Evidence of microplastics accumulation in the gills and gastrointestinal tract of fishes from an estuarine system in Ghana.

The contamination of aquatic environments by microplastics (MPs) and their subsequent ingestion by fish continues to be a universal ecological challenge. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the accumulation of MPs by fishes globally, not much work has been done within the major estuaries along the Atlantic Coast. This study explored and characterized microplastics in the gills and gastrointestinal tract in 98 specimens of 10 fish taxa (Sarotherodon melanotheron, Pseudotolithus senegalensis, Gobionellus occidentalis, Ethmalosa fimbriata, Chrysichthys nigrodigitalus, Elops lacerta, Mugil bananesis, Cynoglossus senegalensis, Apsilus fuscus and Galeoides decadactylus) from the Pra Estuary, Ghana. The gastrointestinal contents of the fish were extracted, analysed and characterized using a stereomicroscope fitted with an Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). A total of 529 MP particles were found in the fishes. C. nigrodigitalus recorded the highest MP levels in the gills with an average of 4.83 ± 2.08 items/individual whiles S. melanotheron recorded the highest in the gastrointestinal tract at 9.83 ± 4.63 items/individual. Within the fish, transparent fibrous MPs of size <0.5 mm were the dominate types found. A vertical prevalence of MPs was observed across the feeding and habitat preference of the species suggesting a possible linkage with the ecological niche of fishes. Our findings further demonstrate the need for advance studies on the impacts and level of threat microplastic accumulation pose to the sampled fishes and potential consumers.

Examining the impact of nanoplastics and PFAS exposure on immune functions through inhibition of secretory immunoglobin A in human breast milk.

Emerging contaminants such as nanoplastics (NPs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been detected in the environment and breast milk, thus exposing infants to potentially harmful chemicals during breastfeeding. Breast milk contains secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), an antibody that plays a vital role in disease protection and the development of the infant's immune system. This study employed molecular simulation and fractional factorial designs to assess the toxicity of NPs and PFAS on breast milk and their influence on infant immunity by inhibiting SIgA. The research found that NPs and PFAS have higher binding affinities to SIgA compared to the control compound. Polycarbonate (-10.7 kcal/mol) had the highest binding affinity among plastics, while Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA, - 8.0 kcal/mol) had the highest binding affinity among PFAS. The relative toxic index was higher for PFAS (2.4) than for plastics (1.9), suggesting that PFAS may pose a higher overall toxicity burden on the protein. The presence of specific combinations of NPs and PFAS in breast milk may potentially harm breastfeeding infants, although additional experimental studies are required to validate these findings. These results underscore the potential risks associated with these emerging contaminants in breast milk and their impact on infant immunity.

Preliminary characterization and probabilistic risk assessment of microplastics and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in garri (cassava flake), a common staple food consumed in West Africa.

Garri from cassava is one of the most consumed foods in West Africa, hence this research was conducted to examine microplastics (MPs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in garri from Nigeria (West Africa) and Japan. This is the first investigation on MPs in garri samples that has been reported in the literature. The study analyzed both packaged and unpackaged vended garri samples using microscopic/spectroscopic and X-ray fluorescence techniques for MPs and PTEs respectively. Microplastic particles in the garri samples ranged from (or were between) 2.00±2.00 - 175.00±25.16 particles/50 with > 90 % as fragments and consisted of polyacrylamide, polyethylene terepthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, high density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride acrylonitrile, polyethylene chlorinated, polypropylene with silicate mix, polychloroprene and polyethylene chlorosulphonated. The mean concentration of PTEs raged from ND to 0.07 mg/g for Cr and Mn, 0.73 to 5.63 mg/g for Fe, ND to 0.57mg/g for Co, 0.23 to 1.21 mg/g for Ni, 0.15 to 1.53 mg/g for Cu, and 0.12 to 0.63 mg/g for Zn. However, their daily intake was low for both adult and children as with the MPs. The sources of MPs and PTEs were mainly from the garri production processes, atmospheric dusts and during packaging. The non-carcinogenic risk for all samples was low for MPs while in openly vended garri, Ni and Cr in all sample poses carcinogenic risks. There is a need to improve indigenous garri processing techniques to minimize contamination. This research emphasizes the critical necessity to understand the consequences of MPs on human health.

