Environmental Research最新文献

Favipiravir (FAV) is a widely utilized antiviral drug effective against various viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RNA viruses. This article aims to introduce a novel approach, known as Linear-Paired Electrocatalytic Degradation (LPED), as an efficient technique for the electrocatalytic degradation of emerging pollutants. LPED involves simultaneously utilizing a carbon-Felt/Co-PbO₂ anode and a carbon-felt/Co/Fe-MOF-74 cathode, working together to degrade and mineralize FAV. The prepared anode and cathode characteristics were analyzed using XPS, SEM, EDX mapping, XRD, LSV, and CV analyses. A rotatable central composite design-based quadratic model was employed to optimize FAV degradation, yielding statistically desirable results. Under optimized conditions (pH = 5, current density = 4.2 mA/cm², FAV concentration = 0.4 mM), individual processes of cathodic electro-Fenton and anodic oxidation with a CF/Co-PbO₂ anode achieved degradation rates of 58.9% and 89.5% after 120 min, respectively. In contrast, using the LPED strategy resulted in a remarkable degradation efficiency of 98.4%. Furthermore, a cyclic voltammetric study of FAV on a glassy carbon electrode was conducted to gather additional electrochemical insights and rectify previously published data regarding redox behavior, pH-dependent properties, and adsorption activities. The research also offers a new understanding of the LPED mechanism of FAV at the surfaces of both CF/Co-PbO₂ and CF/Co/Fe-MOF-74 electrodes, utilizing data from cyclic voltammetry and LC-MS techniques. The conceptual strategy of LPED is generalizable in order to the synergism of anodic oxidation and cathodic electro-Fenton for the degradation of other toxic and resistant pollutants.

In aquatic ecosystems, endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) pose a growing concern for their potential adverse effects on fish reproduction and development. In lake Pyhäjärvi, located in the urban boreal region of Tampere, Finland, a significant number of sexually immature pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) individuals have been identified in size and age categories that are expected to be sexually mature. To explore if this phenomenon is attributed to estrogenic endocrine disruption, we conducted a comprehensive study comparing fish from lake Pyhäjärvi with those from a nearby reference lake, lake Näsijärvi. Roach (Rutilus rutilus), known for its susceptibility to EDCs, was also included for comparison. We examined various parameters in both pikeperch and roach, including size, condition factor, age, reproductive indicators, biometric indices and gonadal histology. We also assessed liver vitellogenin mRNA levels and genetic sex in roach, and measured estrogen levels in lake waters and wastewater treatment plant effluents. Results revealed that approximately one-third of fish in both species exhibited sexual immaturity in lake Pyhäjärvi, with a female-biased sex ratio. Surprisingly, we found no signs of estrogenic endocrine disruption, indicated by the absence of intersex fish in both species. Furthermore, vitellogenin levels in roach closely resembled those in the reference lake. Estrogens were undetectable in the lake waters, suggesting that factors other than estrogenic EDCs, including other potential endocrine disruptors such as PCBs or heavy metals, may be influencing delayed sexual maturity and skewed sex ratios. Further inquiry is needed to pinpoint these underlying causes. Our study provides essential baseline information on fish sexual development in lake Pyhäjärvi, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring and research to understand delayed sexual maturity and biased sex ratios. This is vital given the increasing concern about EDC impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the necessity for effective management strategies to protect these ecosystems' health and integrity.

2,6-di-tert-butylphenol (2,6-DTBP) has been used extensively in plastics, rubber and polymer phenolic antioxidants. It is discharged into the aquatic environment through industrial waste. However, the toxicity assessment of 2,6-DTBP is insufficient. Here, zebrafish embryos were used as an animal model to investigate the toxicological effects of 2,6-DTBP. The results showed that 2,6-DTBP induced mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species accumulation, which caused apoptosis, and further led to developmental toxicity of zebrafish embryos, such as delayed incubation, reduced survival rate, and increased malformation rate and heart rate. 2,6-DTBP can also cause morphological changes in the zebrafish endothelial cell (zEC) nucleus, inhibit zEC migration, trigger abnormal angiogenesis and zEC sprouting angiogenesis, and ultimately affect vascular development. In addition, 2,6-DTBP interfered with the endogenous antioxidant system, causing changes in activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione S-transferase and contents of malondialdehyde and glutathione. Transcriptome sequencing showed that 2,6-DTBP altered the mRNA levels of genes associated with vascular development, oxidative stress, apoptosis, extracellular matrix components and receptors. Integrative biomarker response assessment found that 12 μM 2,6-DTBP had the highest toxicity. These results indicated that 2,6-DTBP induced apoptosis through oxidative stress, leading to toxicity of zebrafish embryo development. This study contributes to understanding the effects of environmental 2,6-DTBP exposure on early development of aquatic organisms and draws public attention to the health risks posed by chemicals in aquatic organisms.

