Environmental Sciences Europe最新文献

Background

The extensive use of antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine has resulted in their release into terrestrial and aquatic environments, raising concerns about ecological impacts and antimicrobial resistance. This study assesses the ecotoxicity and environmental risk of eight widely used antibiotics: amoxicillin, ampicillin, penicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, streptomycin, and tetracycline. Acute toxicity tests were conducted using five bioindicators spanning different trophic levels and environmental compartments: Aliivibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, Desmodesmus subspicatus, Eisenia fetida, and Allium cepa. EC₅₀ values were experimentally determined or sourced from literature to calculate predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) and hazard quotients (HQs) for water and soil.

Results

Toxicity varied considerably among species. A. fischeri was most sensitive to penicillin, while D. magna showed highest sensitivity to chloramphenicol. In A. cepa, amoxicillin and gentamicin elicited the strongest phytotoxic responses. E. fetida exhibited no mortality at concentrations below 1000 mg/kg. HQ-based risk assessment identified erythromycin, tetracycline, and amoxicillin as posing the greatest environmental risks, with HQ > 1 in both acute and chronic scenarios. Ampicillin consistently showed the lowest risk.

Redundancy analysis indicated that the number of rotatable bonds was the most significant physicochemical predictor of EC₅₀ values across species. This suggests that molecular flexibility, associated with structural promiscuity, may increase the potential for off-target interactions.

Conclusions

Overall, the study underscores the environmental risks posed by common antibiotics and highlights the relevance of molecular structure in predicting ecotoxicity. These insights support the development of targeted environmental management and regulatory frameworks.

The apparent dissociation between the relatively low toxicity observed in individual non-target organisms and the high environmental risk estimated for these compounds reveals that the true threat of antibiotics lies in their silent yet persistent erosion of ecosystem resilience, biodiversity, and ecological functions. These findings emphasize the need to consider sublethal and community-level effects in environmental risk assessments.

This study investigates the heterogeneous and quantile-dependent impacts of eco-taxation on renewable energy transition and economic growth in the United Kingdom. Using quarterly data from 1997 to 2022, the analysis employs the Quantile-on-Quantile Regression (QQR) and Quantile-on-Quantile Granger Causality (QQGC) methods to capture nonlinear and asymmetric interdependencies between energy, transport, and pollution resource taxes and the dynamics of renewable energy and GDP. The results reveal that energy and transport taxes exert consistently positive effects on renewable energy across medium to upper quantiles, suggesting their strong role in accelerating the energy transition under conditions of higher energy demand and greater renewable capacity penetration. Pollution resource taxes exhibit mixed but increasingly positive impacts in higher quantiles, indicating that their effectiveness strengthens as economies advance along the transition curve and adopt cleaner technologies. For economic growth, the effects of eco-taxation are nonlinear and vary across output levels. Energy and transport taxes promote GDP growth at lower and middle quantiles, suggesting countercyclical potential during periods of slower output, while their effects become neutral or mildly positive at higher quantiles, suggesting stabilisation rather than suppression of growth during expansionary phases. Pollution taxes show positive contributions to GDP at the upper quantiles, affirming their role in enhancing productivity and innovation in mature economies. The QQGC results confirm unidirectional causality from eco-taxes to renewable energy and bidirectional causality between eco-taxes and GDP. This study concludes that well-calibrated, transparently administered, and revenue-recycled eco-taxes can jointly foster renewable energy expansion and sustain long-term low-carbon economic growth in the United Kingdom.

Background

Although the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN) on human health are well-documented, its impact on the incidence of anxiety remains unclear.

Method

To evaluate the potential association between ALAN and the incidence of anxiety, this ecological study analysed the age-standardised anxiety incidence rate (ASAIR) for 174 countries and territories obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study (2000–2019). The annual average ALAN intensity for each country was estimated using night-time satellite images. Initially, a Geographic Detector (GD) was employed to examine the spatial association between the ALAN intensity and the ASAIR. Thereafter, linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs) were applied to assess the impact of ALAN intensity on the incidence of anxiety.

Results

From 2000 to 2019, the global ASAIR for anxiety was 603.78 per 100,000 population, and the mean ALAN intensity was 4.95 digital numbers. The GD analysis revealed a statistically significant spatial association between ALAN intensity and the ASAIR over the study period. Moreover, results from LMEMs demonstrated that, after adjusting for potential confounders, ALAN intensity was significantly associated with an increased ASAIR, with an adjusted β coefficient of 2.29 (95% confidence interval: 1.48–2.92). Notably, ALAN-associated adverse effects appeared more pronounced among females and individuals aged 19 years or younger. The findings of the subgroup and sensitivity analyses were largely consistent with the primary results.

Conclusion

From a global perspective, ALAN may be associated with an increased incidence of anxiety. These findings have implications for urban planning and the development of public health policies targeting light pollution mitigation; nevertheless, further validation is necessary.

