Pancreatic cancer pathology image segmentation with channel and spatial long-range dependencies.

Based on deep learning, pancreatic cancer pathology image segmentation technology effectively assists pathologists in achieving improved treatment outcomes. However, compared to traditional image segmentation tasks, the large size of tissues in pathology images requires a larger receptive field. While methods based on dilated convolutions or attention mechanisms can enhance the receptive field, they cannot capture long-range feature dependencies. Directly applying self-attention mechanisms to capture long-range dependencies results in intolerable computational complexity. To address these challenges, we introduce a channel and spatial self-attention (CS) Module designed for efficiently capturing both channel and spatial long-range feature dependencies in pancreatic cancer pathological images. Specifically, the channel and spatial self-attention module consists of an adaptive channel self-attention module and a window-shift spatial self-attention module. The adaptive channel self-attention module adaptively pools features to a fixed size to capture long-range feature dependencies. While the window-shift spatial self-attention module captures spatial long-range dependencies in a window-based manner. Additionally, we propose a re-weighted cross-entropy loss to mitigate the impact of long-tail distribution on performance. Our proposed method surpasses state-of-the-art on both our Pancreatic Cancer Pathology Image (PCPI) dataset and the GlaS challenge dataset. The mDice and mIoU have achieved 73.93% and 59.42% in our PCPI dataset.

Artificial Soil-Like Material Enhances CO2 Bio-Valorization into Chemicals in Gas Fermentation.

Gas fermentation offers a carbon-neutral route for producing industrial feedstocks using autotrophic microbes to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) in waste gases, such as industrial emissions and biogas, into valuable chemicals or biofuels. However, slow microbial metabolism owing to low gaseous solubility causes significant challenges in gas fermentation. Although chemical or genetic manipulations have been explored to improve gas fermentation, they are either nonsustainable or complex. Herein, an artificial soil-like material (SLM) inspired by natural soil was fabricated to improve the growth and metabolism ofCupriavidus necatorfor enhanced poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) biosynthesis from CO2 and hydrogen (H2). Porous SLM comprises low-cost nanoclay, boehmite, and starch and serves as a biocarrier to facilitate the colonization of bacteria and delivery of CO2 to bacteria. With 3.0 g/L SLM addition, the solubility of CO2 in water increased by ∼4 times and biomass and PHB production boosted by 29 and 102%, respectively, in the 24 h culture. In addition, a positive modulation was observed in the metabolism of PHB biosynthesis. PHB biosynthesis-associated gene expression was found to be enhanced in response to the SLM addition. The concentrations of intermediates in the metabolic pathway of PHB biosynthesis, such as pyruvate and acetyl-CoA, as well as reducing energy (ATP and NADPH) significantly increased with SLM addition. SLM also demonstrated the merits of easy fabrication, high stability, recyclability, and plasticity, thereby indicating its considerable potential for large-scale application in gas fermentation.

Characterization and genome analysis of Acinetobacter oleivorans S4 as an efficient hydrocarbon-degrading and plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium.

Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have received increasing attention for assisting phytoremediation. However, the effect of PGPR on total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation and plant growth promotion and its underlying mechanism is not well understood. In this study, phenotypic analysis and whole genome sequencing were conducted to comprehensively characterize a newly isolated rhizobacterium strain S4, which was identified as Acinetobacter oleivorans, from a TPH-contaminated soil. The strain degraded 62.5% of initially spiked diesel (1%) in minimal media within six days and utilized n-alkanes with a wide range of chain length (i.e., C12 to C40). In addition, the strain showed phenotypic traits beneficial to plant growth, including siderophore production, indole-3-acetic acid synthesis and phosphate solubilization. Potential metabolic pathways and genes encoding proteins responsible for the phenotypic traits were identified. In a real TPH-contaminated soil, inoculation of Acinetobacter oleivorans S4 significantly enhanced the growth of tall fescue relative to the soil without inoculation. In contrast, inoculation of Bacillus sp. Z7, a hydrocarbon-degrading strain, showed a negligible effect on the growth of tall fescue. The removal efficiency of TPH with inoculation of Acinetobacter oleivorans S4 was significantly higher than those without inoculation or inoculation of Bacillus sp. Z7. These results suggested that traits of PGPR beneficial to plant growth are critical to assist phytoremediation. Furthermore, heavy metal resistance genes and benzoate and phenol degradation genes were found in the genome of Acinetobacter oleivorans S4, suggesting its application potential in broad scenarios.

