The use of yellow phosphorus to destroy toxic organic compounds

A new method for generating reactive species to destroy toxic organic chemicals has been developed. This method reacts yellow phosphorus with O_2, in moist air to produce species such as O,O_3, PO, and PO_2, which are capable of reacting with various types of organics. Toxic organic com-pounds are converted to small molecular wight organic acids, aldehydes, and/or alcohols, while yel-low phosphonis is oxidital into phosphoric acid, which may be recovered as a valuable byproduct.This technique has ben demonstrated to be effective for destroying many types of toxic organiccompounds. including PAH, aromatic chlorides, amines, alcohols, and acids, nitro-aromatics,heterocyclic hydrocarbons, PCB, aliphatic chlorides and sulfides, dyes, and pesticides.

Biotoxicity dynamic change and key toxic organics identification of coal chemical wastewater along a novel full-scale treatment process

It is particularly important to comprehensively assess the biotoxicity variation of industrial wastewater along the treatment process for ensuring the water environment security.However,intensive studies on the biotoxicity reduction of industrial wastewater are still limited.In this study,the toxic organics removal and biotoxicity reduction of coal chemical wastewater(CCW)along a novel full-scale treatment process based on the pretreatment process-anaerobic process-biological enhanced(BE)process-anoxic/oxic(A/O)process-advanced treatment process was evaluated.This process performed great removal efficiency of COD,total phenol,NH_(4)^(+)-N and total nitrogen.And the biotoxicity variation along the treatment units was analyzed from the perspective of acute biotoxicity,genotixicity and oxidative damage.The results indicated that the effluent of pretreatment process presented relatively high acute biotoxicity to Tetrahymena thermophila.But the acute biotoxicity was significantly reduced in BE-A/O process.And the genotoxicity and oxidative damage to Tetrahymena thermophila were significantly decreased after advanced treatment.The polar organics in CCW were identified as the main biotoxicity contributors.Phenols were positively correlated with acute biotoxicity,while the nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were positively correlated with genotoxicity.Although the biotoxicity was effectively reduced in the novel full-scale treatment process,the effluent still performed potential biotoxicity,which need to be further explored in order to reduce environmental risk.

Acute and 28-day Sub-acute Oral Toxicity Evaluation of Two Dietary Bamboo Charcoal Powders in Sprague-Dawley Rats

No data were available on the acute oral toxicity, short-term oral toxicity of vegetable carbon in animals. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of two commercially available dietary bamboo charcoal powders（BCP1 and BCP2）. The size distribution of the two powders was determined by a Mastersizer 2000 laser particle size analyzer prior to the in vivo safety studies. For the acute toxicity study, a single dose of 11.24 g/kg body weight of BCP1 and BCP2 was given once orally to healthy Sprague-Dawley（SD） rats. Mortality and clinical symptoms were observed and recorded for the first 30 min after treatment, at 4 h post-administration, and then at least once daily for 14 days after administration. In the repeated dose 28-day oral toxicity study, BCP1 and BCP2 were administered orally at doses of 2.81, 5.62, and 11.24 g/kg body weight for 28 days to SD rats. Animals were sacrificed and organs and blood samples were analyzed. Results showed that both BCP1 and BCP2 were micro-sized and various in size. In the acute toxicity and the repeated dose 28-day oral toxicity studies, BCP caused neither mortality nor visible signs of toxicity in rats. No significant differences were found in the relative organ weights or in biochemical parameters in BCP treated groups compared to a control group. No treatment-related histological changes were observed in the organs of these animals. Based on these data, it is concluded that the median lethal dose（LD50） of BCP for both male and female rats is more than 11. 24 g/kg body weight and the no-observed-adverse-effect level（NOAEL） is 〉11.24 g/kg body weight for 28 days.

Effect of Copper Toxicity on Lymphoid Organs in Ducklings

one-day-old Tianfu meat ducklings were divided into three groups, and fed on dietsas follows:(1)control (Cu 12.16 mg kg-1),(2) copper toxicⅠ(Cu 850 mg kg-1) and (3)copper toxicⅡ( Cu 1050 mg kg-1) for studies on effects of copper toxicity on lymphoidorgans in duckling with the methods of experimental pathology and flow cytometry (FCM).The weight and growth index of the thymus, spleen and bursa of Fabricius were markedlyreduced (P<0.05 or P<0.01) in both copper toxic groupⅠand Cu toxic group Ⅱ whencompared with control group. The G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle of the thymus, spleen andbursa of Fabricius was much higher, and S, G2+M phases lower in Cu toxic groupsⅠand Ⅱthan in the control group. There were lymphocyte degeneration and depletion of lymphoidorgans, and the reticular cells of spleen and bursa of Fabricius proliferated and thereticular cells of thymus were also degenerate and necrotic in Cu toxic groups. Theresults demonstrated that Cu toxicity seriously impaired the progression of lymphocytesfrom the G0/G1 phase to S phase, inhibited the development of lymphoid organs and causedmarked pathological injury in lymphoid organs. The results also showed that the effectof Cu toxicity on the primary lymphoid organs occurred stronger than on the secondarylymphoid organs. The effect of Cu toxicity was the greatest on the bursa of Fabricius,followed by the thymus, and then the spleen. Potential mechanisms underlying aforementionedobservation were also discussed.

