This study set out to determine the photocatalytic degradation potential of polyaniline-based silver-doped zinc sulfide composite (PANI-Ag/ZnS) for effective degradation of methylene blue. The heterogeneous photocatalytic experiments were carried out by irradiating aqueous dye solutions with ultraviolet light (UV-254 nm). The catalysts (ZnS, Ag/ZnS, PANI-ZnS, and PANI-Ag/ZnS) were prepared successfully and characterized by Fourier Transforms Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX). Combined with density functional theory calculations, a set of calculations has been performed for optimization, computation, and accuracy of the structure. After the optimization, the equilibrium lattice were a=b= (0.54447 nm), in good agreement with experimental results (a=b=c=0.54093 nm). Fermi energy levels Ef, indicating Ag-doped in ZnS as the impurity acceptor and for better visible–light photo-catalysis, narrow bandgap, and acceptor states are beneficial. The optimization of effective parameters like pH, catalyst dose, oxidant dose, dye concentration, and reaction time was carried out. The best degradation efficiency (> 95%) of PANI-Ag/ZnS composite against methylene was achieved within 60 min of reaction time under optimized conditions. The optimized conditions were recoded as follows: pH = 7, catalysts dose = 30 mg/L, oxidant dose = 3 mM, and irradiation time = 60 min under UV-254 nm for all catalysts. The central composite design (CCD) under the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was chosen as a statistical tool to obtain the correlation of influential parameters. Five successive reusability trials were carried out to check the stability of catalysts.

From ancient times, studies on herbal medicine and pharmacognosy have increased gradually worldwide, due to the increased side effects, adverse drug reactions, and charge lines of modern medicines. Plants are well known for their medicinal effects and nutritional values. They contain bioactive compounds which display a wide spectrum of therapeutic effects. Gaucher’s disease (GD) is a rare autosomal recessively inherited metabolic disorder caused due to the defect in Glucosylceramidase beta gene coding for the enzyme acid-β-glucosidase in humans. We revealed the profound binding efficiency of five selected bioactive compounds from different plants against the main enzyme acid-β-glucosidase responsible for GD through molecular docking. An in silico approach along with the ADMET profiles of phytocompounds was done using the Schrodinger software. The preventive measure of GD leads to side effects, inaccessible and unaffordable which put forth the emergence of phytocompounds which have fewer toxic effects, and one such compound is β-D-Glucopyranose with the best docking score (–10.28 kcal/mol) and an excellent binding affinity than other ligands, which could be further analyzed for stability using molecular dynamics study and in vitro. Being a dietary supplement, these compounds could be prepared in any form of formulation as a drug.

Herein, the efficient degradation of a highly consumed antibiotic known as metronidazole (MNZ) in aqueous solutions using Co/g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite under visible light irradiation was accomplished. Initially, the photocatalyst (Co/g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄) was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and then characterized by several analytical techniques, namely EDS, SEM, XRD, UV–vis DRS, and FTIR. The efficiency of the synthesized photocatalyst with regard to the degradation of the studied antibiotic (MNZ) under visible light irradiation was fully evaluated. The influential operational parameters affecting the efficiency of the degradation process such as pH (2–10), nanocomposite dosage (0.2–1 g/L), MNZ concentration (5–20 mg/L), and irradiation time (0–80 min) were optimized. The results revealed that the maximum degradation efficiency for MNZ was obtained under the following conditions: irradiation time of 60 min, pH = 8, MNZ concentration of 5 mg/L, and photocatalyst dosage of 0.7 g/L. In addition, the degradation of MNZ followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The best rate constant (k) value was determined to be 0.0102 min⁻¹ with the correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.992. According to the results of the quenching tests, it was found out that hydroxyl radicals (OH°) were the main species responsible for the MNZ degradation. Furthermore, the applied photocatalyst (Co/g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄) exhibited a high level of recovery and stability after five cycles of reuse. Co/g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Vis system exhibited an excellent performance in the treatment of wastewater and real water samples. Finally, it was concluded that the synthesized nanocomposite could be potentially used as a promising and suitable photocatalyst in the degradation of other antibiotics.

