Water contaminated with microorganisms causes numerous diseases and is a major concern for public health. In search of a simple material which can provide clean water free from pathogens, nanofibers of poly(4-chloro-3-methylphenyl methacrylate, abbreviated as CMPMA, and nano Ag-doped poly(CMPMA) composite nanofibers were used to decontaminate water from microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provide the diameters of the Ag nanoparticles which are in the range 18–21 and 13–18 nm. The diameter of the poly(CMPMA) and nano Ag-doped poly(CMPMA) composite nanofiber is seen to vary between 400 and 700 nm with the change of the processing parameters. Optimum parameters for uniform nanofibers have been obtained. The morphology of the fibers is derived from scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The superiority of the nano Ag-doped poly(CMPMA) composite nanofiber was established.

Increasing levels of Heracleum persicum (golpar) in drinking water were studied in broilers. Two hundred and forty-one-day-old male chickens were allocated to one of six treatments: control, without added phytogenics nor probiotics in drinking water, and probiotics at recommended manufacturer’s level (P) or 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 ml/l of golpar extract solution (G1, G1.5, G2, and G2.5 treatments, respectively) in drinking water. As a result of this study, no linear or quadratic trends in the feed intake (FI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) due to golpar supplementation were found. Body weight gain, final body weight, and relative carcass weight showed a positive linear response with increasing levels of golpar supplementation. Neither golpar nor probiotics had effects on the percentages of edible parts of the carcass. Golpar supplementation levels caused a linear negative response of the albumin content in blood plasma, whereas both abdominal fat as percentage of carcass weight and uric acid levels in blood plasma linearly increased. The effects on Ig responses were only observed at 42 days of age and were similar in probiotics and the highest level of golpar supplementation. Based on our results, both probiotics and golpar supplementation could improve broiler performance and immune function.

The present study investigated the spatial and seasonal variations and sources of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Lanzhou, a petrochemical industrialized and the capital city of Gansu province, northwest China. The human health risks to these PAHs were assessed using an in vitro genotoxic bioassay technique. Associations among direct genotoxic potency, atmospheric PAH concentrations, and potential carcinogen risks were examined. Due to high PAH emissions from fossil fuel combustion and petrochemical industries, considerable higher PAH levels in the atmosphere were observed in Xigu district, a suburb featured by heavy petrochemical industry, compared with those collected at downtown and rural sampling sites. Ambient PAH levels at all sampling sites during the wintertime were higher than that in the summertime due to the winter domestic heating. BaP equivalent (BaPeq) concentrations in winter (41 ng/m³) and summer (28 ng/m³) exceeded the China’s new national daily BaPeq standard. The average excess inhalation cancer risks (ECR) due to human exposure to PAHs during winter and summer sampling periods were 45–3540 cancer cases and 31–2451 cases per million people, respectively. The average ECR in the industrial area of Lanzhou valley was 1.97 (winter) and 1.88 times (summer) higher than that in other sampling areas. The higher ECR in the industrial area was resulted primarily by industrial activities and insufficient emission control measures. Extracts from passive air samples in genotoxicity SOS/umu test demonstrated that the genotoxic effect of atmospheric PAHs in Lanzhou was seasonal dependent. PAH air samples collected in winter showed more statistically significant genotoxicity, as manifested by a strong correlation between in vitro genotoxicity and atmospheric PAH concentrations. This indicates that the local residents were under higher potential cancer risk through the inhalation of ambient PAH air concentrations in Lanzhou valley during the wintertime.

The concentrations of trace metals (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, and Zn) were measured in muscle and hepatopancreas of two Chionoecetes crabs (Chionoecetes japonicus and C. opilio) caught from the East/Japan Sea (EJS) in order to assess the potential health risk by the consumption of deep sea crabs. The highest metal concentrations in muscle and hepatopancreas were As and Fe, respectively, while the lowest metal concentration in two tissues was Pb. The mean concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, and Pb in Chionoecetes crabs were one or two orders of magnitude higher in hepatopancreas than in muscles. The mean concentrations of As, Cu, and Hg in muscle and hepatopancreas were relatively higher in C. japonicus than in C. opilio. The estimated daily intakes (EDI) of all metals in muscle were below 0.1% of the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) adopted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Similarly, the target hazard quotient (THQ) of all trace metals in muscle was less than 1.0. These results imply that Chionoecetes crabs caught from EJS do not have an adverse impact on the Korean health. Based on the mean metal concentrations, PTDI, and THQ, the daily maximum permissible intakes of C. japonicus and C. opilio were estimated to be approximately 240 and 410 g/day, respectively.

