To investigate the chemical properties of particulate matter (PM) in different public transport microenvironments in Hong Kong, the coarse (2.5–10 μm) and fine (<2.5 μm) PM samples were collected in three different types of transport modes including Mass Transit Railway (MTR)-Aboveground (AG), MTR Underground (UG), and Bus routes from October 2013 to April 2014. Average PM₂.₅ concentrations through UG, AG, and Bus routes were 47.9, 86.8, and 43.8 μg m⁻³, respectively, whereas the coarse PM concentrations were 4–5 folds less. The PM₂.₅ total metal concentrations of AG route were 2.3 and 3.7 times of UG and BUS routes, respectively, compared to those in the other two routes. The most abundant metals at three stations in PM₂.₅ and coarse PM were quite similar and mainly generated by frictional processes of wheels, rails, and brakes of the system as well as by the mechanical wearing of these parts. The most abundant PAH in three routes in PM₂.₅ was ATRQN, followed by 2-MNA, and the sum of them contributed to 35 and 42% of total PAHs in coarse PM and PM₂.₅, respectively. Crude oils, lubricant oil, diesel emissions would be the major sources of PAHs from MTR aboveground stations. The relative abundance of the n-alkanes among different samples was similar to the PAHs and the carbon preference index (CPI) values of the whole n-alkanes range were consistently from 0.99 to 1.04 among all samples indicating the significant contribution from the vehicle exhaust and fossil fuel burning. The concentrations of hopanes and steranes were higher in PM₂.₅ than in coarse PM due to diesel and coal burning. These results may provide a unique opportunity to investigate source specific contribution of the PM pollutants to the commuter exposure in public transport.

In this work, sediments were treated with calcium nitrate, aluminum sulfate, ferric sulfate, and Phoslock®, respectively. The impact of treatments on internal phosphorus release, the abundance of nitrogen cycle-related functional genes, and the growth of submerged macrophytes were investigated. All treatments reduced total phosphorus (TP) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in interstitial water, and aluminum sulfate was most efficient. Aluminum sulfate also decreased TP and SRP in overlying water. Treatments significantly changed P speciations in the sediment. Phoslock® transformed other P species into calcium-bound P. Calcium nitrate, ferric sulfate, and Phoslock® had negative influence on ammonia oxidizers, while four chemicals had positive influence on denitrifies, indicating that chemical treatment could inhibit nitrification but enhance denitrification. Aluminum sulfate had decreased chlorophyll content of the leaves of submerged macrophytes, while ferric sulfate and Phoslock® treatment would inhibit the growth of the root. Based on the results that we obtained, we emphasized that before application of chemical treatment, the effects on submerged macrophyte revegetation should be taken into consideration.

The effects of different concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) (2, 10, 20, 100, 200, and 2000 ng/g dry food weight) on the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and concentration of heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) in fifth instar Lymantria dispar brain tissue were investigated. Inhibition of AChE is a general effect biomarker at the individual level. We observed the most efficient inhibition of this enzyme at medium and high BaP concentrations (20, 100, 200, and 2000 ng/g dry food weight). Western blot analysis revealed the presence of two hsp 70 isoforms, with changed amounts depending on the BaP concentration. A fluctuating response in hsp70 concentration to ingested BaP was observed: with decreased levels in the groups fed 2 and 100 ng BaP/g dry food weight, but increased concentrations in the groups given 10 and 2000 ng/g dry food weight. Even though we detected changes in AChE activity and hsp70 concentration in L. dispar brain tissue upon exposure to different BaP concentrations, we cannot characterize them as sensitive and reliable biomarkers for this xenobiotic in L. dispar caterpillars.

