Growing evidence suggests that anthropogenic noise has deleterious effects on the behavior and physiology of free-living animals. These effects may be particularly pronounced early in life, when developmental trajectories are sensitive to stressors, yet studies investigating developmental effects of noise exposure in free-living populations remain scarce. To elucidate the effects of noise exposure during development, we examined whether noise exposure is associated with shorter telomeres, duller carotenoid-based coloration and reduced body mass in nestlings of a common urban bird, the great tit (Parus major). We also assessed how the noise environment is related to reproductive success. We obtained long-term measurements of the noise environment, over a ∼24-h period, and characterized both the amplitude (measured by LAₑq, LA₉₀, LA₁₀, LAₘₐₓ) and variance in noise levels, since more stochastic, as well as louder, noise regimes might be more likely to induce stress. In our urban population, noise levels varied substantially, with louder, but less variable, noise characteristic of areas adjacent to a highway. Noise levels were also highly repeatable, suggesting that individuals experience consistent differences in noise exposure. The amplitude of noise near nest boxes was associated with shorter telomeres among smaller, but not larger, brood members. In addition, carotenoid chroma and hue were positively associated with variance in average and maximum noise levels, and average reflectance was negatively associated with variance in background noise. Independent of noise, hue was positively related to telomere length. Nestling mass and reproductive success were unaffected by noise exposure. Results indicate that multiple dimensions of the noise environment, or factors associated with the noise environment, could affect the phenotype of developing organisms, that noise exposure, or correlated variables, might have the strongest effects on sensitive groups of individuals, and that carotenoid hue could serve as a signal of early-life telomere length.

The molecular mechanism of evaluating 17β-estradiol (E₂)-induced toxicity in female Daphnia magna has not been determined. In this study, the transcriptome of D. magna was analyzed after exposure to three different concentrations (0, 10, and 100 ng L⁻¹) of E₂ at 3, 6, and 12 h. The results showed 351–17,221 significantly up-regulated and 505–10,282 significantly down-regulated genes (P < 0.05). Overall, the selected largest 10,282 (10 ng L⁻¹vs control at 12 h) down-regulated and 17,221 (100 vs 10 ng L⁻¹) up-regulated genes were identified; following annotation, pathways in cancer and RNA transport were found to be enriched according to the interaction network. Among all completed comparisons, KEGG pathways related to the immune system, cancer, disease infection, and active compound metabolism were identified by short time series expression miner analysis. A different set of genes fluctuated in a “U”-shaped pattern over time and at different concentrations of E₂, whereas some genes associated with disintoxication showed a reverse “U”-shaped response as E₂ administration was increased. These results suggest that E₂ exposure caused transcriptional changes in the immune system, disintoxication, disease prevention, and the protein degradation pathway.

There is a lack of evidence regarding the association of short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) with renal function in children and its underlying mechanism. We included 105 children aged 4–13 years from a panel study conducted in Wuhan, China with up to 3 repeated visits across 3 seasons from October 9, 2017 to June 1, 2018. We measured personal real-time PM₂.₅ exposure concentration continuously for 72 h preceding each round of health examinations that included serum creatinine and cytokines. Linear mixed-effects models were performed to estimate the effects of PM₂.₅ on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over various lag times, and a mediation analysis was applied for the role of cytokines in association between PM₂.₅ and eGFR. Results showed that personal exposure to PM₂.₅ was dose-responsive related to decreased eGFR within lag 2 days. The effect was the strongest at lag 0 day with estimation of −1.69% [95% confidence interval (CI): -2.27%, −1.10%] in eGFR by a 10-μg/m³ increase in PM₂.₅, and reached peak at lag 3 h, then declined over time. Such inverse relationships were more evident among children aged 4–6 years, or boys or those who lived proximity to major roadways <300 m. Notably, eGFR still held on to decrease even when PM₂.₅ was below Class II Chinese ambient air quality standard at lag 0 day. Moreover, the effect of PM₂.₅ on eGFR was significantly reduced in children with high and medium levels of serum chemokine ligand 27 (CCL27), but not in those with low CCL27. Furthermore, CCL27 was positively relevant to PM₂.₅, and mediated proportion of CCL27 ranged from 3.75% to 6.61% in relations between PM₂.₅ and decreased eGFR over various lag times. In summary, short-term PM₂.₅ exposure might be dose-responsive associated with reduced eGFR whereby a mechanism partly involving CCL27 among healthy children.

