This study used Census data from Northern Ireland linked to administrative data on prescriptions between 2010 and 2016, to examine the association between ambient air pollution exposure and the risk of dementia onset. It contributes to this literature by providing new evidence in a comparatively low pollution context, using rich and nationally representative cohort data with comprehensive information on dementia disease medications dispensed over an extended period. We estimated Cox Proportional Hazards models for the association between pollution exposure and dementia onset as proxied by first receipt of dementia medication, controlling extensively for potentially confounding factors. Estimates are presented in the form of hazard ratios for the effect of long-term PM2.5 and NO2 exposure (define as 5-year moving average exposure in the primary model) on the risk of dementia onset. There was a clear unadjusted and adjusted association between long-term exposure to ambient pollution and the risk of developing dementia, with those experiencing higher exposures being at greater risk. There was evidence of a positive association with both PM2.5 and NO2 exposure for subsamples by age and sex with more tentative associations for those under 70 years of age. This study contributes to an emerging literature examining the association between ambient PM2.5 and NO2 pollution and onset of dementia. We found strong evidence for positive associations even in the relatively low-pollution context of Northern Ireland.
Terrestrial pollution discharge induces spatiotemporal heterogeneity in riverine nitrogen dynamics. Accurately identifying sensitive temporal phases, spatial hotspots, and primary pollution sources is essential for effective riverine environmental management. This study developed an identification framework to delineate spatiotemporal pollution hotspots and source contributions in the Dai River basin by coupling intensive monitoring with the export coefficient method. The results indicated that the flood season was a critical period for increased total nitrogen (TN) pollution. Approximately 60% of the annual rainfall occurred in July and August, resulting in a 2.5-fold increase in TN concentrations in August compared to June. Moreover, rainfall events exceeding 100 mm/day led to 2- to 3.5-fold increases in TN concentrations relative to pre-event levels, with maximum increases surpassing 14-fold. Automatic monitoring data revealed a decreasing trend in TN concentrations from upstream to downstream. Intensive monitoring identified the Yu, Xidai, and Sha rivers at the headwaters as pollution hotspot zones, characterized by higher nitrogen concentrations and larger basin areas. The export coefficient model results showed that urban domestic wastewater and livestock farming were the dominant sources, accounting for 35.87% and 35.55% of total discharges, respectively. Yuguan town exported 33.34 t of nitrogen, contributing 47% of the total discharges. Based on hotspot identification, we proposed differentiated and integrated management measures for each town.
Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor for respiratory health, yet its interaction with seasonality in shaping the upper airway microbiota remains poorly understood. We conducted a longitudinal repeated-measures study to investigate whether seasonality modulates the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution on the nasal microbiota of healthy adults. Twenty-six participants were sampled weekly for three weeks in winter and three weeks in summer. Microbial composition was characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (124 samples) and whole-genome shotgun sequencing (141 samples). Weekly exposure to indoor total suspended particles (TSP) and outdoor pollutants (particulate matter, black carbon, benzene, and carbon monoxide) was assessed using environmental monitoring data. The nasal microbiota was stable within seasons but differed significantly between seasons, with winter enrichment of Moraxella species, particularly among women with children. Across seasons, higher pollutant levels were negatively associated with relative abundance of commensal taxa, particularly Corynebacterium species. In addition, this study identified significant season-pollutant interactions. For example, in summer, commensal bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium granulosum) were found to be negatively associated with particulate matter exposure. Among host factors, sex explained the largest proportion of variance in microbial diversity, while household characteristics contributed additional compositional variability. These findings indicate that the respiratory microbiome varies across seasons and is associated with air pollution, suggesting that both seasonality and environmental exposures can contribute to differences in respiratory microbial communities.
