Comprehensive estimation of COVID-19, including infection, death, excess mortality, case fatality rate (CFR), and infection fatality rate (IFR), is essential for understanding the pandemic's pattern. The location-specific estimates of infection, death, and excess mortality of COVID-19 from January 1, 2020, to February 11, 2024, and we have cumulative infections and cumulative deaths worldwide. Using the WHO dataset and Our World in Data, we estimated infection, mortality, excess mortality, CFR, and IFR in 234 countries and territories during COVID-19. We found a cumulative 0.774631 billion infections and 7.031 million deaths worldwide. The global highest infection peak was noted on December 25, 2022, with 42.5 million infection cases. Similarly, considering region-wise infection, cumulative infection was highest in Europe (428.4 M) and lowest in Africa (9.6 M). The global highest death peak was noted on January 24, 2021, with 103.7 K million deaths; this might be due to the spread of the Delta variant in some regions of Asia. Similarly, region-wise mortality was calculated. The considerable excess mortality pattern was noted in Europe, South America, and North America. Decreasing trends in excess mortality were noted in Oceania, Asia, and Africa. Our studies could be beneficial in formulating public health strategies and implementing policies about those regions, which are crucial to global health and will help future pandemics.

We probed the status quo of arsenic (As) and related cocontaminants like iron (Fe), fluoride (F-), and uranium (U) reported in aquifers of the eastern Himalayan region including the northeastern Indian states, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins, and Bangladesh. Our study appraised the hydro-geobiological features and probable sources of cocontamination and corroborated the variability concerning the conditions in Bangladesh. Increased awareness, advanced analytical capabilities, and support from international organizations have led to the identification of new contamination sites, with As levels in some areas exceeding the permissible value of 10 mu g L-1, reaching up to 986 mu g L-1. Key factors include mineral deposits enriched with As, Fe, U, and F- in the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone and the Siwalik Neogene sediments, influenced by iron (hydr)oxide and microbial processes, as well as growing reliance on groundwater. In northeastern India, cocontaminants are more prevalent due to diverse land use, quartzite, shale, sandstone, and clay deposits. In contrast, the contamination in Bangladesh is mainly associated with aquifer geology. Leveraging data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), this study identifies the significant challenge of groundwater overexploitation in both regions assessed. These findings offer opportunities to support sustainable goals, raise awareness, and implement mitigation to protect vulnerable communities.

This study aimed to conduct first robust meta-meta-analysis on mecC and mecA-positive MRSA strains, determining their overall prevalence and temporal trends. It encompassed 14 meta-analyses, involving 322,269 samples from 553 index studies. MRSA strains exhibited mecA / mecC positivity ranging from 0.90 % to 69.98 %. Varied AMSTAR and QUOROM scores were observed. mecC-positive MRSA prevalence was 2.41 % (95 % CI: 0.72–7.78 %). Human mecA-positive MRSA had 21.77 % prevalence (95 % CI: 9.08–43.67 %), animal samples had 7.08 % prevalence (95 % CI: 3.93–12.42 %), and worldwide prevalence was 14.58 % (95 % CI: 6.61–29.14 %). Temporal trends reveal fluctuations, mecA prevalence spiked to 52.68 % in 2012 and decreased to 7.11 % in 2022. For mecC gene, the year 2015 marked a low incidence of 0.41 % (95 % CI: 0.05–3.54 %). Overall, mecA gene carriage surpassed mecC in MRSA strains, especially in humans.

