With the increase in the use of different types of electronic systems used inside and outside the hospital, the electromagnetic medium in the hospital has changed significantly. The increase in the number and type of EMF sources in sensitive mediums such as hospitals has led researchers to measure EMFs to assess the potential risk to patients and staff. For this reason, this study aims to determine the radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) levels to which patients and staff are exposed voluntarily or unintentionally in the hospital environment and to control their compliance with the limits defined in the standards. In order to achieve these goals, three different types of RF-EMF measurements were carried out as, short-term, long-term, and band selective in 21 state hospitals in the Samsun Province, Turkey. Total RF-EMF in the band between 100 kHz and 3 GHz is measured using PMM–8053, while band selective is conducted using SRM–3006 in the frequency range from 27 MHz up to 3 GHz. The recorded RF-EMF values were statistically analyzed, and the main RF-EMF sources in the medium were determined. The highest average RF-EMF exposure level obtained for short-term measurements was 2.52 V/m. For long-term measurements, the highest average RF-EMF was 3.11 V/m and the highest mean RF-EMF was 2.29 V/m. Within our measurements, the limit of 3 V/m set by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) was exceeded in the hospital, although the highest RF-EMF was below the limit level set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Long-term measurement results showed that the RF-EMF level at midday was higher than at night; the highest RF-EMF was measured in the afternoon and during evening hours. The mean RF-EMF levels are 1.01 V/m, 1.15 V/m, 1.12 V/m, and 0.84 V/m, for morning, afternoon, evening, and night respectively. The RF-EMF level measured during the afternoon hours maybe about 37% higher than the RF-EMF levels measured at night. The main sources of total RF-EMF in the environment determined from the band-selective RF-EMF results were base stations located outside the hospital and their contribution to total RF-EMF was 92.6%. Systems that make the most contribution to the RF-EMF in the environment are base stations using the LTE 800, GSM 900, GSM 1800, LTE 1800, and UMTS 2100 frequency bands. Among these, the UMTS 2100 frequency band gave the highest contribution with 40.42%. With the use of these main RF-EMF sources, an empirical model that helps in computing the total E of the medium with 99.8% accuracy was proposed.

To improve the high-value application of corn stalk, phosphorus-containing stalk cellulose (PFC) was prepared, characterized, and utilized for the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and sulfadiazine (SD), with maximum adsorption capacities of 1.385 and 2.527 mg/g at pH 7. As expected, the adsorption efficiency of PFC was strongly affected by pH, and the preferential adsorption order of SMZ⁻ (SD⁰) > SMZ⁰ (SD⁻) > SMZ⁺ (SD⁺) was obtained from the experimental results and due to the charges of PFC and the SMZ and SD species. Furthermore, these results were qualitatively linked to the adsorption mechanism, e.g., π⁺-π electron donor-acceptor (EDA), anion-π bond electrostatic, and hydrophobic interactions. In particular, the adsorption mechanism was further characterized in terms of structure and analyzed systematically using density functional theory (DFT), frontier orbital theory (FOT), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, with the aim to explain the theoretical calculation and experimental results. As a result, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) orbitals revealed the key role of the rings and functional groups of PFC and SMZ (or SD) and validated the optimized structures of PFC⁺ sulfonamides (SAs)⁺, PFC⁻ SAs⁰, and PFC⁻ SAs⁻, in which their binding energy values, energy gaps, and relevant molecular lengths determined their stability. Additionally, the van der Waals (vdW) energy confirmed the effect of various interactions on adsorption.

The use of pesticides is considered one of the most important threats to pollinators, especially since they are widely used in agriculture for pest control. In the last years, several studies have reported severe secondary effects on various bee species, including exotic and native bees. In this study, lethal (mortality) and sublethal (locomotor activity) effects of insecticides and acaricides used in strawberries in Brazil (abamectin, novaluron, spinetoram, and thiamethoxam) were evaluated on the native stingless bees Melipona quadrifasciata and Tetragonisca fiebrigi. The results showed that the effects varied significantly according to the pesticide, type of exposure (oral or topical), and bee species. Through oral exposure, M. quadrifasciata was more susceptible to all insecticides except for abamectin, while in topical exposure, T. fiebrigi was more sensitive. Thiamethoxam followed by spinetoram and abamectin were the most lethal, regardless of species or exposure route; novaluron was not harmful at the highest tested dose. The locomotor activity of bees was altered in the presence of sublethal doses (LC₁₀ and LC₅₀) of all insecticides. Spinetoram and abamectin can be as much as toxic as thiamethoxam against M. quadrifasciata and T. fiebrigi in laboratory experiments. These findings should be confirmed in field experiments to define possibilities to combine pest control and pollinator management. In crops like strawberries, the selectivity of native pollinators should be considered.

