The effects of various chemicals on lung, skin and eye: a review

Heterojunctions of rGO/Metal Oxide Nanocomposites as Promising Gas-Sensing Materials—A Review

Monitoring environmental hazards and pollution control is vital for the detection of harmful toxic gases from industrial activities and natural processes in the environment, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ammonia (NH₃), hydrogen (H₂), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂). This is to ensure the preservation of public health and promote workplace safety. Graphene and its derivatives, especially reduced graphene oxide (rGO), have been designated as ideal materials in gas-sensing devices as their electronic properties highly influence the potential to adsorb specified toxic gas molecules. Despite its exceptional sensitivity at low gas concentrations, the sensor selectivity of pristine graphene is relatively weak, which limits its utility in many practical gas sensor applications. In view of this, the hybridization technique through heterojunction configurations of rGO with metal oxides has been explored, which showed promising improvement and a synergistic effect on the gas-sensing capacity, particularly at room temperature sensitivity and selectivity, even at low concentrations of the target gas. The unique features of graphene as a preferential gas sensor material are first highlighted, followed by a brief discussion on the basic working mechanism, fabrication, and performance of hybridized rGO/metal oxide-based gas sensors for various toxic gases, including NO₂, NH₃, H₂, H₂S, CO₂, and SO₂. The challenges and prospects of the graphene/metal oxide-based based gas sensors are presented at the end of the review.

Prevalence of accident occurrence among scientific laboratory workers of the public university in Lebanon and the impact of safety measures

Background

Workers are exposed to several risks in academic laboratories due to the presence of potentially hazardous substances. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of accident occurrence and associated risk factors among laboratory workers at the scientific laboratories of the public university in Lebanon and the impact of safety measures training and availability.

Methods

In this observational study, a survey was conducted for one year in scientific laboratories at faculties of the public university.

Results

Among the participants (N = 220), 45.0% have had accidents; the main cause was exposure to chemicals (73.7%) and more specifically by inhalation (45.4%). Females (85.9%) were more exposed to accidents than males. Laboratory workers with a master's degree, a full-time schedule, and more than ten years of experience were significantly more exposed to accidents (p < 0.05). A significant association was found between accident occurrence and training on management of hazardous products (p = 0.044), risks related to workplace (p = 0.030), eyewash and emergency shower (p < 0.001), first aid (p = 0.012), and facial protection availability (p = 0.019). In spite of the lack of safety culture and efficient training on laboratory safety, participants have shown a very good perception regarding safety measures to be applied in case of work accidents.

Conclusion

Based on our findings, the prevalence of accident occurrence is elevated among lab workers at the public university. The impact of regular training on laboratory safety preventive measures is of great importance to ensure the efficiency of occupational health and safety in scientific laboratories.

Switching to nanonutrients for sustaining agroecosystems and environment: the challenges and benefits in moving up from ionic to particle feeding

The worldwide agricultural enterprise is facing immense pressure to intensify to feed the world's increasing population while the resources are dwindling. Fertilizers which are deemed as indispensable inputs for food, fodder, and fuel production now also represent the dark side of the intensive food production system. With most crop production systems focused on increasing the quantity of produce, indiscriminate use of fertilizers has created havoc for the environment and damaged the fiber of the biogeosphere. Deteriorated nutritional quality of food and contribution to impaired ecosystem services are the major limiting factors in the further growth of the fertilizer sector. Nanotechnology in agriculture has come up as a better and seemingly sustainable solution to meet production targets as well as maintaining the environmental quality by use of less quantity of raw materials and active ingredients, increased nutrient use-efficiency by plants, and decreased environmental losses of nutrients. However, the use of nanofertilizers has so far been limited largely to controlled environments of laboratories, greenhouses, and institutional research experiments; production and availability on large scale are still lagging yet catching up fast. Despite perceivable advantages, the use of nanofertilizers is many times debated for adoption at a large scale. The scenario is gradually changing, worldwide, towards the use of nanofertilizers, especially macronutrients like nitrogen (e.g. market release of nano-urea to replace conventional urea in South Asia), to arrest environmental degradation and uphold vital ecosystem services which are in critical condition. This review offers a discussion on the purpose with which the nanofertilizers took shape, the benefits which can be achieved, and the challenges which nanofertilizers face for further development and real-world use, substantiated with the significant pieces of scientific evidence available so far.