Three different types of zirconium-modified bentonites (ZrMBs) including zirconium-modified original bentonite (ZrMOB), zirconium-modified magnesium-pretreated bentonite (ZrMMgB), and zirconium-modified calcium-pretreated bentonite (ZrMCaB) were synthesized and used as active covering materials to suppress the release of phosphorus (P) from sediments. To assess the covering efficiency of ZrMBs to inhibit P release from sediments, we examined the impact of ZrMB covering layer on P mobilization in sediments at different depths as well as the release of P through the interface between sediment and overlying water (SWI) by use of simulating P release control experiments and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technology. The results showed that the amount of soluble reactive P (SRP) in the overlying water greatly decreased after covering with ZrMBs. Moreover, both pore water SRP and DGT-liable P (DGT-P) in the top sediments decreased after capping with ZrMBs. An obvious stratification of DGT-P was observed along the vertical direction after covering with ZrMBs, and static and active layers were found in the top sediment and in the lower sediment directly below the static layer, respectively. Furthermore, ZrMB covering led to the change of P species from easily released P to relatively or very stable P, making P in the top sediment more stable compared to that without ZrMB covering. Besides, an overwhelming majority of P immobilized by ZrMBs is hard to be re-released into the water column in a common environment. Overall, the above results demonstrate that sediment covering with ZrMBs could effectively prevent the transport of SRP from sediments into the overlying water through the SWI, and the control of P transport into the overlying water by ZrMB covering could be mostly due to the immobilization of pore water SRP, DGT-P, and mobile P in the top sediment by ZrMBs.

Reduced birth weight (RBW) and reduced head circumference (RHC) are adverse birth outcomes (ABOs), often linked to environmental exposures. However, spatial identification of specific health hazards, associated with these ABOs, is not always straightforward due to presence of multiple health hazards and sources of air pollution in urban areas. In this study, we test a novel empirical approach to the spatial identification of environmental health hazards potentially associated with the observed RHC and RBW patterns. The proposed approach is implemented as a systematic search, according to which alternative candidate locations are ranked based on the strength of association with the observed birth outcome patterns. For empirical validation, we apply this approach to the Haifa Bay Area (HBA) in Israel, which is characterized by multiple health hazards and numerous sources of air pollution. We identified a spot in the local industrial zone as the main risk source associated with the observed RHC and RBW patterns. Multivariate regressions, controlling for personal, neighborhood, and geographic factors, revealed that the relative risks of RHC and RBW tend to decline, other things being equal, as a function of distance from the identified industrial spot. We recommend the proposed identification approach as a preliminary risk assessment tool for environmental health studies, in which detailed information on specific sources of air pollution and air pollution dispersion patterns is unavailable due to limited reporting or insufficient monitoring.

Mongolia has been a pristine environment without much pollution. Our objective is to study a section of the Tuul River to evaluate the present condition of this pristine environment. Sediment metal (Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd, Hg, and Cr) concentrations and Pb-210 were sampled and analyzed. Results showed that metal concentrations are much higher at areas near the capital city and municipal sewage outlet, with enrichment factor values up to 18 for Cu, and 26 for Cr. Higher copper concentrations were found at sites about ~ 50 km downstream from the source, an indication that pollutions are spreading further down the river. Vertical metal concentration profiles indicated that pollutions could be traced back to the 1960s. Inefficient sewage treatment plants and poorly managed power plant ash ponds were major sources of metals leaking into the Tuul River. Sewage wastewater is carrying metals through Tuul River to the lower river basin. Dusts from ash ponds are airborne and transport to greater area. These findings indicate that new and alternative measures have to be enforced to prevent further pollution entering the Tuul River drainage basin and airborne dust to other broader regions of the Asia and ocean.

