Browsing by Author "Wang, Zhen"
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Item Open Access Cell-based therapy to reduce mortality from COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies on acute respiratory distress syndrome.(Stem cells translational medicine, 2020-09) Qu, Wenchun; Wang, Zhen; Hare, Joshua M; Bu, Guojun; Mallea, Jorge M; Pascual, Jorge M; Caplan, Arnold I; Kurtzberg, Joanne; Zubair, Abba C; Kubrova, Eva; Engelberg-Cook, Erica; Nayfeh, Tarek; Shah, Vishal P; Hill, James C; Wolf, Michael E; Prokop, Larry J; Murad, M Hassan; Sanfilippo, Fred PSevere cases of COVID-19 infection, often leading to death, have been associated with variants of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Cell therapy with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is a potential treatment for COVID-19 ARDS based on preclinical and clinical studies supporting the concept that MSCs modulate the inflammatory and remodeling processes and restore alveolo-capillary barriers. The authors performed a systematic literature review and random-effects meta-analysis to determine the potential value of MSC therapy for treating COVID-19-infected patients with ARDS. Publications in all languages from 1990 to March 31, 2020 were reviewed, yielding 2691 studies, of which nine were included. MSCs were intravenously or intratracheally administered in 117 participants, who were followed for 14 days to 5 years. All MSCs were allogeneic from bone marrow, umbilical cord, menstrual blood, adipose tissue, or unreported sources. Combined mortality showed a favorable trend but did not reach statistical significance. No related serious adverse events were reported and mild adverse events resolved spontaneously. A trend was found of improved radiographic findings, pulmonary function (lung compliance, tidal volumes, PaO2 /FiO2 ratio, alveolo-capillary injury), and inflammatory biomarker levels. No comparisons were made between MSCs of different sources.Item Open Access Efficacy and Safety of MSC Cell Therapies for Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.(Stem cells translational medicine, 2022-07) Qu, Wenchun; Wang, Zhen; Engelberg-Cook, Erica; Yan, Dan; Siddik, Abu Bakar; Bu, Guojun; Allickson, Julie G; Kubrova, Eva; Caplan, Arnold I; Hare, Joshua M; Ricordi, Camillo; Pepine, Carl J; Kurtzberg, Joanne; Pascual, Jorge M; Mallea, Jorge M; Rodriguez, Ricardo L; Nayfeh, Tarek; Saadi, Samer; Durvasula, Ravindra V; Richards, Elaine M; March, Keith; Sanfilippo, Fred PMSC (a.k.a. mesenchymal stem cell or medicinal signaling cell) cell therapies show promise in decreasing mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and suggest benefits in treatment of COVID-19-related ARDS. We performed a meta-analysis of published trials assessing the efficacy and adverse events (AE) rates of MSC cell therapy in individuals hospitalized for COVID-19. Systematic searches were performed in multiple databases through November 3, 2021. Reports in all languages, including randomized clinical trials (RCTs), non-randomized interventional trials, and uncontrolled trials, were included. Random effects model was used to pool outcomes from RCTs and non-randomized interventional trials. Outcome measures included all-cause mortality, serious adverse events (SAEs), AEs, pulmonary function, laboratory, and imaging findings. A total of 736 patients were identified from 34 studies, which included 5 RCTs (n = 235), 7 non-randomized interventional trials (n = 370), and 22 uncontrolled comparative trials (n = 131). Patients aged on average 59.4 years and 32.2% were women. When compared with the control group, MSC cell therapy was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.85, I 2 = 0.0%), reduction in SAEs (IRR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.14-0.90, I 2 = 0.0%) and no significant difference in AE rate. A sub-group with pulmonary function studies suggested improvement in patients receiving MSC. These findings support the potential for MSC cell therapy to decrease all-cause mortality, reduce SAEs, and improve pulmonary function compared with conventional care. Large-scale double-blinded, well-powered RCTs should be conducted to further explore these results.Item Open Access Global Biogeochemical Cycle of Lithium(Global Biogeochemical Cycles) Schlesinger, William H; Klein, Emily M; Wang, Zhen; Vengosh, AvnerItem Open Access Legacy of anthropogenic lead in urban soils: Co-occurrence with metal(loids) and fallout radionuclides, isotopic fingerprinting, and in vitro bioaccessibility(Science of The Total Environment, 2021-10) Wang, Zhen; Wade, Anna M; Richter, Daniel D; Stapleton, Heather M; Kaste, James M; Vengosh, AvnerItem Open Access Legacy of Coal Combustion: Widespread Contamination of Lake Sediments and Implications for Chronic Risks to Aquatic Ecosystems.