The extensive application of plastic in human life brings about microplastic (MP) pollution in the environment. Identifying the potential sources of MPs is necessary to diminish its pollution. In ...this study, the occurrence, composition and distribution of MPs in the influents and effluents from 9 domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), 5 industrial WWTPs, wastewater of 10 industrial plants, 4 livestock farms and 4 fish ponds in China were investigated. Water samples were enzymatically treated followed by digestion with hydrogen peroxide and density separation. MPs were characterized using micro-Raman spectroscopy and were categorized by shape, size and color. Results showed that MP abundance in the influents and effluents of domestic WWTPs was 18–890 and 6–26 n·L−1, respectively, with the removal efficiency ranging from 35 to 98%. The effluents of industrial WWTPs contained 6–12 n·L−1 and the levels of MPs in the wastewater of industrial plants, livestock farms and fish ponds were in the range of 8–23, 8–40 and 13–27 n·L−1, respectively. No significant differences of MP abundance were demonstrated among effluents or wastewater of different sources, indicating they all constitute sources of MP pollution. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) made up almost 83% of the total MPs. Fragment and film were the most abundant shapes and the majority of MPs were smaller than 500 μm. Polymer type and shape in different sources did not vary statistically, however, there were slight differences among different sources concerning size and color of MPs. This study could fill MP data gaps regarding different sources, guide future monitoring work and policy making.
Display omitted
•A wide campaign has been performed to reveal MPs in different wastewater sources.•Levels of MPs in the influents of domestic WWTPs varied from 18 to 890 n·L−1.•Abundance of MPs in effluents or wastewater from different sources was 6–40 n·L−1.•Type and shape of MPs from different wastewater did not significantly vary.•Size and color of MPs slightly differed among wastewater from different sources.
•33 PPCPs were monitored in Beiyun River and tributaries in summer and winter in 2015.•Caffeine, acetaminophen and erythromycin were the most abundant compounds.•Antibiotics had higher concentration ...in winter, but only accounted 28% of the total.•The burden of PhACs in 2015 in Beiyun River basin reduced by 37% of that in 2013.•CBZ level changed little and may exert sustained risks on aquatic environment.
Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) as an important group of “emerging contaminants” (ECs), have been highlighted and received global attentions in last decade. China has tremendous consumption of PhACs and the most pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide. In this study, 33 PhACs (19 antibiotics included) were monitored in the Beiyun River basin in Beijing, China. The seasonal occurrence, temporal-spatial distribution and potential source were investigated. The total levels were about 2μgL−1. Non-antibiotics were more frequently detected. The highest median concentrations were observed for caffeine (558ngL−1) and erythromycin (319ngL−1). Acetaminophen, erythromycin, diclofenac and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide showed highly significant seasonal variation, while caffeine, carbamazepine, metoprolol and most sulfonamides were more stable. The burden was most heavy in Qing River in both seasons (up to 4μgL−1). Antibiotics from veterinary use accounted for minor contribution in this region. The characteristics and trends were overviewed by comparing with our previous survey. The total level of 15 PhACs dropped significantly by 37% on average from 2013 to 2015. The proportion of caffeine, once a major component in 2013, reduced from 77% to 47%. The burden of these ECs in surface water of Beijing is remarkably reduced, suggesting the overall situation has been improving.
Plastic pollution has become a pressing issue due to its persistence in the environment. Smaller plastics are more easily ingested, potentially exerting greater influences on organisms. In this ...study, the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (NP) on the toxic effects, bioaccumulation, biodegradation and enantioselectivity of ibuprofen (IBU) in algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa were explored. The influences on the growth rate, chlorophyll a, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation (MDA) were evaluated after 96 h of exposure to a combination of polystryene NP (1 mg L−1) and IBU (5–100 mg L−1). The results indicated that the inhibitory effect of IBU on C. pyrenoidosa growth was alleviated in the presence of NP. For instance, the 96 h-IC50 value for rac-IBU in the treatment lacking NP was 45.7 mg L−1, and the corresponding value in the treatment containing NP was 63.9 mg L−1. The co-exposure of NP led to a significant enhancement of T-AOC and slight reduction of ROS and MDA compared with the individual exposure (IBU) group, suggesting a decreased oxidative stress. In addition, treatment with NP led to a decreased bioaccumulation and accelerated biodegradation of IBU in C. pyrenoidosa and enhanced removal in the medium. The enantioselective toxicity, bioaccumulation and biodegradation of IBU were observed both in the absence and presence of NP. S-IBU exhibited a greater toxicity, and R-IBU was preferentially accumulated and degraded in C. pyrenoidosa. No interconversion of the two enantiomers occurred regardless of the presence of NP. This consequence implied that the influence of coexistent NP should be considered in the environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aquatic environments.