Air pollution represents a critical public health crisis in Bangladesh, driven by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and widespread emissions from brick kilns, traffic, and biomass burning. Elevated levels of fine particulate matter and toxic gases across both urban and rural regions contributes to significant reductions in life expectancy and escalating respiratory disease burdens. Therefore, the present review aims to examine the role of fine/ultrafine particulate matter and hazardous gases in respiratory health outcomes among the Bangladeshi population to synthesize evidence that can inform public health policy. We included 42 studies to obtain data related to the fine/ultrafine particulate matter and hazardous gases and their impact on respiratory health in Bangladesh from scientific databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library between 2013 and 2025 (last 12 years). Findings indicated that PM2.5 concentrations in major cities such as Dhaka, Chattogram, and Khulna exceed WHO guidelines by 8 to 18 times, with consistent hotspots linked to industrial zones, brick kilns, transportation, and seasonal biomass burning. These pollutants are strongly associated with increased prevalence of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, acute respiratory infections, and hospital admissions, particularly among children, the elderly, and occupational groups. The discussion underscores severe monitoring gaps in peri-urban and rural areas, where exposure remains under-characterized despite comparable pollution levels. The findings of the present review indicates that the urgent regulatory enforcement, enhanced air quality monitoring, and targeted public health interventions are essential to mitigate respiratory health risks and reduce the nationwide burden of air pollution in Bangladesh. Furthermore, comprehensive geological and environmental monitoring studies are required across all districts to fully characterize exposure and guide effective public health interventions.
Naturally seleniferous paddy fields are threatened by geogenic cadmium (Cd), yet certain Cd-polluted paddy fields continue to yield selenium (Se)-rich rice grains being not polluted with Cd. Identifying the reasons for this situation will provide a feasible entry point for source-level Cd risk control under the high Se-Cd geogenic background. This study conducted a field sampling in six naturally seleniferous regions of China. Due to Se-Cd geogenic co-occurrence in soil, paddy fields exhibited 100% Se enrichment in soil, but 83% were simultaneously Cd-polluted. Among the rice grains, not only 61% of them were Se-enriched, but also 53% did not exhibit Cd pollution. This was related to soil Cd availability being significantly suppressed by high soil inorganic sulfur (I-S) concentrations via two mechanisms: primarily via enhancing Cd fixation by soil Fe oxides, whereas direct Cd precipitation played a minor and unstable role. Thus, when soil I-S concentrations were at a high level (above 60-70 mg/kg), compared to low soil I-S level condition, the daily Se supply from rice grains increased significantly, reaching the recommended range, while the carcinogenic risk and hazard index were significantly reduced by 50%, reaching the same safety level as commercial rice. These findings provided suggestions for the safe utilization of naturally Se-rich paddy fields under a geogenic Cd pollution background and also offered further research directions for risk control of geogenic Cd pollution.
Artificial light at night (ALAN), a form of physical pollution with growing global impacts, has been shown to induce various adverse effects on terrestrial organisms. However, studies on the effects of ALAN on aquatic organisms, particularly fish during early life stages, remain limited. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to ALAN at 0, 25, 75, and 225 lx until 144 hours post-fertilization (hpf) with manipulated circadian cycles (light/dark or light/ALAN) to assess alterations in development, survival, behavior, and the monoaminergic system. The results showed that ALAN exerted no significant effects on the survival rate, hatching time, or blood flow velocity (at 72 hpf) of zebrafish embryos/larvae, but increased the embryonic heart rate (at 48 hpf) under the 75 and 225 lx conditions. Concurrently, the eye area of zebrafish exhibited a progressive reduction, accompanied by a decreased optokinetic response (OKR). Moreover, ALAN exposure decreased locomotor activity and induced marked anxiety-like behavior in zebrafish larvae. Biochemical analysis revealed significantly decreased levels of DA and its metabolites in zebrafish, which were associated with the observed physiological and behavioral deficits. In addition, the visual deficits induced by ALAN were closely linked to the behavioral alterations in zebrafish larvae. In summary, ALAN exposure is closely linked to the dopaminergic pathway, which correlates with disrupted early-life development and behavioral impairments in zebrafish. These findings highlight the potential risks that nocturnal light pollution poses to aquatic ecosystems, particularly in urbanized areas.