Robot-assisted percutaneous balloon compression for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of trigeminal neuralgia treatment in elderly patients with percutaneous balloon compression assisted by a robotic surgical navigation and positioning planning system.Methods:Eleven elderly patients with trigeminal neuralgia admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University between August 2021 and August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.Three-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography, a three-dimensional fast spin-echo sequence with variable flip angles and thin-slice CT scans were performed before the procedure, and multimodal image fusion was performed by a robot workstation.The volume of Meckel's cave was calculated.Two paths were set up in the surgical planning: an actual puncture path, targeting the anterior inner quadrant of the internal foramen ovale, and a virtual path, used to plan the insertion depth of the balloon.The actual puncture path was completed under the guidance of the robotic arm adapter, and the virtual path for depth measurement was completed under lateral X-ray views of digital subtraction angiography.The balloon was placed at the predetermined depth and was inflated to form a pear shape to complete the procedure.The visual analogue scale(VAS)score was used to evaluate preoperative pain, and the Barrow Neurological Institute(BNI)facial numbness score was used to evaluate postoperative facial numbness.The patients were followed up for 1-12 months and the results were analyzed.Results:In all of the 11 patients, puncturing the foramen ovale and entry into the Meckel's cave were successfully conducted and the balloon was inflated to form a pear shape.Ten patients(90.9%)achieved complete remission immediately after the procedure, and 1 patient had delayed healing at 5 days after the procedure.There were no serious complications related to the procedure.There was no recurrence of pain during the follow-up, and the BNI numbness grading was between 2-3.The ratio between the inflated balloon volume and the preoperative volume of the Meckel's cave was approximately 1.7.Conclusions:Robot-assisted percutaneous balloon compression is safe and effective for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients.

Long-term metal pollution shifts microbial functional profiles of nitrification and denitrification in agricultural soils.

The increasing contamination of heavy metals in agricultural soils and its impact on the nitrogen (N) cycle and N use efficiency have attracted considerable attention in recent years. In this study, agricultural soils neighboring the Dabaoshan copper mining area (DBS) and Qingyuan electronic-waste recycling area (QY), in Guangdong, China, were sampled to study the interaction between heavy metals and nitrification/denitrification processes, especially the related microbial functional profiles. Results showed that the contamination of heavy metals affected nitrifiers and denitrifiers differently. The potential nitrification activity was about four times lower in metal-polluted soils compared with the unpolluted ones, with a significant decrease in the abundance of amoA and nxrB (p < 0.05) in the polluted samples. On the other hand, the potential denitrification activity was more metal-resistant, which attributed to its complex species composition as shown by a slightly higher α-diversity index, and was slightly higher (p > 0.05) in the polluted samples. Among the five denitrifying genes tested, nosZ gene had the highest increase and the nirK gene the most decrease in numbers and in the polluted soils. The metal-polluted soils had fewer correlations among N functional genes based on the co-occurrence network analysis. In addition, the core taxa of the whole bacterial community changed from copiotrophic to oligotrophic bacteria in the presence of heavy metals. Mantel test indicated that heavy metals were the dominant factors determining N-related genes while the bacterial community composition was due to a combination of heavy metal presence and soil properties such as TOC, NO2-, and pH. It is concluded that long-term heavy metals pollution potentially affected nitrifiers and denitrifiers differently as indicated by the shift in N functional genes and the change in nitrification/denitrification processes.

Pollution Characteristics and Risk Prediction of Endocrine Disruptors in Lakes of Wuhan.

