Exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with maternal and child health. Some air pollutants exhibit similar behavior in the atmosphere, and some interact with each other; thus, comprehensive assessments of individual air pollutants are required. In this study, we developed national-scale monthly models for six air pollutants (NO, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, PM₂.₅, and suspended particulate matter (SPM)) to obtain accurate estimates of pollutant concentrations at 1 km × 1 km resolution from 2010 through 2015 for application to the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), which is a large-scale birth cohort study. We developed our models in the land use regression framework using random forests in conjunction with kriging. We evaluated the model performance via 5-fold location-based cross-validation. We successfully predicted monthly NO (r² = 0.65), NO₂ (r² = 0.84), O₃ (r² = 0.86), PM₂.₅ (r² = 0.79), and SPM (r² = 0.64) concentrations. For SO₂, a satisfactory model could not be developed (r² = 0.45) because of the low SO₂ concentrations in Japan. The performance of our models is comparable to those reported in previous studies at similar temporal and spatial scales. The model predictions in conjunction with the JECS will reveal the critical windows of prenatal and infancy exposure to ambient air pollutants, thus contributing to the development of environmental policies on air pollution.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has gradually applied stricter regulations on the maximum sulphur content permitted in marine fuels and from January 1, 2020, the global fuel sulphur limit was reduced from 3.5% to 0.5%. An attractive option for shipowners is to install exhaust gas cleaning systems, also known as scrubbers, and continue to use high sulphur fuel oil. In the scrubber, the exhausts are led through a fine spray of water, in which sulphur oxides are easily dissolved. The process results in large volumes of acidic discharge water, but while regulations are focused on sulphur oxides removal and acidification, other pollutants e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals and nitrogen oxides can be transferred from the exhausts to the washwater and discharged to the marine environment. The aim of the current study was to investigate how different treatments of scrubber discharge water (1, 3 and 10%) affect a natural Baltic Sea summer microplanktonic community. To resolve potential contribution of acidification from the total effect of the scrubber discharge water, “pH controls” were included where the pH of natural sea water was reduced to match the scrubber treatments. Biological effects (e.g. microplankton species composition, biovolume and primary productivity) and chemical parameters (e.g. pH and alkalinity) were monitored and analysed during 14 days of exposure. Significant effects were observed in the 3% scrubber treatment, with more than 20% increase in total biovolume of microplankton compared to the control group, and an even greater effect in the 10% scrubber treatment. Group-specific impacts were recorded where diatoms, flagellates incertae sedis, chlorophytes and ciliates increased in biovolume with increasing concentrations of scrubber water while no effect was recorded for cyanobacteria. In contrast, these effects was not observed in the “pH controls”, a suggestion that other parameters/stressors in the scrubber water were responsible for the observed effects.

Agricultural products from seleniferous areas commonly face problems associated with substantial variation in selenium (Se) concentration, which is mainly caused by the heterogeneity of Se bioavailability in soil. Many studies have assessed the bioavailability of Se and its influencing factors using soil samples treated with exogenous Se. Given the distinctly different characteristics of Se-spiked soils and naturally seleniferous soils, exploring Se bioavailability in naturally seleniferous soils is crucial to the stable production of Se-enriched agricultural products. In this study, we used the classical sequential extraction method to determine the Se fractionation and then applied the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique to assess the Se bioavailability in naturally seleniferous soils. The results indicated that soluble and exchangeable Se fractions with high bioavailability accounted for only 0.7% and 5.1% of total Se, respectively. Both soluble and exchangeable Se concentrations were significantly positively correlated with soil pH (r = 0.329 and 0.262, respectively; P < 0.01). Se mainly exists in Fe–Mn oxide-bound, organic matter-bound, and residual Se fractions with low mobility (94.2% of total Se), among which organic matter-bound Se was the predominant fraction (49.5% of total Se). A significant positive correlation was found between total Se and soil organic matter (r = 0.539; P < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the DGT-determined Se was mostly derived from soluble and exchangeable Se. The high correlation between the DGT-determined Se fraction and Se uptake by rice (r = 0.91; P < 0.01) confirmed that DGT can accurately assess Se bioavailability in naturally seleniferous soils in Enshi and other similar environmental settings.

