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Objective To observe the effect of Qingluo Tongbi Compound (QTC) on osteoclast dif- ferentiation-related miRNA expressions in adjuvant induced arthritis (AIA) rats, and to study its mecha- nism for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods The synovial fibroblasts and monocytes of peripher- al blood from AIA rats were co-cultured to induce osteoclast-like cells. Differently expressed miRNAs in the late stage osteoclasts differentiation were detected by miRCURY™ Array. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT- PCR) was applied to verify the reliability of miRNA array. QTC drug-containing sera and blank sera were prepared and added to the co-cultured system. The osteoclasts were randomly divided into three groups, the blank group, the blank serum group, and the QTC group. RT-PCR was applied to detect the effect of QTC on related differentially expressed miRNAs. Bioinformatics software was applied to analyze related differentially expressed miRNAs. Results miRNA array results showed that as compared with the monocytes group, there were 211 miRNAs differentially expressed in osteoclast-like cell differentiation, including 88 up-regulated miRNAs and 123 down-regulated miRNAs. Results of RT-PCR were consistent with results of the array. RT-PCR showed that the expression level of miR-140-5p was obviously up-regulated after the intervention of QTC. Results of bioinformatics analyses showed that the target gene of miR-140-5p was sig- nificantly enriched in signaling pathways such as the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, Ras signaling path- ways, cAMP signaling pathways, and Rap1 signaling pathways. Conclusions There were various dysregulated expressions of miRNAs in the anaphase of osteoclast-like cells differentiation. QTC participated the regulation of osteoclast differentiation by effecting the expression of miR-140-5p.

We used gas chromatography mass spectrometry to analyze characteristics of air pollution caused by MTBE in Beijing. The results showed that the atmospheric concentration of MTBE divided by function was: cultural tourism zone > industrial zone > commercial and residential zone > background point. Divided by time, in general, evening (17:00-19:00) > midnight (23:00-24:00) > noon (11:00-13:00); divided according to the day, in general, weekend > workday, but industrial zone is contrary. Traffic volume and traffic conditions are important factors in Beijing’s air pollution of MTBE. Production processes and environmentally friendly measures of industrial zone will also have some impacts on it. In the evening (17:00-19:00) and at weekend, concentration of MTBE in the atmosphere was comparably large.

Magnesium hydroxide was prepared through direct precipitation using magnesium chloride and ammonia as raw materials. In this paper, we mainly studied the effects of magnesium hydroxide on product characterization when the concentration of raw materials was changed. The products were characterized through laser light particle size analysis, scan electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The study showed that a sudden change in the morphology of magnesium hydroxide products and in the polarity of the crystal occurred under the following conditions: stirring speed of 2500 rpm, reaction temperature of 60°C, ammonia to magnesium chloride ratio of 2:1, ammonia addition rate of 20 mL/min, and aging time of 30 min. As the raw material concentration was changed, the morphology of magnesium hydroxide products and the polarity of the crystal exhibited sudden change. When the concentration of magnesium chloride was changed to 0.8 mol/L, the product demonstrated a flower-like globular structure, the largest size, and the minimum polarity. When the concentration of magnesium chloride was more than 1 mol/L, the product exhibited a flake structure, no obvious aggregation and a narrow particle size distribution.

The concentration and distribution features of MTBE in the atmosphere in Shenzhen were studied by analyzing samples which were collected in three consecutive days. In this study, pre-concentrator technology and gas chromatography were used. The result showed that the MTBE could was detected in atmosphere of the Shenzhen, and the range of its concentration was from 0.086 - 1.453μgm-3, including the daily average concentration of 0.662±0.334μgm-3 in industrial area, 0.331±0.216μgm-3 in commercial residential area, 0.258±0.154μgm-3 in tourist area, and 0.158±0.045μgm-3 in background area. The MTBE concentration in industrial area was 2 times of the commercial residential area, 2.6 times of tourist area and 7 times of the background area. These differences were statistically significant (p-3. However, the MTBE concentration in the commercial residential area and tourist area were highest in the period of 11:00-13:00, the MTBE concentration were 0.394±0.224μgm-3 and 0.446±0.069μgm-3 respectively. In the workday, the industrial area and commercial residential area were higher compared to the weekend, and the tourist area showed opposite trends, but no matter the comparison of hour average concentration or the workday and weekend, the difference were not statistically significant. It was concluded that the MTBE concentration in atmosphere environment in Shenzhen has the typical spatial specificity because of the different source of MTBE, but has no the time specificity.

