Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal and an environmental pollutant, particularly because of its anthropogenic activity. The main impacts of Pb is recognized to cause injurious influences of various levels of the tropic chain, due to bio-accumulated lead causes many health issues such as intoxication of different body organs, such as kidneys and liver, and reproductive and nervous systems. Industrial lead toxicity has reduced as a result of the attempts to decrease the lead levels in the surrounding work environment. Conversably, health risks related with long-term environmental exposure to a low dose of Pb have been steadily demonstrated. Long-term exposure to lead toxicity caused inflammatory infiltration, degenerative changes in testicular tissues, reduction in spermatocytes, necrosis of hepatocytes, degeneration in renal tubules, and renal epithelium hypertrophy. Hence, we need an influential approach to vanquish lead toxicity. This consequence has emerged the necessity for potentially safe represent remedy, favorably keeping both enhancement and chelating of the antioxidant competences. Many antioxidants have been used for chelating heavy toxic pollutants such as lead and oxidative stress released in excess during lead exposure. Several studies have stated the noticeable gathering of herbal singly or in combination in modulating lead-induced disturbances, therefore proposing great promise in enhancing health status and welfare of man as well as animals. For this, in the current review, we tried to discuss the enormous harmful influences of lead toxicity on the animal model and the disturbing truth that this detrimental toxic substance can be found quite simply in the surroundings and amplitude.

Litter decomposition is a complex process that is influenced by many different physical, chemical, and biological processes. Environmental variables and leaf litter quality (e.g., nutrient content) are important factors that play a significant role in regulating litter decomposition. In this study, the effects of adding fungi and using different mesh size litter bags on litter (Populus tomentosa Carr. and Salix matsudana Koidz.) decomposition rates and water quality were investigated, and investigate the combination of these factors influences leaf litter decomposition. Dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia-nitrogen (NH₃-N) were measured during the 112-day experiment. The salix leaf litter (k = 0.045) displayed faster decomposition rates than those of populous leaf litter (k = 0.026). Litter decomposition was initially slow and then accelerated; and by the end of the experiment, the decomposition rate was significantly higher (p = 0.012, p < 0.05) when fungi were added to the treatment process compared to the blank, and litter bags with different mesh sizes did not influence the decomposition rate. The variations in the decomposition rates and nutrient content were influenced by litter quality and a number of environmental factors. The decomposition rate was most influenced by internal factors related to litter quality, including the N/P and C/P ratios of the litter. By quantifying the interact effect of environment and litter nutrient dynamic, to figure out the revetment plant litter decomposition process in a wetland system in biological physical and chemical aspects, which can help us in making the variables that determine decomposition rates important for assessing wetland function.

Physicochemical and morphological characteristics of atmospheric particles in new urban centers of fast-developing megacities are not well understood. In this study, atmospheric coarse particles (PM₂.₅–₁₀) were simultaneously collected in multiple stations (10) in new urban centers, namely Beylikduzu, Buyukcekmece, and Esenyurt, of Istanbul using a modified passive particulate sampling method. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-photon spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to investigate the size distribution characteristics, chemical composition and their weight percent abundances, and morphological properties of the collected particles. The particle clusters were mainly dominated by Ca-rich Al silicates, Ca dominant, Ca- and S-rich, and NaCl particles, respectively. Their potential sources were assigned to the natural sources (e.g., wind erosion, soil resuspension, and sea sprays) and anthropogenic activities (construction, transportation, mining and crushing, and cement production). In addition to the major contributions (up to 47% of particle number abundance), the minor contribution clusters (less than 1%) with transitional metals rich particles (Fe, Zn, and Cu rich) mainly from anthropogenic sources (combustion, traffic, and vehicular emissions) were identified. The typical size range (> 0.65 to < 11.00 μm) distribution of the major particle clusters fits a left-skewed modal distribution with a peak at 1.10–2.30-μm size range. However, the number of particles decreases significantly with increasing distance to the source, and this justification is stronger for larger size fractions (> 2.3 μm). Particle numbers and varieties indicated significant spatial variations depending upon the identified sources, meteorological factors, and temporal conditions. In general, the results of this study suggest that the passive sampling of PM₂.₅–₁₀ coupled with SEM/EDS based single-particle analysis is an effective tool to understand the physicochemical characterization and spatial and temporal variations of atmospheric particles in urban environments.

