AOP-Anchored Transcriptome Analysis Catalogue Accelerates the Discovery of Environmental Toxicants in Zebrafish.

Current toxicity screening approaches to evaluate the vast number of environmental chemicals that require assessment are hampered due to their significant costs, time requirements, and reliance on live animal testing. The aim of the present study was to develop an adverse outcome pathway (AOP)-anchored transcriptome analysis (AATA) catalogue to expedite the discovery of environmental toxicants. 437 AOPs from the AOPwiki (https://aopwiki.org/) and 2280 transcriptomics data sets from NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and EMBL-EBI ArrayExpress (AE) repositories were comprehensively reviewed and analyzed. By using the differentially expressed molecular key event (mKE) genes as connection nodes, we created a large-scale environmental substance─target gene (mKE)─predicted adverse outcomes (SGAs) network that included 78 substances, 1099 genes, and 354 adverse outcomes (AOs). To validate the reliability of the network, comprehensive literature verification was conducted. We demonstrated that 164 of the 354 AOs identified have been previously characterized in the literature. The results for 136 of these AOs were consistent with the predictions of the AATA catalogue, representing an accuracy rate of 82.9%. Besides, distinct patterns in molecular KEs and AOs among categories of substances, such as biocides and metals, were demonstrated. Some representative substances, including atrazine and copper, pose significant risks to fish at various levels of biological organization. Moreover, experimental verification of the AATA predictions was conducted, including exposures of zebrafish to perfluorooctanesulfonate, cresyl diphenyl phosphate, and lanthanum. Results demonstrated consistency with predictions of the AATA catalogue, with an accuracy rate of 92.3%. Collectively, the present findings support the AATA catalogue as an efficient and promising platform for identifying environmental toxicants to fish and thereby provide novel insights into the understanding of potential risks of environmental contaminants.

Composition, Release, and Transformation of Earthworm Tissue-Bound Residues of Tetrabromobisphenol A in Soil.

Earthworms accumulate organic pollutants to form earthworm tissue-bound residues (EBRs); however, the composition and fate of EBRs in soil remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the fate of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)-derived EBRs in soil for 250 days using a 14C-radioactive isotope tracer and the geophagous earthworm Metaphire guillelmi. The EBRs of TBBPA in soil were rapidly transformed into nonextractable residues (NERs), mainly in the form of sequestered and ester-linked residues. After 250 days of incubation, 4.9% of the initially applied EBRs were mineralized and 69.3% were released to extractable residues containing TBBPA and its transformation products (TPs, generated mainly via debromination, O-methylation, and skeletal cleavage). Soil microbial activity and autolytic enzymes of earthworms jointly contributed to the release process. In their full-life period, the earthworms overall retained 24.1% TBBPA and its TPs in soil and thus prolonged the persistence of these pollutants. Our study explored, for the first time, the composition and fate of organic pollutant-derived EBRs in soil and indicated that the decomposition of earthworms may release pollutants and cause potential environmental risks of concern, which should be included in both environmental risk assessment and soil remediation using earthworms.

Assessment of Critical Health and Safety Risks in Homes where Hoarding is Prevalent.

Hoarding behaviour sometimes requires intervention from community agencies to reduce risks to residents and the nearby community. Human services professionals from a wide range of disciplines are called upon to address hoarding concerns, often in collaboration with each other. No guidelines currently exist to guide staff from those community agencies in a shared understanding of common health and safety risks that occur with severe hoarding behaviour. Using a modified Delphi method, we aimed to generate consensus among a panel of 34 service-provider experts from a range of disciplines on essential risks in the home that would require intervention for health or safety reasons. This process identified 31 environmental risk factors that experts agreed are critical to assess in cases of hoarding. Panelist comments outlined the debates that commonly occur in the field, the complexity of hoarding, and the difficulty with conceptualizing risks in the home. The multi-disciplinary consensus achieved on these risks will facilitate better collaboration between agencies by providing a minimum standard of what to evaluate in hoarded homes to ensure health and safety standards are being met. This can improve communication between agencies, specify the core hazards that should be incorporated into training for professionals who work with hoarding, and facilitate more standardized assessment of health and safety risks in hoarded homes.

Optimal risk management considering environmental and climatic changes.

