Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that the general population’s exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) substitutes is ubiquitous. Bisphenol F (BPF), one of the main BPA substitutes, is increasingly replacing BPA in plastics for food and beverage applications. Accumulating evidence suggests that BPA exposure is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-like changes. However, the potential effects of BPF on lipid homeostasis remain poorly understood. In the present study, an epidemiological analysis with LC-MS-MS revealed that the BPF concentrations in the serum of NAFLD patients were significantly higher than those in a control group. Supporting this result, using Oil Red O, BODIPY 493/503, LipidTox Deep Red staining and gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) assays, we found that BPF exposure induced NAFLD-like changes, with obvious lipid droplet deposition, triglyceride (TG) and fatty acids increase in mouse livers. Meanwhile, lipid droplet deposition and TG increase induced by BPF were also observed in HepG2 cells, accompanied by autophagic flux blockade, including autophagosome accumulation and the decreased degradation of SQSTM1/p62. Using adenoviruses dual-reporter plasmid RFP-GFP-LC3, RFP-GFP-PLIN2 transfection, AO staining, and EGFR degradation assays, we demonstrated that BPF treatment impaired lysosomal degradative capacity, since BPF treatment obviously impaired lysosomal acidification, manifested as decreased lysosomal hydrolase cathepsin L (CTSL) and mature cathepsin D (CTSD) in HepG2 and mouse liver issues. Additionally, v-ATPase D, a multi-subunit enzyme that mediates acidification of eukaryotic intracellular organelles, significantly decreased after BPF exposure in both the vitro and in vivo studies.This study ascertained a novel mechanism involving dysfunctional of lysosomal degradative capacity induced by BPF, which contributes to lipophagic disorders and causes lipid droplet deposition. This work provides evidence that lysosomes may be a target organelle where BPF exerts its potential toxicity; therefore, novel intervention strategies targeting lysosome are promising for BPF-induced NAFLD-like changes.

This study evaluated the impact of sewage discharge in recreational coastal marine environments of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over a six-month period by the detection of waterborne enteric viruses. Ten-liter water samples were collected in four beaches from January to July 2017. Viruses were concentrated by an organic flocculation and human adenoviruses (HAdV), polyomavirus (JCPyV), and Hepatitis A virus (HAV) detected by qPCR. Forty-eight water samples were collected, being 43% positive for HAdV and 23% for JCPyV; only one sample was positive for HAV. Viruses were detected in all sampling sites, including in areas suitable for bathing according to the current bacterial standards. The results herein provide an overview of the viral contamination of beaches used for recreational purposes. The viral presence in the sampled areas indicates the need for more rigid effluent discharge controls in these areas, as sewage represents a possible transmission risk for waterborne viral diseases.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper reviews various low-cost treatment techniques such as adsorption, permeable reactive barrier, and biological techniques for the simultaneous removal of chemical and microbial contaminants from groundwater and discusses treatment mechanisms of different treatment techniques. This paper also discusses the challenges of groundwater treatment, how to choose the appropriate treatment technique, and cost analysis of groundwater treatment. RECENT FINDINGS: Various treatment technologies have been used for the treatment of groundwater: physical, chemical, and biological technologies with different success rates. In the literature, various adsorbents have been successfully synthesized from low-cost and environmentally friendly materials. Adsorption is considered an efficient treatment technique for the removal of both toxic elements and pathogens by utilizing different adsorbents. For example, the nanostructures of MgO with a BET surface area of up to 171 m²/g obtained a very high adsorption capacity of 29,131 mg/g for fluoride ions in water, while the incorporation of iron in activated carbon has improved its adsorption capacity to 51.3 mg/g for arsenic. Moreover, certain adsorbents have shown the capability to remove 99% of the rotavirus and adenovirus from groundwater. Groundwater resources are contaminated with toxic metals and pathogens. Therefore, water treatment technologies should be evaluated for their efficiency to remove such contaminants. Determination of the most cost-effective and efficient treatment technique is not an easy task and requires the understanding of various aspects such as the contaminants present in water, the reuse options considered, and cost analysis of the treatment technique.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of sewage discharge on coastal waters by evaluating the influence of physicochemical parameters on the presence of enteric microorganisms in seawater samples collected from 11 beaches in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, over a one-year period (August 2009 to July 2010). Samples were assessed for the presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV), polyomavirus (JCPyV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), and noroviruses (HuNoV GI and GII). Escherichia coli and physicochemical parameters (salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) were also evaluated. From the 132 samples analyzed, 55% were positive for HAdV, 51.5% for HAV, 7.5% for HuNoV GI, 4.5% for HuNoV GII, and 3% for JCPyV. E. coli levels ranged from 8 to 1325CFU/100mL at all sites. The overall results highlight the problem of sewage discharge into coastal waters and confirm that there is no correlation between viral presence and bacterial contamination.

