Three separate mangrove ecosystems in Kerala's Kannur district were examined for trace metal build-up in sediment and two polychaete species, Marphysa gravelyi and Dendronereis aestuarina. By classifying the areas according to the intensity of anthropogenic activity, metal deposition in polychaete tissue was investigated. ICP-MS was used to assess the heavy metal load and the accumulation of metals in sediment in the range of, Zn 24.37-59 mg/kg, Ni 23.67- 59.25 mg/kg, Cu 11.27- 38.6 mg/kg, Pb 4.5- 16.4 mg/kg, Cd 0.1-1.8 mg/kg, Fe 1.25- 3.67 %, and Al 0.65-2.43 %. The soil sample's Zn concentration was at its highest and heavy metals accumulated in the pattern Zn˃Ni˃Cu˃Pb˃Cd. By just switching the concentrations of Ni and Cu, polychaetes' trace metal concentrations follow the same pattern as those found in soil, however, M. gravelyi was discovered to have larger amounts of accumulation when compared to D. aestuarina, mostly for metals like Zn and Pb. Based on data compiled from all stations, the average concentration of accumulation for Zn was 62.34 mg/kg & 43.45 mg/kg, and for Pb, it was 6.59 mg/kg & 1.86 mg/kg in M. gravelyi and D. aestuarina, respectively. Most metal buildup is found in mangrove soil, which has higher levels of organic carbon and clay particles. The findings imply that D. aestuarina is an organism that is sensitive to pollution and that M. gravelyi is a species that is extremely tolerant of pollution, suggesting that the species can be used to anticipate the state of its surrounding environment.

The subject of this research is the vertical migration of strontium-90 in peatlands of the European Subarctic region of Russia. The activity level of strontium-90 has been determined in peat samples, and the physicochemical parameters of peat deposits have been studied. The specific activity of the radionuclide has been determined using beta radiometric methods with radiochemical preparation according to the methodology. The physicochemical parameters of the peat have been determined using weight-based methods according to the specified procedures. The influence of physicochemical parameters on the vertical migration of the radionuclide in peatlands has been evaluated using correlation analysis. The results have shown that the specific activity of strontium-90 in peat deposits ranges from 0.25 to 7.7 Bq/kg. The results are consistent with typical values for all soils in Russia. The average value of the specific activity of strontium-90 in peat deposits is estimated to be 1.5±0.02 Bq/kg, which is below the established minimum values and average parameters for all soils in Russia. The pathways of vertical migration of strontium-90 in peat deposits demonstrate a downward direction with various trajectories. These pathways serve as a trace of past global atmospheric radioactive fallout. The vertical migration of strontium-90 in peat is associated with the organic matter content, ash content in peatlands, and recent local atmospheric fallout from nuclear fuel facilities. The research results provide valuable information for predicting the migration of strontium-90 into aquifers under changing environmental conditions due to the Arctic's rapid climate warming.

The applicability of Polyetheretherketone/polyvinylalcohol nanocomposite modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesis for the removal of benzyl butyl phthalate from wastewater. Identical techniques, including BET, FT-IR, XRD, and SEM, have to characterize this unknown material. The investigation shows the applicability of adsorbent PEEK/PVA/ZnONPs, as an available, suitable, and low-cost adsorbent for adequately removing the benzyl butyl phthalate from wastewater. The impacts of variables, including benzyl butyl phthalate concentration, adsorbent, pH, and time (15 mgL-1, 0.3 g, 5.0, and 60 min). Based on the received data, the adsorption of benzyl butyl phthalate on the PEEK/PVA/ZnONPs adsorbent agrees well with the Langmuir adsorption model isotherm (qm = 34.24 mgg-1). The results of the thermodynamic parameter showed a negative enthalpy (-77.0 KJ/mol), a negative Gibbs free energy (-11.7 KJ/mol), and negative entropy (-274.0 J/K.mol). This led to the conclusion that the adsorption process is energetically possible, and exothermic was also spontaneous. This work indicates that the PEEK/PVA/ZnONPs, used as an ecologically adapted, adsorbent holds promise for eliminating benzyl butyl phthalate from wastewater.