Display omitted
•NP mitigated the inhibitory effect of ibuprofen on C. pyrenoidosa growth.•Co-exposure of NP significantly elevated antioxidative capability in C. pyrenoidosa.•IBU bioaccumulation in C. pyrenoidosa was reduced by the presence of NP.•Treatment with NP led to an accelerated biodegradation of IBU in C. pyrenoidosa.•IBU enantioselectivity was observed both in the absence and presence of NP.
This work indicated that co-exposure with NP could alleviate the inhibitory effect, decrease the bioaccumulation and accelerate the biodegradation of IBU in C. pyrenoidosa.
Wastewater-based epidemiology is an emerging field that has mostly been applied to investigate consumption of illicit drugs. In this study, the wastewater-based epidemiology approach was employed to ...study consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and measure their prevalence of use in eight densely populated, urban areas of Beijing, China. Ammonium loads were used to estimate the population equivalents of each sewershed. These estimates were applied to calculate population-normalized antibiotic consumption and prevalence of use during flu season, when antibiotics are frequently misused as a medical treatment. Results indicated that 21.9 g d−1 (104 people)−1 of ten popular antibiotics were consumed across the eight sewersheds, indicating that 1.98‰ of the 12.5 million population equivalents used these antibiotics during the sampling period. A comparison of these results to calculations made using previously reported data from 2013 suggest that recent Chinese antibiotic control policies have been effective. Uncertainty analyses were conducted to identify the 95% confidence range for antibiotic prevalence of use as 1.44–3.61‰. Human excretion factors were identified as the most sensitive variable. The wastewater-based epidemiology methods were also applied to a wider range of PPCPs, and the results indicated positive relationships between consumption and socioeconomic factors, such as housing price and population density. Overall, this work provides important public health information on antibiotic use and elucidates relationships between PPCP consumption and socioeconomic characteristics.
•Antibiotic loads significantly correlated to NH4-N equivalent population•Novel methods developed to estimate antibiotic consumption and prevalence of use•Calculated prevalence of use overlapped with Monte-Carlo uncertainty analysis.•Compositional similarities of PPCPs in sewage were identified by cluster analysis.•Socioeconomic characteristics were positively associated with PPCP composition.
Integrating 2D culture of adherent mammalian cells with single‐cell western blotting (in situ scWB) uses microfluidic design to eliminate the requirement for trypsin release of cells to suspension, ...prior to single‐cell isolation and protein analysis. To assay HeLa cells from an attached starting state, we culture adherent cells in fibronectin‐functionalized microwells formed in a thin layer of polyacrylamide gel. To integrate the culture, lysis, and assay workflow, we introduce a one‐step copolymerization process that creates protein‐decorated microwells. After single‐cell culture, we lyse each cell in the microwell and perform western blotting on each resultant lysate. We observe cell spreading after overnight microwell‐based culture. scWB reports increased phosphorylation of MAP kinases (ERK1/2, p38) under hypertonic conditions. We validate the in situ scWB with slab‐gel western blot, while revealing cell‐to‐cell heterogeneity in stress responses.
Immunoblotting single, adherent mammalian cells in 2D culture: To eliminate the perturbation of cells during detachment from culture, microwell‐based cell culture was integrated with single‐cell immunoblotting. In a one‐step process, microwells were decorated with fibronectin. After osmotic stress of HeLa cells during microwell culture, phosphorylation of MAP kinases was measured and significant cell‐to‐cell heterogeneity in stress responses was observed.