Evaluation of nanoplastics toxicity to the human placenta in systems.

Following the discovery of plastics in the human placenta, this study evaluated the toxicity of ten different nanoplastics (NPs) in the human placenta. Since the placenta performs metabolic and excretion functions by the enzymatic system, the NPs were docked on these human enzymes including soluble epoxide hydrolase, uracil phosphoribosyltransferase, beta 1,3-glucuronyltransferase I, sulfotransferase, N-acetyltransferase 2, and cytochrome P450 1A1at their active sites with toxicity (binding affinity) determined and compared to control compounds. Density functional theory analysis were conducted on the NPs to identify their global reactivity descriptors and Artificial Neural Networks to predict toxicity based on reactivity descriptors. Polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) showed the highest toxicity to all enzymes and thus the most toxic polymers due to the presence of an electron-withdrawing group in their aromatic rings, which demonstrated an improved recognition of the enzyme active site by pi- and alkyl interactions. A 210-6 fractional factorial design approach was used in conjunction with a fixed effects model to assess the primary and secondary effects of NPs in a composite system on binding affinity to the placental enzymes. The simulation results suggest that NPs mixture may pose significant risks to the placenta through inhibition of its key enzymes.

Pollution levels and health risk assessment of potentially toxic metals of size-segregated particulate matter in rural residential areas of high lung cancer incidence in Fuyuan, China.

The highest incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer in rural area of Fuyuan has been a research hotspot, and the pathogenesis is still unclear. Therefore, atmospheric particulate matters (APMs) samples were collected between 18 February and 01 March 2017, exploring water-soluble potentially toxic metals (WSPTMs) and water-soluble inorganic ionic species (WSIIs) levels, size distribution, sources, acidity and alkalinity, and potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks, hoping to provide scientific basic data to solve this problem. In our study, the average ratio of nitrate ion (NO3-)/sulfate ion (SO42-) within PM1.1, PM1.1-2.0, PM2.0-3.3, PM3.3-7.0, and PM>7.0 were 0.22, 0.18, 0.15, 0.34 and 0.36, respectively, that revealed that combustion sources contributed to PM were more significant. The anions in equilibrium (ANE) / cations in equilibrium (CAE) < 1 for all samples within PM1.1, PM2.0-3.3, PM3.3-7.0 indicate that the APMs were alkaline, but PM1.1-2.0 particulate matter shows weak acidity. SO42- prefers to combine with NH4+ to form (NH4)2SO4, which hinders the formation of NH4NO3, the remaining SO42- and NO3- to neutralize the K+, KNO3 was formed at all particulate, however, K2SO4 can only be formed in PM<3.3. Arsenic (As) and Selenium (Se) were identified as the most enriched WSPTMs in all PM sizes, predominantly from anthropogenic emissions, were suggested that coal combustion is a significant source of PM-bound WSPTMs. Total WSPTMs exhibited high total carcinogenic risks (TCR) values (9.98 × 10-6, 1.06 × 10-5, and 1.19 × 10-5 for girls, boys and adults, respectively) in the smaller particles (< 1.1 µm). Se was considered as the major contributor (63.60%) to carcinogenic risk (CR) in PM2.0 and had an inverse relationship with PM size that should be of prime concern.

Combined experimental and molecular dynamics removal processes of contaminant phenol from simulated wastewater by polyethylene terephthalate microplastics.

Microplastics (MPs) and phenolics are pollutants found ubiquitously in freshwater systems. MPs oftentimes serve as a vector for pollutants across ecosystems and are now being explored as alternative adsorbents for pollutant removal. This strategy would reflect the 'reuse' of an existing waste stream into a potentially useful product while at the same time helping to minimize plastic waste in the marine environment. In this study, the adsorption of phenol onto pristine (Pr-PET), modified (Mod-PET), and aged (Ag-PET) Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) microplastics was examined experimentally and theoretically. Kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics models were used to investigate the adsorption process while Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to investigate molecular level alterations. The result showed that the Ag-PET MPs had the best removal efficiency due larger surface area and the adsorption occurred in a pseudo-second-order manner, showing that the rate of phenol adsorption is directly proportional to the number of surface-active sites on the surface of PET MPs while the intraparticle diffusion defined rate-limiting step. However, the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity followed Mod-PET (38.02 mg/g) > Ag-PET (8.08 mg/g) > Pr-PET (6.84 mg/g). The adsorption process proceeded spontaneously and thermodynamically favourable. GCMC-MD simulations revealed that PET MPs are capable of successfully adsorbing the phenol molecule through Van der Waals and electrostatic interactions and can be adopted as novel adsorbents for phenol removal in aqueous solutions.

