Hongze Lake is a large, shallow, polymictic, eutrophic lake in the eastern China. Phytoplankton functional groups in this lake were investigated from March 2011 to February 2013, and a comparison was made between the eastern, western, and northern regions. The lake shows strong fluctuations in water level caused by monsoon rains and regular hydraulic controls. By application of the phytoplankton functional group approach, this study aims to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics and analyze their influencing factors. Altogether, 18 functional groups of phytoplankton were identified, encompassing 187 species. In order to seek the best variable describing the phytoplankton functional group distribution, 14 of the groups were analyzed in detail using redundancy analysis. Due to the turbid condition of the lake, the dominant functional groups were those tolerant of low light. The predominant functional groups in the annual succession were D (Cyclotella spp. and Synedra acus), T (Planctonema lauterbornii), P (Fragilaria crotonensis), X1 (Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorella pyrenoidosa), C (Cyclotella meneghiniana and Cyclotella ocellata), and Y (Cryptomonas erosa). An opposite relationship between water level and the biomass of predominant groups was observed in the present study. Water level fluctuations, caused by monsoonal climate and artificial drawdown, were significant factors influencing phytoplankton succession in Hongze Lake, since they alter the hydrological conditions and influence light and nutrient availability. The clearly demonstrated factors, which significantly influence phytoplankton dynamics in Hongze Lake, will help government manage the large shallow lakes with frequent water level fluctuations.

During the European Life+ project PhotoPAQ (Demonstration of Photocatalytic remediation Processes on Air Quality), photocatalytic remediation of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), ozone (O₃), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and airborne particles on photocatalytic cementitious coating materials was studied in an artificial street canyon setup by comparing with a colocated nonactive reference canyon of the same dimension (5 × 5 × 53 m). Although the photocatalytic material showed reasonably high activity in laboratory studies, no significant reduction of NOₓ, O₃, and VOCs and no impact on particle mass, size distribution, and chemical composition were observed in the field campaign. When comparing nighttime and daytime correlation plots of the two canyons, an average upper limit NOₓ remediation of ≤2 % was derived. This result is consistent only with three recent field studies on photocatalytic NOₓ remediation in the urban atmosphere, whereas much higher reductions were obtained in most other field investigations. Reasons for the controversial results are discussed, and a more consistent picture of the quantitative remediation is obtained after extrapolation of the results from the various field campaigns to realistic main urban street canyon conditions.

Ozone exposure- and dose-response relationships based on photosynthetic leaf traits (CO2 assimilation, chlorophyll content, Rubisco and PEPc activities) were established for wheat, maize and poplar plants grown in identical controlled conditions, providing a comparison between crop and tree species, as well as between C3 and C4 plants. Intra-specific variability was addressed by comparing two wheat cultivars with contrasting ozone tolerance. Depending on plant models and ozone levels, first-order, second-order and segmented linear regression models were used to derive ozone response functions. Overall, flux-based functions appeared superior to exposure-based functions in describing the data, but the improvement remained modest. The best fit was obtained using the POD0.5 for maize and POD3 for poplar. The POD6 appeared relevant for wheat, although intervarietal differences were found. Our results suggest that taking into account the dynamics of leaf antioxidant capacity could improve current methods for ozone risk assessment for plants.

To safely and effectively apply artemisinin sustained-release granules to control and prevent algal water-blooms, the effects of artemisinin and its sustained-release granules on freshwater alga (Scenedesmus obliquus (S. obliquus) and Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa)), as well as the production and release of microcystins (MCs) were studied. The results showed that artemisinin sustained-release granules inhibited the growth of M. aeruginosa (above 95 % IR) and S. obliquus (about 90 % IR), with M. aeruginosa more sensitive. The artemisinin sustained-release granules had a longer inhibition effect on growth of pure algae and algal coexistence than direct artemisinin dosing. The artemisinin sustained-release granules could decrease the production and release of algal toxins due to the continued stress of artemisinin released from artemisinin sustained-release granules. There was no increase in the total amount of MC–LR in the algal cell culture medium.

Blue-green algae bloom is of great concern globally since they adversely affect the water ecosystem and also drinking water treatment processes. This work investigated the removal of Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) by combining the conventional coagulant polyaluminum chloride (PACl) with nano-Fe₃O₄ particles as a coagulant aid. The results showed that the addition of nano-Fe₃O₄ significantly improved the removal efficiency of M. aeruginosa by reducing the amount of PACl dosage and simultaneously hastening the sedimentation. At the M. aeruginosa density of an order of magnitude of 10⁷, 10⁶, and 10⁵ pcs/mL, respectively, the corresponding PACl dose of 200, 20, and 2 mg/L and the mass ratio of PACl to nano-Fe₃O₄ of 4:1, the removal efficiency of M. aeruginosa could be increased by 33.0, 44.7, and 173.1 %, respectively. Compared to PACl, PACl combined with the nano-Fe₃O₄ as a coagulant aid had higher removal efficiency at a wider pH range. SEM images showed that nano-Fe₃O₄ first combined with PACl to form clusters and further generated the flocs with algae. Results from the laser particle analyzer further suggested that the floc size increased with the addition of nano-Fe₃O₄. It was noted that the addition of nano-Fe₃O₄ led to aluminum species change after PACl hydrolyzed in the algae solution, from Alₐ to Alb and Alc subsequently. As a coagulant aid, the nano-Fe₃O₄, in conjunction with PACl, apparently provided nucleation sites for larger flocs to integrate with M. aeruginosa. In addition, increased floc density improved the removal of M. aeruginosa.

