东南沿海生物气溶胶的扩散模拟研究

将沿海扩散模式OCD与区域输送模式相嵌套,集成在区域空气质量模拟系统RegAQMS中,由天气研究和预报模式WRF提供气象场,大气边界层模式计算湍流场和边界层特征参数,并引入生物气溶胶的干湿沉积、生物学衰变、温度和湿度衰减、紫外辐射衰减等过程,使得RegAQMS具备模拟生物气溶胶浓度分布的能力.利用改进后的RegAQMS,以2008年7、8月为例,针对东南沿海地区,进行了口蹄疫病毒生物气溶胶扩散有关物理和生物过程的敏感性试验,对地面口蹄疫病毒浓度进行模拟和风险等级评估.敏感性试验表明,考虑干湿沉积、温度、湿度和生物学衰减过程之后,7、8月地面病毒平均浓度(≥0.01μg.m-3的网格点平均)分别减小61.9%和65.6%,污染区面积分别减小25.6%和50.1%,温度衰减是影响夏季病毒浓度的最主要过程,生物学衰减和干湿沉积也起着较大的作用,湿度衰减的影响很小.风险和感染评估结果表明,在与前人研究类似的源释放条件下,研究区域大部分为低等风险区和安全区,高等风险区以上的面积较小,呈条状分布在两个主要风频的下风向,7月和8月的风险区面积分别占整个区域面积的61.6%和54.2%,感染区面积占整个区域面积的不到1%.受海洋大气和海峡地形作用的影响,流场规则、日风向变化和水平湍流强度小,这些是引起病毒较高传播风险和感染的主要原因.     

Alcohol-impaired motorcyclists versus car drivers: A comparison of crash involvement and legal consequence from adjudication data

Introduction: Driving under the influence (DUI) increases the probability of motor-vehicle collisions, especially for motorcycles with less protections. This study aimed to identify commonalities and differences between criminally DUI offenses (i.e., with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 80 mg/dL or higher) committed by motorcyclists and car drivers. Methods: A total of 10,457 motorcycle DUIs and 8,402 car DUIs were compared using a series of logistic regression models, using data extracted from the documents of adjudication decisions by the courts of Jiangsu, China. Results: The results revealed that offenders from the high-BAC group (i.e., 200 mg/dL or higher) accounted for more than 20% of the total DUI offenses, and were more likely to be involved in a crash and punished with a longer detention. Motorcyclists had a higher likelihood of crash involvement, and were also more likely to be responsible for single-vehicle crashes associated with higher odds of injury sustained, compared to alcohol-impaired car drivers. In the verdict, motorcycle offenders were more likely to receive a less severe penalty. Conclusions: Interventions are clearly required to focus on reducing in the high-BAC group of offenders. For alcohol-impaired motorcyclists, their risks of crash and injury against BAC climb more steeply than the risks for car drivers. The factors including frequent occurrences, uncertainty of detection, and short-term sentences may weaken the deterrence effect of the criminalization of motorcycle DUI. Practical Applications: The traffic-related adjudication data support traffic safety analysis. Strategies such as combating motorcycle violations (e.g., unlicensed operators or driving unsafe vehicles), undertaking education and awareness campaigns, are expected for DUI prevention.     

Adverse effects of metal exposure on chemotaxis towards water-soluble attractants regulated mainly by ASE sensory neuron in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Chemotaxis to water-soluble attractants is mainly controlled by ASE sensory neuron whose specification is regulated by che-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Our data suggested that exposure to high concentrations of metals, such as Pb, Cu, Ag, and Cr, would result in severe defects of chemotaxis to water-soluble attractants of NaCl, cAMP, and biotin. Moreover, the morphology of ASE neuron structures as observed by relative fluorescent intensities and relative size of fluorescent puncta of cell bodies, relative lengths of sensory endings in ASE neurons, and the expression patterns of che-1 were obviously altered in metal exposed animals when they meanwhile exhibited obvious chemotaxis defects to water-soluble attractants. In addition, the dendrite morphology could be noticeably changed in animals exposed to 150 mol/L of Pb, Cu, and Ag. Furthermore, we observed significant decreases of chemotaxis to water-soluble attractants in Pb exposed che-1 mutant at concentrations more than 2.5 mol/L, and in Cu, Ag, and Cr exposed che-1 mutant at concentrations more than 50 mol/L. Therefore, impairment of the ASE neuron structures and functions may largely contribute to the appearance of chemotaxis defects to water-soluble attractants in metal exposed nematodes.     

