Mattress is among the main products of ectopic fermentation system (EFS); however, the research on the data of antimicrobial residues in the mattress of EFS and risk assessments of mattress have not been conducted. This study involved a scale survey to assess the levels and distributions of 54 antimicrobial residues, including 4 tetracyclines, 19 quinolones, 22 sulfonamides, 3 amphenicols, and 6 macrolides in mattress on 12 swine farms that use ectopic fermentation systems (EFS) in Zhejiang Province. A total of 25 antimicrobials were detected in mattress, and the total residue amount of antimicrobial in mattress samples of each farm was 0.77–28.2 g/T. Chlortetracycline had the highest contribution rate, and the residue amount of antimicrobial in mattress is not entirely determined by the start-up time of EFS but is related to the use of feed containing antimicrobial, medication habits, the level of mattress management, and maintenance methods of EFS. The risk assessments of antimicrobial in the mattress were carried out. The results show that the risk of using mattress of EFS for soil is low.

As emerging pollutants, direct and indirect adverse impacts of micro(nano)plastics (MPs/NPs) are raising an increasing environmental concern in recent years due to their poor biodegradability and difficulty in recycling. MPs/NPs can act as carriers of bacteria, viruses, or pollutants (such as heavy metals and toxic organic compounds), and may potentially change the toxicity and bioavailability of pollutants. Ingested or attached MPs/NPs can also be transferred from low-trophic level organisms to high-nutrient organisms or even the human body through the food chain transfer process. This article reviews the emerging field of micro- and nanoplastics on organisms, including the separate toxicity and toxicity of compound after the adsorption of organic pollutants or heavy metals, as well as possible mechanism of toxicological effects and evaluate the nano- and microplastics potential adverse effects on human health. The inherent toxic effects MPs/NPs mainly include the following: physical injury, growth performance decrease and behavioral alteration, lipid metabolic disorder, induced gut microbiota dysbiosis and disruption of the gut’s epithelial permeability, neurotoxicity, damage of reproductive system and offspring, oxidative stress, immunotoxicity, etc. Additionally, MPs/NPs may release harmful plastic additives and toxic monomers such as bisphenol A, phthalates, and toluene diisocyanate. The vectors’ effect also points out the potential interaction of MPs/NPs with pollutants such as heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, perfluorinated compounds, pharmaceuticals, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Nevertheless, these potential consequences of MPs/NPs being vectors for contaminants are controversial.

Soil microbiome is a dynamic micro-ecosystem driving and fine-tuning several biological processes in the global macro-ecosystems. Its tremendous potential towards mediating sustainability in the ecosystem necessitates the urgent need to store it optimally and efficiently as “next-generation biologicals” for future applications via soil transplantation. The challenge, therefore, is to devise a strategy for the storage of soil microbiome such that its “functionality” is preserved for later application. This review discusses the current endeavours made towards storage of the soil microbiome. The methods for assessing the integrity of soil microbiome by targeting the structural diversity and functional potential of the preserved microbiomes have also been discussed. Further, the success stories related to the storage of fecal microbiome for application in transplants have also been highlighted. This is done primarily with the objective of learning lessons, and parallel application of the knowledge gained, in bringing about improvement in the research domain of soil microbiome storage. Subsequently, the limitations of current techniques of preservation have also been delineated. Further, the open questions in the area have been critically discussed. In conclusion, possible alternatives for storage, comprehensive analyses of the composition of the stored microbiome and their potential have been presented.

Pure NiO and NiO thin films doped with 0.1 to 25% Cu were grown on pre-heated soda-lime glass substrates via spray pyrolysis technique. The surface roughness of the NiO:Cu thin films decreased as Cu/Ni ratio was increased. Antifungal activity of these thin films against Aspergillus niger (A. niger) which affects some of the fruits, and Macrophomina phaseolina (M. phaseolina) which is a soil borne fungus responsible for the infection of root and lower stem of several plants, was then investigated by bioassay and broth dilution methods. The antifungal response of pure NiO thin film was weak but it improved considerably on doping with copper. The higher the copper content in NiO:Cu thin film, the better was its antifungal response. Moreover, for the given Cu/Ni ratio range of 0–25%, the optical density (OD) of Potato Dextrose (PD) broth inoculated with A. niger and containing NiO:Cu material was reduced or antifungal ability was enhanced by 8.3, 9.9, 11.7, and 13.4 times for the exposure time of 6, 8, 10, and 12 days, respectively. Similarly, the OD of PD broth inoculated with M. phaseolina and containing NiO:Cu material was reduced or antifungal ability was enhanced by 16–37 times in the exposure temperature range of 20–40 °C. A linear relationship of OD with crystallite size and lattice strain of the thin films showed that NiO:Cu material possessed memory of the structural modifications induced by the dopant atoms though its phase changed from crystalline to non-crystalline state. These results can be utilized in agricultural sector. Graphical abstract

Cu-doped TiO₂ (0.1, 0.25, and 0.5% Cu-TiO₂) photocatalyst was prepared by sol–gel method and was characterized by powder XRD, FTIR, TEM, SEM, EDX, UV–vis diffuse reflectance (DRS), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. The XRD spectrum shows tetragonal anatase phase. TEM analysis indicate that the nanoparticles were spherical with sizes 12–13 nm. The degradation of NB was studied, and an optimal degradation time of 180 min led to 98.6% NB abatement of NB = 0.05 mM, pH = 4, and catalyst loading = 50 mg/100 mL, under visible light. The degradation of NB follows the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The reusability studies indicated the excellent stability of 0.25% Cu-TiO₂.

Rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases are driving modern climate change and, therefore, are having substantial and sustained impacts on natural ecosystems and human populations. In a recent article in this journal, M. F. Hossain (2022. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 233:105) calculated how anthropogenic activity has perturbed the global carbon cycle, forecast future increases in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, and discussed possible health consequences from rising CO₂ levels. However, Hossain’s article gave an inaccurate representation of how human actions have altered the global carbon cycle. He substantially underestimated the magnitude of anthropogenic disturbances in terms of CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion and land use change and also underestimated the role of land and ocean processes in removing some of the emitted CO₂ from the atmosphere. At the same time, he overestimated the rate at which atmospheric CO₂ levels are increasing, resulting in a highly improbable forecast for atmospheric CO₂ concentrations later in this century. He also exaggerated the health impacts from exposure to those CO₂ levels as being severe and deadly, when our current understanding suggests that the direct effects are uncertain but likely minor. Because each of the major components of Hossain (2022) contains substantial and fundamental flaws, I warn readers to be skeptical before incorporating its findings into their understanding of carbon cycling, climate change, and human health.

Natural disasters, new urbanization, and urban renewal activities generated a large amount of construction and demolition waste (C&DW), and managing C&DW has become an urgent problem to be solved in the construction of “Zero-waste cities.” Based on the calculation of C&DW generation in China from 2005 to 2019, this study explored spatial heterogeneity and factors influencing C&DW in China by Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method. The results showed that C&DW generation in China increased every year, and the overall distribution was characterized as “high in the east and low in the west,” with distinct regional differences. The generation intensity of C&DW in China showed a decreasing trend every year. The regions with rapid growth of C&DW generation were concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, and there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the growth trend. There is a significant spatial autocorrelation in C&DW generation in China. The factors of population size, per capita gross domestic product, and the scale of the construction industry played a positive role in promoting C&DW generation in each province, whereas labor efficiency played a negative role inhibiting C&DW generation, which has a significant temporal and spatial heterogeneity. The results extend C&DW management theory and help the policy maker to formulate regional differentiation policies as China and developing country.

Composite coagulants of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and natural polyelectrolytes have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their outstanding properties in drinking water treatment. However, the selection of polyelectrolytes grafted into PAC and aluminum forms distribution in the coagulant composite is under continuous evaluation and update. This study evaluated the effectiveness of new composite coagulants based on polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and sodium alginate (SA) to remove the colloidal matter from dam water. Optimization of the basicity (OH to Al ratios) and the sodium alginate ratio was performed by experimental design to control aluminum speciation in the composites coagulants. The Al-Ferron timed spectrophotometric method, density Functional Theory (DFT), and FTIR analysis were performed to explore PAC and SA’s interaction mechanism. The monitoring of aluminum speciation in the composite coagulant PAC-SA revealed that the basicity and SA ratios in the PAC-SA affected the distribution of aluminum forms (mononuclear Ala, medium polymeric Alb, colloidal, and highly polymeric Alc). The theoretical analysis identified the medium and high aluminum polymer species as the most sensitive species to react with SA. The coagulation performance revealed that the increasing percentage of the SA and the prevalence of Alb and Alc species over Ala species in the PAC-SA are beneficial for turbidity and oxidable matter removal. Incorporating biopolymer (SA) into the PAC reduced the concentration of inorganic coagulant consumed and increased the attraction efficiency of suspended pollutants compared to PAC. At an AlCl₃ concentration of 10 mg.L⁻¹, the incorporation of PAC (66.6% of basicity) into 20% of SA removed 99.9% of turbidity and 78.67% of oxidizable matter. This study provided new insights into the intramolecular interaction between PAC and SA and its influence on aluminum’s speciation in the PAC-SA to increase surface water treatment efficiency.

In this study, the newly synthesized TiO₂ and N doped TiO₂ clusters were added to silica sol to synthesize N-TiO₂/SiO₂ composites via the sol–gel method. Afterwards, the prepared sols were applied by brushing on portland cement. Doping with nitrogen significantly increased the absorption of TiO₂ towards the visible region, thus, increasing the photocatalytic activity. SEM characterization of the treated samples showed that the clusters were distributed in form of aggregates on the samples’ surface. The self-cleaning and air de-polluting performances were assessed through methylene blue degradation and the oxidation of nitrogen oxide, resulting in methylene blue (MB) removal of 85% and 78% after 60 min of irradiation for SN10TiO₂ and STiO₂, respectively. Regarding air de-pollution performance, the newly synthesized photocatalysts showed the ability of NOx reduction. However, their efficiency was somewhat lower, in which 23.81% of NO has been oxidized by the sample SN10TiO₂, while SP25 showed a total NO conversion of 38.98%. The powdered xerogels of the newly synthesized nanoparticles revealed high photocatalytic efficiency concerning NO oxidation, resulting in a higher performance compared to those obtained by the xerogel containing P25.

Recently, the increasing of ultrafine-tailings increases the amount of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in cemented paste backfill (CPB), which leads to the rise of CPB cost and carbon emission. As a result, it is necessary to develop alternative binders. The present work focuses on the preparation of a new binder, which is activated by a mixture of calcined quarry dust (CQD) and NaOH at a mass ratio of 1:1. The results indicated that CQD/NaOH was more effective than using NaOH or CQD alone in activating blast furnace slag (BFS) and also showed better performance than OPC. The compressive strength of the CPB samples using 10% CQD/NaOH was around 3.78 MPa after curing for 90 days, around 42% higher than the OPC-based CPB samples. The reaction products of CQD/NaOH-activated BFS consisted mainly of C-(A)-S–H, hydrotalcite like phases (Ht), and M-S–H. The generation of Ht phases lowered the Al incorporation into the structure of C-S–H, resulting in lower average Al/Si ratio and mean chain length.