As a new and ubiquitous trace organic pollutant, endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) can cause endocrine-disrupting effects on organisms even at low levels. However, little information is available on the resource and assessment of EDC risks in the water environment. The study area was selected based on the paucity of information on the pollution status of inland lakes. Wuhan has numerous and diverse types of lakes which receive micropollutants from different pathways. In this study, the spatial distribution, occurrence, quantity and ecological risks of EDCs in 12 lakes were investigated. Five EDCs, including 17-alpha-ethinylestradiol (17α-EE2), estrone (E1), ß-estradiol (ß-E2), estriol (E3) and bisphenol A (BPA) were detected in surface waters. The distribution of EDC content in the lakes was ordered as follows: exurban zone < suburban area < urban areas. The pollution sources in remote lakes mainly included agricultural and aquaculture wastewater, while those in suburban and urban areas included domestic or industrial wastewater. Areas with higher EDC content were frequently related to agricultural activities, aquaculture water or dense populations. Water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, pH and water temperature, were significantly related to the occurrence and distribution of EDCs in the lakes. Risk assessment demonstrated that the occurrence of EDCs posed minimum to medium risk to aquatic organisms in the lakes. The results showed that the lakes faced a threat hormone pollution though it was at lower doses and, thus, the ecological risk of EDCs should be considered in future environmental policies and decisions in China.

Improvement of the Cu and Cd phytostabilization efficiency of perennial ryegrass through the inoculation of three metal-resistant PGPR strains.

To explore a novel strategy for the remediation of soils polluted with Cu and Cd, three strains of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) isolated from contaminated mines and two grass species (perennial ryegrass and tall fescue) were selected in this study. The performance of PGPR strains in metal adsorption, maintaining promotion traits under stress, and ameliorating phytostabilization potential was evaluated. Cd2+ exerted a stronger deleterious effect on microbial growth than Cu2+, but the opposite occurred for grass seedlings. Adsorption experiment showed that the growing PGPR strains were able to immobilize maximum 79.49% Cu and 81.35% Cd owing to biosorption or bioaccumulation. The strains exhibited the ability to secrete indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and dissolve phosphorus in the absence and presence of metals, and IAA production was even enhanced in the presence of low Cu2+ (5 mg L-1). However, the siderophore-producing ability of the isolates was strongly suppressed under Cu and Cd exposure. Ryegrass was further selected for pot experiments owing to its higher germination rate and tolerance under Cu and Cd stress than fescue. Pot-experiment results revealed that PGPR addition significantly increased the shoot and root biomasses of ryegrass by 11.49%-44.50% and 43.53%-90.29% in soil co-contaminated with 800 mg Cu kg-1 and 30 mg Cd kg-1, respectively. Metal uptake and translocation in inoculated ryegrass significantly decreased owing to the reduced diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-extractable metal content and increased residual metal-fraction percentage mediated by PGPR. Interestingly, stress mitigation was observed in these inoculated plants; in particular, their malondialdehyde content and superoxide dismutase activity were even significantly lower than those of ryegrass under normal conditions. Therefore, PGPR could be a promising option to enhance the phytostabilization efficiency of Cu and Cd in heavily polluted soils.

Synchronous degradation of phenol and aniline by Rhodococcus sp.strain PB-1entrapped in sodium alginate-bamboo charcoal-chitosan beads.

The biodegradation of benzene series compounds is a difficult problem in environment pollution control, which is attributed to the deficiency of high efficiency bacteria and suitable embedding materials. In this study, the immobilized cells Rhodococcussp. strain PB-1 was used to synchronously biodegrade phenol and aniline by entrapped in sodium alginate (SA)-bamboo charcoal (BC)-chitosan acetate (CA) beads. The free cells of the strain PB-1 could completely degrade 1500 mg/L phenol or 800 mg/L aniline within 48 h, while the degradation rate of 2000 mg/L phenol and 1500 mg/L aniline was 35.76% and 68.06% at 72 h, respectively. The ortho-cleavage pathway was used to degrade phenol and aniline by strain PB-1. However, after entrapped with SA-BC-CA beads,the removal rate of 2000 mg/L phenol was 100% at 108 h, 1500 mg/L aniline was 100% at 62 h and 2000-3000 mg/L total toxic compounds was over 95% at 120 h. These beads could be used four times and were more effective than SA or SA-BC beads. The SA-BC-CA beads could remarkably improve the stability and degradation efficiency of strain PB-1, and thus provide a potential application in the removal of phenol and aniline in wastewater.

Individual and combined application of Cu-tolerant Bacillus spp. enhance the Cu phytoextraction efficiency of perennial ryegrass.

