Simulating the multi-media fate of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and its precursors in the Bohai coastal region of China.

PFOS and its precursors are of great concern due to their persistence and widespread presence in the environment. However, few studies have been conducted on their transformation and fate at a regional scale. We aim to address this gap by investigating their fate in the Bohai coastal region of China.

Urban land use optimization prediction considering carbon neutral development goals: a case study of Taihu Bay Core area in China.

Background: Given the increasing commitment of numerous nations to achieving future carbon neutrality, urban development planning that integrating carbon storage considerations plays a crucial role in enhancing urban carbon efficiency and promoting regional sustainable development. Previous studies have indicated that optimizing land use structure and quality is essential for regional carbon storage management. Taking the core area of Taihu Bay as study area, this study innovatively combined high-precision urban 3D data to account for the whole urban carbon pools of buildings, vegetation, soils, water.

Deciphering antibiotic resistance genes and plasmids in pathogenic bacteria from 166 hospital effluents in Shanghai, China.

Although previous studies using phenotypic or metagenomic approaches have revealed the patterns of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in hospital effluents in local regions, limited information is available regarding the antibiotic resistome and plasmidome in human pathogenic bacteria in hospital effluents of megacity in China. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed effluent samples from 166 hospitals across 13 geographical districts in Shanghai, China, using both cultivation-based approaches and metagenomics. A total of 357 strains were isolated from these samples, with the predominant species being Escherichia coli (n = 61), Aeromonas hydrophila (n = 57), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 48), and Aeromonas caviae (n = 42).

TiO-Phase-Mediated Size Effect of Rh Nanoparticles on Photothermal Catalytic CO Hydrogenation.

Photothermal catalytic CO hydrogenation on TiO-based catalysts has drawn extensive attention. However, few reports have focused on the impact of particle size of the active sites by altering TiO crystal phase on the CO hydrogenation activity. Herein, we successfully regulated Rh nanoparticle size by adjusting the crystal phases of TiO at different calcination temperatures and obtained impressive photothermal catalytic CO hydrogenation performance.

Atmospheric Hg(0) dry deposition over environmental surfaces: Insights from mercury isotope fractionation.

Atmospheric Hg(0) dry deposition is a vital process that significantly affects the global distribution and cycling of Hg. However, significant knowledge gaps and challenges remain in understanding atmospheric Hg(0) deposition and its subsequent post-deposition processes. Hg isotope fractionation has emerged as the most powerful tool for evaluating the impact of atmospheric Hg(0) deposition and unraveling key processes associated with it.

Characteristics and potential human health risks of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins identified in eight species of bivalves from South Yellow Sea Mudflat.

The consumption of bivalves contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) poses a serious risk to human health. However, the presence of PSTs in bivalves from the South Yellow Sea Mudflat remains unclear. This study comprehensively examined the characteristics and potential health risks of PSTs in eight species of bivalves from the South Yellow Sea Mudflat across four seasons.

Unraveling Potential Causative Components for the Deleterious Effect of Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter on Red Blood Cells.

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM) poses threats to the cardiovascular system. Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most abundant cells in blood, which are actively involved in multiple hematological diseases, such as blood clot formation and thrombosis. Exploring how PM with spatiotemporal heterogeneity influences the hematological system by targeting RBCs would help gain insights into the deleterious effects of PM and provide clues for finding the causative components therein.

Photoelectron-Promoted Sulfate Reduction for Heavy Metal Removal without Organic Carbon Addition.

Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) show promise for heavy metal removal from contaminated environments, but their scalability is limited by reliance on organic carbon, sludge formation, and CO emissions. This study investigates using photoelectrons from biogenic (Bio-ZnS) and abiogenic (Abio-ZnS) sphalerite nanoparticles to enhance the activity of G20 (G20) for sulfate reduction and lead removal without organic substrates. Both Abio-ZnS and Bio-ZnS NPs promote sulfate reduction and energy production in G20 cells under illumination without the addition of organic substrates, with Bio-ZnS achieving 1.

Analysis of the stereoselective fate and toxicity of penflufen in the water-sediment system for risk reduction.

Chiral succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides are widely used in agricultural production, but there is insufficient research on their environmental risk in water-sediment ecosystems. Here, the stereoselective fate and toxic effects of the chiral SDHI fungicide, penflufen, in the water-sediment system were investigated. The results showed that S-penflufen is more persistent in water, sediment, and zebrafish.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Thiazole-Containing Algicides Inspired by Bacillamide A.

The pursuit of highly effective, low-toxicity, and eco-friendly algicides for controlling and eradicating harmful algal blooms (HABs) is of paramount importance. The natural allelochemical bacillamide A has displayed impressive algicidal activity against harmful algae with favorable safety profiles. However, the poor synthetic efficiency and large dose requirements of bacillamide A limit its further application.

Environmental problems of emerging toxic metals and treatment technology and methods.

The increasing industrial use of toxic metals essential for modern electronics and renewable energy presents significant environmental and health challenges. This review was needed to address the environmental risks posed by toxic metals, particularly those accumulating in soil and sediment ecosystems. The objective is to examine the sources of toxic metal pollution, their ecological impacts, and the effectiveness of existing treatment technologies.

