A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impacts of glyphosate on the reproductive hormones

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Worldwide use of glyphosate is constantly increasing and its residues are detected in drinking water, agriculture, and food products. There are...     

Evaluation of bio-aerosols type,density, and modeling of dispersion in inside and outside of different wards of educational hospital

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Exposure to bioaerosols in the air of hospitals is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects due to the presence of airborne...     

Evaluation of DNA damage in the root cells of Allium cepa seeds growing in soil of high background radiation areas of Ramsar – Iran

Plants are unique in their ability to serve as in situ monitors for environmental genotoxins. We have used the alkaline comet assay for detecting induced DNA damage in Allium cepa to estimate the impact of high levels of natural radiation in the soils of inhabited zones of Ramsar. The average specific activity of natural radionuclides measured in the soil samples for ²²⁶Ra was 12,766 Bq kg⁻¹ whereas in the control soils was in the range of 34–60 Bq kg⁻¹. A positive strong significant correlation of the DNA damage in nuclei of the root cells of A. cepa seeds germinated in the soil of high background radiation areas with ²²⁶Ra specific activity of the soil samples was observed. The results showed high genotoxicity of radioactively contaminated soils. Also the linear increase in the DNA damage indicates that activation of repair enzymes is not triggered by exposure to radiation in HBRA.     

A time series analysis of environmental and metrological factors impact on cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence in an endemic area of Dehloran,Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the environmental and metrological variables and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) transmission and its prediction in a region susceptible to this disease prevalence using a time series model. The accurate locations of 4437 CL diagnosed from 2011 to 2015 were obtained to be used in the time series model. Temperature, number of days with temperature over 30 °C, and number of earthquake were related to CL incidence using the Seasonal Auto-correlated Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model according to the Box-Jenkins method. In addition, the relationship between land use and surface soil type in 500- and 1000-m radius around the CL patients were investigated. The SARIMA models showed significant associations between environmental and meteorological variables and CL incidence adjusted for seasonality and auto-correlation. The result indicated that there are need more robust preventive programs in earthquake-prone areas with high temperature and inceptisol soil type than other areas. In addition, the region with these characteristics should be considered as high-risk areas for CL prevalence.     

A basic neural traffic noise prediction model for Tehran’s roads

We present an artificial neural network model to predict hourly A-weighted equivalent sound pressure levels (L_Aeq,1h) for roads in Tehran at distances less than 4 m from the nearside carriageway edge. Our model uses the UK Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CORTN) approach. Data were obtained from 50 sampling locations near five roads in Tehran at nearside carriageway edge distances of less than 4 m. The data were randomly assigned to training, testing, and holdout subsets. Model training was carried out using the training and testing subsets and comprised 60% and 20% of the data, respectively. Model validation was performed using the remaining 20% of data as a holdout subset. We examine the overall model efficiency using non-parametric tests, such as the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test for the training step and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for two independent samples for the validation step. Our results indicate that a neural network approach can be applied for traffic noise prediction in Tehran in a statistically sound manner. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test detects no significant difference between the absolute testing set errors of the developed neural network and a calibrated version of the CORTN model.     

AFRA – Heuristic expert system to assess the atmospheric risk of sulphide waste dumps

In 2006, an unprecedented atmospheric confined space accident took place in a sampling shed at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, British Columbia. This accident suggests that a risk assessment should be carried out on a regular basis at mine reclamation sites for many years after closure. In this paper, an Atmospheric Fuzzy Risk Assessment (AFRA) tool is described that can assess atmospheric risk given heuristic and measured data at such sites. It can also serve to transfer knowledge about atmospheric hazards in an enclosed structure. The system uses fuzzy logic to input and output information and to perform weighted inferencing. The paper describes the developmental process as well as system verification and validation based on a number of known test and reference waste dumps. AFRA is a heuristic expert system based on fuzzy logic and the first tool that was developed to assess the atmospheric risk of mine waste dumps. The atmospheric risk is estimated by fuzzy Mamdani system given the values of four major elements of risk comprising of: gas generation, gas emission, gas confinement, and human exposure. The ability of AFRA to adapt its risk assessment to different climate conditions is explained. There are many physical, chemical, and environmental factors which fluctuate over time affecting oxygen-depletion in waste dumps. AFRA can help mining engineers and mine managers recognize this type of danger when conducting a confined space inventory at a reclamation site.     

