Search results for: soil organic carbon stock

Authors: R. P. Leite, M. A. S. Diamante, F. R. Gadelha, L. H. G. Ribeiro, H. Dolder

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Although industrial processes are the major contributor to increase cadmium environmental concentration, phosphate fertilizers have significantly increased its percentage in soil, making food and tobacco the main source of cadmium exposure to humans. Worldwide population surveys have shown a consistent link between environmental exposure to cadmium and several idiopathic pathologies among non-occupationally exposed subjects. Epidemiological investigations and animal experiments paralleling human chronic exposure to environmental cadmium are, therefore of major importance for establishing a relationship between cadmium and several pathologies of unspecific etiology. In the present study, Wistar rats were randomly divided into three different groups and subjected to increasing cadmium doses ranging between low to moderate environmentally realistic doses. At the end of the treatment, the testis was dissected and subjected to biochemical and histological analyses. Our data show a significant disturbance in the cellular oxidative status for all cadmium-treated group, accompanied by morphological changes in blood vessel lumen.

Keywords: cadmium, blood vessel, environmental realistic doses, oxidative stress

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Authors: Zarrin Nasri

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Microwave irradiation is an innovative technology in the petroleum industry. This kind of energy has been considered to convert vacuum residue of oil refineries into useful products. The advantages of microwaves energy are short time, fast heating, high energy efficiency, and precise process control. In this paper, the effects of catalyst type and amount have been investigated on upgrading of vacuum residue using microwave irradiation. The vacuum residue used in this research is from Tehran oil refinery, Iran. Additives include different catalysts, active carbon as sensitizer, and sodium borohydride as a solid hydrogen donor. Various catalysts contain iron, nickel, molybdenum disulfide, iron oxide and copper. The amount of catalysts in two cases of presence and absence of sodium borohydride have been evaluated. The objective parameters include temperature, asphaltene, viscosity, and API. The specifications of vacuum residue are API, 8.79, viscosity, 16391 cSt (60°C), asphaltene, 13.3 wt %. The results show that there is a significant difference between the effects of catalysts. Among the used catalysts, Fe powder is the best catalyst for upgrading vacuum residue using microwave irradiation and resulted in asphaltene reduction, 31.3 %; viscosity reduction, 76.43 %; and 23.43 % in API increase.

Keywords: asphaltene, microwave, upgrading, vacuum residue, viscosity

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Authors: Desta Gebretekle Shiferaw, Balakrishna Kalluraya

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Oxadiazoles and their derivatives with thioether functionalities represent a new and exciting class of physiologically active heterocyclic compounds. Several molecules with these moieties play a vital role in pharmaceuticals because of their diverse biological activities. This paper describes a new class of 1,3,4- oxadiazole-2-thioethers with acetophenone, coumarin, and N-phenyl acetamide residues (S-alkylation), with the hope that the addition of various biologically active molecules will have a synergistic effect on anticancer activity. The structure of the synthesized title compounds was determined by the combined methods of IR, proton-NMR, carbon-13-NMR, and mass spectrometry. Further, all the newly prepared molecules were assessed against their antioxidant activity. Furthermore, four compounds were assessed for their molecular docking interactions and cytotoxicity activity. The synthesized derivatives have shown moderate antioxidant activity compared to the standard BHA. The IC50 of the tilted molecules (11b, 11c, 13b, and 14b) observed for in vitro anti-cancer activities were 11.20, 15.73, 59.61, and 27.66 g/ml at 72-hour treatment time against the A549 cell lines, respectively. The tested compounds' biological evaluation showed that 11b is the most effective molecule in the series.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity activity, molecular docking, 1, 3, 4-Oxadiazole-2 thioether derivatives

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Authors: Abhinav Kumar Rajverma, Arun Kumar Misra, Abhijeet Chandra

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Family involvement in business is universal across countries, with varying characteristics. Firms of developed economies have diffused ownership structure; however, that of emerging markets have concentrated ownership structure, having resemblance with that of family firms. Optimization of dividend payout and leverage are very crucial for firm’s valuation. This paper studies dividend paying behavior of National Stock Exchange listed Indian firms from financial year 2007 to 2016. The final sample consists of 422 firms and of these more than 49% (207) are family firms. Results reveal that family firms pay lower dividend and are more leveraged compared to non-family firms. This unique data set helps to understand dividend behavior and capital structure of sample firms over a long-time period and across varying family ownership concentration. Using panel regression models, this paper examines factors affecting dividend payout and capital structure and establishes a link between the two using Two-stage Least Squares regression model. Profitability shows a positive impact on dividend and negative impact on leverage, confirming signaling and pecking order theory. Further, findings support bankruptcy theory as firm size has a positive relation with dividend and leverage and volatility shows a negative relation with both dividend and leverage. Findings are also consistent with agency theory, family ownership concentration has negative relation with both dividend payments and leverage. Further, the impact of family ownership control confirms the similar finding. The study further reveals that firms with high family ownership concentration (family control) do have an impact on determining the level of private benefits. Institutional ownership is not significant for dividend payments. However, it shows significant negative relation with leverage for both family and non-family firms. Dividend payout and leverage show mixed association with each other. This paper provides evidence of how varying level of family ownership concentration and ownership control influences the dividend policy and capital structure of firms in an emerging market like India and it can have significant contribution towards understanding and formulating corporate dividend policy decisions and capital structure for emerging economies, where majority of firms exhibit behavior of family firm.