Soil emissions of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous acid (HONO) contribute to ozone, which is becoming more sensitive to non-fossil fuel nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO, NO2) as fossil fuel emissions decline. Soil emissions of NO and/or HONO (SNO/HONO) arise from complex biogeochemical processes and are intensified by nitrogen additions from fertilizers. Despite this, most air quality models use simple parameterizations of these processes to quantify soil NO emissions. In this study, we compare the Yienger & Levy (YL) and the Berkeley-Dalhousie Soil NOx Parameterization (BDSNP) soil NO models. These models are compared with the mechanistic Fertilizer Emissions Scenario Tool for CMAQ (FEST-C*) that simulates agricultural soil NO and HONO emissions. We quantify the impacts of each emission estimate on ozone and particulate matter with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model over the United States. We compare modeled nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations with observations at rural monitoring sites and modeled NO2 vertical column densities with satellite measurements. Agricultural SNO/HONO from FEST-C* were double that of YL but two-thirds that of BDSNP. FEST-C* improved CMAQ's agreement with some rural NO2 observations. Satellite NO2 columns showed FEST-C* having intermediate correlation and bias with the lowest bias over agricultural areas. We also examine how each SNO/HONO estimate affects ozone pollution in several cities near agricultural areas. Higher SNO/HONO increased the number of days exceeding ozone regulatory thresholds in some cities. This study highlights needs for field SNO/HONO observations, better fertilizer use estimates, and mitigating the impact of agricultural emissions on ambient pollution.
River wetland sediments represented an important global carbon sink. Low-dose heavy metal pollution was widespread in aquatic ecosystems, yet its impacts on microbial carbon cycling remained poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated that even when metal concentrations remained within current environmental quality standards, heavy metals could fundamentally reprogram microbial carbon metabolism in riverine wetlands under long-term low-dose heavy metal stress. In the Fen River Basin, microbial communities associated with carbon cycling were significantly restructured: α-diversity (Shannon index) was significantly higher in polluted sites (p < 0.05), and the abundance of core carbon-degradation and carbon-fixation genes (e.g., GAPDH, sucC, accC) was significantly elevated, while methanogenesis genes (e.g., hdrB2) were suppressed, leading to a pronounced functional trade-off. Notably, we inferred a potential decoupling between microbial functional potential and actual ecosystem processes in laboratory microcosms, where CO2 and CH4 emissions were suppressed despite elevated genetic potential, exhibiting a non-monotonic dose-response pattern. Together, these findings revealed a cascading mechanism linking environmental filtering, community restructuring, functional differentiation, and carbon flux regulation, highlighting a stress-induced metabolic state characterized by high maintenance costs and low efficiency. These results challenge current environmental standards and underscore the hidden ecological risks of low-dose pollution to wetland carbon sinks.