Climate change presents challenges to policy and economic stability, necessitating effective trading strategies to reduce environmental risks. This article addresses gaps in existing studies by using a Markov-switching model to consider climate risk. Backward stochastic differential equations are used to optimize utility with three hedging strategies based on the concept of risk aversion. Numerical scenarios confirm the model's superiority in incorporating exogenous events, with our risk-averse strategy outperforming classical approaches. Our strategy outperforms classical strategies by taking a flexible risk trading when investors face risk-averse behavior due to climate risk events. The findings presented in this article have important implications for the development of more resilient investment portfolios and can contribute to climate policy.

Application of nanopesticides and its toxicity evaluation through Drosophila model.

Insects feed on plants and cause the growth of plants to be restricted. Moreover, the application of traditional pesticides causes harmful effects on non-target organisms and poses serious threats to the environment. The use of conventional pesticides has negative impacts on creatures that are not the intended targets. It also presents significant risks to the surrounding ecosystem. Insects that are exposed to these chemicals eventually develop resistance to them. This review could benefit researcher for future development of nanopesticides research. This is because a holistic approach has been taken to describe the multidimensional properties of nanopesticides, health and environmental concerns and its possible harmful effects on non-target organisms and physiochemical entities. The assessment of effects of the nanopesticides is also being discussed through the drosophotoxicology. The future outlooks have been suggested to take a critical analysis before commercialization or formulation of the nanopesticides.

Molybdenum disulfide nanosheets promote the plasmid-mediated conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.

The environmental safety of nanoscale molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has attracted considerable attention, but its influence on the horizontal migration of antibiotic resistance genes and the ecological risks entailed have not been reported. This study addressed the influence of exposure to MoS2 at different concentrations up to 100 mg/L on the conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes carried by RP4 plasmids with two strains of Escherichia coli. As a result, MoS2 facilitated RP4 plasmid-mediated conjugative transfer in a dose-dependent manner. The conjugation of RP4 plasmids was enhanced as much as 7-fold. The promoting effect is mainly attributable to increased membrane permeability, oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species, changes in extracellular polymer secretion and differential expression of the genes involved in horizontal gene transfer. The data highlight the distinct dose dependence of the conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and the need to improve awareness of the ecological and health risks of nanoscale transition metal dichalcogenides.

A comprehensive review on the source, ingestion route, attachment and toxicity of microplastics/nanoplastics in human systems.

Microplastics (MPs)/nanoplastics (NPs) are widely found in the natural environment, including soil, water and the atmosphere, which are essential for human survival. In the recent years, there has been a growing concern about the potential impact of MPs/NPs on human health. Due to the increasing interest in this research and the limited number of studies related to the health effects of MPs/NPs on humans, it is necessary to conduct a systematic assessment and review of their potentially toxic effects on human organs and tissues. Humans can be exposed to microplastics through ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact, however, ingestion and inhalation are considered as the primary routes. The ingested MPs/NPs mainly consist of plastic particles with a particle size ranging from 0.1 to 1 µm, that distribute across various tissues and organs within the body, which in turn have a certain impact on the nine major systems of the human body, especially the digestive system and respiratory system, which are closely related to the intake pathway of MPs/NPs. The harmful effects caused by MPs/NPs primarily occur through potential toxic mechanisms such as induction of oxidative stress, generation of inflammatory responses, alteration of lipid metabolism or energy metabolism or expression of related functional factors. This review can help people to systematically understand the hazards of MPs/NPs and related toxicity mechanisms from the level of nine biological systems. It allows MPs/NPs pollution to be emphasized, and it is also hoped that research on their toxic effects will be strengthened in the future.

Artisanal mining of monazite and cassiterite in the Amazon: Potential risks of rare earth elements for the environment and human health.

Artisanal mining is intensely carried out in developing countries, including Brazil and especially in the Amazon. This method of mineral exploration generally does not employ mitigation techniques for potential damages and can lead to various environmental problems and risks to human health. The objectives of this study were to quantify the concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) and estimate the environmental and human health risks in cassiterite and monazite artisanal mining areas in the southeastern Amazon, as well as to understand the dynamics of this risk over time after exploitation. A total of 35 samples of wastes classified as overburden and tailings in active areas, as well as in areas deactivated for one and ten years were collected. Samples were also collected in a forest area considered as a reference site. The concentrations of REEs were quantified using alkaline fusion and ICP-MS. The results were used to calculate pollution indices and environmental and human health risks. REEs showed higher concentrations in anthropized areas. Pollution and environmental risk levels were higher in areas deactivated for one year, with considerable contamination factors for Gd and Sm and significant to extreme enrichment factors for Sc. Human health risks were low (< 1) in all studied areas. The results indicate that artisanal mining of cassiterite and monazite has the potential to promote contamination and enrichment by REEs.

