Journal of hazardous materials最新文献

It is a challenge to determine selenium in acid aqueous for environmental monitoring and selenium-rich agricultural diagnosis. Herein, we developed a novel localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor to detect Se(IV) ions based on the extraordinary laterals etching of gold nanorods (AuNRs). The etching started from the laterals in the low amount of Se(IV) ions, and accompanied by an apparent red shift of the longitudinal plasmon band (LPB), and then transformed to the tips etching with the upward of Se(IV) ions, the LPB band immediately shifted to the shorter wavelength. The red shift change (Δλ) of LPB band was utilized to quantitative analysis instead of blue shift or absorbance intensity, which gave a high selectivity for the proposed sensor. More importantly, this sensor could be performed in 0.1 mol/L of HCl solution, which achieved the seamlessly jointing with the pretreatment of complex samples, without time-consuming pH adjustment.Successful selenium detection was demonstrated in complex soybean samples that collected from the maturity after spraying organic chelated selenium at full flower period. The sensor provided a promising way to monitor and diagnose selenium in complex environmental samples and selenium-rich crops.

The combined pollution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organic cadmium (Cd) in farmland soils, and the field controlling strategy need to be studied urgently. In this study, 5 PAHs, 5 Cd and 11 soil conditioners were selected to explore the co-exposure risk and remediation efficiency. Firstly, a significant combination Fl-alkylalkoxy cadmium was obtained using forward and reverse methods coupling variation coefficient methods (the combined pollution value was 0.173). Secondly, the interaction energy of microbial degradation / plant absorption of Fl under Cd stress, and microbial mineralization / plant absorption of alkylalkoxy cadmium under PAHs stress were characterized using factorial experimental design, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The combined pollution of alkylalkoxy cadmium and dialkyl cadmium, phenanthrene and Benzo [a] pyrene was significant (synergistic contribution rates were 17.58 % and 19.22 %, respectively). In addition, 6 soil conditioners with significant efficiency were selected to design Taguchi orthogonal experimental schemes, indicating the microbial degradation / mineralization and plant absorption were significantly effective (the maximum increase of remediation efficiency was 93.81 %) under the combinations (i.e., trratone, coumarol, fulvamic acid, potassium fertilizer and others, etc.). Finally, it was found that the soil conditioners affected the hydrophobic groups and forces, and the efficiency was proportional to the highest peak value and minimum distance in the RDF curve. This study identifies the risk characteristics of co-exposure of PAHs and Cd and screens effective soil conditioners, providing theoretical guidance for risk controlling.

Effective characterization of dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones is crucial for remediating polluted sites. DNAPL often reside as residuals or pools within high-permeability lenses and above impermeable layers due to soil heterogeneity, gravity, and capillary barriers. Given the high cost of drilling, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) techniques-including surface ERT and cross-borehole ERT, are commonly used for DNAPL source zone mapping and monitoring. However, the low spatial resolution of ERT increases uncertainty in source zone investigations. This study proposes a method for improving DNAPL mapping and monitoring by fusing surface and cross-borehole ERT data. Sandbox experiments were conducted to simulate a heterogeneous DNAPL source zone, employing both ERT methods for static mapping and dynamic monitoring. Reflective light imaging (RLM) was used to visualize DNAPL migration and provide saturation data, allowing for the quantification of ERT's effectiveness in characterizing DNAPL distribution. The results indicate that individual ERT methods face significant challenges in DNAPL source zone mapping due to background interference. Surface ERT alone tends to underestimate the extent of deeper DNAPL source zones. However, fusing surface and cross-borehole ERT results in a complementary enhancement of vertical spatial resolution, thereby improving the characterization of DNAPL source zones. The fusion of static and time-lapse ERT data substantially enhances DNAPL source zone mapping and monitoring capabilities. By calculating the ratio of the ERT-monitored area to the actual area using resistivity change contours (5 %, 10 %, 15 %), it was found that fusing surface and cross-borehole ERT data improved monitoring resolution by 50.48 % compared to surface ERT alone and by 22.95 % compared to cross-borehole ERT. Principal component analysis (PCA) was effective in fusing time-lapse data, while the weighted average method (WAM) outperformed PCA for static resistivity data fusion.