Heavy metal (HM) pollution in dumpsite soils is a major environmental concern in developing countries due to rapid population growth, urbanization, and unmanaged municipal solid waste (MSW). This study employed portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) to assess HM contamination in surface soils from the Anandabazar landfill in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Spatial distribution, contamination indices (geo-accumulation index, Igeo; enrichment factor, EF; contamination factor, CF; and ecological risk, ER), and human health risks (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) were evaluated for agricultural (AG) soils surrounding the landfill and landfill slope (LS) soils. The LS soils exhibited substantially higher HM concentrations than AG soils; often the mean values (e.g., Mn = 471 mg kg-1; Zn = 675 mg kg-1, Cu = 278 mg kg-1, Pb = 313 mg kg-1, Cr = 180 mg kg-1, and As = 20 mg kg-1) exceeded local geological backgrounds, indicating anthropogenic enrichment. Elevated concentrations of most of the HMs were observed, with spatial heterogeneity across AG soils influenced by leachate migration and terrain. In contrast, Sn, Co, Sb, and Ag showed patterns suggesting geogenic origins. While most AG soils remained within permissible limits, some exceeded thresholds (V, Co, Sb). Contamination indices indicated minimal contamination in AG soils but strong contamination (Igeo > 3) in LS soils, particularly for Cu (3.95), Pb (3.93), and Zn (3.26). LS soils showed considerable risk (ER > 80) for Cu, Pb, and As, whereas AG soils showed lower risk. Health risk assessment revealed non-carcinogenic risks (hazard index, HI > 1) for both adults and children, with children more vulnerable. Lifetime carcinogenic risk was below the critical limit in AG soils; however, it was substantially higher in LS soils, especially for children. As a complementary test, some representative crops like spinach, mostly grown on the top of LS, were also screened by PXRF for HMs. Screening-level PXRF results suggested elevated HM concentrations in selected crop samples relative to food-safety guideline/reference values. Results indicated that landfill-derived HM contamination presents substantial risks warranting management intervention.
Microplastics (MPs) pollution represents a pressing global environmental challenge, with studies increasingly highlighting their associated health risks. Although MPs have been detected in human lung tissues, the majority of existing research has concentrated on their physicochemical characteristics, environmental distribution and pulmonary health risks. Consequently, our understanding of the specific biological targets and effective intervention strategies against these risks remains limited. To identify therapeutic targets, we screened for pulmonary differential metabolites between normal mice and mice exposed to airborne MPs, derived from dust fall of 10 cities in China. Proteomics results showed adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signalling pathway was one of critical targets. Through molecular docking and molecular dynamics stimulation, honokiol (HNK) was selected as therapeutic drug to regulate AMPK. In vitro results demonstrated that HNK significantly ameliorated autophagy inhibition in RAW264.7 cell, and alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction in BEAS-2B cell. Drug mechanism research revealed that HNK activated autophagy via the AMPK/mammalian target of rapamycin (AMPK/mTOR) pathway, and promoted mitophagy through the AMPK/E3 ubiquitin protein ligase parkin (AMPK/Parkin) pathway, thereby restoring mitochondrial function. Further targeted energy metabolomics analysis illustrated that HNK regulated the guanosine triphosphate to guanosine diphosphate (GTP/GDP) ratio, adenosine triphosphate ‌(ATP) production, and nucleotide metabolism. These functions accelerated the restoration of autophagic flux, mitophagy reactivation and DNA repair. In conclusion, HNK effectively alleviates airborne MPs-induced autophagy inhibition, mitochondrial dysfunction and energy metabolism disorder via AMPK signalling, providing a promising intervention strategy for pulmonary injury caused by airborne MPs.
China's green transition is advancing, yet fossil fuels remain dominant, underscoring the importance of energy-saving technological innovation (ESTI) for low-carbon development. Existing studies mainly focus on the impact of carbon emissions trading (CET) on broad green innovation, while evidence on CET-induced ESTI remains limited. Using 3.09 million patent texts from Chinese listed manufacturing firms during 2008-2023, we employ a large language model (LLM) to identify firm-level ESTI and estimate the effect of CET through a staggered difference-in-differences (DIDs) approach. Results show that CET significantly promotes ESTI, and the findings remain robust across multiple tests. Mechanism analysis reveals three channels: increased carbon-risk exposure, substitution between government subsidies and market incentives, and correction of market inefficiencies. The effect is stronger among firms with lower pollution intensity and those without greenwashing behavior. These findings provide micro-level evidence on how environmental regulation fosters ESTI and offer implications for carbon-market and subsidy design.
