Humans ; Air Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Genotype ; China/epidemiology* ; Hypertension/epidemiology*

Air Pollution/analysis* ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; China/epidemiology* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Environmental Monitoring

BACKGROUND: Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) has become a global epidemic, and air pollution has been identified as a potential risk factor. This study aims to investigate the non-linear relationship between ambient air pollution and MASLD prevalence. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, participants undergoing health checkups were assessed for three-year average air pollution exposure. MASLD diagnosis required hepatic steatosis with at least 1 out of 5 cardiometabolic criteria. A stepwise approach combining data visualization and regression modeling was used to determine the most appropriate link function between each of the six air pollutants and MASLD. A covariate-adjusted six-pollutant model was constructed accordingly. RESULTS: A total of 131,592 participants were included, with 40.6% met the criteria of MASLD. "Threshold link function," "interaction link function," and "restricted cubic spline (RCS) link functions" best-fitted associations between MASLD and PM_2.5, PM₁₀/CO, and O₃ /SO₂/NO₂, respectively. In the six-pollutant model, significant positive associations were observed when pollutant concentrations were over: 34.64 µg/m³ for PM_2.5, 57.93 µg/m³ for PM₁₀, 56 µg/m³ for O₃, below 643.6 µg/m³ for CO, and within 33 and 48 µg/m³ for NO₂. The six-pollutant model using these best-fitted link functions demonstrated superior model fitting compared to exposure-categorized model or linear link function model assuming proportionality of odds. CONCLUSION Non-linear associations were found between air pollutants and MASLD prevalence. PM_2.5, PM₁₀, O₃, CO, and NO₂ exhibited positive associations with MASLD in specific concentration ranges, highlighting the need to consider non-linear relationships in assessing the impact of air pollution on MASLD.
Humans ; Nitrogen Dioxide ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Air Pollution/analysis* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Liver Diseases ; Environmental Exposure/analysis*

Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/epidemiology* ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Air Pollutants/toxicity* ; Risk Assessment ; Particulate Matter ; Environmental Exposure

Excessive levels of cadmium (Cd) in soil exert serious negative impacts on soil ecosystems. Microorganisms are a common component of soil and show great potential for mitigating soil Cd. This review summarizes the application and remediation mechanisms of microorganisms, microbial-plants, and microbial-biochar in Cd-contaminated soil. Microorganisms such as Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can change the biological validity of Cd through adsorption, mineralization, precipitation and dissolution. Different factors such as pH, temperature, biomass, concentration, and duration have significant effects on Cd bioavailability by microorganisms. Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Flavobacterium can promote the uptake of Cd²⁺ by hyperaccumulator through promotion and activation. Biochar, a soil amendment, possesses unique physicochemical properties and could act as a shelter for microorganisms in agriculture. The use of combined microbial-biochar can further stabilize Cd compared to using biochar alone.
Cadmium ; Ecosystem ; Soil Pollutants ; Charcoal/chemistry* ; Soil/chemistry*

Context: Exposure to environmental pollutants (EP) and Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is associated with several general negative health effects which compromise women's reproductive health, maternal, and neonatal outcomes. Unfortunately, many nonpregnant and pregnant women are unaware of their active exposure to these potentially slow-acting toxic substances, EPs, and EDCs. At any stage of life, and in the long-term minute exposures, there is no established safe level of exposure to these substances. Due to the potentially harmful effects on women in general, and to the pregnant and her unborn child in particular, it is important to establish the prevalence of their exposure. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude (prevalence) of exposure among nonpregnant and pregnant women aged 18–49 years to common EPs/EDCs such as bisphenol A, pesticides, phthalates, and perfluorinated compounds among others. Settings and Design : This study was conducted at the Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines Manila. Subjects and Methods : The study participants were nonpregnant and pregnant women, with low-risk singleton pregnancy, and had a prenatal checkup and eventual delivery at the Philippine General Hospital. After consent, women were asked to answer a survey focused on their sociodemographics and frequency of exposure to EP- and EDC-containing items. Satatistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Null hypotheses were rejected at 0.05 α-level of significance. The computer software STATA 13.1 was used for data analysis. Results: One hundred and fifty-nine survey responses by women were analyzed. Possible EDC-containing household items (carpets, linoleum, upholstered, and stain-resistant furniture) are more prevalent in the homes of pregnant women compared to nonpregnant women. Pregnant women are also exposed to wallpapers compared to nonpregnant individuals. Nonpregnant women were 1.5 times more exposed to lotions. Unexposure to hand sanitizers is 1.3 times higher among pregnant individuals. Conclusions There are differences in the prevalence of exposure to household EDC-containing items between pregnant and nonpregnant women, with pregnant women having a higher prevalence of exposure.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals ; environmental pollutants ; pregnancy