Twenty commonly used pharmaceuticals including eight chiral drugs were investigated in Dongting Lake, China. The contamination level was relatively low on a global scale. Twelve pharmaceuticals were ...identified. The most abundant compound was caffeine followed by diclofenac, DEET, mefenamic acid, fluoxetine, ibuprofen and carbamazepine with mean concentrations from 2.0 to 80.8ngL−1. Concentrations between East and West Dongting Lake showed spatial difference, with the West Dongting Lake less polluted. The relatively high ratio of caffeine versus carbamazepine (over 50) may indicate there was possible direct discharge of domestic wastewater into the lake. This is the first study presenting a survey allowing for comprehensive analysis of multiclass achiral and chiral pharmaceuticals including beta-blockers, antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs in freshwater lake. The enantiomeric compositions presented racemic to weakly enantioselective, with the highest enantiomeric fraction (EF) of 0.63 for fluoxetine. Meanwhile, venlafaxine was identified and evaluated the environment risk in surface water in China for the first time. The results of risk assessment suggested that fluoxetine, venlafaxine and diclofenac acid might pose a significant risk to aquatic organisms in Dongting Lake. The resulting data will be useful to enrich the research of emerging pollutants in freshwater lake and stereochemistry for environment investigations.
Display omitted
•Venlafaxine was firstly identified and determined in surface water in China.•Caffeine was the predominant compound in Dongting Lake.•The total residue was relatively low, with West Dongting less polluted than East Dongting.•FLX, VLX and DIC may pose significant risks toward Dongting Lake.•The EF values of chiral drugs presented racemic to weakly enantioselective.
New analytical methods are needed to efficiently measure the growing list of priority pharmaceuticals in environmental samples. In this regard, a rapid, sensitive, and robust method was developed for ...quantitation of 168 pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical metabolites using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The extraction protocol and instrumental efficiency were specifically addressed to increase analytical workload and throughput. The optimized protocols, which are five times more efficient than US EPA Method 1694, enabled analyte recoveries that ranged from 77% to 117% for 162 analytes with method quantitation limits (MQLs) as low as 0.1 ng L−1. To verify the suitability of the improved analytical method for environmental samples, 24-h composite samples of raw wastewater and wastewater effluent, along with downstream surface water, were analyzed. Overall, 143/168 target compounds were identified in at least one of the samples, and 130/168 analytes were present at concentrations above their MQLs. The total mass concentration of the measured analytes decreased by 93% during wastewater treatment. The analyte concentrations in the wastewater effluent were comparable to those measured in surface water 1 km downstream of the wastewater discharge point. Ultimately, the comprehensive method will serve as an important tool to inform the occurrence, fate, transport, and toxicity of a large suite of priority pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical metabolites in natural and engineered systems.
Display omitted
•Cleanert PEP-2 SPE cartridges exhibited the best overall analyte recovery.•168 pharmaceuticals were measured by LC-MS2 with 2 detection modes (27 min total).•92 analytes were quantified in surface water at a total concentration of 3.9 μg L−1•180 g/d of 30 antimicrobials were discharged into receiving water from the WWTP.•Antihypertensives & antipsychotics were most recalcitrant in wastewater treatment.
Temperature-related mortality risks have mostly been studied in urban areas, with limited evidence for urban-rural differences in the temperature impacts on health outcomes.
We investigated whether ...temperature-mortality relationships vary between urban and rural counties in China.
We collected daily data on 1 km gridded temperature and mortality in 89 counties of Zhejiang Province, China, for 2009 and 2015. We first performed a two-stage analysis to estimate the temperature effects on mortality in urban and rural counties. Second, we performed meta-regression to investigate the modifying effect of the urbanization level. Stratified analyses were performed by all-cause, nonaccidental (stratified by age and sex), cardiopulmonary, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. We also calculated the fraction of mortality and number of deaths attributable to nonoptimum temperatures associated with both cold and heat components. The potential sources of the urban-rural differences were explored using meta-regression with county-level characteristics.
Increased mortality risks were associated with low and high temperatures in both rural and urban areas, but rural counties had higher relative risks (RRs), attributable fractions of mortality, and attributable death counts than urban counties. The urban-rural disparity was apparent for cold (first percentile relative to minimum mortality temperature), with an RR of 1.47 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32, 1.62 associated with all-cause mortality for urban counties, and 1.98 (95% CI: 1.87, 2.10) for rural counties. Among the potential sources of the urban-rural disparity are age structure, education, GDP, health care services, air conditioners, and occupation types.
