Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the air are predominantly the less chlorinated congeners. Non-dioxin-like (NDL) low-chlorinated PCBs are more neurotoxic, and cause neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral alterations in humans. However, the underlying mechanisms for this neurodevelopmental toxicity remain unknown. In the present study, Wistar rats were treated by gavage with PCB52 (1 mg/kg body weight) or corn oil from gestational day 7 to postnatal day 21. Both the body lengths and weights of the suckling rats at birth were significantly decreased by PCB52 treatment, suggesting developmental toxicity. Although no obvious histopathological changes were observed in the brain, using RNA-sequencing, 208 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the striatum of PCB52-treated male offspring, while just 13 DEGs were identified in female offspring, suggesting sex-specific effects. Furthermore, using Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, neurodevelopmental processes, neurobehavioral alterations, and neurotransmission changes were enriched from the 208 DEGs in male offspring. Similarly, using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, neuroactive ligand receptor interactions and multiple synapse pathways were enriched in male offspring, implying dysfunction of the neurotransmission system. Reductions in the protein expressions of these ligand receptors were also identified in the striatum, cerebral cortex, and hippocampus using western blotting methods. Taken together, our findings indicate that PCB52 exposure during gestation and lactation results in the abnormal expression of neurotransmission ligand-receptors in male offspring with a sex bias, and that this may contribute to neurodevelopmental toxicity.

This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in surface water (lakes, major rivers and tributaries) and potential discharge sources (fish ponds, livestock and poultry farms, and sewage treatment plants) in Wujin District (northwest of Taihu Lake), Jiangsu province, China. An analytical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for 38 pesticides, which was applied in the monitoring of 240 surface water samples and 76 potential discharge source samples. Eleven insecticides and five fungicides with temporal and spatial variation were detected in surface water. The total pesticide concentrations in surface water in different seasons were as follows: March > August > June > November. The two most polluting and widespread pesticides were carbendazim (maximum concentration 508 ng L⁻¹, detection rate 100%) and imidacloprid (maximum concentration 438 ng L⁻¹, detection rate 88%). Gehu Lake (S46) and Sanshangang River (S12) were seriously polluted water bodies. Seven insecticides and four fungicides were detected in the potential discharge sources; and their composition changed significantly with the seasons. The concentrations of detected organophosphorus pesticides and neonicotinoids (e.g. acetamiprid in March and dichlorvos in November) in a few non-agricultural planting sources were far greater than those detected in surface water, and hence a few fish ponds, livestock and poultry farms, and sewage treatment plants might be the potential discharge sources of pesticides in the surrounding surface water. The estimated input flux of the studied pesticides from upstream rivers to Taihu Lake was 141.95 kg a⁻¹. Furthermore, more attention should be paid to the medium or high aquatic ecotoxicological risk presented by the levels of organophosphorus pesticides, carbamates, and benzimidazoles.

In this study, the degradation of eight bromophenols (BPs), including monobromophenols (2-BP, 3-BP, and 4-BP), dibromophenols (2,4-DBP, 2,6-DBP, and 3,5-DBP), a tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) and a pentabromophenol (PBP), by a Fe(VI) reaction process at a pH of 8.0 was systematically studied. It was concluded that their degradation rates increased with increasing Fe(VI) concentrations in solution. The removal of 2,4,6-TBP, 2-BP, and 2,6-DBP was faster than that of the other five BPs, which could be attributed to the position of the substituting Br atom. Moreover, the direct oxidation and coupling reactions greatly influenced the reactivity of the bromophenols with Fe(VI). The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl radicals in present system. The oxidation reaction products of PBP and 2-BP were recognized by an electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometer; hydroxylation, hydroxyl substitution, the cleavage of the C–C bond, direct oxidation and polymerization via an end linking mechanism were noticeably found in the reaction process, resulting in the formation of polymerization products and causing hydroxylation to occur. Theoretical calculations further determined the possible oxidation sites of 2-BP and PBP. This study may provide comprehensive and important information on the remediation of BPs by Fe(VI).