(Environmental science & technology, 2022-10) Wang, Zhen; Cowan, Ellen A; Seramur, Keith C; Dwyer, Gary S; Wilson, Jessie C; Karcher, Randall; Brachfeld, Stefanie; Vengosh, AvnerElevated concentrations of toxic elements in coal ash pose human and ecological health risks upon release to the environment. Despite wide public concerns about water quality and human health risks from catastrophic coal ash spills and chronic leaking of coal ash ponds, coal ash disposal has only been partially regulated, and its impacts on aquatic sediment quality and ecological health have been overlooked. Here, we present a multiproxy approach of morphologic, magnetic, geochemical, and Sr isotopic analyses, revealing unmonitored coal ash releases over the past 40 to 70 years preserved in the sediment records of five freshwater lakes adjacent to coal-fired power plants across North Carolina. We detected significant sediment contamination and potential chronic ecological risks posed by the occurrence of hundreds of thousands of tons of coal ash solids mainly resulting from high-magnitude stormwater runoff/flooding and direct effluent discharge from coal ash disposal sites. The proximity of hundreds of disposal sites to natural waterways across the U.S. implies that such contamination is likely prevalent nationwide and expected to worsen with climate change.Item Open Access The strontium isotope fingerprint of phosphate rocks mining.(The Science of the total environment, 2022-12) Vengosh, Avner; Wang, Zhen; Williams, Gordon; Hill, Robert; M Coyte, Rachel; Dwyer, Gary SHigh concentrations of metal(loid)s in phosphate rocks and wastewater associated with phosphate mining and fertilizer production operations pose potential contamination risks to water resources. Here, we propose using Sr isotopes as a tracer to determine possible water quality impacts induced from phosphate mining and fertilizers production. We utilized a regional case study in the northeastern Negev in Israel, where salinization of groundwater and a spring have been attributed to historic leaking and contamination from an upstream phosphate mining wastewater. This study presents a comprehensive dataset of major and trace elements, combined with Sr isotope analyses of the Rotem phosphate rocks, local aquifer carbonate rocks, wastewater from phosphate operation in Mishor Rotem Industries, saline groundwater suspected to be impacted by Rotem mining activities, and two types of background groundwater from the local Judea Group aquifer. The results of this study indicate that trace elements that are enriched in phosphate wastewater were ubiquitously present in the regional and non-contaminated groundwater at the same levels as detected in the impacted waters, and thus cannot be explicitly linked to the phosphate wastewater. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of phosphate rocks (0.707794 ± 5 × 10-5) from Mishor Rotem Industries were identical to that of associated wastewater (0.707789 ± 3 × 10-5), indicating that the Sr isotopic fingerprint of phosphate rocks is preserved in its wastewater. The 87Sr/86Sr (0.707949 ± 3 × 10-6) of the impacted saline groundwater were significantly different from those of the Rotem wastewater and the background saline groundwater, excluding phosphate mining effluents as the major source for contamination of the aquifer. Instead, the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the impacted water was similar to the composition of brines from the Dead Sea, which suggests that the salinization was derived primarily from industrial Dead Sea effluents with distinctive Sr isotope and geochemical fingerprints.Item Open Access Tracing Anthropogenic Metal(loid) Contaminants in the Environment Using Geochemical, Radiogenic, and Radioactive Isotopic Tools(2023) Wang, ZhenCoal combustion residuals (CCRs or coal ash), phosphate rocks and fertilizers, and leaded gasoline and lead-based paint represent major anthropogenic sources of