In humans and animal models, the kidneys and cardiovascular systems are negatively affected by BPA from the environment. It is considered that BPA have some potential estrogen-like and non-hormone-like properties. In this study, RNA-sequencing and its-related bioinformatics was used as the basic strategy to clarify the characteristic mechanisms of kidney–heart axis remodeling and dysfunction in diabetic male rats under BPA exposure. We found that continuous BPA exposure in diabetic rats aggravated renal impairment, and caused hemodynamic disorders and dysfunctions. There were 655 and 125 differentially expressed genes in the kidney and heart, respectively. For the kidneys, functional annotation and enrichment, and gene set enrichment analyses identified bile acid secretion related to lipid synthesis and transport, and MAPK cascade pathways. For the heart, these bioinformatics analyses clearly pointed to MAPKs pathways. A total of 12 genes and another total of 6 genes were identified from the kidney tissue and heart tissue, respectively. Western blotting showed that exposure to BPA activated MAPK cascades in both organs. In this study, the exacerbated remodeling of diabetic kidney–heart axis under BPA exposure and diabetes might occur through hemodynamics, metabolism disorders, and the immune-inflammatory response, as well as continuous estrogen-like stimulation, with focus on the MAPK cascades.

Insect gut microbiotas have a variety of physiological functions for host growth, development, and immunity. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is known to kill insect pests by releasing insecticidal protoxins, which are activated in the insect midgut. However, the interplay among Bt infection, host immunity, and gut microbiota are still unclear. Here we show that Bt Cry1Ac protoxin interacts with the gut microbiota to accelerate the mortality of P. xylostella larvae. Cry1Ac protoxin was found to cause a dynamic change in the midgut and hemocoel microbiota of P. xylostella, with a significant increase in bacterial load and a significant reduction in bacterial diversity. In turn, loss of gut microbiota significantly decreased the Bt susceptibility of P. xylostella larvae. The introduction of three gut bacterial isolates Enterococcus mundtii (PxG1), Carnobacterium maltaromaticum (PxCG2), and Acinetobacter guillouiae (PxCG3) restored sensitivity to Bt Cry1Ac protoxin. We also found that Cry1Ac protoxin and native gut microbiota can trigger host midgut immune response, which involves the up-regulation of expression of Toll and IMD pathway genes and most antimicrobial peptide genes, respectively. Our findings further shed light on the interplay between insect gut microbiota and host immunity under the Bt toxin killing pressure, and this may provide insights for improving the management of Bt resistance and lead to new strategies for biological control of insect pests.

Oxygen vacancy-enriched N/P co-doped cobalt ferrite (NPCFO) was synthesized using ionic liquid as N and P sources, and then the catalytic performance and mechanism of NPCFO upon peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for the degradation of organic pollutants were investigated. The as-synthesized NPCFO-700 exhibited excellent catalytic performance in activating PMS, and the degradation rate constant of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) increased with the increase of OV concentration in NPCFO-x. EPR analysis confirmed the existence of ·OH, SO₄·⁻, and ¹O₂ in the NPCFO-700/PMS system, in which OV could induce the generation of ¹O₂ by PMS adsorption and successive capture, and also served as electronic transfer medium to accelerate the redox cycle of M²⁺/M³⁺ (M denotes Co or Fe) for the generation of radical to synergistically degrade organic pollutants. In addition, the contribution of free radical and nonradical to 4-CP degradation was observed to be strongly dependent on solution pH, and SO₄·⁻ was the major ROS in 4-CP degradation under acid and alkaline condition, while ¹O₂ was involved in the degradation of 4-CP under neutral condition due its selective oxidation capacity, as evidenced by the fact that such organic pollutants with ionization potential (IP) below 9.0 eV were more easily attacked by ¹O₂. The present study provided a novel insight into the development of transition metal-based heterogeneous catalyst containing massive OV for high-efficient PMS activation and degradation of organic pollutants.

Particulate matter (PM) has long-term effects on water quality compared to dissolved matter (DM) during downstream transfer after inflows into an aquatic environment. In the present study, the characteristics, behavior, and effects of PM from an urban watershed under photo-irradiation were investigated through sequential resuspensions before being compared. Changes in the organic matter content, heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Zn, Pb), spectroscopic indices (SUVA₂₅₄, slope ratio (SR), humidification index (HIX), fluorescence index (FI), and biological index (BIX)), excitation-emission matrix combined with parallel factor analysis components (EEM-PARAFAC), and disinfection by-product formation potential (DBPFP) were analyzed. According to our results, light enhanced the release of organic matter from PM but reduced dissolved heavy metals. The PMU affected by urban-derived pollutants (i.e., rainfall particles, road-deposited sediment, sewer-pipeline-deposited sediment) exhibited higher quantities of terrestrial humic-like organic matter than PMR, which contains base particles from riverines (i.e., soil, sediments). For the PMU, the humic-like fluorescent components (C1 and C2) enhanced under light conditions with every resuspension, whereas the components decreased in the PMR. Consistent with the PARAFAC results, the trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) of the PMU was enhanced by approximately 2.8 times more than that of the PMR, and exhibited a high correlation with the fluorescent components (C1, r = 0.81, p < 0.001). The principal component analysis results also confirmed that the characteristics of dynamic exchanges between PM and DM were distinguished by PM sources and light, and the photo-released DM and their spectral characteristics displayed opposite behaviors depending on the PM sources during the sequential resuspensions.