Novel Approaches for Inhibiting the Indoor Allergen Der f 2 Excreted from House Dust Mites by Todomatsu Oil Produced from Woodland Residues.

House dust mite (HDM) is a globally ubiquitous domestic cause of allergic diseases. There is a pressing demand to discover efficient, harmless, and eco-friendly natural extracts to inhibit HDM allergens that are more likely to trigger allergies and challenging to be prevented entirely. This study, therefore, is aimed at assessing the inhibition of the allergenicity of major HDM allergen Der f 2 by todomatsu oil extracted from residues of Abies Sachalinensis. The inhibition was investigated experimentally (using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)) and in silico using molecular docking. The results showed that todomatsu oil inhibits the allergenicity of Der f 2 by reducing its amount instead of the IgG binding capacity of a single protein. Moreover, the compounds in todomatsu oil bind to Der f 2 via alkyl hydrophobic interactions. Notably, most compounds interact with the hydrophobic amino acids of Der f 2, and seven substances interact with CYS27. Contrarily, the principal compounds fail to attach to the amino acids forming the IgG epitope in Der f 2. Interestingly, chemical components with the lowest relative percentages in todomatsu oil show high-affinity values on Der f 2, especially ß-maaliene (-8.0 kcal/mol). In conclusion, todomatsu oil has been proven in vitro as a potential effective public health strategy to inhibit the allergenicity of Der f 2.

Toxicity evaluation of microplastics to aquatic organisms through molecular simulations and fractional factorial designs.

Molecular docking, molecular dynamics modelling, and fractional factorial design methodologies were used in the current work to examine the harmful effects of ten microplastic (MPs) such as polystyrene (PS), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polychloropene (PCP) and polycarbonate (PC) on the aquatic organism (zebrafish). The toxicity was evaluated based on the docking of the MPs on cytochrome P450 (CYP P450) protein crystals. The binding affinities (ΔG) followed the order, PC (-6.9 kcal/mol) > PET (-6.1 kcal/mol) > PP (-5.8 kcal/mol) > PA (-5.6 kcal/mol) > PS (-5.1 kcal/mol) > PU (-4.1 kcal/mol) > PMMA (-3.9 kcal/mol) > PCP (-3.3 kcal/mol) > PVC (-2.4 kcal/mol) > PE (-2.1 kcal/mol). The primary driving factors for the binding of the MPs and the protein were hydrophobic force, and hydrogen bonding based on the molecular dynamics analysis and surrounding amino acid residues. Furthermore, a 210-5 fractional factorial design method was estimated to identify the main effect and second-order effects of MPs in a composite contamination system on binding affinity/energy to CYP450 receptor protein of zebrafish, combined with a fixed effects model. The findings showed that different MPs combinations had varying impacts on aquatic toxicity; as a consequence, the best combination of MPs with the lowest aquatic toxicity effect could be excluded. The factorial designs showed that the PU-PS and PP-PA combination and single PCP, has the most significant main effect on CYP450 receptor protein of zebrafish which translates to an optimum toxicity level of -4.61 kcal/mol. The investigation offers a theoretical foundation for identifying the hazardous impacts of MPs on aquatic life.

Interventions to Reduce Pesticide Exposure from the Agricultural Sector in Africa: A Workshop Report.

Despite the fact that several cases of unsafe pesticide use among farmers in different parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited evidence regarding which specific interventions are effective in reducing pesticide exposure and associated risks to human health and ecology. The overall goal of the African Pesticide Intervention Project (APsent) study is to better understand ongoing research and public health activities related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable target-specific situations or use contexts. A systematic review of the scientific literature on pesticide intervention studies with a focus on Africa was conducted. This was followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in pesticide research or management in the African region to learn about barriers to and promoters of successful interventions. The project was concluded with an international workshop in November 2021, where a broad range of topics relevant to occupational and environmental health risks were discussed such as acute poisoning, street pesticides, switching to alternatives, or disposal of empty pesticide containers. Key areas of improvement identified were training on pesticide usage techniques, research on the effectiveness of interventions targeted at exposure reduction and/or behavioral changes, awareness raising, implementation of adequate policies, and enforcement of regulations and processes.

