collected in the Laizhou Bay (LZB) to examine the occurrence, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer, and health risk of eight traditional OPEs and three emerging oligomeric OPEs. The results showed that total concentration of OPEs was 2.04 to 28.6 ng g-1 ww in the muscle of crustacean, mollusk, and fish and 2.62 to 60.6 ng g-1 ww in the fish gill. Chlorinated OPEs averagely contributed to over 85% of total OPEs while oligomeric OPEs averagely accounted for approximate 4%. The average log apparent bioaccumulation factor (ABAF) ranged from - 0.4 L kg-1 ww for triethyl phosphate to 2.4 L kg-1 ww for resorcinol-bis (diphenyl) phosphate. Apparent trophic magnification factors (ATMF) of individual OPE were generally less than 1, demonstrating the biodilution effect of the OPEs in the organism web of LZB. Additionally, the log ABAF and ATMF of OPEs were significantly positively correlated to their log Kow but negatively correlated to their biotransformation rate constant (BRC). Therefore, the OPEs with high Kow and low BRC tend to more accumulate in the marine organisms. The health risks associated with OPEs through the consumption of the seafood from the bay were low, even at high exposure scenario.

Efficient roxarsone degradation by low-dose peroxymonosulfate with the activation of recycling iron-base composite material: Critical role of electron transfer

Pollutant degradation via electron transfer based on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) provides an economical and energy-efficient method for pollution control. In this study, an iron-rich waste, heating pad waste (HPW), was recycled as a raw material, and a strong magnetic catalyst (Fe-HPW) was synthesized at high temperature (900 °C). Results showed that in the constructed Fe-HPW/PMS system, effective roxarsone (ROX) degradation and TOC removal (72.54%) were achieved at a low-dose of oxidant (PMS, 0.05 mM) and catalyst (Fe-HPW, 0.05 g L-1), the ratio of PMS to ROX was only 2.5:1. In addition, the released inorganic arsenic was effectively removed from the solution. The analysis of the experimental results showed that ROX was effectively degraded by forming PMS/catalyst surface complexes (Fe-HPW-PMS*) to mediate electron transfer in the Fe-HPW/PMS system. Besides, this system performed effective ROX degradation over a wide pH range (pH=3-9) and showed high resistance to different water parameters. Overall, this study not only provides a new direction for the recycling application of HPW but also re-emphasizes the neglected nonradical pathway in advanced oxidation processes.

Comprehensive insight into mercury contamination in atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems surrounding a typical antimony-coal mining district

This study comprehensively investigated mercury (Hg) contents of various environmental compartments in a typical antimony-coal mining area with intensive industrial activities over the past 120 years to analyze Hg environmental behaviors and evaluate Hg risks. The total mercury (THg) contents in river water, sediments, soils, PM10, dust falls, vegetables and corns were 1.16 ± 0.63 µg/L, 2.01 ± 1.64 mg/kg, 1.87 ± 3.88 mg/kg, 7.87 ± 18.68 ng/m3, 13.01 ± 14.53 mg/kg, 0.30 ± 0.34 mg/kg and 3.11 ± 0.51 µg/kg, respectively. The δ202Hg values in soils and dust falls were - 1.58 ∼ 0.12‰ and 0.25 ∼ 0.30‰, respectively. Environmental samples affected by industrial activities in the Xikuangshan (XKS) presented higher THg and δ202Hg values. Binary mixing model proved that atmospheric deposition with considerable Hg deposition flux (0.44 ∼ 6.40, 3.12 ± 2.20 mg/m2/y) in the XKS significantly contributed to Hg accumulations on surface soils. Compared with soils, sediments with more frequent paths and higher burst probabilities presented higher dynamic Hg risks. Children were faced higher health risk of multiple Hg exposure than adults. Furthermore, the health risk of THg by consuming leaf vegetables deserved more attention. These findings provided scientific basis for managing Hg contamination.

Effects of COVID-19 on coastal and marine environments: Aggravated microplastic pollution, improved air quality, and future perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-2023 has wrought adverse impacts on coastal and marine environments. This study conducts a comprehensive review of the collateral effects of COVID-19 on these ecosystems through literature review and bibliometric analysis. According to the output and citation analysis of these publications, researchers from the coastal countries in Asia, Europe, and America payed more attentions to this environmental issue than other continents. Specifically, India, China, and USA were the top three countries in the publications, with the proportion of 19.55%, 18.99%, and 12.01%, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly aggravated the plastic and microplastic pollution in coastal and marine environments by explosive production and unproper management of personal protective equipment (PPE). During the pandemic, the estimated mismanaged PPE waste ranged from 16.50 t/yr in Sweden to 250,371.39 t/yr in Indonesia. In addition, the PPE density ranged from 1.13 × 10-5 item/m2 to 2.79 item/m2 in the coastal regions worldwide, showing significant geographical variations. Besides, the emerging contaminants released from PPE into the coastal and marine environments cannot be neglected. The positive influence was that the COVID-19 lockdown worldwide reduced the release of air pollutants (e.g., fine particulate matter, NO2, CO, and SO2) and improved the air quality. The study also analyzed the relationships between sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the publications and revealed the dynamic changes of SDGs in different periods the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, the air was cleaner due to the lockdown, but the coastal and marine contamination of plastic, microplastic, and emerging contaminants got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last but not least, the study proposed four strategies to deal with the coastal and marine pollution caused by COVID-19, which were regular marine monitoring, performance of risk assessment, effective regulation of plastic wastes, and close international cooperation.

The composition and differences of antimony isotopic in sediments affected by the world's largest antimony deposit zone

Antimony (Sb) isotopic fingerprinting is a novel technique for stable metal isotope analysis, but the use of this technique is still limited, especially in sediments. In this study, the world's most important Sb mineralization belt (the Xikuangshan mineralization belt) was taken as the research object and the Sb isotopic composition and Sb enrichment characteristics in the sediments of water systems from different Sb mining areas located in the Zijiang River (ZR) Basin were systematically studied. The results showed that the ε123Sb values in the sediments of the ZR and its tributaries, such as those near the Longshan Sb-Au mine, the Xikuangshan Sb mine, and the Zhazixi Sb mine, were 0.50‒3.13 ε, 2.31‒3.99 ε, 3.12‒5.63 ε and 1.14‒2.91 ε, respectively, and there were obvious changes in Sb isotopic composition. Antimony was mainly enriched in the sediments due to anthropogenic sources. Dilution of Sb along the river and adsorption of Sb to Al-Fe oxides in the sediment did not lead to obvious Sb isotopic fractionation in the sediment, indicating that the Sb isotopic signature was conserved during transport along the river. The Sb isotopic signatures measured in mine-affected streams may have differed from those in the original Sb ore, and further investigation of Sb isotopic fingerprints from other possible sources and unknown geochemical processes is needed. This study reveals that the apparent differences in ε123Sb values across regions make Sb isotopic analysis a potentially suitable tool for tracing Sb sources and biogeochemical processes in the environment.

