Seafood consumption provides a significant amount of arsenic, although in its organic, nontoxic forms. Mediterranean populations may incorporate high levels of this metalloid as a consequence of seafood consumption. In the present study, the significance of this input among pregnant women from a Mediterranean city (Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain) is assessed. Total urinary arsenic was analyzed in 489 pairs of urine samples, corresponding to the 12th and 32th weeks of pregnancy. Association of arsenic content with seafood and other dietary items were studied. Geometric mean concentrations were 34 and 37 μg/g creatinine during the first and third trimesters, respectively. The observed concentrations were similar to those reported in studies from other Mediterranean countries. The differences between both periods were not statistically significant. The only dietary factor significantly and positively associated with total urinary arsenic in both series of samples was seafood, particularly lean fish. Moreover, lean fish consumption during both periods was found to be the main determinant for differences in levels of arsenic between the first and third trimesters, which confirms the association between high levels of total urinary arsenic and seafood consumption.

A field investigation, field experiment, and hydroponic experiment were conducted to evaluate feasibility of using Oenothera glazioviana for phytostabilization of copper-contaminated soil. In semiarid mine tailings in Tongling, Anhui, China, O. glazioviana, a copper excluder, was a dominant species in the community, with a low bioaccumulation factor, the lowest copper translocation factor, and the lowest copper content in seed (8 mg kg⁻¹). When O. glazioviana was planted in copper-polluted farmland soil in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, its growth and development improved and the level of γ-linolenic acid in seeds reached 17.1 %, compared with 8.73 % in mine tailings. A hydroponic study showed that O. glazioviana had high tolerance to copper, low upward transportation capacity of copper, and a high γ-linolenic acid content. Therefore, it has great potential for the phytostabilization of copper-contaminated soils and a high commercial value without risk to human health.

The anodic degradation of 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ), one of the most toxic xenobiotic, was investigated by electrochemical oxidation at boron-doped diamond anode. The electrolyses have been performed in a single-compartment flow cell in galvanostatic conditions. The influence of applied current (0.5–2 A), BQ concentration (1–2 g dm⁻³), temperature (20–45 °C) and flow rate (100–300 dm³ h⁻¹) has been studied. BQ decay kinetic, the evolution of its oxidation intermediates and the mineralization of the aqueous solutions were monitored during the electrolysis by high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. The results obtained show that the use of diamond anode leads to total mineralization of BQ in any experimental conditions due to the production of oxidant hydroxyl radicals electrogenerated from water discharge. The decay kinetics of BQ removal follows a pseudo-first-order reaction, and the rate constant increases with rising current density. The COD removal rate was favoured by increasing of applied current, recirculating flow rate and it is almost unaffected by solution temperature.

A series of lead dioxide electrodes developed on titania nanotube arrays with different matrix were fabricated by electrodeposition. Before the deposition of PbO₂, the matrix of this anode was electrochemically reduced in (NH₄)₂SO₄solution and/or pre-deposited with certain amounts of copper. To gain insight into these pretreatments, the PbO₂electrodes were characterized by SEM, LSV, and XRD, and their electrocatalytic activities for pollutant degradation were compared using p-nitrophenol (p-NP) as a model. It was confirmed that the electrochemical reduction with (NH₄)₂SO₄resulted in the partial conversion of TiO₂into Ti₄O₇and Ti₅O₉, which increased the conductivity of PbO₂anode, but decreased its electrochemical activity, while the Ti/TNTs*-Cu/PbO₂electrode with both pretreatments possessed the highest oxygen evolution overpotential of 2.5 V (vs. SCE) and low substrate resistance. After a 180-min treatment on this electrode, the removal efficiency of p-NP reached 82.5 % and the COD removal achieved 42.5 % with the energy consumption of 9.45 kWh m⁻³, demonstrating the best performance among these electrodes with different matrices. Therefore, this titania nanotube array-based PbO₂electrode has a promising application in the industrial wastewater treatment.