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a common urban problem associated with a wide variety of factors, including air pollution. This study investigated the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and air pollution as two spatial phenomena affecting urban areas. LST was estimated from OLI sensor images taken on 01/07/2020 using the single-channel algorithm. Air pollution was assumed to be indicated by the concentrations of NOX, NO2, NO, PM2.5 and SO2, which were obtained by Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation from the data recorded on the same date as satellite images. Correlations were measured in terms of R and R2 and errors were estimated in terms of RMSE, MAE and MBE. The highest R and R2 were obtained for SO2 (20.89 and 45.99, respectively). The results showed that despite the high correlation between SO2 and LST, PM2.5 has a much better error distribution. Therefore, further research should be conducted on the relationship between these indices.

The paper reports the results of research on the Bratsk water body (Russia), the hugest man-made reservoir in the world, using aquatic plants as bioindicators. This aquatic environment requires constant monitoring due to metal emissions by metallurgical, machine-building, and other industries. To that end, the accumulation capacities of Myriophyllum spicatum L., Elodea canadensis Michx., Potamogeton pectinatus L. and Cladophora glomerata L. were compared. The Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and, Pb contents in the plants were quantified with X-ray fluorescence. The calculated bioaccumulation indexes provided similar indicator characteristics of these species. The clustering analysis specified the spatial metal pollution in the reservoir. The aquatic plants sampled near industrial enterprises demonstrated the high concentrations: Ti (573-887), Cr (14-22), Mn (609-1080), Fe (9231-12724), Ni (8-11), Cu (51-103), Zn (35-45) and Pb (10-40) µg/g. The average concentrations in the samples collected away from emission sources were significantly lower: Ti (443-598), Cr (7-10), Mn (439-591), Fe (4575-6573), Ni (6-7), Cu (36-58), Zn (27-33) and Pb (6-9). While, they were several-fold higher than threshold values reported for the Lake Baikal plants: Ti – 6; Cr – 2-2.6; Ni – 1.9; Fe – 3-6.7; Mn – 1.5-2.6; Cu – 4; Zn – 1.2-2, and Pb – 7.3. In addition to industrial impacts, the sedimentation processes, coastal erosion, wood rotting and ore occurrences caused increasing in metal contents. Assessment of pollution through the pollution load index and the integration Nemerov index provided the classification of the environment of the Bratsk water reservoir as polluted one.

Noise and toluene are among the numerous physical and chemical pollutants that can induce adverse effects on different body tissues and systems; nevertheless, most studies have only experimented the auditory changes induced by co-exposure to them. The present in-vivo study aimed to examine the endocrine effects of co-exposure to toluene and noise on the testes and adrenal glands. In this experimental study, 24 healthy male New Zealand White rabbits were used. The noise intensity was 100 dB (white noise) and the toluene concentration was 1000 ppm for two consecutive weeks. The luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The hematoxylin and eosin stain method (H&E) was performed for the histopathological analysis. Comparing different parameters in different groups on post-exposure days was carried out using GEE (generalized estimating equations) method. The results indicated that noise and toluene increased cortisol, LH and FSH levels during different days after the exposure. Exposure to toluene and noise made vacuolization and reduction of primary spermatogonial cells in the testes. Moreover, lymphocyte infiltration, congestion, swelling and vacuolization were detected in adrenal glands through exposure to toluene and noise. Toluene and noise induced different destructive effects on the endocrine system. More studies are required to elucidate other endocrine changes induced by exposure to toluene and noise.

The main objective of the current study is to determine the distributions of the specific radioactivity concentrations (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) from terrestrial sources using gamma spectroscopy system (HPGe-detector). Forty (40) agricultural soil samples were collected from Wadi Al-Hussini and Tuban in Yemen. The study locations are famous for exporting coffee all over the world. The average of radio-concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were 61.95±11.57, 32.33±8.03 and 1045.17±153.47 Bq/kg for Wadi Al-Hussini and 65.20±11.59, 50.95±9.80 and 1078.13±157.57 Bq/kg for Tuban, respectively. The obtained results are higher than the average worldwide values reported by UNSCEAR. So, it is not acceptable with global safe criteria. Also, the radiation hazard parameters such as radium equivalent activity, absorbed gamma dose rate, outdoor and indoor annual effective dose equivalent, external and internal radiation hazard index, gamma index level, annual gonadal dose equivalent and excess lifetime cancer risk. All of these parameters are acceptable and within the worldwide values. The obtained results could be considered as reference data to follow up any changes in the future for natural radionuclides pollutants and their risks in the study area.

