The effects of imidacloprid in the soil environment are a worldwide concern. However, the impact of imidacloprid on soil microorganisms under salt stress is almost unknown. Therefore, an indoor incubation test was performed, and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach was used to determine the response of different saline soil bacterial and fungal community structures to the presence of imidacloprid (0.4, 2, 10 mg kg⁻¹). The results showed that the soil bacterial diversity slightly declined with increasing imidacloprid concentration in soils with low salinity. In moderately saline soils, a new band in the DGGE profile suggested that imidacloprid could improve the soil bacterial diversity to some degree. An analysis of variance indicated that the measured soil bacterial diversity parameters were significantly affected by dose and incubation time. Compared with the control, the soil fungal community structure showed no obvious changes in low and moderately saline soils treated with imidacloprid. The results of these observations provide a basic understanding of the potential ecological effects of imidacloprid on different microorganisms in saline soils.

Advanced oxidation methods, like ultrasound (US), are a promising technology for the degradation of emerging pollutants in water matrices, such as sulfonamide antibiotics. Nevertheless, few authors report the degradation of sulfonamides by high-frequency US (>100 kHz), and limited information exist concerning the use of ultrasonic-driven processes in the case of sulfadiazine (SDZ). In this study, SDZ degradation was investigated with the aim to evaluate the influence of initial concentration, pH and US frequency, and power. Ultrasonic frequencies of 580, 862, and 1,142 kHz at different power values and SDZ initial concentrations of 25, 50, and 70 mg L⁻¹were used. The results show that SDZ degradation followed pseudo first-order reaction kinetics with k values and percent removals decreasing for increasing solute initial concentration. Higher SDZ percent removals and removal rates were observed for the lowest operating frequency (580 kHz), higher dissipated power, and in slightly acidic solution (pH 5.5). Addition of the radical scavenger n-butanol confirmed that hydroxyl radical-mediated reactions at the interface of the cavitation bubbles are the prevailing degradation mechanism, which is directly related to the pKₐ-dependent speciation of SDZ molecules. Finally, addition of H₂O₂had a detrimental effect on SDZ degradation, whereas the addition of the Fenton reagent showed a positive effect, revealing to be a promising alternative for the removal of sulfadiazine.

The Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve (the Sanmenxia section) is an important area of the Yellow River for two important hydrologic gauging stations: the Sanmenxia reservoir and the Xiaolangdi reservoir. Seven sites along the section were selected: Jiziling, Dinghuwan, Houdi, Canglonghu, Shangcun, Wangguan, and Nancun. After the microwave digestion with aqua regia, concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Mn in the sediments were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with air-acetylene flame. The results showed that all the concentrations of Cr detected were from the lithogenic source, and 63 % Mn, 48 % Pb, 41 % Cu, 20 % Cd, and 12 % Zn were from the anthropogenic source. The values of the index of geo-accumulation pointed out that there was moderate contamination of Mn at the Dinghuwan (1.04) and Houdi (1.00) sites (class 2), while the modified degree of contamination denoted that the contamination at the Houdi site (2.02) was moderate, nil to very low at the Nancun and Shangcun sites and low at the other sites, consisting with the tendency of pollution load index. For metal toxicity, the sediment pollution index indicated that the sediments of the Canglonghu site were low polluted, that of the Houdi site is nearly slightly contaminated, and those of others were natural and uncontaminated. It was vital to evaluate the degree of contamination with individual and overall elements and even with the metal toxicity. Cu, Pb, and Mn contaminations were aggravated in the Sanmenxia section, and there maybe was one of the main anthropogenic sources of these metals along the Yellow River. The findings were expected to update the current status of the heavy metal pollution in the Sanmenxia section as well as to create awareness concerning the sound condition of the whole reaches of the Yellow River.

Many epidemiological studies from all over the world have reported that populations of rural and urban environments differ in their health issues due to the differences in the countrywide pollution pattern. In developing countries, various occupational cohorts and subsections of the population in urban and rural areas are routinely exposed to several environmentally widespread contaminants. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of over hundred different compounds and have ubiquitous presence in rural and urban environments. Smoke from the combustion of biomass fuel contains a high concentration of carcinogenic PAHs, which are related with several human morbidities. The sources and types of biomass fuel are diverse and wide in distribution. Limited numbers of literature reports have focused the significant impact of PAHs on several components of blood, both in human and wildlife. The toxicity of PAHs to rapidly dividing cells (e.g., bone marrow cells) and other tissues is largely attributed to their reactive oxygenated metabolites, potential of causing oxidative stress, and the adducts of their metabolites with DNA. This review aims to encompass the blood-related effects of PAHs and associated human health risks—an aspect that needs further research—on the population of developing countries of the world in particular.

