Persistence of four dominant psammophyte species in central Inner Mongolia of China under continual drought

Clarifying the persistence time of seedlings of dominant species under continual drought will help us understand responses of ecosystems to global climate change and improve revegetation efforts. Drought tolerance of four dominant psammophytic shrub species occurring in different environments was studied in the semi-arid areas of Inner Mongolian grasslands. Seedlings of Hedysarum laeve, Caragana korshinskii, Artemisia sphaerocephala and Artemisia ordosica were grown under four air temperature regimes （night/day： 12.5/22.5℃, 15/25℃, 17.5/27.5℃ and 20/30℃） within climate （air temperature and humidity） controlled, naturally lit glasshouses with a night/day relative humidity of 70%/50%. Pots were watered to field capacity for each temperature treatment. Soil water condition was monitored by weighting each pot every day using an electronic balance. Date of seedling death for each treatment was recorded and the dead plants were harvested. Plant dry weights were determined after oven drying at 80℃ for 3 days. Two Artemisia species had higher growth rates than H. laeve and C. korshinskii, and the growth of all four species increased with increasing temperatures. The two Artemisia species had the highest leaf biomass increment, followed by C. korshinskii, and then H. laeve. Shoot biomass increment was higher for A. ordosica and C. korshinskii, intermediate for A. sphaerocephala and lowest for H. laeve. C. korshinskii had the highest root biomass increment. The final soil water content at death for all four species varied from 1% to 2%. C. korshinskii, A. sphaerocephala, H. laeve and A. ordosica survived for 25-43, 24-41, 26-41 and 24-37 days without watering, respectively. C. korshinskii, A. sphaerocephala, H. Laeve, and A. ordosica seedlings survived longer at the lowest temperatures （12.5/22.5℃） than at the highest temperatures （20/30℃） by 18, 17, 15 and 13 days, respectively. Increased climatic temperatures induce the death of seedlings in years with long intervals between rainfall events. The adaptation of seedlings to droughts should be emphasized in revegetation efforts in the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia.

The underappreciated role of fugitive VOCs in ozone formation and health risk assessment emitted from seven typical industries in China

Fugitive emission from industrial sources may result in ozone formation and health risk,while the exact contribution of this source remains incompletely understood.In this study,emission characteristics,ozone formation potential(OFP)and health risk of fugitive VOCs in7 representative industries were investigated.Chemical material industry was the dominant contributor to VOCs of fugitive emission in comparison with other industries.The OFP of VOCs from fugitive emission was in the range of 1.45×10^(3)-3.98×10^(5)μg/m^(3),with a higher value than that of organized emission in seven industries except for the coking industry and the chemical material industry,suggesting that fugitive VOCs should be taken into account while developing control strategies.Acetaldehyde,m,p-xylene,n-nonane,ethylene,vinyl chloridethe and other high OFP-contributing species were the major reactive species that should be targeted.Health risk assessment investigated non-cancer and cancer risks of fugitive VOCs in 7 industries were all above safe level(HR>1 and LCR>1×10^(-4)),posing remarkable health threats to human health.OVOCs were the main contributor to non-cancer risk,while halohydrocarbons and aromatics contributed most to cancer risks,posing remarkable health threat on human health.Our findings highlighted the contribution of fugitive VOCs on ozone formation and health risk was underestimated,indicating which should be considered in emission control strategies of industrial sources.

新污染物健康风险需高度重视与有效防范

自党的十八大,特别是“健康中国”国家战略实施以来,党中央以前所未有的力度抓生态文明建设,使我国生态环境保护发生历史性、转折性、全局性变化.2018年6月,中共中央国务院《关于全面加强生态环境保护坚决打好污染防治攻坚战的意见》进一步加紧部署了“坚决打赢蓝天保卫战、着力打好碧水保卫战、扎实推进净土保卫战”.目前,我国传统环境污染(包括雾霾)已得到明显改善,空气质量显著提升,呈现蓝天、白云、绿水、青山/净土的美好景象.

基于暴露指纹谱构建行业污染识别和风险评估模型

污染物暴露标志物是体内组织、液体或排泄物中可被测量的污染物、污染物的代谢转化产物以及污染物与内源性物质形成的加合物.污染物暴露标志物是连接环境污染暴露和人群健康风险的桥梁.1991年,美国环境保护署通过《ORD健康生物标志物项目》率先制定了暴露标志物开发、验证和应用的框架,初步构建了可用于人体污染物暴露监测的生物标志物网络.

Brominated flame retardants in surface sediment from Western Guangdong,South China:Occurrence,distribution and toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Sediment is the ultimate sink of environmental pollutants.A total of 128 surface sediment sampleswere collected from8 rivers and 3 reservoirs in Maoming City,Guangdong Province.This study assessed the content and distribution of brominated flame retardants in sediments.The acute toxicity effects of tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA)and hexabromocyclododecane(HBCDs)in sediments were evaluated using Caenorhabditis elegans as model organisms.The concentration of TBBPA in sediments ranged from not detected(ND)to 12.59μg/kg andwas mainly distributed in the central area,whichwas affected by the emission of TBBPA from residential and factory.The concentration of HBCDs ranged from ND to 6.31μg/kg,and the diastereoisomer distribution was consistent,showing a trend close to the South China Sea.The composition pattern of HBCDs in the surface sediments from rivers were 41.73%-62.33%,7.89%-25.54%,and 18.76%-40.65%forα-,β-,andγ-HBCD,respectively,and in the sediments from reservoirs were 26.15%-45.52%,7.44%-19.23%,and 47.04%-61.89%forα-,β-,andγ-HBCD,respectively.When the sum of concentrations of TBBPA and HBCD in sediments were above high levels,reactive oxygen species in nematodes significantly increased,resulting in an oxidative stress response.Intestinal permeabilitywas also enhanced,causing intestinal damage.In addition,in terms of this study,TBBPA had a greater impact on biotoxicity compared to HBCDs,and more attention should be paid to the toxic effects of the river ecosystem organisms in Maoming City,Guangdong Province.This study can complement the pollution database in the study area and provide basic data for pollution control.