We analyzed the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human hair collected from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in southern China and compared their composition profiles and chiral signatures to those of workplace and domestic dust. The PCB concentrations showed significant age dependence in dismantling workers' hair but not in residents' hair. Among residents, PCB concentrations decreased in the following order: elderly people>students>pre-school children>adults. The PCB homologue and congener profiles of the workers' hair were similar to those of the workplace dust. However, the PCB homologue profile of the residents' hair was clearly different from that of the domestic dust. The chiral congener CB95 generally exhibited a racemic or near-racemic composition in both hair and dust, with enantiomer fractions (EFs) ranging from 0.485 to 0.525 in hair and from 0.479 to 0.504 in dust. The EFs of CB132 in dust (0.477–0.513) were closer to a racemic chiral signature than those in hair (0.378–0.521), but this difference was not significant. Our results suggest that the chiral signature of PCBs may be a better tool than the PCB composition profile for identifying the external and internal sources of organic contaminants in human hair. Further measurements of chiral PCB signatures in hair and blood from the same individuals are needed to identify the external and internal sources of PCBs in human hair. Keywords: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Human hair, Dust, Chiral signature, Source

To evaluate the effect of schistosomiasis control in Jingzhou City of Hubei Province from 2009 to 2013, so as to provide the reference for the establishment of control strategy in the future.The annual reports on schistosomiasis control from 2009 to 2013 in nine counties (cities, districts) in Jingzhou City were collected and analyzed sta- tistically.The estimated number of schistosomiasis patients in Jingzhou City dropped from 78 903 in 2009 to 28 034 in 2013, with a reduction rate of 63.37%. The schistosome infection rate of residents dropped from 2.21% in 2009 to 0.65% in 2013, which showed an exponential decline trend (y = 3.196e(-0.317x)). The number of cattle with schistosomiasis decreased from 2 132 in 2009 to 0 in 2013, and the infection rate of cattle dropped from 1.87% in 2009 to 0% in 2013. Only 2 cases with acute infection of schistosome were found in 2009, and no schistosome infected snails were found out in 2 consecutive years, 2012 and 2013.The endemic level of schistosomiasis in Jingzhou City has decreased significantly. In order to consolidate the achievement of control, the comprehensive strategy including infection source control, snail control with mol- luscicides and snail surveillance should be implemented.

The production of lead-acid battery in China covered about one-third of the world total output and there are more than 2000 lead-acid battery factories. They may cause the major environment lead pollution. Blood lead levels of several hundreds of residents were over 100 μg/L due to the waste discharges from a lead-acid battery factory in Heyuan, Guangdong province. This study aimed to find out the environmental lead sources, the human lead exposure pathways, and the amplitudes from a lead-acid battery factory. The study results showed that lead levels in soil, dust, tree leaves and human blood declined with the distances increased from the production site. Twenty nine of 32 participants had blood lead levels of over 100 μg/L with an exceptional high value of 639 μg/L for one child. This result suggested that the lead-acid battery production from this factory has caused the elevated lead levels in its neighboring environment and residents. Dust intake was the dominant exposure pathway for humans (over 90%). The lead levels found in adult and toddler (6.19 and 50.1 μg/kg/d, respectively) in the polluted area were far higher than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 25 μg/kg body weight (translated into 3.5 μg/kg/d), which was established by the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee. Blood lead levels within the family members were strongly correlated with the house dust lead levels. Our results in this study suggested that further studies in this area should be performed to assess human exposure and relevant human health risks from living close to lead-acid battery factories.

