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The presence and fate of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater represent a subject of major concern, as wastewater is one of the main inputs of MPs to the environment. This study deals with the ability of horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (CWs), as tertiary treatment, to reduce the MPs concentration of secondary effluents. Different locations of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) including raw wastewater, CW influent and final effluent, were sampled. selleck compound Macroinvertebrates were collected from the CW to evaluate their potential role in the MPs distribution along the wetland. The global WWTP efficiency for MPs removal was 98%. MPs removal efficiency by CW was on average 88%, causing a significant reduction of the MPs concentration from 6.45 to 0.77 MP/L (p  0.05). Macroinvertebrates can ingest a non-negligible quantity of MPs, with an average content of 166.2 MPs/g or 0.13 MPs/individual. Therefore, they could play a certain role in the MPs distribution inside CWs. Fiber was the most abundant shape for macroinvertebrates as well (89%), so attention should be paid to reduce their contamination at source. This study provides the first results on MPs removal in CWs as tertiary treatment and assesses the potential role of macroinvertebrates in their distribution along the CW, thus filling this gap of knowledge. V.Nanotechnology has shown promising potential to promote sustainable agriculture. This article reviews the recent developments on applications of nanotechnology in agriculture including crop production and protection with emphasis on nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nanobiosensors and nano-enabled remediation strategies for contaminated soils. Nanomaterials play an important role regarding the fate, mobility and toxicity of soil pollutants and are essential part of different biotic and abiotic remediation strategies. Efficiency and fate of nanomaterials is strongly dictated by their properties and interactions with soil constituents which is also critically discussed in this review. Investigations into the remediation applications and fate of nanoparticles in soil remain scarce and are mostly limited to laboratory studies. Once entered in the soil system, nanomaterials may affect the soil quality and plant growth which is discussed in context of their effects on nutrient release in target soils, soil biota, soil organic matter and plant morphological and physiological responses. The mechanisms involved in uptake and translocation of nanomaterials within plants and associated defense mechanisms have also been discussed. Future research directions have been identified to promote the research into sustainable development of nano-enabled agriculture. This study explored an integrated framework to assess the effectiveness of adaptation measures on the water productivity (WP) of the agricultural water management (AWM) system in the Huai river basin of China considering climate change impact. The adaptation measures include optimization of cropping pattern (OCP) and upgradation of irrigation techniques (UIT). The delta change method was used to downscale the climate variables from RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 of general circulation models (GCMs) during 2021-2050, the water footprint theory was used to estimate the spatial distribution of blue water to calculate the WP, and the nonlinear optimization model was used to seek optimal cropping pattern aiming at maximizing the system's WP. The changes in WP due to climate change and adaptation measures (e.g. combinations of OCP and UIT) were compared. Results indicated that WP under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 would be 4.56% and 6.51% lower than those under the benchmark scenario, respectively. link2 The mitigation rates to the negative impact of climate change on WP under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 would be (1) 3.05% and 3.37% for the combination of spay irrigation technique and OCP, and (2) 4.34% and 4.59% for the combination of drip irrigation technique and OCP, respectively. It was revealed that the combination of drip irrigation and cropping pattern optimization could largely offset the adverse effect from climate change on WP under RCP4.5. Under such a scenario, the total plant areas of wheat and maize would reduce over the basin and so would the net export of crops in the basin; this would lead to a decrease in the crop trade benefit of 7.07 × 109 $ and a relief of 7.50 × 109 m3 of blue water loss. This study results could offer strategic decision support for long-term sustainable AWM of Huai river basin in a changing environment. Micropollutants have become of great concern, because of their disrupting effects on the structure and function of microbial communities. However, little is known about the relative importance of trace micropollutants on the aquatic prokaryotic communities as compared to the traditional physico-chemical characteristics, especially at different spatial dimensions. Here, we investigated free-living (FL) and particle-associated (PA) prokaryotic communities in a subtropical water reservoir, China, across seasons at horizontal (surface water) and vertical (depth-profile) scales by using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Our results showed that the shared variances of physico-chemicals and micropollutants explained majority of the spatial variations in prokaryotic communities, suggesting a strong joint effect of the two abiotic categories on reservoir prokaryotic communities. Micropollutants appeared to exert strong independent influence on the core sub-communities (i.e., abundant and wide-spread taxa) than on the satellite (i.e., less abundant and narrow-range taxa) counterparts. The pure effect of micropollutants on both core and satellite sub-communities from FL and