A report published in this journal showed an inversely significant association between ultraviolet radiation (UVR) before the pandemic and cumulative COVID-19 cases in Spain. The analyses employed ...several meteorological factors, but socio-economic factors were not included. We examined the associations of COVID-19 cases with selected factors and found a significance on gross domestic product per capita (p = 0.037 by Spearman's correlation). Hence, simple regression analyses of UVR would be confounded with regional difference in economic activities. In addition, we raised several questions for limitations due to the study design and analyses.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Ten white-rot fungal isolates were evaluated for the decolorization potential of pulp and paper mill effluent.
Trametes elegans
PP17-06,
Pseudolagarobasidium
sp. PP17-33, and
Microporus
sp.2 PP17-20 ...showed the highest decolorization efficiencies between 42 and 54% in 5 d. To reveal the mechanisms involved in decolorization and assess the long-term performance, PP17-06, which showed the highest decolorization efficiency, was further investigated. It could reduce the ADMI color scale by 63.6% in 10 d. However, extending the treatment period for more than 10 d did not significantly enhance the decolorization efficiencies. The maximum MnP activity of 3.27 U L
−1
was observed on the 6 d during the biodegradation. In comparison, laccase activities were low with the maximum activity of 0.38 U L
−1
(24 d). No significant LiP activities were monitored during the experiment. Dead fungal biomass showed an optimum decolorization efficiency of 44.18% in 8 d employing the biosorption mechanism. No significant changes in the decolorization efficiency were observed after that, suggesting the equilibrium status was reached. These results revealed that PP17-06 has the potential to decolorize pulp and paper mill effluent by employing both biodegradation and biosorption processes.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are a ubiquitous group of plant symbionts, yet processes underlying their global assembly — in particular the roles of dispersal limitation and historical drivers — ...remain poorly understood. Because earlier studies have reported niche conservatism in AM fungi, we hypothesized that variation in taxonomic community composition (i.e., unweighted by taxon relatedness) should resemble variation in phylogenetic community composition (i.e., weighted by taxon relatedness) which reflects ancestral adaptations to historical habitat gradients. Because of the presumed strong dispersal ability of AM fungi, we also anticipated that the large-scale structure of AM fungal communities would track environmental conditions without regional discontinuity. We used recently published AM fungal sequence data (small‐subunit ribosomal RNA gene) from soil samples collected worldwide to reconstruct global patterns in taxonomic and phylogenetic community variation. The taxonomic structure of AM fungal communities was primarily driven by habitat conditions, with limited regional differentiation, and there were two well-supported clusters of communities — occurring in cold and warm conditions. Phylogenetic structure was driven by the same factors, though all relationships were markedly weaker. This suggests that niche conservatism with respect to habitat associations is weakly expressed in AM fungal communities. We conclude that the composition of AM fungal communities tracks major climatic and edaphic gradients, with the effects of dispersal limitation and historic factors considerably less apparent than those of climate and soil.
The waste created by single-use plastics is an important global issue, especially in marine environments, because they do not degrade in nature. This work aimed to study the biodegradability of ...bioplastic blown film, which may pose a solution to this problem. Polybutylene succinate (PBS) and polylactic acid (PLA) blown films were chosen for examination of their biodegradability when submerged in sand under the seawater and when floated on the seawater surface of our experimental setup. Bioplastics were observed in comparison with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is a petroleum-based plastic. PBS blown film exhibited a faster degradation rate than PLA blown film, while LDPE blown film did not degrade in the marine environment. The biodegradability of bioplastic blown film was confirmed by physical observation, a change in the chemical functional group measured by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and a test of the biochemical oxygen demand of the seawater after bioplastic degradation due to ingestion by bacteria in seawater.
Coloured wastewater from the textile industry is a very serious global problem. Among 16 different white-rot fungal isolates,
PW17-41 revealed high potential for decolourisation of mixed textile dyes ...(Navy EC-R, Ruby S3B and Super Black G) from real industrial wastewater samples. The efficiency of dye decolourisation was evaluated using the American Dye Manufacturers' Institute (ADMI) standard methodology. The suitable support for fungal mycelium immobilisation was nylon sponges. The optimal dye decolourisation (95.39%) was achieved by using palm sugar and ammonium nitrate as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The initial pH was 5 and the agitation speed was 100 rpm at 30 °C. The ADMI values of textile dyes decreased from 2475 to 114 within two days, reducing the treatment time from seven days before optimisation. The major mechanism of dye decolourisation was biodegradation, which was confirmed by UV-visible and FTIR spectra. Manganese peroxidase (MnP) (4942 U L
) was found to be the main enzyme during the decolourisation process at an initial dye concentration of 21,200 ADMI. The results indicated the strong potential of immobilised fungal cells to remove high concentrations of textile dyes from industrial wastewater and their potential ability to produce high MnP and laccase activities that can be used in further application.