Keywords: dividend, family firms, leverage, ownership structure

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Authors: Jean Marie Ntaganda, Froduald Minani, Wellars Banzi, Lydie Mpinganzima, Japhet Niyobuhungiro, Jean Bosco Gahutu, Vincent Dusabejambo, Immaculate Kambutse

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In this paper, we present a nonlinear dynamic model for the interactive mechanism of the cardiovascular and respiratory system. The model is designed and analyzed for human during physical exercises. In order to verify the adequacy of the designed model, data collected in Rwanda are used for validation. We have simulated the impact of heart rate and alveolar ventilation as controls of cardiovascular and respiratory system respectively to steady state response of the main cardiovascular hemodynamic quantities i.e., systemic arterial and venous blood pressures, arterial oxygen partial pressure and arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure, to the stabilised values of controls. We used data collected in Rwanda for both male and female during physical activities. We obtained a good agreement with physiological data in the literature. The model may represent an important tool to improve the understanding of exercise physiology.

Keywords: exercise, cardiovascular/respiratory, hemodynamic quantities, numerical simulation, physical activity, sportsmen in Rwanda, system

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Authors: Haruna Saidu, Sulaiman Mohammed, Abdulkarim Ali Deba, Shaza Eva Mohamad

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Determining the diversity of the indigenous microorganisms in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) could allow their wider application for the treatment of recalcitrant agro-based wastewater discharge into the environment. Many research studies mainly determined the efficiency of microorganism or their co-cultivation with microalgae for enhanced treatment of wastewater, suggesting a limited emphasis on the application of microbial diversity. In this study, the microorganism was cultured in POME for a period of 15 days using microalgae as a source of carbon. Pyrosequencing analysis reveals a diversity of microbial community in 20% (v/v) culture than the control experiment. Most of the bacterial species identified in POME belong to the families of Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Enterococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Caulobacteraceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae. Alpha (α) diversity analysis reveals the high composition of the microbial community of 52 in both samples. Beta (β) diversity index indicated the occurrence of similar species of microorganisms in unweighted uni fra than the weighted uni fra of both samples. It is therefore suggested that bacteria found in these families could have a potential for synergistic treatment of high-strength wastewater generated from the palm oil industry.

Keywords: diversity, microorganism, wastewater, pyrosequencing, palm oil mill effluent

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Authors: Ritu Ahuja

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Globally the built environment sector is striving to be highly efficient, quality-centred and socially-responsible. Built environment sector is an integral part of the economy and plays an important role in urbanization, industrialization and improved quality of living. The inherent challenges such as excessive material and process waste, over reliance on resources, energy usage, and carbon footprint need to be addressed in order to meet the needs of the economy. It is envisioned that these challenges can be resolved by integration of Lean-Green-Building Information Modelling (BIM) paradigms. Ipso facto, with BIM as a catalyst, this research identifies the operational and tactical connections of lean and green philosophies by providing a conceptual integration framework and underpinning theories. The research has developed a framework for BIM-based organizational capabilities for enhanced adoption and effective use of BIM within architectural organizations. The study was conducted through a sequential mixed method approach focusing on collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The framework developed as part of this study will enable architectural organizations to successfully embrace BIM on projects and gain lean and green benefits.

Keywords: BIM, lean, green, AEC organizations

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Authors: Ruslan Safarov, Zhanat Shomanova, Yuri Nossenko, Zhandos Mussayev, Ayana Baltabek

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Geochemical maps of distribution of polluting elements V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd, Pb on the territory of the Pavlodar city (Kazakhstan), which is an industrial hub were designed. The samples of soil were taken from 100 locations. Elemental analysis has been performed using XRF. The obtained data was used for training of the computational model with gradient boosting algorithm. The optimal parameters of model as well as the loss function were selected. The computational model was used for prediction of polluting elements concentration for 1000 evenly distributed points. Based on predicted data geochemical maps were created. Additionally, the total pollution index Zc was calculated for every from 1000 point. The spatial distribution of the Zc index was visualized using GIS (QGIS). It was calculated that the maximum coverage area of the territory of the Pavlodar city belongs to the moderately hazardous category (89.7%). The visualization of the obtained data allowed us to conclude that the main source of contamination goes from the industrial zones where the strategic metallurgical and refining plants are placed.

Keywords: Pavlodar, geochemical map, gradient boosting, CatBoost, QGIS, spatial distribution, heavy metals

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Authors: Ali Ait Boughrous, Said Benyoussef, Hossain El Ouarghi, Moulay Abdelazize Aboulhassan, Samah Aitbnichou, Said Benguamra

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The Rhiss-Nekor aquifer represents a primary water source for the central Rif region. Many operating structures were built for irrigation and drinking water supply. Because of the vulnerability of this aquifer, a thorough knowledge of the environment is needed to evaluate and protect resources. This work aims at the quality assessment of the water table of the plain Ghiss-Nekor and determination of pollution sources in order to establish a map of the web. The plain-Rhiss Nekor, with an area of 100 km2, is located on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. It has a particular geological structure resulting from the opening of a graben at the end of the Tertiary, which is filled by the accumulation of hundreds of meters of sediment, generating considerable heterogeneity in deposits. This heterogeneity gives various hydrodynamic properties within the aquifer of the plain. The analysis of the water quality of twenty water points, well distributed over the plain, showed high natural salinity linked to the geological nature of the area. This salinity increases in the littoral area by the seawater intrusion phenomenon. This is accentuated by overexploitation of the ground water due to the growing demand. Some wells, located inland, are characterized by organic pollution caused by wastewater seepage from septic tanks and lost wells widespread in the region.

Keywords: anthropogenic factors, groundwater quality, marine intrusion, Rhiss-Nekor aquifer

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Authors: Rongzhou Wang

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Research on designing nano-antibacterial agent with potent and long-lasting antibacterial property is demanding and provoking work. In this study, a core-shell AgBr/cationic polymer nanocomposite (AgBr/NPVP-H10) were synthesized and its structure confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the cationic polymer contents were determined with Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). The morphology was directly observed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which showed that the nanoparticle contains single core and organic shell and had an average diameter of 30.1 nm. The antibacterial test against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli illuminated that this nanocomposite had potent bactericidal activity, which can be attributed to the contact-killing of cationic polymers and releasing-killing of Ag+ ions. In addition, cationic polymer encapsulating AgBr cores gave the resin discs sustained release of Ag+ ions, which may result in long-lasting bactericidal activity. The AgBr/NPVP-H10 nanoparticle with the dual bactericidal capability and long term antimicrobial effect is a promising material aimed at preventing bacterial infection.

Keywords: core-shell nanocomposite, cationic polymer, dual antibacterial capability, long-lasting antibacterial activity

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Authors: Ekta Yadav, Sukanta Bhattacharya, Brijesh Yadav, Ariel Hus, Jagjit Yadav

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Background and Significance: Respiratory exposure to toxicants (chemicals or particulates) causes disruption of lung homeostasis leading to lung toxicity/injury manifested as pulmonary inflammation, edema, and/or other effects depending on the type and extent of exposure. This emphasizes the need for investigating toxicant type-specific mechanisms to understand therapeutic targets. Aquaporins, aka water channels, are known to play a role in lung homeostasis. Particularly, the two major lung aquaporins AQP5 and AQP1 expressed in alveolar epithelial and vasculature endothelia respectively allow for movement of the fluid between the alveolar air space and the associated vasculature. In view of this, the current study is focused on understanding the regulation of lung aquaporins and other targets during inhalation exposure to toxic chemicals (Cigarette smoke chemicals) versus toxic particles (Carbon nanoparticles) or co-exposures to understand their relevance as markers of injury and intervention. Methodologies: C57BL/6 mice (5-7 weeks old) were used in this study following an approved protocol by the University of Cincinnati Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The mice were exposed via oropharyngeal aspiration to multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) particles suspension once (33 ugs/mouse) followed by housing for four weeks or to Cigarette smoke Extract (CSE) using a daily dose of 30µl/mouse for four weeks, or to co-exposure using the combined regime. Control groups received vehicles following the same dosing schedule. Lung toxicity/injury was assessed in terms of homeostasis changes in the lung tissue and lumen. Exposed lungs were analyzed for transcriptional expression of specific targets (AQPs, surfactant protein A, Mucin 5b) in relation to tissue homeostasis. Total RNA from lungs extracted using TRIreagent kit was analyzed using qRT-PCR based on gene-specific primers. Total protein in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was determined by the DC protein estimation kit (BioRad). GraphPad Prism 5.0 (La Jolla, CA, USA) was used for all analyses. Major findings: CNT exposure alone or as co-exposure with CSE increased the total protein content in the BAL fluid (lung lumen rinse), implying compromised membrane integrity and cellular infiltration in the lung alveoli. In contrast, CSE showed no significant effect. AQP1, required for water transport across membranes of endothelial cells in lungs, was significantly upregulated in CNT exposure but downregulated in CSE exposure and showed an intermediate level of expression for the co-exposure group. Both CNT and CSE exposures had significant downregulating effects on Muc5b, and SP-A expression and the co-exposure showed either no significant effect (Muc5b) or significant downregulating effect (SP-A), suggesting an increased propensity for infection in the exposed lungs. Conclusions: The current study based on the lung toxicity mouse model showed that both toxicant types, particles (CNT) versus chemicals (CSE), cause similar downregulation of lung innate defense targets (SP-A, Muc5b) and mostly a summative effect when presented as co-exposure. However, the two toxicant types show differential induction of aquaporin-1 coinciding with the corresponding differential damage to alveolar integrity (vascular permeability). Interestingly, this implies the potential of AQP1 as a differential marker of toxicant type-specific lung injury.