A fast, simple, sensitive and green chemistry method using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) for the simultaneous determination of seven triazine herbicides (ametryn, atrazine, cyanazine, propazine, simazine, simetryn and terbuthylazine) in estuarine seawater samples has been developed. DLLME was carried out using a small volume of seawater (25 mL) and 300 μL of 1-octanol. Herbicide concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-diode array detection, and results were confirmed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem spectrometry analysis. The analytical features of the proposed method were satisfactory with repeatability < ±5 % and intermediate precision < ±10 %, and recoveries ranged from 81–102 % for all compounds. All the triazines exhibited linear matrix calibration curves with coefficients of determination >0.999 for all the analytes except for simazine (0.9975). Limits of quantification ranged between 0.19 and 1.12 μg L⁻¹. The method was applied to the analysis of seawater samples from ten points susceptible to contamination by triazines from estuary of A Coruña (Galicia, NW of Spain). The levels of the seven triazines were below the LODs in the analysed samples. Use of proposed method will allow for monitoring of triazines at levels below the regulatory limits set by the European Directive 2008/105/EC of 2 and 4 μg L⁻¹ for atrazine and simazine, respectively.

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) can be strongly adsorbed by ferric oxides, but some influencing factors, such as multivalent cations and soil organic matter, have not been evaluated extensively. In this study, the interaction between CIP and four divalent metals (Ca, Cd, Cu, and Pb) was investigated using potentiometric titration and the results indicated that CIP can bind to the divalent metals in the following affinity order: Cu(II) > Pb(II) > Cd(II) > Ca(II). The effects of metals and fulvic acid (FA) on the adsorption behavior of CIP onto goethite surfaces were also examined using batch experiments. It was found that metal cations enhanced the CIP retention on goethite surfaces in the same order as the affinity order with CIP, indicating that metals likely increased CIP retention through cation bridging. FA was found to promote CIP sorption rather than compete with it, and the coexistence of FA and Cu(II) in the system exhibited an addictive effect with CIP sorption, indicating that they might influence the sorption separately under the studied loading condition. Taken together, our results suggested that the coexistence of divalent cations or soil organic matter will enhance CIP sorption on goethite surfaces, hence reducing its mobility and bioavailability in the environment.

The biodiversity of acidophilic prokaryotes in two acidic (pH 2.8–3.05) mine drainage (AMD) sites (Balya and Çan) in Turkey was examined using a combined cultivation-based and cultivation-independent approach. The latter included analyzing microbial diversity using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), terminal restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (`T-RFLP), and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Numbers of cultivatable heterotrophic acidophilic bacteria were over an order of magnitude greater than those of chemolithotrophic acidophiles in both AMD ponds examined. Isolates identified as strains of Acidithiobacillus ferrivorans, Acidiphilium organovorum, and Ferrimicrobium acidiphilum were isolated from the Balya AMD pond, and others identified as strains of Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidicapsa ligni, and Acidiphilium rubrum from Çan AMD. Other isolates were too distantly related (from analysis of their 16S rRNA genes) to be identified at the species level. Archaeal diversity in the two ponds appeared to be far more limited. T-RFLP and qPCR confirmed the presence of Ferroplasma-like prokaryotes, but no archaea were isolated from the two sites. qPCR generated semiquantitative data for genera of some of the iron-oxidizing acidophiles isolated and/or detected, suggesting the order of abundance was Leptospirillum > Ferroplasma > Acidithiobacillus (Balya AMD) and Ferroplasma > Leptospirillum > Acidithiobacillus (Çan AMD).

Pharmaceutical products are a major group of chemical compounds that are continuously released into the environment. The primary pathway of pharmaceuticals to the aquatic environment is the discharge of wastewater effluents. The Psychiatric hospital of Montpon (Dordogne, France) operates with its wastewater treatment plant. We first evaluated the presence and concentrations of 27 pharmaceuticals compounds in these effluents. All of the 27 compounds were detected in these wastewater effluents at concentrations ranging between 37,500 ng L⁻¹ (paracetamol) and 150 ng L⁻¹ (citalopram). The aim of the study was then to evaluate the exposure effects of the effluents on cytochrome P450, GST, and MXR responses in Corbicula fluminea gills and digestive glands. Experiments on clams exposed during 1, 3, 7 14, and 21 days revealed a strong and continuous overexpression of mdr1 (multidrug resistant 1) gene expression in gills and transitory variations in pi-gst expression and GST activity. EROD activity increased also transitory after 1 day in the digestive gland of exposed clams. These results indicated that in the effluent, some molecules have undergone metabolism of phase 1 and/or phase 2.

The commercial usage of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (Al₂O₃ NPs) has gone up significantly in the recent times, enhancing the risk of environmental contamination with these agents and their consequent adverse effects on living systems. The current study has been designed to evaluate the cytogenetic potential of Al₂O₃ NPs in Allium cepa (root tip cells) at a range of exposure concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL), their uptake/internalization profile, and the oxidative stress generated. We noted a dose-dependent decrease in the mitotic index (42 to 28 %) and an increase in the number of chromosomal aberrations. Various chromosomal aberrations, e.g. sticky, multipolar and laggard chromosomes, chromosomal breaks, and the formation of binucleate cells, were observed by optical, fluorescence, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. FT-IR analysis demonstrated the surface chemical interaction between the nanoparticles and root tip cells. The biouptake of Al₂O₃ in particulate form led to reactive oxygen species generation, which in turn probably contributed to the induction of chromosomal aberrations.