The research aimed to carefully review the chemical hazards linked to the coffee production chain to analyse the risks and opportunities for consumers and the environment, as well as identify potential knowledge gaps. The Scopus database was consulted from 1949 to April 2024 to conduct a bibliometric analysis. As a result, 680 articles were analysed. Results indicated a significant increase in research activity since 2015. China, Brazil, and the USA were the leading countries in scientific production and collaborations. The most prolific journals in this field were Chemosphere, Science of the Total Environment, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and Journal of Environmental Management, all of which are in the first quartile. The word analysis revealed two main themes: the first focuses on the chemical hazards of coffee and their impact on health, while the second explores the waste generated during coffee production and its potential for reuse. The topics covered in the research include the composition of coffee, associated chemical hazards, possible health risks, and ways to reuse waste for environmental protection. Future research should concentrate on optimising techniques and processes to ensure quality, safety, and sustainability.

In the sub-Saharan region of Africa, access to safe drinking water remains limited in many countries. This study provides an overview of the quality of surface water and groundwater in rural and peri-urban areas of Madagascar, Uganda, and Rwanda. Selected physico-chemical parameters, inorganic species (including inorganic ions), and organic pollution indicators, such as total organic carbon, non-ionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, sum of phenolic compounds and formaldehyde, were analysed. Principal component analysis was applied to assess the variability of the water quality and identify regional dependencies. The inorganic ion composition in the majority of the studied samples meets WHO and EU requirements for drinking water intended for human consumption and poses no human health risk. However, an individual non-cancer-causing health index for nitrates and the values of Water Quality Index show a possible threat of ingesting the studied drinking water. The presence of surfactants (0.1-0.65 mgL-1), phenolic compounds (0.025-1.76 mgL-1) and formaldehyde (0.04-0.32 mgL-1) may also pose a risk to human, animal, and aquatic life. Additionally, in-situ measurements for E. coli and Total Coliforms conducted during the last field campaign in Madagascar (2022) revealed that all studied drinking water sources ranged from intermediate risk to unsafe. This result calls for the urgent need to enhance WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services in the studied areas. The presence of both chemical and microbiological pollutants shows the need for the local authorities to develop and implement a catchment management plan to ensure the protection of water resources from potential pollution, and raise community awareness about the impact of human activity on water resources.

Run-of-river power plants (ROR) represent the majority of hydroelectric plants worldwide. Their environmental impacts are not well documented and are believed to be limited, particularly regarding the contamination of food webs by methylmercury (MeHg), a neurotoxin. RORs are typically installed in small rivers where combined effects of watershed disturbances with dam construction can complicate environmental management. We report a multi-year case study on the Saint-Maurice River (Canada) where an unpredicted temporary increase in MeHg accumulation in predator fish was observed after the construction of two ROR plants. The associated pondages acted as sedimentation basins for mercury (Hg) and organic matter from a watershed disturbed by a forest fire and by logging. This fresh organic carbon likely fueled microbial MeHg production. Hg methylation was more associated with environmental conditions than to the presence of Hg, and main methylating microbial groups were identified. A constructed wetland was a site of significant Hg methylation but was not the main source of the fish Hg increase. Organic carbon degradation was the main driver of MeHg accumulation at the base of the food chain whereas trophic levels explained the variations at the top of the food chain. Overall, carbon cycling was a key driver of Hg dynamics in this system, and ROR plants can cause temporary (ca. 12 years) Hg increase in food webs when developed in disturbed watersheds, although this increase is smaller than for large reservoirs. Recommendations for future ROR construction are to establish a good environmental monitoring plan with initial high temporal resolution and to consider recent and potential watershed disturbances in the plan.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to gases and particulate matter released during volcanic eruptions can prove harmful to population health. This paper reports the preliminary results of the ASHES study, aimed at ascertaining the respiratory health effects of the 2021 volcanic eruption in La Palma Island (Spain) on the adult population without previous respiratory disease.
METHODS: Ambispective cohort study on the healthy adult population. Three exposure groups were considered: Group 1, high exposure; Group 2, moderate exposure; and Group 3, minor or no exposure. We carried out a descriptive analysis of symptoms during and after the eruption, as well as measure lung function after the eruption (through forced spirometry and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide).
RESULTS: The analysis included 474 subjects: 54 in Group 1, 335 in Group 2, and 85 in Group 3. A significant increase in most symptoms was observed for subjects in the groups exposed during the eruption. After the eruption, this increase remained for some symptoms. There seems to be a dose-response relationship, such that the higher the exposure, the higher the odds ratio. A prebronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio<70% was observed in 13.0% of subjects in Group 1, 8.6% of subjects in Group 2, and 7.1% of subjects in Group 3.
CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to report a dose-response relationship between exposure to volcanic eruptions and the presence of symptoms in adults. Furthermore, there is a tendency toward obstructive impairment in individuals with higher exposure.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), broke out in December 2019 in Wuhan city, in the Hubei province of China. Since then, it has spread practically all over the world, disrupting many human activities. In temperate climates overwhelming evidence indicates that its incidence increases significantly during the cold season. Italy was one of the first nations, in which COVID-19 reached epidemic proportions, already at the beginning of 2020. There is therefore enough data to perform a systematic investigation of the correlation between the spread of the virus and the environmental conditions. The objective of this study is the investigation of the relationship between the virus diffusion and the weather, including temperature, wind, humidity and air quality, before the rollout of any vaccine and including rapid variation of the pollutants (not only their long term effects as reported in the literature). Regarding them methodology, given the complexity of the problem and the sparse data, robust statistical tools based on ranking (Spearman and Kendall correlation coefficients) and innovative dynamical system analysis techniques (recurrence plots) have been deployed to disentangle the different influences. In terms of results, the evidence indicates that, even if temperature plays a fundamental role, the morbidity of COVID-19 depends also on other factors. At the aggregate level of major cities, air pollution and the environmental quantities affecting it, particularly the wind intensity, have no negligible effect. This evidence should motivate a rethinking of the public policies related to the containment of this type of airborne infectious diseases, particularly information gathering and traffic management.

