Search Results (1,007)

This three-year case study integrated the results of annual soil-monitoring campaigns conducted in 2022–2024 at 17 predefined locations within and immediately surrounding the Morava Thermal Power Plant Complex, Serbia. We analyzed surface soil samples (0–30 cm) for physical and chemical properties, metals and metalloids, and selected organic pollutants. Contaminant concentrations were evaluated relative to national regulatory thresholds, while potential ecological risk and outdoor worker human health risk were assessed using the potential ecological risk index (RI), Hazard Index (HI), and total carcinogenic risk (TCR). Soil properties and total contaminant concentrations varied considerably among the monitored locations. Regulatory classification identified Ni and Cd as the most widespread concerns. Ni exceeded the applicable limit value at all 17 locations in each campaign, including three remediation-value exceedances in 2022 and one in 2024. Cd exceeded the limit value at 17, 11, and 16 locations in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively, without exceeding the remediation value. RI ranged from 210.02 to 963.08, indicating moderate to very high potential ecological risk, and was driven primarily by Cd and Hg. Aggregate HI values ranged from 0.211 to 0.484 and remained below the screening threshold of 1 at all locations. In contrast, TCR ranged from 5.98 × 10⁻⁵ to 2.12 × 10⁻⁴ and exceeded the target benchmark of 1 × 10⁻⁶ at every location in all three campaigns. Arsenic accounted for more than 94% of TCR, while the conservative estimate obtained by applying Cr (VI) toxicity parameters to total Cr represented the principal secondary contribution. The different assessment approaches identified distinct contaminant priorities and therefore provided complementary rather than interchangeable information. The results support continued monitoring, targeted investigation of locations with elevated regulatory or risk indicators, direct chromium-speciation analysis, and integration of soil monitoring with groundwater, drainage-water, bioavailability, and effect-based assessments to support future reclamation and environmental management. Full article

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the foremost global public health threats, undermining the efficacy of antibiotic therapies across all clinical disciplines, including dentistry. The oral cavity, housing one of the most diverse microbial ecosystems in the human body, contains a largely underappreciated reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), collectively defined as the oral resistome. This review synthesises current evidence on the oral resistome across five thematic areas. First, we contextualise the global burden of AMR, highlighting its scale and implications for oral healthcare. Second, we define the oral resistome and characterise its composition, distribution across oral microhabitats, and the principal determinants that govern its structure and dynamics. Third, we critically appraise metagenomic approaches, from early culture-based and PCR-targeted methods to shotgun metagenomics and functional screening, that have expanded the resolution of resistome characterisation. Fourth, we examine multi-omics integration, including genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, and its capacity to reveal the ecological and molecular drivers of resistance within the oral ecosystem. Finally, we explore how resistome profiling can inform precision oral health, enabling individualised antimicrobial stewardship, microbiome-based risk stratification, and patient-tailored preventive and therapeutic strategies in the era of personalised dentistry. Full article

Groundwater is the main source of drinking, irrigation, and ecological water in the Baiyangdian Lake Basin (BLB), but growing human activity has raised concerns about its quality. This study assesses major ion geochemistry and multi-receptor environmental risks across the BLB using 1113 groundwater samples (983 shallow, 130 deep). Risks to drinking water supply, agricultural irrigation, and wetland health are evaluated within a single framework, and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) is used for quantitative source apportionment. Shallow groundwater shows markedly higher dissolved solids and nitrate than deep groundwater, with 20.7% of shallow samples exceeding the WHO nitrate guideline. Multi-receptor assessment finds that 41.2% of shallow wells pose risk to at least one endpoint and 12.5% to two or more simultaneously. PMF identifies three sources—geogenic weathering, agricultural nitrate, and wastewater discharge—with nitrate as the largest single contributor to water quality impairment. The findings point to an urgent need for targeted agricultural non-point source control and provide a basis for nested, multi-scale groundwater management in the BLB and similar intensively exploited alluvial aquifers. Full article