Keywords: aquaporin, gene expression, lung injury, toxicant exposure

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Authors: Khaled R. Khater

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The paper theme is soil retaining structures. Cantilever secant-pile wall is triggering scientific point of curiosity. Specially the capping beams structural analysis and its interaction with secant piles as one integrated matrix. It is believed that straining actions of this integrated matrix are most probably induced due to a combination of induced line load and non-uniform horizontal pile tips displacement. The strategy that followed throughout this study starts by converting the pile head horizontal displacements generated by Plaxis-2D model to a system of concentrated line load acting per meter run along the capping beam. Then, those line loads are the input data of Staad-Pro 3D-model. Those models tailored to allow the capping beam and the secant piles interacting as one matrix, i.e. a unit. It is believed that the suggested strategy presents close to real structural simulation. The above is the paper thought and methodology. Three sand densities, one pile rigidity and one excavation depth, “h = 4.0-m,” are completely sufficient to achieve the paper’s objective.

Keywords: secant piles, capping beam, analysis, design, plaxis 2D, staad pro 3D

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Authors: G. E. Forcados, M. L. Shu, C. N. Chinyere

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Acalypha wilkesiana is a medicinal plant commonly used in most parts of West Africa as a decoction in treating several human diseases. Existing literature on its toxicity is predominantly on the organic extracts in contrast to the routine use of hot aqueous extracts as decoction. The aim of this study was to examine the phytochemical profile and sub-acute toxicity of A. wilkesiana leaf extracts in albino rats. Three groups of 8 experimental rats each were administered 300 mg/kg, 600 mg/kg and 1200 mg/kg body weight per day for 14 days while a fourth (control) group took tap-water. On day 15, the rats were sacrificed, and blood collected. Biochemical and hematological parameters were analysed and histopathological examination of liver and kidney were performed. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in the levels of some biochemical parameters (AST, ALT, creatinine, urea) in all the test groups compared to control. Histopathological examination of the liver revealed centrilobular degeneration and necrosis with sinusoidal dilatation as well as polymorphonuclear and mononuclear infiltration, likewise severe glomerular and tubular degeneration and necrosis with hemorrhage in the kidney at all dose levels. The results from this study suggest that aqueous leaf extract of A. wilkesiana is hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic at dose levels of 300 mg/kg and above. Therefore, precautionary measures are necessary for home use of the leaf extract of A. wilkesiana.

Keywords: acute toxicity, A. wilkesiana, aqeous extract, albino rats, biochemical and haematological parameters, histopathological examination

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Authors: M. F. Wu, F. T. Cheng

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Leather industry is the most important traditional industry to provide the leather products in the world for thousand years. The fierce global competitive environment and common awareness of global carbon reduction make livestock supply quantities falling, salt and wet blue leather material reduces and the price skyrockets significantly. Exchange rate fluctuation led sales revenue decreasing which due to the differences of export exchanges and compresses the overall profitability of leather industry. This paper applies activity-based benefit assessment approach to build up fitness fur input mixed model, fur is Wet Blue, which concerned with four key factors: the output rate of wet blue, unit cost of wet blue, yield rate and grade level of Wet Blue to achieve the low cost strategy under given unit price of leather product condition of the company. The research findings indicate that applying this model may improve the input cost structure, decrease numbers of leather product inventories and to raise the competitive advantages of the enterprise in the future.

Keywords: activity-based benefit assessment approach, input mixed, output rate, wet blue

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Authors: Asmau Mukhtar Ahmed, Olga Duran

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Hydrocarbon (HC) spills constitute a significant problem that causes great concern to the environment. With the latest technology (hyperspectral images) and state of the earth techniques (image processing tools), hydrocarbon spills can easily be detected at an early stage to mitigate the effects caused by such menace. In this study; a controlled laboratory experiment was used, and clay soil was mixed and homogenized with different hydrocarbon types (diesel, bio-diesel, and petrol). The different mixtures were scanned with HYSPEX hyperspectral camera under constant illumination to generate the hypersectral datasets used for this experiment. So far, the Short Wave Infrared Region (SWIR) has been exploited in detecting HC spills with excellent accuracy. However, the Near-Infrared Region (NIR) is somewhat unexplored with regards to HC contamination and how it affects the spectrum of soils. In this study, Deep Neural Network (DNN) was applied to the controlled datasets to detect and quantify the amount of HC spills in soils in the Near-Infrared Region. The initial results are extremely encouraging because it indicates that the DNN was able to identify features of HC in the Near-Infrared Region with a good level of accuracy.

