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ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Mar 2024The low O activation ability at low temperatures and SO poisoning are challenges for metal oxide catalysts in the application of Hg removal in flue gas. A novel...
The low O activation ability at low temperatures and SO poisoning are challenges for metal oxide catalysts in the application of Hg removal in flue gas. A novel high-entropy fluorite oxide (MgAlMnCo)CeO (Co-HEO) with the second phase of spinel is synthesized by the microwave hydrothermal method for the first time. A high efficiency of Hg removal (close to 100%) is achieved by Co-HEO catalytic oxidation at temperatures as low as 100 °C and in the atmosphere of 145 μg m Hg at a high GHSV (gas hourly space velocity) of 95,000 h. According to O-TPD and in situ FT-IR, this extremely superior catalytic oxidation performance at low temperatures originates from the activation ability of Co-HEO to transform O into superoxide and peroxide, which is promoted by point defects induced from the spinel/fluorite heterointerfaces. Meanwhile, SO resistance of Co-HEO for Hg removal is also improved up to 2000 ppm due to the high-entropy-stabilized structure, construction of heterointerfaces, and synergistic effect of the multicomponents for inhibiting the oxidation of SO to surface sulfate. The design strategy of the dual-phase high-entropy material launches a new route for metal oxides in the application of catalytic oxidation and SO resistance.
PubMed: 38410050
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c18372 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Mar 2024During migration, birds explore various habitats at stopover sites that differ in food resources and contamination levels. In this study, hepatic concentrations of 21...
During migration, birds explore various habitats at stopover sites that differ in food resources and contamination levels. In this study, hepatic concentrations of 21 elements (metals and metalloids) in 11 species of birds, representing various foraging habitats (such as aquatic, aquatic/terrestrial, and terrestrial) and migration modes (migratory and sedentary) representing various foraging guilds (omnivores, piscivores, and molluscivores), were analyzed. The samples (N = 84) were collected during the autumn migration period in Poland. The concentrations of elements determined in this study exhibited high inter-species variability, reflecting the diversity in contamination levels depending on food resources used by specific bird groups. Many of the investigated individuals from different species showed exceeded levels of subclinical toxicity and moderate clinical poisoning due to Cd and Hg. Higher concentrations of As, Hg, and Ba and lower V concentrations were found in migratory birds as compared to sedentary birds. Species foraging in terrestrial habitat had different concentrations of some elements compared to aquatic and aquatic/terrestrial species. Some specific inter-species differences in hepatic elemental concentrations were found. Differences in elemental concentrations among various groups can primarily be attributed to their foraging guilds, with certain elements, particularly As, V, and Hg, playing a significant role in the dissimilarity of elemental concentrations between foraging habitat groups and migratory mode groups. The data collected confirmed the limited ability of As to enter ecosystem pathways. The results of this study contribute to understanding the year-round exposure of migratory birds to environmental contamination, which can have carry-over effects on their performance in wintering and breeding grounds.
Topics: Animals; Birds; Ecosystem; Liver; Mercury; Metalloids; Metals; Poland
PubMed: 38400961
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32502-y -
The Analyst Mar 2024Mesoporous FeO-loaded silver nanocomposites (FeO@Ag) were simply fabricated as bi-functional nanozymes for the catalysis-based detection and removal of Hg ions. It was...
Mesoporous FeO-loaded silver nanocomposites (FeO@Ag) were simply fabricated as bi-functional nanozymes for the catalysis-based detection and removal of Hg ions. It was found that the as-prepared magnetic FeO@Ag could display peroxidase-like catalysis activity that could be rationally enhanced in the presence of Hg ions. To our surprise, the shell of the Ag element may decrease the catalysis of the FeO to some degree. However, the Ag particles could serve as the probes for specifically recognizing Hg ions and trigger increased catalysis through the formation of Ag-Hg alloys, with a decreased signal background. A high-throughput colorimetric analytical method was thereby developed based on the FeO@Ag catalysis for probing Hg ions in the muscles of fish by using 96-well plates, at linear Hg concentrations ranging from 0.010 to 2.5 mg kg. Moreover, the developed colorimetric analytical method was applied to evaluate Hg levels in muscle samples of different kinds of fish. Unexpectedly, an obvious difference of Hg levels in muscles of four kinds of fish was discovered, with the order of snakehead () > largemouth bass () > crucian carp () > silver carp (), where the carnivorous fish showed higher Hg levels than the omnivorous or plant-based ones. Moreover, the as-fabricated FeO@Ag adsorbents with their large specific surface area and high environmental robustness could exhibit efficient Hg adsorption with capacities of up to 397.60 mg g. A removal efficiency of 99.40% can also be expected for Hg ions from wastewater, with the magnet-aided recycling of FeO@Ag adsorbents. Such an FeO@Ag-based colorimetric analysis and removal strategy for Hg ions should find wide applications in the fields of aquatic food safety, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostics of Hg-poisoning diseases.
