Environmental Science and Pollution Research最新文献

Land cover change and its effects on soil properties remain a major concern and pose significant challenges to sustainable agricultural development. This study evaluated the influence of land cover classes (LCC) and slope gradients on soil properties in the Gelda catchment. Surface disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from four land cover classes across three slope gradients. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), the least significant difference (LSD) post hoc test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). The results revealed that clay content, Si/C ratio, total nitrogen, and organic matter differed significantly among land cover classes (P ≤ 0.05), whereas clay, silt, and sand fractions showed only slight variation across slope gradients. Lower soil pH values observed in forest (5.35) and grassland (5.43) areas were attributed to cation uptake by woody biomass and the addition of acid-forming ions. Grassland (4.04%) and forest soils (0.23%) exhibited higher organic matter contents than farmland soils, a trend also reflected in total nitrogen levels (3.91% in grasslands and 0.22% in forest soils). Variations in cation exchange capacity and exchangeable base contents were largely associated with differences in clay mineralogy and organic matter across land cover classes. Consequently, the observed soil quality limitations in farmlands highlight the need for management practices that enhance soil organic matter and improve soil reaction status in the study area.

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs) are common, facultative root colonizers of flexible lifestyle, acting as endophytes, free-living saprophytes, parasites, or pathogens, depending on plant and fungal genotype, and environmental conditions. This study represents the first assessment of DSE biodiversity in a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated environment, their PAH-tolerance, catabolic features, and potential to protect a host exposed to PAHs. Metabarcoding analysis and the assessment of DSE colonization of Poa trivialis and Phragmites australis roots revealed that PAH contamination decreased DSE abundance, whereas these fungi were dominant in plants at the uncontaminated site. DSEs isolated from both sites were examined for their PAH-tolerance and saprophytic features. Two isolates of Paraphoma chrysanthemicola (PCH) showing high PAH tolerance and organic nitrogen catabolic features were selected to inoculate Lolium perenne L. Plants and fungi were cultured in vitro, using MSR medium without sugar, and in pots, using sand/bentonite substrate supplemented with organic CPN. Both PCH isolates mitigated PAH toxicity and significantly improved plant growth in pot cultures, while only one of the isolates developed positive interactions with plants in the contaminated MSR medium. In the absence of PAHs, both PCH isolates had no effect on plants in pots, and they negatively affected plants in MSR medium. Obtained results demonstrate that mutualistic plant-DSE interactions require organic CPN supplementation and toxicity stress.

Tetracycline (TC), as a widely used antibiotic, poses significant environmental safety risks due to its persistence and bioaccumulation. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a wide bandgap photocatalyst, and it only responds to ultraviolet light and has a low utilization of visible light, which severely restricts its applications. In this study, 12%BN/TiO₂ nanosheets obtained by a simple hydrothermal method combining hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and the removal rate of TC almost reaches 99.7% within 30 min under simulated sunlight. Moreover, there was almost no change in the activity of the catalyst after it was recycled five times. XPS results demonstrate that the formation of the B-O-Ti bond in 12% BN/TiO₂ leads to a rearrangement of the energy levels within TiO₂. This structural modification effectively narrows the band gap of the material, thereby significantly enhancing its ability to utilize visible light. Furthermore, the interfacial effect between h-BN and TiO₂ enhances the separation and migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. •O₂^- radicals are the main active species in the degradation of TC. This study confirmed that the BN/TiO₂ system had excellent photocatalytic activity and provides an effective approach for constructing high-performance photocatalysts.

Microplastics (MP) have obtained remarkable attention from the scientific community owing to the potential damage they can cause to the environment. Several research works conducted towards consequences of MP in soil and aquatic systems reveal that there is significant interaction between various MP particles and natural organic matter (NOM). This results in changes in physicochemical properties, transport behaviours, and bioavailability of MP. Conversely, properties of NOM can be affected by the interaction with polymer microparticles. Consequently, MP-NOM interaction is crucial for environmental processes such as C sequestration, nutrient cycling, and microbial activity. Therefore, this critical review assesses the possibility of the existence of 'MP-NOM association', by analysing the currently available research results. It could even be presumed that MP enter into various environmental compartments through the respective organic matter regimes. This would, then, lead to the scenario that knowledge on MP-NOM associations acts as the key to understanding how MP operate within the environment. Therefore, this review also analyses the challenges and limitations while addressing MP-NOM associations. This work brings in the concept of 'MP-NOM Association' and helps researchers to identify knowledge gaps and challenges so that ideas and experiments can be devised to investigate the fundamental aspects of microplastic pollution in soil and water.

The co-occurrence of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) and heavy metals in contaminated soils presents a complex remediation challenge where traditional methods often fail due to high costs, limited efficacy, and potential secondary pollution. Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has emerged as a promising alternative, leveraging its core-shell structure and dual functionality in both reductive degradation and immobilization processes. However, bare nZVI suffers from rapid aggregation, surface passivation, and short reactive lifespans. This review critically examines advanced modification strategies, including polymer stabilization, sulfidation, carbonaceous supports, and bimetallic doping, to enhance nZVI's mobility, longevity, and selectivity. We provide mechanistic insights into contaminant removal pathways and synthesize field-scale performance data, offering a unique perspective on the environmental trade-offs and field-scale deployability challenges often overlooked in laboratory studies. By integrating current advances with a critical analysis of remaining bottlenecks, this work provides a framework for optimizing modified nZVI systems to bridge the gap between laboratory promise and sustainable, field-scale remediation of complex contaminant mixtures.

