Recent studies have shown that cigarette consumption affects much more than human health. Smoked cigarette butt (SCB) disposal into the environment can bring little-known negative biological consequences to mammals, since it contains many organic and inorganic toxic chemical constituents. Thus, we aim at assessing whether the ingestion of water with leached SCB for 60 days by female Swiss mice changes their defensive behavioral response to potential predators (cats and snakes). We worked with the following groups of animals: control (pollutant-free water), water with environmental concentration of SCB (1.9 μg/L of nicotine), and concentration 1000 times higher (EC1000×). Our data show that the treatments did not cause locomotor, visual, auditory, and olfactory deficit in the animals. However, we observed that the animals exposed to the pollutants did not present behavioral differences in the test session with or without the snake. On the other hand, animals in all groups showed defensive behavior when the test was conducted with the cat in the apparatus. However, female mice presented weaker response than the control. Thus, our data point towards the potential neurotoxic damage caused to mice who have ingested water with SCB residues, even at low concentrations.

As “green” and “sustainable” become the new themes of regional economic development, green competitiveness will undoubtedly become a new engine for regions to solve environmental, resource use, and other global problems to fit the new development themes. Unfortunately, the performance of regional green competitiveness is not always satisfactory due to various shortcomings. In this study, we abandoned the conventional research approach that directly explores the factors that promote regional green competitiveness and analyzed, instead, the obstacles to green competitiveness among provinces in China. The barrier degree was calculated for each obstacle using a catastrophe progression method and fuzzy rough set. Results showed that (a) resource and environmental problems have become increasingly prominent and have been the most common obstacles to promoting green competitiveness of provinces in China and (b) the obstacles to improving regional green competitiveness showed spatial differences and peculiarity according to the barrier degree. The outcome of the study can help policy makers to better understand and prioritize implementation strategies to develop effective action and policy interventions toward more successful construction of regional green competitiveness.

Hydrogel microparticles (HMPs) were synthesized via reverse emulsion/UV light polymerization and employed as adsorbents for removing bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solution. Results demonstrated the smooth surface of HMPs, with particle size ranging from 137 to 535 μm. Functional groups, including –OH, C–O, C=O, and C–H, are all involved in BPA adsorption confirmed by FTIR. Effect of solution pH, contact time, and initial BPA concentration on adsorption process was examined. The adsorption capacity was found pH independent below pH 8.0 and decreased when pH values greater than 8.0. The maximum adsorption capacity of the HMPs for BPA was 174.77 mg/g. The adsorption process achieved an equilibrium state within 30 min by the pseudo-second-order kinetic rather than the other kinetic models and was fitted well with the Freundlich linear isotherm model. Also, the obtained isotherms reflected the formation of S-type isotherm curve according to Giles’s classification. The BPA loaded on the HMPs could be totally regenerated by methanol/dimethylsulfoxide and can be used for five cycles maintaining 100% of adsorption capacity. When the HMPs were applied for the treatment of spiked real surface water, excellent results were also achieved indicating the high efficiency and potential of the adsorbent.

Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide (thiram) is one of the important pesticides, which is extensively used in agriculture, but if it is combined with the cell membrane, then it causes membrane damage, bone morphogenic inactivation, and inhibited angiogenesis. Thiram has been considered a common cause of tibial dyschondrolplasia (TD) in various avian species, because it becomes the part of feed due to environmental contamination and its overuse in agriculture as pesticides or fungicide. However, there is no systematic study on the changes of the correlation indexes with toxic effect of the thiram in chickens. Therefore, we evaluated the toxic effects of thiram on growth performance of chickens, viscera organ index, pathological changes in tissue, and gene expression associated with osteoblast differentiation, vascularization, and tibial bone development. For this study, 1-day chickens (n = 300) were randomly distributed into two equal groups, control group (normal basal diet) and thiram group (adding thiram 40 mg/kg in basal diet). The result presented that thiram group chickens were looking unhealthy, lazy, and showing clinical symptoms like lameness. Thiram treatment significantly reduced the performance of chickens, liver index, and tibial length compared with control group. The toxic effect of thiram increased the visceral organ index (spleen and cardiac), tibia index, and TD severity considerably. It also increased serum Ca²⁺ and P³⁺ concentration and decreased tibial density compared to control chickens but the difference was not significant. Histopathology of tibia and liver showed that there were severe lesions due to toxic effect of thiram. Furthermore, HIF-1α and VEGF antibody localizations were increased and WNT4 localization was reduced significantly in immunohistochemical analysis. This systemic study of toxic effects of thiram in chicken concluded that thiram reduced the growth performance of chickens through decreasing liver index, whereas increasing kidney, cardiac, and spleen index, and induced TD by changing the expressions of VEGF, HIF-1α, and WNT4.

