As energy use in the building sector is increasing worldwide, building materials with characteristics that save energy are becoming increasingly important; in addition, there is an emerging need for high-performance insulation materials with low thermal conductivity. However, thermal insulation should consider thermal conductivity, which is the main performance parameter, in addition to the water adsorption rate, acidity, and deformation and expansion due to drying conditions. This study evaluated the main performance of 21 insulation materials used at construction sites to objectively and clearly evaluate their overall performance, including their thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity was measured by the heat flow meter method according to ASTM C518 and ISO 8301 standards; it was also evaluated according to the drying conditions. The water absorption rate was evaluated by ISO 2896 to ensure the sustainability and long-term thermal conductivity performance of the material. Acidity was evaluated with ASTM E861 to reduce the environmental load of the buildings and soil. The results of this study reviewed an appropriate method to measure the main performance according to the type of insulation.

Neuroinflammation induced by lead exposure (Pb) is a major cause of neurotoxicity of Pb in the central nervous system (CNS). The NLR family, domain of pyrin containing 3 (NLRP3) involves in various neurological diseases, while the question of whether NLRP3 plays a role in lead-induced neuroinflammation has not yet been reported.Developmental and knockout (KO) NLRP3 mice were used to establish two in vivo models, and BV2 cells were used to establish an in vitro model. Behavioral and electrophysiologic tests were used to assess the neurotoxicity of Pb, and immunofluorescence staining was used to assess neuroinflammation. Real-time PCR and western blot were performed to examine the mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasomes. siRNA technology was used to block NLRP3 expression.Pb exposure led to neural injure and microglial activation in the hippocampus region, while minocycline intervention attenuated Pb-induced neurotoxicity by inhibiting neuroinflammation. Pb increased the expression of NLRP3 and promoted cleavage of caspase-1 in mRNA and protein levels, and minocycline partially reversed the effects of Pb on NLRP3 inflammasomes. Blocking of NLRP3 by KO mice or siRNA attenuated neural alterations induced by Pb, weakened microglial activation in vivo and in vitro as well, without affecting the accumulation of Pb. Pb increased autophagic protein levels and phosphorylation of NF-κB, while suppressing autophagy or NF-κB inhibited Pb's effects on NLRP3.NLRP3 is involved in the regulation of Pb-induced neurotoxicity. These findings expand mechanism research of Pb neurotoxicity and may help establish new prevention strategies for Pb neurotoxicity.

The residue of simazine herbicide in the environment is known as one of pollutant stress for lizards by crippling its fitness on direct toxic effects and indirect food shortage via the food chain effects. Both stressors were considered in our experiment in the simazine exposure and food availability to lizards (Eremias argus). The results revealed that starvation significantly reduced the lizard’s energy reserve and native immune function, while the accumulation of simazine in the liver was significantly increased. Simazine caused oxidative stress in the liver of lizards, but oxidative damage only occurred in the starved lizards. Simazine also changed the energy reserves, native immune function and detoxification of well-fed lizards, while the starved lizards showed different sensitivity to simazine. Simazine or starvation treatment independently activated the lizard HPA axis, but co-treatment caused the HPA axis inhibition. Besides, according to the variations on amino acid neurotransmitters, corticosterone hormone and thermoregulatory behavior, we inferred that lizards in threatens take the appropriate strategy on energy investment and allocation through neural, endocrine and behavioral pathways to maximize benefits in dilemma. Energy allocation was necessary, while suppression on any physiological process comes at a cost that is detrimental to long-term individual fitness.

Soil moisture has a strong impact on the fluorescence intensity of PAHs, which is undoubtedly posing a challenge for the development of rapid real-time fluorescence detection technology of PAHs in soil. In this work, NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used to correct the fluorescence spectra of PAHs in order to reduce the effect of the soil moisture. To establish the correction method, eight soil samples with different moisture contents and a given phenanthrene concentration (8 mg/g) were prepared. The fluorescence and NIR diffuse reflectance spectra were collected for of all samples. It was found that the fluorescence spectra of the soil samples that vary with the moisture content together with the NIR diffuse reflectance spectra were considered for the correction of the fluorescence intensity of phenanthrene related to the moisture content. The results showed that the ratio of the fluorescence intensity at 384 nm to the NIR diffuse reflectance spectrum absorbance at 5184 cm⁻¹ can be used as a correction factor to reduce the effect of the soil moisture on the fluorescence intensity of phenanthrene in the soil. The validity of the correction method was verified by the quantitative analysis of PAHs with different concentrations and soil moisture contents. The results showed better linearity between the fluorescence intensity and the concentration of PAHs after the correction (with a correlation coefficient R of 0.99) than before the correction (with R of 0.86). The relative prediction errors for three unknown samples decreased from 19%, 51% and 40% before the correction to 5%, 13% and 0.44% after the correction, respectively, indicating the feasibility of the detection of PAHs in the soil by the combination of fluorescence and NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

