Kinds Of Pollutants Research Articles

Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides alleviates UV-provoked skin cell damage via regulation of thioredoxin interacting protein and thioredoxin reductase 2.

Skin is exposed to a wide range of environmental risk factors including ultraviolet (UV) and all kinds of pollutants. Excessive UV exposure contributes to many disorders, such as photoaging, skin inflammation, and carcinogenesis. Previous studies have shown that Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFPS) have protective effects on oxidative stress in cells, but the specific protective mechanism has not been clarified. To determine the effects of TFPS on UV-irritated human skin, we conducted a variety of studies, including Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), trypan blue, Western blot, apoptosis assays, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection in primary skin keratinocytes, and chronic UV-irradiated mouse model. We first determined that TFPS protects human skin keratinocytes against UV radiation-induced apoptosis and ROS production. Moreover, TFPS regulates thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) and thioredoxin reductase 2 (TXNRD2) levels in primary skin keratinocytes for photoprotection. Last, we found that topical TFPS treatment could alleviate the UV-induced skin damage in chronic UV-irradiated mouse model. Collectively, our work indicates the beneficial role of TFPS in UV-induced skin cell damage and provides a novel therapeutic reagent to prevent or alleviate the progress of photoaging and other UV-provoked skin diseases.

Accumulation of chemical elements in bivalve molluscs under conditions of changes in their content in the aquatic environment under anthropogenic impact

In the course of the study, an analysis of the ecological situation in the region was carried out, taking into account the influence of various anthropogenic factors on the environment. The authors analyzed the accumulation and concentration of chemical elements in bivalve mollusks, which were collected in water bodies of the analyzed territory. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the concentration of chemical elements in water is steadily increasing under the influence of various kinds of pollution that have a negative impact on the biotic component of aquatic ecosystems.

A laboratory experimental assessment of the sensibility of Rana temporaria tadpoles to the effects of car traffic-associated seismic disturbances

"Vibrations generated by road traffic are considered to be a form of physical environmental pollution. Nonetheless, the effect of this disturbance in natural habitats, and in particular on the aquatic stage of amphibians, received very little attention from the scientific community. This study aims to assess the direct effect of mechanical waves and the consequent water turbidity on the aquatic larval stage of Rana temporaria by exposing an experimental group to laboratory-induced vibrations and comparison with a non-exposed control group. Our results show that this kind of pollution had no significant effect on the development rate, the length of the larval period, and the mortality of the larvae. However, we identified a significant effect on the size of animals, both during the larval period, and at metamorphosis. This result raises concern about the long-term risks to the amphibian population exposed to this type of low-profile pollution. Keywords: development, growth, metamorphosis, amphibian performance, traffic-related pollution"

A Brief Review of Immobilized Oxidoreductase Enzymes for the Removal of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals from Wastewater

Modern technological of human activities in industries or housing areas have created an unhealthy environment, particularly through unmanageable wastewater. For the time being, this kind of pollution is getting serious as it caused the emerging pollutant actively to spread to humans and living organisms. These non-biodegradable pollutants, to be specifically known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are synthetic or natural chemicals that have high toxicity and persistency which can interfere with the endocrine system in humans and animals. The removal of EDCs has received high attraction among researchers using physical-chemical treatments, however, conventional techniques do not effectively remove EDCs from wastewater. This review aims to discuss research related to biological approaches that have been carried out to efficiently remove EDCs from wastewater using oxidoreductase enzymes, especially via an immobilization strategy. In general, free enzymes have limitations to be applied in industrial scales such as low stability and fragility, and unable to separate from the bulk solution. On the other hand, immobilized enzymes offer better operational stability and reusability in harsh environments. This review also discussed the bioremediation of EDCs using several immobilized oxidoreductase enzymes like lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidases (MnP), horseradish peroxidases (HRP), laccases and tyrosinases. The application of immobilized enzymes and factors affecting the bioremediation using oxidoreductase enzymes were also explored to highlight their potential for the removal of EDCs from wastewater.

