Contaminants of emerging concern: a review of new approach in AOP technologies

The presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), flame retardants (FRs), pesticides, and artificial sweeteners (ASWs) in the aquatic environments remains a major challenge to the environment and human health. In this review, the classification and occurrence of emerging contaminants in aquatic environments were discussed in detail. It is well documented that CECs are susceptible to poor removal during the conventional wastewater treatment plants, which introduce them back to the environment ranging from nanogram per liter (e.g., carbamazepine) up to milligram per liter (e.g., acesulfame) concentration level. Meanwhile, a deep insight into the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) on mitigation of the CECs from aquatic environment was presented. In this regard, the utilization of various treatment technologies based on AOPs including ozonation, Fenton processes, sonochemical, and TiO₂ heterogeneous photocatalysis was reviewed. Additionally, some innovations (e.g., visible light heterogeneous photocatalysis, electro-Fenton) concerning the AOPs and the combined utilization of AOPs (e.g., sono-Fenton) were documented.     

Analyzing the Variability of Remote Sensing and Hydrologic Model Evapotranspiration Products in a Watershed in Michigan

The goal of this paper was to statistically explore the spatiotemporal performance of remotely sensed actual evapotranspiration (ETa) datasets and a remotely sensed ensemble in a region that lacks observed data. The remotely sensed datasets were further compared with ETa results from a physically based hydrologic model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to examine the differences and determine the level of agreement between the ETa datasets and the model outputs. ETa datasets were compared on temporal (i.e., monthly and seasonal basis) and spatial (i.e., landuse) scales at both watershed and subbasin levels. The results showed a lack of consistent similarities and differences among the datasets when evaluating the monthly ETa variations; however, the seasonal aggregated data presented more consistent similarities and differences during the spring and summer compared to the fall and winter. Meanwhile, spatial analysis of the datasets showed the MOD16A2 500 m ETa product was the most versatile of the tested datasets, being able to differentiate between landuses during all seasons. Furthermore, the use of an averaging ensemble was able to improve overall ETa performance in the study area. This study showed that the remotely sensed ETa products are not similar throughout the year, but the appropriate application periods for different ETa products were identified. Finally, spatial variabilities of the ETa products are more in tune with landuse and climate characteristics.     

Modeling seasonal variations of long-term soil CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions in an orchard plantation in a semiarid area,SE Turkey

Emissions of soil CO₂ under different management systems have a significant effect on the carbon balance in the atmosphere. Soil CO₂ emissions were measured from an apricot orchard at two different locations: under the crown of trees (CO₂-UC) and between tree rows (CO₂-BR). For comparison, one other measurement was performed on bare soil (CO₂-BS) located next to the orchard field. Analytical data were obtained weekly during 8 years from April 2008 to December 2016. Various environmental parameters such as air temperature, soil temperature at different depths, soil moisture, rainfall, and relative humidity were used for modeling and estimating the long-term seasonal variations in soil CO₂ emissions using two different methods: generalized linear model (GLM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Before modeling, data were randomly split into two parts, one for calibration and the second for validation, with a varying number of samples in each part. Performances of the models were compared and evaluated using means absolute of estimations (MAE), square root of mean of prediction (RMSEP), and coefficient of determination (R²) values. CO₂-UC, CO₂-BR, and CO₂-BS values ranged from 11 to 3985, from 9 to 2365, and from 8 to 1722 kg ha^?1 week^?1, respectively. Soil CO₂ emissions were significantly correlated (p?<?0.05) with some environmental variables. The results showed that GLM and ANN models provided similar accuracies in modeling and estimating soil CO₂ emissions, as the number of samples in the validation data set increased. The ANN was more advantageous than GLM models by providing a better fit between actual observations and predictions and lower RMSEP and MAE values. The results suggested that the success of environmental variables for estimations of CO₂ emissions using the two methods was moderate.     

Sulfated Polysaccharides from Tunisian Fish Skins: Antioxidant,DNA Damage Protective Effect and Antihypertensive Activities

Sulfated polysaccharides were isolated from two Tunisian fish skins grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) (GTSP) and smooth hound (Mustelus mustelus) (SHSP). Their chemical and physical characteristics were investigated. The Analysis of surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy of both sulfated polysaccharides displayed the same shape with netted structure. The antioxidant activities of GTSP and SHSP were evaluated using various in vitro antioxidant assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, reducing power, β-carotene bleaching inhibition assay (IC_{50 GTSP} = 0.5 mg mL^?1 and IC_{50 SHSP} = 0.6 mg mL^?1) and DNA nicking assay. Both sulfated polysaccharides exhibited good antioxidant activities. The sulfated polysaccharides showed strong angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activities (IC_{50 GTSP} = 0.16 mg mL^?1 and IC_{50 SHSP} = 0.18 mg mL^?1). These results revealed that GTSP and SHSP exhibited significant antihypertensive activities. Overall, the results indicated that grey triggerfish and smooth hound skins can be used to generate high value-added products, thus offering a valuable source of bioactive sulfated polysaccharides for application in wide range of biotechnological applications.     