Microplastics pollution in salt pans from the Maheshkhali Channel, Bangladesh.

Microplastics (MP) were recognized as an emergent pollution problem due to their ubiquitous nature and bioaccumulative potential. Those present in salt for consumption could represent a human exposure route through dietary uptake. The current study, conducted in Bangladesh, reports microplastics contamination in coarse salt prepared for human consumption. Sea salt samples were collected from eight representative salt pans located in the country's largest salt farming area, in the Maheshkhali Channel, along the Bay of Bengal. Microplastics were detected in all samples, with mean concentrations ranging from 78 ± 9.33 to 137 ± 21.70 particles kg-1, mostly white and ranging in size from 500-1000 µm. The prevalent types were: fragments (48%) > films (22%) > fibers (15%) > granules and lines (both 9%). Fourier transform mid-IR and near-IR spectra (FT-MIR-NIR) analysis registered terephthalate (48%), polypropylene (20%), polyethylene (17%), and polystyrene (15%) in all samples. These results contribute to the MP's pollution knowledge in sea salts to understand and reduce this significant human exposure route and environmental pollution source in the future.

Nutrient uptake and pharmaceutical compounds of Aloe vera as influenced by integration of inorganic fertilizer and poultry manure in soil.

Aloe vera had been used for numerous medical and cosmetic applications since ancient times. The study aimed to investigate the integrated effects of inorganic fertilizer (IF) and poultry manure (PM) on the nutritional and pharmaceutical constituents of A. vera. Eighteen month old A. vera seedlings were used following completely randomized design with three replications. Six combinations of IF [Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulphur (S) at the rate of 150, 80, 120 and 30 kg ha-1, respectively] and PM (at the rate of 5 t ha-1) were considered viz., IF00PM00 (IF = 0%, PM = 0%), IF100PM00(IF = 100%, PM = 0%), IF75PM25 (IF = 75%, PM = 25%), IF50PM50 (IF = 50%, PM = 50%), IF25PM75 (IF = 25%, PM = 75%) and IF00PM100 (IF = 0%, PM = 100%) as treatments. Different treatment combinations of IF and PM exerted significant influence on the nutritional and pharmaceutical contents of A. vera. Concentrations and uptake of the concerned nutrients were gradually increased with the increased levels of PM except NPKS which were highest in sole application of IF. The aloin concentration of leaf was gradually increased with the increased level of PM and by 42.44% over control. The highest chlorophyll, total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations were found in the plants receiving the treatment IF25PM75 except protein content which was obtained from IF100PM00. Significant and positive relationships between N and S with P concentrations and P and S with K concentrations of A. vera leaf were noticed. Aloin, total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with Mg, Fe and Mn concentrations of A. vera leaf. Farmers may be advised to cultivate A. vera applying 75% PM at the rate of 5 t ha-1 along with 25% IF (N, P, K and S at the rate of 150, 80, 120 and 30 kg ha-1, respectively) for obtaining better quality leaf in terms of nutrients and pharmaceutical compounds under the agro-climatic conditions of the study area.

Levels and health risk assessment of heavy metals in dried fish consumed in Bangladesh.

As a cheap source of high-quality protein, healthy fats and essential nutrients, dried fish is a common item in the daily diet of the Bangladesh populace. In this study, ten types of widely consumed dried fish (H. neherius, T. lepturu, P.chinensis, P. affinis, A. mola, P. microdon, I. megaloptera, C. dussumieri, L. calcarifer, and G. chapra) were analyzed for Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Hg, Pb, Ni and As by using an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique. The concentration of the studied metals was found in the order Fe > Zn > Hg > Cu > Se > Cr > Mn > Co > Rb > Pb, while As and Ni were below the limit of detection. All fish species showed moderate to high pollution, where the species H. Neherius and P. Chinensis are the most and least polluted ones, respectively. The probable source of contamination is the leaching from the drying pans into the fish samples, atmospheric deposition, anthropogenic contamination, etc. of the water body where these fish were harvested. The calculated hazard index for the general population was below the maximum limiting value (i.e., < 1) except for Hg to children. The carcinogenic risk showed values lower than the acceptable limit for cancer risks (10-6 to 10-4). Periodic monitoring of trace metals in the aquatic organisms along with fish is recommended to avoid any unexpected health hazards caused by the toxic heavy metals via fish consumption.

