Leaching behavior and evaluation of zebrafish embryo toxicity of microplastics and phthalates in take-away plastic containers.

Take-away containers are the common food contact materials (FCMs) that are widely used in daily life. However, little is known regarding the effects of different food simulants on the pollution characteristics of microplastics derived from food containers, as well as the toxic effects of the chemical substances that are leached from them. Extracts were obtained by adding organic solvents into plastic containers (polypropylene, PP; polystyrene, PS) to simulate aqueous, alcoholic, and fatty environments.

Transcriptome profiling of Arabidopsis thaliana roots in response to allelopathic effects of Conyza canadensis.

The molecular mechanisms underlying allelopathy and their role in the interactions between invasive weeds and native species remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the physiological and molecular response of plant roots of a native species to allelopathy from an invasive weed. We examined the growth and development of roots of native Arabidopsis thaliana for a 2-week period after being treated with aqueous extracts at different concentrations from invasive Conyza canadensis.

Measurement and minutely-resolved source apportionment of ambient VOCs in a corridor city during 2019 China International Import Expo episode.

In this study, real-time measurement of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) was conducted at an urban site in Changzhou, a typical corridor city in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China, by Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) during 2019 China International Import Expo (CIIE) episode. An improved method based on Air Quality Index (AQI) value is applied to identify polluted and clean periods. Diurnal pattern of VOC levels revealed elevated photochemical reactivity during polluted periods.

Microplastic pollution characteristic in surface water and freshwater fish of Gehu Lake, China.

Much more attention has been poured into microplastic pollution in freshwater systems recently. In the present study, the pollution of microplastics (MPs) in surface water and freshwater fish (crucian carp, etc.) were investigated from Gehu Lake, which is the second largest lake in southern Jiangsu after Taihu Lake.

Investigation of the Adsorption of Sulfamethoxazole by Degradable Microplastics Artificially Aged by Chemical Oxidation.

In this study, three different types of microplastics were aged by the thermal activation KSO method to investigate the adsorption behavior for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in aqueous solution. The effects of pH, salinity and humic acid (HA) on adsorption behavior were also investigated. At the same time, the morphology and functional groups of microplastics before and after adsorption were characterized.

Occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, seasonal and annual variation, and source apportionment of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the northwest of Tai Lake Basin, China.

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have attracted mounting attention due to their potential harmful effects and degradation-resistant property. This study continuously monitored the concentration of PFASs for four seasons in two years in the northwest of Tai Lake Basin. The occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, seasonal and annual variation, and source apportionment of 13 PFASs were investigated in 60 surface water sampling sites and 33 emission sources.

Occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, and risk assessment of current-use pesticides in surface water: A case study near Taihu Lake, China.

This study involved the monitoring and risk assessment of current-use pesticides in surface water from the northwestern section of the Taihu Lake Basin (China) in 2019. In particular, 114 current-use pesticides were measured in samples collected during four campaigns spread across the wet, dry, and normal seasons. Pesticide concentrations were measured by means of a novel analytical method involving online solid-phase extraction coupled to LC-MS/MS.

Seasonal occurrence and source analysis of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in aquatic environment in a small and medium-sized city, China.

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) have been widely reported in most megacities in China but seldom in small and median-sized cities. The aim of this study is to investigate occurrence and distribution characteristics of PhACs in a typical small and medium-sized city in China and analyze their sources. 33 PhACs and 4 chiral drugs were selected for a four-season monitoring campaign in Wujin District, Jiangsu Province, a typical small and median-sized city, in 2018.

The involvement of α-proteobacteria Phenylobacterium in maintaining the dominance of toxic Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu, China.

Lake Taihu in China has suffered serious harmful cyanobacterial blooms for decades. The algal blooms threaten the ecological sustainability, drinking water safety, and human health. Although the roles of abiotic factors (such as water temperature and nutrient loading) in promoting Microcystis blooms have been well studied, the importance of biotic factors (e.

Occurrence, source and ecotoxicological risk assessment of pesticides in surface water of Wujin District (northwest of Taihu Lake), China.

This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in surface water (lakes, major rivers and tributaries) and potential discharge sources (fish ponds, livestock and poultry farms, and sewage treatment plants) in Wujin District (northwest of Taihu Lake), Jiangsu province, China. An analytical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for 38 pesticides, which was applied in the monitoring of 240 surface water samples and 76 potential discharge source samples. Eleven insecticides and five fungicides with temporal and spatial variation were detected in surface water.

Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in domestic, industrial, agricultural and aquacultural wastewater sources: A case study in Changzhou, China.

The extensive application of plastic in human life brings about microplastic (MP) pollution in the environment. Identifying the potential sources of MPs is necessary to diminish its pollution. In this study, the occurrence, composition and distribution of MPs in the influents and effluents from 9 domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), 5 industrial WWTPs, wastewater of 10 industrial plants, 4 livestock farms and 4 fish ponds in China were investigated.

Amoxicillin Increased Functional Pathway Genes and Beta-Lactam Resistance Genes by Pathogens Bloomed in Intestinal Microbiota Using a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.

Antibiotics are frequently used to treat bacterial infections; however, they affect not only the target pathogen but also commensal gut bacteria. They may cause the dysbiosis of human intestinal microbiota and consequent metabolic alterations, as well as the spreading of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). experiments by simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME) can clarify the direct effects of antibiotics on different regions of the human intestinal microbiota, allowing complex human microbiota to be stably maintained in the absence of host cells.