Biochar has been proven as a soil amendment to improve soil environment. However, mechanistic understanding of biochar on soil physical properties and microbial community remains unclear. In this study, a wood biochar (WB), was incorporated into a highly weathered tropical soil, and after 1 year the in situ changes in soil properties and microbial community were evaluated. A field trial was conducted for application of compost, wood biochar, and polyacrylamide. Microstructure and morphological features of the soils were characterized through 3D X-ray microscopy and polarized microscopy. Soil microbial communities were identified through next-generation sequencing (NGS). After incubation, the number of pores and connection throats between the pores of biochar treated soil increased by 3.8 and 7.2 times, respectively, compared to the control. According to NGS results, most sequences belonged to Anaerolinea thermolimosa, Caldithrix palaeochoryensis, Chthoniobacter flavus, and Cohnella soli. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) further demonstrated that the microbial community structure was determined by inorganic N (IN), available P (AP), pH, soil organic C (SOC), porosity, bulk density (BD), and aggregate stability. The treatments with co-application of biochar and compost facilitated the dominance of Cal. palaeochoryensis, Cht. flavus, and Coh. soli, all of which promoted organic matter decomposition and ammonia oxidation in the soil. The apparent increases in IN, AP, porosity, and SOC caused by the addition of biochar and compost may be the proponents of changes in soil microbial communities. The co-application of compost and biochar may be a suitable strategy for real world biochar incorporation in highly weathered soil.

During three sampling periods in 2014, systematic investigations were conducted into contamination profiles of ten organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in both suspended particulate phase and water phase in the Yellow River (Henan Area). This research shows that OPFRs exist at lower concentrations in the suspended phase than in the water phase. The median concentration of 10 OPFRs (∑₁₀OPFRs) in the suspended particulate phase was 62.5 ng/g (fluctuating from ND to 6.17 × 10³ ng/g, dw), while their median concentration in the water phase was 109 ng/L (fluctuating from 35.6 to 469 ng/L). Among the selected 10 OPFRs, triethylphosphate (TEP), tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP), and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) were the predominant compounds in the water phase (occupying 91.6% of the ∑₁₀OPFRs), while TCPP, TCEP, and tri-o-tolyl phosphate (o-TCP) were the most common in the suspended particulate phase, accounting for 90.1% of the ∑₁₀OPFRs. Across the three sampling periods, there was no significant seasonable variation for OPFRs either in the water phase or in the suspended particulate phase, except for TCEP and TCPP in the water phase. Compared with research findings relating to concentrations of OPFRs around China and abroad, the OPFRs of the Yellow River (Henan Area) in the water phase were at a moderate level. Suspended particles (SS) had a very important impact on the transportation of OPFRs in the studied area, with about 83.9% of ∑₁₀OPFRs inflow attributed to SS inflow and about 81.7% of ∑₁₀OPFRs outflow attributed to SS outflow. The total annual inflow and outflow of OPFRs were 7.72 × 10⁴ kg and 6.62 × 10⁴ kg in the studied area, respectively.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a devastating greenhouse gas and acts as an ozone-depleting agent. Earthworms are a potential source of soil N₂O emissions. Application of biochar can mitigate earthworm-induced N₂O emissions. However, the underlying interactive mechanism between earthworms and biochar in soil N₂O emissions is still unclear. A 35-day laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the soil N₂O emission dynamics for four different treatments, earthworm presence with biochar application (EC), earthworm presence without biochar application (E), earthworm absence with biochar application (C) and earthworm absence without biochar application, and the control. Results indicated a negative impact of biochar on earthworm activity, displaying a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower survival rate and biomass of earthworms in treatment EC than E. Compared with the control, earthworm presence significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased cumulative N₂O emissions, while application of biochar in the presence of earthworms significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased cumulative N₂O emissions (485 and 690 μg kg⁻¹ for treatments EC and E, respectively). Treatments E and EC significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), ammonium (NH₄⁺-N), nitrate (NO₃⁻N), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content and soil pH as compared with the control. The gene copy number of 16 S rRNA, AOA, AOB, nirS, and nosZ increased for all treatments when compared with the control; however, a significant (p ≤ 0.05) difference among the studied genes was only observed for the nosZ gene (2.05 and 2.56 × 10⁶ gene copies g⁻¹ soil for treatments E and EC, respectively). Earthworm-induced soil N₂O emissions were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced by biochar addition. The possible underlying mechanisms may include: (1) short-term negative impacts on earthworm activity; (2) a change of functional gene abundance in earthworm casts; and (3) an increase in soil pH due to addition of biochar.