Toxicological advances of traditional medicine in 2020

There were many researches concerning toxicology of traditional medicine and active natural products during the past 12 months.This annual toxicology review summarized different toxic analysis methods of traditional medicine,evaluated models,toxic target organs,toxic mechanisms,popular research issues and herbs in 2020.Caenorhabditis elegans came to use for the assessment of toxicity.Omics technology such as genomics,transcriptome,metabolomics and proteomics were applied extensively.2020 toxicology research demonstrated that liver,kidney and heart were the mainly toxic target organs of traditional medicine.Their toxic mechanisms included cell apoptosis,metabolic disorder,oxidative stress,inflammatory damage,liver and renal fibrosis and even inducing carcinogenesis.In addition,the safety assessment of Aconitum carmichaeli Debx.,Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f.and Polygonum multiflorum Thunb.as well as their detoxification methods were still hot issue.Therefore,study on the toxicity mechanism of target organs,processing and extract methods,quality control and dose control,new models and methods should be used in the prevention of traditional medicine toxicology in the future.

Toxicological advances of traditional medicine in 2019

There were many researches concerning toxicology of traditional medicine(TM)and active natural products during the past 12 months.This annual toxicology review summarized target organs of TM like liver,kidney and heart.Safety medication of TM has been concerned to different kinds of people,including infants,children,pregnancy and the postnatal period.Besides rodents,zebrafish embryoes have been regarded as common models to evaluate the safety of TM.New technologies in toxicology focus on rapidly screening and identification of toxins in TM.Multispectral optoacoustic tomography imaging the precise location of TM-induced liver injury with 3D information and integrating serum exosomal microRNA and liver microRNA profiles are used to explain the mechanism of TM-induced hepatotoxicity.Taken together,study on the toxicity mechanism of other target organs,drug safety in elders,new models and methods should be paid attention to in the prevention of TM toxicology in the future.

Toxicological advances of traditional medicine in 2021

In 2021,there have been many studies on the toxicological evaluation of traditional medicine,as well as natural active ingredients.Among them,the toxicity evaluation of evodiamine,Gardenia Jasminoides J.Ellis,and anthraquinone in the liver,kidneys,heart,and other organs has become a popular topic.Their toxic mechanisms include oxidative stress,inflammatory response,apoptosis,mitochondrial damage,and disorders of lipid and amino acid metabolism.In response to the drawbacks of time-consuming,expensive,and ethical restrictions of animal models,a variety of techniques,such as 3D organoid models,metabolomics,toxicokinetics,bioprinting methods,and network toxicology methods,have been gradually employed in the toxicity evaluation of traditional medicine.This review summarizes the drug toxicity and safety assessment of traditional medicine in 2021.In the future,attention should be paid to preventing traditional medicine toxicity.

Toxicity and subcellular distribution of cadmium in wheat as affected by dissolved organic acids

We aim to investigate the effects of humic acid （HA） and citric acid （CA） on the toxicity and subcellular distribution of Cd in wheat. Results show that the toxicity and uptake of Cd decreased with increasing HA. The EC50 values of Cd increased from 3.36 μmol/L to 4.96 and 7.33 μmol/L at 50 and 250 mg/L HA, respectively, but decreased to 1.39 μmol/L in the presence of CA based on free ion activity model （FIAM）. HA decreased the relative subcellular distribution of Cd in the heat-denatured proteins （decreased from 54% to 33%） but increased Cd in the heat-stable proteins in root （from 25% to 50%） at 7.61 μmol/L {Cd2＋} （free Cd activity）, which resulted in decreasing Cd toxicity. However, CA increased Cd toxicity due to the increased internalization of Cd although the relative subcellular distributions of Cd exhibited a decrease in the heat-denatured proteins and increase in the granule fraction compared to the control at high-level Cd. The FIAM could not predict the toxicity of Cd in the presence of organic acids. Alternatively, the internal Cd accumulation and subcellular Cd concentration were better to describe the toxicity of Cd to wheat.

