Search results for: organochlorine pesticide residue

Authors: Sheng Huang, Xin Zhao, Xiaofeng Gao, Tao Zhou, Shijin Dai, Youcai Zhao

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Adsorption of heavy metal pollutants (Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu) and organic pesticide (phorate, dithiophosphate diethyl, triethyl phosphorothioate), along with their multi-contamination on the surface of industrial construction & demolition waste (C&D waste) was investigated. Brick powder was selected as the appropriate waste while its maximum equilibrium adsorption amount of heavy metal under single controlled contamination matrix reached 5.41, 0.81, 0.45, 1.13 and 0.97 mg/g, respectively. Effects of pH and spiking dose of ICDW was also investigated. Equilibrium adsorption amount of organic pesticide varied from 0.02 to 0.97 mg/g, which was negatively correlated to the size distribution and hydrophilism. Existence of organic pesticide on surface of ICDW caused various effects on the heavy metal adsorption, mainly due to combination of metal ions and the floccule formation along with wrapping behaviors by pesticide pollutants. Adsorption of Zn was sharply decreased from 7.1 to 0.15 mg/g compared with clean ICDW and phorate contaminated ICDW, while that of Pb, Cr and Cd experienced an increase- then decrease procedure. On the other hand, runoff of pesticide contaminants was investigated under 25 mm/h simulated rainfall. Results showed that the cumulative runoff amount fitted well with curve obtained from a power function, of which r2=0.95 and 0.91 for 1DAA (1 day between contamination and runoff) and 7DAA, respectively. This study helps provide evaluation of industrial construction and demolition waste contamination into aquatic systems.

Keywords: adsorption mechanism, industrial construction waste, metals, pesticide, runoff

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Authors: Waleed A. El-Said, Dina M. Fouad, Mohamed H. Aly, Mohamed A. El-Gahami

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Green synthesis of nanomaterials has received increasing attention as an eco-friendly technology in materials science. Here, we have used two types of extractions from green tea leaf (i.e. total extraction and tannin extraction) as reducing agents for a rapid, simple and one step synthesis method of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs)/iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanocomposite based on deposition of Fe3O4 onto MSNPs. MSNPs/Fe3O4 nanocomposite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, vibrating sample magnetometer, N2 adsorption, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The average mesoporous silica particle diameter was found to be around 30 nm with high surface area (818 m2/gm). MSNPs/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was used for removing lindane pesticide (an environmental hazard material) from aqueous solutions. Fourier transform infrared, UV-vis, High-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography techniques were used to confirm the high ability of MSNPs/Fe3O4 nanocomposite for sensing and capture of lindane molecules with high sorption capacity (more than 89%) that could develop a new eco-friendly strategy for detection and removing of pesticide and as a promising material for water treatment application.

Keywords: green synthesis, mesoporous silica, magnetic iron oxide NPs, adsorption Lindane

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Authors: Ying Chen

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Conservation Agriculture in a sustainable way of farming, as it brings many benefits, such as preventing soil from erosion and degradation, improving soil health, conserving energy, and sequestrating carbon. However, adoption of conservation agriculture has been progressing slowly in some part of the world due to some challenges. Among them, seeding in heavy crop residue is challenging, especially in corn production systems. Weed control is also challenging in conservation agriculture. This research aimed to investigate some technologies that can address these challenges. For crop residue management, vertical tillage and vertical seeding have been studied in multiple research projects. Results showed that vertical tillage and seeding were able to deal with crop residue through cutting residue into small segments, which would not plug seeder in the sub-sequent seeding. Vertical tillage is a conservation tillage system, as it leaves more than 30% crop residue on soil surface while incorporating some residue into the shallow soil layer for fast residue decomposition. For weed control, mechanical weeding can reduce chemical inputs in crop production. A tine weeder was studied for weed control during the early growing season of several field crops (corn, soybean, flax, and pea). Detail results of these studies will be shared at the conference.