Environmental building recommendations aimed towards new environmental policies and management-changing decisions which as example demonstrated in consideration of the problems of Canadian oil sands operators. For the implementation of the circular economic strategy, we use an in-depth analysis of reported environmental after-consequence on all stages of the production process. The study addressed the promotion of innovative solutions for greenhouse gas emission, waste mitigation, and risk of falling in oil prices for operators of oil sands with creating market opportunities. They include the addition of microalgae biomass in tailings ponds for improvement of the microbial balance for the water speedily cleaning, recycling, and reusing with mitigation of GHG emissions. The use of food scraps for the nutrition of microalgae will reduce greenhouse gas emission minimally, on 0.33 MtCO₂eq for Alberta and 2.63 MtCO₂eq/year for Canada. Microalgae-derived biofuel can reduce this emission for Alberta on 11.9–17.9 MtCO₂eq and for Canada on 71–106 MtCO₂eq/year, and the manufacturing of other products will adsorb up to 135.6 MtCO₂ and produce 99.2 MtO₂. The development of the Live Conserve Industry and principal step from non-efficient protection of the environment to its cultivation in a large scale with mitigation of GHG emission and waste as well as generating of O₂ and value-added products by the use of microalgae opens an important shift towards a new design and building of a biological system.

Biomarkers have been widely employed in ecotoxicology as early warning indicators of exposure to toxicants. Very often, they are used to compare reference and polluted sites, or to analyse time trends. However, very few studies focus on the natural variability range of biomarkers in the environment, which is pivotal to understand if the detected differences are actually determined by any adverse effects due to pollution. This work assesses the natural spatio-temporal variability of some enzymatic levels, frequently used as biomarkers, in freshwater benthic invertebrates. The influence of some environmental parameters on the enzymatic levels was also evaluated. Three families of insect larvae (Perlidae, Baetidae, and Heptageniidae) were sampled in three pristine streams and in eight different dates. Four enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, alkaline phosphatase, and catalase) were measured. The natural variability of enzymatic levels was often significant in all considered species across both space and time. The observed pattern was poorly explained by the monitored environmental parameters. The results of this work show that great care should be paid when interpreting monitoring data in which biomarker levels are measured and compared among sites or dates. Presuming that measured differences are due to anthropogenic factors can be misleading, when other potentially influencing factors have not been accounted for.

Synthesis and controlled release study of polymeric nanoformulation of carbendazim (2-benzimidazole carbamic acid methyl ester) using chitosan and pectin is reported in this article. The formulation was subjected to morphological, physiological, in vitro fungicide release and bio-efficacy evaluation studies. The average size of nanoparticles was found to be in the range of 70–90 nm as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The in vitro fungicide release of nanoformulated carbendazim was compared with pure carbendazim at different pH values. The results confirmed sustained release of nanoformulated carbendazim. The bio-efficacy evaluation of the carbendazim nanoformulation was carried out against Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus parasiticus. The nanoformulation showed 100 % inhibition of test fungi at both concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 ppm) while pure carbendazim showed 80 ± 0 % and 97.2 ± 1.1 % inhibition at 0.5 and 1.0 ppm concentration respectively against Fusarium oxysporum and 86.0 ± 0.6 % inhibition and 100.0 % inhibition at 0.5 and 1.0 ppm concentration respectively against Aspergillus parasiticus. The commercial formulation (WP 50) showed 42 % and 58.0 ± 0.1 % inhibition at 0.5 and 1 ppm concentration respectively against Aspergillus parasiticus and 50.5 ± 0.7 % and 70.0 ± 0 % inhibition at 0.5 and 1.0 ppm concentrations respectively against Fusarium oxysporum. Phytotoxicity evaluation of nanoformulated fungicide confirmed that the nanoformulated carbendazim is safer for germination and root growth of the seeds of Cucumis sativa, Zea mays, and Lycopersicum esculantum.