Legacies and health risks of heavy metals,polybrominated diphenyl ethers,and polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins/furans at e-waste recycling sites in South China

Informal electronic-waste(e-waste)recycling sites pose substantial health risks to surrounding environments and populations,yet they are not properly regulated.In this study,the soil levels of copper,lead,cadmium,eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),and 18 polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins/furans(PCDD/Fs)were measured at two e-waste recycling sites in South China between 2014 and 2019.Both sites have been abandoned for natural restoration.Our results indicate that the mean Cd and PCDD/F levels at Site A in 2019 were higher than those recommended by current safety guidelines.Meanwhile,the highest exposure among children was 1.36×10^(−2)mg/(kg·d)for Cu,followed by 5.05×10^(−3)mg/(kg·d)for Pb,9.71 ng/(kg·d)for PBDEs,and 6.82 ng TEQ/(kg·d)for PCDD/Fs.Children were at elevated risk for health problem posed by Pb and Cu exposure at both sites(hazard quotient>1)and by PCDD/Fs at Site A.Further risk assessment was conducted on the target organs and endpoints of heavy metals and PCDD/Fs.The hazard index(HI)for the target organ mixed-risk of heavy metals was high(HI=1.27),as was that of PCDD/Fs(HI=1.66),which can disrupt endocrine function and pose a risk of reproductive toxicity in children.Owing to incomplete cleaning,contaminants persist in soils over long periods and may harm nearby environments and communities.Our study demonstrates that heavy metal,PBDE,and PCDD/F contamination have not yet been remediated,and intervention is needed to reduce pollution and associated risks in areas affected by e-waste.

头发作为环境污染物人体暴露生物检测材料的研究进展

内暴露监测是评估污染物健康风险与健康效应的重要基础.作为血液、尿液等传统内暴露检测材料的替代品,头发凭借其“非侵入性、易获取、能够反映长期暴露”的特点,正日益受到研究人员的广泛关注,目前已被有效应用于污染物过量暴露监测.与此同时,头发作为污染物人体内暴露检测材料仍存在一些不足,如广泛存在且难以完全去除的外暴露污染问题,导致头发中的污染物含量能否真正反映人体内负荷水平仍存在一定争议;头发中污染物的含量受多种因素的共同影响,目前尚难以建立基于健康效应的参考范围.本文从典型重(类)金属元素和有机污染物两个方面,对近年来文献报道的有关头发中环境污染物的检测方法、清洗效果、暴露评估、与内外暴露的相关关系、内外暴露的区分方法以及健康效应与安全阈值等方面的研究进展进行综述,对现有研究结果之间的异同进行总结和分析,对目前存在的瓶颈问题进行梳理和讨论,并对进一步的研究方向进行展望,为进一步拓展头发作为环境污染物人体暴露生物检测材料的应用具有重要的参考意义.

The effects of autophagy on vascular endothelial cells induced by airborne PM2.5

The purpose of this study was to examine the direct toxicity of PM2.5 collected from Beijing on human umbilical vein endothelial cells（HUVEC）. A Cell Counting Kit 8（CCK8） assay demonstrated that PM2.5 exposure decreased the proliferation of HUVECs in a dosedependent manner. We also found that PM2.5 exposure induced autophagy in HUVECs, as evidenced by：（1） an increased number of double-membrane vesicles;（2） enhanced conversion and punctuation of the microtubule-associated protein light chain 3（LC3）; and（3） decreased levels of the selective autophagy substrate p62 in a time-dependent manner.Furthermore, promoting autophagy in PM2.5-exposed HUVECs with rapamycin increased the cell survival rate, whereas inhibiting autophagy via 3-methyladenine significantly decreased cell survival. These results demonstrate that PM2.5 exposure can induce cytotoxicity and autophagy in HUVECs and that autophagy play a protective role against PM2.5-induced cytotoxicity. The findings of the present study imply a direct toxic effect of PM2.5 on HUVECs and provide novel insight into the mechanism of cardiovascular diseases caused by PM2.5 exposure.

Profiling kidney microRNAs from juvenile grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella) after 56 days of oral exposure to decabromodiphenyl ethane

Grass carp（Ctenopharyngodon idella） is one of the most important species in China.Decabromodiphenyl ethane（DBDPE） is a brominated flame retardant that has been used widely in industry, and has been observed to accumulate in the tissues of fish from South China. Evidence has shown that DBDPE is toxic to aquatic animals, but the molecular response has been unclear. MicroRNAs（miRNAs） are small noncoding and negative regulatory RNAs that are 20–24 nucleotides in length, which are involved in a wide range of biological processes. We took advantage of deep-sequencing techniques to accurately and comprehensively profile the kidney mi RNA expression of grass carp after 8 weeks of oral exposure to DBDPE. After mapping sequencing data to the genome and Expressed Sequence Tags（ESTs） of grass carp, we identified 493 miRNAs in the sequenced grass carp samples, which included 51 new miRNAs. The results indicated that 5 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated and 36 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated（FDR 〈 0.001,1.5-fold change） after DBDPE exposure. Real-time quantitative PCR（RT-qPCR） was performed on 4 miRNAs from the two samples, and the sequencing and RT-qPCR data were consistent. This study provides the first comprehensive identification of grass carp miRNAs, and the first expression analysis of grass carp miRNAs following DBDPE exposure.The results indicated that miRNAs have potential for use as biomarkers.