Bisphenol A (BPA) raises concerns among the scientific community as it is one of the most widely used compounds in industrial processes and a component of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. In this review, we discuss the mechanism of BPA toxicity in food-grade plastics. Owing to its proliferation in the aqueous environment, we delved into the performance of various biological, physical, and chemical techniques for its remediation. Detailed mechanistic insights into these removal processes are provided. The toxic effects of BPA unravel as changes at the cellular level in the brain, which can result in learning difficulties, increased aggressiveness, hyperactivity, endocrine disorders, reduced fertility, and increased risk of dependence on illicit substances. Bacterial decomposition of BPA leads to new intermediates and products with lower toxicity. Processes such as membrane filtration, adsorption, coagulation, ozonation, and photocatalysis have also been shown to be efficient in aqueous-phase degradation. The breakdown mechanism of these processes is also discussed. The review demonstrates that high removal efficiency is usually achieved at the expense of high throughput. For the scalable application of BPA degradation technologies, removal efficiency needs to remain high at high throughput. We propose the need for process intensification using an integrated combination of these processes, which can solve multiple associated performance challenges.
Researchers in recent years have utilized a broad spectrum of treatment technologies in treating bakers' yeast production wastewater. This paper aims to review the treatment technologies for the wastewater, compare the process technologies, discuss recent innovations, and propose future perspectives in the research area. The review observed that nanofiltration was the most effective membrane process for the treatment of the effluent (at >95% pollutant rejection). Other separation processes like adsorption and distillation had technical challenges of desorption, a poor fit for high pollutant load and cost limitations. Chemical treatment processes have varying levels of success but they are expensive and produce toxic sludge. Sludge production would be a hurdle when product recovery and reuse are targeted. It is difficult to make an outright choice of the best process for treating the effluent because each has its merits and demerits and an appropriate choice can be made when all factors are duly considered. The process intensification of the industrial-scale production of the bakers' yeast process will be a very direct approach, where the process optimisation, zero effluent discharge, and enhanced recovery of value-added product from the waste streams are important approaches that need to be taken into account.
Insecticide-based interventions have contributed to ∼78% of the reduction in the malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa since 2000. Insecticide resistance in malaria vectors could presage a catastrophic rebound in disease incidence and mortality. A major impediment to the implementation of insecticide resistance management strategies is that evidence of the impact of resistance on malaria disease burden is limited. A cluster randomized trial was conducted in Sudan with pyrethroid-resistant and carbamate-susceptible malaria vectors. Clusters were randomly allocated to receive either long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) alone or LLINs in combination with indoor residual spraying (IRS) with a pyrethroid (deltamethrin) insecticide in the first year and a carbamate (bendiocarb) insecticide in the two subsequent years. Malaria incidence was monitored for 3 y through active case detection in cohorts of children aged 1 to <10 y. When deltamethrin was used for IRS, incidence rates in the LLIN + IRS arm and the LLIN-only arm were similar, with the IRS providing no additional protection [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.0 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36-3.0; P = 0.96)]. When bendiocarb was used for IRS, there was some evidence of additional protection [interaction IRR = 0.55 (95% CI: 0.40-0.76; P < 0.001)]. In conclusion, pyrethroid resistance may have had an impact on pyrethroid-based IRS. The study was not designed to assess whether resistance had an impact on LLINs. These data alone should not be used as the basis for any policy change in vector control interventions.
The toxicity of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) present in the environment has exceeded the current limits or standards and thus may lead to biotic and abiotic catastrophes. Accordingly, several treatments, including chemical, biological, and physical approaches, are being used to reduce Cr(VI) waste in the surrounding environment. This study compares the Cr(VI) treatment approaches from several areas of science and their competence in Cr(VI) removal. As an effective combination of physical and chemical approaches, the coagulation-flocculation technique removes more than 98% of Cr(VI) in less than 30 min. Most membrane filtering approaches can remove up to 90% of Cr(VI). Biological approaches that involve the use of plants, fungi, and bacteria also successfully eliminate Cr(VI) but are difficult to scale up. Each of these approaches has its benefits and drawbacks, and their applicability is determined by the research aims. These approaches are also sustainable and environmentally benign, thus limiting their effects on the ecosystem.
This study was conducted to explore the effect of the zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) supplement on the regulatory appetite and heat stress (HS) genes in broiler chickens raised under high or normal ambient temperatures. In this study, 240 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly assigned to 48 battery cages. From day 1, these 48 cages were randomly subjected to four different treatment strategies: Control (wherein, their basal diet included 60 mg/kg of ZnO), ZNONPs 40 (wherein basal diet included 40 mg/kg of ZnONPs), ZnONPs 60 (basal diet included 60 mg/kg of ZnONPs), and ZnONPs 100 (basal diet included 100 mg/kg of ZnONPs). Thereafter, from day 22 to 42, the chickens from each dietary treatment group were subjected to different temperature stresses either normal (23 ± 1 °C constant) or HS (34 ± 1 °C for 6 h/d), which divided them into eight different treatment groups. Our findings revealed that dietary ZnONPs altered the gene expression of cholecystokinin (ileum), heat stress proteins (HSP) 70 (jejunum and ileum), and HSP 90 (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum). The gene expression of ghrelin was affected by the interaction between the ZnONPs concentration and temperature in the duodenum and stomach. More studies are required to elucidate its complex physiological and biochemical functions of the regulation of gene expression within the intestine in heat-stressed broiler chickens.
Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000-2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations.