Search

Introduction Traditional liver transplant strategies with cold preservation usually result in ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) to the donor liver. Regular normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) donor livers suffer IRI twice. Here, we aimed to introduce a novel technique called continuous normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) without recooling to avoid a second IRI and its application in livers from extended criteria donors (ECDs). Materials and methods Seven donor livers transplanted following continuous NMP without recooling, 7 donor livers transplanted following standard NMP and 14 livers under static cold storage (SCS) were included in this study. Perioperative outcomes were recorded and analyzed between groups. Result During the NMP without a recooling procedure, all livers cleared lactate quickly to normal levels in a median time of 100 minutes (IQR 60~180) and remained stable until the end of perfusion. In the NMP without recooling and standard NMP groups, posttransplant peak aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were both significantly lower than those in the SCS group (P=0.0015 and 0.016, respectively). The occurrence rate of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) was significantly lower in the NMP without recooling group than in the SCS group (P=0.022), while there was no difference in the NMP group with or without recooling (P=0.462). Conclusion Our pilot study revealed a novel technique designed to avoid secondary IRI. This novel technique is shown to have at least a comparable effect to the standard NMP, though more data are needed to show its superiority in the future.

The occurrence and impacts of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in the aquatic environment have gained widespread attention over the past two decades. Due to large number of potential contaminants, monitoring campaigns, treatment plants, and proposed regulations should preferentially focus on specific pollutants with the highest potential for ecological and human health effects. In the present study, a multi-criteria screening approach based on hazard and exposure potentials was developed for prioritization of 405 unregulated EOCs already present in Chinese surface water. Hazard potential, exposure potential, and risk quotients for ecological and human health effects were quantitatively analyzed and used to screen contaminants. The hazard potential was defined by contaminant persistence, bioaccumulation, ecotoxicity, and human health effects; similarly, the exposure potential was a function of contaminant concentration and detection frequency. In total, 123 compounds passed the preselection process, which involved a priority index equal to the normalized hazard potential multiplied by the normalized exposure potential. Based on the prioritization scheme, 11 compounds were identified as top-priority, and 37 chemicals were defined as high-priority. The results obtained by the priority index were compared with four other prioritization schemes based on exposure potential, hazard potential, or risk quotients for ecological effects or human health. The priority index effectively captured and integrated the results from the more simplistic prioritization schemes. Based on identified data gaps, four uncertainty categories were classified to recommend: ① regular monitoring, derivation of environmental quality standards, and development of control strategies, ② increased monitoring, ③ fortified hazard assessment, and ④ increased efforts to collect occurrence and toxicity data. Overall, 20 pollutants were recommended as priority EOCs. The prioritized list of contaminants provides the necessary information for authoritative regulations to monitor, control, evaluate, and manage the risks of environmentally-relevant EOCs in Chinese surface water.

Background Programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitors and liver transplantation (LT) are alternative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The application of PD-1 inhibitors for HCC therapy increases T cell immune activity, while immunosuppression is required for patients receiving transplantation. More clinical investigation is required to determine methods to balance these treatment effects. In this article, we are the first to describe the clinical characteristics, imaging findings, and outcomes of 5 LT patients who had a history of HCC and received anti-PD-1 therapy. Methods Data from 5 patients who were diagnosed with HCC and received LT after PD-1 inhibition were analyzed. The doses and courses of PD-1 and preoperative and postoperative characteristics were compared and analyzed. Results The mean interval between PD-1 inhibition and LT was 63.80±18.26 days. One patient experienced recurrence in the liver, vertebrae and lungs after 7 months, and 1 patient experienced recurrence in the lungs after 3 months. All patients displayed normal liver function at the latest follow-up visit. No acute allograft rejections occurred in any patient. Conclusions PD-1 inhibitors may be safe for the treatment of HCC before LT when the interval between the two treatments is sufficient. Further investigations are needed for to validate these findings.

