The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of melatonin on rat uterine tissue against exposure with bisphenol A (BPA) in the neonatal period. Twenty-four female rats were divided into four groups, (n=6) per group. Group I was used as a control (sesame oil + ethanol), group II was injected daily with (100 mg/kg) BPA by subcutaneously (sc) daily postnatal days (PND 0–10), group III was injected daily with (10 mg/kg) melatonin by sc for 10 days (PND 20–30), and group IV was injected daily with (100 mg/kg) BPA (PND 0–10) and (10 mg/kg) melatonin (PND 20–30). All rats were sacrificed in the same day of metestrus cycle, approximately PND 70. Histological analyses, immunostaining of B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and cytochrome c and TUNEL assays were performed. According to our results, neonatal exposure to BPA accelerates onset of puberty, causes degenerative and morphometric changes on rat uterus, and increases apoptotic reaction rates. The immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 was decreased after BPA administration. In addition, immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 showed an increase after melatonin treatment. However, cytochrome c immunoreactivity was decreased after melatonin administration. Our results suggest that melatonin may have positive effects against BPA-induced degenerative changes on rat uterus.

The present study was designed to find the effect of natural and synthetic antioxidants on the performance of two broiler strains under high ambient temperature. A total of 320 day-old chicks of Hubbard and Cobb were reared for a period for 21 days under the same nutritional and management systems. On day 21 onward, one subgroup was kept as control while other subgroups were provided with vitamin E (250 mg/kg), ginger (2 g/kg), and L-carnitine (500 mg/kg) in basal diets. Body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly (P < 0.05) high in vitamin E-supplemented birds, while feed intake was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in L-carnitine supplemented birds irrespective of the strain. Antibody titer against infectious bursal disease (IBD) and paraoxonase (PON1) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in vitamin E-supplemented birds compared to the other treatments. The number of heterophils and toal oxidant status (TOS) were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in vitamin E-supplemented birds. Blood glucose was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in vitamin E-supplemented birds, while total protein was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in vitamin E-supplemented group. In conclusion, the supplementation of vitamin E at the rate of 250 mg/kg improved the antioxidant status and immune response in the two broiler strains. Further, the two strains perform similarly in terms of performance and other health status parameters with no significant difference.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution is the fastest growing concern around the entire globe especially in developing countries. Rapid industrialization and urbanization are the dominant sources of anthropogenic soil-food chain contamination with PTEs. The intent of current study was to investigate the interactive levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in soil and their accumulation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) samples collected from 96 sites including industrial, urban, and peri-urban areas of a leading multi-industrialized center (Faisalabad) of Pakistan. According to results obtained from present study, non-carcinogenic (HQ) and life-time carcinogenic risks (CR) of the PTEs to the local inhabitants were estimated following the risk assessment modals proposed by the US-EPA. With respect to estimated HQ for chronic non-carcinogenic risk of Mn, Ni, and Pb, higher potential hazards were observed as compared to Cu, Fe, and Zn. Meanwhile, the carcinogenic risk of Ni marginally exceeded the limit described by US-EPA for adults. Overall, the health risks of PTEs with the consumption of wheat were lower than the limits described by US-EPA except for Ni. However, continuous consumption of this PTEs contaminated food may result the potential buildup of poisonousness and various disorders in humans. Therefore, long-term monitoring and gastrointestinal bio-accessibility studies are requisite for the safety of humans under such conditions.

The co-exposure toxicity mechanism of ultrafine particles and pollutants on human cardiovascular system are still unclear. In this study, the combined effects of silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) and/or carbon black nanoparticles (CBNPs) with Pb(AC)₂ compared with particulate matter (PM)₂.₅ were investigated in human myocardial cells (AC16). Our study detected three different combinations of SiNPs and Pb(AC)₂, CBNPs and Pb(AC)₂, and SiNPs and CBNPs compared with PM₂.₅ at low-dose exposure. Using PM₂.₅ as positive control, our results suggested that the combination of SiNPs and Pb(AC)₂/CBNPs could increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lactate dehydrogenase leakage (LDH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) and decrease the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH); induce inflammation by the upregulation of protein CRP and TNF-α, and apoptosis by the upregulation of protein caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bax while the downregulation of protein Bcl-2; and trigger G2/M phase arrest by the upregulation of protein Chk2 and downregulation of protein Cdc2 and cyclin B1. In addition, the combination of CBNPs and Pb(AC)₂ induced a significant increase in MDA and reduced the activities of ROS, LDH, SOD, and GSH, with G1/S phase arrest via upregulation of Chk1 and downregulation of CDK6 and cyclin D1. Our data suggested that the additive interaction and synergistic interaction are the major interaction in co-exposure system, and PM₂.₅ could trigger more severe oxidative stress, G2/M arrest, and apoptosis than either co-exposure or single exposure.

