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In the past decade, the area of solid state chemistry of actinides has witnessed a rapid development in China, based on the significantly increased proportion of the number of actinide containing crystal structures reported by Chinese researchers from only 2% in 2010 to 36% in 2021. In this review article, we comprehensively overview the synthesis, structure, and characterizations of representative actinide solid compounds including oxo-compounds, organometallic compounds, and endohedral metallofullerenes reported by Chinese researchers. In addition, Chinese researchers pioneered several potential applications of actinide solid compounds in terms of adsorption, separation, photoelectric materials, and photo-catalysis, which are also briefly discussed. It is our hope that this contribution not only calls for further development of this area in China, but also arouses new research directions and interests in actinide chemistry and material sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advances in computational actinide chemistry made in China are reviewed. Several areas relevant to chemistry of actinides in gas, liquid, and solid phases have been explored. However, we limit the scope to selected contributions in the chemistry of molecular actinide systems in gas and liquid phases. These studies may be classified into two categories: treatment of relativistic effects, which cover the development of two- and four-component Hamiltonians and the optimization of relativistic pseudopotentials, and the applications of theoretical methods in actinide chemistry. The applications include (1) the electronic structures of actinocene, noble gas complexes, An-C multiple bonding compounds, uranyl and its isoelectronic species, fluorides and oxides, molecular systems with metal-metal bonding in their isolated forms (U2, Pu2) and in fullerene (U2@C60), and the excited states of actinide complexes; (2) chemical reactions, including oxidation, hydrolysis of UF6, ligand exchange, reactivities of thorium oxo and sulfido metallocenes, CO2/CS2 functionalization promoted by trivalent uranium complex; and (3) migration of actinides in the environment. A future outlook is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) has been used for the determination of extractable organohalogens (EOX) in milk. The detection limits are 50 ng, 8 ng and 3.5 ng for Cl, Br and I, respectively. The EOX concentrations in milk samples from various regions of China were determined. Meanwhile, organochlorine pesticides residues were detected by gas chromatography. The concentrations of the EOX in the milk samples are decreasing in the order of EOCl >> EOBr > EOI, and EOCl accounts for 95% of the total EOX. The average concentration of EOCl in milk is 4.44 ·g/g expressed as fat weight basis, with the highest value of 17.6 ·g/g from South China. The mean concentrations of total HCH and DDT are 0.038 ·g/g and 0.046 ·g/g, respectively. Organochlorine pesticides account only for 1.6% of the EOCl, indicating the very high proportion of the unknown EOCl in the milk sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A monitoring study was conducted in 2001 to determine the organochlorine pesticides and their metabolite residues in milk taken from supermarkets in Beijing, P. R. China. The average concentrations of total HCH and DDT were 0.038 and 0.046 mg kg[SUP-1], respectively, expressed on a fat basis. The aldrin residue was detected in nine milk samples, with a mean concentration of 0.035 mg kg[SUP-1]. Heptachlor and its epoxides were not found in any milk samples. Of 72 milk samples analysed, three from South China contained the higher levels of DDT and HCH residues that exceeded the FAO/WHO accepted tolerance level. Although organochlorine pesticides such as DDT and HCH have been banned in China since 1983, the residues of such compounds still exist in the environment and cause food contamination, a fact likely attributed to the short prohibition period and illegal use for agricultural purposes at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Temporal variations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in precipitation and monthly depositional fluxes were calculated in Beijing from February 2009 to March 2011. Compounds which were detected most often included α-HCH and β-HCH, and the volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentration of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) was 33.0 ng L−1, accounting for 72.3% of the ∑OCPs in precipitation. The total concentrations of OCPs ranged from 3.73 to 152 ng L−1 (mean: 29.7 ± 3.5 ng L−1) for dissolved phase and from 1.61 to 114 ng L−1 (mean: 15.9 ± 2.0 ng L−1) for particulate phase, respectively. OCPs in dissolved phase dominated sampled concentrations in precipitation (HCHs: 71.8%, Chlordane: 77.7%, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes-DDTs: 50.1%) with an exception of hexachlorobenzene–HCB (26.3%). Furthermore, the distribution coefficient, K pd, was generally large in low temperature, especially in spring. The abundance of ∑OCPs in the precipitation fluctuated monthly, with high value in late winter and spring. The past farmland near the sampling site was under construction during sampling, which may be an important local re-emission source in this study. The elevated wet deposition flux of 11 selected OCPs was 14.9 μg m−2 yr−1 in Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Temporal trend of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was determined in precipitation and monthly depositional fluxes were calculated in Beijing for the first time from February 2009 to March 2011. Total PCBs concentrations ranged from 7.00 to 993 ng L−1 in dissolved phase and from 1.00 to 133 ng L−1 in