Nowadays, the pollution of sulfur compounds is gradually increasing due to the growing wastewaters and industrial developments. In this study, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) removal from aqueous solution has been investigated using the combination of the ultrasonic and UV waves (ultra/UV). The effective parameters include pH, irradiation time, initial concentration of MBT, and volume of hydrogen peroxide at constant temperature of 25 °C. To exact evaluation of the design of experiments (DOE) and analyze of variance (ANOVA), response surface methodology (RSM) was employed. The results revealed that waves’ energy and subsequently cavitation phenomenon and hydroxyl radicals played significant roles in cracking the studied organosulfur’ bonds. In addition, hydrogen peroxide oxidant promoted the sulfur removal in the process. Maximum sulfur removal was numerically optimized as 99.74 that had an absolute error of 1.47% in comparison with the experimental one (98.29). Finally, COD and DO analyses were studied at optimum conditions. The tests confirmed the experimental results, appropriately. Therefore, the combination of the ultrasonic and UV irradiation can be significantly effective on removing organosulfur’s pollutants in industrial wastewaters and related ones.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a significant concern that affects comfort and health. It is well understood that hospitals are thermal environments in which comfort must be calibrated. This comparative study examined existing international standards of IAQ in Iranian health care facilities. A systematic review of studies on IAQ standards was conducted to test the hypothesis regarding which parameters, and at what level, can have an impact on hospital IAQ: EPA, ASHRAE, LEED, BREEAM, NIOSH, OSHA, WHO, ACGIH, Canadian, and OEL. The inclusion criteria were met by 34 of the 1886 studies that were screened from 2010-2021. The findings of the selected studies were classified into four categories for analysis: monitoring of IAQ according to standards (n=34), IAQ in healthcare facilities (n=1), impact of air pollution on human health (n=9), and interventions to improve IAQ (n=1). Based on these IAQ standards, the acceptable limit for CO2 6300 *10³ µg/m³, for CO 9000 µg/m³, for Formaldehyde 19 µg/m³, for NO2 37 µg/m³, for O3 98 µg/m³, for PM2.5 0.1 µg/m³, for PM10 10 µg/m, and for SO2 31 µg/m³ was suggested. The majority of studies conducted monitoring of pollutants in indoor environments used for homes and schools, with the majority of them relying on WHO IAQ standards. CO, PM, and NO2 concentrations have been the most studied and have the longest track record of research. The acceptable limit for IAQ parameters was proposed.

The objective of this study was to identify the correlation between NOx concentration and envi-ronmental variables at photocatalytic concrete pavements containing TiO2 by direct monitoring in field. In order to confirm the NOx concentration according to various environmental variables of the photocatalytic concrete pavements, humidity, temperature, light intensity, and NOx concen-tration were measured continuously for 3 days at photocatalytic pavement, concrete pavement, and atmospheric conditions, respectively. We identified the NOx concentration at all measurement sites and calculated the NOx removal efficiency of the photocatalytic pavements. As a result, the NOx concentration of the photocatalytic pavement was 0.086 ppm on the 1st day, 0.125 ppm on the 2nd day, and 0.106 ppm on the 3rd day, which was mostly lower than that of the concrete pavement and the atmospheric conditions. When the NOx removal efficiency of the photocatalytic pavement on days 1–3 was examined by time, the NOx removal efficiency was evidently higher in the order of 0–6 h > 18–24 h or 6–12 h > 12–18 h for all three measurement days. In addition, the relationship between NOx removal efficiency and environmental variables was analyzed. As a result of corre-lation analysis between NOx removal efficiency and environmental variables of the site, relative humidity showed a positive (+) correlation, while temperature and light intensity showed a negative (-) correlation. Based on our results, we summarize some considerations for evaluating the NOx removal performance of photocatalytic pavements applied in the field.