The widespread discharge of antibiotic residues into natural water environment have become a new water pollution problem, posing significant risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Herein, we report the utilization of a Z-scheme MIL-88@CuS nanocomposite that functions as a synergistic photocatalysis-Fenton-like system for the degradation of tetracycline antibiotics (TC). Mechanistic investigations reveal that the built-in electric field and Z-scheme electron transfer channel in MIL-88@CuS greatly facilitates charge separation and accelerates electron transfer to the CuS surface, thus boosting Cu(II)/Cu(I) circulation and producing more active hydroxyl radical (·OH) for TC oxidation degradation. As a result, the as-prepared MIL-88@CuS exhibits excellent photocatalytic TC degradation activity with the removal efficiency of 93% in 30 min under visible-light irradiation, much higher than that of simple MIL-88 or CuS samples. This work may provide an efficient and low-cost strategy for the remediation of antibiotic-contaminated water.
Bangladesh's fisheries sector, central to national nutrition, food security, and rural livelihoods, is increasingly threatened by the convergence of zoonotic pathogens, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and environmental degradation. Using a One Health framework, this review synthesizes evidence from 87 peer-reviewed articles, institutional reports, and regional studies to demonstrate how interactions among aquatic ecosystems, farmed and wild fish populations, and human communities drive the emergence and transmission of disease. Zoonotic parasites including trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and protozoa persist through contaminated water, inadequate market hygiene, and exposure to domestic and wild animals. Aquaculture systems are further burdened by zoonotic bacteria (e.g., Vibrio spp., Aeromonas spp., and Mycobacterium spp.) and microsporidian parasites (e.g., Enterocytozoon spp.), together posing significant occupational and foodborne risks. Emerging fungal pathogens, notably Saprolegnia spp. and Aphanomyces invadans, intensify disease burdens under poor farm management and environmentally stressed conditions. Critical contamination pathways, industrial and agricultural runoff, cross-contamination in fish markets, unregulated chemical use, and weak biosecurity link aquatic pollution with human and animal health outcomes. The introduction of non-native fish species (e.g., tilapia, pangas, carp) and the expanding ornamental fish trade further amplify pathogen risks, facilitating the silent spread of bacterial, parasitic, and fungal agents with zoonotic potential. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities exacerbate these pressures by destabilizing aquatic ecosystems, reducing resilience, and accelerating AMR dissemination across aquatic, human, and livestock interfaces. By integrating insights from parasitology, microbiology, epidemiology, and environmental science, this review underscores the urgent need for coordinated surveillance, diagnostic capacity, regulatory enforcement, and risk communication strategies. Embedding One Health and climate-smart approaches into fisheries governance is essential to mitigate zoonotic hazards, safeguard food safety, and ensure the long-term sustainability of Bangladesh's aquaculture sector under accelerating environmental change.
Glufosinate ammonium (GLA) residues in water threaten aquatic organisms and pose ecological risks to aquaculture. Current understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving GLA-induced hepatotoxicity in aquatic species remains incomplete, with effective intervention strategies still lacking. This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying hepatotoxicity GLA in grass carp, and to evaluate the intervention effects of activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP). Herein, the toxicokinetic characteristics revealed that GLA is highly hydrophilicity and suitable intestinal transmembrane ability. GLA exposure cause liver structure damage in grass carp, manifested as diffuse hydropic degeneration, cytoplasmic pallor, inflammatory cell infiltration and hepatocyte apoptosis. Integration of network toxicology and transcriptomics analysis show suggest that GLA-induced hepatitis can synergistically disrupt amino acid and glutathione metabolic homeostasis through the core genes cystathionine-gamma lyase and phosphoribosyl transferase domain containing 1. In vitro and in vivo experiments have confirmed that activating CAP can reverse GLA induced liver inflammatory damage, inhibit mitochondrial damage and cellular autophagy. In summary, activation of CAP can mitigate GLA-induced hepatotoxicity in grass carp through the suppression of inflammatory responses and mitochondrial dysfunction. This study elucidates the toxic mechanism of GLA on aquatic organisms, providing a theoretical basis for the risk prevention and control of GLA pollution in freshwater aquaculture.
