The original publication of this paper contains a mistake. Unfortunately, an author was inadvertently missed out, Constanza Arriagada had participated in the operation of the anaerobic digesters cited in the work and now as a PhD student, she is involved in the production of other publication

Diclofenac (DCF), a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been detected in effluents of conventional wastewater treatment plants worldwide. The presence of this compound in various water resources even at very low concentrations poses a big threat both to human health and aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solution using Fe–Mn binary oxide (FMBO) adsorbents was investigated. FMBO adsorbents were prepared at varying Fe/Mn molar ratios (1:0, 3:1, and 1:1) through simultaneous oxidation and co-precipitation methods. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of important parameters, such as initial DCF concentration, FMBO dosage, solution pH, and Fe/Mn molar ratio, on DCF removal. Acidic to neutral pH conditions were more favorable for DCF adsorption, while increasing initial DCF concentration and adsorbent dosage resulted in higher DCF removal efficiencies for the three oxides. Lower Fe/Mn molar ratio during FBMO synthesis favored higher DCF removals of up to 99% within a wide pH range. Optimization of operating parameters (initial DCF concentration, FMBO dosage, and solution pH) by Box–Behnken design resulted in up to 28.84 mg g⁻¹ DCF removal for 3:1 FMBO. Freundlich isotherm best described the experimental data, indicating that adsorption occurred on heterogeneous adsorbent surface. Chemisorption was the rate-limiting step of the DCF removal, as best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Increasing agricultural production requires the application of more chemical inputs during the growth of different crops. This study aims at assessing the energy indicators and environmental impacts during the initial 7-year growth of orange orchards. Through the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique, the hotspots in 11 environmental indicators of the orange orchard growth were determined for different years. The system boundaries were considered to be the orange orchard gates, and the functional units were 1 kg of orange and 1-h orange orchard. The energy input of nitrogen fertilizer, diesel, and human labor has the biggest share in the total energy inputs. The total average energy input and energy output (in 7 years) were calculated as 62,917.027 MJ/ha and 47,618.17 MJ/ha, respectively. The results showed that the energy indices (energy efficiency and net energy) were increasing from year first to seventh and also the share of renewable energy increased. According to the results, with respect to the highest share for production of 1 kg orange in different criteria, nitrogen fertilizer was the main contributor to abiotic depletion and human toxicity, orchard field emissions and nitrogen fertilizer had the highest shares in global warming and photochemical oxidation, fossil fuels and nitrogen fertilizer were the highest contributors to ozone layer depletion, whereas ecotoxicity was mainly affected by chemical fertilizers and orchard surface emissions. Finally, the main contributor for acidification and eutrophication was surface emissions. In the study of environmental impacts from the first to the seventh year, it should be noted that if the functional unit is considered mass based (1 kg orange), due to the unproductive of the trees in the first to third years (low fruit production), the environmental effects are high and then it decreases after the third year due to increasing the yield of the product. Generally, with consideration of the tree growth period, the useful data of energy and environmental impacts for production horticultural products can be provided so that we can avoid multiple interpretations of results associated to reporting annual energy and environmental impact variations.

Karst processes play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Aquatic phototrophs can transform bicarbonate, which is mainly derived from the weathering of carbonates, into organic carbon. Carbonate mineral weathering coupled with aquatic photosynthesis can be considered a stable and durable carbon sink process. In this study, we addressed seasonal variations in water chemistry in the Lijiang River Basin, which is a typical karst basin, through a comprehensive geochemical study of the river water in four seasons. The parameters were measured in situ, including major ions and isotopes of inorganic and organic carbon. The results showed that (1) DIC was mainly derived from the weathering of carbonates; (2) the transformation from bicarbonate to organic carbon by aquatic phototrophs was evident, and the water chemistry changed, especially in spring and autumn and in the mainstream from Guilin to Yangshuo, which benefited the growth of aquatic phototrophs; and (3) the organic carbon derived from bicarbonates by aquatic phototrophs was nearly half the total organic carbon and 8% of the dissolved inorganic carbon. These results imply that aquatic phototrophs in karst basins can significantly stabilize carbon originating from carbonate rock weathering processes in karst areas.