Dam reservoirs are at the core of local water storage and supply, especially in water-stressed regions of the world with acute water shortage problems. However, evaporative losses from these reservoirs and their storage efficiency are often overlooked in water budgeting. We offer a mechanistic approach that combines physically-based modeling with remote sensing information of reservoir characteristics to reliably predict evaporative losses from dam reservoirs. The developed framework is used to predict evaporative water losses from potential dam reservoirs in different basins worldwide. We apply this framework to 10 of the largest dam reservoirs in the world's water-stressed regions to quantify evaporative water losses. Our analysis, spanning from 2000 to 2020, reveals considerable variations in annual evaporation rates in the reservoirs located in water-deprived regions exceeding 3200 mm/year during the study period with the total evaporative loss reaching 26.5 km³/year. The evaporative water loss accounts up to 15.8% of the storage capacity in one of the dam reservoirs, posing significant challenges for water allocation and conservation strategies, with notable economic and environmental consequences in regions already suffering from water scarcity.

Urbanization and globalization have led to an increasing concern and focus on the sustainability of the food sector, particularly in discussing the composition of consumers' diets. This study examines Italian consumption habits, categorizing them into four macro-geographical areas (North-West, North-East, Center, South, and Islands), utilizing public data obtained from surveys including 3323 individuals, and assesses their environmental impacts through the application of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The findings unveil distinct dietary patterns across Italian macro-regions, indicative of cultural disparities, and present avenues for promoting environmentally sustainable dietary choices. The study identifies meat consumption as the primary environmental concern across all macro-regions, with fish emerging as a secondary contributor to particulate matter formation. Pork and poultry exhibit notable impacts within toxicity-related categories. Additionally, the research underscores challenges in data collection, notably the absence of a site-specific Italian database, and underscores the necessity for more recent consumption data to accurately capture contemporary Italian dietary habits. Finally, the study demonstrates that addressing the issue from a macro-regional perspective allows for more targeted and dedicated cultural interventions.

Expanding on previous findings, that highlighted the significance of sky in environmental perception, our analysis investigated whether the visual composition of the sky shapes perceptions of environmental naturalness. The study employed a novel, free-selection task in which participants viewed a series of environmental images with varying levels of natural and urban elements, as well as different sky visibility conditions, and were asked to identify “nature” within these images. The task procedure also involved subjective ratings of each scene. Using previously gathered data, we reassessed 105 participants' selection of the sky as “nature” across 96 photos of diverse outdoor scenes to understand which visuospatial features influence these perceptions. Utilizing the Boruta feature selection algorithm, we identified key characteristics—fractal dimensions, brightness, and entropy in brightness, hue, and saturation—that significantly predicted the selection of sky as “nature”, irrespective of the environment type (urban or natural). Results indicated that lower fractal dimensions are preferred for sky selected as “nature”, inversely affecting the naturalness judgment of scenes with the additional effect of brightness. These findings enhance our understanding of how visuospatial features influence environmental perception, offering implications for future research directions and theoretical advancements in understanding environmental perception.

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is frequently detected in wastewater and aquatic environments worldwide at concentrations from ng L⁻¹ to μg L⁻¹. Unfortunately, SMX is not completely removed in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), thus, SMX and their transformation products (TPs) are discharged into aquatic environments, where can be transformed by phototransformation reactions. In this study, the phototransformation of SMX as well as generation of their major TPs under photolysis and photocatalysis processes was reviewed. SMX can be totally removed under photolysis and photocatalysis processes in aqueous solutions using simulated or natural radiation. Degradation pathways such as isomerization, hydroxylation, fragmentation, nitration, and substitution reactions were identified during the generation of the major TPs of SMX. Particularly, 26 TPs were considered for the creation of a data base of the major TPs of SMX generated under phototransformation processes. These 26 compounds could be used as reference during the SMX monitoring both wastewater and water bodies, using analytic methodologies such as target analysis and suspect screening. A data base of the major TPs of pharmaceuticals active compounds (PhACs) as SMX could help to implementation of best environmental monitoring programs for the study of the environmental risks both PhACs and their TPs with highest occurrence in aquatic environments.