The Qinghai–Xizang (Formerly Tibet) Plateau, known as the Roof of the World, is an important ecological security barrier for Asia and globally; its natural environment is fragile and challenging to repair after destruction. Prior to the 21st century, waste management in China primarily relied on unregulated direct dumping. To investigate the environmental impacts of open dumpsites in high-altitude regions, this study focused on a representative dumpsite in the northern Xizang region. The aim was to characterize the occurrence and distribution patterns of heavy metals (HMs) in its surrounding soil, conduct source apportionment, and perform comprehensive risk assessment. The results showed low levels of mercury (Hg) and excessive levels of all other HMs. In addition, all HMs had the highest content in the residual fraction and the lowest content in the weak-acid fraction, which is less bioavailable. The Absolute Principal Component Score–Multiple Linear Regression (APCS-MLR) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) results showed that the dumpsite contributed the most to cadmium (Cd); agricultural sources contributed the most to zinc (Zn); Hg mainly came from atmospheric transport and traffic sources; Pb was mainly derived from traffic and natural sources; and copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As) mainly came from the dumpsite and natural sources. In addition, this research found that this dumpsite poses a relatively high HM risk to human health; oral and respiratory routes are the main non-carcinogenic routes, As and Cr contribute more to the adult and child groups, and As contributes the most to carcinogenic risk. The calculation results of the pollution assessment method indicate that the pollution of the natural environment from this dumpsite is at a low level, and immediate remediation measures are urgently needed to achieve site decontamination. Full article

Aquatic heavy metal pollution poses substantial risks to ecological systems and human health, attributable to the toxic properties and bioaccumulative behaviors of metallic ions, including Hg[II], Zn[II], and ion mixtures. A novel SPR sensing chip based on a Ag-BiFeO₃-MoS₂–graphene hybrid structure is proposed and analyzed for detection of metal ion mixtures. Systematic tuning is implemented for Ag and BiFeO₃ film thicknesses to boost the overall sensing capability, aiming to acquire minimized reflectance together with favorable detection sensitivity. Following this step, we investigate how different quantities of MoS₂ and graphene layers affect the sensing properties of the SPR biosensor. Analytical outcomes demonstrate that configurations adopting monolayer MoS₂ and graphene achieve the maximum phase sensitivity. Moreover, the optimized SPR chip architecture achieves sensing sensitivity two orders of magnitude greater than conventional sensor setups. Numerical investigations are further carried out to evaluate the sensor’s response toward various heavy metal ion species. The maximal sensitivity of 1.599 × 10⁶ deg/RIU is realized when detecting Zn[II]. Under this optimal structural setup, the spatial electric field distributions responding to variations in the refractive index of the sensing medium are also characterized. The remarkable sensitivity of the presented sensor configuration makes it a more competitive choice for deployment in further biological detection scenarios. Full article

Cornhusks are widely employed as reinforcing fillers in biocomposite fabrication, where conventional manufacturing processes rely on petroleum-derived resins or adhesives. This reliance not only poses substantial risks to human health and ecological environments, but also leads to the unsatisfactory mechanical performance of the final products. Developing a feasible strategy to eliminate petroleum-based binders while simultaneously enhancing the mechanical strength of the biocomposites remains a challenge. In this paper, we present an adhesive-free approach to produce high-performance, sustainable biomass structural materials directly from raw cornhusks, without prior pulverization, via a combined alkaline retting and hot-pressing treatment. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of highly aligned cellulose fibers and a densely compacted multi-layer structure, the resulting structural material exhibits a tensile strength of 136 MPa and a flexural strength of 127 MPa. These values are higher than those of conventional density fiberboards (approximately 20 MPa and 40 MPa). After 72 h of water immersion, the material shows a water absorption rate of 38% and a thickness swelling rate of 16%, both of which are lower than the corresponding parameters of traditional density fiberboards (around 60% and 20%). Its initial thermal degradation temperature reaches 251 °C, showing good thermal stability. Furthermore, the as-fabricated cornhusk-based structural material, which combines high mechanical strength, water resistance, and thermal resistance, exhibits zero formaldehyde emissions. It can serve as a promising alternative to traditional petroleum-bonded biomass density boards, for applications in furniture manufacturing and interior decoration. Full article

More than 80% of global brucellosis cases occur in semi-arid regions; however, the climatic factors associated with these outbreaks remain poorly understood. This study investigated environmental correlates of brucellosis in a semi-arid region of Xinjiang, China. A maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model incorporating 19 bioclimatic variables, wind speed, solar radiation, and ruminant livestock inventory was applied to 1132 surveillance-confirmed human brucellosis cases from January 2015 to December 2025. Precipitation in the driest month (31.8%), wind speed (24.3%), and temperature seasonality (13.7%) were the leading contributors to the predicted risk. The model identified high-risk zones in low-precipitation moderate-wind steppe environments and showed strong predictive performance (AUC = 0.960 ± 0.007). These findings indicate that water scarcity and thermal variability are key environmental constraints associated with brucellosis distribution in semi-arid ecosystems and may inform climate-resilient One Health-based prevention strategies in similar agro-ecological zones globally. Full article