The pollutants’ emissions from on-road transport are critical pressure on the climate change scenario, and most developing countries rely on mostly diesel transportation. The current study aimed to estimate the environmental impact of the distance from the agricultural production area of fresh food (papaya, potato, and tomato) to a fresh food distribution center located in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The way the products were carried was assessed for calculating the total transported volume. The total amount carried was measured, considering the number of trips multiplied by the total distance traveled within a year of supply. An online calculator was used to evaluate the amount of CO₂ emission, and to allow the estimative of the amount of CO₂-eq, that is the Global Warming Impact (GWP) in 100 years. The highest CO₂ emission was identified in the potato transported from Paraná State to the distribution center, with a CO₂-eq emission of 3237 t/year (64% of contribution), followed by the papaya from Bahia State (2723 t/year, 42% of contribution), and the tomato from Sao Paulo State (625 t/year, 71% of contribution). However, when computing the GWP, the highest value was found in the transport of potato from the Minas Gerais State (8 × 10⁻² in 100 years) followed by the papaya from Rio Grande do Norte State (5 × 10⁻² in 100 years) and the papaya from Bahia (3 × 10⁻² in 100 years). The higher the amount of product transported by a trip, the smaller the environmental impact in the long run. A proper strategy to reduce the environmental impact would be to have large freight volume when transporting food from vast distances within continental countries.

The water quality in many Midwestern streams and lakes is negatively impacted by agricultural activities. Although the agricultural inputs that degrade water quality are well known, the impact of these inputs varies as a function of geologic and topographic parameters. To better understand how a range of land use, geologic, and topographic factors affect water quality in Midwestern watersheds, we sampled surface water quality parameters, including nitrate, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, bacteria, pH, specific conductance, temperature, and biotic index (BI) in 35 independent sub-watersheds within the Lower Grand River Watershed in northern Missouri. For each sub-watershed, the land use/land cover, soil texture, depth to bedrock, depth to the water table, recent precipitation area, total stream length, watershed shape/relief ratio, topographic complexity, mean elevation, and slope were determined. Water quality sampling was conducted twice: in the spring and in the late summer/early fall. A pairwise comparison of water quality parameters acquired in the fall and spring showed that each of these factors varies considerably with season, suggesting that the timing is critical when comparing water quality indicators. Correlation analysis between water quality indicators and watershed characteristics revealed that both geologic and land use characteristics correlated significantly with water quality parameters. The water quality index had the highest correlation with the biotic index during the spring, implying that the lower water quality conditions observed in the spring might be more representative of the longer-term water quality conditions in these watersheds than the higher quality conditions observed in the fall. An assessment of macroinvertebrates indicated that the biotic index was primarily influenced by nutrient loading due to excessive amounts of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) discharge from agricultural land uses. The PCA analysis found a correlation between turbidity, E. coli, and BI, suggesting that livestock grazing may adversely affect the water quality in this watershed. Moreover, this analysis found that N, P, and SC contribute greatly to the observed water quality variability. The results of this study can be used to improve decision-making strategies to improve water quality for the entire river basin.

Plastics are recalcitrant and inert to degrade, and destabilization leads to accumulate in the terrestrial and marine ecosystems; need for the development of strategies for reducing these plastic wastes in a sustainable manner would be revolutionary. We studied the bacterial adherence, degradation and destabilization of polyvinylchloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) by marine bacterial strain AIIW2 by a series of analytical and microscopic observations over 3 months. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence and the phylogenetic analysis of the strain AIIW2, it showed 97.39% similarity with Bacillus species. Degradation of plastics was determined by the weight loss after 90 days with bacterial strain which detected up to 0.26 ± 0.02, 0.96 ± 0.02, and 1.0 ± 0.01% for PVC, LDPE, and HDPE films, respectively over initial weights. The mineralization of plastic film was found to be maximum in LDPE followed by HDPE and PVC. Bacterial interaction had increased roughness and deteriorated the surface of plastics which is revealed by the scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. Bending vibrations of the alkane rock chain (–CH₂ and –CH₃) and carbonyl (–CO) regions in LDPE and HDPE films, while there was slight stretching in the hydroxyl (–OH) regions of carboxylic acid in PVC which is evidenced through Fourier transform infrared spectral studies, suggested the oxidative activities of the bacteria. Though, the bacterial activity was higher on the LDPE and HDPE than PVC film which may be due to the presence of chlorine atom in PVC structure making it more versatile. The results of the present study revealed the ability of marine bacterial strain for instigating their colonization over plastic films and deteriorating the polymeric structure.

