Accelerating evidence of endocrine-related morbidity has raised alarm about the ubiquitous use of phthalates in the human environment, but studies have not directly evaluated mortality in relation to these exposures. To evaluate associations of phthalate exposure with mortality, and quantify attributable mortality and lost economic productivity in 2013–4 among 55–64 year olds. This nationally representative cohort study included 5303 adults aged 20 years or older who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2010 and provided urine samples for phthalate metabolite measurements. Participants were linked to mortality data from survey date through December 31, 2015. Data analyses were conducted in July 2020. Mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Multivariable models identified increased mortality in relation to high-molecular weight (HMW) phthalate metabolites, especially those of di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP). Hazard ratios (HR) for continuous HMW and DEHP metabolites were 1.14 (95% CI 1.06–1.23) and 1.10 (95% CI 1.03–1.19), respectively, with consistently higher mortality in the third tertile (1.48, 95% CI 1.19–1.86; and 1.42, 95% CI 1.13–1.78). Cardiovascular mortality was significantly increased in relation to a prominent DEHP metabolite, mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl)phthalate. Extrapolating to the population of 55–64 year old Americans, we identified 90,761–107,283 attributable deaths and $39.9–47.1 billion in lost economic productivity. In a nationally representative sample, phthalate exposures were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with societal costs approximating $39 billion/year or more. While further studies are needed to corroborate observations and identify mechanisms, regulatory action is urgently needed.

Novel magnetic microcomposites consisting of graphene oxide and iron oxide was synthesized to immobilize metabolically versatile Paracoccus sp. MKU1 and Leucobacter sp. AA7 and tested for the simultaneous adsorption and enhanced biological detoxification of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from tannery wastewater. This study reports highest chromium adsorption of 272.6 mg/g and 179.3 mg/g with complete reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by the microcomposites of AA7 and MKU1 from wastewater in a bioreactor (10 L) at large-scale for first time in ex situ. Furthermore, both the microcomposites displayed an enhanced detoxification of tannery wastewater by reducing various physicochemical conditions such as ammonia, nitrate, TDS, fluoride, CaCO₃, Ca, Mg, NO₃ and SO₂ under the permissible limits. Use of electromagnetic device for magnetic microcomposites recovery from bioreactor yielded a maximum of 88% and 80.6% recovery for AA7 and MKU1, respectively. The rate of chromium recuperation achieved following desorption from the microcomposites of AA7 and MKU1 was 90.71% and 93.97%, respectively. Thus, the multifarious benefits including adsorption, metabolic detoxification, recovery, and recuperation by single functional microcomposites seems to be an intriguing and profitable approach for practicing in real-time operations to effectively remove heavy metals from the contaminated wastewater for environmental protection.