Examining the relationship between health rights and environmental rights

The right to health as an inherent right means that everyone has the right to achieve the highest standard of physical and mental health, and this right includes all medical services, public health, adequate food, suitable housing, a healthy work environment, and a clean environment. includes in general, the environment is a connected set of factors and conditions on which the life and durability of living organisms depend, based on the above definition of environmental rights, it discusses the rules that govern the relationship between humans and environmental factors. or in other words, environmental rights are a set of rules that regulate the relationship between humans and the environment. Therefore, environmental law brings under discipline and controls human behaviours and actions that can lead to bad effects or destruction and pollution of the environment and natural resources. The reason for contracting all kinds of diseases and as a result, increasing mortality and decreasing life expectancy will be a problem for that country and even its neighbours. Pollutions sometimes have such destructive effects that the residents of that area suffer from them and bear their effects for generations to come. Therefore, preserving the environment and protecting it against all kinds of pollutants is closely related to the health of the inhabitants of that ecosystem. According to the above, this research, uses the analytical-descriptive method, in order to examine the relationship between health rights and environmental rights. we are alive

Redox potentials of pollutants determining the dominate oxidation pathways in manganese single-atom catalyst (Mn-SAC)/peroxymonosulfate system: Selective catalytic mechanisms for versatile pollutants

Versatile persulfate-based catalytic mechanisms induced by highly-effective single atom catalysts (SACs) have been intensively reported, which was mainly ascribed to the versatile coordinated-structures of SACs. However, the origin of these different mechanisms from the specific properties of pollutants has been ignored. In this work, eight kinds of pollutants were selected and the half-wave potential (φ1/2) values representing their redox potentials were determined. A good correlation between the redox potential characteristics of pollutants and their oxidation performances/pathways in manganese single-atom catalyst (Mn-SAC)/PMS system can be confirmed. The φ1/2 values of different pollutants showed a good correlation with the energy gaps between the pollutants and Mn-SAC/PMS complexes as well as their electrophilicity indexes, which confirmed the redox potential of pollutants was essential to the electron-transfer oxidation in Mn-SAC/PMS system. Based on the new insights in this work, we will be able to unveil the sources of Fenton-like systems with tunable oxidation processes.

The impact of ambient air pollutants on childhood respiratory system disease and the resulting disease burden: a time-series study.

The effects of air pollution on human health have long been a hot topic of research. For respiratory diseases, a large number of studies have proved that air pollution is one of the main causes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk of hospitalization of children with respiratory system diseases (CRSD) caused by six pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and O3) in Hefei City, and further calculate the disease burden. In the first stage, the generalized additive models were combined with the distributed lag non-linear models to evaluate the impact of air pollution on the inpatients for CRSD in Hefei. In the second stage, this study used the cost-of-illness approach to calculate the attributable number of hospitalizations and the extra disease burden. Overall, all the six kinds of pollutants had the strongest effects on CRSD inpatients within lag10 days. SO2 and CO caused the highest and lowest harm, respectively, and the RR values were SO2 (lag0-5): 1.1 20 (1.053, 1.191), and CO (lag0-6): 1.002 (1.001, 1.003). During the study period (January 1, 2014 to December 30, 2020), the 7-year cumulative burden of disease was 36.19 million CNY under the WHO air pollution standards. In general, we found that six air pollutants were risk factors for CRSD in Hefei City, and create a huge burden of disease.

Improved visible-light photocatalytic degradation of pollutants under the synergistic effect of BiOI/BiFeWO6 p-n heterojunction and oxygen vacancies

The construction of p-n heterojunctions has become an effective way to develop high performance photocatalysts to remove pollutants from water. Herein, the BiOI/BiFeWO6 composites abundant in oxygen vacancies (OVs) was rationally designed by combining calcination and solvothermal methods to remove different kinds of pollutants, including rhodamine B (RhB), tetracycline (TC), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The surface properties, structural characterizations and photocatalytic activity of BiOI/BiFeWO6 were investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that the morphology of BiOI/BiFeWO6 was BiFeWO6 nanoparticles loaded on BiOI sheet structure. The formation of BiOI/BiFeWO6 heterojunction was demonstrated by the shift of the peaks of Bi and I elements in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the existence of OVs was confirmed by the O 1 s spectrum and electron spin resonance (ESR). By comparison with neat BiOI and BiFeWO6, the BiOI/BiFeWO6 composite showed excellent photocatalytic properties under visible light. The strategy that the p-n heterojunction and OVs work together opens up new avenues to fabricate future high-efficiency photocatalysts.