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) have been found in the environment with high toxicity. Recently, methoxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (MeO-PCBs) were identified as new pollutants and detected in sewage sludge. This study presents a detailed investigation on the uptake, translocation, and metabolism of OH-PCBs and MeO-PCBs in typical crops including maize, wheat, and rice. The interconversion between OH-PCBs and MeO-PCBs were observed. Demethylation of MeO-PCBs was favored over methylation of OH-PCBs. The metabolites were mainly generated in the roots and then translocated to the shoots. Analog-specific differences showed that the accumulation amounts of MeO-PCBs were higher than those of OH-PCBs in the crops. The translocation abilities followed this order: 3′-OH-CB-65 > 4′-OH-CB-101 > 3′-MeO-CB-65 > 4′-MeO-CB-101. The conversion rates were generally higher for 4′-OH-CB-101 than 3′-OH-CB-65 and higher for 4′-MeO-CB-101 than 3′-MeO-CB-65. Interspecies variability among the crops was also observed. The amounts of metabolites and acropetal translocation inside the plants were the greatest for maize. However, the concentration of compounds normalized by the mass of corresponding plant tissue was highest in wheat. These findings provide valuable information for a better understanding of the phytoaccumulation and phytotransformation of OH-PCBs and MeO-PCBs.

This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal variation, chemical composition, and source apportionment of marine fine particles (PM₂.₅) as well as their regional transport toward the Matsu Islands located near the coastline of northwestern Taiwan Strait. Four offshore island sites located at the Matsu Islands were selected to conduct both regular and intensive sampling of marine PM₂.₅. Water-soluble ionic species, metallic elements, and carbonaceous contents were then analyzed to characterize the chemical characteristics of marine PM₂.₅. In order to identify the potential sources and their contributions to marine PM₂.₅, chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model was employed along with the backward trajectory simulation to resolve the source apportionment of marine PM₂.₅ and to explore their transport routes in different seasons. The results showed that high PM₂.₅ concentrations were commonly observed during the northeastern monsoon periods. Additionally, marine PM₂.₅ concentration decreased from the west to the east with the highest PM₂.₅ at the Nankang Island and the lowest PM₂.₅ at the Donyin Island in all seasons, indicating an obvious concentration gradient of PM₂.₅ transported from the continental areas to the offshore islands. In terms of chemical characteristics of PM₂.₅, the most abundant water-soluble ions of PM₂.₅ were secondary inorganic aerosols (SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, and NH₄⁺) which accounted for 55–81% of water-soluble ions and 29–52% of marine PM₂.₅. The neutralization ratios of PM₂.₅ were always less than unity, indicating that NH₄⁺ cannot solely neutralize nss-SO₄²⁺ and NO₃⁻ in marine PM₂.₅ at the Matsu Islands. Although crustal elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, and Mg) dominated the metallic content of marine PM₂.₅, trace anthropogenic metals (Cd, As, Ni, and Cr) increased significantly during the northeastern monsoon periods, particularly in winter. Organic carbons (OCs) were always higher than elemental carbons (ECs), and the mass ratios of OC and EC were generally higher than 2.2 in all seasons, implying that PM₂.₅ was likely to be aged particles. During the poor air quality periods, major air mass transport routes were the northern transport and the anti-cyclonic circulation routes. Source apportionment results indicated that fugitive soil dusts and secondary aerosols were the major sources of marine PM₂.₅ at the Matsu Islands, while, in winter, biomass burning contributed up to 15% of marine PM₂.₅. This study revealed that cross-boundary transport accounted for 66~84% of PM₂.₅ at the Matsu Islands, suggesting that marine PM₂.₅ at the Matsu Islands has been highly influenced by anthropogenic emissions from neighboring Fuzhou City as well as long-range transport from Northeast Asia.

Arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃), the most toxic form of arsenic found in foodstuffs, is considered a carcinogen for human and animal. But many of the events that occur during its passage through the gastrointestinal tract are uncharted in birds. This study assesses the toxic effect on the jejunum of chicken which subchronically exposed to diets that contain As₂O₃ (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5 mg/kg body weight) for 90 days. Electron microscopy, TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL), qPCR, and Western blot were performed. The results showed that mitochondrial fusion and apoptosis inhibiting genes had degressive trends, whereas mitochondrial fission and apoptosis activating genes presented heightened expressions in the treatment group compared with the control (P < 0.05). Subsequently, significant inhibition in PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling was observed. Moreover, the expression of autophagy markers (LC3-II/LC3-I, Beclin-1) increased time and dose-dependently. Additionally, metabolic disorders of trace elements were detected evidenced by their significant decreases (aluminum, silicon, calcium, manganese, strontium, titanium, lithium, boron, cobalt, mercury, chromium) and increases (arsenic, cadmium, selenium, lead, nickel) on 90 days using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). It is possible that the changes of trace elements have a hand in the come on and development of arsenism. Taken together, we conjectured that, in chicken jejunum, arsenic led to redistribution of trace elements, promoting apoptosis via regulating mitochondrial dynamics, leading to autophagy through PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathways.

Four microalgal strains, namely, Tetraselmis indica (T. indica), Scenedesmus abundans (S. abundans), Spirulina sp., and Nostoc muscorum (N. muscorum) were cultivated on four different wastewaters in 1000 ml photobioreactors with 750 ml working volume under 94.5 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ light intensity for 14 days for phycoremediation of wastewaters and sustainable biodiesel production. These microalgal strains attained maximum biomass growth in the secondary treated sewage (STS). Maximum biomass yield (0.6533 g L⁻¹) and lipid productivity (25.44 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹) for T. indica were achieved in STS. T. indica removed (63.6–78.24%) of nitrate, (60.90–65.97%) of phosphate, (61.01–80.01%) of ammonical nitrogen, and (71.16–85.70%) of total organic carbon (TOC) in all four wastewaters. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile of T. indica shows the presence of myristic acid (1.2%) pentadecylic acid (0.28%), palmitic acid (10.32%), oleic acid (34.59%), linoleic acid (12.38%), and eicosanoic acid (14.88%) in STS. This study demonstrates that T. indica is the most suitable microalgal species among the four microalgal strains selected for phycoremediation of wastewaters and higher biomass production for sustainable biodiesel production.

The presence and enrichment of heavy metals in dust depositions have been recognized as an emerging environmental health issues in the urban and industrial areas. In this study, the deposition of some metals was found in Qom, a city located in a semi-desert area in Iran that is surrounded by industrial areas. Dust deposition samples were collected using five sampling stations during a year. Dust samples were digested applying acidic condition and then, the metal content was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma technology (ICP-OES). Comparative results showed the following order, from the maximum to the minimum concentration (mg/kg dust) of elements: Ca > Al > Fe > Mg > Ti > Si > K > B > Sr > Mn > P > Ba > Cr > Zn > Ni > Sn > Pb > V > Na > Cu > Co > U > Li > Ce > Ag. The differences among the average concentrations of metals in the five stations were not significant (p value > 0.05). The average concentration of some metals increased significantly during cold seasons. In this study, the cluster analysis (CA) and princicipal component analysis (PCA) were applied, and relationships among some elements in different clusters were found. In addition, the geo-accumulation and enrichment analysis revealed that the following metals had been enriched more than the average values: boron, silver, tin, uranium, lead, zinc, cobalt, chromium, lithium, nickel, strontium, and coper. The presence of thermal power plant, pesticide manufacturing plants, publishing centers, traffic jam, and some industrial areas around the city has resulted in the enrichment of some metals (particularly in cold seasons with atmospheric stable conditions) in dust deposition.

The main objective of this study is to examine the linkage between CO₂ emissions, total factor productivity as a measure of income, information and communication technology (ICT), trade, financial development, and energy consumption in Tunisia from 1975 to 2014. To achieve this goal, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) with the break point method is performed. The results demonstrate the rejection of the Kuznets environmental curve (EKC) hypothesis by obtaining a higher value of the long-term total factor productivity parameter compared to the short-term one. Moreover, our result shows an insignificant impact of ICT on CO₂ emissions as a measure of pollution. In addition, trade, financial development, and energy consumption affect negatively the environmental quality. As a result, Tunisian policymakers should enhance the total factor productivity, expand the information and communication technology, further develop the financial sector, enhance the share of renewable energy consumption, and reduce the energy consumption resulting in import and export goods. These goals will be achieved by improving Tunisia’s technological and innovation capacity, enhancing the use of ICT in transport, building, and industry sectors considered as the most pollutant ones, and creating renewable energy projects.