To study the influence factors of calcined layer-like Mg-Al hydrotalcites nanosheets adsorbing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in aqueous solution, Mg-Al hydrotalcite (HMA) nanosheets were prepared by one-step hydrothermal synthesis. The effect of calcination temperature on adsorption properties and structure of HMA (CHMA-x, x means different calcination temperature) was investigated. The prepared samples were systematically characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics showed the adsorption equilibrium reached within 2 h, and the factors, such as adsorption dosage, pH, and cycles were investigated. It was found that CHMA with 600 °C displayed a uniformly morphology, higher surface area about 106.3 m²/g, and excellent adsorption properties (1969 mg/g). The equilibrium adsorption data perfectly fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R² = 0.999) and the Freundlich model (R² = 0.994). The main mechanism of CHMA adsorbing PFOA might be the “memory effect.” This study provided a new insight to prepare highly effective adsorbents in water treatment.

Rivers are critical ecosystems for protecting and harboring high biodiversity. Tropical rivers particularly are unique for facing extreme climatic events under the current accelerated disruption from human activities. The Bobos-Nautla river basin is exposed to climatic events and disturbances from anthropogenic impacts that stress aquatic organisms. We assessed the health condition of this river system using a non-conventional biomonitor, Corydalus sp., with a set of early-warning biomarkers including lipid peroxidation levels (LPO) and antioxidant activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and the neurotransmitter acetylcholinesterase (AChE) considering their spatial and temporal variations. Biomarkers and water quality parameters were analyzed, and the integrated biomarker response (IBR) was assessed as a stress index. Biomarkers showed no significant spatial differences; however, a high-stress period during the rainy season was detected, evidenced by the highest LPO levels; this period is related to the leaching of allochthonous materials from agricultural and urban zones. The peak IBR value during the rainy season confirmed the seasonality of biomarkers. A slight increase in IBR was recorded in lowlands, seemingly associated with agricultural land and human settlements. A principal component analysis showed nutrient enrichment during the rainy season and depletion during the cold-dry season, together with a peak activity of antioxidant enzymes. These results highlight the importance of climatic events such as the rainy season on the health condition of Corydalus sp., which is highly sensitive to the complex mixtures of pollutants that enter the waterbody during extreme climatic events, promoting oxidative stress. Our results also showed the ability of Corydalus sp. to recover and return to a basal level.

(Ce,Zr,La)O₂ (CZL) mixed oxide-supported rhodium (Rh) catalysts were prepared by in situ synthesis method. Characterizations were adopted to investigate the relation of structure and metal-support interaction with catalytic behavior of catalysts. The results demonstrate that appropriate Ce/Zr ratio (2/1~1/4) could help to form more homogenous CZL ternary solid solution and promote the formation of more oxygen vacancies and defects (the lattice defects resulting from lattice distortion) in CZL supports, and thereby enhance oxygen storage/release performance. Meanwhile, it strongly affects the interaction between RhOₓ and CZL supports, which promotes the formation of more active Rh species (Rh⁰ + Rh³⁺) and the reduction of the oxygen species in Rh–Ce interface, leading to the enhancement of catalytic performance for HC, CO, and NOₓ eliminations. Rh/CZL-12 shows the best catalytic activity for HC and NOₓ eliminations. It could be attributed to the enhanced activation and oxygen mobility of lattice oxygen, which is verified by the results of DOSC measurement.

The structure of agricultural industries at Cross-Strait differs as climate change is considered. In fact, its influence on their agriculture and other industries vary when the impact produced by natural disasters due to climate change are faced. To estimate direct and indirect losses caused by natural disasters, this study applies Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) analysis developed by Miller and Blair (2009) to discuss the development among Cross-Strait industries as they face disaster losses. The data sources used in this article are from Lin (2013), Cross-Strait ICIO table, and the statistics of agriculture in the periods 2005–2017 for Taiwan and Mainland China. The main results from our ICIO analysis are as follows: the value-added losses caused by natural disasters mainly involve agriculture, forestry, fishery, wholesale and retail trade, animal feed, and chemical fertilizer industries. These sectors account for 87.4% in Mainland China and 94.6% in Taiwan of total separately.

