Long-term open-pit mining activities at the world's largest light rare earth mine significantly affect light rare earth elements in road dust over long distances.

The long-term effects of decades of open-pit mining at the Bayan Obo deposit, the world's largest light rare earth mine, on the concentrations of several elements in road dust over long distances are unknown. Here, bulk road dust (BRD) and resuspended road dust (RRD) were collected from different distances from the mine for subsequent analysis of mining impacts. As a result of mining activities, light rare earth elements (LREEs), especially La, Ce, Pr and Nd, show different statistical and spatial variations compared to other elements.

Nicotinamide Riboside-Driven Modulation of SIRT3/mtROS/JNK Signaling Pathways Alleviates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury exacerbates cellular damage upon restoring blood flow to ischemic cardiac tissue, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. This study investigates Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), a precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), for its cardioprotective effects. Administering NR to mice before I/R injury and evaluating heart function via echocardiography showed that NR significantly improved heart function, increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional shortening (FS), and reduced left ventricular end-diastolic (LVDd) and end-systolic diameters (LVSd).

Selenium spatial distribution and bioavailability of soil-plant systems in China: a comprehensive review.

Selenium (Se) has a dual nature, with beneficial and harmful effects on plants, essential for both humans and animals, playing a crucial role in ecosystem regulation. Insufficient Se in specific terrestrial environments raises concerns due to its potential to cause diseases, while excess Se can lead to severe toxicity. Thus, maintaining an optimal Se level is essential for living organisms.

Exploring the environmental risks and seasonal variations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in fine road dust in resource-based cities based on Monte Carlo simulation, geo-detector and random forest model.

The environmental pollution caused by mineral exploitation and energy consumption poses a serious threat to ecological security and human health, particularly in resource-based cities. To address this issue, a comprehensive investigation was conducted on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in road dust from different seasons to assess the environmental risks and influencing factors faced by Datong City. Multivariate statistical analysis and absolute principal component score were employed for source identification and quantitative allocation.

Integrated assessment of potentially toxic elements in soil of the Kangdian metallogenic province: A two-point machine learning approach.

The accumulation of potentially toxic elements in soil poses significant risks to ecosystems and human well-being due to their inherent toxicity, widespread presence, and persistence. The Kangdian metallogenic province, famous for its iron-copper deposits, faces soil pollution challenges due to various potentially toxic elements. This study explored a comprehensive approach that combinescombines the spatial prediction by the two-point machine learning method and ecological-health risk assessment to quantitatively assess the comprehensive potential ecological risk index (PERI), the total hazard index (THI) and the total carcinogenic risk (TCR).

Isotopic insights and integrated analysis for heavy metal levels, ecological risks, and source apportionment in river sediments of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The research was carried out to examine the pollution characteristics, ecological risk, and origins of seven heavy metals (Hg, As, Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Ni) in 51 sediment samples gathered from 8 rivers located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) in China. The contents of Hg and Cd were 5.0 and 1.

Tracking the flows of Hg, As, Cd, Cr, and Pb in Chinese coal-fired industrial boilers.

Coal-fired industrial boilers (CFIBs) are critical anthropogenic contributors of heavy metals (HMs) because of their high coal consumption and complicated air pollution control facilities (APCDs). This study explored the flows of Hg, As, Cd, Cr, and Pb in CFIBs at regional scale by establishing a boiler-level HMs inflow-outflow inventory. The results indicate that large-capacity CFIBs (≥ 65 t/h) are the leading contributors to HMs inflows.

Identifying driving factors of soil heavy metal at the mining area scale: Methods and practice.

Identifying driving factors is of great significance for understanding the mechanisms of soil pollution. In this study, a data processing method for driving factors was analyzed to explore the genesis of Arsenic (As) pollution in mining areas. The wind field that affects the atmospheric diffusion of pollutants was simulated using the standard k-ε model.

Remarkable contamination characteristics, potential hazards and source apportionment of heavy metals in surface dust of kindergartens in a northern megacity of China.

It is essential to understand the impact of heavy metals (HMs) present in the surface dust (SD) of kindergartens on children, who are highly sensitive to contaminated dust in cities in their growth stage. A study was conducted on 11 types of HMs present in the SD of 73 kindergartens in Beijing. This study aims to assess the pollution levels and sources of eleven HMs in Beijing's kindergartens surface dust (KSD), and estimate the potential health risks in different populations and sources.

Unveiling the spatial differentiation drivers of major soil element behavior along traffic network accessibility.

Advancements in transportation networks have induced a spatial-temporal convergence effect, accelerating socio-economic elements flow and dismantling the conventional "core-periphery" urbanization gradient. Accessibility of transportation networks emerges as a reliable indicator of urbanization. There has been a growing global and Chinese focus on the various forms of metal pollution in urban soil.