Occurrence, removal efficiency, and emission of antibiotics in the sewage treatment plants of a low-urbanized basin in China and their impact on the receiving water

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are primary sources of antibiotics in aquatic environments. However, limited research has been conducted on antibiotic attenuation in STPs and their downstream waters in low-urbanized areas. This study analyzed 15 antibiotics in the STP sewage and river water in the Zijiang River basin to quantify antibiotic transport and attenuation in the STPs and downstream. The results showed that 14 target antibiotics, except leucomycin, were detected in the STP sewage, dominated by amoxicillin (AMOX), ofloxacin, and roxithromycin. The total antibiotic concentration in the influent and effluent ranged from 158 to 1025 ng/L and 99.9 to 411 ng/L, respectively. The removal efficiency of total antibiotics ranged from 54.7 % to 75.7 % and was significantly correlated with total antibiotic concentration in the influent. The antibiotic emission from STPs into rivers was 78 kg/yr and 4.6 g/km2yr in the Zijiang River basin. The total antibiotic concentration downstream of the STP downstream was 23.6 to 213 ng/L and was significantly negatively correlated with the transport distance away from the STP outlets. Antibiotics may pose a high ecological risk to algae and low ecological risk to fish in the basin. The risk of AMOX and ciprofloxacin resistance for organisms in the basin was estimated to be moderate. This study established antibiotic removal and attenuation models in STPs and their downstream regions in a low-urbanized basin, which is important for simulating antibiotic transport in STPs and rivers worldwide.

Association of the triglyceride-glucose index variability with blood pressure and hypertension: a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Several studies have indicated that the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) index is associated with hypertension; however, evidence on the association of change in the TyG index with blood pressure and hypertension is limited.

AIMS

To assess the association of the TyG index with blood pressure and hypertension.

DESIGN

A cohort study.

METHODS

We included 17 977 individuals with a mean age of 60.5 years from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort. The TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dl)×fasting glucose (mg/dl)/2]. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg, self-reported current use of antihypertensive medication or self-reported physician diagnosis of hypertension.

RESULTS

In the longitudinal analyses, we found a linear dose-response relationship between changes in the TyG index and change in blood pressure. Each one-unit change in the TyG index was associated with a 1.93 (1.23-2.63) mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 1.78 (1.42-2.16) mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP). During a median follow-up of 9.37 years, a total of 3594 individuals were newly diagnosed with hypertension. We also found a linear dose-response relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of hypertension. The hazard ratio (HR) of hypertension for each one-unit increase in the TyG index was 1.21 (1.13-1.29). In addition, the best cut-off point of TyG for predicting hypertension was 8.4797, with sensitivity, and specificity of 57.85% and 55.40%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The TyG index had a positive dose-response relationship with blood pressure and could be used to predict the risk of hypertension.

Study of High-Transverse-Momentum Higgs Boson Production in Association with a Vector Boson in the qqbb Final State with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter presents the first study of Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson (V=W or Z) in the fully hadronic qqbb final state using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137  fb^{-1}. The vector bosons and Higgs bosons are each reconstructed as large-radius jets and tagged using jet substructure techniques. Dedicated tagging algorithms exploiting b-tagging properties are used to identify jets consistent with Higgs bosons decaying into bb[over ¯]. Dominant backgrounds from multijet production are determined directly from the data, and a likelihood fit to the jet mass distribution of Higgs boson candidates is used to extract the number of signal events. The VH production cross section is measured inclusively and differentially in several ranges of Higgs boson transverse momentum: 250-450, 450-650, and greater than 650 GeV. The inclusive signal yield relative to the standard model expectation is observed to be μ=1.4_{-0.9}^{+1.0} and the corresponding cross section is 3.1±1.3(stat)_{-1.4}^{+1.8}(syst)  pb.

Mechanochemical degradation performance of lindane in different types of soils: The effects of soil properties and elemental components

Although mechanochemical remediation of organic-contaminated soil has received substantial attention in recent years, the effects of soil properties on soil remediation performance are not clear. In this work, the properties and elemental components of 16 soils were tested, and the mechanochemical degradation performance of lindane in these soils was investigated through experiments. Most importantly, the relationships between soil variables and the mechanochemical degradation rates of lindane in the additive-free and CaO systems were elucidated. The results showed that the mechanochemical degradation efficiencies of lindane in the 16 soils were significantly different without additives, with a range of 31.0 %-97.2 % after 4 h. The mechanochemical degradation rates of lindane in the 16 soils varied from 0.7 h-1 to 15 h-1 after the addition of 9 % CaO. Correlation analysis, redundancy analysis and the partial least squares path modeling results clearly showed that the main factors affecting the reaction rate (k1) without additives were organic matter (-) > clay (+) > bound water (-) > Si (+). After the addition of 9 % CaO, the order in which the main factors affected the reaction rate (k2) was organic matter (-) > bound water (-) > Ti/Fe/Al (-) > pH (+) > clay (+). The established and corrected multiple nonlinear regression equations can be used to accurately predict the mechanochemical degradation performance of hexachlorocyclohexanes in actual soils with and without additives.

Measurement of the Centrality Dependence of the Dijet Yield in p+Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=8.16 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

ATLAS measured the centrality dependence of the dijet yield using 165  nb^{-1} of p+Pb data collected at sqrt[s_{NN}]=8.16  TeV in 2016. The event centrality, which reflects the p+Pb impact parameter, is characterized by the total transverse energy registered in the Pb-going side of the forward calorimeter. The central-to-peripheral ratio of the scaled dijet yields, R_{CP}, is evaluated, and the results are presented as a function of variables that reflect the kinematics of the initial hard parton scattering process. The R_{CP} shows a scaling with the Bjorken x of the parton originating from the proton, x_{p}, while no such trend is observed as a function of x_{Pb}. This analysis provides unique input to understanding the role of small proton spatial configurations in p+Pb collisions by covering parton momentum fractions from the valence region down to x_{p}∼10^{-3} and x_{Pb}∼4×10^{-4}.

Accelerated export and transportation of heavy metals in watersheds under high geological backgrounds

The geological background level of metals plays a major role in mineral distribution and watershed diffuse heavy metal (HM) pollution. In this study, field research and a distributed hydrological model were used to analyze the distribution, sources, and pollution risk of watershed HMs in sediments with high geological HM backgrounds. Study showed that the mineral distribution and landcover promoted the transport differences of watershed HMs from upstream to the estuary. And the main sources of Co, Ni, and V in the estuarine sediments were natural sources. Sources of Pb and Zn were dominated by anthropogenic sources, accounting for 76% and 64% of their respective totals. The overall ecological risk of anthropogenically sourced HMs was dominated by Pb (46.6%), while the contributions of Co and Ni were also relatively high, accounting for 35.70% and 33.40%. Moreover, redundancy analysis showed that HM variations in the sediments were most sensitive to soil erosion and mineralizing rock distribution. The spatial patterns of watershed HMs from natural sources were significantly influenced by P loading, precipitation, and forest distribution. This combination of experiments and model improves the understanding of watershed HM variation and provides a new perspective for formulating effective watershed HM management strategies.

Search for New Phenomena in Two-Body Invariant Mass Distributions Using Unsupervised Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

Searches for new resonances are performed using an unsupervised anomaly-detection technique. Events with at least one electron or muon are selected from 140  fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV recorded by ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider. The approach involves training an autoencoder on data, and subsequently defining anomalous regions based on the reconstruction loss of the decoder. Studies focus on nine invariant mass spectra that contain pairs of objects consisting of one light jet or b jet and either one lepton (e,μ), photon, or second light jet or b jet in the anomalous regions. No significant deviations from the background hypotheses are observed. Limits on contributions from generic Gaussian signals with various widths of the resonance mass are obtained for nine invariant masses in the anomalous regions.

