Structural equation modeling of PAHs in surrounding environmental media and field yellow carrot in vegetable bases from Northern China: In comparison with field cabbage

Biomonitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in domestic kitchens using commonly grown culinary herbs

Cooking is a significant source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) emissions in indoor environments. A one-month biomonitoring study was carried out in previously selected rural Hungarian kitchens to evaluate cooking-related PAHs concentrations in 4 common kitchen vegetables such as basil, parsley, rocket and chives. The study had two mainobjectives: firstly, to follow PAHs accumulation pattern and to find out if this pattern can be associated with different cooking habits. Also, the usefulness of culinary herbs for indoor bioaccumulation studies was assessed. The 2-ring naphthalene was the dominant PAH in the majority of the samples, its concentrations were in the range of 25.4 µg/kg and 274 µg/kg, of 3-ring PAHs the prevalency of phenanthrene was observed, with highest concentration of 62 µg/kg. PAHs accumulation pattern in tested plants clearly indicated differences in cooking methods and cooking oils used in the selected households. Use of lard and animal fats in general resulted in the high concentrations of higher molecular weight (5- and 6-ring) PAHs, while olive oil usage could be associated with the emission of 2- and 3-ring PAHs. Culinary herbs, however, accumulated carcinogenic PAHs such as benzo[a]anthracene (highest concentration 11.9 µg/kg), benzo[b]fluoranthene (highest concentration 13.8 µg/kg) and chrysene (highest concentration 20.1 µg/kg) which might question their safe use.

Uptake, translocation, and metabolism of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in plants and health perspective for human: A review

Plant uptake, accumulation, and transformation of organophosphate esters (OPEs) play vital roles in their geochemical cycles and exposure risks. Here we reviewed the recent research advances in OPEs in plants. The mean OPE concentrations based on dry/wet/lipid weight varied in 4.80-3,620/0.287-26.8/12,000-315,000 ng g-1 in field plants, and generally showed positive correlations with those in plant habitats. OPEs with short-chain substituents and high hydrophilicity, particularly the commonly used chlorinated OPEs, showed dominance in most plant samples, whereas some tree barks, fruits, seeds, and roots demonstrated dominance of hydrophobic OPEs. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic OPEs can enter plants via root and foliar uptake, and the former pathway is mainly passively mediated by various membrane proteins. After entry, different OPEs undergo diverse subcellular distributions and acropetal/basipetal/intergenerational translocations, depending on their physicochemical properties. Hydrophilic OPEs mainly exist in cell sap and show strong transferability, hydrophobic OPEs demonstrate dominant distributions in cell wall and limited migrations owing to the interception of Casparian strips and cell wall. Additionally, plant species, transpiration capacity, growth stages, commensal microorganisms, and habitats also affect OPE uptake and transfer in plants. OPE metabolites derived from various Phase I transformations and Phase II conjugations are increasingly identified in plants, and hydrolysis and hydroxylation are the most common metabolic processes. The metabolisms and products of OPEs are closely associated with their structures and degradation resistance and plant species. In contrast, plant-derived food consumption contributes considerably to the total dietary intakes of OPEs by human, particularly the cereals, and merits specifical attention. Based on the current research limitations, we proposed the research perspectives regarding OPEs in plants, with the emphases on their behavior and fate in field plants, interactions with plant-related microorganisms, multiple uptake pathways and mechanisms, and comprehensive screening analysis and risk evaluation.

Levels, source apportionment, and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vegetable bases of northwest China

