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Earlier studies have reported inconsistent association between selenium (Se) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels, while no evidence could be found from Chinese population. To fill this gap, we investigated the association between blood Se and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) of rural elderly population in China. A cross-sectional study on 1823 participants aged 65 and older from four Chinese rural counties was carried out in this study. Whole blood Se and serum Hcy concentrations were measured in fasting blood samples. Analysis of covariance and restricted cubic spline models were used to examine the association between Se and Hcy levels. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the risk of prevalent HHcy among four Se quartile groups after adjusting for covariates. For this sample, the mean blood Se concentration was 156.34 (74.65) μg/L and the mean serum Hcy concentration was 17.25 (8.42) μmol/L. A significant non-linear relationship was found between blood Se and serum Hcy, the association was inverse when blood Se was less than 97.404 μg/L and greater than 156.919 μg/L. Participants in the top three blood Se quartile groups had significantly lower risk of prevalent HHcy compared with the lowest quartile group. When defined as Hcy> 10 μmol/L, the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval of HHcy were 0.600 (0.390, 0.924), 0.616 (0.398, 0.951) and 0.479 (0.314, 0.732) for Q2, Q3, and Q4 Se quartile groups compared with the Q1 group, respectively. When defined as Hcy≥ 15 μmol/L, the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval of HHcy were 0.833 (0.633, 1.098) and 0.827 (0.626, 1.092), 0.647 (0.489, 0.857) for Q2, Q3, and Q4 Se quartile groups compared with Q1 group. Our findings suggest that higher blood Se level could be a protective factor for HHcy in the elderly. [Display omitted] • First study on the association between blood Se and HHcy in older Chinese adults. • A non-linear relationship between blood Se and serum Hcy was observed. • Higher Se levels were associated with lower prevalence risk of HHcy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Samples from Peifeng were studied to further investigate the influence of particle specific surface area, oil dosage, system energy input and the concentration of electrolyte on the cleaning of Fujian coal with oil agglomeration. The results showed that specific surface area of coal particles around 24m2 g-1 led to the minimum value of ash content 3.14% obtained, and sulfur content decrease from 2.0% to 0.44%; After 10 min of stirring at 2400r min-1, the minimum product ash content 3.8% was obtained. Within the dosage range studied, considerable ash content reduction occurred with NaCl in appropriate concentrations used, in contrary, the other five other electrolytes would, to varying degrees, put a raise on ash content. No positive correlation was shown between product ash content and solid concentration, in fact, the former fell with the increasing of the latter within a certain range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on the Fujian coal resource utilization and distribution, samples from Peifeng coal mining were chosen as research object. This paper studies the effects of deashing with oil agglomeration technology, which mainly includes of agglomeration size, coal concentration, oil types and its dosage, alcohol types and dosage, PAM types and dosage. The results showed that the ash content can be reduced from 32% to 2.8% by one time and the ash rejection rate is arrived to 93.0% when the slurry concentration is 11.1% and oil dosage is 12.5%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A total of 21,746 participants were included using multi-stage stratified sampling in China NHBP. • Information on comprehensive epidemiological, biological and internal exposure of environmental chemicals was collected. • China NHBP created the first large, nationally-representative cohort of Chinese population for human biomonitoring. Globally, developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Korea, have carried out long-term and systematic biomonitoring programs for environmental chemicals in their populations. The China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) was to document the extent of human exposure to a wide array of environmental chemicals, to understand exposure profiles, magnitude and ongoing trends in exposure in the general Chinese population, and to establish a national biorepository. CNHBM adopted three-stage sampling method to obtain a nationally representative sample of the population. A total of 21,888 participants who were permanent residents in 31 provinces were designed to interviewed in this national biomonitoring (152 monitoring sites × 3 survey units × 2 sexes × 6 age groups × 4 persons = 21,888 persons) in 2017–2018. Unlike the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the CNHBM will follow the same participants in subsequent cycles allowing for dynamic, longitudinal data sets for epidemiologic follow-up. Each survey cycle of CNHBM will last 2 years and each subsequent cycle will occur 3 years after the prior cycle's completion. In 2017–2018, the CNHBM created a large cohort of Chinese citizens that included districts/counties questionnaire, community questionnaire collecting information on villages/communities, individual questionnaire, household questionnaire, comprehensive medical examination, and collection of blood and urine samples for measurement of clinical and exposure biomarkers. A total of 21,746 participants were finally included in CNHBM, accounting for 99.4% of the designed sample size; and 152 PSUs questionnaires, 454 community questionnaires, 21,619 family questionnaires, 21,712 cases of medical examinations, 21,700 individual questionnaires, 21,701 blood samples and 21,704 urine samples were collected, respectively. Planned analyses of blood and urine samples were to measure both inorganic and organic chemicals, including 13 heavy metals and metalloids, 18 poly- and per-fluorinated alkyl substances, 12 phthalate metabolites, 9 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites, 4 environmental alkylated phenols, and 2 benzene metabolites. CNHBM established the first nationally representative, prospective cohort in the Chinese population to understand the baseline and trend of internal exposure of environmental chemicals in general population, and to understand environmental toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous propolis flavonoids (EEP) formulations have been developed as dietary supplements for assisting blood glucose regulation, their bioavailability and bioactivity are limited due to the lower solubilities in aqueous media. To address this challenge, a novel O/W submicron emulsion was constructed to efficiently deliver propolis flavonoids and improve the absorption efficiency. Results showed that this delivery vehicle exerted inspiring features of nano-scaled droplet size, narrow particle distribution and higher cargo loading efficiency. Compared to conventional preparations, EEP submicron emulsion exhibited excellent stability against dilution with different pH buffers and maintained physicochemical characteristics within six months. Most importantly, EEP submicron emulsion could be efficiently absorbed through gastrointestinal (GI) tract via multiple-uptake routes and dramatically enhanced the bioavailability of propolis flavonoids. In conclusion, O/W submicron emulsion is a promising carrier for improving the in vivo utilization efficiency of water-insoluble flavonoids in functional foods. [Display omitted] • Propolis flavonoids loaded O/W emulsion is successfully constructed. • The propolis flavonoids O/W emulsion exerts inspiring physicochemical features. • Intestinal absorption of propolis flavonoids is upgraded via multiple pathways. • O/W emulsion system improves the propolis flavonoids oral bioavailability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Associations between PFAS mixtures and APOB, GGT, TBIL, and DBIL were found in both the WQS and BKMR analyses. • Metabolic mechanism and markers involved in the associations between PFAS and liver function indices were identified. • The mechanisms linking PFAS to APOB and GGT largely involve amino acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can disrupt liver homeostasis. Studies have shown that a single exposure to PFAS may provoke abnormal liver function; however, few studies have investigated the overall effect of PFAS mixtures. We aimed to investigate associations between exposure to PFAS mixtures and liver function indices and explore the relevant mechanisms. This study included 278 adult males from Guangzhou, China. Serum metabolite profiles were analyzed using untargeted metabolomics. We applied weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression as well as Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to analyze the association of nine PFAS mixtures with 14 liver function indices. PFAS mixtures were positively associated with apolipoprotein B (APOB) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and negatively associated with direct bilirubin (DBIL) and total bilirubin (TBIL) in both the WQS and BKMR analyses. In addition, Spearman's correlation test showed individual PFAS correlated with APOB, GGT, TBIL, and DBIL, while there's little correlation between individual PFAS and other liver function indices. In linear regression analysis, PFHxS, PFOS, PFHpS, PFNA, PFDA, and PFUdA were associated with APOB; PFOA, PFDA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFUdA were associated with GGT. Subsequently, a metabolome-wide association study and