Forage grasses have recently received a remarkable amount of attention as promising candidates for decontaminating metal-polluted soils, but this strategy is time-consuming and inefficient. The present study aimed to address the beneficial effects of screened plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains Bacillus sp. EhS5 and EhS7 on perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Single or combined inoculation considerably increased the biomass yield and Cu content of inoculated ryegrass compared with uninoculated plants, thereby enhancing the extraction efficiency at different Cu contamination levels. Bioaugmentation did not show a positive impact on the improvement of fescue's phytoextraction efficiency. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation coefficient results identified root development and photosynthesis as the key variables influencing ryegrass biomass. Antioxidant activities and Cu bioavailability are the key variables influencing Cu accumulation. The inoculated ryegrass showed improved photosynthetic status as the photosystem II system efficiency parameters increased and energy dissipation in the form of heat (DIo/RC) decreased with the help of PGPR. The root length, diameter, surface area, and forks of inoculated ryegrass increased remarkably. The levels of scavengers of reactive oxygen species were enhanced in these plants. Moreover, PGPR significantly increased soil Cu bioavailability by secreting siderophores and organic acid and by increasing soil organic carbon content. Dual inoculation showed better results than individual inoculation in improving ryegrass growth and Cu translocation under high Cu contamination level according to PCA. This study systematically explored the effects and mechanisms of the Bacillus-ryegrass combined remediation and provided a novel method for cleaning Cu-contaminated sites.

The simultaneous removal of the combined pollutants of hexavalent chromium and o-nitrophenol by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Microalgae have been used for the removal of heavy metals or synthetic organics; however, the simultaneous removal of both types of compounds is always technically difficult. In this study, a green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, was first used to simultaneously remove hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and o-nitrophenol (ONP), and the balance among biomass, oxidative damage and removal rate was also investigated. The results showed that treatment with Cr(VI) or ONP decreased the photosynthetic and superoxide dismutase activities and increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde content. However, combined treatment with Cr(VI) (≤4 mg/L) and ONP (≤15 mg/L) significantly decreased ROS generation and alleviated cell damage in C. reinhardtii. In addition, the removal rates of Cr(VI) and ONP by C. reinhardtii cells significantly increased from 37.4% to 54.9% and from 35.8% to 45.9%, respectively, and the cells could be reused at least four times. Moreover, the increased acidity in the medium and Cr(VI) reductase content in C. reinhardtii caused Cr(VI) to be reduced to Cr(III). The addition of an exogenous antioxidant decreased the removal rates of Cr(VI) and ONP. These results indicated that the presence of Cr(VI) could induce ROS generation in C. reinhardtii and enhance ONP degradation, which consumed ROS, alleviated cell damage, and thus benefited Cr(VI) reduction. As a result, C. reinhardtii could be used as a theoretical candidate for the simultaneous removal of combined Cr(VI) and ONP contamination.

Identifying the influencing factors controlling the spatial variation of heavy metals in suburban soil using spatial regression models.

Determining the factors that control the spatial variation of heavy metals in suburban soil is important in identifying and preventing pollution sources. Soil intrinsic factors combined with environmental variables can effectively explain the spatial distribution of heavy metals. Compared with classical statistical methods, such as multiple linear regression (MLR) models, spatial regression models that can cope with the spatial dependence of heavy metals have greater potential in establishing an accurate relationship between influencing factors and heavy metals. This study aims to identify the factors that influence the spatial variation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in 138 topsoil samples from the suburbs of Wuhan City, China, by using spatial regression models with MLR as the reference. Moran's I values reveal the spatial autocorrelation of Pb and Cd. The spatial lag model (SLM) outperforms MLR and has higher R2 and lower spatial dependence of residuals. The significant coefficients of the spatial lag term in SLMs indicate that the spatial variation of Pb and Cd depends on their surrounding observations. SLM results show that Pb content depends on the distance from the nearest industrial enterprises and suggest that industrial pollution is the main source of Pb. Cd content depends on pH, soil organic matter, and the topographic wetness index, indicating that intrinsic and topographical factors contribute to the spatial variation of Cd. Parent materials and application of phosphorus fertilizer are the most likely sources of Cd. The findings highlight the spatial autocorrelation of heavy metals and the effects of intrinsic factors and environmental variables on the spatial variation of such metals. Moreover, this study reveals the effectiveness of spatial regression models in identifying the influencing factors of heavy metals.