Arabinogalactan ameliorates benzo[a]pyrene-induced intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction via AhR/MAPK signaling pathway

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a kind of pollutant, can disrupt the gut microbiota, but its effects on the function of intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) is still unclear. Arabinogalactan (AG), a natural polysaccharide, can protect intestinal tract. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of B[a]P on IEB function and the mitigation effect of AG on the IEB dysfunction induced by B[a]P using a Caco-2 cell monolayer model. We found B[a]P could damage the IEB integrity by inducing cell cytotoxicity, increasing lactate dehydrogenase leakage, decreasing the transepithelial electrical resistance, and increasing fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran flux. The mechanism of B[a]P-induced IEB damage may through induction of oxidative stress, including increasing reactive oxygen species levels, decreasing glutathione levels, reducing the activity of superoxide dismutase, and increasing malonaldehyde levels. Moreover, it can be due to increasing secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α), down-regulated expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins (claudin-1, zonula occludens [ZO]-1, and occludin), and induced activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)/mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Remarkably, AG ameliorated B[a]P-induced IEB dysfunction through inhibited oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory factor secretion. Our study demonstrated B[a]P could damage the IEB and AG could alleviate this damage.

Toward food waste reduction at universities.

Food waste is a serious problem, which undermines the achievement of many sustainable development goals (SDGs), despite their consideration in the agendas of many countries and companies. Notoriously, food waste (FW) causes different kinds of pollution that affect public health and social justice, while contributing to economic losses. This waste phenomenon has causes, drivers, and impacts that require rigorous assessments and effective approaches to mitigate its noxious effects, which are a serious concern for universities. Within these institutions, reducing food waste becomes a circular economy strategy, which is being utilized to assist in promoting sustainable development. However, there is a need for urgent attention to the specific causes of food waste and for consistent actions to reduce it, while boosting awareness in the campus community and triggering a change in students' eating habits. The purpose of this study is to analyze what can be done to reduce the levels of food waste at universities. To achieve this, a review of the theme's state of the art, which is inclusive of an overview of food waste production at universities around the world, is presented. The study employed a qualitative methodology where a comprehensive review of the literature and case studies analyses from selected world regions were considered. The data indicate that a broad variance exists in producing food waste among universities, from 0.12 to 50kg/capita/day. More factors influence the problem (e.g., gender, age, season, consumer behavior), as well as strategies to solve and prevent it (e.g., composting, recycling, new designs of packages, trayless meals, education), and benefits leading toward food waste reductions from 13 to 50%. Also, four priority actions were identified to reduce food waste at universities, and these consist of planning and awareness, food preparation and storage, services, and direct waste reuse. With appropriate adaptations, these recommended actions should be deployed as means for reducing food waste at universities around the world, while expanding learning and education in sustainability.

The Impact of Environment Situation on Fireflies and the Contribution of Fireflies on Environment Situation

Firefly is an adorable insect which is often seen in our daily life as virtual characters or mascots due to its beautiful appearance. It is famous for its glowing abdomen. It can be colorful but mostly yellow and green. The biological light is rare which attracts lots of scholars and artists to study. However, after taking research on this specie, people start to ignore it. With the technology developing and land extension, they are suffering from land losing and different kind of pollution. There are countable studies on firefly protecting that lead the population of this cute creature decline steeply. The topic of this paper is about the factors which influence a lot on the population of firefly. There concentrates information from some papers related to firefly, environment pollution and bioindicator. Wishfully, this paper will be helpful to those who want to protect fireflies and those who can explore the application of fireflies. After researching, the results are about the impact of environment situation on fireflies and the contribution of fireflies on environment situation. Firefly is threatened by three aspects which are land loss, light pollution and water pollution. Land loss is due to the commercial district and residential district building of urbanization. Light pollution will disturb fireflies to find their companion and mate. Water pollution and land pollution such as insecticide will kill firefly larvae and adults directly in chemical ways. Those above are about how people gradually pushing fireflies to distinct. Its not fair of the way people treat wild fireflies. They have a lot of contribution down for people. They have controlled the number of ampullaria gigas which is a horribly threatening invasive species that confuses people for long. It is also a bioindicator which can test the level of light pollution with a relatively low cost. The biological fluorescence is pretty in the night. It has enlightened quite a few literature and art composers to create many excellent works. It is used to educate children and to witness love when wedding. Thus, the value of fireflies can be seen from this paper and how significant it is to protect wild fireflies.