We report an arrangement on the effect of anthropogenic litter on marine and estuarine reptiles, checking for evidence about different types of impact (ingestion vs. entanglement) and pressure (three size-based categories). From 1976 to 2018, we obtained a “blacklist” of 11 species impacted by marine litter (about 13% of 85 species of marine and estuarine reptiles), belonging to three orders (Testudines, Squamata, and Crocodilia). We obtained only occasional evidence of an impact for Squamata (Hidrophis elegans, Disteira major) and Crocodilia (Crocodylus porosus). Regarding the different types of pressure, the highest number of evidence has been obtained for macro-litter (10 species) and the lowest for micro-litter (4 species, all Chelonidae). Among Testudines, Lepidochelys kempii and Natator depressus evidenced a lack of data for micro-plastic. In Squamata, information is lacking for micro-plastic with only occasional references for meso-plastic (in Hydrophis elegans) and macro-plastic (Disteira major and Crocodylus porosus). We obtained a direct correlation between the research effort and the number of citations regarding different types of pressure and impact of marine litter: therefore, our blacklist of impacted species could be increased, carrying out further research focused on other poorly studied marine and estuarine reptiles. We suggest the use of a standardized nomenclature to reduce the amount of lost information.

In this study, we aimed at determining greenhouse gas (GHG) (CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) fluxes exchange between the soil collected from sites dominated by different vegetation types (Calamagrostis epigeios, Phragmites australis, and Carex schnimdtii) in nitrogenous loaded riparian wetland and the atmosphere. The intact soil columns collected from the wetland were incubated in laboratory and continuously treated with [Formula: see text]-enriched water simulating downward surface water percolating through the soil to become groundwater in a natural system. This study revealed that the soil collected from the site dominated by C. epigeios was net CO₂ and N₂O sources, whereas the soil from P. australis and C. schnimdtii were net sinks of CO₂ and N₂O, respectively. The soil from the site dominated by C. schnimdtii had the highest climate impact, as it had the highest global warming potential (GWP) compared with the other sites. Our study indicates that total organic carbon and [Formula: see text] concentration in the soil water has great influence on GHG fluxes. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and N₂O fluxes were accelerated by the availability of higher [Formula: see text] concentration in soil water. On the other hand, higher [Formula: see text] concentration in soil water favors CH₄ oxidation, hence the low CH₄ production. Temporally, CO₂ fluxes were relatively higher in the first 15 days and reduced gradually likely due to a decline in organic carbon. The finding of this study implies that higher [Formula: see text] concentration in wetland soil, caused by human activities, could increase N₂O and CO₂ emissions from the soil. This therefore stresses the importance of controls of [Formula: see text] leaching in the mitigation of anthropogenic N₂O and CO₂ emissions.

Atrazine, one of the most widespread herbicides in the world, is considered as an environmental estrogen and has potential carcinogenicity. In this study, atrazine was degraded on boron-fluorine co-doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays (B, F-TiO₂ NTAs), which had similar morphology with the pristine TiO₂ NTAs. The structure and morphology of TiO₂ nanotube samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). It showed that the decoration of fluorine and boron made both the absorption in the visible region enhanced and the band edge absorption shifted. The efficiency of atrazine degradation by B, F-TiO₂ NTAs through photoelectrocatalysis was investigated by current, solution pH, and electrolyte concentration, respectively. The atrazine removal rate reached 76% through photoelectrocatalytic reaction by B, F-TiO₂ NTAs, which was 46% higher than that under the photocatalysis process. Moreover, the maximum degradation rate was achieved at pH of 6 in 0.01 M of Na₂SO₄ electrolyte solution under a current of 0.02 A and visible light for 2 h in the presence of B, F-TiO₂ NTAs. These results showed that B, F-TiO₂ NTAs exhibit remarkable photoelectrocatalytic activity in degradation of atrazine.

