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Malaria is re-emerging in Anhui Province, China after a decade long' low level of endemicity. The number of human cases has increased rapidly since 2000 and reached its peak in 2006. That year, the malaria cases accounted for 54.5% of total cases in mainland China. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of human cases and factors underlying the reemergence remain unclear. We established a database containing 20 years' (1990-2009) records of monthly reported malaria cases and meteorological parameters. Spearman correlations were used to assess the crude association between malaria incidence and meteorological variables, and a polynomial distributed lag (PDL) time-series regression was performed to examine contribution of meteorological factors to malaria transmission in three geographic regions (northern, mid and southern Anhui Province), respectively. Then, a two-year (2008-2009) prediction was performed to validate the PDL model that was created by using the data collected from 1990 to 2007. We found that malaria incidence decreased in Anhui Province in 1990s. However, the incidence has dramatically increased in the north since 2000, while the transmission has remained at a relatively low level in the mid and south. Spearman correlation analyses showed that the monthly incidences of malaria were significantly associated with temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and the multivariate El Niño/Southern Oscillation index with lags of 0-2 months in all three regions. The PDL model revealed that only rainfall with a 1-2 month lag was significantly associated with malaria incidence in all three regions. The model validation showed a high accuracy for the prediction of monthly incidence over a 2-year predictive period. Malaria epidemics showed a high spatial heterogeneity in Anhui Province during the 1990- 2009 study periods. The change in rainfall drives the reemergence of malaria in the northern Anhui Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to demonstrate the validity of using scalp hair rare earth elements (REEs) content as a biomarker of human REEs exposure, data were collected on REEs exposure levels from children aged 11–15 years old and living in an ion-adsorptive type light REEs (LREEs) mining and surrounding areas in southern China. Sixty scalp hair samples were analyzed by ICP-MS for 16 REEs (La–Lu, Y and Sc). Sixteen REEs contents in the samples from the mining area (e.g., range: La: 0.14–6.93 µg/g; Nd: 0.09–5.27 µg/g; Gd: 12.2–645.6 ng/g; Lu: 0.2–13.3 ng/g; Y: 0.03–1.27 µg/g; Sc: 0.05–0.30 µg/g) were significantly higher than those from the reference area (range: La: 0.04–0.40 µg/g; Nd: 0.04–0.32 µg/g; Gd: 8.3–64.6 ng/g; Lu: 0.4–3.3 ng/g; Y: 0.03–0.29 µg/g; Sc: 0.11–0.36 µg/g) and even much higher than those published in the literature. The distribution pattern of REEs in scalp hair from the mining area was very similar to that of REEs in the mine and the atmosphere shrouding that area. In conclusion, the scalp hair REEs contents may indicate not only quantitatively but also qualitatively (distribution pattern) the absorption of REEs from environmental exposure into human body. The children living in this mining area should be regarded as a high-risk group with REEs (especially LREEs) exposure, and their health status should be examined from a REEs health risk assessment perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]