Whether exposure to air pollution is associated with the increased incidence of childhood eczema is controversial. Only a few previous researches about the relationship between gestational and early-life exposures to ambient air pollutants and childhood eczema were conducted in China, and there is a lack of studies in Hubei province. This study aimed to explore the associations between air pollution exposure in gestation and the first year of life and childhood eczema. From November to December 2017, a total of 3383 children aged 3–6 years were recruited from 12 kindergartens in Hubei, China; 3167 were included in the final analysis. Parent-reported data involved with childhood eczema was inquired by questionnaire, and the concentrations of NO₂, PM₂.₅, and PM₁₀ were acquired from air quality monitoring stations which were the nearest to the twelve kindergartens. A binary logistic regression model was used to evaluate the associations of period-mean concentrations of individual pollutant exposure with childhood eczema. Of the 3167 children, 848 (26.8%) had a history of doctor-diagnosed eczema. After adjusting for the covariates, high levels of NO₂, PM₂.₅, and PM₁₀ exposures were significantly associated with a positive increase in risk of childhood eczema during the gestational period and the first year of life. In the gestational period, the estimate OR in the 3rd and 4th quartiles of NO₂ was 1.256 and 1.496, respectively. During the first year of life, the estimate OR in the 3rd and 4th quartiles of NO₂ was 1.371 and 1.335, respectively. Our study indicated that the gestational period and the first year of life exposures to high levels of ambient NO₂, PM₂.₅, and PM₁₀ were significantly associated with increased eczema among preschool children. Some effective measures of prevention and intervention could be developed for preschool children.

Malaysia is the second-largest producer and exporter of palm oil amounting to 39% of world palm oil production and 44% of world exports (MPOB, 2014). An enormous amount of palm oil mill effluent is released during palm oil milling, and the effluent causes a major odor problem. Many methods, such as biofiltering, can be adopted to manage the malodor. However, these methods are expensive and require high maintenance. The separation distance method can be used as an alternative due to its low cost and effectiveness. This research was conducted to verify the performance of three different methods, namely, in-field monitoring by using an olfactometer, CALPUFF model, and Gaussian plume model. Given that no research has compared the three methods, this study examined the effectiveness of the methods and determined which among them is suitable for use in Malaysia. The appropriate separation distances were 1.3 km for in-field monitoring, 1.2 km for the CALPUFF model, and 0.5 for the Gaussian plume model. These different values of separation distance were due to the various approaches involved in each method. This research determined an appropriate means to establish a proper separation distance for reducing odor nuisance in areas around palm oil mills.

Global warming issues have become a pertinent theme for many economies and policy initiatives. The Indonesian economy is no exception as government officials and stakeholder are working seriously to decouple carbon emission from economic growth. It is on this premise that the present study attempts to investigate the nexus between the environmental implication of offshore economic activities, economic growth, energy use, and environment (CO₂) with the integration of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade openness over recent time series data from 1980 to 2017. A series of analysis were conducted with Pesaran’s autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology and the Granger causality test as estimation techniques over the outlined variables. Empirical findings from ARDL long-run (elasticity) shows that economic growth is significantly positively associated with carbon emissions at the initial stage but a negative association is established at lags 1 and 2. A significant positive relationship is witnessed between economic growth and FDI. Also, statistical positive relationship is observed between economic growth and energy use, while an inverse relationship is observed between openness and economic growth. For causality analysis, we observe that a uni-directional causality is running from economic growth to foreign direct investment at 5% significant level. This outcome is in support of the growth-induced FDI hypothesis in Indonesia. Furthermore, a one-way causality is seen from energy to openness, CO₂ emissions, and from FDI to CO₂ emissions while there is a feedback causality between openness and CO₂ emissions. The findings of this study have implications to the environmental quality of Indonesia via economic growth; hence, the higher and better the economic growth of the country, the lesser the carbon emissions and the better the environmental quality. This proposition aligns with the pollution halo hypothesis (PHH), where FDI inflow enhances economic growth as well as impacts energy consumption and reduces carbon emissions in the host country.

A proteomic study of Cunninghamella echinulata recovery during exposure to tributyltin was conducted with 2-D SDS-PAGE protein separation and profiling, MALDI-TOF/TOF protein identification, and PCA analysis. The presence of TBT resulted in an upregulation of enzymes related to energy production via cellular respiration. The unique overexpression of NADH dehydrogenase and mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase, together with an increased level of cytochrome c oxidase, ATP synthase subunits, and inorganic pyrophosphatase, indicates a strong energy deficit in the cells, leading to an increase in the ATP production. The overexpression of Prohibitin-1, a multifunctional protein associated with the proper functioning of mitochondria, was observed as well. The data also revealed oxidative stress condition. Among reactive oxygen species (ROS)–scavenging enzymes, only superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed active response against oxidative stress induced by the xenobiotic. The induction of a series of ROS-scavenging enzymes was supported by a microscopic analysis revealing a considerably large concentration of ROS in the hyphae. The overexpression of cytoskeleton-related proteins in the TBT presence was also noticed. The obtained results allow explaining the recovery strategy of the fungus in response to the energy depletion caused by TBT.

