Differential Leaf-to-Root Movement, Trophic Transfer, and Tissue-Specific Biodistribution of Metal-Based and Polymer-Based Nanoparticles When Present Singly and in Mixture.

The transfer of nanoparticles (NPs) through the terrestrial food chain via foliar uptake presents poorly understood risks, especially in scenarios involving copollution and plant translocation. Herein, we exposed the radishes to single and mixed foliar doses of CeO NPs and deuterated polystyrene (DPS), investigating the trophic transfer of NPs from radish shoots/roots to snails. Compared to single treatments, mixture treatments increased Ce uptake by plants but had no effect on DPS uptake.

Distinct accumulation patterns, translocation efficiencies, and impacts of nano-fertilizer and nano-pesticide in wheat through foliar versus soil application.

The use of nano-chemicals in agriculture has been shown to enhance crop production through soil additions or foliar sprays. However, the accumulation pattern, translocation efficiency, mode of action of nanomaterials (NMs) via different application methods remain unclear. In this study, wheat was treated with CuO-NPs/CeO-NPs (50 and 100 nm) for 21 days using soil and foliar application separately.

Intergenerational neurotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in offspring mice is mediated by dysfunctional microbe-gut-brain axis.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitous in daily life, posing potential risks to the environment and human. While their negative effects on parental organisms have been extensively studied, intergenerational effects are still in the early stages of investigation. Here, we aimed to investigate the impact of maternal exposure to an environmentally relevant level of polystyrene NPs (PSNPs, 100 nm) during gestation and lactation (∼32 days, 50 μg/mouse/day) on neurotoxicity mediated by the microbe-gut-brain axis in offspring mice.

Foliar Exposure of Deuterium Stable Isotope-Labeled Nanoplastics to Lettuce: Quantitative Determination of Foliar Uptake, Transport, and Trophic Transfer in a Terrestrial Food Chain.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are widely detected in the atmosphere and are likely to be deposited on plant leaves. However, our understanding of their foliar uptake, translocation, and trophic transfer profiles is limited due to a lack of quantitative analytical tools to effectively probe mechanisms of action. Here, using synthesized deuterium (H) stable isotope-labeled polystyrene nanoplastics (H-PSNPs), the foliar accumulation and translocation of NPs in lettuce and the dynamics of NP transfer along a lettuce-snail terrestrial food chain were investigated.

Pioneer plants enhance soil multifunctionality by reshaping underground multitrophic community during natural succession of an abandoned rare earth mine tailing.

Spontaneous natural succession in metal mine tailings is fundamental to the rehabilitation of bare tailing. Here, an abandoned rare earth element (REE) mine tailing with spontaneous colonisation by pioneer plants with different functional traits was selected. Soil nutrient cycling, fertility, organic matter decomposition as well as underground organismal communities and their multitrophic networks were investigated.

Trophic Transfer and Toxic Potency of Rare Earth Elements along a Terrestrial Plant-Herbivore Food Chain.

Extensive rare earth element (REE) mining activities have caused REE contamination of ambient agricultural soils, posing threats to associated food webs. Here, a simulated lettuce-snail food chain was conducted to evaluate the trophic transfer characteristics and the consequent effects of REEs on consumers. After 50-day exposure to soil, lettuce roots dose-dependently accumulated 9.

Maternal exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics causes defective retinal development and function in progeny mice by disturbing metabolic profiles.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are widely spreading in our living environment, accumulating in the human body and potentially threating human health. The retina, which is a terminally differentiated extension of the central nervous system, is essential for the visual system. However, the effects and molecular mechanisms of MPs/NPs on retina development and function are still unclear.

Urban agglomerations as an environmental dimension of antibiotics transmission through the "One Health" lens.

The spatiotemporal distributions of antibiotics in different media have been widely reported; however, their occurrence in the environmental dimension of the Chinese urban agglomerations has received less attention, especially in bioaccumulation and health risks of antibiotics through the "One Health" lens. The review presents the current knowledge on the environmental occurrence, bioaccumulation, as well as health exposure risks in urban agglomerations through the "One Health" lens, and identifies current information gaps. The reviewed studies suggested antibiotic concentrations in water and soil were more sensitive to social indicators of urban agglomerations than those in sediment.

Earthworm Coelomocyte Internalization of MoS Nanosheets: Multiplexed Imaging, Molecular Profiling, and Computational Modeling.

Fully understanding the cellular uptake and intracellular localization of MoS nanosheets (NSMoS) is a prerequisite for their safe applications. Here, we characterized the uptake profile of NSMoS by functional coelomocytes of the earthworm . Considering that vacancy engineering is widely applied to enhance the NSMoS performance, we assessed the potential role of such atomic vacancies in regulating cellular uptake processes.

A toxicokinetics approach using Enchytraeus crypticus to evaluate the efficiency of hydroxyapatite to remediate soils contaminated with rare earth elements.

Extensive rare earth element (REE) mining activities pose threats to agricultural soils surrounding the mining areas. Here, low and high REE-contaminated soils from farmlands around mine tailings were remediated with hydroxyapatite. A toxicokinetic approach was applied to assess whether the use of hydroxyapatite reduced the bioavailability of REEs and thus inhibited their accumulation in the terrestrial organism Enchytraeus crypticus.