This study developed a novel constructed wetland (CW) coupled with a magnetic field for treating domestic wastewater, and the magnetic field distribution was solved and optimised by the finite element method. Herein, we investigated the effects of optimising magnetic field optimisation and studied its impact on CW treatment performance and the responses of a microbial community. The optimisation results showed that the average magnetic field strength of the CW unit increases from 3 to 8 mT, and the proportion of areas with magnetic field strength greater than 5 mT also increases from 30% to 74%. The water quality analysis results showed that the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH4+-N (p < 0.01) was significantly increased by the magnetic field (average 3 mT), increasing by 12.2% and 8.49%, respectively. Moreover, the removal of COD and NH4+-N (p < 0.01) was more significantly increased by M-VFCW(O) (average 8 mT), increasing by 15.58% and 49.1%, respectively. The magnetic field application shifted significantly the abundance of dominant bacteria in CWs. Relative abundance of dominant bacteria such as Proteobacteria (63.3%), Firmicutes (4.72%) and Actinobacteria (2.11%) that played an important role in organics removal and nitrification and denitrification-related bacteria such as Nitrospirae (1.48%) and Planctomycetes (9.58%) significantly promoted in M-VFCW(O). These results suggest that introducing a magnetic field into CWs may improve organics and nitrogen removal via the biological process, and the optimisation of the magnetic field was significant in enhancing the performance of VFCWs.

Heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water pose risks to human health and jeopardize drinking water. Water-related behaviors vary significantly among different age groups and regions. In this study, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of HMs (As, Cd, Cr6+, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and DBPs (bromodichloromethane (BDCM), bromoform, chloroform, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA), and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA)) in drinking water in two Chinese megacities (Beijing in North China and Guangzhou in South China) via multiple exposure pathways were assessed. The results showed that children aged 9 months to 2 years had a total carcinogenic risk (TCR) and hazard index (HI) above acceptable levels, indicating that despite the drinking water quality in the selected megacities meeting the current Chinese national standards (GB 5749-2022), the health risks of exposure to HMs and DBPs in drinking water for local young children should not be neglected. Specifically, the carcinogenic risk (CR) of exposure to As in drinking water for children < 18-years-old, who were divided into different age groups, was 1.5-2.0- and 4.5-5.9-times higher than the TCR of exposure to DBPs in Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. Regarding children aged 9 months to 2 years, the exposure to TCAA accounted for the largest proportion (35.6 %) of the TCR of exposure to DBPs in Beijing drinking water, 5.4-times higher than that in Guangzhou; whereas, the TCR of exposure to DBPs in Guangzhou drinking water was predominantly caused by exposure to chloroform, accounting for 40.6 % of the TCR and 1.5-times higher than that in Beijing. In addition, the CR of exposure to DCAA in drinking water in both megacities accounted for a large proportion of the TCR for children aged 9 months to 2 years. Monte Carlo simulations showed that 62.2 % and 42.6 % of the TCR of simultaneous exposure to As and DBPs in drinking water exceeded the acceptable level for sensitive populations, that is, children aged 1-2 years in Beijing (95th percentile = 4.2 × 10-4) and children aged 9-12 months in Guangzhou (95th percentile = 5.2 × 10-4), respectively. This elaborate health risk assessment sheds light on improving the water quality indices to guarantee drinking water safety in China.

