This study was aimed to analyze the alteration of membrane protein profiles in Aplysia juliana Quoy & Gaimard (A. juliana) pleural–pedal ganglia under MP exposure. Both the results of GC–MS analysis and the activity assay of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) reveal that MP toxicological effects on Aplysia left and right pleural–pedal ganglia are different under 7 and 14 days of exposure. Therefore, Aplysia were subjected for exposure at two concentrations (1 and 2 mg/l) of MP for 7 and 14 days for membrane proteomic study. As a result, 19 and 14 protein spots were differentially expressed in A. juliana left pleural–pedal ganglia under 7 and 14 days treatment, and 20 and 14 protein spots found with differential expressions in their right ganglia under the same treatment, respectively. Several proteins with expression variations were detected from both the left and right pleural–pedal ganglia; however, most proteins have distinctive expressions, indicating different mechanisms might be involved in initiating MP toxicology in left and right ganglia. Among the total differential protein spots obtained, 29 proteins were classed as membrane proteins. These proteins are mainly involved in the metabolism process, cell redox homeostasis, signal transduction, immunology, intracellular transport and catalysis, indicating MP toxicity in mollusks seems to be complex and diverse. Some differentially expressed proteins were further confirmed by Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR. These results might provide renovated insights to reveal the mechanism of MP-induced neurotoxicity, and the novel candidate biomarkers might have potential application for environmental evaluation of MP pollution level.

Brassica species are very effective in remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites. Lead (Pb) as a toxic pollutant causes number of morphological and biochemical variations in the plants. Synthetic chelator such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) improves the capability of plants to uptake heavy metals from polluted soil. In this regard, the role of EDTA in phytoextraction of lead, the seedlings of Brassica napus L. were grown hydroponically. Lead levels (50 and 100 μM) were supplied alone or together with 2.5 mM EDTA in the nutrient culture. After 7 weeks of stress, plants indicated that toxicity of Pb caused negative effects on plants and significantly reduced growth, biomass, chlorophyll content, gas exchange characteristics, and antioxidant enzymes activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT). Exposure to Pb induced the malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) generation in both shoots and roots. The addition of EDTA alone or in combination with Pb significantly improved the plant growth, biomass, gas exchange characteristics, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant enzymes activities. EDTA also caused substantial improvement in Pb accumulation in Brassica plants. It can be deduced that application of EDTA significantly lessened the adverse effects of lead toxicity. Additionally, B. napus L. exhibited greater degree of tolerance against Pb toxicity and it also accumulated significant concentration of Pb from media.

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), inoculated with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) species Acaulospora laevis, Glomus caledonium, and Glomus mosseae, on the soil bacterial community responsible for Aroclor 1242 dissipation. The dissipation rates of Aroclor 1242 and soil bacteria abundance were much higher with the A. laevis and G. mosseae treatments compared to the non-mycorrhizal control. The biphenyl dioxygenase (bphA) and Rhodococcus-like 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl dioxygenase (bphC) genes were more abundant in AM inoculated soils, suggesting that the bphA and Rhodococcus-like bphC pathways play an important role in Aroclor 1242 dissipation in the mycorrhizosphere. The soil bacterial communities were dominated by classes Betaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria, while the relative proportion of Actinobacteria was significantly (F = 2.288, P < 0.05) correlated with the PCB congener profile in bulk soil. Our results showed that AM fungi could enhance PCB dissipation by stimulating bph gene abundance and the growth of specific bacterial groups.