Keywords: hydrocarbon, Deep Neural Network, short wave infrared region, near-infrared region, hyperspectral image

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Authors: S. Jursová, P. Pustějovská, S. Brožová, J. Bilík

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The paper deals with possibilities of interpretation of iron ore reducibility tests. It presents a mathematical model developed at Centre ENET, VŠB–Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic for an evaluation of metallurgical material of blast furnace feedstock such as iron ore, sinter or pellets. According to the data from the test, the model predicts its usage in blast furnace technology and its effects on production parameters of shaft aggregate. At the beginning, the paper sums up the general concept and experience in mathematical modelling of iron ore reduction. It presents basic equation for the calculation and the main parts of the developed model. In the experimental part, there is an example of usage of the mathematical model. The paper describes the usage of data for some predictive calculation. There are presented material, method of carried test of iron ore reducibility. Then there are graphically interpreted effects of used material on carbon consumption, rate of direct reduction and the whole reduction process.

Keywords: blast furnace technology, iron ore reduction, mathematical model, prediction of iron ore reduction

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Authors: Mwafaq Ibdah, Mossab, Yahyaa, Dor Rachmany, Yoram Gerchman, Doron Holland, Liora Shaltiel-Harpaz

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Pear Psylla is the most important pest of pear in all pear-growing regions, in Asian, European, and the USA. Pear psylla damages pears in several ways: high-density populations of these insects can cause premature leaf and fruit drop, diminish plant growth, and reduce fruit size. In addition, their honeydew promotes sooty mold on leaves and russeting on fruit. Pear psyllas are also considered vectors of pear pathogens such as Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri causing pear decline that can lead to loss of crop and tree vigor, and sometimes loss of trees. Psylla control is a major obstacle to efficient integrated pest management. Recently we have identified two naturally resistance pear accessions (Py.760-261 and Py.701-202) in the Newe Ya’ar live collection. GC-MS volatile metabolic profiling identified several volatile compounds common in these accessions but lacking, or much less common, in a sensitive accession, the commercial Spadona variety. Among these volatiles were styrene and its derivatives. When the resistant accessions were used as inter-stock, the volatile compounds appear in commercial Spadona scion leaves, and it showed reduced susceptibility to pear psylla. Laboratory experiments and applications of some of these volatile compounds were very effective against psylla eggs, nymphs, and adults. The genes and enzymes involved in the specific reactions that lead to the biosynthesis of styrene in plant are unknown. We have identified a phenolic acid decarboxylase that catalyzes the formation of p-hydroxystyrene, which occurs as a styrene analog in resistant pear genotypes. The His-tagged and affinity chromatography purified E. coli-expressed pear PyPAD1 protein could decarboxylate p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid to p-hydroxystyrene and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxystyrene. In addition, PyPAD1 had the highest activity toward p-coumaric acid. Expression analysis of the PyPAD gene revealed that its expressed as expected, i.e., high when styrene levels and psylla resistance were high.

Keywords: pear Psylla, volatile, GC-MS, resistance

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Authors: Azam Tabatabaee, Fereshteh Dastgoshadeh, Akram Tabatabaee

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This paper describes the use of by-products as adsorbents for removing heavy metals from aqueous effluent solutions. Products of almond skin, walnut shell, saw dust, rice bran and egg shell were evaluated as metal ion adsorbents in aqueous solutions. A comparative study was done with commercial adsorbents like ion exchange resins and activated carbon too. Batch experiments were investigated to determine the affinity of all of biomasses for, Cd(ΙΙ), Cr(ΙΙΙ), Ni(ΙΙ), and Pb(ΙΙ) metal ions at pH 5. The rate of metal ion removal in the synthetic wastewater by the biomass was evaluated by measuring final concentration of synthetic wastewater. At a concentration of metal ion (50 mg/L), egg shell adsorbed high levels (98.6 – 99.7%) of Pb(ΙΙ) and Cr(ΙΙΙ) and walnut shell adsorbed high levels (35.3 – 65.4%) of Ni(ΙΙ) and Cd(ΙΙ). In this study, it has been shown that by-products were excellent adsorbents for removal of toxic ions from wastewater with efficiency comparable to commercially available adsorbents, but at a reduced cost. Also statistical studies using Independent Sample t Test and ANOVA Oneway for statistical comparison between various elements adsorption showed that there isn’t a significant difference in some elements adsorption percentage by by-products and commercial adsorbents.

Keywords: adsorbents, heavy metals, commercial adsorbents, wastewater, by-products

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Authors: Safa'a M. Rasheed, Saba A. Gheni, Wadood T. Mohamed

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Phenolic compounds are the most carcinogenic pollutants in waste water in effluents of refineries and pulp industry. Catalytic wet air oxidation is an efficient industrial treatment process to oxidize phenolic compounds into unharmful organic compounds. Mode of flow of the fluid to be treated is a dominant factor in determining effectiveness of the catalytic process. The present study aims to obtain a mathematical model describing the conversion of phenolic compounds as a function of the process variables; mode of flow (trickling and pulsing), temperature, pressure, along with a high concentration of phenols and a platinum supported alumina catalyst. The model was validated with the results of experiments obtained in a fixed bed reactor. High pressure and temperature were employed at 8 bar and 140 °C. It has been found that conversion of phenols is highly influenced by mode of flow and the change is caused by changes occurred in hydrodynamic regime at the time of pulsing flow mode, thereby a temporal variation in wetting efficiency of platinum prevails; which in turn increases and/or decreases contact time with phenols in wastewater. The model obtained was validated with experimental results, and it is found that the model is a good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: wastewater, phenol, pulsing flow, wet oxidation, high pressure

