Nasosinusal polyposis (NSP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa. Although the pathophysiology underlying NSP formation is not fully understood, environmental factors appear to be contributed the development of this disease. A case–control study of Tunisian patients was examined to assess the levels of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) in blood and reparse the association between the exposure to these metals and the risk of nasosinusal polyposis disease. Mean blood levels of Cd in patients (2.2 ± 12.8 μg/L) were significantly higher than those of controls (0.5 ± 0.7 μg/L). Levels of blood Cd were positively correlated with tobacco smoking and chewing among controls. The Cd and Ni concentrations among control (p = 0.001) and patient (p = 0.018) tobacco consumers (smoking, chewing, and shisha) were significantly higher than those nonconsumers. Additionally, Ni blood levels of patient and control smokers were significantly higher than those of nonsmokers. Cd levels in blood samples of NSP patients occupationally exposed for more than 14 years were eight times higher than that of nonexposed. Drinking water was also found to be incriminated as exposure sources. Among risk factors, shisha consumption, environmental exposure, and occupational exposure presented the most significant association with NSP disease (odds ratio (OR) = 14.1, 10.1, and 1.7, respectively). High levels of blood Cd (OR = 3.5) were strongly associated with NSP disease (p = 0.027). Ni blood levels were shown to be associated with the four stages of polyps in both nasal cavities (right and left) (p < 0.05). This investigation suggested a potential role of toxic metals in the mechanism of NSP disease development. Exposure assessment investigations encompassing a wider population are needed.

We aimed to verify whether morphoanatomic alterations occur in response to excess iron, in roots of Setaria parviflora and Paspallum urvillei (Poaceae), and to localize the presence of the sites of iron accumulation. Plants were subjected to 0.009, 1, 2, 4, and 7 mM Fe-EDTA in nutrient solution. Both species presented iron contents in the roots above the critical toxicity level. The presence of iron plaque on roots of the two species was confirmed, and it may have reduced iron absorption by the plants. Roots from the two species showed typical visual symptoms of stress by excess iron: change in color and mucilaginous and flaccid appearance. Anatomical damage was observed in both species: aerenchyma disruption, alterations in endodermal cells, and irregular shape of both vessel and sieve tube elements. The metal was histolocalized in the cortex and in protoxylem and metaxylem cell walls in both species, which suggests a detoxification strategy for the excess iron. Phenolic compounds were not histolocalized in roots. Microscopic analyses were therefore effective in evaluating the real damage caused by excess iron.

Rapid economic growth has led to a significant increase in ozone (O₃) precursor emissions in many regions of China. Improved understanding of O₃ formation in response to different precursor emissions is imperative to address the highly nonlinear O₃ problem and to provide a solid scientific basis for efficient O₃ abatement in these regions. A comparative study was conducted in summer using a set of observational data at urban and suburban sites in Nanjing. The results showed that high O₃ concentrations were frequently encountered at both sites. The probability distributions of O₃ in both sites show a fair resemblance to each other, suggesting strong regional mixing over the polluted Nanjing. A distinction between the characteristics of O₃ precursors has been found at different sites. During the observation period, O₃ concentrations varied monthly, reaching a minimum in June and peaking in August. The daily maximum O₃ concentration was found to exceed 80 ppb for 27 days at residential area (RA), whereas it only exceeded 80 ppb for 22 days at industrial area (IA), 16 days at traffic area (TA), and 14 days at commercial area (CA). This pattern suggests a higher continuous ozone exposure risk at RA. The daily maximum O₃ concentrations at different sites were 135.1 ppb (IA), 134.1 ppb (RA), 129.2 ppb (TA), and 110.6 ppb (CA), respectively. The daily maximum O₃ concentration occurred at 16:00 in IA, at 17:00 in TA and CA, and at 18:00 in RA. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) showed similar double-peak diurnal cycles. NO₂ showed maximum values in June and minimum values in July. CO showed a similar diurnal variation to NO₂. This effect may be explained by their common sources and the similar chemical losses. During the day, O₃ tended to rapidly increase during the morning, reaching a maximum value of 9–11 ppb h⁻¹. The differences in O₃ and NO₂ between workdays and weekends were small. The CO levels were higher on weekdays than on weekends in urban areas and were higher on weekends than on weekdays in suburban areas. A sensitivity study performed with an observation-based model (OBM) showed alkenes to be the largest contributor to O₃ production. The production of O₃ in the Nanjing area is generally limited by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whereas high nitric oxide (NO) concentrations suppress O₃ concentrations.

The long start-up time of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process hinders the widespread application of anammox technology in practical wastewater treatment when anammox seed sludge is not available. Meanwhile, the production of nitrate cannot meet the increasingly more strict discharge standards. To combine the chemical nitrate reduction to ammonium with biological nitrogen removal, two anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors packed with different types of zero-valent iron (ZVI), microscale ZVI (mZVI) and nanoscale ZVI (nZVI), were developed to accelerate the start-up of anammox process. The results revealed that anammox start-up time shortened from 126 to 105 and 84 days with the addition of mZVI and nZVI. The nitrogen removal performance was also improved remarkably by adding ZVI, especially in the start-up stage. The value of dissolved oxygen showed that ZVI could be regarded as a useful deoxidant to create anaerobic condition for the proliferation of anammox bacteria. ZVI was favorable for the secretion of EPS, which would represent the activity of anammox bacteria. The result of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) further confirmed that the proliferation of anammox bacteria was enhanced by ZVI.