Enhanced removal of trichlorfon and Cd(II) from aqueous solution by magnetically separable chitosan beads immobilized Aspergillus sydowii.

Simultaneous removal of heavy metals and organics from wastewater has always been an environmental problem with great concern. In this study, a novel ecofriendly bioborbent, magnetic chitosan beads immobilized Aspergillus sydowii (MCBAs) were synthesized and used to simultaneously remove trichlorfon (TCF) and Cd(II) from aqueous solution. MCBAs showed an increased special surface area (55.38 m2·g-1) through immobilizing A. sydowii and its saturation magnetization reached 14.62 emu·g-1. The equilibrium removal capacities of TCF and Cd(II) were 135.43 mg·g-1 and 56.40 mg·g-1 in the co-system with 200 mg·L-1 TCF and 50 mg·L-1 Cd(II), respectively. The removal capacities of TCF and Cd(II) were strongly depended on the immobilized A. sydowii spore concentration, initial concentrations of TCF and Cd(II), and MCBAs dose. TCF biodegradation intermediates were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system. Fourier transform infrared spectra displayed that -OH and -NH groups on MCBAs mainly participated in the Cd(II) sequestration and the CO stretching vibration was possibly related to the degradation intermediates of TCF. MCBAs exhibited excellent recyclability upto four cycles. Therefore, MCBAs are suitable and effective for the simultaneous removal of TCF and Cd(II) from wastewater.

Bioremediation of cadmium-trichlorfon co-contaminated soil by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) associated with the trichlorfon-degrading microbe Aspergillus sydowii: Related physiological responses and soil enzyme activities.

Soil co-contaminated with heavy metals and organics is often difficult to remediate. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the concurrent removal of cadmium (Cd, two levels: CdL [10 mg kg-1] and CdH [50 mg kg-1]) and trichlorfon (TCF, 100 mg kg-1) from co-contaminated soil by comparing the following remediation methods: natural remediation (NR), soil inoculated with Aspergillus sydowii (AS), soil planted with Brassica juncea (BJ), and soil planted with B. juncea and inoculated with A. sydowii (BJ-AS). The physiological responses of B. juncea and soil enzyme activities after remediation were also studied. B. juncea grew well in co-contaminated soil at both Cd levels. The biomass and chlorophyll content of B. juncea in CdH soil were lower than those in CdL soil, whereas the malondialdehyde content and activities of catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase of B. juncea in CdH soil were higher than those in CdL soil. Cd accumulation in B. juncea was high in CdH soil, whereas high Cd removal efficiency was observed in CdL soil. TCF could be thoroughly degraded within 35 days in NR at both Cd-level soils. AS, BJ and BJ-AS promoted TCF degradation and enhanced the activities of catalase, urease, sucrase and alkaline phosphatase in soil compared with the NR. BJ-AS showed the highest phytoextraction ratio (3.32% in CdL and 1.34% in CdH soil) and TCF degradation rate (half-life of 2.18 and 2.37 days in CdL and CdH soil, respectively). These results demonstrate that BJ-AS could effectively remove Cd and TCF from soil and is thus a feasible technology for the bioremediation of these co-contaminated soil.

Simultaneous degradation of trichlorfon and removal of Cd(II) by Aspergillus sydowii strain PA F-2.

Co-contamination with heavy metals and pesticides is a severe environmental problem, but little information is available regarding the simultaneous removal of these pollutants. In this study, we showed that Aspergillus sydowii strain PA F-2 isolated from soil contaminated with heavy metal and pesticides can simultaneously degrade trichlorfon (TCF) and adsorb Cd(II) from mineral salt medium. The maximum removal rates for TCF and Cd(II) were 55.52% and 57.90%, respectively, in the treatment containing 100 mg L-1 TCF and 2 mg L-1 Cd(II). As the initial Cd(II) concentration increased (2, 5, and 10 mg L-1), the PA F-2 biomass, TCF degradation rate, and Cd(II) adsorption efficiency decreased, whereas the Cd(II) adsorption capacity by PA F-2 increased. The addition of exogenous glucose and sucrose significantly increased the PA F-2 biomass as well as the removal of TCF and Cd(II). Moreover, the TCF degradation pathway and Cd(II) adsorption mechanism were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These results suggest that PA F-2 has potential applications in the bioremediation of TCF and Cd(II) co-contamination.

