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Xuanwei City (formerly known as Xuanwei County) locates in the northeastern of Yunnan Province and is rich in coal, iron, copper and other mines, especially the smoky (bituminous) coal. Unfortunately, the lung cancer morbidity and mortality rates in this region are among China's highest, with a clear upward trend from the mid-1970s to mid-2000s. In 2004-2005, the crude death rate of lung cancer was 91.3 per 100,000 in the whole Xuanwei City, while that for Laibin Town in this city was 241.14 per 100,000. The epidemiologic distribution (clustering patterns by population, time, and space) of lung cancer in Xuanwei has some special features, e.g., high incidence in rural areas, high incidence in females, and an early age peak in lung cancer deaths. The main factor that associates with a high rate of lung cancer incidence was found to be indoor air pollution caused by the indoor burning of smoky coal. To a certain extent, genetic defects are also associated with the high incidence of lung cancer in Xuanwei. Taken together, lung cancer in this smoky coal combustion region is a unique model for environmental factor-related human cancer, and the current studies indicate that abandoning the use of smoky coal is the key to diminish lung cancer morbidity and mortality.

In developing an algal treatment system, selenium (Se) removal efficiency by Chlorella vulgaris was evaluated under various conditions such as Se concentration, algal density, temperature and pH. A maximum removal efficiency plateau of ∼90% was observed between 1000-3000 μg Se/L while the tolerance of Se toxicity was found at 6000 μg Se/L. C. vulgaris of 0.75 g DW/L showed the highest removal efficiency (84%), and volatilization was dominant below 1.37 g DW/L. Se volatilization was two times higher at 25 °C than at 20 °C in the first 24 h. Moreover, the highest removal efficiency (77%) was obtained at pH 8.0, compared to 66.5% at pH 6.5 and 40% at pH 10.0. To prevent ecotoxicity, Se laden algae were further burned to ashes or filtered out by Anodonta woodiana. After burning, biomass Se was reduced by 99%, with organo-Se entirely converted into inorganic Se, lowering Se bioavailability. A. woodiana removed 54% of Se in 24 h, leading to Se bioaccumulation in soft tissues, which may serve as dietary Se supplements for human health. Our results suggest the cleanup of Se-contaminated water from either agricultural runoff or industrial discharge could be achieved using an algal treatment system with minimum potential ecotoxicity.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can lead to environmental pollution and threaten human health due to their toxic and carcinogenic nature. The emission of VOCs increases dramatically with the accelerated industrialization and economic growth. Adsorption is identified as one of the most promising recovery technologies owing to its cost-effectiveness, flexible operation, and low energy consumption. In particular, adsorption-based technologies have a high potential to recycle both adsorbents and adsorbates, typically to capture valuable aromatic VOCs from industrial exhaust. Porous materials such as carbon-based materials, zeolite-based materials, and organic polymers and their composites have been extensively developed for VOCs adsorption focusing in adsorption capacity, hydrophobic property, thermal stability and regenerability. Among them, porous carbons as VOCs adsorbents have attracted increasingly attention, because they can be regulated by tuning the pore structure for VOCs accessibility during the adsorption process. Moreover, porous carbons can adsorb target VOCs by controlling the pore structure and surface functional groups. Significantly, the pore size distribution of porous carbons mostly controls the VOCs sorption process. Micropores provide the main adsorption sites, while mesopores enhance the diffusion of VOCs. In this review, the adsorption mechanism of VOCs onto porous carbons was generally concluded. Porous carbons can be designed as a specific structure for adsorption of aromatic VOCs by controlling the pore structure, hydrophobic sites, π-electronic structure, and surface functional groups. Since there are limited review literatures on porous carbons derived from renewable resources for VOCs adsorption, this paper will provide an overview on the synthesis of porous carbons from biomass and other organic wastes for VOCs adsorption or integrated oxidation processes (e.g., photocatalysis, non-thermal plasma catalysis, chemical catalysis) under ambient conditions with the objective of guiding ...