Coke oven emissions (COEs), usually composed of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and so on, may alter the relative telomere length of exposed workers and have been linked with adverse health events. However, the relevant biological exposure limits of COEs exposure has not been evaluated from telomere damage. The purpose of this study is to estimate benchmark dose (BMD) of urinary PAHs metabolites from COEs exposure based on telomere damage with RTL as a biomarker. A total of 544 exposed workers and 238 controls were recruited for participation. High-performance liquid chromatography and qPCR were used to detect concentrations of urinary mono-hydroxylated PAHs and relative telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes for all subjects. The benchmark dose approach was used to estimate benchmark dose (BMD) and its lower 95% confidence limit (BMDL) of urinary OH-PAHs of COEs exposure based on telomere damage. Our results showed that telomere length in the exposure group (0.75 (0.51, 1.08)) was shorter than that in the control group (1.05 (0.76,1.44))(P < 0.05), and a dose-response relationship was shown between telomere damage and both 1-hydroxypyrene and 3-hydroxyphenanthrene in urine. The BMDL of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene from the optimal model for telomere damage was 1.96, 0.40, and 1.01 (μmol/mol creatinine) for the total, males, and females group, respectively. For 3-hydroxyphenanthrene, the BMDL was 0.94, 0.33, and 0.49 (μmol/mol creatinine) for the total, males, and females. These results contribute to our understanding of telomere damage induced by COEs exposure and provide a reference for setting potential biological exposure limits.

Polymer flooding is one of the most important enhanced oil recovery techniques. However, a large amount of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)-containing wastewater is produced in the process of polymer flooding, and this poses a potential threat to the environment. In this study, the treatment of HPAM-containing wastewater was analyzed in an ozonic-anaerobic-aerobic multistage treatment process involving an ozone reactor (OR), an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASBR), and an aerobic biofilm reactor (ABR). At an HPAM concentration of 500 mg L⁻¹ and an ozone dose of 25 g O₃/g TOC, the HPAM removal rate reached 85.06%. With fracturing of the carbon chain, high-molecular-weight HPAM was degraded into low-molecular-weight compounds. Microbial communities in bioreactors were investigated via high-throughput sequencing, which revealed that norank_c_Bacteroidetes_vadinHA17, norank_f_Cytophagaceae, and Meiothermus were the dominant bacterial groups, and that Methanobacterium, norank_c_WCHA1-57, and Methanosaeta were the key archaeal genera. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which HPAM-containing wastewater is treated using an ozonic-anaerobic-aerobic multistage treatment system. The ideal degradation performance and the presence of keystone microorganisms confirmed that the multistage treatment process is feasible for treatment of HPAM-containing wastewater.

Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) is an important modulator of cellular responses against Cd in mammalian cells. However, whether such modulation is conserved in Marsupenaeus japonicas remains unknown.In our study, the shrimps were injected with dsRNA targeting Nrf2 at 4 μg g⁻¹ body weight (b.w.) or sulforaphane (SFN) at 5 μg g⁻¹ b.w., and then were exposed to 40 mg L⁻¹ CdCl₂ for 48 h. After Nrf2 knockdown, the Cd content increased, but decreased in the SFN group. This suggested that Nrf2 could promote Cd excretion. A terminal deoxynulceotidyl transferase nick-end-labeling (TUNEL) assay revealed that the Nrf2 knockdown increased the number of apoptotic cells in M. japonicas, while SFN decreased the number of apoptotic cells. After Nrf2 knockdown, the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (Sod) activity, and related gene expression decreased significantly, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased remarkably. By contrast, SFN injection alleviated the oxidative stress, as evidenced by increased T-AOC, Sod activity, sod mRNA expression and a reduced MDA content. Similarly, detoxification related enzyme activities (ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)) and their corresponding gene expressions (cyp3a (cytochrome P450 family 3 subfamily A) and gst) were suppressed in the ds-Nrf2 injection group, while they were elevated in the SFN group. In addition, ds-Nrf2 activated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, as evidenced the mRNA and protein levels of caspase-3, Bcl2 associated X protein (Bax), and p53, while SFN treatment suppressed them. These results displayed that in M. japonicus Cd-induced cellular oxidative damage probably acts via the Nrf2 pathway.