The pathophysiology of epilepsy remains poorly understood. One of the less explored areas is the role of the lung-brain axis, a sophisticated and intricate bidirectional connection between these two vital organs. Inhaled air pollutants can disrupt lung microbiome homeostasis. This disruption, analogous to gut dysbiosis implicated in neurological conditions, may contribute to epilepsy pathogenesis. Here, we review the existing evidence and theoretical foundations supporting the hypothesis that dysbiosis within the lung microbiota may play a role in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. This includes the links between environmental factors (particularly air pollution) and epilepsy susceptibility; the associations between lung-intrinsic microbiota dysregulation and neurological dysfunction; and the underlying molecular, immunological, and neural mechanisms that enable the lung-brain axis to modulate epileptogenesis. Furthermore, we outline the possible potential pathogenic mechanisms of epilepsy from the perspective of the microbiota-lung-brain axis, offer fresh perspectives on the pathophysiology of epilepsy, and explore potential new research directions related to the lung-brain axis and epilepsy. We propose that a deeper understanding of the function of the lung-brain axis will provide new insights into the etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of epilepsy.
This study examines whether residential contexts account for Black-White disparities in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a key biomarker of premature aging. Relevant hypotheses are tested by merging survey, biomarker, and contextual data from non-Hispanic Black and White older-adult participants of the Health and Retirement Study who provided venous blood samples in 2016 (n = 3187; mean age = 69). Using multigroup structural equation modeling techniques, we decompose direct and indirect paths between a latent variable of EAA-comprised of GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPoAm38 clocks-and five features of residential contexts: racial clustering of residents, air pollution, greenspace, household incomes, and perceived disorder. We find that White respondents who lived in areas with a high clustering of other White residents in 2010 exhibit lower EAA in 2016, relative to White peers who lived in areas with fewer White residents. Higher household incomes in predominantly White areas account for around 25% of this association. With one minor exception, we find no significant paths between residential contexts and EAA among Black participants. These findings are also robust to numerous control measures and sensitivity analyses. Our study highlights concentrated privilege in predominantly White areas as potential drivers of Black-White health and aging disparities. We discuss the broader implications of our study and outline several avenues for future research that could advance our findings.
The concentrations of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and cadmium (Cd) were analyzed in muscle, liver, kidney and lung tissue samples, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were measured in the muscle tissue samples from 10 Kogia breviceps (Kb), 3 Steno bredanensis (Sb), 14 Tursiops truncatus (Tt) and 4 Tursiops aduncus (Ta), collected from waters around Taiwan from 2003 to 2020.The results indicated that Kb and Sb primarily inhabit deeper and offshore regions, while Tt and Ta are found in shallower, nearshore areas. Kb primarily feed on deep-sea cephalopods, whereas the other three consume fish and a variety of marine invertebrates. In Kb, kidney Fe concentrations increased with body length, suggesting enhanced deep-diving capabilities as they mature-a trend not observed in the other species. Elevated Zn concentrations in muscle and Mn concentrations in kidney tissues of young Kogiids and Delphinids likely reflect physiological demands during early development. Furthermore, the high mean Cd concentrations detected in the muscle and kidney tissues of Tt and Sb indicate a rising trend in Cd pollution in the north-western Pacific Ocean over the past two to three decades.