In this study, we investigated the interactions between household pollutants and dietary habits on children’s respiratory health. Our cross-sectional study collected self-reported information including health symptoms (allergy-like, asthma-like, and flu-like symptoms), home characteristics, dietary habits, and demographic information from questionnaires administered to parents of 280 school children in Romania. Unconditional logistic regression and stratified analyses were used to assess the interactions between dietary factors and environmental exposures on health symptoms among children, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and co-exposures. We found that frequency of fruit consumption had significant interaction with residing near heavy traffic on allergy-like symptoms among children (p = 0.036). However, no association was observed by frequency of fruit consumption. Although no significant interaction was observed, we found that students with infrequent fruit consumption and residing near heavy traffic roads had elevated odds of asthma-like (POR 6.37; 95% CI 1.22, 33.29) and flu-like symptoms (POR 3.75; 95% CI 1.12, 11.86) than those who frequently consumed fruits. Likewise, low vegetable consumption was associated with increased asthma-like symptoms (POR 2.93; 95% CI 1.04, 8.24). Increased odds of asthma-like symptoms were observed among school children that resided near heavy traffic roads and frequently consumed milk (POR 2.80; 95% CI 1.24, 6.31) and yoghurt (POR 2.86; 95% CI 1.05, 7.75) compared to those that infrequently consumed dairy. Our findings suggest that frequent fruit and vegetable consumption may mitigate the negative effects of exposure to heavy traffic near dwelling on respiratory symptoms in Romanian children.

Pre-oxidation in water treatment is considered an effective method to enhance the removal of algal cells and their exuded organic matters. However, pre-oxidation also alters the characteristics of algae and consequently influences disinfection processes. The existing studies mainly focused on the stationary growth phase, but little is known for the exponential and declined phases. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of pre-ozonation on the integrity of algal cells, the release of algal organic matters, and the formation of disinfection by-products like N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) from Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) at three growth phases. The results demonstrated that pre-ozonation was efficient to inactivate M. aeruginosa cells. The severity of M. aeruginosa cell damage increased as the ozone dosage increased from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/L. The damage of cell membranes resulted in the release of intracellular organic matters. Excitation-emission matrix spectra (EEMS) analysis indicated that ozone mainly reacted with soluble microbial products (SMP). With the increase of ozone concentration, although the trend of NDMA formation was similar for all three growth phases, more production of NDMA by algal cells was observed at the declined phase. In the post-disinfection process, chloramine showed the potential as a more suitable disinfectant than chlorination after pre-ozonation to minimize the NDMA formation. Therefore, appropriate pre-ozonation is beneficial to reduce the NDMA formation from exponential algae, while has no significant change during both stationary and declined phases.

The current study highlighted the phytoremediation potential of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell for most commonly used azo dyes which are resistant to degradation. Fourteen azo dyes (reactive: 09; direct: 05) upon treatments up to 40 mg/L were decolorized in the range of 90 to 100% after incubation of 2 weeks in in vitro and hydroponic cultures. No significant alteration in growth of B. monnieri was observed in the presence of dyes R. Magenta MB, R. Navy Blue M2R, Dt. Orange RS, Dt. T Blue GLL, Dt. Sky Blue FF alone, and together in the medium. However, at increasing concentrations (60–100 mg/L), the percent dye decolorization was declined and showed a toxic effect on plant growth. The chlorophyll content declined while membrane damage and osmolyte accumulation were increased in dye treated samples. The biological conversion of produced metabolites was analyzed using FTIR and GC-MS. Our results suggest that the intermediates of Dt. Blue GLL degradation consist L-Proline, N-valeryldecyl ester, 3,5 Di-tert-butyl-4-trimethylsiloxytoulene, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester. The antioxidative and oxidative enzyme activities in roots and leaves were significantly higher in the presence of dyes over control indicate that these enzymes are involved in degradation of dyes. Percentage seed germination, shoot and root length of seedlings of legume, cereal, and oilseed crop was not affected, suggesting the compatible nature of the produced metabolites. Our results revealed the remarkable ability of Bacopa monnieri for long-term operations that lead to the practical application of phytoremediation in textile industries.

