COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the environment: A global perspective.

Many researchers worldwide have focused on the health impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic without paying much emphasis to the environmental impacts associated with the pandemic. Evidence suggests that prior to the pandemic there was an alarming increase in environmental pollution due to rising industrialization, in particular in urban areas. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, satellite data over Asia and Europe showed a substantial decrease in air pollution, in particular nitrogen dioxide. However, the increase in industrial and household wastes may pose a significant challenge to environmental management. The improper management of these wastes poses an unforeseen "knock-on" effect on human health and the environment. It is imperative to establish an effective and safe procedure, for handling and disposing of the consequential wastes accumulating during the pandemic. The review aims to highlight both the beneficial and detrimental effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the natural environment and to discuss the possible strategies to improve the quality of the global environment during the period of the pandemic and beyond.

Effect of ascorbic acid administration on erythrocyte osmotic fragility of pigs transported by road during the hot-dry season.

The experiments were performed in order to determine the effect of 8-h road transportation of pigs on erythrocytes osmotic fragility during the hot-dry season, and the ameliorative role of ascorbic acid. Twenty-three adult pigs comprising of both sexes served as subjects for the study. Thirteen pigs administered ascorbic acid (AA) per os 30 min before transportation, at a dose rate of 100 mg/kg served as experimental animals, while ten pigs administered with distilled water per os served as control, and were transported for 8 h during the hot-dry season. EDTA blood samples collected a day before (pre-transportation), immediately after 8-h transportation and 7 days post-transportation were used to determine erythrocyte osmotic fragility. The ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) measured within the vehicle ranged between 30.5-39.0 °C and 40.0-71.0% respectively. These values were outside the thermoneutral zone for the pig, indicating that the season was thermally stressful. Results obtained showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in percent haemolysis recorded at NaCl concentrations of 0.4% and 0.6% immediately after transportation in experimental pigs and at 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 0.9% NaCl concentrations in experimental pigs 7 days post-transportation. In conclusion, result from the present study indicated that 8-h road transportation during the hot-dry season could induce stress resulting in haemolysis of erythrocytes and AA administration ameliorated the stress.