Li et al. [1] have commented on our recent paper investigating the association between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) constituents and the risk of cognitive impairment [2]. They provided a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets from the European population, confirming a causal relationship between PM_2.5 exposure and cognitive performance. In our reply, we employed three causal inference models, including a generalized propensity score (GPS) adjusted Cox model, an inverse-probability weights (IPW) weighted Cox model, and a trimmed IPW-weighted Cox model, to confirm the relationship of PM_2.5 and cognitive impairment in our study cohort.

Aiming at the coexistence of antibiotics and Cu(II) in livestock wastewater, a novelty strategy for the simultaneous removal of antibiotics and Cu ions by in-situ utilization of Cu(II) (i.e., CP/Cu(II) and CP/Cu(II)/ascorbic acid (AA) systems) was proposed. The removal rate of florfenicol (FF) in the CP/Cu(II)/AA system was 6.9 times higher than that of the CP/Cu(II) system. CP/Cu(II)/AA system was also effective in removing antibiotics from real livestock tailwater. Simultaneously, the removal of Cu ions in CP/Cu(II) and CP/Cu(II)/AA systems could reach 54.5 % and 15.7 %, respectively. The added AA could significantly enhance the antibiotics degradation but inhibit the Cu ions removal. HO^•, O₂^•-, Cu(III), and ^•C-R were detected in the CP/Cu(II)/AA system, in which HO^• was confirmed as the predominant contributor for FF degradation, and Cu(III) and ^•C-R also participated in FF elimination. The role of AA could accelerate HO^• production and Cu(I)/Cu(II)/Cu(III) cycle, and form ^•C-R. The degradation products and pathways of FF in the CP/Cu(II)/AA system were proposed and the toxicity of the degradation products was evaluated by the toxicity analysis software (T.E.S.T). The results of this work suggest that without introducing complex catalysts, the feasibility of in-situ utilization of Cu(II) inherently or artificially introduced in livestock wastewater activating CP for antibiotic degradation and Cu ions removal was verified.

Enterococci are common indicators of fecal contamination and are used to assess the quality of fresh and marine water, sand, soil, and sediment. However, samples collected from these environments contain various cells and other factors that can interfere with the assays used to detect enterococci. We developed a novel assay for the sensitive and specific detection of enterococci that is resistant to interference from other cells and environmental factors. Our interference-resistant assay used 30-nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), streptavidin, and a biotinylated Enterococcus antibody. Enterococci inhibited the interaction between streptavidin and biotin and led to the disaggregation of AuNPs. The absence of enterococci led to the aggregation of AuNPs, and this difference was easily detected by spectrophotometry. This interference-resistant AuNP assay was able to detect whole cells of Enterococcus in the range of 10 to 10⁷ CFU/mL within 3 h, had high specificity for enterococci, and was unaffected by the presence of other intestinal bacteria, such as Escherichia coli. Our examination of fresh and marine water samples demonstrated no interference from other cells or environmental factors. The interference-resistant AuNP assay described here has the potential to be used as a rapid, simple, and effective method for monitoring enterococci in diverse environmental samples.

Direct ingestion of micro/nanoplastics (MNPs) results in significant accumulation in gastrointestinal (GI) tract of fish. The breathing process of fish makes MNPs easily retained in their gills. However, the uptake of MNPs in other fish organs remains largely unknown, let alone their kinetic processes. Herein, microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in vivo imaging and precise quantification in various tissues (GI tract, gill, liver, brain, eye, and skin) of seawater (SW)- and freshwater (FW)- acclimated medaka Oryzias melastigma were achieved at an environmentally relevant concentration. Subsequently, the distribution kinetics of MNPs was investigated over a 96-h uptake and 48-h depuration period. MNPs were quickly and mostly captured in GI tract and gill of O. melastigma, and then transferred to liver and brain likely via blood circulation. Such transport was more efficient for NPs as compared to MPs, as evidenced by the consistently higher bioconcentration factors in both SW and FW conditions. The detection of MNPs in eye and skin of O. melastigma was more of an adsorption process, although the specific mechanisms of adsorption and absorption process can hardly be clearly differentiated. This study presented distribution kinetics of MNPs in O. melastigma and highlighted their possible transportation among tissues.