Topics: Animals; Mercury; Colorimetry; Nanocomposites; Carps; Ions
PubMed: 38380690
DOI: 10.1039/d4an00052h -
Food Science & Nutrition Feb 2024The increase in cheese production, sale, and consumption due to the settled lives of societies has led to an increase in cheese-related diseases. It has become essential...
The increase in cheese production, sale, and consumption due to the settled lives of societies has led to an increase in cheese-related diseases. It has become essential to better understand cheese-borne diseases and to develop control measures. In this study, cheese-related diseases and precautions taken in the Ottoman Empire from the 19th to the 20th centuries were investigated in Ottoman archival sources. Of these documents, cheese spoilage was detected in 12 and cheese-related disease in 9. Cheeses that caused diseases or disorders in the relevant period were called spoiled cheese. One document states that a person died of a cheese-borne illness. Cheese poisoning occurs mainly from unsalted, fresh cheeses. It has been determined that tin-free copper pots were used in cheese production and sales and covered with herbs such as hemlock during maturation. In the relevant period, microbiological and chemical analyses of cheeses in terms of health were carried out in food control laboratories. Since the mercury chloride solution is used to disinfect animal udders, it has been stated that it contaminates the milk used in cheese production. Authorities have requested a boric acid solution (5% boric acid in hot water) instead of this solution for udder disinfection. In the Ottoman Empire, it was requested to take necessary sanitation and hygiene measures to prevent spoilage and cheese-related diseases in the production areas or sales places of cheese. Clean and tinned containers should be used in cheese production, storage, and sale, and poisonous herbs should not be used during cheese ripening. It was also essential to analyze them in laboratories at internal and external customs. Knowing the precautions taken in the past to prevent the deterioration of food or the occurrence of diseases has led to modern food safety practices being applied today.
PubMed: 38370051
DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.3849 -
Archives of Toxicology Apr 2024Methylmercury (MeHg) is a well-known environmental neurotoxicant that causes severe brain disorders such as Minamata disease. Although some patients with Minamata...
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a well-known environmental neurotoxicant that causes severe brain disorders such as Minamata disease. Although some patients with Minamata disease develop olfactory dysfunction, the underlying pathomechanism is largely unknown. We examined the effects of MeHg on the olfactory system using a model of MeHg poisoning in which mice were administered 30 ppm MeHg in drinking water for 8 weeks. Mice exposed to MeHg displayed significant mercury accumulation in the olfactory pathway, including the nasal mucosa, olfactory bulb, and olfactory cortex. The olfactory epithelium was partially atrophied, and olfactory sensory neurons were diminished. The olfactory bulb exhibited an increase in apoptotic cells, hypertrophic astrocytes, and amoeboid microglia, mainly in the granular cell layer. Neuronal cell death was observed in the olfactory cortex, particularly in the ventral tenia tecta. Neuronal cell death was also remarkable in higher-order areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex. Correlation analysis showed that neuronal loss in the olfactory cortex was strongly correlated with the plasma mercury concentration. Our results indicate that MeHg is an olfactory toxicant that damages the central regions involved in odor perception. The model described herein is useful for analyzing the mechanisms and treatments of olfactory dysfunction in MeHg-intoxicated patients.
