After the spread of Covid 19 worldwide, the use of cloth masks increased significantly due to a shortage of medical masks. Meanwhile, there were different opinions about the effectiveness of these masks and, so far, no study has been done to find the best fabric masks. This study reviews and summarizes all studies related to fabric masks’ effectiveness and various fabrics against coronavirus. This systematic review is based on PRISMA rules. Two researchers separately examined three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Laboratory and clinical studies were included. After extracting the articles, their quality was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool. In addition to efficacy, other factors, including the penetration of masks, pressure drop, and quality factor, were examined to select the best fabrics. Of the 42 studies selected, 39 were laboratory studies, and 3 were clinical studies. Among the various fabrics examined, cotton quilt 120 thread per inch (TPI), copy paper (bonded), hybrid of cotton with chiffon/ silk, and flannel filtration were found to have over 90% effectiveness in the particle size range of Covid-19. The results and comparison of different factors (pressure drop, filtration efficacy, penetration, filtration quality, and fit factor have been evaluated) showed that among different fabrics, hybrid masks, 2-layered cotton quilt, 2-layered 100% cotton, cotton flannel, and hairy tea towel + fleece sweater had the best performance. Clinical studies have not explicitly examined cloth masks’ effectiveness in Covid-19, so the effectiveness of these types of masks for Covid 19 is questionable, and more studies are needed.

Rivers are influenced by surrounding environmental factors, especially land use and occupation type in their watersheds, which affect the integrity of the communities. This study aimed to evaluate the benthic macroinvertebrate community (BMIC) in a river passing through rural (Rur) and urban (Urb) areas and its correlation with various physical–chemical parameters, nutrients, and heavy metals in the water and sediment. The BMIC samples from five sites (three Rur and two Urb) were collected bimonthly between July 2015 and July 2016. The physical–chemical parameters of water (electrical conductivity, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, pH, total solids turbidity, and temperature), heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Fe, Mn, and Zn), and nutrient (N and P) contents in the water and sediment were measured. We compared the BMIC in different areas using principal coordinate analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance. These analyses were performed considering the Euclidean distance to which the Hellinger transformation was applied for determining abundance. We performed partial canonical redundancy analysis using the forward selection method, followed by variance partitioning techniques to evaluate the effect of these factors on BMIC. The BMIC varied between Rur and Urb areas. Taxa tolerant to high N and P contents were predominant in the Urb area, which indicates a high degree of contamination by organic pollutants. In the Rur area, Zn contamination, possibly from agricultural activities, was evident. Thus, although BMIC complete part or all of their life cycle close to the substrate, the physicochemical parameters of water, mainly pH and total dissolved phosphorus, had the highest influence on its composition.

Organophosphate pesticides are used in large quantities. Once accumulated in the environment, they exhibit toxic effects on non-target organisms. Dimethoate, a frequently used insecticide, and its oxo-analog omethoate inhibit acetylcholinesterase and are toxic for mammals. However, under environmental conditions, they also undergo chemical transformations and decomposition. Nevertheless, the systematic data about dimethoate and omethoate decomposition are missing. We performed a systematic analysis of dimethoate and omethoate decomposition under different pH conditions and estimated their long-term eco-neurotoxic effects. Dimethoate and omethoate decompose rapidly in alkaline aqueous solutions (half-lives 5.7 ± 1.4 and 0.89 ± 0.21 days) but are highly stable in acidic solutions (half-lives 124 ± 18 and 104 ± 9 days). These differences are explained using quantum chemical calculations, indicating that a weaker P–S bond in omethoate is more susceptible to hydrolysis, particularly at a high pH. The toxicity of these pesticide solutions decreases over time, indicating that no or very little of highly more toxic omethoate is formed during hydrolysis of dimethoate, pointing to the advantage of alkaline hydrolysis over other techniques for dimethoate removal. Presented data are used to benchmark dimethoate and omethoate concentrations and toxicity in contaminated water in the pH range 3 to 9 for up to 70 days upon the release in the environment.