A machine learning-based study on the impact of COVID-19 on three kinds of pollution in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Large-scale restrictions on anthropogenic activities in China in 2020 due to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) indirectly led to improvements in air quality. Previous studies have paid little attention to the changes in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) concentrations at different levels of anthropogenic activity limitation and their interactions. In this study, machine learning models were used to simulate the concentrations of three pollutants during periods of different levels of lockdown, and compare them with observations during the same period. The results show that the difference between the simulated and observed values of NO2 concentrations varies at different stages of the lockdown. Variation between simulated and observed O3 and PM2.5 concentrations were less distinct at different stages of lockdowns. During the most severe period of the lockdowns, NO2 concentrations decreased significantly with a maximum decrease of 65.28 %, and O3 concentrations increased with a maximum increase of 75.69 %. During the first two weeks of the lockdown, the titration reaction in the atmosphere was disrupted due to the rapid decrease in NO2 concentrations, leading to the redistribution of Ox (NO2 + O3) in the atmosphere and eventually to the production of O3 and secondary PM2.5. The effect of traffic restrictions on the reduction of NO2 concentrations is significant. However, it is also important to consider the increase in O3 due to the constant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the decrease in NOx (NO+NO2). Traffic restrictions had a limited effect on improving PM2.5 pollution, so other beneficial measures were needed to sustainably reduce particulate matter pollution. Research on COVID-19 could provide new insights into future clean air action.

Synthesis of Low-Cost, Bio-Based Novel Adsorbent Material Using Charge-Transfer Interaction for Water Treatment from Several Pollutants: Waste to Worth

Tea is the third most consumed beverage in Saudi Arabia (a country in the Middle East) after water and Arabian coffee. Hence, a large amount of consumed tea leaves is discarded as solid waste. Waste tea leaves (WTLs) have no commercial value and could be considered as an environmentally sustainable costless material. This work aimed to manufacture an adsorbent material from the discarded WTLs and charge-transfer (CT) interaction and use this adsorbent material effectively for the removal of different kinds of pollutants from water. The adsorbent material was manufactured in three steps. First, a CrFeO3 metal composite was synthesized from the CT interaction between FeCl3 and CrCl3 with urea. Second, activated carbons were prepared from consumed WTLs using facile and clean treatments of pre-carbonization, and a simple potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation treatment. Finally, the adsorbent material was fabricated by grounding CrFeO3 composite with the activated carbons in a 1:10 molar ratio (metal composite to activated carbons). The prepared materials were characterized spectroscopically and morphologically using FT-IR, XRD, SEM/EDX, and TEM analysis. The synthesized absorbent material was used to adsorb two organic dyes (Azocarmine G2; M1, and Methyl violet 2B; M2), and two commercial pesticides (Tiller 480SL; M3, and Acochem 25% WP; M4) from aqueous solution, and it showed promising adsorption efficacy. The minimum adsorbent material’s dosage to obtain a maximum removal efficiency (R%) for M1, M2, M3, and M4 removal from 100 mL solution (100 mg/L) was 0.11, 0.14, 0.13, and 0.12 g, respectively. The max R% for M1 (96.8%) was achieved in the first 45 min, the max R% for M2, 95.5%, was achieved during the first 55 min, and the max R% for M3 (96.4%) was achieved in the first 35 min, while the max R% for M4, 98.6%, was achieved during the first 35 min.