Magnetic biochars were prepared by chemical co-precipitation of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ onto rice straw (M-RSB) and sewage sludge (M-SSB), followed by pyrolysis treatment, which was also used to prepare the corresponding nonmagnetic biochars (RSB and SSB). The comparison of adsorption characteristics between magnetic and nonmagnetic biochars was investigated as a function of pH, contact time, and initial Cd²⁺ concentration. The adsorption of nonmagnetic biochars was better described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption of RSB and SSB was better described by Langmuir and Freundlich models, respectively. Magnetization of the biochars did not change the applicability of their respective adsorption models, but reduced their adsorption capabilities. The maximum capacities were 42.48 and 4.64 mg/g for M-RSB and M-SSB, respectively, underperforming their nonmagnetic counterparts of 58.65 and 7.22 mg/g for RSB and SSB. Such a reduction was fundamentally caused by the decreases in the importance of cation-exchange and Cπ-coordination after magnetization, but the Fe-oxides contributed to the precipitation-dependent adsorption capacity for Cd²⁺ on magnetic biochars. The qualitative and quantitative characterization of adsorption mechanisms were further analyzed, in which the contribution proportions of cation-exchange after magnetization were reduced by 31.9% and 12.1% for M-RSB and M-SSB, respectively, whereas that of Cπ-coordination were reduced by 3.4% and 31.1% for M-RSB and M-SSB, respectively. These reductions suggest that for adsorbing Cd²⁺ the choice of conventional biochar was more relevant than whether the biochar was magnetized. However, magnetic biochars are easily separated from treated solutions, depending largely on initial pH. Their easy of separation suggests that magnetic biochars hold promise as more sustainable alternatives for the remediation of moderately Cd-contaminated environments, such as surface water and agriculture soil, and that magnetic biochars should be studied further.

Groundwater chemistry can be affected by and related to earthquakes, thus it is crucial to understand the hydrochemical changes and associated processes caused by earthquakes for post-seismic groundwater utilization. Here we reported the major ion concentrations changes of the Ganze Spring in response to the May 30, 2014 Ms 6.1 Yingjiang earthquake, southwest China based on the daily time series (from 1st January 2012 to 20th July 2014) of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ concentrations, as well as data of bulk strain and Peak Ground Velocity (PGV) recorded at a nearby station. The results showed that the entire hydrochemical response process can be divided into two stages after the earthquake occurred: 1). decline stage which was characterized by an increasingly decline of the three ion concentrations, indicating a gradually significant dilution effect. At first, the relationship of molar concentrations of ions showed no obvious changes; but later as the rate of decrease in ion concentrations increased, the relationship between Ca²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ reversed from Ca²⁺ excess to HCO₃⁻ excess, probably resulting from a relatively decreased Ca²⁺ contribution from dissolution of gypsum and dolomite due to dilution in mixing water. 2). recover stage when the ion concentrations recovered gradually with relatively lower values than that at pre-earthquake, revealing the reduction of dilute water inflow. In combination with the bulk strain and PGV data, the study suggested that major ion concentrations changes are attributed to dilution effect due to new fracture creation or unclogging/clogging of fractures triggered by the earthquake. The results could enhance the understanding of earthquake induced water chemistry changes and could have implications for water resources management and security in tectonically active areas.