Surface ozone is mainly produced by photochemical reactions involving various anthropogenic pollutants, whose emissions are increasing rapidly in India due to fast-growing anthropogenic activities. This study estimates the losses of wheat and rice crop yields using surface ozone observations from a group of 17 sites, for the first time, covering different parts of India. We used the mean ozone for 7 h during the day (M7) and accumulated ozone over a threshold of 40 ppbv (AOT40) metrics for the calculation of crop losses for the northern, eastern, western and southern regions of India. Our estimates show the highest annual loss of wheat (about 9 million ton) in the northern India, one of the most polluted regions in India, and that of rice (about 2.6 million ton) in the eastern region. The total all India annual loss of 4.0–14.2 million ton (4.2–15.0%) for wheat and 0.3–6.7 million ton (0.3–6.3%) for rice are estimated. The results show lower crop loss for rice than that of wheat mainly due to lower surface ozone levels during the cropping season after the Indian summer monsoon. These estimates based on a network of observation sites show lower losses than earlier estimates based on limited observations and much lower losses compared to global model estimates. However, these losses are slightly higher compared to a regional model estimate. Further, the results show large differences in the loss rates of both the two crops using the M7 and AOT40 metrics. This study also confirms that AOT40 cannot be fit with a linear relation over the Indian region and suggests for the need of new metrics that are based on factors suitable for this region.

The recovery of silver from Ag⁺ solution coupled with power generation was investigated in bio-electrochemical system (BES). In this system, chemical energy existing in the organic matter in the anode chamber can be converted biologically to electrical energy which can be used for the reduction of Ag⁺ ions in the cathode chamber. Results showed that type of substrate influenced the metabolic pathway and affected the cell voltage progression, and columbic efficiency. Silver recovery was not affected by increasing initial pH (2.0 to 7.0) and Ag⁺ concentration (100 to 1000 mg/L) in the catholyte, whereas power generation was improved. A maximum power density of 8258 mW/m³ and a columbic efficiency of 21.61% could be achieved with 1000 mg/L of Ag⁺. Ag⁺ ions were reduced to form metallic deposits as Ag⁰ crystals on the cathode surface, which were then confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum. The BES reactor had high silver removal (i.e., >96%) after 24 h of operation. When considering the crossover of Ag⁺ ions through the cation exchange membrane, the removal was in the range of 83.73–92.51%. This crossover was not considerable as compared to the Ag⁺ initial concentration. At higher initial Ag⁺ concentration (2000 mg/L), the silver removal decreased to 88.61% and the maximum power density decreased to 5396 mW/m³. This study clearly showed that BES can be employed for silver recovery, wastewater treatment, and also electricity generation.

Particulate matter (PM₁₀) associated with the fractions of organic macromolecules, including humic acid (HA), kerogen + black carbon (KB), and black carbon (BC), was determined during summer and winter at urban and suburban sites in a coastal city of southeast China. The organic macromolecules were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and their sources were identified by using stable carbon/nitrogen isotope (δ¹³C/δ¹⁵N) and the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) Model. The results showed that HA, kerogen (K), and BC accounted for the range of 3.89 to 4.55 % in PM₁₀, while they were the dominant fractions of total organic carbon (TOC), ranging from 64.70 to 84.99 %. SEM analysis indicated that BC particles were porous/nonporous and consisted of spherical and non-spherical (i.e., cylindrical and elongate) structures. The FTIR spectra of HA, KB, and BC exhibited similar functional groups, but the difference of various sites and seasons was observed. HA in PM₁₀ contained a higher fraction of aliphatic structures, such as long-chain fatty and carbohydrates with a carboxylic extremity. The C/N ratio, SEM, and δ¹³C/δ¹⁵N values provided reliable indicators of the sources of HA, K, and BC in PM₁₀. The results suggested that HA and K majorly originated from terrestrial plants, and BC came from the mixture of combustion of terrestrial plants, fossil fuel, and charcoal. The air masses in winter originated from Mongolia (4 %), the northern area of China (48 %), and northern adjacent cities (48 %), suggesting the influence of anthropogenic sources through long-range transport, while the air masses for the summer period came from South China Sea (34 %) and Western Pacific Sea (66 %), representing clean marine air masses with low concentrations of organic macromolecules.