Prediction of air pollutant concentrations based on TCN-BiLSTM-DMAttention with STL decomposition

A model with high accuracy and strong generalization performance is conducive to preventing serious pollution incidents and improving the decision-making ability of urban planning. This paper proposes a new neural network structure based on seasonal–trend decomposition using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (Loess) (STL) and a dependency matrix attention mechanism (DMAttention) based on cosine similarity to predict the concentration of air pollutants. This method uses STL for series decomposition, temporal convolution, a bidirectional long short-term memory network (TCN-BiLSTM) for feature learning of the decomposed series, and DMAttention for interdependent moment feature emphasizing. In this paper, the long short-term memory network (LSTM) and the gated recurrent unit network (GRU) are set as the baseline models to design experiments. At the same time, to test the generalization performance of the model, short-term forecasts in hours were performed using PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 data. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper is superior to the comparison model in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The MAPE values of the 6 kinds of pollutants are 6.800%, 10.492%, 9.900%, 6.299%, 4.178%, and 7.304%, respectively. Compared with the baseline LSTM and GRU models, the average reduction is 49.111% and 43.212%, respectively.

Interplay between membrane imperfections and external concentration polarization

Reverse osmosis membranes provide a highly effective and efficient barrier against various kinds of pollutants. Their reliability depends on the integrity of the active layer: in case the active layer is damaged and contains imperfections, unfiltered feed solution can contaminate the permeate. Various types of integrity monitoring techniques have been developed to verify membrane performance, of which the rejection of fluorescent dyes is a well-established technique. Fluorescent dyes are however relatively small solutes for which the membranes can display non-zero diffusive permeability, such that not all dye passage can be attributed to membrane imperfections. Additionally, fluorescent dyes are subject to external concentration polarization (ECP) during filtration, causing a flux-dependent enrichment at the membrane surface, further complicating the analysis of dye rejection data. This study presents a model to discern between membrane permeability, enrichment by ECP and passage through imperfections. The consequences of imperfections on solute passage are explored, showing that imperfections only contribute significantly to the passage of solutes with a low membrane permeability. This leads to underestimates of the external mass transfer coefficient, with the error being increasingly large with decreasing membrane permeability coefficient, relative to the case of an imperfection-free membrane. This error is then related to the proportionality of the Sherwood number, used to calculate external mass transfer coefficients, with solute diffusivity, allowing the quantification of the contribution of imperfections to water flux. The model was experimentally verified using Pyranine rejection in two membrane types, both operated in a lab-scale flat sheet crossflow test system, finding proof of imperfections in one membrane type.

Toxic interactions between microplastics and the antifungal agent ketoconazole in sediments on Limnodrilus hoffmeistteri

Microplastics and personal care products have been identified as two types of emerging contaminants, and their coexistence in sediments may result in interactive effects on benthic organisms. Limnodrilus hoffmeistteri was exposed to polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) and ketoconazole (KCZ) at different concentrations (0.1–100 μg/g) alone or in combination in sediment-water system for 28 days in this study. Bioaccumulation analysis showed that KCZ in organisms increased with time when exposed to KCZ alone, and the coexistence of MPs significantly increased the accumulation of KCZ in the worms. KCZ and PSMPs alone and in combination decreased the weight of parents and offspring, caused an inflammatory response and induced sediment-avoidance behavior. The activities of antioxidant enzymes in the parents and the activities of detoxifying enzymes in the offspring were activated in response to oxidative stress induced by KCZ and PSMPs. The expressions of endoplasmic reticulum stress related genes (HSP90A, HSP90B, HSP70, HSPA5, PLAA) in the parents and offspring were altered by MPs and KCZ, the offspring showed stronger stress response, and combined exposure seemed to have a synergistic effect on the parents. These findings provide insights regarding the impacts of MPs on the bioavailability of associated pollutants and the interactive toxic effects of these two kinds of pollutants on benthic invertebrates.

