Sea ice impacts most of the Arctic environment, from ocean circulation and marine ecosystems to animal migration and marine transportation. Sea ice has thinned and decreased in age over the observational record. Ice extent has decreased. Reduced ice cover has warmed the surface ocean, accelerated coastal erosion and impacted biological productivity. Declines in Arctic sea-ice extent cannot be explained by internal climate variability alone and can be attributed to anthropogenic effects.

Antimicrobial resistance profiles and presence of resistance determinants and integrons were evaluated in Salmonellaenterica strains from Brazilian poultry. The analysis of 203 isolates showed that those from the poultry environment (88 isolates) were significantly more resistant to antimicrobials than isolates from other sources, particularly those isolated from poultry by-product meal (106 isolates). Thirty-seven isolates were resistant to at least three antimicrobial classes.

Global warming and climate change is one of the most extensively researched and discussed topical issues affecting the environment. Although there are enough historical evidence to support the theory that climate change is a natural phenomenon, many research scientists are widely in agreement that the increase in temperature in the 20th century is anthropologically related. The associated effects are the variability of rainfall and cyclonic patterns that are being observed globally.

Air pollution today is the most important aspect of environmental study as every progress by mankind has deteriorated the air quality. Artificial technologies have proved insufficient to address this problem. So a better and a natural way to combat the air pollution is plantation. However, all plants do not show the same response to a particular type of pollutant. Hence, all plants cannot remediate all kinds of air pollution. There are various parameters on which plant species are selected for plantation viz. APTI, API, dust accumulating potential, carbon sequestering potential etc.

Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a subclinical enteric condition found in low-income countries that is characterized by intestinal inflammation, reduced intestinal absorption, and gut barrier dysfunction. The researchers aimed to assess if EE impairs the success of oral polio and rotavirus vaccines in infants in Bangladesh. 

Original Source

The observation of high aerosol hygroscopic growth in Madrid is mainly limited to specific atmospheric conditions, such as local stagnation episodes, which take place in winter time. One of these episodes was identified in December 2014 and the hygroscopic growth factor (GF) measurements obtained in such episode were analysed in order to know the influence of the meteorological conditions on aerosol hygroscopic properties.

Original Source

The present work aims at studying a very recent episode of desert dust transport that affected Iberia in mid May 2015. The dust aerosols were detected over Évora, where a varied set of instrumentation for aerosol measurements is installed, including: a CIMEL sunphotometer integrated in AERONET, a Raman Lidar and a TEOM monitor, as well as ceilometer and a microwave radiometer (profiler).

Original Source

Anthropogenic inputs influence the community structure and activities of microorganisms, which may impinge the functioning of estuarine and coastal ecosystem. The aim of the present study was to understand the influence of dissolved heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn) on community structure of cyanobacteria in a nutrient rich tropical estuary, Cochin Estuary (CE), across the southwest coast of India. Dissolved heavy metals were higher in CE during dry season, with Zn as major pollutant.

The effect of the immunomodulator Natstim ® (lyophilised killed bacterial cells from Escherichia coli 29, Escherichia coli J5, Staphylococus aureus 27/58 at amounts corresponding to 10 10 cells of each species, stabilized with Dextrane 40) on growth performance and two factors of natural humoral immunity serum lysozyme concentrations and the activity of the alternative pathway of complement activation (APCA) was investigated. The results for the experimental group showed a tendency towards higher live weight at 35 and 49 days of age.

European governments have banned the use of three common neonicotinoid pesticides due to insufficiently identified risks to bees. This policy decision is controversial given the absence of clear consistency between toxicity assessments of those substances in the laboratory and in the field. Although laboratory trials report deleterious effects in honeybees at trace levels, field surveys reveal no decrease in the performance of honeybee colonies in the vicinity of treated fields.