We described two liver transplants for patients with end-stage liver disease and spontaneous portal-systemic shunt (SPSS). We ligated the splenorenal shunt (SRS) in the first case but did not ligate it in the second case. Postoperative examination revealed significant differences in portal blood flow velocity, serum ammonia level, liver function and prognosis between two cases. The portal blood flow in the first case was sufficient with decreased serum ammonia and immediate liver graft function. The portal blood flow was insufficient and serum ammonia level was not significantly reduced after operation in the second case probably because SRS was still present after surgery. The first case recovered well after operation and was discharged uneventfully, however, the second patient suffered early allograft dysfunction (EAD) after operation and died of pulmonary infection on postoperative day (POD) 18. Proper management of SPSS in liver transplantation (LT) is important because it can affect the function of liver graft and patient prognosis, so we reviewed the relevant literature and list different types of SPSS and their clinical characteristics. We recommend that SPSS greater than 8 mm in diameter should be ligated in LT with non-small size graft to ensure adequate portal flow and preserved with small size liver graft to avoid portal hypertransfusion and portal hypertension except obviously insufficient portal blood flow.

Previous research on ecological restoration mainly includes three fields: water ecology, soil ecology, and atmospheric ecology, and the most abundant is in the field of soil ecology, among which the most abundant is in dryland ecological restoration. Research on dryland ecological restoration is very important in ensuring national food security, ecological security, and preventing a return to poverty. However, the previous research results do not clearly present the interconnection between the huge number of existing dryland ecological restoration studies and do not provide a three-dimensional understanding of the whole picture of dryland ecological restoration research from a broader perspective. Research on dryland ecological restoration has received wide attention from scholars at home and abroad, revealing the international research trends in the current field, which will provide a reference for the theory and practice of future dryland ecological restoration research. Using the SCI-E and SSCI databases of the “Web of Science Core Collection” as sample data sources and using CiteSpace optical measurement software, the 2254 literature in the field of international dryland ecological restoration research were systematically analyzed to track the situation and impact of research in this field by countries around the world, scientific research institutions and significant authors, and to analyze the interdisciplinary and research hotspots in this field, which is of great significance for the follow-up research of dryland ecological restoration. The research results show that: (1) The number of publications in international dryland ecological restoration has increased significantly with years and has strong development potential. (2) Journals representing the research frontier have an intense concentration with various journals. (3) The study of dryland ecological restoration belongs to a highly interdisciplinary discipline, while the two disciplines of ecology and environmental science are the pivot nodes of multidisciplinary disciplines. (4) China’s posts and total citations are among the best, but the average citation is low. (5) Dryland ecological restoration and protection is a hot research field at present, and special attention is paid to the dynamic changes and key driving factors of dryland ecological restoration and the full use of machine learning and extensive data mining to solve complex social-ecological problems. The study recommends that related disciplines must strengthen cooperation in the field of dryland ecological restoration, especially the two disciplines of ecology and environmental science, in order to promote the progress of dryland ecological restoration research theory and practice. China should continue to strengthen the investment of scientific research forces to improve the international influence of research in the field of dryland ecological restoration.

Forests are an important source of ecosystem services, and they are a common link between economic value and environmental protection. Thus, it is of great significance to study forest ecosystem services. In previous studies, scholars have focused on the evaluation results of a single service component, but they did not consider the credibility of the data, which consisted of the cumulative effects of multiple components on forest ecosystem services. The current study examined the forest management plan for Jilin Province and used forest resource inventory data from China. Reliability analysis and cumulative impact assessment were used to overcome the problem of cumulative changes and interactions between services in order to make the evaluation results more objective and reasonable. The results showed that the resulting two values from the evaluation of forest ecosystem services had no obvious cumulative effect, and the evaluation value for overall reliability was 0.774, which confirms that the results have a certain credibility. The results of this study considered the cumulative effect of forest ecosystem services on the value evaluation. The total value of the service was equal to the sum of each service value, which might be primarily related to the data format and sample size used in this study. The innovation of this research lies in the consideration of data reliability and the cumulative influence of the services on the value evaluation process, which makes up for the shortcomings of previous service value evaluation methods. However, the limitation of this study is that multiple reference groups and control groups were not set up to verify that the inconsistency in the evaluation results was indeed due to the data format and sample size. Future research will focus on comparative studies of data types and sample sizes. Furthermore, future research will identify important service mechanisms and discuss the establishment of a forest ecological benefit compensation system to fundamentally solve the problems of power and mechanism associated with forest management, especially with respect to public welfare forests, in order to achieve a positive impact on the development of sustainable forestry in China.