Efficient degradation of chlorpyrifos and intermediate in soil by a novel microwave induced advanced oxidation process: A two-stage reaction

The application of microwave/peroxymonosulfate (MW/PMS) in soil remediation has been limited by some shortages including low utilization efficiency of oxidants, low MW absorption capacity of soil particles and incomplete degradation of intermediate. In this study, heating pad waste (HPW) was added in the MW/PMS system to increase the ability of absorbing MW and degradation efficiency of toxic intermediate. A two-stage method for degradation of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and its intermediate 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) by MW/PMS assisted with HPW was proposed. In the first stage, more than 90% of CPF was degraded within 15 min before the addition of HPW, and most of the CPF was converted into TCP through direct or indirect pathways under the action of 1O2. In the second stage, more than 70% of the generated TCP was rapidly degraded through SO4•- oxidation and electron transfer. The TCP was further degraded with the assistance of HPW through methylation, hydroxylation and dechlorination etc., and the toxicity of degradation products was decreased significantly. pH and soil organic matter had little influences on CPF and TCP degradation. Therefore, a new strategy for remediation of CPF contaminated-soil was provided based on MW/PMS technology and the concept of "treating waste with waste".

Comparison of antimony and arsenic behaviour at the river-lake junction in the middle of the Yangtze River Basin

As typical metalloid toxic elements widely distributed in environmental media, the geochemical behaviour of antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) affects environmental safety. We selected the surface waters and sediments at the river-lake junction of Dongting Lake as the research objects, analysed the concentration and chemical partitioning of Sb and As, assessed its contamination and ecological risk levels, and discussed its sources and potential influencing factors. The concentrations of dissolved Sb and As in surface waters were low (< 5.46 µg/L), and the concentrations of Sb and As in surface sediments were 2.49-22.65 mg/kg and 11.10-136.34 mg/kg, respectively. Antimony and As in sediments were mainly enriched in the fraction of residues, but the proportion of As in bioavailability was significantly higher than that of Sb. Although the contamination level of Sb was higher than that of As, the risk assessment code (RAC) showed that the ecological risk level of As was higher than that of Sb. Rainwater erosion and mining activities (in the midstream of Zijiang River) were the main contaminated sources of Sb, while As was affect mainly by rainwater erosion. The contamination and ecological risk of Sb in the inlet of the Zijiang River should receive considerable attention, while those of As in the inlet of the Xiangjiang River should also be seriously considered. This study highlights the need for multi-index-based assessments of contamination and ecological risk and the importance of further studies on the environmental behaviour of metalloids in specific hydrological conditions, such as river-lake junctions.

Observation of WZγ Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter reports the observation of WZγ production and a measurement of its cross section using 140.1±1.2  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The WZγ production cross section, with both the W and Z bosons decaying leptonically, pp→WZγ→ℓ^{'}^{±}νℓ^{+}ℓ^{-}γ (ℓ^{(^{'})}=e, μ), is measured in a fiducial phase-space region defined such that the leptons and the photon have high transverse momentum and the photon is isolated. The cross section is found to be 2.01±0.30(stat)±0.16(syst)  fb. The corresponding standard model predicted cross section calculated at next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics and at leading order in the electroweak coupling constant is 1.50±0.06  fb. The observed significance of the WZγ signal is 6.3σ, compared with an expected significance of 5.0σ.

Combined Measurement of the Higgs Boson Mass from the H→γγ and H→ZZ^{*}→4ℓ Decay Channels with the ATLAS Detector Using sqrt[s]=7, 8, and 13 TeV pp Collision Data

A measurement of the mass of the Higgs boson combining the H→ZZ^{*}→4ℓ and H→γγ decay channels is presented. The result is based on 140  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector during LHC run 2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV combined with the run 1 ATLAS mass measurement, performed at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, yielding a Higgs boson mass of 125.11±0.09(stat)±0.06(syst)=125.11±0.11  GeV. This corresponds to a 0.09% precision achieved on this fundamental parameter of the Standard Model of particle physics.

Search for Dark Photons in Rare Z Boson Decays with the ATLAS Detector

A search for events with a dark photon produced in association with a dark Higgs boson via rare decays of the standard model Z boson is presented, using 139  fb^{-1} of sqrt[s]=13  TeV proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The dark boson decays into a pair of dark photons, and at least two of the three dark photons must each decay into a pair of electrons or muons, resulting in at least two same-flavor opposite-charge lepton pairs in the final state. The data are found to be consistent with the background prediction, and upper limits are set on the dark photon's coupling to the dark Higgs boson times the kinetic mixing between the standard model photon and the dark photon, α_{D}ϵ^{2}, in the dark photon mass range of [5, 40] GeV except for the ϒ mass window [8.8, 11.1] GeV. This search explores new parameter space not previously excluded by other experiments.

Acromegaly presented with acne vulgaris: a retrospective study with 123 cases

BACKGROUND

Acne vulgaris is a prevalent skin condition. We have found that some acromegaly patients have acne. However, no study has examined the relationship between acromegaly and acne.

OBJECTIVE

To explore prevalence and correlation of adult acne in patients with acromegaly.

METHODS

For this cross-sectional study, we collected questionnaires, clinical information, and laboratory test results of acromegaly patients from January 2022 to December 2022 at Huashan Hospital. Of the 133 questionnaires returned, 123 had valid responses.

RESULTS

Of the 123 patients with acromegaly enrolled in this study, 54.5% had adult acne. No statistically significant difference was found in prevalence between male and female patients. 61.2% of adult acne patients reported late-onset acne. Late-onset acne patients first developed acne years before acromegaly diagnosis (mean of 5.6 years for male and 4.5 years for female patients). Some acne patients have received traditional anti-acne treatment. Moreover, 31% of the patients reported no improvement, and only 3.5% of patients claimed complete resolution of acne after treatment. Before acromegaly treatment, the prevalence of adult acne was 51.2%, with mild acne accounting for 73.0%, moderate acne accounting for 23.8%, and severe acne accounting for 3.2%. After acromegaly treatment, the prevalence of adult acne was significantly decreased to 37.4% (P = 0.007). An overall decrease in acne severity was noted, with 93.5%, 6.5%, and 0% having mild, moderate, and severe acne, respectively. A total of 83.6% of the patients had self-assessed acne remission, and 33.3% of the patients reported complete acne resolution. However, 9.0% of patients reported that their condition had worsened after acromegaly treatment. After treatment, GH, IGF-1, IGF-1 index, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR decreased significantly in all patients with acromegaly (P < 0.05). Acne remission correlated positively with IGF-1 levels, but not with GH levels. The relationship between acromegaly and acne remains to be elucidated.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide preliminary evidence of the high prevalence of adult acne in acromegaly patients, and a high rate of late-onset acne as well. Traditional anti-acne treatments are less effective. Acne could be considerably relieved by treating acromegaly. Acne remission positively correlated with IGF-1 decline as well, which revealed the correlation between acne and IGF-1.

Correlation study between bone metabolic markers, bone mineral density, and sarcopenia

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the correlation between bone metabolism markers, bone mineral density (BMD), and sarcopenia.

METHODS

A total of 331 consecutive patients aged ≥ 60 years who were hospitalized between November 2020 and December 2021 were enrolled. Participants were divided into sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups according to the Asian Working Group on Sarcopenia criteria (AWGS, 2019). The clinical data, bone metabolism markers (β-CTX, N-MID, and TP1NP), and BMD were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Age, β-CTX, and N-MID of the sarcopenia group were higher than those of the non-sarcopenia group (P < 0.05), but the BMD T values were lower than those of the non-sarcopenia group (P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that increased femoral neck BMD (FNBMD) was a protective factor for sarcopenia, while increased β-CTX was a risk factor. Pearson/Spearman correlation analysis showed that the diagnostic indices of sarcopenia were positively correlated with FNBMD and negatively correlated with β-CTX and N-MID. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that BMI and FNBMD significantly positively affected muscle strength and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM). The FNBMD significantly positively affected physical performance, while β-CTX significantly negatively affected muscle strength, ASM, and physical performance.

