Environmental Sciences Europe最新文献

Background

The rapid expansion of China’s livestock industry presents environmental challenges and opportunities for utilizing livestock manure as a fertilizer. This study investigates microbial community characteristics at various soil depths in areas treated with cattle manure, comparing the effects of short- (1 year) and long- (10 years) term manure application. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 100 cm depths at a model ranch in Inner Mongolia and analyzed using high-throughput sequencing, the neutral community model, and non-metric multidimensional scaling.

Results

Short-term manure application caused rapid changes in the microbial community structure, with increased abundances of genera, such as Antarcticibacterium and Nitrilinuptor. Long-term application resulted in improved community structure and increased abundance of crucial microbes, including Bradyrhizobium and Nocardioides, which enhanced nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium cycling. Manure application also boosted the microbial metabolic activities and soil organic matter accumulation, improving soil fertility and ecosystem stability.

Conclusions

The findings emphasize the significance of optimizing manure application strategies for sustainable agriculture, with long-term application stabilizing microbial communities and enhancing nutrient cycling efficiency and short-term application providing immediate fertility benefits. Future research should explore long-term dynamics and compare different organic fertilizers to develop effective soil management practices.

The outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms present critical public health, environmental, and bioethical challenges. These outbreaks underscore the potential for the virus to mutate within animal populations, raising concerns over the emergence of new variants capable of infecting a broader range of species and posing a threat of mink-to-human transmission. The conditions on mink farms, marked by high-density populations and poor welfare standards, exacerbate these risks and require a thorough reevaluation of current practices. This paper highlights the ongoing relevance of the fur industry amid an evolving viral threat. Despite initial stringent biosecurity measures, epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 in humans and minks has diminished, increasing the risk for cryptic viral circulation and evolution in nonhuman hosts, including minks, with unpredictable outcomes for public health. Mink farming poses a potential continuous zoonotic threat and has significant environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. The present work delves into the bioethical implications of mink farming during the pandemic, emphasizing the moral considerations of animal welfare in the context of industrial farming. The documented high mortality rates and poor living conditions of minks necessitate a reassessment of the ethical foundations of the fur industry. The paper advocates for enhanced biosecurity protocols, routine health surveillance, and adopting an integrated One Health perspective, which highlights the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health.

India has been witnessing a rise in forest fire frequency and intensity due to climate change factors such as increasing temperatures, erratic rainfall, and prolonged droughts. These changes pose severe risks to biodiversity, carbon stocks, and forest-dependent communities, making assessing the climate change–forest fire relationship essential. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on climate change-induced forest fires in India, their ecological and socio-economic impacts, and current adaptation measures. Forests cover 21.67% of India’s land, and 36% are prone to forest fire incidents. The literature revealed a strong correlation between increasing temperatures and increased forest fire events, especially in the Western Ghats, Himalayas, Northeastern region, and central India. Major ecological impacts comprise habitat loss, soil degradation, and increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, while socio-economic consequences vary from livelihood difficulties to health issues. Despite technological advancements in early warning systems, community involvement, policy integration, and resource limitations remain. The study demonstrates the necessity for climate-resilient forest fire management by promoting community-based adaptation, upgrading forest fire monitoring networks, and integrating forest fire risk assessment into climate action and Sustainable Development Goal-13 (SDG-13) plans are essential. Addressing India’s forest fire risk calls for an integrated approach combining scientific findings, reforms to policy, and community involvement, which is crucial for safeguarding India’s ecosystems and vulnerable populations in a changing climatic scenario.

