Environmental Health Improvements Research Articles

Eco-friendly synthesis and high-efficiency adsorption of potassium permanganate using a magnetic hydrochar composite derived from Calotropis procera

Water pollution poses significant health and environmental risks, impacting ecosystems and human health. This study investigates the removal of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) from water using a magnetic hydrochar composite (HTCNP) synthesized from Calotropis procera (CP) leaves through a single-step hydrothermal carbonization process. This eco-friendly and efficient synthesis method provides an advantageous alternative to traditional multi-step processes. Structural analysis confirmed the composite’s porous structure and functional groups that contribute to effective adsorption. Under optimal conditions (pH 7, adsorbent dose of 1 g/L, contact time of 60 minutes, and temperature of 298 K), HTCNP achieved a maximum adsorption capacity of 388.09 mg/g. Adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption behavior aligned with the Freundlich isotherm, indicating multilayer adsorption on a heterogeneous surface. Furthermore, the HTCNP composite demonstrated good reusability over five cycles, maintaining high removal efficiency, and effectively removed KMnO4 from real wastewater samples. These findings highlight the potential of HTCNP as an efficient, sustainable, and practical adsorbent for water purification applications, contributing to environmental protection and public health improvement.

Innovative Strategies for Upcycling Agricultural Residues and Their Various Pharmaceutical Applications.

This review investigates innovative strategies for upcycling agricultural residues into valuable pharmaceutical compounds. The improper disposal of agricultural residues contributes to significant environmental issues, including increased greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem degradation. Upcycling offers a sustainable solution, transforming these residues into high-value bioproducts (antioxidants, antitumor agents, antidiabetic compounds, anti-inflammatory agents, and antiviral drugs). Nanotechnology and microbial biotechnology have a crucial role in enhancing bioavailability and targeted delivery of bioactive compounds. Advanced techniques like enzymatic hydrolysis, green solvents, microwave processing, pyrolysis, ultrasonic processing, acid and alkaline hydrolysis, ozonolysis, and organosolv processes are explored for their effectiveness in breaking down agricultural waste and extracting valuable compounds. Despite the promising potential, challenges such as variability in residue composition, scalability, and high costs persist. The review emphasizes the need for future research on cost-effective extraction techniques and robust regulatory frameworks to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of bioproducts. The upcycling of agricultural residues represents a viable path towards sustainable waste management and production of pharmaceutical compounds, contributing to environmental conservation and public health improvements. This review provides an analysis of the current literature and identifies knowledge gaps, offering recommendations for future studies to optimize the use of agricultural residues in the drug industry.

The health and welfare effects of environmental governance: Evidence from China

Environmental regulations aim to reduce pollution and improve air quality and the health of residents. However, there is a lack of research focusing on the health and welfare effects of low-carbon city pilot policies. In this context, this study takes China’s low-carbon city pilot policy as an entry point, focuses on the health effects of public environmental governance, and systematically investigates the effects and mechanisms of low-carbon city development on the health of middle-aged and elderly people by applying the difference-in-differences method. The study finds that low-carbon city (LCC) policy significantly improves the physical and mental health of middle-aged and elderly people, and the main transmission mechanism is the reduction in air pollution and improvement in social capital. These results hold following a series of robustness tests. Furthermore, low-carbon city construction can reduce hospitalization and outpatient costs for people over 45 years old by up to 3 % and 15.5 %, respectively. The findings of this study provide useful policy insights for ensuring sustainable improvement in environmental quality and public health.

Towards a Reduced Pollution Society: Systematic Review on the Role of Storytelling, Social Media, Humor and Celebrities’ Influence for Research Communication

