Urinary concentrations of phenols, oxidative stress biomarkers and thyroid cancer: Exploring associations and mediation effects

Phenols have been shown to influence the cellular proliferation and function of thyroid in experimental models. However, few human studies have investigated the association between phenol exposure and thyroid cancer, and the underlying mechanisms are also poorly understood. We conducted a case-control study by age- and sex-matching 143 thyroid cancer and 224 controls to investigate the associations between phenol exposures and the risk of thyroid cancer, and further to explore the mediating role of oxidative stress. We found that elevated urinary triclosan (TCS), bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) levels were associated with increased risk of thyroid cancer (all P for trends < 0.05), and the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) comparing the extreme exposure groups were 3.52 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.08, 5.95), 2.06 (95% CI: 1.06, 3.97) and 7.15 (95% CI: 3.12, 16.40), respectively. Positive associations were also observed between urinary TCS, BPA and BPS and three oxidative stress biomarkers measured by 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), 8-iso-prostaglandin F_2α (8-isoPGF_2α) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-mercapturic acid (HNE-MA), as well as between urinary 8-isoPGF_2α and HNE-MA and the risk of thyroid cancer. Mediation analysis showed that urinary 8-isoPGF_2α mediated 28.95%, 47.06% and 31.08% of the associations between TCS, BPA and BPS exposures and the risk of thyroid cancer, respectively (all P < 0.05). Our results suggest that exposure to TCS, BPA and BPS may be associated with increased risk of thyroid cancer and lipid peroxidation may be an intermediate mechanism. Further studies are warranted to confirm the findings.     

Occurrence and fate of endogenous steroid hormones, alkylphenol ethoxylates, bisphenol A and phthalates in municipal sewage treatment systems

Steroid hormones, alkylphenol ethoxylates(APEOs) and phthalic acid esters(PAEs) are emerging endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs) that can interfere with the endocrine function in organisms at low concentrations. The occurrence, distribution behavior, removal rate and the fate of 31 target EDCs in sewage treatment plants, which consist of various treatment facilities and receiving water in Hong Kong, were investigated. Estrone,nonylphenol-di-ethoxylate and diethyl phthalate were found to be dominant in each group of influent samples with concentrations ranging from 11–33, 747–3945 and 445–4635 ng/L,respectively. Conversely, progesterone, nonylphenol-mono-ethoxylate and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate were the most abundant in dewatered sludge, with concentrations ranging from 0.9–237, 75–19,743 and 4310–37,016 ng/g(dry weight). The removal rates of primary sedimentation and disinfection approaches were lower than 30% for most of the chemicals,while those of activated sludge and reverse osmosis were greater than 80% for more than two-thirds of the compounds, noticeably decreasing the estrogenic risk of sewage discharged into the environment. Steroid hormones were removed via biological degradation, while some APEOs and PAEs adsorbed to the sludge. Victoria Harbor poses a low to medium estrogenic risk mainly contributed by estrone and estradiol and deserves attention.     

Use of sub-micron sized resin particles for removal of endocrine disrupting compounds and pharmaceuticals from water and wastewater

Endocrine disrupting compounds(EDCs) and pharmaceuticals pose a challenge for water and wastewater treatment because they exist at very low concentrations in the presence of substances at much higher concentrations competing for adsorption sites.Sub-micron sized resin particles(approximately 300 nm in diameter)(SMR) were tested to evaluate their potential as a treatment for EDCs including:17-β estradiol(E2),17-α ethinylestradiol(EE2),estrone(E1),bisphenol A(BPA),and diethylstilbestrol(DES) as well as 12 pharmaceuticals.SMR were able to remove 98%of spiked E2,80%of EE2,87%of BPA,and up to 97%of DES from water.For a 0.5 ppm mixture of E2,EE2,E1,BPA and DES,the minimum removal was24%(E2) and the maximum was 49%(DES).They were also able to remove the pharmaceuticals from deionized water and wastewater.Overall,SMR are a promising advanced treatment for removal of both EDCs and pharmaceuticals.     

