In China, industrial pollution is a prominent source of environmental pollution, and the important goal of sustainable development is to reduce industrial pollutant emissions, while ensuring economic stability. Special fiscal revenue (SFR) is the direct channel of government environmental regulation and the main source of environmental protection investment; it is of great significance to analyze the influence of special revenue on industrial pollution for industrial sustainable development. Therefore, this paper uses panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2018 to empirically analyze the impact of SFR on the comprehensive industrial pollution index (CIP) and the spatial spillover effect by combining traditional regression and spatial econometric model. The empirical results show that: (1) The increase in SFR will significantly reduce the level of regional CIP emissions, and it verifies the role of SFR as a channel of government environmental regulation and a major source of special funds for environmental protection. (2) SFR exists a significant negative spatial spillover effect. For every 1% increase in SFR in surrounding provinces, the local CIP will decrease by about 0.448%, reflecting SFR has a stronger inhibition effect on CIP for surrounding areas. (3) According to the analysis of different periods, the main impact of SFR on CIP is after the new round of reforms in 2012. The sources and expenditure channels of SFR are more transparent, indicating that the institutional policies have a significant effect on emission reduction. (4) The analysis of individual heterogeneity finds that the increase of SFR in economically underdeveloped areas has a stronger inhibitory effect on CIP, and the space for technological progress in economically developed areas is small, so it is difficult to inhibit CIP in a short period of time. In addition, the instrumental variable model and robustness test support the above conclusions.

In this paper, we have evaluated the bioaccumulation of metals by Atrichum angustatum, which is a readily available moss species in the Brahmaputra valley, India. A systematic investigation of metallic pollutants in the atmosphere was carried out using A. angustatum as a biomonitor collected from representative locations during three seasons viz. winter, pre-monsoon, and monsoon (n = 99) during the year 2018. The study was done in four unique habitations of the Brahmaputra Valley, which were further divided into three landuse areas: residential, roadside, and industrial. The highest accumulations were seen against Ca, Mg, Zn, and Fe. The calculated contaminant factors and ecological risk indices suggest that the Brahmaputra Valley is mostly contaminated by Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Pb, and these metals pose a maximum ecological risk. The accumulation trend of metallic pollutants was site-specific, but most metals showed positive seasonal accumulation. A significant difference in spatial and seasonal accumulation patterns was specific to metal species. Principal component analysis (PCA) and inter-species correlations revealed that the air quality of Brahmaputra valley was greatly affected by coal burning, vehicular emission, biomass burning, road dust, and crustal dust. Finally, the study led us to the conclusion that A. angustatum can serve as a potential biomonitor for metallic pollutants.

Air surface temperature (AST) is a crucial importance element for many applications such as hydrology, agriculture, and climate change studies. The aim of this study is to develop regression equation for calculating AST and to analyze and investigate the effects of atmospheric parameters (O₃, CH₄, CO, H₂Ovapor, and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR)) on the AST value in Iraq. Dataset retrieved from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) at EOS Aqua Satellite, spanning the years of 2003 to 2016, and multiple linear regression were used to achieve the objectives of the study. For the study period, the five atmospheric parameters were highly correlated (R, 0.855–0.958) with predicted AST. Statistical analyses in terms of β showed that OLR (0.310 to 1.053) contributes significantly in enhancing AST values. Comparisons among selected five stations (Mosul, Kanaqin, Rutba, Baghdad, and Basra) for the year 2010 showed a close agreement between the predicted and observed AST from AIRS, with values ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 K and for ground stations data, within 0.9 to 2.6 K. To make more complete analysis, also, comparison between predicted and observed AST from AIRS for four selected month in 2016 (January, April, July, and October) has been carried out. The result showed a high correlation coefficient (R, 0.87 and 0.95) with less variability (RMSE ≤ 1.9) for all months studied, indicating model’s capability and accuracy. In general, the results indicate the advantage of using the AIRS data and the regression analysis to investigate the impact of the atmospheric parameters on AST over the study area.

