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Sea-level projections using a NARX-NN model of tide gauge data for the coastal city of Kuala Terengganu in Malaysia

Bagheri M, Ibrahim ZZ, Wolf ID, Akhir MF, Talaat WIAW, Oryani B

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Jul;30(34):81839-81857.
PMID: 35789462 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21662-4

The impact of global warming presents an increased risk to the world's shorelines. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the twenty-first century experienced a severe global mean sea-level rise due to human-induced climate change. Therefore, coastal planners require reasonably accurate estimates of the rate of sea-level rise and the potential impacts, including extreme sea-level changes, floods, and shoreline erosion. Also, land loss as a result of disturbance of shoreline is of interest as it damages properties and infrastructure. Using a nonlinear autoregressive network with an exogenous input (NARX) model, this study attempted to simulate (1991 to 2012) and predict (2013-2020) sea-level change along Merang kechil to Kuala Marang in Terengganu state shoreline areas. The simulation results show a rising trend with a maximum rate of 28.73 mm/year and an average of about 8.81 mm/year. In comparison, the prediction results show a rising sea level with a maximum rate of 79.26 mm/year and an average of about 25.34 mm/year. The database generated from this study can be used to inform shoreline defense strategies adapting to sea-level rise, flood, and erosion. Scientists can forecast sea-level increases beyond 2020 using simulated sea-level data up to 2020 and apply it for future research. The data also helps decision-makers choose measures for vulnerable shoreline settlements to adapt to sea-level rise. Notably, the data will provide essential information for policy development and implementation to facilitate operational decision-making processes for coastal cities.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Determination of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Javanica and Leptospira interrogans serovar Bataviae as the persistent Leptospira serovars circulating in the urban rat populations in Peninsular Malaysia

Benacer D, Mohd Zain SN, Sim SZ, Mohd Khalid MK, Galloway RL, Souris M, et al.

Parasit Vectors, 2016;9:117.
PMID: 26927873 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1400-1

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease of global significance, and is endemic in tropical countries, including Malaysia. Over the last decade, a dramatic increase of human cases was reported; however, information on the primary vector, the rat, and the Leptospira serovars circulating among the rat population is limited. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to isolate Leptospira and characterise the serovars circulating in the urban rat populations from selected main cities in Peninsular Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Predominance of the ST143 and ST50 Leptospira clones in the urban rat populations of Peninsular Malaysia

Benacer D, Mohd Zain SN, Ahmed AA, Mohd Khalid MKN, Hartskeerl RA, Thong KL

J Med Microbiol, 2016 Jun;65(6):574-577.
PMID: 27058766 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.000262
Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Assessment and valuation of health impacts of fine particulate matter during COVID-19 lockdown: a comprehensive study of tropical and sub tropical countries

Bherwani H, Kumar S, Musugu K, Nair M, Gautam S, Gupta A, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Aug;28(32):44522-44537.
PMID: 33852112 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13813-w

A novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to challenge the whole world. The disease has claimed many fatalities as it has transcended from one country to another since it was first discovered in China in late 2019. To prevent further morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19, most of the countries initiated a countrywide lockdown. While physical distancing and lockdowns helped in curbing the spread of this novel coronavirus, it led to massive economic losses for the nations. Positive impacts have been observed due to lockdown in terms of improved air quality of the nations. In the current research, ten tropical and subtropical countries have been analysed from multiple angles, including air pollution, assessment and valuation of health impacts and economic loss of countries during COVID-19 lockdown. Countries include Brazil, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Validated Simplified Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (SARA) binning model is used on data collated from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) for particulate matters with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) for all the countries for the month of January to May 2019 and 2020. The concentration results of PM2.5 show that air pollution has drastically reduced in 2020 post lockdown for all countries. The highest average concentration obtained by converting aerosol optical depth (AOD) for 2020 is observed for Thailand as 121.9 μg/m3 and the lowest for Mexico as 36.27 μg/m3. As air pollution is found to decrease in the April and May months of 2020 for nearly all countries, they are compared with respective previous year values for the same duration to calculate the reduced health burden due to lockdown. The present study estimates that cumulative about 100.9 Billion US$ are saved due to reduced air pollution externalities, which are about 25% of the cumulative economic loss of 435.9 Billion US$.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Food Consumption Structure and Food Security-Through Mediating Effect Analysis of Agricultural R&D and Agricultural Investment

Bi W, Song Y, Liu Y, Li Z, Zhang Y

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Sep 30;19(19).
PMID: 36231821 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912524

