Despite a growing focus on anthropogenic toxic metal pollution in urban environments, few studies have addressed the problem of quantification when more than two pollution sources are likely present, particularly within complex urban settings in the United States (U.S.). In this study, we utilize the MixSIAR package in R for source apportionment based on Pb isotopic signatures in lichen and road sediment in two urban-industrial centers in SW Ohio (OH). We show that ranges of pollutant contributions are more useful than only visualizing mean or raw values of source apportionment, because this avoids overinterpretation of data when certain sources have a large range of uncertainty. We point out both the dominance of industrial pollution as well as the legacy of leaded gasoline pollution in typical mid-sized U.S. cities, which is evident in both road sediment and lichens. Leaded gasoline contribution to Pb in Middletown, OH lichens mostly vary between ~10 and 25%, while in Hamilton, OH the contribution to lichens and road sediment tends to be relatively negligible except for two road sediment samples and one lichen sample, where median contributions are ~20–30%. Industrial combustion pollution source contributions vary between ~25 and 75% in Hamilton, and ~50–100% in Middletown, OH. Furthermore, comparing pollution sources in lichens to modern particulate matter can provide a record of how pollutant sources change over time, such as our traffic lichen (Sample Li-9) plotting closer to leaded gasoline on a bivariate mixing diagram than modern traffic particulate matter, or our coke plant lichen containing slightly less Pb contribution from industrial combustion sources relative to modern coke plant particulate matter. Lastly, when applicable, multi-source mixing models should be complimented in future studies with additional isotopic source tracers such as Cu, Zn, Nd, and Os to further elucidate unique sources of metal pollutants in addition to Pb.

Most chemical plant wastewater contains both organic and inorganic pollutants, which are easy to diffuse along with surface runoff. The combined pollution of nonylphenol (NP) and cadmium (Cd) in soil is a serious problem that has not attracted enough attention. Based on the effects of selenium (Se) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) on plant and soil microbial communities, we speculated that the application of Se and P. aeruginosa in soil could improve the phytoremediation efficiency of ryegrass on contaminated soil. In this study, pot experiments with Cd and NP co-contaminated soil were conducted, and the results showed that application of P. aeruinosa alone could improve the removal rates of NP and Cd by ryegrass, and the supplementary of Se further enhanced the effect of micro-phyto remediation, with the highest removal rates of NP and Cd were 79.6% and 49.4%, respectively. The application of P. aeruginosa plus Se reduced the adsorption of Cd and NP through C–O and Si–O–Fe of the soil, changed the enzyme activity, and also affected the changing trend of the microbial community in soil. Pseudomonas, Sphingomonadales, Nitrospira, and other beneficial bacteria were enriched after a 60-day period with P. aeruginosa and Se treatment, thus promoting the removal of NP and Cd. In light of the above results, we suggest that P. aeruginosa application can efficiently facilitate the phytoremediation of ryegrass on Cd-NP co-contaminated soil, and Se supplementation in soil showed the synergistic effect on the remediation.

Microbial selenite reduction has increasingly attracted attention from the scientific community because it allows the separation of toxic Se from waste sources with the concurrent recovery of Se nanoparticles, a multifunctional material in nanotechnology industries. In this study, four selenite-reducing bacteria, isolated from a river water sample, were found to reduce selenite by > 85% within 3 d of incubation, at ambient temperature. Among them, strain NDSe-7, belonging to genus Lysinibacillus, can reduce selenite and produce Se nanospheres in alkaline conditions, up to pH 10.0, and in salinity of up to 7.0%. This strain can reduce 80 mg/L of selenite to elemental Se within 24 h at pH 6.0–8.0, at a temperature of 30–40 °C, and salinity of 0.1–3.5%. Strain NDSe-7 exhibited potential for use in Se removal and recovery from industrial saline wastewater with high alkalinity. This study indicates that extremophilic microorganisms for environmental remediation can be found in a conventional environment.