Agricultural nonpoint source pollutant loads into water bodies in a typical basin in the middle reach of the Yangtze River.

Phosphorus and nitrogen pollution from agricultural nonpoint sources heavily burden the water environment, and a scientific calculating system is needed to calculate the pollutant loads under the water pollution treatment. This study established a system to calculate the coefficients of agricultural nonpoint source pollutants into water bodies in the subregion in Poyang Lake basin in the middle reach of the Yangtze River combining with multiple driving factors. Validation results showed that the errors of the typical unit were 30.

High-precision spatio-temporal variations and future perspectives of multiple air pollutant emissions from Chinese biomass-fired industrial boilers.

Biomass-fired industrial boilers (BFIBs) are one of the neglected and important anthropogenic sources of air pollutants. A comprehensive boiler-based emission inventory of multiple air pollutants from BFIBs in China in 2020 was first developed based on the activity level database and updated emission factors. Results showed that national emissions of air pollutants from BFIBs in 2020 were estimated to be 11.

Continuous crop rotation increases soil organic carbon stocks in river deltas: A 40-year field evidence.

River deltas, as important food production centers, support 66 % of the world's population, together with other coastal areas. However, agriculture in river deltas is negatively affected by soil salinization and agricultural intensification. Improving the soil carbon pool is a mutually beneficial solution for maximizing crop production and improving climate resilience to secure food production.

Source-specific probabilistic risk evaluation of potentially toxic metal(loid)s in fine dust of college campuses based on positive matrix factorization and Monte Carlo simulation.

Contamination, hazard level and source of 10 widely concerned potentially toxic metal(loid)s (PTMs) Co, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Ba, and V in fine dust with particle size below 63 μm (FD63) were investigated to assess the environmental quality of college campuses and influencing factors. PTMs sources were qualitatively analyzed using statistical methods and quantitatively apportioned using positive matrix factorization. Probabilistic contamination degrees of PTMs were evaluated using enrichment factor and Nemerow integrated enrichment factor.

An integrated approach for quantifying trace metal sources in surface soils of a typical farmland in the three rivers plain, China.

The presence of trace metals (TMs) in agricultural soil has garnered considerable attention due to their potential migration into crops, posing a significant risk to human health. In this study, we examined the concentrations of eight trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the soil and investigated various soil physicochemical characteristics in the Three Rivers Plain region, China. The assessment of the geoaccumulation index (I) for the mean concentration of all trace metals indicated that the soils were generally free from significant TM pollution.

Hair-biomonitoring assessment of rare-earth-element exposure in residents of the largest rare-earth mining and smelting area of China.

The long-term and large-scale mining of rare earth minerals may lead to an accumulation of rare earth elements (REEs) in the environment, posing potential health risks to residents. We collected scalp hair (n = 254) from residents of a smelting area, a mining area, and a reference area to clarify human exposure to REEs. The contents of 15 REEs investigated in human hair samples were notably higher in the mining and smelting areas than in the reference area.

Research advances in mechanisms of arsenic hyperaccumulation of Pteris vittata: Perspectives from plant physiology, molecular biology, and phylogeny.

Pteris vittata, as the firstly discovered arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator, has great application value in As-contaminated soil remediation. Currently, the genes involved in As hyperaccumulation in P. vittata have been mined continuously, while they have not been used in practice to enhance phytoremediation efficiency.

Iron isotope fractionation of redox and geochemical cycling in the typical Gleysols in Mun River Basin, Northeast Thailand.

Iron (Fe) isotope is a potential tool for tracking redox process and geochemical cycling in terrestrial environment. In this study, Fe concentration and its isotopic composition (δFe) in two typical Gleysol profiles (M1 and M2) were investigated to distinguish the processes which influence the variation of Fe isotopic composition during redox regimes in the Mun River Basin (MRB). Under oxidizing condition, Fe(II) was oxidized and re-precipitated to form Fe(III) (hydr)oxides zone (Fe nodule-containing zone) in two Gleysol profiles, leading to extremely light Fe isotopes in these zones.

Irrigation Optimization via Crop Water Use in Saline Coastal Areas-A Field Data Analysis in China's Yellow River Delta.

Freshwater resources are becoming increasingly scarce in coastal areas, limiting crop productivity in coastal farmlands. Although the characteristic of crop water use is an important factor for water conservation in coastal farmlands, it has not been studied extensively. This study aimed to depict the water use process of soil-plant systems under saline stress in coastal ecosystems and optimize water management.

Spatial correlation and coupling between industrial enterprise agglomeration and water pollutant discharge.

Industrial wastewater discharge has become the main cause of water pollution in China. However, the spatial interaction mechanism between industrial structure and water pollution is still unclear. Accordingly, we evaluated and analyzed spatiotemporal changes of the agglomeration pattern of pollution-intensive industrial enterprises and the evolution of the water environmental pollution pattern, as well as the correlation between them.