Research Publications (Food Safety)

Cadmium accumulation in rice is a major source of Cd exposure in humans worldwide. A three-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the ecological safety and long-term stability of biochar combined with lime or silicon fertilizer for Cd immobilization in a polluted rice paddy. The results showed that the application of combined ameliorants could reduce the Cd content in brown rice to meet the Chinese maximum permissible limit for Cd content in food products (0.2 mg/kg).

This study was conducted to understand the effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on soil mobility and plant uptake of heavy metals present in wastewater irrigation systems. Radish (Raphanus sativus) was grown in pots under controlled environment, irrigated with synthesized wastewater containing various heavy metals, with and without silver nanoparticles. Soil samples were collected at 30, 45, 51, and 56 days after seeding.

Author(s): Lu Wang, Xunrong Huang, Jianxin Zhang, Feng Wu, Fuhao Liu, Hanghang Zhao, Xiongfei Hu, Xin Zhao, Jingtian Li, Xundiao Ju, Puhui Ji

A robust isotope-labeled internal standard method was established for the detection of 22 pesticides and metabolite residues in four kinds of fish; two were from freshwater fish, and two were from marine fish. Pesticides with wide application possibilities in rice in China, strong leaching to water, or high bioconcentration factors (BCF) in fish were selected. The samples were extracted with 1% acetic acid–99% acetonitrile.

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of 0.5% and 1% alkaline, clay mineral and phosphorus amendments, as well as 2% and 5% organic amendments, on lead (Pb) soil bioavailability and Pb absorption by the low-Pb accumulator kumquat (Citrus japonica Thunb.) ‘Cuipi’ in two typical Pb-contaminated soils, Jiyuan and Yangshuo, from northern and southern China, respectively.

It was observed in this work that application of Pb and B[a]P co-exposure significantly (p < 0.05) reduced Pb content in ryegrass leaves and roots. The effect of Pb dominated the change of N, P, K, Cu, and Cr content in leaves and roots of ryegrass under joint stress of Pb and B[a]P.

Agriculture uses many food production chains, and herbicides participate in this process by eliminating weeds through different biochemical strategies. However, herbicides can affect non-target organisms such as bacteria, which can suffer damage if there is no efficient control of reactive oxygen species. It is not clear, according to the literature, whether the efficiency of this control needs to be selected by the presence of xenobiotics. Thus, the Pseudomonas sp.

Although leaded gasoline was banned at the end of the last century, lead (Pb) remains significantly enriched in airborne particles in large cities. The remobilization of historical Pb deposited in soils from atmospheric removal has been suggested as an important source providing evidence for the hypothetical long-term persistency of lead, and possibly other pollutants, in the urban environment.

In order to analyze the effect of cadmium in Ulva compressa (Chlorophyta), the alga was cultivated with 10, 25, and 50 μM of cadmium for 7 days, and the level of intracellular cadmium was determined. Intracellular cadmium showed an increase on day 1, no change until day 5, and an increase on day 7.

Today, various methods such as bioleaching are increasingly used to remove toxic and reuse useful metals from low-grade ores and tailings. Bioleaching is an ecologically based technique carried by iron or sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, which convert insoluble metal sulfide to soluble metal sulfate. The purpose of this study was to test and compare two different methods, including Flask and Column experiments, to remove Zinc, Copper, Arsenic, and Iron.

To explore the seasonal variability and associated health risks of dissolved trace elements (TEs), a total of 45 water samples (15 samples in each season) were collected from the Seti River Basin during pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons.

Pyrethroid pesticides are frequently used for household insect control of insects and in agriculture and livestock. Flumethrin is a pyrethroid that is used against ectoparasites in many animals. The goal of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, apoptotic, genotoxic, and estrogenic effects of flumethrin on the mammalian breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Compared with control groups, a dose-dependent decrease was observed in cell viability at concentrations of 100 µM and higher.

ABSTRACT Douglas Channel and the adjacent Hecate Strait (British Columbia, Canada) are part of a proposed route to ship diluted bitumen (dilbit). This study presents how two types of dilbit naturally degrade in this environment by using an in situ microcosm design based on dilbit-coated beads. We show that dilbit-associated n-alkanes were microbially biodegraded with estimated half-lives of 57–69 days.

Author(s): Muyang Li, Wei Liu, Wenqiu Liu, Mengyan Bi, Zhaojie Cui

Author(s): He Yu, Miao Wang, Jing Cao, Yongxin She, Yongan Zhu, Jiaming Ye, A.M. Abd El-Aty, Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, Jing Wang, Shuibing Lao

Author(s): Jiaqing Feng, Juanjuan Feng, Herman Maloko Loussala, Sen Han, Xiangping Ji, Chunying Li, Haili Sun, Min Sun

Author(s): Yue Ben, Mengzhu Cheng, Lihong Wang, Qing Zhou, Zhenbiao Yang, Xiaohua Huang

Dredged sediments display a great potential for growing media applications; however, there are few studies about their beneficial reuse for the waste storage reclamation. This research study aims at checking the agronomic values and environmental impacts of three growing media based on waterways sediments (WSs) and green waste (GW) according ecolabel requirements.

To reduce waste volumes and recover valuable products, char was synthesized via co-pyrolysis of rice straw (RS) with spent tires, sulfur wastes, and CO2. The inclusion of wastes and CO2 in pyrolysis of RS was hypothesized to enhance the sorption ability of char for various contaminants, including 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), lead, barium, chromate (CrO42−), and selenate (SeO42−).

Author(s): Na Li, Hang Kang, Zhen Peng, Hua-feng Wang, Shi-qi Weng, Xu-hui Zeng

The indiscriminate use of glyphosate is one of the main agricultural practices to combat weeds and grasses; however, its incorrect application increases soil and water contamination caused by the product. This situation is even more critical due to its great versatility for use in different cultivars and at lower prices, making it the most used pesticide in the world. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of in-depth studies regarding the damage that its use may cause.

Author(s): Xianli Wang, Qicai Zhang, Zhiyong Zhao, Weiguo Song, Lin Cheng, Junhua Yang, Shanshan Chen, Shuhui Guan, Wei Song, Qinxiong Rao, Zhihui Zhao

In this study, the rhodamine 6G hydrazide (R6GH) complex was synthesized to develop an “off–on” output platform for fluorescence and visual dual-mode analysis of lead(II) (Pb2+). The prepared R6GH complex using the heat to reflux reaction of rhodamine 6G (R6G) and hydrazine hydrate was characterized through FT-IR, MS, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR and demonstrated to have good fluorescence stability and reversibility. The microenvironment for Pb2+ detection has been optimized in detail.

The species composition of eight shrub communities were investigated in order to understand the species diversity of plant communities in buffer zone and wetland of Momianhe stream along a long-term mine waste area, Lanping county, Yunnan province, China. Dominant plant species and soil samples were collected to analysis heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) accumulation characteristics.