Water quality is a critical global issue, especially in urban and semi-urban regions where natural and anthropogenic factors significantly influence surface water systems. This study evaluates the hydrochemical characteristics of surface water in the North of Tehran Rivers (NTRs), an essential water resource in a rapidly urbanizing region, using advanced clustering techniques, including Hierarchical Clustering Analysis (HCA), Fuzzy C-Means (FCM), Genetic Algorithm Fuzzy C-Means (GAFCM), and Self-Organizing Map (SOM). The research aims to address the scientific challenge of understanding spatial and temporal variability in water quality, focusing on physicochemical parameters, hydrochemical facies, and contamination sources. Water samples from six rivers collected over four seasons in 2020 were analyzed and classified into distinct clusters based on their chemical composition, revealing significant seasonal and spatial differences. Results showed that FCM and GAFCM consistently categorized the NTRs into two clusters during winter and spring and three in summer and autumn. These findings were supported by HCA and SOM, which identified clusters corresponding to specific river segments and contamination levels. The primary hydrochemical processes identified were mineral dissolution and weathering, with calcite, dolomite, and aragonite significantly influencing water chemistry. Additionally, human activities, such as wastewater discharge, were shown to contribute to elevated sulfate, nitrate, and phosphate concentrations, further corroborated by microbial analyses. By integrating HCA, FCM, and GAFCM with an artificial neural network (ANN)-based clustering method (SOM), this study provides a robust framework for evaluating surface water quality. The findings, supported by Gibbs diagrams, Hounslow ion ratio, and saturation indices, highlight the dominance of rock weathering and human impacts in shaping the hydrochemical dynamics of the NTRs. These insights contribute to the scientific understanding of water quality dynamics and offer practical guidance for sustainable water resource management and environmental protection in developing urban areas.

This article provides an overview of the contamination of micro(nano)plastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their behavior in natural environmental settings. Interaction between micro(nano)plastics and PFAS is governed by functional groups, polarity, crystallinity, surface area, surface morphology, size, solution chemistry (i.e. pH, salinity, and organic matter), aging, and biofilm. Micro(nano)plastic adsorbs long-chain PFAS primarily via strong hydrophobic attraction (hydrophobic C–F chain tail of PFAS molecule), strong electrostatic attraction due to short-chain PFAS, and pore filling (high quantities of mesopores). Finally, this paper concludes the co-transport and enrichment of micro(nano)plastics and PFAS in sediments and aquatic environments.

Lake Victoria is the world’s largest tropical lake and the third-largest water body, providingsignificant water resources for surrounding environments including the cultural, societal, andlivelihood needs of people in its basin and along the White Nile. The aim of this study was to usedecade-long time series of measured lake flow in the lake system and phosphorus deposition todevelop a suitable numerical model based on shallow water equations (SWE) for assessing waterquality in Lake Victoria, an increasingly important tool under climate variation. Different tech-niques were combined to identify a numerical model that included: i) a high-resolution SWEmodel to establish raindrop diffusion to trace pollutants; ii) a two-dimensional (2D) verticallyintegrated SWE model to establish lake surface flow and vertically transported wind speed flowacting on lake surface water by wind stress; and iii) a site-specific phosphorus deposition sub-model to calculate atmospheric deposition in the lake. A smooth (non-oscillatory) solution wasobtained by applying a high-resolution scheme for a raindrop diffusion model. Analysis with thevertically integrated SWE model generated depth averages for flow velocity and associatedchanges in water level profile in the lake system and showed unidirectional whole lake windblowing from the southwest to northeast. The atmospheric phosphorous deposition modelenabled water value assessment for mass balances with different magnitudes of both inflows andoutflows demonstrating annual total phosphorus at 13, 500 tons concentrating at mid-lakewestern and eastern parts. The model developed here is simple and suitable for use in assess-ing flow changes and lake level changes and can serve as a tool in studies of lake bathymetry andnutrient and pollution transport processes. Our study opens towards refining models of complexshallow-water systems

Salinity hinders the growth of many crops common in the diet, such as rice, wheat and maize when cultivated in coastal salinity areas. Given the limited availability of cultivable land and the increasing growth of the population, it is necessary to enhance productivity. In this paper, we present an innovative approach to adopting Halotolerant Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (HPGPR) to enhance salt-tolerant rice varieties to solve salinity stress and enhance crop production. HPGPR has functions to overcome plant growth and development and is the most efficient bioinoculant for rice in saline environments. This approach can be considered a potential method because of the cost-effective and environmentally friendly impacts in agricultural production, which involves salt-affected areas.

