Oil pollution is an environmental problem of increasing importance. Hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms, adapted to grow and thrive in oil-containing environments, have an important role in the biological treatment of this pollution. One of the limiting factors in this process is the bioavailability of many fractions of the oil. The hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms produce biosurfactants o...

Agricultural food production and consumption covers activities ranging from agriculture to food consumption. Pollution and food contamination related to the use of production technologies and processes, as well as from the use of products aimed at increasing agricultural yields and facilitating food conservation, have significant environmental consequences. There are a number of important issue...

Household air pollution is a major cause of ill health, but few solutions have been effective to date. While many quantitative studies have been conducted, few have explored the lived experiences and perceptions of women who do the cooking, and as a result are those most exposed to household air pollution. In this study, we worked with groups of home cooks, and sought to use art as a means of e...

BACKGROUND Evidence from laboratory studies suggests that air pollution can produce bronchoconstriction and respiratory symptoms in selected subjects, but the relevance of these findings to exposure to natural pollution is unclear. This study was performed to determine whether air pollution at typical levels found in the UK has demonstrable effects on respiratory function and symptoms in subjec...

In order to reveal the influence of the metals of soil-water interface in a manganese mine (Xiangtan, China), on local water environment, there are six kinds of metals (Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) characterized by measuring their concentration, correlation, source, and special distribution using principal component analysis, single factor, and Nemero comprehensive pollution index. The results s...

Artificial lights raise night sky luminance, creating the most visible effect of light pollution-artificial skyglow. Despite the increasing interest among scientists in fields such as ecology, astronomy, health care, and land-use planning, light pollution lacks a current quantification of its magnitude on a global scale. To overcome this, we present the world atlas of artificial sky luminance, ...

Aquatic organisms are exposed to multiple natural and anthropogenic stressors, including pollution, parasites, invasive species and climate change. These factors interact in a diversity of ways. However few studies consider realistic ecological contexts taking into account the synergy between these factors on aquatic biota. Increasing interest has been devoted to the interactions between parasi...

Severe air pollution episodes have been frequent in China during the recent years. While high emissions are the primary reason for increasing pollutant concentrations, the ultimate cause for the most severe pollution episodes has remained unclear. Here we show that a high concentration of particulate matter (PM) will enhance the stability of an urban boundary layer, which in turn decreases the ...

This vision of the future is motivated by the increasing traffic congestion around our densely populated metropolitan areas. There is no need here to reference the numerous studies on traffic safety and pollution carried out by governmental agencies over the years or to bring forward accident, carbon dioxide, and driver-stress figures. Everyone that has been in a large city in rush hour has mos...