[Pollution Characteristics and Source Analysis of Heavy Metals in Farmland Soils in the Taige Canal Valley].

To determine the distribution characteristics of heavy metal pollution in farmland soils and related influencing factors in the Taige canal valley, and guarantee soil environmental quality and safety of agricultural products, 118 topsoil samples were collected from the Taige canal valley's farmland soils, and contents of chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) were measured. A single factor index and comprehensive index were used to assess soil heavy metal contamination with the soil background value of the Taihu Lake basin as the evaluation standard. The multivariate statistical analysis and the geostatistical analysis were combined to identify and apportion the pollution sources of soil heavy metals. The results showed that:The average concentrations of Cr, Hg, As, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, and Cd in soils were 63.25, 0.25, 7.83, 35.24, 77.25, 31.48, 38.37, and 0.16 mg·kg-1, respectively, all of which except for Cr and As were higher than the local soil background values. The content of each heavy metal in most soil samples were lower than the risk screening values for soil contamination of agricultural land. The comprehensive index showed that the degree of pollution of soil heavy metals were at a slightly polluted level in 87.29%, moderately polluted level in 5.93%, and severely polluted level in 6.78% of the sampling. Hg, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd in the watershed soil were affected by agricultural activities and atmospheric deposition. Cr and Ni were affected by the parent material and industrial production activities. As was mainly derived from the parent material.

Psychophysiological Effects of Bamboo Plants on Adults.

The present study was conducted to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo on university students. Forty healthy Chinese participants enrolled in this study to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo. The effects of visual stimulation using a pot both with and without a bamboo were recorded by measuring the student's blood pressure, EEG and STAI. We observed that viewing bamboo plants resulted in significantly lower systolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) and diastolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) blood pressures, but no changes in the pulse rate (female, P = 0.09; male, P = 0.07; P > 0.05) were observed. The results of the EEG analysis indicated brainwave variation (all P < 0.05) and lower anxiety scores (P < 0.01) after 3 min of viewing bamboo compared with the control. These findings indicate that visual stimulation with bamboo plants induced psychophysiological relaxation effects on adults.

[Effect of cadmium stress on root vigor and accumulation of elements Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Fe in Salix variegate.] / é•‰èƒè¿«å¯¹ç§‹åŽæŸ³æ ¹ç³»æ´»åŠ›åŠå ¶Ca、Mg、Mn、Zn、Fe积累的影响.

In order to explore the effect of cadmium stress on root vigor and accumulation of five kinds of conventional metal elements in Salix variegata, a hydroponic experiment with different cadmium treatments were conducted. The cadmium treatments included 0 mg·L-1 (CK), 2 mg·L-1 (T1), 10 mg·L-1 (T2), 20 mg·L-1 (T3) and 50 mg·L-1 (T4). The root vigor and distribution of cadmium and five kinds of conventional metal elements (including Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn and Fe) in S. variegata were tested. The results showed that: 1) The root vigor of S. variegata decreased with increasing cadmium stress gradually. Compared to control, the root vigor decreased significantly in treatments with the cadmium concentration reaching and exceeding 10 mg·L-1. 2) With increasing the cadmium concentration, the abilities of S. variegata to absorb and accumulate Fe in leaves were inhibited significantly; the abilities to absorb and accumulate Mg, Mn and Fe in phloem were inhi-bited significantly; the abilities to absorb and accumulate Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn and Fe in xylem had no significant differences; and the abilities to absorb and accumulate Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn and Fe in root were inhibited significantly. It could be concluded that cadmium had antagonistic effect on the accumulation of the other metal elements, especially Zn in plant root. 3) With increasing concentrations of cadmium, the translocation factors of Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn increased significantly when compared to control, while there was no significant influence on Fe. 4) Under cadmium stress, there was a significantly negative correlation between the accumulations of cadmium and Ca in S. variegate root, and a very significantly negative correlation between the accumulations of cadmium and the other four kinds of conventional metal elements, indicating that the change of conventional metal elements in S. variegate root could be one of the indices of the degree of cadmium stress.

Common Immunosuppressive Monotherapy for Graves' Ophthalmopathy: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several immunosuppressive therapeutic regimens are widely used to treat Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), including oral glucocorticoids (OGC), intravenous glucocorticoids (IVGC), retrobulbar injections of glucocorticoids (ROGC) and orbital radiotherapy (OR). The priority among these is unknown. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy and tolerability of the above regimens. METHODS: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases and the Chinese Biomedicine Database were searched up to November 18, 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing monotherapies (OGC, IVGC, ROGC and OR) in patients with moderate-to-severe active GO were selected. The main efficacy measures were the response rate, the standard mean difference (SMD) in the reduction in the clinical activity score (CAS) and the mean difference (MD) in proptosis from baseline to the end of treatment. The main tolerability measure was the risk ratio (RR) for adverse events. The pooled estimates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using the RevMan software, version 5.1. RESULTS: Seven published RCTs involving 328 participants were included in the present meta-analysis, including IVGC versus OGC (3 trials), ROGC versus OGC (3 trials) and OR versus OGC (1 trial). IVGC was more effective than OGC in response rate (RR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.18-1.87) and had an obvious CAS reduction (SMD = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.13-1.25). IVGC caused fewer adverse events than OGC. ROGC and OGC had no statistically significant difference in response rate (RR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.94-1.42). OR also did not differ significantly compared with OGC (RR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.54-1.60). ROGC and OR had fewer adverse events, such as weight gain, compared with OGC. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with GO in the moderate-to-severe active phase, current evidence gave priority to IVGC, which had a statistically significant advantage over OGC and caused fewer adverse events. ROGC and OR did not provide greater efficacy than OGC, although better tolerability and fewer adverse events were shown.