Sunlight-driven reduction of silver ion to silver nanoparticle by organic matter mitigates the acute toxicity of silver to Daphnia magna

Due to the unique antibacterial activities, silver nanoparticles（AgNPs） have been extensively used in commercial products. Anthropogenic activities have released considerable AgNPs as well as highly toxic silver ion（Ag^＋） into the aquatic environment.Our recent study revealed that ubiquitous natural organic matter（NOM） could reduce Ag^＋to Ag NP under natural sunlight. However, the toxic effect of this process is not well understood. In this work, we prepared mixture solution of Ag^＋and AgNPs with varied Ag^＋% through the sunlight-driven reduction of Ag^＋by NOM and investigated the acute toxicity of the solutions on Daphnia magna. Formation of AgNPs was demonstrated and characterized by comprehensive techniques and the fraction of unconverted Ag^＋was determined by ultrafiltration-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination. The formation of AgNPs enhanced significantly with the increasing of solution p H and cumulative photosynthetically active radiation of sunlight. The toxicity of the resulting solution was further investigated by using freshwater crustacean D. magna as a model and an 8 hr-median lethal concentration（LC50） demonstrated that the reduction of Ag^＋by NOM to AgNPs significantly mitigated the acute toxicity of silver. These results highlight the importance of sunlight and NOM in the fate, transformation and toxicity of Ag^＋and AgNPs,and further indicate that the acute toxicity of AgNPs should be mainly ascribed to the dissolved Ag^＋from AgNPs.

Influence of Position and Radiation Technique on Organs at Risk in Radiotherapy of Rectal Cancer

The influence of the position and radiation technique on the organs at risk（OARs） in radiotherapy of rectal cancer was evaluated. The relationship between the volume of irradiated small bowel（VSB） and acute bowel toxicity was determined. A total of 97 cases of rectal cancer were retrospectively randomized to receive radiotherapy with the designated treatment positions and radiation plans. Among 64 patients in the supine position, 32 patients were given three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy（3DCR） and 32 patients were subjected to intensity-modulated radiation therapy（IMRT） respectively. The rest 33 patients were treated with 3DCRT in the prone position with a belly board. The VSB was calculated for doses from 5 to 45 Gy at an interval of 5 Gy. With prescription dose in planned target volume（PTV） of 50 Gy, the dose distribution, conformal index for PTV（CIPTV）, dose-volume histogram（DVH） of OARs, the correlation of VSB and the acute toxicity were compared. The results were shown as follows：（1） Among the 3 methods, there were no differences in PTV＇s converge including V95 and D95;（2） For IMRT under a supine position, CIPTV was closest to 1, the mean dose of small bowel decreased（P〈0.05）, and the mean VSB from V30 to V45 significantly decreased（P〈0.05）.（3） For 3DCRT with a belly board under a prone position, the mean dose and the mean VSB from 40 to 45 Gy were less than those for 3DCRT under a supine position（P〈0.05）;（4） Mean proportion of VSB was significantly greater in the patients experiencing diarrhea grade 2-4 than in those with diarrhea grade 0-1 at dose levels from V30 to V45（P〈0.05）. It was concluded that for the radiotherapy of rectal cancer, IMRT technique might decrease the high-dose VSB to reduce the risk of acute injury. 3DCRT with a belly board under a prone position is superior to 3DCRT under a supine position, which could be a second choice for radiation of rectal cancer.

Investigation of the immune effects of Scutellaria baicalensis on blood leukocytes and selected organs of the chicken＇s lymphatic system

Background： The health of chickens and the welfare of poultry industry are central to the efforts of addressing global food security. Therefore, it is essential to study chicken immunology to maintain and improve its health and to find novel and sustainable solutions. This paper presents a study on investigation of the effect of Scutellaria baicalensis root（SBR） on the immune response of broiler chicken, especially on lymphocytes and heterophils reactivity, regarding their contribution to the development of immunity of the chickens.Methods： The 121-day-old Hubbard Hi-Y male broiler hybrids were randomly assigned to four treatment groups,three SBR supplemented groups（0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% of SBR） and one control group. Each treatment was replicated five times with six birds per replicate pen in a battery brooder. Blood was collected after 3-（rd） and 6-（th）wk of the experiment, and hemoglobin and hematocrit values were determined, as well as total leukocyte count and differential count were performed. Nitroblue tetrazolium test and phagocytosis assay as nonspecific immune parameters and humoral immune responses to the antigenic challenge by sheep red blood cells were performed.Moreover, the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes to form radial segmentation（RS） of their nuclei was analyzed.Body weight and relative weight of spleen, liver, and bursa of Fabricius were recorded.Results： Results showed that mean heterophile/lymphocyte ratio increased in the SBR groups compared to the control group and the blood of the chickens showed lymphocytic depletion. The results also demonstrated that the relative weight of bursa of Fabricius and spleen in groups fed with SBR significantly decreased compared to the control group. This study also showed that the addition of SBR significantly inhibited the formation of RS of nuclei compared to some cytotoxic substances.Conclusion： We found that SBR supplementation should be carefully evaluated when given to poultry. The excess intake of SBR supplementation may cause immunologic inhibition and may negatively affect the development of immune organs. SBR has inhibited the formation of radial segmentation nuclei showing antimetastatic properties and also the phagocytosis of chicken heterophils.