CONCLUSION

Increased FNBMD may be a protective factor against sarcopenia, and increased β-CTX may be a risk factor. The FNBMD significantly positively affected the diagnostic indices of sarcopenia, while β-CTX significantly negatively affected them. BMD and bone metabolism marker levels may be considered in early screening for sarcopenia.

Discharge dynamics of agricultural diffuse pollution under different rainfall patterns in the middle Yangtze river

Rainfall plays a crucial role in influencing the loss of agricultural diffuse pollution. The middle Yangtze River region is well-know for its humid climate and numerous agricultural activities. Thus, this study quantitatively analyzed the concentration and distribution of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) load and loss in a major tributary of the middle Yangtze River under different rainfall patterns by using sampling analysis and SWAT model simulation. The total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-) concentrations were 1.604-3.574 and 0.830-2.556 mg/L, respectively. The total phosphorous (TP) and Soluble Reactive Phosphorus (SRP) were 2-148 and 2-104 μg/L, respectively. The modeling results demonstrated that higher rainfall intensity led to greater load and loss flux of diffuse pollutant at the outlet. Organic nitrogen (ORGN) is the main nitrogen form transported from the subbasin to the reach, while organic phosphorus (ORGP) and inorganic phosphorus (INORGP) were transported at similar amounts. Under the condition of conventional rainfall, the outlet reaches mainly transported NO3-, and ORGN gradually increased when rainstorm events occurred. The ratio of INORGP to ORGP was relatively stable. During extreme rainfall event, rainfall is the dominant element of agricultural diffuse pollution. A strong positive correlation exists between rainfall intensity and pollution loss during rainstorms. Storm rain events were the main source of TN and TP losses. Few storm rain days generated pollutants that accounted for a large proportion of the total loss, and their impact on TP loss was significantly greater than that of TN. The influence of storm rain on TN is mainly the increase in runoff, while TP is sensitive to the runoff and sediment transport promoted by rainfall. By setting different precipitation scenarios, it was confirmed that under the same rainfall amount, short-term storm rain has the most significant impact on the TN load, whereas TP load may be influenced more by the combined effects of rainfall duration and intensity. Therefore, to reduce the impact of agricultural diffuse pollution, it is important to take targeted measures for the rainstorm days.

Distribution heterogeneity of sediment bacterial community in the river-lake system impacted by nonferrous metal mines: Diversity, composition and co-occurrence patterns

Metal(loid) pollution caused by mining activities can affect microbial communities. However, knowledge of the diversity, composition, and co-occurrence patterns of bacterial communities in aquatic systems impacted by nonferrous metal mines. Here, the metal(loid) contents and bacterial communities in sediments from the Zijiang River (tributary to mainstream) to Dongting Lake were investigated by geochemical and molecular biology methods. The results indicated that the river sediments had lower pH and higher ecological risk of metal(loid)s than the lake sediment. The diversity and composition of bacterial communities in river sediments significantly (p < 0.05) differed from those in lake sediments, showing distributional heterogeneity. The biomarkers of tributary, mainstream, and lake sediments were mainly members of Deltaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Nitrospirae, respectively, reflecting species sorting in different habitats. Multivariate statistical analysis demonstrated that total and bioavailable Sb, As, and Zn were positively correlated with bacterial community richness. pH, TOC, TN, and Zn were crucial factors in shaping the distribution difference of bacterial communities. Environment-bacteria network analysis indicated that pH, SO42-, and total and bioavailable As and Sb greatly influenced the bacterial composition at the genus level. Bacteria-bacteria network analysis manifested that the co-occurrence network in mainstream sediments with a higher risk of metal(loid) pollution exhibited higher modularity and connectivity, which might be the survival mechanism for bacterial communities adapted to metal(loid) pollution. This study can provide a theoretical basis for understanding the ecological status of aquatic systems.

Measurement of the Sensitivity of Two-Particle Correlations in pp Collisions to the Presence of Hard Scatterings

A key open question in the study of multiparticle production in high-energy pp collisions is the relationship between the "ridge"-i.e., the observed azimuthal correlations between particles in the underlying event that extend over all rapidities-and hard or semihard scattering processes. In particular, it is not known whether jets or their soft fragments are correlated with particles in the underlying event. To address this question, two-particle correlations are measured in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV using data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, with an integrated luminosity of 15.8  pb^{-1}, in two different configurations. In the first case, charged particles associated with jets are excluded from the correlation analysis, while in the second case, correlations are measured between particles within jets and charged particles from the underlying event. Second-order flow coefficients, v_{2}, are presented as a function of event multiplicity and transverse momentum. These measurements show that excluding particles associated with jets does not affect the measured correlations. Moreover, particles associated with jets do not exhibit any significant azimuthal correlations with the underlying event, ruling out hard processes contributing to the ridge.

Observation of an Excess of Dicharmonium Events in the Four-Muon Final State with the ATLAS Detector

A search is made for potential ccc[over ¯]c[over ¯] tetraquarks decaying into a pair of charmonium states in the four muon final state using proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140  fb^{-1} recorded by the ATLAS experiment at LHC. Two decay channels, J/ψ+J/ψ→4μ and J/ψ+ψ(2S)→4μ, are studied. Backgrounds are estimated based on a hybrid approach involving Monte Carlo simulations and data-driven methods. Statistically significant excesses with respect to backgrounds dominated by the single parton scattering are seen in the di-J/ψ channel consistent with a narrow resonance at 6.9 GeV and a broader structure at lower mass. A statistically significant excess is also seen in the J/ψ+ψ(2S) channel. The fitted masses and decay widths of the structures are reported.

Tracking the multiple Hg sources in sediments in a typical river-lake basin by isotope compositions and mixing models

In this study, total mercury (THg) contents and Hg isotope compositions in sediments were investigated in the Lianxi River, Zijiang River and South Dongting Lake to identify and quantify multiple Hg sources and evaluate the Hg environmental processes. The THg contents, δ202Hg and Δ199Hg values in sediments were 48.22 ∼ 4284.32 µg/kg, - 1.33 ∼ 0.04‰ and - 0.25 ∼ 0.03‰, respectively. Relatively distinct Hg isotope characteristics of sediments were presented in the Lianxi River, Zijiang River and South Dongting Lake, indicating the dominant Hg sources considerably varied in these regions. Source apportionment based on MixSIAR proved that Hg in sediments mainly originated from industrial activities, and the ternary mixing model concluded non-ferrous metal smelting was the dominant industrial Hg contributor in the Lianxi River. Compared with the Lianxi River, the relative contribution of Hg in sediments from industrial activities significantly decreased, while the relative contributions of Hg from background releases significantly increased in the Zijiang River and South Dongting Lake. Nonetheless, the contribution of industrial Hg in this study area deserves more attention. These results are conducive to further manage Hg pollution.

Occurrence, distribution, and potential ecological risks of antibiotics in a seasonal freeze-thaw basin

Antibiotics have gained increasing attention as pharmaceuticals widely existing in human society. Under low temperature conditions, antibiotics tend to have higher environmental persistence, which poses a potential threat to ecological environment, but research on antibiotics in low-temperature basins is still lacking. Therefore, for investigating occurrence, spatio-temporal distributions, and ecological risks of antibiotics in a seasonal freeze-thaw basin, rivers in Tumen River basin were selected and sampled, including 25 samples during the river-freezing season and 27 samples during the non-freezing season. Overall, climate characteristics of different latitudes and renewal frequency of antibiotics are important factors that lead to diversity of antibiotics in basins. Eleven target antibiotics were detected and their average concentrations during the river-freezing season (0.83-27.5 ng L-1) were lower than that during the non-freezing season (2.80-45.30 ng L-1), severely impacted by river flow, ice sealed-melting, and local feeding practices. In addition, total antibiotic concentrations are usually highest in downstream areas of human settlements, receiving input from husbandry and sewage, respectively. Through ecological risk assessment, norfloxacin and amoxicillin posed high risks to algae, which were identified as high-risk pollutants in basin.