Coral reefs are degraded by the synergistic action of climate and anthropogenic stressors. Coral cover in the Palk Bay reef at the northern Indian Ocean largely declined in the past decade due to frequent bleaching events, tsunami and increased fishing activities. In this study, we carried out a comparative assessment to assess the differences in the recovery and resilience of three spatially distant reefs viz. Vedhalai, Mandapam and Pamban along Palk Bay affected by moderate, severe and low fishing pressure respectively. The assessment was based on the juvenile coral recruitment pattern and its survivability combined with availability of hard substratum, live coral cover and herbivore reef fish stock. The Vedhalai reef has the highest coral cover (14.6 ± 6.3%), and ≥90% of the live corals in Vedhalai and Mandapam were affected by turf algal overgrowth. The density of herbivore reef fish was low in Vedhalai and Mandapam reefs compared to the Pamban reef with relatively few grazing species. The juvenile coral diversity and density were high in the Pamban reef and low in Vedhalai and Mandapam reefs despite high hard substratum cover. In total, 22 species of juvenile corals of 10 genera were recorded in Palk Bay. Comparison of the species diversity of juvenile corals with adult ones suggested that the Pamban reef is connected with other distant reefs whereas Vedhalai and Mandapam reefs were self-seeded. There was no statistically significant difference in the survivability of juvenile corals between the study sites, and in total, ≥90% of the juvenile corals survived the high sedimentation stress triggered by the northeast monsoon and bleaching stress that occurred recurrently. Our results indicated that the human activities indirectly affected the juvenile coral recruitment by degrading the live coral cover and contributed to the spatial variation in the recovery and resilience of the Palk Bay reef. Low species diversity of the juvenile corals will increase the vulnerability of the Palk Bay reef to species-specific endemic threats.

Acute upper and lower respiratory infections are main causes of mortality and morbidity in children. Air pollution has been recognized as an important contributor to development and exacerbation of respiratory infections. However, few studies are available in China. In this study, we investigated the short-term effect of air pollution on hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections among children under 15 years in Ningbo, China. Poisson generalized models were used to estimate the associations between air pollution and hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections adjusted for temporal, seasonal, and meteorological effects. We found that four pollutants (PM₂.₅, PM₁₀, NO₂, and SO₂) were significantly associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections. The effect estimates for acute upper respiratory infections tended to be higher (PM₂.₅ ER = 3.46, 95% CI 2.18, 4.76; PM₁₀ ER = 2.81, 95% CI 1.93, 3.69; NO₂ ER = 11.27, 95% CI 8.70, 13.89; SO₂ ER = 15.17, 95% CI 11.29, 19.19). Significant associations for gaseous pollutants (NO₂ and SO₂) were observed after adjustment for particular matter. Stronger associations were observed among older children and in the cold period. Our study suggested that short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution was associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections in Ningbo.

Plant growth regulator-assisted phytoremediation has been assessed as a novel strategy to improve phytoremediation potential of plants. In the present work, potential of castasterone, a plant growth regulator, combined with citric acid was explored for phytoremediation of cadmium in Brassica juncea seedlings. The seedlings were raised under controlled laboratory conditions for 7 days. Results revealed that 0.6 mM cadmium exposure induced toxicity in the seedlings, which was reflected through root growth inhibition, accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde, and loss of cell viability. Pre-sowing treatment of castasterone supplemented with citric acid enhanced cadmium accumulation in the roots (from 752 μg/g DW to 1192 μg/g DW) and shoots (from 88 μg/g DW to 311 μg/g DW) and also improved root length, shoot length, fresh weight, and dry weight of seedlings by 81, 17, 39, and 35 %, respectively. The co-application reduced malondialdehyde accumulation by 39 % and reduced oxidative stress by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, polyphenol oxidase), maximum enhancement (82 %) being in polyphenol oxidase. Similarly, the contents of water- and lipid-soluble antioxidants were found to increase by 31 and 4 %, respectively. Confocal microscopy revealed enhanced content of NO. Results suggested that binary combination of castasterone and citric acid is helpful in improving cadmium accumulation and ameliorating metal toxicity in B. juncea seedlings.