Laboratory experiments were carried out to study the effects of slow mixing conditions on magnesium hydroxide floc size and strength and to determine the turbidity and total suspended solid (TSS) removal efficiencies during coagulation of highly turbid suspensions. A highly turbid kaolin clay suspension (1,213 ± 36 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)) was alkalized to pH 10.5 using a 5 M NaOH solution; liquid bittern (LB) equivalent to 536 mg/L of Mg²⁺was added as a coagulant, and the suspension was then subjected to previously optimized fast mixing conditions of 100 rpm and 60 s. Slow mixing speed (20, 30, 40, and 50 rpm) and time (10, 20, and 30 min) were then varied, while the temperature was maintained at 20.7 ± 1 °C. The standard practice for coagulation-flocculation jar test ASTM D2035-13 (2013) was followed in all experiments. Relative floc size was monitored using an optical measuring device, photometric dispersion analyzer (PDA 2000). Larger and more shear resistant flocs were obtained at 20 rpm for both 20- and 30-min slow mixing times; however, given the shorter duration for the former, the 20-min slow mixing time was considered to be more energy efficient. For slow mixing camp number (Gt) values in the range of 8,400–90,000, it was found that the mixing speed affected floc size and strength more than the time. Higher-turbidity removal efficiencies were achieved at 20 and 30 rpm, while TSS removal efficiency was higher for the 50-rpm slow mixing speed. Extended slow mixing time of 30 min yielded better turbidity and TSS removal efficiencies at the slower speeds.

Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos were exposed to sediments spiked with environmental concentrations (300 and 3,000 ng/g dry weight) of pyrene (Pyr) and methylpyrene (MePyr) throughout their development. Embryotoxicity, teratogenicity, and transcriptional responses (qRT-PCR) were analyzed in embryos and newly hatched larvae. The genotoxicity of the two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was also tested in prolarvae using the comet assay. Exposure to each compound had a clear impact on embryonic development and resulted in several teratogenic effects, including cardiovascular injuries, reduced absorption of yolk sac reserves, and jaw and spinal deformities. Interestingly, the overall toxic effects of Pyr and MePyr considerably overlapped those induced following dioxin exposure. qRT-PCR analysis revealed the transcriptional induction of genes involved in mitochondrial energetic metabolism (coxI), xenobiotic biotransformation (cyp1a), and cell cycle regulation (wnt1) by the two PAHs. MePyr also activated cell cycle arrest (p53), oxidative DNA damage repair (ogg1), and retinoid-mediated (raldh2 and rarα1) gene transcription. DNA damage was not found to be significantly increased following Pyr and MePyr exposure. The lack of significant genotoxic effect in comparison to the control might be the consequence of the efficient onset of DNA damage repair mechanisms as suggested by ogg1 gene transcription upregulation. Results reported in the present study have brought new insights into the modes of action of Pyr, and the effects of MePyr exposure have been investigated in fish ELS for the first time.

Slight changes in climate, such as the rise of temperature or alterations of precipitation and evaporation, will dramatically influence nearly all freshwater and climate-related hydrological behavior on a global scale. The hyporheic zone (HZ), where groundwater (GW) and surface waters (SW) interact, is characterized by permeable sediments, low flow velocities, and gradients of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics along the exchange flows. Hyporheic metabolism, that is biogeochemical reactions within the HZ as well as various processes that exchange substances and energy with adjoining systems, is correlated with hyporheic organisms, habitats, and the organic matter (OM) supplied from GW and SW, which will inevitably be influenced by climate-related variations. The characteristics of the HZ in acting as a transition zone and in filtering and purifying exchanged water will be lost, resulting in a weakening of the self-purification capacity of natural water bodies. Thus, as human disturbances intensify in the future, GW and SW pollution will become a greater challenge for mankind than ever before. Biogeochemical processes in the HZ may favor the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and methane (CH₄) under climate change scenarios. Future water resource management should consider the integrity of aquatic systems as a whole, including the HZ, rather than independently focusing on SW and GW.

