Aqueous ozone solutions for pesticide removal from potatoes

The presence of pesticide residues in potatoes is of concern because of the potential impact to human health due to the high consumption of this vegetable. In this study, aqueous solutions with and without ozone saturation as postharvest wash treatment at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 9.0 were tested to remove chlorothalonil from potatoes. The method used for pesticide analysis has been validated, presenting recovery values of 94–103%, with variations in the repeatability coefficients of ≤10.6%, and a quantification limit of 0.05 mg kg−1. Regardless of pH, treatment with aqueous ozone solutions removed 70–76% of the pesticide present in the potato. In the no-ozone treatments, the percentage average removal of chlorothalonil residues in potatoes was only 36%. Over 24 days of storage, the quality of potatoes washed with aqueous ozone solutions was not significantly different from those washed with pure water.

Download Full-text

The poison is on the table: an analysis of the pesticides present in the food of Brazilians

Research Society and Development ◽

10.33448/rsd-v10i12.20085 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. e95101220085

Author(s):

Ana Carolina Araújo Silva ◽

Danúbia Domingos Epifânio ◽

Mariana Linhares Pereira ◽

Farah Maria Drumond Chequer

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Pesticide Residues ◽

Annual Reports ◽

Human Organism ◽

Bell Peppers ◽

Quality Of Food ◽

Rural Producers

Brazil is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. To monitor the quality of food sold in the country, the Program for Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Food (Programa de Análise de Resíduos de Agrotóxicos em Alimentos - PARA) was created, responsible for carrying out analyzes of these foods and providing annual reports. The objective of this study was to carry out a survey of the information contained in these reports on the residues of pesticides found on unsatisfactory samples (unauthorized pesticides and/or above the permitted limit). This is a descriptive documentary study, based on the reports available (2001 to 2018). Information was collected on the pesticides that most appeared among the samples considered unsatisfactory and their possible damage to human health. Strawberries, bell peppers, and cucumbers presented the largest numbers of samples unsatisfactory, mostly because of the presence of pesticides unauthorized. The pesticides that have been repeated the most irregularly were chlorpyrifos, carbendazim, acefate and metamidophos, the latter has been banned since 2011 in Brazil. Evidence show that such pesticides are toxic to the human organism. Measures are needed to better control and inspect food and pesticides sold in Brazil, also raise awareness among the population and rural producers.

Download Full-text

Health and Physical Activity in Urban Neighbourhoods. Case Study: Shah Alam City, Selangor, Malaysia

Built Environment Journal ◽

10.24191/bej.v17i2.8438 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Oliver Hoon Leh Ling ◽

Siti Nur Afiqah Mohamed Musthafa ◽

Muhammad Solahuddin Hamzah ◽

Marlyana Azyyati Marzukhi ◽

Nurul Ashikin Mabahwi

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Communicable Diseases ◽

Health Condition ◽

Environmental Aspects ◽

Neighbourhood Environment ◽

Healthy Life ◽

Non Communicable Diseases ◽

Urban Neighbourhoods

Environmental health is referring to the health of people in relation to environmental quality. Due to rapid urbanisation, more people are living in urban neighbourhoods. Urban planning and design aspects including the neighbourhood environment are potentially affecting the human healthy lifestyle and health condition. Thus, the relationship between Malaysian neighbourhood environmental aspects and human health has become the concern of this research. One of the neighbourhood units in Shah Alam city had been chosen as the study area for this purpose. Questionnaire survey had been carried out to examine the health condition and physical activeness of residents. Besides, the perception of residents on the quality of neighbourhood environmental aspects also had been collected in the questionnaire survey. The health condition of residents was measured by non-communicable diseases (NCD) and the physical activeness was measured in duration as well as the frequency of physical exercise activities. The study found that the quality of neighbourhood environmental aspects significantly increased the physical activeness of respondents. The physical activeness was positively associated with human health as measured in NCD (heart diseases and high blood pressure, HBP). It shows that neighbourhood environmental (physical and social) aspects are potentially affecting the healthy life of people living in the neighbourhood.Keywords: Healthy life, Neighbourhood environment, Non-communicable diseases (NCD), Physical activeness, Quality.

Download Full-text

Physicochemical and bacteriological characterization of hospital effluents and their impact on the environment

10.31221/osf.io/rbka9 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Chem Int

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Fecal Coliforms ◽

Chemical Pollution ◽

Hospital Effluents ◽

Biological Contaminants ◽

Almost All ◽

Direct Discharge ◽

Significant Chemical

Liquid effluents discharged by hospitals may contain chemical and biological contaminants whose main source is the different substances used for the treatment of patients. This type of rejection can present a sanitary potentially dangerous risk for human health and can provoke a strong degradation of diverse environmental compartments mainly water and soils. The present study focuses on the quality of the liquid effluents of Hassani Abdelkader’s hospital of Sidi Bel-Abbes (West of Algeria). The results reveal a significant chemical pollution (COD: 879 mgO2/L, BOD5: 850 mgO2/L, NH4+ : 47.9 mg/l, NO2- : 4.2 mg/l, NO3- : 56.8 mg/l with respect to WHO standard of 90 mgO2/L, 30 mgO2/L, 0.5 mg/l, 1 mg/l and 1 mg/l respectively). However, these effluents are biodegradable since the ratio COD/BOD5 do not exceeded the value of 2 in almost all samples. The presence of pathogen germs is put into evidence such as pseudomonas, the clostridium, the staphylococcus, the fecal coliforms and fecal streptococcus. These results show that the direct discharge of these effluents constitutes a major threat to human health and the environment.