Graphical Abstract

Environmental toxicants represent an important yet often overlooked contributor to the development and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This population-based study investigates the associations between exposure to various environmental chemicals and CVD risk using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We analyzed 82 chemical exposures in a nationally representative cohort of 11,308 U.S. adults, 11% of whom had a diagnosis of CVD. The sample consisted of 48.5% males and 51.5% females, with 76.5% under the age of 65. Multiple imputation was employed to address missing data, and logistic regression models were applied to estimate associations between toxicant levels and CVD outcomes. A total of 37 environmental chemicals were significantly associated with increased CVD risk. Stratified analysis revealed demographic-specific patterns: women and younger adults showed higher susceptibility to exposures such as nicotine metabolites, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while older adults (aged ≥ 65) demonstrated stronger associations with phthalate and plasticizer metabolites. To further explore potential biological mechanisms, mediation analyses were conducted using peripheral blood biomarkers, including white blood cells, neutrophils, platelets, and monocytes. These immune and inflammatory markers mediated 2.3–15.4%, 2.7–26.5%, 4.9–23.4%, and 4.2–21.6% of the total toxicant-related CVD effects, respectively. Our findings suggest that diverse classes of environmental toxicants contribute meaningfully to cardiovascular risk and may do so, in part, through inflammatory or immune-mediated pathways. These results support the integration of environmental exposure assessments into cardiovascular risk evaluation and point to the need for early preventive strategies, especially in vulnerable subgroups. Further research is warranted to elucidate causal pathways and inform regulatory policies aimed at mitigating exposure to harmful environmental agents.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic substances formed during the incomplete burning of organic matter, and they pose major threats to human health and the environment. This systematic review assesses the public health burden of PAH exposure in East Africa, focusing on sources, health effects, and mitigation strategies. East Africa is experiencing rapid urbanization, industrial growth, and increasing reliance on biomass fuels, all of which contribute to elevated environmental PAH levels. Despite these developments, the region remains underrepresented in global PAH risk assessments, with limited localized data guiding policy and public health responses. This geographic focus is thus critical to identify context-specific exposure sources, assess the unique vulnerabilities of East African populations, and support targeted mitigation strategies aligned with regional socioeconomic and environmental realities. Using the PRISMA framework, studies were screened for quality and bias via the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and JBI checklists, with 20 out of 183 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Key exposure sources include biomass and fossil fuel combustion, urban air pollution, industrial emissions, occupational hazards, and dietary intake. Vulnerable groups, particularly women, children, and low-income urban dwellers, face heightened risks, including the risk of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, adverse birth outcomes, and neurodevelopmental impairments. Despite growing concerns, policy gaps, weak enforcement of air quality standards, and limited public awareness hinder effective mitigation. Therefore, urgent interventions are needed, including clean energy adoption, urban air pollution control, industrial regulations, and stronger public health policies. To address PAH exposure in East Africa, a multi-sectoral approach integrating policy reforms, community engagement, and sustainable environmental practices to protect public health is imperative.

Graphical Abstract

As the world navigates the crossroads of economic ambition and environmental survival, understanding how environmental policy stringency, economic globalization, and financial development shape the environment’s demand and supply sides is more urgent than ever. Thus, this study examined the drivers of ecological quality (proxied by load capacity factor). The study uses data spanning from 1990Q1 to 2022Q4. In doing so, the study employed the recently introduced modified cross quantile regression. This approach depicts how different quantiles of one variable affect various quantiles of another, revealing asymmetric, tail-dependent, and nonlinear relationships that traditional methods often miss. The study also employed modified quantile regression and average modified cross quantile regression as a robustness check. The results from the quantile analysis shows that in the U.S., environmental policy stringency, globalisation, and growth improve ecological quality mainly, where ecological capacity is high, while financial development and urbanisation reduced ecological quality. The study proposed policies based on these findings.

Background

Concurrent hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and chlorfenapyr contamination in aquatic environments poses risks to environmental organisms. A parental zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposure model with multi-omics analyses was used to elucidate molecular and transgenerational effects.

Results

Combined exposure decreased intestinal tight junction transcription (zo-1, and occludin), caused morphological damage, and activated pro-inflammatory cytokines (il-1β, il-6, il-8, and TNF-α). 16S rRNA sequencing revealed reduced butyrate-producing bacteria (e.g., Coprococcus), while untargeted metabolomics showed declines in phospholipid precursors (choline, and glycerophosphocholine), implicating disrupted gut barrier metabolism. Hepatic transcriptomics identified downregulation of oxidative phosphorylation components (atp5l, atp5mc3b, atp5po, and ndufs7) and antioxidant enzymes (gpx, and mn-sod), correlating with decreased ATP, mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased apoptosis. F₁ offspring exhibited aberrations in gene transcriptions associated with oxidative phosphorylation and inflammation, suggesting the presence of intergenerational toxicity.

