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To better understand the ecological effects of mariculture, the diversity distribution, determinant and interaction of microeukaryote communities from fish cage and suspended shellfish farming were investigated in three bays of South China Coast. Our alpha and beta diversity analyses showed that the difference of the microeukaryote community between fish and shellfish farming was more significant at local than regional scale, and microeukaryotes respond more to spatial effect than mariculture effect at regional scale. Mantel test, variation partitioning analysis and co-occurrence network analysis revealed that the environmental factors especially chemical and biotic factors contributed more to community assembly in fish than shellfish farming. Based on the comparisons of community composition and determinant between fish and shellfish farming, the effect mechanisms of the two farming types on microeukaryote community were proposed. Fish farming brings significant environmental variation and thus has strong bottom-up impacts on microeukaryotes, while shellfish farming exerts a grazing pressure on microeukaryotes by filter-feeding and has top-down control to them. Furthermore, the network stability analyses revealed weaker community stability in fish than shellfish farming, suggesting that the microeukaryote community was more sensitive to environmental change deduced by fish than shellfish farming. Overall, this study revealed the different influencing mechanisms of fish and shellfish mariculture on microeukaryotes, which will improve the understanding of the ecological effects of mariculture and provide guidance for the management of mariculture under future environmental pressures. [Display omitted] • Effects of mariculture on microeukaryotic community was more significant at local than regional scale. • Chemical and biotic factors contributed more to community assembly in fish than shellfish farming. • Fish farming had strong bottom-up impacts on microeukaryotic community; Shellfish farming exerted top-down control to them. • Microeukaryote community was more sensitive to environmental change deduced by fish than shellfish farming. • Management practices and ecological remediation should be carried out in principle of adaptation to mariculture types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an environmentally friendly strategy was used to synthesize gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) using Olea europaea (olive) fruit. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the synthesized NPs. An Au NPs modified glassy carbon electrode was used to investigate the direct electrochemical oxidation of hydrazine. The suggested hydrazine sensor has good performance, such as a wide linear range (2.5–275 μM), low limit of detection (0.09 μM), notable selectivity and excellent reproducibility (RSD = 2.2%). The in-vitro cytotoxicity of three human cancer cell lines (KATOIII, NCI-N87, and SNU-16) was also explored with various concentrations of Au NPs prepared from olive fruit extract. Bio-synthesized Au NPs were found to have cytotoxic properties against gastric cancer in humans based on MTT assay protocol. The obtained results show that green synthesized Au NPs can be successfully employed in electrochemical sensing and cancer treatment applications. [Display omitted] • Au NPs were fabricated with a green approach using the Olea europaea (olive) fruit extract. • High anticancer activity was obtained against KATOIII, NCI-N87, and SNU-16 gastric cancer cells at different concentrations of Au NPs. • The biogenic Au NPs were successfully used to fabricate an effective hydrazine electrochemical sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Early life is suggested to be a critical time in determining subsequent asthma development, but the extent to which the effect of early-life exposure to ambient air pollution on childhood asthma is unclear. Objectives We investigated doctor-diagnosed asthma in preschool children due to exposure to ambient air pollution in utero and during the first year of life. Methods In total 2490 children aged 3–6 years participated in a questionnaire study regarding doctor-diagnosed asthma between September 2011 and January 2012 in China. Children’s exposure to critical air pollutants, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) as proxy of industrial air pollution, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) as proxy of traffic pollution, and particulate matter≤10 µm in diameter (PM 10 ) as a mixture, was estimated from the concentrations measured at the ambient air quality monitoring stations by using an inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the relationship between early-life exposure and childhood asthma in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Association between early-life exposure to air pollutants and childhood asthma was observed. SO 2 and NO 2 had significant associations with adjusted OR (95% CI) of 1.45 (1.02–2.07) and 1.74 (1.15–2.62) in utero and 1.62 (1.01–2.60) and 1.90 (1.20–3.00) during the first year for per 50 µg/m 3 and 15 µg/m 3 increase respectively. Exposure to the combined high level of SO 2 and NO 2 in China significantly elevated the asthmatic risk with adjusted OR (95% CI) of 1.76 (1.18–2.64) in utero and 1.85 (1.22–2.79) during the first year compared to the low level exposure. The associations were higher for males and the younger children aged 3–4 than females and the older children aged 5–6. Conclusions Early-life exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with childhood asthma during which the level and source of air pollution play important roles. The high level and nature of combined industrial and traffic air pollution in China may contribute to the recent rapid increase of childhood asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]