Coupled Lipidomics and Digital Pathology as an Effective Strategy to Identify Novel Adverse Outcome Pathways in Exposed to MoS Nanosheets and Ionic Mo.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets are increasingly applied in several fields, but effective and accurate strategies to fully characterize potential risks to soil ecosystems are lacking. We introduce a coelomocyte-based exposure strategy to identify novel adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) and molecular endpoints from nontransformed (NTMoS) and ultraviolet-transformed (UTMoS) MoS nanosheets (10 and 100 mg Mo/L) on the earthworm using nontargeted lipidomics integrated with transcriptomics. Machine learning-based digital pathology analysis coupled with phenotypic monitoring was further used to establish the correlation between lipid profiling and whole organism effects.

Editorial for the Special Issue "Phytotoxicity of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Soils".

Soil is an essential natural resource because of the ecosystem services it carries out in the terrestrial ecosystem: the provision of food, fibre and fuel; habitats for organisms; nutrient cycling; climate regulation and carbon sequestration; water purification and soil contaminant reductions; and others [...

Interactions of molybdenum disulfide nanosheets with wheat plants under changing environments: More than meets the eye?

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets are being increasingly employed in various applications. It is therefore imperative to assess their potential environmental implications in a changing world, particularly in the context of global warming. Here, we assessed the effects of MoS nanosheets on wheat Triticum aestivum L.

Molecular Imaging Reveals Two Distinct Mixing States of PM Particles Sampled in a Typical Beijing Winter Pollution Case.

Mixing states of aerosol particles are crucial for understanding the role of aerosols in influencing air quality and climate. However, a fundamental understanding of the complex mixing states is still lacking because most traditional analysis techniques only reveal bulk chemical and physical properties with limited surface and 3-D information. In this research, 3-D molecular imaging enabled by ToF-SIMS was used to elucidate the mixing states of PM samples obtained from a typical Beijing winter haze event.

Impact of nanopesticide CuO-NPs and nanofertilizer CeO-NPs on wheat Triticum aestivum under global warming scenarios.

Concurrent effect of nanomaterials (NMs) and warming on plant performance remains largely unexplored. In this study, the effects of nanopesticide CuO and nanofertilizer CeO on wheat (Triticum aestivum) under optimal (22 °C) and suboptimal (30 °C) temperatures were evaluated. CuO-NPs exerted a stronger negative effect on plant root systems than CeO-NPs at tested exposure levels.

Simulation and risk assessment of arsenic by Hydrus-3D and CalTOX in a typical brownfield site.

Accurate quantification of arsenic migration and accumulation in brownfield site is critical for environmental management and soil remediation. However, the researches simulating arsenic in brownfield site in China are limited due to sparse data and complex migration behaviors. In this study, we simulated historic arsenic contamination using Hydrus-3D in an abandoned brownfield site in Hebei, China, from 1972 to 2019.

Surface Defects Regulate the Bioenergetic Response of Earthworm Coelomocytes to Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets.

Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (2D MoS) nanomaterials are seeing increased use in several areas, and this will lead to their inevitable release into soils. Surface defects can occur on MoS nanosheets during synthesis or during environmental aging processes. The mechanisms of MoS nanosheet toxicity to soil invertebrates and the role of surface defects in that toxicity have not been fully elucidated.

Increasing Temperatures Potentiate the Damage of Rare Earth Element Yttrium to the Crop Plant L.

Given that increasing temperature may aggravate the toxicity of pollutants, it is a daunting challenge to evaluate the realistic risks of rare earth elements (REEs) under global warming. Here, we studied how elevated temperatures (27 and 32 °C) impact the effect of yttrium (Y) on wheat plants ( L.) at concentrations not causing effects (0, 0.

Role of heteroaggregation and internalization in the toxicity of differently sized and charged plastic nanoparticles to freshwater microalgae.

The toxic effect of waterborne nanoplastics is a manifestation of bio-nano interfacial interactions. Although nanoplastics with different physicochemical characteristics are known to exhibit distinct toxicities, it remains poorly understood how the properties of nanoplastics affect the bio-nano interface interactions. Here, polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs) varying in size (50, 300, and 500 nm) and surface charge (negative and positive charge) were employed to explore the interplay between PSNPs and algal cells (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), with special focus on the heteroaggregation of PSNPs and microalgae, PSNPs cellular internalization, and cellular physiological responses.

Fate and transport of chromium in industrial sites: Dynamic simulation on soil profile.

Direct discharge of chromium-containing waste water and improper disposal of waste residues in industrial sites may lead to the vertical migration of metals into aquifers, posing serious threat to soil-groundwater system. The heterogeneity in soil profile further aggravates the complexity and unpredictability of this transport process. However, topsoil was the main focus of most studies.

The deposition mapping of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in megacity Shanghai, China.

The deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) has far-reaching impacts on Earth's surface system and human health. However, a comprehensive understanding of PAHs' deposition in a high urbanized area is still lacking because of limited field measurements data and rough resolution of current models. In this research, a deposition map of PAHs with a resolution of 2 × 2 km in megacity Shanghai, China was established.

Subcellular localization and compartment-specific toxicokinetics of cadmium, arsenic, and zinc in brandling worm Eisenia fetida.

Awareness of toxicokinetics at the subcellular level is crucial to deciphering the underlying intoxication processes of metal(loid)s, although this information is often lacking. Here, the toxicokinetics of two non-essential metal(loid)s (Cd and As) and one essential metal (Zn) in both the whole body and subcellular fractions of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) were assessed. Earthworms were exposed to natural soils originating from a gradient of metal(loid) pollution for 14 days followed by a 14-day elimination phase in clean soil.