Objective: To estimate the consumption level of four drugs in Beijing using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Methods: The primary sludge from one large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was collected in Beijing from July 2020 to February 2021. The concentrations of codeine, methadone, ketamine and morphine in the sludge were detected through solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The consumption, prevalence and number of users of four drugs were estimated by using the WBE approach. Results: Among 416 sludge samples, codeine had the highest detection rate (82.93%, n=345) with a concentration [M (Q₁, Q₃)] of 0.40 (0.22-0.8) ng·g^-1, and morphine had the lowest detection rate (28.37%,n=118) with a concentration [M (Q₁, Q₃)] of 0.13 (0.09, 0.17) ng·g^-1. There was no significant difference in the consumption of the four drugs on working days and weekends (all P values>0.05). Drug consumption was significantly higher in winter than that in summer and autumn (all P values <0.05). The consumption [M (Q₁, Q₃)] of codeine, methadone, ketamine and morphine in winter was 24.9 (15.58, 38.6), 9.39 (4.57, 26.72), 9.84 (5.18, 19.45) and 5.67 (3.57, 13.77) μg·inhabitant^-1·day^-1, respectively. For these drugs, there was an upward trend in the average drug consumption during summer, autumn and winter (the Z values of the trend test were 3.23, 3.16, 2.19, and 3.32, respectively and all P values<0.05). The prevalence [M (Q₁, Q₃)] of codeine, methadone, ketamine and morphine were 0.0056% (0.003 4%, 0.009 2%), 0.0148% (0.009 6%, 0.026 7%),0.0333% (0.0210%, 0.0710%) and 0.0072% (0.003 8%, 0.011 7%), respectively. The estimated number of drug users [M (Q₁, Q₃)] was 918 (549, 1 511), 2 429 (1 578, 4 383), 5 451 (3 444, 11 642) and 1 173 (626, 1 925),respectively. Conclusion: Codeine, methadone, ketamine and morphine have been detected in the sludge of WWTPs in Beijing, and the consumption level of these drugs varies in different seasons.
Humans ; Beijing ; Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring ; Sewage/analysis* ; Wastewater ; Ketamine/analysis* ; Codeine/analysis* ; Methadone/analysis* ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis*

Objective: To investigate the toxicity of tris (2-chloropropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and tributyl phosphate (TnBP) on the growth and development of zebrafish embryos, as well as to explore the underlying mechanisms at the transcriptional level. Methods: With zebrafish as a model, two hpf zebrafish embryos were exposed to TCIPP and TnBP (0.1, 1, 10, 100, 500, and 1 000 μmol/L) using the semi-static method, and their rates of lethality and hatchability were determined. The transcriptome changes of 120 hpf juvenile zebrafish exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of 0.1 and 1 μmol/L were measured. Results: The 50% lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) of TCIPP and TnBP for zebrafish embryos were 155.30 and 27.62 μmol/L (96 hpf), 156.5 and 26.05 μmol/L (120 hpf), respectively. The 72 hpf hatching rates of TCIPP (100 μmol/L) and TnBP (10 μmol/L) were (23.33±7.72)% and (91.67±2.97)%, which were significantly decreased compared with the control group (P<0.05). Transcriptome analysis showed that TnBP had more differential genes (DEGs) than TCIPP, with a dose-response relationship. These DEGs were enriched in 32 pathways in total, including those involved in oxidative stress, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and nuclear receptor-related pathways, using the IPA pathway analysis. Among them, three enriched pathways overlapped between TCIPP and TnBP, including TR/RXR activation and CAR/RXR activation. Additionally, DEGs were also mapped onto pathways of LXR/RXR activation and oxidative stress for TnBP exposure only. Conclusion: Both TCIPP and TnBP have growth and developmental toxicities in zebrafish embryos, with distinct biomolecular mechanisms, and TnBP has a stronger effect than TCIPP.
Animals ; Zebrafish/metabolism* ; Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism* ; Transcriptome ; Oxidative Stress ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolism*

The revision of the national standards for drinking water quality is an important, rigorous and delicate endeavor. The paper introduced the revision of this standard, emphasizing the revision principle, overall technical considerations, and revision contents. Recommendations were also proposed for the implementation of this standard.
Humans ; Drinking Water ; Water Quality ; Reference Standards ; China ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis* ; Water Supply

Perfluorinated compounds, especially Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), are widely detected in water environments in China. Considering the potential health risks of drinking water exposure routes, PFOA and PFOS have been added to the water quality reference index of the newly issued "Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB5749-2022)", with limit values of 40 and 80 ng/L, respectively. This study analyzed and discussed the relevant technical contents for determining the limits of the hygiene standard, including the environmental existence level and exposure status of PFOA and PFOS, health effects, derivation of safety reference values, and determination of hygiene standard limits. It also proposed prospects for the future direction of formulating drinking water standards.
Humans ; Water Quality ; Drinking Water ; Fluorocarbons/analysis* ; Caprylates/analysis* ; China ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis*