Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A-toxic\/hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering最新文献

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a reactive brominated flame retardant widely used in various industrial and household products. This compound is persistent in the environment and accumulates in living organisms through the food chain, and is toxic to animals and human beings. Studies have shown that TBBPA is toxic to various human cell lines, including neuronal cells. Apigenin is a dietary flavonoid that exhibits various beneficial health effects on biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. This study investigated the cytoprotective effects of apigenin against TBBPA-mediated cytotoxicity in SK-N-MC cells. Our results demonstrated that treatment of SK-N-MC cells with apigenin increased the cell viability, which was decreased by TBBPA, and reduced apoptosis and autophagy induced by TBBPA. Although we did not observe any change in the levels of IL-1β and nitrite in cultured cells after TBBPA treatment, apigenin was found to decrease the production of these pro-inflammatory mediators. Apigenin decreased the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, NOX4 level, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial membrane potential loss and increased the mitochondrial biogenesis and nuclear Nrf2 levels that were reduced by TBBPA. Finally, apigenin treatment decreased Akt and ERK induction in cells exposed to TBBPA. Based on these results, apigenin could be a promising candidate for designing natural drugs to treat or prevent TBBPA-related neurological disorders.

Established methods for using standardized dust wipes to collect and measure total lead in household dust are readily available but the use of dust wipes to measure bioaccessible lead (BaPb) is less clear. This study compared two in vitro methods for estimating the proportion of BaPb in dust collected into dust wipes including the US-EPA's in-vitro bioaccessible assay (IVBA) method at two pH (1.5 and 2.5) values; and the physiologically based extraction test (PBET 2.5 pH). Two types of simulated household dust samples (Pb-soil contaminated and Pb-paint contaminated) each with three Pb concentrations were created. Equal amounts of simulated dust were applied to a smooth surface and collected following the standard EPA dust wipe protocol and were analyzed for BaPb and total Pb (ASTM-E1644-17, ICP-OES). Estimated BaPb levels differed significantly by the method of extraction. Mean percent BaPb were IVBA pH 1.5, > 90% (Pb-paint) and 59-63% (Pb-soil); IVBA pH 2.5 78-86% (Pb-paint) and 45-50% (Pb-soil); PBET pH 2.5 56 to 61% (Pb-paint) and 41-50% Pb-soil). Particularly for lead-paint contaminated dust, PBET showed significantly greater discrimination as suggested by the broader range of BaPb values and closer approximation to total lead concentrations in simulated household dust samples.

The performance of a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system is characterized by SO₂ removal efficiency ($Y_1$) and reagent conversion ($Y_2$). Achieving a near-perfect reaction environment has been of concern in dry FGD (DFGD) due to the low reactivity compared to the wet and semi-dry units. This study will appraise output responses using modeling by response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks (ANN) approaches. The impacts of input parameters like hydration time, hydration temperature, diatomite to hydrated lime (Ca(OH)₂), sulfation temperature and inlet gas concentration will be studied using a randomized central composite design (CCD). ANN fitting tool mapped the CCD metadata using the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm activated by the hyperbolic tangent (tansig) function. The hidden cells ranged from 7 to 10 to ascertain the effect node architecture on modeling accuracy. Validation of each procedure was assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), mean square error (MSE) and R-Squared studies. The outcomes presented a more accurate 5-10-2 ANN model in the mapping of the DFGD from R² data of $Y_1$ = 0.993 and $Y_2$ = 0.9986 with a mapping deviation from the RMSE values of $Y_1$ = 0.48465; $Y_2$ = 0.44971 and MSE results of $Y_1$ = 0.23488; $Y_2.$= 0.20229.

Microplastic pollution has gradually become a major global concern, due to the widespread use of plastics. Microplastics enter the environment and are degradated, while also being ingested by organisms, affecting various physiological functions and adversely affecting the health of organisms. Microplastic pollution is currently a wide concern, but data on the impact on organisms is still not sufficient. Therefore, this review summarizes the research on microplastic pollution in marine, soil and fresh water, and its impact on organisms, focusing on the effects of microplastics on organisms' feeding behavior and oxidative stress responses, intestinal microbes and reproductive function, and the combined effects of microplastic pollutants on organisms. We also summarized the various possible ways of microplastics entering into the human body, and posing a potential threat to human health, which still needs further research.

In this study, a new Fenton's reagent was synthesized via two steps: (1) the dispersed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were immobilized on the surface of the SiO₂ carrier via the precipitation process, and (2) the MnO₂ nano-sheets were coated on the surface of Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ via hydrothermal method. The SiO₂ carrier has been synthetically utilized from Vietnamese rice husk. The successful formation of the MnO₂-Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ composite has been analytically characterized by the XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope), EDS (energy dispersive spectrometry)-mapping, FTIR (Fourier transform infrared), S_BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area), and adsorption/desorption isotherms. This Fenton system was employed to catalyze degradation process of the reactive-blue 19 (RB19) with approximately 100% of removal efficiency after 25 min at the optimal condition of 0.15 g/100 mL of catalyst dosage, pH = 3, and the H₂O₂ concentration of 3 mL/100 mL. Moreover, the catalyst could be reused at least six times with high catalytic activity that was more than 90%. In conclusion, this study showed that the mesoporous MnO₂-Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ composite has a great potential for the removal application of dyes from wastewater, and the application of Vietnam rice husk in environmental treatment was developed.

