In this study, we investigated the daily variability of PM₁₀ concentrations in January in Korea during the past 19 years (2001–2019), as well as the associated atmospheric circulation patterns. The daily PM₁₀ concentrations were classified into three cases: low (L; < 50 μg/m³), high (H; 50–100 μg/m³), and extremely high (EH; ≥ 100 μg/m³). We found that the strength of the East Asian winter monsoon influenced the PM₁₀ variability in the L and H cases. However, the EH cases were strongly influenced by the rapid growth of barotropic warming (anticyclonic anomaly) over the eastern North Atlantic and Northern Europe (ENE), and the stationary Rossby waves grew rapidly over Eurasia within only four days. Analysis of the quasi-geostrophic geopotential tendency budget revealed that the anticyclonic anomaly over the ENE was enhanced by vorticity advection. Linear baroclinic model experiments confirmed that vorticity forcing over the ENE induces favorable atmospheric conditions for the occurrence of EH PM₁₀ events in East Asia. As a result, the PM₁₀ concentration sharply increased sharply by approximately three times over four days. This study suggests that understanding atmospheric teleconnections between the ENE and East Asia can effectively predict the occurrence of EH PM₁₀ events in Korea, helping to reduce the human health risks from atmospheric pollution.

Arsenic (As) is a toxic pollutant that mainly enters the human body via plants. Therefore, understanding the strategy for reducing arsenic accumulation in plants is important to human health and the environment. Aquaporins are ubiquitous water channel proteins that bidirectionally transport water across cell membranes and play a role in the transportation of other molecules, such as glycerol, ammonia, boric acid, and arsenic acid. Previously, we observed that Arabidopsis PIP2;2, encoding a plasma membrane intrinsic protein, is highly expressed in NtCyc07-expressing Arabidopsis, which shows a higher tolerance to arsenite (As(III)). In this study, we report that the overexpression of AtPIP2;2 enhanced As(III) tolerance and reduced As(III) levels in yeast. Likewise, AtPIP2;2-overexpressing Arabidopsis exhibited improved As(III) tolerance and lower accumulation of As(III). In contrast, atpip2;2 knockout Arabidopsis showed reduced As(III) tolerance but no significant change in As(III) levels. Interestingly, the AtPIP2;2 transcript and protein levels were increased in roots and shoots of Arabidopsis in response to As(III). Furthermore, As(III) efflux was enhanced and As(III) influx/accumulation was reduced in AtPIP2;2-expressing plants. The expression of AtPIP2;2 rescued the As(III)-sensitive phenotype of acr3 mutant yeast by reducing As levels and slightly reduced the As(III)-tolerant phenotype of fps1 mutant yeast by enhancing As content, suggesting that AtPIP2; 2 functions as a bidirectional channel of As(III), while the As(III) exporter activity is higher than the As(III) importer activity. All these results indicate that AtPIP2;2 expression promotes As(III) tolerance by decreasing As(III) accumulation through enhancing As(III) efflux in Arabidopsis. This finding can be applied to the generation of low arsenic crops for human health.

This study develops an oil spill environmental vulnerability model for predicting and mapping the oil slick trajectory pattern in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia. The impact of seasonal variations on the vulnerability of the coastal resources to oil spill was modelled by estimating the quantity of coastal resources affected across three climatic seasons (northeast monsoon, southwest monsoon and pre-monsoon). Twelve 100 m³ (10,000 splots) medium oil spill scenarios were simulated using General National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Operational Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME) model. The output was integrated with coastal resources, comprising biological, socio-economic and physical shoreline features. Results revealed that the speed of an oil slick (40.8 m per minute) is higher during the pre-monsoon period in a southwestern direction and lower during the northeast monsoon (36.9 m per minute). Evaporation, floating and spreading are the major weathering processes identified in this study, with approximately 70% of the slick reaching the shoreline or remaining in the water column during the first 24 h (h) of the spill. Oil spill impacts were most severe during the southwest monsoon, and physical shoreline resources are the most vulnerable to oil spill in the study area. The study concluded that variation in climatic seasons significantly influence the vulnerability of coastal resources to marine oil spill.

Common plasticizers and their alternatives are environmentally ubiquitous and have become a global problem. In this study, common plasticizers (phthalates and metabolites) and new alternatives [bisphenol analogs, t-butylphenyl diphenyl phosphate (BPDP), and bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BDP)] were quantified in urine and hair samples from children in Hong Kong, drinking water (tap water/bottled water) samples, and airborne particle samples from 17 kindergartens in Hong Kong. The results suggested that locally, children were exposed to various plasticizers and their alternatives. High concentrations of BPDP and BDP were present in urine, hair, tap water, bottled water, and air particulate samples. The geometric mean (GM) concentrations of phthalate metabolites in urine samples (126–2140 ng/L, detection frequencies < 81%) were lower than those detected in Japanese and German children in previous studies. However, a comparison of the estimated daily intake values for phthalates in tap water [median: 10.7–115 ng/kg body weight bw/day] and air particles (median: 1.23–7.39 ng/kg bw/day) with the corresponding reference doses indicated no risk. Bisphenol analogs were detected in 15–64% of urine samples at GM concentrations of 5.26–98.1 ng/L, in 7–74% of hair samples at GM concentrations of 57.5–2390 pg/g, in 59–100% of kindergarten air samples at GM concentrations of 43.1–222 pg/m³, and in 33–100% of tap water samples at GM concentrations of 0.90–3.70 ng/L. A significant correlation was detected between the concentrations of bisphenol F in hair and urine samples (r = 0.489, p < .05). The estimated daily urinary excretion values of bisphenol analogs suggest that exposure among children via tap water intake and airborne particle inhalation in kindergartens cannot be ignored in Hong Kong.

The study aimed to evaluate the ecotoxicity of soil (S) amended with biochars (BCKN) produced by the thermal conversion of sewage sludge (SSL) at temperatures of 500 °C, 600 °C, or 700 °C and SSL itself. The ecotoxicological tests were carried out on organisms representing various trophic levels (Lepidium sativum in plant, Folsomia candida in invertebrates, and Aliivibrio fischeri in bacteria). Moreover, the study evaluated the effects of three plants (Lolium perenne, Trifolium repens, and Arabidopsis thaliana) growing on BCKN700-amended soil on its ecotoxicological properties. The experiment was carried out for six months. In most tests, the conversion of sewage sludge into biochar caused a significant decrease in toxicity by adding it to the soil. The pyrolysis temperature directly determined this effect. The soil amended with the biochars produced at higher temperatures (600 °C and 700 °C) generally exhibited lower toxicity to the test organisms than the SSL. Because of aging, all the biochars lost their inhibition properties against the tested organisms in the solid-phase tests and had a stimulating influence on the reproductive ability of F. candida. With time, the fertilizing effect of the BCKN700 amended soil also increased. The aged biochars also did not have an inhibitory effect on A. fischeri luminescence in the leachate tests. The study has also demonstrated that the cultivation of an appropriate plant species may additionally reduce the toxicity of soil fertilized with biochar. The obtained results show that the conversion of sewage sludge to biochar carried out at an appropriate temperature can become a useful method in reducing the toxicity of the waste and while being safe for agricultural purposes.

Tetrachlorobenzoquinone (TCBQ) is a common metabolite of persistent organic pollutants pentachlorophenol (PCP) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Current reports on the toxicity of TCBQmainly focused on its reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, carcinogenicity and cardiovascular toxicity. However, the possible immunotoxicity of TCBQ remains unclear. The release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is a recently discovered immune response mechanism, however, excess NETs play a pathogenic role in various immune diseases. In an attempt to address concerns regarding the immunotoxicity of TCBQ, we adopted primary mouse neutrophils as the research object, explored the influence of TCBQ on the formation of NETs. The results showed that TCBQ could induce NETs rapidly in a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent manner. Moreover, TCBQ promoted the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), but not p38 or extracellular signal related kinase (ERK) in neutrophils. Mechanistically, JNK activation enhanced the expression of NADPH oxidase enzyme 2 (NOX2), which further accelerated the generation of ROS and thus amplified the formation of NETs. The pharmacologic blockage of JNK or NOX2 effectively ameliorated TCBQ-induced ROS and NETs, implying that ROS-JNK-NOX2 positive feedback loop was involved in TCBQ-induced NETs. In conclusion, we speculated that targeting NETs formation would be a promising therapeutic strategy in modulating the immunotoxicity of TCBQ.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as pyrene are universal contaminants existing in the environment which have known cancer-causing and mutagenic characteristics. A psychrophilic bacterial strain Shewanella sp. ISTPL2 was isolated from the sediment sample collected from the Pangong lake, Jammu & Kashmir, India. In our previous study, the pyrene degradation potential of the ISTPL2 strain was studied in both mineral salt media as well as in soil artificially spiked with different concentrations of pyrene. Whole-genome sequencing of ISTPL2 strain in the current study highlighted the key genes of pyrene metabolism, including alcohol dehydrogenase and ring hydroxylating dioxygenase alpha-subunit. Pyrene cytotoxicity was evaluated on HepG2, a human hepato-carcinoma cell line. The cytotoxicity of the organic extract decreased with the increasing duration of bacterial treatment. To develop a more sustainable biodegradation approach, the potential impacts were evaluated for human health and ecosystem using life-cycle assessment (LCA) following the ReCiPe methodology for the considered PAH. The results implemented that global warming potential (GWP) had the highest impact, whereas both ecotoxicity and human toxicity had least from this study.