Magnesium ferrite (MgFe₂O₄) is increasingly recognised as a sustainable, visible-light-active, and magnetically recoverable photocatalyst for dye degradation. This review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of the structural, optical, and magnetic characteristics of MgFe₂O₄. It further examines how synthesis routes, dopant incorporation, and nanostructural morphology influence its photocatalytic efficiency toward Malachite Green degradation. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanistic aspects of photoexcitation, charge-carrier separation, defect engineering, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that underpin its catalytic performance. The article further evaluates recyclability, long-term stability, and process scalability, integrating techno-economic and sustainability perspectives which are very crucial for the industrial implementation. Finally, the review identifies existing knowledge gaps and outlines emerging research opportunities aimed at developing an efficient, durable, and truly green MgFe₂O₄-based photocatalytic systems for the sustainable wastewater treatment applications.

Green synthesized Ag-Fe bimetallic nanoparticles (Ag-FeBNPs) offer a promising candidate for heavy metal removal thanks to their exceptional properties, efficiency in adsorption processes, stability, enhanced catalytic activity, and eco-friendliness. The current work uses the red alga; Laurencia Papillosa for a novel synthesis of the Ag-FeBNPs, which has been prepared in two different forms; bare and immobilized to test the efficiency of the Ag-FeBNPs at the first stage and to compare the potentiality of both forms for the bioremediation process. This study introduces a novel bio-inspired synthesis route using L. Papillosa, which has not been previously reported for Ag-FeBNPs, highlighting the distinctive phycochemical reduction mechanism as a key element of novelty. The optimal parameters for this bimetallic synthesis were established via the central composite design (CCD), which set the pH at 10 and employed 10.5 g of algae/100 mL water for 95 min. The alginate beads were used to immobilize the optimized Ag-FeBNPs (Ag-FeBNPs@Alg beads) as a strategy to mitigate the potential toxicity of bare nanoparticles. Bare and immobilized phyco-synthesized Ag-FeBNPs were investigated for Fe and Zn removal from aquaculture wastewater. Results indicated significant removal ratios for Fe and Zn with 94.8% and 76.0% when using the bare Ag-FeBNPs and 78.0% and 45.5% when using Ag-FeBNPs@Alg beads, respectively. Qualitative observations further revealed improved particle dispersion, high adsorption affinity, and enhanced surface functional group interactions in the bare form, whereas the immobilized form showed greater operational handling, safety, and reusability. Various characterization approaches, including Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, were employed to confirm the synthesis of Ag-FeBNPs forms and their role in metal removal. The results proved that Ag-FeBNPs@Alg beads are simply prepared, practically utilized, and relatively low in cost. These characteristics reveal their potential as a promising adsorbent for heavy metals removal from wastewater not only at small or bench-scale but also with potential for large-scale and commercial applications in aquaculture and industrial wastewater treatment systems.

Graphical abstract

Plastic pollution is widespread in both aquatic and terrestrial environments and is also widely abundant in soils. Plastics in soils are problematic due to their persistence and near-irremovability from the environment. In soils, plastic particles can alter soil structure, impact microbial communities, impairing soil fertility and affecting plant growth. Plastic in soils poses risks to wildlife and human health through bioaccumulation and food chain transfer. At the same time, functioning soils are fundamental to ecosystem stability, agricultural productivity, and resilience against climate change. Against this background, effective policies to halt and, at best, minimise plastic pollution in soils are urgently needed. This article presents the results of a qualitative governance analysis which aimed to assess the extent to which EU policies protect soils from plastic pollution. Results show that detailed regulatory ‘command-and-control’ approaches address some entry pathways of micro- and nanoplastics into soils but fail to limit plastic pollution comprehensively. In fact, all policies suffer from multiple governance problems such as lacking target stringency, as well as rebound effects, which only partly minimise specific pathways of plastic entry into soil, while overall plastic production is increasing. Therefore, the real impact on soil plastic pollution remains limited. One approach to effectively address soil plastic pollution is a global climate policy which is aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In phasing out fossil fuels, plastic production would be phased out in parallel and hence plastic inputs into soils. A second-best approach is the use of economic policy instruments, such an an EU cap-and-trade system, which limits plastic pellet production by setting a strict and over time decreasing cap. Both approaches must be supplemented by improved command-and-control instruments.

This conference summary proposes general goals and associated actions for a collaborative effort amongst European countries to address the problem of soil contamination by perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). It reflects the discussions during the international conference “PFAS in soil – forever pollution, forever concern?” taking place in Berlin/Germany on 25th and 26th of March 2025. The five general goals derived from the discussions suggest to: (i) Strictly prevent future PFAS immissions into soils, (ii) Systematically identify PFAS-contaminated sites, (iii) Provide a powerful fit-for-routine chemical analysis of PFAS in soil, (iv) Establish effective management strategies for PFAS-contaminated sites and (v) Minimize human PFAS exposure via soil (food, feed, drinking water, direct contact).

