Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) tends to reduce the toxic effects of nickel (II) chloride in Allium cepa L. roots

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The immense protection potential of plant-derived products against heavy metal toxicity has become a considerable field of research. The goal of the...     

Cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides: a bibliometric study of the past 10 years

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Occupational exposure to pesticides has been identified as a major trigger of the development of cancer. Pesticides can cause intoxication in the...     

Adsorption of Malachite Green from Aqueous Solution Using Hydroxyethyl Starch Hydrogel Improved by Graphene Oxide

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - This study is the first report of the preparation of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) hydrogels rapidly crosslinked with divinyl sulfone in a single step and...     

Measurement of sustainability performance in Brazilian organizations

In recent years, sustainability issues are gaining greater prominence among organizations and their stakeholders around the world. This paper aims to verify the sustainability performance of Brazilian organizations in performance measures and to propose sustainable guidelines with the intention of directing future efforts to the transition to sustainable development. The research utilized a triangulated approach by collecting qualitative and quantitative data acquired through multiple collection methods of a theoretical literature review, documentary analysis of corporate reports, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals and academic researchers. The results show that internal organizational factors are the main inductors of the sustainable environment in organizations, and sustainability must be tied to strategic planning, starting from upper management to lower levels. It is essential to use sustainable performance measurement systems in order to respond to external and internal levers and serve as benchmarking for future corporate operations and strategies. In addition, it is the responsibility of organizations to focus their efforts on environmental protection, reduction of energy, corporate reputation, quality management, customer satisfaction and investor relations, as they are considered to be more important and have a relationship of dependence on organizational sustainability. The findings will be of value to professionals and academics who want to start measuring and for continuously improving the sustainability performance of their organizations according to the technical, economic, environmental, social and governance dimensions. This research work also helps to understand the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders.     

Evaluating surrogates of genetic diversity for conservation planning

Protected-area systems should conserve intraspecific genetic diversity. Because genetic data require resources to obtain, several approaches have been proposed for generating plans for protected-area systems (prioritizations) when genetic data are not available. Yet such surrogate-based approaches remain poorly tested. We evaluated the effectiveness of potential surrogate-based approaches based on microsatellite genetic data collected across the Iberian Peninsula for 7 amphibian and 3 reptilian species. Long-term environmental suitability did not effectively represent sites containing high genetic diversity (allelic richness). Prioritizations based on long-term environmental suitability had similar performance to random prioritizations. Geographic distances and resistance distances based on contemporary environmental suitability were not always effective surrogates for identification of combinations of sites that contain individuals with different genetic compositions. Our results demonstrate that population genetic data based on commonly used neutral markers can inform prioritizations, and we could not find an adequate substitute. Conservation planners need to weigh the potential benefits of genetic data against their acquisition costs.     

北京市生物源一次气溶胶数浓度变化特征及影响因素

生物源一次气溶胶（PBAP）,是大气颗粒物的重要组成部分,不论微生物死活,对空气质量和人类健康均会产生影响,同时对大气化学以及气候变化都有重要影响.基于流式细胞仪分析技术,结合碘化丙啶（PI）和SYBR （SYBR Green I）双荧光探针,对北京城区大气环境中死的和活的PBAP进行了识别和定量分析,并探究气象因子和空气污染因子对其影响.结果发现,北京城区死的和活的PBAP数浓度中值夏季（1.03×10⁶个·m^-3和7.43×10⁵个·m^-3）高于冬季（7.34×10⁵个·m^-3和6.18×10⁵个·m^-3）,且两者呈现明显的同步变化趋势.统计学结果分析发现,PBAP数浓度与气象条件和空气质量等环境影响因子相关性并不显著,与温度和湿度呈现弱正相关关系,与O₃、最大风速和日照时数呈现弱负相关关系.PBAP数浓度与细颗粒物PM_2.5浓度相关性较弱,与粗颗粒物（PM_2.5-10）浓度呈现明显的正相关关系.静稳天气和沙尘长距离传输都可以提升北京城区PBAP的数浓度水平.     

