Apart from the conventional polyethylene and the bio-based or mainly bio-based biodegradable in soil mulching films, polyethylene mulching films of controlled degradation in soil are already used in agriculture. The use of special pro-oxidants as additives is expected to accelerate the abiotic oxidation and the subsequent chain scission of the polymer under specific UV radiation or thermal degradation conditions, according to the literature. The role of pro-oxidants in the possible biodegradation of polyethylene has been theoretically supported through the use of controlled laboratory conditions. However, results obtained in real soil conditions, but also several laboratory test results, are not supporting these claims and the issue remains disputed. Mulching films made of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) with pro-oxidants, after being used for one cultivation period in an experimental field with watermelon cultivation, were buried in the soil under real field conditions. This work presents the analysis of the degradation of the mulching films during the cultivation period as compared to the corresponding changes after a long soil burial period of 8.5 years. The combined effects of critical factors on the photochemical degradation of the degradable mulching LLDPE films with pro-oxidants under the cultivation conditions and their subsequent further degradation behaviour in the soil are analysed by testing their mechanical properties and through spectroscopic and thermal analysis.

Previous research has revealed that agricultural intensification in the Chao Lake Valley since the 1980s has led to significant heavy metal and phosphorus (P) contamination of estuarine sediments in this region. However, the pore water plays a more important role than do sediments in the cycling of nutrients and metals in estuarine ecosystems. Average concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, and P in the pore water of estuarine sediments were 0.634, 3.11, 4.98, 3.98, and 49.9 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Average diffusive fluxes of these elements from the pore water to overlying water were −0.015, 0.058, 0.768, −0.238, and 20.0 μg m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively. Compared with similar studies, the values of heavy metal fluxes were low, indicating minimal diffusion between sediments and overlying waters; however, P diffusion from the sediment pore water to overlying water was high, indicating that the sediments may be a direct source of P to overlying water. Since P is a major cause of algal blooming in agricultural estuaries of Chao Lake, the obtained results could be useful in developing effective management strategies to control pollution in the Chao Lake Valley.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are one class of brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Although studies have reported the occurrence of PBDEs in freshwater fish species from several locations, to our best knowledge, there was no comprehensive data on PBDEs in foods of animal origin, such as pork, egg, and milk samples from interior areas of China, where pork and eggs are the major constituents of diet. The levels of PBDEs (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183) were determined in samples of animal-derived foods widely consumed by the population of Hubei in east-central China and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Two hundred six samples of animal-derived foods were randomly acquired in 17 sites of Hubei in 2010. The highest medium concentration of ∑₇PBDEs was found in chicken eggs (0.191 ng/g wet weight (ww)), followed by duck eggs (0.176 ng/g ww), pork (0.050 ng/g ww), carps (0.047 ng/g ww), and cow milk (0.013 ng/g ww). The estimated dietary intake of Σ₇PBDEs for a standard adult of 60 kg body weight based on medium and 95th percentile concentrations with consumption of animal-derived foods in Hubei province were 157.5 and 1960.3 pg/kg body weight/day, respectively. Chicken eggs (65.9 %) and pork (23.4 %) were the largest contributors to dietary intake of ∑₇PBDEs through animal-derived foods. The same PBDE sources were exposed in Hubei province via principal component analysis (PCA), and the particular congener profile in samples of animal-derived foods revealed the possible exposure history of octa-BDEs and penta-BDEs in the local region. The large margins of exposure (MOE) calculated following the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approach for three important congeners, BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-153, indicated that the estimated dietary exposures were unlikely to be a significant health concern to in Hubei.

