Blood arsenic exposure levels of preschool children and dietary factors analysis

Objective To explore the blood arsenic exposure levels of preschool children and analyze the factors of blood arsenic. Methods By the multi-stage cluster and simple randomized method, six districts of Shanghai City was chosen and the preschool children in the selected village were asked to fill in the questionnaire and have blood sampling. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to detect blood arsenic, of which the data was analyzed by multiple linear regression models. Marine fish, freshwater fish, freshwater shrimp and shellfish were grouped as follows: ≤3 times per month, 1-3 times per week, and 4-6 times per week. Rice, noodles and milk were grouped as <50, 50-100, and ≥100 g/d. Results 2 263 preschool children were recruited. The range of blood arsenic was 0.12-27.94 μg/L. The median (P25, P75) were 2.26 (1.63, 3.09) μg/L. Statistical analysis showed that the more intake of rice, wheaten food, and sea fish and shrimp, the more arsenic in children’s blood (P<0.05). Whereas highter intake of freshwater fish and shrimp group showed decreased blood arsenic (P<0.05). Conclusion Most preschool children’s blood arsenic levels (92.4%, 2 091/2 263) were at normal level (<5 μg/L). There was a positive correlation between blood arsenic concentration and the intake of rice, wheaten food, and sea fish and shrimp, while negative correlation with high freshwater fish and shrimp consumption

Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment of Groundwater under the Impact of Seawater Intrusion and Anthropogenic Activity in the Coastal Areas of Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces, China

AbstractCoastal groundwater is an important resource in the developed region associated with human health and sustainable economic development. To identify the origins of salinity and evaluate the impact of water-rock interactions, seawater intrusion (SWI), and evaporation on groundwater in the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, a comprehensive investigation was performed. Meanwhile, nitrate and fluoride indicators resulting from the anthropogenic activity and SWI were also considered. At last, the water quality index (WQI) of coastal groundwater was evaluated with geochemical and multivariate statistical methods. The results indicated that (1) the groundwater in coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces has been affected by SWI to varying degrees. The analysis of selected ion ratios (Na+/Cl− and Br−/Cl−) and isotopic compositions showed that SWI is the predominant cause of increasing salinity in the groundwater of Zhejiang Province, while the cause is water-rock interactions (ion exchange and mineral weathering) in Fujian Province. The hydrochemical evolution path of groundwater in Zhejiang Province is Ca/Mg-HCO3 to Na-Cl, while a different pattern of Ca/Mg-HCO3 to Na (Mg/Ca)-Cl occurs in Fujian Province. However, the trend of SWI development in both provinces was freshening. (2) Nitrification, sewage infiltration, and SWI increased the NO3− content in groundwater. Some of the NO3− concentration in Fujian Province exceeds the standard, and the nitrogen pollution was more serious than in Zhejiang Province. The F− content in coastal groundwater was affected by SWI and mineral dissolution; the F− content in Zhejiang Province was higher than in Fujian Province, which was close to the groundwater standard limit. The average WQI value of Zhejiang was 103.61, and the WQI of Fujian was 61.69, indicating that the coastal groundwater quality in Fujian Province was better than in Zhejiang Province. The results of the study revealed the impact of SWI and anthropogenic activity on groundwater in the southern coastal zone of China and will be valuable for sustainable groundwater resource management

Studies on Chemical Characterization of Ginkgo Amillaria Oral Solution and Its Drug–Drug Interaction With Piceatannol 3′-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside for Injection

Ginkgo Amillaria oral solution (GAO) is commonly used for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China. Piceatannol-3′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside for injection (PGI) is mainly used for the prevention and treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. With the spread of cerebrovascular disease, the possibility of combining the two drugs has increased; however, there is no research on the drug–drug interaction (DDI) between these two medicines. In this paper, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole–orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap MS) method was established to characterize the chemical constituents of GAO first; 62 compounds were identified or tentatively identified based on their retention time (RT), MS, and MS/MS data. Nine main compounds were determined by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS). Furthermore, incubation with liver microsomes in vitro was fulfilled; the results showed that GAO had a significant inhibitory effect on UGT1A9 and UGT2B7 (p &lt; 0.05), and PGI was mainly metabolized by UGT1A9. The identification results of in vivo metabolites of PGI showed that PGI mainly undergoes a phase II binding reaction mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and sulfotransferase (SULT) in vivo. Therefore, pharmacokinetic studies were performed to investigate the DDI between GAO and PGI. The results showed that the AUC (p &lt; 0.05) and T1/2 (p &lt; 0.05) of PGI in vivo were significantly increased when administered together with GAO, whereas the CL was significantly decreased (p &lt; 0.05). The exploration of in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that there was a DDI between GAO and PGI

Advances and prospects: Biotechnologically improving crop water use efficiency

Bio-water saving can be defined as the reduction of crop water consumption employing biological measures. This is the focus of efforts to save water in agriculture. Different levels of water-use efficiency (WUE) have been developed. The genetic diversity of WUE has been confirmed in several crops. WUE is the basis of bio-watering and physiological WUE is the key. The degree to develop physiological WUE potential decides the performance of bio-watering in the field. During this process, fine management is important. Thus bio-watering is closely related to WUE. Crop WUE has improved and evolved as a result of breeding programs. Many WUE genes have been located in different genomic and aneuploid materials and have been mapped by various molecular markers in a number of crops. Two genes, (Erecta and alx8), which control water use efficiency; have been cloned in Arabidopsis thaliana. Eleven WUE genes have been identified by microarray analysis. Six genes associated with drought resistance and photosynthesis have been transfered into crops which have resulted in improving WUE and drought resistance. WUE is important on the basis of functional identification of more drought resistant gene resources. The popularity on the industrial-scale of transgenic plants is still in its infancy and one of the reasons for this is the lack of knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms and it is a very immature technology. Enhanced agricultural practices and the theoretical aspects of improving crop WUE have been developed and are discussed in this review paper. Rapid progress will be made in bio-water savings and that crop WUE can be substantially improved under both favorable and unfavorable water-limited environments. This will be achieved by a combination of traditional breeding techniques and the introduction of modern biotechnologyBio-water saving can be defined as the reduction of crop water consumption employing biological measures. This is the focus of efforts to save water in agriculture. Different levels of water-use efficiency (WUE) have been developed. The genetic diversity of WUE has been confirmed in several crops. WUE is the basis of bio-watering and physiological WUE is the key. The degree to develop physiological WUE potential decides the performance of bio-watering in the field. During this process, fine management is important. Thus bio-watering is closely related to WUE. Crop WUE has improved and evolved as a result of breeding programs. Many WUE genes have been located in different genomic and aneuploid materials and have been mapped by various molecular markers in a number of crops. Two genes, (Erecta and alx8), which control water use efficiency; have been cloned in Arabidopsis thaliana. Eleven WUE genes have been identified by microarray analysis. Six genes associated with drought resistance and photosynthesis have been transfered into crops which have resulted in improving WUE and drought resistance. WUE is important on the basis of functional identification of more drought resistant gene resources. The popularity on the industrial-scale of transgenic plants is still in its infancy and one of the reasons for this is the lack of knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms and it is a very immature technology. Enhanced agricultural practices and the theoretical aspects of improving crop WUE have been developed and are discussed in this review paper. Rapid progress will be made in bio-water savings and that crop WUE can be substantially improved under both favorable and unfavorable water-limited environments. This will be achieved by a combination of traditional breeding techniques and the introduction of modern biotechnolog