Incidence and Etiology of Drug-Induced Liver Injury in Mainland China

Background & Aims: We performed a nationwide, retrospective study to determine the incidence and causes of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in mainland China.Methods: We collected data on a total of 25,927 confirmed DILI cases, hospitalized from 2012 through 2014 at 308 medical centers in mainland China. We collected demographic, medical history, treatment, laboratory, disease severity, and mortality data from all patients. Investigators at each site were asked to complete causality assessments for each case whose diagnosis at discharge was DILI (n=29,478) according to the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method.Results: Most cases of DILI presented with hepatocellular injury (51.39%; 95% CI, 50.76–52.03), followed by mixed injury (28.30%; 95% CI, 27.73–28.87) and cholestatic injury (20.31%; 95% CI, 19.80–20.82). The leading single classes of implicated drugs were traditional Chinese medicines or herbal and dietary supplements (26.81%) and anti-tuberculosis medications (21.99%). Chronic DILI occurred in 13.00% of the cases and, although 44.40% of the hepatocellular DILI cases fulfilled Hy’s Law criteria, only 280 cases (1.08%) progressed to hepatic failure, 2 cases underwent liver transplantation (0.01%), and 102 patients died (0.39%). Among deaths, DILI was judged to have a primary role in 72 (70.59%), a contributory role in 21 (20.59%), and no role in 9 (8.82%). Assuming the proportion of DILI in the entire hospitalized population of China was represented by that observed in the 66 centers where DILI capture was complete, we estimated the annual incidence in the general population to be 23.80 per 100,000 persons (95% CI, 20.86–26.74). Only hospitalized patients were included in this analysis, so the true incidence is likely to be higher.Conclusions: In a retrospective study to determine the incidence and causes of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in mainland China, the annual incidence in the general population was estimated to be 23.80 per 100,000 persons—higher than that reported from western countries. Traditional Chinese medicines, herbal and dietary supplements, and anti-tuberculosis drugs were the leading causes of DILI in mainland Chin

Pollution status of heavy metals and metalloids in Chinese lakes: Distribution, bioaccumulation and risk assessment

Due to intensive human activities, most of Chinese lakes are suffering from the pollution of heavy metals and metalloids. Previous studies on heavy metals and metalloids in Chinese lakes were limited to a few lakes and mainly focused on sediments, to date the knowledge on heavy metals and metalloids in multiple media of Chinese lakes from a national perspective is scarce. We collected the data of nine heavy metals and metalloids including Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), and Manganese (Mn) in water, surface sediments, and fish of 87 Chinese lakes sampled in the period from 2009 to 2019 from the literature, summarized the distribution of heavy metals and metalloids, evaluated their pollution, and apportioned their sources from a national perspective. Concentration of individual heavy metal and metalloid in water, surface sediments, and fish in Chinese lakes was in the ranges of 0.0080–282 μg/L, 0.020–33858 μg/g, and 0.00030–207 μg/g, respectively. 5.6 % and 33.3 % of lake water were polluted by Cd and As. 88.2 %, 78.6 %, and 66 % of lake sediments were polluted by Cd, Hg, and As. 35.3 %, 11.3 %, 52.4 %, and 12.8 % of Cd, Pb, As, and Cr concentrations in lake fish exceeded the food limits. Concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids in fish viscera were higher than those in other organs. Higher partition coefficient and bioaccumulation factors were found for Pb and Cd, Hg and Zn, respectively. Concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids in both water and sediments of lakes in eastern China were higher than those in western China. Concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids in both lake water and sediments of urban lakes were higher than those of rural lakes. Lakes with extremely high ecological risk of heavy metals and metalloids were mainly located in central China and eastern China. Pollution of heavy metals and metalloids in Chinese lakes was closely correlated with regional economic development. Heavy metals and metalloids in Chinese lakes were mainly derived from industrial, domestic, and mixed discharges. Cd and Hg were selected as the heavy metals for priority control in Chinese lakes

Contamination, Ecological Risk and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Surface Sediments in the Hailar River, the Upper Source of the Erguna River between China and Russia

The concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) in 17 surface sediment samples from the Hailar River, the upper source of the Ergun River, which is the boundary river between China and Russia, were analyzed. Traceability and cause analysis of heavy metals in sediment were carried out by correlation analysis and principal component analysis. The results showed that the concentrations of Hg and Cd in sediments exceeded the soil background values. Due to the high biological toxicity factor of Hg, Hg is the highest potential ecological risk factor in the Hailar River and its tributary the Yimin River. The sources of Hg and As were likely to come from human activities including mining, coal burning and animal husbandry; other HMs, especially Zn and Cr, mainly come from mining and natural factors. Due to the high level of urbanization and more agricultural activities, the pollution potential of Cd, Hg and Pb in the Yimin River and the lower reaches of the Hailar River was greater. The results of this study will help to understand the distribution and pollution of heavy metals in river sediments in the basin and provide management support for China’s local environmental management departments and relevant national departments of China

Using Linoleic Acid Embedded Cellulose Acetate Membranes to in Situ Monitor Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Lakes and Predict Their Bioavailability to Submerged Macrophytes

To date no passive sampler has been used to predict bioavailability of contaminants to macrophytes. Here a novel passive sampler, linoleic acid embedded cellulose acetate membrane (LAECAM), was developed and used to in situ measure the freely dissolved concentrations of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediment porewaters and the water columns of two lakes in both winter and summer and predict their bioavailability to the shoots of resident submerged macrophytes (Potamogeton malainus, Myriophyllum spicata, Najas minor All., and Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara). PAH sampling by LAECAMs could reach equilibrium within 21 days. The influence of temperature on LAECAM-water partition coefficients was 0.0008–0.0116 log units/°C. The method of LAECAM was comparable with the active sampling methods of liquid–liquid extraction combined with <i>f</i>_DOC adjustment, centrifugation/solid-phase extraction (SPE), and filtration/SPE but had several advantages. After lipid normalization, concentrations of the PAHs in LAECAMs were not significantly different from those in the macrophytes. In contrast, concentrations of the PAHs in the triolein containing passive sampler (TECAM) deployed simultaneously with LAECAM were much higher. The results suggest that linoleic acid is more suitable than triolein as the model lipid for passive samplers to predict bioavailability of PAHs to submerged macrophytes

Source apportionment of priority PAHs in 11 lake sediment cores from Songnen Plain, Northeast China

Elevated concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been observed with rapid agricultural and industrial development in the Songnen Plain, Northeast China, but the prospective sources have not been yet apportioned. The concentration of PAHs was measured in 31 sediment samples from 11 Songnen Plain lakes in 2015. The background flux of PAHs in these lake sediments is\u202f&lt;\u202f463\u202f\u3bcg\u202fm 122 year 121. The maximal concentration of 16 U.S. EPA priority PAHs (599\u202fng\u202fg 121) recorded in this study is lower or similar to that found in most of the lake sediments across China, but higher than remote areas, such as North America Rocky Mountains. Both concentration and flux of PAHs increased after the 1950s, which correspond to the industrial development in this area and would probably mark the beginning of the Anthropocene in this region. A chemical mass balance model estimated that straw burning was a major source of \u3a313PAH (3\u20136 rings) during the past 200 years, with an average contribution of 22.1%, followed by forest fire (21.2%), burning of gasoline (19.1%), coal (12.2%), coke (4.8%) and diesel (3.9%), whereas the contribution from crude oil and natural gas was negligible (&lt;1%). Straw burning (20.2\u201325.2%) and forest fire (16.7\u201330.6%) were major sources of PAHs and contributed increasing flux in the past 200 years. The elevated level of PAH recorded after 1950s in this region are also from burning of gasoline (26.1\u201326.4%), coal (15.3\u201315.8%), and coke (5.1\u20139.0%). The contribution of petrogenic sources (e.g., direct oil spill) to the concentration of \u3a313PAH seemed to be ignorable, at least in these lakes

Ecological-health risks assessment and characteristic pollutants identification of heavy metals in the soils of a coking plant in production in Guangxi, China