The study investigated soil quality around brick kilns in the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir, analyzing 200 samples from 50 sites for selected parameters such as pH, electrical conductiv1ity, soil temperature, organic carbon content, organic matter, macronutrients, and heavy metals. The findings revealed that soil electrical conductivity ranged from 0.33 to 0.63 dS/m, with significant differences observed at varying distances from the kilns. Copper concentrations were highest at 5.32 mg/kg near the kilns, while iron and lead levels also varied significantly, indicating potential contamination. The mean soil temperature was recorded to be 27.69°C.The pH values ranged from 6.5 to 7.8, and the average pH of 8.22 indicated the slightly alkaline nature of the soil around the brick kilns. The organic carbon ranged from 0.34% to 1.02%.Soil temperature and electrical conductivity decreased with increasing distance from the kilns, with temperature showing positive correlations with organic carbon, organic matter, nitrogen, potassium, manganese, and iron and negative correlations with pH, phosphorus, zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium. A perfect positive correlation was noted among nitrogen, organic carbon, and organic matter. Heavy metals, except for zinc and manganese, showed positive correlations with each other. The average Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb and Cd concentration was recorded as 1.07, 1.03, 6.71, 10.30, 37.04 and 1.91 ppm, respectively. The contamination factor indicated moderate contamination with lead and cadmium, while the geo-accumulation index also suggested moderate contamination. The pollution load index reflected unpolluted soil and enrichment factor values for heavy metals ranked as Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn > Mn > Fe.ANOVA results revealed significant variations in electrical conductivity, copper, iron, and lead, underscoring the potential environmental impacts at different distances from the kilns. However, no significant differences were found between agricultural and non-agricultural sites in other physicochemical parameters. These variations highlight the considerable impact of brick kilns on soil health, emphasizing the need for enhanced environmental management and further research to mitigate these effects.

Fecal waste is a significant source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pollution and provides valuable insights into the AMR development in animal and human populations within the “One health” framework. Various genetic elements, including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), biocide and metal resistance genes (BMGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and virulence factor genes (VFGs), are crucial AMR risk determinants (ARDs). However, few studies focused on compositional characteristics of ARDs in different feces. Here, we analyzed 753 public metagenomes from human, pig, chicken, and cattle feces, revealing significant differences in ARD richness and abundance across fecal types, notably lowest in cattle samples. Tetracycline, multi-metal, and -biocide resistance genes were dominant resistome. A few core genes contributed to 25.6%–91.1% of gene abundance, and their correlations were stronger in cattle samples. Procrustes analysis showed that microbial composition had higher correlations with ARGs (M² = 0.579) and BMGs (M² = 0.519). Gammaproteobacteria was identified as major ARD-hosts especially in human and pig feces, and they mainly carried multi-resistance genes. MGEs exhibited direct positive effects on ARGs and BMGs, indirectly impacting VFGs. Utilizing random forest methods, we identified 42 indicator genes for tracking AMR pollution originating from fecal sources in the environments. This study offers new insights into understanding and controlling the AMR pollution of fecal waste from human and food animals.

The pathway of reducing U(VI) to insoluble U(IV) using electroactive bacteria has become an effective and promising approach to address uranium-contaminated water caused by human activities. However, knowledge regarding the roles of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the uranium reduction process involving in extracellular electron transfer (EET) mechanisms is limited. Here, this study isolated a novel U(VI)-reducing strain, Desulfovibrio vulgaris UR1, with a high uranium removal capacity of 2.75 mM/(g dry cell). Based on a reliable EPS extraction method (45 °C heating), manipulation of EPS in D. vulgaris UR1 suspensions (removal or addition of EPS) highlighted its critical role in facilitating uranium reduction efficiency. On the second day, U(VI) removal rates varied significantly across systems with different EPS contents: 60.8% in the EPS-added system, 48.5% in the pristine system, and 22.2% in the EPS-removed system. Characterization of biogenic solids confirmed the reduction of U(VI) by D. vulgaris UR1, and the main products were uraninite and UO₂ (2.88–4.32 nm in diameter). As EPS formed a permeable barrier, these nanoparticles were primarily immobilized within the EPS in EPS-retained/EPS-added cells, and within the periplasm in EPS-removed cells. Multiple electroactive substances, such as tyrosine/tryptophan aromatic compounds, flavins, and quinone-like substances, were identified in EPS, which might be the reason for enhancement of uranium reduction via providing more electron shuttles. Furthermore, proteomics revealed that a large number of proteins in EPS were enriched in the subcategories of catalytic activity and electron transfer activity. Among these, iron-sulfur proteins, such as hydroxylamine reductase (P31101), pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase (A0A0H3A501), and sulfite reductase (P45574), played the most critical role in regulating EET in D. vulgaris UR1. This work highlighted the importance of EPS in the uranium reduction by D. vulgaris UR1, indicating that EPS functioned as both a reducing agent and a permeation barrier for access to heavy metal uranium.