Safety and Technical Feasibility of Sustainable Reuse of Shale Gas Flowback and Produced Water after Advanced Treatment Aimed at Wheat Irrigation

Treatment and reuse of flowback and produced water (FPW) from shale gas extraction for agricultural irrigation has often been proposed as a sustainable alternative to disposal via deep-well injection. Here, we investigate the effects of FPW on the germination period, macroscopic growth, element enrichment, and grain gene expression of wheat upon dilution and advanced membrane treatment of the liquid stream. Compared to tap water, irrigation with treated FPW shortened the germination time, slightly improved the seed vigor index, and ensured a similar germination rate. On the other hand, the biomass and grain yield of mature wheat irrigated with treated FPW and with FPW diluted to 5% groups decreased compared to tests using tap water. After a whole growth cycle of wheat, higher concentrations of nutrients, such as K, Ca, and Mg were enriched in mature wheat tissue irrigated with treated FPW. However, the Pb and Cr contents of mature wheat grains treated with three types of irrigation waters exceeded the standard to varying degrees. A total of 1973 differentially expressed genes were mainly related to binding, catalytic activity, cellular process, metabolic process, and cell part, more than half of which were upregulated and induced by irrigation with treated FPW. These findings provide critical guidance for the reuse of treated shale gas FPW for agricultural application from the perspective of plant uptake of toxic elements, as well as crop and human health risks

Electrostatic force driven helium insertion into ammonia and water crystals under pressure

Abstract: Helium, ammonia and ice are among the major components of giant gas planets, and predictions of their chemical structures are therefore crucial in predicting planetary dynamics. Here we demonstrate a strong driving force originating from the alternation of the electrostatic interactions for helium to react with crystals of polar molecules such as ammonia and ice. We show that ammonia and helium can form thermodynamically stable compounds above 45 GPa, while ice and helium can form thermodynamically stable compounds above 300 GPa. The changes in the electrostatic interactions provide the driving force for helium insertion under high pressure, but the mechanism is very different to those that occur in ammonia and ice. This work extends the reactivity of helium into new types of compounds and demonstrates the richness of the chemistry of this most stable element in the periodic table

Identification of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus matrix protein in BALB/c mice

Twenty-seven nanopeptides derived from the matrix (M) protein of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were screened for their ability to elicit a recall interferon-γ (IFN-γ) response from the splenocytes of BALB/c mice following DNA vaccination and a booster vaccination with recombinant vaccinia virus rWR-PRRSV-M. We identified two peptides (amino acid residues K93FITSRCRL and F57GYMTFVHF) as CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes. These peptides elicited significant numbers of IFN-γ secreting cells, compared with other M nonapeptides and one irrelevant nonapeptide. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the former is an H-2Kd-restricted CTL epitope, and the latter is an H-2Dd-restricted CTL epitope. Multiple amino acid sequence alignment among different PRRSV M sequences submitted to GenBank indicated that these two CTL epitopes are strongly conserved, and they should therefore be considered for further research on the mechanisms of cellular immune responses to PRRSV

Minimum wages and mental health: Evidence from Canada

International evidence on the effect of minimum wages on mental health has been mixed. Estimation has used different types of variation in the minimum wage. In some countries such as the UK, the minimum wage is set nationally. In the United States, it is largely set subnationally. The resulting across state and time variation has recently been used to estimate that minimum wage increases have a positive effect on mental health. We exploit similar and substantial subnational level variation for Canada, using a longitudinal health survey panel available from 1994 to 2011. Using difference-in-difference and triple difference methods with individual fixed effects, we find that minimum wage increases are associated with modest reductions in distress and depression symptoms, largely for males

Assessing the Impact of the 2012 National Student Loan Forgiveness on Rural Health Human Resources

On 1 January 2013, the federal Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (then known as the Canadian Student Loan Program) granted loan forgiveness to family physicians or nurses working at least 400 hours a year in a “rural” area of Canada. This is a return-for-service (RFS) program forgiving a maximum amount of the loan for each year worked in a designated area, up to a maximum of five years. The goal of the policy was to attract more family physicians and nurses to underserved areas and address the inequality in health between rural and urban areas in the country. The policy was accepted on principle but raised issues of non-compatibility between the federal and provincial RFS to attract health care workers to underserved areas, in particular its blanket definition of those areas as “rural,” whereas provincial programs use criteria based on the density of physicians or nurses per population. Le 1er janvier 2013, le Programme canadien d’aide financière aux étudiants (connu à l’époque sous le nom de Programme canadien de prêts étudiants), a accordé une exonération aux médecins de famille et personnels infirmiers travaillant au moins 400 heures par an dans une région « rurale » du Canada. Il s’agit d’une d’obligation de retour de service (RDS) exonérant d’un montant maximum du prêt pour chaque année travaillée dans une région désignée, pour un maximum de cinq ans. L’objectif de cette politique était d’attirer davantage de médecins de famille et de personnels infirmiers dans les régions mal desservies et de remédier à l’inégalité de santé entre les zones rurales et urbaines du pays. La politique a été acceptée sur le principe, mais a soulevé des questions d’incompatibilité entre les RDS provinciaux et fédéraux visant à attirer des personnels infirmiers dans les zones mal desservies, en particulier sa définition générale des zones comme « rurales », alors que les programmes provinciaux utilisent des critères basés sur la densité de médecins ou de personnels infirmiers par rapport à la population

