The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in indoor air of dental clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the indoor environment of dental clinics, dental personnel and patients are exposed to a risk of infection because of the transmission of...     

Health risk assessment of inhalation exposure to dry fogging of hydrogen peroxide in a dental clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - After the outbreak of COVID-19, many dental clinics use dry fogging of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to disinfect the air and surfaces. Inhalation of...     

Air pollution perception in ten countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

As largely documented in the literature, the stark restrictions enforced worldwide in 2020 to curb the COVID-19 pandemic also curtailed the production of air pollutants to some extent. This study investigates the perception of the air pollution as assessed by individuals located in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the USA. The perceptions towards air quality were evaluated by employing an online survey administered in May 2020. Participants (N = 9394) in the ten countries expressed their opinions according to a Likert-scale response. A reduction in pollutant concentration was clearly perceived, albeit to a different extent, by all populations. The survey participants located in India and Italy perceived the largest drop in the air pollution concentration; conversely, the smallest variation was perceived among Chinese and Norwegian respondents. Among all the demographic indicators considered, only gender proved to be statistically significant.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01574-2.     

COVID-19 pandemic: the possible influence of the long-term ignorance about climate change

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic and evaluating the measures taken by global leaders so far, it is crucial to trace back the circumstances...     

Property development during the COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and outlook in Malaysia

Through administrative research and media records, this paper aims to examine and highlight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian workers, property development, construction sites, and the national economy. The development of real estate and the construction industry can significantly impact socio-economic growth and infrastructure development. Adequate building and infrastructure construction can ensure national economic stability, job creation, community cohesion, and higher living standards. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2019, many countries, including Malaysia, have reported an increased number of virus cases. According to the Ministry of Health, 9316 cases and 314 COVID-19 clusters were discovered in Malaysia, with a 38.55–48.06% prevalence for factories, a 12.55–15.29% prevalence for community spreading, an 8.6–11.56% prevalence for construction sites, a 5.53–7.96% prevalence for educational sites, and a 7.01% prevalence for shopping areas. Several governments-imposed lockdowns, movement, and proximity restrictions during the pandemic due to the high infection rates at property development sites. However, due to inactivity in various sectors such as the construction industry, these measures have significantly impacted the national economy. As a result, the pandemic has had an impact on workers, production costs, and project completion timelines, resulting in operational issues and policy concerns. Overall, the records reviewed revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted real estate development, the housing market, and the construction industry. As a result, sustained and targeted policies are required to support Malaysia’s construction industry’s socio-economic growth and infrastructure development.

     

Fresh evidence on connectedness between prominent markets during COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Various empirical studies have examined the nexus between financial markets, but this study focused on the comovement among prominent markets. Our...     

A motley of possible therapies of the COVID-19: reminiscing the origin of the pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The 2019 outbreak of corona virus disease began from Wuhan (China), transforming into a leading pandemic, posing an immense threat to the global...     

Challenges of higher education related to e-learning in developing countries during COVID-19 spread: a review of the perspectives of students,instructors, policymakers,and ICT experts

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many critical issues in all aspects such as economy, environment, health, and lifestyle, but people always try to find some response to crisis in different conditions. E-learning is defined as an elaborate response aiming at continuing education during the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that developed countries have established and adjusted their technological infrastructures for the transition from a face-to-face education to a digital one. In contrast, developing countries were not completely prepared for this transition. Improper and deficient technological and practical fundamentals have been causing problems for all students, instructors, and other involved individuals. Therefore, we reviewed the challenges that have arisen from e-learning during the COVID-19 outbreak in different parts of tertiary education focusing on underprivileged countries.

     

Health impact assessment of air pollutants during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Brazilian metropolis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Studies around the world have revealed reduced levels of atmospheric particulate matter in periods of greatest human mobility restriction to contain...     

