Integrated assessment of groundwater vulnerability in arid areas combining classical vulnerability index and AHP model.

Groundwater is the main source of water for agriculture, industry, and families in arid areas. At present, there is an urgent need to protect groundwater due to human activities. In this study, the Qingshui River Basin was selected as the study area.

Study on cellular uptake of a hydrophobic near-infrared-absorbing diradical-platinum(II) complex solubilized by albumin using hyperspectral imaging, spectrophotometry, and spectrofluorimetry.

Owing to its biopenetrability and minimal invasiveness, near-infrared (NIR) light in the region between 700-1100 nm has attracted attention in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Our group previously reported that the hydrophobic diradical-platinum(II) complex PtL is a promising agent for cancer photothermal therapy (L = 3,5-dibromo-1,2-diiminobenzosemiquinonate radical). Because PtL does not fluoresce, its intercellular uptake of PtL cannot be observed with a fluorescence microscope.

Season and side-chain length affect the occurrences and behaviors of phthalic acid esters in wastewater treatment plants.

Emerging pollutants (EPs) are prevalent in aquatic environments globally. Researchers strive to understand their occurrence and behavior prior to their release into the environment. In this study, we examined five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), collected 50 wastewater samples and 10 sludge samples.

Decreasing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Municipal Solid Waste Sector in Chinese Cites.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems play a crucial role in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China. Although the government has implemented many policies to improve the MSW management system, the impact of these improvements on city-level GHG emission reduction remains largely unexplored. This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of both direct and downstream GHG emissions from the MSW sector, encompassing sanitary landfill, dump, incineration, and biological treatment, across 352 Chinese cities from 2001 to 2021 by adopting inventory methods recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Distinct drivers of bacterial community assembly processes in riverine islands in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Riverine islands are widespread alluvium wetlands developed in large rivers, and bacterial communities are crucial to their ecological function, yet their assembly processes are rarely addressed. The ecosystem services provided by the middle and the lower Yangtze are primarily threatened by pollution discharge from agricultural land use, and resource overutilization (e.g.

Coupled redox cycling of arsenic and sulfur regulates thioarsenate enrichment in groundwater.

High‑arsenic groundwater is influenced by a combination of processes: reductive dissolution of iron minerals and formation of secondary minerals, metal complexation and redox reactions of organic matter (OM), and formation of more migratory thioarsenate, which together can lead to significant increases in arsenic concentration in groundwater. This study was conducted in a typical sulfur- and arsenic-rich groundwater site within the Datong Basin to explore the conditions of thioarsenate formation and its influence on arsenic enrichment in groundwater using HPLC-ICPMS, hydrogeochemical modeling, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The shallow aquifer exhibited a highly reducing environment, marked by elevated sulfide levels, low concentrations of Fe(II), and the highest proportion of thioarsenate.

Rational design of molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor based on NbC-MWCNTs heterostructures for highly sensitive and selective detection of Ochratoxin a.

Developing an efficient method for screening Ochratoxin A (OTA) in agriculture products is vital to ensure food safety and human health. However, the complex food matrix seriously affects the sensitivity and accuracy. To address this issue, we designed a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) electrochemical sensor based on multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified niobium carbide (NbC-MWCNTs) with the aid of the density functional theory (DFT).

Mechanical Properties of Twisted Cellulose Nanofiber-Reinforced Silk Yarns.

Silk has recently attracted considerable interest owing to its versatile properties as a natural fiber, especially in the medical sector. However, the mechanical properties of silk limit its potential applications. In our earlier work, the mechanical performance of silk filaments was enhanced owing to the insertion of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs).

Charting achievements: a two-year retrospective of the society for environmental geochemistry and health (SEGH) and the evolving strategies.

Emerging from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is time to ground ourselves and retrospectively assess the recent achievements of SEGH over the past years. This editorial serves as a comprehensive report on the progress made in comparison to the aspirations and goals set by the society's board in 2019 (Watts et al., Environ Geochem Health 42:343-347, 2019) (Fig.

Air-sea exchange of PAHs in the Taiwan Strait: Seasonal dynamics and regulation mechanisms revealed by machine learning approach.

In this study, to understand the seasonal dynamics of air-sea exchange and its regulation mechanisms, we investigated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the air-sea interface in the western Taiwan Strait in combination with measurements and machine learning (ML) predictions. For 3-ring PAHs and most of 4- to 6-ring, volatilization and deposition fluxes were observed, respectively. Seasonal variations in air-sea exchange flux suggest the influence of monsoon transitions.

Tibetan Plateau grasslands might increase sequestration of microbial necromass carbon under future warming.

Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) can reflect soil carbon (C) sequestration capacity. However, changes in the reserves of MNC in response to warming in alpine grasslands across the Tibetan Plateau are currently unclear. Based on large-scale sampling and published observations, we divided eco-clusters based on dominant phylotypes, calculated their relative abundance, and found that their averaged importance to MNC was higher than most other environmental variables.

Photo-transformation of ofloxacin in natural aquatic conditions: Impact of indirect photolysis on the product profile and transformation mechanism.

The natural phototransformation of organic pollutants in the environment depends on several water constituents, including inorganic ions, humic substances, and pH. However, the literature information concerning the influence of various water components on the amount of phototransformation and their impact on the development of various transformation products (TPs) is minimal. This study investigated the phototransformation of ofloxacin (OFL), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, in the presence of various water components such as cations (K, Na, Ca, NH, Mg), anions (NO, SO, HCO, CO, PO), pH, and humic substances when exposed to natural sunlight.