ObjectivesThe poor safety profile of sunitinib capsules has encouraged the identification of targeted drug delivery systems against renal cell carcinoma. This study aimed to explore the effect of sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles along with ultrasound (US) treatment on proliferation and apoptosis of human GRC‐1 granulocyte renal carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo (xenograft tumor growth in nude mice).MethodsLiposomes containing sunitinib were prepared by using the transmembrane ammonium sulfate gradient method and then absorbed into polymer microbubbles to generate sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles. Entrapment of sunitinib was verified by 25‐25‐[N‐[(7‐nitro‐2‐1,3‐benzoxadiazol‐4‐yl)methyl]amino]‐27‐norcholesterol staining. GRC‐1 cells were treated with microbubbles alone, liposomes alone, sunitinib alone, sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles without and with US, and no treatment (control). Cell survival and apoptosis were assessed at 12, 24, and 48 hours after treatment. Xenograft tumors were induced by implantation of GRC‐1 cells in nude mice. The animals with tumors were then randomly assigned to sunitinib alone, sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles − US, sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles + US, and no treatment (control; n = 10 per group). The tumor volumes were analyzed on the 7th, 15th, and 21st days.ResultsThe sunitinib entrapment efficiency in the liposomes was approximately 78%. The effective sunitinib concentration in each group was 0.1 μg/mL. The sunitinib‐loaded microbubble + US group showed a lower in vitro cell survival rate (P < .001) compared with the other groups. Greater in vivo inhibition of xenograft tumor growth was also observed in the sunitinib‐loaded microbubble + US group compared with the other groups.ConclusionsCombined sunitinib‐loaded microbubbles and US treatment significantly inhibits growth of renal carcinoma cells both in vitro and in vivo.

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of deaths caused by poisoning (especially illicit drugs) in Estonia from 2000 to 2009. The data on poisoning deaths (N = 4132) were collected from the autopsy reports of the Estonian Forensic Science Institute. Ethanol poisoning was the most frequent cause of death (N = 1449, 35.1%), followed by carbon monoxide (N = 1151, 27.9%) and poisoning from illicit drugs (N = 888, 21.5%). The study included 3267 male (79.1%) and 865 female fatalities, with the prevalent age group being 35-64 years. Since 2002, deaths from fentanyles have increased sharply and remained at a high level - from 63 cases in 2002 to 138 cases in 2009. This high number indicates that in spite of the state's drug policies, illegal drugs remain easily available and that this area requires more attention. Alcohol abuse prevention policies - restrictions on alcohol advertisements in the media, limitations on sale times and anti-alcohol campaigns concerning traffic - have not brought about a significant decrease in ethanol poisoning.

Abstract In order to achieve a perfect bottom-up electroplated Cu filling with a minimal surface thickness, 2-mercaptopyridine (2-MP) was investigated as a new leveler for replacing Janus Green B (JGB) for bottom-up copper filling. Electrochemical impedence results indicate that 2-MP has a stronger suppression for Cu deposition than JGB. With the addition of 2-MP, the filling capability of the electroplating solution is improved significantly with the Cu thickness on surface decreasing from ∼16 μm to ∼10 μm. The interaction mechanisms of 2-MP, bis(3-sulfopropyl) disulfide (SPS), Cl − and tri-block copolymer of PEG and PPG with ethylene oxide terminal blocks (EPE) in the plating solution are studied by galvanostatic measurements (GMs). The acceleration effect of SPS and the inhibition effect of 2-MP on copper deposition occur in the presence of EPE, and the convection-dependent adsorption (CDA) behavior of additives usually occurs with the injection of four additives at optional concentrations. Further, it was found that when 1.0 ppm 2-MP, 1.0 ppm SPS and 200 ppm EPE were injected into the basic electrolyte, the potential difference ( Δ h) value of the electrolyte became positive, and the bottom-up electroplated copper filling was obtained in the electrolyte in absence of Cl − . The interaction mechanisms of three additives for bottom-up filling have been investigated by GMs.