Food security is the cornerstone that ensures the stable development of a country. Based on panel data of 31 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) in China from 2015 to 2019, we use the mediating effect model to explore the mechanism by which food consumption structure affects food security. The results indicate that grain consumption has a significant promoting effect on food security, while plant and animal food consumption have significant inhibiting effects on food security. Furthermore, agricultural R&D and investment play mediating roles in the impact of food consumption structure on food security. Obvious differences exist in the relationship between food consumption structure and food security between urban and rural areas, as well as between Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Animal food consumption had a negative and significant impact on food security, with a stronger effect on rural residents than on urban residents. Compared with the central and western regions, grain consumption and animal food consumption in the eastern region had a stronger marginal impact on food security. This paper enriches and expands the research on influencing factors of food security from the perspective of consumer demand, which has important theoretical value and practical significance for ensuring food security.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext GIS routing and modelling of residential waste collection for operational management and cost optimization

Billa, L., Pradhan, B., Yakuup, A.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2014;22(1):193-211.
MyJurnal

In this paper, optimum routing was developed based on the travel salesman method and integrated in ArcInfo GIS using linear programming. The results of the optimized travel distances and times for residential waste collection and routing to disposal site were used to calculate the number and type of required track collection, labour requirement, costing of waste collection and to determine the overall solid waste management efficiency through waste management operation research methods. The objective of the study was to optimize residential collection and hauling to disposal site through operation cost minimization for Petaling Jaya Municipality in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The study determined that with optimized routes and recycling possibilities, the total cost of waste collections could be reduced from RM90,372 to RM20,967, with a reduction of 76.8%. It was also revealed that optimum routes might not necessarily be the shortest distance from point A to point B as travel time maybe high on short distances due to traffic congestion and the presence of many traffic lights. Techniques and methods developed using general GIS have proven effective in route optimization and allowed management of data to suit local conditions and limitations of waste management for the studied area. Thus, scenarios of travel distances, time and waste quantity value generated from the GIS enabled appropriate determination of the number of waste trucks and labour requirements for the operation and the overall calculation of costs of waste management based on the operation research methods used in the study.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Towards low carbon society in Iskandar Malaysia: Implementation and feasibility of community organic waste composting

Bong CP, Goh RKY, Lim JS, Ho WS, Lee CT, Hashim H, et al.

J Environ Manage, 2017 Dec 01;203(Pt 2):679-687.
PMID: 27267145 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.05.033

Rapid population growth and urbanisation have generated large amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) in many cities. Up to 40-60% of Malaysia's MSW is reported to be food waste where such waste is highly putrescible and can cause bad odour and public health issue if its disposal is delayed. In this study, the implementation of community composting in a village within Iskandar Malaysia is presented as a case study to showcase effective MSW management and mitigation of GHG emission. The selected village, Felda Taib Andak (FTA), is located within a palm oil plantation and a crude palm oil processing mill. This project showcases a community-composting prototype to compost food and oil palm wastes into high quality compost. The objective of this article is to highlight the economic and environment impacts of a community-based composting project to the key stakeholders in the community, including residents, oil palm plantation owners and palm oil mill operators by comparing three different scenarios, through a life cycle approach, in terms of the greenhouse gas emission and cost benefit analysis. First scenario is the baseline case, where all the domestic waste is sent to landfill site. In the second scenario, a small-scale centralised composting project was implemented. In the third scenario, the data obtained from Scenario 2 was used to do a projection on the GHG emission and costing analysis for a pilot-scale centralised composting plant. The study showed a reduction potential of 71.64% on GHG emission through the diversion of food waste from landfill, compost utilisation and significant revenue from the compost sale in Scenario 3. This thus provided better insight into the feasibility and desirability in implementing a pilot-scale centralised composting plant for a sub-urban community in Malaysia to achieve a low carbon and self-sustainable society, in terms of environment and economic aspects.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Association of diabetes knowledge with glycemic control and self-care practices among Pakistani people with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Bukhsh A, Khan TM, Sarfraz Nawaz M, Sajjad Ahmed H, Chan KG, Goh BH

Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes, 2019;12:1409-1417.
PMID: 31616171 DOI: 10.2147/DMSO.S209711