Currently, reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and fuel consumption has become a critical environmental problem and has attracted the attention of both academia and the industrial sector. Government regulations and customer demands are making environmental responsibility an increasingly important factor in overall supply chain operations. Within these operations, transportation has the most hazardous effects on the environment, i.e., CO₂emissions, fuel consumption, noise and toxic effects on the ecosystem. This study aims to construct vehicle routes with time windows that minimize the total fuel consumption and CO₂emissions. The green vehicle routing problem with time windows (G-VRPTW) is formulated using a mixed integer linear programming model. A memory structure adapted simulated annealing (MSA-SA) meta-heuristic algorithm is constructed due to the high complexity of the proposed problem and long solution times for practical applications. The proposed models are integrated with a fuel consumption and CO₂emissions calculation algorithm that considers the vehicle technical specifications, vehicle load, and transportation distance in a green supply chain environment. The proposed models are validated using well-known instances with different numbers of customers. The computational results indicate that the MSA-SA heuristic is capable of obtaining good G-VRPTW solutions within a reasonable amount of time by providing reductions in fuel consumption and CO₂emissions.

To evaluate the effect from low-level exposure of antibiotics on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes, unpolluted arable soils were treated with oxytetracycline (OTC)-containing manure, with OTC (0, 2, 20, or 70 μg kg⁻¹) added every 2 weeks on 10 occasions. Six tetracycline resistance genes [TRGs—tet(A), tet(L), tet(M), tet(Q), tet(O), and tet(W)] and the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene were monitored using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The relative abundance of tet(A), tet(L), tet(M), and tet(Q) genes in soil increased 10–1000 times after application of OTC-containing manure. Tet(A) abundance per unit of residual OTC on day 140 was 1.53–4.42 times higher than that on day 28, while tet(L) abundance was 1.04–1.74 times higher. Treatment with >40 μg kg⁻¹ OTC significantly increased abundance of tet(A) and tet(L), while tet(M) and tet(Q) abundance was positively correlated (R ² = 0.965 and 0.932, p < 0.01) with residual OTC concentrations. There was a significant accumulation of TRGs associated with low-level OTC exposure in arable soils. Besides OTC residual, the effects from exposure time and application frequencies should also be considered to limit the increase in abundance of tet(A) and tet(L).

To select suitable tree species associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for phytoremediation of heavy metal (HM) contaminated area, we measured the AMF status and heavy metal accumulation in plant tissues in a lead–zinc mine area, Northwest China. All 15 tree species were colonized by AM fungi in our investigation. The mycorrhizal frequency (F%), mycorrhizal colonization intensity (M%) and spore density (SP) reduced concomitantly with increasing Pb and Zn levels; however, positive correlations were found between arbuscule density (A%) and soil total/DTPA-extractable Pb concentrations. The average concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd in plant samples were 168.21, 96.61, 41.06, and 0.79 mg/kg, respectively. Populus purdomii Rehd. accumulated the highest concentrations of Zn (432.08 mg/kg) and Cu (140.85 mg/kg) in its leaves. Considerable amount of Pb (712.37 mg/kg) and Cd (3.86 mg/kg) were concentrated in the roots of Robinia pseudoacacia Linn. and Populus simonii Carr., respectively. Plants developed different strategies to survive in HM stress environment: translocating more essential metals (Zn and Cu) into the aerial parts, while retaining more toxic heavy metals (Pb and Cd) in the roots to protect the above-ground parts from damage. According to the translocation factor (TF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), growth rate and biomass production, five tree species (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Cotinus coggygria Scop., P. simonii, P. purdomii, and R. pseudoacacia) were considered to be the most suitable candidates for phytoextraction and/or phytostabilization purposes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the efficiency of phytoremediation was enhanced by AM symbioses, and soil pH, Pb, Zn, and Cd levels were the main factors influencing the HM accumulation characteristics of plants.