Visible Light Driven Spherical CuBi2O4 with Surface Oxygen Vacancy Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity: Catalyst Fabrication, Performance, and Reaction Mechanism

Here, a spherical CuBi2O4 catalyst with surface oxygen vacancy was fabricated through a facile hydrothermal method, which exhibited remarkable enhanced photocatalytic activity of refractory chemicals in the heterogeneous sulfate radical-based Fenton-like reaction under visible light emitting diode (LED) light irradiation. The property of the catalysts was systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV/vis methods. The effects of parameters of solution pH, potassium peroxymonosulfate (PMS) concentration, catalyst dosage, and catalyst reusability on Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation were investigated. In the interface reaction, the improved photodegradation efficiency could be attributed to the decomposition of PMS, which produced sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals owing to the transmission of photo-generated electron/hole pairs. Herein, the introduction of surface oxygen vacancy as well as the cycling of copper valence states (Cu(II)/Cu(I) pairs) can facilitate the production of free reactive radicals, leading to the high degradation efficiency. The catalyst showed high removal efficiency and presented good cycle stability in the reaction. Additionally, the free radical quencher experiment and electron spin resonance (EPR) experiments were conducted, and a proposed photocatalytic mechanism was also illustrated

Seasonal River Export of Nitrogen to Guanting and Baiyangdian Lakes in the Hai He Basin

Eutrophication refers to the nutrient enrichment, leading to blooms of algae. Such blooms in lakes can happen throughout the year because of the changes in nutrient and hydrological cycles. Nutrient export to lakes from rivers is the main cause of eutrophication problems. Seasonal trends in nitrogen (N) export by rivers to lakes are still not well understood. The objective of this study is, therefore, to better understand the seasonal trends in river export of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to lakes of the Hai He Basin. To this end, we selected Guanting and Baiyangdian as representative lakes, whose drainage areas include various cropping systems. We developed a seasonal version of the Model to Assess River Inputs of Nutrients to lAkes (MARINA-Lakes) model for Guanting and Baiyangdian while assessing N flows from the land to the lakes. The model accounts for the seasonality in human activities (e.g., cropping systems and fertilizer practices), climate, and hydrology. The effective seasons are winter (December–February), spring (March–May), summer (June–August), and fall (September–November). The model results for the year 2012 indicate that river export of DIN was highest in winter and lowest in summer. Point sources accounted for over 50% of DIN exports to Guanting and Baiyangdian across seasons. Avoiding direct discharges of animal manure (point source) in winter is needed to reduce future lake pollution. We argue that effective lake pollution control requires accounting for seasonal N cycles. Our study can support effective nutrient management and environmental policies

Effect of Dronedarone in the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation in the Asian Population : Post Hoc Analysis of the ATHENA Trial

Purpose: Limited data are available on the impact of dronedarone treatment in Asian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL). This post hoc analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of dronedarone compared with placebo in populations from Asian and non-Asian regions randomized in the ATHENA trial (A Placebo-Controlled, Double-blind, Parallel Arm Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Dronedarone 400 mg BID for the Prevention of CV Hospitalization or Death From Any Cause in Patients With AF/AFL). Methods: Time to first hospitalization for cardiovascular events or death from any cause (primary outcome) and time to first AF/AFL event recurrence (secondary outcome) were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression. Findings: The risk of experiencing the primary composite outcome was significantly lower in the dronedarone-treated patients in both the Asian (hazard ratio = 0.541; 95% CI, 0.320–0.914]) and non-Asian (hazard ratio = 0.768; 95% CI, 0.696–0.848) populations than in the placebo-treated patients. The median time to the first AF/AFL event recurrence was longer in the dronedarone-treated population than in the placebo-treated populations: 183 vs 92 days (P = 0.165) in the Asian population and 534 vs 196 days (P < 0.001) in the non-Asian population. Treatment-emergent adverse events in Asian (81.2% vs 78.4%) and non-Asian (71.4% vs 68.7%) populations and serious treatment-emergent adverse events in Asian (14.3% vs 15.7%) and non-Asian (20.3% vs 21.5%) patients were comparable in patients taking dronedarone compared with those taking placebo. Implication: Efficacy and tolerability of dronedarone were consistent in the Asian population compared with the non-Asian population in the ATHENA trial. These finding may aid Asian health care professionals to select the appropriate first-line treatment for Asian patients with AF/AFL