The widespread presence of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F−) in groundwater poses substantial risks to human health on a global scale. These elements have been identified as the most prevalent geogenic contaminants in groundwater in northern Mexico. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the human health and ecological risks associated with the content of As and F− in the Meoqui-Delicias aquifer, which is in one of Mexico's most emblematic irrigation districts. Concentrations of As and F− were measured in 38 groundwater samples using ICP-MS and ion chromatography, respectively. Overall, these elements showed a similar trend across the aquifer, revealing a positive correlation between them and pH. The concentration of As and F− in the groundwater ranged from 5.3 μg/L to 303 μg/L and from 0.5 mg/L to 8.8 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, the levels of As and F− surpassed the established national standards for safe drinking water in 92% and 97% of samples, respectively. Given that groundwater is used for both agricultural purposes and human activities, this study also assessed the associated human health and ecological risks posed by these elements using Monte Carlo simulation and Species Sensitivity Distribution. The findings disclosed a significant noncarcinogenic health risk associated with exposure to As and F−, as well as an unacceptable carcinogenic health risk to As through water consumption for both adults and children. Furthermore, a high ecological risk to aquatic species was identified for F− and high to medium risks for As in the sampling sites. Therefore, the findings in this study provide valuable information for Mexican authorities and international organizations (e.g., WHO) about the adverse effects that any exposure without treatment to groundwater from this region represents for human health.

Geogenic groundwater contaminants (GGCs) affect drinking-water availability and safety, with up to 60% of groundwater sources in some regions contaminated by more than recommended concentrations. As a result, an estimated 300–500 million people are at risk of severe health impacts and premature mortality. In this Review, we discuss the sources, occurrences and cycling of arsenic, fluoride, selenium and uranium, which are GGCs with widespread distribution and/or high toxicity. The global distribution of GGCs is controlled by basin geology and tectonics, with GGC enrichment in both orogenic systems and cratonic basement rocks. This regional distribution is broadly influenced by climate, geomorphology and hydrogeochemical evolution along groundwater flow paths. GGC distribution is locally heterogeneous and affected by in situ lithology, groundwater flow and water–rock interactions. Local biogeochemical cycling also determines GGC concentrations, as arsenic, selenium and uranium mobilizations are strongly redox-dependent. Increasing groundwater extraction and land-use changes are likely to modify GGC distribution and extent, potentially exacerbating human exposure to GGCs, but the net impact of these activities is unknown. Integration of science, policy, community involvement programmes and technological interventions is needed to manage GGC-enriched groundwater and ensure equitable access to clean water.

The quest for safe water in Bangladesh has resulted in the shift of water sources and extraction methods throughout history. The study aims to investigate the factors driving these changes, assess the consequences of current water consumption trends, and propose solutions for sustainable water management. The research highlights the historical shift from surface water to tube-wells for accessing groundwater, driven by their affordability and user-friendly nature. However, the discovery of arsenic contamination in tube-well water raised serious public health concerns, leading to the exploration of alternative water sources and extraction techniques. Various methods such as dug wells, pond sand filters, piped water supply, rainwater harvesting, and well-sharing have been adopted by communities and indigenous groups to ensure access to safe and clean water. The study reveals disparities in the installation of deep tube-wells by the government and NGOs, often overlooking safer water sources available at shallower depths. Furthermore, the study discusses the consequences of high-yielding technologies and increased water consumption in Sonargaon Upazila, leading to groundwater-related disasters and a decline in the groundwater table. Private irrigation facilities have become more popular among people, contributing to the declining groundwater table. This study provides insights into the changing water sources and extraction methods in Bangladesh, identifies the consequences of current water consumption trends, and proposes strategies for sustainable water management. The findings underline the importance of informed decision-making, government intervention, and community involvement to address the challenges of groundwater depletion and contamination in the region.