Humanity's pollutive activities pose significant threats to biodiversity, agricultural productivity, and human health. Effective communication about these issues is crucial for fostering awareness and understanding. To achieve a more impactful dialogue, it is essential to facilitate collaboration across disciplines through an interdisciplinary system approach. This paper specifically aims to examine the role of storytelling, humor, and celebrities' influence in reinforcing pro-environmental behaviors. The focus is on reducing pollution and its impact through experiential, emotional, and aesthetic learning. To ensure the validity of the review, articles were systematically collected from accredited journal sites indexed by Scopus, Web of Science, and other reputable sources. The analysis indicates that anthropogenic pollutants, ingested through food, soil, air, or water, can have disastrous effects on human and environmental health. The study emphasizes the potential of storytelling, humor, and celebrities' influence to significantly mitigate these impacts. The integration of humor, storytelling, and the influence of celebrities in the media, as powerful communication tools, can contribute to a drastic reduction in pollution and its associated effects. These approaches serve as universal languages that resonate with diverse audiences. The study advocates for strong advocacy and effective communication strategies employing humor, storytelling, and celebrity influence. Celebrity influencers, with their substantial social influence, can act as science communicators, translating complex pollution statistics to inform the public about their contribution to pollution and motivating behavior change for environmental health improvement.

A Data-Driven Approach to Identify Major Air Pollutants in Shanghai Port Area and Their Contributing Factors

Air pollution is a growing concern in metropolitan areas worldwide, and Shanghai, as one of the world’s busiest ports, faces significant challenges in local air pollution control. Assessing the contribution of a specific port to air pollution is essential for effective environmental management and public health improvement, making the analysis of air pollution contributions at a selected port in Shanghai a pertinent research focus. This study aims to delve into the distribution patterns of atmospheric pollutants in port areas and their influencing factors, utilizing a data-driven approach to unveil the relationship between pollution sources and dispersion. Through a comparative analysis of pollution levels in the port’s interior, surrounding regions, and urban area concentrations, we ascertain that carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO) are the primary pollutants in the port, with concentrations significantly exceeding those of the surrounding areas and urban area levels. These two pollutants exhibit an hourly pattern, with lower levels during the day and higher concentrations at night. Employing a random forest model, this study quantitatively analyzes the contribution rates of different factors to pollutant concentrations. The results indicate that NO concentration is primarily influenced by operational intensity and wind speed, while CO concentration is mainly affected by meteorological factors. Further, an orthogonal experiment reveals that maintaining daily operational vehicle numbers within 5000 effectively controls NO pollution, especially at low wind speeds. Additionally, humidity and temperature exhibit similar trends in influencing NO and CO, with heightened pollution occurring within the range of 75% to 90% humidity and 6 °C to 10 °C temperature. Severe pollution accumulates under stagnant wind conditions with wind speeds below 0.2 m/s. The results help to explore the underlying mechanisms of port pollution further and use machine learning for early pollution prediction, aiding timely warnings and emission reduction strategy formulation.

Survey on Air Pollution in India: Insights, Predictions, and Mixed Gas Analysis for an Improved Future

Abstract: The sustenance of life on Earth is intricately tied to the quality of our air. But this precious resource is facing mounting threats from the harmful consequences of rapid industrialization, transportation networks, and the everyday practices of modern living. This research paper addresses the pressing issue of rising air pollution in India, with a strong emphasis on environmental well-being. Utilizing data from the Central Pollution Control Board of India (CPCB), our project focuses on air quality visualization, pollution prediction, and mixed gas analysis. We have developed an intuitive web-based platform for visualizing air quality data, offering a valuable tool for the public and policymakers. Additionally, predictive models are employed to anticipate pollution levels, facilitating timely intervention and mitigation. Our mixed gas analysis sheds light on the composition of atmospheric gases, enhancing our understanding of pollution sources. Through this interdisciplinary approach, our research aims to provide a comprehensive solution to combat air pollution, fostering environmental sustainability and public health improvement in India

Augmented reality and environmental education: strategy for greater awareness

Introduction: augmented reality offers broad possibilities as educational technology, it is a way to interact with physical reality in real time, improving people's perspective on dissimilar topics. Objective: characterize the impact of augmented reality for the improvement of environmental health. Method: a review of the available literature was carried out using synthetic and historical-logical analytical methods using articles recovered from databases such as SciELO, Dialnet, Scopus, Researchgate, recovering a total of 16 reference articles from available literature related to the topic. in question, included in the time frame between 2019 and 2024. Results: the ecological crisis is currently the greatest challenge that human beings face, the integration of emerging technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), to the teaching and learning process facilitates, favors and motivates learning, thus having a strong educational impact of technology and specifically AR towards raising awareness of the population about environmental problems, a healthier ecosystem can be achieved, many people have the wrong idea about technology and the environment, pitting one against the other most of the times. Conclusions: augmented reality constitutes a powerful tool with a strong impact on the teaching and learning process that allows different population groups to become aware of a primary issue such as environmental health, influencing in turn the behavior of people in care. of the ecosystem.

