Source apportionment and health risk quantification for heavy metal sources in soils near aluminum-plastic manufacturing facilities in northeast China

Abstract

Identifying the source effect on heavy metals to human health risk is essential for devising and implementing restoration policies for polluted soils. For this purpose, eight heavy metals (As, Cd, Hg, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soil profile samples (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40?cm) collected in the area around aluminum-plastic manufacturing facilities (APMF) were determined. An absolute principal component score multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model supported by a health risk assessment (HRA) model was developed to determine the source apportionment of soil heavy metals and contribution rate of pollution sources to human health risk. Results showed significant accumulations of eight metals in the topsoil (0–20?cm), parent material, transportation, APMF, and agricultural practices were the four major contributing sources for heavy metals in soils, with average contribution percentages of 21.69%, 24.99%, 29.60%, and 14.25%, respectively. Carcinogenic risk factors for adults (1.23E-04) and children (1.32E-04) were found to be above the acceptable level (1E-06 to 1E-04). The health risk quantification results indicated that parent material, APMF, transportation, agricultural practices, and unidentified factors accounted for 55.76%, 14.48%, 12.09%, 10.13%, and 7.54% of the carcinogenic risk for children and adults. The adverse impacts of Cd, Zn, and Pb accumulations in soil coming from APMF activities were significant and need to receive more attention.     

When to start and when to stop: Effects of climate on breeding in a multi‐brooded songbird

Climate warming has been shown to affect the timing of the onset of breeding of many bird species across the world. However, for multi‐brooded species, climate may also affect the timing of the end of the breeding season, and hence also its duration, and these effects may have consequences for fitness. We used 28 years of field data to investigate the links between climate, timing of breeding, and breeding success in a cooperatively breeding passerine, the superb fairy‐wren (Malurus cyaneus). This multi‐brooded species from southeastern Australia has a long breeding season and high variation in phenology between individuals. By applying a “sliding window” approach, we found that higher minimum temperatures in early spring resulted in an earlier start and a longer duration of breeding, whereas less rainfall and more heatwaves (days > 29°C) in late summer resulted in an earlier end and a shorter duration of breeding. Using a hurdle model analysis, we found that earlier start dates did not predict whether or not females produced any young in a season. However, for successful females who produced at least one young, earlier start dates were associated with higher numbers of young produced in a season. Earlier end dates were associated with a higher probability of producing at least one young, presumably because unsuccessful females kept trying when others had ceased. Despite larger scale trends in climate, climate variables in the windows relevant to this species’ phenology did not change across years, and there were no temporal trends in phenology during our study period. Our results illustrate a scenario in which higher temperatures advanced both start and end dates of individuals’ breeding seasons, but did not generate an overall temporal shift in breeding times. They also suggest that the complexity of selection pressures on breeding phenology in multi‐brooded species may have been underestimated.     

Distinct genomic traits of acral and mucosal melanomas revealed by targeted mutational profiling

The incidence of melanoma is rising globally including China. Comparing to Caucasians, the incidence of non‐cutaneous melanomas is significantly higher in Chinese. Herein, we performed genomic profiling of 89 Chinese surgically resected primary melanomas, including acral (n = 54), cutaneous (n = 22), and mucosal (n = 13), by hybrid capture‐based next‐generation sequencing. We show that mucosal melanomas tended to harbor more pathogenic mutations than other types of melanoma, though the biological significance of this finding remains uncertain. Chromosomal arm‐level alterations including 6q, 9p, and 10p/q loss were highly recurrent in all subtypes, but mucosal melanoma was significantly associated with increased genomic instability. Importantly, 7p gain significantly correlated with unfavorable clinical outcomes in non‐cutaneous melanomas, representing an intriguing prognostic biomarker of those subtypes. Furthermore, focal amplification of 4q12 (KIT, KDR, and PDGFRα) and RAD51 deletion were more abundant in mucosal melanoma, while NOTCH2 amplification was enriched in acral melanoma. Additionally, cutaneous melanomas had higher mutation load than acral melanomas, while mucosal melanomas did not differ from other subtypes in mutation burden. Together, our data revealed important features of acral and mucosal melanomas in Chinese including distinctive driver mutation pattern and increased genomic instability. These findings highlight the possibilities of combination therapies in the clinical management of melanoma.     

The Chimonanthus salicifolius genome provides insight into magnoliid evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis

Chimonanthus salicifolius, a member of the Calycanthaceae of magnoliids, is one of the most famous medicinal plants in Eastern China. Here, we report a chromosome‐level genome assembly of C. salicifolius, comprising 820.1 Mb of genomic sequence with a contig N50 of 2.3 Mb and containing 36 651 annotated protein‐coding genes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that magnoliids were sister to the eudicots. Two rounds of ancient whole‐genome duplication were inferred in the C. salicifolious genome. One is shared by Calycanthaceae after its divergence with Lauraceae, and the other is in the ancestry of Magnoliales and Laurales. Notably, long genes with > 20 kb in length were much more prevalent in the magnoliid genomes compared with other angiosperms, which could be caused by the length expansion of introns inserted by transposon elements. Homologous genes within the flavonoid pathway for C. salicifolius were identified, and correlation of the gene expression and the contents of flavonoid metabolites revealed potential critical genes involved in flavonoids biosynthesis. This study not only provides an additional whole‐genome sequence from the magnoliids, but also opens the door to functional genomic research and molecular breeding of C. salicifolius.     

Studies on the effects of bone marrow stem cells on mitochondrial function and the alleviation of ARDS

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can alleviate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the mechanisms involved are unclear, especially about their...     

Genetics and Resistance Mechanism of the Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Against Powdery Mildew

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Powdery mildew (PM) is one of the most severe foliar diseases in cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.), but the inheritance of PM resistance remains unclear. The...     

The Salicylic Acid Signaling Pathway Plays an Important Role in the Resistant Process of Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis to Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin infection, leads to significant yield and economic losses in cruciferous vegetables. However, the...