Exposures to organic pesticides, particularly during a developmental window, have been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases later in life. Atrazine (ATZ), one of the most used pesticides in the U.S., is suspected to be associated with increased neurodegeneration later in life but few studies assessed the neurotoxicity of developmental ATZ exposure using human neuronal cells. Here, we exposed human SH-SY5Y cells to 0.3, 3, and 30 ppb of ATZ prior to differentiating them into dopaminergic-like neurons in ATZ-free medium to mimic developmental exposure. The differentiated neurons exhibit altered neurite outgrowth and SNCA pathology depending on the ATZ treatment doses. Epigenome changes, such as decreases in 5mC (for 0.3 ppb only), H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 were observed immediately after exposure. These alterations persist in a compensatory manner in differentiated neurons. Specifically, we observed significant reductions in 5mC and H3K9me3, as well as, an increase in H3K27me3 in ATZ-exposed cells after differentiation, suggesting substantial chromatin rearrangements after developmental ATZ exposure. Transcriptional changes of relevant epigenetic enzymes were also quantified but found to only partially explain the observed epigenome alteration. Our results thus collectively suggest that exposure to low-dose of ATZ prior to differentiation can result in long-lasting changes in epigenome and increase risks of SNCA-related Parkinson’s Disease.

This study collected 184 groundwater (GW) samples from 92 wells during the dry and wet seasons, respectively to understand the hydrochemical characteristics, water quality, and risk of GW nitrate (NO₃⁻) to human health in northern Shandong Peninsula (NSP), China. The results showed that GW in the NSP is weakly alkaline and classified as hard fresh water. The mean concentration of NO₃⁻ in GW exceeded 100 mg·L⁻¹, total hardness exceeded 450 mg·L⁻¹, and total dissolved solids (TDS) was less than 1000 mg·L⁻¹. A Piper diagram showed that the water chemistry of GW in the NSP was mainly of the SO₄·Cl-Ca·Mg type. A Gibbs diagram and ion ratio analysis indicated that the weathering of silicate rocks and agricultural production were the dominant factors affecting the hydrochemical characteristics of GW in the NSP, with cation exchange, dissolution of salt rock, and weathering of carbonate rock also making contributions. Na⁺ and Cl⁻ in GW are significantly affected by seawater aerosols in coastal areas. During the wet season, the hydrodynamic conditions of the aquifer are improved, agricultural activities are strengthened, and GW becomes generally homogenized. The water quality index classified the GW quality of the NSP as mainly of medium quality. There was a relatively consistent spatial distribution of water quality during different periods. Water samples of poor water quality were mainly distributed in the lower reaches of the Huangshui River. In addition, total hardness and NO₃⁻ concentrations were the main variables affecting the quality of GW in the NSP. The assessment of the risk NO₃⁻ in GW in the NSP to human health through the ingestion of drinking water demonstrated a significant risk (infants > children > adults). These results indicate the need for local management measures to reduce the potential health risks of GW quality in the NSP.

Benzothiazoles (BTHs), benzotriazoles (BTRs), and benzenesulfonamides (BSAs) are chemicals used in several industrial and household applications. Despite these compounds are emerging pollutants, there is still a lack of information about their presence in outdoor air samples. In this paper, we developed a new method for the quantification of BTHs, BTRs, and BSAs in airborne particulate matter (PM₁₀). The extraction of fourteen analytes from PM₁₀ was accomplished by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) using an environmentally friendly mixture of water and ethanol. SPME was used to analyze the target compounds from the MAE extract by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS/MS), eliminating additional sample clean-up steps. The best working conditions for MAE and SPME were examined multivariately by experimental design techniques. The target compounds were quantified in selected reaction monitoring acquisition mode. The proposed method was carefully validated, and the achieved results were satisfactory in terms of linearity, lower limit of quantification (picograms per cubic meter), intra- and inter-day accuracy (81–118% and 82–114%, respectively), and precision (repeatability and reproducibility in the range 2.3–17% and 7.4–19%, respectively). The application in a real monitoring campaign showed that the developed protocol is a valuable and eco-friendly alternative to the methods proposed so far.