A novel amino-functionalized hydrochar material (referred to NH₂–HCs) was prepared and used as the soil amendment to immobilize multi-contaminated soils for the first time. The results showed that the application of NH₂–HCs significantly improved (P < 0.05) soil properties (i.e., pH value, cation exchange capacity and organic content). By introduction of NH₂–HCs, the contaminated soil showed the highest value of 96.2%, 52.2% and 15.5% reductions in Cu, Pb and Cd bioavailable concentrations and the leaching toxicity of Cu, Pb and Cd were remarkably reduced by 98.1%, 31.3% and 30.4%, respectively. Most of exchangeable Cu, Pb and Cd reduced were transformed into its less available forms of oxidizable and residual fractions. Potential ecological risk assessment indicated that the element Cd accounted for the most of total risks in NH₂–HCs amended soils. The mechanism study indicated that surface complexation, chemical chelating and cation-pi interaction of NH₂–HCs played a vital role in the immobilization of heavy metals. Pot experiments further verified that the application of NH₂–HCs significantly improved plant growth and reduced metal accumulations. The present study offered a novel approach to prepare amino-functionalized hydrochars with great potential as the green and alternative amendments for efficiently immobilizing heavy metals in multi-contaminated soil.

A field study was conducted to understand the physiological responses, yield and grain quality of an old (HUW234) and a modern (HD3118) wheat cultivar exposed to elevated ozone (O₃). The cultivars were grown under ambient O₃ (NF) and ambient +20 ppb O₃ (NF+) conditions using open-top chambers (OTCs). The comparative study of an old and a modern cultivar showed variable physiological responses under elevated O₃ exposure. Elevated O₃ in old cultivar caused high reductions in Rubisco activity (Vcₘₐₓ) and electron transport rate (J) compared to modern cultivar with simultaneous reductions in the rate of photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence. In modern cultivar, high stomatal density and conductance caused higher O₃ uptake thereby triggering more damage to the adjacent stomatal cells and photosynthetic pigments coupled with reductions in photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE). Modern cultivar also showed relatively high reduction in grain yield compared to old one under NF + treatment. Furthermore, grain quality traits (such as starch, protein and amino acids) of modern cultivar were better than old cultivar under ambient O₃, but showed more deterioration under NF + treatment. Results thus indicated that modern cultivar is relatively more susceptible to O₃ and showed more negative impacts on plant performance, yield and quality of grains compared to old cultivar.

Sea level rise induced-salinization is lowering coastal soils productivity. In order to assess the effects that increased salinity may provoke in terrestrial plants, using as model species: Trifolium pratense, Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea and Vicia sativa, two specific objectives were targeted: i) to determine the sensitivity of the selected plant species to increased salinity (induced by seawater-SW or by NaCl, proposed as a surrogate of SW) and, ii) to assess the influence of salinization in total biomass under different agricultural practices (mono- or polycultures).The four plant species exhibited a higher sensitivity to NaCl than to SW. Festuca arundinacea was the most tolerant species to NaCl (EC₅₀,ₛₑₑd gₑᵣₘᵢₙₐₜᵢₒₙ and EC₅₀,gᵣₒwₜₕ of 18.6 and 10.5 mScm⁻¹, respectively). The other three species presented effective conductivities in the same order of magnitude and, in general, with 95% confidence limits overlapping. Soil moistened with SW caused no significant adverse effects on seed germination and growth of L. perenne. Similar to NaCl, the other three species, in general, presented a similar sensitivity to SW exposure with EC₅₀,ₛₑₑd gₑᵣₘᵢₙₐₜᵢₒₙ and EC₅₀,gᵣₒwₜₕ within the same order of magnitude and with confidence limits overlapping.The agricultural practice (mono-vs polyculture) showed some influence on the biomass of each plant species. When considering total productivity, for aerial and root biomass, it was higher in control comparatively to salinization conditions. Under salinization stress, the practice of polyculture was associated with a higher aerial and root total biomass than monocultures (for instance with combinations with T. pratense and F. arundinacea).Results suggest that the effects of salinity stress on total productivity may be minimized under agricultural practices of polyculture. Thus, this type of cultures should be encouraged in low-lying coastal ecosystems that are predicted to suffer from salinization caused by seawater intrusions.