The impacts of domestic and community environmental health improvements on undernutrition in China

The impacts of domestic and community environmental health improvements on undernutrition in China

KEPEDULIAN DAN KEBERSIHAN LINGKUNGAN SISWA-SISWI SDN 3 SAWOJAJAR KOTA MALANG

A clean environment is everyone’s dream. However, creating an environment that is uncluttered and eye-chatching is a challenge in itself. We often ignore environmental hygiene issues in our immediate environment, especially the school environment, due to busyness and other factors. A clean environment has many advantages for everyone. The aim is to increase the participation of school members in making the environment around the school clean and unpolluted. The program of activities is carried out in an environmental care model with a community service team consisting of lecturers and students of Ikip Budi Utomo Malang. Their activities through efforts to clean up the school yard at SDN 3 Sawojajar. In general, school members are aware of the importance of maintaining a clean school for environmental preservation and health improvement. However, in terms of increasing this understanding, continuous motivation is needed both from the government and from instutions related to the environment.

Application of chelated fertilizers to mitigate organic-inorganic fouling in brackish water drip irrigation systems

Organic-inorganic fouling in brackish water drip irrigation systems (BWDIS) reduces the irrigation and fertigation uniformity, resulting in decreased crop yield and quality. This study investigates the effect of chelated fertilizers on organic-inorganic fouling. Compared with control group (CK), application of Fe-ethylenediamine-di(o-hydroxy phenyl acetic acid (EDDHA-Fe) effectively prevented the multiple fouling by reducing the deposition of inorganic (precipitate and particulate) and organic fouling. Fulvic acid chelated iron fertilizer (FA-Fe) alleviated multiple fouling by drastically decreasing the precipitate and particulate fouling, although organic fouling was slightly increased. Conversely, amino acid chelated iron fertilizer (AA-Fe) slightly decreased the precipitate fouling while drastically accelerated the particulate and organic fouling, leading to severe clogging. Accordingly, EDDHA-Fe and FA-Fe prevented the BWDIS fouling by 32.6–41.8% and 16.1–29.0%, while AA-Fe accelerated by 36.9–45.4%. Moreover, chelated fertilizers (FA-Fe, AA-Fe and EDDHA-Fe) demonstrated better anti-fouling than inorganic iron fertilizer (FeSO4). However, EDDHA-Fe would have negative environmental impact, hence FA-Fe is strongly recommended from the perspectives of fouling mitigation and soil environmental health improvement efficiency. These results may provide a new guideline for applying chelated fertilizers in BWDIS to prevent organic-inorganic fouling and overcome agricultural pollution.

CREATION OF AN INNOVATIVE HEALTH AND REHABILITATION CENTER

The paper considers the need to create an innovative health and rehabilitation center due to the long-term military aggression of russia. The latter leads to the fact that many military and civilians receive physical and psychological injuries that need to be treated. At the first stage of rehabilitation, these problems are solved by special medical facilities, while the restoration of both physical and psychological condition should be carried out outside hospitals. One of these facilities could be health and rehabilitation centers on a national scale. Such centers can be formed on the basis of existing sports complexes, where there is a basis for carrying out appropriate actions. The article uses the example of the Olimp sports complex located on the Black Sea coast to illustrate the prospects of this area. The relevance of the work is due to the needs of the present and the principles of sustainable development of society, which combines social (human factor), economic (economic factor) and environmental (health improvement through a clean environment) components.
 The purpose of the study is to substantiate the creation of an innovative health and rehabilitation center on the basis of the Olimp sports complex for military and civilians suffering from physical and psychological injuries.
 Research methods: analysis and evaluation of economic activities; methods of generalization for the study of activities; observation method for the study of economic activities of FSC Olimp and the peculiarities of its services.
 The results of the work include: research on the needs of creating a health and rehabilitation center; identification of the main forms and types of work of the health and rehabilitation center; analysis of the activity of the physical culture and sports complex "Olympus"; assessment of the importance of introducing health and rehabilitation services; development of ways of innovative health and rehabilitation activities.
 The scientific novelty lies in the development of innovative approaches for the creation of a health and rehabilitation center that can operate on the basis of the Olimp sports complex.
 Practical significance of the results. The system for creating an innovative health and rehabilitation center is proposed for a specific existing enterprise and can be implemented in the near future. The developed recommendations can be used for a similar type of enterprise.