A review towards developing a hierarchical model for sustainable hospital solid waste management in rural areas of Zimbabwe.

Management of solid waste from rural hospitals is amongst problems affecting Zimbabwe due to diseases, population, and hospital increase. Solid waste from rural hospitals is receiving little attention translating to environmental health problems. Therefore, 101 secondary sources were used to write a paper aiming to proffer a hierarchical model to achieve sustainable solid waste management at rural hospitals. Rural hospitals' solid waste encompasses electronic waste, sharps, pharmaceutical, pathological, radioactive, chemical, infectious, and general waste. General solid waste from rural hospitals is between 77.35 and 79% whilst hazardous waste is between 21 and 22.65%. Solid waste increase add burden to nearly incapacitated rural hospitals. Rural hospital solid waste management processes include storage, transportation, treatment methods like autoclaving and chlorination, waste reduction alternatives, and disposal. Disposal strategies involve open pits, open burning, dumping, and incineration. Rural hospital solid waste management is guided by legislation, policies, guidelines, and conventions. Effectiveness of legal framework is limited by economic and socio-political problems. Rural hospital solid waste management remain inappropriate causing environmental health risks. Developed hierarchical model can narrow the route to attain sustainable management of rural hospitals' solid waste. Proposed hierarchical model consists of five-layered strategies and acted as a guide for identifying and ranking approaches to manage rural hospitals' solid waste. Additionally, Zimbabwean government, Environmental Management Agency and Ministry of Health is recommended to collaborate to provide sufficient resources to rural hospitals whilst enforcing legal framework. Integration of all hierarchical model's elements is essential whereas all-stakeholder involvement and solid waste minimisation approaches are significant at rural hospitals.

Water-Soluble Synthetic Polymers: Their Environmental Emission Relevant Usage, Transport and Transformation, Persistence, and Toxicity.

Water-soluble synthetic polymers (WSPs) are distinct from insoluble plastic particles, which are both critical components of synthetic polymers. In the history of human-made macromolecules, WSPs have consistently portrayed a crucial role and served as the ingredients of a variety of products (e.g., flocculants, thickeners, solubilizers, surfactants, etc.) commonly used in human society. However, the environmental exposures and risks of WSPs with different functions remain poorly understood. This paper provides a critical review of the usage, environmental fate, environmental persistence, and biological consequences of multiple types of WSPs in commercial and industrial production. Investigations have identified a wide market of applications and potential environmental threats of various types of WSPs, but we still lack the suitable assessment tools. The effects of physicochemical properties and environmental factors on the environmental distribution as well as the transport and transformation of WSPs are further summarized. Evidence regarding the degradation of WSPs, including mechanical, thermal, hydrolytic, photoinduced, and biological degradation is summarized, and their environmental persistence is discussed. The toxicity data show that some WSPs can cause adverse effects on aquatic species and microbial communities through intrinsic toxicity and physical hazards. This review may serve as a guide for environmental risk assessment to help develop a sustainable path for WSP management.

Heatwaves: does global research reflect the growing threat in the light of climate change?

BACKGROUND: With the increasing impacts of climate change, heatwaves are placing an enormous burden on health and social systems and threatening ecological diversity around the world. Heatwaves are increasing not only in frequency but also in severity and magnitude. They are causing the deaths of thousands of people. Research is needed on a multidisciplinary, supra-regional, and regional level. METHODS: A detailed evaluation of the research conducted is not yet available. Therefore, this study provides a detailed insight into the publication landscape to identify key players, incentives, and requirements for future scientific efforts that are useful not only for scientists but also to stakeholders and project funders. RESULTS: The number of publications on heatwaves is increasing, outpacing the trend of research indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded. However, funding is lagging behind comparatively. Looking at absolute numbers, the USA, Australia, China, and some European countries have been identified as major players in heatwave research. If socio-economic numbers are included, Switzerland and Portugal lead the way. Australia and the UK dominate if the change in heatwave-exposed people is included. Nevertheless, exposure and economic strength of publishing countries were identified as the main drivers of national research interests. Previous heatwaves, in particular, have driven research efforts primarily at the national level. CONCLUSION: For an efficient monitoring or early detection system that also includes the economically weak regions, internationally networked efforts are necessary to enable preventive measures and damage limitation against heatwaves. Regardless of previous regional extreme heat events, research approaches should be focused to the global level.

