Organic phosphorus (Pₒ) plays a very important role in the process of lake eutrophication, but there is still a lack of knowledge about the internal cycle of Pₒ in suspended particulate matter (SPM) dominated by algal debris. In this study, the characterization of bioavailable Pₒ by sequential extraction and enzymatic hydrolysis showed that 45% of extracted TP was Pₒ in SPM of Lake Dianchi, and 43–98% of total Pₒ in H₂O, NaHCO₃ and NaOH fractions was enzymatically hydrolyzable Pₒ (EHP, H₂O−EHP: 31–53%). Importantly, labile monoester P was the main organic form (68%) of EHP, and its potential bioavailability was higher than that of diester P and phytate-like P. According to the estimation of P pools in SPM of the whole lake, the total load of Pᵢ plus EHP in the H₂O extract of SPM was 74.9 t and had great potential risk to enhance eutrophication in the lake water environment. Accordingly, reducing the amount of SPM in the water during the algal blooming period is likely to be a necessary measure that can successfully interfere with or block the continuous stress of unhealthy levels of P on the aquatic ecosystem.

Eutrophication transforms clear water into turbid water in shallow lakes. Current restoration techniques focus on re-establishing the clear-water state rather than on its maintenance. We investigated the response of submerged macrophytes to temporary grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and scraping snail (Bellamya aeruginosa) introductions. We also explored the impacts of herbivores on underwater light conditions to identify their long- and short-term potential to halt regime shift from clear to turbid after clear-water state reestablishment. Herbivores reduced both the biomass of submerged macrophytes and accumulated nutrients in the tissue of submerged macrophytes. This potentially avoided the pulse of endogenous nutrient release which would have exceeded the threshold required for the regime shift from clear to turbid. However, herbivores had a non-significant impact on submerged macrophyte-reduced light attenuation coefficient, which has a positive linear relationship with water chlorophyll a. Further, grass carp and snails enhanced the inhibition ratio of submerged macrophytes to phytoplankton by 3.96 and 2.13 times, respectively. Our study provides novel findings on the potential of herbivore introduction as an indirect biomanipulation tool for halting the regime shift of shallow lakes from clear to turbid after the restoration of submerged macrophytes.

The 2015 Paris agreement aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep global temperature rise below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Reducing CH₄ emissions from leaking pipelines presents a relatively achievable objective. While walking and driving surveys are commonly used to detect leaks, the detection probability (DP) is poorly characterized. This study aims to investigate how leak rates, survey distance and speed, and atmospheric conditions affect the DP in controlled belowground conditions with release rates of 0.5–8.5 g min⁻¹. Results show that DP is highly influenced by survey speed, atmospheric stability, and wind speed. The average DP in Pasquill–Gifford stability (PG) class A is 85% at a low survey speed (2–11 mph) and decreases to 68%, 63%, 65%, and 60% in PGSC B/C, D, E/F, and G respectively. It is generally less than 25% at a high survey speed (22–34 mph), regardless of stability conditions and leak rates. Using the measurement data, a validated DP model was further constructed and showed good performance (R2: 0.76). The options of modeled favorable weather conditions (i.e., PG stability class and wind speed) to have a high DP (e.g., >50%) are rapidly decreased with the increase in survey speed. Walking survey is applicable over a wider range of weather conditions, including PG stability class A to E/F and calm to medium winds (0–5 m s⁻¹). A driving survey at a low speed (11 mph) can only be conducted under calm to low wind speed conditions (0–3 m s⁻¹) to have an equivalent DP to a walking survey. Only calm wind conditions in PG A (0–1 m s⁻¹) are appropriate for a high driving speed (34 mph). These findings showed that driving survey providers need to optimize the survey schemes to achieve a DP equivalence to the traditional walking survey.

