58 mg l-1 for Ni. Our results show that living white rot fungi, such as P. velutina, can be used for remediation of dye polluted wastewater, alternatively to enzyme mixtures, even in the co-presence of heavy metals.Alexandrium pacificum is a toxin-producing dinoflagellate with allelopathic effects. The elucidation of allelopathic mechanism of A. pacificum is of great significance for understanding A. pacificum blooms. To this end, using the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana as a target species, we observed changes in physiological, biochemical and gene transcription of T. pseudonana upon being co-cultured with A. pacificum. We found reciprocal effects between A. pacificum and T. pseudonana, and corroborated A. pacificum's allelopathy on T. pseudonana by observing inhibitory effects of filtrate from A. pacificum culture on the growth of T. pseudonana. We also found that co-culturing with A. pacificum, the expression of T. pseudonana genes related to photosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, antioxidant system, nutrient absorption and energy metabolism were drastically influenced. Coupled with the alterations in Fv/Fm (the variable/maximum fluorescence ratio), activity of superoxide dismutase, contents of malondialdehyde, neutral lipid and total protein in T. pseudonana co-cultured with A. pacificum, we propose that A. pacificum allelopathy could reduce the efficiency of photosynthesis and energy metabolism of T. pseudonana and caused the oxidative stress, while the nutrient absorption was also affected by allelopathic effects. The resultant data potentially uncovered the allelopathic molecular mechanism of A. pacificum to model alga T. pseudonana. The changes in nutrient uptake and even energy metabolism in T. pseudonana, as an adaptation to environmental conditions, may prevent it from stress-related injuries. Our finding might advance the understanding of allelopathic mechanism of A. pacificum.The role of the chemical properties of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds (PhACs) in their sorption behaviour and consequently in their fate and mobility is of major environmental interest, but a comprehensive evaluation is still lacking. The sorption of nine PhAC molecules with distinct physico-chemical properties on soils and goethite was described using linear, Freundlich and Langmuir models and the relationship between the chemical structures of the compounds and the parameters of the adsorption was evaluated using redundancy analysis (RDA). The latter showed that the sorption of the pharmaceuticals was determined by the intrinsic chemical characteristics of the molecules, as shown by the 35% value of constrained variability. For the hydrophobic estrogens, E1, E2 and EE2, the logD value and the number of hydrogen bond sites were found to be the main controlling factors for adsorption, indicating that hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding are the dominant sorption mechanisms. The π energy of the molecules also proved a very important parameter, governing the retention of PhACs in soils, especially in the case of carbamazepine, oxazepam and lamotrigine. The main controlling factor for ionic compounds, such as diclofenac sodium, tramadol or lidocaine, is the fraction of PhACs present as charged species, revealing the importance of Coulomb forces. The results of this study will allow semi-quantitative predictions to be made on how the molecular structure governs the sorption of PhACs and which sorption mechanism could be involved.Agricultural soils derived from black shale are typically enriched in potentially toxic metals. This is a serious problem, both in terms of the ecological environment and human health. To assess the levels of potentially toxic metals, 90 paired soil-crops samples were collected from the Anji Country, western Zhejiang province, a typical exposed black shale area in China. Concentrations and bioavailability of potentially toxic metals in the soil-crops system were measured, and the associated potential risks were further evaluated. Results showed the enrichment of potentially toxic metals (i.e. Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni) in the soil and crop samples, especially a significant accumulation of Cd. Sequential extraction data indicated that Cd in soils derived from black shale was the second most dominant element in the exchangeable fraction (mean at 33.42%) and possessed high bioavailability, whereas Pb was mostly retained in the residual fraction (mean at 76.34%) and exhibited low mobility. The total concentration as well as mobility and bioavailability of Cd were the highest in the sampled soils. This resulted in a high potential ecological risk in areas with agricultural soils derived from black shale, which could eventually jeopardize the health of local residents through various exposure pathways.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cbl0137-cbl-0137.html  Overall, our findings provide a scientific basis for developing suitable management strategies to mitigate the exposure to potentially toxic metals in high risk areas.Freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a major environmental health problem worldwide. HABs are caused by a predominance of cyanobacteria, some of which produce potent toxins. The most ubiquitous cyanotoxin is microcystin (MC) and the congener MC-LR is the most studied due to its toxicity. Short-term exposure to toxins can cause gut microbiome disturbances, but this has not been well described with MC-LR exposure. This study investigated the gut microbial communities of mice from a prior study, which identified significant liver toxicity from ingestion of MC-LR daily for 8 days. CD-1 mice were divided into three dosage groups control, low exposure (sub-lethal MC-LR concentration), and high exposure (near-lethal MC-LR concentration). Fecal samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Results revealed that at population level, there were no significant shifts in bacterial diversity or the microbial community structure over the exposure period. However, there were significant differences between male and female mice. Predictive functional gene analysis indicated that several metabolic pathways were significantly different in the high dose group before exposure and following 7 doses of MC-LR, as well as between the control and high dose groups on Day 8. Significant differentially abundant taxa were also identified contributing to these pathways. Several pathways, including superpathway of N-acetylneuraminate degradation, were related to liver and gut inflammation. The outcome of this study suggests a need for in-depth investigation of metabolic activity and other functions in the gut in future studies, as well as potential consideration of the role of sex in MC-LR toxicity.