Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Survey of Family Environment (SFE)

This study, in which 519 child-rearing families in Hong Kong participated, examined the reliability and validity of Chinese-language version of the Survey of Family Environment (SFE-C). The SFE-C is a self-administered questionnaire containing 30 items that examines family functioning and family support needs. It is designed to yield an instrument satisfaction score (SS score: family functioning score). Internal consistency was estimated at 0.92 (Cronbach’s alpha for SS scores). In a test-retest study of 33 families, the correlation coefficient for families’ mean SS score over a two-week period was 0.93, indicating high test-retest reliability. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis using the Concentric Sphere Family Environment Theory indicated that the SFE-C’s structure included seven factors, thereby supporting the SFE-C’s construct validity. The SFE-C demonstrates good reliability and validity and may be used to evaluate Chinese families’ functioning.

Behavior toxicity to Caenorhabditis elegans transferred to the progeny after exposure to sulfamethoxazole at environmentally relevant concentrations

Sulfamethoxazole （SMX） is one of the most common detected antibiotics in the environment. In order to study whether SMX can affect behavior and growth and whether these effects could be transferred to the progeny, Caenorhabditis elegans was exposed at environmentally relevant concentrations for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hr, respectively. After exposure, the exposed parent generation （P0） was measured for behavior and growth indicators, which were presented as percentage of controls （POC）. Then their corresponding unexposed progeny （F1） was separated and measured for the same indicators. The lowest POC for P0 after 96 hr-exposure at 100 mg/L were 37.8%, 12.7%, 45.8% and 70.l% for body bending frequency （BBF）, reversal movement （RM）, Omega turns （OT） and body length （BL）, respectively. And F1 suffered defects with the lowest POC as 55.8%, 24.1%, 48.5% and 60.7% for BBF, RM, OT and BL, respectively. Defects in both P0 and F1 showed a time- and concentration-dependent fashion and behavior indicators showed better sensitivity than growth indicator. The observed effects on F1 demonstrated the transferable properties of SMX. Defects of SMX at environmental concentrations suggested that it is necessary to perform further systematical studies on its ecological risk in actual conditions.

Combined effect of microplastic and triphenyltin:Insights from the gut-brain axis

Microplastics(MPs),an emerging group of pollutants,not only have direct toxic effects on aquatic organisms but also cause combined toxicity by absorbing other pollutants.Triphenyltin(TPT),one of the most widely used organotin compounds,has adverse effects on aquatic organisms.However,little is known about the combined toxicity of MPs and TPT to aquatic organisms.To investigate the individual and combined toxicity of MPs and TPT,we selected the common carp(Cyprinus carpio)for a 42-day exposure experiment.Based on the environmental concentrations in a heavily polluted area,the experimental concentrations of MPs and TPT were set at 0.5 mg L^(−1) and 1μg L^(−1),respectively.The effects of MPs combined with TPT on the carp gut-brain axis were evaluated by detecting gut physiology and biochemical parameters,gut microbial 16S rRNA,and brain transcriptome sequencing.Our results suggest that a single TPT caused lipid metabolism disorder and a single MP induced immunosuppression in carp.When MPs were combined with TPT,the involvement of TPT amplified the immunotoxic effect induced by MPs.In this study,we also explored the gut-brain axis relationship of carp immunosuppression,providing new insights for assessing the combined toxicity of MPs and TPT.At the same time,our study provides a theoretical basis for evaluating the coexistence risk of MPs and TPT in the aquatic environment.

Spatial–temporal distribution and potential ecological risk assessment of nonylphenol and octylphenol in riverine outlets of Pearl River Delta, China

The aquatic environments of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China are subjected to contamination with various industrial chemicals from local industries. In this paper, the occurrence, seasonal variation and spatial distribution of alkylphenol octylphenol （OP） and nonylphenol （NP） in fiver surface water and sediments in the runoff outlets of the Pearl River Delta were investigated. NP and OP were detected in all water and sediment samples and their mean concentrations in surface water during the dry season ranged from 810 to 3366 ng/L and 85.5 to 581 ng/L, respectively, and those in sediments ranged from 14.2 to 95.2 ng/g dw and 0.4 to 3.0 ng/g dw, respectively. In surface water, much higher concentrations were detected in the dry season than those in the wet season. In sediments, the concentrations in the dry season were also mostly higher. High concentrations of NP and OP were found in Humen outlet, likely due to high levels of domestic and industrial wastewater discharges. An ecological risk assessment with the use of hazard quotient （HQ） was also carried out and the HQvalues ranged from 3.6 × 10^-5 to 35 and 64% of samples gave a HQ 〉 1, indicating that the current levels of NP and OP pose a significant risk to the relevant aquatic organisms in the region.