Serious environmental pollution of heavy metals has attracted people's attention in recent years and halophiles seem to be potential bioremediation in the controlling of heavy metals contamination. In this study, the adaptive mechanism of halophilic Brachybacterium muris (B. muris) in response to salt stress and its mitigation of copper (Cu) toxicity in hydroponic plants were investigated. The cell morphology was observed using transmission electron microscopy. The cell membrane composition and fluidity were examined by the combination of gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and fluorescence spectrophotometry. Moreover, the metabolic pathways of B. muris in response to salt stress were analyzed using the prokaryotic transcriptomics approach. A hydroponic co-culture model was further conducted to explore the effects of B. muris on wheat seedlings subjected to Cu toxicity. It was found that B. muris can respond to high osmotic pressure by improving the cell membrane fluidity, altering the cell morphology and cell membrane compositions. The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol in B. muris cell membranes increased significantly, while zymosterol, fecosterol, and ergosterol contents decreased under a high salinity situation. Further transcriptomic analysis showed that genes encoding L-glutamate synthase, glutamate ABC transporter ATP-binding protein, and sodium cotransporter were up-regulated, indicating that both the synthesis and transport of glutamate were significantly enhanced under high osmotic pressure. Additionally, B. muris alleviated the inhibitory effect of Cu²⁺ on wheat seedlings' growth, causing a 30.14% decrease in H₂O₂ content and a significant increase of 83.86% and 45.96% in POD activity and GSH content in wheat roots, respectively. The findings of this study suggested that the salt-tolerant B. muris may serve as a promising strategy for improving the bioremediation of metal-contaminated saline water and soils.

Although many toxicological studies on pesticides and nanoparticles have been conducted, it is not clear whether nanoparticles will increase the toxicity of pesticides. In this study, we chose imidacloprid (IMI) as a representative pesticide, and explored the influence of ZnO NPs on the toxic effect of IMI. In addition, we studied the bioaccumulation of IMI in mice. Using biochemical index analysis, liver histopathological analysis, non-targeted metabolomics, and LC/MS analysis, we found that ZnO NPs increased the toxicity of IMI, which may be related to the increase in IMI bioaccumulation in mice. In addition, we used intestinal histopathological analysis, RT-qPCR, and 16sRNA sequencing to find that the disturbance of the gut microbiota and the impaired intestinal barrier caused by ZnO NPs may be the reason for the increase in IMI bioaccumulation. In summary, our results indicate that ZnO NPs disrupted the intestinal barrier and enhanced the bioaccumulation of IMI, and therefore increased the toxicity of IMI in mice. Our research has deepened the toxicological insights between nanomaterials and pesticides.

Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) are highly toxic and persistent organic pollutants that can cause adverse effects in the environment and on human health. PCNs have been detected in remote areas because of their long-range transportation. Bees and bee products are commonly used as biomonitors for various pollutants in the environment. However, information on PCNs in apiaries is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrences of PCNs in bees and bee products from apiaries located in different geographical regions of China, and to identify potential pollution sources and assess exposure risks to humans. Our results showed that the average Σ₇₅PCNs concentrations in bees, pollen, and wax were 74.1, 96.3, and 141 pg/g dry weight, respectively. The homologue and congener profiles of PCNs in bees, pollen, and wax were similar, and di- and tri-chlorinated naphthalenes (>60%) were the predominant homologues. The concentrations and distributions of PCNs in bees, pollen, and wax varied among different geographical regions, but their occurrences were correlated with PCN metallurgical sources in China. The health risks of PCNs in pollen were evaluated, and both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of PCNs exposure to humans through the diet were low.