Patterns of bacterial and archaeal communities in sediments in response to dam construction and sewage discharge in Lhasa River.

The increased anthropogenic activities in the Tibetan Plateau may threaten the river environmental safety. However, limited information is available on the Lhasa River in the Tibetan Plateau, which is known as the remaining pure land on Earth. Here, we firstly investigated the distribution patterns of bacterial and archaeal communities in sediments in response to dam construction and sewage discharge along the reaches of the Lhasa River. The total organic carbon, total Nitrogen (N), nitrate and ammonium contents and the relative abundance of bacteria and archaea significantly increased in reservoir sites in comparison with sites below dam, and they also gradually increased from upstream to downstream in sewage discharge sites. By contrast, the diversity of sediment bacteria and archaea in reservoir sites were significantly less than that in sites below dam and sewage discharge sites at Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) level. The dominant species were water-bloom cyanobacteria in the reservoir area of Zhikong Dam and Proteobacteria in the sewage discharge sites, which were significantly correlated with the nutrient concentration. The abundance of nitrogen functional genes significantly also increased in reservoir sites and the downstream of sewage discharge areas. These results suggested that dam construction and sewage discharge caused the increase of sediment bacterial communities and nutrient levels and potentially induced eutrophication in the Lhasa River.

Application of Mixed Reality Technology in Visualization of Medical Operations / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

With the continuous progress of virtual simulation technology, medical surgery visualization system has been developed from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, from digital to network and intelligentization. The visualization system with mixed reality technology will also be used in all stage of medical surgery, such as case discussion, surgical planning, intraoperative guidance, post-operative evaluation, rehabilitation, so as to further promote high intelligence, high precision of medical surgery, and consequently improve effectiveness of treatment and quality of medical service. This paper discusses the composition and technical characteristics of medical operation visualization system based on mixed reality technology, and introduces some typical applications of mixed reality technology in medical operation visualization, which provides a new perspective for the application of mixed technology in medical surgery.

Frailty progress and related factors in the elderly living in community: a prospective study / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate frailty progress status and related factors in the elderly living in communities.Methods A cohort of elderly people aged 65 and over in Pingyi community of Dujiangyan,Sichuan province,was established.Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted by trained interviewers.The frailty status,cognitive function,nutrition status and other functions of the subjects surveyed were evaluated at baseline survey and during follow-up.The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects surveyed were assessed at baseline survey.Binary logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with frailty progress.Results A total of 653 elderly people were surveyed in January 2014,and 507 elderly people were followed up while 146 elderly people terminated further follow-up in January 2017.The prevalence rates of frailty and pre-frailty at baseline survey were 11.2％ (n=57) and 26.2％ (n=133),respectively.After 3 years,205 subjects (40.4％) surveyed experienced frailty progress,276 (54.5％) remained to be in frailty state at baseline survey,and 26 (5.1％) had improvement.Disability (OR=8.27,95％CI:1.62-42.26),visual problem (OR=2.02,95％CI:1.27-3.22),cognitive impairment (OR=1.94,95％CI:1.08-3.48),poor self-rated health (OR=1.89,95％ CI:1.07-3.31),chronic pain (OR=1.57,95％ CI:1.03-2.40) and older age (OR =1.12,95％CI:1.08-1.17) were independently associated with the progress of frailty.In contract,overweight was a protective factor (OR=0.54,95％CI:0.34-0.85).Conclusions Frailty is a dynamic syndrome affected by several socio-demographic factors and geriatric factors.The results of the study can be used in the prevention of frailty progress in the elderly in communities.