The global dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to public health, with wastewater increasingly recognized as an important reservoir and a dissemination interface for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Within the One Health framework, wastewater integrates human, animal, industrial, and environmental inputs, creating conditions that promote the selection, persistence, and dissemination of resistance determinants across interconnected ecosystems. Current advances in understanding the global wastewater resistome are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the ecological and anthropogenic drivers shaping its composition and dynamics, including antibiotic residues, co-selective contaminants, microbial community interactions, horizontal gene transfer (HGT), and wastewater treatment processes. The integration of wastewater-based genomic surveillance with epidemiological data and treatment processes is further examined to characterize resistance transmission across environmental, animal, and human interfaces. In addition, recent developments in molecular surveillance, including metagenomics and high-throughput sequencing, are critically assessed with emphasis on methodological harmonization, global monitoring disparities, and the need for standardized benchmarking frameworks to facilitate meaningful comparisons across regions. The review highlights current limitations in linking wastewater resistome profiles with clinical infection trends and discusses strategies for integrating environmental, genomic, and epidemiological data to improve and strengthen risk assessment and support the development of early-warning systems. Particular attention is given to the challenges of translating wastewater resistome data into actionable public health indicators and outlining future priorities for standardized surveillance, quantitative risk assessment, and integrated One Health mitigation strategies. Full article

Food defense encompasses both the prevention of accidental contamination and the protection of food and water systems against deliberate adulteration. Within this framework, algal toxins deserve greater attention because they occupy a critical intersection of water security, seafood and drinking-water safety, environmental change, supply-chain continuity, and public health preparedness. The novelty of this review lies in reframing algal toxins from a primarily environmental, seafood safety, or clinical toxicology topic into an integrated food and water defense problem. This perspective brings together harmful algal bloom ecology, toxin toxicology, seafood safety, drinking-water protection, preparedness for intentional adulteration, climate change risk, surveillance, and emergency response. Algal toxins can enter the human supply chain through multiple marine and freshwater pathways, are often undetectable by taste, odor, or appearance, may resist routine preparation measures, and can generate high-consequence disruptions even when contamination begins locally. The analysis further shows that prevention depends largely on upstream measures—including environmental surveillance, harvest-area restrictions, source-water protection, testing, supply-chain controls, and rapid public communication—rather than on consumer behavior. Framed in the context of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Intentional Adulteration Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act, this paper situates algal toxins within a preventive defense model that integrates monitoring, vulnerability reduction, and emergency preparedness. Although most harmful algal bloom events are naturally occurring, algal toxins warrant attention in food-defense planning because they can contaminate seafood and drinking-water systems, complicate detection and attribution, and expose vulnerabilities across interconnected food and water infrastructures. Full article

The pollution of soil by potentially toxic elements in industrial–agricultural transition zones threatens global food security and public health owing to their persistence and bioaccumulation. This study focused on Miyi County, Sichuan (China), a typical region with intensive vanadium–titanium magnetite mining and modern agriculture, and systematically analyzed eight heavy metals and metalloids (Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni) across the categories of atmospheric deposition, irrigation water, agricultural inputs, and soil–crop systems. A rigorous four-stage full-chain diagnosis (concentration–load–ecology–health) was executed to evaluate pollution levels and pathways. The single-factor pollution index identified cadmium (Cd) as the primary pollutant, exhibiting a maximum index of 32.63. The Håkanson potential ecological risk index (RI) demonstrated that Cd was the absolute dominant contributor, reaching a catastrophic single-element risk factor (Ei) of 2191.8 and contributing over 70% to the comprehensive ecological risk. Spatially, soils displayed a distinct point-source cluster diffusion pattern: the northern metallurgical zone was dominated by a Cr-Zn-Cu-Ni industrial assemblage, while the southern zone was enriched in Cd, Pb, As, and Hg. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportionment quantitatively demonstrated that industrial emissions via atmospheric deposition were the primary driver, contributing 55–75% of the total soil exogenous inputs, while agricultural sources (livestock manure and legacy arsenic pesticides) exacerbated localized accumulation. While overlying irrigation water remained safe, channel sediments acted as historical pollution sinks. The human health risk model revealed that children in industrial core areas faced unacceptable carcinogenic hazards, with a lifetime carcinogenic risk (LCR) reaching 5.6 × 10⁻⁴. These highly specific multi-media findings support a macro spatial risk zoning and source interception strategy to decouple economic growth from regional food safety degradation in global transition economies. Full article