Ozone-induced changes in the relationship between photosynthesis (Aₙ) and stomatal conductance (gₛ) vary among species, leading to inconsistent water use efficiency (WUE) responses to elevated ozone (O₃). Thus, few vegetation models can accurately simulate the effects of O₃ on WUE. Here, we conducted an experiment exposing two differently O₃-sensitive species (Cotinus coggygria and Magnolia denudata) to five O₃ concentrations and investigated the impact of O₃ exposure on predicted WUE using a coupled Aₙ-gₛ model. We found that increases in stomatal O₃ uptake caused linear reductions in the maximum rates of Rubisco carboxylation (Vcₘₐₓ) and electron transport (Jₘₐₓ) in both species. In addition, a negative linear correlation between O₃-induced changes in the minimal gₛ of the stomatal model (g₀) derived from the theory of optimal stomatal behavior and light-saturated photosynthesis was found in the O₃-sensitive M. denudata. When the O₃ dose-based responses of Vcₘₐₓ and Jₘₐₓ were included in a coupled Aₙ-gₛ model, simulated Aₙ under elevated O₃ were in good agreement with observations in both species. For M. denudata, incorporating the O₃ response of g₀ into the coupled model further improved the accuracy of the simulated gₛ and WUE. In conclusion, the modified Vcₘₐₓ, Jₘₐₓ and g₀ method presented here provides a foundation for improving the prediction for O₃-induced changes in Aₙ, gₛ and WUE.

The combined application of organic and synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers is being widely recommended in China’s vegetable systems to reduce reliance on synthetic N fertilizer. However, the effect of substituting synthetic fertilizer with organic fertilizer on vegetable productivity (yield, N uptake and nitrogen use efficiency) and reactive nitrogen (Nr) losses (N₂O emission, N leaching and NH₃ volatilization) remains unclear. A meta-analysis was performed using peer-reviewed papers published from 2000 to 2019 to comprehensively assess the effects of combined application of organic and synthetic N fertilizers. The results indicate that overall, the vegetable yield, N₂O emission and NH₃ volatilization were not significantly changed, whereas N leaching was reduced by 44.6% and soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration increased by 12.5% compared to synthetic N fertilizer alone. Specifically, when synthetic N substitution rates (SRs) were ≤70%, vegetable yields and SOC concentration were increased by 5.5%–5.6% and 13.1–18.0%, and N leaching was reduced by 41.6%–48.1%. At the high substitution rate (SR>70%), vegetable yield was reduced by 13.6%, N₂O emission was reduced by 14.3%, and SOC concentration increased by 16.4%. Mixed animal-plant sources of organic N preferentially increased vegetable yield and SOC concentration, and reduced N₂O emission and N leaching compared with single sources of organic-N. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was decreased by 28.4%–34.9% by combined applications of organic and synthetic N sources, relative to synthetic N fertilizer alone. We conclude that appropriate rates (SR ≤ 70%) of combined applications of organic and synthetic N fertilizers could improve vegetable yields, decrease Nr and GHG emission, and facilitate sustainable development of coupled vegetable-livestock systems.