Carbon nanoparticles that may be potent air pollutants with adverse effects on human health often contain heteroatoms including sulfur. In order to study in detail their effects on different physiological and biochemical processes, artificially produced carbon dots (CDs) with well-controlled composition that allows fluorescence detection may be of great use. Having been prepared from different types of organic precursors, CDs expose different atoms at their surface suggesting a broad variation of functional groups. Recently, we demonstrated neurotoxic properties of CDs synthesized from the amino acid β-alanine, and it is of importance to analyze whether CDs obtained from different precursors and particularly those exposing sulfur atoms induce similar neurotoxic effects. This study focused on synthesis of CDs from the sulfur-containing precursor thiourea-CDs (TU-CDs) with a size less than 10 nm, their characterization, and neuroactivity assessment. Neuroactive properties of TU-CDs were analyzed based on their effects on the key characteristics of glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission in isolated rat brain nerve terminals. It was observed that TU-CDs (0.5–1.0 mg/ml) attenuated the initial velocity of Na⁺-dependent transporter-mediated uptake and accumulation of L-[¹⁴C]glutamate and [³H]GABA by nerve terminals in a dose-dependent manner and increased the ambient level of the neurotransmitters. Starting from the concentration of 0.2 mg/ml, TU-CDs evoked a gradual dose-dependent depolarization of the plasma membrane of nerve terminals measured with the cationic potentiometric dye rhodamine 6G. Within the concentration range of 0.1–0.5 mg/ml, TU-CDs caused an “unphysiological” step-like increase in fluorescence intensity of the рН-sensitive fluorescent dye acridine orange accumulated by synaptic vesicles. Therefore, despite different surface properties and fluorescent features of CDs prepared from different starting materials (thiourea and β-alanine), their principal neurotoxic effects are analogous but displayed at a different level of efficiency. Sulfur-containing TU-CDs exhibit lower effects (by ~30%) on glutamate and GABA transport in the nerve terminals in comparison with sulfur-free β-alanine CDs. Our results suggest considering that an uncontrolled presence of carbon-containing particulate matter in the human environment may pose a toxicity risk for the central nervous system.

The combination of nitrogen and plant population expresses the spatial distribution of crop plants. The spatial distribution influences canopy structure and development, radiation capture, accumulated intercepted radiation (Sa), radiation use efficiency (RUE), and subsequently dry matter production. We hypothesized that the sunflower crop at higher plant populations and nitrogen (N) rates would achieve early canopy cover, capture more radiant energy, utilize radiation energy more efficiently, and ultimately increase economic yield. To investigate the above hypothesis, we examined the influences of leaf area index (LAI) at different plant populations (83,333, 66,666, and 55,555 plants ha⁻¹) and N rates (90, 120, and 150 kg ha⁻¹) on radiation interception (Fi), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) accumulation (Sa), total dry matter (TDM), achene yield (AY), and RUE of sunflower. The experimental work was conducted during 2012 and 2013 on sandy loam soil in Punjab, Pakistan. The sunflower crop captured more than 96% of incident radiant energy (mean of all treatments), 98% with a higher plant population (83,333 plants ha⁻¹), and 97% with higher N application (150 kg ha⁻¹) at the fifth harvest (60 days after sowing) during both study years. The plant population of 83,333 plants ha⁻¹ with 150 kg N ha⁻¹ ominously promoted crop, RUE, and finally productivity of sunflower (AY and TDM). Sunflower canopy (LAI) showed a very close and strong association with Fi (R ² = 0.99 in both years), PAR (R ² = 0.74 and 0.79 in 2012 and 2013, respectively), TDM (R ² = 0.97 in 2012 and 0.91 in 2013), AY (R ² = 0.95 in both years), RUE for TDM (RUETDM) (R ² = 0.63 and 0.71 in 2012 and 2013, respectively), and RUE for AY (RUEAY) (R ² = 0.88 and 0.87 in 2012 and 2013, respectively). Similarly, AY (R ² = 0.73 in 2012 and 0.79 in 2013) and TDM (R ² = 0.75 in 2012 and 0.84 in 2013) indicated significant dependence on PAR accumulation of sunflower. High temperature during the flowering stage in 2013 shortened the crop maturity duration, which reduced the LAI, leaf area duration (LAD), crop growth rate (CGR), TDM, AY, Fi, Sa, and RUE of sunflower. Our results clearly revealed that RUE was enhanced as plant population and N application rates were increased and biomass assimilation in semi-arid environments varied with radiation capture capacity of sunflower.