Assessment of locomotion behavioral defects induced by acute toxicity from heavy metal exposure in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Locomotion behaviors are susceptible to disruption by a broad spectrum of chemicals and environmental stresses. However, no systematic testing of locomotion behavior defects induced by metal exposure has been conducted in the model organism of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In this study, the acute toxicity from heavy metal exposure on the locomotion behaviors was analyzed in nematodes. Endpoints of head thrash, body bend, forward turn, backward turn, and Omega/U turn were chosen to evaluate the locomotio...     

Investigative consequence analysis: A case study research of beirut explosion accident

Around 15:00 GMT on August 4th, an explosion occurred in the warehouse facility storing Ammonium Nitrate (AN) at Beirut port, Lebanon. The explosion resulted in more than 178 fatalities and injured more than 6500 people, and also left an estimated 300,000 people homeless and registered as an equivalent to a 3.3 magnitude earth quake. The accident was considered to be the largest of its kind and the most severe anthropological disaster of the decade, the financial loss the nation was subjected to post the explosion was estimated to be around $ 15 billion as informed by the governor. The storage conditions of ammonium nitrate at Beirut port is not definitively known to anyone, and there is no documentation provided so far from the authorities regarding the same. This work focuses on the investigation & consequence analysis of the explosion using TNT equivalent approach. The overpressure and the impulse obtained from TNT calculations are used in probit models to assess the damages caused on human beings and structures. The results obtained in this investigative approach are then utilized to provide an analytical inference relative to the damage proxy map reported by the advance rapid imaging analysis team from NASA. Also, this work examines the existing standards, fire safety measures and legal regulations for ammonium nitrate facilities in the region. AN explosion during storage like other fire and explosion accidents are definitely preventable owing to the technological advancements and developments to prevent or extinguish controllable fires. The significance of this work relates to the methods for calculation of consequences of explosion that are happening due to the storage of highly hazardous explosive materials in excessive quantities and insists the necessity of incorporating adequate safety measures while storing such reactive and hazardous materials.     

口服纳米银对大鼠的生物有效性及其体内分布的研究

由于独特的抗菌特性，纳米银(AgNP)在诸多领域得到广泛应用，但是其生物有效性、动物组织分布及排出尚不清楚。将聚乙烯吡咯烷酮包被的AgNP溶液按照10 mg kg^-1给雌性SD大鼠灌胃，采用ICP-MS检测SD大鼠组织、粪便及尿液中总银浓度。实验结果表明，AgNP通过小肠吸收后，可以通过血液循环快速分布在肝、肾、脾、肺、脑等靶器官。灌胃后1 h，大鼠各组织中总银浓度达到最大值(肝、肾、脾、肺、脑中银浓度分别为0.29 ± 0.13 mg kg^-1、0.23 ± 0.04 mg kg^-1、0.17 ± 0.05 mg kg^-1、0.11 ± 0.01 mg kg^-1、0.06 ±0.02 mg kg^-1)，之后银浓度随时间降低直至和对照组无显著性差异。在灌胃途径下，AgNP对SD大鼠的有效性为8.5%，且73%的AgNP是通过粪便的途径排出体外。     

Nanocarrier-mediated co-delivery systems for lung cancer therapy: recent developments and prospects

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Research has recently focused on combinational therapy using nanocarriers to overcome the obstacles associated with conventional therapy of lung cancer. The...     