Dietary consumption of contaminated vegetables is the main route of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, there is a lack of research on PAHs in vegetables from northwest China. In this study, the concentrations, sources, and risk assessment of PAHs in the soil and vegetables of Urumqi, an urbanized city in Xinjiang, China, were investigated. The total concentrations of 16 PAHs in soil and vegetable samples ranged 10.58-77.20 and 93.7-1071.8 ng/g, with average values of 2.86 and 242.76 ng/g, respectively. Among vegetable samples, the concentrations were in the order: leafy vegetables (299.08 ng/g) > fruits (192.65 ng/g) > vegetable roots (152.05 ng/g). The source apportionment of PAHs was identified using positive matrix factorization. The primary sources of PAHs in soil samples are oil spills, traffic emissions, coal combustion, and coke combustion. The main sources of PAHs in vegetable samples are oil spills and burning of grass, wood, coal, and coke. In soil samples, the ecological risk caused by PAHs is at a safe level, and the incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) of ingestion exposure exceed 1.0 × 10^-6, which will pose potential risks to human body. The ILCRs of vegetable samples revealed that all groups had potential risks from onion and cabbage consumption (ILCRs > 1.0 × 10^-6). In particular, adult women had a higher risk of cancer (ILCRs > 1.0 × 10^-4). These results emphasize the importance of combating PAHs pollution in vegetable bases.

Relationship between self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among hypertensive patients in China

Introduction

Hypertension is a growing public health concern worldwide. It is a leading risk factor for all-cause mortality and may lead to complications such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Poor compliance of hypertensive patients is one of the major barriers to controlling high blood pressure. Compliance is not ideal among Chinese patients, and increasing patient self-care compliance with hypertension is necessary.

Methods

This article analyzes the status of self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among Chinese hypertensive patients using cross-sectional data from Zhejiang Province. We use a multi-group structural equation model (MGSEM) to compare the interrelationships across genders.

Results

The study's findings show that the average trust, satisfaction, and compliance scores are 3.92 ± 0.55, 3.98 ± 0.61, and 3.33 ± 0.41, respectively. Female patients exhibit higher average total scores for trust and compliance than male patients. The SEM results indicate that trust has a direct positive association with compliance [β = 0.242, 95% CI: (0.068, 0.402)] and satisfaction [β = 0.260, 95% CI: (0.145, 0.367)], while their satisfaction is not directly associated with compliance. The results of MGSEM show that trust has an indirect effect on compliance in the male group through satisfaction [β = 0.051, P < 0.05, 95% CI: (0.012, 0.116)]. In the female group, trust has a direct effect on satisfaction [β = 0.235, P < 0.05, 95% CI: (0.041, 0.406)] and compliance [β = 0.319, P < 0.01, 95% CI: (0.086, 0.574)].

Discussion

This study reveals the mechanisms of self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among Chinese hypertensive patients. Its findings may serve as a reference for guiding primary healthcare providers to improve hypertension patients' compliance and implement gender-targeted health interventions.

Contribution of dicarboxylic acids to pyrene biodegradation and transcriptomic responses of Enterobacter sp. PRd5

The colonization of degrading endophytic bacteria is an effective means to reduce the residues of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crops. Dicarboxylic acids, as the main active components in crops, can affect the physiological activities of endophytic bacteria and alter the biodegradation process of PAHs in crops. In this study, malonic acid and succinic acid were selected as the representatives to investigate the contribution of dicarboxylic acids to pyrene biodegradation by endophytic Enterobacter sp. PRd5 in vitro. The results showed that dicarboxylic acids improved the biodegradation of pyrene and altered the expression of the functional gene of strain PRd5. Malonic acid and succinic acid reduced the half-life of pyrene by 20.0% and 27.8%, respectively. The degrading enzyme activities were significantly stimulated by dicarboxylic acids. There were 386 genes up-regulated and 430 genes down-regulated in strain PRd5 with malonic acid, while 293 genes up-regulated and 340 genes down-regulated with succinic acid. Those up-regulated genes were distributed in the functional classification of signal transduction, membrane transport, energy metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Malonic acid mainly enhanced the central carbon metabolism, cell proliferation, and cell activity. Succinic acid mainly improved the expression of degrading gene. Overall, the findings of this study provide new insights into the regulation and control of PAH stress by crops. KEY POINTS: • Dicarboxylic acids improved the biodegradation of pyrene by Enterobacter sp. PRd5. • The degrading enzyme activities were stimulated by dicarboxylic acids. • There are different facilitation mechanisms between malonic acid and succinic acid.