江西省冬季大气典型污染过程的气象成因研究

选取2019年1月江西省两次大气污染过程为研究对象,利用常规气象观测资料、美国国家环境预报中心（NCEP）再分析资料、全球资料同化系统（GDAS）气象数据和空气质量数据,分别从局地气象要素变化、地面天气形势、大气动力和热力条件及污染潜在源区等进行分析,对比两次污染过程形成机制.两次污染过程地面天气形势分别为冷锋前部型和低压倒槽型.冷锋前部型污染形成主要原因为冷空气南下在江西省减弱辐合导致上游细颗粒物输送并堆积,西北风增大细颗粒物浓度降低.低压倒槽型污染形成原因为较长时间处于高湿、小风或静风、逆温下的污染累积.对两次过程中污染较为严重的九江市进行分析,冷锋前部型九江市近地面主要受西风影响,低压倒槽型主要受东北风影响,低压倒槽型九江市风速多在2 m·s^-1以下.两次污染期间大于3 m·s^-1的风速有利于污染物清除.长时间高湿、小风（< 2 m·s^-1）及风场辐合,是低压倒槽型九江市重污染维持较长时间的重要原因.低压倒槽型大气垂直结构较冷锋前部型稳定.低压倒槽型垂直湍流弱、低层风速小于2 m·s^-1,且存在多层逆温和深厚的湿区,冷锋前部型存在明显下沉运动,逆温强度明显弱于低压倒槽.九江市PM_2.5污染潜在贡献源主要来自河南东部、山东西部和安徽西北部;低压倒槽型九江市潜在源区主要位于江西省内及与江西省接壤的湖北东南部、安徽西南部.     

Development of plant-friendly vermicompost using novel biotechnological methods

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - For the first time in the world, raw tea waste from tea plants was mineralized by rapid biotechnological methods using beneficial worms, enzymes...     

Formation mechanisms of nitrous acid (HONO) during the haze and non-haze periods in Beijing, China

As an important precursor of hydroxyl radical (OH), nitrous acid (HONO) plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. Here, an observation of HONO and relevant air pollutants in an urban site of Beijing from 14 to 28 April, 2017 was performed. Two distinct peaks of HONO concentrations occurred during the observation. In contrast, the concentration of particulate matter in the first period (period Ⅰ) was significantly higher than that in the second period (period Ⅱ). Comparing to HONO sources in the two periods, we found that the direct vehicle emission was an essential source of the ambient HONO during both periods at night, especially in period Ⅱ. The heterogeneous reaction of NO₂ was the dominant source in period Ⅰ, while the homogeneous reaction of NO with OH was more critical source at night in period Ⅱ. In the daytime, the heterogeneous reaction of NO₂ was a significant source and was confirmed by the good correlation coefficients (R²) between the unknown sources (P_unknown) with NO₂, PM_2.5, NO₂ × PM_2.5 in period Ⅰ. Moreover, when solar radiation and OH radicals were considered to explore unknown sources in the daytime, the enhanced correlation of P_unknown with photolysis rate of NO₂ and OH ($J_{{\mathrm{NO}}_2}$ × OH) were 0.93 in period Ⅰ, 0.95 in period Ⅱ. These excellent correlation coefficients suggested that the unknown sources released HONO highly related to the solar radiation and the variation of OH radicals.     

Water demand of central pivot-irrigated areas in Bahia,Brazil: management of water resources applied to sustainable production

When performed without technical criteria, the rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural frontiers can result in overexploitation of water, causing worrying impacts on the balance of agroecosystems. This study proposes a model applied to the state of Bahia, to estimate the water demand of areas irrigated by a central pivot, in order to contribute to information that will subsidize the inspection and planning of water resources in the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The irrigated areas were identified and measured by photointerpretation using orbital images from the Landsat-8 satellite. With a historical series of data, the reference evapotranspiration was calculated and monthly water balance was elaborated. The data obtained were spatialized by kriging, and with punctual values of water deficit (mm), the water demand of the irrigated perimeter of the equipment was estimated. The results were described considering strategic planning units, proposed from municipalities, hydrographic basins and biomes. A total of 4075 pivots were quantified, covering an irrigated area of 265,896.30 ha and with an average annual consumption of 1,333,473,208.02 m³ of water. Areas of high demand were identified, especially in the western region of Bahia, which includes the hydrographic basin of the São Francisco River and the Cerrado biome, concentrating 80.85% and 75.47% of the state water demand for pivots, respectively. Considering possible points of water vulnerability and continuity of this expansion, the results provide the primary information needed to encourage the adoption of public policies aimed at the management of water resources. The study method proposes guidelines that condition the application in any region of interest in the world.

Graphical abstract