Prevalence and predictors of occupational asthma among workers in detergent and cleaning products industry and its impact on quality of life in El Asher Men Ramadan,Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cleaning products are mixtures of many chemical ingredients that are known to contain sensitizers, disinfectants, and fragrances, as well as strong...     

Experimental study and theoretical prediction of mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance concrete incorporated with nanorice husk ash burning at different temperature treatments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research aimed to investigate the effect of nanorice husk ash (NRHA) prepared using different thermal treatment methods on ultra-high-performance...     

The ameliorative effect of kaempferol against CdCl2- mediated renal damage entails activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NF-kB

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study evaluated the nephroprotective effect of kaempferol against cadmium chloride (CdCl2) -induced nephropathy in rats. It also investigated if...     

Loading effect correction for real-time aethalometer measurements of fresh diesel soot

In this study, a correction was developed for the aethalometer to measure real-time black carbon (BC) concentrations in an environment dominated by fresh diesel soot. The relationship between the actual mass-specific absorption coefficient for BC and the BC-dependent attenuation coefficients was determined from experiments conducted in a diesel exposure chamber that provided constant concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM; PM(2.5); PM < 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter) from diesel exhaust. The aethalometer reported BC concentrations decreasing with time from 48.1 to 31.5 microg m(-3) when exposed to constant PM(2.5) concentrations of 55 +/- 1 microg m(-3) and b(scat) = 95 +/- 3 Mm(-1) from diesel exhaust. This apparent decrease in reported light-absorbing PM concentration was used to derive a correction K(ATN) for loading of strong light-absorbing particles onto or into the aethalometer filter tape, which was a function of attenuation of light at 880 nm by the embedded particles.     

Heavy Metal Contents of the Karasu Creek Sediments, Nigde, Turkey

Heavy metal contamination in sediments of the Karasu spring was investigated in the presented study. In this respect, sediment samples were collected from contaminant sites along the spring starting from the spring water manifestation site, base of the Akkaya dam to the dam exit site. Heavy metal concentrations were determined by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. Cobalt, copper, arsenic, tin, nickel, zinc, cadmium, lead, aluminum, iron, titan, chromium and manganese contents of the Karasu creek sediments are found as 18.30–69.00, 12.40–595.0 5.50–345.3, 5.80–15.1, 10.9–64.1, 28.90–103,300, 4.1–356.2, 7.70–37,840, 13,460–109,400, 11,740–62,900, 22.18–59.04, 41.70–369 and 12.09–3,480 mg/kg, respectively. Results indicate the presence of a contamination in the Karasu creek. All the metal concentrations were found to be exceeding their acceptable limit values. Eutrophication is developed in the Karasu creek and the Akkaya dam. It is thought that heavy metal accumulation in the creek is originated from discharge from mine quarries, industrial and domestic wastes. Protection zones should be defined and all necessary measures must be taken along the Karasu creek.     

Toxic effects of carbofuran and glyphosate on semen characteristics in rabbits

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of chronic treatment with two sublethal doses of Carbofuran (carbamate insecticide) and Glyphosate (organophosphorus herbicide) on body weight and semen characteristics in mature male New Zealand white rabbits. Pesticide treatment resulted in a decline in body weight, libido, ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, semen initial fructose and semen osmolality. This was accompanied with increases in the abnormal and dead sperm and semen methylene blue reduction time. The hazardous effect of these pesticides on semen quality continued during the recovery period, and was dose‐dependent. These effects on sperm quality may be due to the direct cytotoxic effects of these pesticides on spermatogenesis and/or indirectly via hypothalami‐pituitary‐testis axis which control the reproductive efficiency.     

A novel multi-model data-driven ensemble approach for the prediction of particulate matter concentration

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Accuracy in the prediction of the particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentration in the atmosphere is essential for both its monitoring and...     