Uptake and accumulation of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and benzo(b)fluoranthene in winter wheat affected by foliar exposure at different growth stages

Foliar uptake, as an important pathway of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) accumulation in winter wheat, has a great contribution to wheat PAHs, which mainly depends on atmospheric PAHs level. An indoor simulation experiment was conducted to explore the effects of foliar exposure to PAHs at different growth stages on PAHs uptake in wheat. Three levels (0, 0.75, 4.5 mg L^-1) of mixed solution of three PAHs (Σ₃PAHs) including naphthalene (NAP), phenanthrene (PHE), and benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF) were sprayed on leaves of two varieties (Yunong, YN; Xiaoyan, XY) of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during the booting, heading, pre-filling, and post-filling stage. The results showed that the sprayed PAHs exhibited little effects on the growth of the two varieties except the stem biomass of YN was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced when high concentration of PAHs was applied at the post-filling stage. PAHs concentration in winter wheat grain was highest under foliar exposure at the pre-filling stage, while the lowest was found under foliar exposure at the post-filling stage. Transfer factor of PAHs from stem to root (TF_root/stem) of three PAHs when foliar exposure to PAHs at the booting and heading stage was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than that at the pre-filling and post-filling stage, while TF_grain/glume of three PAHs when foliar exposure to PAHs at pre-filling stage was significantly (p < 0.01) higher than that at the other three stages. These results indicated that foliar exposure to PAHs during the vegetative growth stage was transferred and distributed to the root, while PAHs are mainly transferred and accumulated to the grain during the grain filling stage. Additionally, the higher lipophilic PAHs showed a lower ability to transfer from the glume to grain, and larger flag leaf area had the potential to promote the enrichment of PAHs in grain. This study indicated that the health risk of PAHs in winter wheat could be effectively reduced by controlling atmospheric PAHs level during pre-filling stage.

Effects of urbanization on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in China's estuarine rivers

Estuarine rivers are the primary medium for transporting pollutants from human activities to the ocean. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have substantial toxicity and pose a significant risk to ecosystem and human health. However, the influences of urbanization on their distribution, particularly in China where urbanization is occurring rapidly, remain unclear. This study took three coastal economic circles of China as research areas, and investigated PAHs (16 species) in the estuarine river water. 95.9% of the sampling sites demonstrated moderate PAHs pollution and moderate ecological risk. Coal and petroleum combustion was the primary source of PAHs, but the source composition varied among the regions. Air pollution caused by energy emissions, particularly carbon emissions, has a critical and differential effect on PAHs distribution and deposition. With the increasing use of clean energy, PAHs emissions have been gradually reduced, which provides an effective option for PAHs reduction in a rapidly urbanizing coastal region.

Free Fatty Acid from Waste Palm Oil Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles Immobilized on Surface Graphene Oxide as a New Adsorbent for Simultaneously Detecting Hazardous Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Phthalate Esters in Food Extracts

A newly synthesized free fatty acids from waste palm oil functionalized magnetic nanoparticles immobilized on the surface of graphene oxide (FFA@MNP-GO) was successfully synthesized and characterized in this research. The combinations of long alkyl chain of free fatty acid with graphene oxide that consists of large delocalized 77-electron systems and abundant of hydrophilic groups with hydroxyl, epoxide and carboxylic groups offer the determination of simultaneous wide range of polarities of organic pollutants in real matrices through hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and 77-77 interactions. The fabricated adsorbent was successfully applied as a magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) adsorbent for the simultaneous separation of selected phthalate esters (PAEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in apple and cabbage extracts prior to their high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) determination. Factors affecting the extraction efficiency such as amount of adsorbent, desorption solvent, volume of desorption solvent, extraction time, desorption time, pH and sample volume were investigated and optimized. The results revealed that under optimal conditions, the detection limit of selected PAEs and PAHs were in the range of 0.56-0.97 ng mL^-1 and 0.02-0.93 ng mL^-1, respectively. The spiked recoveries of real apple and cabbage extracts for PAEs and PAHs were in the range of 81.5-117.6% with good relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 5) less than 10% and 86.7-118.2% with acceptable RSDs (n = 5) ranging from 1.5 to 11.0%, respectively. This study reported for the first time the use of MSPE procedure for simultaneous determination of chosen PAHs and PAEs in real samples including apple and cabbage extracts by using new adsorbent, FFA@MNP-GO.