This decade-long surveillance study (2016–2025) investigates the acquisition of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in South Atlantic cetaceans to evaluate how ecological niches modulate exposure to biological pollution. Analyzing clinical isolates from stranded cetacean carcasses (n = 346), we used Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models (GLMMs) to mitigate multi-center analytical biases and compare resistance profiles across coastal and oceanic species. We observed a significant, progressive upward trend in the overall MDR probability over the decade. Although raw MDR was higher in the demersal-feeding Pontoporia blainvillei (58.2%) than in the sympatric, water-column-foraging Sotalia guianensis (22.0%), multivariate modeling revealed that this difference was primarily driven by the geographic stranding location rather than by intrinsic foraging ecology. High gastrointestinal MDR (73.9%) suggests dietary intake as a primary biological gateway. Demographic modeling revealed a significant sex-based association in P. blainvillei, with females facing a higher risk (p = 0.009), although the specific ecological or physiological mechanisms underlying this difference remain unknown. High MDR rates in deep-diving Lagenodelphis hosei (70.8%) and Kogia breviceps (67.9%) suggest that resistant pathogens may reach bathypelagic food webs, potentially via vertical trophic pathways. These findings suggest that spatial environmental contamination, alongside foraging and reproductive ecologies, is a key driver of exposure to the anthropogenic resistome. Because carcass-based sampling inherently targets a diseased or senescent fraction, these high prevalences may overestimate the resistome burden of healthy free-ranging populations. The detection of human pathogens across coastal and offshore habitats indicates persistent deficiencies in terrestrial effluent management, reinforcing cetaceans as One Health sentinels. Full article

Planetary health recognizes that human health, well-being, and sustainable development depend fundamentally on the integrity of natural ecosystems that regulate climate, maintain biodiversity, secure food and water resources, and protect populations from environmental risks. As environmental degradation increasingly threatens this life-support system, there is a growing need for economic indicators that explicitly recognize the value of natural capital alongside conventional measures of development. Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) has emerged as comprehensive metric for quantifying the monetary value of ecosystem services and informing evidence-based policy. This study estimates India’s GEP for the period 2011–2012 to 2020–2021 using an ecosystem accounting framework aligned with the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA). The analysis integrates provisioning services (timber, non-timber forest products, fuelwood, and fisheries), regulating services (carbon sequestration), and cultural services (nature-based tourism) using market price, replacement cost, and benefit transfer methods based on secondary data from national and published sources. India’s total GEP is estimated at US$207.05 billion, highlighting the substantial but under-recognized contribution of ecosystems to the national economy and societal well-being. Regulating services dominate GDP, with carbon sequestration alone accounting for US$166.73 billion, followed by provisioning services, while cultural services contribute a relatively smaller share. These findings reveal a significant gap between ecosystem contributions and their representation in conventional metrics such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), underscoring the limitations of growth-centric development frameworks. By integrating ecosystem values into national accounting, GEP provides a practical tool for advancing planetary health, strengthening climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, supporting ecosystem-based management, and guiding policies that align economic development with ecological sustainability and long-term human well-being. Full article