Dechlorane Plus (DP) and a dechlorinated product of DP were measured in 34 matched human hair and serum samples (19 males and 15 females) collected from e-waste recycling workers in South China. The DP (sum of syn- and anti-DP) concentrations in hair and serum samples ranged from 6.3 to 1100 ng g(-1) dry weight and from 22 to 1400 ng g(-1) lipid weight (lw). The levels of anti-Cl11-DP ranged from 0.02 to 1.8 ng g(-1) in hair and from not detected to 7.9 ng g(-1) lw in serum. Significant positive correlations for both DP and anti-Cl11-DP concentrations between hair and serum samples were found (p0.05), indicating hair to be a suitable matrix for human DP exposure. However, a significant difference was found in the DP isomer composition between hair and serum, suggesting stereoselective bioaccumulation during the absorption of DP into hair. A sharp gender difference was found in the levels of DP in hair. Moreover, syn-DP, anti-DP and anti-Cl11-DP in hair significantly correlated with those in serum for male samples, but not for female samples. The observed gender differences in the present study may be, in part, ascribed to the much longer hair exposure time for females than males due to the difference in sampling distance from the scalp.

To classify and grade the environments with Oncomelania hupensis snails inside embankment in marshland and lake areas, so as to improve the work efficiency and realize the systematic management.The schistosomiasis endemic area Liaodi and Xiongdi villages in Jiangling County, Hubei Province were selected as the experiment villages, and the environments with snails in the two villages were divided into sections with a length of 500 m, then the snail situation were surveyed by the systematic sampling method with 10 m and 50 m a frame respectively. The environments were classified according to the discovery of infected snails and wild fecal contamination, and the numbers of sites with snails and their areas in different classes were recorded. Meanwhile, the data of sites with infected snails in Jingzhou City during the recent 5 years were collected and graded according to the average density of snails, so as to discuss the correlativity between the grades of environments with snails and the numbers of sites with infected snails and the occurrence rate of frames with snails.There were 1 967 sites with infected snails in Jingzhou City during the recent 5 years, and there was a positive correlation between the grades of environments with snails and the occurrence rate of frames with snails (r(s) = 0.77, P0.01), when the grade was 5, the constituent ratio of numbers of sites with infected snails was 3.1%, and when the grade was 2-3, the ratio raised to 56.3%. There were 39 sites with snails in the two villages, the Class 1, 2 and 3 environments included 1, 18 and 20 sites, with the areas of 1080, 51,640 m2 and 41,220 m2, respectively. There were no statistically significant difference between the grades divided by snail survey with 10 m and 50 m a frame ( chi2 = 4.667, P0.05), but the time-consuming of the former was 3 times of the latter.The classification and grading of the environments with snails inside embankment in marshland and lake areas can master the key point of the snail survey. The subsection and setting frames at a suitable distance can save time and manpower, improve work efficiency, as well as understand the distribution of snail status of the environment with snails, which can realize the sort management of the snail environments inside embankment.

To explore the relationship between schistosome serum test positive rate of residents and positive rate of Oncomelania snails in a national schistosomiasis surveillance site of Jiangling County.According to the national schistosomiasis monitoring scheme, the data of surveillance including the schistosome serum test positive rates of residents and positive rates of Oncomelania snails from 2005 to 2011 were collected and analyzed statistically.From 2005 to 2011, the schistosome serum test positive rates of residents were 26.09%, 11.84%, 10.37%, 10.09%, 12.08%,9.61%, and 6.00%, respectively; the schistosome positive rates of Oncomelania snails were 0.36%, 0.08%, 0.15%, 0.129%, 0.067%, 0.091%, and 0.045%, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between them (r = 0.929, P0.01).There is a positive correlation between schistosome serum test positive rate of residents and positive rate of Oncomelania snails. Therefore, we should strengthen the snail control.