Background As a critical metabolic substrate, glutamine is not only involved in the progression of many cancers but is also related to angiogenesis. Glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), a key enzyme in glutamine metabolism, has been reported to regulate tumor proliferation; however, its relationship with microvascular invasion (MVI) is unclear. This study evaluated the ability of preoperative serum GLDH levels to predict MVI and the long-term survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after liver transplantation (LT). Methods HCC patients that underwent LT from January 2015 to May 2020 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University were enrolled in our retrospective analysis. Clinicopathological variables were extracted from medical records. A receiver operating characteristic curve was created to determine the optimal cut-off value of GLDH for MVI. Results Preoperative GLDH was significantly elevated in the MVI-positive group (U = 454.00, p = 0.000). The optimal cut-off value of GLDH for MVI was 7.45 U/L, with an area under the curve of 0.747 (95% CI [0.639–0.856], p = 0.000). The sensitivity was 79.3%, while the specificity was 64.5%. GLDH > 7.45 U/L (p = 0.023) and maximum diameter >5 cm (p = 0.001) were independent risk factors for the presence of MVI. Patients with GLDH > 7.45 U/L had significantly poorer overall survival (p = 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.001) after LT than patients with GLDH ≤ 7.45 U/L. Similarly, patients with MVI were associated with poor survival (p = 0.000). Conclusions Preoperative elevated serum GLDH levels predict MVI and poorer long-term survival for HCC after LT.

Background:Liver transplantation (LT) is an optimal treatment for hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) patients but renal function recovery is not universal after operation. The aim of this study is to explore the association between stages of hepatorenal syndrome—acute kidney injury (HRS-AKI) and incidence of post-operation chronic kidney disease (CKD).MethodsData of HRS-AKI patients who received LT were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from 2016 to 2020. A survival and incidence curve and multivariable model were established to analyze the impacts of HRS-AKI stages and variables on 90-day survival and CKD within 12 months.ResultsA total of 62 HRS-AKI patients were enrolled in this study. Overall, 35 (57%), 17 (27%), and 10 (16%) patients were diagnosed as stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The patients at stage 3 had the poorest outcomes with the lowest rate of 90-day survival and the highest incidence of CKD in 12 months. Stage 3 (SHR = 7.186, 95% CI, 1.661–32.043) and postoperative renal replacement therapy (RRT) (SHR = 3.228, 95% CI, 1.115–9.345) were found as useful indicators for poor prognosis.ConclusionsIn our study, the classification of HRS-AKI stages can be used to predict the prognosis of HRS patients after LT. The peak serum creatinine level is a risky predictor in high HRS-AKI stage patients.

In this study, we used the super-efficient global slacks-based measure of directional distance functions (SBM-DDF) model to evaluate the ecological efficiency and changes in 12 provinces in western China between 2006 and 2020. We then used two linear and nonlinear regression models to analyze in detail the influence mechanisms of different industrial agglomeration forms on the local ecological efficiency. The results show the following: the overall ecological efficiency in the western China region shows a dynamic upward trend. The ecological efficiency of western China is quite different, with the overall characteristics of “high in south and low in north”, “slow in south and fast in north”, and “three-way polarization.” Different types of industrial agglomeration in western China have obvious differences in terms of ecological efficiency. Both specialized agglomeration and unrelated diversification agglomeration in western China have a significant negative impact on ecological efficiency. The relationship between agglomeration-related diversity and ecological efficiency in the western region is of the “U” type. This study’s results can also provide a reference for the formulation of industrial transformation and ecological protection policies in the implementation process of the second round of the western development strategy. This study thus has fundamental significance in the promotion of the second round of western development work.

