This study explores the possibility of developing an eco-friendly adsorbent for effective remediation of groundwater fluoride, a well-known health hazard affecting more than 25 nations on the various continents. A facile and milder approach has been adopted to synthesize chitosan-modified ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposites. The synthesized materials have been characterized by different spectroscopic, microscopic, and diffractometric techniques. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies have confirmed the formation of pure and highly crystalline ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposites. The presence of surface-adsorbed chitosan in the modified ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ has been confirmed by FT-IR and thermogravimetric analysis. The results from microscopic and BET surface area analysis of ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposites indicated that chitosan plays a crucial role in modulating the surface morphology and surface properties of the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites exhibit excellent adsorption performance in the remediation of groundwater fluoride. Experimental conditions have been systematically designed to evaluate the optimum adsorption condition for fluoride, and the results have been analyzed with various non-linear models to describe the kinetics and isotherms of adsorption. The adsorption primarily follows Lagergren pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the Langmuir adsorption capacity is varied from 10.54 to 13.03 mg g⁻¹ over the temperature range 293–323 K. The thermodynamics study reveals that the adsorption process is endothermic and spontaneous. The mechanism of adsorption has been proposed based on the spectroscopic analysis of the fluoride-loaded adsorbent. The adsorption is non-specific in nature as co-existing anion can reduce its fluoride removal capacity. The effect of the co-existing anions on adsorption of fluoride follows the trend PO₄³⁻ > CO₃²⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > Cl⁻. The adsorbent can be reused successfully for the 5th consecutive cycles of adsorption-desorption study. This study offers a very promising material for remediation of groundwater fluoride of affected areas.

Cadmium (Cd) has become one of the most important environmental pollutants in the world, derived from natural and industrial sources, which is known to be accumulated in the human body, producing serious health effects. On the other hand, Selenium (Se) is an essential element for mammals, which is well known for its antagonistic interaction against Cd toxicity, such as the prevention of oxidative stress induced by this element. For this reason, the use of complementary analytical methods to study the homeostasis of metals, “traffic” between different organs and massive information about metabolites altered by the exposure, is of great interest. To this end, a metabolomic workflow based on the use of direct infusion mass spectrometry (DIMS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was applied in mice serum. On the other hand, metal homeostasis and traffic between different organs and serum of mice exposed to Cd and Se have been evaluated by determining the concentration of metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This work demonstrates for the first time that Cd exposure causes a decrease of all the elements studied in the lung except itself. On the other hand, Se provokes As trafficking from metabolically less active organs (brain, lung, and testes) to others with greater metabolic activity (kidney), which also facilitates its excretion. Moreover, when mice are only exposed to Se, it provokes the accumulation of almost all the elements in the kidney, except Cd that increases also in the liver and brain. However, when both elements are simultaneously administered, Se increases Cd concentration in all the organs except in the serum and especially in the testis. On the other hand, important metabolic alterations have been detected in the energy and amino acid metabolism, as well as degradation of phospholipidic membranes, and in free fatty acids. In summary, the results show the high potential of the combined use of organic and inorganic mass spectrometry to establish Cd and Se interaction and the biological impairments caused and to provide information about metal traffic and metabolomic changes in exposure experiments.

The aim of this research was to develop a simple and inexpensive process for reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized with an easy co-precipitation procedure, and the addition of Cu²⁺ doping agent effectively enhanced the Cr(VI) reduction in the presence of ultrasound (US). XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX, VSM, and XPS were used to determine the structural specifications of the zinc oxide nanoparticles. Under optimal conditions such as pH 3, initial Cr(VI) content of 20 mg/L, and catalyst dosage of 0.8 g/L, the ultrasonic/Cu–ZnO process showed a higher sonocatalytic activity (96.83%) than ultrasonic/ZnO (67.36%) after 60 min. By increasing pH and Cr(VI) concentration, the removal efficacy of Cr(VI) declined. The experimental data was well described with the first-order kinetic model. When initial Cr(VI) concentration increased from 10 to 50 mg/L, the first-order rate constant declined from 0.2326 to 0.0019 min⁻¹ and electrical energy per order (EEO) enhanced from 19.81 to 2425.26 kWh/m³. Also, the ultrasonic/Cu–ZnO system exhibited considerable sonocatalytic performance in Cr(VI) reduction in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and citric acid, and complete removal was achieved within 60 min. The presence of anions negatively affected Cr(VI) reduction. Complete reduction was attained when ultrasound was applied at a power of 100 W. The catalyst activity was well maintained up to six consecutive cycles. In addition, the removal efficiency was approximately 62 and 65% for field water and real electroplating wastewater samples, respectively.