Association between 14 candidate genes, PM2.5, and affective disorders: a study of the Taiwan Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Most studies have focused on the risk factors, treatment, and care of affective psychosis, and several have reported a relationship between ambient air quality and this psychosis. Although an association has been reported between psychosis and genes, studies mainly explored the associations between one type of psychosis and one gene; few have identified genes related to affective psychosis. This study investigates the genetic and environmental factors of affective psychosis. METHODS: In this retrospective longitudinal study, 27 604 participants aged 30-70 were selected from Taiwan Biobank. The participants' propensity scores were calculated based on their demographic information, and propensity score matching was performed to divide the participants into an experimental (i.e., affective psychosis) and control group at a 1:5 ratio. Plink was used to analyze the major and minor types of gene expression related to affective psychosis, and PM2.5 exposure was incorporated into the analyses. RESULTS: According to the generalized estimating equation analysis results, 8 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) belonging to the ANK3, BDNF, CACNA1C, and GRID1 genotypes were significantly correlated with depressive disorder (P < .001), with the majority belonging to the ANK3 and CACNA1C. A total of 5 SNPs belonging to the CACNA1C, GRID1, and SIRT1 genotypes were significantly correlated with bipolar disorder (P < .001), with the majority belonging to the CACNA1C. No significant correlation was identified between ambient air pollution and affective psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: CACNA1C and GRID1 are common SNP genotypes for depressive disorder and bipolar disorder and should be considered associated with affective psychosis.

On the determination and rank for the environmental risk aspects for ship navigating in the Arctic based on big Earth data.

The unique, ambiguous, and complex navigable environment determines the essential difference between Arctic shipping routes and conventional routes in regard to safety issues. To achieve a scientific understanding of the characteristics and variations of environmental risks involved in the Arctic shipping, it is essential to rationally address the uncertainty and incompleteness of environment-related risk information. In this study, fuzzy evidential reasoning is introduced to carry out multisource heterogeneous data fusion and spatiotemporal dynamic assessment of navigable environmental risks for Arctic shipping routes. Based on big Earth data collected from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, National Snow And Ice Data Center, National Center for Environmental Information, and University of Bremen from 2012 to 2019, a case study of the Northeast Passage is considered to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology. Finally, the results are described from three aspects: spatial distribution, temporal changes, and sensitivity analysis, with consideration of the entire passage and five marginal seas at the same time. Based on these findings, the prospect of application of big Earth data in risk assessment is further discussed from two aspects of knowledge acquisition by big data and risk analysis at different scales, to inspire sustainable development of Arctic shipping.

Global occurrence, drivers, and environmental risks of microplastics in marine environments.

With an increasing quantity of plastic waste being discharged into the oceans, marine microplastic (MP) pollution has received widespread attention. However, the global occurrence characteristics, environmental risks, driving factors, and source-sink relationships remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 165 articles about marine MP pollution. It was found that the global marine MP abundance displayed a significant spatial heterogeneity, and the distribution pattern was influenced by offshore distance, population density, and economic development. The morphological characteristics of MPs showed a significant difference between seawater and marine sediment, and small-size MPs (<1 mm) accounted for the majority of all MPs in the marine environment. The environmental risk assessment revealed that most of the marine MP pollution still remains at low concentrations in the global context, with the Polyurethane (PU), Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) types of MPs showing high environmental-risk contributions. In addition, land-based waste and marine operations, which were considered to be the dominant sources of marine MPs, primarily aggregated at nearshore submarine areas, in the water column, and in the deep-sea bottom environment. This study suggested that the combination of a meta-analysis and Monte Carlo simulation can provide much valuable information regarding the global occurrence characteristics and environmental risks of marine MPs.

Comprehensive characterization and environmental implications of spent telecommunication printed circuit boards: Towards a cleaner and sustainable environment.