To evaluate the effect of the comprehensive measures centered on replacing cattle with machine on schistosomiasis control in 3 villages of Jiangling County.Three villages namely Jinqi, Yugu, Huazhang where the comprehensive measures being implemented were chosen as investigated sites, the schistosome infection situation of human, cattle and Oncomelania snails before and after the implementation were surveyed, meanwhile, the degree of satisfaction of the residents were investigated by questionnaire.In 2009, the schistosome infection rates of Jinqi, Yugu and Huazhang were 1.87%, 2.72% and 2.89% respectively, and after the implementation, the infection rates of the 3 villages decreased to 0.67%, 1.91% and 1.75%, respectively in 2011. In Jinqi Village and Yugu Village where all cattle were replaced, no snails were found since 2011, while in Huazhang Village where there were still 35 head of cattle, no cattle was infected and the area with infected snails was 0.52 hm2. The total degree of satisfaction on the measures was 89.21%.The effect of the comprehensive measures centered on replacing cattle with machine on schistosomiasis control is significant, and its implementation still depends on some necessary supporting measures.

Concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ni) were measured in the foodstuffs, house dust, underground/drinking water, and soil from an electronic waste (e-waste) area in South China. Elevated concentrations of these potentially toxic metals were observed in the samples but not in drinking water. The health risks for metal exposure via food consumption, dust ingestion, and drinking water were evaluated for local residents. For the average residents in the e-waste area, the non-carcinogenic risks arise predominantly from rice (hazard index=3.3), vegetables (2.2), and house dust (1.9) for adults, while the risks for young children are dominated by house dust (15). Drinking water may provide a negligible contribution to risk. However, local residents who use groundwater as a water supply source are at high non-carcinogenic risk. The potential cancer risks from oral intake of Pb are 8×10(-5) and 3×10(-4) for average adults and children, and thus groundwater would have a great potential to induce cancer (5×10(-4) and 1×10(-3)) in a highly exposed population. The results also reveal that the risk from oral exposure is much higher than the risk from inhalation and dermal contact with house dust.

To investigate the possible effects on nervous system and health condition under the exposure to electromagnetic field.Take the resident around the power transmission line as the objects and were divided into 3 groups by the distance from the power transmission line 20 m, 100 m and 500 m, respectively. Some living conditions and health conditions were recorded by face-to-face the questionnaire survey, and Hematological indices of each groups were examined including IgG, IgM, leukocyte formulae, erythrocyte, hemoglobin and platelet.There was no significant difference in each group, according exposure of daily life, such as drinking and smoking (P0.05). Compared with the each distance groups, it was presented significant difference between the distance from the power transmission line and the incidence of headache or dizziness, insomnia and easy weary and so on (P0.05). In hematology aspect, with the horizontal distance from the power transmission line decreasing, PLT level of residents was reductive and the difference was statistically significant (P0.001), whereas leukocyte formulae, erythrocyte, hemoglobin, IgG and IgM had no significant difference among each group (P0.05).Closely exposure to electromagnetic field may induce headache and so on and decrease the level of PLT.

A survey of Oncomelania snail distribution was carried out with the systematic sampling method in combination with the environmental sampling method. A questionnaire survey was performed to find out the sites where stool examination-positive patients were infected. The results showed that there were 1 721 infected snail spots in Jingzhou City. Most of infected snail spots (94.1%) were only 500 m far away from the nearest residential areas from 2004 to 2010. About 97% of patients considered that the sites where they were infected with schistosome were only 400 meters far away from their residential areas. In conclusion, the survey with a questionnaire method in patients with positive stool examinations can quickly identify the environments with infected snails.