Application of optimized LSTM in prediction of the cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19

This paper proposes an optimized Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM+) model for predicting cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Germany, the UK, Italy, and Japan. The LSTM+ model incorporates two key optimizations: (1) fine-adjustment of parameters and (2) a 're-prediction' process that utilizes the latest prediction results from the previous iteration. The performance of the LSTM+ model is evaluated and compared with that of Backpropagation (BP) and traditional LSTM models. The results demonstrate that the LSTM+ model significantly outperforms both BP and LSTM models, achieving a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of less than 0.6%. Additionally, two illustrative examples employing the LSTM+ model further validate its general applicability and practical performance for predicting cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Socioeconomic and seasonal effects on spatiotemporal trends in estrogen occurrence and ecological risk within a river across low-urbanized and high-husbandry landscapes

Estrogen pollution is a persistent issue in rivers. This study investigated the occurrence, spatiotemporal variation mechanisms, sources, and ecological risks of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), diethylstilbestrol (DES), and bisphenol-A (BPA) in the waters of the Zijiang River, a tributary of the middle Yangtze River. The results revealed elevated detection frequencies and estrogen concentrations in the dry season compared to the wet season, mainly due to the precipitation dilution effect. Total estrogen concentration ranged from 21.2 to 97.5 ng/L in the dry season, which was significantly correlated to spatial distributions of animal husbandry and population. Among the estrogens studied in the river, E2, BPA, and EE2 were predominant. The collective sources of E1, E2, E3, and EE2 were traced back to human and husbandry excrement, whereas BPA emitted from daily life products, contributing to 55.5% and 42.7% of the total estrogen concentration, respectively. Particularly, the average and median E1, E2, and EE2 concentrations in the river exceeded the environmental quality standards of the European Union. The total estrogenic activity dominated by EE2 exceeded the 1 ng E2/L threshold, with levels exceeding 10 ng E2/L during the dry season. The risk quotients exhibited a high ecological risk of E1 and EE2 to fish and a moderate to high ecological risk of E1 to crustaceans, EE2 to mollusks, and E2 to fish. Therefore, E1, E2, and EE2 pollution of the river may lead to both high estrogenic potency and moderate or high ecological risk; thus, they should be considered priority pollutants in the river. These results yield valuable insights into the spatiotemporal change mechanisms, sources, and ecological risks of estrogens in river water of low-urbanization and rural watersheds.

Peroxymonosulfate assisted mechanochemical remediation of high concentration DDTs contaminated soil

DDTs (DDT and its metabolites) contaminated sites urgently need to be treated efficiently and greenly. In this study, a horizontal planetary mechanochemical method with co-milling additives was developed aiming at efficiently degrading high-concentration DDTs in historical contaminated soil (∼7500 mg/kg). Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) was firstly used to the mechanochemical degradation of DDTs in historical contaminated soil, with a degradation efficiency of over 95% after 1 h of milling under the optimal milling conditions (CR = 30:1, r = 500 rpm, R = 1:4). Mechanism study indicated that DDTs in soil were partially dechlorinated and mineralized. The main products formed might be chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, which need further treatment by ball milling or other methods. Under the action of mechanical energy, PMS could oxidize DDTs in soil through non-radical way rather than common radical way. Then, a comprehensive assessment of this remediation method was conducted by analyzing the changes in soil properties and acute biotoxicity after ball milling. Although PMS had a great performance on the degradation of DDTs, especially p, p'-DDE, it would cause the acidification and salinization of soil. Therefore, further pH adjustment and desalination treatment were suggested to reduce the negative impacts. This work successfully presents a practical approach to mechanochemical remediation of DDTs contaminated sites.

Monte Carlo simulation and delayed geochemical hazard revealed the contamination and risk of arsenic in natural water sources

Due to its ubiquity and carcinogenicity, the geochemical behavior and health risks of arsenic (As) have been a research focus worldwide. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the contamination and ecological and health risks of As in the Zijiang River (ZR)-a natural water source. The concentration ranges of As were separately 1.36-6.23 μg/L, 11.42-74.53 mg/kg, and 1.26-130.68 μg/L in surface waters (dissolved), sediments, and pore waters. The concentrations of As in the midstream pore waters and sediments were relatively high, which was related to mining, dam interception, and sediment resuspension. The Monte Carlo simulation results showed that the occurrence probability of As contamination and static risk in sediments was low, however, in the midstream, the secondary risk caused by the release of As should be given more consideration. In the sediments, the transformation paths and the dynamic risk of As were explored based on the delayed geochemical hazard model, showing that there was a probability of a potential burst of 26.47% - 55.88% in the sediments of the ZR. Although at the detected surface waters, the total risk of the noncarcinogenicity and carcinogenicity of As were low, overall adults have lower health risks than children, and As exposure in children should be of concern. This study complements the further understanding of the geochemical behavior of arsenic, which can be extended to other toxic metal(loid)s.

Effective reduction and recovery of As(III) and As(V) from alkaline wastewater by thiourea dioxide: Efficiency and mechanism

For alkaline wastewater with high arsenic concentration, the traditional lime precipitation inevitably produces large amounts of hazardous waste. Herein, a heat-activated reduction method employing thiourea dioxide (TDO) as the reductant was proposed to efficiently remove and recover As(III)/As(V) from alkaline wastewater in the form of valuable As(0). More than 99.9% of As(III)/As(V) (2-400 mM) were reduced to As(0) with a high purity of more than 99.5 wt% by TDO within 30 min. The highly reductive eaq- and SO2- radical generated during TDO decomposition contribute to the arsenic reduction, and the contribution ratios of eaq- and SO2- radical were estimated to be approximately 57.6% and 42.4% for As(III) removal and 62.2% and 37.8% for As(V) removal, respectively. The arsenic reduction was greatly improved by increasing pH and temperature, which could accelerate the cleavage of C-S bond in TDO for the eaq- and SO2- formation. The presence of dissolved oxygen, which can not only scavenge eaq-/SO2- but also directly oxidize SO22-, had a negative effect on the arsenic removal. The presence of CO32- slightly suppressed the arsenic removal due to the eaq- scavenging effect while SiO32-, PO43-, Cl-, SO42- and NH4+ had negligible effects. The proposed method was a potential technology for the efficient removal and reduction of arsenic in alkaline wastewater.