Keywords: tillage, seeding, mechanical weeding, crop residue

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Authors: R. Islam, M. A. Haque, K. H. Kabir

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A supervised trail was set with brinjal at research field, Entomology Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur to determine the residue of Carbofuran in soil and fruit samples at different days after application (DAA) of Furadan 5 G @ 2 kg AI/ ha. Field collected samples were analyzed by GCMS-EI. Results of the experiment indicated the presence of Carbofuran residue up to 60 DAA in soil samples and 25 DAA in brinjal fruit samples. In case of soil samples, the detected residues were 7.04, 2.78, 0.79, 0.43, 0.12, 0.06 and 0.05 ppm at 0, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 60 DAA respectively. On the other hand, in brinjal fruit samples Carbofuran residues were 0.005 ppm, 0.095 ppm, 0.084 ppm, 0.065 ppm, 0.063 ppm, 0.056 ppm, 0.050 ppm, 0.030 ppm and 0.016 ppm at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 25-DAA, respectively. None of this amount was above the recommended MRL (0.1 mg / kg crop) of Carborufan for agricultural crops.

Keywords: brinjal, carbofuran, MRL, residue

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Authors: Sujeet Kumar, Arun Prasad

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The present work investigates the effect of multiple parameters on the unconfined compressive strength of the bauxite residue-lime mix. A number of unconfined compressive strength tests considering various curing time, lime content, dry density and moisture content were carried out. The results show that an empirical correlation may be successfully developed using volumetric lime content, porosity, moisture content, curing time unconfined compressive strength for the range of the bauxite residue-lime mix studied. The proposed empirical correlations efficiently predict the strength of bauxite residue-lime mix, and it can be used as a generalized empirical equation to estimate unconfined compressive strength.

Keywords: bauxite residue, curing time, porosity/volumetric lime ratio, unconfined compressive strength

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Authors: Parisa Khoshvaght, Mehdi Hosseinzadeh

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During the past few years, the Residue Number System (RNS) has been receiving considerable interest due to its parallel and fault-tolerant properties. This system is a useful tool for Digital Signal Processing (DSP) since it can support parallel, carry-free, high-speed and low power arithmetic. One of the drawbacks of Residue Number System is the fractional numbers, that is, the corresponding circuit is very hard to realize in conventional CMOS technology. In this paper, we propose a method in which the numbers of transistors are significantly reduced. The related delay is extremely diminished, in the first glance we use this method to solve concerning problem of one decimal functional number some how this proposition can be extended to generalize the idea. Another advantage of this method is the independency on the kind of moduli.

Keywords: computer arithmetic, residue number system, number system, one-Hot, VLSI

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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: Dekie Rawung, Abdul L. Abadi, Toto Himawan, Siegfried Berhimpon

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A case study on consumer' knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issue related to pesticide residues in cabbage was conducted in the area of Manado and Tomohon city, North Sulawesi. A sample of 150 consumers were selected randomly on location (open market and supermarket) while they were purchasing vegetables. The data on consumers’ perception, knowledge, attitude and behavior on food safety issue regarding pesticide residues were collected using a 5-point, two-section Likert-Scale questionnaire, and the relationship of knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issues were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). It was found that, among many food safety issues, the illegal, non-food chemical preservatives were considered the most important one (by more than 35% respondents), followed by high cholesterol content and textile coloring chemical (> 27% respondents). The pesticide residues issue was only in the 4th place. The same results were seen on the issue of quality factors that determine the product selection during purchasing. The pesticide-free and organic products labels were considered much less important quality factors as compared with freshness and nutrition value which were considered the most and the second most important quality factors (almost 65% of respondents). SEM analysis showed that only knowledge and attitude on food safety that had the significant relation (coefficient value of 0.38), whereas those with behaviors were not significant.