Centering relationships to place for more meaningful research and engagement.

Research has the potential to simultaneously generate new knowledge and contribute meaningful social-ecological benefits; however, research processes and outcomes can also perpetuate extractive patterns that have manifested the climate, biodiversity, and social justice crises. One approach to enhance the societal value of research processes is to strengthen relationships with places of study and the peoples of those places. Deepening relational engagement with the social-ecological context and history of a place can lead to more accurate results and improved public trust in the scientific process and is particularly important for natural scientists who work at the interface of nature and society.

Isomer-specific cardiotoxicity induced by tricresyl phosphate in zebrafish embryos/larvae.

Tricresyl phosphate (TCP) has received extensive attentions due to its potential adverse effects, while the toxicological information of TCP isomers is limited. In this study, 2 h post-fertilization zebrafish embryos were exposed to tri-o-cresyl phosphate (ToCP), tri-m-cresyl phosphate (TmCP) or tri-p-cresyl phosphate (TpCP) at concentrations of 0, 100, 300 and 600 μg/L until 120 hpf, and the cardiotoxicity and mechanism of TCP isomers in zebrafish embryos/larvae were evaluated. The results showed that ToCP or TmCP exposure induced cardiac morphological defects and dysfunction in zebrafish, characterized by increased distance between sinus venosus and bulbus arteriosis, increased atrium and pericardial sac area, trabecular defects, and decreased heart rate and blood flow velocity, while no adverse effects of TpCP on zebrafish heart were found.

Mollisol Erosion-Driven Efflux of Energetic Organic Carbon and Microflora Increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cold-Region Rivers.

Massive soil erosion occurs in the world's Mollisol regions due to land use change and climate warming. The migration of Mollisol organic matter to river systems and subsequent changes in carbon biogeochemical flow and greenhouse gas fluxes are of global importance but little understood. By employing comparative mesocosm experiments simulating varying erosion intensity in Mollisol regions of northeastern China, this research highlights that erosion-driven export and biomineralization of terrestrial organic matter facilitates CO and CH emission from receiving rivers.

Association of night-shift work with gambling and problem gambling among workers in Japan: A nationwide cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Night-shift work disturbs sleep and is associated with poor health conditions among workers. We aimed to investigate the association between night-shift work and gambling among workers and the association between night-shift work and problem gambling in working and gambling participants.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from an online survey conducted between February 6 and 27, 2023 in Japan.

Multiscale off-fault brecciation records coseismic energy budget of principal fault zone.

Breccia and pulverized rock are typical textures in off-fault damage adjacent to a main seismogenic zone. Previously, by estimating the energy required to advance the rupture in this zone using particle size distribution at sub-millimeter/micrometer scales, we could constrain the energy budget during coseismic events. However, whether microscopic estimation is sufficient to capture surface energy fragmentation during an earthquake and the effect of measurement scale variation on calculation of co-seismic energy partitioning remained unclear.

The impact of heteroaggregation between nZVI and SNPs on the co-transport of Cd(II) in saturated sand columns.

This study investigated the co-transport behaviors of nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and Cd(II) in the presence of soil nanoparticles (SNPs) under various SNPs/nZVI mass ratios. It was illustrated that the mobility of colloidal Cd(II) was highly dependent on the nZVI-SNPs heteroaggregation behavior. In the case of 40 mg/L nZVI with SNPs/nZVI mass ratios > 1, the formation of stable SNPs-nZVI heteroaggregates with hydrodynamic diameters (D) < 500 nm facilitated the nZVI and colloidal Cd(II) transport at their effluent mass recoveries of 34.

Occurrence and Prioritization of Human Androgen Receptor Disruptors in Sewage Sludges Across China.

The global practice of reusing sewage sludge in agriculture and its landfill disposal reintroduces environmental contaminants, posing risks to human and ecological health. This study screened sewage sludge from 30 Chinese cities for androgen receptor (AR) disruptors, utilizing a disruptor list from the Toxicology in the 21st Century program (Tox21), and identified 25 agonists and 33 antagonists across diverse use categories. Predominantly, natural products 5α-dihydrotestosterone and thymidine emerged as agonists, whereas the industrial intermediate caprolactam was the principal antagonist.

Mitigating sediment cadmium contamination through combining PGPR Enterobacter ludwigii with the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria natans.

Sediment cadmium contamination poses risks to aquatic ecosystems. Phytoremediation is an environmentally sustainable method to mitigate cadmium contamination. Submerged macrophytes are affected by cadmium stress, but plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can restore the health status of submerged macrophytes.

Hidden Role of Organic Matter in the Immobilization and Transformation of Iodine on Fe-OM Associations.

The biogeochemical processes of iodine are typically coupled with organic matter (OM) and the dynamic transformation of iron (Fe) minerals in aquifer systems, which are further regulated by the association of OM with Fe minerals. However, the roles of OM in the mobility of iodine on Fe-OM associations remain poorly understood. Based on batch adsorption experiments and subsequent solid-phase characterization, we delved into the immobilization and transformation of iodate and iodide on Fe-OM associations with different C/Fe ratios under anaerobic conditions.

Energy deprivation affects nitrogen assimilation and fatty acid biosynthesis leading to leaf chlorosis under waterlogging stress in the endangered Abies koreana.

Energy deprivation triggers various physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in plants under abiotic stress. We investigated the oxidative damages in the high altitude grown conifer Korean fir (Abies koreana) exposed to waterlogging stress. Our experimental results showed that waterlogging stress led to leaf chlorosis, 35 days after treatment.