Studies of Several Systems with Air Electrode Electro-Synthesizing H_2O_2 on the Spot for Degr ading Aniline in Aqueous

A gas diffusion electrode (air electrode) with a high current efficiency of electro\|synthesizing H 2 O 2 using O 2 in air was prepared. The several systems with air electrode as cathode of ele ctro\|synthesizing H 2 O 2 on the reaction spot for degrading aniline in aqueous--electro\|Fenton system, photo\|excitation electro\|H 2 O 2 system and photo\|electro\|Fenton system, were developed. Th e rates of decomposition of H 2 O 2 and mineralization of anil ine were experimentally measured respectively under different conditions, and th e results indicated there has an excellent parallel relation between decompositi on rate of H 2 O 2 and mineralization rate of aniline. Especia lly, photo\|electro\|Fenton system, where H 2 O 2 is decompose d the fastest, is the best system of oxidizing and degrading organic toxicants. Compared photo\|electro\|Fenton system with photo\|Fenton system, important role is revealed in the interface of air electrode. In this paper, the mineralizatio n mechanism of aniline in the photo\|electro\|Fenton system was also discussed.

Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the estuarine sediments of the Taihu Lake and their associated toxic effects on aquatic organisms

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)are ubiquitous toxic organic pollutants in the natural environment that are strongly associated with socioeconomic activities.Exploring the distribution,sources,and ecological toxicity of PAHs is essential to abate their pollution and biological risks.The 16 priority PAHs in different lakeside city estuarine sediments in the northern Taihu Lake in China were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Results showed that total concentrations of PAHs(ΣPAHs)ranged from 672.07 to 5858.34 ng g^(^(-1)),with a mean value of 2121.37 ng g^(^(-1)).High-molecular-weight PAHs(4-6 rings)were dominant,accounting for 85%of theΣPAHs detected.Due to the barrier of gate/dam in the estuarine area,the concentrations of PAHs in the sediments were significantly different between the river mouth and lake side.Changes in total organic carbon(TOC)content and the spatial distribution of PAHs in the sediments were consistent.Sediment pollution assessment explored using the fuzzy evaluation model indicated 75%of slight PAH pollution.Some estuarine sediments(22%)concentrated in the east of the Wuli Lake in the Meiliang bay of the Taihu Lake were moderately or heavily polluted.The PAHs may lead to occasional detrimental biological consequences in the area.Diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression suggested vehicle emission and natural gas combustion as the primary PAH contributors(81%).

Interactions between engineered nanoparticles and dissolved organic matter: A review on mechanisms and environmental effects

Dissolved organic matter（DOM） is ubiquitous in the environment and has high reactivity.Once engineered nanoparticles（ENPs） are released into natural systems, interactions of DOM with ENPs may significantly affect the fate and transport of ENPs, as well as the bioavailability and toxicity of ENPs to organisms. However, because of the complexity of DOM and the shortage of useful characterization methods, large knowledge gaps exist in our understanding of the interactions between DOM and ENPs. In this article, we systematically reviewed the interactions between DOM and ENPs, discussed the effects of DOM on the environmental behavior of ENPs, and described the changes in bioavailability and toxicity of ENPs caused by DOM. Critical evaluations of published references suggest further need for assessing and predicting the influences of DOM on the transport,transformation, bioavailability, and toxicity of ENPs in the environment.

Rapid degradation of hexachlorobenzene by micron Ag/Fe bimetal particles

The feasibility of the rapid degradation of hexachlorobenzene （HCB） by micron-size silver （Ag）/iron （Fe） particles was investigated.Ag/Fe particles with different ratios （0,0.05%,0.09%,0.20%,and 0.45%） were prepared by electroless silver plating on 300 mesh Fe powder,and were used to degrade HCB at different pH values and temperatures.The dechlorination ability of Fe greatly increased with small Ag addition,whereas too much added Ag would cover the Fe surface and reduce the effective reaction surface,thereby decreasing the extent of dechlorination.The optimal Ag/Fe ratio was 0.09%.Tafel polarization curves showed that HCB was rapidly degraded at neutral or acidic pH,whereas low pH levels severely intensified H2 production,which consumed the reducing electrons needed for the HCB degradation.HCB degradation was more sensitive to temperature than pH.The rate constant of HCB dechlorination was 0.452 min-1 at 85℃,50 times higher than that at 31℃.HCB was degraded in a successive dechlorination pathway,yielding the main products 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene within 2 hr.