Potentially Toxic Substances and Associated Risks in Soils Affected by Wildfires: A Review

The presence of toxic substances is one of the major causes of degradation of soil quality. Wildfires, besides affecting various chemical, physical, and biological soil properties, produce a mixture of potentially toxic substances which can reach the soil and water bodies and cause harm to these media. This review intends to summarise the current knowledge on the generation by wildfires of potentially toxic substances, their effects on soil organisms, and other associated risks, addressing the effects of fire on metal mobilisation, the pyrolytic production of potentially toxic compounds, and the detoxifying effect of charcoal. Numerous studies ascertained inhibitory effects of ash on seed germination and seedling growth as well as its toxicity to soil and aquatic organisms. Abundant publications addressed the mobilisation of heavy metals and trace elements by fire, including analyses of total concentrations, speciation, availability, and risk of exportation to water bodies. Many publications studied the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and other organic pollutants in soils after fire, their composition, decline over time, the risk of contamination of surface and ground waters, and their toxicity to plants, soil, and water organisms. Finally, the review addresses the possible detoxifying role of charcoal in soils affected by fire.

Analysis of technological conditions for the formation and burnout of carcinogenic pahs in boiler flue gases

THE PURPOSE. The necessity of establishing emission standards for highly toxic substances with carcinogenic properties in the context of the implementation of new principles of state regulation of environmental protection activities at energy enterprises is substantiated and confirmed. The analysis of the features of the formation and burnout of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the flue gases of boilers during the combustion of coals in lowtemperature conditions of the furnace process is carried out. Based on the analysis, the total and partial indicators of the harmfulness of flue gases were calculated in order to assess and predict the overall toxicity of coal combustion products, taking into account the contribution of carcinogenic substances.METHODS. When calculating the overall toxicity of flue gases, a systematic analysis and generalization of experimental data on the content of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the combustion products of low-power boilers was applied.RESULTS. As a result of the performed study, the contribution of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons to the overall toxicity of boiler flue gases during the combustion of Azeysky, Mugunsky, Cheremkhovsky and Tugnuy coal was determined. It is shown that substances such as benz(a)pyrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and phenanthrene significantly affect the level of the total indicator of the harmfulness of combustion products from 38.8 to 53.6%.CONCLUSION. The obtained research results can be applied at energy enterprises at the stage of substantiating the introduction of regime-technological and environmental measures in order to develop measures to improve environmental efficiency through technological rationing of carcinogenic emissions.

Green Synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks: A Review of Their Characterization and Industrial and Medical Applications

Metal organic frameworks (MOF) are a class of hybrid networks of supramolecular solid materials comprising a large number of inorganic and organic linkers, all bound to metal ions in a well-organized fashion. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a sub-group of MOFs with imidazole as an organic linker to metals; it is rich in carbon, nitrogen, and transition metals. ZIFs combine the classical zeolite characteristics of thermal and chemical stability with pore-size tunability and the rich topological diversity of MOFs. Due to the energy crisis and the existence of organic solvents that lead to environmental hazards, considerable research efforts have been devoted to devising clean and sustainable synthesis routes for ZIFs to reduce the environmental impact of their preparation. Green chemistry is the key to sustainable development, as it will lead to new solutions to existing problems. Moreover, it will present opportunities for new processes and products and, at its heart, is scientific and technological innovation. The green chemistry approach seeks to redesign the materials that make up the basis of our society and our economy, including the materials that generate, store, and transport our energy, in ways that are benign for humans and the environment and that possess intrinsic sustainability. This study covers the principles of green chemistry as used in designing strategies for synthesizing greener, less toxic ZIFs the consume less energy to produce. First, the necessity of green methods in today’s society, their replacement of the usual non-green methods and their benefits are discussed; then, various methods for the green synthesis of ZIF compounds, such as hydrothermally, ionothermally, and by the electrospray technique, are considered. These methods use the least harmful and toxic substances, especially concerning organic solvents, and are also more economical. When a compound is synthesized by a green method, a question arises as to whether these compounds can replace the same compounds as synthesized by non-green methods. For example, is the thermal stability of these compounds (which is one of the most important features of ZIFs) preserved? Therefore, after studying the methods of identifying these compounds, in the last part, there is an in-depth discussion on the various applications of these green-synthesized compounds.

