The study objective was to evaluate the potential reproductive toxicity of sulfoxaflor (SFX) insecticide in male Sprague Dawley rats. To attain these objectives, forty male Sprague Dawley rats of 10–12 weeks old were randomly divided into four equal groups; the 1st group was used as a control group; the other three groups were exposed to 25, 100, and 500 mg/kg body weight SFX by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Relative testicular weight, testosterone, FSH, LH, MDA, and GPx levels, sperm viability, sperm morphology, sperm DNA damage, and histopathological changes in testes, epididymis, and seminal vesical of these rats were investigated after 4 weeks. The results showed that SFX exposure resulted in a significant increase in FSH, LH, MDA, and GPx levels as well as the percentage of dead and abnormal sperms and DNA damage in rat sperms. Histopathological examination of testes established testicular degeneration with coagulative necrosis as well as the proliferation of interstitial connective tissue infiltrated with inflammatory cells with congestion of intertubular blood vessels in epididymis and degeneration of lining epithelium of seminal vesicles.

Oxidation of Cr(III) by birnessite (δ-MnO₂) was an important geochemical reaction determining the toxicity and mobility of dissolved Cr(III) in soils. Herein, changes of Cr speciation and fractionation were systematically studied in Cr(III)-contaminated soils with δ-MnO₂ in soil aging process. The results showed that Cr(III) could be rapidly oxidized to Cr (VI) by δ-MnO₂, and the coating of Fe and Al oxides on δ-MnO₂ had a strong hindering effect on the oxidation of Cr(III). The Cr(III) oxidation process by δ-MnO₂ followed a two-phase model of pseudo first-order kinetics. The rapid decrease of oxidation rate constant in second phase was due to the coverage of adsorbed Cr(III) and newly generated Cr(VI) and Mn(II) on the active sites of δ-MnO₂. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis further confirmed that the diffusion and adsorption of Cr(III) on the electron-accepting sites were important factors affecting the Cr(III) oxidation by δ-MnO₂. Compared with the soils without δ-MnO₂, high contents of Cr(VI) were generated in silt (22.30 mg/kg) and sandy soil (70.95 mg/kg) with 2 wt% δ-MnO₂ after the addition of Cr(III) wastewater within 2 days, and the Cr(VI) contents were above 1 mg/kg in these two soils during the whole incubation process. Moreover, the total Cr proportion of the exchangeable fraction increased by 12.8% in silt and 5.2% in sandy soil with 2 wt% δ-MnO₂ after soil aging for 120 days. The presence of δ-MnO₂ markedly increased the oxidation potential and mobility of exogenous Cr(III) in soils.

In this study, the hospital waste generation rates and compositions in Delhi were examined temporally and spatially during the first COVID-19 wave of April 2020. A total of 11 representative hospitals located in five districts were considered. The pre-COVID hospital waste generation rates were relatively consistent among the districts, ranging from 15 to 23 tonne/month. It is found that the number of hospital beds per capita may not be a significant factor in the hospital waste quantity. Strong seasonal variations were not observed. All districts experienced a drastic decrease in generation rates during the 1-month lockdown. The average rates during the COVID period ranged from 12 to 24 tonne/month. Bio-contaminated and disposable medical product wastes were the most common waste in Delhi’s hospitals, representing 70–80% by weight. The changes in waste composition were however not spatially consistent. The lockdown appeared to have had a higher impact on hospital waste generation rate than on waste composition. The findings are important as the design and operation of a waste management system are sensitive to both waste quantity and quality. Waste records at source helped to minimize waste data uncertainties and allowed a closer examination of generation trends.

The correlation coefficient can calculate paired correlations among different ecological indicators as a whole, but it cannot calculate the specific interval association and the correlation among multiple indicators. This paper proposed an interval association (IA) method of the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), based on the concept lattice and frequent closed itemset. In the IA method, the ecosystem was viewed as a complex system with a hierarchical structure, and the association among multiple indicators was calculated using the information granulation of RSEI. The interval association support degree (IASD) could measure the association clustering strength of these IA concepts. Calculation of MODIS data compiled by Google Earth Engine (GEE) showed that the IA concepts of RSEI in China were primarily composed of selected middle indicator intervals in 2017. The overall eco-environmental condition in China was general when assessed through IA. The spatial distribution of the remote sensing eco-environment in China displayed strong spatial association clustering. Furthermore, the IA of RSEI focused on the first few concepts with high IASD values.

