In Brazil, the increased use of pesticides has caused several consequences such as mortality of non-target species, contamination of aquatic environments, and changes in biodiversity. Regarding humans, such products could increase the cases of poisoning, the number of different types of cancer, and also neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, especially in workers who occupationally handle pesticides. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the number of agricultural poisonings from 2007 to 2017 and if there is a correlation between harvested areas, and to analyze the possible factors that contribute to poisonings. Our results demonstrated an increase in poisonings by 8% and a correlation with the growth of the harvested area. We emphasize that other factors are also determinant for the increase of poisonings such as the absence or inappropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), the toxicity of mixtures, the mishandling, and the lack of information on how to use and spray such products. Among the circumstances about poisoning, we presented suicide attempts and accidental causes. We found that the area planted and harvested is also associated with the amount of poisoning; however, several other behavioral factors are also determinant for the growth of agricultural poisoning in Brazil.

The pollution of contaminants brought by plastic fragments is worth paying attention in the study of microplastic. The additives, like phthalates (PAEs), introduced during manufacture, are physically dispersed and can easily release into environment. Polyvinyl chloride pipes are widely used in China, and DBP is also a typical kind of additives in PVC materials. Here, the release behavior of DBP from PVC plastic pipe fragments was investigated in water environment under different conditions. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) passive sampler was used to monitor the contents of DBP. The curve of DBP concentration started from the first increasing stage until a short equilibrium after 45 days’ incubation followed by a second increasing part. The release kinetics and the rate-limiting step were discussed. For the whole migration period, the release process was better fitted to pseudo-second order which was participated by both intraparticle and plastic-water film diffusion processes while the two separated parts had different results. Moreover, light, smaller fragments, and higher temperature could all accelerate the release rate and increase the migration amount of DBP. The effect of temperature was the most significant of all, and higher temperature showed more significant effects. Besides, DBP tended to migrate in a long-time continuously. However, the release of additives will be promoted by various physical and chemical processes in nature compared to laboratory tests. Consequently, microplastic (plastic fragments with sizes smaller than 5 mm) with additives acts as a vector for pollutants, and will bring more threat to both environment and organisms.

Globally, both obesity and underweight are severe health risks for various diseases. The current study systematically examined the emerging evidence to identify an association between body mass index (BMI) and COVID-19 disease outcome. Online literature databases (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Medrixv and BioRixv) were screened following standard search strategy having the appropriate keyword such as “Obesity”, “Underweight”, “BMI”, “Body Mass Index”, “2019-nCov”, “COVID-19, “novel coronavirus”, “coronavirus disease”. Studies published till 20ᵗʰ April 2020 were included without language restriction. These studies include case reports, case series, cohort, and any other which reported BMI, overweight/obesity or underweight, and its complication with COVID-19 disease. This study observed COVID-19 infection among BMI < 25 kg/m² with prevalence of 0.60 (95%CI: 0.34–0.86, I² = − 76.77) as compared to the 0.34 (95%CI: 0.23–0.44, I² = 53.45% heterogeneity) having BMI > 25 kg/m². The results of the current study show that BMI plays a significant role in COVID-19 severity in all age groups, especially the older individuals. A panel of doctors and nursing staff should review COVID-19 patients with higher BMI with other co-morbidities (diabetes and hypertension), and they should be given increased vigilance, priority in testing, and treatment to control the associated co-morbidities. Further, the COVID-19 patients whose illness entered 7–10 days, age > 50 years, and elevated CRP levels should be given additional medical considerations. Our finding showed that the population and patients with high BMI have moderate to high risk of medical complications with COVID-19, and hence, their health status should be monitored more frequently including monitoring of blood pressure and blood glucose.

The coastal sediments in the northern Bay of Bengal has undergone contamination due to the heavy metal contribution from rivers. To evaluate the status of contamination in the inner shelf region of the Bay of Bengal, a sediment core chronologically constrained using ²¹⁰Pb dating technique from the northwest Bay of Bengal was investigated for several trace elements. To assess sediment quality, enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and Modified Nemerow Pollution Index (MPI) were derived. The influence on ecology by individual contaminants and combined contaminants was evaluated using the potential ecological risk factor (Erⁱ) and modified ecological risk index (MRI). The single-element pollution indices indicated that the sediment has no significant pollution by individual elements. However, the multi-elemental approach shows slight pollution in the sediment core. The ecology is at low risk by contaminants present in the sediment. Comparison of the elemental values of shelf sediment with adjacent riverine and estuarine samples demonstrates the role of estuarine environment and/or high riverine flux of sediments causing either removal or dilution of trace elements during its transport from the river to the sea.

Anaerobic digestion of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes Mart.) from eutrophic water bodies could be a sustainable post weed management practice to generate bioenergy. Comparative analyses of the water quality, physicochemical characteristics, and biomethanation kinetics of water hyacinth from two sites with different water types (brackish versus freshwater) in the Ozama river, Dominican Republic, were conducted. Also, the energy produced from the anaerobic digestion and that consumed in harvesting was estimated. The highest non-structural components in the form of protein (18.8 ± 1.9%) and extractives (26.4 ± 0.1%) were found in brackish water hyacinth, whereas that from freshwater had the highest amount of holocellulose (41.2 ± 2.8%). Indicators of plant productivity, i.e., chlorophyll b and bulk density, were more than 30% higher in brackish than in freshwater hyacinth. The methane production rate in the digestion of water hyacinth from brackish water (22.5 N. L/kg VS ₐddₑd· day) was twice that from freshwater (10.0 N. L/kg VSₐddₑd· day). The higher nutrient content in the brackish water could have influenced the superior performance of water hyacinth from that source compared with that from freshwater. Overall, the maximum methane potential of the Ozama river water hyacinth was 399.2 ± 32.2 N. L CH₄/kg VSₐddₑd. The estimated energy produced per ton of fresh biomass was 846.5 MJ, but only 57.9 MJ would be required for mechanical harvesting. The biomethanation of water hyacinth can mitigate weed management costs in developing countries.