Understanding future climate change requires accurate estimates of the impacts of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, composed of both inorganic and organic compounds, on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in grassland ecosystems. However, previous studies have focused on inorganic compounds and have not considered the potential effects of organic N sources. Here, we conducted a grassland experiment that included organic, inorganic N, and a mix of them at a ratio of 4:6, with two input rates, to study N inputs induced CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O fluxes, as well as the potential abiotic and biotic mechanisms driving the fluxes. We found that N compositions significantly affected fluxes each of the three GHGs. Greater organic N decreased the impacts of N addition on CO₂ and N₂O emissions, caused primarily by low rates of increase in substrates (soil available N) for production of CO₂ and N₂O resulting from high ammonia volatilization rather than changes in microbial activity. Also, greater organic N slightly stimulated CH₄ uptake. Nitrogen composition effects on CO₂ emissions and CH₄ uptake were independent of N input rates and measurement dates, but N₂O emissions showed stronger responses to inorganic N under high N addition and in June. These results suggest that future studies should consider the source of N to improve our prediction of future climate impact of N deposition, and that management of N fertilization can help mitigate GHG emissions.

Estuaries provide critical habitat for food webs supporting fish and shellfish consumed by humans, but estuarine ecosystem health has been threatened by increases in nitrogen loading as well as inputs of the neurotoxin, mercury (Hg), which biomagnifies in food webs and poses risk to humans and wildlife. In this study, the effects of nutrient loading on the fate of Hg in shallow coastal estuaries were examined to evaluate if their interaction enhances or reduces Hg bioavailability in sediments, the water column, and concentrations in lower trophic level fish (Fundulus heteroclitus and Menidia menidia). Multiple sites were sampled within two human impacted coastal lagoons, Great South Bay (GSB) and Jamaica Bay (JB), on the southern coast of Long Island, NY, United States of America (U.S.A.). Carbon (C), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), Hg, and methylmercury (MeHg) were measured in surface sediments and the water column, and total Hg (THg) was measured in two species of forage fish. Minimal differences were found in dissolved and particulate Hg, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and salinity between the two bays. Across lagoons, concentrations of chlorophyll-a were correlated with total suspended solids (TSS), and water column THg and MeHg was largely associated with the particulate fraction. Methylmercury concentrations in particulates decreased with increasing TSS and chlorophyll-a, evidence of biomass dilution of MeHg with increasing productivity at the base of the food chain. Water column Hg was associated with THg concentrations in Atlantic silversides, while mummichog THg concentrations were related to sediment concentrations, reflecting their different feeding strategies. Finally, higher nutrient loading (lower C:N in sediments) while related to lower particulate concentrations coincided with higher bioaccumulation factors (BAF) for Hg in both fish species. Thus, in shallow coastal lagoons, increased nutrient loading resulted in decreased Hg concentrations at the base of the food web but resulted in greater bioaccumulation of Hg to fish relative to its availability in algal food.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are well known synthetic pesticides widely used in agricultural practices and public health program. Higher toxicity, slow degradation, and bioaccumulation are the significant challenges of OCPs. Due to its uses in agricultural and public health, contamination of drinking water and water table also increases day by day. Contaminated drinking water has become a significant issue and alarming signal for public health globally. The purpose of this study was to assess the recent trend of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) level in drinking water and blood samples of the North Indian population and also to find out its association with glucose intolerance, lipid metabolism, and insulin resistance, which are known risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A case-control study was conducted on 130 Non-Glucose intolerance (NGT), 130 pre-diabetes and 130 recently diagnosed T2DM subjects of the age group of 30–70 years. Patients consuming drinking water from the same source for at least ten years were included in this study for blood and water samples collection. Significantly higher levels of α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, p,p’-DDE, and o,p’-DDT were found in groundwater samples. However, in tap water samples, the level of α-HCH was found to be slightly higher than the permissible limit of 0.001. Among all recruited subjects consuming contaminated groundwater, 42% had T2DM, 38% pre-diabetes, and the remaining 20% were found normal. We also observed that OCP contamination in groundwater is higher than tap and filter water. The levels of β-HCH, p,p’-DDE, and o,p’-DDT were higher in the pre-diabetes and T2DM group than the NGT group. With an increase of OCPs level in groundwater, the blood OCPs level tends to increase T2DM risk. It depicts that the elevated OCPs level in consumed groundwater may contribute to increased risk for the development of T2DM after a certain period of exposure.