Pesticides occupy a critical position among many chemicals to which man can be exposed; their diffusion into the environment causes killing and damaging of some forms of life. The lack of highly selective pesticide action represents risk both for man and other desirable forms of life present in the environment. The present study was designed to evaluate the relation between exposure to pesticides and disorder on hematological parameters and kidney function of male agricultural workers with the mean age 37.11 ± 9.3. Another 100 unexposed men matched for age, and socioeconomic status were recruited as a control to compare the levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells (RBCs), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and urea and creatinine concentration. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit value among exposed group as compared to control group. However, there was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the RBCs count and a highly significant increase (P < 0.01) in MCV among exposed group. There was no significant difference in MCH and MCHC among exposed group. There was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in urea (39.4 ± 22 mg/dl) among exposed group as compared to control (35.7 ± 26.3 mg/dl). Also, there was a highly significant increase (P < 0.01) in creatinine among exposed group (0.953 ± 0.3 mg/dl) as compared to control (0.8 ± 0.2 mg/dl). In conclusion, exposure to pesticides produces a variety of hematological parameter disorders as well as kidney malfunction in human.

Sulfur deficiency and cadmium (Cd) pollution are two ubiquitous constraints affecting plant growth in agricultural soils. However, facing the situation of sulfur deficiency, whether surplus sulfate supply can affect Cd toxicity in plants is still unclear. Therefore, in the present study, experiments with deficient, sufficient, and excess sulfate levels under Cd stress were conducted in faba bean plants hydroponically. We found that sulfate supply significantly increased biomass of Cd-stressed plants when compared with deficient sulfate treatment. Intriguingly, sulfate application also increased Cd concentrations in leaves. Based on increased Cd concentrations without retarding plant growth, we conclude that sulfate supply enhances Cd tolerance in faba bean plants. Sulfate application increased CdSO₄⁰ proportion in the growth medium which is partially related to the increase of Cd in plants because the diffusion of CdSO₄⁰ is faster than Cd²⁺ in plants. Further study on Cd localization showed that this heavy metal was prone to accumulate in the epidermis of leaves as affected by sulfate which might contribute to enhancement of Cd tolerance. Oxidative stress induced by Cd toxicity was alleviated by surplus sulfate supply compared with deficient sulfate. Although capacities of total antioxidants were increased by sulfate in Cd-stressed plants, phenolic compounds as one kind of important antioxidants were unchanged, suggesting that sulfate has no effect on phenolic compounds for scavenging ROS under Cd stress. Taken together, sulfate accelerates Cd accumulation in the epidermis of leaves in faba bean giving rise to higher Cd tolerance.

Bulk industrial solid wastes occupy a lot of our resources and release large amounts of toxic and hazardous substances to the surrounding environment, demanding innovative strategies for grinding, classification, collection, and recycling for economically ultrafine powder. A new technology for grinding, classification, collection, and recycling solid waste is proposed, using the superheated steam produced from the industrial exhaust steam to disperse, grind, classify, and collect the industrial solid waste. A large-scale steam jet mill was designed to operate at an inlet steam temperature 230–300 °C and an inlet pressure of 0.2–0.6 MPa. A kind of industrial solid waste fluidized-bed combustion ashes was used to grinding tests at different steam temperatures and inlet pressures. The total process for grinding, classification, and collection is drying. Two kinds of particle sizes are obtained. One particle size is d₅₀ = 4.785 μm, and another particle size is d₅₀ = 8.999 μm. For particle size d₅₀ = 8.999 μm, the inlet temperature is 296 °C and an inlet pressure is 0.54 MPa for the grinding chamber. The steam flow is 21.7 t/h. The yield of superfine powder is 73 t/h. The power consumption is 3.76 kW h/t. The obtained superfine powder meets the national standard S95 slag. On the basis of these results, a reproducible and sustainable industrial ecological protocol using steam produced by industrial exhaust heat coupled to solid waste recycling is proposed, providing an efficient, large-scale, low-cost, promising, and green method for both solid waste recovery and industrial exhaust heat reutilization.