Download Full-text

A fluorescent aptasensor based on berberine for ultrasensitive detection of bisphenol A in tap water

Analytical Methods ◽

10.1039/d1ay00180a ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuxin Wei ◽

Yangyang Zhou ◽

Yanli Wei ◽

Chuan Dong ◽

Li Wang

Keyword(s):

Bisphenol A ◽

Human Health ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Tap Water ◽

Water Systems ◽

Ultrasensitive Detection ◽

Its Analysis ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Fluorescent Aptasensor

The residues of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging and water systems have potential impact on human health, therefore, its analysis and detection has drawn people's attention. In this work,...

Download Full-text

How can electric lighting contribute to human health and well-being?

Lighting Research and Technology ◽

10.1177/14771535211003264 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (5) ◽

pp. 515-522

Author(s):

P Raynham

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Health Benefits ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Problems ◽

Starting Point ◽

Electric Light ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Hypothetical Explanation

Electric light in buildings may provide some health benefits; however, for most people these benefits are likely to be small. It is possible for electric lighting to cause health problems, if there is too little light or there is glare, but for the most part there is good guidance available and these problems can be avoided. The quality of the lit environment can have a psychological impact and this may in turn impact well-being. A starting point for this is perceived adequacy of illumination. Related lighting metrics are examined and a hypothetical explanation is suggested.

Download Full-text

Life with Parkinson’s Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Pressure Is “OFF”

Journal of Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.3233/jpd-202342 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Trine HØrmann Thomsen ◽

Susanna M. Wallerstedt ◽

Kristian Winge ◽

Filip Bergquist

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Free Text ◽

Symptom Scores ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Swedish Cohort

People with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) have been suggested to be more vulnerable to negative psychological and psycho-social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to assess the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in PwP. A Danish/Swedish cohort of 67 PwP was analysed. Health-related quality of life (HRQL), depression, anxiety, apathy, sleep and motor symptom-scores were included in the analysis. Additionally, the Danish participants provided free-text descriptions of life during the pandemic. Overall, the participants reported significantly better HRQL during the COVID-19 period compared with before. Reduced social pressure may be part of the explanation. Despite worsened anxiety, night sleep improved.

Download Full-text

Pesticide residues in daily bee pollen samples (April–July) from an intensive agricultural region in Southern Germany

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-020-12318-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carolin Friedle ◽

Klaus Wallner ◽

Peter Rosenkranz ◽

Dieter Martens ◽

Walter Vetter

Keyword(s):

Honey Bees ◽

Pesticide Residues ◽

Hazard Quotient ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Pesticide Analysis ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Southern Germany ◽

Serial Data ◽

Fruit Growing ◽

Insight Into

AbstractInsect-pollinated plants are essential for honey bees to feed their brood. In agricultural landscapes, honey bees and other pollinators are often exposed to pesticides used for cultivation. In order to gain more insight into the fluctuation of pesticide loads, 102 daily pollen samples were collected between April and July 2018 in a fruit-growing area in Southern Germany. Samples were analyzed with respect to more than 260 pesticides using a multi-residue pesticide analysis method. Almost 90% of the analyzed pollen samples featured between one and thirteen different pesticides. In total, 29 pesticides were detected at maximum concentrations of up to 4500 ng/g pollen. Maximum residual concentrations of most pesticides were observed during April and the first half of May, as well as during the second half of June. In most cases, serial data of pesticide residuals were detected for approximately 10 subsequent days with two or three maximum values, which were several folds higher than concentrations on the days before and thereafter. The pollen hazard quotient (PHQ) was calculated to estimate the risk of the detected pesticides to honey bees and wild pollinators.

Download Full-text

Climate Change in the Arctic—The Need for a Broader Gender Perspective in Data Collection

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020628 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 628

Author(s):

Arja Rautio ◽

Natalia Kukarenko ◽

Lena Maria Nilsson ◽

Birgitta Evengard

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Data Collection ◽

Human Health ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Theoretical Background ◽

The Arctic ◽

Gender Analysis ◽

Roles And Responsibilities ◽

Disaggregated Data

Climate change in the Arctic affects both environmental, animal, and human health, as well as human wellbeing and societal development. Women and men, and girls and boys are affected differently. Sex-disaggregated data collection is increasingly carried out as a routine in human health research and in healthcare analysis. This study involved a literature review and used a case study design to analyze gender differences in the roles and responsibilities of men and women residing in the Arctic. The theoretical background for gender-analysis is here described together with examples from the Russian Arctic and a literature search. We conclude that a broader gender-analysis of sex-disaggregated data followed by actions is a question of human rights and also of economic benefits for societies at large and of the quality of services as in the health care.

Download Full-text