Objective: This study explored the relationship of disease knowledge with glycemic control and self-care practices in adult Pakistani people diabetes (PWD).
Methods: People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (n=218) were selected from three health care centers, located in different cities of Pakistan. Disease knowledge and self-care practices were assessed by Urdu versions of Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ) and Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ), using a cross-sectional design. Chi-square and correlation analysis were applied to explore the relationship of disease knowledge with glycemic control and self-care practices. Linear regression was used to explore the predictors for disease knowledge.
Results: Majority of the sample was >45-60 years old (48.8%), suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus for <5 years (49.5%) and had poor glycemic control (HbA1C≥7%; n=181 participants). Disease knowledge was significantly associated (p<0.05) with patient's gender, level of education, family history of diabetes, nature of euglycemic therapy, and glycemic control. Correlation matrix showed strongly inverse correlations of DKQ with glycated hemoglobin levels (r=-0.62; p<0.001) and strongly positive with DSMQ sum scale (r=0.63; p<0.001). PWD having university-level education (β=0.22; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.189, 0.872; p<0.01), doing job (β=0.22; 95% CI 0.009, 0.908]; p=0.046), and use of oral hypoglycemic agents in combination with insulin (β=-0.16; 95% CI [-1.224, -0.071]; p=0.028) were the significant predictors for disease knowledge.
Conclusion: Disease knowledge significantly correlated with glycated hemoglobin levels and self-care activities of PWD. These findings will help in designing patient-tailored diabetes educational interventions for yielding a higher probability of achieving target glycemic control.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Debate on the paper by Diez Roux

Capon A, Siri J

Cad Saude Publica, 2015 Nov;31 Suppl 1:21-2; discussion 22-3.
PMID: 26648359 DOI: 10.1590/0102-311XCO06S115
Matched MeSH terms: Cities*
Understanding the systemic nature of cities to improve health and climate change mitigation

Chapman R, Howden-Chapman P, Capon A

Environ Int, 2016 Sep;94:380-387.
PMID: 27126780 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2016.04.014

Understanding cities comprehensively as systems is a costly challenge and is typically not feasible for policy makers. Nevertheless, focusing on some key systemic characteristics of cities can give useful insights for policy to advance health and well-being outcomes. Moreover, if we take a coevolutionary systems view of cities, some conventional assumptions about the nature of urban development (e.g. the growth in private vehicle use with income) may not stand up. We illustrate this by examining the coevolution of urban transport and land use systems, and institutional change, giving examples of policy implications. At a high level, our concern derives from the need to better understand the dynamics of urban change, and its implications for health and well-being. At a practical level, we see opportunities to use stylised findings about urban systems to underpin policy experiments. While it is now not uncommon to view cities as systems, policy makers appear to have made little use so far of a systems approach to inform choice of policies with consequences for health and well-being. System insights can be applied to intelligently anticipate change - for example, as cities are subjected to increasing natural system reactions to climate change, they must find ways to mitigate and adapt to it. Secondly, systems insights around policy cobenefits are vital for better informing horizontal policy integration. Lastly, an implication of system complexity is that rather than seeking detailed, 'full' knowledge about urban issues and policies, cities would be well advised to engage in policy experimentation to address increasingly urgent health and climate change issues.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities*
Fulltext Assessing temporal correlation in environmental risk factors to design efficient area-specific COVID-19 regulations: Delhi based case study

Chaudhary V, Bhadola P, Kaushik A, Khalid M, Furukawa H, Khosla A

Sci Rep, 2022 07 28;12(1):12949.
PMID: 35902653 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16781-4

Amid ongoing devastation due to Serve-Acute-Respiratory-Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2), the global spatial and temporal variation in the pandemic spread has strongly anticipated the requirement of designing area-specific preventive strategies based on geographic and meteorological state-of-affairs. Epidemiological and regression models have strongly projected particulate matter (PM) as leading environmental-risk factor for the COVID-19 outbreak. Understanding the role of secondary environmental-factors like ammonia (NH3) and relative humidity (RH), latency of missing data structuring, monotonous correlation remains obstacles to scheme conclusive outcomes. We mapped hotspots of airborne PM2.5, PM10, NH3, and RH concentrations, and COVID-19 cases and mortalities for January, 2021-July,2021 from combined data of 17 ground-monitoring stations across Delhi. Spearmen and Pearson coefficient correlation show strong association (p-value 0.60) and PM10 (r > 0.40), respectively. Interestingly, the COVID-19 spread shows significant dependence on RH (r > 0.5) and NH3 (r = 0.4), anticipating their potential role in SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. We found systematic lockdown as a successful measure in combatting SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. These outcomes strongly demonstrate regional and temporal differences in COVID-19 severity with environmental-risk factors. The study lays the groundwork for designing and implementing regulatory strategies, and proper urban and transportation planning based on area-specific environmental conditions to control future infectious public health emergencies.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Public perception of the role of pharmacists and willingness to pay for pharmacist-provided dispensing services: a cross-sectional pilot study in the state of Sabah, Malaysia