Abstract The Pythagorean fuzzy set (PFS) which is an extension of intuitionistic fuzzy set, is more capable of expressing and handling the uncertainty under uncertain environments, so that it was broadly applied in a variety of fields. Whereas, how to measure PFSs’ distance appropriately is still an open issue. It is well known that the square root of Jensen–Shannon divergence is a true metric in the probability distribution space which is a useful measure of distance. On account of this point, a novel divergence measure between PFSs is proposed by taking advantage of the Jensen–Shannon divergence in this paper, called as PFSJS distance. This is the first work to consider the divergence of PFSs for measuring the discrepancy of data from the perspective of the relative entropy. The new PFSJS distance measure has some desirable merits, in which it meets the distance measurement axiom and can better indicate the discrimination degree of PFSs. Then, numerical examples demonstrate that the PFSJS distance can avoid generating counter-intuitive results which is more feasible, reasonable and superior than existing distance measures. Additionally, a new algorithm based on the PFSJS distance measure is designed to solve the problems of medical diagnosis. By comparing the different methods in the medical diagnosis application, it is found that the new algorithm is as efficient as the other methods. These results prove that the proposed method is practical in dealing with the medical diagnosis problems.

Dietary change presents an opportunity to meet the dual challenges of non-communicable diseases and the effects of climate change in China. Based on a food survey and reviewed data sets, we linked nutrient composition and carbon footprint data by aggregating 1950 types of foods into 28 groups. Nine dietary scenarios for both men and women were modeled based on the current diet and latest National Program for Food and Nutrition. Linear uncertainty optimization was used to produce diets meeting the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes for adults aged 18-50years while minimizing carbon footprints. The theoretical optimal diet reduced daily footprints by 46%, but this diet was unrealistic due to limited food diversity. Constrained by acceptability, the optimal diet reduced the daily carbon footprints by 7-28%, from 3495 to 2517-3252g CO2e, for men and by 5-26%, from 3075 to 2280-2917g CO2e, for women. Dietary changes for adults are capable of benefiting China in terms of the considerable footprint reduction of 53-222Mt.CO2eyear-1, when magnified based on the Chinese population, which is the largest worldwide. Seven of eight scenarios showed that reductions in meat consumption resulted in greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, dramatic reductions in meat consumption may produce smaller reductions in emissions, as the consumption of other ingredients increases to compensate for the nutrients in meat. A trade-off between poultry and other meats (beef, pork, and lamb) is usually observed, and rice, which is a popular food in China, was the largest contributor to carbon footprint reductions. Our findings suggest that changing diets for climate change mitigation and human health is possible in China, though the per capital mitigation potential is slight lower than that in developed economies of France, Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China is affected seriously by the hazy weather that has a large impact on human health. PM2.5 is one of the most important reasons for hazy weather. Understanding the PM2.5 emission characteristics from different types of heavy-duty trucks (HDTs) is valuable in policies and regulations to improve urban air quality and mitigate vehicle emission in China. The investigation and analysis on HDT population and PM2.5 emission in BTH region are carried out. The results show that the population and PM2.5 emission of HDTs in BTH has risen for the last four consecutive years, from 404 thousand and 1795 tons in 2012 to 551 thousand and 2303 tons in 2015. The PM2.5 emission from HDTs in Hebei is about 10 times more than that of Beijing and 9 times more than that of Tianjin. The proportion of natural gas HDTs is about 5%; however, its PM2.5 emission only accounts for 0.94% in 2015, which indicates the utilization of HDTs powered by natural gas facilitate PM2.5 mitigation more than diesel in BTH. The tractor and pickup trucks are the main source of PM2.5 emission from different types of HDT, while special and dump trucks are relatively clean. This study has provided insights for management method and policy-making of vehicle in terms of environmental demand.