Vancomycin exposure caused opportunistic pathogens bloom in intestinal microbiome by simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME).

Antibiotics are emerging organic pollutants posing high health risks to humans by causing human intestinal microbial disorders with increasing abundances of opportunistic pathogens, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been confirmed to restore the dysbiosis of gut flora in many kinds of intestinal disease. However, to date, few studies have focused on the bloomed opportunistic pathogens associated human disease-related pathways as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) after vancomycin exposure, and there is limited information on using FMT for restoration of intestinal microbiome affected by antibiotics. Therefore, this study investigated effects of vancomycin on the opportunistic pathogens, human disease-related pathways as well as ARGs in human gut, and the restoration of intestinal microbiome by FMT.

The prolonged disruption of a single-course amoxicillin on mice gut microbiota and resistome, and recovery by inulin, Bifidobacterium longum and fecal microbiota transplantation.

The usages of antibiotics in treating the pathogenic infections could alter the gut microbiome and associated resistome, causing long term adverse impact on human health. In this study, mice were treated with human-simulated regimen 25.0 mg kg of amoxicillin for seven days, and their gut microbiota and resistome were characterized using the 16S rRNA amplicons sequencing and the high-throughput qPCR, respectively.

Monitoring antibiotic resistomes and bacterial microbiomes in the aerosols from fine, hazy, and dusty weather in Tianjin, China using a developed high-volume tandem liquid impinging sampler.

Accurate quantification of the airborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is critically important to assess their health risks. However, the currently widely used high-volume filter sampler (HVFS) often causes the desiccation of the sample, interfering with subsequent bacterial culture. To overcome this limitation, a high-volume tandem liquid impinging sampler (HVTLIS) was developed and optimized to investigate the airborne bacterial microbiomes and antibiotic resistomes under different weathers in Tianjin, China.

Tracking emission sources of PAHs in a region with pollution-intensive industries, Taihu Basin: From potential pollution sources to surface water.

The strict environmental management has been implemented in Taihu Basin to reduce the surface water contamination; however, the effectiveness of the management actions has not been comprehensively evaluated. In the present study, 364 samples were collected during four campaigns over a span of one year from surface water, municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs), industrial wastewater treatment plants (IWWTPs), industrial enterprises, and aquaculture in a typical region in the Upper Taihu Basin. Overall concentration, temporal variation and spatial distribution of 16 PAHs in surface water and various pollution sources were evaluated and the potential pollution sources were identified.

Spatial imputation for air pollutants data sets via low rank matrix completion algorithm.

Incomplete observation of hourly air-pollutants concentration data is a common issue existing in urban air quality monitoring networks. This research proposes a spatial interpolation method to impute missing values presented in air pollutants data sets based on low rank matrix completion (LRMC). It considers air pollutants data of high correlation and consistency in its spatial distribution.

Municipal Solid Waste Treatment System Increases Ambient Airborne Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes.

Landfill and incineration are the primary disposal practices for municipal solid waste (MSW) and have been considered as the critical reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, the possible transmission of ARGs from the municipal solid waste treatment system (MSWT system) to ambient air is still unclear. In this study, we collected inside and ambient air samples (PM and PM) and potential source samples (leachate and solid waste) in the MSWT system.

[Driving Factors of the Significant Increase in Surface Ozone in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China, During 2013-2018].

Photochemical pollution, which is believed to be influenced by emission changes and meteorological factors, is presently quite serious in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, China. There is a need to ascertain the effectiveness of air quality management in the region based on long-term air quality trends independent from meteorological influences. We apply Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filtering, a technique used to separate different scales of motion in a time series, to analyze the time series of the maximum daily 8-hour running average for ozone (O-8h) from 13 cities in the BTH region during 2013-2018, and also discuss trends and driving factors.

[Toxicity of PM Based on a Battery of Bioassays].

To accurately evaluate the biotoxicity of PM, PM samples from winter fog-haze days, winter normal days, and summer days in Changzhou were selected for evaluation based on the acute toxicity of luminescent bacteria and zebrafish embryos and the cytotoxicity of human lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro (A549). The three atmospheric conditions and the physical and chemical indicators were also evaluated using correlation analysis. The PM samples showed either acute or developmental toxicity during all three periods.

Gut resistomes, microbiota and antibiotic residues in Chinese patients undergoing antibiotic administration and healthy individuals.

Human gut microbiota is an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although dysbacteriosis after the antibiotic course has been previously observed in the patient guts, a comprehensive comparison of gut resistomes, microbiota and antibiotic residues in healthy individuals and patients undergoing antibiotic administration is little. Using high-throughput qPCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and UPLC-MS/MS, we systematically examined the antibiotic resistome, gut microbiota, and antibiotic residues in fecal samples from both Chinese healthy individuals and patients receiving antibiotic therapy.

Microplastics in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs): Occurrence and removal.

WWTPs may be one of the important ways for MPs to enter surface water. In the present study, the influent and effluent from eleven WWTPs in Changzhou were collected and analyzed. At the same time, the abundance, size, color, and shape of MPs in influent and effluent were investigated.