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Xikuangshan is located in Lengshuijiang City, Hunan province, China. With intensive mining and metallurgical activities, large amounts of tailing containing heavy metals (in this study, the term “heavy metals” is used for both metals and metalloids) were introduced to the soils around the mine area. Those heavy metals including antimony and other heavy metals would pose huge risk to human health and ecological environment. With a view to providing information on the extent of contamination and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the soils of this mine area, the total contents of antimony (Sb), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in the soils were examined. The results revealed that the predominant pollutants in this area were Sb, Cd, and Zn with mean concentrations being 356.58, 9.98, and 486.42 mg kg−1, 119.66, 117.41, and 5.17 times of the corresponding background values respectively. The pollution indices (Ps) indicated that the pollution levels of all sampling zones were serious including the control zones. The ecological risk levels of all heavy metals were very high on all the sampling zones except sampling zone 7 (as considerable), and Sb, Cd, and As were regarded as making great contribution to the risk indices (RI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mellow and thick taste is a unique characteristic of pu-erh ripe tea infusion, and it is closely related to the chemical composition of pu-erh ripe tea, which is less studied. This paper clarifies and compares the chemical composition of pu-erh ripe tea to that of the raw materials of sun-dried green tea, and uses membrane separation technology to separate pu-erh ripe tea into the rejection liquid and the filtration liquid. The results show that microorganisms transformed most physicochemical components, except caffeine, during the pile fermentation. It was found that total tea polyphenols, soluble proteins, total soluble sugars, theabrownin, and galloylated catechins became enriched in the rejection liquid, and the rejection liquid showed a more obvious mellow and thick characteristic. Taste interactions between crude protein, crude polysaccharide, and theabrownin were determined. They illustrated that the mellow and thick taste of pu-erh ripe tea with the addition of theabrownin increased from 4.45 to 5.13. It is of great significance to explore the chemical basis of the mellow and thick taste in pu-erh tea for guiding the pu-erh tea production process and for improving the quality of pu-erh tea.

We reported a case of tuberous sclerosis complex with facial angiofibroma as the initial presentation and conducted a multidisciplinary discussion. The patient, a young female, was admitted to the Department of Dermatology for cosmetic purpose. After the examination, she was found to have multiple system involvement, including a large renal angiomyolipoma pressing on the liver. She never had any subjective symptom. After consultation by the multidisciplinary team of tuberous sclerosis complex, the patient was treated with everolimus orally and followed up regularly. It is suggested that dermatologists should pay attention to the systemic involvement of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex. Early intervention can prolong the life of patients and improve their life quality. Multidisciplinary collaboration for lifelong disease management is the key to enhance the diagnosis and treatment for tuberous sclerosis complex and enhance the prognosis of patients.