Risk assessment for the industrial facility impact on the atmosphere

Environmental pollution creates problems for health of people living in residential areas near pollution sources. Studies aimed at developing methods for investigating the impact of industrial facilities on the air is of interest. The purpose of this work is to analyze the methodology for assessing the risk of exposure of a technosphere object to the atmosphere. It was assumed that the enterprise in emergency mode emits pollutants through the source of emissions at the maximum single concentration of the substance exceeding the maximum permissible concentration. To calculate the impact on a human, various scenarios of an emergency situation are taken into account. These are constructing failure trees and using well-known health risk assessment techniques. The calculation took into account the wind rose for a specific enterprise location and wind speed projections obeying the normal distribution law. These assumptions allowed us to develop a method for calculating the risk of exceeding the concentration of a pollutant at a given point (x, y) during the year. Isolines of surface concentrations were built. Three toxic substances were taken for analysis. The method for calculating the dispersion of emissions of harmful (polluting) substances in the atmospheric airwas used; maps of the dispersion of isolines of pollutants in residential areas were constructed. When solving the inverse problem, emergency emission intensities at which excess of permissible concentrations occurred were determined. In the range of multiplicities exceeding the maximum single maximum permissible concentration from 1 to 5, the dependence was well approximated by a straight line. This technique can be used to determine the risk of diseases caused by carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic substances and minimize the risk of exposure to harmful substances.

Applications of ash аnd slag waste in agriculture

Environmental pollution creates problems for health of people living in residential areas near pollution sources. Studies aimed at developing methods for investigating the impact of industrial facilities on the air is of interest. The purpose of this work is to analyze the methodology for assessing the risk of exposure of a technosphere object to the atmosphere. It was assumed that the enterprise in emergency mode emits pollutants through the source of emissions at the maximum single concentration of the substance exceeding the maximum permissible concentration. To calculate the impact on a human, various scenarios of an emergency situation are taken into account. These are constructing failure trees and using well-known health risk assessment techniques. The calculation took into account the wind rose for a specific enterprise location and wind speed projections obeying the normal distribution law. These assumptions allowed us to develop a method for calculating the risk of exceeding the concentration of a pollutant at a given point (x, y) during the year. Isolines of surface concentrations were built. Three toxic substances were taken for analysis. The method for calculating the dispersion of emissions of harmful (polluting) substances in the atmospheric airwas used; maps of the dispersion of isolines of pollutants in residential areas were constructed. When solving the inverse problem, emergency emission intensities at which excess of permissible concentrations occurred were determined. In the range of multiplicities exceeding the maximum single maximum permissible concentration from 1 to 5, the dependence was well approximated by a straight line. This technique can be used to determine the risk of diseases caused by carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic substances and minimize the risk of exposure to harmful substances. Ash and slag wastes are the source of negative impact on the environment. This area is studied by a number of researchers. The article aims to systematize the data on possible applications, accumulated practical experience of using ash and slag waste in agriculture both in Russia and abroad. The analysis showed that waste from the fuel and energy industry can be widely used in various areas of agriculture. It can be used as ameliorants, zeolite-based mineral fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides for treating horticultural crops, microfertilizers, as well as for soil remediation and land reclamation. The use of ash and slag waste in agriculture and other sectors of the national economy can reduce the ecological load on the environment. The number of overfilled ash dumps can be reduced, and there will be no need to build new ones.

Nanomedicine-enabled chemotherapy-based synergetic cancer treatments

Chemotherapy remains one of the most prevailing regimens hitherto in the fight against cancer, but its development has been being suffering from various fatal side effects associated with the non-specific toxicity of common chemical drugs. Advances in biomedical application of nanomedicine have been providing alternative but promising approaches for cancer therapy, by leveraging its excellent intrinsic physicochemical properties to address these critical concerns. In particular, nanomedicine-enabled chemotherapy has been established as a safer and promising therapeutic modality, especially the recently proposed nanocatalytic medicine featuring the capabilities to generate toxic substances by initiating diverse catalytic reactions within the tumor without directly relying on highly toxic but non-selective chemotherapeutic agents. Of special note, under exogenous/endogenous stimulations, nanomedicine can serve as a versatile platform that allows additional therapeutic modalities (photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), etc.) to be seamlessly integrated with chemotherapy for efficacious synergistic treatments of tumors. Here, we comprehensively review and summarize the representative studies of multimodal synergistic cancer treatments derived from nanomedicine and nanocatalytic medicine-enabled chemotherapy in recent years, and their underlying mechanisms are also presented in detail. A number of existing challenges and further perspectives for nanomedicine-synergized chemotherapy for malignant solid tumor treatments are also highlighted for understanding this booming research area as comprehensively as possible. Graphical Abstract