Silica-based nanocomposite syntheses employ many harmful substances, which, in turn, demand the development of new synthetic environmental-friendly routes that meet the principles of green chemistry. In this work, we present a novel magnetic adsorbent, Fe₂O₃@SiO₂ nanocomposite (Fe@SiNp), successfully obtained without surfactant, employing an electrochemical method. We characterized the nanocomposite and then applied it to remove aniline from the water medium. Characterization was carried out by vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The parameters to the adsorptive removal of aniline were successfully optimized, which made possible to remove 71.04 ± 0.06% (126.6 ± 2.0 mg/g) from a 100 mg/L aniline solution at pH 6 and 323 K, by employing around 50 mg of Fe@SiNp, at a contact time of 40 min. The adsorption of aniline by Fe@SiNp is a spontaneous and exothermic process according to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (r² = 1 at 20 mg/L aniline concentration) and the Freundlich isotherm model (r² = 0.9986).

A complete orthogonal experiment using a pot test is conducted to investigate the effects of four amendments (biochar, peat, manure, and non-contaminated soil (NCS)) on the metal availability, mobility, and phytostabilization potential of an energy crop, king grass (Pennisetum purpureum × P. thyphoideum), in Pb/Zn mine tailings. The addition of amendments significantly increased the pH and fertility of the tailings, while significantly decreasing the heavy metal available contents in the tailings. The available Cd, Pb, Zn, and As concentrations in the tailings in the treatment amended with biochar+NCS+peat+manure were 51.00%, 36.62%, 50.57%, and 75.88%, respectively, lower than those in the treatment control. The king grass survived in the tailings without amendments, while amendments made the plant grow well or better in the tailings than in NCS. The addition of amendments significantly reduced the content of heavy metals and bioaccumulation factor (BCF) in the plant root but increased the translocation factor (TF) of Cd, Zn, and As and had little effect on the TF of Pb. The TF for heavy metals in plant were lower than one for all of the treatments. During a leaching period of 30 days, the pH of the leachate declined slowly and then maintained at 6.0~6.6. The addition of the amendments significantly reduced the metal concentrations of the leachates, and the highest declines were 50.46%, 20.04%, 41.58%, and 47.04% for Cd, Pb, Zn, and As, respectively. Biochar had a higher immobilization capacity for Cd, Pb, Zn, and As than manure, peat, and NCS. King grass could be used to aid phytostabilization for Cd- and Pb-polluted tailings, and biochar-rich amendments were effective for the in situ immobilization of metals. Further field monitoring is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of king grass and amendments under the climatic conditions of China.

Eutrophication models are of great importance and are valuable tools for the development of policy and legislation. However, the parameter uncertainty and substantial computational cost lead to difficulties in decision-making, especially for complex models with multiple indicators. A multicriteria uncertainty analysis and parameter estimation (MUAPE) method, which selected behavioral parameters combined with Pareto domination and simultaneously obtained acceptable values for modeling by the maximum likelihood concept and kernel density estimation, was shown. This method, which did not assign thresholds and weights, was applied to analyze the uncertainty of the Chaohu Lake eutrophication model and estimate parameters. The results of the behavioral parameters were compared using different criterion sets, the relative error (RE) and the root mean square error (RMSE), and the results showed little discrepancy in terms of the effects on parameter uncertainty represented by the marginal probability density. The uncertainties of the parameters related to algal kinetics (i.e., BMR, PM, and KESS) were smaller than those of nutrient- and temperature-related parameters (i.e., KDN, Nitm, KTB, and KTHDR) for both sets of criteria. However, the reduction in the joint uncertainty of the two parameters was greater when RE was used than when RMSE was used. The acceptable values for the key parameters of the Chaohu Lake eutrophication model were also obtained by the RE criterion. The results strongly agreed with the observed values, and parameters could be applied for model prediction. This result indicated that the combination method was not only practical for reducing parameter uncertainty but also useful for determining parameter values. This method provides a basis for multicriteria uncertainty analysis and parameter estimation in eutrophication modeling.