Renewable sources are relevant in a country’s energy planning because they are linked to the creation of opportunities for technological, economic, and productive development guided by the principles of sustainability. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relation between electric generation capacity by renewable and non-renewable energies and Brazilian socioeconomic variables. The analysis of the interrelationships between electricity generation capacity and economic growth in Brazil, from April 2009 to March 2017, was carried out by the vector autoregressive and autoregressive distributed lag methodologies. It was verified that the variance of employment is explained by renewable sources: hydroelectric in 7.71%, biomass in 1.99%, wind energy in 3.13%, and solar energy in 10.58%. While, the GDP variance is explained in 3.15% by hydroelectric energy, 0.06% by biomass, 1.70% by wind energy, and 17.38% by solar energy. The export variance is explained by renewable sources: hydroelectric 2.48%, biomass 0.39%, wind energy 2.34%, and solar energy 17.58%. Finally, the variance of the minimum wage is explained by hydroelectric energy in 1.48%, biomass in 5.09%, wind energy in 9.09%, and solar energy in 10.67%. An ARDL (1, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2) model was also adjusted for natural gas, with AIC (13.082) and BIC (13.739), and the ARDL (1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 4) model adjusted for hydroelectric power, with AIC (13.633) and BIC (14.189), considering the variables’ order cited above. Through the adjustment of the ARDL model, it was verified that there is a long-term influence of socioeconomic variables on electricity production variables, both renewable and non-renewable ones. The analysis of the impulse response function and the variance decomposition allowed us to verify that the installed capacity for production of electric energy exerts influence on Brazilian socioeconomic variables considered in this study.

Neutral polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (nPFASs) were detected in the surface water and sediment from the Haihe River (HR) and Dagu Drainage Canal (DDC), Tianjin, China. N-methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide ethanol (MeFOSE) and N-ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide ethanol (EtFOSE) were the predominant nPFASs in surface water and sediment, which was different from the composition in air. The concentrations of ΣnPFASs in water from the HR (1.88–8.21 ng/L) were lower than those from the DDC (3.72–11.32 ng/L). Concentrations of ΣnPFASs were higher in the middle of the HR in the Dongli District due to industrial activity, whereas at lower reaches of the DDC, high ΣnPFAS concentrations might be due to effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The detection frequency in sediment (13.5%) was less than that in water (83%). The concentrations in sediment from the DDC (below limit of qualification (LOQ) to 5.58 ng/g) were higher than those from the HR (below LOQ to 2.46 ng/g). The distribution coefficient (log KD) between water and sediment was calculated, and they were highly related to the compound structures. The contribution of nPFASs to nPFASs+PFAAs was up to 52% in sediment in the DDC, suggesting the importance of nPFASs in aquatic systems.

In this work, Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂ ternary nanocomposite was synthesized by a combination of green and precipitation method involving mixing of different concentrations of silver nitrate, boric acid, and titanium (IV) isopropoxide precursor with Plumeria acuminate leaf extract. The extract was obtained by boiling the mixture of distilled water and the powdered leaves in a beaker for few minutes followed by filtration. The microstructure, morphology, chemical composition, surface area, phase structure, and optical properties of the various prepared nanomaterials were determined by HRTEM, HRSEM, UV-Vis/DRS, BET, XRD, and XPS. The photocatalytic potential of TiO₂ nanoparticles and Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites to degrade local dyeing wastewater under artificial and natural sunlight irradiation was investigated. The extent of degradation of the organic pollutants was measured using chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) as indicator parameters. The XRD pattern of Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites revealed that the formation of pure anatase TiO₂ phase and the addition of both silver and boron precursors did not influenced the phase structure of the nanocomposites. The oxidation states of +1 and +3 for both Ag and B on the surface of Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites were confirmed by XPS. Optical characterization of the sample revealed reduction of band gap energy from 2.6 to 2.0 eV for TiO₂ and Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂, respectively. The Ag₂O/B₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity under natural sunlight and artificial light than mono and binary oxide systems with TOC and COD degradation efficiencies of 86.11% and 75.69%, respectively. The kinetics of degradation of organic dyes in the wastewater followed the order of Langmuir–Hinshelwood pseudo-first-order > Freundlich > Zero > Parabolic diffusion model. The coupling effect of Ag₂O and B₂O₃ onto TiO₂ framework was responsible for the enhanced photochemical stability of the nanocomposites even after five repeated cycles.

