Pesticide in the Mississippi River floodplain and its possible linkage to colon cancer risk in the US

Result of this study shows that elevated colorectal cancer risk in Mississippi River floodplain of the United States is likely linked to historically high pesticide application. Mississippi River basin produces about 80% of major US crops and has about two-thirds of US pesticides used for agriculture. Historically, heavy pesticide application and agricultural irrigation were reported to result in high pesticide residues in surface water, fish and wells of Mississippi embayment. Risk ratio of colorectal cancer incidence in 86 counties of Mississippi River floodplain was about 29% higher than that of other counties in the 48 contiguous states. Risk ratio of colon cancer mortality in 63 counties of Mississippi embayment was 33% higher than that of other counties in the 48 states between 1999 and 2016. Risk ratios of colorectal cancer incidence and colon cancer mortality in Mississippi River floodplain are higher after smoking and diabetes factors were filtered off. Previous studies have linked exposure to pesticide with type-II diabetes and the latter was linked to increasing colon cancer risk by about 27%. Result here suggests that pesticide may be an independent risk factor directly associated with elevated colon cancer risk in Mississippi River floodplain.     

Speciation and carcinogenic classification—some limits of assessment and prevention procedures—the case of “nickel”

The speciation of nickel is of the highest importance for the definition of lists of substances for regulatory activity in terms of prevention, regarding possible cancer risk. A review is made of the different attitudes of outstanding administrations in front of nickel speciation. Some of them show a maximum of care in chemical definition, others reflect a lack of scientific rigor leading to generic classifications, more or less abusive. The great complexity of the chemistry and physicochemistry of nickel imposes the “two‐level speciation concept” (chemical and physicochemical), at least for compliance with the “Good Laboratory Practice” as far as experimental toxicology is concerned. Recommendations are exposed for the attention of toxicologists and regulators who have been for some years now extremely solicited for prevention aims.     

云南宣威地区燃煤排放颗粒物中石英矿物的特征

云南宣威地区是我国人群肺癌死亡率最高的地区之一,过往研究表明,该区的高肺癌死亡率可能与居民室内燃煤排放颗粒物中的多环芳烃(PAHs)有关,而最近研究发现,其中的nm级石英可能是导致肺癌发生的原因, 但鲜见该区燃煤排放颗粒物中细粒石英矿物的研究. 为探究燃煤排放细粒矿物的分布特征,采集了肺癌高发区宣威市来宾镇及周边5个乡镇煤矿中的15个煤样,使用光学显微镜、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、带能谱的扫描电镜(SEM/EDS)分析了煤样的煤岩组分及矿物组成. 结果表明:宣威煤以中挥发分、较高镜质组烟煤为主,煤中主要矿物为石英、鲕绿泥石、高岭石和方解石;不同煤样中,矿物质的结晶程度有所差异;单颗粒统计结果显示,在所统计的775个矿物颗粒中,石英颗粒占37.9%,并且粒径多分布在1~2μm之间; 石英矿物颗粒的形状不规则且以微粒的形式填充在煤缝隙中. 石英与鲕绿泥石共存的现象显示,宣威煤中石英来源于富含Fe和Al的硅质热液流,而非岩石碎屑沉积;此外,在肺癌高发区(来宾镇),其煤中Si+Fe质矿物颗粒含量较Si质矿物高. 今后将重点研究石英颗粒在Fe参与下的生物活性.      

云南宣威地区燃煤排放PM10的微观形貌和粒度特征

宣威地区肺癌发病率居全国首位,并且肺癌与室内燃煤关系密切. 为了解宣威地区室内燃煤排放PM₁₀的微观形貌和粒度特征,使用小流量Minivol采样器,分别于2011年1月、3月和12月对宣威地区6个代表性乡镇的18个农户及对照点——贵州六盘水幸福村2个农户室内、外的PM₁₀进行采样. 采用扫描电子显微镜分析样品的微观形貌,并对颗粒物粒度进行统计分析. 根据微观形貌特征将PM₁₀分为烟尘集合体(链状、蓬松状、密实状)、球形颗粒(燃煤飞灰和焦油球)、矿物颗粒(规则和不规则状)、生物颗粒及超细未知颗粒. 结果表明:宣威地区室内PM₁₀微观形貌差别较大;室、内外PM₁₀的粒度分布在0.1~0.4μm内的颗粒数量所占比例较大,而1μm以上颗粒体积所占比例较大;小粒径颗粒对颗粒物数量贡献较大,而少数大粒径颗粒对体积贡献较大;宣威地区和对照点室内的PM₁₀数量-粒度和体积-粒度分布相似,室外PM₁₀数量-粒度特征相似但体积-粒度分布有所差异. 宣威地区室内的烟尘集合体和球形颗粒分别占颗粒物总数的10.5%和23.6%,高于对照点 (分别为7.7%和11.3%).      

中国汞污染的来源、成因及控制技术路径分析

汞是一种能长期存在于环境且具有全球迁移性的污染物.汞污染防治是一个复杂的系统工程,涉及多部门、多领域、多行业,国家需要在政策、管理和技术等方面采取综合的战略措施推进汞污染防治.本文基于汞污染的环境和社会影响,分析了中国汞污染的来源、成因并评估了中国汞管理体系,结合中国参加全球汞公约谈判的特定背景,识别出汞污染防控的优先行业,包括汞的无意排放优先控制行业:燃煤、有色金属冶炼、汞矿开采和含汞废物处理;汞的有意使用优先控制行业:电石法聚氯乙烯生产,医疗产品、荧光灯和电池生产.本文也进一步提出了汞污染控制技术路径,包括构建汞风险管理和识别平台、完善汞管理体系、加强环境技术研发、推进绿色转型、保护环境和公众健康等.     

