Effects of dam on temperature,humidity and precipitation of surrounding area: a case study of Gomal Zam Dam in Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dams are studied not only for potential advantages but also for possible environmental repercussions. The objective of this case study is to see the...     

Vehicular stress a cause for heavy metal accumulation and change in physico-chemical characteristics of road side soils in Pahalgam

In an effort to determine vehicular impact on soil quality, soil samples were collected from three different zones (Pahalgam, Batakote, and Chandanwari) in Pahalgam forest ecosystem. Results showed that a significant decrease in moisture content, organic carbon, available nitrogen, and potassium was observed in nearby road side soils. However, pH was observed to be on neutral side and available phosphorus recorded high concentration. The concentration of heavy metals Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cd²⁺ estimated was also significantly high. Furthermore, concentration of Pb²⁺ at high vehicular load subzones was observed to be highest (1.168 mg/Kg) followed by Zn²⁺ (0.896 mg/Kg), Ni²⁺ (0.649 mg/Kg), Cu²⁺ (0.415 mg/Kg), and Cd²⁺ (0.079 mg/Kg). An inter-zone analysis revealed that the concentration of the heavy metals (Pb²⁺?>?Ni²⁺?>?Cd²⁺) was observed to follow the trend, Z-I?>?Z-II?>?Z-III. Variation along the temporal gradient and the impact on soil qualities were notably higher in summer. Vehicular pollution to a great extent impacts physico-chemical characteristics and more interestingly adds substantial concentration of heavy metals in soils.     

Correction to: Evaluation of lifestyle risk factor differences in global patterns of breast cancer mortality and DALYs during 1990–2017 using hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14448-7     

Evaluation of hydrochar efficiency for simultaneous removal of diclofenac and ibuprofen from aqueous system using surface response methodology

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pharmaceutically active compounds like diclofenac (DFS), ibuprofen (IBP), and other drugs that persist in the environment are listed as emerging...     

Human and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in different particle sizes of road dust in Muscat,Oman

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Heavy metal contamination of Hg, As, Cu, Cr, Zn, and Pb was investigated in three different fractions 45, 125, and 200 μm of road dust...     

Significance of Bacillus subtilis strain SJ-101 as a bioinoculant for concurrent plant growth promotion and nickel accumulation in Brassica juncea

In this study, a nickel (Ni)-tolerant Bacillus subtilis strain SJ-101 was characterized based on the 16SrDNA homology and phylogenetic analysis. The role of this strain ascertained in facilitating Ni accumulation in the Indian mustard plant (Brassica juncea [L]. Czern and Coss) var. Pusa Bold (DIR-50), to elucidate the potential of Ni phytoremediation in combination with metal-tolerant rhizobacteria. The data revealed that the plants exposed to NiCl2 (1750 mg kg(-1)) in soil bioaugmented with strain SJ-101 have accumulated 0.147% Ni vis-à-vis 0.094% accumulation in dry biomass of the plants grown in uninoculated soil. The strain SJ-101 has also exhibited the capability of producing indole acetic acid (IAA) (55 microg ml(-1)), and solubilizing inorganic phosphate (90 microg ml(-1)) in specific culture media. The pot culture experiments clearly demonstrated the beneficial effects of bioinoculant strain SJ-101 with significant increase (p<0.05) in the plant growth attributes in untreated control soil. Furthermore, the protective effect of the strain SJ-101 against Ni phytotoxicity was evident in plants grown in soil treated with NiCl2 in concentration range of 250-1750 mg kg(-1). Thus, it is suggested that the strain SJ-101 owing to its intrinsic abilities of plant growth promotion, and attenuation of soil Ni by biosorption and bioaccumulation, could be exploited for bacteria-assisted phytoaccumulation of this toxic heavy metal from contaminated sites.     

Changes in the quality of river water before, during and after a major flood event associated with a La Niña cycle and treatment for drinking purposes

The treatment of organics present in the lower reaches of a major river system（the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia） before（March–July 2010）, during（December 2010–May 2011） and after（April–December 2012） a major flood period was investigated. The flood period（over 6 months）occurred during an intense La Nia cycle, leading to rapid and high increases in river flows and organic loads in the river water. Dissolved organic carbon（DOC） increased（2–3 times） to high concentrations（up to 16 mg/L） and was found to correlate with river flow rates. The treatability of organics was studied using conventional jar tests with alum and an enhanced coagulation model（mEnCo）. Predicted mean alum dose rates（per mg DOC） were higher before（9.1 mg alum/mg DOC） and after（8.5 mg alum/mg DOC） than during the flood event（8.0 mg alum/mg DOC）,indicating differences in the character of the organics in raw waters. To assess the character of natural organic matter present in raw and treated waters, high performance size exclusion chromatography with UV and fluorescence detectors were used. During the flood period, high molecular weight UV absorbing compounds（〉2 kDa） were mostly detected in waters collected,but were not evident in waters collected before and afterwards. The relative abundances of humic-like and protein-like compounds during and following the flood period were also investigated and found to be of a higher molecular weight during the flood period. The treatability of the organics was found to vary over the three climate conditions investigated.     

Toxic effect of some heavy metals on hematology and histopathology of major carp (Catla catla)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current study was conducted to assess the hematological and histopathological changes in major carp (Catla catla) exposed to different...     

Deciphering the impact of novel coronavirus pandemic on agricultural sustainability,food security,and socio-economic sectors—a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Spanish flu, Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, and Swine flu, among others, have had a significant impact on agriculture,...     

Competitive role of nitrogen functionalities of N doped GO and sensitizing effect of Bi2O3 QDs on TiO2 for water remediation

The promising solar irradiated photocatalyst by pairing of bismuth oxide quantum dots (BQDs) doped TiO₂ with nitrogen doped graphene oxide (NGO) nanocomposite (NGO/BQDs-TiO₂) was fabricated. It was used for degradation of organic pollutants like 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and stable dyes, i.e. Rhodamine B and Congo Red. X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile of NGO showed reduction in oxygenic functional groups and restoring of graphitic crystal structure. The characteristic diffraction peaks of TiO₂ and its composites showed crystalline anatase TiO₂. Morphological images represent spherical shaped TiO₂ evenly covered with BQDs spread on NGO sheet. The surface linkages of $\text{NO}?\mathrm{O}?\text{Ti}$, $\mathrm{C}?\mathrm{O}?\text{Ti}$, $\mathrm{B}\mathrm{i}?\mathrm{O}?\text{Ti}$ and vibrational modes are observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman studies. BQDs and NGO modified TiO₂ results into red shifting in visible region as studied in diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). NGO and BQDs in TiO₂ are linked with defect centers which reduced the recombination of free charge carriers by quenching of photoluminescence (PL) intensities. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that no peak related to $\mathrm{C}?\mathrm{O}$ in NGO/BQDs-TiO₂ is observed. This indicated that doping of nitrogen into GO has reduced some oxygen functional groups. Nitrogen functionalities in NGO and photosensitizing effect of BQDs in ternary composite have improved photocatalytic activity against organic pollutants. Intermediate byproducts during photo degradation process of 2,4-DCP were studied through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Study of radical scavengers indicated that ${\mathrm{O}}_2^{·?}$ has significant role for degradation of 2,4-DCP. Our investigations propose that fabricated nanohybrid architecture has potential for degradation of environmental pollutions.