As a result of human activities, the pollution of metals is becoming ubiquitous in the environment. Among various toxicological mechanisms of action, metals have been considered as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) through interference with steroid receptors. However, information regarding the potential endocrine disruption of metals on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is especially scarce. In this study, a total of 16 metals were assessed for their GR/MR activities using luciferase reporter gene assay. None of the tested metals exhibited GR or MR agonistic activity, but a total of 7 and 5 candidate metals showed obvious GR and MR antagonistic properties, respectively. All 7 GR antagonistic metals [ BaCl₂, CoCl₂, CuCl₂, Pb(NO₃)₂, LiCl, SnCl₂ and ZnCl₂] inhibited glucocorticoid-responsive gene GILZ expression in J774A.1 cells. Further investigations indicated that the 5 MR antagonistic metals [ CdCl₂, Pb(NO₃)₂, LiCl, MnCl₂ and SnCl₂] antagonized aldosterone-inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation. Among these metals, Pb(NO₃)₂, LiCl, and SnCl₂ showed both anti-glucocorticoid and anti-mineralocorticoid activities. Comprehensive screening and evaluation of GR and MR antagonists and agonists among metals should be considered to better understand the ecological and health risks of metals.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is the most abundant toxicant among microcystin variants produced by cyanobacteria. MC-induced toxicity is broadly reported to pose a threat to aquatic animals and humans and has been associated with the dysfunction of some organs such as liver and kidney. However, MC-induced neurotoxicity has not been well characterized after long-term exposure. This study was designed to investigate the neurotoxic effects after chronic oral administration of MC-LR. In our trial, C57/BL6 mice received MC-LR at 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 μg/L in drinking water for twelve months. Our data demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage was evident in the damaged neurons as a result of chronic exposure. Histopathological abnormalities and mtDNA damage were observed in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Furthermore, MC-LR exerted distinct effects on these two brain regions. The hippocampus was more susceptible to the treatment of MC-LR compared with the cerebral cortex. However, no strong relationships were observed between the genotoxic effects and exposure doses. In conclusion, this study has provided a mtDNA-related mechanism for underlying chronic neurotoxicity of MC-LR and suggested the presence of differential toxicant effects on the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

Triclosan (TCS) is a suspected endocrine disrupting chemical which is widely used in consumer products as an antibacterial agent. But findings in human studies focusing on the fetal developmental effects of prenatal TCS exposure were rare and inconsistent. This study aimed to determine maternal urinary TCS and investigate its association with birth outcomes. Pregnant women (n = 1006) were randomly selected from the prospective Healthy Baby Cohort (HBC) enrolled in 2014. TCS levels were determined in maternal urine samples collected at delivery and recorded birth outcomes were obtained from the medical records. Multiple linear regressions were applied to evaluate associations of maternal urinary TCS levels with birth outcomes including birth weight, birth length, and gestational age. Logistic regressions were used to evaluate associations with preterm birth, late term birth, and low birth weight. The geometric mean concentrations for TCS and specific gravity (SG) adjusted TCS in maternal urines were 0.73, 0.78 ng/mL, respectively. In the crude model, one ln-unit increase of urinary SG-adjusted TCS concentration was associated with a 0.30-day [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.00, 0.60] increase in gestational age; however, the associations were not statistically significant after adjustment for covariates. No significant associations of SG-adjusted TCS concentrations with birth weight and birth length were observed. Maternal SG-adjusted TCS concentrations were not related to preterm birth, late term birth, and low birth weight (all p > 0.10). Our findings reported a relatively low level of TCS among Chinese pregnant women. With such exposure level, we did not find strong evidence for associations between maternal TCS exposure and birth outcomes. Longitudinal studies concerning about different potential effects of TCS on perinatal health are necessary.