Associations and dose-response relationships between different kinds of urine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) metabolites and lung functions in general American adults were unknown. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database of the 2009–2012 cycles were used. The independent variables were urine PAHs adjusted for urine creatinine, including 1-hydroxynaphthalene (1-NAP), 2-hydroxynaphthalene (2-NAP), 3-hydroxyfluorene (3-FLU), 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-FLU), 3-hydroxyphenanthrene (3-PHE), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (1-PHE), 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (2-PHE), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-PYR), and 9-hydroxyfluorene (9-FLU). The dependent variables were lung function indices including the forced vital capacity (FVC), the 1st second of a forceful exhalation (FEV₁), the ratio of FEV₁/FVC, the forced expiratory flow rate 25–75% (FEF₂₅%₋₇₅%), and the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO). Multivariate linear regression analyses and the restricted cubic splines were used. Except for 1-PHE and 9-FLU, FEF₂₅%₋₇₅% decreased in quartile (Q) 4 of all the remaining seven PAHs; FEV₁ decreased in Q4 of 2-NAP, 3-PHE, 2-PHE, and 9-FLU, with β (SE) of −121.89 (45.46), −105.21 (33.57), −143.67 (40.60), and −127.71 (37.14), respectively. FVC decreased only in Q3 of 9-FLU, with β (SE) of −142.24 (56.54); FEV₁/FVC decreased in Q4 of all PAHs except for 2-FLU. Besides, FENO decreased in Q4 of all PAHs in smokers, while in non-smokers, the results were opposite. The dose-response relationships were non-linear. In conclusion, we found that urine PAHs may relate to the changes in lung functions. Besides, smoking status had a significant influence on FENO; FENO decreased in smokers while increased in non-smokers, suggesting that PAHs exposure may relate to airway inflammation.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been frequently detected in groundwater globally. With the phase-out of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanate (PFOA) due to their risk to the ecosystem and human population, various novel PFASs have been used as replacements and detected in groundwater. In order to summarize the current understanding and knowledge gaps on PFASs in groundwater, we reviewed the studies about environmental occurrence, transport, and risk of legacy and novel PFASs in groundwater published from 1999 to 2021. Our review suggests that PFOS and PFOA could still be detected in groundwater due to the long residence time and the retention in the soil-groundwater system. Firefighting training sites, industrial parks, and landfills were commonly hotspots of PFASs in groundwater. More novel PFASs have been detected via nontarget analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Some novel PFASs had concentrations comparable to that of PFOS and PFOA. Both legacy and novel PFASs can pose a risk to human population who rely on contaminated groundwater as drinking water. Transport of PFASs to groundwater is influenced by various factors, i.e., the compound structure, the hydrochemical condition, and terrain. The exchange of PFASs between groundwater and surface water needs to be better characterized. Field monitoring, isotope tracing, nontarget screening, and modeling are useful approaches and should be integrated to get a comprehensive understanding of PFASs sources and behaviors in groundwater.

Local environmental factors and dispersal-based processes can both influence the structure of metacommunities in freshwater ecosystems. Describing these patterns is especially important for biomonitoring approaches that are based on inferences made from benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. Here, we examine the metacommunity structure of chironomid assemblages collected from 28 sampling stations along the Southern Morava River, Serbia. We examined the extent of dispersal-based processes along a temporal scale. We obtained 8 models for the different sampling seasons that determined the spatial variables that best explained variability in chironomid assemblages. Spatial processes were found to be a significant predictor of variation for chironomids during the late winter/spring (March and May) and autumn (October and November), concordant with the known phenology of common taxa. Species sorting and mass effects were found to be significant processes that structured the chironomid metacommunity. In addition, biological interactions, inferred from fish biomass, and habitat traits, demonstrated by macrophyte and riparian vegetation, were found to influence species sorting. A high variability of chironomid metacommunity structure across sampling seasons suggests that monitoring programs that include macroinvertebrates in bioassessment should avoid months with pronounced spatial processes, and consequently maximize a correlation between community structure and local environmental factors.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as childhood autism, is a common neurological developmental disorder. Although it is generally believed that genetic factors are a primary cause for ASD development, more and more studies show that an increasing number of ASD diagnoses are related to environmental exposure. Epidemiological studies indicated that perinatal exposure to endocrine disruptors might cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in many products. To explore the neurodevelopmental effect induced by perinatal exposure to DEHP on rat offspring, and the potential mechanisms, female Wistar rats were exposed to 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP during pregnancy and lactation, while valproic acid (VPA) was used as a positive control. The behavior tests showed that rat pups exposed to VPA and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP were not good as those from the control group in both their socialability and social novelty. Expression of mTOR pathway-related components increased while the number of autophagosomes decreased in the brain tissue of the rat offspring exposed to 100 mg/kg/day DEHP. In addition, perinatal exposure to DEHP at all dosages decreased the level of autophagy proteins LC3II and Beclin1 in the brain tissue of rat pups. Our results indicated that perinatal DEHP exposure would induce ASD-like behavioral changes in rat offspring, which might be mediated by activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, and inhibition of autophagy in the brain.