Mechanistic insights into Sb(III) and Fe(II) co-oxidation by oxygen and hydrogen peroxide: Dominant reactive oxygen species and roles of organic ligands

Sole O2 or H2O2 oxidant hardly oxidize Sb(III) on a time scale of hours to days, but Sb(III) oxidation can simultaneously occur in Fe(II) oxidation by O2 and H2O2 due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, Sb(III) and Fe(II) co-oxidation mechanisms regarding the dominant ROS and effects of organic ligands require further elucidation. Herein, the co-oxidation of Sb(III) and Fe(II) by O2 and H2O2 was studied in detail. The results indicated that increasing the pH significantly increased Sb(III) and Fe(II) oxidation rates during Fe(II) oxygenation, while the highest Sb(III) oxidation rate and oxidation efficiency was obtained at pH 3 with H2O2 as the oxidant. HCO3- and H2PO4-anions exerted different effects on Sb(III) oxidation in Fe(II) oxidation processes by O2 and H2O2. In addition, Fe(II) complexed with organic ligands could improve Sb(III) oxidation rates by 1 to 4 orders of magnitude mainly due to more ROS production. Moreover, quenching experiments combined with the PMSO probe demonstrated that .OH was the main ROS at acidic pH, whereas Fe(IV) played a key role in Sb(III) oxidation at near-neutral pH. In particular, the steady-state concentration of Fe(IV) ([Fe(IV)]ss) and kFe(IV)/Sb(III) were determined to be 1.66×10-9 M and 2.57×105 M-1 s-1, respectively. Overall, these findings help to better understand the geochemical cycling and fate of Sb in Fe(II)- and DOM-rich subsurface environments undergoing redox fluctuations and are conductive to developing Fenton reactions for the in-situ remediation of Sb(III)-contaminated environments.

[Expert consensus on the biobank development of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases and storage codes of related biological samples from craniofacial and oral region]

The biological samples of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases are extremely precious. Collecting and preserving these biological samples are helpful to elucidate the mechanisms and improve the level of diagnose and treatment of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases. The standardized construction of biobanks for oral genetic diseases and rare diseases is important for achieving these goals. At present, there is very little information on the construction of these biobanks, and the standards or suggestions for the classification and coding of biological samples from oral and maxillofacial sources, and this is not conducive to the standardization and information construction of biobanks for special oral diseases. This consensus summarizes the background, necessity, principles, and key points of constructing the biobank for oral genetic diseases and rare diseases. On the base of the group standard "Classification and Coding for Human Biomaterial" (GB/T 39768-2021) issued by the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Biological Samples, we suggest 76 new coding numbers for different of biological samples from oral and maxillofacial sources. We hope the consensus may promote the standardization, and smartization on the biobank construction as well as the overall research level of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases in China.

[Two novel and de novo KMT2D mutations on the same allele cause Kabuki syndrome]

Objective: To screen the candidate genes in a patient with Kabuki syndrome (KS), providing basis for genetic counseling, prenatal screening, prenatal diagnosis and facilitating early treatment. Methods: This study included a 16-year-old female KS patient born of non-consanguineous Chinese parents who presented to Department of Orthognathic & Cleft Lip and Palate Plastic Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of the subjects and analyzed by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Sanger sequencing was performed to validate the mutation in the candidate gene. The conformational and physicochemical changes of the mutant were analyzed by Alphafold2, Antheprot and DOG.2.0.1, respectively. Distribution of KMT2D mutations in patients with KS was analyzed based on the Human Gene Mutation Database Results: The proband manifested a typical KS facial gestalt, congenital cleft palate, fifth finger deformity, hypodontia, renal hypoplasia and hydronephrosis. Two de novo mutations c.[1166A>C; 1167dupC] (NM_003482) in cis on the same allele in the KMT2D gene were identified by WES and confirmed by allele-specific PCR. Bioinformatics analysis showed that three more α-helixes were added, and a (β-) turn and a (β-) sheet were reduced in KMT2D p. Y389S, p.V390Rfs*26 compared with the wild type. Meanwhile, the interceptive mutant-KMT2D protein p.V390Rfs*26 lost all four domains (FYRN domain, FYRC domain, SET domain, and PostSET domain), which may cause functional disabilities. Conclusions: Our study is the first to identify two novel and de novo KMT2D mutations in cis on the same allele in a KS patient and extends the KMT2D mutation spectrum of KS, providing evidence for genetic susceptibility counseling, prenatal screening and diagnosis, and early treatment of KS.

Mechanochemical remediation of lindane-contaminated soils assisted by CaO: Performance, mechanism and overall assessment

Soil contamination caused by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been a worldwide concern for decades. With lindane-contaminated soil as the target, a mechanochemical method assisted by CaO was comprehensively evaluated in terms of its remediation performance, degradation mechanism and overall assessment. The mechanochemical degradation performance of lindane in cinnamon soil or kaolin was determined under different additives, lindane concentrations and milling conditions. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) hydrazinyl free radical (DPPH^•) and electron spin resonance (ESR) tests evidenced that the degradation of lindane in soil was caused mainly by the mechanical activation of CaO to produce free electrons (e^-) and the alkalinity of the generated Ca(OH)₂. Dehydrochlorination or dechlorination by elimination, alkaline hydrolysis, hydrogenolysis and the subsequent carbonization were the main degradation pathways of lindane in soil. The main final products included monochlorobenzene, carbon substances and methane. The mechanochemical method with CaO was proved to also efficiently degrade lindane in three other soils and other hexachlorocyclohexane isomers and POPs in soil. The soil properties and soil toxicity after remediation were assessed. This work presents a relatively clear discussion of various aspects of the mechanochemical remediation of lindane-contaminated soil assisted by CaO.

Riverine antibiotic occurrence and potential ecological risks in a low-urbanized and rural basin of the middle Yangtze River: Socioeconomic, land use, and seasonal effects

This study firstly investigated the effects of season, land use, and socioeconomic on the spatiotemporal changes of riverine antibiotic concentrations in a low urbanized and rural watershed. In the dry and wet seasons, water samples were collected and analyzed for 15 antibiotics. The results indicated that 14 antibiotics, excluding leucomycin, were detected. Monsoon led to significantly lower total antibiotic concentrations in the wet season (22.0ngL^-1) than in the dry season (51.2ngL^-1). Total antibiotic concentrations were dominated by amoxicillin (below limit of detection (<LOD)-34.7ngL^-1)), erythromycin-H₂O (<LOD-14.7ngL^-1), roxithromycin (<LOD-27.9ngL^-1), and trimethoprim (<LOD-6.34ngL^-1). The total antibiotic concentrations were usually higher in the downstream areas of urban land than in the river reaches of forest land and agricultural land. At county or city scales, total antibiotic concentrations in the dry season were significantly correlated with the rural population, public budget, husbandry product and output, effluent volume, fishery product and output, and hospital number, which generally depend on land use in the basin. Amoxicillin poses a high ecological risk to aquatic algae, whereas erythromycin-H₂O, ofloxacin, and norfloxacin pose medium ecological risks. However, trimethoprim poses a medium ecological risk to mollusks. These results provide improved insights into the characteristics of antibiotic occurrence and ecological risks in the waters of low-urbanized and rural areas in China and can be extrapolated worldwide.

[The influencing factors of functional somatic discomfort in clinical nurses]

Objective: To investigate the functional somatic discomfort status, and to analyze the effect of job stress, hostile attribution bias and ego depletion on functional somatic discomfort in clinical nurses. Methods: In May 2019, 10 cities in Henan Province and Fujian Province were randomly selected as sampling cities. Using the stratified cluster sampling method, nurses of clinical nursing posts in 22 third class hospitals and 23 second class hospitals were selected as the research objects. The general information, job stress, hostile attribution bias, ego depletion and functional somatic discomfort of clinical nurses were investigated by self-designed general information questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Information Processing-attribution Bias Questionnaire, Self-regulatory Fatigue Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-15. 1200 clinical nurses included, and a total of 1159 valid questionnaires were collected, the effective rate of questionnaire collection was 96.6%. The t test was used to compare the difference of the functional somatic discomfort scores of clinical nurses with different demographic characteristicst. The influence of job stress, hostile attribution bias and ego depletion on functional somatic discomfort of clinical nurses were analyzed with Bootstrap. Results: The functional somatic discomfort score of clinical nurses was (8.95±4.38), of which 859 (74.12%) had functional somatic discomfort symptom. The functional somatic discomfort score of clinical nurses aged 36-50 years old was higher than that of 19-35 years old, the functional somatic discomfort score of clinical nurses with service age ≥5 years was higher than that of <5 years, the functional somatic discomfort score of non-permanent clinical nurses was higher than that of permanent clinical nurses, the functional somatic discomfort score of clinical nurses in tertiary hospitals was higher than that of secondary hospitals, the functional somatic discomfort score of clinical nurses in surgical departments were higher than those in non-surgical departments, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Job stress affected functional somatic discomfort through the single mediating role of hostile attribution bias, the single mediating role of ego depletion, and the chain mediating role of hostile attribution bias and ego depletion (β=0.17, 95%CI: 0.10-0.20; β=0.16, 95%CI: 0.10-0.20; β=0.07, 95%CI: 0.03-0.10; P<0.05) . Conclusion: The functional somatic discomfort symptoms of clinical nurses are significant and varied among different age, working age, employment form, hospital grade and department groups. They are affected by work stress directly and through the separate mediating effect of hostile attribution bias and ego depletion, and the chain mediating effect of hostile attribution bias and ego depletion.