Water, sponge and coral samples were collected from stations impacted by a variety of pollution sources and screened for human enteric viruses as conservative markers for human sewage. While human enteroviruses and adenoviruses were not detected, noroviruses (NoV; human genogroups I and II) were detected in 31% of samples (especially in sponge tissue). Stations near inlets were the only ones to show multiple sample types positive for NoV. Fecal indicator bacteria and enteric viruses were further evaluated at multiple inlet stations on an outgoing tide. Greatest indicator concentrations and highest prevalence of viruses were found at the mouth of the inlet and offshore in the inlet plume. Results suggest that inlets moving large volumes of water into the coastal zone with tides may be an important source of fecal contaminants. Efforts to reduce run-off or unintended release of water into the Intracoastal Waterway may lower contaminants entering sensitive coastal areas.

Pathogenic human viruses cause over half of gastroenteritis cases associated with recreational water use worldwide. They are difficult to concentrate from environmental waters due to low numbers and small sizes. Rapid enumeration of viruses by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has the potential to improve water quality analysis and risk assessment. However, capturing and recovering these viruses from environmental water remain formidable barriers to routine use. Here, we compared the recovery efficiencies of human adenoviruses (HAdVs) and human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) from 10-L river water samples seeded with raw human wastewater (100 and 10 mL) using hollow-fiber ultrafiltration (HFUF) and glass wool filter (GWF) methods. The mean recovery efficiencies of HAdVs in river water samples through HFUF were 36 and 86 % for 100 and 10 mL of seeded human wastewater, respectively. In contrast, the estimated mean recovery efficiencies of HAdVs in river water samples through GWF were 1.3 and 3 % for 100 and 10 mL seeded raw human wastewater, respectively. Similar trends were also observed for HPyVs. Recovery efficiencies of HFUF method were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than GWF for both HAdVs and HPyVs. Our results clearly suggest that HFUF would be a preferred method for concentrating HAdVs and HPyVs from river water followed by subsequent detection and quantification with PCR/qPCR assays.

Enteric viruses enter surface waters through discharge of sewage treatment plants. They have a high environmental resistance and persistence and have low infectious doses. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of polishing pond in the removal of viruses and bacteria. The samples were taken approximately once a week at the influent of secondary treatment (n = 39), effluent of secondary treatment (n = 39), and polishing pond (tertiary treatment, n = 29). Human adenoviruses (HAdV) were detected in 82–100 % of wastewater samples, whereas 62–79 % of the samples were positive for human polyomavirus (HPyV). The median concentrations ranged from 6.8 × 10³ genome equivalents/l (HAdV) to 6.0 × 10³ genome equivalents/l (HPyV). The concentration of HAdV and HPyV did not change significantly during the wastewater treatment. For somatic coliphages and bacteria an overall reduction of 1.84–2.65 log₁₀ has been detected. Based on the data collected, this type of tertiary treatment achieved a significant reduction in bacteria and phages, but not for viruses.

Traditional microbe indicators including total bacteria, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, and F+ coliphage are all frequently used to characterize the microbial contamination state of water bodies for their correlation with pathogenic bacteria. However, these indicators have a poor relationship with viruses, which pose serious threat to economic and human health. Alternative indicators such as bacteroidales may be suitable complementary alternatives to traditional microbe indicators and are being increasingly reported. In the present study, water was analyzed for selected sites along Haihe River in Tianjin for traditional indicators, an alternative indicator (bacteroidales), pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus), viruses (enteric adenovirus, norovirus, enterovirus, poliovirus and rotavirus), and physicochemical parameters. Results indicated that traditional microbe indicators detected in this study showed good correlation with pathogenic bacteria, and the alternative indicator (bacteroidales) had a surprisingly good relationship with viral presence. We propose that bacteroidales might be a suitable complementary indicator for viral contamination in water bodies.

The BioFire FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel was evaluated for the rapid detection of adenovirus, astrovirus, norovirus, rotavirus and sapovirus from influent and effluent wastewater and shellfish. The multiplex BioFire FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel compared well to singleplex qPCR/RT-qPCR methods for the detection of adenovirus, astrovirus, rotavirus and sapovirus from influent and effluent wastewater samples. However, the BioFire FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel showed poor performance for the detection of norovirus, significantly underestimating its presence in wastewater and shellfish samples when compared with the singleplex norovirus GI and GII RT-qPCR assays. Therefore, improvement on detection efficiency for norovirus from environmental and food samples is necessary before using results from the FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel to assess associated public health risks.

In this study, the seasonal difference and the observable presence/absence of human adenovirus (HAdV) in the Puzih River basin in Taiwan was investigated. A total of 288 water samples were collected from 24 sites from March 2014 to February 2015. Human AdV analysis of sample was subjected to viral concentration using a GN-6 Metricel® filter, followed by DNA extraction, nested-PCR, and qPCR. Human AdV was detected in 34.3 % (99/288) of the entire river water sample. A higher percentage of HAdV (76.4 %) was obtained during the winter. The HAdV median concentration was relatively high in fall (1.4 × 10³ copies/L) and winter (2.8 × 10³ copies/L). Significant difference and correlation were found between the seasonal variation of HAdV and water quality parameters, including heterotrophic plate count, total coliform, water temperature, and turbidity. The most frequently identified HAdV (subgenus F) serotype was 41. Human AdV-41 is the main cause of gastroenteritis and should be considered for associated human health risk potential in the Puzih River basin.