Cheah, Meng Fei

Malaysian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 2018;16(1):1-21.
MyJurnal

Pharmacists play an important role in healthcare delivery. Over the years, their role has shifted from product-oriented to patient-oriented. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of the public towards the role of pharmacists and the willingness of the public to pay for pharmacist-provided dispensing services in Sabah. This was a questionnairebased, cross-sectional study conducted from September 2014 to June 2015 in three major cities in Sabah, namely, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau. The respondents were conveniently selected and interviewed based on a questionnaire to assess their perceptions of the role of pharmacists. A contingent valuation interview was then conducted to assess the respondents’ willingness to pay. A total of 647 respondents were interviewed. Of the respondents, 61.4% agreed that pharmacists knew more about their medications and side effects and how to use the medications than their doctors. However, more than half of the respondents (54.4%) perceived that the pharmacists’ role was only to supply medications and 66.6% of the respondents perceived that the pharmacist’s role was to follow doctors’ directions. Of the respondents, 89.0% appreciated and adhered to the counselling points provided by their pharmacists; 85.0% of the respondents hoped that pharmacists could play a greater role in healthcare in the future. Forty percent of the respondents agreed that community pharmacists were simply business people who sold products in their pharmacies. Finally, 55.3% of the respondents were willing to pay for pharmacist-provided dispensing services. The median (interquartile ranges [IQR]) amount that they were willing to pay was RM5.00 (IQR RM5.00). Respondents in this study showed variations in their views of the pharmacy profession. Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents valued pharmacist-provided dispensing services and were willing to pay RM5.00 for the services. To improve pharmacy practice, efforts should be undertaken to address the respondents’ misunderstandings about the pharmacy profession and to promote the roles of pharmacists to the general public.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Targeted profiling of chlorinated transformation products and the parent micropollutants in the aquatic environment: A comparison between two coastal cities

Chen WL, Ling YS, Lee DJH, Lin XQ, Chen ZY, Liao HT

Chemosphere, 2020 Mar;242:125268.
PMID: 31896175 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125268

This study investigated chlorinated transformation products (TPs) and their parent micropollutants, aromatic pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the urban water bodies of two metropolitan cities. Nine PPCPs and 16 TPs were quantitatively or semi-quantitatively determined using isotope dilution techniques and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. TPs and most PPCPs were effectively removed by conventional wastewater treatments in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Chlorinated parabens and all PPCPs (at concentrations below 1000 ng/L) were present in the waters receiving treated wastewater. By contrast, the waters receiving untreated wastewater contained higher levels of PPCPs (up to 9400 ng/L) and more species of chlorinated TPs including chlorinated parabens, triclosan, diclofenac, and bisphenol A. The very different chemical profiles between the water bodies of the two cities of similar geographical and climatic properties may be attributed to their respective uses of chemicals and policies of wastewater management. No apparent increase in the number of species or abundances of TPs was observed in either the chlorinated wastewater or the seawater rich in halogens. This is the first study to elucidate and compare the profiles of multiple TPs and their parent PPCPs in the water bodies of coastal cities from tropical islands. Our findings suggest that chlorinated derivatives of bisphenol A, diclofenac, triclosan, and parabens in the surface water originate from sources other than wastewater disinfection or marine chlorination. Although further studies are needed to identify the origins, conventional wastewater treatments may protect natural water bodies against contamination by those chlorinated substances.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Effects of Smart City Construction on the Quality of Public Occupational Health: Empirical Evidence From Guangdong Province, China

Cheng H, Wang FF, Dong DW, Liang JC, Zhao CF, Yan B

Front Public Health, 2021;9:769687.
PMID: 34746088 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.769687

This article takes the Guangdong Province of China as the research object and uses the difference-in-difference model to evaluate the impact of smart city construction on the quality of public occupational health and intercity differences. The obtained results show that smart city construction significantly improves the quality of public occupational health, and it is still valid after a series of robustness tests. The effect of this policy is stronger in cities that belong to the Pearl River Delta region or sub-provincial level cities. This study indicates that the central government should improve the pilot evaluation system and the performance appraisal mechanism of smart cities from the perspective of top-level design during the process of promoting smart city construction, which aims to correctly guide local governments to promote the construction of smart cities. To achieve the full improvement effect of smart city construction on the quality of public occupational health, local governments should implement smart city strategies in a purposeful and planned way according to the actual situation of the development of the jurisdiction.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Algae utilization and its role in the development of green cities