Not only the appeal of the sun, natural, and historical beauties but also architectural features and business advantages of the accommodation facilities emerge as important factors in tourism development. Holiday villages differ from other types of accommodation facilities in terms of their functions and services. It is important to provide tourists acceptable levels of comfort in holiday villages offering various functions. One of these comfort conditions is acoustic comfort, which involves noise control. Noise emitted from various indoor and outdoor facilities is the main component impacting acoustic comfort in holiday villages. In this study, a holiday village in Antalya, Turkey with an open area of 120,000 m² was examined to identify noise exposure conditions of outdoor areas. Pools, restaurants, animation areas, playgrounds, and courts are the main outdoor noise sources in this holiday village. The noise emitted by these sources during daytime (Ld) and evening time (Le) are shown in noise maps. The open areas affected by 65 LAₑq noise level extend to an area of 55,500 and 21,000 m² during Ld and Le, respectively. With the noise barriers around the main noise sources, impacted open areas are reduced by 13% in Ld and 12% in Le. The results of this study clearly reveals the importance of resolving the issue of environmental noise in the most efficient and cost-effective way in terms of settlement and planning, especially in areas with dominant noise sources like holiday villages.

Transporters play an important role in the uptake and redistribution of agrochemicals to the site of insect feeding. The product of the Arabidopsis thaliana gene AtAAP1 substantially contributes to inorganic nitrogen acquisition under ecologically relevant amino acid concentrations. Here, the transporter ability of AtAAP1 to a chlorantraniliprole-alanine conjugate (CAP-Ala-1) was tested both in planta and in vitro. Thirty-day-old and 15-day-old plants overexpressing AtAAP1 increased the uptake of CAP-Ala-1 into the roots, whereas AtAAP1 deficiency did not completely block the uptake of CAP-Ala-1. An uptake experiment carried out in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing AtAAP1 showed that CAP-Ala-1 interacted with AtAAP1. Although little native AtAAP1 transcription was present in the leaves, constitutive expression of AtAAP1 in plants significantly increased the ability of the leaf mesophyll protoplasts to take up CAP-Ala-1. The observations supported the possibility of exploiting AtAAP1 as a component of a novel delivery and redistribution system for amino acid-based pesticide conjugates.

Green algae are dominant primary producers in aquatic environments. Thus, assessing the influences of pollutants such as nanoparticles on the algae is of high ecological significance. In the current study, cadmium selenide nanoparticles (CdSe NPs) were synthesized using the hydrothermal method and their characteristics were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. Subsequently, the toxicity of synthesized nanoparticles on the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris was investigated. The observations by SEM confirmed that exposure to CdSe NPs had severe impacts on the algal morphology. Furthermore, the obtained results revealed the toxic effect of CdSe NPs by a decrease in the number of cells. Measurement of antioxidant enzymes activity showed an increase in the activity of catalase, and a decrease in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) at high concentrations of CdSe NPs. The exposure of C. vulgaris to CdSe NPs resulted also in a change in algal pigments as well as total phenol content. Taken together, CdSe NPs appeared to have significant cytotoxic effects on C. vulgaris in the applied concentrations.

This study demonstrated, for the first time, Fe(III)/peroximonosulphate (PMS) could be an efficient advanced oxidation process (AOP) for wastewater treatment. Bisphenol A (BPA) was chosen as a model pollutant in the present study. Fe(III)-activated PMS system proved very effective to eliminate 92.18% of BPA (20 mg/L) for 30-min reaction time at 0.50 mM PMS, 1.5 g/L Fe(III), pH 7.0. The maximum degradation of BPA occurred at neutral pH, while it was suppressed at both strongly acidic and alkaline conditions. Organic and inorganic ions can interfere with system efficiency either positively or negatively, so their interaction was thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the presence of organic acids also affected BPA degradation rate, especially the addition of 10 mM citric acid decreased the degradation rate from 92.18 to 66.08%. Radical scavenging experiments showed that SO₄•– was the dominant reactive species in Fe(III)/PMS system. A total of 5 BPA intermediates were found by using LC/MS. A possible degradation pathway was proposed which underwent through bridge cleavage and hydroxylation processes. Acute toxicity of the BPA degradation products was assessed using Escherichia coli growth inhibition test. These findings proved to be promising and economical to deal with wastewater using iron mineral for the elimination of organic pollutants. Graphical abstract

