Toxics最新文献

{"title":"Safe Disposal of Accident Wastewater in Chemical Industrial Parks Using Non-Thermal Plasma with ZnO-Fe3O4 Composites","authors":"Aihua Li, Chaofei Wang, Chengjiang Qian, Jinfeng Wen, He Guo","doi":"10.3390/toxics12010040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12010040","url":null,"abstract":"Chemical wastewater has a high concentration of toxic and hazardous antibiotic pollutants, which not only devastates the ecological environment and disrupts the ecological balance, but also endangers human health. This research proposed a non-thermal plasma (NTP) combined with a ZnO-Fe3O4 nano-catalyst system to achieve the efficient degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in chemical wastewater. Firstly, ZnO-Fe3O4 composite materials were prepared using hydrothermal method and characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. With the sole NTP, NTP/ZnO, and NTP/ZnO-Fe3O4 systems, the removal efficiency of CIP can reach 80.1%, 88.2%, and 99.6%, respectively. The optimal doping amount of Fe3O4 is 14%. Secondly, the capture agent experiment verified that ·OH, ·O2−, and 1O2 all have a certain effect on CIP degradation. Then, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to detect the intermediate and speculate its degradation pathway, which mainly included hydroxyl addition, hydroxyl substitution, and piperazine ring destruction. After treatment with the NTP/ZnO-Fe3O4 system, the overall toxicity of the product was reduced. Finally, a cyclic experiment was conducted, and it was found that the prepared ZnO-Fe3O4 catalyst has good reusability. The NTP/ZnO-Fe3O4 was also applied in practical pharmaceutical wastewater treatment and has practical applicability.","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":"39 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139385032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Practical Framework for Novel Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Evaluation: Chemical and Toxicological Characterization of JUUL2 Aerosol and Comparison with Reference Cigarettes","authors":"David K. Cook, Guy Lalonde, Michael J. Oldham, Jiaming Wang, Austin L. Bates, Sifat Ullah, Christina Sulaiman, Karen Carter, Candice Jongsma, Gary Dull, I. G. Gillman","doi":"10.3390/toxics12010041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12010041","url":null,"abstract":"Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDSs) are designed as a non-combustible alternative to cigarettes, aiming to deliver nicotine without the harmful byproducts of tobacco combustion. As the category evolves and new ENDS products emerge, it is important to continually assess the levels of toxicologically relevant chemicals in the aerosols and characterize any related toxicology. Herein, we present a proposed framework for characterizing novel ENDS products (i.e., devices and formulations) and determining the reduced risk potential utilizing analytical chemistry and in vitro toxicological studies with a qualitative risk assessment. To demonstrate this proposed framework, long-term stability studies (12 months) analyzing relevant toxicant emissions from six formulations of a next-generation product, JUUL2, were conducted and compared to reference combustible cigarette (CC) smoke under both non-intense and intense puffing regimes. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and genotoxicity assays were conducted on aerosol and smoke condensates. In all samples, relevant toxicants under both non-intense and intense puffing regimes were substantially lower than those observed in reference CC smoke. Furthermore, neither cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, nor genotoxicity was observed in aerosol condensates generated under both intense and non-intense puffing regimes, in contrast to results observed for reference cigarettes. Following the proposed framework, the results demonstrate that the ENDS products studied in this work generate significantly lower levels of toxicants relative to reference cigarettes and were not cytotoxic, mutagenic, or genotoxic under these in vitro assay conditions.","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139384405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing Heavy Metals in the Sele River Estuary: An Overview of Pollution Indices in Southern Italy","authors":"Fabiana Di Duca, P. Montuori, Elvira De Rosa, Bruna De Simone, I. Russo, Raffaele Nubi, Maria Triassi","doi":"10.3390/toxics12010038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12010038","url":null,"abstract":"Rapid industrialization, coupled with a historical lack of understanding in toxicology, has led in an increase in estuary pollution, frequently resulting in unexpected environmental situations. Therefore, the occurrence of heavy metals (HMs) constitutes a major environmental issue, posing a serious risk both to aquatic ecosystems and public health. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of eight HMs (As, Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in water, suspended particles, and sediment near the Sele River estuary (Italy) in order to assess their environmental impacts on the sea and health risks for humans. The results revealed an increasing order of HM concentration according to the scheme suspended particulate matter (SPM) > sediment (SED) > dissolved phase (DP) and a moderate contamination status in sediment. The health risk assessment indicated that the non-carcinogenic risk was negligible. Carcinogenic risk, expressed as the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), was negligible for Cd and Ni and within tolerable limits for As, Pb, and Cr. The findings suggested that, even if there are currently no specific limits for chemical parameters in the transitional waters of Italy, monitoring systems should be implemented to determine pollution levels and implement effective steps to improve river water quality and reduce human health risks.","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":"122 33","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139387836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Photocatalytic Removal of Metronidazole Antibiotics from Water Using Novel Ag-N-SnO2 Nanohybrid Material","authors":"Md. Shahriar Hossain Shuvo, Rupna Akther Putul, Khandker Saadat Hossain, S. Masum, Md. Ashraful Islam Molla","doi":"10.3390/toxics12010036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12010036","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we