Soil amendment-assisted phytoremediation with ryegrass offers a promising approach to mitigate environmental health concerns.

This study aimed to examine the potential of soil amendment-assisted phytoremediation using ryegrass in reclaiming abandoned gold mine soil in southwestern Ghana, with a specific focus on the soil contamination hazards associated with metals and metalloids. A pot experiment lasting 60 days was carried out to assess the efficacy of soil amendments, such as compost, iron oxide, and poultry manure, in mitigating environmental hazards. Three soil contamination indices (soil contamination = CF, enrichment factor = ER, and pollution load index = PLI) were used to calculate the extent of soil contamination, enrichment, and pollution of the sites with Co, Hg, Ni, Mo, Se, Sb, and Pb.

Phytoavailability and uptake of arsenic in ryegrass affected by various amendments in soil of an abandoned gold mining site.

Abandoned gold mining spoils pose socio-environmental, human, and animal health impacts and threaten sustainability of mineral extraction. Green trials and ecological solutions are required to effectively remediate these contaminated soils and mitigate the associated risks. Here, we carried out a pot experiment using a highly contaminated soil (mean total As = 5104.

Reducing conditions increased the mobilisation and hazardous effects of arsenic in a highly contaminated gold mine spoil.

Arsenic (As) redox-induced mobilisation and speciation in polluted gold mine sites in tropical climates largely remains unknown. Here, we investigated the impact of changes in soil redox potential (E) (-54 mV to +429 mV) on mobilisation of As and its dominant species in an abandoned spoil (total As = 4283 mg/kg) using an automated biogeochemical microcosm set-up. Arsenic mobilisation increased (85-137 mg/L) at moderately reducing conditions (-54 mV to + 200 mV)), while its reduced (6-35 mg/L) under oxic conditions (+200 to +400 mV).

Biochar, compost, iron oxide, manure, and inorganic fertilizer affect bioavailability of arsenic and improve soil quality of an abandoned arsenic-contaminated gold mine spoil.

Arsenic (As) contaminated mining spoils pose health threats to environmental resources and humans, and thus, mitigating this potential risk is worth investigating. Here, we studied the impacts of biochar, compost, iron oxide, manure, and inorganic fertilizer on the non-specifically (readily bioavailable)- and specifically- sorbed As and soil quality improvement of an abandoned mine spoil highly contaminated with As (total As = 1807 mg/kg). Compost, iron oxide, manure, and biochar were each applied at 0.

Human health risk via soil ingestion of potentially toxic elements and remediation potential of native plants near an abandoned mine spoil in Ghana.

Integrated studies about potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in sites near gold mining spoils, their contamination and human health risk, as well as remediation potential of native plants are limited. Therefore, our aim was to assess the human health risk of PTEs (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ti, V, and Zn) in sites near an abandoned gold mine spoil in Ghana. We collected 52 soil samples near the mine spoil and from a natural forest, determined their total element contents, and calculated the soil contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (I) and the pollution load index (PLI).

Arsenic contamination in abandoned and active gold mine spoils in Ghana: Geochemical fractionation, speciation, and assessment of the potential human health risk.

This work aims to study the pseudo-total content, geochemical fractions, and species of arsenic (As) in the bulk soil and in the coarse and fine particles of top soil and soil profiles collected from active and abandoned gold mine spoils in Ghana. The human health risk for adults (male and female) and children has been assessed. To achieve our aims, we collected 51 samples, characterized them, determined the total As content, and sequentially extracted the geochemical fractions of As including water-soluble and un-specifically bound As (FI); specific-sorbed/exchangeable As (FII); poorly (FIII)- and well-crystalline (IV) Fe oxide; and residual/sulphide fraction (FV).

Is pretest probability assessment on emergency department patients with suspected venous thromboembolism documented before SimpliRED D-dimer testing?

Background: The SimpliRED D-dimer assay is commonly ordered by emergency physicians for suspected pulmonary embolus or deep venous thrombosis. A pretest probability (PTP) assessment is required for the results of this diagnostic test to be interpreted correctly and applied appropriately. Without this assessment, the physician may misinterpret the test results and proceed to unnecessary diagnostic imaging (DI) or inappropriate discharge.

Association of alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptor and heavy smoking in schizophrenia.

Introduction: Previously we suggested that the CHRNA7 polymorphism in nicotinic receptor genes, in particular the D15S1360 in CHRNA7, is associated with smoking in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients are usually heavy smokers. In this study we hypothesized that high-affinity nicotinic receptors are associated with smoking in such patients.

Molecular analysis of a chromosome 4 inversion segregating in a large schizophrenia kindred from Hong Kong.

The present study looks at a paracentric inversion on chromosome 4 [inv(4)(q13;q25)] in members of a large schizophrenia kindred from Hong Kong, and the possibility of a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia at one of the inversion breakpoints. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with BAC and fosmid clones was used to determine the location of the 4q13 and 4q25 breakpoints, however bioinformatic analysis indicated that no known genes are directly disrupted by the breakpoints. We identified several putative genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from around the breakpoint regions, and have characterized them further in order to determine whether they may represent full-length mRNAs that are disrupted by the inversion.

Sequence variants within exon 1 of MECP2 occur in females with mental retardation.

A new splice variant of the Rett syndrome gene, MECP2, was recently identified, that includes coding sequence from exon 1, and is the predominant transcript in the central nervous system. This sequence encodes polyalanine and polyglycine stretches within the N-terminal portion of MeCP2, and may confer novel functional properties to the protein. We screened autism, mental retardation (MR), and control populations for sequence variation within this region, and identified variation in approximately 1% of MR cases screened (N = 1,410).