Numerous epidemiological studies have reported that ozone (O3) and temperature are independently associated with health outcomes, but modification of the effects of O3 on health outcomes by ...temperature, and vice versa, has not been fully described. This study aimed to investigate effect modification by temperature on the association between O3 and emergency ambulance dispatches (EADs) in Japan. Data on daily air pollutants, ambient temperature, and EADs were obtained from eight Japanese cities from 2007 to 2015. A distributed lag non-linear model combined with Poisson regression was performed with temperature as a confounding factor and effect modifier to estimate the effects of O3 on EADs at low (<25th percentile), moderate (25th–75th percentile), and high (>75th percentile) temperature for each city. The estimates obtained from each city were pooled by random-effects meta-analysis. When temperature was entered as a confounder, the estimated effects of O3 on EADs for all acute, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses were largest at lag 0 (current-day lag). Therefore, this lag was used to further estimate the effects of O3 on EADs in each temperature category. The estimated effects of O3 on EADs for all acute, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses in all eight Japanese cities increased with increasing temperature. Specifically, a 10 ppb increase in O3 was associated with 0.80 % (95 % CI: 0.25 to 1.35), 0.19 % (95 % CI: −0.85 to 1.25), and 1.14 % (95 % CI: −0.01 to 2.31) increases in the risk of EADs for all acute, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses, respectively, when city-specific daily temperature exceeded the 75th percentile. Our findings suggest that the association between O3 and EADs for all acute, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses is the highest during high temperature. Finding of this study can be used to develop potential mitigation measures against O3 exposure in high temperature environment to reduce its associated adverse health effects.
Display omitted
•Effect modification by temperature on O3-EADs association was examined.•EADs visits for all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses were explored.•Ambient temperature can modify the association between O3 and EADs.•Effect of O3 on EADs was greater when temperature was higher (>75th percentile).•Significant effect of O3 on EADs for all-acute illnesses during hot days was observed.
The risk of cardiovascular diseases may be reduced by residing in green environments. However, there are relatively few longitudinal cohort studies, especially in Southeast Asia, that focused on the ...health benefits of long-term greenness exposure in young adults. The present study examined the association between long-term exposure to residential greenness and self-reported morbidities in participants of the Thai Cohort Study (TCS) in Thailand from 2005 to 2013.
The self-reported outcomes, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes, were reported in 2005, 2009, and 2013, where the study participants provided the exact year of disease occurrence. Greenness was assessed by the satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), with a spatial resolution of 250 m. Long-term exposure to NDVI and EVI of each participant's sub-district was averaged over the period of person-time. We used Cox proportional hazards models to examine the association between greenness and health outcomes. Associations with self-reported morbidity were measured using hazard ratios (HRs) per interquartile range (IQR) increase in NDVI and EVI.
After adjusting for potential confounders, we observed that an IQR increase in NDVI was associated with lower incidence of high blood pressure (HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.89, 0.97) and high blood cholesterol (HR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.87, 0.92), but not significantly associated with diabetes (HR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.85, 1.01). EVI was also inversely associated with self-reported high blood pressure (HR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.88, 0.96), high blood cholesterol (HR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.87, 0.91), and diabetes (HR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.85, 0.99).
Long-term exposure to residential greenness was inversely associated with self-reported high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes in participants of TCS. Our study provides evidence that greenness exposure may reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in adult population.
•Evidence on health benefits of greenness exposure is still limited in Southeast Asia.•NDVI and EVI were inversely associated with incidence of self-reported morbidities.•Exposure to greenness may decrease cardiovascular disease risk factors for adults.
Ankle-brachial index (ABI) and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) are surrogate measures of atherosclerosis based on the functional performance of vessels, and are highly related to cardiovascular ...events. However, only a few longitudinal studies have been conducted on their associations with long-term air pollution exposure.
This study aimed to examine whether long-term air pollution exposure is associated with ABI and CAVI in workers of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR).
This longitudinal study included 1261 participants (age range, 57–76 years as of 2007) of the EGAT study (2007–2017). ABI and CAVI were measured in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Annual mean concentrations of particulate matter ≤10 μm in diameter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide (CO) were estimated by ordinary kriging using data from 22 background and 7 traffic monitoring stations in BMR between 2002 and 2017. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess associations between air pollution (expressed as 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year average concentration) and ABI and CAVI (expressed as percent changes per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO). We also applied the mixed-effect ordinal logistic models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) of having high or moderate CAVI per an IQR increase in air pollution.
After controlling for potential confounders, 1-year average CO was negatively associated with ABI, but not significantly (−0.48%, 95% CI: −1.03, 0.07). Three-year average NO2 was positively associated with CAVI (6.67%, 95% CI: 0.21, 13.1). In contrast, 1-year average PM10 was inversely associated with CAVI although the association was not significant. Although not significantly, 1-year average NO2 and CO were positively associated with prevalence of high or moderate CAVI.
Although not statistically significant, long-term NO2 and CO exposure was associated with ABI and CAVI in the participants of the EGAT study.
•ABI and CAVI are surrogate measures of atherosclerosis.•This is the first study to examine the long-term effects of air pollution on CAVI.•Although not significantly, lower ABI was associated with higher CO.•NO2 was positively associated with CAVI but not significantly.•In contrast, PM10 was inversely associated with CAVI but not significantly.
PDF