Over the years, the world has been plagued by issues brought about by environmental degradation, climate change, and environmental health issues. Core to the environmental risk and security issues is the greenhouse gas emission which reflects carbon dioxide emissions effect on global climate. In order to better understand this stuff, the study explored the combined effect of increasing railway transport, air transport and urbanisation on the environment in emerging economies from 1995 to 2016. The study employed the Pesaran CD, average mean group (AMG), correlated effect mean group (CCEMG) and cointegration test approach. The study revealed that rail transport and urban population show good statistical strength to improve the environment. Findings from the study indicate that the proliferation of the emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Russia has greatly contributed to the growth of environmental sustainability. There is a lot of policy blueprint mentioned in this study, in which when adhere to could provide pertinent decision advocate in building quality environmental economies.

As a response to the topic of how financial stability might be used to effectively finance for the mitigation of climate change and climate risks, it is important to look at the carbon risk that is still present in G-5 nations. The goal of our research is to determine the impact of financial stability on climate risk in order to effectively manage climate mitigation efforts. A technique called GMM is used to achieve this goal. Climate change mitigation was found to be substantial at 18 percent, while financial stability and carbon hazards were found significant at 21 percent, according to the conclusions of the study. Furthermore, the G-5 countries’ 19.5% correlation between financial stability and emissions drift, which raises climate change concerns, is noteworthy. In order to implement green economic recovery methods, one of the most strongly regarded approaches to mitigating climate change and ensuring long-term financial potential at the national scale, a country’s financial stability is required. The research on green economic expansion also offers the associated stakeholders with detailed policy implications on this relevance.

Although the potential corrosive microbial communities of the refined oil pipelines can cause pipeline failure which directly threatens on soil and water environment, few studies have been published in this field. Therefore, the long-distance on-site internal corrosion detection and high-throughput sequencing techniques were employed in this study to investigate the distribution shifts of the corrosive microbial communities on the inner wall of a refined oil pipeline and its impact on the internal corrosion. The microorganisms colonizing on the inner wall of the pipeline showed significant distribution differences between the axial direction of the relative elevation and radial direction of the cross-section. On the inner wall, the high diversity and the abundance of the corrosive microbial communities induced serious microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), while the chemical corrosion and the synergy of the corrosive microbial communities accelerated the internal corrosion of the refined oil pipeline. A corrosion zone model has been proposed, which divides the pipeline cross-section into the sediment, the water–oil interface, the gas-oil interface, and the oil fully immersed zones. Therefore, the relationships between the environment, corrosion degree, and distribution characteristics of the corrosive microbial communities in the pipeline were analyzed. This research exhibited the importance of the distribution characteristics of the corrosive microorganisms on the inner wall of the refined oil pipelines. Its internal corrosion behavior was accurately explored, while providing a basis for controlling the corrosive microbial communities.

Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal often present in the environment as a pulse in water. Traditional toxicity tests are usually carried out under conditions of continuous concentration, without considering the impact of pulse exposure on aquatic organisms. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of short-term continuous and pulse Pb exposures on the skin bacteria and histomorphological structure of Pelophylax nigromaculatus. Results showed that compared to the control (CON) and Pb continuous exposure group (CEPb), the Pb pulse exposure group (PEPb) showed the smallest size of granular glands, which would interfere with the permeability and secretory function of skin, making the individual more sensitive to external pollution. Lead exposure significantly changed the composition and diversity of skin bacteria. Compared to the CON and CEPb groups, the PEPb group showed a significant increase in the abundance of harmful bacteria (e.g., Bacteroidetes and Chryseobacterium) and a decrease in the abundance of beneficial bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas). PICRUSt software showed that there were differences in the metabolic pathway of skin bacteria among the three groups (CON, CEPb, and PEPb). Overall, this study indicates that Pb pulse exposure can aggravate the toxicity of Pb for frog skin, providing a new framework for simulating short-term heavy metal exposure in the context of frog health.