Blocking the interactions between human ACE2 and coronavirus spike glycoprotein by selected drugs: a computational perspective.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic with rapid rate of transmission and fatalities worldwide. Scientists have been investigating a host of drugs that may be rechanneled to fight this malaise. Thus, in this current computational study we carried out molecular docking experiments to assess the bridging potentials of some commercial drugs such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, nafamostat, camostat, famotidine, umifenovir, nitazoxanide, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine at the interface between human ACE2 and the coronavirus spike glycoprotein complex. This is aimed at ascertaining the ability of these drugs to bridge and prevent the complexing of these two proteins. The crystal structure of human ACE2 and the coronavirus spike glycoprotein complex was retrieved from protein database, while the selected drugs were retrieved from PubChem data base. The proteins and drugs were prepared for docking using Cresset Flare software. The docking was completed via AutoDock Vina module in Python Prescription software. The best hit drugs with each receptor were selected and their molecular interactions were analyzed using BIOVIA's Discovery Studio 2020. The best hit compounds on the human ACE2 were the lopinavir (-10.1 kcal/mol), ritonavir (-8.9 kcal/mol), and nafamostat (-8.7 kcal/mol). Ivermectin, nafamostat, and camostat with binding energy values -9.0 kcal/mol, -7.8 kcal/mol, and -7.4 kcal/mol respectively were the hit drugs on the coronavirus spike glycoprotein. Nafamostat showed a dual bridging potential against ACE2 and spike glycoprotein, and could therefore be a promising lead compound in the prevention and control of this disease.

Nitrogen use efficiency and critical leaf N concentration of Aloe vera in urea and diammonium phosphate amended soil.

Aloe vera L. is widely cultivated in many countries due to its importance as an all-purpose herbal or medicinal plant. The growth and yield of this plant can be enhanced by application of fertilizer. It is expected that a higher and balanced nutrient supply will result in higher crop production maintaining soil health, which is possible when the applied fertilizers are done in way that is efficient. So, there is a need to understand the amount of applied and type of fertilizer that will give the best output for farmers and to formulate economical market products. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of N fertilizer on leaf yield, its uptake and requirement, critical concentration, use efficiency and economics of Aloe vera L. Plants were grown at six levels of N: 0, 40, 80, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1 from urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) following completely randomized design with three replicates under field condition. The highest values of yield and yield attributes and profit based on benefit cost ratio (3.81 for urea and 2.91 for DAP) were obtained with 150 kg N ha-1 (urea) and 100 kg N ha-1 (DAP). Leaf biomass yield increased by 18-128 % in urea-N and 30-139 % in DAP-N fertilized plant over control while DAP > urea by 7.59 %. Sucker production (mean number) was urea-N (4.95 Plant-1) > DAP-N (2.28 Plant-1). Both gel and leaf N concentration and uptake was highest at 200 kg ha-1 for both sources. For 80 % leaf biomass yield, minimum requirement of N was ca 74.90 (urea) and 89.60 kg ha-1 (DAP). Growth and yield parameters to N application exhibited significant and positive correlations. Critical leaf N concentration was ca 0.88% (DAP) and 0.90% (urea) while mean and maximum NUE was 34% and 64 % (urea) and 43% and 69% (DAP), respectively. Farmers can be advised to apply N at the rate of 150 kg ha-1 from urea for producing economically higher yield and better-quality A. vera leaves.

Monitoring and modeling of heavy metal contents in vegetables collected from markets in Imo State, Nigeria.