River sediments act not only as important sinks for heavy metal pollution in watersheds, but also as potential secondary sources under changing environmental conditions. Heavy metals can enter river systems through industrial wastewater discharge, agricultural non-point runoff, urban stormwater and sewage inputs, mining and smelting activities, and atmospheric deposition. During adsorption onto suspended particles, sedimentation, and resuspension, metals such as Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, As, and Hg progressively accumulate in sediments. Because heavy metals are persistent, non-degradable, and bioaccumulative, contaminated sediments can record historical watershed pollution while also releasing metals back into overlying water under hydrodynamic disturbance, pH and redox fluctuations, organic matter mineralization, benthic bioturbation, and dredging activities, thereby threatening aquatic ecosystem stability and human health. Using a global methodological framework with particular emphasis on Chinese river basins, this review systematically summarizes key issues in the study of heavy metal pollution in river sediments, including spatial–temporal distribution and operationally defined fractionation, pollution levels and ecological risk assessment, source apportionment, and remediation and management technologies. Current evidence indicates that heavy metal contamination in river sediments exhibits pronounced spatial heterogeneity and watershed-specific characteristics. Its distribution is jointly controlled by geological background, land use patterns, source input intensity, hydrodynamic conditions, sediment particle size composition, and organic matter content. Methodologically, the field has evolved from single total concentration monitoring and exceedance-based evaluation toward integrated assessment systems that combine total concentrations, operationally defined fractionation, bioavailability, ecological risk, health risk, and source contribution. The joint use of BCR sequential extraction, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo), the pollution load index (PLI), the potential ecological risk index (RI), the risk assessment code (RAC), sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), receptor models, isotope tracing, and machine learning has substantially improved pollution identification, risk zoning, and source apportionment. Overall, research on heavy metal pollution in river sediments has shifted from descriptive judgments of whether contamination exists toward mechanistic and management-oriented questions concerning pollution sources, risk evolution, and remediation strategies. However, important gaps remain in compound pollution transformation mechanisms, regional background values and evaluation benchmarks, uncertainty in model parameters, long-term dynamic monitoring, and engineering-scale verification of remediation technologies. Future studies should strengthen multi-media, multi-scale, and long-term monitoring and further integrate fractionation analysis, toxicological effects, source apportionment models, and remediation technologies to provide a scientific basis for watershed ecological security and precision management of contaminated sediments. Full article

Uranium is a critical strategic resource. However, uranium mining can cause severe contamination of surrounding soils by potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Conventional approaches that separately perform source apportionment and risk assessment fail to establish a direct linkage between pollution sources and their associated environmental and health risks. Herein, we develop an integrated framework that combines the absolute principal component score–multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model, the potential ecological risk index, and Monte Carlo simulation. The established framework was used to try quantifying the potential sources of soil PTEs and their corresponding ecological and human risks in a uranium mining area. The results showed that the concentrations of U, Th, Cd, and Cr significantly exceeded local background levels, with Cd and U exhibiting higher spatial variability than the other PTEs. The APCS-MLR model identified three potential sources of soil PTE contamination: mining activities, mixed anthropogenic-natural, and natural sources. Mining and mixed sources were the dominant contributors to ecological risk, jointly accounting for 88.7% of the total ecological risk, with Cd identified as the primary ecological risk pollutant. The mixed sources also contributed the largest proportions of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks, accounting for 52.56% and 67.5%, respectively. Furthermore, children were found to face greater health risks than adults due to higher exposure levels. Priority factor analysis indicated that pollution management should continuously monitor Cd derived from mining activities based on statistical inference. Overall, the proposed integrated framework successfully established a quantitative linkage between pollution sources and associated risks, providing a scientific basis for source-specific and zone-specific soil pollution management in uranium mining areas. Full article

Atmospheric deposition in industrial basins of Central Asia is strongly influenced by local emissions and wintertime dispersion conditions. This study characterized snowpack at 63 sampling stations across Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, including operational background station 1, on 24–26 February 2025 after a 116-day accumulation period. Major ions were determined in a spatially distributed exploratory subset of 16 samples, and trace elements were measured in samples from all 63 stations by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and optical emission spectrometry. Mean meltwater pH and total dissolved solids were 6.55 ± 0.34 and 37.3 ± 18.0 mg L⁻¹, respectively. Charge-balance errors for the 16 hydrochemical samples ranged from −0.3% to +0.7%. Using the contamination index based on exceedances of the current Kazakhstan water-quality thresholds, 48 stations had CI < 1, seven had CI = 1–3, and eight had CI > 3; the highest value (60.21) occurred at station 26. Principal component analysis showed that the first three components explained 53.6% of the variance and separated a broad mineral/industrial aerosol association from a Pb–Cd–Zn association consistent with non-ferrous metallurgy and mixed urban sources. Cadmium was therefore interpreted as the principal contributor to the MPC-normalized index at the most affected stations, rather than as the dominant component by absolute concentration. The dissolved fraction can be mobilized during spring melt, indicating a potential pathway to soils and receiving waters, although direct ecological or human-health risk was not quantified. Station-level point mapping and projection along the NW–SE axis showed localized multi-element maxima rather than a monotonic citywide gradient. Full article