This study assessed the environmental risk on coastal ecosystems posed by three phenolic compounds of special environmental and human health concern used in plastics and household products: bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP). These three chemicals are among the organic contaminants most frequently detected in wastewater. The most toxic compound tested was 4-NP, with 10% effective concentration at 11.1 μg L⁻¹ for Isochrysis galbana, 110.5 μg L⁻¹ for Mytilus galloprovincialis, 53.8 μg L⁻¹ for Paracentrotus lividus, and 29.0 μg L⁻¹ for Acartia clausi, followed by TCS (14.6 μg L⁻¹ for I. galbana, 149.8 μg L⁻¹ for M. galloprovincialis, 129.9 μg L⁻¹ for P. lividus, and 64.8 μg L⁻¹ for A. clausi). For all species tested, BPA was the less toxic chemical, with toxicity thresholds ranging between 400 and 1200 μg L⁻¹ except for A. clausi nauplii (186 μg L⁻¹). The relatively narrow range of variation in toxicity considering the broad physiological differences among the biological models used point at non-selective mechanisms of toxicity for these aromatic organics. Microalgae, the main primary producers in pelagic ecosystems, showed particularly high susceptibility to the chemicals tested. When the toxicity thresholds experimentally obtained were compared to the maximum environmental concentrations reported in coastal waters, the risk quotients obtained correspond to very low or low risk for BPA and TCS, and from low to high for 4-NP.

Sugars and n-alkanes are important organic constituents of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅). For better understanding their sources and seasonal variations in urban atmosphere, sugar compounds (anhydrosugars, sugars and sugar alcohols) and homologue n-alkanes (C₁₈–C₃₇) were studied in PM₂.₅ samples collected from September 2013 to July 2014 in Beijing, China. In general, all measured compounds showed the lowest levels in summer. Higher concentrations of sugar compounds and n-alkanes were observed in winter, probably due to elevated combustion emissions (e.g., coal, biofuel and agricultural residue burning) and stable meteorological conditions during heating season. Levoglucosan was the major sugar species in all seasons particularly in autumn and winter, highlighting the significant contribution of biomass burning to fine organic aerosols throughout the whole year especially in cold seasons. Plant waxes contributed to n-alkanes the most in late spring (54.5%) and the least in winter (11.6%); while fossil fuel combustion had the largest contribution in winter (385 ng m⁻³). The weak odd-carbon predominance of n-alkanes in wintertime aerosols also suggests fossil fuel combustion as the important source of organic aerosols in the heating season. Soil resuspension, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, and secondary sources are the main sources of OC in PM₂.₅ at Beijing. The seasonal variation in source contributions indicates that meteorological condition is a key factor in controlling PM₂.₅ levels. Furthermore, dust storms in spring can strongly enhance the atmospheric level of fine organic matter in Beijing.

On-road mobile sources play a significant role in air quality modeling and these models require gridded, hourly emission inputs. Due to its geographical and meteorological diversity and stringent air quality regulations, California state always poses big challenge for air quality modelers and policy makers. At the same time, the impact of ambient temperature on vehicle emissions has been well researched in the past few decades and it is vital to prepare a reliable on-road gridded emission inventory for air quality modeling. This technical paper introduces a gridding method that takes temperature impacts into account, calculates emissions from grid-level to county, and attempts to quantify the likely effects of such a bottom-up, temperature sensitive approach on a gridded on-road emission inventory. To provide confidence in the proposed SMOKE-EMFAC method, a detailed analysis was carried out to compare the results with the default EMFAC output, and the results were within ±1%. Applying detailed grid level temperatures, we also found that criteria pollutant distributions are sensitive to them, and they are in accordance with previous US-EPA study. The proposed method could be very useful while testing different complex emission regulations and policies due to its inherent flexibility.

Based on ozone observation data from urban stations and the Dingling (DL) background station, we investigated the trend of ozone concentrations in Beijing during 2004–2015. For urban stations, both O3_1 h and O3_8 h increased stably with a clear and significant linear pattern and the increase rate was notably higher during the period of May to Sep. Meanwhile, the variation of O3_1 h and O3_8 h for the DL station did not demonstrate a regular pattern. During this period, the differences between the diurnal peak of ozone concentrations at the DL background station and urban stations decreased significantly due to the rapid urbanization of Beijing. Furthermore, we examined simultaneous variations of ozone and its precursors during 2015 Grand Military Parade and 2014 APEC meeting and evaluated the performances of different emission-reduction measures during the two specific events. For 2015 Grand Military Parade, emission-reduction measures were implemented 14 days in advance, which led to a notable decrease of ozone concentrations during the Parade period. For 2014 APEC meeting, emission-reduction measures were not implemented in advance, which led to incomplete VOCs reduction and high VOCs/NOx values, and thus a significant increase of ozone concentrations during the APEC period. The emission-reduction measures during APEC and PARADE periods both slowed down the accumulation and cut down the concentration peaks of ozone. We also analyzed simultaneous concentration variations of ozone and its precursors in long time-series. The results proved that compared with other precursors, NO2/NO was an effective indicator for ozone concentration in Beijing, especially in urban areas. The findings from this research provide useful reference for better monitoring and managing ozone concentrations in Beijing and other cities through properly designed and implemented emission-reduction measures.

