The present study aimed to assess the toxicity of seven UV-filters: zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO, particle size <100 nm), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO₂, primary particle size 21 nm), 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), avobenzone (AVO), octocrylene (OCTO) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) on three species: Aliivibrio fischeri (inhibition of bioluminescence), Phaeodactylum tricornutum (growth inhibition) and Ficopomatus enigmaticus (larval development success). Results showed nTiO₂ to be the most toxic for P. tricornutum (EC₅₀ 0.043 mg L⁻¹), while no effect was observed in A. fischeri and F. enigmaticus. EHMC was the most toxic to A. fischeri (EC₅₀ 0.868 mg L⁻¹ (15 min) and 1.06 mg L⁻¹ (30 min)) and the second most toxic to P. tricornutum. For F. enigmaticus, the lowest percentages of correct development resulted from 4-MBC exposure, with EC₅₀ of 0.836 mg L⁻¹. Overall, AVO induced low toxicity to every assessed species and OCTO was the least toxic for F. enigmaticus larvae. Considering the results obtained for F. enigmaticus, further larval development assays were performed with nZnO and EHMC under different light (light vs darkness) and temperature (20 and 25 °C) conditions, showing higher percentages of correct development at 25 °C, independently on light/darkness conditions. Under different temperature and photoperiod conditions, nZnO was more toxic than EHMC. Overall, nZnO and EHMC were among the most toxic UV filters tested and, when testing the effects of these UV-filters with temperature the results highlight that the impacts are liable to be lessened at higher temperatures (25 °C compared with 20 °C), in the case of this estuarine polychaete species. Nevertheless, further experiments are necessary to describe the effects of these two UV-filters at different organization levels, to study the toxicity of eventual degradation by-products and to provide more information on the combination of different stressors.

Forest fires significantly affect the wildlife, vegetation, composition and structure of the forests. This study explores the potential of partially burnt wood recovered in the aftermath of a recent Canadian forest fire incident as a feedstock for generating hydrogen-rich syngas through hydrothermal gasification. Partially burnt wood was gasified in hydrothermal conditions to study the influence of process temperature (300–500 °C), residence time (15–45 min), feed concentration (10–20 wt%) and biomass particle size (0.13 mm and 0.8 mm) using the statistical Taguchi method. Maximum hydrogen yield and total gas yield of 5.26 mmol/g and 11.88 mmol/g, respectively were obtained under optimized process conditions at 500 °C in 45 min with 10 wt% feed concentration using biomass particle size of 0.13 mm. The results from the mean of hydrogen yield show that the contribution of each experimental factors was in the order of temperature > feed concentration > residence time > biomass particle size. Other gaseous products obtained at optimum conditions include CO₂ (3.43 mmol/g), CH₄ (3.13 mmol/g) and C₂–C₄ hydrocarbons (0.06 mmol/g).

In this study, the co-pyrolysis of food waste with lignocellulosic biomass (wood bark) in a continuous-flow pyrolysis reactor was considered as an effective strategy for the clean disposal and value-added utilization of the biowaste. To achieve this aim, the effects of major co-pyrolysis parameters such as pyrolysis temperature, the flow rate of the pyrolysis medium (nitrogen (N₂) gas), and the blending ratio of food waste/wood bark on the yields, compositions, and properties of three-phase pyrolytic products (i.e., non-condensable gases, condensable compounds, and char) were investigated. The temperature and the food waste/wood bark ratio were found to affect the pyrolytic product yields, while the N₂ flow rate did not. More non-condensable gases and less char were produced at higher temperatures. For example, as the temperature was increased from 300 °C to 700 °C, the yield of non-condensable gases increased from 6.3 to 17.5 wt%, while the yield of char decreased from 63.6 to 30.6 wt% for the co-pyrolysis of food waste and wood bark at a weight ratio of 1:1. Both the highest yield of hydrogen (H₂) gas and the most significant suppression of the formation of phenolic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds were achieved with a combination of food waste and wood bark at a weight ratio of 1:1 at 700 °C. The results suggest that the synergetic effect of food waste and lignocellulosic biomass during co-pyrolysis can be exploited to increase the H₂ yield while limiting the formation of phenolic compounds and PAH derivatives. This study has also proven the effectiveness of co-pyrolysis as a process for the valorization of biowaste that is produced by agriculture, forestry, and the food industry, while reducing the formation of harmful chemicals.