The effects of Na-montmorillonite (Na-Mt) content and curing age on enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP)–treated soil were studied. First, the effects of Na-Mt addition on the urease activity, Ca²⁺ precipitation rate, and pH of the solution were analyzed through tube tests. Then, Na-Mt-modified EICP was used to reinforce silty sand in the Yellow River flooding area in China. The solidification effect and action mechanism of Na-Mt were investigated via the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test, calcium carbonate content (CCC) measurement, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope analyses, wherein soil treated by conventional EICP and soil treated with Na-Mt alone were considered the control group. Na-Mt improved the urease activity and Ca²⁺ precipitation rate, lowered the pH, increased the CaCO₃ production through chelation, then regulated the morphology of the CaCO₃ crystals and facilitated the formation of densely aggregated calcite. The CCC and mechanical parameters increased rapidly during the first 7 days of curing, and then slowed down. The incorporation of 8% Na-Mt enhanced the UCS and Ca²⁺ utilization ratio at curing age of 7 days by 1.4 and 2.72 times, respectively, compared with that of traditional EICP; and the optimal Na-Mt content was identified to be 8%. At Na-Mt contents lower than 8%, the mathematically expressed improvement effect of the Na-Mt-modified EICP on the soil strength was greater than the arithmetic sum of that when these two approaches applied individually; this result confirms that the Na-Mt-modified EICP technique proposed herein is an efficient approach for solidifying fine-grained soil.

The current research investigates the role of public-private partnership investment (PPPI) and ecological innovation (ECO) along with economic growth on the environmental abatement (i.e., carbon dioxide emission, particulate matters 2.5) in the USA. Quantile autoregressive lagged (QARDL) method was employed during the study period of 1990–2015. The study findings confirm that under long-run estimation, GDP and PPPI are causing more environmental abatement in the form of CO2 emission and haze pollution like PM2.5. The factors like ecological innovation and GDP2 are playing their role towards lowering the CO2 emission and PM2.5 under different quantiles. Furthermore, it is observed that under short-run estimation, past values of the carbon emissions and PM2.5 have their significant and positive relationship with their current values. Besides, the findings through Wald test estimation confirm that parameter constancy of the speed of adjustment parameter is rejected at 1% significance level for the CO2 emission and haze pollution like PM2.5 in USA. Besides, present study also provides some policy implications.

The insecticide fipronil and the herbicide 2,4-D are the most applied pesticides in sugarcane crops leading to aquatic contamination. The whole-body bioconcentration of fipronil and 2,4-D, single and in mixture, was evaluated in Danio rerio after 96-h exposure. The activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase(GST) in whole body and in the gills and the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in muscle were determined. The gill histopathology and the morphology of the pavement (PVC) and the mitochondria-rich(MRC) cells at gill surface were analyzed. Bioconcentration occurred after exposure to fipronil (2.69 L kg⁻¹) and 2,4-D (1.73 L kg⁻¹) single and in mixture of fipronil (3.10 L kg⁻¹) and 2,4-D (1.27 L kg⁻¹). Whole-body CAT activity was unchanged, and its activity decreased in the gills after exposure to fipronil and increased after exposure to 2,4-D and mixture. GST and AChE increased after single exposure to each pesticide and mixture of both. Fish exposed to mixture increased the MRC fractional area (MRCFA) which suggested possible ionic regulation disturbance and reduced the microridge of the PVC surface. Synergistic interactions occurred in the CAT activity and MRCFA after exposure to mixture of pesticides. The results indicate that the recommended application dose of fipronil and 2,4-D, single or in mixture, for sugarcane crops affects this fish species altering its homeostasis.

Here, water-suspended smoke aerosol preparation was synthesized from biomass-based fuel, i.e., a widespread product for residential heating, wood sawdust (WP) (pine, poplar, and birch mixture), and its properties were compared in parallel experiments with the smoke preparation from plastics (PP). Molecular groups in the PM preparations were analyzed using Raman and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. WP was assessed in neurotoxicity studies using rat cortex nerve terminals (synaptosomes). Generation of spontaneous and H₂O₂-evoked reactive oxygen species (ROS) detected using fluorescent dye 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein in nerve terminals was decreased by WP. In comparison with PP, WP demonstrated more pronounced reduction of spontaneous and H₂O₂-evoked ROS production. WP completely inhibited glutamate receptor agonist kainate-induced ROS production, thereby affecting the glutamate receptor-mediated signaling pathways. WP decreased the synaptosomal membrane potential in fluorimetric experiments and the synaptosomal transporter-mediated uptake of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, L-[¹⁴C]glutamate and [³H] γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), respectively. PP decreased the ambient synaptosomal level of [³H]GABA, whereas it did not change that of L-[¹⁴C]glutamate. Principal difference between WP and PP was found in their ability to influence the ambient synaptosomal level of [³H]GABA (an increase and decrease, respectively), thereby showing riskiness in mitigation of synaptic inhibition by PP and triggering development of neuropathology.

