Aquatic environments are crucial hotspots for the dissemination of antibiotic resistant microorganisms and resistance genes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence and the genetic characterization of cefotaxime-resistant (CTXᴿ) Enterobacteriaceae at a Tunisian semi-industrial pilot plant with biological treatment (WWPP) and its receiving river (Rouriche River, downstream from WWPP) located in Tunis City, during 2017–2018. We collected 105 and 15 water samples from the WWPP and the Rouriche River, respectively. Samples were screened to recover ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) and isolates were characterized for phenotype/genotype of antimicrobial resistance, integrons, plasmid types and molecular typing (multilocus sequence typing, MLST). Among 120 water samples, 33 and 4 contained ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates, respectively. Most isolates were multidrug resistant and produced CTX-M-15 (28 isolates), CTX-M-1 (4 isolates), CTX-M-55 (2 isolates), CTX-M-27 (one isolate), SHV-12 (one isolate) and VEB beta-lactamases (one isolate). All K. pneumoniae were CTX-M-15-positive. Four colistin-resistant isolates were found (MIC 4–8 μg/ml), but they were negative for the mcr genes tested. Class 1 integrons were detected in 21/25 trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant isolates, and nine of them carried the gene cassette arrays: aadA2 + dfrA12 (n = 4), aadA1 + dfrA15 (n = 2), aadA5 + dfrA17 (n = 2) and aadA1/2 (n = 1). The IncP and IncFIB plasmids were found in 30 and 16 isolates, respectively. Genetic lineages detected were as follows: E. coli (ST48-ST10 Cplx, ST2499, ST906, ST2973 and ST2142); K. pneumoniae: (ST1540 and ST661). Our findings show a high rate of CTX-M-15 and high genetic diversity of ESBL-E isolates from WWPP and receiving river water.

Cataract is the first cause of blindness and the major cause of visual impairment worldwide. Under conditions of global warming, researchers have begun to give attention to the influence of increasing temperature on cataract patients. Our paper aimed to investigate the association between extreme heat and hospital admissions for cataract in Hefei, China. Based on data from the New Rural Cooperative Medical System and National Meteorological Information Center, we used a generalized additive model and a distributed lag nonlinear model to examine the relationship between extreme heat and hospitalizations for cataract, with consideration of cumulative and lagged effects. When current mean temperature was above 28 °C, each 1 °C rise was associated with a 4% decrease in the number of cataract admissions (RR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94–0.98). The cumulative relative risk over 11 days of lag was the lowest, which indicated that every 1 °C increase in mean temperature above 28 °C was associated with a 19% decrease in the number of hospital admissions for cataract (RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.75–0.88). In subgroup analyses, the negative association between extreme heat and hospital admissions for cataract was stronger among patients who were not admitted to provincial-level hospitals. In conclusion, this paper found that extreme heat was negatively associated with cataract hospitalizations in Hefei, providing useful information for hospitals and policymakers.

Due to the dynamic development of industry, related to the processing of plant materials and a subsequent significant increase in the number of employees working in this kind of industry, the indoor air quality is of great importance for the human health. The premises of plants processing plant materials are a specific environment, related to exposure to biological agents. The major sources of microbial contamination of premises are employees’ activities and the operation of devices used in the production process, quality of plant materials, technological processes, construction materials, ventilation (air-conditioning) systems, and outdoor air. Biological agents (primarily bacteria and fungi) transported in the air can cause numerous adverse health outcomes in exposed workers.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pretreatment on the phytotoxicity and leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus in biosolids from anaerobic digestion in silty loam soil. Soil columns filled with silty loam soil and biosolids (BS) stabilized by conventional (CAD) and advanced (AAD) anaerobic digestion were installed. AAD consisted of the application of sequential pretreatments: ultrasound followed by a low thermal process. The BS loads were equivalent to 30 ton/ha (CAD30 and AAD30) and 90 ton/ha (CAD90 and AAD90), and the soil columns were watered with 29 mL/day of distilled water. Phytotoxicity was evaluated by germination and root growth inhibition and by the germination index (GI) of Triticum aestivum, Lactuca sativa, and Raphanus sativus seeds. Nitrogen leaching varied from 0 to 9 mg/week, while phosphate leaching did not exceed 0.01 mg/week. The nutrient leaching rate depended on the BS application rate and not on the use of pretreatment (p < 0.05). Regarding phytotoxicity, BS application presented a tendency to attenuate the inhibition caused by the silty loam soil, with GI values ranging from 31 to 50%, 62 to 63%, and 70 to 82% for L. sativa, R. sativus, and T. aestivum, respectively.Graphical abstract

The catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been studied in a series of bimetal (Fe-Co)-incorporated ZSM-5 zeolites. The bimetal incorporation was varied. The first sample was prepared by an in situ hydrothermal synthesis method (named IHT) in which both metals were added simultaneously during gel formation. The second sample was made by preparing Fe-ZSM-5 in situ and then impregnated with Co (named FIC), while the third sample was the reverse of the second sample (Co-ZSM-5 impregnated with Fe; named CIF). The objective was to find a method that yields a catalyst with high activity towards complete removal and oxidation of VOCs and is stable. All three synthesized catalysts were thoroughly characterized by modern instrumental methods, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared analysis, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, N₂ adsorption-desorption analysis, and BET surface area. From the results, it is clear that the IHT sample has the best characteristics for the removal of VOCs and is more stable.

This paper investigates the impact of economic growth, energy consumption, tourism, trade openness, and population density on the ecological footprints in Thailand over the period from 1974 to 2016. We applied the augmented Dickey–Fuller and Zivot–Andrews unit root tests to check the stationary properties of the data. The ARDL bounding test approach and VECM Granger causality were used to investigate (i) the long-run and short-run effects and (ii) directions of such effects respectively. The long-run results showed that economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness have positive relationships with the ecological footprint, while tourism and population density are negatively associated with the ecological footprint in Thailand. The results of VECM Granger causality confirmed that the bidirectional causality (i) between tourism and population density in the long run and (ii) between trade openness and population density in the short run. Furthermore, the unidirectional causality runs from the ecological footprint, economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness to tourism and population density in the long run. The country policy combined with economic growth, energy consumption, tourism, international trade, and population density perspectives need to be revisited towards sustainable development by mitigating the effects of these variables on environmental depletion especially the ecological footprint. Graphical abstract

The damage potential of cigarette butt and cigarette ash was determined and compared using genotoxicity and phytotoxicity assessments. The concentrations of five heavy metals, As, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Ni, were determined in both cigarette butt and ash leachates to find out if the results of heavy metals are in parallel with toxicity findings. Cigarette ashes and cigarette butts were soaked in distilled water for 7 days. Six leachate butt concentrations, including 200, 100, 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25 piece/L, were examined. HUVEC cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) were exposed to these dilution series for genotoxicity, and Vicia faba seeds were exposed to the same dilution series for phytotoxicity assessments. Three parameters of genotoxicity, including tail length, %DNA in tail, and tail moment, were obtained by the comet assay method, and three parameters of phytotoxicity, including germination rate, root length, and water content percentage, were employed. The results showed that cigarette ash at the concentrations of 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25 pc/L brings about DNA damage. Meanwhile, cigarette butt causes DNA damage at the concentrations of 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 pc/L. The highest concentrations (200 pc/L for cigarette butt and 200 and 100 pc/L for cigarette ash) were considered lethal for HUVEC cells. Besides, the levels of genotoxicity in the cigarette ash were twice as high as those in the cigarette butt. The Vicia faba phytotoxicity test demonstrated a germination rate restriction from 100 to 52 and 100 to 0% for cigarette butt and cigarette ash, respectively. It also caused a reduction in the length of roots from 35 to 7.85 and 3 mm for cigarette butt and cigarette ash, respectively. The moisture amounts of cigarette remnants had a decline from 93.14 to 44.61 and 36.72% for cigarette butt and cigarette ash, respectively. Concentrations of As, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Ni were 17.45, 2.5, 0.15, 6, and 0.62 ppb in the butt leachate and 7.21, 2.64, 0.29, 13.61, and 1.24 ppb in the ash leachate, respectively, indicating that heavy metals could explain the higher toxicity of cigarette ash. Based on the present study, cigarette ash imposes not only higher levels of genotoxicity and phytotoxicity but also more values of toxic heavy metals on our planet. Thus, cigarette ash plays a major role in environmental pollution, and the importance of cigarette ashes should receive attention even more than cigarette butts. This paper casts new light on the toxic impacts of cigarette ash.