Keywords: cabbage, consumer, food safety, pesticide residues

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Authors: Lucie Bielská, Lucia Škulcová, Martina Hvězdová, Jakub Hofman, Zdeněk Šimek

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The currently used pesticides represent a broad group of chemicals with various physicochemical and environmental properties which input has reached 2×106 tons/year and is expected to even increases. From that amount, only 1% directly interacts with the target organism while the rest represents a potential risk to the environment and human health. Despite being authorized and approved for field applications, the effects of pesticides in the environment can differ from the model scenarios due to the various pesticide-soil interactions and resulting modified fate and behavior. As such, a direct monitoring of pesticide residues and evaluation of their impact on soil biota, aquatic environment, food contamination, and human health should be performed to prevent environmental and economic damages. The present project focuses on fluvisols as they are intensively used in the agriculture but face to several environmental stressors. Fluvisols develop in the vicinity of rivers by the periodic settling of alluvial sediments and periodic interruptions to pedogenesis by flooding. As a result, fluvisols exhibit very high yields per area unit, are intensively used and loaded by pesticides. Regarding the floods, their regular contacts with surface water arise from serious concerns about the surface water contamination. In order to monitor pesticide residues and assess their environmental and biological impact within this project, 70 fluvisols were sampled over the Czech Republic and analyzed for the total and bioaccessible amounts of 40 various pesticides. For that purpose, methodologies for the pesticide extraction and analysis with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique were developed and optimized. To assess the biological risks, both the earthworm bioaccumulation tests and various types of passive sampling techniques (XAD resin, Chemcatcher, and silicon rubber) were optimized and applied. These data on chemical analysis and bioavailability were combined with the results of soil analysis, including the measurement of basic physicochemical soil properties as well detailed characterization of soil organic matter with the advanced method of diffuse reflectance infrared spectrometry. The results provide unique data on the residual levels of pesticides in the Czech Republic and on the factors responsible for increased pesticide residue levels that should be included in the modeling of pesticide fate and effects.

Keywords: currently used pesticides, fluvisoils, bioavailability, Quechers, liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry, soil properties, DRIFT analysis, pesticides

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Authors: Gift Udoh, Diane S. Rohlman, Benjamin Sindt

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BACKGROUND: There is concern regarding the widespread use of pesticides and impacts on public health. Farmers in Nigeria frequently apply pesticides, including organophosphate pesticides which are known neurotoxicants. They receive little guidance on how much to apply or information about safe handling practices. Pesticide poisoning is one of the major hazards that farmers face in Nigeria. Farmers continue to use highly neurotoxic pesticides for agricultural activities. Because farmers receive little or no information on safe handling and how much to apply, they continue to develop severe and mild illnesses caused by high exposures to pesticides. The project aimed to reduce pesticide exposure among rural farmers in Nigeria by identifying hazards associated with pesticide use and developing and pilot testing training to reduce exposures to pesticides utilizing the hierarchy of controls system. METHODS: Information on pesticide knowledge, behaviors, barriers to safety, and prevention methods was collected from farmers in Nigeria through workplace observations, questionnaires, and interviews. Pre and post-surveys were used to measure farmer’s knowledge before and after the delivery of pesticide safety training. Training topics included the benefits and risks of using pesticides, routes of exposure and health effects, pesticide label activity, use and selection of PPE, ways to prevent exposure and information on local resources. The training was evaluated among farmers and changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were collected prior to and following the training. RESULTS: The training was administered to 60 farmers, a mean age of 35, with a range of farming experience (<1 year to > 50 years). There was an overall increase in knowledge after the training. In addition, farmers perceived a greater immediate risk from exposure to pesticides and their perception of their personal risk increased. For example, farmers believed that pesticide risk is greater to children than to adults, recognized that just because a pesticide is put on the market doesn’t mean it is safe, and they were more confident that they could get advice about handling pesticides. Also, there was greater awareness about behaviors that can increase their exposure (mixing pesticides with bare hands, eating food in the field, not washing hands before eating after applying pesticides, walking in fields recently sprayed, splashing pesticides on their clothes, pesticide storage). CONCLUSION: These results build on existing evidence from a 2022 article highlighting the need for pesticide safety training in Nigeria which suggested that pesticide safety educational programs should focus on community-based, grassroots-style, and involve a family-oriented approach. Educating farmers on agricultural safety while letting them share their experiences with their peers is an effective way of creating awareness on the dangers associated with handling pesticides. Also, for rural communities, especially in Nigeria, pesticide safety pieces of training may not be able to reach some locations, so intentional scouting of rural farming communities and delivering pesticide safety training will improve knowledge of pesticide hazards. There is a need for pesticide information centers to be situated in rural farming communities or agro supply stores, which gives rural farmers information.