This study’s aim was to investigate iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentration in the soil, forage crops, and sheep blood with respect to the seasonal availability of these metals. Soil, forage, and sheep blood samples were sampled from five different locations in Chakwal (Pidh, Tobar, Ratoccha, Choa Saiden Shah-Kalar Kahar road, and Choa Saiden Shan-Chakwal Road) during two seasons, i.e., winter and summer. All the samples were processed through wet acid digestion for evaluation of metal contents. Because of proximity of site-1 and site-2 to coal mines, higher Fe concentration was observed than Zn. Overall, varied Fe concentrations obtained in soil were 12.95–24.31 mg/kg, 1.29–9.61 mg/kg in forage and 1.17–24 mg/l in blood, whereas Zn values were 1.04–31.9 mg/kg, 1.96–7.02 mg/kg, and 0.16–6.52 mg/l for soil, forages, and blood respectively. The pollution load index value for both Fe (0.01–0.14 mg/kg) and Zn (0.02–0.72 mg/kg) was lesser than 1. Bio-concentration (0.09–2.64mg/kg) and enrichment factor (0.08–7.51 mg/kg) were showing efficient transfer of metals through the food chain. Daily intake and health risk index values of iron were ranged from 0.01 to 1.1 mg/kg/day and 0.02 to 1.05 mg/kg/day. There was a probable chance of upsurge in metal values in coming years due to continued mining activities. Anthropogenic input, mainly mining activities in the study area, have increased the Fe and Zn content in the environment which can ultimately find their way up the food chain, thereby risking the health of grazing livestock.

This study aims to examine the association between short-term exposure to ambient PM₁, PM₁₋₂.₅, and PM₂.₅ and forced vital capacity (FVC). Population data were obtained from a school-based cross-sectional survey in Shandong in 2014. Distributed lag non-linear models were used to examine the association between exposure to PM₁, PM₁–₂.₅, and PM₂.₅ and FVC at the day of FVC measurement and the previous 6 days (lag 0 to 6 days). A total of 35,334 students aged 9 to 18 years were included in the study, and the mean exposure concentrations of ambient PM₁, PM₁–₂.₅, and PM₂.₅ for them were 47.4 (standard deviation [SD] = 21.3) μg/m³, 32.8 (SD = 32.2) μg/m³, and 80.1 (SD = 47.7) μg/m³, respectively. An inter-quartile range (IQR, 24 μg/m³) increment in exposure to PM₁ was significantly associated with a lower FVC at lag 0 and lag 1 day (β = − 80 mL, 95% CI = − 119, − 42, and β = − 37 mL, 95% CI = − 59, − 16, respectively), and an IQR (54 μg/m³) increment in exposure to PM₂.₅ was significantly associated with a lower FVC at lag 0 and lag 1 day (β = − 57 mL, 95% CI = − 89, − 18, and β = − 34 mL, 95% CI = − 56, − 12, respectively) after adjustment for gender, age, body mass index category, residence, month of the survey, intake of eggs, intake of milk, physical activity, and screen time. No significant associations were observed for PM₁–₂.₅. The inverse associations of PM₁ and PM₂.₅ with FVC were larger in males, younger children, those overweight or obese, and those with insufficient physical activity levels. Short-term exposure to ambient PM₁ and PM₂.₅ was associated with decreased FVC, and PM₁ may be the primary fraction of PM₂.₅ causing the adverse pulmonary effects. Our findings emphasize the need to address ambient PM, especially PM₁, pollution for affecting pulmonary health in children and adolescents.