The increasing load of nanoplastic pollution in the environment has become a major concern toward human and environmental safety. The current investigation mainly focused on assessing the toxic behavior of nanoplastics (polystyrene nano-spheres (PNS)) toward blood cells and marine crustacean. The study also investigated the temporal stability of PNS under different water matrices and its size-dependent sedimentation behavior in the sea water dispersion. The nano-dispersion showed mean particle size of 561.4 ± 0.80 and 613.7 ± 0.11 nm for PNS 1 and 781.4 ± 0.80 and 913.7 ± 0.11 nm for PNS 2 in lake and seawater, respectively after 48-h incubation, which is ~ 8-fold increase from its original size. The LC50 value against Artemia salina and lymphocytes were found to be 4.82 and 8.79 μg/mL, and 75 μg/mL, respectively for PNS 1 and PNS 2. The genotoxic study reveals that around 50% of lymphocytes were affected by both PNS at 50 μg/mL concentration, whereas the cytotoxic studies on RBC and lymphocytes showed 50% toxicity only at 100 μg/mL concentration. The genotoxic study displayed numerous tri- and multi-nucleated cells. The biochemical profile of A. salina exposed to lethal concentration demonstrated a significant decrease in the total protein, reduced glutathione, and catalase activity and increase in lipid peroxidation activity as a result of PNS permeation to tissues. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the polystyrene nano-spheres are emerging pollutant in the environment and are hazardous to humans.

Formaldehyde (FA) is a carcinogenic aldehyde illegally added to creams as a hair straightening agent for the Brazilian blowout (BB). This study aimed to investigate the possible effects of occupational exposure to FA on global DNA methylation in salon workers with different exposure levels. FA exposure was monitored using environmental and biological measurements. The study included 49 salon workers divided by FA levels in the workplace into group A (FA < 0.01 ppm; n = 8), group B (0.03 ppm < FA < 0.06 ppm; n = 15), and group C (0.08 ppm < FA < 0.24 ppm; n = 26). The global DNA methylation levels were 3.12%, 4.55%, and 4.29% for groups A, B, and C, respectively, with statistically higher values for groups B and C compared to group A (p = 0.002). A correlation was found between FA in passive samplers and global DNA methylation (rₛ = 0.307, p = 0.032). Additionally, when only taking into account the hairdressers that performed the BB on clients instead of the whole group, a stronger correlation was observed between FA in personal passive samplers and global DNA methylation (rₛ = 0.764, p = 0.006). For the first time, an increase in DNA methylation was observed in subjects occupationally exposed to FA. In conclusion, our results indicated that even low levels of FA exposure could cause a disturbance in DNA methylation, leading to epigenetic changes, which is associated with cancer development. These data suggest a possible contribution of FA to cancer development through occupational exposure.

Leaf blast is the main rice disease in the world causing significant losses in productivity. Blast integrate management (BIM) requires the use of genetic resistance, cultural practices, and chemical control, although for sustainable BIM, the insertion of biological agents may be the fourth component for. The objective of this work was to test three formulations of Burkholderia pyrrocinia (BRM32113) previously selected and to verify the effectiveness in resistance induction and blast control in rice. Two experiments were carried out, in a completely randomized design with three replications, in the greenhouse (E1 and E2). E1 aimed to select the best treatment for suppressing leaf blast severity and activating plant defense mechanisms. It was composed of 8 treatments: (1) formulated 11+ B. pyrrocina × Magnaporthe oryzae; (2) formulated 17+ B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (3) formulated 32+ B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (4) formulated 11 × M. oryzae; (5) B. pyrrocinia 17 × M. oryzae; (6) formulated 32 × M. oryzae; (7) B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (8) M. oryzae; (9) control (water). E2 aimed to investigate the effect of the best treatments, for the promotion of plant growth and suppression of leaf blast by calculating AUDPC. It was composed of 6 treatments: (1) formulated 11+ B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (2) formulated 32+ B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (3) formulated 11 × M. oryzae; (4) formulated 32 × M. oryzae; (5) B. pyrrocina × M. oryzae; (6) water. And after, we did two assays aimed to localize this biological agent after application at seed, soil, and rice plant. In E1, formulated 11+ B. pyrrocinia and 32+ formulated and B. pyrrocina were the best, suppressing leaf blast by up to 97% and providing the significant increase of the enzymes β-1,3-glucanase, chitinase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, lipoxygenase, and salicylic acid at 24 h and 48 h after inoculation with M. oryzae. In E2, treatments formulated 11+ B. pyrrocinia, formulated 32+ B. pyrrocinia, and B. pyrrocina provided more significant increases in growth promotion and reduced area under disease progress curve. B. pyrrocinia was detected in the rice plant for 18 days, predominantly in the root system (internal and external). The use of B. pyrrocinia formulations based on sugarcane molasses and glycerol can be an essential strategy for sustainable management. Although all the benefits come from these sustainable formulations, the adoption by commercial biological segment depends on an established formulation process. It seems that all the results showed here by this research will be readily assimilated by startups of the organic segment.