Introduction: Mercury is a highly toxic and persistent contaminant found in food and parts of the environment. Over the years, global research on mercury poison has soared owing to concerns about its effects on human health, occupational safety, and environmental sustainability. Although numerous studies have identified and examined the various types, sources, toxicity, exposure, and impacts of mercury, comprehensive studies on the research landscape and scientific developments on the subject areas are currently lacking. Therefore, this paper shows a bibliometric analysis (BA) and literature review (LR) of the top publications, funders, organisations, and countries working on Mercury research worldwide. Methods: The research landscape on the subject area was examined by BA from 1995 to 2021, whereas the scientific developments were highlighted through LR. Results: Results showed that mercury research has gained global prominence since the discovery of the Minamata disease in 1956. The most prolific mercury researchers, institutions, and funders are from the United States, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and China, whereas the publications on Mercury research doubled over the period. The top source titles for publications on Mercury are Neurotoxicology, Science of the Total Environment, and Environmental Health Perspectives. However, Micheal Aschner (US) and Takashi Yorifuji (Japan) are the most prolific researchers. Co-occurrence analysis revealed that mercury, methyl mercury, fish, toxicity, and Minamata disease are the most cited keywords, which shows the correlation nexus between fish consumption and mercury poisoning. Conclusion: The LR showed that mercury research is widely investigated due to global concerns about its impact on human health, safety, and the environment.

Green surfactant (GS) flooding, an environmentally friendly chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (cEOR) method, is explored in this molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study. This study evaluates the ability of (S)-2-dodecanamido-aminobutanedioic as a GS for cEOR, assessing its performance with hexane (C6), dodecane (C12), and eicosane (C20) as representative oils. In the case of the bulk system, a comprehensive molecular-level investigation provides structural details such as the radial distribution function, solvent-accessible surface area, GS adsorption dynamics, diffusivity, and emulsion stability of the GS, oil, and water systems. Also the impact of the three distinct oils on interfacial tension was examined in the existence of GS molecules. The findings reveal rapid GS molecule aggregation and adsorption on oil droplets, with various impacts on emulsion stability depending on the oil type. Additionally, GS enhances the aggregation of heavy C20 oil molecules in a water medium. The study demonstrates GS’s role as an effective emulsifier, facilitating oil droplet recovery, with electrostatic interactions governing micelle formation and van der Waals interactions influencing oil droplet emulsification. These results align with prior experimental data, affirming GS’s promising application potential in cEOR while prioritizing environmental sustainability.

Introduction: The processing of crude oil is characterized by numerous hazards, which have significant health, safety, and environmental impacts on neighboring communities. The occurrence of mercury and its toxic derivatives is considered one of the many negative impacts of oil and gas operations. However, there is limited research on mercury and its negative effects on workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. This study examines the occurrence, exposure, and symptoms of mercury on the health and safety of oil and gas workers in Oman. It also explores the acute/chronic effects of mercury poisoning on the maintenance and inspection workers, who are more prone to the adverse effects of mercury poisoning during oil and gas operations. Methods: The two-pronged approach of literature review and survey questionnaire was used to deduce the effects of mercury exposure and poisoning using 68 respondents with 1 – 6 years of working experience in the sector. Results: Based on the questionnaire response rate of 72%, the results showed that over 90% of participants had experienced symptoms of elemental, organic, and methyl mercury poisoning. The common symptoms experienced are headaches, insomnia, weakness, hearing impairment, visual and sensory abilities. However, the respondents who experienced methyl mercury (MeHg) symptoms are due to consuming seafood and cigarettes, whereas elemental and organic mercury symptoms are due to oil and gas operations. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for robust health and safety measures to effectively detect, monitor and eliminate mercury compounds responsible for poisoning maintenance and inspection workers.