Many typical neuston trawls can only be used during relatively calm sea states and slow tow speeds. During two expeditions to the Bay of Bengal and the eastern South Pacific we investigated whether the new, high-speed AVANI trawl (All-purpose Velocity Accelerated Net Instrument) collects similar amounts and types of microplastics as two established scientific trawl designs, the manta trawl and the DiSalvo neuston net. Using a 335 μm net, the AVANI trawl can collect microplastics from the sea surface at speeds up to 8 knots as it “skis” across the surface, whereas the manta and DiSalvo neuston trawls must be towed slowly in a less turbulent sea state and often represent shorter tow lengths. Generally, the AVANI trawl collected a greater numerical abundance and weight of plastic particles in most size classes and debris types than the manta trawl and DiSalvo neuston net, likely because these trawls only skim the surface layer while the AVANI trawl, moving vertically in a random fashion, collects a “deeper” sample, capturing the few plastics that float slightly lower in the water column. However, the samples did not differ enough that results were significantly affected, suggesting that studies done with these different trawls are comparable. The advantage of the AVANI trawl over traditional research trawls is that it allows for collection on vessels underway at high speeds and during long transits, allowing for a nearly continuous sampling effort over long distances. As local surface currents make sea surface abundance widely heterogeneous, widely spaced short-tow trawls, such as the manta and DiSalvo trawls, can catch or miss hotspots or meso-scale variability of microplastic accumulations, whereas the AVANI trawl, if utilized for back-to-back tows of intermediate distances (5–10 km), can bridge variable wind conditions and debris concentrations potentially reducing variance and provide a greater resolution of spatial distribution.

Although a number of studies have assessed the occurrence of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor environment, few studies have systemically examined the indoor-outdoor interplay of size-dependent particulate PAHs and potential health risk based on daily lifestyles. In the present study, size-dependent particle and gaseous samples were collected both indoors and outdoors within selected schools, offices and residences located in three districts of Guangzhou, China with different urbanization levels during the dry and wet weather seasons. Results from measurements of PAHs showed that higher total PAH concentrations occurred in residential areas than in other settings and in indoor than in outdoor environments. Compositional profiles and size distribution patterns of particle-bound PAHs were similar indoors and outdoors, predominated by 4-and 5-ring PAHs and the 0.56–1.0 μm particle fraction. Statistical analyses indicated that outdoor sources may have contributed to 38–99% and 62–100% of the variations for indoor particle-bound and gaseous PAH concentrations, respectively. Incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) from human exposure to indoor and outdoor PAHs based on different lifestyles followed the order of adults > children > adolescents > seniors. All average ILCR values for four age groups were below the lower limit of the Safe Acceptable Range (10−6). In addition, the ILCR value for adults (average: 7.2 × 10−7; 95% CI: 5.4 × 10−8‒2.5 × 10−6), estimated from outdoor air PAH levels with 24-h exposure time, was significantly higher than our assessment results (average: 5.9 × 10−7; 95% CI: 6.3 × 10−8‒1.9 × 10−6), suggesting the significance of assessing human inhalation exposure risks of indoor and outdoor PAHs in urban air based on daily lifestyles.

Pharmaceuticals have been considered ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ for more than 20 years. In that time, many laboratory studies have sought to identify hazard and assess risk in the aquatic environment, whilst field studies have searched for targeted candidates and occurrence trends using advanced analytical techniques. However, a lack of a systematic approach to the detection and quantification of pharmaceuticals has provided a fragmented literature of serendipitous approaches. Evaluation of the extent of the risk for the plethora of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals available requires the reliable measurement of trace levels of contaminants across different environmental compartments (water, sediment, biota - of which biota has been largely neglected). The focus on pharmaceutical concentrations in surface waters and other exposure media have therefore limited both the characterisation of the exposome in aquatic wildlife and the understanding of cause and effect relationships. Here, we compile the current analytical approaches and available occurrence and accumulation data in biota to review the current state of research in the field. Our analysis provides evidence in support of the ‘Matthew Effect’ and raises critical questions about the use of targeted analyte lists for biomonitoring. We provide six recommendations to stimulate and improve future research avenues.