Assessing the estrogenic potency in a Portuguese wastewater treatment plant using an integrated approach

The estrogenic potency of a wastewater treatment plant(WWTP) was evaluated using chemical and biological analyses,which showed that after the station treatment processes some of the selected endocrine disruptor compounds(EDCs) were still present in the treated effuent(e.g.,bisphenol A,alkylphenols,estrone) .Thus,the most common endocrine EDCs were identified and quantified and the overall estrogenicity of the treated effuent assessed by integrating the results.Male goldfish(Carassius auratus) were used as biological indicators in a 28-day experiment.Vitellogenin(Vtg) ,gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices,steroids(17β-estradiol and 11-ketotestosterone) and histopathology were biomarkers used in fish to evaluate WWTP treated effuent estrogenicity,in combination with instrumental analyses.The results showed a significant increase(P0.01) in plasma and liver Vtg,which were significantly correlated(r=0.66;P0.01) .The gonadosmatic index was significantly(P0.01) reduced in exposed fish.The steroid analyses revealed significant elevations in 17β-estradiol and depressed 11-ketotestosterone concentrations.The histological examinations show changes in exposed fish gonads,such as regressed testes and in some cases(43%to 75%) the development of ovo-testis in fish exposed to 50% and 100% treated effuent.     

Dietary exposure to di-isobutyl phthalate increases urinary 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine level and affects reproductive function in adult male mice

Phthalates are a large family of ubiquitous environmental pollutants suspected of being endocrine disruptors. Epidemiological studies have associated phthalate metabolites with decreased reproductive parameters and linked phthalate exposure with the level of urinary 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine(5mdC, a product of methylated DNA). In this study, adult male mice were exposed to 450 mg di-isobutyl phthalate(DiBP)/(kg·day) via dietary exposure for 28 days. Mono-isobutyl phthalate(Mi BP, the urinary metabolite) and reproductive function parameters were determined. The levels of 5mdC and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine(5hmdC) were measured in urine to evaluate if their contents were also altered by DiBP exposure in this animal model. Results showed that DiBP exposure led to a significant increase in the urinary 5mdC level and significant decreases in sperm concentration and motility in the epididymis, accompanied with reduced testosterone levels and downregulation of the P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme(P450scc) gene in the mice testes. Our findings indicated that exposure to DiBP increased the urinary 5mdC levels,which supported our recent epidemiological study about the associations of urinary 5mdC with phthalate exposure in the male human population. In addition, DiBP exposure impaired male reproductive function, possibly by disturbing testosterone levels; P450scc might be a major steroidogenic enzyme targeted by DiBP or other phthalates.     

Effects of effluent organic matters on endocrine disrupting chemical removal by ultrafiltration and ozonation in synthetic secondary effluent

Endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs) in the secondary effluent discharged from wastewater treatment plants are of great concern when water reuse is intended. Ozonation and ultrafiltration(UF) are powerful technologies reported to eliminate EDCs. Due to the importance of effluent organic matters(EfOMs) in secondary effluent, the effects of three kinds of EfOM on the treatment of five EDCs using ozonation and UF were investigated. The three kinds of EfOM studied were humic acid sodium salt(NaAH), bovine serum albumin(BSA)and sodium alginate(NaAg); and the five EDCs were estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α-ethynyl estradiol and bisphenol A. The results showed that EfOM accelerated the decay rate of ozone and inhibited the degradation efficiency of EDCs by ozonation in the order NaAH BSA NaAg.The ultraviolet absorbance at 280 nm(UVA_(280)) has potential for use as a surrogate indicator to assess EDC removal via ozonation without conducting difficult EDC analyses. When the decline in UVA_(280) exceeded 18%, the five EDCs had been completely removed. The UF behavior of NaAH,BSA and NaAg was found to follow the cake filtration law. The fouling potential of EfOM followed the order NaAg NaAH BSA; while EfOM on the membrane surface enhanced EDC removal in the order NaAH BSA NaAg. The mean retention rate of the membrane was increased by 24%, 10% and 8%, respectively. The properties of EDCs and EfOM cakes both influenced the EDC removal rates due to adsorption, size exclusion and charge attraction.     