Milk production has been estimated to contribute 3–4% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the carbon footprint associated with raw milk can vary, depending on a variety of factors, such as the geographical area, species of cow and production system. In this study, a global overview of research published on the carbon footprint (CF) of raw cow milk is provided. Additionally, two different dairy systems (semi-confinement and pasture-based) have been analysed by life-cycle assessment (LCA) in order to determine their effect on the CF of the milk produced. Inventory data were obtained directly from these facilities, and the main factors involved in milk production were included (co-products, livestock food, water, electricity, diesel, cleaning elements, transport, manure and slurry management, gas emissions to air etc.). In agreement with reviewed literature, it was found that the carbon footprint of milk was basically determined by the cattle feeding system and gas emissions from the cows. The values of milk CF found in the systems under study were within the range for cow milk production worldwide (0.9–4.7 kgCO₂eq kgFPCM⁻¹). Specifically, in the semi-confinement and the pasture-based dairy farms, 1.22 and 0.99 kgCO₂eq kgFPCM⁻¹ were obtained, respectively. The environmental benefits obtained with the pasture grazing system are not only mainly due to the lower use of purchased fodder but also to the allocation between milk and meat that was found to be a determining methodological factor in CF calculation. Finally, data from the evaluated dairy systems have been employed to analyse the influence of raw milk production on cheese manufacturing. With this aim, the CF of a small-scale cheese factory has also been obtained. The main subsystems involved (raw materials, water, electricity, energy, cleaning products, packaging materials, transport, wastes and gas emissions) were included in the inventory of the cheese factory. CF values were 16.6 and 14.7 kgCO₂eq kg⁻¹ of cheese for milk produced in semi-confinement and pasture-based systems, respectively. The production of raw milk represented more than 60% of CO₂eq emissions associated with cheese, so the primary production is the critical factor in reducing the GHG emissions due to cheese making.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are regarded as environmental pollutants that contribute to several adverse health outcomes. There is no research evidence to support a connection between PAH exposure and hearing loss. Our study aimed to determine the association between PAH exposure and hearing threshold shifts using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,071 US adults participating in the NHANES from 2001 to 2004. The association between PAH metabolites and the log-transformed hearing threshold was investigated using multivariate regression models, which included log-transformed, low-frequency and high-frequency thresholds. After additional pertinent adjustments, a positive correlation between PAH metabolite concentration and log-transformed hearing thresholds was observed. Individuals in the fourth quartile of PAH metabolite concentration had higher hearing thresholds compared with those in the first quartile of PAH metabolite concentration. Exposure to PAHs is related to hearing threshold shift at both low and high frequencies in the US adult population.

This paper reports the first data from an integrated study investigating genotoxicity in the Brantas River, Java, Indonesia. Results showed that organic sediment extracts from the sites in the Brantas Delta retained genotoxic compounds identified using the SOS Chromotest and that the Aloo River and, to a lesser extent, the Surabaya River were the most contaminated studied sites. This genotoxicity was attributable to compounds that did not require any bioactivation under the test conditions. Occurrence of genotoxic effects was further investigated in erythrocytes from Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. High numbers of micronuclei were counted, especially in fish sampled in the rivers of the Brantas Delta. Moreover, cytoplasmic alterations which could be indicative of the presence of lipofuscin were found in the cytoplasm of the fish blood cells, especially in fish from the Aloo, Surabaya and Kalimas rivers. Altogether, our data showed that genotoxicity is occurring in fish living in rivers of the delta of the Brantas River and suggest that sediments from these sites may constitute a major source of pollution and hazard for species living or feeding in the area.

We investigated the hypothesis that root morphology plays a crucial role in the variation in chromium (Cr) accumulation among peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars, using the relationship between Cr accumulation and morphological characteristics of six peanut cultivars determined under 0, 10, 25, 75, and 100 μmol L⁻¹ Cr(VI) via hydroponic experiment. Significant variations were observed in Cr accumulation and root morphological parameters among peanut cultivars at the five Cr levels. The Cr concentrations in plants exhibited 1.72-, 4.67-, 1.81-, and 2.91-fold variations within cultivars for 10, 25, 75, and 100 μmol L⁻¹ Cr treatments, respectively. Positive correlations were found for total Cr in plants with total root length (RL), root surface area (SA), and root volume (RV). Negative correlations were also observed between the percentages of Cr in shoots and specific root length. These results suggest that root system morphology may partly explain the variation in Cr accumulation among cultivars. Cultivars with greater RL, SA, and RV showed higher capability for Cr accumulation.

