A laboratory study on risk assessment of microcystin-RR in cropland

The persistence time and risk of microcystin-RR (MC-RR) in cropland via irrigation were investigated under laboratory conditions. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the potential adsorption and biodegradation of MC-RR in cropland and the persistence time of MC-RR for crop irrigation, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify the amount of MC-RR in solutions. Our study indicated that MC-RR could be adsorbed and biodegraded in cropland soils. MC-RR at 6.5 mg/L could be completely degraded within 6 days with a lag phase of 1 - 2 days. In the presence of humic acid, the same amount of MC-RR could be degraded within 4 days without a lag phase. Accordingly, the persistence time of MC-RR in cropland soils should be about 6 days. This result also suggested the beneficial effects of the organic fertilizer utilization for the biodegradation of MC-RR in cropland soils. Our studies also demonstrated that MC-RR at low concentration ( 100 mu g/L) significantly inhibited the growth of plants. High sensitivity of the sprouting stage plants to MC-RR treatments as well as the strong inhibitory effects resulting from prolonged irrigation further indicated that this MC-RR growth-inhibition may vary with the duration of irrigation and life stage of the plants. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.The persistence time and risk of microcystin-RR (MC-RR) in cropland via irrigation were investigated under laboratory conditions. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the potential adsorption and biodegradation of MC-RR in cropland and the persistence time of MC-RR for crop irrigation, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify the amount of MC-RR in solutions. Our study indicated that MC-RR could be adsorbed and biodegraded in cropland soils. MC-RR at 6.5 mg/L could be completely degraded within 6 days with a lag phase of 1 - 2 days. In the presence of humic acid, the same amount of MC-RR could be degraded within 4 days without a lag phase. Accordingly, the persistence time of MC-RR in cropland soils should be about 6 days. This result also suggested the beneficial effects of the organic fertilizer utilization for the biodegradation of MC-RR in cropland soils. Our studies also demonstrated that MC-RR at low concentration ( 100 mu g/L) significantly inhibited the growth of plants. High sensitivity of the sprouting stage plants to MC-RR treatments as well as the strong inhibitory effects resulting from prolonged irrigation further indicated that this MC-RR growth-inhibition may vary with the duration of irrigation and life stage of the plants. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Alterations of Sub-cortical Gray Matter Volume and Their Associations With Disease Duration in Patients With Restless Legs Syndrome

Object: The purpose of this study was to uncover the pathology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) by exploring brain structural alterations and their corresponding functional abnormality.Method: Surface-based morphometry (SBM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were performed to explore the alterations in cortical and sub-cortical gray matter volume (GMV) in a cohort of 20 RLS and 18 normal controls (NC). Furthermore, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was also performed to identify the functional alterations in patients with RLS.Results: We found significant alterations of sub-cortical GMV, especially the bilateral putamen (PUT), rather than alterations of cortical GMV in patients with RLS compared to NC using both SBM and VBM. Further sub-regional analysis revealed that GMV alterations of PUT was mostly located in the left dorsal caudal PUT in patients with RLS. In addition, altered RSFC patterns of PUT were identified in patients with RLS compared to NC. Moreover, correlation analyses showed that the GMV of the left caudate and the left ventral rostral PUT were positively correlated with disease duration in patients with RLS.Conclusions: The alterations of subcortical GMV might imply that the primarily affected areas are located in sub-cortical areas especially in the sub-region of PUT by the pathologic process of RLS, which might be used as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of RLS

Co-precipitation synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/NiAl-layered double hydroxide hybrid and its application in flame retarding poly(methyl methacrylate)

A reduced graphene oxide/NiAl-layered double hydroxide (RGO-LDH) was synthesized through a simple co-precipitation route. NiAl-layered double hydroxide (NiAl-LDH) nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed on the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets, which were simultaneously reduced during the process. RGO-LDH exhibited three steps of weight loss, leaving high residue. RGO-LDH was then solution blended into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to investigate its effect on reducing flammability of the composite. With the incorporation of RGO-LDH, the thermal stability of PMMA composite was improved. Moreover, RGO-LDH endowed PMMA with the largest reduction in the heat release rate, smoke production and CO production rate relative to RGO or NiAl-LDH alone. RGO-LDH could decrease the production of volatiles including hydrocarbons, carbonyl compounds and epoxy compounds from the PMMA composite. The improved flame retardancy was ascribed to the combined effect of the physical barrier of RGO and the catalytic carbonization of NiAl-LDH. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The safety and efficacy of carbon nanoparticle suspension injection versus indocyanine green tracer-guided lymph node dissection during radical gastrectomy (FUTURE-01): A single-center randomized controlled trial protocol

BackgroundThe use of lymph node (LN) tracers can help obtain a complete dissection of the lymph nodes and increase the detection rate of LNs and metastatic LNs. Carbon nanoparticle suspension injection (CNSI) and indocyanine green (ICG) have been widely used in radical gastrectomy in recent years. Nevertheless, the comparison of their clinical effects has not been studied.Method/designThe FUTURE-01 trial will be the first randomized, open-label, single-center trial to compare CNSI and ICG. The study started in 2021 and enrolled 96 patients according to a prior sample size calculation. The primary outcome is the number of LNs retrieved. The secondary outcomes are LN staining rate, LN metastasis rate, stained LN metastasis rate, perioperative recovery and survival.ConclusionBy comparing the safety and efficacy of CNSI and ICG tracer-guided LN dissection in patients with gastric cancer, we can determine the most appropriate LN tracer at present. With the help of LN tracers, the operation is simplified, and the prognosis of these patients is improved. Our study is a prospective exploration of the safety, efficacy, and prognosis of CNSI and ICG.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05229874?cond=NCT05229874&draw=2&rank=1, identifier NCT05229874