Microorganisms attached on the surfaces of substrate materials in constructed wetland play crucial roles in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants. However, the impact of substrate material on wetland microbial community structure remains unclear. Moreover, little is known about microbial community in constructed wetland purifying polluted surface water. In this study, Illumina high-throughput sequencing was applied to profile the spatial variation of microbial communities in three pilot-scale surface water constructed wetlands with different substrate materials (sand, zeolite, and gravel). Bacterial community diversity and structure showed remarkable spatial variation in both sand and zeolite wetland systems, but changed slightly in gravel wetland system. Bacterial community was found to be significantly influenced by wetland substrate type. A number of bacterial groups were detected in wetland systems, including Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Chlorobi, Spirochaetae, Gemmatimonadetes, Deferribacteres, OP8, WS3, TA06, and OP3, while Proteobacteria (accounting for 29.1–62.3 %), mainly composed of Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, and Deltaproteobacteria, showed the dominance and might contribute to the effective reduction of organic pollutants. In addition, Nitrospira-like microorganisms were abundant in surface water constructed wetlands.

Nasosinusal polyposis (NSP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa. Although the pathophysiology underlying NSP formation is not fully understood, environmental factors appear to be contributed the development of this disease. A case–control study of Tunisian patients was examined to assess the levels of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) in blood and reparse the association between the exposure to these metals and the risk of nasosinusal polyposis disease. Mean blood levels of Cd in patients (2.2 ± 12.8 μg/L) were significantly higher than those of controls (0.5 ± 0.7 μg/L). Levels of blood Cd were positively correlated with tobacco smoking and chewing among controls. The Cd and Ni concentrations among control (p = 0.001) and patient (p = 0.018) tobacco consumers (smoking, chewing, and shisha) were significantly higher than those nonconsumers. Additionally, Ni blood levels of patient and control smokers were significantly higher than those of nonsmokers. Cd levels in blood samples of NSP patients occupationally exposed for more than 14 years were eight times higher than that of nonexposed. Drinking water was also found to be incriminated as exposure sources. Among risk factors, shisha consumption, environmental exposure, and occupational exposure presented the most significant association with NSP disease (odds ratio (OR) = 14.1, 10.1, and 1.7, respectively). High levels of blood Cd (OR = 3.5) were strongly associated with NSP disease (p = 0.027). Ni blood levels were shown to be associated with the four stages of polyps in both nasal cavities (right and left) (p < 0.05). This investigation suggested a potential role of toxic metals in the mechanism of NSP disease development. Exposure assessment investigations encompassing a wider population are needed.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants produced by combustion of fossil fuel and other organic materials. Both experimental animal and human studies have reported the harmful impacts of PAH compounds on fetal growth and neurodevelopment, including verbal IQ of children. Here, we have assessed the association between cognitive function of children and prenatal PAH exposures. The study is part of an ongoing, longitudinal investigation of the health effects of prenatal exposure to air pollution on infants and children in Krakow, Poland. The subjects in this report included 170 children whose mothers were enrolled to the study in the first or second trimester of pregnancy whose cord blood were tested for PAH–DNA adducts and who were assessed at age 7 using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The outcome of a priori interest was depressed verbal IQ index (DepVIQ), which is the difference between WISC-R performance and verbal IQ scores. Prenatal PAH exposure was measured by cord blood PAH–DNA adducts, an individual dosimeter, integrating exposure from various sources of exposure over the gestational period. The estimated effect of prenatal PAH exposure on cognitive function was adjusted in multivariable regression for a set of potential confounders (child’s gender, parity, maternal education, breastfeeding practice, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and postnatal PAH exposure). The prevalence of DepVIQ was significantly higher in children with detectable PAH–DNA adducts compared to those with undetectable adducts (13.7 vs. 4.4 %,). Binary multivariable regression documented that the relative risk of DepVIQ increased threefold with a ln-unit increase in cord blood adducts (relative risk (RR) = 3.0, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.3–6.8). Postnatal PAH exposure also increased the risk of DepVIQ (RR = 1.6, 95 % CI 1.1–2.5). Long-term exclusive breastfeeding (at least 6 months) showed a protective effect (RR = 0.3, 95 % CI 0.1–0.9). In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that PAHs are harmful to the developing fetal brain with effects extending through childhood, with implications for the academic success of the children.

