Microplastics (MPs), including polymers such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS), are widespread environmental contaminants detected in air, water, soil, and food. These particles originate from the breakdown of larger plastics and from direct industrial and consumer sources, including packaging, textiles, and personal care products. MPs enter the human body primarily through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact, with food, water, and air serving as major exposure pathways. Once internalized, MPs have been found in various human tissues and biological fluids, indicating their capacity for bioaccumulation. Toxicological studies in experimental models and occupational settings link MP exposure to oxidative stress, inflammation, cellular dysfunction, and potential organ toxicity, including effects on the gastrointestinal, respiratory, immune, reproductive, and nervous systems. PVC microplastics, in particular, are associated with liver toxicity and increased cancer risk in occupationally exposed populations. MPs can also act as vectors for environmental pollutants and plastic-associated chemicals, further amplifying health risks. This review summarizes the classification, major sources, exposure routes, and toxicological activity of MPs. A comprehensive understanding of MP properties is essential for developing effective strategies to mitigate their persistent harmful effects on public health and the environment. Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Feature selection (FS) constitutes a series of processes used to decide which relevant features/attributes to include and which irrelevant features to exclude for predictive modeling. It is a crucial task that aids machine learning classifiers in reducing error rates, computation time, overfitting, and improving classification accuracy. It has demonstrated its efficacy in myriads of domains, ranging from its use for text classification (TC), text mining, and image recognition. While there are many traditional FS methods, recent research efforts have been devoted to applying metaheuristic algorithms as FS techniques for the TC task. However, there are few literature reviews concerning TC. Therefore, a comprehensive overview was systematicall
... Show MoreWith the rapid development of smart devices, people's lives have become easier, especially for visually disabled or special-needs people. The new achievements in the fields of machine learning and deep learning let people identify and recognise the surrounding environment. In this study, the efficiency and high performance of deep learning architecture are used to build an image classification system in both indoor and outdoor environments. The proposed methodology starts with collecting two datasets (indoor and outdoor) from different separate datasets. In the second step, the collected dataset is split into training, validation, and test sets. The pre-trained GoogleNet and MobileNet-V2 models are trained using the indoor and outdoor se
... Show MoreCassava, a significant crop in Africa, Asia, and South America, is a staple food for millions. However, classifying cassava species using conventional color, texture, and shape features is inefficient, as cassava leaves exhibit similarities across different types, including toxic and non-toxic varieties. This research aims to overcome the limitations of traditional classification methods by employing deep learning techniques with pre-trained AlexNet as the feature extractor to accurately classify four types of cassava: Gajah, Manggu, Kapok, and Beracun. The dataset was collected from local farms in Lamongan Indonesia. To collect images with agricultural research experts, the dataset consists of 1,400 images, and each type of cassava has
... Show MoreAn oil spill is a leakage of pipelines, vessels, oil rigs, or tankers that leads to the release of petroleum products into the marine environment or on land that happened naturally or due to human action, which resulted in severe damages and financial loss. Satellite imagery is one of the powerful tools currently utilized for capturing and getting vital information from the Earth's surface. But the complexity and the vast amount of data make it challenging and time-consuming for humans to process. However, with the advancement of deep learning techniques, the processes are now computerized for finding vital information using real-time satellite images. This paper applied three deep-learning algorithms for satellite image classification
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