PA fractions was ~1.5 folds greater than that of physico-chemical factors at the horizontal scale, whereas an opposite effect was observed at the vertical scale. Moreover, eight micropollutants including anti-fungal agents, antibiotics, bisphenol analogues, stimulant and UV-filter were identified as the major disrupting compounds with strong associations with core taxa of typical freshwater prokaryotes. Altogether, we concluded that the ecological disrupting effects of micropollutants on prokaryotic communities may vary along horizontal and vertical dimensions in freshwater ecosystems. A uranium-mineralized sandy aquifer, planned for mining by means of uranium in situ recovery (U ISR), harbors a reservoir of bacterial life that may influence the biogeochemical cycles surrounding uranium roll-front deposits. Since microorganisms play an important role at all stages of U ISR, a better knowledge of the resident bacteria before any ISR actuations is essential to face environmental quality assessment. The focus here was on the characterization of bacteria residing in an aquifer surrounding a uranium roll-front deposit that forms part of an ISR facility project at Zoovch Ovoo (Mongolia). Water samples were collected following the natural redox zonation inherited in the native aquifer, including the mineralized orebody, as well as compartments located both upstream (oxidized waters) and downstream (reduced waters) of this area. An imposed chemical zonation for all sensitive redox elements through the roll-front system was observed. In addition, high-throughput sequencing data showed that the bactesing the composition and structure of the aquifer's native bacteria is a prerequisite for understanding natural attenuation and predicting the role of bacterial input in improving ISR efficiency. Understanding the photochemical reaction process between VOCs and co-pollutants in the troposphere is crucial for controlling the haze. The photochemical reactions of 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD) with NO were carried out at 308 K for up to 96 h in clean air with various relative humidity (RH) values, and actual haze atmosphere. In the haze, the representative pseudo-first-order kinetic rate constants of the 1,3-BD-NO system was 1.53 time higher than those in dry clean air. The effect of the RH (0%-80%) on the conversion behavior of the 1,3-BD-NO system in clean air was studied, revealing that increasing RH promoted the photochemical reaction in the low range of 0%-40% but retarded it in the high range of 40%-80%. Interestingly, OH radicals were directly detected under different RH values, and the strongest OH signal was obtained at an RH of 40%. Multiple macromolecular products with carbon numbers of 10-36 were identified. Unexpectedly, richer products and extended unsaturation range were detected at an RH of 40% than 0%. The photochemical products were also analyzed using ion chromatography. A reaction mechanism was proposed from the detected NO2, O3, OH, HNO2, HNO3, organic acids and macromolecular products. Extreme heat and associated health risks increasingly become threats to urban populations, especially in developing countries of the tropics. Although human thermal exposure in cities has been studied across the globe, current narratives insufficiently discuss mixed-used spaces, informal economic activity settings, and informal settlements. This study assessed outdoor human thermal comfort in the tropical city of Kolkata, India where uncomfortable hot and humid climatic conditions prevail year-round. Thermal Comfort Perception Surveys (TCPS) and biometeorological observations were conducted during summer and winter in three microentrepreneurial neighborhoods (Kumartuli, Boipara, and Mallickghat). link3 A one-way ANOVA was performed to investigate the variance in Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) values of 318 survey samples across neighborhoods. Through multiple linear regression and ANCOVA, significant relationships were established between various climatic and non-climatic parameters. No respondent reported a neutral thermal sensation during the summer. Annual neutral PET across neighborhoods was 23.6 °C with a neutral PET range of 19.5 °C to 27.6 °C. Annual neutral PET was 22.7 °C and 26.5 °C in Mallickghat and Boipara, respectively. Respondents in Boipara were more sensitive towards warmer sensation than in Mallickghat. Even in the winter, people reported warmer sensation votes. PET was a better predictor of the mean Thermal Sensation Vote (mTSV) compared to air temperature. In a few cases, acclimatization and expectations improved thermal comfort. Results can be useful in formulating strategies towards improving outdoor microclimate and heat health in tropical cities. Plastic pollution is a global problem with great local and regional variability. Plastic litter reaches beaches directly and indirectly through different pathways, due to both terrestrial and marine pressures. In this study, we assess and characterize meso and microplastic pollution on four Uruguayan oceanic beaches along a gradient of tourist use within a complex regional coastal marine system. In Punta del Diablo we found a total mean density of 106 items m-2 of different debris (pellets, fragments, and foams) with different polymeric compositions, and diverse persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PAHs, PCBs, OCs, heavy metals). However, the trend of plastic debris densities along this gradient was not what was expected. Fabeiro, one of the sites furthest from the urban center, had the highest total mean density of plastics (292 items m-2) suggesting that marine influences (winds, currents, and beach orientation) have a preponderant role in the distribution of micro and mesoplastics. Meanwhile, the density in the urban site (Pueblo) was highest during summer (March, 201 items m-2), 200 times higher than the density observed in winter (July, 1 item m-2).