Ying Zhu

From a One Health perspective, the excessive use of veterinary antibiotics poses a significant risk to human health. As a leading global producer of livestock and aquaculture, China requires rigorous assessment and management of veterinary antibiotics use and emissions. However, such efforts are often constrained by emission data scarcity and inaccuracy. By integrating official statistics on livestock populations and aquaculture indicators (products and farming areas) with empirical concentrations of veterinary antibiotic residue in feces and aquaculture water from peer-reviewed literature, an Excretion–Removal–Emission (ERE) framework was established to construct a refined 2020 emission inventory for veterinary antibiotics in China. The inventory quantifies county-level emissions of ten categories of veterinary antibiotics from livestock and aquaculture, to soil, freshwater, and seawater. To account for uncertainty, we developed low-, best-guess- and high-emission scenarios based on policy compliance and key parameter variations, providing a robust assessment of potential outcomes. The inventory development framework established here provides a transferable methodological foundation for constructing veterinary antibiotic emission inventories in other countries worldwide. The resulting dataset can serve as a foundational input for subsequent multimedia fate modeling, environmental and human health risk assessments. Furthermore, it provides a critical basis for antibiotic stewardship and pollution control management strategies.

Chemicals in personal care products (PCPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants; however, nationally representative data on population-level exposure in China remain limited. Here, we quantified urinary concentrations of PCP-related chemicals in 1,817 participants from the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program (2017-2018), using a multistage stratified sampling design. We characterized exposure patterns and conducted a screening-level exposure assessment. Parabens (PBs) were the most frequently detected chemicals, with methyl paraben (MeP) showing the highest quantification rate, followed by ethyl paraben (EtP) and normal propyl paraben (n-PrP). Higher exposure levels were observed among northern urban residents, females, and individuals aged 3-5 and 19-39 years. Lower rice intake and higher fruit consumption were associated with increased urinary concentrations. A small proportion of participants had hazard index values exceeding 1. Population-weighted extrapolation suggests that approximately 0.738% of the Chinese population (about 9.47 million individuals) may exceed screening-level reference values under conservative assumptions, with higher proportions among females and those aged 19-59 years. This study provides the first nationally representative characterization of exposure to multiple classes of PCP-related chemicals in China and offers important context for population exposure patterns.

Emerging evidence indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) shapes not only patterns of environmental exposure but also the susceptibility to environmental hazards. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a distinctive case in which socioeconomically disadvantaged populations often exhibit lower exposure levels, raising critical questions about how such exposure patterns translate into health inequalities, particularly for diabetes. Using cross-sectional data from 10 302 adults participating in the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program, we examined socioeconomic disparities in serum PFAS concentrations and assessed whether lower SES is associated with stronger PFAS-diabetes associations among Chinese adults. We found that individuals with higher SES exhibited 4–10% higher serum concentrations of PFOA, PFUnDA, PFHxS, PFHpS, PFOS, and 6:2 Cl-PFESA (all p values <0.05). In contrast, associations between PFAS exposure and diabetes were generally stronger among low-SES participants. Across multiple PFAS, odds ratios for diabetes in the low-SES group were 0–17% greater relative to the high-SES group, with statistically significant effect modification observed for PFUnDA, PFOS, and 6:2 Cl-PFESA. These findings indicate that socioeconomic disadvantage may be associated with greater susceptibility, even at lower exposure levels, underscoring the importance of considering differential susceptibility when assessing environmental health risks and advancing health equity.

Bisphenol analogues, widely used in consumer products, are emerging environmental contaminants with documented endocrine-disrupting effects. Conventional biomonitoring methods relying on venous blood or urine are logistically challenging, especially for vulnerable populations. Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling serves as a minimally invasive and logistically superior alternative, yet its application for trace-level bisphenol analogues analysis remains limited due to sensitivity issues, background contamination, and lack of standardization. Herein, we developed a high-throughput, kit-based method for the simultaneous quantification of 16 bisphenol analogues in DBS samples using protein precipitation combined with phospholipid removal, followed by UHPLC-MS/MS analysis. The method demonstrated high sensitivity, with method detection limits (MDLs) ranging from 0.04 to 1.17 μg/L, method quantitation limits (MQLs) ranging from 0.16 to 1.48 μg/L, and excellent accuracy and precision (recoveries: 70-128%; RSDs < 20%). Matrix effects were effectively compensated using stable isotope-labeled internal standards. The method's application to 33 authentic DBS samples indicated substantial exposure to bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), and diphenyl sulfone (DPS). This standardized, scalable workflow provides a robust tool for large-scale biomonitoring and epidemiological studies of bisphenol analogues.

Objective To build a multi-center laboratory network in the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program to deliver high-quality datasets supporting national human biomonitoring exposure assessment and public health policy-making. Methods A systematic Quality Management System (QMS) framework was established, encompassing laboratory network building, standardized policies, resource allocation, and a rigorous Quality Evaluation System (QES). Applicant laboratories underwent interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICI) using identical test samples. Certified network laboratories implemented strict standard operating procedures, analyzed certified reference materials and project-specific blinded Quality Control (QC) pools, and performed incurred sample reanalysis throughout the analytical process. ResultsThrough ICI, four laboratories were certified for heavy metals and metalloids (HMMs) analysis. Throughout the measurement of 21,701 blood and 21,704 urine samples, internal quality control (IQC) demonstrated high precision (CV% generally 80% within the reference range), while the median relative percentage difference (RPD) in sample reanalysis was below 5%. External quality assessment using CNHBM-specific QC pools confirmed excellent inter-laboratory comparability, with overall coefficients of variation for key HMMs maintained below 15%. Conclusion This study presents the first successful implementation of an integrated QMS framework for a national biomonitoring program in China. The framework effectively harmonized multi-laboratory data production, yielding a high-quality, unified national dataset for exposure assessment and public health policy-making, and provides a replicable model for large-scale environmental health surveillance initiatives.

Molecular docking for high throughput screening binding of chemicals to functional protein related to health impact.