One of the major reasons why cadmium is toxic in plants is because it disturbs their nutrient balance. The aim of this work is to investigate the effects of cadmium (Cd) and/or silicon (Si) on the nutrient status of poplar callus cells after 3 and after 9 weeks of Cd exposure and to study its possible relationship with the changes in the fresh and dry mass, the plasma membrane integrity, and cadmium tolerance patterns. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to reveal the associations among the elements, and the variability between both treatments, and between the 3- and 9-week stages. Cadmium reduced the fresh and dry mass, the plasma membrane integrity, and the concentration of all nutrients except for P. After 9 weeks of exposure, the Cd concentration in callus cells had almost doubled, in spite of an improvement in all studied parameters. These changes may be due to the callus acclimatizing to the Cd stress. In the Cd + Si treatment, the fresh and dry mass, the plasma membrane integrity, and the concentration of nutrients, as well as the growth tolerance index, increased in comparison with the Cd treatment. We assumed that the enhancement in the plasma membrane integrity mediated by Si under Cd stress had caused the improvement in the uptake of nutrients and, consequently, the fresh and dry mass of callus cells had increased. The reduction in Cd concentration due to the Si impact also contributed to the increase in fresh and dry mass.

This study investigates the impact of information and communication technologies, carbon dioxide emissions, and energy consumption on inclusive development of 81 developing countries for the period 2010–2014. Two-step system generalized method of moments has been employed to estimate these dynamic relationships among the variables in conditional and unconditional models. Our findings support the theory that ICTs can be used as policy instrument to dampen the negative effect of environmental degradation on inclusive development. The results suggest that ICTs in association with CO₂ emissions per capita positively affect inclusive development in an unconditional regression. When ICT complements CO₂ intensity, it positively affects inclusive development in mobile- and internet-oriented regressions. However, we also found net negative effects of association between ICTs and CO₂ emissions from liquid and fuel and CO₂ emissions from heat and electricity which reflects a decrease in inclusive human development. We suggest that policy makers should consider the nature and dimensions of CO₂ emissions while using ICTs as policy instrument to mitigate emissions and should invite and plan such investments in ICTs which help in attaining environmental sustainability and inclusive development.

Lake Nasser is one of the largest man-made lakes on earth. It has a vital importance to Egypt for several decades because of the safe water supply of the country. Therefore, the water quality of the Lake Nasser must be profoundly investigated, and physico-chemical parameter changes of the water of the Lake Nasser should be continuously monitored and assessed. This work describes the present state of the physico-chemical (nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, orthophosphate, total phosphate content, dissolved oxygen content, chemical oxygen demand, and biological oxygen demand) water parameters of Lake Nasser in Egypt at nine measurement sites along the Lake Nasser. The algorithm was devised at the University of Pannonia, Hungary, for the evaluation of the water quality. The aquatic environmental indices determined alongside the Lake Nasser fall into the category of “good” water quality at seven sampling sites and exhibited “excellent” water quality at two sampling sites according to Egyptian Governmental Decree No. 92/2013. In light of the tremendous demand for safe and healthy water supply in Egypt and international requirements, the water quality assessment is a very important tool for providing reliable information on the water quality. The protocol for water quality assessment could significantly contribute to the provision of high-quality water supply in Egypt. In conclusion, it can be stated that the parameters under investigation in different regions of Lake Nasser fall within the permissible ranges and the water of the Lake has good quality for drinking, irrigation, and fish cultures according to Egyptian standards; however, according to European specifications, there are steps to be accomplished for future water quality improvement.