The application of surfactants is an effective way to inhibit the migration of organic contaminants (OCs) from soil to plants, and thus would be a great candidate method for producing safe agricultural products in organic-contaminated farmland. In this study, it was found that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMAB) reduced the OCs in cabbage by 22.0–64.1%, and those in lettuce by 18.8–36.5%. We developed a mathematical model to predict the accumulation of OCs in plants in the presence of surfactants. The successive partitioning of OCs among three phases, namely, soil, soil water and plant roots, was considered. The equilibrium of OC between the soil and soil water was scaled using the sorption coefficient of OCs on soils normalized by the soil organic carbon (Kₒc) and carbon-normalized OCs sorption coefficient with the sorbed surfactants (Kₛₛ). To precisely calculate the Kₒc and Kₛₛ, the bioavailable and bound OCs were measured using a sequential extraction method. Linear positive correlations between the logarithm of Kₒc (or Kₛₛ) and the logarithm of the octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kₒw) of OCs were established for laterite soils, paddy soils and black soils. In the presence of CTMAB, the equilibrium of OCs between the soil water and plant roots was scaled using the carbon-normalized OC sorption coefficient with the sorbed surfactants (Kₛf), whose logarithmic value was linearly correlated with the log Kₒw of the OCs. A three-phase-successive partition-limited model was developed based on these relationships, demonstrating an average prediction accuracy of 76.6 ± 36.8%. Our results indicated that the decrease in bioavailable OCs in soils and the increase in sorption of OCs on roots should be taken into consideration when predicting plant uptake. This research provides a validated mathematical model for predicting the concentration of OCs in plants in the presence of surfactants.

Zearalenone (ZEA), an estrogen-like mycotoxin, is commonly detected in animal feeds including improperly stored grains. It has been well demonstrated that ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) perform vital roles during follicular development, however, the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in GCs after ZEA exposure remains to be well described. Here, for the first time, we adopted whole-transcriptome sequence technology to explore the molecular mechanism of ZEA toxicology on porcine GCs. The results provide evidence that the cell cycle of porcine GCs is arrested in the G2/M phase after exposure to ZEA. Furthermore, bioinformation analysis found that cell cycle arrest related genes were perturbed, including CDK1, CCNB1, CDC25A, and CDC25C, which was consistent with the results of RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, and Western Blotting. Based on the whole-transcriptome sequence data, by constructing ceRNA networks related to cell cycle arrest, we observed that ZEA exposure arrested cell cycle progression at the G2/M phase in porcine GCs, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) played an important role in this process via regulating the expressions of cell cycle arrest related genes. Taken together, our data here provides strong data to support that the toxicological mechanism regarding the widely distributed toxicant ZEA acts through ceRNA networks in porcine granulosa cells.

Coral reefs worldwide are degrading at alarming rates due to local and global stressors. There are ongoing needs for bioindicator systems that can be used to assess reef health status, the potential for recovery following destructive events such as tropical storms, and for the success of coral transplants. Benthic foraminiferal shells are ubiquitous components of carbonate sediment in reef environments that can be sampled at minimal cost and environmental impact. Here we review the development and application of the FoRAM Index (FI), which provides a bioindicator metric for water quality that supports reef accretion. We outline the strengths and limitations of the FI, and propose how it can be applied more effectively across different geographical regions.

Acid rain is a serious threat to terrestrial ecosystems. To provide more accurate early warning information for acid rain prevention, urban planning, and travel planning, a novel air pollutant prediction model was proposed in this paper to predict NO₂ and SO₂. First, the data were decomposed into several sub-sequences by a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise. Second, the subsequences are reconstructed by variational mode decomposition and sample entropy. Then, the new subsequences are predicted by the extreme learning machine combined with the whale optimization algorithm. The empirical analysis was carried out through 8 data sets. According to the experimental results, three main conclusions can be drawn. First, the proposed model in this paper has excellent prediction performance and robustness. In all the comparison experiments, the R² and RMSE of the proposed model are the best among all the models. Second, data preprocessing is very necessary. After adding the decomposition algorithm, the average improvement levels of R² and RMSE were 897.57% and 50.78%, respectively. Third, the re-decomposition of IMF1 is an effective method to improve prediction accuracy. After the re-decomposition of IMF1, R² can be improved by 13.64% on average on the original basis, and RMSE can be reduced by 31.99% on average. The results of this study can provide a valuable reference for the research of air pollutant prediction. In future work, the application of the proposed model in other air pollutants or other regions can be explored.