Spatiotemporal variability complicates source apportionment of metals in urban lakes, especially when rainfall drives urban non-point source pollution. As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ag, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb, Sr and Zn concentrations in 648 water samples collected before and after rain in 6 urban lakes of Beijing, China were determined during 2013–2015. The response of metals concentrations after rain to the interaction between rainfall and antecedent dry days was significant. Metals concentrations were normalized pursuant to the interaction effect as the input of positive matrix factorization (PMF) to develop the interaction normalized-PMF (IN-PMF). Four primary pollution sources were diagnosed. Sediment release was considered to be the main source of Fe, Co and Ni independent of rainfall. Hg, As and some Cr associated with pesticides and fertilizers were likely to come from soil erosion and runoff from green space. It is probable that road runoff was the dominant source for heavy metals related to traffic emissions, including Pb, Cd, Cu, Sb, Mn and Zn. Cr, Sr and some Cu and Zn as key elements of rooftops can be regarded as from roof runoff. The IN-PMF lowered roof and road runoff contributions and raised the contribution of soil erosion from green space, with Pb, Sb, Cu, Zn, Cd and Mn increasing by 15.9%, 10.7%, 13.1%, 12.2%, 13.3% and 16.8%. The results shed more light on the stormwater runoff pollution mitigation on impervious surfaces and metals enrichment problems in infiltration soil on green space in the low impact development (LID) setting. The Bayesian network revealed the spatial variability of transport and fate of metal elements from land surfaces to urban lakes, supplementing the secondary pollution sources from different land use. This study will provide new insights for source apportionment of non-point source pollution under the background of sponge city construction.

Exposure of Bisphenol A (BPA) is closely associated with an increased prevalence of obesity-related metabolic syndrome. However, the potential mechanism of BPA-induced adipogenesis remains to be fully elucidated. Herein, potential mechanisms of BPA-induced adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were evaluated using RNA-Seq. Then, using an early-life BPA exposure model, we further evaluated the effects of BPA exposure on lipid and glucose homeostasis. The results showed that lipid content in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was significantly increased after BPA exposure (p < 0.01) and male C57BL/6 mice with the dose of 500 μg/kg/day BPA by once-a-day oral administration for 8 weeks displayed a NAFLD-like phenotype. RNA-Seq analysis of preadipocytes showed that BPA exposure affected multiple biological processes including glycosphingolipid biosynthesis, regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, PPAR signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism. The dysregulation in a series of genes of mice was associated to de novo lipogenesis and lipid transport, which was linked to obesity. Importantly, we also found a significant expression increase of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) and a significant decrease of apolipoprotein D (APOD) in both fat (p < 0.01) and livers (p < 0.01) of male mice. Besides, the dysregulation of pro-inflammatory genes (TNF-α,IL-6 and SAA3) showed that BPA exposure promoted progression of hepatic inflammation. In conclusion, this study elucidated a novel mechanism in which obesity associated with BPA exposure by targeting SCD1. Exposure to BPA should be carefully examined in the chronic liver metabolic diseases.

Denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) plays an important role in the element cycle of wetlands. In recent years, the content of antibiotics in wetlands has gradually increased due to human activities. However, the impact of antibiotics on the ecological function of DAMO remains unclear. Here we studied the influence of three high-content quinolone antibiotics (QNs) on DAMO in the sediments of the Baiyangdian Wetland. The results show that QNs can significantly promote the potential DAMO rates. Moreover, the enhancement of potential DAMO rates is positively correlated with the dosage of QNs. This promotion effect of QNs on nitrate-DAMO can be attributed to the hormesis phenomenon or their inhibition of substrate competitors. As antibacterial agents, QNs inhibit nitrite-DAMO conducted by bacteria, but greatly promote nitrate-DAMO conducted by archaea. These results suggest that the short-term effect of QNs on DAMO in wetlands is promotion rather than inhibition.

The main objective of the study was to assess if joint application of melatonin (MT, 0.1 mM) and salicylic acid (SA 0.5 mM) could improve tolerance of pepper plants to arsenic (As) as sodium hydrogen arsenate heptahydrate (0.05 mM). The imposition of arsenic stress led to accumulation of As in roots and leaves, and increased contents of leaf proline, phytochelatins, malondialdehyde (MDA) and H₂O₂, but it reduced plant biomass, chlorophylls (Chl), PSII maximum efficiency (Fv/Fm) and leaf water potential. Melatonin and SA applied jointly or alone enhanced nitrogen metabolism by triggering the activities of glutamate synthase, glutamine synthetase, and nitrite reductases and nitrate. In comparison with a single treatment of MT or SA, the joint treatment of MT and SA had better impact on enhancing growth and key biological events and decreasing tissue As content. This clearly shows a cooperative function of both agents in enhancing tolerance to As-toxicity in pepper plants.