Application of cleaner production technology in chemical industry: a near zero emission

The main objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate opportunities for implementation of pollution prevention and waste minimization in a chemical industrial company producing poly sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde which is used as a super plasticizer for concrete. Environmental problems encountered were mainly the highly polluted wastewater and a semi-solid cake containing considerable amount of the final product. Possible modules for remedial measures and their cost estimation were investigated. The proposed remedial modules included recycling of retained water discharge in filter press, recycling of washing water of reaction vessels (reactors), closed circuit cooling system for high-pressure pump, good housekeeping through control of leakage of raw material, products and water and finally utilization of retained residual product from the solid waste. The implemented pollution control measures proved to be cost effective and have short payback periods. Also, minimization of the hydraulic and organic loads in the final effluent was achieved.     

Effect of different fertilizers on methane emission from a paddy field of Zhejiang, China

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＩｎｃｒｅａｓｅｄａｇｒｉｃｕｌｔｕｒａｌｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｖｉｔｙｏｖｅｒｔｈｅｐａｓｔ５０—１００ｙｅａｒｓｈａｓｌｅｄｔｏｉｎｃｒｅａｓｅｄａｔｍｏｓｐｈｅｒｉｃｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｔｉｏｎｓｏｆＣＯ２，ＣＨ４ａｎｄＮ２Ｏ．Ｔｈｅｓｅｇａｓｅｓ，ａｌｏｎｇｗｉｔｈａｄｄｉｔｉｏｎｔｒａｃｅｇａｓｓｐｅｃｉｅｓ（ｇｒｅｅｎｈｏｕｓｅｇａｓｅｓ）ａｒｅｃａｕｓｉｎｇａｎｉｎｃｒｅａｓｅｉｎｇｌｏｂａｌｔｅｍｐｅｒａｔｕｒｅｓａｎｄｏｚｏｎｅｄｅｐｌｅｔｉｏｎ（Ａｓｅｌｍａｎ…     

Feeding ecology of the three juvenile phases of the spiny lobster<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Panulirus argus</Emphasis> in a tropical reef lagoon

The three juvenile phases of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus (algal phase: 5-15 mm carapace length, CL; postalgal phase: 15-45 mm CL, and subadults: 45-80 mm CL) occur in the reef lagoon at Puerto Morelos, Mexico. The algal phase abounds in this lagoon, which is covered by extensive seagrass-algal meadows, but the density of postalgal and subadult juveniles is low, owing to the scarcity of crevice-type shelters suitable for these phases. The feeding ecology of the three juvenile phases was investigated to examine whether spatial or temporal differences in food intake, diet composition, or nutritional condition occurred among phases and could partially account for the low abundance of the larger juveniles. Juveniles were collected by divers at night, from January to November 1995, throughout the mid-lagoon and back-reef zones. Percent stomach fullness, relative weight of the digestive gland (RWDG, an index of nutritional condition), percent frequency of occurrence and percent volume of food categories in the diet were compared between sexes, juvenile phases, molt stages (postmolt, intermolt, premolt), seasons, and sampling zones (mid-lagoon and back-reef zones). Significant differences in stomach fullness occurred only among molt stages, mainly because postmolt individuals had emptier stomachs. The main food categories in all juvenile phases were crustaceans (mostly hermit crabs and brachyurans) and gastropods, but the food spectrum was wide, including many other animal taxa as well as plant matter. In June 1995, the epibenthic macrofauna was sampled in five sites in the lagoon that differed in their amount of vegetation. The most abundant taxa in all sites were decapods and gastropods, but density and diversity measures showed that the distribution of these potential prey taxa for juvenile P. argus was rather patchy. Diet overlap in juvenile lobsters was high between sexes, juvenile phases, sampling zones, seasons, and molting stages, indicating that all juveniles fed on the same general food categories throughout time. The only factor that affected the RWDG was the juvenile phase. RWDG was significantly lower in subadults than in algal and postalgal phases, suggesting a poorer nutritional condition in the largest juveniles. This may be related to the scarcity of suitable shelters for large juveniles throughout the lagoon, which may preclude subadults from exploiting food resources in areas of the lagoon where shelter is limited.