Fruit wastes can be imperative to elevate economical biomass to biofuels production process at pilot scale. Because of the renewable features, huge availability, having low lignin content organic nature and low cost; these wastes can be of much interest for cellulase enzyme production. This review provides recent advances on the fungal cellulase production using fruit wastes as a potential substrate. Also, the availability of fruit wastes, generation and processing data and their potential applications for cellulase enzyme production have been discussed. Several aspects, including cellulase and its function, solid-state fermentation, process parameters, microbial source, and the application of enzyme in biofuels industries have also been discussed. Further, emphasis has been made on various bottlenecks and feasible approaches such as use of nanomaterials, co-culture, molecular techniques, genetic engineering, and cost economy analysis to develop a low-cost based comprehensive technology for viable production of cellulase and its application in biofuels production technology.

Seabirds are apex predators in the marine environment and well-known ecosystem engineers, capable of changing their terrestrial habitats by introducing marine-derived nutrients via deposition of guano and other allochthonous inputs. However, with the health of the world’s oceans under threat due to anthropogenic pressures such as organic, inorganic, and physical pollutants, seabirds are depositing these same pollutants wherever they come to land. Using data from 2018 to 2020, we quantify how the Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) has inadvertently introduced physical pollutants to their colonies on Lord Howe Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Tasman Sea and their largest breeding colony, through a mix of regurgitated pellet (bolus) deposition and carcasses containing plastic debris. The density of plastics within the shearwater colonies ranged between 1.32 and 3.66 pieces/m² (mean ± SE: 2.18 ± 0.32), and a total of 688,480 (95% CI: 582,409–800,877) pieces are deposited on the island each year. Our research demonstrates that seabirds are a transfer mechanism for marine-derived plastics, reintroducing items back into the terrestrial environment, thus making seabird colonies a sink for plastic debris. This phenomenon is likely occurring in seabird colonies across the globe and will increase in severity as global plastic production and marine plastic pollution accelerates without adequate mitigation strategies.

Exposure to ambient fine particular matter (PM2.5) are linked to an increased risk of metabolic disorders, leading to enhanced rate of many diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), cardiovascular diseases, and pulmonary diseases; nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, BALB/c mice were exposed to filtered air (FA) or concentrated ambient PM2.5 (CPM) for 2 months using a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system(VACES). We found subchronic CPM exposure caused significant lung and intestinal damage, as well as systemic inflammatory reactions. In addition, serum and BALFs (bronchoalveolar lavage fluids) metabolites involved in many metabolic pathways in the CPM exposed mice were markedly disrupted upon PM2.5 exposure. Five metabolites (glutamate, glutamine, formate, pyruvate and lactate) with excellent discriminatory power (AUC = 1, p < 0.001) were identified to predict PM2.5 exposure related toxicities. Furthermore, subchronic exposure to CPM not only significantly decreased the richness and composition of the gut microbiota, but also the lung microbiota. Strong associations were found between several gut and lung bacterial flora changes and systemic metabolic abnormalities. Our study showed exposure to ambient PM2.5 not only caused dysbiosis in the gut and lung, but also significant systemic and local metabolic alterations. Alterations in gut and lung microbiota were strongly correlated with metabolic abnormalities. Our study suggests potential roles of gut and lung microbiota in PM2.5 caused metabolic disorders.

The use of coal in Chinese households for winter heating emits harmful pollutants that severely affect indoor air quality and climate. Therefore, China has made efforts to transition into clean heating using improved heating stoves and biomass pellets. Although the economic and policy implications of such demonstration projects have been extensively investigated, little has been done to understand the real-world performance and adoption trends of such stoves. This study measured in-use emissions from nine different pellet stoves used for heating among 52 rural households in Yangxin, Shandong Province. The temperature of the stove chimney of 21 households was monitored and 56 households were surveyed to explore the stove use trend. The particulate and gaseous emission concentrations for most of the stoves exceeded the limits specified in the Chinese national standard. The measured fuel energy-based emission factors (mean ± standard deviation) for CO₂, CO, NOx, and PM₂.₅ were 103 ± 3, 1.41 ± 1.19, 0.336 ± 0.237, and 0.146 ± 0.108 g/MJ, respectively. Between January to February, the average daily heating duration was 8.71 h, and the sustained use of heating stoves was seen among over 85% of the households. On average, the households used their heating stoves for 3.28 months and the estimated annual pellets consumption for a household was 2.7 tons. Besides inherent variabilities associated with user habits, the stove’s design-related shortcomings and low-grade pellets hindered the performance and effectiveness of pellet stoves. This study provides insights into opportunities and challenges for the promotion of cleaner fuels and heating technologies. Furthermore, it will provide information on emissions from rural residential sources to build the emission inventory and inform policymaking for successful stove promotion programs.

