Ephedrine is a prevalent sympathomimetic alkaloid and amphetamine-type stimulant precursor that has become a widespread contaminant in global aquatic ecosystems. While the neurotoxic effects of high-dose ephedrine exposure are documented in humans and other mammals, its impact on aquatic vertebrates at environmentally realistic concentrations remains poorly understood. Determining how these persistent residues affect neural development and physiological homeostasis is critical for evaluating ecological risks to aquatic life. Here we show that chronic, low-dose ephedrine exposure impairs neurodevelopment in adult zebrafish by simultaneously disrupting synaptogenesis architecture and neurotransmitter balance. Integrated transcriptomic and histopathological analyses reveal that ephedrine targets the synaptogenesis signaling pathway, resulting in reduced presynaptic vesicles and structural abnormalities in the postsynaptic density. Computational docking and biochemical assays further demonstrate that ephedrine engages the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and tyrosine hydroxylase with high affinity, triggering excitotoxic cascades and biphasic neurochemical dysregulation that manifest as anxiety-like phenotypes and cognitive impairments. These findings indicate that environmentally relevant concentrations of stimulant precursors pose a significant threat to the neural circuit integrity of aquatic species, necessitating urgent regulatory attention to pharmaceutical residues in surface waters.

The heterogeneous activation of persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (persulfate AOPs) has been defined as potential wastewater treatment methods due to their excellent chemical reactivity. However, the reaction mechanisms of these processes are extremely intricate because of the simultaneous participation of many substances from the solid, liquid, and even gas phases. The development of novel active catalysts is hindered due to divergent mechanisms and deficient research techniques. In this review, the up-to-date development of heterogeneous catalyst category, catalytic characteristics, and reaction mechanism are comprehensively discussed. Essentially, the detection of persulfate, the identification of reactive oxygen species, and the evolution and analysis of organic oxidation pathways are reviewed, highlighting the innovation integration experimental/theoretical protocol to reveal the reaction mechanism in a future study. Finally, the limitations and possible breakthrough directions of persulfate AOPs were discussed, including the further study of the internal reaction mechanism in persulfate AOPs, the requirement of reasonable evaluation of the treatment effect, and the feasibility of full-scale application.

Persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (persulfate-AOPs) offer great promise for environmental remediation, with heterogeneous catalysts providing the backbone of many wastewater purification technologies. Unlike conventional nanocatalyst heterogeneous systems, the immobilized-catalyst system can bypass the separation problem to reduce scour and prevent aggregation by anchoring nanoparticles onto porous or large-particle carriers. This review presents the state-of-the-art of knowledge concerning immobilization methodologies and reactors, reaction mechanisms, and activation performance. Immobilization techniques onto supports are summarized and discussed, including membrane-based reaction systems (immersion mode, and filtration mode), electrocatalytic auxiliary systems, and alternative supports (metallic glasses, aerogels, hydrogels, and specific materials). Key scientific problems and important prospects for the further development of immobilized catalysts are outlined.