Does ambient air quality standard contribute to green innovation of enterprises in China? Implications for environmental protection and public health.

In the post-COVID-19 era, environmental pollution has been a serious threat to public health. Enterprises are in urgent need of enhancing green technology innovation as the main source of pollutant emissions, and it is necessary for governments to support green innovation of enterprises to reduce pollutant emissions and promote public health. In this context, this paper investigates whether the Ambient Air Quality Standard (AAQS) implemented in 2012 in China contributes to green innovation of enterprises, to provide implications for environmental protection and public health. By using panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2020, this study adopts the difference-in-difference model to analyze the policy impact of environmental regulation on green innovation of enterprises and its internal mechanism. The results show that AAQS has significantly improved the green innovation of enterprises. Furthermore, AAQS affects the green innovation of enterprises by virtue of two mechanism paths: compliance cost effect and innovation offset effect. On the one hand, AAQS leads to an increase in production costs of enterprises, thus inhibiting green innovation activities of enterprises. On the other hand, AAQS encourages enterprises to increase R&D investment in green technology, thus enhancing their green innovation. In addition, the impact of AAQS on firms' green innovation has heterogeneous characteristics. Our findings not only enrich the studies of environmental regulation and green innovation of enterprises but also provide policymakers in China and other developing countries with implications for environmental protection and public health improvement.

A health service package for residents of informal settlements: A developing country

ABSTRACT The residents of informal settlements lack sufficient access to health services. This has been threatening everyaspect of their lives for years. The aim of the current study was to design a health services package for the residents of such informalsettlements in Iran. This was a qualitative study conducted in 2021 in multiple stages. The needs identified in the previous study wereprovided to experts to reach an agreement by the Delphi method. The expert panel was then used to design a service packageproportional to the health needs of informal settlement residents. Experts agreed on 40 identified health needs, classified incontagious and non-communicable diseases, female health mental and social health and addiction, environmental health, and othercategories. The health service package included five main dimensions: care related to (1) social supports and mental health, (2) economic supports, (3) empowering the community, (4) environmental health, and (5) prevention and health level improvement. A total of 43 services were proposed in this package to improve the health status in such settlements. Informal settlements face multiple diversehealth problems. A multi-dimensional plan is necessary to address identified needs, requiring intersectoral cooperation betweeninvolved organizations and stakeholders.

Enhancing community participation for environmental health improvement in rural Tanzania: Evidence from Bukombe district

Community participation has become a dominant approach in environmental health-related projects, yet, its enhancement has remained a challenge. This study examines ways of enhancing community participation in environmental health-related initiatives in rural areas of Tanzania. A total of one hundred people (n = 100) were engaged in this study. An embedded case study design was employed, in which multiple methods such as household questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis were used in collecting empirical data. Findings show that integration of the community into the development agenda and facilitating communities to access required equipment and tools is vital for enabling participation in environmental health-related matters. Effective and efficient leadership, mobilisation, and sensitisation of communities are operational and functioning strategies to improve environmental health through community participation, while retribution measures may prevent environmental pollution. There is a definite need for the integration of community participation as a key aspect of environmental-related projects and programs in the development policy aiming at improving the environmental health of communities.

Addressing the Health Education and Nutrition Environment Needs of Students

The association between the health of children and adolescents with their academic success is gaining more attention nationally. Consequently, the United States federal government has enacted policies to support environmental health improvement in schools, while health- and education-focused organizations have partnered to offer guidance in support of improved student health and well-being. Still, despite federal policy and guidance documents, schools experience many challenges to implementing school wellness initiatives. This article outlines how schools can employ their internal “health champions” with community support to improve the health education and nutrition environment needs of students.