The management and prevention of environmental risks associated with spent telecommunications printed circuit boards (STPCBs) is a concerning issue worldwide. Recycling might be proposed as a proper method to overcome this issue. Despite knowing that, choosing a sustainable method is challenging because of STPCBs complexity. This problem was overcome by analyzing STPCBs using different analytical methods and metal speciation. Understanding these data is essential in selection strategies to maximize selective recycling of metals and to minimize environmental impact. This research focused on characterizing STPCBs based on their structural, morphological, physiochemical, surface, and thermal properties. The accurate measurement of metal contents, indicating 187,900 mg kg-1 Cu, 22,540 mg kg-1 Pb, 1320 mg kg-1 Ag, and 205 mg kg-1 Au elements, plus other base metals, revealed a remarkable potential value in STPCBs. The results of structural analyses indicated that the powder has a crystalline structure and consists of Cu, Sn and Pb phases as well as different functional groups. In addition, after evaluating the zeta potential of the sample, the isoelectric pH of the sample was observed to be 5.6, which indicates that the powder particles have a negative surface in an environment with a pH higher than this value. Further, the metal speciation via sequential extraction procedure was performed, which showed that a unique harsh recycling strategy is required due to the stable structure of STPCBs. According to the results of this analysis, the global contamination factor (GCF) value was 83.48, which indicates STPCBs have a high degree of contamination. Leaching tests and environmental criteria were also conducted on this waste. The findings suggest that STPCBs needs pretreatments before landfilling to lower the concentration of toxic metals. Also, waste extraction test was the most aggressive procedure to assess mobility. Achieving this information is considered an essential step to choosing the most efficient recycling methods that minimize environmental impact while maximizing selective recycling of metals.

Unraveling the antibiotic resistome in backwater zones of large cascade reservoirs: Co-occurrence patterns, horizontal transfer directions and health risks.

The widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) throughout aquatic environments has raised global concerns for public health. However, the profiles and patterns of antibiotic resistome in backwater zone of cascade reservoirs, where water flow is slowed down, are still poorly understood. Here, we proposed a metagenomic analysis framework to comprehensively reveal the diversity, abundance, co-occurrence patterns and transfer direction of ARGs in cascade reservoirs system and evaluated their health risks through a procedure based on contigs. A total of 364 ARGs subtypes conferring resistance to different antibiotics classes were detected in our water samples, and the dominant ARGs (macB, bacA, vanRA, bcrA) were similar in different reservoirs. Meanwhile, the distribution of ARGs was influenced by the presence of biotic factors such as metal resistant genes (MRGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), as well as abiotic factors such as dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH. Remarkably, ARGs (vanR, rosB, MexT) co-occurred with plasmids and virulence factor genes (VFGs), which can lead to the emergence and spread of highly virulent and antibiotic resistant bacteria in microbial communities. Overall, this study helps administrators to better understand the complex patterns of ARGs in backwater zones of large cascade reservoirs and provides a proper procedure for detecting the presence of high-risk of ARGs.

A case study of environmental pollution by pathogenic bacteria and metal(oid)s at Soran Landfill Site, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

Environmental pollution is a serious issue all around the world, especially when it is caused by metal(oid)s and pathogenic microorganisms. This study reports here for the first time on the contamination of soil and water with metal(oid)s and pathogenic bacteria directly resulting from the Soran Landfill Site. Soran landfill is a level 2 solid waste disposal site that lacks leachate collection infrastructure. The site is potentially an environmental and public hazard caused by metal(oid)s content and significantly dangerous pathogenic microorganisms through leachate release into the soil and nearby river. This study reports on the levels of the metal(oid)s content of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Pb, Zn, and Ni obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer in soil, leachate stream mud, and leachate samples. Five pollution indices are used to assess potential environmental risks. According to the indices, Cd and Pb contamination is significant, whereas As, Cu, Mn, Mo, and Zn pollution is moderate. A total of 32 isolates of bacteria were defined from soil, leachate stream mud, and liquid leachate samples: 18, 9, and 5, respectively. Moreover, 16 s rRNA analysis suggested that the isolates belong to three enteric bacterial phyla of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. The closest GenBank matches of 16S rDNA sequences indicated the presence of the genera: Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lysinibacillus, Exiguobacterium, Trichococcus, Providencia, Enterococcus, Macrococcus, Serratia, Salinicoccus, Proteus, Rhodococcus, Brevibacterium, Shigella, Micrococcus, Morganella, Corynebacterium, Escherichia, and Acinetobacter. The identity percentage was mostly between 95%-100%. The results of this study show the levels of microbiological and geochemical contamination of soils, surface and potentially ground water with harmful microorganisms and toxic metal(oid)s originating specifically from Soran landfill leachate which subsequently incorporated into the surrounding environment, creating thus a considerable health and environmental risk.