Treatment and disposal of fly ash in China are becoming increasingly difficult, since its production has steadily risen and its features are uncertain. The excess pollutant components of fly ash are the key factor affecting its treatment and resource utilization. In this study, fly ash samples collected from a power plant with circulating fluidized incinerators of municipal solid waste (MSW) located in Shandong Province (eastern China) were studied. The results showed that there were no obvious seasonal differences in properties of fly ash. The content of total salt, Zn, and pH exceeded the national standards and low-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (Fs) were the main organic components of fly ash for this power plant, which posed great threats to the surrounding environment. The amount of Zn of fly ash was higher than other heavy metals, which should be due to alkaline batteries of MSW. The leachate of fly ash had low concentrations of heavy metals and the main soluble components were sulfates and chlorides. The major mineral crystals of fly ash were SiO₂, CaSO₄, and Fe₂O₃. The main organic pollutants were low-ring PAHs, polychlorinated PCDDs, and low-chlorinated PCDFs, and concentrations were lower than the limiting values of the national regulations. Additionally, the distribution of PCDD/Fs had either a positive or a negative linear correlation with fly ash and flue gas, which was associated with the chlorinated degree of PCDD/Fs. The analysis was conducted to fully understand the properties of fly ash and to take appropriate methods for further comprehensive utilization.

Ecotoxicity tests are often conducted following standard methods, and thus carried out at a fixed water temperature under controlled laboratory conditions. Yet, toxicity of a chemical contaminant may vary in a temperature-dependent manner, depending on the physiology of the test organism and physicochemical properties of the chemical. Although an assessment factor of 10 (AF10) is commonly adopted to account for variability in toxicity data related to temperature in the development of water quality guidelines and/or ecological risk assessment, no one has ever rigorously assessed the appropriateness of AF10 to account for potential variation in temperature-dependent chemical toxicity to aquatic organisms. This study, therefore, aims to address this issue through a meta-analysis by comparing median lethal concentration data for nine chemicals (cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, silver, zinc, arsenic, selenium and DDT) on a range of freshwater ectothermic animal species at different temperatures, and to assess whether AF10 is under- or over-protective for tropical and temperate freshwater ecosystems. Our results reveal varying extents of interaction between temperature and different chemicals on organisms and the complexity of these interactions. Applying AF10 sufficiently protects 90 % of the animal species tested over a range of temperatures for cadmium, copper, nickel, silver, zinc and DDT in the tropics, but it is insufficient to adequately encompass a larger temperature variation for most studied chemicals in temperate regions. It is therefore important to set specific AFs for different climatic zones in order to achieve the desired level of ecosystem protection.

Aquatic environments often receive wastewater containing pollutants such as antibiotics and heavy metals from hospital sewage, as well as contaminants from soil. The presence of these pollutants can increase the rate of exchange of resistant genes between environmental and pathogenic bacteria, which can make the treatment of various types of bacterial infections in humans and animals difficult, in addition to causing environmental problems such as ecological risk. In this study, two tetracycline-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (EW32 and EW33), isolated from aquatic environments close to industries and a hospital in southeastern Brazil, were investigated regarding the possible association between tetracycline and heavy metal resistance. The isolate EW32 presented a conjugative plasmid with coresistance to tetracycline and copper, reinforcing the concern that antibiotic resistance by acquisition of plasmids can be induced by the selective pressure of heavy metals in the environment.

In this study, Talinum triangulare Jacq. (Willd.) treated with different lead (Pb) concentrations for 7 days has been investigated to understand the mechanisms of ascorbate–glutathione metabolisms in response to Pb-induced oxidative stress. Proteomic study was performed for control and 1.25 mM Pb-treated plants to examine the root protein dynamics in the presence of Pb. Results of our analysis showed that Pb treatment caused a decrease in non-protein thiols, reduced glutathione (GSH), total ascorbate, total glutathione, GSH/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio, and activities of glutathione reductase and γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Conversely, cysteine and GSSG contents and glutathione-S-transferase activity was increased after Pb treatment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed our metabolic and proteomic studies and showed that amino, phenolic, and carboxylic acids as well as alcoholic, amide, and ester-containing biomolecules had key roles in detoxification of Pb/Pb-induced toxic metabolites. Proteomic analysis revealed an increase in relative abundance of 20 major proteins and 3 new proteins (appeared only in 1.25 mM Pb). Abundant proteins during 1.25 mM Pb stress conditions have given a very clear indication about their involvement in root architecture, energy metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification, cell signaling, primary and secondary metabolisms, and molecular transport systems. Relative accumulation patterns of both common and newly identified proteins are highly correlated with our other morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the most persistent organic pollutants in worldwide aquatic environments. The extensive isolation of genes responsive to PAH pollution in soft coral (Scleronephthya gracillimum) is described herein. Soft coral colonies were exposed to 100 μg/L of a standard mixture of PAHs. Gene candidates with transcript levels that changed in response to PAH exposure were identified by differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR). There were 37 types of candidate genes identified, of which 20 were upregulated in expression and 17 were downregulated. The functions of the genes identified included oxidative stress response, ribosomal structure maintenance, molecular chaperone activity, protein kinase activation and tumorigenesis, defense mechanisms, transcription, and other biological responses. mRNA quantification was carried out using real-time quantitative PCR in eight selected genes: cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, protein disulfide isomerase, ribosomal protein L6, ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator-like 1, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 4, peptidylglycine α-hydroxylating monooxygenase, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) metallopeptidase protein, and eukaryotic initiation factor 4 gamma 3. Changes in transcript levels were consistent with DD-PCR results. The gene candidates isolated in this study were differentially expressed and therefore have potential as molecular biomarkers for understanding coral responses to environmental stressors.