particulate phase, with a two orders of magnitude variation. Concentrations of PCBs were dominated by dissolved phase, which accounted for 82.5% of the total PCBs in precipitation, implying PCBs enrichment in rainwater due to efficient scavenging of highly contaminated gas phase and nonfilterable submicron particles which easily adsorbed organic contaminants in urban atmosphere. Highest concentrations of PCBs were measured in snow, which were about two times higher than those in rainwater, demonstrating more efficient scavenging of PCBs by snow. The sum of bi-, tri- and tetrachlorinated congeners accounted for 70.5% of total PCBs in precipitation, suggesting that PCBs mainly come from the historical usage of domestic PCB product, e.g., trichlorobiphenyl. PCBs concentrations in both dissolved and particulate phases showed slow rate of decline, with a half-life of 16.9 years in precipitation, suggesting that the atmospheric concentrations of PCBs were decreasing slowly in Beijing. The wet deposition flux of ∑PCBs ranged from 0.240 to 6.55 μg m−2 month−1 (mean: 1.41 μg m−2 month−1), indicating a relatively high level of PCBs contamination in Beijing atmosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Arsenic levels and speciation in the total suspended particles (TSPs) were quantitatively determined by high performance liquid chromatography on-line coupled with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry in Beijing, China from February 2009 to March 2011. The high TSP levels fluctuated between 0.07 and 0.79mgm−3, with a mean level of 0.32±0.17mgm−3. The total arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.03 to 0.31μgm−3 (mean: 0.13±0.06μgm−3) in Beijing‘s air. The concentrations of As(III) and As(V) ranged from 0.73 to 20ngm−3 (mean: 4.7±3.6ngm−3) and from 14 to 2.5×102 ngm−3 (mean: 67±35ngm−3), respectively. As levels and speciation demonstrated relative higher levels in spring and autumn and lower values in summer and winter. As(V) accounted for 81–99% of the extractable species in the TSP samples which showed that As(V) was the major fraction of the extractable As. Organoarsenic species, monomethylarsonate (MMA) and dimethylarsinate (DMA) were not found in all samples. Higher values of enrichment factors demonstrated that arsenic in TSP mainly come from anthropogenic sources. High As and its species levels in air and respiratory exposure (0.30–0.84μgd−1) attributed to higher excess cancer risk ((4.2±2.0)×10−4) for people in Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Potentially harmful element contamination from mining and smelting raises concerns due to possible health risks. For most people, diet is the main route of exposure to potentially harmful elements, so determination of the concentrations of these elements in foodstuffs and assessment of their possible risk for humans via dietary intake is very important. This study was designed to investigate the concentrations of different elements, including Hg, Pb, Cd, Mn and Se in foodstuffs and to estimate the potential health risk of these elements via consumption of polluted foodstuffs in the Wanshan Hg mine area, Guizhou province, SW China. The multielemental concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) were calculated to evaluate the potential health risk from individual and combined potentially harmful elements due to dietary intake. The average contents of Hg, Pb, Cd, Mn and Se in the most frequently consumed foodstuffs were: 31, 248, 121, 1035 and 32μg/kg respectively. Among them, Cd and Hg were the most important contributors to potentially harmful elements contamination in Wanshan. Eight of 10 kinds of vegetables were contaminated to various levels by different elements but the samples of rice, pork, radish and potato were below the stipulated limits for toxic elements. In this study, the average dietary intakes of Hg, Pb, Cd, Mn, Se by an adult man of 60kg living in Wanshan were: 27, 167, 86, 1061, 42μg/day, respectively. The HIs for multielement dietary intake was 3.11, with the relative contributions of Hg, Pb, Cd, Mn and Se being 22.3%, 24.3%, 45.0%, 3.9% and 4.4%, respectively, which indicated that consumption of food poses a potential health risk. Vegetables were found to be the main source of potentially harmful element dietary intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Human hair and blood samples from persons living in the town of Wanshan, a mercury mine area in Guizhou Province of China, were collected and the quantitative speciation and structural information of Hg and S in hair samples and of Hg in erythrocyte and serum samples were studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Least-squares fitting of the X-ray absorption near-edge spectra found that inorganic mercury is the major mercury species in hair samples (91.74%), while inorganic and methyl mercury are both about 50% of total mercury in RBC and serum samples, which is in agreement with the data obtained by acidic extraction, fractionation of Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ and quantification by ICP-MS. Curve-fitting analysis revealed that the Hg–S bond length and coordination number in hair were 0.248±0.002nm and 3.10, respectively, while the S–Hg bond length and coordination number in hair were 0.236±0.002nm and 4.05. The Hg–S bond length and coordination number in RBC were 0.251±0.003nm and 4.09, respectively, while they were 0.228±0.002nm and 4.08 in serum, respectively. The techniques for speciation, structural and binding information described in this study will find the potential application in similar studies of other elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: PM2.5 and PM10 samples were simultaneously collected at a downtown site in Beijing from May 2002 to April 2003 and analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and gas chromatography (GC) combined with organic solvent extraction method for the concentrations and distributions of extractable organohalogens (EOX), including extractable organo-chlorine (EOCl), -bromine (EOBr) and -iodine compounds (EOI), and organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The concentrations of EOX were increasing in the order of EOCl⪢EOBr∼EOI. EOCl accounted for 73–88% and 69–91% of EOX in PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, suggesting that EOCl was the major component of the organohalogens in the atmosphere. The relative proportions of the known organochlorines (such as HCHs, DDTs, chlordanes, and PCBs) to total EOCl were 0.04–0.7% and 0.06–0.3% in PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, which implied that most of EOCl measured in aerosol was unknown. The ratios of -HCH (0.9–1.5) and p,p′-DDE+DDD/p,p′-DDT (0.2–0.5) revealed the presence of the recent use of lindane and DDTs or impure dicofol in Beijing. In the plots of the logarithm of the OCPs concentrations versus reciprocal temperature , their linear relations were observed for PM2.5, which could be partly explained by temperature differences, but poor linearity for PM10. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

After successfully launching two space laboratories, namely, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, China has announced her next plan of constructing the Chinese Space Station (CSS) in 2022. The CSS will provide not only platforms for Chinese scientists to carry out experimental studies in outer space but also opportunities for open international cooperation. In this article, we review the development of China's manned space exploration missions and the preliminary plan for CSS. Additionally, China has initiated space radiation research decades ago with both ground-based simulation research platform and space vehicles and has made noticeable progresses in several aspects. These include studies on human health risk assessment using mammalian cell cultures and animals as models. Furthermore, there have been numerous studies on assessing the space environment in plant breeding., (Copyright © 2019 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Due to a long history of extensive mercury mining and smelting activities, local residents in Wanshan, China, are suffering from elevated mercury exposure. The objective of the present study was to study the effects of oral supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast in these long-term mercury-exposed populations. One hundred and three volunteers from Wanshan area were recruited and 53 of them were supplemented with 100 μg of organic selenium daily as selenium-enriched yeast while 50 of them were supplemented with the nonselenium-enriched yeast for 3 months. The effects of selenium supplementation on urinary mercury, selenium, and oxidative stress-related biomarkers including malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine were assessed. This 3-month selenium supplementation trial indicated that organic selenium supplementation could increase mercury excretion and decrease urinary malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine levels in local residents.

Mercury (Hg)-, selenium (Se)-, and arsenic (As)- containing proteins in liver tissues of bighead carp and grass carp sampled from a mercury-polluted area of Wanshan, Guizhou Province, China, were separated by thin-layer isoelectric focusing. The relative content of Hg, Se, and As in protein bands was measured with synchrotron radiation x-ray fluorescence. The results indicated that there were at least 3 Hg-containing bands with pI 3.7, 4.8, and 6.2 in liver of bighead carp and 1 Hg-containing band with pI 6.2 in grass carp. Se and As were found in the Hg-containing bands 3.7 in bighead carp and 6.2 in grass carp. The bands may be corresponding to the antagonistic effect of Se against the toxicity of Hg and As. In addition, Hg and As often coexist in the same band, suggesting that the two elements may be involved in the same metabolic processes.

To explore human biomonitor of persistent organic pollutants (POP) for public health risk assessment, extractable organohalogens (EOX), extractable persistent organohalogens (EPOX) and some selected organochlorine pesticides (OCP) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in children hair from urban and rural regions of Beijing, China, were measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The results indicated that about 96% of the total halogens existed as water-soluble polar compounds; about 25 to 50% of EOX were sulfuric acid-resistant EPOX; organochlorines were the major fraction of the organohalogens; and 88 to 99.6% of extractable persistent organochlorines (EPOCl) cannot be attributed to the selected OCP and PCB. HCH, DDT and 2-5CB were the major contributors to hair OCP and PCB. Further, gamma-HCH, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT and PCB-52 were the predominant individuals of HCH, DDT and 2-5CB, respectively. The concentration distributions of EPOCl, HCH, DDT and PCB in children hair were generally in the order of urban>rural and girls>boys, except for PCB congeners with random distributions between genders. Pearson positive correlations between hair lipid and the detected parameters of hair gamma-HCH (p<0.01), DDT (p<0.01), EOCl (p<0.05), as well as EPOCl (p<0.05) were observed. Also, the ratios of hair alpha/gamma and p,p'-DDE/p,p'-DDT suggested that fresh input of HCH and DDT might exist in Beijing area. Hair can reflect body's integral exposure to POP from endogenous and exogenous sources, which, thus, can be used as a potential biomonitor in assessing POP exposure for public health purposes.