Heavy metals in food are non-intentional pollutants such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Pb, a neurotoxic substance, is classified as a possible carcinogen for humans (group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO). Cd, a substance that causes kidney damage, is classified as a substance that causes human cancer (group 1). In this study, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and a mercury analyzer (MA) were used to identify the concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg) in fishery products and to assess the effects of chronic human exposure to heavy metals via fisheries consumption. Food consumption data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010–2015), and the mean exposure concentrations for Pb, Cd, and Hg were 0.0067 μg/kg bw/day, 1.1277 μg/kg bw/month, and 0.0872 μg/kg bw/week, respectively. Exposures to Pb, Cd, and Hg using the 95th percentile of the consumption data were 0.0183 μg/kg bw/day, 4.0230 μg/kg bw/month, and 0.2268 μg/kg bw/week, respectively, corresponding to 3, 16, and 6% of the human exposure safety standard. Safe guidelines for the intake of fishery products are proposed to reduce the exposure to and accumulation of heavy metals in humans.

Investigation of water pollution–economic growth nexus is an important component for the sustainable development of eco-environment and socio-economy. This study combined the improved Grey relational degree (GRD) model with the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the relationships between water pollution and economic growth in Nansi Lake catchment (Jining, Zaozhuang, and Heze) under the context of the Five-Year Plan in Shandong. Results showed that the relational degree of industrial wastewater and economic growth was Heze (0.652) > Zaozhuang (0.581) > Jining (0.538), and of domestic wastewater and economic growth was Jining (0.722) > Heze (0.721) > Zaozhuang (0.650). Meanwhile, the EKC of industrial wastewater rose and then declined, whereas that of domestic wastewater increased upwards. Overall, coordinated development had been gradually obtained between industrial wastewater emissions and economic growth. And, uncoordinated development between domestic wastewater emissions and economic growth still existed, indeed, in recent years it had intensified. Further, domestic wastewater emissions continue to rise, to the point where they now constitute one of the main sources of water pollution in Nansi Lake catchment. Results of this study indicated that combining the improved GRD model with the EKC provides a new approach to comprehensive investigation of the water pollution–economic growth nexus from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

Diabetes is one of the typical chronic diseases, and its incidence is related to many environmental factors. At present, there is no radical cure for diabetes, so the prevention of diabetes is particularly important. In order to effectively prevent the occurrence of diabetes, it is necessary to understand the conditions leading to the occurrence of diabetes. Current studies have shown that long-term exposure to noise will increase the risk of diabetes. Literature was retrieved from Pubmed and Web of Science. The relationship between noise exposure and diabetes published in the past 10 years was retrieved from the literature. Two researchers screened the literatures and extracted the data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Endnote software was used to manage the literature, and NOS (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale) scale was used to evaluate the quality of the included literatures. Random effects meta-analysis was used to comprehensively evaluate the noise exposure of diabetic patients, and stata13.1 was used for data analysis. After adherence to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, eight studies on the association between noise and diabetes were selected, including five cohort studies and three cross-sectional studies, with a total of 514,570 participants and 23,708 diabetics. The results showed that exposure to noise increased the risk of developing diabetes (OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.03 ~ 1.12). From the analysis of these selected articles, it can be seen that there is a positive correlation between noise and the occurrence of diabetes. As a result, it is necessary to strengthen routine blood tests for people who have been exposed to noise for a long time, especially those who have to be exposed to noise due to their occupations.

The CO₂ injection capacity directly affects the CO₂ storage efficiency. Injection temperature and formation sloping degree affect the CO₂ injection capacity. Based on the actual geological conditions of the Shiqianfeng Formation in the Ordos Basin of China, a three-dimensional (3D) simulation model was established to evaluate pressure, temperature, CO₂ spatial distribution, and injection amount. A total of 17 simulation schemes were carried out using the TOUGH2–ECO2N fluid property module. The results showed that the injection temperature had a significant impact on the CO₂ injection capacity in the different sloping degree formations. Increasing the injection temperature resulted in increased formation pressure, CO₂ gas phase, dissolved phase, and total injection amount, while decreasing the CO₂ concentration, and the formation pressure changed obviously with the formation sloping degree. The larger the formation sloping degree was, the less the CO₂ injection amount. Higher injection temperature and smaller sloping degree formation were more favorable for CO₂ injection, and the CO₂ injection capacity was stronger, signaling that it should be selected to store CO₂ in the future.