In order to evaluate the potential adverse health effects of odor emissions from wastewater pump stations (WWPSs) to human, a health risk assessment was performed to study the odors emitted from an urban WWPS in a residential area, Tianjin (in North China). First, 15 types of volatile organic compounds in the WWPS were collected and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Next, Monte Carlo probabilistic modeling was applied to evaluate the potential health effects of four odors (chlorobenzene, dichloromethane, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon disulfide), which had higher concentrations. The results revealed that the 95th percentile of the total non-carcinogenic risk was approximately 1.73, which poses a threat to human health. In addition, hydrogen sulfide had the highest non-carcinogenic risk value of the four; the hazard quotient of hydrogen sulfide was estimated to be 1.60 at the 95th percentile, higher than the upper confidence limit (1.0). The 95th percentile of the carcinogenic risk was approximately 5.47E-08, much lower than the maximum acceptable level (1.0E-06). Finally, the influence of the input variables on the output was evaluated using sensitivity analysis, and contaminant concentration, reference concentration, and inhalation unit risk were the most influential variables.

Land use has obvious influence on surface water quality; thus, it is important to understand the effects of land use patterns on surface water quality. This study explored the relationships between land use patterns and stream nutrient levels, including ammonium-N (NH₄⁺-N), nitrate-N (NO₃⁻-N), total N (TN), dissolved P (DP), and total P (TP) concentrations, in one forest and 12 agricultural catchments in subtropical central China. The results indicated that the TN concentrations ranged between 0.90 and 6.50 mg L⁻¹and the TP concentrations ranged between 0.08 and 0.53 mg L⁻¹, showing that moderate nutrient pollution occurred in the catchments. The proportional areal coverages of forests, paddy fields, tea fields, residential areas, and water had distinct effects on stream nutrient levels. Except for the forest, all studied land use types had a potential to increase stream nutrient levels in the catchments. The land use pattern indices at the landscape level were significantly correlated to N nutrients but rarely correlated to P nutrients in stream water, whereas the influence of the land use pattern indices at the class level on stream water quality differentiated among the land use types and nutrient species. Multiple regression analysis suggested that land use pattern indices at the class level, including patch density (PD), largest patch index (LPI), mean shape index (SHMN), and mean Euclidian nearest neighbor distance (ENNMN), played an intrinsic role in influencing stream nutrient quality, and these four indices explained 35.08 % of the variability of stream nutrient levels in the catchments (p<0.001). Therefore, this research provides useful ideas and insights for land use planners and managers interested in controlling stream nutrient pollution in subtropical central China.

The present study was conducted to isolate and explore bacterial strains with a potential to sequester lead (Pb) and tolerate other heavy metals from industrial effluents and sediments. Out of the six bacterial strains isolated from seleniferous sites of Punjab, three isolates (RS-1, RS-2, and RS-3) were screened out for further growth-associated lead sequestration and molecular characterization on the basis of their tolerance toward lead and other heavy metals. Biomass and cell-free supernatant were analyzed for lead contents using ICP-MS after growth-associated lead sequestration studies in tryptone soya broth (pH = 7.2 ± 0.2) under aerobic conditions at 37 °C temperature. Almost 82 % and 70 % divalent lead was sequestered in cell pellets of RS-1 and RS-3, respectively while only 45 % of lead was found in cell pellet of RS-2 in the first 24 h. However, significant biosequestration of lead was observed in RS-2 after 48 h of incubation with concomitant increase in biomass. Simultaneously, morphological, biochemical, and physiological characterization of selected strains was carried out. 16S rRNA gene sequence of these isolates revealed their phylogenetic relationship with class Bacillaceae, a low G + C firmicutes showing 98 % homology with Bacillus sp.