The study was carried out to determine the content of mercury in bone tissue of the proximal femur (head and neck bone) of 95 patients undergoing total hip replacement due to osteoarthritis, using CF-AFS analytical technique. Furthermore, the investigations were aimed at assessing the impact of selected factors, such as age, gender, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, exposure to chemical substance at work, type of degenerative changes, clinical evaluation and radiological parameters, type of medications, on the concentration of mercury in the head and neck of the femur, resected in situ. Mercury was obtained in all samples of the head and neck of the femur (n = 190) in patients aged 25–91 years. The mean content of mercury for the whole group of patients was as follows: 37.1 ± 35.0 ng/g for the femoral neck and 24.2 ± 19.5 ng/g for the femoral head. The highest Hg contents were found in femoral neck samples, both in women and men, and they amounted to 169.6 and 176.5 ng/g, respectively. The research showed that the mercury content of bones can be associated with body mass index, differences in body anatomy, and gender. The uses of statistical analysis gave the possibility to define the influence of factors on mercury content in human femoral bones.

Controlled release fertilizer can reduce nitrogen losses to the environment while increasing grain yield and improving apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR) of rice. However, few studies have evaluated the comparative efficacy of different polymer-coated urea products on nitrogen (N) losses, ANR, and N uptake of rice. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to compare the effects of three different types of polymer-coated urea fertilizer on nitrogen losses through NH₃ volatilization and surface runoff to the environment, ANR, grain yield, and N uptake as compared to conventional urea of rice. Six treatments including (1) control with 0 kg N ha⁻¹ (CK), (2) basal application of urea (Ub), (3) split application (Uₛ) of urea (50% at transplanting, 25% at tillering, and 25% at panicle stages), (4) CRU-1 (polyurethane-coated urea), (5) CRU-2 (degradable polymer-coated urea), and (6) CRU-3 (water-based polymer-coated urea) all applied at 165 kg N ha⁻¹. It was found that CRU-2 resulted in the highest grain yield and panicle numbers among the N fertilization treatments in 2013 and 2014. Applying CRU could help increase N uptake in rice, reduce N losses through NH₃ volatilization and surface runoff, and hence improve ANR. Its single dose can meet the nutrient demand of the rice plant. Controlled release urea could be adopted as an effective mitigation alternative to retard N losses through NH₃ volatilization and surface runoff while improving ANR of double cropping of late rice.

Considerable researches have documented the negative effects of ozone on woody species in North America and Europe; however, little is known about how woody tree species respond to elevated O₃ in subtropical China, and most of the previous studies were conducted using pot experiment. In the present study, Machilus ichangensis Rehd. et Wils (M. ichangensis) and Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. (T. chinensis), evergreen tree species in subtropical China, were exposed to non-filtered air (NF), 100 nmol mol⁻¹ O₃ (E1) and 150 nmol mol⁻¹ O₃ (E2), in open-top chambers under field conditions from 21st March to 2nd November 2015. In this study, O₃ fumigation significantly reduced net photosynthesis rate (Pn) in M. ichangensis in the three measurements and in T. chinensis in the last measurement. Also, non-stomatal factors should be primarily responsible for the decreased Pn. O₃ fumigation-induced increase in malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and reduced ascorbic acid levels indicated that antioxidant defense mechanism had been stimulated to prevent O₃ stress and repair the oxidative damage. Yet, the increase of antioxidant ability was not enough to counteract the harm of O₃ fumigation. Because of the decrease in CO₂ assimilation, the growth of the two tree species was restrained ultimately. The sensitivity of the two tree species to O₃ can be determined: M. ichangensis > T. chinensis. It suggests a close link between the rising O₃ concentrations and the health risk of some tree species in subtropics in the near future.

Cd²⁺ resistance and bioaccumulation capacity were selected from parental Zygosaccharomyces rouxii (CRZ-0) while maintaining NaCl tolerance using protoplast mutagenesis technology. Ultraviolet-diethyl sulfate (UV-DES) cooperative mutagenesis, followed by preliminary screening and rescreening, was used to select the mutant strain CRZ-9. CRZ-9 grew better than CRZ-0 in YPD medium with 20 or 50 mg L⁻¹ of Cd²⁺. Scanning electron microscopy observations and flow cytometry tests indicated that CRZ-9 was more effective at eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by Cd²⁺, which led to less cellular structural damage and lower lethality. Furthermore, compared with CRZ-0, CRZ-9 exhibited increased potential for application with higher Cd²⁺ removal ratio, wider working pH range, and lower biomass dosage in Cd²⁺ bioaccumulation. The mutant strain CRZ-9 possessed improved Cd²⁺ resistance and bioaccumulation capacity and therefore is a promising strain to remove Cd²⁺ from wastewater.