In this study, 13 types of organic materials were oxidized using H₂O₂in a continuous flow reactor under the condition of supercritical water. The effect of the operational parameters on the conversion of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) was investigated, and the resulting quality of treated water was analyzed. It was found that these materials were easily oxidized with a TOC conversion achieving 99 % at temperature of 460 °C and TN conversion reaching 94 % at temperature of 500 °C. Rice decomposition was rapid, with TOC and TN decomposition rates of 99 % obtained within residence of 100 s at temperature of 460 °C. At temperature of 460 °C, pressure of 24 MPa, residence time of 100 s, and excess oxygen of 100 %, the quality of treated water attained levels commensurate with China’s Standards for Drinking Water Quality. Reaction rate equation parameters were obtained by fitting the experimental data to the differential equation obtained using the Runge–Kutta algorithm. The decrease of the TOC in water samples exhibited reaction orders of 0.95 for the TOC concentration and 0.628 for the oxygen concentration. The activation energy was 83.018 kJ/mol.

Current ecological risk assessment (ERA) schemes focus mainly on bioaccumulation and toxicity of pollutants in individual organisms. Ecological models are tools mainly used to assess ecological risks of pollutants to ecosystems, communities, and populations. Their main advantage is the relatively direct integration of the species sensitivity to organic pollutants, the fate and mechanism of action in the environment of toxicants, and life-history features of the individual organism of concern. To promote scientific consensus on ERA schemes, this review is intended to provide a guideline on short-term ERA involving dioxin chemicals and to identify key findings for exposure assessment based on policies of different agencies. It also presents possible adverse effects of dioxins on ecosystems, toxicity equivalence methodology, environmental fate and transport modeling, and development of stressor-response profiles for dioxin-like chemicals.

Spatial distribution, ecological risk, pollutant source, and transportation of trace metals in surface sediments, as well as the sediment properties, were analyzed in this study to assess the pollution status of trace metal in the Laizhou Bay, China. Results of provenance analyses indicate that surface sediments were primarily from weathering products carried by the surrounding short rivers and partially from loess matters carried by the Yellow River. Variations of trace metal concentrations were mostly controlled by the accumulation of weathering products, organic matters, and the hydrodynamics. Geoaccumulation index suggests that no Cr pollution occurred in the study area, and Cu, Pb, and Zn pollutions appeared only at a few stations. Comparatively, Cd and As pollutions were at noticeably weak to moderate level at many stations. The combination of six trace metals in this study had a 21 % probability of being toxic in our study area based on sediment quality guidelines. Enrichment factors (EFs) and statistical analyses indicate that Cu, Pb, and Zn were primarily derived from the natural process of weathering. By contrast, Cd, As, and Cr (especially Cd and As) were provided by the anthropogenic activities to a large extent. Due to the dilution of coarse-grained sediments, there was even no contamination at some of stations that were obviously influenced by humans. Based on the current study of transportation process of fine-grained sediments in combination with the spatial distribution of EFs, it is found that the migration of anthropogenic trace metals was mainly controlled by the tide in the Laizhou Bay. The study suggests that an effective strategies and remedial measures should be designed and undertaken to prevent further anthropogenic Cd and As pollutions in this area in the future.