Rural residents are more sensitive to both cold and hot temperatures than urban residents in Zhejiang Province, China, particularly the elderly. The findings suggest past studies using exposure-response functions derived from urban areas may underestimate the mortality burden for the population as a whole. The public health agencies aimed at controlling temperature-related mortality should develop area-specific strategies, such as to reduce the urban-rural gaps in access to health care and awareness of risk prevention. Future projections on climate health impacts should consider the urban-rural disparity in mortality risks. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3556.
•First WBE research on a broad range of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in China.•149 out of 168 pharmaceuticals and metabolites were detected in wastewater.•Weekly pattern of PNDLs in public holiday ...is different with in a normal week.•A framework for evaluating feasibility of metabolic biomarker was proposed.•Metabolite/parent compound ratios provided useful information for WBE studies.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is amply used for mining information about public health such as the estimation of consumption/intake of certain substances. Yet, proper biomarker selection is critical to obtain reliable data. This study measured a broad range of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in a wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China, and evaluated their suitability as consumption estimation biomarkers. Wastewater sampling was conducted during a normal week and two holiday weeks to assess the impact of the holiday on population normalized daily mass loads (PNDLs). One hundred and forty-nine out of 168 pharmaceuticals were detected, with 94 analytes being quantified in all sampling events. Moreover, digestive drug cimetidine (<MDL∼672 ng L − 1) and anabolic steroid trenbolone (<MDL∼53 ng L − 1) were only detected during holiday weeks. PNDLs of some substances showed disparities between weekdays and weekends during the normal week. This study proposed a framework to diagnose whether a parent compound or its metabolite is suitable for intake/prevalence rate estimation. Our results support that not all the metabolites can be employed as biomarkers for back-calculation when the in-sewer stability of these compounds is unclear, such as metoprolol acid and O-desmethyl venlafaxine. Public healthcare data for drug utilization were applied to validate the prevalence of average substance use in this study. As a popular anti-epileptic ranging from hundreds to thousands of ng L − 1 in this study, the parent compound levetiracetam is more appropriate to be used in WBE under our framework, referring to public healthcare data. This WBE study illustrates the changes in pharmaceutical use and population lifestyle that stem from holidays and commutes. In addition, it can provide data support for the selection of more suitable biomarkers in WBE studies.
Display omitted
•Developed cost model for railway decarbonization upgrade options, including operating, rolling stock upgrade, infrastructure construction, and maintenance support costs.•An adaptive particle swarm ...optimization is used to find the minimum cost of three decarbonization options.•The experiment determined the traffic density range in which hydrogen fuel cell trains, battery trains, and electrified trains have cost advantages over various distances.•Rule-based state machine energy management strategies are used to find the appropriate power allocation scheme for hydrogen fuel cell trains, considering the energy conversion efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells and the state of charge of the batteries.•The main defects of hydrogen fuel cell trains and battery trains were analyzed, providing insights for guiding their future commercial development.
The UK government plans to phase out pure diesel trains by 2040 and fully decarbonize railways by 2050. Hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) trains, electrified trains using pantographs (Electrified Trains), and battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) trains are considered the main solutions for decarbonizing railways. However, the range of these decarbonization options’ line upgrade cost advantages is unclear. This paper analyzes the upgrade costs of three types of trains on different lines by constructing a cost model and using particle swarm optimization (PSO), including operating costs and fixed investment costs. For the case of decarbonization of the London St. Pancras to Leicester line, the electrified train option is more cost-effective than the other two options under the condition that the service period is 30 years. Then the traffic density range in which three new energy trains have cost advantages on different line lengths is calculated. For route distances under 100 km and with a traffic density of less than 52 trips/day, BEMU trains have the lowest average cost, while electrified trains are the most cost-effective in other ranges. For route distances over 100 km, the average cost of HFC trains is lower than that of electrified trains at traffic densities below about 45 trips/day. In addition, if hydrogen prices fall by 26 %, the cost advantage range of HFC trains will increase to 70 trips per day. For route distances under 100 km, BEMU trains still maintain their advantages in terms of lower traffic density.
PDF