A growing body of research has investigated the vital effects of urban greening. However, the green space on campus, also recognized as an important element of urban greening and providing many benefits to college students, has gained very limited attention. In developing China, after nearly 20 years of campus construction climax, the speed of expansion has dropped significantly and the focus of a sustainable and optimized green campus has emerged. Improving the accessibility, availability, and attractiveness is a control determining if the green spaces can realize their values. Therefore, this study, taking a case, aims to explore and better understand students’ usage conditions, perceptions, and demands about campus green spaces. On Yijin campus in Hangzhou, China, through the questionnaire among 590 students, and accessibility analysis based on Space syntax theory, we have revealed that the negative usage condition of green spaces: most students rarely or occasionally visit the green space, and the visit time is concentrated in the afternoon and after class but rarely in the morning. Besides, students’ gender and growth surroundings have little influence on the perception of campus green space, but the plant configuration, seasonal color richness, and facilities required at different spaces will affect. In addition, the ranking of accessibility analyzed by Space syntax theory is similar to campus convenience considered by students. In the conclusions, suggestions are made about how to fulfill students’ requirements and improve the attractiveness and accessibility of campus green spaces so that they may inform to the growth of emerging colleges and universities in other cities and countries undergoing campus construction climax.

The effects of manganese content, carrier calcination temperature, and catalyst calcination temperature of manganese-based zirconium pillared intercalated montmorillonite (Mn/Zr-PILM) catalysts were investigated for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOₓ by NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) in the metallurgical sintering flue gas. The physicochemical properties of these catalysts can be characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm, and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD). The 10Mn/Zr400-PILM(300) catalyst had the highest NOₓ conversion under excess oxygen conditions (15 vol% oxygen) and reached 91.8% NOₓ conversion at 200 °C. It was found that when the loading of manganese was 10 wt.%, the catalyst had the highest catalytic activity and the manganese-active component was highly dispersed on the Zr-PILM surface. The optimal calcination temperature of the Zr-PILM was 400 °C because the catalyst pore size was concentrated at 1.92 nm and the catalyst had the most acidic sites. And the optimum calcination temperature of the catalyst was 300 °C. This was because excessive calcination temperature promoted the manganese oxide polymerization and reduced the catalytic activity of the catalyst.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) has been concentrated on degrading refractory organic pollutants owing to the generation of sulfate radical ([Formula: see text]) with high standard redox potential. In this study, manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) with cryptomelane type was synthesized by a new hydrothermal method to activate PMS for the degradation of phenol and methylene blue (MB) in water. The as-prepared composites were fully characterized, and the effects of PMS dosage, OMS-2 dosage, initial pollutant concentration, pH, and chloride on the degradation of phenol were elaborately investigated. Moreover, the phenol degradation was evaluated through the variations of total organic carbon (TOC) and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix (3D-EEM), and reaction intermediates were also investigated. Both electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra and comparative experiments suggested [Formula: see text] and hydroxyl radical (HO•) took part in the phenol degradation and [Formula: see text] was more significant than HO•. The fine degradation efficiency of phenol in different water source, as well as the stability after continuous use, indicated the possible application of PMS/OMS-2 in real wastewater treatment.

Endogeic earthworm Metaphire posthuma (Valliant, 1868) is a common biological component of the tropical soil of India and other countries. The species is reported to influence fertility and porosity of soil and bear a high composting potential. Intensive agricultural, industrial, and mining activities increase the amount of toxic metals in soil causing physiological adversity in earthworm and other biotic components in soil. Coelomocytes, the chief immunoeffector cells of earthworm, perform diverse physiological functions under the challenge of toxins and pathogens. The experimental earthworms collected separately from soils with agricultural and tannery activities were subjected to quantitation of prooxidation and antioxidation parameters for estimation of oxidative stress. Total count, cellular aggregation, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide anion, nitric oxide, activities of phenoloxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione-s-transferase, and amount of total protein were estimated in the coelomocytes of M. posthuma as experimental end points of toxicity screening. Concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury were determined in the soil samples to assess the degree of toxic contamination. The increase in the amount of prooxidants and decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes indicated the signs of oxidative stress in the coelomocytes of the organism. Aggregation of circulating coelomocytes is considered as an immune response involved in pathogen encapsulation response as reported in many invertebrates. Decrease in coelomocyte aggregation in earthworm collected from contaminated sites suggested a state of inappropriate shift of the innate immune status. Toxin-induced oxidative stress and reductions in cell aggregation response are the signs of immunocompromisation of M. posthuma. Present findings bear a prospect of this experimental species as an indicator of soil pollution.