Epidemiological studies demonstrate a linkage between morbidity and mortality and particulate matter (PM), particularly fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) that can readily penetrate into the lungs and are therefore more likely to increase the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The present study investigated the compositions of cooking oil fume (COF)-derived PM₂.₅, which is the major source of indoor pollution in China. Furthermore, oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest induced by COF-derived PM₂.₅ in primary fetal alveolar type II epithelial cells (AEC II cells) were also detected. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a radical scavenger, was used to identify the role of oxidative stress in the abovementioned processes. Our results suggested that compositions of COF-derived PM₂.₅ are obviously different to PM₂.₅ derived from other sources, and COF-derived PM₂.₅ led to cell death, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and G0/G1 cell arrest in primary fetal AEC II cells. Furthermore, the results also showed that COF-derived PM₂.₅ induced apoptosis through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway, which is indicated by the increased expression of ER stress-related apoptotic markers, namely GRP78 and caspase-12. Besides, the induction of oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest was reversed by pretreatment with NAC. These findings strongly suggested that COF-derived PM₂.₅-induced toxicity in primary fetal AEC II cells is mediated by increased oxidative stress, accompanied by ER stress which results in apoptosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn, Rb, Cs, Sr and Ba in the muscles of red deer that were hunted in two regions of Poland (south-western and north-eastern). The data obtained were evaluated with regards to benefits and potential risk to consumers’ health. Samples for the investigations were collected in 2008 and 2009 from 50 female red deer, and the metal concentrations were determined by using the inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) method. The mean concentrations of Pb did not differ statistically between regions and were equal to that permitted for farm animals. The results of this study support the conclusion that the meat of the analysed animals does not pose a risk of lead intoxication. Statistically higher mean concentrations of Cu and Zn were found in the muscles of red deer from the south-western region (namely, 2.99 and 25.78 mg kg⁻¹) than those in animals from north-eastern Poland (namely, 2.61 and 23.39 mg kg⁻¹ wet weight). In terms of human nutritional needs, the meat of red deer can be considered as a good source of Cu and Zn. Furthermore, Rb, Cs, Sr and Ba concentrations did not differ statistically between regions. Their mean concentrations were 4.50, 0.09, 0.16 and 0.31 mg kg⁻¹ wet weight, respectively. Although high Cs, Sr and Ba concentrations were found, the meat of red deer does not pose a risk for adult consumers. Only high Ba content may potentially result in negative health effects for children.

High concentrations of arsenic (As) in groundwater pose a great threat to human health. The motivation of this study was to provide a practical solution for As-safe water in As geogenic areas using granular TiO₂ (GTiO₂). The kinetics results indicated that the As (III/V) adsorption on GTiO₂ conformed to the Weber-Morris (WM) intraparticle diffusion model. The Langmuir isotherm results suggested that the adsorption capacities for As (III) and As (V) were 106.4 and 38.3 mg/g, respectively. Ion effect study showed that cationic Ca and Mg substantially enhanced As (V) adsorption, whereas no significant impact was observed on As (III). Silicate substantially decreased As (V) adsorption by 57 % and As (III) by 50 %. HCO₃ ⁻ remarkably inhibited As (V) adsorption by 52 %, whereas it slightly reduced As (III) adsorption by 8 %. Field column results demonstrated that ∼700 μg/L As was removed at an empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 1.08 min for 968 bed volumes before effluent As concentration exceeded 10 μg/L, corresponding to 0.96 mg As/g GTiO₂. Two household filters loaded with 110 g GTiO₂ in the on-off operational mode can provide 6-L/day As-safe drinking water up to 288 and 600 days from the groundwater containing ∼700 μg/L As and ∼217 μg/L As, respectively. Integration of batch experiments and column tests with systematic variation of EBCTs was successfully achieved using PHREEQC incorporating a charge distribution multisite complexation (CD-MUSIC) model and one-dimensional reactive transport block.

This paper presents an open-source software package, rSCA, which is developed based upon a stepwise cluster analysis method and serves as a statistical tool for modeling the relationships between multiple dependent and independent variables. The rSCA package is efficient in dealing with both continuous and discrete variables, as well as nonlinear relationships between the variables. It divides the sample sets of dependent variables into different subsets (or subclusters) through a series of cutting and merging operations based upon the theory of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The modeling results are given by a cluster tree, which includes both intermediate and leaf subclusters as well as the flow paths from the root of the tree to each leaf subcluster specified by a series of cutting and merging actions. The rSCA package is a handy and easy-to-use tool and is freely available at http://cran.r-project.org/package=rSCA . By applying the developed package to air quality management in an urban environment, we demonstrate its effectiveness in dealing with the complicated relationships among multiple variables in real-world problems.