The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is an important center for promoting economic growth in the western region. Clarifying the driving force and restrictive factors of the urbanization development in Chengdu-Chongqing area is conducive to the further development of the region. Firstly, this study uses geospatial information to describe the resource consumption characteristics of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. Then, Moran index has been used to test the spatial agglomeration relationship. Finally, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is classified according to the characteristics of natural resource utilization and spatial relations. The results show that (1) the relationship between the comprehensive utilization of natural resources and urbanization in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is high in the east and low in the west, and the two places jointly drive the development of the north and the south. (2) From 2015 to 2020, the comprehensive utilization capacity of natural resources in the core area on the west side decrease, and the core area on the east side increase. Urbanization in the north and south is slow, and the direct utilization capacity of natural resources needs to be improved. (3) The city with the best coordination relationship between comprehensive utilization of natural resources and urbanization is on the periphery of the core cities of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, and the protection and management measures of the core cities for natural resources do not match their urbanization level.

The aim of this study was to investigate the lead (Pb)-induced lipid metabolism impairment and its amelioration using plant-based therapeutic interventions. Pb-induced hepatotoxicity can disturb the normal levels of natural antioxidant enzymes including glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) exerting a crucial impact on membrane unsaturated fatty acids (FA), hence leading to lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, Pb toxicity can also alter the regulation of various hormones involved in the synthesis of 3-hydroxy-methyl glutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA reductase), leading to an impairment in normal levels of serum cholesterol and other associated conjugated lipid molecules such HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol. In this study, the lipoprotein fractions, cholesterol, triglyceride (TGs) and biomarkers of liver functions were estimated by employing respective assay kits. The levels of antioxidant enzymes, FFAs and HMG-CoA reductase were determined by employing sandwich ELISA method. The administration of PbAc in experimental rats induced a significant disturbance in lipid profile (P < 0.05) accompanying a significant reduction in natural antioxidant defence system (P < 0.05). The significant alteration in the levels of serum antioxidant enzymes can lead to membrane lipid peroxidation that is reflected by a significantly (P < 0.05) high level of serum MDA in PbAc-induced experimental rats. However, the administration of resveratrol proved therapeutically effective in the treatment of Pb toxicity. Overall, the results of this study accompanying histopathological examination had proved the ameliorating effect of resveratrol in Pb-induced lipid metabolism impairment by adopting vitamin C as a standard therapeutic intervention.

Concentration of dissolved aromatic and halogenated non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) was estimated in sewage flowing through the open drainage canal network of Kolkata megacity in India in dry (summer) and wet (post-monsoon) seasons at five locations. Seventeen aromatic and halogenated NMVOC species were studied by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) technique followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) analysis. Distinct seasonal variations in the concentration of individual NMVOC species were observed, but spatial variation was negligible. Total dissolved NMVOC (TNMVOC) concentration was higher (16.64 µg l ⁻ ¹) in summer over post-monsoon (12.70 µg l ⁻ ¹). Chloroform and toluene were the most abundant species in both seasons. Principal component analysis indicated contribution from industrial sources (38.8% and 35.5%), solvent usage (35.9% and 35.5%), in situ formation through microbial pathways (22.2% and 11.5%) in dry and wet seasons, respectively. Contribution by gasoline (12.3%) was found in post-monsoon only, possibly due to higher mixing of city's stormwater carrying gasoline residues from roads, garages, and commercial areas. The dynamic load of all quantified NMVOCs combined in the entire canal network was estimated to be 182.2 and 162.0 kg in summer and post-monsoon, respectively. The likely distribution of a few prominent NMVOC species in different environmental compartments, simulated by multimedia mass balance model TaPL3 (3.0), showed that almost the entire dissolved chloroform would be emitted to atmosphere (98%), followed by benzene (71%), in contrast to xylene that would primarily get partitioned into canal sediment (53%). Toluene showed the highest likely atmospheric emission from canal water in summer (63.55 kg), whereas in post-monsoon, chloroform had the highest possible release (48.12 kg) into the atmosphere.