Two perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and 17 different primary aromatic amines (PAAs) were analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) in migrants from 35 cookware samples marketed in Turkey. Among PFCs, only PFOA was identified in 6 samples. Only two components among PAAs, namely aniline (ANL) and 4,4′-methylenedianiline (4,4′-MDA), were detected in analyzed samples. Although aniline was detected in all samples, 4,4′-MDA was detected in only 4 samples. The effects of simulant volume, temperature, and repeated use on the release of these migrants from non-stick cookware were investigated. Three simulant volumes (200, 500, and 1000 mL) were used in migration tests. PFCs and PAAs were identified in simulants at 200 and 500 mL. The increase in the amount of simulant caused a decrease in the concentration of these migrants. The lowest migration values were observed in the samples at consecutive usage cycles. PFCs and PAAs exhibited the highest migration ability with increasing temperature.

Concrete is a composite material widely used in construction. Waste slag smelting (pyrometallurgical) (steel slag (SS)) is a molten liquid melt of silicates and oxides created as a by-product of steel production. It is a complex solution of silicates and oxides. Steel slag recovery conserves natural resources and frees up landfill space. Steel slag has been used in concrete to replace fine and coarse particles (gravel). Three hundred thirty-eight data points were collected, analyzed, and modeled. It was determined which factors influenced the compressive strength of concrete with steel slag replacement in the modeling phase. Water/cement ratio was 0.3–0.872, steel slag content 0–1196 kg/m³, fine aggregate content 175.5–1285 kg/m³, and coarse aggregate content (natural aggregate) 0–1253.75 kg/m³. In addition, 134 data were collected regarding the electrical conductivity of concrete to analyze and model the effect of SS on electrical conductivity. The correlation between compressive strength and electrical conductivity was also observed. This research used a linear regression (LR) model, a nonlinear regression (NLR) model, an artificial neural network (ANN), a full quadratic model (FQ), and an M5P tree model to anticipate the compressive strength of normal strength concrete with steel slag aggregate substitution. For predicting the electrical conductivity, the ANN model was performed. The compressive strength of the steel slag was raised based on data from the literature. Statistical techniques like the dispersion index and Taylor diagram showed that the ANN model with the lowest RMSE predicted compressive strength better than the other models.

Urbanization has caused severe negative impacts on intra-urban river water bodies. In this paper, 22 physicochemical parameters were measured at 20 locations in the level period and 29 locations in the wet and dry period using nearby urban area surface water samples from a medium-sized polluted river (a lake–river continuum, i.e., Xunsi River, Qingling River and Tangxun Lake) in the Yangtze River watershed in Wuhan, China. In this study, the environmental quality standards for surface water of China (GB3838-2002) and the WHO drinking water standard (2011) were used as reference standards. After the basic physicochemical parameters were evaluated, the possible sources of pollution in the study area under urban pressure were examined by applying multivariate statistical techniques. The factor analysis method and entropy weighting method identified three critical factors describing the type of surface water pollution in the watershed: (1) pollution from nutrients, mainly nitrogen pollution, (2) trace metals pollution, mainly from Fe and Pb, and (3) organic pollution. Based on multivariate analysis, the weighted arithmetic water quality index (WQI) was used to assess the water quality of each period. The WQI results show that the water near the urban area of the watershed temporally shows light to moderate pollution overall in the level and wet periods, and sever pollution in the dry period. The worst water quality indicating water that is not suitable for any practical use occurs in the dry period. Spatially distributed in clusters and strips visualized in kriging method, the water quality of the lake source and upstream is better than that of the downstream. In addition, Escherichia coli was detected at consistently high levels, and although the river is not a source of drinking water, it could pose a threat to downstream waterworks.