The endophyte Pseudomonas sp. XNN8 was separated from Typha orientalis which can secrete indole-3-acetic acid and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase and siderophores and has strong resistance to uranium it was then colonized in the Syngonium podophyllum; and the S. podophyllum-Pseudomonas sp. XNN8 symbiotic purification system (SPPSPS) for uranium-containing wastewater was constructed. Afterwards, the hydroponic experiments to remove uranium from uranium-containing wastewater by the SPPSPS were conducted. After 24 days of treatment, the uranium concentrations of the wastewater samples with uranium concentrations between 0.5 and 5.0 mg/L were lowered to below 0.05 mg/L. Furthermore, the uranium in the plants was assayed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The Pseudomonas sp. XNN8 was found to generate substantial organic groups in the roots of the Syngonium podophyllum, which could improve the complexing capability of S. podophyllum for uranium. The uranium in the roots of S. podophyllum was found to be the uranyl phosphate (47.4 %) and uranyl acetate (52.6 %).

A factorial design methodology was implemented to evaluate the importance of ethyl paraben (EP) concentration (500–1500 μg/L), sodium persulfate concentration (400–500 mg/L), temperature (40–60 °C), reaction time (2–30 min), water matrix (pure water or secondary treated wastewater), and initial solution pH (3–9) on EP removal by heat-activated persulfate oxidation. All individual effects, except the solution pH, were statistically significant and so were the second-order interactions of ethyl paraben concentration with temperature or the reaction time. The influence of the water matrix was crucial, and the efficiency of the process was lower in secondary treated wastewater due to the presence of natural organic matter and inorganic salts that compete with ethyl paraben for the reactive oxygen species. Liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) was employed to identify major transformation by-products (TBPs); 13 compounds were detected as TBPs of EP. Degradation occurred through (i) hydroxylation, (ii) dealkylation, and (iii) oligomerization reactions leading to TBPs with ether and biphenyl structures. Oligomerization reactions were found to be the dominant pathway during the first steps of the reaction. The toxicity of 500 μg/L EP in secondary treated wastewater was tested against marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri; toxicity increased during the first minutes due to the production of several TBPs, but it consistently decreased thereafter.

This study investigated the effects of the freezing and thawing that accompany the warming process on the composition of the soil organic matter in the dissolved and colloidal fractions. Temperate soil samples were incubated in a refrigerator at 2 °C for 4 weeks and compared with those frozen at −20 °C in the second week followed by thawing at 2 °C to study a freeze-thaw effect with minimal effect from the thawing temperature. The freeze-thaw group was compared with those incubated at 25 °C in the last week to investigate a warming effect after thawing. Thawing at 2 °C after freezing at −20 °C increased the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), but decreased colloidal Ca. The subsequent warming condition greatly increased both DOC and colloidal Ca. The colloidal organic carbon (COC) and dissolved Ca showed rather subtle changes in response to the freeze-thaw and warming treatments compared to the changes in DOC and colloidal Ca. The fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) and Fourier transformation-infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) results showed that the freeze-thaw and warming treatments gave the opposite effects on the compositions of dissolved humic-like substances, polysaccharides or silicates, and aliphatic alcohols. A principal component analysis (PCA) with the DOC, fluorescence EEM, and FT-IR spectra produced two principal components that successfully distinguished the effects of the freeze-thaw and warming treatments. Due to the contrasting effects of the freeze-thaw and warming treatments, the overall effects of freeze-thaw events in nature on the dissolved and colloidal soil organic matter could vary depending on the thawing temperature.