scholarly journals Special Issue: Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 487
Author(s):  
Yuji Nagata

Xenobiotics are released into the environment by human activities, and they often cause problems such as environmental pollution, since most such compounds cannot be readily degraded, and have harmful effects on human beings and the natural ecosystem [...]

Fahm-i-Islam ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-52
Author(s):  
سنا ضیاء

Man is Allah’s vicegerent on earth. The fulfillment of this sacred role requires immense power, and for this purpose, Allah has made Nature subservient to human beings. All natural objects and phenomena not only beautify the universe, but also are the source for its nourishment. That is why the survival of earth depends on the integrity of environment.Environment plays an integral role in human life. Providence has created balance in environment which is being destroyed by harmful human activities. Pollution has become a worldwide problem. Different toxic matters and deforestation has made our earth a dangerous abode for us. As Islam has guidelines for every aspect of life, so in the same way, it asks human beings to preserve the environment. Our prophet’s traditions are full of golden principles to preserve our surroundings. He advised his followers to cover the edibles to protect them from toxic elements in the environment. Moreover, he encouraged us to plant more and more trees, and ensured blessings for the cultivators if their fruits are eaten by other creatures. Hence our environment can be better looked after, if we follow the principles of Islam. This paper discusses our prophet’s teachings on the protection and preservation of environment, and the following of these principles can save us and the coming generations from all ailments and impurities.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1608
Author(s):  
Salvatore Ivo Giano

This Special Issue deals with the role of fluvial geomorphology in landscape evolution and the impact of human activities on fluvial systems, which require river restoration and management [...]


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Culberson

Estuaries are places on the earth where rivers meet oceans. When rain and snowmelt drain off the land, the fresh water collects in streams and rivers and eventually makes its way to the ocean. At the same time, the ocean has tides that push salty water upstream into the rivers. This place, where rivers and oceans mix, is called an estuary. Estuaries contain many kinds of habitats that are home to plants and animals. Many people work and live in estuaries. In this article, I describe what makes estuaries interesting and important to plants, animals, and people. I also explain how these important areas are under threat from certain human activities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Agustina Utami Ningsih

<b>Abstract:</b> Human activities always produce trash. The amount of trash continues to grow in line with population growth and technological developments. Trash has become an environmental crisis due to a lack of awareness and in Indonesia little serious effort has been made to process trash properly. The importance of a serious effort of trash management and self-development as a real human being is nothing other than a struggle to restore harmony between Creator, human beings, and the whole of creation. This paper reflects on the reality of trash as well as taking up the views and habits of people who are little concerned about handling trash although they already feel the adverse impact of trash on the environment. This study analyses data and the information obtained through observation of the trash problem, supported by data from written sources . <b>Keywords:</b> Trash, environment, human development, ecological repentance <b>Abstrak:</b> Kegiatan manusia selalu menghasilkan sampah. Peningkatan jumlah sampah terus bertambah seiring dengan pertambahan penduduk dan perkembangan teknologi. Sampah telah menjadi krisis lingkungan hidup karena kurangnya kesadaran dan belum seriusnya usaha pengolahan sampah dengan tepat. Pentingnya upaya serius pengolahan sampah yang tepat dan pengembangan diri sebagai manusia sejati adalah upaya mengembalikan harmoni antara Pencipta, manusia, dan semua ciptaan. Tulisan ini ingin merefleksikan realitas keberadaan sampah serta pandangan dan kebiasaan masyarakat yang kurang peduli terhadap penanganan sampah. Kajian ini dilakukan dengan metode interpretatif, yang menafsirkan dan memberi arti kepada data dan informasi yang didapatkan, berdasarkan dengan pengamatan masalah sampah dan keadaan faktual yang terjadi di dalam kebiasaan masyarakat terhadap sampah, didukung dengan fakta dari sumber literatur sebagai data dan informasi. <b>Kata-kata kunci:</b> sampah, lingkungan, pengembangan manusia, pertobatan ekologi


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 830
Author(s):  
Kristin Henrard

This article begins with some reflections on the definition of religious minorities, their needs and rights and how this relates to the discussion about the need for minority specific rights in addition to general fundamental rights as rights for all human beings irrespective of particular identity features. Secondly, an overall account of the ambiguous relationship between religious minorities and fundamental rights is presented. The third and most extensive section zooms in on the EU and religious minorities, starting with an account of the EU’s general approach towards minorities and then turning to the protection of fundamental rights of religious minorities in/through the EU legal order. First, the EU’s engagement with minority specific rights and the extent to which these norms have been attentive to religious themes will be discussed. Second, the CJEU’s case law concerning freedom of religion and the prohibition of dis-crimination as general human rights is analysed. The conclusion then turns to the overall perspective and discusses whether the EU’s protection of religious minorities’ fundamental rights can be considered ‘half-hearted’ and, if so, to what extent. This in turn allows us to return to the overall focus of the Special Issue, namely the relationship between the freedom of religion for all and special rights for religious minorities.