唐山新冠肺炎防疫期间空气质量变化特征及污染成因分析

为研究唐山市新冠肺炎防疫期间环境空气质量变化特征以及形成重污染的成因,分析了2020年1月1日至2月29日的PM_(10)、PM_(2.5)、SO_2、NO、NO_2、CO、PM_(2.5)组分(有机碳(OC)、元素碳(EC)、重金属等)和气象数据。结果表明,防疫期间空气质量整体改善,相比正常生产期间除CO浓度均值未变化,其他参数均呈下降趋势,其中NO、NO_2浓度降幅最大,分别降低73%和41%,受车流量减少影响显著。防疫期间的2月9—13日出现1次连续5天的重污染过程,相比正常生产期间PM_(10)、PM_(2.5)和CO浓度分别增长了69%、104%和95%,Fe浓度增加57%,呈钢铁型污染特征;该时段相对湿度和风速分别为80.2%、0.7m/s,为高湿低风速气象条件,二次无机盐(SNA,包括NH_4~+、NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-))在PM_(2.5)中占比为64%,比正常生产期间高31%,此次污染过程受本地工业大气污染物排放累积以及二次生成共同影响。     

Causes of respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Environmental factors and the epidemics of COVID-19

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Environmental impacts of the widespread use of chlorine-based disinfectants during the COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chlorinated disinfectants are widely used in hospitals, COVID-19 quarantine facilities, households, institutes, and public areas to combat the spread...     

Association between meteorological indicators and COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study was designed to investigate the impact of meteorological indicators (temperature, rainfall, and humidity) on total COVID-19 cases in...     

Particulate matter concentrations and their association with COVID-19-related mortality in Mexico during June 2020 Saharan dust event

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study evaluated the impact of Saharan dust event on particulate matter (PM: PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations by analyzing the daily average...     

Current trends in diagnosis and treatment strategies of COVID-19 infection

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coronaviruses are terrifically precise and adapted towards specialized respiratory epithelial cells, observed in organ culture and human volunteers...     

Increased appreciation of forests and their restorative effects during the COVID-19 pandemic

Public expectations of forests as high-quality restorative environments that facilitate subjective well-being and stress relief along with numerous health benefits have been rising sharply during recent decades. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictive measures also transformed forests into some of the few places to spend time away from home. The presented study drew on the assumption that the pandemic situation and a rise in the number of forest visits would affect the experience, recognition, and appreciation of the well-being aspects related to spending time in forests. The study goal was to elucidate the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationships between forest visits, well-being and stress relief, emotions, perception of nature and forest value and importance, pro-environmental behavior, and societal expectations of the role of forests and forest ecosystem services. A survey using a digital questionnaire was conducted several months after the pandemic outbreak on a representative sample of the Slovak population. The Wilcoxon test and ordinal regression analysis were used to identify significant relationships, e.g., between the recency of anger episodes and the number of forest visits. The results showed that the pandemic strengthened the perception of forests as a high-quality restorative environment and that emotions associated with forest visits played an important role in the perceived importance of forests and their possible overexploitation. The results underscore the urgent need to put demands for forest recreation on par with the forest bioeconomy and to sensitize forest visitors to management and conservation requirements.     

Knowledge graph analysis and visualization of AI technology applied in COVID-19

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) all over the world, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is widely used in COVID-19 and...     

Wet wipes and disposable surgical masks are becoming new sources of fiber microplastic pollution during global COVID-19

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The demand of wet wipes and masks has been rising worldwide since the outbreak of global COVID-19; however, with more reports about improper handling...     

The future of sustainability in the context of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis emanating both from a virus (SARS-CoV-2) and from the drastic actions to contain it. Here, we reflect on the immediate responses of most world powers amid the pandemic chaos: totalitarian surveillance and nationalist isolation. Drawing on published literature, we consider measures such as wildlife-use bans, lockdowns and travel restrictions, along with their reverberations for people, economies and the planet. Our synthesis highlights significant shortfalls of applying command-and-control tactics in emergencies. For one, heavy-handed bans risk enormous unintended consequences and tend to fail if they lack legitimacy or clash with people’s values. Furthermore, reactive and myopic strategies typically view the pandemic as a stand-alone crisis, rather than unravelling the complex interplay of nature-society interactions through which zoonotic diseases originate. A return to adaptive management approaches that recognise root causes and foster socio-ecological resilience will be essential to improve human and planetary health and mitigate future pandemics.