The coastline of the department of Antioquia, in Colombia, exhibits a wide variety of aquatic and land ecosystems rich in both diversity and abundance. However, it is exposed to a variety of human activities, including industry, tourism, and mining. Banana cultivation is the main activity carried out in this region, which offers large economic benefits. In addition, there are diverse fishery resources that are main basis of the economy and nutrition for the population. Over the years, the Gulf of Urabá has been affected by serious pollution problems due to elevated contents toxic compounds that deteriorate the aquatic ecosystem, even our laboratory has conducted previous studies in heavy metals in fish from this same area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contents of chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in seawater and fish muscle in three fish species from the Gulf of Urabá that are commercialized and consumed by the population of the municipality of Turbo, using microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP OES). The occurrence of toxic metals in seawater in this area has not been reported, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study. Cr and Pb concentrations in seawater from several sampling points were detected ranged from 0.025 to 0.369 mg/L and 0.012–0.165 mg/L, respectively, while Hg levels were below detection limit. Regarding fish samples, Pb and Hg levels range 0.64–1.91 mg/kg and 0.11–1.09 mg/kg, respectively. Sea catfish species exhibited the highest content of metals, followed by stone head catfish and anchovy, it which showed the lowest contamination by metals. In this study, levels that exceed the limits in Colombian regulations regarding metal contents in discharge points to surface water and fishery products for human consumption were found.

In addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic and evaluating the measures taken by global leaders so far, it is crucial to trace back the circumstances influencing the emergence of the crisis that the world is presently facing. Could it be that the failure to act in a timely manner dates way back to when first concerns about climate change and its inevitable threat to human health came up? Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the large-scale and rapid environmental changes in the last few decades may be implicated in the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the potential risk of the occurrence and the spread of zoonotic diseases, worsening food security, and weakening the human immune system. As we are facing progressive climatic change, a failure to act accordingly could inevitably lead to further, more frequent confrontations with newly emerging diseases.

Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used in several ways in agriculture, including increasing production rates and improving nutritional values in plants. The present study aims to clarify how biogenic copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) applied by two routes of exposure (foliar spray and soil irrigation) affect the elemental uptake by lettuce. In vivo experiments using lettuce (n = 4) were performed with CuO NPs in comparison with copper salt (CuSO₄), considering a final mass added of 20 mg of CuO per plant. The elemental composition of roots was mostly affected by the soil irrigation exposure for both Cu forms (NPs and salt). Neither Cu form added by soil irrigation was translocated to leaves. Copper concentration in leaves was mainly affected by foliar spray exposure for both Cu forms (NPs and salt). All Cu forms through foliar spray were sequestered in the leaves and no translocation to roots was observed. Foliar spray of CuO NPs caused no visual damage in leaves, resulted in less disturbance of elemental composition, and improved dry weight, number of leaves, CO₂ assimilation, and the levels of K, Na, S, Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn in leaves without causing significant changes in daily intake of most elements, except for Cu. Although Cu concentration increased in leaves by foliar spray of CuO NPs, it remained safe for consumption.

Pesticide use generates wastewaters from its handling and from washing of spraying equipment, bringing concern about punctual discharge. Biobeds are biopurification systems for pesticide residues disposal, representing safe alternatives to avoid soil contamination. Peat that composes the original biomixture is not available all around Brazil. The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of two alternative, accessible biomixtures, replacing peat, for treating phosmet (organophosphate insecticide) residues in biobeds and reducing its ecotoxicological effects. We hypothesized that the new biomixtures with pine litter (PB) or vermicompost (VB) could show the same degradation and detoxification efficiency as the standard biobed’s biomixture (SB) using peat. Small size bioreactors received 35 mg kg⁻¹ of phosmet (Imidan®) in a laboratory-scale experiment. The pesticide degradation was monitored by chemical analysis. The decrease of ecotoxicity was determined by reproduction tests with collembolans (Folsomia candida) and enchytraeids (Enchytraeus crypticus), following ISO guidelines. Degradation curves showed that all biomixtures reached almost complete degradation of phosmet after 90 days. Collembolans were more sensitive than enchytraeid, confirming their usefulness in biomonitoring insecticide degradation. This work showed that both pine litter and vermicompost are potentially substitutes for peat in alternative biomixtures, since they were efficient in degrading the pesticide and reducing its ecotoxicity. Our results contribute for the development of newly, accessible biobeds for south Brazil, bringing the first study reports involving such biobeds capacity to degrade phosmet, which is a commonly used pesticide in this region.