metal and metalloid (i.e., metal(loid)) contaminants released to the environment. This dissertation aims to characterize the compositions of trace elements and radiogenic isotopes (Pb, Sr) of these anthropogenic sources and further explore their individual applicability and/or conjunctive utility with radioactive isotopes (228Ra, 226Ra, 137Cs, and 210Pb) in tracing the origin, timing, and impacts of metal(loid) contamination at various scales and in multiple environmental settings.The trace element compositions and isotopic signatures of Pb and Sr in fly ash originating from coals of different coal basins in the United States were characterized. In addition, an extended database of the Pb isotope fingerprints of coal and coal ash from China and India – the world’s top two coal producers and consumers – was established, combining newly measured values of coal and coal ash samples in this dissertation and data compiled from the literature. The results showed that (1) the Pb isotope signature of coal fly ash is distinctive from the isotope compositions of both the legacy anthropogenic Pb sources (i.e., leaded gasoline and lead-based paint) as well as natural Pb, which can be used for detecting fly ash contamination in the environment; (2) the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of bulk coal fly ash is distinctive from that of water-soluble fraction, which reflects the heterogenous distribution of Sr in fly ash and indicates the different uses of 87Sr/86Sr ratio for tracing its contamination in different environmental settings (i.e., terrestrial versus aquatic); and (3) the integrative use of trace elements, Ra isotopes (228Ra/226Ra), and Pb isotopes can further improve the detection of trace levels of coal fly ash dispersed in the environment. Through the integration of geochemical and isotopic tools (i.e., trace element distribution and 87Sr/86Sr ratio) with morphological and magnetic observations, this dissertation revealed the decades of historical and current unmonitored releases of coal ash and associated metal(loid) contaminants from the inadequate coal ash disposal units to the adjacent freshwater lakes across North Carolina (NC). The temporal distribution and evolution of coal ash contamination in the lake sediments were constructed by 137Cs- and 210Pb-based chronology techniques. The contributions of coal fly ash to the total Pb accumulation in the sediments of these contaminated lakes were quantified using a Bayesian-based Pb isotope mixing model, and the results suggested that regionally Pb contamination from fly ash can significantly outweigh the Pb input of atmospheric deposition (i.e., leaded gasoline) in the environment. Furthermore, the Pb isotope compositions of coal fly ash from China, India, and the U.S. were constrained and the fluxes of Pb associated with coal fly ash disposal in the three countries were estimated, laying the groundwork for future research on the impacts of coal ash on the Pb biogeochemical cycles at larger scales. Additionally, this dissertation reported the first set of data on the Pb isotope compositions along with rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) of phosphate rocks and fertilizers sourced from different regions and origins around the world. The geological imprints reflected in the geochemical and Pb isotopic fingerprints of the phosphate rocks were discussed and their potential utilizations and limitations in tracing phosphate-associated metal(loid) contamination in the environment were evaluated. This lays the groundwork for future local and regional studies on tracing the impacts of metal(loid) contaminants from phosphate rock mining and phosphate fertilizer application. Furthermore, this dissertation showcased a holistic assessment of the legacy anthropogenic contamination of Pb and other metal(loid)s in urban soils from Durham, NC, whereby fallout radionuclides 137Cs and 210Pb were proposed as potential indicators of the extent of soil disturbances that can impact the mobilization and redistribution of metal(loid) contaminants. The imprints of distinctive Pb isotopic fingerprints of leaded gasoline and lead-based paint in the soils reflected the persistent presence of these legacy sources in the urban environment of today, and the potential bioavailability of toxic metal(loid)s in the contaminated soils upon oral ingestion was assessed via in vitro arrays.