Integrating Anthropogenic-Pesticide Interactions Into a Soil Health-Microbial Index for Sustainable Agriculture at Global Scale.

Soil microbiota in intensive agriculture are threatened by pesticides, economic activities, and land-use changes. However, the interactions among these anthropogenic factors remain underexplored. By analyzing 2356 soil metagenomes from around the world, we developed a comprehensive soil health-microbial index that integrates microbial diversity, nutrient cycling potential, metabolic potential, primary productivity, and health risks to assess how the soil microbiota respond to anthropogenic factors.

First Evidence of Novel Organothiophosphate Esters as Prevalent New Pollutants in Dust from Automotive Repair Shops Discovered by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

The occurrence of organophosphorus compounds has garnered global concern due to their widespread production and potential environmental risks. Limited structural information has hindered a comprehensive understanding of their composition. By characteristic fragmentation-based nontarget analysis, the occurrence and composition of organothiophosphate esters (OTPEs), which are antiwear additives in lubricant oils that have received little attention previously, were investigated in dust from automotive repair shops and surrounding buildings.

From grasslands to genes: exploring the major microbial drivers of antibiotic-resistance in microhabitats under persistent overgrazing.

Background: The extensive use of antibiotics in the global livestock industry in recent decades has accelerated the accumulation and dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) within terrestrial ecosystems. This occurs due to the limited absorption of most antibiotics, leading to their release into the environment through feces and urine. This poses a significant threat to both the environment and human health.

Droplet-based bioprinting for the tailored fabrication of bacteria-laden living materials.

Droplet-based bioprinting (DBB) allows for high precision, noncontact, and on-demand distribution of bioinks, hence it has been widely utilized in the preparation of bacteria-laden living materials (BLMs). Nonetheless, discontinuous ink deposition makes it challenging to fabricate large-sized intact living structures via this technique. Herein, we explore the way of using DBB to construct centimeter-scale BLMs with bespoke geometries, and further demonstrate its potential applicability in sensing-responsive device by integrating engineered bacteria.

Simultaneous generation of hydroxyl and hydrogen radicals from H/OH pairs caused by water-solid contact electrification.

Water-solid contact electrification is a common physical phenomenon involving interfacial electron and ion transfer, recently discovered to trigger unique redox reactions. Here, we demonstrate the generation of both hydroxyl and hydrogen radicals when water contacts SiO. The coexistence of hydroxyl and hydrogen radicals is confirmed by simultaneous nitrate reduction and nitrite oxidation during the contact.

Improving the Chemical Utilization Efficiency of Pd Hydrodechlorination Catalysts through Hydrogen-Spillover Empowered Synergy between Pd and TiNiN Support.

The sustainable and affordable environmental application of Pd catalysis needs further improvement of Pd mass activity. Besides the well-recognized importance of physical utilization efficiency─the ratio of surface atoms forming reactant-accessible reactive sites─a lesser-known fact is that the congestion of these reactive sites, which we term as the chemical utilization efficiency, also influences the mass activity. Herein, by leveraging the 100% physical utilization efficiency of a fully exposed Pd cluster (Pd) and the hydrogenation activity of TiNiN, we developed Pd/TiNiN as a high physical and chemical utilization efficiency catalyst.

Effective removal of Pb from industrial wastewater: A new approach to remove Pb from wastewater based on engineered yeast.

The use of synthetic biology to construct engineered strains has provided new perspectives for addressing Pb contamination; however, the large-scale treatment of contaminants is still limited by high operating costs and technological constraints. This study introduces a novel technique for applying engineered yeast in the removal of heavy metals, offering a solution to the cost and process scale challenges associated with utilizing engineered yeast. Hydrogen sulfide-producing engineered yeast strains were constructed based on existing strategies by knocking out the gene encoding the O-acetyl-L-homoserine mercapturic enzyme, which plays a role in sulfate assimilation.

Ligand-Responsive Artificial Protein-Protein Communication for Field-Deployable Cell-Free Biosensing.

Natural protein-protein communications, such as those between transcription factors (TFs) and RNA polymerases/ribosomes, underpin cell-free biosensing systems operating on the transcription/translation (TXTL) paradigm. However, their deployment in field analysis is hampered by the delayed response (hour-level) and the complex composition of in vitro TXTL systems. For this purpose, we present a de novo-designed ligand-responsive artificial protein-protein communication (LIRAC) by redefining the connection between TFs and non-interacting CRISPR/Cas enzymes.

A novel selenoglycoside compound GlcSeCys alleviates diets-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunctions with the modulation of Galectin-1 and selenoproteins.

Selenium, an essential trace element in human, has been shown to play protective roles in obesity and metabolic disorders despite insufficient understanding of mechanisms. Moreover, it's well known that biological actions of selenium compounds differed greatly due to divergent chemical forms. Selenoglycoside is a type of organoselenium compounds with excellent hydrophilicity, but biological activity of which in vivo are almost unknown.