Arsenic poisoning through groundwater is the world’s greatest normal groundwater catastrophe which got an immense effect on worldwide general wellbeing. India is confronting the outcomes of arsenic poisoning in the zone of Ganga Brahmaputra alluvial plains. In Bihar, out of 38 districts, 18 districts are exceptionally influenced with groundwater arsenic defilement. In the present study, we have assessed the current situation of arsenic exposure in Sabalpur village of Saran district of Bihar after reporting of breast, renal, skin and thyroid cancer cases from this village along with typical symptoms of arsenicosis. Such cancer patients were identified at our institute and were taken for the study. The present investigation deals with the quantification of arsenic in groundwater, hair and nail samples of subjects as well as the survey of entire village to know the overall health status of the village people. A total of n=128 household handpump water samples as well as n=128 human hair and nail samples were collected from over n=520 households. Using the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer (GF-AAS), all the samples were analysed. The investigation resulted that the 61% of the analysed samples particularly the groundwater had the arsenic levels more than the permissible limit of WHO (> 10 μg/L) with 244.20 μg/L as the highest arsenic contamination in one of the handpump water sample. The exposure effect of hair sample was worst as 88% of all the collected samples were having high arsenic levels more than the permissible limit (> 0.2 mg/Kg). In case of nail samples, 92% of the samples were having high arsenic concentration more than the permissible limit (> 0.5 mg/Kg). The health survey study revealed high magnitude of disease burden in the exposed population with symptoms such as asthma, anaemia, hepatomegaly, diabetes, cardiac problem, skin fungal infections, breathlessness and mental disability. Few cancer cases of renal, skin, breast and cervix were also found among the exposed population of this village. The percentage of cancer cases in this village was 0.94% that was low, but it would be an aggravated situation in the near future if people will continue drinking arsenic-contaminated water. Therefore, a mitigation intervention was carried out in March 2020 by installing an arsenic filter plant. The health situation in the village in the present scenario is hope to improve in the coming years. However, motivation and awareness among the village population are still required.

The current global health crisis is unprecedented in modern times. It has killed numerous people, caused great suffering, and turned many people’s lives upside down. This study seeks to investigate the role of some pollutants and the meteorological parameters in the transmission of the virus (SARS-CoV-2). The number of infections identified in Saudi Arabia, a country with a hot climate, was studied for a period between March 9, 2020 and November 19, 2020, which was characterized by a single wave with a peak of 4,919 cases on June 17, 2020. Based on count data models, we observed that air pollution and meteorological parameters considerably influenced the daily evolution of infections in most affected cities of Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, and Makkah) where the prevalence of the disease was relatively high during summer 2020. Our study suggests that air pollution could be a significant risk factor for respiratory infections and virus transmission. On the other hand, meteorological factors and high concentration of air pollutants should be taken into account by public decision-makers in Saudi Arabia when seeking to limit COVID-19 transmission.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (N = 6141) for the years 2003–2016 for US adults were analyzed to evaluate the impact of glomerular hyperfiltration on the observed concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) for several disease groups. Hyperfiltrators were defined as having an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 110 mL/min/1.73 m², and normal filtrators were defined as those having an eGFR between 90 and 110 mL/min/1.73 m². The seven disease groups for which the data were analyzed were as follows: those (i) without any diseases; (ii) with hypertension only; (iii) with albuminuria only; (iv) with anemia only; (v) with diabetes only; (vi) with hypertension and one or more of diabetes, anemia, and albuminuria; and (vii) with two or more of diabetes, anemia, and albuminuria without hypertension. For almost every PFAA, for all seven disease groups except the albuminuria only group, hyperfiltrators had lower adjusted geometric means (AGM) than normal filtrators. For example, for the disease group with hypertension only, for PFOS, the AGMs for hyperfiltrators and normal filtrators were 8.3 and 10.6 ng/mL, respectively, for the total population. For the group with albuminuria only, normal filtrators were found to have higher AGMs than hyperfiltrators for the total population and males. For example, for PFHxS, the AGMs for normal and hyperfiltrators were 0.98 and 1.05 ng/mL, respectively, for the total population. For females, these AGMs for normal and hyperfiltrators were 0.96 and 0.86 ng/mL respectively. Males usually had higher AGMs than females, but the reverse was also true occasionally. Usually, male–female differences were substantially narrower for normal filtrators than hyperfiltrators. Irrespective of the filtration status, the disease group with hypertension only had the highest AGMs for every PFAA. AGMs for the anemia only group were the lowest for every PFAA as compared with other disease groups among hyperfiltrators.

