Much research has considered the influence of biochars on the availability and phytoaccumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from soil. However, the vast majority of these studies use, what are arguably, unrealistic and unpractical amounts of biochar (10, 50 and even up to 100 t/ha). To offer a more realistic insight into the influence of biochar on PTE partitioning and phytoaccumulation, a field study, using modest rates of biochar application (1.5, 3.0 t/ha), was undertaken. Specifically, the research investigated the influence of sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) on the accumulation of Cd into rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in Cd contaminated (0.82 ± 0.07 mg/kg) paddy soil. Results indicated, Cd concentrations in rice grains to significantly (p < 0.05) decrease from 1.35 ± 0.09 mg/kg in the control to 0.82 ± 0.07 mg/kg and 0.80 ± 0.21 mg/kg in the 1.5 t/ha and 3.0 t/ha treatments, respectively. Accordingly, the hazardous quotient (HQ) indices for Cd, associated with rice grain consumption, were also reduced by ∼40%. SSBC amendment significantly (p < 0.05) increased grain yields from 1.90 ± 0.08 g/plant in the control to 2.17 ± 0.30 g/plant and 3.40 ± 0.27 g/plant in the 1.5 t/ha and 3.0 t/ha treatments, respectively. Thus, the amendment of SSBC to contaminated paddy soils, even at low application rates, could be an effective approach to mitigate Cd accumulation into rice plants, to improve rice grain yields, and to thereby improve food security and protect public health.

Long-lived, upper trophic level marine mammals are vulnerable to bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Internal tissues may accumulate and mobilize POP compounds at different rates related to the body condition of the animal and the chemical characteristics of individual POP compounds; however, collection of samples from multiple tissues is a major challenge to ecotoxicology studies of free-ranging marine mammals and the ability to predict POP concentrations in one tissue from another tissue remains rare. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) forage on mesopelagic fish and squid for months at a time in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, interspersed with two periods of fasting on land, which results in dramatic seasonal fluctuations in body condition. Using northern elephant seals, we examined commonly studied tissues in mammalian toxicology to describe relationships and determine predictive equations among tissues for a suite of POP compounds, including ΣDDTs, ΣPCBs, Σchlordanes, and ΣPBDEs. We collected paired blubber (inner and outer) and blood serum samples from adult female and male seals in 2012 and 2013 at Año Nuevo State Reserve (California, USA). For females (N = 24), we sampled the same seals before (late in molting fast) and after (early in breeding fast) their approximately seven month foraging trip. For males, we sampled different seals before (N = 14) and after (N = 15) their approximately four month foraging trip. We observed strong relationships among tissues for many, but not all compounds. Serum POP concentrations were strong predictors of inner blubber POP concentrations for both females and males, while serum was a more consistent predictor of outer blubber for males than females. The ability to estimate POP blubber concentrations from serum, or vice versa, has the potential to enhance toxicological assessment and physiological modeling. Furthermore, predictive equations may illuminate commonalities or distinctions in bioaccumulation across marine mammal species.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of treated wastewaters on native wild Prussian carp inhabiting effluent-receiving waters (ERC) receiving municipal and sugar plant treated wastewaters, further downstream waters (DW), and a detached canal unaffected by the WWTP activities. To that end, general fish health status was determined, including plasma biochemical, haematological, oxidative stress and tissue histopathological indices, over three seasons. The greatest tissue alterations were in fall in ERC during sugar beet processing, as hypertrophy of gill epithelial and interlamellar cells, necrosis and lymphocytic infiltration, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of renal tubules, distention of hepatic sinusoids. In fall the lowest leukocytes, lymphocytes and granulocytes (2467 ± 565, 1333 ± 264, 1133 ± 488 cells/μL respectively), as well as highest plasma ALP (52.7 ± 19.39 U/L) were measured. ERC in fall had the highest ammonium (20 mg/L), nitrite (1.48 mg/L), nitrate (13.4 mg/L), and lowest dissolved O2 (1.23 mg/L). Gill, kidney and liver alterations, and the highest plasma cholesterol (9.1 ± 1.98 mmol/L) were noted in DW fish in fall. Tissue morphology during sugar cane processing seems a consequence of cellular and structural tissue integrity loss. Structural heterogeneity of gills and spleen was enhanced with increasing concentrations of heavy metals and correlated with oxidative stress (SOD 392.5 ± 77.28 U/L). Monogenean infestation was moderate in ERC fish in all seasons compared with DW fish. Prussian carp biological responses to multiple stressors, measured by the effects of WWTP on blood and tissue parameters, reached far downstream and were not of localized nature. This study demonstrated that in aquatic environments impacted with complex contaminants acting synergistically, causal relationships between biological responses and environmental stressors should be interpreted. Integrated histopathological, haematological and biochemical findings are valuable biomarkers for native fish adaptive patterns and monitoring of water quality/pollution of freshwater ecosystems.