Effects of ZnO nanoparticles on perfluorooctane sulfonate induced thyroid-disrupting on zebrafish larvae

Perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) and ZnO nanoparticles(nano-ZnO) are widely distributed in the environment.However,the potential toxicity of co-exposure to PFOS and nano-ZnO remains to be fully elucidated.The test investigated the effects of co-exposure to PFOS and nano-ZnO on the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid(HPT) axis in zebrafish.Zebrafish embryos were exposed to a combination of PFOS(0.2,0.4,0.8 mg/L) and nano-ZnO(50 mg/L)from their early stages of life(0–14 days).The whole-body content of TH and the expression of genes and proteins related to the HPT axis were analyzed.The co-exposure decreased the body length and increased the malformation rates compared with exposure to PFOS alone.Co-exposure also increased the triiodothyronine(T3) levels,whereas the thyroxine(T4)content remained unchanged.Compared with the exposure to PFOS alone,exposure to both PFOS(0.8 mg/L) and nano-ZnO(50 mg/L) significantly up-regulated the expression of corticotropin-releasing factor,sodium/iodidesymporter,iodothyronine deiodinases and thyroid receptors and significantly down-regulated the expression of thyroid-stimulating hormone,thyroglobulin(TG),transthyretin(TTR) and thyroid receptors.The protein expression levels of TG and TTR were also significantly down-regulated in the co-exposure groups.In addition,the expression of the thyroid peroxidase gene was unchanged in all groups.The results demonstrated that PFOS and nano-ZnO co-exposure could cause more serious thyroid-disrupting effects in zebrafish than exposure to PFOS alone.Our results also provide insight into the mechanism of disruption of the thyroid status by PFOS and nano-ZnO.     

Occupational exposure assessment of phthalate esters in indoor and outdoor microenvironments

Phthalate esters(PAEs) are widely used as plasticizers in consumer products. PAEs are a group of environmental hormone which disrupts human and animals' endocrine systems. Different occupational groups are exposed to various levels of PAEs. In the present study, four typical occupational groups were chosen, including doctors, college teachers, college students, and drivers who worked in public traffic system. In order to understand the exposure levels to PAEs via inhalation, air samples were collected from multiple microenvironments including indoor and outdoor in Hangzhou to measure the gas and particle concentrations of six PAEs, together with time spent in different microenvironments of these four groups. A comprehensive PAEs exposure model was built to estimate the daily PAEs exposure through inhalation, oral and dermal pathways. The Monte Carlo simulation results show that doctors were exposed to the highest level of PAEs, and consequently had the highest health risk among these four occupational groups. In contrast, college students had the lowest health risk. By setting the exposure level of staying in residences as the baseline, doctors and drivers were two occupations exposed to high PAEs health risk. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(DEHP) was the largest contributor among the six phthalates, posing moderate health risk(10-5–10-6) to every occupation. For traffic microenvironments alone, the total exposure levels for different transportation modes were in the descending order of busses, cars, cabs, tubes, motor bikes, and walking.     