In order to calculate the spatial distribution of high-resolution air-pollutant levels, the land use regression (LUR) model can be an effective method due to the comprehensive consideration of various factors. Traditional LUR models mostly use predefined buffers, which have the disadvantage of not matching high-resolution data well. In order to get a better-fitting model, a few researches have proposed new buffer selection methods. To solve this problem, we propose a new optimal buffer selection method based on the dichotomy to improve the correlation between predicted variables and pollutant concentration. For some socioeconomic data with high spatial resolution that cannot be obtained, for example, building data is used instead of population density data. Compared with the model with the predefined buffers, the model with our buffer selection strategy explained additional 5% variability in measured concentrations, in terms of the R² of the final model. Our model explained 98% of the samples, and the deviation (1.78%) and root mean square error (5.17 μg/m) were small. It means that the LUR model with our buffer selection strategy can be used as a fit method to better describe spatial variability in atmospheric pollutant levels, which will be conducive to epidemiological research and urban environmental planning.

This study demonstrated the dye removal potential of a lesser studied Actinobacteria, Nocardiopsis sp., on triphenylmethane (TPM) dyes. The actinobacterium was sampled from forest soil and identified as Nocardiopsis alba (99.24% similarity) via partial 16S rRNA sequencing. Both live and dead cells were used to decolorize TPM dyes (i.e., malachite green (MG), methyl violet (MV), crystal violet (CV), and cotton blue (CB)). The influence of pH, agitation speed, biomass, initial dye concentration, and oxygen was determined via one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach. Results revealed that live cells showed higher dye removal potential following treatment under optimized conditions, i.e., pH 7, 100 rpm agitation, 0.75 g cell biomass, 100 mg L⁻¹ initial dye concentration (50 mg L⁻¹ for CB), and oxygen availability, with 96.8 (MG), 95.9 (MV), 48.8 (CV), and 80.6% (CB) of decolorization efficacy (DE). On the contrary, dead cells were less effective in decolorizing MG (91.1%), MV (68.9%), CV (46.6%), and CB (63.7%), although decolorization was performed at optimum conditions (pH 9 for MG, MV, CV; pH 3 for CB, 100 rpm agitation, 0.75 g cell biomass, and 100 mg L⁻¹ initial dye concentration (50 mg L⁻¹ for CB)). UV–Vis analysis revealed that the removal of TPM dyes occurred primarily via biodegradation (live cells) and biosorption (dead cells). The sorption data complied with Langmuir model (R² = 0.984–0.999), confirming the monolayer sorption of TPM dyes by cells of Nocardiopsis. This study established Nocardiopsis sp., particularly live cells, as an effective biological agent for the remediation of TPM dyes.

Pakistan is experiencing increasing CO₂ emissions in contrast with other regions of the world. The country is also facing the problems of low economic growth, energy poverty, and environmental pollution. The objective of the study is to analyze economic growth of Pakistan and obtain some alternate sources of production for sustainable environment. Time series data of Pakistan from 1985 to 2018 is used. In order to estimate direct and substitution effect among energy and non-energy factors on economic growth, translog functional form is used. The presence of multicollinearity among explanatory variables approves to employ ridge regression. Capital per worker has the highest elasticity (0.1531) among all variables followed by consumption of oil (0.0571), natural gas (0.0333), technology (0.0329), and hydroelectricity (0.02). Average output elasticity for oil, natural gas, hydroelectricity, capital per worker, and technology are 0.4474, 0.3127, 0.433, 1.0037, and 0.2309, respectively. Technical progress of variables is ranked as capital per worker, oil consumption, natural gas consumption, hydroelectricity, and technology. Relatively lower but efficient substitution between oil and natural gas provides opportunity to save huge foreign exchange on import of oil. Investment on capital per worker in transport, power, fertilizer, and industrial sectors can reduce the demand of oil and natural gas which would eventually lower carbon dioxide emissions in the country. Increasing 10% investment on capital/worker would mitigate 208.283 million tons of carbon dioxide. Energy inputs are substitutes; therefore, mega hydropower projects and small renewable projects may be launched to cope with energy poverty and environmentally sustainable challenges.