This study aimed to evaluate the hydrochemistry of the water resources of the Weibei Plain, Northern China, as well as the risks posed by high groundwater nitrate concentrations to human health. Groundwater and surface water samples numbering 168 and 14, respectively, were collected during the dry and wet seasons. Water in the study area was weakly alkaline, falling into a hard-fresh or hard-brackish category. The groundwater chemical types were mainly SO₄·Cl–Ca·Mg (59.5%) and HCO₃–Ca·Mg (28.6%), whereas the dominant chemistry type of surface water was SO₄·Cl–Na (78.6%). Groundwater showed relatively high concentrations of NO₃⁻, with average dry and wet season concentrations of 212 mg·L⁻¹ and 223 mg·L⁻¹, respectively, whereas surface water had a low NO₃⁻ content. The major processes affecting water chemistry were determined to be rock weathering, such as silicate weathering and evaporative dissolution, as well as cation exchange. NO₃⁻ in groundwater was found to mainly originate from anthropogenic inputs such as agricultural production and domestic sewage. The entropy-weight water quality index (EWQI) assessment showed that although the quality of surface water was generally good, more than half of the groundwater samples failed drinking water standards, with NO₃⁻ identified as being the most problematic parameter affecting the water quality evaluation. Risk assessment of high groundwater nitrate concentrations indicated that long-term domestic use of groundwater in the study area can put the health of residents at great risk. Totals of 81% and 75% of the groundwater samples exceeded the acceptable limit for non-carcinogenic risk (HI = 1) to infants during the dry and wet seasons, respectively, whereas 75% and 71.3% of samples exceeded the acceptable limit for children, respectively. Future management of water in the Weibei Plain should prioritize the control groundwater nitrate pollution.

Mussels are suggested as bioindicators of marine microplastic pollution. However, they are selective in regards to accumulation of microplastics. To make studies more targeted and comparable, ultimately helping to determine the suitability of the mussel as a bioindicator species for microplastic exposure, we review the published literature that has directly or indirectly demonstrated particle selection in mussels. The reported difference between microplastic levels in mussel tissues and environmental matrices provides evidence for their selective uptake characteristics. Both the organ-specific fate characteristics of microplastics, and the different movement patterns of microplastics in the same organ, show that selective translocation processes take place. The selective elimination is reflected in multiple aspects which include (1) the different characteristics of microplastics in excretion and mussel body; (2) the different retention time of various microplastics in mussels; and (3) the tissue-specific change in the numbers of microplastics during the depuration process. This selectivity is affected by the characteristics of the microplastics, the environmental, or laboratory exposure concentrations, feeding status, and other factors. There are still many research gaps and contradictory viewpoints in this field due to this complexity. The current methodology needs improvement and a breakthrough in standardization.

Converting biomass waste into biochar by slow pyrolysis with subsequent soil amendment is a prospective approach with multiple environmental benefits including soil contamination remediation, soil amelioration and carbon sequestration. This study selected cow manure as precursor to produce biochar under 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C, and a remarkable promotion of carbon (C) retention in biochar by incorporation of exogenous Ca was achieved at all investigated pyrolysis temperatures. The C retention was elevated from 49.2 to 68.3% of pristine biochars to 66.1–79.7% of Ca-composite biochars. It was interesting that extent of this improvement increased gradually with rising of pyrolysis temperature, i.e., doping Ca in biomass promoted pyrolytic C retention in biochar by 16.6%, 23.4%, 29.1% and 31.1% for 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C, respectively. Thermogravimetric-mass spectrometer (TG-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that Ca catalyzed thermal-chemical reactions and simultaneously suppressed the release of small organic molecular substances (C₂–C₇) via physical blocking (CaO, CaCO₃, and CaClOH) and chemical bonding (CO and OC–O). The catalyzation mainly occurred at 200–400 °C, while the suppression was more prominent at higher temperatures. Raman spectra and 2D FTIR analysis on biochar microstructure showed that presence of Ca had negative influence on carbon aromatization and thus weakened biochar's stability, while increasing pyrolysis temperature enhanced the stability of carbon structure. Finally, with integrating “C retention” during pyrolysis and “C stability” in biochar, the maximum C sequestration (56.3%) was achieved at 600 °C with the participation of Ca. The study highlights the importance of both Ca and pyrolysis temperature in enhancing biochar's capacity of sequestrating C.

Considerable uncertainty exists with regard to the effects of thinning and harvesting on N₂O emissions as a result of changes caused in the belowground environment by tree cutting. To evaluate on the effects of changes in the belowground environment on N₂O emissions from soils, we conducted a tree manipulation experiment in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) stand without soil compaction or slash falling near measurement chambers and measured N₂O emission at distances of 50 and 150 cm from the tree stem (stump) before and after cutting. In addition, we inferred the effects of logging on the emission using a hierarchical Bayesian (HB) model. Our results showed that tree cutting stimulated N₂O emission from soil and that the increase in N₂O emission depended on the distance from the stem (stump); increase in N₂O emission was greater at 50 than at 150 cm from the stem. Tree cutting caused the estimated N₂O emission at 0–40 cm from the stem to double (the % increase in N₂O emission by tree cutting was 54%–213%, 95% predictive credible interval) when soil temperature was 25 °C and WFPS was 60%. Posterior simulation of the HB model predicted that 30% logging would cause a 57% (47%–67%) increase in N₂O emission at our study site (2000 trees ha⁻¹) considering only the effects of belowground changes by tree cutting during the measurement period.