Insects are essential for ecosystem functioning and their rapid decline is alarming. While it is evident that various pollutants such as pesticides play a crucial role in the disappearance of insects, knowledge on the effects of specific inorganic compounds such as nanoparticles (NPs) are less investigated and little is known about their direct and indirect impacts. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) are abundantly found in the environment but their effects on insects is little known, as well as their role as vectors for other chemical stressors. In this study, we investigated lethal and sublethal effects of TiO₂NPs on Cardiocondyla obscurior ants alone or combined with the herbicide glyphosate. We measured survival, brood production, gut endosymbiont densities, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, morphological features and elemental TiO₂ distribution in ants chronically exposed to environmentally realistic concentrations of TiO₂NPs and/or glyphosate. We found that proportional brood distribution was altered by the presence of the stressors and it was time dependent. Moreover, we observed a synergistic effect between TiO₂NPs and glyphosate with bigger newly produced queens, altered gut endosymbionts densities and accumulation of TiO₂NPs. These results shed light on the ecotoxicological effects of TiO₂NPs ingestion and highlight the importance of understanding the synergistic effects of pollutants.

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in aging populations, and intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents are the mainstay of its treatment. Recently, environmental air pollution has been proposed as a potential risk factor for ocular diseases. However, few nationwide studies have examined the association between demand for anti-VEGF therapy and environmental factors.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment volume and air pollution indicators across all prefectures in Japan using a nationwide database.

Methods: Using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB), we extracted data for the fiscal year 2020 on the number of intravitreal brolucizumab injections administered to AMD patients, as well as the total number of anti-VEGF intravitreal injections (including brolucizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept) for macular diseases across 48 prefectures. Brolucizumab was approved only for AMD during this year, allowing us to use its usage as a proxy for AMD cases. Environmental data, including average annual concentrations of PM_2.5 (μg/m³), sulfur oxides (SO_X), nitrogen oxides (NO_X), and particulate matter dust (PMD; m³N/h), were obtained from the Ministry of the Environment. We then analyzed the correlation between anti-VEGF injection volumes per 10,000 persons aged 60 and older and air pollution indicators for each prefecture.

Results: A strong positive correlation was observed between the number of brolucizumab injections (AMD-specific indicator) and total anti-VEGF injections (non-specific indicator) (r = 0.82, p < 0.001). Both were significantly correlated with PM_2.5 concentrations (brolucizumab: r = 0.25, p = 0.045; total anti-VEGF: r = 0.37, p = 0.005). In contrast, no significant correlations were found with SO_X (brolucizumab: r = -0.28, p = 0.969; total anti-VEGF: r = -0.13, p = 0.802), NO_X (r = -0.06, p = 0.656; r = 0.11, p = 0.224), or PMD (r = 0.03, p = 0.430; r = 0.14, p = 0.180). Moreover, PM_2.5 showed no meaningful correlations with SO_X, NO_X, or PMD.

Conclusion: This nationwide analysis revealed a significant association between regional PM_2.5 levels and the use of anti-VEGF intravitreal injections for macular diseases. No such relationship was observed for SO_X, NO_X, or PMD. These findings suggest that PM_2.5 may contribute to the regional demand for AMD treatment, highlighting the need for further investigation into the impact of air pollution on ocular health.

Forecasting carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has become a significant issue in recent years. International organizations have emphasized the necessity of creating a plan to gradually reduce the concentration of this pollutant in the atmosphere to combat climate change and its catastrophic consequences. The cement industry represents one of the key sectors to address this problem. The objective of this study is to predict CO₂ emissions in North American cement industries. To achieve this, a multi-objective mathematical model is developed, integrating various machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the impacts of varying the scale of deployment of current technologies focused on reducing CO₂ emissions. Results demonstrate a considerable improvement in accuracy metrics, with a 48.13% reduction in Mean Absolute Error achieved through the use of the Generalized Reduced Gradient method (GRG). Forecasts reveal an increase in emissions of about 0.58 MtCO₂ every year between 2020 and 2050. The proposed framework can assist decision-makers and policymakers in focusing on the technical and logistical requirements to meet net-zero emission targets.

Caenorhabditis elegans is widely used in nanotoxicology studies involving silver nanoparticles (AgNP). However, variations in test media composition can influence AgNP toxicity in worms, complicating cross-study comparisons. This study evaluated the effects of six commonly used media: M9 buffer, K-medium, S-basal, EPA water, Nematode Growth Medium agar (NGM), and "Biofilm" (a combination of NGM and EPA water) on biological responses in worms without the presence of AgNP and the toxicity and accumulation of citrate-coated AgNP (cit-AgNP). Our results indicate that, in the absence of AgNP, NGM and Biofilm were the least disruptive to worm size and DAF-16 translocation (p < 0.05), suggesting lower systemic stress responses. In contrast, all liquid media significantly affected at least one of these parameters. In the presence of cit-AgNP, toxicity patterns in C. elegans at 5 mg/L (administered in 1 mL of food source) varied across the tested media (EPA water, NGM, and Biofilm). Worms in EPA water exhibited the most pronounced effects on size, brood size, and GSH/GSSG levels, whereas those in NGM agar were unaffected. These differences are attributed to the media's impact on worms, observed for EPA water, and reduced Ag accumulation in worms due to increased Ag migration to agar, particularly in NGM. This study demonstrates that the treatment scenarios currently used for assessing AgNP toxicity in C. elegans produce varying outcomes due to the media's intrinsic effects on worms and differences in Ag accumulation. Our findings underscore the need for standardized media to ensure accurate and comparable toxicity assessments.