不同源胡敏酸的表征及其对磺胺嘧啶光降解的影响

以国际腐殖酸协会(IHSS)推荐的方法为基础,对四川省绵阳市青义镇泥炭地、水稻田及凋落物覆盖土层中的胡敏酸(HA)进行提取纯化.通过元素组成、紫外-可见光谱、傅里叶红外光谱及三维荧光光谱对各HA样品的结构特性进行对比分析,并探讨各HA对磺胺嘧啶光降解行为的影响.结果表明:泥炭地HA(NTHA)、水稻田HA(SDHA)、凋落物覆盖土HA(LYHA)及市售商品HA(SPHA)均主要由C、H、O、N 4种元素构成,芳香性大小为SPHANTHALYHASDHA;与提取的HA相比,SPHA含有更多的含氮类、芳香类、脂类化合物及含氧官能团,腐殖化程度高,可能含有较多的光活性基团;磺胺嘧啶(SDZ)在黑暗条件下表现出良好的稳定性,而紫外光照条件下发生了缓慢降解,光降解过程符合一级反应动力学;添加不同来源HA后,各体系SDZ的光降解速率均大于纯水溶液,且HA表现出的促进作用大小为SPHASDHANTHALYHA,这可能与各HA的腐殖化程度相关.     

Dioxin induces expression of hsa-miR-146b-5p in human neuroblastoma cells

Dioxin can cause a series of neural toxicological effects. Micro RNAs(mi Rs) play important roles in regulating nervous system function and mediating cellular responses to environmental pollutants, such as dioxin. Hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p appears to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. However, little is known about effects of dioxin on the expression of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p. We found that the hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p expression and its promoter activity were significantly increased in dioxin treated SK-N-SH cells, a human-derived neuroblastoma cell line. Potential roles of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p in mediating neural toxicological effects of dioxin may be due to the regulation of certain target genes. We further confirmed that hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p significantly suppressed acetylcholinesterase(ACh E) activity and targeted the3′-untranslated region of the ACh E T subunit, which has been down-regulated in dioxin treated SK-N-SH cells. Functional bioinformatic analysis showed that the known and predicted target genes of hsa-mi R-146 b-5 p were involved in some brain functions or cyto-toxicities related to known dioxin effects, including synapse transmission, in which ACh E may serve as a responsive gene for mediating the effect.     

三峡库区典型支流水库浮游动植物群落结构特征及其与环境因子的关系

为了探讨三峡库区典型支流水库（长寿湖）浮游动植物结构与环境因子间的关系,于不同季节对其水环境因子和浮游动植物进行调查,利用Pearson相关性分析法对调查结果进行分析.对浮游动植物的鉴定结果表明：浮游植物共有8门107种,主要由相对丰度达61%的蓝藻门组成,优势种群包括纤细席藻、点状平裂藻和类颤藻鱼腥藻这3种浮游植物.共鉴定出浮游动物4门82种,其中轮虫相对丰度达88%,其优势种群包括螺形龟甲轮虫、前节晶囊轮虫和盖氏晶囊轮虫等6种浮游动物.浮游动植物丰度、生物量和生物多样性指数的空间差异均不显著,除浮游动物生物多样性指数季节性差异不显著外,其余指标均有显著的季节性差异.夏季浮游植物的丰度最高,春季次之,冬季最低,而浮游动物春季丰度最高,春季浮游动植物的生物量均显著高于冬季.夏季浮游植物的种类数,Shannon-Wiener指数（H''）、Pielous均匀度指数（J）和Margalef丰富度指数（D）显著低于冬季和春季.水质评价结果表明,冬、春季节长寿湖水质处于清洁-寡污状态,夏季处于中度污染状态,长寿湖整体处于富营养化状态.影响长寿湖浮游动植物群落结构的环境因子包括：Chla、DOC、TP、NO₂^--N、NO₃^--N、NH₄⁺-N、DO、Eh和T.冬春夏3个季节影响浮游动植物群落结构的环境因子存在差异.