Total Organic Carbon (TOC) concentrations in stream waters from peat-covered catchments have increased over the last 15-25 years, resulting in large-scale brownification of lakes and rivers in high latitudes. While this increase has primarily been attributed to decreased acid deposition and climatic warming in most regions, we studied whether peatland drainage in forested catchments has contributed to the increasing TOC concentrations. We analysed the spatial variability of average TOC concentrations from a total of 133 peatland dominated catchments in Sweden and Finland, of which 62 were pristine and 71 were drained during the last century. In addition, we performed a trend analysis on 37 catchments for which long-term data were available. We found about 14 mg l-1 higher TOC concentrations in streams discharging from drained than undrained sites in southern latitudes, and about 8 mg l-1 higher concentrations from drained sites in northern latitudes. Trend analysis did not indicate significant differences in TOC concentration trends between drained and undrained catchments but indicated that tree stand volume correlated with increasing trends. This supports earlier findings in that the general increase in forest cover and biomass that has occurred in high latitudes during the last decades is another factor that has contributed to brownification.This review emphasizes the win-win one-pot valorization process of different waste biomass that composed of many biological macromolecules (e.g. polysaccharides, polyphenols, carbohydrates, lipids, enzymes, proteins, etc.) and other biomolecules (e.g. alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, phenolics, carotenoids, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, etc.) into biofunctionalized magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (BMNPs). It illustrates the sustainable recruitment of microbial intra- and extra-cellular metabolites, proteins, and/or enzymes in the biosynthesis of BMNPs. It elucidates the environmental affluence of such sustainable, cost-effective, and ecofriendly BMNPs as an antimicrobial agent for water disinfection, photo-degrader, and adsorbent for different xenobiotics, organic and inorganic water pollutants. It confers the future environmental aspects of BMNPs in biofuels production from lipids and lignocellulosic wastes, biosensors manufacturing and bio-upgrading of petroleum fractions, etc. It discusses the circular economy, challenges, and opportunities for scaling up the zero-waste green synthesis of MNPs. Nevertheless, imminent investigations are still needed to elucidate the exact rule of biological macro- and micro- molecules in BMNPs synthesis and mechanisms involved in its microbicidal and photodegradation activities. Accentuated researches are more required on the toxicity and/or biosafety of the green synthesized BMNPs to humans and other non-target organisms to ensure its eco-safety upon environmental applications.Early life environment can affect asthma and allergies but few cohort studies on this issue are available from China. Our aim was to investigate reported onset of childhood wheeze, rhinitis and eczema symptoms in relation to prenatal, perinatal and postnatal home environment. Data on home environment and symptoms (ISAAC based questions) in first two years of life and in the past 12 months were reported by parents of the children (3-6 y) in a cross-sectional questionnaire survey in ten day care centers in Taiyuan, northern China (N = 3606). Changes of symptoms from the first 2 years of life to the past 12 months (recall period) were calculated retrospectively. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied. Reported onset of wheeze, rhinitis and eczema were 11.8%, 22.2% and 3.3%, respectively. Redecorating during pregnancy increased reported onset of rhinitis (OR = 2.29) and eczema (OR = 4.91). New furniture during pregnancy increased reported onset of rhinitis (OR = 1.47). Perinatal indoor mould increase, rhinitis and eczema in preschoolers in northern China.Oxygen-deficient substoichiometric titanium oxides, or "titanium suboxides," are produced incidentally from coal combustion and are environmentally abundant. Additionally, titanium suboxide nanomaterials are promising new materials with likely future environmental release. How these materials may affect contaminant fate differently than stoichiometric TiO2 (nano)materials is largely unknown. Here, we show that Ti2O3 (selected as a model titanium suboxide) exhibits significantly greater efficiency in enhancing the hydrolysis of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA), a common groundwater contaminant, than the stoichiometric anatase and rutile TiO2. At environmentally relevant pH (6.5-7.5), the surface area-normalized pseudo-first-order hydrolysis rate constant in the presence of Ti2O3 is approximately an order of magnitude higher than those associated with TiO2. The superior catalytic efficiency of Ti2O3 can be attributed to both its higher surface hydrophobicity, which renders higher adsorption affinity for TeCA, and its higher concentration of Lewis acid sites (mainly the Ti3+ and the five-coordinated Ti4+). Particularly, the deprotonated hydroxyl groups attached to Ti3+ (a weaker Lewis acid than Ti4+) exhibit higher basicity and thus, are more effective in catalyzing the base-promoted hydrolysis reaction. The findings call for further understanding of the environmental implications of titanium suboxide (nano)materials, which may not be readily predictable based on the knowledge acquired for TiO2.Run-of-river power plants (RoRs) are expected to triple in number over the next decades in Canada. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/abt-199.html These structures are not anticipated to considerably promote the mobilization and transport of mercury (Hg) and its subsequent microbial transformation to methylmercury (MeHg), a neurotoxin able to biomagnify in food webs up to humans. To test whether construction of RoRs had an effect on Hg transport and transformation, we studied Hg and MeHg concentrations, organic matter contents and methylating microbial community abundance and composition in the sediments of a section of the St. Maurice River (Quebec, Canada). This river section has been affected by the construction of two RoR dams and its watershed has been disturbed by a forest fire, logging, and the construction of wetlands. Higher total Hg (THg) and MeHg concentrations were observed in the surface sediments of the flooded sites upstream of the RoRs. These peaks in THg and MeHg were correlated with organic matter proportions in the sediments (r2 = 0.87 and 0.