The air pollutants released in the operating room (OR) worsen the quality of air that the OR staff inhale and also exacerbate several illnesses among them. Various OR pollutants were measured using portable air pollution monitoring equipment, including carbon dioxide (CO2), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), formaldehyde (HCHO), and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). The levels of PM2.5 (19.78 ± 8.81 mcg/m3 vs. 29.83 ± 4.56 mcg/m3, P = 0.026) and PM10 (29.93 ± 12.96 mcg/m3 vs. 38.61 ± 6.89 mcg/m3, P = 0.04) were significantly lower in the ORs with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter compared to those without. The levels of other OR pollutants were comparable between the two groups. However, when cautery was used, the Avg TVOC (0.72 ± 0.3 mg/m3 vs. 0.3 ± 0.28 mg/m3, P = 0.044), Avg PM2.5 (29.83 ± 4.57 mcg/m3 vs. 19.78 ± 8 mcg/m3, P = 0.02), and Avg PM10 (38.61 ± 6.89 mcg/m3 vs. 29.93 ± 12.96 mcg/m3, P = 0.044) were higher in the ORs compared to control. In ORs exposed to glutaraldehyde solution, the average TVOC (0.36 ± 0.32 vs. 0.72 ± 0.3, P = 0.04) and PM2.5 (29.83 ± 4.56 mcg/m3 vs. 20.61 ± 9.70 mcg/m3, P = 0.04) were lower in the ORs compared to those of the control. The PM2.5 [36.66 (34.93,38.38)] μg/m3 and PM10 [49.33 (46.88,51.78)] μg/m3 levels of the control area are highest in winters but significantly lower in the ORs [PM2.5-17.0 (15.52, 18.47)] μg/m3 and PM10 [25.02 (20.02,30.02)] μg/m3. The average CO2 level in the ORs was often severe enough to cause cognitive dysfunction among healthcare workers (HCWs). The TVOC level at the anesthesia workstation was higher than the baseline. The levels of PM2.5 exceeded the annual average. The study highlights the need to improve air quality in ORs.
The intercooler is a critical heat-exchange component in an automobile's turbocharging system, essential for maintaining engine efficiency and maximizing power output. However, its performance is often compromised during the spring-to-summer season by widespread poplar catkins (PCs). In this study, the effects of physical blockage and chemical corrosion induced by poplar catkin pollution on the intercooler's performance were investigated, employing an integrated approach that combined field sampling, experimental simulation, and multi-technique characterization. The results demonstrate that poplar catkins are readily trapped by the intercooler and accumulate on the windward side, resulting in a significant increase in pressure drop. After 100 min of operation in an environment with a poplar catkin concentration of 800 μg/m3, the pressure drop rose from 83 to 268 Pa. Additionally, the hydrolysis products of poplar catkins contain corrosive substances such as acetic acid. Corrosion experiments reveal that localized perforations were observed on the fin surfaces after 3 days of exposure to acetic acid environment, and the number and area of the perforations increasing over time. Among the evaluated mitigation strategies, 20 Pores Per Inch (PPI) filter cotton exhibits the best comprehensive performance for the interception. This filter cotton exhibits a filtration efficiency of 96.9% for poplar catkins and effectively mitigates the increase in pressure drop caused by them.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are known for their potential for long-range transport and significant bioaccumulation, and long-term exposure poses risks to both ecosystem integrity and public health. Globally, an increasing number of aquatic systems domestically and internationally have reported PFAS contamination, highlighting the growing severity of this issue. This research focuses on the lower section of the Yellow River, a vital water body in China, presenting a detailed analysis of PFAS pollution characteristics, source identification, and associated health risks. Surface water and sediment samples were collected seasonally from seven locations along the Pingyin-Jinan reach. Concentrations of 21 target PFASs were measured using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The findings indicate that no polyfluoroalkyl substances were detected in the study area, and the main perfluorinated pollutants in both water and sediment were perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), suggesting a transition toward shorter chain compounds in this stretch of the river. Through principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) and Spearman correlation analysis, industrial discharges and atmospheric deposition were identified as the two principal sources of PFASs. Ecological risk evaluation indicated that PFBA, PFPeA, PFBS, PFHxA, and PFOS pose low to negligible risks to the aquatic environment, whereas PFOA presented a moderate risk, particularly at site S2 near a tributary confluence. Human health risk assessment indicated that current PFAS levels in the lower Yellow River pose negligible risks to residents.