As a driving factor of global changes, microplastics have gradually attracted widespread attention. Although MPs are extensively studied in aquatic systems, their presence and fate in terrestrial systems and soil are not fully understood. In China, construction-land must be mulched by dust-proof nets to prevent and control fine particulate pollution, which may cause MPs pollution and increase ecological risks. In order to understand the pollution characteristics and sources of MP in the soil covered by dust nets, we conducted a case study in Beijing. Our results revealed that the abundance of MPs in soil mulched by dust-proof nets ranged from 272 to 13,752 items/kg. Large-sized particles (>1000 μm) made up a significant proportion (49.83%) of MPs in the study area. The dominant MP polymer types were polyethylene (50.12%) and polypropylene (41.25%). The accumulation of MPs in construction-site soil mulched by dust-proof nets (average, 4910.2 items/kg) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in unmulched soil (average, 840.8 items/kg), which indicates a dust-proof nets as an essential source of microplastics in the soil of construction land. We applied a remote-sensing data analysis technique based on remote imagery acquired from a high-resolution remote-sensing satellite combined with deep-learning convolutional neural networks to automatically detect and segment dust-proof nets. Based on high-resolution remote sensing images and using a U-net convolutional neural network, we extract the coverage area of Beijing’s dust-proof nets (18.6 km²). Combined the abundance of MPs and the dust-proof nets’ coverage area, we roughly estimate that 7.616 × 10⁹ to 3.581 × 10¹¹ MPs accumulated in the soil mulched by the dust-proof nets in Beijing. Such a large amount of MPs may cause a series of environmental problems. This study will highlight the understanding of soil MPs pollution and its potential environmental impacts for scientists and policymakers. It provides suggestions for decision-makers to formulate effective legislation and policies, so as to protect human health and protect the soil and the wider environment.

Vehicle emissions are an important source of particulate matter (PM) in urban areas and have well-known adverse health effects on human health. Oxidative potential (OP) is used as a quantification metric for indexing PM toxicity. In this study, by using a liquid spot sampler (LSS) and the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay, the diurnal OP variation was assessed at a ground-level urban monitoring station. Besides, since the monitoring station was adjacent to the main road, the correlation between OP and traffic volume was also evaluated. PM components, including metals, water-soluble inorganic aerosols (WSIAs), black carbon (BC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were also simultaneously monitored. The daytime and evening mean ± std volume-normalized OP (OPv) were 0.46 ± 0.27 and 0.48 ± 0.26 nmol/min/m³, and exhibited good correlations with PM₁.₀ and BC; however, these concentrations were only weakly correlated with mass-normalized OP (OPm). The mean ± std OPm was higher in the daytime (41.3 ± 13.8 pmol/min/μg) than in the evening (36.1 ± 11.5 pmol/min/μg). According to the PMF analysis, traffic emissions dominated the diurnal OP contribution. Organic matter and individual metals associated with non-exhaust traffic emissions, such as Mn, Fe, and Cu, contributed substantially to OP. Diurnal variations of PAH concentrations suggest that photochemical reactions could enhance OP, highlighting the importance of atmospheric aging on PM toxicity.

A graphite felt (GF) cathode was firstly modified by Fe–Mn binary oxide (FMBO), active carbon (AC), carbon black (CB), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which exhibits satisfactory ciprofloxacin (CIP) removal efficiency at neutral pH value in electro-Fenton (EF) system. Morphological data showed that modified cathodes have larger surface area and volume pore as well as more active sites. And electrochemical properties have proved stronger current response after modification. In compassion to the unmodified GF, the FMBO/AC/CB modified GF (FMBO-GF) has wider pH range and higher CIP removal efficiency due to its unique nanoparticles structure. The CIP removal efficiency achieved 95.40% in 30 min, and the removal efficiency of total organic carbon (TOC) achieved 93.77% in 2 h when conditions were optimal (25 mg/L initial CIP concentration, 2 mA/cm² current density, FMBO/AC: CB: PTFE of 1:1:5, and 7 initial pH value) in this study. The results of great degradation and mineralization of CIP in this study indicate that the FMBO-GF cathode has huge potential on antibiotics removals in neutral environment.

The developments of industry and technology caused by Industrial Revolution increased the consumption and demand of fossil fuels to sustain economic life. As energy consumption continued to increase in the world, its effects emerged for the first time in the 1970s, necessitating the need for access and planning for the supply of world energy consumption that was put on the agenda of economic development planning worldwide. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is an attempt to access renewable resources in support of the earth taking into account the increasing energy consumption and use of limited fossil energy resources in the world and the consequences of their use in the future. The results show that considering the increasing demand and supply of energy and a variety of factors such as the limitation of fossil energy resources and the environmental constraints resulting from their consumption and considering the capabilities available in Iran, wind energy can be considered as a renewable energy and a good alternative