Association of serum levels of perfluoroalkyl substances with gestational diabetes mellitus and postpartum blood glucose

This study was conducted to examine the association of perfluoroalkyl substance(PFAS)exposure with gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM) risk and postpartum fasting blood glucose.We used a 1:2 matched case–control study with 84 GDM subjects and 168 healthy pregnant women from Beijing, China. The maternal blood was collected at 1–2 days before delivery, and eight linear isomers and fourteen branched isomers were determined in maternal serum.Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations after adjusting for potential confounders. The median of the sum of levels of total PFASs was 4.24 ng/m L with a interquartile range(IQR) of 2.82–6.54 ng/m L. Although maternal PFAS exposure was not associated with risk of GDM, significant positive associations were observed between evaluated exposure to specific PFAS congeners and increasing blood glucose. The odds ratio(ORs) of the highest category of postpartum fasting blood glucose for perfluoro-1-metylheptylsulfonat(1 m-PFOS), perfluoro-3/4-metylheptylsulfonat(3 m+4 m-PFOS), perfluoro-5-metylheptylsulfonat(5 m-PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonate(PFHx S) were 2.03(95% CI: 1.09–3.77), 1.93(95% CI:1.04–3.58), 2.48(95% CI: 1.33–4.65), and 2.26(95% CI: 1.21–4.21), respectively, suggesting negative effects of maternal exposure to specific PFAS compounds on glucose metabolism.     

土壤整体质量的生态毒性评价

土壤样品采自沈阳西部污灌区 .进行了污染物 (重金属和矿物油 )含量分析和生态毒性试验 .重金属采用原子吸收分光光度仪测定 ,矿物油采用紫外分光光度计测定 .生态毒性试验分别参照国际标准组织 (ISO)和OECD指南 ,进行了植物毒性试验、蚯蚓毒性试验和蚕豆根尖微核试验 .植物试验以小麦种子发芽根伸长抑制率为试验终点 ,试验周期50h ,蚯蚓毒性试验以蚯蚓死亡率、体重增长抑制率为试验终点 ,试验周期28d .土壤中矿物油含量在145mg/kg～1121mg/kg ,重金属Cd为0.34mg/kg～1.81mg/kg .土壤对植物和蚯蚓显示不同程度的毒性效应 ,土壤的蚕豆根尖微核率明显高于对照 .种子发芽根伸长抑制率为2.0%至-35.1% ,蚯蚓死亡率为0%～40%.体重增长抑制率由14d的-2.3%～-19.4%在28d增加到-2.1%～10.7% ,蚕豆根尖微核率最高达6.62/100.研究表明 ,土壤中的污染物积累较低 ,但具有明显的生态毒性 .     

国际化学危险品分类体系简介

介绍了当前国际化学危险品的各种分类体系,对比了GHS与TDG、EU_CLP、DOT、WHMIS等对化学危险品的具体分类。有助于GHS的理解与掌握,全面推进GHS在我国的实施。     

多目标规划在预测区域总产值-排污-水质协调解中的应用研究

以某区域水环境－经济系统为研究实例，寻求值－排污－水质综合协调解方法，寻求净收益最大时的总体规划方案。建立目标参数规划模型，寻求不同生产规模条件下的产值－排污－水质协调解，又探讨了水环境标准约束下的某化工区废水治理费用的计算方法，提出了以供决策者选择的方案。     

滇池富营养化特性评价

介绍了滇池水质状况,对滇池富营养化特性进行了分析和评价,并提出了对策.     

生态保护地协同管控成效评估

分区分类管理是我国生态保护的重要管控制度,生态保护地是事关国家生态安全的关键区域,开展生态保护地保护成效评估及不同类型生态保护地之间的协同管控成效评估具有重要意义。以吉林省自然保护地和重点生态功能区等生态保护地（即禁止开发区和限制开发区）为研究对象,以重要生态空间、植被生态、水源涵养功能为主要内容,基于“禁止开发区—限制开发区—省域”的管控梯度差异,评估分析了生态保护地的协同管控成效。结果表明：（1）从重要生态空间协同管控成效来看,自然保护地的重要生态空间面积比例最高、人类活动干扰指数最低,这与生态保护管控严格程度呈现很好地正相关。但是1980—2015年间重要生态空间面积比例均有所减少,减少幅度与管控严格程度没有表现出正相关。（2）从植被生态协同管控成效来看,植被覆盖总体呈现出自东向西逐步降低的特点,与东部分布有重点生态功能区和森林类自然保护区、西部分布较多的湿地类自然保护地的空间特征一致。但是,由于湿地及水域类型自然保护地面积占比较高,且分布在吉林西部草原和平原区的面积比例较高,自然保护地的年际变化较大、且植被覆盖稳定度低于重点生态功能区。（3）从水源涵养功能协同管控成效来看,水源涵养能力呈现出东部和西部高、中部低的特点,与这两个区域主要分布有森林、草地和湿地等重要生态空间密切相关,也与分布着大面积的重点生态功能区和各类自然保护地密切相关。自然保护区的水源涵养能力最高,且年际变化最小、稳定性最高。     