As an endemic primate species with one of the highest priorities in wildlife conservation in China, Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) have undergone a sharp decline and range reduction in recent centuries. Here, we used maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt) integrated with four types of environmental variables, including three biological climate variables (Bio17, precipitation of the driest quarter; Bio6, min. temperature of the coldest month; and Bio2, mean diurnal range), three topographic variables (altitude, slope, and aspect), two anthropogenic variables (Human Footprint Index and human disturbance), and three vegetation-related variables (enhanced vegetation index, normalized difference vegetation index, and Wet Index) to identify the spatial distribution of suitable habitats for Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in Baihe Nature Reserve (BNR), which is located in the Minshan Mountains. The average training AUC of our model performance is 0.929 ± 0.003. The model predicted 9.6 km² of high suitability habitats and 14.1 km² of moderate suitability habitats for Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys, adding up to only 11.7% of the total area of concern for the study in the BNR. The top four variables ranked in the model (altitude, Human Footprint Index, human disturbance, and Bio17) accounted for relative gain contributions of 23.3%, 19.3%, 14.2%, and 13.4%, respectively. The predicted suitable habitats were confined to an altitude range of 1971–3198 m, Human Footprint Index of mainly 3–5 values, low human disturbance (mainly livestock), and precipitation of the driest (or coldest) quarter of 9–22 mm. Additionally, the suitable habitats were mainly distributed in the core zone (36.1%), buffer zone (26.8%), and experimental zone (29.5%). The remaining habitats (7.6%) were distributed in the 0.5-km buffer zone of the reserve border. The predicted suitable habitats indicated limited suitable habitat space for the Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys, with most of the suitable habitat distributed outside the core zone in the BNR. Our findings highlighted that human activities in all three functional zones could be the most negative factor on suitable habitat distribution of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in the BNR.

Non-renewable energy sources have detrimental environmental effects, which directly and indirectly affect the biosphere as environmental deposits from their use for energy generation exceed a threshold. This study performs a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) of a coal-fired plant in South Africa. The cradle-to-grave LCA focuses on the coal cycle to determine hotspots with high environmental impacts in the process. Four impact categories were considered in this study: global warming potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, eutrophication potential, and acidification potential. Coal transportation, coal pulverization, water use, and ash management were identified as hotspots in the coal cycle. The coal process has 95% potential for global warming, 4% potential for eutrophication, 1% potential for acidification, and a negligible percentage for photochemical ozone creation. Susceptibility to climate change, eutrophication, acid rain, soil degradation, and water contamination among others are major concerns of the coal cycle. Outsourcing coal from nearby mines with train as medium of transportation reduces environmental impact. Similarly, the use of mitigation technologies like flue gas desulphurization, carbon capture storage, or selective catalytic reduction will reduce the concentration of the flue gas emitted. Ultimately, substituting the coal process with renewable energy sources will ensure environmental sustainability in South Africa. This study will serve as a good resource for further studies on LCA of coal power plants not only in other African countries but in other developing countries with similar situation.

Rapid urbanization significantly changes vegetation coverage and heat distribution, which threatens the sustainable development and the quality of life. As the largest developing city in Central China, Wuhan was chosen as the experimental region. This study investigated the urbanization process of Wuhan from 1989 to 2917 based on Landsat data. Combined with MODIS EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) and LST (Land Surface Temperature) data, vegetation disturbance and surface urban heat island (SUHI) caused by urbanization were discussed for 2001–2017. Furthermore, correlation between ∆EVI (urban EVI minus rural EVI) and ∆LST (urban LST minus rural LST) was also conducted. The results were as follows: (1) Wuhan experienced a strong urbanization over the past 29 years, with an increasing urban expansion rate and the altered dominant urban expansion pattern (edge expansion and infilling). After the enhanced vegetation functions and urban increased structures, the urbanization finally caused the fragmented patches and irregular urban shapes. (2) Urbanization had a positive effect on LST but a negative effect on EVI. From 2001 to 2017, the highest increasing rate of ∆LST for the old urban area (OUA) and urbanized area (UA) was both observed in summer daytime (OUA, 0.106 °C/a; UA, 0.207 °C/a). The decreasing rate of ∆EVI reached the highest value in summer (OUA, 0.00697/a; UA, 0.00298/a). (3) There was a strong negative correlation (except spring and winter for OUA) between ∆EVI and ∆LST in daytime, which proved that the activity of vegetation in daytime could relieve LST to a certain extent. This study clarifies the dynamic urbanization process of Wuhan and discusses its impacts on vegetation change and SUHI. Efficiently investigating urbanization process and quantifying its impacts on urban environment are critical for regional ecological conservation.