In the study, arsenic, antimony, and chromium concentrations and selected physicochemical parameters in water and sediment samples from the thermal anthroporessure subjected Rybnik Reservoir (Poland) were determined. As(III), As(V), Sb(III), and Sb(V) ions were successfully separated on Dionex IonPac AS7 column, and Cr(III) and Cr(VI) on Dionex IonPac AG7 column. The obtained limits of detection were 0.18, 0.22, 0.009, 0.012, 0.11, and 0.17 μg/L, respectively. Water and bottom sediment samples were collected monthly at three-point transect between January and November 2013. The As(III) and Sb(III) speciation forms dominated in the bottom water, and Cr(VI) concentration in the bottom water was twice as high as the value measured for the surface water. The oxidized arsenic, antimony, and chromium forms dominated in the bottom sediments in the heated water discharge zone of the Rybnik Power Plant. The location of sampling point had a significant influence on the observed transformations and contents of the analyzed speciation forms. The chemometric analysis coupled with the dissimilarity analysis and principal component analysis helped to visualize the variability in the concentrations of the element speciation forms within the researched period and analyzing correlations.

Gamma irradiation-induced decomposition of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was elucidated with different additives, such as CO₃ ²⁻, NO₃ ⁻, NO₂ ⁻, humic acid, methanol, 2-propanol, and tert-butanol. The results show that low initial concentration and acidic condition were favorable for CIP removal during γ irradiation. By contrast, radiolytic decomposition of CIP was inhibited with the addition of anions and organic additives. As a strong carcinogen, Cr⁶⁺ was especially mixed with CIP to produce combined pollution. It is noteworthy that the removal of the mixture of CIP and Cr⁶⁺ presented a synergistic effect; the degradation efficiency of the two pollutants was markedly improved compared to that of the single pollutant during γ irradiation. Based on the results of quantum chemical calculations and LC-MS analysis, we determined seven kinds of degradation intermediates and presented the CIP degradation pathways, which were mainly attributed to the oxidation process of hydroxyl radicals OH· and the direct decomposition of CIP molecules.

With the generalized linear model and natural splines (ns), we examined the association between outdoor air pollutants and daily morbidity for diabetes and liver disease stratified by sexes and ages based on 4 years of daily data (2008–2011) in Tianjin, China. Season effects of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were also investigated. An increase of 10 μg/m³in a 2-day average concentrations of particulate matter with diameters of 10 μm or less (PM₁₀), SO₂, and NO₂corresponds to increases in diabetes morbidity of 0.39 % (95 % confidence interval (CI), −0.42–1.12), 0.15 % (95 % CI, −0.25–0.54), and 1.22 % (95 % CI, 0.51–2.96), respectively. As for liver morbidity, the increases were −0.84 % (95 % CI, −2.33–0.62), 0.90 % (95 % CI, 0.50–1.74), and 1.10 % (95 % CI, −2.58–4.78), respectively. The effects were stronger in the cool season than those in the warm season; females and the elderly were generally more vulnerable to outdoor air pollution. This study possesses scientific implications and instructional significance for local environmental standards and medical policymaking.

Lead pollution was evaluated in 17 urban soils from parks and gardens in the city of Vigo (NW Spain). The Pb isotope ratios (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb,²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb,²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb) were determined after being measured by MC-ICP-MS. The association of the isotopes (²⁰⁴Pb,²⁰⁶Pb,²⁰⁷Pb and²⁰⁸Pb) with the different components of the soil was studied using TOF-SIMS. The isotopic ranges obtained for the samples were between 1.116 and 1.203 (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb), 2.044–2.143 (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb), 37.206–38.608 (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb), 15.5482–15.6569 (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb) and 17.357–18.826 (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb). The application of the three-end-member model indicates that the Pb derived from petrol is the main source of Pb in the soils (43.51 % on average), followed by natural or geogenic Pb (39.12 %) and industrial emissions (17.37 %). The emissions derived from coal combustion do not appear to influence the content of Pb in the soil. TOF-SIMS images show that the Pb mainly interacts with organic matter. This technique contributes to the understanding of the association of anthropogenic Pb with the components of the soil, as well as the particle size of these associations, thus allowing the possible sources of Pb to be identified.

In this study, antibiotic resistance and major phenol and genotypes of non-typhoid Salmonella spp. from riversheds in Taiwan were examined. In 236 water samples tested, 54 (22.9 %) contained Salmonella spp. Fifteen Salmonella serovars were identified from the Salmonella isolates, and some common serovars are associated with infections of human and livestock, including Albany (27.8 %), Newport (14.8 %), Bareilly (13.0 %), Derby (11.1 %), and Typhimurium (7.4 %). Various environmental factors may also affect the presence and proportion of different serovars in the receiving waters. In contrast, serovars with narrower range of hosts, e.g., Dublin, were rarely detected. The Salmonella isolates were subjected to eight antibiotics for drug resistance, and 51.9 % of the samples were resistant to at least one tested antibiotics. Tetracycline and sulfadiazine were the two most ineffective antibiotics against the Salmonella isolates, and the results were indicative of long-term antibiotics abuse as fodder supplements in animal husbandry. The more commonly detected serovars such as Albany, Derby, and Typhimurium were also more likely to be resistant to multiple antibiotics. Finally, a significant correlation was observed between resistance to chloramphenicol and the resistance gene cmlA, suggesting that the resistance genotypes could persist in the environment even long after prohibition of the drug use. The high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella spp. infers elevated infection risks that must be further examined.