Skin health in northern Australia

Achieving healthy skin requires the prevention of infectious diseases that affect the skin. Prevention activities range from environmental health improvements to address inequities in living situations, through to community-wide treatment programs to reduce transmission and improve skin health. In this paper we discuss the pathogens that cause and conditions that arise when skin is infected, the burden of disease in northern Australia, and some of the current research underway to address this high burden, which predominantly affects remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

RADIOECOLOGICAL SITUATION ON THE TERRITORY OF KARAUL VILLAGE OF ABAYSKY DISTRICT OF EAST KAZAKHSTAN REGION

As part of the research work on the topic «Development of scientific and methodological foundations for minimizing the environmental burden, medical support, social protection and health improvement of the population of environmentally unfavorable territories of the Republic of Kazakhstan», the Research Institute of Radiation Medicine and Ecology carried out radioecological studies in the Karaul village of Abay district of East Kazakhstan region. The radiation situation of Karaul village was formed in the 50s of the last century by local contamination of this settlement from nuclear explosions carried out at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. Measurements of radiation parameters of the current environmental situation on the ground and sampling of environmental objects that carried out in the period of May 2018. The radiation parameters of the environmental situation (MED, radon concentration, alpha and beta particle flux densities, and the content of radioactive elements in environmental objects) on the territory of the village are within the established standards

RADIOECOLOGICAL SITUATION ON THE TERRITORY OF BORODULIKHA VILLAGE OF BORODULIKHA DISTRICT, EAST KAZAKHSTAN REGION

As part of the research work on the topic «Development of scientific and methodological foundations for minimizing the environmental burden, medical support, social protection and health improvement of the population of environmentally unfavorable territories of the Republic of Kazakhstan», the Research Institute of Radiation Medicine and Ecology carried out radioecological studies on the territory of Borodulikha village of Borodulikha district of East Kazakhstan region in May 2018. Radiation parameters of the environmental situation (MED, radon concentration, alpha and beta particle flux densities, the content of radioactive elements in environmental objects).

Application of the regulatory framework to minimize negative impacts the impact on the environment for the development of biotechnological approaches to its improvement

The scope of application of the modern regulatory framework in the field of assessing the negative impact on the environment for food industry enterprises has been investigated. The issues of biotechnological protection of environmental objects are considered, taking into account the effective use of natural resources, production and consumption waste. An assessment of modern methods and approaches to environmental health improvement, including minimization of negative impacts, is given. An expert assessment of the environmental component of the business was carried out. It is shown that an effective environmental policy in all areas of business should be accompanied by the disclosure of environmental initiatives in information and communication networks through marketing campaigns. The main approaches to biotechnological protection of environmental objects, aimed at the efficient use of natural resources, production and consumption waste, are analyzed. Modern methods and approaches to environmental health improvement, including minimization of negative impact, are evaluated. The necessity of extraction of toxic heavy metals from waste before their disposal for storage and disposal in order to prevent damage to the environment is shown. The advantages of biochemical soil remediation for leaching metals with selection and specialized adaptation of working strains of microorganisms are noted. The need for large-scale incentives for manufacturers to introduce technological processes that minimally pollutes the environment has been established.

Clean heating and heating poverty: A perspective based on cost-benefit analysis

To improve the air quality in winter, clean heating policy was implemented in “2 + 26” cities of China in 2016, which mainly included replacing coal with gas or electricity. Tremendous financial subsidies have been provided by city and central governments. This new heating mode changed the heating fee-cost to residents. This paper estimates the economic costs to both governments and residents, and evaluates the environmental and public health benefits by combining a difference-in-differences model with an exposure-response function. Results show that the total costs of clean heating were up to 43.1 billion yuan. Governments and residents account for 44% and 56% of the total costs, respectively. In terms of benefits, the clean heating project is effective for air pollution control and brings health economic benefits of about 109.85 billion yuan (95% CI: 22.40–159.83). The clean heating policy was identified as a net-positive benefit program with environmental and public health improvements. However, the inequality in subsidies from different cities governments increases the heating burden on low-income households and leads to heating poverty for households in the less developed regions. We provide suggestions for implementation in future clean heating campaigns and in subsidy mechanism design in China and for other developing countries.