In this study, the physicochemical properties, microstructure, and heavy metal leaching potential of various municipal solid waste incinerated-bottom ash (MSWI-BA) particle sizes were detected. The environmental risks that possibly result from the utilization of MSWI-BA aggregate in road construction are discussed. The air-dried MSWI-BA was sieved into four groups, including 4.75–9.5 mm, 2.36–4.75 mm, 0.075–2.36 mm, and < 0.075 mm. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted. It was found that the main elements of MSWI-BA are Ca, Si, and Al; the major heavy metals are Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb, and the main mineral compositions are quartz and calcite. Even though the major elements were found to be related to MSWI-BA particle size, the micropores, attached particles, and hydration products were shown to be independent on the particle size. The standard leaching test and a simulated leaching experiment with four solid/liquid ratios were implemented to study the leaching behavior of Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cr. Results showed that the leaching characteristics of selected metals were affected by the species of metal, MSWI-BA particle size, solid/liquid ratio, and the test method. The MSWI-BA aggregate was found to be an appropriate substitute material for natural aggregate in road construction due to its low metal leaching potential.

Streams and surrounding terrestrial ecosystems are closely linked by numerous resource subsidies including anthropogenic subsidies which are increasingly entering streams due to intensive human activities. Also, streams are threatened by stressors such as glyphosate—the most widely used herbicide worldwide. However, the ecological consequences of anthropogenic subsidies and glyphosate on freshwaters are not fully understood. Here, we deployed leaf litter (Cinnamomum camphora) bags containing neither, either, or both treatments of anthropogenic carrion subsidy (chicken meat) and glyphosate (coated in agar) in four streams, which had different land use (i.e., forest, village, and suburban) in Huangshan, Anhui Province, China. We aimed to investigate the individual and combined effects of anthropogenic carrion subsidy and glyphosate on macroinvertebrates in streams and whether these effects differ with land use change. Macroinvertebrate communities significantly differed among streams: biodiversity index and total taxon richness were highest in village streams and lowest in suburban stream. Overall effects of carrion subsidy and glyphosate on macroinvertebrates were not significant. However, several taxa were affected in one or more streams by the individual or combined effects of carrion subsidy and glyphosate, indicating the importance of local community structure and physical habitats in driving the response of macroinvertebrates to carrion subsidy and glyphosate. Collectively, these results imply that the effects of carrion subsidy and glyphosate on macroinvertebrates are site-specific, and future studies should cover more streams and last longer time to better understand the ecological mechanisms driving such pattern.

In this study, we want to clarify the driving factors of phytoplankton community in a set of eutrophic lakes in the lowland areas of Huaihe River, one of seven biggest rivers in China. We analyzed the phytoplankton community of five lakes located in the lowland areas of Huaihe River using Reynolds functional groups (RFG) approach, with simultaneous measurement of several environmental variables in monthly sampling campaigns during 2 years. The annual average phytoplankton biovolume of the five lakes ranged from 3.7 to 9.9 mm³/L, with the highest values occurring during warm seasons. The shallow eutrophic lakes primarily contained mixing and low-light adaptive species with C and D groups as dominant all-round the year. Representatives of X2, Y, and W1 were predominant during the spring and the autumn with high nutrients and organic matter concentrations. Cyanobacteria were mainly represented by group S1 especially during the summer. Mixing, temperature, together weak light caused by phytoplankton biomass, could shape phytoplankton assemblage more than nutrients in the shallow eutrophic lakes with warm-temperate climate.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between climate change and political instability in the MENA region. To this extent, 18 Middle East and North African (MENA) countries are analyzed covering the period 1985:01–2016:12 with monthly data. In econometric analysis, at first cross-sectional dependency analysis is applied, and existence of cross-sectional dependency among countries is found. Therefore, CADF-second generation panel unit root test applied, and finally, Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) panel causality test that consider the cross-sectional dependency are utilized. For empirical analysis, temperature and precipitation data representing climate change, political instability, and conflict data are employed. According to the findings, there is a causal relationship from climate change to political instability in 16 countries and to conflict in 15 countries. In addition to this, at least one causal relationship is determined from climate change to political instability or conflict in all MENA countries. Therefore, empirical results support the assumption that climate change acts as a threat multiplier in MENA countries since it triggers, accelerates, and deepens the current instabilities.

The overmining of groundwater makes the aquifer in a coastal area prone to seawater intrusion and further leads to deterioration of water quality and ecosystem degradation. However, the vulnerability evaluation of seawater intrusion can provide a scientific basis for the prevention of seawater intrusion, and then ensure the sustainable use of groundwater. In this paper, Baihai City was taken as the study area, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), variable power theory, and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method were used synthetically. The vulnerability of seawater intrusion in the study area was divided into lowest vulnerability, low vulnerability, medium vulnerability, and high vulnerability, and these correspond to 1739.98, 133.88, 664.32, and 737.55 km². On this basis, combined with the groundwater quality and quantity and ecosystem of the study area, the groundwater is divided into concentrated groundwater supply area (8.16%), decentralized groundwater supply area (12.44%), protected area (78.94%), and reserved zone (0.45%), which can provide the basis for the rational exploitation and management of groundwater. By analyzing the results of constant right and variable weight evaluation, combined with the history of seawater intrusion, it is proved that the variable weight evaluation model can effectively solve the unreasonable situation caused by the internal differences of the indicator, so that the evaluation results are more in line with reality. In addition, the application of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method makes the evaluation results clearer.