Microplastics are small-size plastic piece scales (particles < 5 mm) in sediments and waters which interact with environment and organisms by various means. Microplastics are becoming a universal ecological concern since they may be a source of hazardous chemicals to marine organisms and environments. Recent research suggests microplastics could enable the transfer of hydrophobic aquatic pollutants or chemical additives to biota. Even though microplastic presence and interactions are recently being detected in marine and freshwater systems, the fate of microplastics is still very poorly understood. This literature review is a summary of the sources and transport of microplastics, their interactions with toxic chemicals and the methodologies for chemical quantification and characterization of microplastics. The environmental outcome and impact of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants were assessed as well as the trends and update on microplastic research in the South African aquatic ecosystem.

Global warming regarded as the major global issue over the past few decades, whereas carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have been cited as one of the main causes of this problem. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of energy consumption, economic development, and population growth on high CO₂ emitting sectors of Pakistan such as transportation, industrial, and household. The data used in this study was taken from multiple databases from 2000 to 2018. We employed novel grey relational analysis (GRA) models to assess the connection between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, population, energy consumption, and CO₂ emission. Furthermore, the Hurwicz method was used to analyze which factor contributing more to CO₂ emission. Result reveals that CO₂ emission, gross domestic product per capita, population, and energy consumption showed a strong association among all sectors. Whereas, population contributes more to intensifying CO₂ emissions in the transportation sector of Pakistan. This study provides useful insights for policymakers to take preventive and corrective measures to overcome CO₂ emissions as well as sustainable development.

Herein, the impact of using dried Caulerpa prolifera nanoparticles and silica-coated Caulerpa prolifera nanoparticles for the removal of phenol from aqueous solution has been investigated. The chemical structure and morphology of both dried Caulerpa prolifera nanoparticles and silica-coated Caulerpa prolifera nanoparticles were characterized by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Batch mode experiments were conducted depending on adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, and initial phenol concentration. In order to investigate the adsorption mechanism of the phenol molecules to the surface of the nanoparticles, kinetic models including pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion models were executed. To describe the equilibrium isotherms, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were analyzed. However, the Langmuir isotherm model was agreed to be more significant with the obtained experimental data.

Myristica fragrans, commonly known as nutmeg, belongs to the Myristicaceae family and is used as a spice and for its medicinal properties. The purpose of this study was to assess the neuroprotective effect of M. fragrans seed methanolic extract (MFE) on scopolamine-induced oxidative damage, inflammation, and apoptosis in male rat cortical tissue. MFE or N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a standard antioxidant drug, was administered 7 days before treatment with scopolamine resulted in high levels of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide (oxidative stress biomarkers), tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta (inflammatory mediators), and Bax and caspase-3 pro-apoptotic proteins. Additionally, scopolamine significantly depleted levels of glutathione (an antioxidant marker), Bcl-2 and c-FLIP (anti-apoptotic proteins), and antioxidant enzymes activity in cortical tissue. Scopolamine also enhanced acetylcholinesterase activity. MFE treatment protected the cortex of rats from the effects of scopolamine by reversing the effects on these toxicity markers. Interestingly, the neuroprotective effect of MFE was comparable to that exerted by the reference antioxidant NAC. Thus, our findings show that MFE has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects. The beneficial effects of MFE on scopolamine were partially mediated by promoting heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1) expression and preserving cortical tissue structure.

Clean air is essential for the maintenance of human life and environmental balance. The atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is one of the main air pollutants and is characterized by the heterogeneity of its composition, being able to accumulate numerous components, such as metallic elements, which contribute to increasing its toxicity. The objectives of this study were to assess of the air quality in two urban environments, to carry out the source apportionment of the metallic elements Al, Ba, Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in the PM₂.₅ and PM₂.₅–₁₀, and evaluate the toxicity of PM₂.₅ and PM₂.₅–₁₀ water-soluble fractions using Lactuca sativa as bioindicator. The collection of PM₂.₅ and PM₂.₅–₁₀ was performed using a dichotomous stacked filter unit (SFU) sampler. The source apportionment was carried out using the EPA PMF 5.0 receptor model and the toxicity tests followed the EPA Ecological Effects Test Guidelines OPPTS 850.4200: Seed Germination/Root Elongation Toxicity Test. The source apportionment demonstrated that vehicular and industrial emissions are the main anthropogenic sources contributing to the concentration of metallic elements to thePM₂.₅ and PM₂.₅–₁₀. The studied sites did not show statistically significant differences in terms of phytotoxicity to the Lactuca sativa seeds. Cd and Cu were identified as the main metallic elements which able to cause negative effects on seed germination and root elongation, respectively. The presence of cadmium and copper in the atmospheric particulate matter is one of the main causes of the phytotoxicity affecting the Lactuca sativa seed germination and root elongation.

Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) concentrations at the Middle Adriatic coastal site of Croatia were affected by different air-mass inflows and/or local sources and meteorological conditions, and peaked in summer. More polluted continental air-mass inflows mostly affected the area in the winter period, while southern marine pathways had higher impact in spring and summer. Chemical characterization of the water-soluble inorganic and organic ionic constituents is discussed with respect to seasonal trends, possible sources, and air-mass inputs. The largest contributors to the PM₂.₅ mass were sea salts modified by the presence of secondary sulfate-rich aerosols indicated also by principal component analysis. SO₄²⁻ was the prevailing anion, while the anthropogenic SO₄²⁻ (anth-nssSO₄²⁻) dominantly constituted the major non-sea-salt SO₄²⁻ (nssSO₄²⁻) fraction. Being influenced by the marine origin, its biogenic fraction (bio-nssSO₄²⁻) increased particularly in the spring. During the investigated period, aerosols were generally acidic. High Cl⁻ deficit was observed at Middle Adriatic location for which the acid displacement is primarily responsible. With nssSO₄²⁻ being dominant in Cl⁻ depletion, sulfur-containing species from anthropogenic pollution emissions may have profound impact on atmospheric composition through altering chlorine chemistry in this region. However, when accounting for the neutralization of H₂SO₄ by NH₃, the potential of HNO₃ and organic acids to considerably influence Cl⁻ depletion is shown to increase. Intensive open-fire events substantially increased the PM₂.₅ concentrations and changed the water-soluble ion composition and aerosol acidity in summer of 2015. To our knowledge, this work presents the first time-resolved data evaluating the seasonal composition of water-soluble ions and their possible sources in PM₂.₅ at the Middle Adriatic area. This study contributes towards a better understanding of atmospheric composition in the coastal Adriatic area and serves as a basis for the comparison with future studies related to the air quality at the coastal Adriatic and/or Mediterranean regions.

The development of human activities along the Atlantic coast is responsible for the chronic pollution of the environment with organic and inorganic contaminants. In recent years, environmental regulations such as the MSFD (2008/56/EC) and the OSPAR commission have been developed to preserve coastal environments, giving rise to studies in aquatic biomonitoring. One of them is to use biomarkers to observe the pollutants impact on coastal species such as the bivalve Mimachlamys varia. A defence biomarker was considered in this research to study metal accumulation, with metallothioneins (Mts) involved in the uptake, storage and excretion of metals. To achieve this, bivalves were collected in March 2016 in seven sites along the French Atlantic coasts (open area) and in harbours (semi-open area) with contrasting levels of pollution. Biomarker assays were performed to compare the responses in several tissues (digestive glands, gonads, gills) to inorganic pollutants. The results showed that the accumulation of trace element was different depending on the site and the organ. Mts concentrations were greater in digestive gland compared with gills. Usually, Mts levels were decreased in site showing elevated levels of trace element which explained by downregulation of Mts. Furthermore, results of correlation between Mts and inorganic contaminants and the influence of abiotic factors on Mts suggested that Mts in M. varia is not a relevant biomarker in environments exposed to cocktails of contaminants.

The study of subjective well-being (SWB) has attracted considerable attention from scholars globally. This has stimulated numerous studies that have identified regional and individual factors associated with SWB, but the extant research lacks multi-level studies that simultaneously examine their influence on SWB. Environmental pollution is one of such factors, but few studies have investigated its effect on SWB in China particularly. The current study addressed these problems by conducting hierarchical linear regressions to explore the effects of regional and individual factors on Chinese people’s SWB. Three major environmental pollutions (wastewater pollution, domestic waste pollution, and air pollution) were studied using data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2013 and China Statistical Yearbook 2014. The results indicated that wastewater pollution and domestic waste pollution had significant negative influence on SWB. Moreover, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita might contribute more to the improvement of SWB than income inequality. This implies that individuals’ SWB might be enhanced by improving absolute income, which is consistent with the micro-level proposition of the Easterlin paradox. Overall, these findings signal that effective management of environmental pollution is essential for promoting the SWB of the people in China.

Freshwater fish Cirrhinus mrigala were exposed to tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) with three different concentrations (0.04, 0.2, and 1 mg/L) for a period of 21 days. During the study period, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) levels were significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited. The superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels were increased significantly (p < 0.05) in gills, liver, and kidney tissues, whereas glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (except liver tissue) activities were inhibited when compared to the control group. Likewise, exposure to TCEP significantly (p < 0.05) altered the biochemical (glucose and protein) and electrolyte (sodium, potassium, and chloride) levels of fish. Light microscopic studies exhibited series of histopathological anomalies in the gills, liver, and kidney tissues. The present study reveals that TCEP at tested concentrations causes adverse effects on fish and the studied biomarkers could be used for monitoring the ecotoxicity of organophosphate esters (OPEs).

Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration contributes significantly to carbon emissions, and has become a serious problem in China, which has seen an exponential rise in waste over the last twenty years due to rapid urbanization and the associated consumer economy growth. To tackle this issue, this paper develops a leader-follower optimized approach for economic and environmental equilibrium in incineration power plants that includes a carbon allowance allocation scheme (IPP-CAAS) under combustion and pollutant limitations. In the leader-follower (bi-level) game, the regional authority on the upper level determines the carbon allocations and environmental targets and the IPPs on the lower level develop schemes to maximize revenue under the upper-level restrictions. By employing uncertain parameters for the carbon and power conversion fluctuations, the approach is able to more accurately depict the industry characteristics of waste incineration process in this carbon-economy balance problem. The robustness and practicality of the proposed methodology was then validated through a case study. Scenario analysis under different political parameters indicates that the proposed methodology can assist the authorities to achieve carbon-economy trade-off and under serious carbon-control situations, encourage the IPPs to reduce their blended coal ratios, and invest in low-carbon incineration technology. Managerial insights on further industrial developments are also given for the authority and relevant practitioners.