Reduced effect of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease at the disease front

Pathogen-driven declines in animal populations are increasingly regarded as a major conservation issue. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction by devil facial tumor disease, a unique transmissible cancer. The disease is transmitted through direct transfer of tumor cells, which is possible because the genetic diversity of Tasmanian devils is low, particularly in the major histocompatibility complex genes of the immune system. The far northwest of Tasmania now holds the last remaining disease-free wild devil populations. The recent discovery of unique major histocompatibility complex genotypes in the northwestern region of Tasmania has raised the possibility that some animals may be resilient to the disease. We examined the differences in the epidemiology and population effects of devil facial tumor disease at 3 well-studied affected sites in eastern Tasmania and 1 in western Tasmania (West Pencil Pine). In contrast to the 3 eastern sites, there has been no rapid increase in disease prevalence or evidence of population decline at West Pencil Pine. Moreover, this is the only onsite at which the population age structure has remained unaltered 4 years after the first detection of disease. The most plausible explanations for the substantial differences in population effects and epidemiology of the disease between eastern and western sites are geographic differences in genotypes or phenotypes of devils and functional differences between tumor strains in the 2 regions. We suggest that conservation efforts focus on identifying whether either or both these explanations are correct and then, if resistance alleles exist, to attempt to spread the resistant alleles into affected populations. Such assisted selection has rarely been attempted for the management of wildlife diseases, but it may be widely applicable.     

云南宣威燃煤室内可吸入颗粒物质量浓度变化特征

应用中流量采样器TSP-PM10-PM2.5对我国肺癌高发区宣威地区6个乡村19家农户进行采样,运用滤膜称重法来分析不同燃料类型室内及相应室外的大气颗粒物质量浓度特征.结果显示,各村庄室内、室外PM10质量浓度比值(I/O)变化范围为1.74~2.87,说明室内PM10污染主要由室内污染源引起;做饭时段室内PM10污染比其他时段严重,尽管烟囱可以将大量的污染物排出室外,但室内颗粒物的质量浓度依然较高.室内PM10质量浓度依燃料类型从高到低依次为块煤用户>型煤用户>燃柴用户>用电用户,室内PM2.5质量浓度依燃料类型从高到低表现为块煤用户>燃柴用户>用电用户;块煤、型煤用户的室内PM10的质量浓度平均值(442.49μg/m3、399.14μg/m3)超过国家室内空气质量标准日均值150μg/m3,污染严重;燃柴和用电用户室内PM10的质量浓度平均值(145.50μg/m3、119.91μg/m3)低于国家室内空气质量标准日均值150μg/m3,污染较轻.块煤用户PM2.5质量浓度日均值(132.58μg/m3)超过2012年2月29日环境保护部发布的环境空气质量标准二级标准75μg/m3,而燃柴和用电户PM2.5的质量浓度(55.24μg/m3、65.02μg/m3)均低于环境空气质量标准二级标准75μg/m3,说明块煤用户室内细颗粒污染较重,用电和燃柴用户室内细颗粒物污染相对较轻.     

Epigenetic effect of long-term bisphenol A exposure on human breast adenocarcinoma cells

In this research, epigenetic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were analyzed. Genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression were analyzed in MCF-7 cells exposed to BPA (10^?5 and 10^?6 mol/L for 5 weeks). No significant changes in the global level of 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine were observed. DNA methylation profiling analysis indicated that BPA exposure resulted in the hypermethylation of FOXK2, LKB1, LMX1A and CUGBP2 and the hypomethylation of PTPRN2, TRIM27, BCAS3 and ZNF423. Decreased expression of apoptosis genes (P38 and BCL2L1) and increased expression of chemokine (Cxcl2 and ccl20) were detected. Changes of these genes were speculated to affect the ERα-related cell growth as well as cell apoptosis.     

淮南市浅层地下水重金属元素的富集特征

以淮南市浅层地下水为研究对象,采集并测试了130个水样中Fe、Mn、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd、Ni等元素的含量及相关指标。通过分析pH与重金属的相关性,得出了重金属在水中的富集速率,即VFe〉VCu〉VZn〉VPb〉VMn〉VNi〉VCd。利用主成分对7种重金属进行分类并分析其富集成因,最后将测试结果与土壤重金属含量相比较,确定了浅层地下水中的重金属元素的富集特征。     

我国煤炭行业尘肺病现状分析及防治对策

尘肺病是我国目前最严重的职业病,每年新增尘肺病病例一万例以上,其中煤炭行业尘肺病病例约占全国尘肺病患者总数的50%。煤炭行业由尘肺病引发的矿工伤亡人数,远远高于各类工伤事故伤亡人数的总和。煤炭是我国的主要能源,在国民经济和社会发展中占重要地位,我国煤矿企业多,从业人员数量大,职业危害严重,其中以粉尘危害最为突出。煤矿尘肺病不仅危及矿工的身体健康和生命安全,而且关系到国民经济的发展和社会的和谐稳定。我国煤矿尘肺病现状堪忧,尘肺病发病病例不降反升,分布更加广泛,矿工检查诊断和求治不及时,尘肺病防治工作形势严峻。本文具体分析了我国煤矿尘肺病现状,从管理、技术、资金以及法律等多方面深入探讨了导致如今现状的原因,最后针对各方面原因提出了煤炭行业尘肺病防治对策。