Vegetable consumption is one major exposure route of heavy metals to humans, but few data exist for Imo State, Nigeria. We assessed the contamination levels and associated health risk of cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in vegetables (Telfairia occidentalis, Pterocarpus mildbraedii, Gongronenina latifolium and Vernonia amygdalina) that are consumed frequently from markets (n=16) in three zones of Imo State, Nigeria. After wet-digestion of samples, the supernatant were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean concentrations in the four vegetables ranged from 0.006±0.003 mg/kg to 0.011±0.007 mg/kg for Cd, 0.064±0.012 mg/kg to 1.225±0.226 mg/kg for Co, 10.711±1.968 mg/kg to 25.088±13.975 mg/kg for Cu, 0.062±0.013 mg/kg to 0.307±0.210 mg/kg for Ni, 0.006±0.005 mg/kg to 0.012±0.002 mg/kg for Pb and 63.55±4.055 mg/kg to 104.126±24.080 mg/kg for Zn. Except for Zn, all heavy metals in the various vegetables were below the joint standard of Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization. Although, overall load of heavy metal was very low, Zn had the highest contamination factor in vegetables. Heavy metals concentrations in vegetables generally showed low to high variations and statistically different (p<0.05). Average daily intake was below the provisional tolerance limit except for Zn. The target hazard quotient of metals in vegetables for both children and adults were below 1, indicating no potential risk to the public. Overall, heavy metals hazard index were below 1, indicating acceptable level of non-carcinogenic adverse health effect. However, potential multi-element contamination from ingestion is possible as revealed by the correlation profiling of heavy metals.

Microplastics Exposure Routes and Toxicity Studies to Ecosystems: An Overview.

Microplastics (MPs) are now ubiquitous in global ecosystem, therefore all biota is at risk of exposure and potential toxicity. In this study, we presented an overview of information based on literature concerning exposure to MPs and the toxicity of such exposure. Currently, four major routes of exposure have been identified including entanglement, contact, ingestion and inhalation. Humans maybe the most exposed organism because they are at the peak of the food chain. Toxicology effect to marine and freshwater organisms are classified based on exposure dosage as either high (mortality, decreased reproductive output, organ damage) or low (changes in behavior with time). On plants, reports have shown that MPs exposure can affect negatively the growth and depending on exposure concentration and types of MPs and oxidative activities. However, effects on plants maybe short-term and transient. Although, toxicity studies regarding human are still ongoing as per reports, plants and animals are still scantly studied. Animal toxicity studies have widely used D. magna as model specie. MPs pollution may have a knock-on effect on trophic structure and functioning of ecosystems by affecting the base of the food chain. We concluded by identifying the gap in knowledge and give recommendations for future research.

Finding a relationship between mobility factors of selected heavy metals and soil particle size in soils from children's playgrounds.

In the 3-year study, heavy metals mobility factors for soils of public playgrounds within Owerri metropolis were correlated with soil particle size. Such studies could develop a body of knowledge that could enable detection and quantification of potential risk of metals to children from playground soil without actually involving children. Calculated values of mobility factors were subjected statistical treatment and to obtain descriptive statistics. Regression analysis of mobility factors and particle size were determined. Copper and zinc were most mobile elements, while cobalt was least mobile. Result showed that clay particle size had strong influence on mobility factors. The significance of this study is that recent estimation of mobility factors of metals are used to expand its possible understanding and application to fundamental and practical problems of ecotoxicology of metals which could reflect metals potentials to cause harm thereby permitting the evaluation of metals toxicity without direct involvement of children.

Airborne microplastics: a review study on method for analysis, occurrence, movement and risks.

Microplastics (of size < 5 mm) pollution in our environment is of current concern by researchers, public media and non-governmental organizations. Implications by their presence in aquatic and soil ecosystems have been well studied and documented, but less attention has been paid on airborne microplastics (MPs). Studies concerning airborne microplastics started from 2016 and only a few (n = 13) have been published to date. Although, studies may increase in the following years, since air is very important for human survival. Microplastics have been observed in atmospheric fallouts in indoor and outdoor environments using a sampling or vacuum pump, rain sampler, and/or particulate fallout collector. Identification and quantification have been carried out by visual, spectroscopic, and spectrometric techniques. Factors such as meteorological, climatic, and anthropogenic influence the distribution and movement of airborne MP. Human exposure may be through inhalation, dermal, and open meal during fallout, with their potential biopersistence and translocation. Ingestion may cause localized inflammation and cancer due to responses by the immune cells, especially in individuals with compromised metabolism and poor clearance mechanisms. Ecological risks involve possible contamination of the ecosystem through a dynamic relationship of MPs in soil, water, and air forming a MP contamination cycle. The present review aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of current knowledge or information regarding microplastics in air, identifying gap in knowledge, and giving suggestions for future research.