The level of phthalate esters (PAEs) alone is not considered to be a sufficient indicator of PAE pollution due to the quick metabolism of PAEs in the biota. The primary metabolites of PAEs, monoalkyl phthalate esters (MPEs), may also be an important indicator. However, PAE metabolism has scarcely been documented in wild marine organisms. We analysed five PAEs [dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP)] and their corresponding MPEs [mono-methyl phthalate (MMP), mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), and mono-n-octyl phthalate (MNOP)] in 95 wild aquatic marine samples (including fish, prawns and molluscs) collected from the Yangtze River Delta area of the East China Sea. The species-dependent distribution of these compounds was associated with the food habits, living patterns and trophic levels of the biota. Slightly higher levels of hydrophobic PAEs (DBP and DEHP, logKOW 4.27 and 7.33, respectively) were observed in fish species consuming benthic organisms or in demersal fish species, suggesting the importance of benthic organisms and sediment. Trophic dilution of both PAEs and MPEs implies further metabolic transformation at higher trophic levels. MPE tissue distributions in fish demonstrate that the highest concentrations were always observed in bile. Metabolism via the kidney and gill is a probable main way for the relatively less hydrophobic MPEs (logKOW = <4.73, from MMP to MEHP), whereas metabolism via the liver is likely the main way for the most hydrophobic MNOP (logKOW 5.22). Generally, higher detection frequencies of MPEs were observed than those of parent PAEs. Significant liner correlations were observed between the levels of short-branched (carbon atom per chain = <4) MPEs and the sum of PAEs and MPEs (n = 95, p < 0.01), demonstrating that short-branched MPEs can be used as biomarkers of exposure to quantitatively reflect parent PAE contamination in wild marine organisms.

The current study extends our previous findings concerning the sensitivity of Lymantria dispar larvae to cadmium in light of ecotoxicological risk assessment. Here we report the results of the comet assay performed for the first time on this species. We examined the chronic effects of two cadmium concentrations (50 and 100 μg Cd/g dry food) on DNA integrity and haemocyte viability, as well as on fitness-related traits (larval mass and development duration parameters). All parameters were assessed individually and then used to calculate the integrated biomarker response (IBR) index. Egg-masses of L. dispar were collected from two locations in Serbia - the uncontaminated Homolje mountains and a metal-polluted area near Bor copper mines, smelter and refinery. Distinctive patterns in the response of these populations to cadmium exposure were noticed. In haemocytes of larvae from the pollution-free location both cadmium treatments increased the level of DNA damage, although in a similar range. Haemocyte viability and larval mass were reduced, while duration of the fourth instar and total development time were prolonged in a concentration-dependent manner. Cadmium tolerance was noticeable in the population from the metal-contaminated site at all organizational levels. Nevertheless, haemocyte viability in that population was reduced by the stronger treatment. Haemocyte viability was recognized as a promising biomarker due to the evident response of both populations to dietary cadmium. Genotoxicity, fitness-related traits and the IBR index could be used for biomonitoring of sensitive populations not previously exposed to metals.