Keywords: pesticide exposure, pesticide safety, nigeria, rural farming, pesticide education

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Authors: Mohamed Gar Alalm

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This study aims to investigate various operating conditions that affect the performance of the electro-Fenton process for degradation of pesticides. Stainless steel electrodes were utilized in the electro-Fenton cell due to their relatively low cost. The favored conditions of current intensity, pH, iron loading, and pesticide concentration were deeply discussed. Complete removal of pesticide was attained at the optimum conditions. The degradation kinetics were described by pseudo- first-order pattern. In addition, a response surface model was developed to describe the performance of electro-Fenton process under different operational conditions. The model indicated that the coefficient of determination was (R² = 0.995).

Keywords: electro-Fenton, stainless steel, pesticide, wastewater

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Authors: Mehdi Basirat, Mohammad Rouhani, Shahla Borzouei, Majid Zarangi, Asma Abolghasemi, Mohammad Fazel Soltani, Mohammad Gorji, Mohammad Amin Samih

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The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), as one of the most detrimental pests in all pistachio producing regions, causes great economic damages to pistachio trees. Nowadays, various pesticides are used to control the common pistachio psylla and robust pesticide exposure has occurred in orchards. In this study, field experiments were conducted during 2018–2021 to assess the effects of sulfur on A. pistaciae. This study compared sulfur with asafoetida extract and pesticide (acetamiprid) on A. pistaciae based on complete randomized blocks with three replications. The analysis results of variance showed that the effect of treatments on egg (F2,24 = 17.61, P = 0.00) and nymphs (F2,24 = 18.29, P = 0.00) had a significant difference at a 1% level. The results demonstrated that sulfur had the highest measure of control on eggs and nymphs significantly compared to the plant extract and pesticide (negative control). These results provide support to the potential use of sulfur as an alternative pest management tool against A. pistaciae. The results clearly indicated that sulfur could control the common pistachio psylla population for six weeks at least.

Keywords: Agonoscena pistaciae, pesticide exposure, pistachio, sulfur

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Authors: Juang R. Matangaran, Qi Adlan

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Industrial plantation forest in Indonesia was developed in 1983, and since then, several companies have been successfully planted a total area of concessionaire approximately 10 million hectares. Currently, these plantation forests have their annual harvesting period. In the timber harvesting process, amount part of the trees generally become logging residue. Tree parts such as branches, twigs, defected stem and leaves are unused section of tree on the ground after timber harvesting. The use of heavy machines in timber harvesting area has caused damage to the forest soil. The negative impact of such machines includes loss of topsoil, soil erosion, and soil compaction. Forest soil compaction caused reduction of forest water infiltration, increase runoff and causes difficulty for root penetration. In this study, we used logging residue as soil covers on the passages passed by skidding machines in order to observe the reduction soil compaction. Bulk density of soil was measured and analyzed after several times of skidding machines passage on skid trail. The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of logging residue on reducing soil compaction. The research was taken place at one of the industrial plantation forest area of South Sumatra Indonesia. The result of the study showed that percentage increase of soil compaction bare soil was larger than soil surface covered by logging residue. The maximum soil compaction occurred after 4 to 5 passes on soil without logging residue or bare soil and after 7 to 8 passes on soil cover by logging residue. The use of logging residue coverings could reduce soil compaction from 45% to 60%. The logging residue was effective in decreasing soil disturbance of timber harvesting at the plantation forest area.