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Authors: Chandni Rani, S. D. Tiwari

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Ferrihydrite is one of the distinct minerals in the family of oxides, hydroxides and oxyhydroxides of iron. It is a nanocrystalline material. It occurs naturally in different sediments, soil systems and also found in the core of ferritin, an iron storage protien. This material can also be synthesized by suitable chemical methods in laboratories. This is known as less crystalline Iron (III) Oxyhydroxide. Due to its poor crystallinity, there are very broad peaks in x-ray diffraction. Depending on the number of peaks in x-ray diffraction pattern, it is classified as two lines and six lines ferrihydrite. The average crystallite size for these two forms is found to be about 2nm to 5nm. The exact crystal structure of this system is still under debate. Out of these two forms, the six lines ferrihydrite is more ordered in comparison to two lines ferrihydrite. The magnetic behavior of two lines ferrihydrite nanoparticles is somewhat well studied. But the magnetic behavior of six lines ferrihydrite nanoparticles could not attract the attention of researchers much. This motivated us to work on the magnetic properties of six lines ferrihydrite nanoparticles. In this work, we present synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic behavior of 5 nm six lines ferrihydrite nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope are used for structural characterization of this system. Magnetization measurements are performed to fit the data at different temperatures. Then the effect of magnetic moment distribution is also found. All these observations are discussed in detail.

Keywords: nanoparticles, magnetism, superparamagnetism, magnetic anisotropy

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Authors: Riyadh Alsultani, Ali Majdi

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It is necessary to develop a design methodology that includes the possibility of seismic events occurring in a region, the vulnerability of the civil hydraulic structure, and the effects of the occurrence hazard on society, environment, and economy in order to evaluate the flood and earthquake risks of coastal bridge networks. This paper presents a design approach for the assessment of the risk and sustainability of coastal bridge networks under time-variant flood-earthquake conditions. The social, environmental, and economic indicators of the network are used to measure its sustainability. These consist of anticipated loss, downtime, energy waste, and carbon dioxide emissions. The design process takes into account the possibility of happening in a set of flood and earthquake scenarios that represent the local seismic activity. Based on the performance of each bridge as determined by fragility assessments, network linkages are measured. The network's connections and bridges' damage statuses after an earthquake scenario determine the network's sustainability and danger. The sustainability measures' temporal volatility and the danger of structural degradation are both highlighted. The method is shown using a transportation network in Baghdad, Iraq.

Keywords: sustainability, Coastal bridge networks, flood-earthquake risk, structural design

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Authors: M. S. Mahmoud

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This study was conducted to evaluate the manganese removal from aqueous solution using Banana peels activated carbon (BPAC). Batch experiments have been carried out to determine the influence of parameters such as pH, biosorbent dose, initial metal ion concentrations and contact times on the biosorption process. From these investigations, a significant increase in percentage removal of manganese 97.4 % is observed at pH value 5.0, biosorbent dose 0.8 g, initial concentration 20 ppm, temperature 25 ± 2 °C, stirring rate 200 rpm and contact time 2 h. The equilibrium concentration and the adsorption capacity at equilibrium of the experimental results were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models; the Langmuir isotherm was found to well represent the measured adsorption data implying BPAC had heterogeneous surface. A raw groundwater samples were collected from Baharmos groundwater treatment plant network at Embaba and Manshiet Elkanater City/District-Giza, Egypt, for treatment at the best conditions that reached at first phase by BPAC. The treatment with BPAC could reduce iron and manganese value of raw groundwater by 91.4 % and 97.1 %, respectively and the effect of the treatment process on the microbiological properties of groundwater sample showed decrease of total bacterial count either at 22°C or at 37°C to 85.7 % and 82.4 %, respectively. Also, BPAC was characterized using SEM and FTIR spectroscopy.

Keywords: biosorption, banana peels, isothermal models, manganese

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Authors: Masoud Sheidaei, Mohammad-Reza Kordasti, Fahimeh Koohdar

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Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T.Aiton, (Apocynaceae), is an economically and medicinally important plant species which is an evergreen, perennial shrub growing in arid and semi-arid climates, and can tolerate very low annual rainfall (150 mm) and a dry season. The plant can also tolerate temperature ran off 20 to30°C and is not frost tolerant. This plant species prefers free-draining sandy soils but can grow also in alkaline and saline soils.It is found at a range of altitudes from exposed coastal sites to medium elevations up to 1300 m. Due to morpho-physiological adaptations of C. procera and its ability to tolerate various abiotic stresses. This taxa can compete with desirable pasture species and forms dense thickets that interfere with stock management, particularly mustering activities. Caloteropis procera grows only in southern part of Iran where in comprises a limited number of geographical populations. We used different population genetics and r landscape analysis to produce data on geographical populations of C. procera based on molecular genetic study using SCoT molecular markers. First, we used spatial principal components (sPCA), as it can analyze data in a reduced space and can be used for co-dominant markers as well as presence / absence data as is the case in SCoT molecular markers. This method also carries out Moran I and Mantel tests to reveal spatial autocorrelation and test for the occurrence of Isolation by distance (IBD). We also performed Random Forest analysis to identify the importance of spatial and geographical variables on genetic diversity. Moreover, we used both RDA (Redundency analysis), and LFMM (Latent factor mixed model), to identify the genetic loci significantly associated with geographical variables. A niche modellng analysis was carried our to predict present potential area for distribution of these plants and also the area present by the year 2050. The results obtained will be discussed in this paper.