In the present study, a two-tiered research method was adopted. In the first stage, a literature review was conducted to determine the associations that landscape colors evoke in individuals and each association was converted into a statement for each color. The developed 5-point Likert-type scale was submitted for expert opinion (N = 200), and factor analysis was conducted on the findings to determine correlated sub-factors and categorized in the same factor. Thus, three factor groups were determined. Thus, the survey form that will be used in the second study stage was finalized. The factor analysis was also conducted to reduce the number of statements in the scale. Furthermore, 102 statements with a factor load of below 0.30 were excluded. Thus, the final scale included 34 associations in 3 dimensions. In the second stage, the final 5-point Likert-type survey form was applied to the expert group (N = 200) and the participants (N = 200) to determine the agreement of these two groups with the associations. Also, the differences between the agreement levels of the two groups with the associations and the differences between the associations were determined. The statistical analyses revealed that there was a difference between the mean association scores of the participant and the expert groups in 3 factor groups at 0.05 significance level (sig. 0.000, F = 34.432). The direction and size of the correlations between the factors were determined with the correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of the factors on others, and it was determined that there was a positive significant correlation between 1st factor and agreement and a negative significant correlation between the 2nd and 3rd factor groups and agreement. The order of the factors that explained the variation in agreement was the 1st factor (ß = .332; p = 0.000), the 2nd factor (ß = − .274; p = 0.000), and the 3rd factor (ß = − .157; p = 0.001), respectively.

Several works have been performed in order to understand seawater intrusion by simulating the Henry problem. Investigations were implemented by simulating the effect of many parameters (fractured aquifer, dispersion and diffusion, geochemical reactions, heterogeneity, anisotropy, boundary conditions) on the flow and transport. This paper focus on the concept of the “stagnation point,” and this concept plays an important role in modeling, management and characterization of coastal aquifer. A total of forty-eight simulations, including the base case, were made to explore the effect of molecular diffusion coefficient, dispersivity, and seawater density on the position of the stagnation point. It was found that the increase of the molecular diffusion coefficient or the dispersivity leads to a downward displacement of the stagnation to the aquifer bottom and the lowest point position is reached for a Pe value of 0.35. For the seawater density effect, numerical results predict a nonlinear behavior of the stagnation point position, where the downward displacement is detected only for a ρₛ ranging from 1025 to 1045 kg/m³.

Obesity is a multifaceted disease encompassing deposition of an unnecessary amount of fat which upsurges the possibility of other complications, viz., hypertension and certain type of cancers. Although obesity results from combination of genetic factors, improper diet and inadequate physical exercise also play a major role in its onset. The present study aims at exploring the anti-obesity activity of Crinum latifolia leaf extract in obese rats. The leaves were extracted using hydroalcoholic extraction which was later diluted with water and given to obese rats. The dosing was started from the 4ᵗʰ week (by oral administration of extract of Crinum latifolia (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) and combination of Crinum latifolia leaf extract 200 mg/kg and orlistat 30 mg/kg) till the 10ᵗʰ week. Various angiogenic, antioxidant, biochemical, and inflammatory biomarkers were assessed at the end of the study. The obese symptoms were progressively reduced in treatment groups when compared to disease control groups. The angiogenic parameters and inflammatory parameters were consequently reduced in treatment groups. The oxidative parameters superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase were gradually increased, while levels of TBARS were reduced in treatment groups showing antioxidant nature of leaf hydroalcoholic extract. The Crinum latifolia leaf extract possesses anti-obesity properties and therefore can be used as a therapeutic option in the management of obesity.

As major polluters, enterprises are expected to behave responsibly toward the natural environment. However, enterprises often do not pay enough attention to the environment and may even be environmentally irresponsible. Encouraging enterprises to actively accept environmental responsibility is the key to solving the problem of environmental pollution. This paper uses a differential game model to study the impact of different governmental incentive mechanisms on corporate environmental responsibility (CER). The results of the study show that independent, noncooperative decision-making by the government and the enterprise is not desirable. If the government provides a monetary incentive to the enterprise or sets a corporate pollution threshold to stimulate enterprises’ acceptance of environmental responsibility, environmental quality can be improved. These results lead to useful policy recommendations and a scientific basis for environmental governance, which is expected to be helpful for finding ways to balance economic development and environmental protection in developing countries more generally.