Increasing attention has been brought to microplastics pollution recently, while emerging evidences indicate that nano-plastics degraded from microplastics are more of research significance owing to stronger toxicity. However, there is little study focused on the prevention of nano-plastics induced toxicity until now. Canidin-3-glucoside (C3G), a natural anthocyanin proved to possess multiple functions like antioxidant and intestinal tissue protection. Thus, we proposed whether C3G could act as a molecular weapon against nano-plastics induced toxicity. In Caco2 cell and Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models, we found that polystyrene (PS) nano-plastics exposure resulted in physiological toxicity and oxidative damage, which could be restored by C3G. More significantly in Caco2 cells, we observed that autophagy was activated via Sirt1-Foxo1 signaling pathway to attenuate PS induced toxicity after C3G intervention and further verified by adding autophagy inhibitor 3-Methyladenine (3-MA). Meanwhile, PS co-localization with lysosomes was observed, indicating the encapsulation and degradation of PS. In C. elegans, by detecting LGG-1/LC3 expression in GFP-targeted LGG-1 report gene (LGG-1:GFP) labeled transgenic DA2123 strain, the co-localization of LGG-1:GFP with PS was found as well, means that autophagy is involved in C3G’s beneficial effects. Furthermore, we were surprised to find that C3G could promote the discharge of PS from N2 nematodes, which reduces PS toxicity more directly.

This work for the first time showed that sulfated BPA could be directly analyzed as BPA with GC-MS after the derivatization with N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA)+1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS), i.e. the deconjugation step was not necessary. This was because sulfated BPA indeed could be simultaneously deconjugated and derivatized to BPA derivative during derivatization, suggesting that any co-elution of BPA and sulfated BPA during sample extraction led to BPA overestimation in the GC-MS method with BSTFA +1% TMCS as the derivative reagent. Using BPA 4,4′-disulfates (BPA diS) as the pure standard, the co-elution phenomena of sulfated BPA was confirmed with two widely used elution solvents (i.e. methanol and ethyl acetate) or their mixed solutions with different ratios, which further suggested if only sulfated BPA existed in any wastewater sample, BPA was likely over-determined. To further confirm this finding, both influent and effluent samples collected from a local municipal wastewater treatment plant were analyzed, which clearly showed the overestimation of BPA in the two wastewaters due to co-existence of sulfated BPA in the wastewater samples. In addition to BPA, the results also showed the overestimation of other nine bisphenol analogues. As sulfated micropollutants including estrogens, androgens, phytoestrogens, etc., have been widely found in municipal wastewater, the overestimating phenomenon observed in this study may also be extended to determination of other micropollutants, which should be addressed in future.

Decision-making related to nitrogen (N) fertilization is a crucial step in agronomic practices because of its direct interactions with agronomic productivity and environmental risk. Here, we hypothesized that soil apparent N balance could be used as an indicator to determine the thresholds of N input through analyzing the responses of the yield and N loss to N balance. Based on the observations from 951 field experiments conducted in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping systems of China, we established the relationships between N balance and ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, yield increase ratio, and N application rate, respectively. Dramatical increase of NH₃ volatilizations and stagnant increase of the rice yields were observed when the N surplus exceeded certain levels. Using a piecewise regression method, the seasonal upper limits of N surplus were determined as 44.3 and 90.9 kg N ha⁻¹ under straw-return and straw-removal scenarios, respectively, derived from the responses of NH₃ volatilization, and were determined as 53.0–74.9 and 97.9–112.0 kg N ha⁻¹ under straw-return and straw-removal scenarios, respectively, derived from the maximum-yield consideration. Based on the upper limits of N surplus, the thresholds of N application rate suggested to be applied in single, middle-MLYR, middle-SW, early, and late rice types ranged 179.0–214.9 kg N ha⁻¹ in order to restrict the NH₃ volatilization, and ranged 193.3–249.8 kg N ha⁻¹ in order to achieve the maximum yields. If rice straw was returned to fields, on average, the thresholds of N application rate could be theoretically decreased by 17.5 kg N ha⁻¹. This study provides a robust reference for restricting the N surplus and the synthetic fertilizer N input in rice fields, which will guide yield goals and environmental protection.