River networks are highly dynamic environments, where local conditions range from lotic to lentic, promoting the co-occurrence of highly diverse biota. These environments are threatened by various human-induced stressors, among which water scarcity affects more than half of all running waters globally. While flow intermittence occurs naturally, its spatial and temporal extension is spreading under climate change and human pressures, endangering river biota. Here, we performed a mesocosm study aiming to investigate how flow reduction during drying events affects macroinvertebrate communities from different mesoscale habitats, such as riffles and pools. The experiment was performed in a replicated flow-through mesocosm system during summer 2021. We tested the effects of both intermittent and prolonged three-month-long flow reduction on macroinvertebrate communities from riffle and pool mesohabitats in terms of community composition, and resilience and resistance functional traits (e.g., resistance form, current preference, locomotion, dispersal strategy, reproduction drift propensity, etc.). Sampling was performed before, during, and after the exposure to flow reduction to assess both the direct effect of water scarcity and the post-drought recovery of macroinvertebrate communities. We found that communities from riffle habitats were more severely affected by flow reduction during drying events, showing a more severe decline in taxonomic richness and reduced abundance of desiccation-sensitive organisms under prolonged flow reduction treatments compared to intermittent ones. During flow reduction events, we did not observe a consistent taxa turnover toward drought-tolerant taxa, with only a few resistance trait modalities (e.g., organisms with tolerance for higher water temperature or interstitial ones) significantly associated with prolonged flow reduction. Moreover, the communities from riffle mesohabitats did not fully recover even one month after normal flow conditions were re-established, showing a low post-drought resilience. In pool mesohabitats, we did not detect significant effects of intermittent or prolonged flow reduction, with a community composition dominated by generalist taxa. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for mesohabitat-specific responses to drying when evaluating the ecological consequences of increasing flow intermittence and suggest that habitat heterogeneity plays a critical role in shaping the resistance and resilience of macroinvertebrate communities under water scarcity.

Background

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been implicated in metabolic dysregulation, yet their impact on integrated cardiometabolic risk remains unexplored. We aim to assess associations between serum PFAS and the cardiometabolic index (CMI) in U.S. adults.

Methods

We analyzed NHANES 2015–2020 data (N = 1371) using multivariable linear regression to estimate PFAS-CMI relationships across exposure quartile. Restricted cubic splines and threshold analyses characterized nonlinearity. Mixed-exposure effects were evaluated via Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), weighted quantile sum (WQS), and quantile g-computation. Stratified models tested effect modification by covariates. Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) interrogation mapped PFAS targets and pathways.

Results

After full adjustment, PFDeA (β = − 0.06, 95% CI [− 0.11, − 0.01]) and PFUA (β = − 0.11, 95% CI [− 0.17, − 0.06]) remained inversely associated with CMI (P < 0.01). Spline models confirmed linear inverse trends for PFDeA and PFUA, whereas n-PFOS exhibited an inverted U-shape. The results of BKMR showed that the overall effect of PFAS on CMI was negative. WQS analyses consistently demonstrated a negative effect on CMI (β =  −0.16, 95% CI [− 0.25, − 0.07]), with PFUA carrying the greatest weight. Associations persisted across subgroups but were stronger in non-Hispanic Whites and modified by alcohol use and obesity. CTD network analysis identified PPARA, SREBF1, and CYP7A1 as central lipid-regulatory hubs for PFDeA and PFUA.

Conclusion

This is the first study to link individual and mixed PFAS exposures to CMI, leveraging robust mixture models and bioinformatic mechanistic mapping. Our findings reveal PFDeA and PFUA as key drivers of PFAS-related cardiometabolic risk and underscore the value of CMI as an integrative biomarker in environmental health research.

This paper examines the extent to which the European Green Deal (EGD) promotes renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation, while addressing trade-offs between them. By conducting a detailed qualitative analysis of 25 EGD policy and 15 legislative documents, we find that while some links between renewable energy and biodiversity have been addressed, significant policy gaps remain, requiring deeper integration and management to achieve the EGD objectives. In terms of synergies, the use of biomass residues and agricultural waste for bioenergy, integration of agrivoltaics, increased energy efficiency, and greater circularity of critical raw materials in renewable energy production can contribute to biodiversity objectives. However, there are notable trade-offs, particularly in maritime spatial planning, where climate, biodiversity, energy, and economic objectives are difficult to reconcile. Particular attention should be paid to the potential negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems of land-use change associated with biomass energy production, uncertain impacts of offshore wind and floating photovoltaics on aquatic ecosystems, environmental risks posed by ocean energy installations, and river fragmentation and wildlife changes caused by hydropower. Our findings show that achieving policy coherence and designing measures to integrate biodiversity into energy planning are essential to ensure that renewable energy expansion is compatible with biodiversity, emphasising the importance of integrated and cross-sectoral policy development.