The formaldehyde (FA) is a crosslinking agent that reacts with cellular macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and molecules with low molecular weight such as amino acids, and it has been linked to inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. This study aimed to analyze the oxidative effects on pulmonary inflammatory response in Fischer rats exposed to different concentrations of FA. Twenty-eight Fischer rats were divided into 4 groups (N = 7). The control group (CG) was exposed to ambient air and three groups were exposed to different concentrations of FA: 1% (FA1%), 5% (FA5%) and 10% (FA10%). In the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF), the exposure to a concentration of 10% promoted the increase of inflammatory cells compared to CG. There was also an increase of macrophages and lymphocytes in FA10% and lymphocytes in FA5% compared to CG. The activity of NADPH oxidase in the blood had been higher in FA5% and FA10% compared to CG. The activity of superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD) had an increase in FA5% and the activity of the catalase enzyme (CAT) showed an increase in FA1% compared to CG. As for the glutathione system, there was an increase in total glutathione (tGSH), reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in FA5% compared to CG. The reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG) had a decrease in FA5% compared to CG. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation compared to all groups and the protein carbonyl formation in FA10% compared to CG. We also observed an increase in CCL2 and CCL5 chemokines in the treatment groups compared to CG and in serum there was an increase in CCL2, CCL3 and CCL5 compared to CG. Our results point out to the potential of formaldehyde in promoting airway injury by increasing the inflammatory process as well as by the redox imbalance.

The effluents from wastewater treatment plants have been recognized as a significant environmental reservoir of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Reclaimed water irrigation (RWI) is increasingly used as a practical solution for combating water scarcity in arid and semiarid regions, however, impacts of RWI on the patterns of ARGs and the soil bacterial community remain unclear. Here, we used high-throughput quantitative PCR and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques to compare the diversity, abundance and composition of a broad-spectrum of ARGs and total bacteria in 12 urban parks with and without RWI in Victoria, Australia. A total of 40 unique ARGs were detected across all park soils, with genes conferring resistance to β-lactam being the most prevalent ARG type. The total numbers and the fold changes of the detected ARGs were significantly increased by RWI, and marked shifts in ARG patterns were also observed in urban parks with RWI compared to those without RWI. The changes in ARG patterns were paralleled by a significant effect of RWI on the bacterial community structure and a co-occurrence pattern of the detected ARG types. There were significant and positive correlations between the fold changes of the integrase intI1 gene and two β-lactam resistance genes (KPC and IMP-2 groups), but no significant impacts of RWI on the abundances of intI1 and the transposase tnpA gene were found, indicating that RWI did not improve the potential for horizontal gene transfer of soil ARGs. Taken together, our findings suggested that irrigation of urban parks with reclaimed water could influence the abundance, diversity, and compositions of a wide variety of soil ARGs of clinical relevance.Irrigation of urban parks with treated wastewater significantly increased the abundance and diversity of various antibiotic resistance genes, but did not significantly enhance their potential for horizontal gene transfer.

Recently it became known that Volkswagen Group has been cheating with emission tests for diesel engines over the last six years, resulting in on-road emissions vastly exceeding legal standards for nitrogen oxides in Europe and the United States. Here, we provide an estimate of the public health consequences caused by this fraud. From 2009 to 2015, approximately nine million fraudulent Volkswagen cars, as sold in Europe and the US, emitted a cumulative amount of 526 ktonnes of nitrogen oxides more than was legally allowed. These fraudulent emissions are associated with 45 thousand disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and a value of life lost of at least 39 billion US dollars, which is approximately 5.3 times larger than the 7.3 billion US dollars that Volkswagen Group has set aside to cover worldwide costs related to the diesel emissions scandal.

Swine farm and the adjacent farmland are hot spots of ARGs. However, few studies have investigated the on-site occurrence of ARGs distributed in the process of anaerobic digestion (AD) followed by land application of swine wastewater. Two typical swine farms, in southern and northern China respectively, with AD along with land application were explored on ARG distributions. ARGs were highly abundant in raw swine wastewater, AD effectively reduced the copy number of all detected ARGs (0.21–1.34 logs removal), but the relative abundance with different resistance mechanisms showed distinctive variation trends. The reduction efficiency of ARGs was improved by stable operational temperature and longer solid retention time (SRT) of AD. ARGs in soil characterized the contamination from the irrigation of the digested liquor. The total ARGs quantity in soil fell down by 1.66 logs in idle period of winter compared to application period of summer in the northern region, whereas the total amount was steady with whole-year application in south. Some persistent (sul1 and sul2) and elevated ARGs (tetG and ereA) in AD and land application need more attention.