Chemotherapy and radiotherapy improved survival rates of patients with cancer. However, they can cause ovarian failure and infertility in women of reproductive age. Infertility following cancer treatment is considered a major quality of life issue. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation is an important option for fertility preservation in adult patients with cancer who need immediate chemotherapy or do not want to undergo ovarian stimulation. Ovarian tissue freezing is the only option for preserving the fertility of prepubertal patients with cancer. In a recent review, it was reported that frozen-thawed ovarian transplantation has lead to about 90 live births and the conception rate was about 30%. Endocrine function recovery was observed in 92.9% between 3.5 and 6.5 months after transplantation. Based on our review, ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation may be carefully considered before cancer treatment in order to preserve fertility and endocrine function in young cancer survivors.

Epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to particulate matter (PM) is associated with adverse health effects. Inhalation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with elevated pulmonary diseases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the initiation of lung inflammation following inhalation is unclear. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of two probiotics, Lactobacillus casei HY2782 and Bifidobacterium lactis HY8002, against PM-induced pulmonary inflammation. Model mice were subjected to chronic exposure of PM2.5. The results showed that PM2.5 enhanced oxidative stress and led to Th2 cytokine responses in the mice. PM2.5-exposed mice were orally administered with HY2782 and HY8002 from the day of first exposure to the end point of the study. The results showed that HY2782 ameliorated PM 2.5 exposure-enhanced leukocyte migration and activation of proinflammatory cytokines. HY2782 and HY8002 also prevented exacerbation of eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. HY2782 and HY8002 significantly increased scavenging of PM2.5-induced reactive oxygen species and activated superoxide dismutase and catalase activity in the blood. These results indicate that the probiotics HY2782 and HY8002 protect against PM-induced pulmonary inflammation.

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Improper management of abandoned mine sites can cause heavy metal contamination of down-gradient agricultural soil, groundwater, and surface water. In this study, we investigated the effects of changes in environmental factors on the leaching behavior of the heavy metals and suggested future research direction for better risk management of the abandoned mine sites under climate change. Numerous studies showed that the concentration of heavy metals in the leachate frequently exceed the environmental criteria even though the leachable heavy metal was negligible (< 1 % of the total concentration), which indicates that mine soils can be long-term resources of contamination. From the result of batch and column experiments, it has been found that soil properties (e.g., soil pH, redox potential, etc.) affect the leaching behavior by solubility change, complex formation, precipitation, etc. Two-site kinetic leaching models were mainly applied for understanding nonequilibrium leaching behavior of the metals due to heterogeneous physical structure and various binding sites of the soil. Meanwhile, it was also reported that the change in hydrodynamic properties due to rainfall pattern can influence leaching behavior by changing the interfacial interaction between soil and water. Several researchers recognized that extreme weather condition (high temperature and increased drought period) due to climate change can elevate initial leaching concentration of the heavy metal. In reality, climate change can cause the nonequilibrium leaching of the metals by influencing hydrodynamic condition and chemical stability of the soil system. Therefore, future works to precisely predict the heavy metal leaching behavior across abandoned mine sites are necessary and risk management of these sites in response to climate change should be designed.