These data reveal how exposure to polystyrene microplastics can modify the concentrations of lipid molecules that are important intrinsically in cell membranes, and hence the lipid bilayers that could form an important barrier between algal cellular compartments and plastics in the aquatic environment. Changes in lipid synthesis and fatty acid composition in algae could also have repercussions for food quality, growth and stressor resistance in primary consumers. We advocate further studies of microplastics effects on the lipid composition of primary producers, and of their potential propagation through aquatic food webs. Research on microplastic (MP) pollution in the marine environment has received widespread attention in recent years. To assess the degree of MP contamination in the intertidal zone of China, the abundance, shape, particle size and composition of MPs in sediment were investigated in this study. Sediment samples were collected from 13 stations along the coast of China. The density separation method was employed to isolate MPs from sediment and the polymer types of the MPs were determined by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy. Our study demonstrated that MP pollution was widespread in the 13 intertidal stations.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/terephthalic-acid.html  The average abundance of MPs was 309 ± 81 items/kg dry weight. Fiber accounted for 71.5% of the isolated MPs, and the particles of less than 500 μm accounted for the highest proportion (35.0%). A total of 12 polymers were identified; the main types were rayon (RY), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE). The shape and chemical composition of the MPs from the intertidal sediments of South and North China were different. In South China, MP fragments were more extensive, and PP was a more important component. In contrast, the intertidal sediments of North China contained more MP fibers with the majority being RY, indicating that the major source of MPs in the intertidal zone of North China may be domestic sewage. Additionally, the abundance of MPs in the intertidal sediments of the Pearl River and Jiulong River estuaries was higher than at other sites. A Spearman's correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between MP abundance and sediment grain size or organic matter content. Our study highlights the ubiquitous distribution of MPs in the sediment along the coast of China and provides valuable information for risk assessment and source control of MP pollution in China's intertidal zone. We investigated the influence of sulfate (SO42-) deposition and concentrations on the net formation and solubility of methylmercury (MeHg) in peat soils. We used data from a natural sulfate deposition gradient running 300 km across southern Sweden to test the hypothesis posed by results from an experimental field study in northern Sweden that increased loading of SO42- both increases net MeHg formation and redistributes methylmercury (MeHg) from the peat soil to its porewater. Sulfur concentrations in peat soils correlated positively with MeHg concentrations in peat porewater, along the deposition gradient similar to the response to added SO42- in the experimental field study. The combined results from the experimental field study and deposition gradient accentuate the multiple, distinct and interacting roles of SO42- deposition in the formation and redistribution of MeHg in the environment. Environmental distribution and concentration of tetrabromobisphenol A bis- (2-hydroxyethyl) ether (TBBPA-DHEE) and tetrabromobisphenol A mono- (hydroxyethyl) ether (TBBPA-MHEE), are obscure due to the lack of available analytical methods. Here two novel immunoassays were established to systematically investigate their distributions in Taizhou, Eastern China. Five monoclonal antibodies against pollutants were generated with two designed haptens through animal immunization. After matched with different coating antigens/antibodies, ELISAs were established (LOD for TBBPA-DHEE, 0.12 ng/mL, based on OVA-M3/mAb-D4G6; LOD for TBBPA-MHEE, 0.79 ng/mL, based on OVA-M3/mAb-D2G6) and applied for investigation of their occurrences at a typical e-waste recycling area after 2-year samples collection, where the total 33 water, 32 soil and 16 biological samples were collected with the highest concentrations of 3.46 ng/mL, 2.76 ng/g (dry weight, dw) and 5.01 ng/g (dw), respectively. Meanwhile, our study also indicated that at the centralizing e-waste recycling sites the serious pollution for both chemicals still existed despite of various efforts. Besides, obvious improvements were observed at an abandoned e-waste recycling region treated and remedied for many years by the local Chinese government. These findings highlight the importance of policy decisions in treatment of pollutants to reduce organic pollutant-related health risks. To comprise the future requirements to detect low levels of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) including branched and linear perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) in food items, analytical methods for their determination in five different food matrices (cow milk, butter, chicken meat, beef, and fish) were developed and validated. Analytical method for eggs was only validated for PFOS and PFOA because of interfering substance appeared in some samples. The method applied on foods of animal origin includes alkaline digestion, extraction, and clean-up with solid phase extraction and adsorption on granular carbon where necessary. The method was shown effective to eliminate taurodeoxycholic acid (TDC), a bile acid that is an endogenous interference compound in egg samples causing ionization suppression and false positive result for PFOS when 499 > 80 transition was used for quantification. The validation was performed and resulted in recoveries >70% for all three PFAAs, the limits of quantification (LOQs) in all matrices were 3.1 pg g-1, 3.4 pg g-1, and 4.9 pg g-1 for PFHxS, PFOA, and L-PFOS, respectively. The optimized method was successfully applied to 53 food samples from the Swedish market and from developing countries. PFOS and PFOA were detected in all samples. PFHxS was detected in 76% of the samples. Further method development on separating interfering substance from PFHxS in egg is warranted due to relatively high detection of this compound in other food items. With this method, concentrations in the low pg g-1 range in food samples of animal origin were quantified including the branched PFOS isomers. This method can be applied to enforce potential future limit values for PFOS and PFOA as a consequence of the recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommendation where the tolerable intakes have been drastically lowered. Further method development is needed for foods of plant origin such as vegetables, flour, nuts, or bread.