Author(s):  
Paul Brodwin

This chapter raises a key question for the interdisciplinary study of health and justice: is dialogue possible between theoretical models and first-person testimony about the harms caused by injustice? To consider this question, the chapter examines the claim that disrespect—the systematic devaluation of others in a way that excludes them from reciprocal social relations—is a form of injustice. The philosopher Stephen Darwall and social theorist Axel Honneth conceptually elucidate the links between justice, respect, and recognition. Their normative arguments offer a high-order conceptual framework for recognizing people’s equal worth as human beings (and the harmful effects of denying such recognition). This chapter compares their abstract frameworks with a landmark autobiography by a founder of the psychiatric survivor movement. The search for commensurability between these texts exposes the precise difference between experience-far and experience-near genres of ethical expression. This chapter adopts a similar approach as DeBruin et al. (this volume) in examining popular cultural discourses in light of formal theory. Both chapters take seriously the lay narratives and forms of ethical argumentation that circulate outside the academy. Both envision a plural ethics of justice and health that acknowledges how ordinary people interpret and respond to institutionalized oppression in health-care services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gurunathan ◽  
Jeyaraj ◽  
Kang ◽  
Kim

The extensive usage of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as medical products such as antimicrobial and anticancer agents has raised concerns about their harmful effects on human beings. AgNPs can potentially induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in cells. However, humanin (HN) is a small secreted peptide that has cytoprotective and neuroprotective cellular effects. The aim of this study was to assess the harmful effects of AgNPs on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and also to investigate the protective effect of HN from AgNPs-induced cell death, mitochondrial dysfunctions, DNA damage, and apoptosis. AgNPs were prepared with an average size of 18 nm diameter to study their interaction with SH-SY5Y cells. AgNPs caused a dose-dependent decrease of cell viability and proliferation, induced loss of plasma-membrane integrity, oxidative stress, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and loss of ATP content, amongst other effects. Pretreatment or co-treatment of HN with AgNPs protected cells from several of these AgNPs induced adverse effects. Thus, this study demonstrated for the first time that HN protected neuroblastoma cells against AgNPs-induced neurotoxicity. The mechanisms of the HN-mediated protective effect on neuroblastoma cells may provide further insights for the development of novel therapeutic agents against neurodegenerative diseases.


1985 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 135-152
Author(s):  
Ellen Kappy Suckiel

Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose life spanned most of the nineteenth century, is widely regarded as one of the greatest sages in the history of American thought. Among educated American citizenry, Emerson is probably the most commonly read indigenous philosopher—and for good reason. Emerson presents a vision of human beings and their place in the universe which gives meaning and stature to the human condition. His profound, even religious, optimism, gives structure and import to even the smallest and apparently least significant of human activities. The inspirational quality of Emerson's, prose, his willingness to travel far and wide to lecture, his ability to help people transcend the difficulties of the times, all led to his very great national as well as international significance.


Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 453
Author(s):  
Simona Pichini ◽  
Alfredo Fabrizio Lo Faro ◽  
Francesco Paolo Busardò ◽  
Raffaele Giorgetti

Cannabis products have been used for centuries by humans for recreational and medical purposes. Resent research, proposed the promising therapeutic potential of cannabis and related cannabinoids for a wide range of medical conditions, including psychiatric and neurological diseases. This Special Issue presents the latest updates on medicinal cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids pharmacology, toxicology and new analytical methods to identify and quantify these compounds in conventional and non-conventional biological matrices. Moreover, it provides current data regarding their adverse effects, safety, application for medical purposes and their harmful effects.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Bing Zhang ◽  
Shaofeng Lin ◽  
Jingjing Zhang ◽  
Xiaopeng Li ◽  
Xiaodong Sun

Currently, electromagnetic pollution management has gained much attention due to the various harmful effects on wildlife and human beings. Electromagnetic absorbers can convert energy from electromagnetic waves into thermal energy. Previous reports have demonstrated that reduced graphene oxide (rGO) makes progress in the electromagnetic absorption (EA) field. But the high value of permittivity of rGO always mismatches the impedance which results in more electromagnetic wave reflection on the surface. In this work, sandwich-like rGO/CuS/polypyrrole (PPy) nanoarchitectures have been synthesized by a facile two-step method. The experimental result has shown that a paraffin composite containing 10 wt.% of rGO/CuS/PPy could achieve an enhanced EA performance both in bandwidth and intensity. The minimum reflection loss (RL) value of −49.11 dB can be reached. Furthermore, the effective bandwidth can cover 4.88 GHz. The result shows that the as-prepared rGO/CuS/PPy nanoarchitectures will be a promising EA material.


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