The intensive use of various antibiotics for clinical and agricultural purposes has resulted in their widespread use in wastewater treatment plants. However, little research has been conducted on the effects of antibiotics on nitrite accumulation, antibiotic degradation pathways, or the microbial community structure in nitrification systems. In this study, a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor was used to treat wastewater containing cefalexin (CFX) at different doses (5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/L). The results showed that the nitrification performance was gradually inhibited with increasing CFX concentration. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are more tolerant to CFX than nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Under 15 mg/L of CFX, NOB were completely suppressed, whereas AOB were partially inhibited, as evidenced by an ammonium removal efficiency of 60 % and a 90 % of nitrite accumulation ratio. The partial nitritation was achieved. CFX can be degraded into 2-hydroxy-3phenylpyrazine and cyclohexane through bacterial co-metabolism, and CFX degradation gradually diminishes with decreasing nitrification performance. The abundance of Nitrospira gradually decreased with increasing CFX concentration. Ferruginibacter, Hydrogenophaga, Thauera, and Pseudoxanthomonas were detected at relative abundances of 13.2 %, 0.4 %, 0.9 %, and 1.3 %, respectively, indicating their potential roles in antibiotic degradation. These findings provide insight into the interactions between antibiotics and microbial communities, which are beneficial for a better understanding of antibiotic degradation in nitrification systems.

Evidence on the link of long-term exposure to ozone (O₃) with childhood asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis and eczema is inconclusive. We did a population-based cross-sectional survey, including 177,888 children from 173 primary and middle schools in 14 Chinese cities. A satellite-based spatiotemporal model was employed to assess four-year average O₃ exposure at both residential and school locations. Information on asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema and conjunctivitis was collected by a standard questionnaire developed by the American Thoracic Society. We used generalized non-linear and linear mixed models to test the associations. We observed linear exposure-response associations between O₃ and all outcomes. The odds ratios of doctor-diagnosed asthma, rhinitis, eczema, and conjunctivitis associated with per interquartile increment in home-school O₃ concentration were 1.31 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.28, 1.34), 1.25 (95 %CI: 1.23, 1.28), 1.19 (95 %CI: 1.16, 1.21), and 1.28 (95 %CI: 1.21, 1.34), respectively. Similar associations were observed for asthma-related outcomes including current asthma, wheeze, current wheeze, persistent phlegm, and persistent cough. Moreover, stronger associations were observed among children who were aged > 12 years, physically inactive, and exposed to higher temperature. In conclusion, long-term O₃ exposure was associated with higher risks of asthma, allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and eczema in children.

This investigation explored the potential of utilizing alkali-treated corn cob (CC) as a solid carbon source to improve NO_X and SO₂ removal from flue gas. Leaching experiments unveiled a hierarchy of chemical oxygen demand release capacity: 0.03 mol/L alkali-treated CC > 0.02 mol/L > 0.01 mol/L > 0.005 mol/L > control. In NO_X and SO₂ removal experiments, as the inlet NO_X concentration rose from 300 to 1000 mg/m³, the average NO_X removal efficiency increased from 58.56 % to 80.00 %. Conversely, SO₂ removal efficiency decreased from 99.96 % to 91.05 %, but swiftly rebounded to 98.56 % by day 18. The accumulation of N intermediates (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, NO₂^-) increased with escalating inlet NO_X concentration, while the accumulation of S intermediates (SO₄^2-, SO₃^2-, S⁰) varied based on shifts in the population of functional bacteria. The elevation in inlet NO_X concentration stimulated the growth of denitrifying bacteria, enhancing NO_X removal efficiency. Concurrently, the population of nitrate-reducing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria expanded, aiding in the accumulation of S⁰ and the removal of SO₂. The comparison experiments on carbon sources confirmed the comparable NO_X and SO₂ removal efficiencies of alkali-treated CC and glucose, yet underscored differences in intermediates accumulation due to distinct genus structures.