After decades of imposed regulations about reducing the primary emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), these pollutants are still present in the environment. Soils are important repositories of such persistent semivolatile organic contaminants (SVOCs), and it is assumed that SVOCs sequestered in these reservoirs are being re-mobilized due to anthropogenic influence. In this study, concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in soil and air, their fugacities, fluxes and the soil-air partition coefficient (KSA) were determined for three different land cover types (glacial, remote/mountainous and urban) of the Lesser Himalayan Region (LHR). The concentrations of OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs in soils and air ranged between 0.01 and 2.8, 0.81–4.8, 0.089–0.75 ng g⁻¹; 0.2–106, 0.027–182, and 0.011–7.26 pg m⁻³, respectively. The levels of SVOCs in the soil were correlated with soil organic matter (SOM) indicating that SOM is a substrate for the organic pollutants in soils. The Clausius-Clapeyron plots between ln P and inverse of temperature (1000/T) suggested that long range atmospheric transport was the major input source of PBDEs and higher chlorinated PCBs over the LHR. The uneven and wide distribution of local sources in LHR and up-slope enrichment of SVOCs explained the spatial variability and altitudinal patterns. The soils near mountain and urban lakes act as local sinks of SVOCs such as β-HCH, pp΄-DDT, CB-28, -118, −153, BDE-47, -99, and −154, with soil-air exchange fluxes tending more toward deposition. However, the soils near glacial lakes acted as local sources of more volatile congeners of α-HCH, γ-HCH, op′-DDT, pp′-DDE and lower to medium chlorinated PCBs such as CB-18, -28, −53, −42 and BDE-47, -99, with soil-air exchange tending more toward volatilization flux.

In the context of global climate change, far less is known about the impact of long-term temperature variability (TV), especially in developing countries. The current study aimed to estimate the effect of long-term TV on the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China. A total of 23,721 individuals with a mean age of 56.15 years were enrolled at baseline from 2012 to 2016 and followed up during 2017–2019. TV was defined as the standard deviation of daily temperatures during survey years and was categorized into tertiles (lowest≤ 8.78 °C, middle = 8.78–10.07 °C, highest ≥ 10.07 °C). The Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) between TV and CVD. During the median follow-up of 4.65 years, we ascertained 836 cases of incident CVD. For per 1 °C increase in TV, there was a 6% increase of CVD (HR = 1.06 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–1.11]). A significant positive trend was observed between CVD risk and increasing levels of TV compared to the lowest tertile [HR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.13–1.59) for the medium tertile, HR = 1.72 (95% CI: 1.35–2.19) for the highest tertile, Pₜᵣₑₙd < 0.001]. Exposure to high TV would lose 2.11 disease-free years for the population aged 35–65 years and 66 CVD cases (or 7.95% cases) could been attributable to TV higher than 8.11 °C in the current study. The current findings suggested that long-term TV was associated with a higher risk of CVD incidence, it is needed to reduce the TV-related adverse health effect.

Mercury (Hg) is among contaminants of public concern due to its prevalent existence, high toxicity, and bioaccumulation through food chains. Elevated Hg has been detected in seafood from the East China Sea (ECS), which is one of the largest marginal seas and an important fishing region in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on the distribution of Hg species and their controlling factors in the ECS water column, thus preventing the understanding of Hg cycling and the assessment of Hg risks in the ECS. In this study, two cruises were conducted in October 2014 and June 2015 in order to investigate the distribution of total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) and their controlling factors in the ECS. The concentrations of THg and MeHg were determined to be 4.2 ± 2.8 ng/L (THg) and 0.25 ± 0.13 ng/L (MeHg) in water from the ECS. The level of Hg in the ECS occupied the higher rank among the marginal seas, thus indicating significant Hg contamination in this system. Both the THg and MeHg presented complicated spatial distribution patterns in the ECS, with high concentration areas located in both the nearshore and offshore areas. Statistical analyses suggest that temperature (T) and Hg in sediment may be the controlling factors for THg distribution, while dissolved organic matter (DOM), T, and MeHg in the sediment may be the controlling factors for MeHg distribution in the seawater of the ECS. The relative importance of these environmental factors in Hg distribution depends on the water depth. T-salinity (S) diagram analyses showed that water mass mixing may also play an important role in controlling THg and MeHg distribution in the coastal ECS.

Northern China is a significant source of dust source in Central Asia. Thus, high-resolution analysis of dust storms and comparison of dust sources in different regions of northern China are important to clarify the formation mechanism of East Asian dust storms and predict or even prevent such storms. Here, we analyzed spatiotemporal trends in dust storms that occurred in three main dust source regions during 1960–2007: Taklimakan Desert (western region [WR]), Badain Jaran and Tengger Deserts (middle region [MR]), and Otindag Sandy Land (eastern region [ER]). We analyzed daily dust storm frequency (DSF) at the 10-day scale (first [FTDM], middle [MTDM], and last [LTDM] 10 days of a month), and investigated the association of dust storm occurrences with meteorological factors. The 10-day DSF was greatest in the FTDM (accounting for 77.14% of monthly occurrences) in the WR, MTDM (45.85%) in the MR, and LTDM (72.12%) in the ER, showing a clear trend of movement from the WR to the ER. Temporal analysis of DSF revealed trend changes over time at annual and 10-day scales, with mutation points at 1985 and 2000. We applied single-factor and multiple-factor analyses to explore the driving mechanisms of DSF at the 10-day scale. Among single factors, a low wind-speed threshold, high solar radiation, and high evaporation were correlated with a high DSF, effectively explaining the variations in DSF at the 10-day scale; however, temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation poorly explained variations in DSF. Similarly, multiple-factor analysis using a classification and regression tree revealed that maximum wind speed was a major influencing factor of dust storm occurrence at the 10-day scale, followed by relative humidity, evaporation, and solar radiation; temperature and precipitation had weak influences. These findings help clarify the mechanisms of dust storm occurrence in East Asia.