氯苯类化合物的生物降解

经过2个月的驯化,从某染料厂和某毛纺厂活性污泥中分离出能够生长于1,4-二氯苯、1,2,4-三氯苯和六氯苯的4种微生物.通过测定该混合菌降解氯苯类化合物过程中的累积好氧量、微生物生长曲线及降解产物Cl^-的释放,证明在好氧条件下该混合菌能够以1,4二氯苯和1,2,4-三氯苯为唯一碳源和能源,降解产物Cl^-浓度的变化与微生物生长周期有关.通过好氧振荡瓶培养法测得3种氯苯的生物降解顺序为:1,4-二氯苯[356.7μg/(L·d)]>1,2,4-三氯苯[110.4μg/(L·d)]>六氯苯[～6μg/(L·d)],说明氯取代数越多,氯苯类化合物越难被好氧降解.     

燃煤电厂脱硫副产物资源化利用可行性分析——上海案例研究

未来5年(2006～2010年)上海进行脱硫的机组将达957.2万kW,文章对上海市未来5年中脱硫副产物的资源化利用,进行了技术、经济分析,预计每年可节省SO2排污费用约1.02、1.28亿元,如以原煤计,则为1.51亿元/a和1.89亿元/a,到2010年将达1.67～2.09亿元/a,折成原煤则为2.34～2.93亿元/a,如排污费提高,效益还将扩大;电厂脱硫石膏销售将获得约2160～2880万元/a,折算成原煤应为3024万元/a和4032万元/a,如加工成球或利用余热烘干成粉,利润还会增加;到2010年脱硫石膏销售收入还将进一步放大。上海石膏板或水泥企业利用54～72万t的脱硫石膏,可使企业的原料购买成本节约3250～3650万元/a,如将FGD石膏40%SO3含量与天然石膏34%相比算入成本,使用FGD石膏的水泥生产企业原料购置费节约将更显著。     

哈尔滨松北区城市湿地的生态安全分析

以哈尔滨松北区城市湿地为研究对象,选择10个指标,采用因子分析法和聚类分析法,研究了松花江发生污染事故前后城市湿地的生态安全状况.结果表明:发生污染前哈尔滨松北区城市湿地东区的生态安全程度最高,发生污染后中区的生态安全程度最低;西区的抗干扰能力较差.各主因子中以水因子的下降幅度最大,说明水污染直接影响了哈尔滨松北区城市湿地的生态安全.最后有针对性地提出了哈尔滨松北区城市湿地的生态安全对策.      

后勤装备防腐涂层加速试验环境谱研究

结合后勤装备服役特点,综合考虑亚热带沿海地区湿热、紫外光照、盐雾等主要腐蚀因素的影响,建立了适用于后勤装备表面涂层的加速试验环境谱,给出了各环境块的具体确定方法,并且提出了建立加速谱与装备实际使用环境的当量加速关系的方法。为后勤装备外露关键部位涂层使用寿命评定、涂层有效性检验和腐蚀修理方案制定提供了重要的依据。     

乌海市城区环境噪声现状分析

对乌海市《城市区域环境噪声标准》适用区域进行了划分,以乌海市2011年城区环境噪声监测统计数据为基础,分析了乌海市暴露在不同等效声级下的城区面积分布状况和达标情况。