In response to the detailed investigation in the production enterprise by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, The investigation of soil pollution potential risk in a coking welfare plant in Liuzhou was carried out. Meanwhile, the key facilities and regions were identified. The monitoring factors in the soil of the plant were evaluated to judge the ecological risk and health risk caused by heavy metals (HMs) in the soil. At the same time, the application of ArcGIS was used for concentration interpolation analysis. The correlation analysis and principal component analysis of HMs in soil were applied to identify the characteristic pollutants. It was found that all HMs detected were probably the characteristic contaminant from the plant. The results showed that nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) exceeded the screening values of the second class of using-land in standard GB36600-2018. It was found that Ni and As in the soil of the plant had different degrees of pollution. The hydrargyrum (Hg) was considered as high ecological hazards at all sites. The areas with high ecological hazard were close to the furnace ash storage area and its treatment area. Though within an acceptable range, it was found that As and Ni in the plant had a health risk to workers of the plant. The results of this study can provide experience and example for other enterprises with heavy metal pollution. This study applied the standard GB 36600-2018 promulgated in recent years to assess health risks from pollution soil, verifying the feasibility of the implementation of this standard in China. It also makes a contribution to encourage more environmental management and investigations in production enterprises of potential pollution hazards of land information in the world

Study on the Skin Hydration and Trans Epidermal Water Loss of Aloe Viscose Seamless Knitted Fabric for Autumn and Winter

To explore the skin moisturizing performance of aloe viscose fiber seamless knitted fabric, this experiment takes the different yarn-blending ratios of aloe viscose fiber and viscose fiber, as well as three different tissue structures as factors, establishes a sample scheme according to full factor experimental tests on skin hydration and trans epidermal water loss (TEWL) after the sample fabric had been wrapped around the skin, and uses two-way and one-way ANOVA in SPSS and the Duncan multiple comparison method. The test data were analyzed to study the influence of different materials and the structure of the veil on the moisture retention of the fabric. The results show that the sample scheme with the largest change rate of skin hydration is when the raw material of the veil is aloe viscose/viscose 100/0 yarn, and the structure is 1 + 3 simulated rib. The sample scheme with the minimum change rate of TEWL is when aloe viscose/viscose 75/25 yarn is used as the raw material of the veil, and the structure is 1 + 1 simulated rib, which provides a theoretical basis for the research and development of moisturizing knitted fabric

Preservation of Supported Lipid Membrane Integrity from Thermal Disruption: Osmotic Effect

Preservation of structural integrity under various environmental conditions is one major concern in the development of the supported lipid membrane (SLM)-based devices. It is common for SLMs to experience temperature shifts from manufacture, processing, storage, and transport to operation. In this work, we studied the thermal adaption of the supported membranes on silica substrates. Homogenous SLMs with little defects were formed through the vesicle fusion method. The mass and fluidity of the bilayers were found to deteriorate from a heating process but not a cooling process. Fluorescence characterizations showed that the membranes initially budded as a result of heating-induced lipid lateral area expansion, followed by the possible fates including maintenance, retraction, and fission, among which the last contributes to the irreversible compromise of the SLM integrity and spontaneous release of the interlipid stress accumulated. Based on the mechanism, we developed a strategy to protect SLMs from thermal disruption by increasing the solute concentration in medium. An improved preservation of the membrane mass and fluidity against the heating process was observed, accompanied by a decrease in the retraction and fission of the buds. Theoretical analysis revealed a high osmotic energy penalty for the fission, which accounts for the depressed disruption. This osmotic-based protection strategy is facile, solute nonspecific, and long-term efficient and has little impact on the original SLM properties. The results may help broaden SLM applications and sustain the robustness of SLM-based devices under multiple thermal conditions

Phimosis : a cause of chronic kidney disease

Chronic urinary tract infection is a familiar cause of chronic kidney disease. Phimosis, with high incidence in boys may cause recurrent urinary tract infection, which will do harm to the kidney. We presented a case of a patient with phimosis-associated chronic pyelonephritis, who finally developed end stage renal disease followed by a review of literature. It was concluded that phimosis might be a cause of chronic kidney disease, proper treatment on which may be necessary to reduce the damage to kidney.3 page(s