Biowaste hydrothermal carbonization aqueous product application in rice paddy: Focus on rice growth and ammonia volatilization

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is known as a green biomass conversion technology. However, it often suffers from the issue of disposing hydrothermal carbonization aqueous products (HCAP). Based on the characterization and composition of acidic HCAP, a rice paddy soil column experiment was conducted to observe the effects of HCAP on ammonia (NH₃) volatilization form paddy soil and rice yield. The experiment was designed with five treatments. HCAPs were produced at 220 °C and (SHC220-L) and 260 °C (SHC260-L) derived from poplar sawdust, HCAP produced at 220 °C (WHC220-L) and 260 °C (WHC260-L) derived from wheat straw, and a control group without HCAP application (termed CKU hereafter). The results showed that HCAP treatments increased the rice yield by 4.30%-26.0% compared to CKU. HACPs prepared at lower temperatures (SHC220-L and WHC220-L) mitigated the cumulative NH₃ volatilization by 11.2% and 7.6%, respectively, and mitigated yield-scale NH₃ volatilization (cumulative NH₃ volatilization/total yield) by 14.2% ∼ 22.4%. HCAP significantly improved the N use efficiency of rice. We found that the NH₃ volatilization was related to NH₄⁺-N concentration and pH of surface water, soil TOC and NH₄⁺-N oxidation functional genes. This study implied that HCAP could be potentially used as a liquid fertilizer, which will be a potential substitute for chemical N fertilizers. There is still a long way before HCAP can be applied in full-scale for N fertilizer reduction and waste recycle.

Effects of cuticular wax content and specific leaf area on accumulation and partition of PAHs in different tissues of wheat leaf

An indoor simulation experiment was conducted to explore the effects of cuticular wax content and specific leaf area (SLA) on accumulation and distribution of PAHs in different tissues of wheat leaf. Three levels (0, 1.25, 6.0 mg L^-1) of mixed solution of five PAHs (Σ₅PAHs) including phenanthrene (PHE), anthracene (ANT), pyrene (PYR), benz[a]anthracene (BaA), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) were sprayed on leaves of seven varieties of winter wheat for every other day during 20 consecutive days. Shoot and root biomass of wheat under 6.0 mg L^-1 Σ₅PAHs exposure were 5.87 and 0.33 g, which were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those (7.14 and 0.65 g) without spraying Σ₅PAHs solution, respectively. Elevated Σ₅PAHs concentration in spraying solution significantly (p < 0.0001) decreased cuticular wax content (59.1 and 65.1 vs. 67.8 mg g^-1) in leaves of wheat but exerted slight effects on SLA. Regardless of spraying Σ₅PAHs or not, SLA in leaves of Jiaomai (269-276 cm² g^-1) and Zhengmai (265-285 cm² g^-1) and cuticular wax content (104-118 mg g^-1) in leaves of Zhengmai were significantly higher than other varieties of wheat, respectively. Σ₅PAHs concentration in cuticular waxes ranged from 24,616 to 106,353 μg kg^-1, which was 2~3 orders and 1~2 orders of magnitude higher than that in mesophylls (46.0-535 μg kg^-1) and leaves (785-5366 μg kg^-1). There was a significant (r = 0.46, p < 0.05, n = 28) positive correlation between SLA and Σ₅PAHs concentration in wheat leaves when spraying 1.25 mg L^-1 of Σ₅PAHs. The present study indicated that cuticular wax content was significantly (p < 0.01) positive correlated with Σ₅PAHs concentration in the leaves and the translocation factor (TF_w-m) of PHE, ANT, PYR, and Σ₅PAHs from cuticular wax to mesophyll. Based on principal component analysis (PCA), cuticular wax content was the main limiting factor for folia uptake of PAHs in winter wheat. The present study suggested that cuticular wax could play significant roles in foliar uptake of PAHs of wheat via affecting their accumulation in cuticular wax and translocation to mesophyll.