Topics: Humans; Mice; Animals; Methylmercury Compounds; Mercury; Mercury Poisoning, Nervous System; Microglia; Olfaction Disorders
PubMed: 38367039
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-024-03682-w -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Mar 2024The pollution of heavy metals (HMs) in the environment is a significant global environmental issue, characterized by its extensive distribution, severe contamination,... (Review)
Review
The pollution of heavy metals (HMs) in the environment is a significant global environmental issue, characterized by its extensive distribution, severe contamination, and profound ecological impacts. Excessive exposure to heavy metal pollutants can damage the nervous system. However, the mechanisms underlying the neurotoxicity of most heavy metals are not completely understood. Epigenetics is defined as a heritable change in gene function that can influence gene and subsequent protein expression levels without altering the DNA sequence. Growing evidence indicates that heavy metals can induce neurotoxic effects by triggering epigenetic changes and disrupting the epigenome. Compared with genetic changes, epigenetic alterations are more easily reversible. Epigenetic reprogramming techniques, drugs, and certain nutrients targeting specific epigenetic mechanisms involved in gene expression regulation are emerging as potential preventive or therapeutic tools for diseases. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of epigenetic modifications encompassing DNA/RNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs in the nervous system, elucidating their association with various heavy metal exposures. These primarily include manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), sliver (Ag), toxic metalloids arsenic (As), and etc. The potential epigenetic mechanisms in the etiology, precision prevention, and target therapy of various neurodevelopmental disorders or different neurodegenerative diseases are emphasized. In addition, the current gaps in research and future areas of study are discussed. From a perspective on epigenetics, this review offers novel insights for prevention and treatment of neurotoxicity induced by heavy metal pollutants.
Topics: Humans; Environmental Pollutants; Metals, Heavy; Mercury; Cadmium; Arsenic Poisoning; Epigenesis, Genetic; Environmental Monitoring; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 38355086
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123563 -
Toxicology Mar 2024Environmental toxicants are chemical substances capable to impair environmental quality and exert adverse effects on humans and other animals. The main routes of... (Review)
Review
Environmental toxicants are chemical substances capable to impair environmental quality and exert adverse effects on humans and other animals. The main routes of exposure to these pollutants are through the respiratory tract, skin, and oral ingestion. When ingested orally, they will encounter trillions of microorganisms that live in a community - the gut microbiota (GM). While pollutants can disrupt the GM balance, GM plays an essential role in the metabolism and bioavailability of these chemical compounds. Under physiological conditions, strategies used by the GM for metabolism and/or excretion of xenobiotics include reductive and hydrolytic transformations, lyase and functional group transfer reactions, and enzyme-mediated functional transformations. Simultaneously, the host performs metabolic processes based mainly on conjugation, oxidation, and hydrolysis reactions. Thus, due to the broad variety of bacterial enzymes present in GM, the repertoire of microbial transformations of chemicals is considered a key component of the machinery involved in the metabolism of pollutants in humans and other mammals. Among pollutants, metals deserve special attention once contamination by metals is a worldwide problem, and their adverse effects can be observed even at very low concentrations due to their toxic properties. In this review, bidirectional interaction between lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury and the host organism and its GM will be discussed given the most recent literature, presenting an analysis of the ability of GM to alter the host organism's susceptibility to the toxic effects of heavy metals, as well as evaluating the extent to which interventions targeting the microbiota could be potential initiatives to mitigate the adverse effects resulting from poisoning by heavy metals. This study is the first to highlight the overlap between some of the bacteria found to be altered by metal exposure and the bacteria that also aid the host organism in the metabolism of these metals. This could be a key factor to determine the beneficial species able to minimize the toxicity of metals in future therapeutic approaches.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Metals, Heavy; Arsenic; Cadmium; Environmental Pollutants; Hazardous Substances; Mammals
PubMed: 38354972
DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2024.153751 -
Analytica Chimica Acta Mar 2024Heavy metal pollution has become one of the world's most important environmental pollution, especially Hg is enriched, it is easy to enter the human body through the...
An innovative fluorescent probe based on dicyanoisoflurone derivatives for differential detection of Hg and Cu and its applications in bacteria, cell imaging and food analysis.
BACKGROUND
Heavy metal pollution has become one of the world's most important environmental pollution, especially Hg is enriched, it is easy to enter the human body through the food chain, bind to the sulfhydryl group in the protein, cause mercury poisoning. Traditional methods for detecting Hg have obvious drawbacks, such as poor selectivity and long detection time. Fluorescence detection has attracted attention because of its good sensitivity and specificity detection ability. In previously reported probes for detecting Hg, Cu often interferes. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to synthesize a fluorescent probe that can distinguish between Hg and Cu.