This study is the first attempt to evaluate the limno-ecological status of freshwater ecosystems in Aras River system (Turkey) using diatom metrics and multivariate analyses according to the European Union Water Framework Directive requirements. Samples were collected using the standard protocols from 17 sampling stations in August and October of 2014, and June of 2015. Deterioration of water quality in the Aras River catchment was remarked from the downstream of Karakoyunlu, Sarısu, and Bozkuş creeks, which showed higher values of trophic index Turkey (TIT), trophic index (TI), and eutrophication and/or pollution index-diatom (EPI-D). These sites were also characterized by pollution tolerant taxa e.g., Cocconeis placentula, Gomphonema parvulum, Navicula cryptocephala, Navicula trivialis, and Tryblionella angustata. Sites S14–S17 had high ecological status according to TIT, supported by the score of EPI-D which indicated a good ecological condition for S14. The occurrence of pollution-sensitive species (e.g., Hannaea arcus, Cymbella affinis, Didymosphenia geminata, Meridion circulare, and Encyonema silesiacum) and the low nutrients like total phosphorus, orthophosphate and nitrate, conductivity, and BOD₅ supported the high ecological status of S14–S17. The relationships between diatom assemblages and environmental variables were also illustrated by multivariate analyses. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that TIT had positive important correlations with total phosphorus (p < 0.01, r = 0.768). Trophic index and EPI-D had also significant correlations with environmental variables, but they had lower correlation coefficient than that of TIT. It seems that TIT could be a suitable diatom metric for assessing the ecological status of sampling stations in Aras River system and Mediterranean region. Our findings showed also that ecological statuses of surface waters should be evaluated due to the indices developed in their ecoregions.

How do local community perceive pollution risk and social problems in abandoned areas? Which factors affect these risk perceptions? Among several factors affecting environmental perceptions, familiarity to places has long been known to positively affect landscape perception, but is this also true for abandoned area with scruffy vegetation and industrial remnants? Will long-term residents eventually adapt to and accept these neglected landscapes? In the past, efforts have largely been devoted to the cleanup of large, highly polluted areas. This left many smaller, less polluted sites, often in urban or suburban areas, relatively neglected. These areas, which typically consist of small abandoned industrial and commercial sites and vacant lots in neighborhoods, are problematic since people living nearby continue to suffer from urban blight. Recently, there has been a shift in the focus of brownfield programs from highly polluted post-industrial cleanup to local brownfield reuse. In this new environment, a participatory planning process that engages the community seems to have become more important. In order to better understand factors affecting community people’s risk perception and effectively engage community support for the better management of derelict sites, this study investigated the factors on local community perceptions of abandoned landscapes including the effect of familiarity (the length of residency) and other sociodemographic (gender and age). For the study, the 200 study participants in eight neighborhoods along the Rail Corridor Revitalization Project in the city of Roanoke, VA, were asked to participate in survey and evaluate scenes of three types of abandoned landscapes focusing on two aspects, preference and pollution concerns. The results of scene ratings showed that lower scene preferences were associated with scene concerns related to higher pollution. However, although age and gender were associated with participants’ preference ratings and attitudes toward social problems and pollution, there was no significant effect for the length of residency.

The current study was performed to investigate the nephroprotective efficacy of Spirulina platensis (SP) and the possible benefits of combining SP and ascorbic acid (AA) in protecting against amikacin (AMK)-induced nephrotoxicity in rabbits. Forty-two male New Zealand rabbits were allocated to seven equal groups, receiving (I) normal saline as negative controls, (II) oral SP (500 mg/kg body weight), (III) oral AA (20 mg/kg bw), (IV) intramuscular AMK injection (100 mg/kg bw), (V) AMK plus SP, (VI) AMK plus AA, or (VII) AMK plus SP and AA at the aforementioned doses. The treatments were given once/day for 7 days. Data analysis showed that in comparison to the control group, AMK-intoxicated rabbits showed significant increases (p ≤ 0.05) in serum concentrations of creatinine, uric acid, and urea, as well as renal tissue concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], malondialdehyde [MDA], and nitric oxide [NO]. Moreover, significant (p ≤ 0.05) reductions in renal glutathione concentration, antioxidant enzymatic activities (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase), and total antioxidant capacity were noted following AMK intoxication. Treatment by SP ameliorated most of the aforementioned AMK-induced alterations. Although treatment with AA significantly reduced the renal tissue MDA, NO, and TNF-α concentrations, it was not associated with significant ameliorations of AMK-induced changes in the serum concentrations of renal function markers or renal tissue antioxidant parameters. The nephroprotective effects of SP-AA combination were more potent than SP alone in several parameters. In conclusion, SP alone or in combination with AA minimized the nephrotoxic effects of AMK through their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.