Previous researches have confirmed that modified nanoscale carbon black (MCB) can decrease the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and accumulation in plant tissues, resulting in the increase of biomass of plant. However, as a nanoparticle, the effects of MCB on plant cell morphology and microbial communities in Cd-contaminated soil are poorly understood. This study, through greenhouse experiments, investigated the effects of MCB as an amendment for 5 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd-contaminated soil on plant growth, plant cellular morphogenesis, and microbial communities. Two types of plants, metal-tolerant plant ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), and hyperaccumulator plant chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla) were selected. The results indicated that adding MCB to Cd-contaminated soil, the dry biomass of shoot ryegrass and chard increased by 1.07 and 1.05 times, respectively, comparing with control group (the treatment without MCB). Meanwhile, the physiological characteristics of plant root denoted that adding MCB reduced the damage caused by Cd to plants. The acid phosphatase activity of soils treated with MBC was higher and the dehydrogenase activity was lower than control group during whole 50 days of incubation, while the urease and catalase activity of soils treated with MBC were higher than control group after 25 days of incubation. When compared with the treatment without MCB, the abundances of nitrogen-functional bacteria (Rhodospirillum and Nitrospira) and phosphorus-functional bacteria (Bradyrhizobium and Flavobacterium) increased but that of nitrogen-functional bacteria, Nitrososphaera, declined. The presence of MCB resulted in increased microbial community abundance by reducing the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil, while increasing the abundance of plants by increasing the amount of available nitrogen in soil. The result of this study suggests that MCB could be applied to the in-situ immobilization of heavy metal in contaminated soils because of its beneficial effects on plants growth, root cellular morphogenesis, and microbial community.

Pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) has been investigated extensively in the existing literature due to global environmental issues such as global warming and climate change. However, there is still no consensus on whether this hypothesis is valid. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the validity of the PHH in ASEAN-5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) covering the period of 1981–2014. It is utilized the up-to-date panel data techniques taking cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity into account to test the relationship. According to the results of CCEMG and AMG estimators, the validity of the PHH is confirmed in ASEAN-5 countries. The increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) increases environmental degradation in these countries. Our additional findings show that the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis (EKC) is also valid in these countries. There is an inverted U shape between economic growth and CO2 emissions. In addition, energy consumption exacerbates CO2 emissions.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) have emerged as an effective and attractive approach for stormwater management, prevention of water pollution and flood control due to its sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective approaches. One of the SuDS devices widely used to infiltrate, store and treat surface runoff which allows it to recharge groundwater is the pervious paving systems (PPS). Previous studies have demonstrated relatively high pollution removal efficiencies typically ranging from 98.7% for total hydrocarbons to 89% of COD. Although a small number of the studies have assessed the performance characteristics of the PPS system in long-established installations in terms of retention of pollutants, hydrological features, biodegradation of pollutants etc., none has assessed the risk of potential groundwater and soil pollution by pollutants such as metals retained in the PPS materials either as a disposed waste material (in the case of used geotextiles) or during re-use as secondary aggregates. Thus, this study evaluated potential risks associated with the decommissioning and beneficial use of wastes produced during the disassembly of a PPS. The authors believe that this was the first PPS to be addressed in this way. The method involved the determination of leachable concentrations of 14 metals in the PPS samples made up of extracts from the model profile which included the geotextile fibre (G), dust alone (D), aggregates and dust (AD), aggregates alone (AA) and pavement blocks (P) which were analysed and compared with two different groups of regulatory threshold limits. The results showed that the measured concentrations of all the metals were below the appropriate threshold values for irrigation purposes as specified by FAO and USEPA. Furthermore, results all indicated that the dismantled materials were all below EU LFD WAC limits for inert waste, indicating relative ease of disposal and suitability for use as recycled aggregate. This, admittedly limited data, indicates that recycling of aggregates from demolition wastes arising from end of life PPS would not be limited by the potential leaching of heavy metals, including re-use within another PPS. This would minimise dependence on virgin aggregates and hence reduce rate of exploitation of natural resources and improve sustainability score card of SuDS.