Contamination by lead in sediments at Toledo River,hydrographic basin of PARANÁ III

Due to intense agricultural and industrial activities, the environment has been affected by increasing amounts of pollutants, such as lead, a toxic heavy metal. When introduced to the environment, toxic metals are distributed and incorporated into the liquid medium, sediments, and aquatic biota; bioaccumulating. This research aimed to identify and quantify the levels of toxic metals present in the waters and sediments of Toledo River, compare the obtained results with legislation and other studies, as well as to evaluate the possible pollutant sources of the water body. Six water and sediment samples were taken at seven strategic sites. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Cr in water were compared to the maximum limits established by Brazilian legislation IN CONAMA No. 357/05, for class II fresh waters. The sediment samples were submitted to nitroperchloric digestion, and then the total concentrations of the metals were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The toxicological quality of the Toledo River has been considerably affected by the activities carried out in its surroundings, such as extensive areas of agriculture, pig farming and industrial areas, causing concentrations of Cd, Fe, and mainly Pb, which is observed at concentrations higher than value allowed by the legislation.     

The relative importance of subjective and structural factors for individual adaptation to climate change by forest owners in Sweden

A growing body of literature argues that subjective factors can more accurately explain individual adaptation to climate change than objective measurers of adaptive capacity. Recent studies have shown that personal belief in climate change and affect are much better in explaining climate awareness and action than income, education or gender. This study focuses on the process of individual adaptation to climate change. It assesses and compares the influence of cognitive, experiential and structural factors on individuals’ views and intentions regarding climate change adaptation. Data from this study comes from a survey with 836 forest owners in Sweden. Ordinal and binary logistic regression was used to test hypotheses about the different factors. Results show that cognitive factors—namely personal level of trust in climate science, belief in the salience of climate change and risk assessment—are the only statistically significant factors that can directly explain individuals’ intention to adapt to climate change and their sense of urgency. Findings also suggest that structural or socio-demographic factors do not have a statistically significant influence on adaptation decision-making among Swedish forest owners. The study also offers valuable insights for communication interventions to promote adaptation. Findings strongly suggest that communication interventions should focus more strongly on building trust and addressing stakeholders’ individual needs and experiences.

     

Climate change impact on the potential yield of Arabica coffee in southeast Brazil

Regional Environmental Change - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of global mean temperature rises are worrisome for coffee crop due to the intolerance of the Arabica...     

Woody plant encroachment following grazing abandonment in the subalpine belt: a case study in northern Spain

Regional Environmental Change - The montane and subalpine belts in European mountains were affected by intense land use/land cover changes during the twentieth century. In the case of the subalpine...     

Pharmacopollution and Household Waste Medicine (HWM): how reverse logistics is environmentally important to Brazil

Pharmacopollution is a public health and environmental outcome of some active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC) dispersed through water and/or soil. Its most important sources are the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals), livestock, aquaculture, and households (patients’ excretion and littering). The last source is the focus of this article. Research questions are “What is the Household Waste Medicine (HWM) phenomenon?”, “How HWM and pharmacopollution are related?”, and “Why is a reverse logistic system necessary for HWM in Brazil?” This article followed the seven steps proposed by Rother (2007) for a systematic review based on the Cochrane Handbook and the National Health Service (NHS) Center for Reviews Dissemination (CDR) Report. The HWM phenomenon brings many environmental, public health, and, social challenges. The insufficient data is a real challenge to assessing potential human health risks and API concentrations. Therefore, the hazard of long-term exposure to low concentrations of pharmacopollutants and the combined effects of API mixtures is still uncertain. HWM are strongly related to pharmacopollution, as this review shows. The Brazilian HWM case is remarkable because it is the fourth pharmaceutical market (US$ 65,971 billion), with a wide number of private pharmacies and drugstores (3.3: 10,000 pharmacy/inhabitants), self-medication habits, and no national take-back program. The HWM generation is estimated in 56.6 g/per capita, or 10,800 t/year. The absence of a reverse logistics for HWM can lead to serious environmental and public health challenges. The sector agreement for HWM is currently under public consultation.     

Effects of air/fuel ratio on gas emissions in a small spark-ignited non-road engine operating with different gasoline/ethanol blends

This study investigates the effects of several blends of gasoline and anhydrous ethanol on exhaust emission concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), total hydrocarbons (HCs), and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from a small spark-ignited non-road engine (SSINRE). Tests were carried out for different air/fuel equivalence ratios as measured by lambda (λ). A 196 cm³ single-cylinder four-stroke engine-generator operating at a constant load of 2.0 kW was used; pollutant gas concentrations were measured with an automatic analyzer similar to those typically used in vehicle inspections. The results showed that as the ethanol content of the mixture increased the concentrations of CO, HCs, and NO_x reduced by 15, 53, and 34%, respectively, for values of λ < 1 (rich mixture) and by 52, 31, and 16% for values of λ > 1 (lean mixture). Overall, addition of anhydrous ethanol to the gasoline helped to reduce emissions of the pollutant gases investigated, what contributes to photochemical smog reduction and quality of life in urban areas.     

Mice exposure to tannery effluents changes their olfactory capacity,and their response to predators and to the inhibitory avoidance test

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current study has assessed whether the oral and/or dermal exposure of C57Bl/6 J mice to tannery effluent (a complex pollutant consisting of...     

Oxidative damage to Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27833 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 24213 induced by CuO-NPs

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) and their properties are important issues in nanotechnology research. Particularly, NPs affect the metabolism...     

Removal of the emerging contaminant bisphenol A by an ureasil–PEO hybrid membrane: experimental study and molecular dynamic simulation

This work reports the use of a cross-linked ureasil–PEO hybrid matrix (designated PEO800) as an efficient adsorbent to retain the emerging contaminant bisphenol A (BPA) from an aqueous medium. The in-deep experimental and theoretical results provide information about the interactions between PEO800 and BPA. The in situ UV-vis spectroscopy data and the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, and Morris–Webber intraparticle diffusion models allowed us to propose a three-step mechanism for the adsorption of BPA onto PEO800. The results indicate that the pseudo-first-order kinetic model effectively describes the adsorption of BPA onto PEO800. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the interaction of PEO800 with BPA, showing an alteration in the chemical environment of the polymer ether oxygen atoms present in the hybrid matrix. The molecular dynamic simulation provides further evidence that the BPA molecules interact preferentially with PEO. The amount of desorbed BPA depended on the pH and solvent used in the assays. This work provides new opportunities for using the hydrophilic ureasil–PEO matrix which has demonstrated its abilities in being a fast and easy alternative to successfully removing organic contaminants from aqueous mediums and therefore having potential applications in water remediation.

Graphical abstract

     

Impact of three different fungicides on fungal epi- and endophytic communities of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and broad bean (Vicia faba)

In this study, the impacts of three different fungicides to fungal phyllosphere communities on broad bean (Vicia faba, Fabaceae) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, Fabaceae) were analyzed. The fungicides included copper, sulfur, and azoxystrobin. The plants were sowed, grown, and treated under conditions occurring in conventional and organic farming. A culture-based approach was used to identify changes in the phyllosphere fungal community after the treatment. Different effects on species richness and growth index of the epiphytic and endophytic communities for common bean and broad bean could be shown. Treatments with sulfur showed the weakest effect, followed by those based on copper and the systemic azoxystrobin, which showed the strongest effect especially on endophytic communities. The epiphytic fungal community took five weeks to recover after treatment with azoxystrobin. However, the effect of azoxystrobin on the endophytic community lasted more than five weeks. Finally, the data suggest that the surface structure of the host leaves have a huge impact on the mode of action that the fungicides exert.