Chew KW, Khoo KS, Foo HT, Chia SR, Walvekar R, Lim SS

Chemosphere, 2020 Dec 15;268:129322.
PMID: 33359993 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129322

With the rapid urbanisation happening around the world followed by the massive demand for clean energy resources, green cities play a pivotal role in building a sustainable future for the people. The continuing depletion of natural resources has led to the development of renewable energy with algae as the promising source. The high growth rate of microalgae and their strong bio-fixation ability to convert CO2 into O2 have been gaining attention globally and intensive research has been conducted regarding the microalgae benefits. The focus on potential of microalgae in contributing to the development of green cities is rising. The advantage of microalgae is their ability to gather energy from sunlight and carbon dioxide, followed by transforming the nutrients into biomass and oxygen. This leads to the creation of green cities through algae cultivation as waste and renewable materials can be put to good use. The challenges that arise when using algae and the future prospect in terms of SDGs and economy will also be covered in this review. The future of green cities can be enhanced with the adaptation of algae as the source of renewable plants to create a better outlook of an algae green city.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of Genetic Testing for Hereditary Disorders Among Malaysians in Klang Valley

Chin JJ, Tham HW

Front Genet, 2020;11:512582.
PMID: 33343613 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.512582

Genetic testing aids patients in making important decisions in the prevention, treatment, or early detection of hereditary disorders. Low awareness of the importance of genetic testing contributes to the increase in the incidence of hereditary disorders. This study aims to explore the knowledge, awareness, and perception of genetic testing for hereditary disorders among local residents of the Klang Valley, Malaysia, and the potential variables that influence their understanding of genetic testing. A survey was conducted in different municipalities of the Klang Valley through self-administered questionnaire assessing the public's knowledge, awareness, and perception of genetic testing. Overall, the results revealed adequate knowledge and positive awareness of genetic testing, in which both were influenced by the respondent's educational level (P < 0.001), field of study (P < 0.001), and status of heard or unheard of genetic testing (P < 0.001). The perception of genetic testing was generally positive and influenced by the respondent's differences in age (P < 0.016), educational level (P < 0.001), field of study (P < 0.001), and status of heard or unheard of genetic testing (P < 0.001). Although positive responses were obtained, ~20.2% of the respondents had never heard of genetic testing. Of the respondents, 24.5% were unwilling to undergo genetic testing, with 25.1% believing that genetic testing tampers with nature and 18% believing that it opposes religion and their beliefs. Such attitude calls for the need to conduct programs to eliminate any misconception, as well as to educate the public to lessen any perceived misunderstanding of the concepts of genetic testing.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Public awareness and support for environmental protection-A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Chin YSJ, De Pretto L, Thuppil V, Ashfold MJ

PLoS One, 2019;14(3):e0212206.
PMID: 30870439 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212206

As in many nations, air pollution linked to rapid industrialization is a public health and environmental concern in Malaysia, especially in cities. Understanding awareness of air pollution and support for environmental protection from the general public is essential for informing governmental approaches to dealing with this problem. This study presents a cross-sectional survey conducted in the Klang Valley and Iskandar conurbations to examine urban Malaysians' perception, awareness and opinions of air pollution. The survey was conducted in two languages, English and Malay, and administered through the online survey research software, Qualtrics. The survey consisted of three sections, where we collected sociodemographic information, information on the public perception of air quality and the causes of air pollution, information on public awareness of air pollution and its related impacts, and information on attitudes towards environmental protection. Of 214 respondents, over 60% were positive towards the air quality at both study sites despite the presence of harmful levels of air pollution. The air in the Klang Valley was perceived to be slightly more polluted and causing greater health issues. Overall, the majority of respondents were aware that motor vehicles represent the primary pollution source, yet private transport was still the preferred choice of transportation mode. A generally positive approach towards environmental protection emerged from the data. However, participants showed stronger agreement with protection actions that do not involve individual effort. Nonetheless, we found that certain segments of the sample (people owning more than three vehicles per household and those with relatives who suffered from respiratory diseases) were significantly more willing to personally pay for environmental protection compared to others. Implications point to the need for actions for spreading awareness of air pollution to the overall population, especially with regards to its health risks, as well as strategies for increasing the perception of behavioural control, especially with regards to motor vehicles' usage.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Fulltext Achieving sustainable soil and water protection: The perspective of agricultural water price regulation on environmental protection