Hyperbaric oxygen ameliorates neuronal injury and neurological function recovery in rats with intracerebral hemorrhage by silencing microRNA-204-5p-targeted chloride channel protein 3

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is of clinical utility in patients with transient cerebral ischemia. The investigatory study was to identify the potential regulatory mechanism of HBO treatment on neuronal injury and neurological function recovery in rats with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Firstly, the rat model of ICH was established by collagenase, and the experimental rats were treated with HBO at 2.5 absolute atmospheres for 60 min each time. Next, lentivirus interfering with microRNA (miR)-204-5p or chloride channel protein 3 (CLCN3) expression was injected via the tail vein. Afterward, neurological function assessment was conducted, serum S100β and NSE contents were detected by enzymer-linked immunosorbent assay, and pathological conditions of brain tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining was used to detect neuronal apoptosis. The results showed that HBO alleviated neuronal injury and neurological function recovery in ICH rats and reduced serum S100β and NSE content (all P<0.05). At the same time, overexpressing miR-204-5p or depleting CLCN3 further promoted the therapeutic effect of HBO on ICH rats (all P<0.05), while silencing miR-204-5p or elevating CLCN3 did oppositely (all P<0.05). In conclusion, HBO alleviates neuronal injury and neurological function recovery in ICH rats by silencing miR-204-5p-targeted CLCN3.

Improved Measurement of the Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

Reactor neutrino experiments play a crucial role in advancing our knowledge of neutrinos. In this Letter, the evolution of the flux and spectrum as a function of the reactor isotopic content is reported in terms of the inverse-beta-decay yield at Daya Bay with 1958 days of data and improved systematic uncertainties. These measurements are compared with two signature model predictions: the Huber-Mueller model based on the conversion method and the SM2018 model based on the summation method. The measured average flux and spectrum, as well as the flux evolution with the ^{239}Pu isotopic fraction, are inconsistent with the predictions of the Huber-Mueller model. In contrast, the SM2018 model is shown to agree with the average flux and its evolution but fails to describe the energy spectrum. Altering the predicted inverse-beta-decay spectrum from ^{239}Pu fission does not improve the agreement with the measurement for either model. The models can be brought into better agreement with the measurements if either the predicted spectrum due to ^{235}U fission is changed or the predicted ^{235}U, ^{238}U, ^{239}Pu, and ^{241}Pu spectra are changed in equal measure.

Industrial impacts on vanadium contamination in sediments of Chinese rivers and bays

Vanadium, like many trace metals, is persistent and detrimental to ecosystems at elevated concentrations. Likewise, it is versatile, functional, and used in many industries. Jiaozhou Bay (JZB) and Laizhou Bay (LZB) are valuable coastal ecosystems in China coexisting with several of these vanadium-related industries; however, limited studies have been conducted regarding vanadium occurrence, distribution, sources and risks in sediments. 208 surface sediment samples were collected from rivers and bays over two years and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Overall, sediments near vanadium-related industries have significantly higher vanadium concentrations than those near traditional industries, with 30.3% and 22.9% higher average concentrations of vanadium in sediments of JZB and LZB, respectively. Vanadium accumulation at LZB is positively correlated with fine sediment, oxides (e.g., Fe, Ti, Mn), and organic matter content, while temporal changes in parts of JZB highlight the impacts of oxides, pH, and redox conditions on its accumulation. After geochemical normalization, the concentrations in marine samples from LZB showed slightly polluted sediments under the Modified Nemerow pollution index. Likewise, the elevated concentrations of vanadium in JZB, rivers and bay, were classified as slightly polluted and correlated with anthropogenic activities, such as the coal and petrochemical industries. Temporal changes indicated higher enrichments in 2019. Last, humans could be responsible for up to 46.8% and 16.2% of the vanadium accumulation in JZB and LZB, respectively, yet risks to species remain limited.

[The analysis of a pedigree with hereditary coagulation factor Ⅴ deficiency caused by compound heterozygous variation of F5 gene]

Objective: To analyze the gene variation of a genetic coagulation factor Ⅴ (FⅤ) deficiency pedigree and explore the molecular pathogenesis. Methods: The proband was a 32 years old female. The patient was prone to nose bleeding since childhood which was usually self-healed. On March 10, 2021, the proband went to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University for treatment of knee hematoma caused by a fall. None of the family members reported any history of bleeding. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and FⅤ activity (FⅤ: C) were detected by clotting method and the FⅤ antigen (FⅤ: Ag) was tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All exons and flanks of F5 gene were determined by Sanger sequencing. Clustalx-2.1-win, PolyPhen-2 and Swiss-PDBViewer software were used to analyze the conservatism of missense variation sites, whether the variations were harmful and their influences on protein structure and function. MutationTaster and NetGene2 software were used to analyze whether the splice site variation was harmful and its effect on the splice site. Results: The PT and APTT of the proband prolonged to 24.0 s and 69.8 s, respectively. The FⅤ: C and FⅤ: Ag decreased to 6% and 9%, respectively. There were compound heterozygous variations in F5 gene, which included c.911G>A heterozygous missense variation in exon 6 leading to p.Gly276Glu variation and c.5208+1G>A heterozygous missense variation in intron 15. The father and daughter had the p.Gly276Glu heterozygous variation. Her mother and son had the c.5208+1G>A heterozygous variation. Software analysis results of p.Gly276Glu heterozygous variation showed that Gly276 was conserved among homologous species, the variation was harmful, and it could affect the local structure and function of the protein. The c.5208+1G>A heterozygous variation was deleterious and resulted in the disappearance of the splice site, thereby affecting the protein function. Conclusion: The p.Gly276Glu and c.5208+1G>A compound heterozygous variants are deleterious variants associated with the patient's disease and may be the molecular pathogenesis of inherited FⅤ deficiency in this family.