Bioretention systems are designed to manage stormwater, but they are always subject to substantial nitrate leaching. In previous laboratory-scale experiments, nitrate removal was enhanced using wood chips as a medium. However, the ability of field-scale systems to transform and remove nitrogen species is not well understood. Here, we report a wood-chip bioretention system that accepts the natural runoff from an elevated highway. The transformation of different nitrogen species indicates that the field-scale system with wood chips also inhibits nitrogen leaching. Nitrate removal was mainly found during the wet period, and was affected by the hydraulic loading rate of the system. Overall, this study showed that the field performance of the wood-chip bioretention system effectively removes nitrogen. In addition, the main period associated with the nitrogen removal process was identified.

Rice cultivation and energy use for rice production can produce the environmental impacts, especially related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also, rice straw open burning by farmers generally practiced after harvesting stage in Thailand for removing the residues in the rice field is associated with emissions of air pollutants, especially particulate matter formation that affects human health and global climate. This study assessed the environmental burdens, consisting of GHG emissions, energy use, and particulate matter formation (PM10), from rice cultivation in Thailand by life cycle assessment (LCA) and compared the environmental burdens of rice straw management scenarios: open burning, incorporation into soil, and direct combustion for electricity generation. The data were collected from the rice production cooperative in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, via onsite records and face-to-face questionnaires in 2016. The environmental impacts were evaluated from cradle-to-farm gate. The results showed that the total GHG emissions were 0.64 kg CO₂-eq per kilogram of paddy rice, the total energy use was 1.80 MJ per kilogram of paddy rice and the PM10 emissions were 0.42 g PM10-eq per kilogram of paddy rice. The results of rice straw management scenarios showed that rice straw open burning had the highest GHG and PM10 emissions. However, rice straw utilization by incorporation into soil and direct combustion for electricity generation could reduce these impacts substantially.

Increases in global wildfires and fire severity are expected to result from global warming. Severe wildfires not only burn surface vegetation but also affect forest soil. Humic substances play key roles in the transport of nutrients and the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effects of forest fires on the chemical properties of fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) extracted from non-burned and burned forest soils in Gunma, Japan. The differential thermal analysis of FA indicated that the intensity of exothermic reaction peak at 400 °C was 2-fold higher than that from non-burned soil. Based on pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis with tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, the amount of pyrolysate compounds in FA from burnt soil was significantly lower than that in FA from non-burnt soil. Therefore, we can conclude that the forest fire caused the significant change in the properties of FA such as increasing the aromaticity and refractory. In addition, the concentration of dissolved organic carbon with low molecular weight in surface soil increased after forest fire. This study suggests that the denaturation of soil organic matter by wildfire can affect the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems.

Biofouling is a serious issue in membrane-based water and wastewater treatment as it critically compromises the efficacy of the water treatment processes. This investigation demonstrates the antimicrobial and antifouling properties of a nanocomposite membrane system composed of carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide (COOH-GO) and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU). The PPSU/COOH-GO nanocomposite membrane exhibited excellent antimicrobial properties, achieving maximum bacteriostasis rates of 74.2% and 81.1% against the representative Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively) and 41.9% against the representative Gram-positive bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus). The PPSU/COOH-GO nanocomposite membrane inhibited the attachment, colonization, and the biofilm formation of three species. Antifouling was assessed through filtration experiments using a model foulant bovine serum albumin (BSA). The fouling mechanisms were investigated by Hermia’s models (complete blocking, intermediate blocking, standard blocking, and cake formation), and the analysis involved fitting the volumetric flux decline experimental data to models. The fouling study revealed a less irreversible fouling and increased flux recovery ratio for the PPSU/COOH-GO nanocomposite membrane. Complete blocking of pores and cake formation were the major fouling mechanisms for the membrane.