Municipal waste incineration plants (MWIPs) are a source of emission of diverse pollutants that have been associated with environmental and health effects, mainly in relation to premises that are old and not well equipped or maintained. As a result, the public usually holds a negative view of such plants and tends to react adversely to construction of new plants. Understanding a population’s perceptions is key to ensuring the correct development of such infrastructure and adequately managing population health concerns and behaviours. In this study, we surveyed 173 residents living close (≤ 10 km) to an MWIP being built in San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa, Spain) and 164 living further away (>10 km). The questionnaire included sociodemographic and psycho-environmental measures. Answers to the questionnaire revealed a fairly low acceptance rate and the perception of a high risk for human health and the environment (average scores of 0.57, 3.07 and 2.89 respectively in a 0 to 4 scale), with no statistically significant differences between people living nearby and further afield. A hierarchical regression model built to explore the public’s acceptance of the MWIP explained 59% of the variance. Dominance and relative weight analyses revealed that the most important predictors of acceptance were trust in the information provided by the local government and perceived risk for human health, which accounted for 33.7% and 27.4% of the variance explained by the model respectively. Preference for landfilling and MWIP acceptance in a farther location made a less relevant contribution.

Soluble iron (FeS) in aerosols contributes to free oxygen radical generation with implications for human health, and potentially catalyzes sulfur dioxide oxidation. It is also an important external source of micronutrients for ocean ecosystems. However, factors controlling FeS concentration and its contribution to total iron (FeT) in aerosols remain poorly understand. Here, FeS and FeT in PM₂.₅ was studied at four urban sites in eastern China from 21 to 31 December, 2017. Average FeT (869–1490 ng m⁻³) and FeS (24–68 ng m⁻³) concentrations were higher in northern than southern China cities, but Fe solubility (%FeS, 2.7–5.0%) showed no spatial pattern. Correlation analyses suggested %FeS was strongly correlated with FeS and PM₂.₅ instead of FeT concentrations. Individual particle observations confirmed that more than 65% of nano-sized Fe-containing particles were internally mixed with sulfates and nitrates. Furthermore, there was a high correlation between sulfates or nitrates/FeT molar ratio and %FeS. We also found that the sulfates/nitrates had weaker effects on %FeS at RH < 50% than at RH > 50%, suggesting RH as indirect factor can influence %FeS in PM₂.₅. These results suggest an important role of chemical processing in enhancing %FeS in the polluted atmosphere.

Antibiotics are emerging organic pollutants posing high health risks to humans by causing human intestinal microbial disorders with increasing abundances of opportunistic pathogens, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been confirmed to restore the dysbiosis of gut flora in many kinds of intestinal disease. However, to date, few studies have focused on the bloomed opportunistic pathogens associated human disease-related pathways as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) after vancomycin exposure, and there is limited information on using FMT for restoration of intestinal microbiome affected by antibiotics. Therefore, this study investigated effects of vancomycin on the opportunistic pathogens, human disease-related pathways as well as ARGs in human gut, and the restoration of intestinal microbiome by FMT. Results indicated that vancomycin treatment substantially increased human disease-related pathways and decreased abundances of ARGs. Besides, the bloomed opportunistic pathogens including Achromobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas, caused by vancomycin exposure, were positively correlated with human disease-related pathways. The microbiota abundance and genes of human disease-related pathways and antibiotic resistance showed a remarkable return towards baseline after FMT, but not for natural recovery. These findings suggest that impacts of vancomycin on human gut are profound and FMT will be a promising strategy in clinical application that can restore the dysbiosis of gut microbiota, which may be valuable for directing future work.