Excessive exploitation of groundwater resources can increase the concentration of pollutants in addition to the progressive drawdown of groundwater table. In this research, to achieve aquifer quantitative and qualitative (QQ) sustainable development, an optimal scenario for withdrawing from operation wells is proposed. At the first step, the aquifer QQ simulation was carried out with the GMS model. The developed code in MATLAB2018b in the second step provides the link between the simulation and the NSGA-II optimization tools. In the third step, a multi-objective coupled optimization-simulation model based on GMS and NSGA-II developed. Finally, optimal scenario was chosen based on applying the multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) and Berda Aggregation Method (BAM). The results show that reducing the current withdrawal rate to 51.55% can establish the QQ stability of the aquifer. This decrease in groundwater abstraction has led to a 4.6 m increase in groundwater level (GWL) over 3 years (average 19 cm per month). The spatial and temporal distribution of nitrate concentration after applying the optimal discharge of wells shows the nitrate concentration in central and eastern parts of the aquifer has greatly reduced. Developed sustainable management model can be used to provide a real operation planning of wells to improvement of the QQ status of groundwater in each unconfined aquifer.

Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread environmental contaminant that has a wide range of adverse effects on human health. We described the distribution of blood Cd levels (BCLs) and urinary Cd levels (UCLs) in US adults aging ≥ 18 years over a 30-year period by using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III and continuous NHANES (1999–2018). Geometric mean (GM) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated among participants with valid BCLs (n=47889) or UCLs (n=33003). The prevalence of BCLs ≥ 0.5, ≥ 1.0 ug/L and UCLs ≥ 0.5, ≥ 1.0 ug/g creatinine were estimated. The results showed that for men and women, respectively, GM BCLs declined from 0.458 and 0.472 ug/L in 1999–2000 to 0.252 and 0.330 ug/L in 2017–2018, while GM UCLs declined from 0.266 and 0.376 ug/g creatinine in 1988–1991 to 0.145 and 0.231 ug/g creatinine in 2015–2016. The estimated prevalence of UCLs ≥ 0.5 ug/g creatinine among men and women declined from 31.96 and 45.34% during 1988–1991 to 7.88 and 18.73% in 2015–2016. Higher Cd exposure was associated with females, older age, poverty, lower education, and smoking. These results indicate that Cd exposure in US adults has declined over the past 30 years. However, there are still approximately 7.88% US men and 18.73% US women being exposed to Cd at levels reported to show toxic effects on kidneys.

Oman has traditionally relied upon natural gas and oil for meeting its domestic energy demand. As a result, despite growing economically, the level of carbon dioxide emissions in Oman has persistently surged; consequently, the nation has failed to ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth. Against this background, this current study aims to explore the impacts of energy consumption, energy efficiency, and financial development on Oman’s prospects of attaining environmentally sustainable growth over the 1972–2019 period. The estimation strategy is designed to take into account the structural break issues in the data. Using the carbon productivity level as an indicator of environmentally sustainable economic growth, we find long-run associations amid the study variables. Besides, higher energy consumption and greater financial development are found to impede carbon productivity while improving energy efficiency is observed to boost carbon productivity in Oman. Therefore, it is pertinent for Oman to consume low-carbon and energy-efficient fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency levels, and green its financial sector to achieve environmentally sustainable growth.