In this research, the Cu²⁺ ion adsorption from aqueous solution was investigated by fish scale (FS) and nanomagnetic (Fe₃O₄) loaded fish scale (MFS) from fishery biomass. We characterized the structure and morphology of synthesized magnetic adsorbent by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), FESEM, and XRD. The FTIR and XRD tests confirmed the collagen fibers, apatite crystals, and nanomagnetite particles presence in the MFS structure. The isotherm models of Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich were exerted to the empirical equilibrium data, by which was found that the Langmuir equation have the best fit to the experimental data in comparison to the other isotherm equations. The maximum capacities of monolayer coverage of FS and MFS for adsorption of Cu²⁺ ions were achieved, respectively, 61.73 and 103.1 mg g⁻¹ based on Langmuir isotherm at 45 °C. It was also discovered that the Cu²⁺ ion adsorption onto MFS was totally a physisorption-controlled process. It was perceived that the model of pseudo-second order rate kinetics also could be applied for predicting of studied adsorption processes. Here, the adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process because of the negative and the positive values of ∆G⁰ and ∆H⁰, respectively. The reusability potential of the used adsorbents was studied, so that the results showed an efficiency of 76.5 and 83.92% for FS and MFS, respectively, after four adsorption-desorption cycles.

Antifouling chemicals are legacy contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Previous experiments have shown that a 14-day exposure to the antifouling chemical medetomidine delays metamorphosis and reduces body mass in wood frog tadpoles. In the present study, we exposed wood frog tadpoles to medetomidine for 3, 7, and 10 days at 100 nM, 1 μM, and 10 μM. We also exposed American toad tadpoles to medetomidine for 3 days at four concentrations (10 nM, 100 nM, 1 μM, and 10 μM) in static renewal experiments. In each experiment, we measured growth, frequency and time to metamorphosis, and mass at metamorphosis. In both species, medetomidine significantly slowed development as measured by the Gosner stage. After 34 days in culture, wood frog tadpoles exposed to 1 and 10 μM medetomidine for as few as 3 days were significantly less developed compared to controls. Toads exposed to 1 μM medetomidine for 3 days were also significantly less developed on day 27, but by day 34, there was no difference from controls. For wood frogs, medetomidine significantly affected time to metamorphosis with a trend for tadpoles at lower concentrations metamorphosing sooner than those at higher concentrations. While medetomidine affected time to metamorphosis in wood frogs, it did not affect fresh mass, dry mass, or mortality compared to controls. Wood frog tadpoles that did not metamorphose after over 90 days in culture were more frequent in high-concentration groups than in the control. In toads, 10 μM medetomidine was 100% lethal within 23 days, but at the same concentration and duration, no wood frog tadpoles died. Lower concentrations were also significantly lethal to toads compared to controls, but tadpoles that survived in 10 and 100 nM metamorphosed sooner than those in 1 μM. Fresh mass of toad tadpoles exposed to 1 μm was significantly smaller at metamorphosis compared to that of controls. Medetomidine also affected the behavior of tadpoles. In toads, medetomidine significantly reduced both percent activity and startle response. In wood frogs, medetomidine significantly reduced percent activity, but increased startle response. We discuss our finding of low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition of different life history endpoints in terms of hormetic mechanisms. The differential sensitivity between species in terms of mortality, frequency of metamorphosis, and behavior highlights the potential negative environmental effects of medetomidine to amphibians.

This study aimed to predict the number of pneumonia cases in Chiang Mai Province. An autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) was used in data fitting and to predict future pneumonia cases monthly. Total pneumonia cases of 67,583 were recorded in Chiang Mai during 2003–2014 that the monthly pattern of case was similar every year. Monthly pneumonia cases were increased during February and September, which are the periods of winter and rainy season in Thailand and decreased during April to July (the period of summer season to early rainy season). Using available data on 12 years of pneumonia cases, air pollution, and climate in Chiang Mai, the optimum ARIMA model was investigated based on several conditions. Seasonal change was included in the models due to statistically strong season conditions. Twelve ARIMA model (ARMODEL1–ARMODEL12) scenarios were investigated. Results showed that the most appropriate model was ARIMA (1,0,2)(2,0,0)[12] with PM10 (ARMODEL5) exhibiting the lowest AIC of − 38.29. The predicted number of monthly pneumonia cases by using ARMODEL5 during January to March 2013 was 727, 707, and 658 cases, while the real number was 804, 868, and 783 cases, respectively. This finding indicated that PM₁₀ held the most important role to predict monthly pneumonia cases in Chiang Mai, and the model was able to predict future pneumonia cases in Chiang Mai accurately.