Conclusions

These results highlighted the gut-liver axis and mitochondrial function as targets for molecular biomarkers and inform eco-safety regulation addressing chemical mixture hazards.

The European Commission has proposed to amend the EU GMO regulation, exempting certain genetically modified plants generated with new genomic techniques (NGTs) from risk assessment. In the suggested lex specialis so-called “category 1 NGT plants” would be treated as equivalent to conventionally bred plants, if they meet threshold-based criteria, which limit the number and size of induced genetic changes. Here, we critically analyze the scientific validity of these thresholds and show that the proposal oversimplifies genetic complexity—disregarding the biological context, mutational bias, and functional consequences. The proposal’s central claim of equivalence between NGT1 plants and conventionally bred plants is thus scientifically unfounded. Many conceivable genetic modifications produced with NGTs—including those created with CRISPR prime editing and AI-assisted design—could be highly complex and exceed the capabilities of conventional breeding. Nevertheless, the regulatory proposal treats all possible genetic changes as equally likely and overlooks the purpose and function of genetic edits. By eliminating case-by-case risk assessment, the proposal creates a regulatory gap that allows complex and novel traits to bypass scrutiny—undermining the EU’s legally binding precautionary principle. In contrast, a risk-based regulatory approach is needed to ensure safe and future-proof oversight of NGT plants.

Background

The growing awareness of the harmful effects of chemical fungicides resulted in the increasing demand for natural and sustainable alternatives for treatment of fungi-infected plants. This study focuses on the green biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AHNPs) using the aqueous extract from the nutshell of Arachis hypogaea, a common bio-waste.

Results

The synthesized green silver nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The antifungal activity was analyzed by assessing the synthesized silver nanoparticles in two pathogenic strains of Aspergillus niger. The synthesized silver nanoparticles reduced the growth of Aspergillus niger strain 1 and 2 by 46.25% and 75.29%, respectively, at 100 µg/mL.

Conclusions

The study proves that the silver nanoparticles synthesized using Arachis hypogaea nutshell extract is effective in controlling the fungal pathogens. Further research will be carried out to analyze the antifungal activity in field condition and can be developed into nano-based fungicides for commercial applications. Nano-based fungicides are eco-friendly and can be tailor made to suit the farmers need to achieve sustainable agriculture.

Graphical abstract

Environmental pollutants exposures have been linked to numerous adverse health outcomes, including cervical cancer. However, the evidence has been inconsistent. Therefore, this study aimed, for the first time, to systematically evaluate the relationship between exposure to environmental pollutants and cervical cancer by conducting a meta-analysis to synthesize the effect measures from previously published studies. We conducted this review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, ensuring a comprehensive and systematic approach. Our search spanned Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, targeting relevant English-language articles published up to October 16, 2024. To provide a reliable analysis, we used a conservative random-effects Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) meta-analysis for all associations examined. The robustness of our results was tested using leave-one-out sensitivity analyses. Additionally, we assessed publication bias through Begg's test, Egger's test, funnel plots, and the trim-and-fill method. From our extensive search across multiple databases, we initially identified 2802 articles, with 11 meeting our criteria for this review, and four selected for meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis found a slight but significant increase in cervical cancer risk linked to environmental pollution, with an overall standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 1.01 (95% CI 1.00, 1.01). There was considerable variability among the studies (I² = 80.44%). Subgroup analyses revealed a higher risk associated with ambient air pollution (SIR = 2.80, 95% CI 0.83–3.62) compared to other environmental pollutant types. These results highlight the significant impact of environmental pollutants on cervical cancer risk, underscoring the importance of standardized exposure assessments and further research in diverse populations.