The amounts of the 19 elements As, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, K, La, Mo, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, and Zn in 92 lyophilized autopsy human liver samples from normal subjects have been analyzed by instrumental neutron-activation analysis (INAA). For intercomparison and quality control ten samples were independently analyzed in two institutes, the Institute of High Energy Physics in China and the "Jozef Stefan" Institute in Slovenia. Most of the element contents determined by the two institutes were in quite good agreement, even though different experimental conditions were applied, indicating the reliability of the analytical results. Analysis of the chemical species of mercury present in the ten liver samples was also performed in Slovenia. Possible differences between the element content of male and female liver samples were studied by means of Student's t-test, but significant differences were found only for Ce, Co, Fe, La, Mo, and Zn. The results obtained were also compared with those reported from other areas of the world; no appreciable differences were observed. Correlation among the various elements in the human liver samples was studied using multivariate statistics. It was found that there was relatively close correlation between some elements, for example As-Fe, Ca-Fe, Cd-Co, Cd-Zn, Mo-Zn, Co-Se, Cs-Rb, Br-Rb, Sc-Sm, La-Sm, La-Ce, etc.; these correlations could be rationally explained by the similarity of the electronic structures of the elements and/or their physiological functions in the human body.

The regional distribution of 10 potentially harmful organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) was investigated in pine needles from 18 sites in six Chinese regions. The OCPs concentrations in six regions were as follows: sigmaHCH (sigmaHCH=alpha-+beta-+gamma-+delta-HCH), 4.7-51.5 ng/g; sigmaDDT (p,p'-DDT+p,p'-DDE+p,p'-DDD), 0.9-30.9 ng/g; hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 1.1-5.3 ng/g; sigmachlordane (cis-chlordane+trans-chlordane), no detected-4.3 ng/g, on dry weight basis. Samples from southeast Chinese area contained the highest concentrations of sigmaHCH, sigmaDDT and sigmachlordane, while the contamination levels of most OCPs in southwest Chinese area were the lowest. The ratios of alpha/gamma-HCH (ranged from 1.7 to 5) were observed to be noticeable increase from north to south China, and the ratio of 1.7 revealed the presence of the recent use of lindane in north Chinese area. The significant decrease of the sum concentrations of alpha-+gamma-HCH from mid-1980s to the present and the strong correlation between alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-HCH (r=0.87-0.98, n=18, p<0.05) indicated the main usage of the technical HCH in history in China. The p,p'-DDE/p,p'-DDT ratios of <1 revealed the new input of p,p'-DDT in south, southeast and southwest Chinese areas, which could be partly contributed to the new use of impure dicofol. Economic development will leave its mark in the environment, however, its impact on the input and distribution of OCPs on a regional scale is unknown. We attempted to use the socioeconomic index (gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) to explain the distribution and input of OCPs and found that HCB and sigmaDDT seemed to be linked to the economic development, while no relationship of HCH was observed. DDE% of sigmaDDT also showed a negative correlation with the GDP per capita.

Pine needles can accumulate organohalogens from the ambient air, which are, hence, able to serve as a biomonitor to evaluate the levels of organochlorinated contaminants in the atmospheric environment. Extractable organochlorine (EOCl), the most abundant of the extractable organohalogens (EOX) in environmental samples, has received much attention as a parameter for evaluation of total contamination levels of organochlorinated compounds (OCs). However, few data concerning EOCl in vegetation are available. In this study, we selected pine needles from 17 different areas in China as a sampling matrix to reflectthe regional distribution of OCs. EOX (EOX = EOCl + EOBr + EOI) were measured by instrument neutron activation analysis for their concentrations and distribution in pine needles. The concentrations of EOX were on the order of EOCl >> EOBr > EOI. About 5-38% of EOCl remained as sulfuric acid-resistant organochlorine (EPOCl). The relatively high concentrations of EPOCl in pine needles from remote areas suggested that EPOCl mainly originated from long-range atmospheric transport and contaminated soil. The relative proportions of the known organochlorines (such as HCHs, DDTs, aldrin, heptachlor, and chlordanes) to total EOCl and EPOCl were 0.3-5.2% and 1.4-19.8%, respectively, which implied that a major portion of the EPOCl measured in pine needles was unknown. The EPOX accumulation rates were preliminarily estimated under the natural condition, which suggested that the "young" needle accumulated EPOX more quickly than the "old" and more than 94% of EPOX was accumulated at the first year of pine needles.