The influence of maternal dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs during pregnancy on ADHD symptoms and cognitive functions in Norwegian preschool children

BackgroundPolychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (dioxins) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with potentially adverse impact on child neurodevelopment. Whether the potential detrimental effects of dioxins and PCBs on neurodevelopment are of specific or unspecific character is not clear.ObjectivesThe purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of maternal dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs on ADHD symptoms and cognitive functioning in preschoolers. We aimed to investigate a range of functions, in particular IQ, expressive language, and executive functions.Material and methodsThis study includes n = 1024 children enrolled in a longitudinal prospective study of ADHD (the ADHD Study), with participants recruited from The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Boys and girls aged 3.5 years participated in extensive clinical assessments using well-validated tools; The Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment interview (PAPA), Stanford-Binet 5th revision (SB-5), Child Development Inventory (CDI), and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Preschool version (BRIEF-P). Maternal dietary exposure to dioxins and PCBs was estimated based on a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) answered mid-pregnancy and a database of dioxin and PCB concentrations in Norwegian foods. Exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (dl-compounds) was expressed in total toxic equivalents (TEQ), and PCB-153 was used as marker for non-dioxin-like PCBs (ndl-PCBs). Generalized linear and additive models adjusted for confounders were used to examine exposure-outcome associations.ResultsExposure to PCB-153 or dl-compound was not significantly associated with any of the outcome measures when analyses were performed for boys and girls together. After stratifying by sex, adjusted analyses indicated a small inverse association with language in girls. An increase in the exposure variables of 1 SD was associated with a reduction in language score of − 0.2 [CI − 0.4, − 0.1] for PCB-153 and − 0.2 [CI − 0.5, − 0.1] for dl-compounds in girls. For boys, exposure to PCB-153 or dl-compounds was not associated with language skills. The difference between sex-specific associations was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.13). No sex-specific effects were observed for ADHD-symptoms, IQ scores, or executive functions.ConclusionsWe found no indications that variation in current low-level exposure to PCB-153 or dl-compounds in Norway is associated with variation ADHD-symptoms, verbal/non-verbal IQ, or executive functions including working memory in preschoolers. However, our findings indicated that maternal dietary exposure to PCB-153 or dl-compounds during pregnancy was significantly associated with poorer expressive language skills in preschool girls, although the sex-specific associations were not significantly different.     

PM2.5 and PM10: The influence of sugarcane burning on potential cancer risk

In Brazil, sugarcane fields are often burned to facilitate manual harvesting, and this burning causes environmental pollution from the large amounts of soot released into the atmosphere. This material contains numerous organic compounds such as PAHs. In this study, the concentrations of PAHs in two particulate-matter fractions (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) in the city of Araraquara (SE Brazil, with around 200,000 inhabitants and surrounded by sugarcane plantations) were determined during the sugarcane harvest (HV) and non-harvest (NHV) seasons in 2008 and 2009. The sampling strategy included four campaigns, with 60 samples in the NHV season and 220 samples in the HV season. The PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ fractions were collected using a dichotomous sampler (10 L min^?1, 24 h) with Teflon? filters. The filter sets were extracted (ultrasonic bath with hexane/acetone (1:1 v/v)) and analyzed by HPLC/Fluorescence. The median concentration for total PAHs (PM_2.5 in 2009) was 0.99 ng m^?3 (NHV) and 3.3 ng m^?3 (HV). In the HV season, the total concentration of carcinogenic PAHs (benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, and benzo(a)pyrene) was 5 times higher than in the NHV season. B(a)P median concentrations were 0.017 ng m^?3 and 0.12 ng m^?3 for the NHV and HV seasons, respectively. The potential cancer risk associated with exposure through inhalation of these compounds was estimated based on the benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalence (BaP_eq), where the overall toxicity of a PAH mixture is defined by the concentration of each compound multiplied by its relative toxic equivalence factor (TEF). BaP_eq median (2008 and 2009 years) ranged between 0.65 and 1.0 ng m^?3 and 1.2–1.4 ng m^?3 for the NHV and HV seasons, respectively. Considering that the maximum permissible BaP_eq in ambient air is 1 ng m^?3, related to the increased carcinogenic risk, our data suggest that the level of human exposure to PAHs in cities surrounded by sugarcane crops where the burning process is used is cause for concern.