Chou L, Dai J, Qian X, Karimipour A, Zheng X

Agric Water Manag, 2021 Feb 28;245:106583.
PMID: 33100487 DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106583

With the development of Chinese economy, more and more attention has been paid to environmental protection, the implementation of water price policy affects economic and environmental changes in China. This paper analyzes the impact of water price policy on agricultural land use and the scale of water pollution discharge in 240 cities in China between 2001 and 2017, by including data from China Urban Statistical Yearbook and China Land & Resources Almanac. The theoretical analysis of this study indicates that the optimal scale of pollution depends on the local initial endowment, economic investment capital and the marginal cost of environmental pollution caused by government's economic activities. Furtherly, the economic activities have a worsening impact on environmental pollution, but when the government implements environmental protection and water price policy measures in response to environmental pollution caused by economic activities, it has a significant impact on the decline in the scale of pollution. The government has promoted the pollution suppression model in the formulation of water prices, which has internalized the external cost of pollution in economic activities and can effectively reduce the scale of agricultural water pollution discharge.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Level and transport pattern of faecal coliform bacteria from tropical urban catchments

Chow MF, Yusop Z, Toriman ME

Water Sci Technol, 2013;67(8):1822-31.
PMID: 23579839 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2013.048

Urbanization and frequent storms play important roles in increasing faecal bacteria pollution, especially for tropical urban catchments. However, only little information on the faecal bacteria levels from different land use types and the factors that influence bacteria concentrations is available. Thus, the objectives of this study were to quantify the levels and transport mechanism of faecal coliforms (FCs) from residential and commercial catchments. Stormwaters were sampled and the runoff flow rates were measured from both catchments during four storm events in Skudai, Malaysia. The samples were then analysed for FC, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS) and ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentrations. Intra-storm and inter-storm characteristics of FC bacteria were investigated in order to identify the level and transport pattern of FC. The commercial catchment showed significantly higher event mean concentration (EMC) of FC than the residential catchment. For the residential catchment, the highest bacterial concentrations occurred during the early part of stormwater runoff with peak concentrations usually preceding the peak flow. First flush effect was more prevalent at the residential catchment.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities
Sources and trends of oxidized and reduced nitrogen wet deposition in a typical medium-sized city of eastern China during 2010-2016

Cui J, Cui J, Peng Y, Yao D, Chan A, Chen Z, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2020 Jun 27;744:140558.
PMID: 32711301 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140558

Fluxes and composition dynamics of atmospheric nitrogen deposition play key roles in better balancing economic development and ecological environment. However, there are some knowledge gaps and difficulties in urban ecosystems, especially for small and medium-sized cities. In this study, both flux and composition (ratio of NH4+-N to NO3--N, RN) of wet-deposited dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, sum of NO3--N and NH4+-N) were estimated and sources were identified at a long-term urban observation station in Tongling, a typical medium-sized city in eastern China during 2010-2016, respectively. Results showed that wet-deposited DIN fluxes were 33.20 and 28.15 kgN ha-1 yr-1 in Tongling city during 2010-2011 and 2015-2016, respectively. Compared to these two periods, both DIN and NO3--N fluxes decreased by 15.2% and 31.8% for a series of NOx abatement measures applied effectively, respectively. At the same time, the NH4+-N flux remained stable and ranged from 19.53 to 20.62 kgN ha-1 yr-1, and the RN increased from 1.7 to 2.2. Seasonally, winds from the southwest and west-southwest with higher frequencies and speeds in spring and summer brought more NH4+-N and DIN wet deposition from an ammonia plant, which could threaten the safety of regional hydrosphere ecosystems. On the whole, the wet-deposited NH4+-N was threatening regional ecosystems of both the hydrosphere and forest. The wet-deposited DIN including NH4+-N in Tongling city stemmed mainly from a combined source of coal combustion and dust from Cu extraction and smelting, ammonia production, and roads. Therefore, production lines should be updated for Cu extraction and smelting industries, thermal power generations and the ammonia plant, old vehicles should be eliminated, and the use of new energy vehicles should be promoted for regional sustainable development and human health in the medium-sized city.

Matched MeSH terms: Cities

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