Straw and biochar amendments have been shown to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in arable land; however, their effects on hydrological fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which may offset the benefits of C sequestration amounts remain uncertain. Therefore, we conducted a three-year field study that included four treatments (CK, control with no fertilizer; NPK, synthetic N fertilizer; RSDNPK, synthetic N fertilizer plus crop residues; BCNPK, synthetic N fertilizer plus biochar of crop straw) to investigate the effects of straw and biochar amendment on DOC losses through hydrological pathways of overland flow and interflow from a wheat-maize rotation system in the subtropical montane agricultural landscape. We detected substantial intra- and inter-annual variations in runoff discharge, DOC concentration, and DOC fluxes for both overland flow and interflow pathways, which were primarily attributed to variations in rainfall amount and intensity. On average, the DOC concentrations for interflow (2.98 mg C L⁻¹) were comparable with those for overland flow (2.71 mg C L⁻¹) throughout the three-year experiment. However, average annual DOC fluxes for interflow were approximately 2.60 times greater than those for overland flow, which probably related to higher runoff discharges of interflow than overland flow. Compared to the control, on average, the N fertilization treatments significantly decreased the annual DOC fluxes of overland flow and significantly increased annual DOC fluxes of interflow. Relative to the application of synthetic N fertilizer only, on average, crop straw amendment practice significantly increased annual DOC fluxes of interflow by 28.7%, while decreasing annual DOC fluxes of overland flow by 12.0%; in contrast, biochar amendment practice decreased annual DOC fluxes of interflow by 25.3% while increasing annual DOC fluxes of overland flow by 44.6%. Overall, considering both overland flow and interflow, crop straw amendment significantly increased hydrological DOC fluxes, whereas biochar had no significant effects on hydrological DOC fluxes throughout the three-year experiment. We conclude that crop straw incorporation strategies that aim to increase SOC stocks may enhance hydrological losses of DOC, thereby in turn offsetting its benefits in the subtropical montane agricultural landscapes.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing technology that will have a significant impact on product development in the next few years. The technology is already being employed in cutting-edge cosmetic and healthcare products. Nanotechnology and nanoparticles have a strong potential for product and process innovation in the food industrial sector. This is already being demonstrated by food product availability made using nanotechnology. Nanotechnologies will have an impact on food security, packaging materials, delivery systems, bioavailability, and new disease detection materials in the food production chain, contributing to the UN Millennium Development Goals targets. Food products using nanoparticles are already gaining traction into the market, with an emphasis on online sales. This means that pre- and post-marketing regulatory frameworks and risk assessments must meet certain standards. There are potential advantages of nanotechnologies for agriculture, consumers and the food industry at large as they are with other new and growing technologies. However, little is understood about the safety implications of applying nanotechnologies to agriculture and incorporating nanoparticles into food. As a result, policymakers and scientists must move quickly, as regulatory systems appear to require change, and scientists should contribute to these adaptations. Their combined efforts should make it easier to reduce health and environmental impacts while also promoting the economic growth of nanotechnologies in the food supply chain. This review highlighted the benefits of a number of nano enabled agrochemicals/materials, the potential health impacts as well as the risk assessment and risk management for nanoparticles in the agriculture and food production chain.

Human activities such as dams disturb the structure and function of wetlands, triggering large soil CO₂ and CH₄ emissions. However, controls over field CO₂ and CH₄ emissions and their carbon isotopic signatures in reservoir wetlands are not yet fully understood. We investigated in situ CO₂ and CH₄ emissions, the δ¹³C values of CO₂ and CH₄, and associated environments in the saturated and drained states under four elevations (i.e., the water column, <147 m, permanent inundation area without plants; the low, 145–160 m, frequently flooded area with revegetation; the high, 160–175 m, rarely flooded area with revegetation; and the upland area as the control, >175 m, nonflooded area with original plants) in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The CO₂ emissions was significantly higher in high elevation, and they also significantly differed between the saturated and drained states. In contrast, the CH₄ emissions on average (41.97 μg CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹) were higher at high elevations than at low elevations (22.73 μg CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹) during the whole observation period. CH₄ emissions decreased by 90% at low elevations and increased by 153% at high elevations from the saturated to drained states. The δ¹³C of CH₄ was more enriched at high elevations than in the low and upland areas, with a more depleted level under the saturated state than under the drained state. We found that soil CO₂ and CH₄ emissions were closely related to soil substrate quality (e.g., C: N ratio) and enzyme activities, whereas the δ¹³C values of CO₂ and CH₄ were primarily associated with root respiration and methanogenic bacteria, respectively. Specifically, the effects of the saturated and drained states on soil CO₂ and CH₄ emissions were stronger than the effect of reservoir elevation, thereby providing an important basis for assessing carbon neutrality in response to anthropogenic activities.

The symbiosis of corals, zooxanthellae, and microbes is the foundation of the coral reef ecosystem. In addition to global warming, marine pollutants are another important factor causing the breakdown of coral symbiosis. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a globally widespread marine environmental pollutant that poses a severe threat to marine ecosystems. However, responses of coral symbionts to global marine pollutant stress remain unclear. In this study, we selected Acropora formosa as the target coral to explore its response to 50 μg L⁻¹ BaP stress using diaPASEF proteomics and 16s rRNA microbiome analysis. The results showed that: 1) the coral symbionts were sensitive to BaP stress; 2) the photosynthetic system of zooxanthellae was crucial for the balance of symbiotic relationships; 3) the destruction of the photosynthetic system induced a zooxanthellae hypoxic stress response; 4) corals adapted to BaP stress by promoting non-essential protein degradation and changing energy metabolism strategies; 5) symbiotic bacteria showed strong adaptability to BaP. This study not only fills the gap in understanding the response mechanism of coral symbionts under BaP stress, but also provides fundamental data for coral reef protection strategies.