mediation analysis were combined to explore metabolites that mediate these associations. The mechanisms linking PFAS to APOB and GGT are mainly related with amino acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism. High-dimensional mediation analysis showed that glycerophospholipids are the main markers of the association between PFAS and APOB, and that (R)-dihydromaleimide, Ile Leu, (R)-(+)-2-pyrrolidone-5-carboxylic acid, and L-glutamate are the main markers of the association between PFAS and GGT. In summary, overall associations between PFAS and specific indices of liver function were found using two statistical methods; the metabolic pathways and markers identified here may serve to prompt more detailed study in animal-based systems, as well as a similar detailed analysis in other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressive myoclonic epilepsies (PME) are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of rare diseases characterized by myoclonic seizures, tonic-clonic seizures, and neurological deterioration. Here, we genetically analyzed a Chinese patient affected by infantile-onset progressive myoclonic epilepsy. We applied next-generation whole exome capture sequencing with Sanger direct sequencing to the proband and her unaffected parents. Two compound heterozygous mutations were identified in the KCTD7 gene. The first mutation [c. 434A > G(p.Q145R)] was inherited from her father, while the second [c.631C > T(p.R211X)] was inherited from her mother. The two were co-segregated with disease phenotype in the family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of KCTD7 mutations causing PME in the Chinese population, with c. 434A > G in particular being a novel mutation. Our findings supported the important role of KCTD7 in PME and broadened the gene's mutation spectrum. Thus, this study contributes to genetic diagnoses and counselling of families with PME. • The first report of KCTD7 mutations causing PME in Chinese population. • Two KCTD7 compound heterozygous mutations c. 434A>G and c.631C>T were identified • WES is a valuable approach for the diagnosis of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] In utero exposure to organochlorine pesticides was shown to affect fetal growth. [•] Serum levels of 18 major OCPs were measured in 81 mother–infant pairs. [•] p,p′-DDE, β-BHC, and HCB were the main OCPs in maternal and cord serum in China. [•] Cord serum p,p′-DDE, β-BHC, and HCB were associated with decreased birth weight. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cadmium (Cd) exposure has been reported to have neurotoxic effects in animal studies and associated with increased Alzheimer's Disease mortality and lower cognitive function in cross-sectional and case-control studies. However, no results from longitudinal studies on Cd and cognitive decline are available. In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 1867 participants aged 65 years or older from rural areas in China, blood Cd and cognitive function were measured at baseline (2010−2012), and 1554 participants completed cognitive function tests during a 3-year follow-up (2013–2015). Cognitive function was evaluated using nine standardized cognitive tests: The Community Screening Instrument for Dementia, the CERAD Word List Learning, Word list recall, IU Story Recall, Animal Fluency Test, Boston Naming Test, Stick Design, Delayed Stick Design and the IU Token Test. Analysis of covariance models and logistic regression models were used to determine the association between Cd and standardized cognitive decline adjusting for covariates. The median blood Cd concentration of this study population was 2.12 μg/L, and the interquartile range was 1.42–4.64 μg/L. Significant association of higher Cd levels with lower cognitive scores were observed in five individual cognitive tests (Delayed Stick Design Test, Boston Naming Test, CERAD Word List Learning Test, Word List Recall Test and IU Story Recall Test) and the composite cognitive score adjusting for multi-covariates at baseline. Higher Cd levels were significantly associated with greater 3-year cognitive decline in Delayed Stick Design Test, Boston Naming Test, IU Token Test, Word List Recall Test and Composite cognitive score. For these cognitive tests, participants in the top two Cd quartile groups had significantly greater decline than those in the lowest Cd quartile group, while the two lowest Cd quartile groups were not significantly different. Our findings suggest that higher Cd exposure is associated with greater cognitive decline in older Chinese adults. Unlabelled Image • First longitudinal study on the association between Cd and cognitive decline of older adults. • Higher Cd levels were associated with lower scores of several cognitive tests. • Higher Cd levels were associated with greater 3-year cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]