Introduction. It is of great significance to confirm reliable indicators for the guidance of pretransplant radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aim to investigate whether circulating tumor cell (CTC) status is a clinical indicator for RFA before liver transplantation (LT) in HCC patients. Method. CTC analyses were measured in 79 HCC patients. Clinical outcomes including progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared and analyzed between patients with and without pretransplant RFA. Result. Forty-two patients were detected as CTC-positive and 18 patients received pretransplant RFA. Recurrence was correlated with CTC count ( P = 0.024 ), tumor number ( P = 0.035 ), liver cirrhosis ( P = 0.001 ), Milan criteria ( P = 0.003 ), and University of California San Francisco (UCSF) criteria ( P = 0.001 ). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients with CTC-positive had a lower PFS rate ( P = 0.0257 ). For CTC-positive patients, the PFS rate of the pretransplant RFA group was significantly higher than the non-pretransplant RFA group (100% vs. 46.7%, P = 0.0236 ). For CTC-negative patients, both PFS rate and OS rate were similar and without significant differences. In multivariate analysis, pretransplant RFA was the independent factor for PFS ( P = 0.025 ). Conclusion. Pretransplant CTC status can guide the administration of pretransplant RFA in HCC patients which can improve PFS in CTC-positive HCC patients.

This paper aims to investigate the function of structural maintenance of chromosome 4 (SMC4) in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) under hypoxic condition. In this study, we found that suppression of SMC4 could inhibit proliferation and migration of HCC cells through inducing G1 phase arrest and affecting process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) under hypoxic condition. Moreover, we demonstrated that SMC4 was transcriptionally regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) under hypoxic condition. As SMC has been shown to be a target gene of miR-219, we observed that miR-219 was downregulated under hypoxic condition and suppression of HIF-1a could lead to the upregulation of miR-219. We also proved that miR-219 could affect the proliferation and migration of HCC cells under hypoxic condition. In conclusion, our study demonstrated a novel HIF-1-miR-219-SMC4 regulatory pathway under hypoxic condition in HCC cells.

BACKGROUND: Surgical techniques of liver transplantation have continually evolved and have been modified. We retrospectively analyzed a single-center case series and compared the advantages and disadvantages of each method. METHODS: Six-hundred and seventy-four recipients’ perioperative data were assessed and analyzed stratified by different surgical technics [modified classic (MC), modified piggyback (MPB) and classic piggyback (CPB)]. RESULTS: MELD score and Child-Pugh scores was significantly higher in CPB groups (P=0.008 and 0.003, respectively). Anhepatic time in MPB group was longer than those in CPB group (P120 µmol/L, the overall survival in MC group was worst (P24), the overall survival in MPB group tended to be the best (P

The shortage of transplant organs remains a serious issue worldwide, and using liver grafts from extended criteria donors could expand the donor pool. Extended criteria donor liver allografts have a high chance of complications such as primary nonfunction, early allograft dysfunction, and ischemic-type biliary lesions. How to employ these extended criteria donors safely and effectively warrants further investigation. Herein, we report the successful use of a marginal donor liver with hyperbilirubinemia to save the life of an acute-on-chronic liver failure recipient using a new surgical technique: ischemia-free liver transplantation (IFLT). The graft was retrieved for transplantation due to the following reasons: (I) the recipient was in a life-threatening situation and no living donor donation candidate was available; (II) the graft was considered transplantable except for cholestasis; and (III) IFLT could reduce ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), resuscitate the allograft ex situ, and maintain organ viability before transplantation. The graft was transplanted successfully using the IFLT procedure. Although anatomic biliary stricture occurred after surgery, no IRI-related complications were found during the follow-up. The use of liver grafts from extended criteria donors is safe and effective under IFLT. Additional IFLT clinical studies need to be performed, particularly concerning donor management, graft selection, and ex situ resuscitation.