Chromium (Cr) poses serious consequences on human and animal health due to its potential carcinogenicity. The present study aims at preparing a novel biochar derived from Chenopodium quinoa crop residues (QBC), its activation with magnetite nanoparticles (QBC/MNPs) and strong acid HNO₃ (QBC/Acid) to evaluate their batch and column scale potential to remove Cr (VI) from polluted water. The QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid were characterized with SEM, FTIR, EDX, XRD as well as point of zero charge (PZC) to get an insight into their adsorption mechanism. The impact of different process parameters including dose of the adsorbent (1–4 g/L), contact time (0–180 min), initial concentration of Cr (25–200 mg/L) as well as solution pH (2–8) was evaluated on the Cr (VI) removal from contaminated water. The results revealed that QBC/MNPs proved more effective (73.35–93.62-%) for the Cr (VI) removal with 77.35 mg/g adsorption capacity as compared with QBC/Acid (55.85–79.8%) and QBC (48.85–75.28-%) when Cr concentration was changed from 200 to 25 mg/L. The isothermal experimental results follow the Freundlich adsorption model rather than Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm models. While kinetic adsorption results were well demonstrated by pseudo second order kinetic model. Column scale experiments conducted at steady state exhibited excellent retention of Cr (VI) by QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid at 50 and 100 mg Cr/L. The results showed that this novel biochar (QBC) and its modified forms (QBC/Acid and QBC/MNPs) are applicable with excellent reusability and stability under acidic conditions for the practical treatment of Cr (VI) contaminated water.

In most cases, honey bees experience pesticide pollution in a long-term period through direct or indirect exposure, such as the development process from larvae to the pre-harvest stage. At present, little is known about how honey bees respond to pesticide stresses during the continuous development period. This study aims to examine effects of long-term acetamiprid exposure on the development and survival of honey bees, and further present the expression profile in larvae, 1-day-old, and 7-day-old adult worker bees that related to immune, detoxification, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and memory. Honey bees from 2-day-old larvae to 14-day-old adults except the pupal stage were continuously fed with different acetamiprid solutions (0, 5, and 25 mg/L). We found that acetamiprid over 5 mg/L disturbed the development involving birth weight and emergence rate of newly emerged bees, and reduced the proportion of capped cells of larvae at 25 mg/L; gene expression related to immune and detoxification of worker bees exposed to acetamiprid was roughly activated, returned and then inhibited from larval to emerged and to the late adult stage, respectively. Moreover, lifespans of bees treated with acetamiprid at 25 mg/L were significantly reduced. The present study reflects the potential risk for honey bees continuously exposed to acetamiprid in the development stage.

In this study, we determined the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb and As and their subcellular distributions within the tissues of mussels (Bathymodiolus marisindicus) and snails (Gigantopelta aegis) from two hydrothermal vent regions, i.e., Tiancheng and Longqi, at Southwest Indian Ridge. Mussels collected from the two venting regions showed comparable concentrations for Ni and Pb, but Cu, Zn, Cd and As concentrations were significantly different in mussel gills between the two vent regions. Similar ranges of metal concentrations were found in the snails as those in the mussels, but most of the metals were mainly accumulated in the viscera, except for Ni. Similar subcellular partitioning of Cu, Zn and Cd was documented in different mussel tissues, with cellular debris (50%) being the predominant fraction, followed by equivalent values in other fractions. Lead was distributed in both cellular debris and metal-rich granules (MRG) fraction, whereas Ni was predominantly distributed in MRG (90%). Arsenic was mainly partitioned in cellular debris and metallothionein-like protein. However, deep-sea snails displayed elevated subcellular partitioning of Cu in the organelles (up to 60%) and may be more susceptible to Cu stress than the mussels. Our results demonstrated the metal-specificity of detoxification strategies in these deep-sea hydrothermal vent mollusks, and the mussels may be more adaptable to high metal exposures than the snails at hydrothermal vent.

Metal contamination in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) is persistent-, yet a comprehensive understanding of distribution and behavior of metals in surface water of this large, multi-source estuary is still lacking. In the present study, water samples from 24 sites spanning the whole estuary during the dry and wet season were collected and fractioned. Trace metal concentrations in samples were then determined following a preconcentration technique using Nobias Chelate-PA1 resin. Distribution of trace metals exhibited variability along and across estuary, as a result of estuarine mixing, external metal loadings, addition and removal. Behavior of metals was contrasting between the dry and wet seasons, exhibiting metal-specific intercorrelations and dynamics. Colloidal metals (Mn, Ni and Cd) were primarily present in upper estuary and areas affected by external contaminant loading. Colloidal Cu was the only metal that was ubiquitous in the estuary in both seasons. It showed a high affinity for small-size organic colloids (likely fulvic acid) during the dry season. Overall, the present study demonstrated the multi-source character of the PRE and that the behavior of trace metals was controlled by the coupling of hydrologic and geochemical processes, with anthropogenic perturbations.