Response of soil microbial activities and ammonia oxidation potential to environmental factors in a typical antimony mining area

Mining, smelting and tailing deposition activities can cause metal(loid) contamination in surrounding soils, threatening ecosystems and human health. Microbial indicators are sensitive to environmental factors and have a crucial role in soil ecological risk assessment. Xikuangshan, the largest active antimony (Sb) mine in the world, was taken as the research area. The soil properties, metal(loid) contents and microbial characteristics were investigated and their internal response relationships were explored by multivariate statistical analysis. The assessment of the single pollution index and Nemerow synthetic pollution index (P_N) showed that the soils were mainly polluted by Sb, followed by Cd and As, in which sampling site S1 had a slight metal(loid) pollution and the other sampling sites suffered from severe synthetic metal(loid) pollution. The microbial characteristics were dissimilar among sampling points at different locations from the mining area according to hierarchical cluster analysis. The correlation analysis indicated that fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, acid phosphatase, soil basal respiration and microbial biomass carbon were negatively correlated with P_N, indicating their sensitivity to combined metal(loid) contamination; that dehydrogenase was positively correlated with pH; and that urease, potential ammonia oxidation and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea were correlated with N (nitrogen) contents. However, β-glucosidase activity had no significant correlations with physicochemical properties and metal(loid) contents. Principal components analysis suggested bioavailable Sb and pH were the dominant factors of soil environment in Xikuangshan Sb mining area. Our results can provide a theoretical basis for ecological risk assessment of contaminated soil.

Precision Measurement of Reactor Antineutrino Oscillation at Kilometer-Scale Baselines by Daya Bay

We present a new determination of the smallest neutrino mixing angle θ_{13} and the mass-squared difference Δm_{32}^{2} using a final sample of 5.55×10^{6} inverse beta-decay (IBD) candidates with the final-state neutron captured on gadolinium. This sample is selected from the complete dataset obtained by the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment in 3158 days of operation. Compared to the previous Daya Bay results, selection of IBD candidates has been optimized, energy calibration refined, and treatment of backgrounds further improved. The resulting oscillation parameters are sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0851±0.0024, Δm_{32}^{2}=(2.466±0.060)×10^{-3}  eV^{2} for the normal mass ordering or Δm_{32}^{2}=-(2.571±0.060)×10^{-3}  eV^{2} for the inverted mass ordering.

Spatiotemporal variations and the ecological risks of organophosphate esters in Laizhou Bay waters between 2019 and 2021: Implying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are a group of synthetic chemicals used in numerous consumer products such as plastics and furniture. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly slowed anthropogenic activities and reduced the emissions of pollutants. Meanwhile, the mismanagement of large quantities of disposable plastic facemasks intensified the problems of plastic pollution and leachable pollutants in coastal waters. In this study, the joint effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the occurrence of 12 targeted OPEs in the waters of Laizhou Bay (LZB) were investigated. The results showed that the median total OPE concentrations were 725, 363, and 109 ng L^-1 in the sewage treatment plant effluent, river water, and bay water in 2021, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 67%, 68%, and 70%, respectively, compared with those before the COVID-19 outbreak. The release potential of targeted OPEs from disposable surgical masks in the LZB area was ∼0.24 kg yr^-1, which was insufficient to increase the OPE concentration in the LZB waters. The concentrations of most individual OPEs significantly decreased in LZB waters from 2019 to 2021, except for TBOEP and TNBP. Spatially, a lower concentration of OPEs was found in the Yellow River estuary area in 2021 compared with that before the COVID-19 pandemic due to the high content of suspended particulate matter in the YR. A higher total OPE concentration was observed along the northeastern coast of LZB, mainly owing to the construction of an artificial island since 2020. The ecological risks of the OPE mixture in LZB waters were lower than those before the COVID-19 outbreak. However, TCEP, TNBP, and BDP should receive continuous attention because of their potential ecological risks to aquatic organisms.

[Current practices in the harmonisation of autoantibodies test]

Standardisation and harmonisation of the detection of autoantibodies is important for the clinical application of autoantibodies. However, achieving complete standardisation is difficult and involves several challenges due to the complexity and particularity of autoantibody detection. Harmonisation is feasible and valued, but it involves all aspects and processes of autoantibody detection. Based on the consensus and practice of the clinical application of autoantibody detection in recent years, we discuss harmonisation in this review.

Mercury contamination in the water and sediments of a typical inland river - Lake basin in China: Occurrence, sources, migration and risk assessment

In the area affected by non-ferrous metal mining activities, mercury (Hg) contamination in the water and sediments posed potential risks to ecology and human health. In this study, river water and sediment samples were collected in the Zijiang river - South Dongting Lake basin to analyze Hg residues, identify potential Hg sources and evaluate the ecological and health risks posed by Hg contamination. In this study, the average concentrations of THg, PHg, DHg and DMeHg in river water were 38.05 ± 27.13 ng/L, 25.18 ± 26.83 ng/L, 12.88 ± 9.64 ng/L and 0.29 ± 0.07 ng/L, respectively. The THg and MeHg contents in sediments were 234.24 ± 152.93 µg/kg and 0.48 ± 0.16 µg/kg, respectively. The more enrichment of Hg in sediments was observed in the Zijiang River than in the South Dongting Lake, especially in the upstream and midstream regions. Two potential Hg sources in the basin were identified by correlation matrix, principal component analysis (PCA) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The comparable Hg flux with other rivers worldwide was found in the Zijiang River (0.53 Mg/y). Furthermore, it was found by the delayed geochemical hazard (DGH) model that the ecological risk of Hg was more significant in the Zijiang River with more frequent transformation pathways. For different populations, the health risk values caused by Hg were all lower than the USEPA's guideline value. This study provided sound evidence for further control of Hg contamination.

Occurrence, geochemical characteristics, enrichment, and ecological risks of rare earth elements in sediments of "the Yellow river-Estuary-bay" system

Recent studies have suggested that rare earth elements (REEs) are contaminants of emerging concern. Moreover, the understanding of the occurrence and risks of REEs in river-estuary-bay systems is limited. The present study investigated the distributions, geochemical characteristics, and ecological risks of Y and 14 REEs (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) in sediments from the Yellow River to its estuary and adjacent Laizhou Bay. The average total concentrations of Y and REEs in the sediments generally increased from the Yellow River (149 mg/kg) to the estuary (165 mg/kg) and Laizhou Bay (173 mg/kg). In the estuarine core sediments, the concentrations of Y, light REEs (LREEs), and heavy REEs (HREEs) were in the ranges of 19.5-31.4 mg/kg, 58.6-156 mg/kg, and 12.3-19.1 mg/kg, respectively, from the 1700s to 2018, showing no obvious increasing or decreasing trends. The surface and core sediments from the river to the bay were characterized by obvious fractionation between LREEs and HREEs. In sediments, Fe minerals and clay are believed to promote the accumulation of REEs, especially HREEs. The enrichment levels of REEs generally increased from the middle reaches of the Yellow River to the bay, and Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Yb, and Lu were the most enriched elements in the sediments. Lu had moderate potential ecological risks in sediments of "the Yellow River-estuary-bay" system, and other REEs had relatively low ecological risks. The potential ecological risk indices of Y and REEs ranged from 78.7 to 144, showing increasing trends from the Yellow River to its estuary and adjacent bay, which should raise concerns regarding emerging contaminant management around estuarine and coastal regions.

Measurement of the ν_{e}-Nucleus Charged-Current Double-Differential Cross Section at ⟨E_{ν}⟩=2.4 GeV Using NOvA

The inclusive electron neutrino charged-current cross section is measured in the NOvA near detector using 8.02×10^{20} protons-on-target in the NuMI beam. The sample of GeV electron neutrino interactions is the largest analyzed to date and is limited by ≃17% systematic rather than the ≃7.4% statistical uncertainties. The double-differential cross section in final-state electron energy and angle is presented for the first time, together with the single-differential dependence on Q^{2} (squared four-momentum transfer) and energy, in the range 1  GeV≤E_{ν}<6  GeV. Detailed comparisons are made to the predictions of the GENIE, GiBUU, NEUT, and NuWro neutrino event generators. The data do not strongly favor a model over the others consistently across all three cross sections measured, though some models have especially good or poor agreement in the single differential cross section vs Q^{2}.