Southwest China is a fragile terrestrial ecosystem restricted by its geological background, which leads to a contradiction between its industrial economic development and the ecological environment. In this study, to explore the influence and mechanisms of the three industrial agglomeration modes, namely, specialization, related diversification, and unrelated diversification, on the eco-efficiency of the region, linear and nonlinear regression models were applied to the data of five Southwest provinces from 2006 to 2018. Specialization agglomeration had a significant negative impact on the eco-efficiency of four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China. With the decrease of industrial specialization, their eco-efficiency improved. The effects of related diversification agglomeration on the ecological efficiency of four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China showed a &ldquo, U&rdquo, curve. The degree of industrial diversification in these provinces exceeded the critical value of 1.46, and the effect on eco-efficiency was shown. The unrelated diversification agglomeration had a negative effect on the ecological efficiency of the four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China. The degree of industrial-unrelated diversification in Guizhou Province increased slightly, which was not conducive to the improvement of local eco-efficiency. Additionally, it decreased significantly in other provinces, which caused the improvement of local eco-efficiency. The conclusion provides a theoretical basis for industrial green transformation path selection and related policy formulation in Southwest China.

The contradiction between industrial economic development and the ecological environment in Northwest China is prominent, so the green transformation of industrial economy in this region is imperative. From the perspective of industrial ecology, this study uses economic and environmental statistics from Northwest China from 2006 to 2018 as well as the Krugman specialization index and entropy index methods to calculate the degree of different types of industrial agglomeration in Northwest China. The eco-efficiency of Northwest China is calculated by the global SBM-DDF model. On this basis, the stochastic effect panel tobit regression model is used to analyze the influence and mechanism of different types of industrial agglomeration on eco-efficiency in Northwest China. The results show that the concentration of specialization has a significantly negative effect on the eco-efficiency of Northwest China at the level of 1%. Excepting Ningxia, the eco-efficiency of other provinces has been improved with the decrease of industrial specialization. The influence of the related diversification agglomeration on the eco-efficiency in Northwest China shows a U curve. The degree of industrial correlation diversification in Qinghai and Ningxia is less than the critical value 1.45, whereas Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang have crossed the inflection point. The unrelated diversification agglomeration has a negative effect on the eco-efficiency of Northwest China at the level of 1%, and the degree of industrial independent diversification in Shaanxi Province has decreased slightly, which is beneficial to the improvement of eco-efficiency. By contrast, other provinces have increased considerably. The conclusion can provide a theoretical basis for industrial green transformation path selection and related policy formulation in Northwest China.

BACKGROUNDIschemia-reperfusion injury is considered an inevitable event that compromises posttransplant outcomes. Numerous treatments have been proposed to reduce its impact. However, most of them have had limited success, as none of them can completely avoid graft ischemia.METHODSIschemia-free liver transplantation (IFLT) comprises surgical techniques to enable continuous oxygenated blood supply to brain-dead donor livers during procurement, preservation and implantation using normothermic machine perfusion technology. In this nonrandomized study, 38 donor livers were transplanted using IFLT and were compared to 130 livers procured and transplanted using a conventional procedure (CLT).RESULTSOne patient (2.6%) suffered early allograft dysfunction in the IFLT group, compared with 43.8% of patients in the CLT group (absolute risk difference, 41.2 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, −31.3, −51.1). The median (range) peak aspartate aminotransferase levels within the first week (336, 149-4112 vs. 1445, 149-25083 U/L, PCONCLUSIONSIFLT provides a new approach to minimize ischemia-reperfusion injury and improve post-transplant outcomes.Clinical trial registryThis trial is registered with http://www.chictr.org.cn, number ChiCTR-OPN-17012090.

In this paper, a glutathione functionalized gold nanocluster (GSH-AuNCs) was prepared. GSH-AuNCs can catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to produce a blue-green ox-TMB. By using its peroxidase activity and the GSH-AuNCs-TMB-H

Summary Background Ischaemia-reperfusion injury is considered an inevitable component of organ transplantation, compromising organ quality and outcomes. Although several treatments have been proposed, none has avoided graft ischaemia and its detrimental consequences. Methods Ischaemia-free liver transplantation (IFLT) comprises surgical techniques enabling continuous oxygenated blood supply to the liver of brain-dead donor during procurement, preservation, and implantation using normothermic machine perfusion technology. In this non-randomised study, 38 donor livers were transplanted using IFLT and compared to 130 conventional liver transplants (CLT). Findings Two recipients (5•3%) in the IFLT group experienced early allograft dysfunction, compared to 50•0% in patients receiving conventional transplants (absolute risk difference, 44•8%; 95% confidence interval, 33•6-55•9%). Recipients of IFLT had significantly reduced median (IQR) peak aspartate aminotransferase levels within the first week compared to CLT recipients (365, 238-697 vs 1445, 791-3244 U/L, p