Keywords: population genetics, landscape genetic, Calotreropis procera, niche modeling, SCoT markers

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Authors: Shubhangi R. Deshmukh, Anupam B. Soni

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Clean water and electricity are vital services needed in all communities. Bio-degradation of wastewater contaminants and desalination technologies are the best possible alternatives for the global shortage of fresh water supply. Osmotic microbial fuel cell (OMFC) is a versatile technology that uses microorganism (used for biodegradation of organic waste) and membrane technology (used for water purification) for wastewater treatment and energy generation simultaneously. This technology is the combination of microbial fuel cell (MFC) and forward osmosis (FO) processes. OMFC can give more electricity and clean water than the MFC which has a regular proton exchange membrane. FO gives many improvements such as high contamination removal, lower operating energy, raising high proton flux than other pressure-driven membrane technology. Lower concentration polarization lowers the membrane fouling by giving osmotic water recovery without extra cost. In this review paper, we have discussed the principle, mechanism, limitation, and application of OMFC technology reported to date. Also, we have interpreted the experimental data from various literature on the water recovery and electricity generation assessed by a different component of OMFC. The area of producing electricity using OMFC has further scope for research and seems like a promising route to wastewater treatment.

Keywords: forward osmosis, microbial fuel cell, osmotic microbial fuel cell, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Rajiv Kumar Srivastava

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Manufacturing of complex products such as automobiles and computers requires a very large number of parts and sub-assemblies. The design of mechanisms for delivery of these materials to the point of assembly is an important manufacturing system and supply chain challenge. Different approaches to this problem have been evolved for assembly lines designed to make large volumes of standardized products. However, contemporary assembly systems are required to concurrently produce a variety of products using approaches such as mixed model production, and at times even mass customization. In this paper we examine the material supply approaches for variety production in moderate to large volumes. The conventional approach for material delivery to high volume assembly lines is to supply and stock materials line-side. However for certain materials, especially when the same or similar items are used along the line, it is more convenient to supply materials in kits. Kitting becomes more preferable when lines concurrently produce multiple products in mixed model mode, since space requirements could increase as product/ part variety increases. At times such kits may travel along with the product, while in some situations it may be better to have delivery and station-specific kits rather than product-based kits. Further, in some mass customization situations it may even be better to have a single delivery and assembly station, to which an entire kit is delivered for fitment, rather than a normal assembly line. Finally, in low-moderate volume assembly such as in engineered machinery, it may be logistically more economical to gather materials in an order-specific kit prior to launching final assembly. We have studied material supply mechanisms to support assembly systems as observed in case studies of firms with different combinations of volume and variety/ customization. It is found that the appropriate approach tends to be a hybrid between direct line supply and different kitting modes, with the best mix being a function of the manufacturing and supply chain environment, as well as space and handling considerations. In our continuing work we are studying these scenarios further, through the use of descriptive models and progressing towards prescriptive models to help achieve the optimal approach, capturing the trade-offs between inventory, material handling, space, and efficient line supply.

Keywords: assembly systems, kitting, material supply, variety production

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Authors: Laxmi Prasad Bhattarai

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Climate change is regarded as one of the most fundamental threats to sustainable livelihood and global development. There is a growing global concern in linking community-managed forests as potential climate change mitigation projects. This study was conducted to explore local people’s perception on climate change and the role of community forestry (CF) to combat climate change impacts. Two active community forest user groups (CFUGs) from Kaski and Syangja Districts in Nepal were selected as study sites, and various participatory tools were applied to collect primary data. Although most of the respondents were unaware about the words “Climate Change” in study sites, they were quite familiar with the irregularities in rainfall season and other weather extremities. 60% of the respondents had the idea that, due to increase in precipitation, there is a frequent occurrence of erosion, floods, and landslide. Around 85% of the people agreed that community forests help in stabilizing soil, reducing the natural hazards like erosion, landslide. Biogas as an alternative source of cooking energy, and changes in crops and their varieties are the common adaptation measures that local people start practicing in both CFUGs in Nepal.