Nikola Tesla B power plant (TENT B), located at the Sava River, in Obrenovac, 50 km west from the Serbian’s capital, Belgrade, is the second largest coal-fired power plant in the country, consisting of two blocks, each of 620 MW capacity. In order to investigate the threat polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from deposited coal ash, obtained by coal combustion in this power plant, can represent for the surrounding environment, samples of coal ash were submitted to extraction with river water used for transport of coal ash to the dump, as well as with water of different ionic strength and acidity. It was found that, out of 16 EPA priority PAHs, only naphthalene, acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenantrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene were found in measurable concentrations in the different extracts. Their combined concentration was around 0.1 μg/L, so they do not, in terms of leached concentrations, represent serious danger for the surrounding environment. In all cases of established (and leached) PAH compounds, changes of ionic strength, acidity, or the presence of organic compounds in river water may to some extent influence the leached concentrations. However, under the examined conditions, similar to those present in the environment, leached concentrations were not more than 50 % greater than the concentrations leached by distilled water. Therefore, water desorption is likely the most important mechanism responsible for leaching of PAH compounds from filter coal ash.

Most studies on the treatment of chlorinated contaminants by Fe(0) focus on aqueous system tests. However, few is known about the effectiveness of these tests for degrading chlorinated contaminants such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) in soil. In this work, the reductive degradation performance of 1,1,1-TCA by Fe(0) was thoroughly investigated in a soil slurry system. The effects of various factors including acid-washed iron, the initial 1,1,1-TCA concentration, Fe(0) dosage, slurry pH, and common constituents in groundwater and soil such as Cl⁻, HCO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, and NO₃⁻anions and humic acid (HA) were evaluated. The experimental results showed that 1,1,1-TCA could be effectively degraded in 12 h for an initial Fe(0) dosage of 10 g L⁻¹and a soil/water mass ratio of 1:5. The soil slurry experiments showed two-stage degradation kinetics: a slow reaction in the first stage and a fast reductive degradation of 1,1,1-TCA in the second stage. The reductive degradation of 1,1,1-TCA was expedited as the mass concentration of Fe(0) increased. In addition, high pHs adversely affected the degradation of 1,1,1-TCA over a pH range of 5.4–8.0 and the reductive degradation efficiency decreased with increasing slurry pH. The initial 1,1,1-TCA concentration and the presence of Cl⁻and SO₄²⁻anions had negligible effects. HCO₃⁻anions had a accelerative effect on 1,1,1-TCA removal, and both NO₃⁻and HA had inhibitory effects. A Cl⁻mass balance showed that the amount of Cl⁻ions released into the soil slurry system during the 1,1,1-TCA degradation increased with increasing reaction time, suggesting that the main degradation mechanism of 1,1,1-TCA by Fe(0) in a soil slurry system was reductive dechlorination with 1,1-DCA as the main intermediate. In conclusion, this study provides a theoretical basis for the practical application of the remediation of contaminated sites containing chlorinated solvent.