Residues of glyphosate (GLY) are widely detected in aquatic systems, raising potential environmental threats and public health concerns, but the mechanism underlying GLY-induced hepatotoxicity in fish has not been fully elucidated yet. This study was designed to explore the hepatotoxic mechanism using juvenile common carp exposed to GLY for 45 d, and plasma and liver samples were collected at 15 d, 30 d, and 45 d to analyze the assays. First, GLY-induced hepatic damage was confirmed by serum liver damage biomarker and hepatic histopathological analysis. Next, changes in oxidative stress biomarkers, gene expression levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and lipid metabolism-related parameters in collected samples were analyzed to clarify their roles in GLY-induced hepatic damage. Data showed that oxidative stress was an early event during GLY exposure, followed by hepatic inflammatory response. Lipid metabolism disorder was a late event during GLY exposure, as evidenced by overproduced hepatic free fatty acids, enhanced lipogenesis-related gene expression levels, reduced lipolysis-related gene expression levels, and resultant hepatic lipid accumulation. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that GLY induces hepatotoxicity in fish through involvement of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and lipid metabolism disorder, which are intimately interrelated with each other during GLY exposure.

Macrolide antibiotics azithromycin (AZI), erythromycin (ERY) and clarithromycin (CLA) have been recently included in the EU Watch List of contaminants of emerging concern in the aquatic environment. However, their comprehensive assessment in different environmental compartments, by including synthesis intermediates, by-products and transformation products, is still missing. In this work, a novel method, based on pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, was developed and validated for the determination of such an extended range of macrolide residues in sediment and soil samples at low ng/g levels. The method was applied to determine distribution of 13 macrolides in surface and alluvial aquifer sediments collected in a small stream with a history of chronic exposure to wastewater discharges from AZI production. The total concentrations of the target macrolide compounds in surface sediments were up to 29 μg/g and the most prominent individual macrolides were parent AZI, its synthesis intermediate N-demethyl AZI and transformation products decladinosyl AZI and N′-demethyl AZI. Some ERY-related compounds, originating from AZI synthesis, were also frequently detected, though at lower concentration levels (up to 0.31 ng/g in total). The distribution of macrolide residues in surface sediments indicated their active longitudinal transport by resuspension and redeposition of the contaminated sediment particles. The vertical concentration profiles in stream sediments and the underlying alluvial aquifer revealed that macrolide residues reached deeper alluvial sediments (up to 5 m). Moreover, significant levels of macrolides were found in groundwater samples below the streambed, with the total concentrations reaching up to 1.7 μg/L. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive chemical characterization of the macrolide residues, which were shown to persist in surface and alluvial aquifer sediment more than ten years after their discharge into the aquatic environment.

Anthropogenic activities in coastal marine ecosystems can lead to an increase in the abundance of potentially harmful microorganisms in the marine environment. To understand anthropogenic impacts on the marine microbiome, we first used publicly available microbial phylogenetic and functional data to establish a dataset of bacterial genera potentially related to pathogens that cause diseases (BGPRD) in marine organisms. Representatives of low-, medium- and highly impacted marine coastal environments were selected, and the abundance and composition of their microbial communities were determined by quantitative PCR and 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. In total, 72 BGPRD were cataloged, and 11, 36 and 37 BGPRD were found in low-, medium- and highly human-impacted ecosystems, respectively. The absolute abundance of BGPRD and the co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (AGR) increased with the degree of anthropogenic perturbation in these ecosystems. Anthropogenically impacted coastal microbiomes were compositionally and functionally distinct from those of less impacted sites, presenting features that may contribute to adverse outcomes for marine macrobiota in the Anthropocene era.