Grafting of Wool with Alginate Biopolymer/Nano Ag as a Clean Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Agent: Characterization and Natural Dyeing Studies

There is a continuous search for green and sustainable materials and processes in textile dyeing and finishing. In the current study, wool yarns were grafted with Sodium Alginate-Silver nanoparticles (SA-Ag NPs) and consecutively dyed with Cochineal or Madder. The weight gain of the samples was measured to find the optimized SA-Ag NPs initial concentration, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to study their surface morphology. The effects of the initial dye concentration, pH, temperature on the color strength of the dyed samples were investigated. It was found that the pretreatment enhanced the dye-ability, antimicrobial, and antioxidant characteristics of the samples noticeably. Under the same dyeing conditions, the fixation of dyes on the treated wool fibers was noticeably higher than that of the untreated wool fibers. The colorfastness characteristics of the treated samples dyed with Cochineal or Madder were slightly improved. The results clearly showed that the application of SA-Ag NPs on the wool samples could be considered as a green finishing process with promising antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. A very high level of antimicrobial efficiency (99%) was achieved after the pretreatment, which remained as high as 90% even after ten repeated washing cycles.

     

Temperature and salinity interactively impact early juvenile development: a bottleneck in barnacle ontogeny

When juvenile mortality or juvenile growth is impacted by temperature and salinity, these factors have a substantial effect on recruitment success and population dynamics in benthic ecosystems. Using freshly settled cyprids of Amphibalanus improvisus, we investigated the combined effects of temperature (12, 20 and 28 °C) and salinity (5, 15 and 30 psu) on early juvenile stage performance. Mortality as well as size (basal diameter, dry weight, and ash-free dry weight) was monitored for a period of 40 days. Mortality was high (42–63 %) during the first week following attachment, regardless of the temperature and salinity treatments. Subsequently, mortality and size were interactively influenced by temperature and salinity. Highest mortality and lowest size of juveniles occurred at lowest temperature (12 °C) and salinity (5 psu). Apparently, low temperature (12 °C) narrowed the barnacles’ salinity tolerance. Juvenile barnacles constructed more shell material compared to body mass at high temperature and high salinity, while a reverse situation was observed at low temperature and low salinity. Our results demonstrate that environmental changes can directly and/or indirectly alter patterns of survivorship and size. Warming and desalination as predicted for the Baltic Sea in the course of climate change may, however, act antagonistically and compensate each other’s isolated effect on barnacles.     

Room temperature aqueous Paal–Knorr pyrrole synthesis catalyzed by aluminum tris(dodecyl sulfate)trihydrate

This article reports a novel procedure to prepare pyrroles using a modification of the Paal–Knorr reaction. Water is a safe solvent meeting environmental considerations, but most organic substrates are not soluble in water. A possible solution to improve the solubility of substrates is the use of surface-active reagents that can form micelles. For instance, combined Lewis acid–surfactant catalyst acts both as a Lewis acid to activate the substrate molecules and as a surfactant to form emulsions in water. Here, we prepared and used aluminum tris(dodecyl sulfate)trihydrate to condense various amines to 2,5-hexadione at room temperature. The sole solid pyrrole was separated by a simple filtration. Our findings thus show a novel and improved modification of the Paal–Knorr reaction in terms of mild reaction conditions and clean reaction profiles, using a simple workup procedure and improved yields with excellent chemo-selectivity.     

Effects of gasoline engine emissions on health status of auto rickshaw drivers at DIR (L) Khyber Pukhtunkhwa

A total of 50 blood samples were collected from auto rickshaw drivers who were exposed to environmental gasoline in different sites of Dir (L), Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in July and August, 2009. Control group was selected among the individuals who were not regularly exposed to gasoline emissions. The samples were analyzed for calcium, cholesterol, glucose, phosphorus, potassium, and triglycerides levels. A significant increase was found in the blood levels of calcium, glucose, phosphorus, and triglycerides. A significant decrease was detected in the blood levels of potassium without any significant effect on the blood levels of cholesterol and magnesium.     

Assessment of toxicity of two types of drill cuttings from a drilling rig on the Trinidad East coast using Metamysidopsis insularis

This study investigated the relative toxicity of water-based cuttings (WBC) and synthetic oil-based cuttings (SOBC) to the marine species, Metamysidopsis insularis. Results obtained indicate that SOBC (LC₅₀ 1.2 (0.85–1.6)%) was more toxic to M. insularis than WBC (LC₅₀ 9.9 (8.3–11.8)%), with similar metal contents in both types of cuttings. The elevated levels of metals found in the cuttings when compared to surficial sediments may be due to both drilling fluids, as well as the rock strata from which the cuttings were obtained. Furthermore, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) analyses demonstrated significantly higher concentrations of TPH present in SOBC (14,680?±?1250?mg?kg^?1) compared to WBC (860?±?115?mg?kg^?1). This may also be due to the increased depth and hence oil bearing rock formations in the selected sampling area, along with the associated synthetic oil-based drilling fluid. These findings therefore supply evidence that drill cuttings after treatment prior to discharge are potentially toxic to marine organisms.     

Design,synthesis, antinociceptive,and anti-inflammatory properties of thiazolopyrimidine derivatives

Ten 2-(substituted benzylidene)-7-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(furan-2-yl)-2H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-3(7H)-one derivatives were synthesized and evaluated. A series of heterocyclic, 2-(substituted benzylidene)-7-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(furan-2-yl)-2H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-3(7H)-one were synthesized by reaction of 7-(4-chloro phenyl)-5-(furan-2-yl)-2H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-3(7H)-one with appropriately substituted aldehydes in the presence of anhydrous sodium acetate and glacial acetic acid. The antinociceptive activity was evaluated by tail-flick technique, anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan-induced paw edema test and their ulcerogenicity index was determined. The para-substituted methyl, hydroxy, fluoro, chloro, bromo, and nitro derivatives showed significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. The detailed synthesis, spectroscopic data, and pharmacological screening of the synthesized compounds were reported.