Background The hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) belongs to a common malignancy especially in China. Recent data have clarified important roles of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in HCC. However, the role of a novel intergenic lncRNA termed TGLC15 is still elusive. Methods We screened for novel lncRNAs using lncRNA profiling. TGLC15 expression was quantified by qRT‐PCR. In vitro experiments such as migration and viability assays were performed. In vivo implantation experiments were conducted to investigate tumorigenic functions of TGLC15. Combined RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and mass spectrometry (MS) were utilized to uncover Sox4 as TGLC15 binding protein. Results TGLC15 is significantly overexpressed in tumor tissues and HCC cell lines. Higher TGLC15 levels correlated with advanced malignant characteristics such as TNM stages, tumor size, and metastasis. TGLC15 advanced HCC migration and viability. The in vivo experiments supported that xenograft tumor growth and proliferation were facilitated by TGLC15 overexpression. Mechanistic studies showed that TGLC15 interacted with Sox4 and interaction between TGLC15 and Sox4 could stabilize Sox4 via reduction in proteasome‐mediated degradation. Conclusions Collectively, our data have identified a novel lncRNA TGLC15 during HCC development. The TGLC15‐Sox4 signaling might be a potential target for pharmaceutical intervention.

Nanosheets of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) were used as the dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) sorbent for the first time. GCN successfully purified complex matrices of soil, wheat, and wheat straw utilising a simple QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Pesticides recoveries in the range of 80–110%, small matrix effect, and decreased amounts guaranteed and distinguished this new sorbent. The application of a real formulation of pesticides under field conditions during 2015 in the wheat ecosystem illustrated the clean-up effect and application potential of GCN. It is a valuable and potential substitute for C18 according to the results comparison between two sorbents, including recoveries, matrix-matched calibration, and dissipation kinetics of pesticides. The new use of GCN also enriched the knowledge of d-SPE and sample preparation furthermore.

The dynamic and residues of florasulam and flumetsulam in corn field ecosystem were investigated using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) procedure with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The limits of quantification (LOQs) of the proposed method ranged from 0.005 to 0.01 mg/kg. Mean recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the two compounds in all samples at three spiking levels ranged 94-110 % and 2.0-9.2 %, respectively. Florasulam and flumetsulam degradation followed first-order kinetics with half-lives 1.7-2.9 and 3.3-8.7 days in soil and 1.3-1.8 and 0.9-1.7 days in plant, respectively. The residues in all the samples were found to be less than the LOQs at preharvest intervals of 53 and 78 days. The results suggest that the combined use of florasulam and flumetsulam on corn is considered to be safe under the recommended conditions and can be utilized for establishing the maximum residue limit (MRL) of florasulam in corn in China.

An integrated method for the simultaneous determination of insecticide fipronil and its three metabolites, desulfinyl, sulfide, and sulfone, in maize grain, maize stem, and soil was developed. This three-step method uses liquid-solid extraction with ultrasound or mechanical grinding, followed by liquid-liquid partitioning and florisil solid-phase extraction (SPE) for cleanup. The quantification was conducted by gas chromatography-electron capture detection in triplicate for each sample. The method was validated with five replicates at three fortification concentrations, 0.002, 0.01, and 0.1 mg kg(-1), in each matrix and gave mean recoveries from 83 to 106 % with relative standard deviation ≤ 8.9 %. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.002 mg kg(-1) for the compounds in all matrixes. In the field study in Beijing and Shandong 2012, fipronil-coated maize seeds were planted and the proposed method was applied for checking the possible existence of four compounds in maize and soil samples, but none of them contained residues higher than the LOQs in both application rates. Moreover, the dissipation of fipronil in soil fits first-order kinetics with half-lives 9.90 and 10.34 days in Beijing and Shandong, respectively. Combined with an adequate sample treatment, this technique offers good sensitivity and selectivity in the three complex matrixes. The results could provide guidance for the further research on pesticide distribution and safe use of fipronil as seed coat in cereals.