To evaluate the effect of a modified crushing-cercariae escaping method on the detection of infected Oncomelania snails in the field.A snail survey was carried out in Jingzhou City in the spring of 2011, and the villages were randomly divided into several groups, the coincidence rates, detection rates and the labour cost of the modified crushing-cercariae escaping method and crushing method were compared.A total of 14 snail spots were surveyed, and the coincidence rate of the two methods was 100%. In the spring snail survey, 539 villages and 3 536 spots with snails were detected by the modified crushing-cercariae escaping method, and 671 villages and 11 375 spots with snails were detected by the crushing method. The detection rates of villages with infected snails of the two methods were 25.79% and 28.46%, respectively, the difference between them was not statistically significant (chi2 = 1.079 5, P0.05); and those of spots with infected snails were 5.57% and 3.66%, respectively, which had no significant difference between them (chi2 = 95.464 1, P0.01). Compared with the crushing method, the modified crushing-cercariae escaping method reduced labour cost by 87.86%, and saved 12.95 person-days per township.The modified crushing-cercaria escaping method can identify the spots with infected snails quickly and accurately with less labour cost, therefore, it is suitable for detecting environments with infected snails in batch in endemic areas.

To explore the causes of infected Oncomelania snails and the sources of infection of schistosomiasis in marshland and lake regions of Jingzhou City, so as to provide the evidence for the establishment of control strategy.The snail environments in villages with or without cattle in Gong'an and Jianli counties, Hubei Province were selected, the snail status, infection status of people and livestock and wildlife reservoir host (mice), as well as the contamination status of wild faeces were surveyed, and the infectivity of water in investigated villages without cattle were detected by sentinel mice. The correlation between the densities of infected snails and positive faeces were tested by the rank correlation method.In villages without cattle, there were no positive faeces and infected sentinel mice discovered, while in the villages with cattle, 374 pieces of wild faeces were collected, the densities of wild faeces were 0.02 - 0.29 pieces/100 m2, and those of the positive ones were 0 - 0.01 pieces/100 m2, and the densities of infected snails were 0.001 - 0.040 snails /0.1 m2. The distribution of infected snails was consistent with that of the positive faeces, but the correlation coefficient between their densities had no statistical significance (r(s) = 0.123 5, P0.05). The average infection rates of human in villages with cattle inside embankment of Gong'an and Jianli counties were 2.87% and 1.37%, respectively, while that of the villages outside embankment of Gong'an County was 1.23%, and all the infection rates of cattle were 0. No infected wild mice were discovered.Human and cattle are the main sources of schistosome infection in the local areas, the possibility of wild mice as source of infection is low, and cattle is an important cause of infected snails in marshland and lake regions in Jingzhou City.

A cross-sectional study in a highly endemic area of Jiangling County, Hubei Province showed that the main infested water contact behavior was agricultural production (92.5%), and the re-infection and multi-infection were serious.

A survey on schistosomiasis conducted in sampled 453 out of 1971 villages in Jingzhou City in the year of 2006. Miracidia hatching test demonstrated that the prevalence in human population was 3.9% (12,006/310,232), with sporadic cases of acute schistosomiasis, and the prevalence in cattle was 10.2% (270/2,651). The mean density of living snails was 0.67/0.11 m2 (1,988/1,054,597) with a density of infected snails of 0.001 9/0.11 m2 (1,988/713,486). In comparison to those of 2004, prevalence in humans decreased by 40.0%, prevalence in cattle increased by 22.3%; the snail-ridden area increased by 4.0%, but the mean density of living snails increased by 68.5% and the infected snail density increased by 18.8% with a decrease of 36.4% in snail infection rate. Consequently, there is an urgent need in controlling schistosome infection in cattle.

To investigate the possibility of subjective rate, primary task evaluation and psychophysiology evaluation as methods for mental workload assessment of mental arithmetic on visual display terminal (VDT).The indexes including Cooper-Harper scale score, correct rate, speed in answering questions, heart rate variability, pupil size and blink rate were recorded during the performance of three different difficult tasks.With the variable number of formula increasing, the Cooper-Harper scale score increased, the right rate decreased, the speed decreased, pupil size increased, and blink rate significantly decreased. In comparison with rest, the value of TP, VLF, LF, LFnorm, LF/HF decreased remarkably in the mental arithmetic task, the value of HFnorm, HF/TP, rMSSD increased. However, the difference was not significant among three groups.With the variable number of formula increasing, the participant's mental workload increases. Every method of mental workload evaluation can assess the mental workload information for three tasks at various different levels in a way. Multi-indexes may be appropriate for mental load assessment.