Particulate air pollution is a continuing challenge in China, and its adverse effects on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been widely reported. However, epidemiological evidence on the associations between size-fractionated particle number concentrations (PNCs) and COPD mortality is limited. In this study, we utilized a time-series approach to investigate the associations between PNCs of particles at 0.25–10 μm in diameter and COPD mortality in Shanghai, China. Quasi-Poisson regression generalized additive models were applied to evaluate these associations, with adjustment of time trend, day of week, holidays, temperature and relative humidity. Stratification analyses were performed by season and gender. There were a total of 3238 deaths due to COPD during the study period. We found that daily COPD deaths were significantly associated with PNCs of particles <0.5 μm, and the magnitude of associations increased with decreasing particle size. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in PNC₀.₂₅—₀.₂₈, PNC₀.₂₈—₀.₃, PNC₀.₃—₀.₃₅, PNC₀.₃₅—₀.₄, PNC₀.₄—₀.₄₅ and PNC₀.₄₅—₋₀.₅ was associated with increments of 7.51% (95%CI: 2.45%, 12.81%), 7.22% (95%CI: 2.16%, 12.53%), 6.95% (95%CI: 1.81%, 12.35%), 6.26% (95%CI: 1.25%, 11.52%), 5.24% (95%CI: 0.56%, 10.13%) and 4.15% (95%CI: 0.14%, 8.32%), respectively. The associations remained robustness after controlling for the mass concentrations of gaseous air pollutants. In stratification analyses, significant associations between PNCs and COPD mortality were observed in the cold seasons, and in males. Our results suggested that particles <0.5 μm in diameter might be most responsible for the adverse effects of particulate air pollution on COPD mortality, and COPD patients are more susceptible to PM air pollution in the cold seasons, especially for males.

Biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is attracting increased interest because it can achieve high system energy efficiency (>50%), which is predicted to increase with the increase in the solar share in biomass IGCC. This study evaluated the potential of crop residues numerically for the co-production of power and bio-fertilizer using ASPEN Plus® simulation software. The results showed that the gas yield increases with increasing temperature and decreasing pressure while the yield of bio-fertilizer is dependent on the biomass composition. The biomass with a low ash content produces high bio-fertilizer at the designated gasification temperature. The IGCC configuration conserves more energy than a directly-fired biomass power plant. In addition, the solar-assisted IGCC attains a higher net electricity output per unit of crop residue feed and achieves net thermal efficiencies of around 53%. The use of such hybrid systems offer the potential to produce 0.55 MW of electricity per unit of solar-thermal energy at a relatively low cost. The ASPEN Plus model predicted that the solar biomass-based IGCC set up is more efficient in increasing the power generation capacity than any other conversion system. The results showed that a solar to electricity efficiency of approximately 55% is achievable with potential improvements. This work will contribute for the sustainable bioenergy production as the relationship between energy production and biomass supplies very important to ensure the food security and environmental sustainability.

In the context of global warming, an important issue is that many pesticides become more toxic, putting non-target organisms at higher risk of pesticide exposure. Eremias argus (a native Chinese lizard) was selected as animal model in this study. As a kind of poikilothermic vertebrate, E.argus is sensitive to temperature change. The experimental design [(with or without L-Glufosinate-ammonium (L-GLA) pollution × two temperatures (25 and 30 °C)] was used in this study for 90 days to identify the chronic effects of the pesticide–temperature interaction on the lizards’ neuroendocrine-regulated reproduction. Survival rate, body weight, clutch characteristics, testicular histopathology, the content of neurotransmitters and related enzyme activity, the level of sex steroid, the expression of Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), antioxidant system, the accumulation and degradation of L-GLA were examined. Results showed that L-GLA disrupt reproduction of lizards through hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis. In addition, temperature can not only change the environmental behavior of pesticides, but also alter the physiological characteristics of lizards. Thus, our results emphasized that temperature is an essential abiotic factor that should not be overlooked in ecotoxicological studies.