In modern agricultural management, the use of pesticides is indispensable. Due to their massive use worldwide, pesticides represent a latent risk to both humans and the environment. In the present study, 1056 frequently used pesticides were screened for oestrogen receptor (ER) agonistic activity by using in silico methods. We found that 72 and 47 pesticides potentially have ER agonistic activity by the machine learning methods random forest (RF) and deep neural network (DNN), respectively. Among endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), 14 have been reported as EDCs or ER agonists by previous studies. We selected 3 reported and 7 previously unreported pesticides from 76 potential ER agonists to further assess ERα agonistic activity. All 10 selected pesticides exhibited ERα agonistic activity in human cells or zebrafish. In the dual-luciferase reporter gene assays, six pesticides exhibited ERα agonistic activity. Additionally, nine pesticides could induce mRNA expression of the pS2 and NRF1 genes in MCF-7 cells, and seven pesticides could induce mRNA expression of the vtg1 and vtg2 genes in zebrafish. Importantly, the remaining 48 out of 76 potential ER agonists, none of which have previously been reported to have endocrine-disrupting effects or oestrogenic activity, should be of great concern. Our screening results can inform environmental protection goals and play an important role in environmental protection and early warnings to human health.

This study evaluated the chronic toxicity (30 days) of different sizes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics (60–3000 μm) provided alone or in combination with acid rain, on garden cress (Lepidium sativum). Both biometrical and physiological traits have been evaluated: i) percentage inhibition of seed germination, plant height, leaf number and fresh biomass production; ii) oxidative stress responses (hydrogen peroxide; ascorbic acid and glutathione production); iii) impairment in photosynthetic machinery in term of pigments production; iv) aminolevulinic acid and proline production. Results highlighted that different sizes of PET, alone or in combination with acid rain, are able to negatively affect both biometrical and physiological plant traits. In particular, the lower size of microplastics is able to negatively affect growth and development, as well as to trigger the oxidative burst. Regarding the pigments production, PET coupled with acid rain, induced a higher production of Chl-b, and an inhibition of aminolevulinic acid.

This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to obtain updated evidence regarding the short-term effect of ozone on respiratory mortality in China. We systematically searched the Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet, and Wanfang databases for relevant studies. After screening based on the inclusion criteria, 12 studies with 19 estimates were selected for further meta-analysis. The results revealed that respiratory mortality significantly increased by 0.55% (95% confidence interval: 0.24%–0.85%; Q = 39.47, I² = 54.4%, P = 0.002, tau² < 10⁻⁵) for every 10-μg/m³ increase in the maximum 8-h average concentration of ozone. Furthermore, differences in combined estimates were observed between various regions and lag structures. The combined effect of single-day lags was generally larger than that of multiday lags; the estimate of mortality for the population in the north was larger than that for the population in the south. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the main findings were stable; funnel plots with Egger’s and Begg’s tests indicated no significant publication bias in our analysis.

It is well-accepted that phosphorus, particularly orthophosphate, is a determinant factor in aquatic eutrophication. However, numerous kinds of phosphorus sources exist in real world scenario, and limited studies have characterized the pairwise relationships among abundant different phosphorus sources and the physiological behaviour of algae. The present study developed a high-throughput assay to investigate the effects of 59 different phosphorus sources (equal initial concentration of total phosphorus) on the growth and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities of Microcystis aeruginosa, a model cyanobacteria whose predominance holds sway in lake eutrophication. M. aeruginosa cultivated with nucleoside monophosphates (NMPs) had higher growth, relative AKP activities and residual orthophosphate, which were positively intercorrelated. Oppositely, non-NMPs cultivation of M. aeruginosa led to negative relationships between the relative AKP activities and their growth or residual orthophosphate. These results indicated distinct mechanisms for M. aeruginosa to utilize different phosphorus sources in real-world scenario, and both phosphorus source and content are determinant factors on the growth and physiological behaviour of M. aeruginosa. Given the complicated and vast phosphorus pool in the natural environment, phosphorus resources might significantly alter the abundance and physiological behaviour of M. aeruginosa and other bloom-forming algae, then influence the phytoplanktonic community structure and affect the possibility and intensity of algal bloom. Our work hints the underestimation of the restriction factors in lake eutrophication and provides a new tool to study the driven forces of phytoplanktonic community dynamics as phosphorus from both internal and external sources.