RESULTS
We have successfully synthesized the probe DFS, a fluorescent probe that can differentially detect Hg and Cu, and the probe DFS has good selectivity and anti-interference ability for Hg and Cu. The fluorescence intensity at 530 nm increased rapidly when Hg was detected; during the Cu detection, the fluorescence intensity at 636 nm gradually decreased, fluorescence quenching occurred, and the detection limits of Hg and Cu were 7.29 × 10 M and 2.13 × 10 M, respectively. Through biological experiments, it was found that probe DFS can complete the fluorescence imaging of Hg and Cu in Staphylococcus aureus and HUVEC cells, which has certain research value in the field of environmental monitoring and microbiology, and the probe DFS has low cytotoxicity, so it also has broad application prospects in the field of biological imaging. In addition, the probe DFS also has good applicability for Hg and Cu detection in actual samples.
SIGNIFICANCE AND NOVELTY
This is a fluorescent probe that can distinguish between Hg and Cu, the fluorescence emission peak appears at 530 nm when Hg is detected; when detecting Cu, fluorescence quenching occurs at 636 nm, the fluorescence emission peak distance between Hg and Cu differs by 106 nm. This reduces mutual interference between Hg and Cu during detection, it provides a new idea for the detection of Hg and Cu.
Topics: Humans; Fluorescent Dyes; Food Analysis; Mercury; Sensitivity and Specificity; Bacteria; Spectrometry, Fluorescence
PubMed: 38309842
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342259 -
Practical Neurology May 2024A 64-year-old man had progressive unsteadiness over several years, with tingling in his feet. He was a longstanding bodybuilding enthusiast. Clinical assessment and...
A 64-year-old man had progressive unsteadiness over several years, with tingling in his feet. He was a longstanding bodybuilding enthusiast. Clinical assessment and neurophysiology confirmed a cerebellar ataxia and axonal peripheral neuropathy. His serum mercury concentration was significantly raised. We diagnosed chronic mercury toxicity secondary to excessive tuna consumption. We advised him to stop eating tuna and prescribed dimercaptosuccinic acid, after which his serum mercury concentrations subsequently fell. This case report highlights the importance of considering dietary and nutritional causes of neurological disease. We also discuss the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of mercury toxicity.
Topics: Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mercury Poisoning; Mercury; Weight Lifting
PubMed: 38253381
DOI: 10.1136/pn-2023-003827 -
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine... May 2024Cinnabaris (α-HgS), a mineral traditional Chinese material medica, has been used in combination with other herbs manifesting some definite therapeutic effects for...
BACKGROUND
Cinnabaris (α-HgS), a mineral traditional Chinese material medica, has been used in combination with other herbs manifesting some definite therapeutic effects for thousands of years. But the currently reported mercury poisoning incidents raised the doubts about the safety of Cinnabaris-containing traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Baizi Yangxin Pills (BZYXP) is a Cinnabaris-containing TCM widely used in clinical practice. This study evaluated the health risk of mercury exposure from BZYXP in healthy volunteers based on the total mercury and mercury species analysis of blood and urine after single and multiple doses of BZYXP.
METHODS
Blood pharmacokinetics and urinary excretion studies of mercury were compared between single (9 g, once daily) and multiple doses (9 g, twice daily, continued for 7 days) of BZYXP. The whole blood and urine samples were collected at the specific points or periods after the administration of BZYXP. The total mercury and mercury species in blood and urine samples were determined by cold vapor-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CV-AFS) and HPLC-CV-AFS, respectively.
RESULTS
The mercury was excreted slowly and accumulated obviously after continuous exposure of BZYXP. Moreover, the well-known neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg) was detected in blood samples after 7 days' administration of BZYXP. In the urine samples, only Hg(II) was detected. Therefore, long-term use of BZYXP will cause mercury poisoning due to mercury's high accumulative properties and MeHg formation.
CONCLUSION
Cinnabaris-containing TCMs such as BZYXP should be restricted to cases in which alternatives are available, and the blood mercury species profile should be monitored during the long-term clinical medication.
Topics: Humans; Healthy Volunteers; Mercury; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Methylmercury Compounds; Mercury Poisoning; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 38245934
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2024.127398