The implications of COVID-19 in the ambient environment and psychological conditions

The influence of aqueous butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) flower extract on active and intelligent properties of furcellaran Double-Layered films - in vitro and in vivo research

Innovative, intelligent and active double-layer films, based on furcellaran and with the addition of gelatin hydrolysates, have been obtained for the first time. An aqueous extract of clitoria flower in 3 concentrations was included in the 1st FUR layer. The films demonstrated strong antimicrobial effects, but did not exhibit fungicidal properties. The antioxidant properties of the films were within the range of 2.27-3.92 mM Trolox/mg (FRAP method) and 36.67-61.24 % (DPPH method). The films were used as active packaging materials in salmon fillets, which were stored for a period of 12 days in 4 °C. Analysis concerning microbiological properties of the stored fillets showed the possibility of extending their shelf-life by 6 days. Lipid oxidation, determined by TBARS has delayed. The obtained films are a promising material for the packaging industry. This is an important aspect within the context of global food waste and also the need to reduce synthetic materials.

Water Quality and Water Pollution in Time of COVID-19: Positive and Negative Repercussions

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the new COVID-19 disease a pandemic. Most countries responded with a lockdown to reduce its effects, which brought beneficial consequences to the environment in many regions, but the pandemic also raised a series of challenges. This review proposes an assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic positive and negative impacts on water bodies on different continents. By applying a search protocol on the Web of Science platform, a scientific bank of 35 compatible studies was obtained out of the 62 open-access articles that were initially accessible. Regarding the positive impacts, the SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in sewage waters is a useful mechanism in the promptly exposure of community infections and, during the pandemic, many water bodies all over the world had lower pollution levels. The negative impacts are as follows: SARS-CoV-2 presence in untreated sewage water amplifies the risk to human health; there is a lack of adequate elimination processes of plastics, drugs, and biological pollution in wastewater treatment plants; the amount of municipal and medical waste that pollutes water bodies increased; and waste recycling decreased. Urgent preventive measures need to be taken to implement effective solutions for water protection.

Nonlinearity in the relationship between COVID-19 cases and carbon damages: controlling financial development, green energy, and R&D expenditures for shared prosperity

The world faces a high alert of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), leading to a million deaths and could become infected to reach a billion numbers. A sizeable amount of scholarly work has been available on different aspects of social-economic and environmental factors. At the same time, many of these studies found the linear (direct) causation between the stated factors. In many cases, the direct relationship is not apparent. The world is unsure about the possible determining factors of the COVID-19 pandemic, which need to be known through conducting nonlinearity (indirect) relationships, which caused the pandemic crisis. The study examined the nonlinear relationship between COVID-19 cases and carbon damages, managing financial development, renewable energy consumption, and innovative capability in a cross section of 65 countries. The results show that inbound foreign direct investment first increases and later decreases because of the increasing coronavirus cases. Further, the rise and fall in the research and development expenditures and population density exhibits increasing coronavirus cases across countries. The continued economic growth initial decreases later increase by adopting standardized operating procedures to contain coronavirus disease. The inter-temporal relationship shows that green energy source and carbon damages would likely influence the coronavirus cases with a variance of 17.127% and 5.440%, respectively, over a time horizon. The policymakers should be carefully designing sustainable healthcare policies, as the cost of carbon emissions leads to severe healthcare issues, which are likely to get exposed to contagious diseases, including COVID-19. The sustainable policy instruments, including renewable fuels in industrial production, advancement in cleaner production technologies, the imposition of carbon taxes on dirty production, and environmental certifications, are a few possible remedies that achieve healthcare sustainability agenda globally.

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Aquatic Environment and Implications on Aquatic Food Production

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulted in ecological changes of aquatic ecosystems, affected the aquatic food supply chain, and disrupted the socio-economy of global populations. Due to reduced human activities during the pandemic, the aquatic environment was reported to improve its water quality, wild fishery stocks, and biodiversity. However, the sudden surge of plastics and biomedical wastes during the COVID-19 pandemic masked the positive impacts and increased the risks of aquatic pollution, especially microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and disinfectants. The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater treatment plants to natural water bodies could have serious impacts on the environment and human health, especially in developing countries with poor waste treatment facilities. The presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in human excreta, wastewaters, and sludge and its transmission to aquatic ecosystems could have negative impacts on fisheries and aquaculture industries, which have direct implications on food safety and security. COVID-19 pandemic-related environmental pollution showed a high risk to aquatic food security and human health. This paper reviews the impacts of COVID-19, both positive and negative, and assesses the causes and consequences of anthropogenic activities that can be managed through effective regulation and management of eco-resources for the revival of biodiversity, ecosystem health, and sustainable aquatic food production.