BACKGROUND: Heavy metal ion removal from wastewater has become a global concern due to its extensive negative effects on human health and the environment. The density functional theory is employed to investigate the possibility of removing Pb2+, Hg2+, and Cd2+ ions from wastewater using nano-graphene. Researchers have shown that NG can efficiently remove heavy metals from media. Additionally, it was shown that the adsorption of Pb2+, Hg2+, and Cd2+ ions might reduce the large pristine NG (HOMO-LUMO) gap.
METHODS: HSE06 may accurately represent NG electrical characteristics. The DFT-D3 method was also used to account for Van der Waals interactions in the present study. The results demonstrated that charge transfer and binding energy remained greater in cation-NG systems with greater electron transfer rates. Pb2+, Hg2+, and Cd2+ adsorption results indicated that Egap was significantly reduced by 68%, 15%, and 21%, respectively. The Pb2+@NG complex exhibited the strongest oscillator strength. This may be explained by the enormous occupation number difference between the 2px orbital of the C atoms and the 6 s orbital of the Pb2+ cations. The greater Ebin value of Pb2+@NG is consistent with the increased predicted redshifts (199 nm). DFT (hybrid functional HSE06) studies that rely on time showed that the relevant complexes have \"ligand-to-metal charge transfer\" excitations. In general, it was found that Pb2+@NG had the greatest k value, binding energy, redshifts, and charge transfer rate among the complexes. The theoretical insights of this study may influence experimental efforts to identify NG-based compounds that are effective and efficient at removing pollutants from wastewater.

This study aims to assess the impact of using different fuels in Egyptian Titan Alexandria Portland Cement Company on emissions and concentrations of pollutants (Total suspended particles (TSP), nitrogen dioxide (NO2‎), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)) and their influence on ambient air quality during the period 2014-2020 using AERMOD dispersion model. The results showed that changing the fuel from natural gas in 2014 to coal mixed with alternative fuels (Tire-Derived Fuel (TDF), Dried Sewage Sludge (DSS), and Refuse Derived Fuels (RDF)) in 2015-2020 caused fluctuating variations in pollutant emissions and concentrations. The highest and lowest maximum concentrations of TSP occurred in 2017 and 2014 respectively, where the TSP is positively correlated with coal, RDF, and DSS and negatively correlated with natural gas, diesel, and TDF. Also, the lowest and highest maximum NO2 concentrations were detected in 2020 and 2016 followed by 2017 respectively, where NO2 is positively correlated with DSS and negatively correlated with TDF and varies with diesel, coal, and RDF. Moreover, the maximum concentrations of SO2 were the lowest in 2018 and highest in 2016 followed by 2017 because of its considerable positive correlation with natural gas and DSS and negative correlation with RDF, TDF, and coal. Generally, it was found that increasing the percentage of TDF and RDF with decreasing the percentage of DSS, diesel, and coal will reduce pollutant emissions and concentrations and enhance ambient air quality.

The enzyme-catalyzed metabolic biotransformation of xenobiotics plays a significant role in toxicology evolution and subsequently environmental health risk assessment. Recent studies noted that the phase I human flavin-dependent monooxygenase (e.g., FMO3) can catalyze xenobiotics into more toxic metabolites. However, details of the metabolic mechanisms are insufficient. To fill the mechanism in the gaps, the systemic density functional theory calculations were performed to elucidate diverse FMO-catalyzed oxidation reactions toward environmental pollutants, including denitrification (e.g., nitrophenol), N-oxidation (e.g., nicotine), desulfurization (e.g., fonofos), and dehalogenation (e.g., pentachlorophenol). Similar to the active center compound 0 of cytochrome P450, FMO mainly catalyzed reactions with the structure of the tricyclic isoalloxazine C-4a-hydroperoxide (FADHOOH). As will be shown, FMO-catalyzed pathways are more favorable with a concerted than stepwise mechanism; Deprotonation is necessary to initiate the oxidation reactions for phenolic substrates; The regioselectivity of nicotine by FMO prefers the N-oxidation other than N-demethylation pathway; Formation of the P-S-O triangle ring is the key step for desulfurization of fonofos by FMO. We envision that these fundamental mechanisms catalyzed by FMO with a computational method can be extended to other xenobiotics of similar structures, which may aid the high-throughput screening and provide theoretical predictions in the future.