Educational institutions are increasingly recognized as important contributors to climate change mitigation and sustainable development. However, information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from schools in the Sultanate of Oman remains limited. This case study presents a carbon footprint assessment of six public and private schools in Saham, Oman, selected based on data availability and willingness to participate, using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol framework. Annual operational data were collected and classified into Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (purchased electricity), and Scope 3 (other indirect emissions), considering major emission sources including electricity consumption, transportation fuel use, refrigerant leakage, water consumption, and solid waste generation. The results revealed substantial variation in carbon emissions among the six investigated schools, with total annual emissions ranging from 84.5 to 659.2 t CO₂-eq year⁻¹. Public schools exhibited higher total emissions owing to their larger student populations and operational scale, whereas some private schools demonstrated higher emission intensities on a per-student basis. Per-student emissions ranged from 0.48 to 0.85 t CO₂-eq student⁻¹ year⁻¹ and estimated per-floor-area emissions ranged from approximately 44 to 254 kg CO₂-eq m⁻² year⁻¹, highlighting significant differences in resource-use efficiency among institutions. Across all schools, Scope 2 emissions were the dominant contributor to the carbon footprint, primarily due to electricity consumption for air conditioning and lighting. Scope 1 emissions, mainly associated with transportation fuel use and refrigerant leakage, represented the second-largest source, while Scope 3 emissions from water consumption and waste management contributed a relatively minor share. Differences between public and private schools were descriptive rather than statistically significant (exact Mann–Whitney U test, n = 3 per group; p > 0.05 for all comparisons), consistent with the limited statistical power of this small, exploratory sample. A simple deterministic sensitivity analysis indicated that total emissions estimates were most sensitive to the grid electricity emission factor, with a ±10% variation in the emission factor resulting in a ±7.5% change in the estimated total emissions. This study provides one of the first school-level carbon emissions baseline datasets for Oman and offers a preliminary benchmark against Gulf-region and international school carbon footprint studies. The findings identify electricity consumption, cooling infrastructure, and transportation systems as the principal drivers of emissions and quantify indicative emission-reduction potential for rooftop photovoltaics, LED retrofits, and HVAC efficiency upgrades using literature-based performance ranges, reframed here as mitigation priorities rather than an evaluated decarbonization pathway. These findings are based on a small, single-city convenience sample and should not be generalized to all schools in Oman; they are intended as a preliminary, locally grounded baseline to guide future, larger-scale carbon-management research and evidence-based decision-making in the education sector, in support of Oman Vision 2040 and long-term net-zero emission targets.

This study evaluates the performance of five small-scale solar food dryers operated under natural convection to dry potato slices, focusing on the influence of different thermal collector materials on drying efficiency under Omani climatic conditions. The dryers, identical in size and design, differed only in the collector materials used: white marble (WM), black-painted marble (BM), gray rock (GR), granular carbon (GC), and a control black absorber floor (BAF). Results showed that darker collectors (BM and GC) achieved higher surface temperatures (50 52 °C) compared to lighter collectors (≈45 °C for WM), due to improved solar absorption and reduced reflectivity. Consequently, the highest initial drying rates were obtained using GC and BM (0.12 g/min and 0.11 g/min, respectively), while WM exhibited the slowest rate (0.035 g/min). The moisture content of the potato slices was reduced by approximately 90–93% within 4–5 hours for GC and BM, while WM required more than 7 h to achieve similar results. The findings demonstrate that both collector color and material significantly affect thermal performance and drying kinetics. However, during the later drying stage, internal moisture diffusion limited the drying rate, indicating that forced air convection could further enhance performance. This study provides a foundation for developing cost-effective, small-scale solar dryers suitable for rural food processing applications in arid regions like Oman.

Introduction: Occupational noise and vibration are common physical hazards across many industries and are associated with substantial auditory, musculoskeletal, vascular, neurological, and other non‑auditory health effects. This narrative review integrates current evidence to support recognition, assessment, and prevention of these hazards in workplace settings. Methods: A narrative review approach was adopted, consistent with established narrative‑review guidelines and SANRA criteria. Literature searches in major databases focused on occupational noise, hand‑arm and whole‑body vibration, health outcomes, exposure assessment, and prevention. Peer‑reviewed studies, reviews, and authoritative guidelines were included if they addressed exposure characterization, auditory or non‑auditory and musculoskeletal or neurovascular health effects, assessment methods or standards, or engineering, administrative, and personal protective controls. Evidence was synthesized thematically without formal risk‑of‑bias assessment or meta‑analysis. Results: The review indicates that hazardous noise and vibration exposures remain widespread and contribute to noise‑induced hearing loss, cardiovascular and psychological disorders, hand‑arm vibration syndrome, low back pain, and other musculoskeletal and neurovascular conditions. Assessment commonly uses time‑weighted or equivalent continuous sound levels for noise and frequency‑weighted acceleration metrics for vibration, in accordance with international standards and regulations. Multiple engineering, administrative, and personal protective measures are available, but fully integrated workplace programs are still limited. Conclusion: This review provides an occupationally focused framework to strengthen systematic management of combined noise and vibration hazards.