employed a straightforward synthetic approach using the sol-gel method to fabricate a novel photocatalyst, Ag and N co-doped SnO2 (Ag-N-SnO2). The synthesized photocatalysts underwent characterization through various techniques including XRD, FTIR, FESEM-EDS, TEM, UV-vis DRS, BET, and XPS. The UV-vis DRS results confirmed a reduction in the bandgap energy of Ag-N-SnO2, leading to enhanced absorption of visible light. Additionally, TEM data demonstrated a smaller particle size for Ag-N-SnO2, and BET analysis revealed a significant increase in surface area compared to SnO2.The efficiency of the Ag-N-SnO2 photocatalyst in degrading metronidazole (MNZ) under natural sunlight surpassed that of SnO2. Under optimal conditions (Ag-N-SnO2 concentration of 0.4 g/L, MNZ concentration of 10 mg/L, pH 9, and 120 min of operation), the highest MNZ photocatalytic removal reached 97.03%. The reaction kinetics followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.026 min−1. Investigation into the mineralization of MNZ indicated a substantial decrease in total organic carbon (TOC) values, reaching around 56% in 3 h of sunlight exposure. To elucidate the photocatalytic degradation mechanism of MNZ with Ag-N-SnO2, a scavenger test was employed which revealed the dominant role of •O2–. The results demonstrated the reusability of Ag-N-SnO2 for up to four cycles, highlighting its cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness as a photocatalyst.","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":"28 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139390794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine Learning-Based Analyses of the Effects of Various Types of Air Pollutants on Hospital Visits by Asthma Patients.","authors":"Soyeon Lee,&nbsp;Hyeeun Ku,&nbsp;Changwan Hyun,&nbsp;Minhyeok Lee","doi":"10.3390/toxics10110644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10110644","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder defined by airway inflammation, chest pains, wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing that affects an estimated 300 million individuals globally. Although various studies have shown an association between air pollution and asthma, few studies have used statistical and machine learning algorithms to investigate the effect of each individual air pollutant on asthma. The purpose of this research was to assess the association between air pollutants and the frequency of hospital visits by asthma patients using three analysis methods: linear correlation analyses were performed by Pearson correlation coefficients, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and random forest (RF) models were used for machine learning-based analyses to investigate the effect of air pollutants. This research studied asthma patients using the hospital visit database in Seoul, South Korea, collected between 2013 and 2017. The data set included outpatient hospital visits (n = 17,787,982), hospital admissions (n = 215,696), and emergency department visits (n = 85,482). The daily atmospheric environmental information from 2013 to 2017 at 25 locations in Seoul was evaluated. The three analysis models revealed that NO₂ was the most significant pollutant on average in outpatient hospital visits by asthma patients. For example, NO₂ had the greatest impact on outpatient hospital visits, resulting in a positive association (r=0.331). In hospital admissions of asthma patients, CO was the most significant pollutant on average. It was observed that CO exhibited the most positive association with hospital admissions (<i>I</i> = 3.329). Additionally, a significant time lag was found between both NO₂ and CO and outpatient hospital visits and hospital admissions of asthma patients in the linear correlation analysis. In particular, NO₂ and CO were shown to increase hospital admissions at lag 4 in the linear correlation analysis. This study provides evidence that PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, CO, SO₂, and O₃ are associated with the frequency of hospital visits by asthma patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9696060/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40478230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In Silico Exploration of the Potential Role of Acetaminophen and Pesticides in the Etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Tristan Furnary,&nbsp;Rolando Garcia-Milian,&nbsp;Zeyan Liew,&nbsp;Shannon Whirledge,&nbsp;Vasilis Vasiliou","doi":"10.3390/toxics9050097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics9050097","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent epidemiological studies suggest that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen (APAP) is associated with increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 59 children in the US. Maternal and prenatal exposure to pesticides from food and environmental sources have also been implicated to affect fetal neurodevelopment. However, the underlying mechanisms for ASD are so far unknown, likely with complex and multifactorial etiology. The aim of this study was to explore the potential effects of APAP and pesticide exposure on development with regards to the etiology of ASD by highlighting common genes and biological pathways. Genes associated with APAP, pesticides, and ASD through human research were retrieved from molecular and biomedical literature databases. The interaction network of overlapping genetic associations was subjected to network topology analysis and functional annotation of the resulting clusters. These genes were over-represented in pathways and biological processes (FDR <i>p</i> < 0.05) related to apoptosis, metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and carbohydrate metabolism. Since these three biological processes are frequently implicated in ASD, our findings support the hypothesis that cell death processes and specific metabolic pathways, both of which appear to be targeted by APAP and pesticide exposure, may be involved in the etiology of ASD. This novel exposures-gene-disease database mining might inspire future work on understanding the biological underpinnings of various ASD risk factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":508978,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.3390/toxics9050097","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38931967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}