Frailty progress and related factors in the elderly living in community: a prospective study / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate frailty progress status and related factors in the elderly living in communities.Methods A cohort of elderly people aged 65 and over in Pingyi community of Dujiangyan,Sichuan province,was established.Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted by trained interviewers.The frailty status,cognitive function,nutrition status and other functions of the subjects surveyed were evaluated at baseline survey and during follow-up.The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects surveyed were assessed at baseline survey.Binary logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with frailty progress.Results A total of 653 elderly people were surveyed in January 2014,and 507 elderly people were followed up while 146 elderly people terminated further follow-up in January 2017.The prevalence rates of frailty and pre-frailty at baseline survey were 11.2％ (n=57) and 26.2％ (n=133),respectively.After 3 years,205 subjects (40.4％) surveyed experienced frailty progress,276 (54.5％) remained to be in frailty state at baseline survey,and 26 (5.1％) had improvement.Disability (OR=8.27,95％CI:1.62-42.26),visual problem (OR=2.02,95％CI:1.27-3.22),cognitive impairment (OR=1.94,95％CI:1.08-3.48),poor self-rated health (OR=1.89,95％ CI:1.07-3.31),chronic pain (OR=1.57,95％ CI:1.03-2.40) and older age (OR =1.12,95％CI:1.08-1.17) were independently associated with the progress of frailty.In contract,overweight was a protective factor (OR=0.54,95％CI:0.34-0.85).Conclusions Frailty is a dynamic syndrome affected by several socio-demographic factors and geriatric factors.The results of the study can be used in the prevention of frailty progress in the elderly in communities.

Heavy Metal Exposure Alters the Uptake Behavior of 16 Priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) by Pak Choi ( Brassica chinensis L.).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs) are predominant pollutants normally coexisting at electronic waste dumping sites or in agricultural soils irrigated with wastewater. The accumulation of PAHs and HMs in food crops has become a major concern for food security. This study explored the hydroponic uptake of 16 priority PAHs and 5 HMs (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) by pak choi ( Brassica chinensis L.). PAHs exhibited stronger inhibition on pak choi growth and physiological features than HMs. Five HMs were categorized into high-impact HMs (Cr, Cu, and Pb) and low-impact HMs (Cd and Zn) with distinct behavior under the coexposure with PAHs, and low-impact HMs showed synergistic toxicity effects with PAHs. Coexposure to PAHs and HMs slightly decreased the uptake and translocation of PAHs by pak choi, possibly attributing to the commutative hindering effects on root adsorption or cation-π interactions. The bioconcentration factors in PAHs + HMs treatments were independent of the octanol-water partition coefficient ( Kow), owing to the cation-π interaction associated change of Kow and induced defective root system. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms and influential factors of PAHs uptake in Brassica chinensis L. and gives clues for reassessing the environmental risks of PAHs in food crops.

Impacts of environmental factors on the whole microbial communities in the rhizosphere of a metal-tolerant plant: Elsholtzia haichowensis Sun.

Rhizospheric microbes play important roles in plant growth and heavy metals (HMs) transformation, possessing great potential for the successful phytoremediation of environmental pollutants. In the present study, the rhizosphere of Elsholtzia haichowensis Sun was comprehensively studied to uncover the influence of environmental factors (EFs) on the whole microbial communities including bacteria, fungi and archaea, via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing. By analyzing molecular ecological network and multivariate regression trees (MRT), we evaluated the distinct impacts of 37 EFs on soil microbial community. Of them, soil pH, HMs, soil texture and nitrogen were identified as the most influencing factors, and their roles varied across different domains. Soil pH was the main environmental variable on archaeal and bacterial community but not fungi, explaining 25.7%, 46.5% and 40.7% variation of bacterial taxonomic composition, archaeal taxonomic composition and a-diversity, respectively. HMs showed important roles in driving the whole microbial community and explained the major variation in different domains. Nitrogen (NH4-N, NO3-N, NO2-N and TN) explained 47.3% variation of microbial population composition and 15.9% of archaeal taxonomic composition, demonstrating its influence in structuring the rhizospheric microbiome, particularly archaeal and bacterial community. Soil texture accounted for 10.2% variation of population composition, 28.9% of fungal taxonomic composition, 19.2% of fungal a-diversity and 7.8% of archaeal a-diversity. Rhizosphere only showed strong impacts on fungi and bacteria, accounting for 14.7% and 4.9% variation of fungal taxonomic composition and bacterial a-diversity. Spatial distance had stronger influence on bacteria and archaea than fungi, but not as significant as other EFs. For the first time, our study provides a complete insight into key influential EFs on rhizospheric microbes and how their roles vary across microbial domains, giving a hand for understanding the construction of microbial communities in rhizosphere.