People who relocate to a new environment may experience health effects from a change in ambient air pollution. We undertook a literature review of studies of such relocations and health effects and report the results as a narrative analysis. Fifteen articles of heterogeneous designs met the inclusion criteria. Four short-term (relocation duration less than six months) and three long-term (relocation duration six months or greater) studies reported evidence of the effect of relocation on physiological outcome, biomarkers or symptoms. All had potential weaknesses of design or analysis but, as a whole, their results are broadly consistent in suggesting short-term adverse effects of air pollutants or their reversibility. One long-term study provided evidence that changes in air pollution exposure during adolescence have a measurable effect on lung function growth. Four cohort studies were also identified that used relocation to strengthen evidence of air-pollution-exposure relationships by using a design that incorporates effective randomization of exposure or the use of relocation to improve exposure classification. However, three studies of relocation during pregnancy provided limited evidence to conclude an effect of relocation-related change in exposure on pregnancy outcome. Overall, most relocation studies are consistent with short- or long-term adverse effects of air pollution on biological function or mortality, but many studies of change in exposure have design weaknesses that limit the robustness of interpretation. We outline principles for improved design and analysis to help strengthen future studies for the insights they can provide from their quasi-experimental designs, including on the nature and timing of functional changes of relocation-related changes in exposure to ambient air pollution.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a matter of great concern. They are ubiquitous in the environment, are considered harmful to humans and wildlife, yet remain challenging to identify based on current international test guidelines and regulatory frameworks. For a compound to be identified as an EDC within the EU regulatory system, a plausible link between an endocrine mode-of-action and an adverse effect outcome in an intact organism must be established. This requires in-depth knowledge about molecular pathways regulating normal development and function in animals and humans in order to elucidate causes for disease. Although our knowledge about the role of the endocrine system in animal development and function is substantial, it remains challenging to predict endocrine-related disease outcomes in intact animals based on non-animal test data. A main reason for this is that our knowledge about mechanism-of-action are still lacking for essential causal components, coupled with the sizeable challenge of mimicking the complex multi-organ endocrine system by methodological reductionism. Herein, we highlight this challenge by drawing examples from male reproductive toxicity, which is an area that has been at the forefront of EDC research since its inception. We discuss the importance of increased focus on characterizing mechanism-of-action for EDC-induced adverse health effects. This is so we can design more robust and reliable testing strategies using non-animal test methods for predictive toxicology; both to improve chemical risk assessment in general, but also to allow for considerable reduction and replacement of animal experiments in chemicals testing of the 21st Century.

Plants detoxify toxic metal(loid)s by accumulating diverse metabolites. Beside scavenging excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by metal(loid)s, some metabolites chelate metal(loid) ions. Classically, thiol-containing compounds, especially glutathione (GSH) and phytochelatins (PCs) are thought to be the major chelators that conjugate with metal(loid)s in the cytoplasm followed by transport and sequestration in the vacuole. In addition to this classical detoxification pathway, a role for secondary metabolites in metal(loid) detoxification has recently emerged. In particular, anthocyanins, a kind of flavonoids with ROS scavenging potential, contribute to enhanced arsenic tolerance in several plant species. Evidence is accumulating that, in analogy to GSH and PCs, anthocyanins may conjugate with arsenic followed by vacuolar sequestration in the detoxification event. Exogenous application or endogenous accumulation of anthocyanins enhances arsenic tolerance, leading to improved plant growth and productivity. The application of some plant hormones and signaling molecules stimulates endogenous anthocyanin synthesis which confers tolerance to arsenic stress. Anthocyanin biosynthesis is transcriptionally regulated by several transcription factors, including myeloblastosis (MYBs). The light-regulated transcription factor elongated hypocotyl 5 (HY5) also affects anthocyanin biosynthesis, but its role in arsenic tolerance remains elusive. Here, we review the mechanism of arsenic detoxification in plants and the potential role of anthocyanins in arsenic tolerance beyond the classical points of view. Our analysis proposes that anthocyanin manipulation in crop plants may ensure sustainable crop yield and food safety in the marginal lands prone to arsenic pollution.