Spatial distribution of smelter emission heavy metals on farmland soil.

This work was conducted to explore heavy metal pollution in soils in an area near lead smelters in Jiyuan City, which is one of the main lead production areas in China. Altogether, 88 topsoil samples (0-20 cm) were collected from farmlands near the Yuguang lead smelting facilities; the sampling sites were 1570 to 6388 m to the main stack of the Yuguang. Analysis of the samples indicated that (i) the ranges of total Cd and Pb concentrations were 0.81-4.30 and 64.5-435 mg kg-1, respectively, mean pollution indices (concentration in soil/background value, PI) were 32.8 and 9.11, respectively, and the concentrations of total Cu, Zn, and Ni were slightly higher than the background values. Mean concentrations of DTPA-extractable Cd and Pb were 0.752 and 58.7 mg kg-1, respectively. (ii) The total concentrations of Cd, Pb and Pb/Cd ratios of samples decreased as the distance to the main stack of the Yuguang increased. Abnormal variations of these trends suggested these parameters of certain samples were affected by pollution sources other than the Yuguang. (iii) Judged by the results of this work, the area of the heavy metal-polluted land in Jiyuan was much greater than 115 km2, a value reported by an earlier investigation. These results indicate that the soil in the study area was polluted by Cd and Pb emissions from more than one polluting sources, the variation of Cd, Pb concentration and Pb/Cd ratios of samples to the distance of the pollution source can be potentially used for pollution source identification.

A B-Cell Gene Signature Correlates With the Extent of Gluten-Induced Intestinal Injury in Celiac Disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Celiac disease (CeD) provides an opportunity to study autoimmunity and the transition in immune cells as dietary gluten induces small intestinal lesions. METHODS: Seventy-three celiac disease patients on a long-term, gluten-free diet ingested a known amount of gluten daily for 6 weeks. A peripheral blood sample and intestinal biopsy specimens were taken before and 6 weeks after initiating the gluten challenge. Biopsy results were reported on a continuous numeric scale that measured the villus-height-to-crypt-depth ratio to quantify gluten-induced intestinal injury. Pooled B and T cells were isolated from whole blood, and RNA was analyzed by DNA microarray looking for changes in peripheral B- and T-cell gene expression that correlated with changes in villus height to crypt depth, as patients maintained a relatively healthy intestinal mucosa or deteriorated in the face of a gluten challenge. RESULTS: Gluten-dependent intestinal damage from baseline to 6 weeks varied widely across all patients, ranging from no change to extensive damage. Genes differentially expressed in B cells correlated strongly with the extent of intestinal damage. A relative increase in B-cell gene expression correlated with a lack of sensitivity to gluten whereas their relative decrease correlated with gluten-induced mucosal injury. A core B-cell gene module, representing a subset of B-cell genes analyzed, accounted for the correlation with intestinal injury. CONCLUSIONS: Genes comprising the core B-cell module showed a net increase in expression from baseline to 6 weeks in patients with little to no intestinal damage, suggesting that these individuals may have mounted a B-cell immune response to maintain mucosal homeostasis and circumvent inflammation. DNA microarray data were deposited at the GEO repository (accession number: GSE87629; available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/).

Visual Outcome in Children With Congenital Glaucoma

PURPOSE:To evaluate the prognosis of vision and the development of amblyopia in primary congenital glaucoma patients. METHODS: The author reviewed 38 eyes of 22 primary congenital glaucoma patients and evaluated variables such as age at time of surgery and at the last visit, preoperative IOP, Cup-to-disc(CD) ratio, corneal diameter, refractive error, axial lengths and IOP, CD ratio and visual acuity at the last visit. According to visual acuity, the patients were divided into 3 groups, good (>0.5), fair (0.1~0.5), and poor (<0.1). The amblyopia was defined when BCVA was below 0.8 and no evidence of progression of glaucoma. There were 4 types of amblyopia: deprivation, anisometropic, strabismic and organic. The author compared the 3 groups and evaluated factors affecting the vision as well as the prevalence of amblyopia. RESULTS: There were 17 eyes in the good group, 4 eyes in the fair group and 17 eyes in the poor group (p<0.05). Amblyopia developed in 17 eyes with 7 eyes showing deprivation amblyopia. Anisometropic and organic amblyopia were each found in 4 eyes, and strabismic amblyopia was found in 2 eyes. The postoperative IOP and CD ratio and preoperative CD ratio were significantly lower in the good group than the other groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Final VA was poor in 45% of eyes with primary congenital glaucoma, and amblyopia developed in 45% of these eyes. The prognosis for vision may be related to the treatment of glaucoma and amblyopia.