The aim of this study was to analyze the variation in sex ratio of White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks from differentiated Poland environments. We took under a consideration the impact of Cd and Pb for establish differences among sex ratio in chicks. We also study multiplex PCR employment for establish gender considerations. We collected blood samples via venipuncture of brachial vein of chicks during 2006–2008 breeding seasons at the Odra meadows (SW-Poland; control), which were compared with those from suburbs (SW-Poland), and from copper smelter (S-Poland; polluted) and from swamps near Baltic Sea. We found differences among sex ratio in White Stork chicks from types of environment. Male participation in sex structure is importantly higher in each type of environment excluded suburban areas. Differences in White Stork sex ratio according to the degree of environmental degradation expressed by Cd and Pb and sex-environment-metal interactions testify about the impact of these metals upon sex ratios in storks. Simultaneously, as a result of multiplex PCR, 18S ribosome gene, which served as internal control of PCR, was amplified in male and female storks. It means that it is possible to use primers designed for chicken in order to replicate this fragment of genome in White Stork. Moreover, the use of Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana W- chromosome specific primers makes it possible to determine the sex of C. ciconia chicks. Many factors make sex ratio of White Stork changes in subsequent breeding seasons, which depend significantly on specific environmental parameters that shape individual detailed defense mechanisms.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an ubiquitous chemical, which is an endocrine disruptor. Recent epidemiological studies have suggested a relationship between BPA exposure and body weight. However, most of these studies were cross-sectional and not on elderly people. We conducted a panel study with repeated measurements to evaluate the relationship between BPA and overweight in elderly people. A total of 560 elderly participants aged ≥60 years were recruited in Seoul from 2008 to 2010. Urinary BPA levels and body mass index (BMI, kg/m²) were measured at every visit. We defined a BMI ≥25 as overweight and examined the relations between urinary BPA and BMI or overweight. Repeated measures analysis was performed after adjusting for age, sex, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, total calorie intake, fatty acid intake, urinary cotinine levels, and the status of diabetes mellitus. The geometric mean of BPA was 0.67 μg/g creatinine. The odds ratio (OR) of overweight was 1.17 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.32) per interquartile range increase of log-transformed BPA. When stratified based on sex, we observed a significant association in women (OR 1.25; 95 % CI 1.09–1.45) but not in men (OR 0.97; 95 % CI 0.77–1.22). The ORs of overweight increased with quartiles of BPA in women (quartile 2 vs 1: OR 1.54; 95 % CI 1.02–2.32, 3 vs 1: OR 1.70; 95 % CI 1.10–2.62, and 4 vs 1: OR 1.81; 95 % CI 1.13–2.92). Our results suggest that urinary BPA levels are significantly associated with overweight in elderly women but not elderly men.

Geographically based investigations into atmospheric bio-monitoring usually provide information on concentration or occurrence data and spatial trends of specific contaminants over a specified study area. In this work, an original approach based on geographic information system (GIS) was used to establish metal contents (Hg, Cu, Pb, and Cd) in epiphytic lichens from 90 locations as atmospheric bio-monitors over a meso-scale area (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, southwestern France). This approach allows the integration of the heterogeneity of the territory and optimization of the sampling sites based on both socioeconomical and geophysical parameters (hereafter defined as urban, industrial, agricultural, and forested areas). The sampling strategy was first evaluated in several sites (n = 15) over different seasons and years in order to follow the temporal variability of the atmospheric metal input in lichens. The results demonstrate that concentration ranges remain constant over different sampling periods in “rural” areas (agricultural and forested). Higher variability is observed in the “anthropized” urban and industrial areas in relation to local atmospheric inputs. In this context, metal concentrations in lichens over the whole study show that (1) Hg and Cd are homogeneous over the whole territory (0.14 ± 0.04 and 0.38 ± 0.26 mg/kg, respectively), whereas (2) Cu and Pb are more concentrated in “anthropized” areas (9.3 and 11.9 mg/kg, respectively) than in “rural” ones (6.8 and 6.0 mg/kg, respectively) (Kruskall-Wallis, K(Cu) = 13.7 and K(Pb) = 9.7, p < 0.00001). They also showed a significant local enrichment for all metals in many locations in the Pays Basque (West) mainly due to metal and steel industrial activities. This confirms the local contribution of this contamination source over a wider geographic scale. A multiple linear regression model was applied to give an integrated spatialization of the data. This showed significant relationships for Pb and Cu (adjusted r ² of 0.39 and 0.45, respectively), especially with regards to variables such as industry and road densities (source factors) and elevation or water balance (remote factors). These results show that an integrated GIS-based sampling strategy can improve biomonitoring data distribution and allows better differentiation of local and long-range contamination.