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Abstract: In this work, sixteen U.S. EPA priority PAH compounds in the dated sediment cores were detected from five lakes in western China. In most lakes, the concentrations of the total PAHs (ΣPAHs) increased from the deep layers to the surface sediments. Two source categories, i.e. vehicular emission and biomass & domestic coal combustion were identified by Unmix, a factor analysis receptor model to explore the source contributions of PAHs in the dated sediments. The source apportionment results showed that biomass & domestic coal combustion contributed larger proportion of PAHs in the five lakes. The toxicities of PAHs in the dated sediments, assessed by BaP equivalent (BaPE) values showed that the BaPE increased gradually from the deep layers to the surface sediments in most lakes. For the first effort, the contribution of each source to BaPE was apportioned by Unmix–BaPE method, and the result indicated that the vehicular emission posed the highest toxic risk. The percentage contribution of vehicular emission for PAHs and BaPE also increased from the deep layers to the surface sediments, while biomass & domestic coal combustion exhibited the opposite tendency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Four typical freshwater fish species in Lake Taihu (TH), China, were collected and analyzed for the residue levels of DDT and its metabolites DDD and DDE (sum of o,p′- and p,p′-DDT, DDD, and DDE is designated as DDTs). The DDTs concentrations ranged from 3.24 to 37.1ng/g, and p,p′-DDE was the dominant isomer, followed by p,p′-DDD and o,p′-DDT. Source identification indicated that DDTs in TH was mostly stemmed from the historical usage of technical DDT mixture, but a new source of DDT, i.e., dicofol-type DDT, also occurred. The results from the present work, together with previously published data, clearly indicate that dicofol-type DDT was widespread and was an important continual source of DDTs in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Diglyphus species are dominant biocontrol agents for suppressing outbreaks of agromyzid leafminers in fields. In July 2015, we collected a new thelytokous species of Diglyphus in Qinghai, China. The wasp is here named as D. wani Liu, Zhu & Yefremova sp. nov., based on morphological and molecular analyses. The life history and biocontrol potential of the wasp were studied in the laboratory and by providing Liriomyza sativae larvae. The intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase, and mean generation time were 0.2373 d -1 , 1.2678 d -1 , and 15.9 d, respectively. The wasps showed three types of host-killing behaviour, namely parasitism, host feeding and host stinging, resulting in 47.6, 94.4 and 3.4 host larvae killed per wasp over a lifetime, respectively. The finite total host-killing rate was 1.0071 and the wasp showed strong synovigeny. The wasp may be a crucial biocontrol agent against agromyzid leafminers.

Aim: To evaluate the application of bipolar coagulation (BIP) in hepatectomy by comparing the efficacy of BIP alone, cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) + BIP and conventional clamp crushing (CLAMP)., Methods: Based on our database of patient records, a total of 380 consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy at our hospital were retrospectively studied for the efficacy of BIP alone, CUSA + BIP and CLAMP. Of all the patients, 75 received saline-coupled BIP (Group A), 53 received CUSA + BIP (Group B), and 252 received CLAMP (Group C). The pre-, mid-, and postoperative clinical manifestations were compared, and the effects of those maneuvers were evaluated., Results: There was no obvious difference among the preoperative indexes between the different groups. The operative time was longer in Groups A and B than in Group C (P < 0.001 for both). The amount of bleeding and the rate of transfusion during the operation were significantly higher in Group C than in Groups A and B (P < 0.001 for all). The incidence of postoperative complications in Group C (46.43%) was higher than that in Groups A (30.67%, P = 0.015) and B (28.30%, P = 0.016). The patients' liver function recovery and postoperative hospital stay were not significantly different. BIP could decrease intraoperative hemorrhage and postoperative complications compared to CLAMP., Conclusion: Simple saline-coupled BIP should be considered a safe and reliable technique for liver resection to decrease intraoperative hemorrhage and postoperative complications.

In order to reconstruct the chronology of 2,2-his (4-Chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (DDT) input into the Hongfeng reservoir and assess the pollution issues, the temporal distribution of DDT in sediment core from Hongfeng reservoir was measured using GC/MS method, and the possible sources and potential risk assessment also had been identified. The DDTs (sum of p,p'- and o,p'-DDT, DDE and DDD) in sediment core were ranged from 7.6 to 23.7 ng/g, and roughly, ever decreased from the bottom to the surface sediment. In detail, a sharp decline of DDTs concentration in sediment was found from 1981 to 1983, followed by a tardy decrease trend to the present. The DDTs in sediment were mainly composed of p,p'-DDTs (sum of p,p'-DDT, DDE and DDD). The ratio of p,p'-DDTs to o,p'-DDTs (sum of o,p'-DDT, DDE and DDD) ranged from 5.1 to 8.4, which suggests that the DDTs in sediment were chiefly originated from the technical DDT. Meanwhile, the DDTs in sediments were dominated by the metabolites of DDT (DDD and DDE) and the ratio of DDT/(DDD + DDE) were between 0.31 and 0.84, indicating the DDTs in sediment were mostly stemmed from the historical usage. Besides, the vertical profile of the ratios of DDT/( DDD + DDE) and DDE/DDD indicate that possible usage of technical DDT still occurred in the drainage area of Hongfeng reservoir around 1990, although the usage of technical DDT in agriculture has been banned in 1983. The residue levels of DDE, DDD, DDT, and DDTs in surface sediment from Hongfeng reservoir were all between ERL and ERM, suggesting potential risk could occur, and the contamination of DDT in Hongfeng reservoir deserving more concerns.

South China is probably one of the heaviest polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) polluted regions in the world, thanks to the presence of huge and rapidly growing electronics manufacturing industries, as well as several of the world's largest e-waste recycling sites in the region. In the present work, a wide variety of nonfish seafood products collected from South China was analyzed for PBDE residues. The concentrations of PBDEs in seafood products were highly species-specific, and the magnitude of PBDE pollution was moderate in South China compared to the global levels. Congener patterns of PBDEs in seafood samples suggested that seafood products are prone to accumulating low-brominated congeners, and possible metabolic debromination of BDE-99 to BDE-47 could occur in certain organisms, such as crabs and mantis shrimp. Generally, the congener profile was dominated by BDE-209, and to a lesser extent by BDE-47 and BDE-99, which was consistent with the fact that Deca-BDE is mass-produced in China and with previous sediment results from the same area. The occurrence of BDE-209 in aquatic species from South China suggests that BDE-209 appears to be more bioavailable than previously thought, and the environmental fate and safety of BDE-209 require further investigation and call for a thorough reassessment.

Seafood consumption is an important route of human exposure to organic contaminants. Residual levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including DDTs, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), heptachlor, aldrin, alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, endrin ketone, methoxychlor, endosulfan sulfate, and heptachlor epoxide, were determined in a wide variety of seafood products collected from 11 coastal cities in southern China in June and October 2005. The results indicated that OCPs were predominated by DDTs and HCHs. The concentrations of other OCP components generally were low and were detectable in a small number of seafood samples only, probably reflective of the generally low levels of these OCPs in the study region and low bioaccumulation potentials in the species under investigation. Risk assessment against various standards clearly showed that seafood products were highly contaminated by DDTs and may pose health threat to local residents and the consumers all over the world. Furthermore, other OCP components, such as dieldrin and heptachlor, also impose lifetime cancer risk, especially to residents of coastal regions who often consume more seafood than those living inland. Therefore, continual monitoring of OCPs in various environment compartments, including biota and abiota, urgently is needed to mitigate effectively the impact of OCPs, particularly DDTs, on human health and the ecological environment.