Functional bread enreached with regional bioactive food additives

The scientific work presents materials of theoretical and experimental substantiation of the use of regional bioactive food additives, namely wild plants of the legume family (Fabaceae), permitted for use in the food industry: sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis), red meadow clover (Trifolium pratense), white acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) in the production of functional foods [1]. Experimental studies of the safety indicators of food wild-growing plants (FWP) have been carried out. It was found that the studied FWP growing in ecologically clean areas of the North Ossetia-Alania are distinguished by a low mass fraction of toxic substances. Two fractions of cellulose were investigated: 1 - water-soluble (pectic acid, pectin, methylcellulose); 2 - water-insoluble (protopectin, cellulose, hemicellulose). The increased content of dietary fiber in WGP powders has been established, corresponding to the physiological norms of satisfying the daily requirement for FWP and, in this regard, indicating the expediency of using functional food in formulations for the prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus, obesity, and atherosclerosis. The sorption capacity of WGP powders with respect to lead has been investigated. All studied powders of WGP modification products are characterized by high sorption capacity. The technologies of flour products with the addition of FWP powders have been developed. The results of clinical and preclinical studies of the developed functional bread show a corrective effect of glycemic blood parameters, as well as a decrease in the lead content in the blood of fed laboratory rat pups by almost two times, compared with the control.

Performance improvement of aquaponics systems when using microbiological strains in them

The essence of the method of operation of the aquaponic system is to use the vital waste of aquatic animals as food for plants. At the first stage, the fish produces waste products. Then, in the second stage, microbes and worms convert the waste into fertilizers for plants. During the process, at the third stage, plants consume the necessary products of excretion of living organisms. Aquaponics is an artificial ecosystem in which three types of living organisms are key: aquatic animals (usually fish or shrimp), plants and bacteria. This technology works on the principle of an ecosystem of fish and plants: fish provides food to plants, and plants purify water and are environmentally friendly. The essence of this method is to use the vital waste of aquatic animals (fish, shrimp) as a nutrient medium for plants. These are chemicals such as nitrogenous, potassium, phosphorus compounds, carbon dioxide. Thanks to aquaponic farms, the costs of water and other natural resources, soil pollution and the use of insecticides are already being reduced in different places of our planet. Such systems are a sustainable ecosystem capable of producing organic matter that does not contain toxic substances often present in vegetables grown by traditional methods.

Plant extracts in agriculture and their applications in the treatment of seeds

ABSTRACT: The harmful effects caused by the use of toxic substances in agriculture have led to the development of alternative solutions, and researchers have focused on understanding the effectiveness and potential of plant extracts in agriculture. The aim of this systematic review was to understand the situation of research and scientific dissemination, as well as how current science has approached the use of plant extracts in agriculture, especially in seed applications. There is potential on the use of plant extracts in agriculture, demonstrated by a high number of publications over the last ten years, especially in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, and Brazil stands out as the main country on this research area. Control of phytopathogenic microorganisms, insect control, biostimulant effect, resistance induction and herbicide effect have been the main themes explored for use in agriculture. The direct application of plant extracts is centered on plants and seeds, being this latter mainly focused on the control of phytopathogenic organisms and biostimulating effect.

Protein Oxidation in Muscle Foods: A Comprehensive Review

Muscle foods and their products are a fundamental part of the human diet. The high protein content found in muscle foods, as well as the high content of essential amino acids, provides an appropriate composition to complete the nutritional requirements of humans. However, due to their special composition, they are susceptible to oxidative degradation. In this sense, proteins are highly susceptible to oxidative reactions. However, in contrast to lipid oxidation, which has been studied in depth for decades, protein oxidation of muscle foods has been investigated much less. Moreover, these reactions have an important influence on the quality of muscle foods, from physico-chemical, techno-functional, and nutritional perspectives. In this regard, the loss of essential nutrients, the impairment of texture, water-holding capacity, color and flavor, and the formation of toxic substances are some of the direct consequences of protein oxidation. The loss of quality for muscle foods results in consumer rejection and substantial levels of economic losses, and thus the control of oxidative processes is of vital importance for the food industry. Nonetheless, the complexity of the reactions involved in protein oxidation and the many different factors that influence these reactions make the mechanisms of protein oxidation difficult to fully understand. Therefore, the present manuscript reviews the fundamental mechanisms of protein oxidation, the most important oxidative reactions, the main factors that influence protein oxidation, and the currently available analytical methods to quantify compounds derived from protein oxidation reactions. Finally, the main effects of protein oxidation on the quality of muscle foods, both from physico-chemical and nutritional points of view, are also discussed.