Calcium invigorates the cadmium-stressed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis> L. plants by strengthening their photosynthetic system

Introduction  

Cadmium (Cd) in plants interrupts numerous metabolic processes and reduces the water and nutrient uptake that cause chlorosis, growth retardation, and ultimately plant death. Response of Brassica napus L. to calcium (Ca) enrichment in growth medium for reducing Cd toxicity stress by strengthening the photosynthesis organelles and their functionality was explored in this study.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Consequences of health risk assessment of wastewater irrigation in Pakistan

Statement of Retraction

We, the Editors and Publisher of Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, have retracted the following article:

Maria Sabeen, Qaisar Mahmood, Abdol Ghaffar Ebadi, Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhatti, Faridullah, Muhammad Irshad, Allauddin Kakar, Muhammad Bilal, Hafiz Muhammad Arshad and Naeem Shahid, ‘Consequences of health risk assessment of wastewater irrigation in Pakistan Israel Affairs’, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 2019, DOI: 10.1080/02772248.2019.1619335

The article is retracted due to the oversights that were made during peer review process that resulted in the article being published online in error. Further review from independent reviewers was sought. This confirmed that the central findings and methodology of the study in question are unreliable and therefore unsuitable for publication.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.

The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.     

Restoration and conservation potential of destroyed Qinghai spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea crassifolia</Emphasis>) forests in the Qilian Mountains of northwest China

Each of the last three decades has seen the Earth’s surface get progressively warmer more than any preceding decade since the 1850s. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have been scientifically demonstrated as the primary cause of the observed global climate change. The reduction of greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere has deserved international attention. Aside from strategies to reduce emissions, increasing carbon storage by restoring and protecting destroyed forests has become an alternative method to lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels. Therefore, effective restoration/conservation plans for deforested lands are urgently needed. The current work focuses on the restoration and conservation potential of destroyed Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) forests in the Qilian Mountains of northwest China and provides a reasonable approach for drafting effective restoration/conservation plans for deforested lands. We first estimated habitat suitability of the Qinghai spruce using a habitat suitability model based on the relationships among the three most influential/significant environmental variables: average annual precipitation (P), average air temperature in July (T), and solar radiation (R) and the corresponding occurrence frequency of Qinghai spruce in the niche space. We then calculated the index of habitat suitability (IHS) for Qinghai spruce by applying a model in the study area. We finally used field data to classify the IHS map and identified the prior restoration and conservation areas for Qinghai spruce. The results show that (1) the optimal combination of T, P, and R for Qinghai spruce is 11.5 °C, 380 mm, and 2?×?10³ kWh/m², respectively; (2) these forests have potential for restoration; (3) areas with priority restoration and conservation potential are about 43 and 56.65 km². The results of this study will help decision-makers develop and implement effective restoration/conservation strategies in the Qilian Mountains. This study presents a useful approach for helping decision-makers in other regions of the world draft effective restoration/conservation plans for deforested lands. The implementation of these plans will reduce CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere, in turn, may retard global warming.     

Health risk assessment and oxidative stress in workers exposed to welding fumes

The aim of this study was designed to determine the influence of welding fumes on oxidative stress in humans and the role of metals. A questionnaire was designed to collect information regarding personal characteristics, including age, weight, height, and medical history; life style such as smoking status and exercise habits; and occupational history such as working history, working environment, employment duration, and use of protective equipment. Body mass index (BMI) in kg/m² was then calculated for each participant. Blood samples were also drawn to determine malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and various metals in plasma. Significantly higher plasma MDA (4.08 µg/L) was observed as compared to controls (1.61 µg/L). Blood metal analysis also showed elevated level of metals in welders for cadmium, chromium, lead,and nickel. Data indicated that workers occupationally exposed to welding fumes for prolong periods possessed higher metal levels associated with increased oxidative stress as evidenced by elevated MDA levels.     

Novel Pretreatment Performance Evaluation for Cellulose Nanofibrils Extraction from Ficus natalensis Barkcloth

Recently, nanosized cellulose materials extraction is extensively interesting from the sources of sustainable materials. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) extraction through green bio-based materials featured as promising interest in the field of science. In this study, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was applied to examine its effectiveness in pretreating the Ficus natalensis barkcloth cellulose (FNBC) for CNF production before 2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation. The pretreatment performance of DMSO was evaluated based on the structural and morphological changes. DMSO pretreated FNBC attained the most dramatic morphological changes as compared to untreated cellulose samples. The results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) shows that there is an extensive structural disruption of FNBC during the pretreatment process, which could be because of outstanding ability to eliminate non-cellulosic materials and amorphous regions from the FNBC, confirmed by the X-ray diffractometry (XRD) showing higher crystallinity values, as well as higher thermal stabilities values of pretreated FNBC samples, were also noted. Overall, this study revealed a tremendously effective and pioneer pretreatment method for fractionating FNBC, to stimulate the successive extraction of cellulose nanofibrils. Furthermore, based on the cellulose and CNF characterizations, this study showed that F. natalensis barkcloth could be considered as an alternative source of cellulose for potential value-added industrial applications such as the food industry, paper making, and biomedicines.

Graphic Abstract

     

Evaluating pollution damage function through carbon pricing,renewable energy demand,and cleaner technologies in China: blue versus green economy

Climate change and increased greenhouse gas emissions boost the global average temperature to less than 2°C, which is the estimated breakeven point. The globe is moving into blue pollution economies as the environmental sustainability objective becomes more distorted. The study looked at three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely (i) affordable and clean energy; (ii) industry, innovation, and infrastructure; and (iii) climate change, to see how far the Chinese economy has progressed toward green and clean development strategy. In the context of China, the “pollution damage function” was intended to refer to carbon damages related to carbon pricing, technological variables, sustained economic growth, incoming foreign investment, and green energy. The data was collected between 1975 and 2019 and analyzed using various statistical approaches. The results of the autoregressive distributed lag model suggest that carbon taxes on industrial emissions reduce carbon damages in the short and long run. Furthermore, a rise in inbound foreign investment and renewable energy demand reduces carbon damages in the short term, proving the “pollution halo” and “green energy” hypotheses; nonetheless, the results are insufficient to explain the stated results in the long run. In the long run, technology transfers and continued economic growth are beneficial in reducing carbon damages and confirming the potential of cleaner solutions in pollution mitigation. The causal inferences show the one-way relationship running from carbon pricing and technology transfer to carbon damages, and green energy to high-technology exports in a country. The impulse response estimates suggested that carbon tax, inbound foreign investment, and technology transfers likely decrease carbon damages for the next 10 years. On the other hand, continued economic growth and inadequate green energy sources are likely to increase carbon pollution in a country. The variance decomposition analysis suggested that carbon pricing and information and communication technology exports would likely significantly influence carbon damages over time. To keep the earth’s temperature within the set threshold, the true motivation to shift from a blue to a green economy required strict environmental legislation, the use of green energy sources, and the export of cleaner technologies.

Graphical abstract

Source: Authors’ self-extract