Boosting redox cycle and increased active oxygen species via decoration of LaMnO3 spheres with CeO2 flowers to promote Fenton-like catalytic degradation of various organic contaminants

In this work, CeO2/LaMnO3 heterojunction was constructed via decoration of LaMnO3 spheres with CeO2 flowers via applying hydrothermal technique. The structural, composition and optical features of the as-obtained samples were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques. The characterizations revealed that the formation of heterojunction catalyst with the crystal phases of LaMnO3 and CeO2 materials. The presence of Ce3+ and Ce4+ oxidation states was also confirmed which assisted the redox cycle in Fenton-like photocatalytic reaction. The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared catalysts were investigated for photodegradation of sunset yellow food dye under peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-activated visible light system. As expected, compared to bare LaMnO3 (51% degradation), the CeO2/LaMnO3 heterojunction displayed boosted the photocatalytic performance (96.8% degradation). Such an enhancement was mainly attributed to the formation of p-n heterojunction, which supressed the recombination rate and facilitated the charge transfer efficiency. Radical trapping tests demonstrated the degradation mechanism in which the superoxide and sulphate radicals were found as active substances in the reaction. The proposed CeO2@LaMnO3/Vis/PMS catalytic system exhibited well degradation performance towards other dye and antibiotic molecules. This work provides an important reference for the development of heterojunction materials in Fenton-like photocatalytic systems for eliminating different kinds of pollutants in wastewater.

Release of microplastics from disposable face mask in tropical climate

Outbreak of COVID 19 has caused an abrupt surge in the consumption of disposable face masks around the world. WHO has stated that wearing a face mask in public reduces the chances of being exposed to COVID 19 virus. With unchecked disposal of these used masks, a new kind of pollutant has emerged in the environment. Since these masks are generally made of polypropylene and polyurethane material, they can be considered as a potential source of microplastics (MPs) in the environment. In this study, we have evaluated the release of MPs particles from these face masks (namely from N95 and surgical masks) in deionized (DI) water and tap water over the span of 1 to 180 days. More specifically, a systematic study has been carried out to see the effect of temperature on release of MPs in water. MPs particles released in tap water (837 ± 113 particles/piece in 30 days) were significantly higher than that in DI water (564 ± 37 particles/piece in 30 days). When these masks were kept at a constant temperature of 45 °C for 30 Days, highest amount of MPs release (N95 899 ± 65 particles, Surgical 1038 ± 65 particles/piece) was observed as compared to other conditions. Most of the MPs particles released were polypropylene which were transparent and white in case of N95 while for surgical mask they were found to be of blue and white colour. With the aging of masks in water, quantity of MPs release was increased with simultaneous reduction in their size. Our study indicates that these disposable face masks are emerging to be a prominent source of MPs release in the environment and more hazardous for the tropical climate.

Chitosan-Based Polymer Nanocomposites for Environmental Remediation of Mercury Pollution.

Mercury is a well-known heavy metal pollutant of global importance, typically found in effluents (lakes, oceans, and sewage) and released into the atmosphere. It is highly toxic to humans, animals and plants. Therefore, the current challenge is to develop efficient materials and techniques that can be used to remediate mercury pollution in water and the atmosphere, even in low concentrations. The paper aims to review the chitosan-based polymer nanocomposite materials that have been used for the environmental remediation of mercury pollution since they possess multifunctional properties, beneficial for the adsorption of various kinds of pollutants from wastewater and the atmosphere. In addition, these chitosan-based polymer nanocomposites are made of non-toxic materials that are environmentally friendly, highly porous, biocompatible, biodegradable, and recyclable; they have a high number of surface active sites, are earth-abundant, have minimal surface defects, and are metal-free. Advances in the modification of the chitosan, mainly with nanomaterials such as multi-walled carbon nanotube and nanoparticles (Ag, TiO2, S, and ZnO), and its use for mercury uptake by batch adsorption and passive sampler methods are discussed.

Does foreign direct investment promote environmental performance: An investigation on shadow prices of pollutants

The shadow prices, or marginal abatement cost, of pollutants is a useful measure of environmental performance. Unlike much of the previous studies focusing on only one kind of pollutants, this paper applies the (multiplier) by-production approach to measure the shadow prices of carbon emission, sulfur emission, and dust. The case of regional economies in China is considered. As the foreign direct investment may have an impact on the environmental performance, a spatial Durbin model is utilized to identify the impact of foreign direct investment on the shadow prices of pollutants. The results show that the shadow prices of all three pollutants have been increasing over time which indicates the environmental performance of China has been improving. Moreover, the spatial regression results imply that both foreign direct investment and technology export volume positively impact the shadow price of pollutant emissions across the provinces of China.