Metal reference values established in Brazilian legislation for terrestrial disposal of dredged sediments and soil quality were derived for temperate regions. To evaluate the adequacy of such metal reference values to tropical soils, the ecotoxicity of a dredged sediment (from the Guanabara bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was investigated in two local soils (ferralsol and chernosol) by performing avoidance and reproduction tests using Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus crypticus. Test doses consisted of 0 %, 1.25 %, 2.5 %, 5, 10 %, and 20 %. Total and potentially bioavailable metal concentrations were determined in the test mixtures. Although the chernosol mixtures had the highest total metal concentrations, the influence of the expansive clay minerals (with high ability to adsorb metals) and the high contents of nutrients typical from this type of soils, seem to reduce the ecotoxicity. Collembolan avoidance behavior was the least sensitive endpoint. The lowest sediment doses increased the reproduction of F. candida in ferralsol mixtures. E. crypticus reproduction in the ferralsol mixtures were more pronounced at lower concentrations than in chernosol mixtures. Possibly the low nutrient content of the ferralsols, in connection with the addition of small amounts of sediment, created particular conditions that promoted reproduction of the test species. Data obtained in the ecotoxicological tests may support the establishment of a “safe” ecological dose of dredged sediments to be applied in tropical soils, supporting decision-makers in programs of environmental management.

The increasing sludge generated in wastewater treatment plants poses a threat to the environment. Based on the traditional processes, sludge dewatered by usual methods was further dewatered by hydraulic compression and the filtrate released was treated by anaerobic fermentation. The difficulties in sludge dewatering were associated with the existence of sludge flocs or colloidal materials. A suitable CaO dosage of 125 mg/g dry sludge (DS) could further decrease the moisture content of sludge from 82.4 to 50.9 %. The filtrate from the dewatering procedure was a potential substrate for biohydrogen production. Adding zero-valent iron (ZVI) into the anaerobic system improved the biohydrogen yield by 20 %, and the COD removal rate was lifted by 10 % as well. Meanwhile, the sludge morphology and microbial community were altered. The novel method could greatly reduce the sludge volume and successfully treated filtrate along with the conversion of organics into biohydrogen.

Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations in a soil plant (Lactuca sativa) continuum were measured after sewage sludge amendment. The effects of sewage sludge on growth and trace metal bioaccumulation in snails (Cantareus aspersus) were investigated in a laboratory experiment specifically designed to identify contamination sources (e.g., soil and leaves). Application of sewage sludge increased trace metal concentrations in topsoil. However, except Zn, metal concentrations in lettuce leaves did not reflect those in soil. Lettuce leaves were the main source of Zn, Cu, and Cd in exposed snails. Bioaccumulation of Pb suggested its immediate transfer to snails via the soil. No apparent toxic effects of trace metal accumulation were observed in snails. Moreover, snail growth was significantly stimulated at high rates of sludge application. This hormesis effect may be due to the enhanced nutritional content of lettuce leaves exposed to sewage sludge.

In this study, we determined the abundance of 8 antibiotics (3 tetracyclines, 4 sulfonamides, and 1 trimethoprim), 12 antibiotic-resistant genes (10 tet, 2 sul), 4 antibiotic-resistant bacteria (tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and combined resistance), and class 1 integron integrase gene (intI1) in the effluent of residential areas, hospitals, and municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) systems. The concentrations of total/individual targets (antibiotics, genes, and bacteria) varied remarkably among different samples, but the hospital samples generally had a lower abundance than the residential area samples. The WWTP demonstrated removal efficiencies of 50.8 % tetracyclines, 66.8 % sulfonamides, 0.5 logs to 2.5 logs tet genes, and less than 1 log of sul and intI1 genes, as well as 0.5 log to 1 log removal for target bacteria. Except for the total tetracycline concentration and the proportion of tetracycline-resistant bacteria (R² = 0.330, P < 0.05), there was no significant correlation between antibiotics and the corresponding resistant bacteria (P > 0.05). In contrast, various relationships were identified between antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (P < 0.05). Tet (A) and tet (B) displayed noticeable relationships with both tetracycline and combined antibiotic-resistant bacteria (P < 0.01).

Phytoextraction is widely used for the reclamation of degraded sites, particularly to remove trace metals from contaminated soils. Whereas this technique demonstrates several advantages, the biomass resulting from phytoextraction processes is highly enriched in metallic elements and constitutes therefore a problematic waste. We show here that this biomass can be used for the preparation of novel polymetallic extracts, with high potential as catalysts or reagents in organic synthesis. This new concept of ecocatalysis constitutes an innovative recycling of metallic elements whose current known reserves could be exhausted in the coming decades. The ecocatalysts Eco-Zn and Eco-Ni prepared respectively from Zn and Ni hyperaccumulating plants display two distinct chemical reactivities, starting from the same substrates. Eco-Zn led to the formation of esters of commercial interest for the fragrance industry, following a hydro-acyloxy-addition reaction pathway. In contrast, Eco-Ni afforded chlorinated products thank to the hydrochlorination of alkenes. Both ecocatalysts allowed the synthesis of valuable products in high yields through methodologies in line with the spirit of sustainable chemistry.