Many coastal communities rely on individual onsite wastewater treatment (i.e., septic) systems to treat and disperse wastewater. Proper wastewater treatment in these systems depends on sufficient volume of unsaturated soil below the drainfield’s infiltrative surface. This is governed by the vertical separation distance—the distance between the groundwater table and the drainfield infiltrative surface—which is specified in (regulatory jurisdictions’ onsite wastewater system) regulations. Groundwater tables along the southern New England coast are rising due to sea-level rise, as well as changes in precipitation and water use patterns, which may compromise the functioning of existing septic systems. We used long-term shallow groundwater monitoring wells and ground-penetrating radar surveys of 10 drainfields in the southern Rhode Island coastal zone to determine whether septic system drainfields have adequate separation distance from the water table. Our results indicate that only 20% of tested systems are not impaired by elevated groundwater tables, while 40% of systems experience compromised separation distance at least 50% of the time. Surprisingly, 30% of systems in this study do not meet separation distance requirements at any time of the year. Neither age of system nor a system’s geographical relationship to a tidal water body was correlated with compromised separation distance. The observed compromised separation distances may be a result of inaccurate methods, specified by the regulations, to determine the height of the seasonal high water table. Our preliminary results suggest that enacting changes in the regulatory permitting process for coastal zone systems may help protect coastal drinking and surface water resources.

The mussel Mytilus trossulus was used to assess the relationship between the reactions of biomarkers and the degree of environmental pollution, as well as their potential use in biomonitoring. Metal bioaccumulation and a battery of biomarkers were measured in the mussels from the Zolotoy Rog Bay and Vostok Bay (Peter the Great Bay, the Sea of Japan) that display substantial differences in the levels of pollution. The biomarkers included lysosomal membrane stability (LMS); condition indices (CI and CIL); the activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE); and the levels of lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), protein oxidation (protein carbonyls, PC), and DNA damage. At the molecular level for M. trossulus, the biomarkers of oxidative stress (CAT, TBARS, and PC) and AChE do not show a known degree of environmental pollution. At the same time, the biomarkers LMS and condition indices, as well as the biomarkers GST and DNA damage, are sensitive to complex chronic environmental pollution.

Floating vegetated islands (FVIs) are extensively implemented in various river ecology restoration projects, given their capability of decontaminating pollutants. The fluid dynamical behaviors of turbulence through FVIs are studied in the flume by using the SonTek Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry. Through conventional spectral and quadrant analyses, flow characteristics, such as energy content and turbulent momentum exchange, are investigated as the flow encountered a series of root canopies. A shear layer with corresponding coherent vortex structures at the bottom of root canopies occurred, which is generated by Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. These instabilities are usually derived from velocity differences between root canopy and gap region. Shear- and stem-scale vortices are identified by using spectral analysis. The power spectral density function on measured vertical velocity fluctuations in the flow direction near the bottom of root canopies from the leading edge of FVIs is computed. Given the flow developing downstream, a series of the spectral curves has gradually showed one dominant dimensionless frequency at 0.046. The sweep and ejection events have contributed prominently to the Reynolds stress in whole vertical direction. Momentum flux carried by sweeps outweighs its counterpart carried by ejections inside root canopies. However, the situation is different outside root canopies. The sweep–ejection contributions are brief but crucial to the total turbulent momentum exchange, which is in good agreement with considerable studies on turbulent flow through canopies.