Foxbentley1150

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies on the association between metals and body mass index (BMI) have been cross-sectional and have demonstrated inconsistent associations. Our study prospectively examined whether metals measured at baseline were associated with later BMI. We considered metals individually and as joint exposure to pre-defined metal groupings. METHODS We measured concentrations of 16 metals in toenails collected at baseline (2003-2009) in a subset of 1221 women from the Sister Study. We calculated BMI from height and weight reported on a follow-up questionnaire an average of 5.2 years (range = 3.5-8.3) after baseline. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate β coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between BMI and individual metals (with estimates given per interquartile range (IQR) increase or in quartiles). Quantile g-computation was used to examine joint associations between groups of metals and BMI. Groups considered were (1) all metals combined, and metals classified as (2) non-essential or (3) essential. RESULTS In individual metal models we found that, with the exception of cobalt, no single metal was strongly related to BMI. In our mixture analyses, a quartile increase in all non-essential metals was associated with higher BMI (β = 0.32; 95%CI 0.00, 0.63 kg/m2), whereas essential metals were suggestively associated with lower BMI (β = -0.25; 95%CI 0.58, 0.07 kg/m2). CONCLUSIONS In this population of women who were, on average, overweight, essential metals were jointly associated with slightly healthier, lower BMI whereas non-essential metals were jointly associated with slightly higher, unhealthier BMI, after controlling for other health indicators and predictors of metals exposures. The accelerated development and application of graphene-family nanomaterials (GFNs) have increased their release to various environments and converged in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, little is known about the interactions between GFNs and microbes in WWTPs. In this study, the interaction of graphene oxide (GO) or graphene (G) at different concentrations with microbial communities in sequential batch reactors was investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy analyses showed that the structures of GFNs were obviously changed, which suggested GFNs could be degraded by some microbes. Significantly higher DNA concentration and lower cell number in high-concentration GO group were detected by DNA leakage test and qPCR analysis, which confirmed the microbial toxicity of GO. The chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen removals were significantly affected by G and GO with high concentrations. Further, high-throughput sequencing confirmed the composition and dynamic changes of microbial communities under GFNs exposure. Saccharibacteria genera incertae sedis (12.55-28.05%) and Nakamurella (20.45-29.30%) were the predominant genera at two stages, respectively. FAPROTAX suggested 12 functional groups with obvious changes related to the biogeochemical cycle of C, N and S. Molecular ecological network analysis showed that the networks were more complex in the presence of GFNs, and the increased negative interactions reflected more competition relationships in microbial communities. This study is the first to report the effect of GFNs on network of microbial communities, which provides in-depth insights into the complex and highlights concerns regarding the risk of GFNs to WWTPs. Accurately characterizing human exposures to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) is critical to public health protection. However, quantifying exposure to this single source is challenging, given its extremely heterogeneous chemical composition. Efforts using single-species tracers of TRAP are, thus, lacking in their ability to accurately reflect exposures to this complex mixture. There have been recent discussions centered on adopting a multipollutant perspective for sources with many emitted pollutants to maximize the benefits of control expenditures as well as to minimize population and ecosystem exposure. As part of a larger study aimed to assess a complete emission-to-exposure pathway of primary traffic pollution and understand exposure of individuals in the near-road environment, an intensive field campaign measured TRAPs and related data (e.g., meteorology, traffic counts, and regional air pollutant levels) in Atlanta along one of the busiest highway corridors in the US. Given the dynamic nature of the near-road environment, a multipollutant exposure metric, the Integrated Mobile Source Indicator (IMSI), which was generated based on emissions-based ratios, was calculated and compared to traditional single-species methods for assessing exposure to mobile source emissions. The current analysis examined how both traditional and non-traditional metrics vary spatially and temporally in the near-road environment, how they compare with each other, and whether they have the potential to offer more accurate means of assigning exposures to primary traffic emissions. The results indicate that compared to the traditional single pollutant specie, the multipollutant IMSI metric provided a more spatially stable method for assessing exposure, though variations occurred based on location with varying results among the six sites within a kilometer of the highway. Phosphorus recovery from urine is a sustainable approach. However, the challenge of this process is the accessibility of economically feasible magnesium sources. This study aimed to investigate the potential of low-cost Rift Valley Lake magnesium (RVL-Mg) source for phosphorus recovery from urine, where data is deficient in the source area. The effect of various operational conditions such as storage, MgP ratio (0.8-2.0), pH (5.5-10.5), mixing speed (30-180 rpm), urease enzyme addition (50-700 μL), urine dilution (0.11-9.0) and CaMg ratio (0.3-2.5) was investigated. Under optimum operating conditions (MP = 1.6, pH = 9, urease enzyme = 500 μL, mixing speed = 120 rpm, 60 min precipitation), the phosphorus removal efficiencies were >96% for actual and >98% for synthetic urine. During storage, spontaneous phosphorus losses were observed from synthetic (24.0%) and actual (32.0%) hydrolyzed urine due to precipitation with calcium and magnesium. The phosphorus recovery efficiency was reduced at higher (0.111) and lower (91) urine to RVL-Mg dilution, which is related to lower supersaturation of phosphorus and magnesium ions, respectively. Addition of calcium did not affect phosphorus removal efficiency, but the effect was significant on crystal product. With low (99%), which was further identified by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction to be quality struvite that might be used for agricultural purpose. Overall, low-cost magnesium ion collected from Rift Valley Lake can be a potentially candidate for sustainable phosphorus recovery from urine and any other phosphorus containing waste stream. BACKGROUND Previously we reported that inorganic arsenic (iAs) methylation capacity was associated with breast cancer (BC). BC risk factors may vary according to immunohistochemical subtype. Here we explored the relationships between the capacity to methylate iAs and the risk of BC by subtype. METHODS A population-based case-control study was performed in northern Mexico. Patients with available information about BC subtypes (n = 499) were age-matched with healthy controls. Sociodemographic, reproductive, and lifestyle characteristics were obtained. Tumor marker information was obtained from medical records. Cases were classified as HR+ [estrogen receptor (ER+) and/or progesterone (PR+), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-)], HER2+, or triple negative (TN). Urinary arsenic species were determined by high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS), and methylation capacity parameters calculated. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate BC risk by subtypes. RESULTS Urinary total arsenic varied from 0.60 to 303.29 μg/L. A significant positive association was found between % monomethylarsonic acid (%MMA) and HR + BC one percent increase resulted in OR%MMA continuous = 2.73, 95% CI 1.48, 5.05), and this association remained even when %iAs or % dimethylarsinic acid (%DMA) were added to the models with %MMA. MMA/iAs was positively associated with HR + BC (ORMMA/iAs continuous = 2.03, 95% CI 1.33-3.10). A significant negative association was observed between DMA/MMA and HR + BC (ORDMA/MMA continuous = 0.43, 95% CI 0.26, 0.71). MMA/iAs was positively associated with TN BC (OR MMA/iAs continuous = 4.05; 95% CI 1.63, 10.04). CONCLUSION Altered iAs methylation capacity resulting in higher %MMA was associated with HR+ and TN BC but not with HER2+. MMA is the iAs metabolite more likely to be related to BC. Further research is needed to confirm these results and elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms. This paper considers a two-echelon supply chain with a supplier and a retailer both having capital constraints. The capital-constrained retailer first applies for loans from the commercial bank, and then applies for trade credit from the supplier. Compared with the single trade credit financing mechanism, what are the similarities and differences in the contagion and evolution of the associated credit risk in the supply chain when the retailer adopts both trade credit and bank credit (dual-channel financing) mechanism. Based on Stackelberg game analysis framework of the supplier and retailer, this paper clarifies the contagion mechanism of the associated credit risk in the supply chain and discusses the influences of financing structure, financing channel and financing costs on the contagion effect of the associated credit risk in the supply chain under dual-channel financing mechanism. Combined with the case simulation analysis, it is found that Compared with the single trade credit financing mechanism, the contagion effect is weaker under the dual-channel financing mechanism. The financing structure significantly affects the contagion effect, which increases with the increase of the proportion of trade credit financing. Both bank credit and trade credit financing costs can positively affect the contagion effect. Our research can enrich the existing credit risk management and supply chain finance literature and provide decision support for the selection of financing methods and risk control of commercial banks and supply chain enterprises. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) as value-added platform chemical can be derived from biomass. This study used microwave hydrothermal liquefaction (MHTL) to obtain HMF from sugarcane bagasse in acidic seawater conditions. The key processing parameters including temperature, reaction time, and liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) were evaluated and optimized. The highest HMF yield of 8.1 wt% was obtained at 149 °C with a reaction time of 4 min and a L/S value of 121, respectively. This yield is considerable and even higher than the yield derived from sugarcane molasses under similar microwave conditions in the absence of seawater. Hence, acidic seawater was found to promote the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse to give HMF precursor (i.e. fructose and glucose), while simultaneously inhibiting the conversion of HMF to levulinic acid under MHTL conditions, possibly explaining the high HMF yield. This method presents a new and sustainable means of transforming waste biomass to valuable substances using seawater or brine wastewater.