This study investigated a novel and sensitive analytical method based on a simple heat-based derivatization using 3-bromoacetyl coumarin as the reagent and analysis with a HPLC-UV system or just a UV-vis spectrometer to allow the sub-ppm determination of PFCAs in water solution with the potential for utilization in simple laboratories and field laboratory scenarios. A Strata-X-AW cartridge was used for the solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure and higher than 98% recoveries were obtained. The derivatization condition showed that a high efficiency of peak separation was obtained with obviously different retention time among various PFCAs derivatives using HPLC-UV analysis. The derivatization stability and repeatability showed favorable results with stable derivatized analytes for ≤12 h and a relative standard deviation (RSD) of <2% for all repetitions. The limit of detection for the HPLC-UV analysis was between 0.1 ppm and 0.5 ppm. A satisfactory linearity response was found with R² >0.998 for all individual PFCA compounds. The limit of detection for simple UV-Vis analysis was <0.0003 ppm to measure the presence of PFCAs. Contamination of standards with humic substances and measurement of industrial samples in a complex wastewater matrix showed no adverse effects on the accuracy of PFCA determination by using the developed methodology.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been frequently detected in the aquatic environment and are regarded as emerging pollutants. The prediction models for the removal effect of four target antibiotics by membrane separation technology were constructed based on back propagation neural network (BPNN) through training the input and output. The membrane separation tests of antibiotics showed that the removal effect of microfiltration on azithromycin and ciprofloxacin was better, basically above 80%. For sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and tetracycline (TC), ultrafiltration and nanofiltration had better removal effects. There was a strong correlation between the concentrations of SMZ and TC in the permeate, and the R² of the training and validation processes exceeded 0.9. The stronger the correlation between the input layer variables and the prediction target was, the better the prediction performances of the BPNN model than the nonlinear model and the unscented Kalman filter model were. These results showed that the established BPNN prediction model could better simulate the removal of target antibiotics by membrane separation technology. The model could be used to predict and explore the influence of external conditions on membrane separation technology and provide a certain basis for the application of the BPNN model in environmental protection.

The aim of the study was to investigate the exploration and distribution of various chemical elements in soils and vegetables from gardens in the region of Probištip, North Macedonia. This region was exposed to heavy metals pollution from Pb-Zn mining and flotation tailings landfill near the town of Probištip for 70 years. A total of 38 samples of various crops and vegetable products from 19 gardens were analyzed. The analyzes were carried out by ICP-AES (Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn) and by ICP-MS (As, Cd, Co, Cr, and Pb). It was found that the content of some potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the soil samples from the gardens, exceeded the target values. From these results, it is clear that the contamination of the soils in this area is due to mining activities and the distribution of flotation wastes from the nearby flotation dump. It was also found that the contaminated soils lead to elevated levels of these elements in some vegetables from the gardens, especially those near the Zletovska River and the flotation waste landfill, exceeding the nationally permissible food content.

The food-grade adsorbents of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (10⁸ CFU/mL), Bifidobacterium longum (10⁸ CFU/mL) and chitosan (1%w/v) alone or in combination were used for biosorption of cadmium (Cd) from aqueous solution. Among the tested adsorbents, combination of B. longum and chitosan had the highest efficiency. Therefore, biosorption process with B. longum/chitosan as the most efficient biosorbent was optimized by variables of pH (3-6), temperature (4-37 °C), contact time (5-180 min) and Cd concentrations (0.01-5 mg/L) using RSM. Twenty-seven tests were carried out and the data fitted to the second-order polynomial models. Results revealed that 99.11% of Cd was reduced within 180 min at concentration of 2.5 mg/L, pH 6 and temperature of 20.5 °C that were considered as the optimal conditions for Cd removal. The trend of isotherm was more fitted to the Langmuir model and maximum biosorption capacity was obtained about 3.61 mg/g. The pseudo-second-order fitted the biosorption kinetics for Cd ions. The B. longum/chitosan biosorbent exhibited the high affinity to Cd ion in the presence of coexisting metal ions. It could remove 81.18% of Cd from simulated gastrointestinal tract. Thus, B. longum/chitosan can have good potential as an effective adsorbent for Cd biosorption from aqueous solutions and human body.

The sorption kinetics of two of the most frequently used antibiotics onto recycled (weathered) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was investigated, using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. Various experimental conditions were set, including pH, contact time, rotational speed, temperature, and initial concentration. The batch experimental results indicated that Freundlich model was better fitted than Langmuir (R²: 98.7 and 84.7, for CIP and CLA respectively). Maximum adsorption capacity is 45.9 mg/g and 22.0 mg/g for CIP and CLA, respectively. Enthalpy (ΔH), and entropy (ΔS) values were negative for CIP, indicating that the reaction was exothermic and spontaneous, respectively. It was vice versa for CLA. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) analysis confirmed the physical adsorption mechanism. The results demonstrated that the recycled PVC microplastic has a good capacity for adsorption for both antibiotics.