Environmental risks of antibiotic resistance genes released from biological laboratories and its control measure.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are a growing global threat to public health. Biological laboratory wastewater contains large amounts of free ARGs. It is important to assess the risk of free ARGs from biological laboratories and to find appropriate treatments to control their spread. The fate of plasmids in the environment and the effect of different thermal treatments on their persistence activity were tested. The results showed that untreated resistance plasmids could exist in water for more than 24 h (the special 245 bp fragment). Gel electrophoresis and transformation assays showed that the plasmids boiled for 20 min retained 3.65% ± 0.31% transformation activity of the intact plasmids, while autoclaving for 20 min at 121 °C could effectively degrade the plasmids and that NaCl, bovine serum albumin, and EDTA-2Na affected the degradation efficiency of the plasmids during boiling. In the simulated aquatic system, using 106 copy/µL of plasmids after autoclaving, only 102 copies/µL of the fragment after only 1-2 h could be detected. By contrast, boiled plasmids for 20 min were still detectable after plunging them into water for 24 h. These findings suggest that untreated and boiled plasmids can remain in the aquatic environment for a certain time resulting in the risk of disseminating ARGs. However, autoclaving is an effective way of degrading waste free resistance plasmids.

[Environmental risks to housing and living arrangements among older survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and their relationships with housing type: The RIAS Study].

Objective　Over the course of their lives, people spend most of their time in the home environment. The Community-based Integrated Care System 2018 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan declared the importance of "housing" and "living arrangements" as essential elements to enable older adults to live independently and to protect their privacy and dignity in their communities. The present study aims to clarify the relationship between current housing type and "housing" and "living arrangements" among older survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE).Methods　We used data obtained from 3,856 participants, aged 65 years or older, in the Research project for prospective Investigation of health problems Among Survivors of the GEJE (RIAS). Housing types were categorized as follows: "same housing," "temporary housing," "disaster public housing," "new housing" (in a different area), and "others." Healthy housing scores were calculated using a housing health checklist from the Nationwide Smart Wellness Housing Survey in Japan. "Living arrangements" were assessed based on residential status, social network, and social capital. To determine the risks associated with each "housing" and "living arrangement" category, we used multivariate logistic and linear regression models.Results　The number of participants in each housing type was as follows: 2,531 in "same housing," 146 in "temporary housing," 234 in "disaster public housing," 844 in "new housing," and 101 in "others." Compared with those living in "same housing," those living in "disaster public housing," "new housing," and "others" had a significantly higher healthy housing score, whereas those living in "temporary housing" had a lower score. However, with regards to "living arrangements," the number of residents who were living alone was significantly higher among those in "disaster public housing," and those living in "disaster public housing" as well as "new housing" had low social capital compared with those living in "same housing." The likelihood of having a poor social network was substantially higher for those living in "disaster public housing." Sub-scale analyses indicated that "disaster public housing" was associated with less family support, whereas "new housing" was associated with less support from friends.Conclusion　The present results indicate that older survivors-regardless of whether they live in the existing community-find it challenging to establish new social capital and social networks in a new location without the presence of "someone" they knew before the disaster.

Spatial distribution, environmental risks, and sources of potentially toxic elements in soils from a typical abandoned antimony smelting site.

The rapid development of the smelting industry increases the release of antimony (Sb) into the soil environment, which threatens human health and ecosystems. A total of 87 samples were collected from an abandoned Sb smelting site to evaluate pollution characteristics and environmental risks of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs). The contents of As, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn in the fresh soils determined by P-XRF were 131, 120, 60, 145, 240, and 154 mg/kg, respectively, whilst following drying, grinding, and sieving pretreatments, the corresponding contents increased to 367, 179, 145, 295, 479, and 276 mg/kg, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the data obtained by P-XRF and ICP-OES in the treated samples, which showed the application feasibility of P-XRF. The average contents of Sb and As were 440.6 and 411.6 mg/kg, respectively, which exceeded the control values of the development land in GB 36600-2018. The ecological risk levels of the six PTEs decreased in the following order: As > Sb > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cu. Non-carcinogenic risk revealed that As, Pb, and Sb posed health risks for children, whilst for carcinogenic risk, the risk values for As and Ni were higher than the limit values for both children and adults. Anthropogenic sources accounted for more than 70.0% of As, Pb, and Sb concentrations in soils, indicating a significant influence on PTEs accumulation. The findings provide a basis for quick determination of the contamination characteristics and risk control of PTEs at Sb smelting sites.