Keywords: community forestry, climate change, global warming, adaptation, Nepal

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Authors: Juan Sebastián Hernández

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The Nevado del Ruíz volcano, located between the limits of the Departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, presented an unstable behaviour in the course of the year 2020, this volcanic activity led to secondary effects on the crust, which is why the prediction of deformations becomes the task of geoscientists. In the course of this article, the use of tropospheric variables such as evapotranspiration, UV aerosol index, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, methane, surface temperature, among others, is used to train a set of neural networks that can predict the behaviour of the resulting phase of an unrolled interferogram with the DInSAR technique, whose main objective is to identify and characterise the behaviour of the crust based on the environmental conditions. For this purpose, variables were collected, a generalised linear model was created, and a set of neural networks was created. After the training of the network, validation was carried out with the test data, giving an MSE of 0.17598 and an associated r-squared of approximately 0.88454. The resulting model provided a dataset with good thematic accuracy, reflecting the behaviour of the volcano in 2020, given a set of environmental characteristics.

Keywords: crustal deformation, Tropomi, neural networks (ANN), volcanic activity, DInSAR

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Authors: Chuan-Ming Tung, Jin-Cheng Fu, Chia-En Feng

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In recent years, the rapid development of urban land in Taiwan has led to the constant increase of the areas of impervious surface, which has increased the risk of waterlogging during heavy rainfall. Therefore, in recent years, promoting runoff allocation responsibilities has often been used as a means of reducing regional flooding. In this study, the single catchment area covering both urban and rural land as the study area is discussed. Based on Storm Water Management Model, urban and rural land in a single catchment area was explored to develop the runoff allocation responsibilities according to their respective control regulation on land use. The impacts of runoff increment and reduction in sub-catchment area were studied to understand the impact of highly developed urban land on the reduction of flood risk of rural land at the back end. The results showed that the rainfall with 1 hour short delay of 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years return period. If the study area was fully developed, the peak discharge at the outlet would increase by 24.46% -22.97% without runoff allocation responsibilities. The front-end urban land would increase runoff from back-end of rural land by 76.19% -46.51%. However, if runoff allocation responsibilities were carried out in the study area, the peak discharge could be reduced by 58.38-63.08%, which could make the front-end to reduce 54.05% -23.81% of the peak flow to the back-end. In addition, the researchers found that if it was seen from the perspective of runoff allocation responsibilities of per unit area, the residential area of urban land would benefit from the relevant laws and regulations of the urban system, which would have a better effect of reducing flood than the residential land in rural land. For rural land, the development scale of residential land was generally small, which made the effect of flood reduction better than that of industrial land. Agricultural land requires a large area of land, resulting in the lowest share of the flow per unit area. From the point of the planners, this study suggests that for the rural land around the city, its responsibility should be assigned to share the runoff. And setting up rain water storage facilities in the same way as urban land, can also take stock of agricultural land resources to increase the ridge of field for flood storage, in order to improve regional disaster reduction capacity and resilience.

Keywords: runoff allocation responsibilities, land use, flood mitigation, SWMM

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Authors: Aktan Ozsoy, Ali Fırat Cabalar, Eyyub Karakan

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Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing communities. Increasing population, growing economies, rapid industrialization are the main factors triggering it. On the other hand, the millions of tons of waste have generated by the period of rapid global growth not only harm to the environment but also lead to the use of valuable lands around the world as landfill sites. Moreover, it is rapidly consuming our resources and this forcing the human population and wildlife to share increasingly shrinking space. In this direction, it is vital to reuse waste materials with a sustainability philosophy. This study was carried out to contribute to the combat against climate change, conserve our natural resources and the environment. An oedometer (consolidation) test was performed on two waste materials combined in certain proportions to evaluate their sustainable usage. Crushed brick (BD) was mixed with rock powder (RP) in 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% (dry weight of soil). The results obtained revealed the importance of the gradation of the material used in the consolidation test. It was found that there was a negligible difference between the initial and final void ratio of mixtures with brick dust added.

Keywords: waste material, oedometer test, environmental geotechnics, sustainability

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Authors: T. S. Shashikumar

Abstract:

Radon is a radioactive gas emitted from radium, a daughter product of uranium that occurs naturally in rocks and soil. Radon, together with its decay products, emits alpha particles that can damage lung tissue. The activity concentration of ²²²Ra has been analyzed in water samples collected from borewells and rivers in and around Hassan city, Karnataka State, India. The measurements were performed by Emanometry technique. The concentration of ²²²Rn in borewell waters varies from 18.49±1.89 to 397.26±12.3 Bql^-1 with geometric mean 120.48±12.87 Bql^-1 and in river waters it varies from 92.63±9.31 to 93.98±9.51 Bql^-1 with geometric mean of 93.16±9.33 Bql^-1. In the present study, the radon concentrations are higher in Adarshanagar and Viveka Nagar which are found to be 397.26±12.3 Bql^-1 and 325.78±32.56 Bql^-1. Most of the analysed samples show a ²²²Rn concentration more than 100 Bql^-1 and this can be attributed to the geology of the area where the ground waters are located, which is predominantly of granitic characteristic. The average inhalation dose and ingestion dose in the borewell water are found to be 0.405 and 0.033 µSvy^-1; and in river water it is found to be 0.234 and 0.019 µSvy^-1, respectively. The average total effective dose rate in borewell waters and river waters are found to be 0.433 and 0.253 µSvy^-1, which does not cause any health risk to the population of Hassan region.

Keywords: borewell, effective dose, emanometry, 222Rn

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