Adsorption and Desorption Behaviors of Four Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Soils from the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

As a special zone of periodic impoundment and flooding in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), the water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) of TGR acts as a short-term ‘sink’ for hydrophobic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). This study was conducted on the adsorption/desorption kinetics and equilibriums of four target EDCs (i.e., estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and bisphenol A (BPA)) in soil samples (i.e., S1, S2, S3, and S4), which were collected from different elevation gradients of the WLFZ at Qingxi Town of Fulin in TGR. Under the influence of the water-level fluctuation, S1 and S2 from the frequent inundation area had smaller particle sizes with more organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen (TN) content, whereas soils S3 and S4 from the long-term exposed area had a higher fraction of sand with lower OM and TN. All four target EDCs could achieve an adsorption equilibrium within 24 h, and the kinetics of the adsorption/desorption fitted the pseudo-second-order model excellently. The adsorption/desorption isotherms of the EDCs were better described by the Freundlich equation. The adsorption capacity decreased, as 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) > 17β-estradiol (E2) > estrone (E1) > bisphenol A (BPA), in each tested soil. S1 and S2 exhibited a greater capacity but a lower degree of nonlinearity to adsorb the target EDCs than S3 and S4. The values of the Gibbs free energy suggested that the EDCs adsorption in the tested soils was dominated by unstable physical adsorption. The desorption hysteresis of E1, E2, and EE2 were stronger in S1 and S2, whereas the BPA exhibited weak or almost no hysteresis in all of the tested soils. The substantial water-level fluctuation imposed on the TGR would have a continuous influence on the EDCs adsorption/desorption by altering the soil properties. Thus, long-term monitoring and further research of EDCs in this region are urgent

Family resilience and its influencing factors among advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers: a multilevel modeling analysis

Abstract Background Cancer is highly prevalent worldwide. Family resilience is a positive variable that helps families burdened by advanced cancer to cope effectively. This study aimed to describe the family resilience of advanced cancer patients and caregivers in dyads and identify its influencing factors at the individual and dyadic levels. Methods This multisite cross-sectional study was conducted in oncology units in five tertiary hospitals in China. A total of 270 advanced cancer patient-caregiver dyads were recruited between June 2020 and March 2021. Patients’ and caregivers’ family resilience was measured by the Family Resilience Assessment Scale. Data on potential influencing factors, including demographic and disease-related characteristics as well as family sense of coherence, psychological resilience, perceived social support, symptom burden, and caregiver burden, were collected. Multilevel modeling analysis was adopted to control for the interdependence of the dyads. Results A total of 241 dyads were included in the data analysis. The mean ages of patients and caregivers were 53.96 (SD 15.37) and 45.18 (SD 13.79) years, respectively. Most caregivers were spouses and adult children (45.6% and 39.0%, respectively). Patients reported a higher mean family resilience score than caregivers (152.56 vs. 149.87, respectively). Undergoing fewer than two types of treatment and a lower symptom burden of patients predicted higher patient (B = -9.702, -0.134, respectively) and caregiver (B = -5.462, -0.096, respectively) family resilience. Patients also reported higher family resilience under the following conditions: 1) were on a medical insurance plan other than the new rural cooperative medical system (B = 6.089), 2) had a better family sense of coherence (B = 0.415), 3) whose caregivers were unmarried (B = 8.618), perceived lower social support (B = -0.145) and higher psychological resilience (B = 0.313). Caregivers who were ≤ 44 years old (B = -3.221), had similar previous caregiving experience (B = 7.706), and had a stronger family sense of coherence (B = 0.391) reported higher family resilience. Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of adopting a dyadic approach when caring for advanced cancer patients and their caregivers. Dyadic longitudinal research is suggested to discover more modifiable factors of family resilience and tailored interventions are needed to obtain optimal dyadic outcomes

Synthesis of a Cationic Polyacrylamide under UV Initiation and Its Flocculation in Estrone Removal

A ternary cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) with the hydrophobic characteristic was prepared through ultraviolet- (UV-) initiated polymerization technique for the estrone (E1) environmental estrogen separation and removal. The monomers of acrylamide (AM), acryloyloxyethyl-trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC), and acryloyloxyethyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride (AODBAC) were used to synthesize the ternary copolymer (PADA). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to characterize the structure, thermal decomposition property, and morphology of the polymers, respectively. FT-IR and 1H NMR results indicated the successful formation of the polymers. Besides, with the introduction of hydrophobic groups (phenyl group), an irregular and porous surface morphology and a favorable thermal stability of the PADA were observed by SEM and TG/DSC analyses, respectively. At the optimal condition (pH = 7, flocculant dosage = 4.0 mg/L and E1 concentration = 0.75 mg/L), an excellent E1 flocculation performance (E1 removal rate: 90.1%, floc size: 18.3 μm, and flocculation kinetics: 22.69×10-4 s−1) was acquired by using the efficient flocculant PADA-3 (cationic degree = 40%, and intrinsic viscosity = 6.30 dL·g−1). The zeta potential and floc size analyses were used to analyze the possible flocculation mechanism for the E1 removal. Results indicated that the charge neutralization, adsorption, and birding effects were dominant in the E1 removal progress

Impact of fine particulate matter on latent tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis in older adults: a population-based multicentre cohort study

Evidence showed that air pollution was associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to study the impact of long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) on the acquisition of LTBI and on the risk of subsequent active disease development among rural older adults from a multicentre cohort, which have not yet been investigated to date. A total of 4790 older adults were included in a population-based, multicenter, prospective cohort study (LATENTTB-NSTM) from 2013 to 2018. The level of long-term exposure to PM2.5 for each participant was assessed by aggregating satellite-based estimates. Logistic regression and time-varying Cox proportional hazards models with province-level random intercepts were employed to assess associations of long-term exposures to PM2.5 with the risk of LTBI and subsequent development of active TB, respectively. Out of 4790 participants, 3284 were LTBI-free at baseline, among whom 2806 completed the one-year follow-up and 127 developed newly identified LTBI. No significant associations were identified between PM2.5 and the risk of LTBI. And among 1506 participants with LTBI at baseline, 30 active TB cases were recorded during the 5-year follow-up. Particularly, an increment of 5 μg/m3 in 2-year moving averaged PM2.5 was associated with a 50.6% increased risk of active TB (HR = 1.506, 95% CI: 1.161-1.955). Long-term air pollution might be a neglected risk factor for active TB development from LTBI, especially for those living in developing or less-developed areas where the air quality is poor.</p