Keywords: bulk density, logging residue, plantation forest, soil compaction, timber harvesting

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Authors: Deepali Lal, Sudha Summerwar, Jyoutsna Pandey

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The resistance of pesticide by the pest is an important matter of concern.The pesticide of plant origin having nontoxic biodegradable and environmentally friendly qualities. The frequent spraying of toxic chemicals is developing resistance to the pesticide. Leaf powder of the plants like Argimone mexicana and Calotropis procera is prepared, Different doses of these plant extracts are given to the Fourth in star stages of Helicoverpa armigera through feeding methods, to find their efficacy the experimental findings will be put under analysis using various parameters. The effect on paritrophic membrane is also studied.

Keywords: distillation plant, acetone, alcohol, pipette, castor leaves, grams pods, larvae of helicoverpa armigera, plant extract, vails, jars, cotton

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Authors: Camila Parodi, Viviana Letelier, Giacomo Moriconi

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The cement industry is responsible for around a 5% of the CO2 emissions worldwide and considering that concrete is one of the most used materials in construction its total effect is important. An alternative to reduce the environmental impact of concrete production is to incorporate certain amount of residues in the dosing, limiting the replacement percentages to avoid significant losses in the mechanical properties of the final material. Previous researches demonstrate the feasibility of using brick and rust residues, separately, as a cement replacement. This study analyses the variation in the mechanical properties of mortars by incorporating masonry residue composed of clay bricks and cement mortar. In order to improve the mechanical properties of masonry residue, this was subjected to a heat treatment of 650 ° C for four hours and its effect is analyzed in this study. Masonry residue was obtained from a demolition of masonry perimetral walls. The residues were crushed and sieved and the maximum size of particles used was 75 microns. The percentages of cement replaced by masonry residue were 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%. The effect of masonry residue addition and its heat treatment in the mechanical properties of mortars is evaluated through compressive and flexural strength tests after 7, 14 and 28 curing days. Results show that increasing the amount of masonry residue used increases the losses in compressive strength and flexural strength. However, the use of up to a 20% of masonry residue, when a heat treatment is applied, allows obtaining mortars with similar compressive strength to the control mortar. Masonry residues mortars without a heat treatment show losses in compressive strengths between 15% and 27% with respect to masonry residues with heat treatment, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the heat treatment. From this analysis it can be conclude that it is possible to use up to 20% of masonry residue with heat treatment as cement replacement without significant losses in mortars mechanical properties, reducing considerably the environmental impact of the final material.

Keywords: cement replacement, environmental impact, masonry residue, mechanical properties of recycled mortars

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Authors: Muhammad Saiful Islam Khan, Yun Ji Kim

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Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) have been widely used to replace more persistent organochlorine pesticides because OPPs are more soluble in water and decompose rapidly in aquatic systems. Extensive uses of OPPs in modern agriculture are the major cause of the contamination of surface water. Regardless of the advantages gained by the application of pesticides in modern agriculture, they are a threat to the public health environment. With the aim of reducing possible health threats, several physical and chemical treatment processes have been studied to eliminate biological and chemical poisons from food stuff. In the present study, a micro-plasma device was used to reduce pesticides from the surface of food stuff. Pesticide free food items chosen in this study were perilla leaf, tomato, broccoli and blueberry. To evaluate the removal efficiency of pesticides, different washing methods were followed such as soaking with water, washing with bubbling water, washing with plasma-treated water and washing with chlorine water. 2 mL of 2000 ppm pesticide samples, namely, diazinone and chlorpyrifos were individuality inoculated on food surface and was air dried for 2 hours before treated with plasma. Plasma treated water was used in two different manners one is plasma treated water with bubbling the other one is aerosolized plasma treated water. The removal efficiency of pesticides from food surface was studied using HPLC. Washing with plasma treated water, aerosolized plasma treated water and chlorine water shows minimum 72% to maximum 87 % reduction for 4 min treatment irrespective to the types of food items and the types of pesticides sample, in case of soaking and bubbling the reduction is 8% to 48%. Washing with plasma treated water, aerosolized plasma treated water and chlorine water shows somewhat similar reduction ability which is significantly higher comparing to the soaking and bubbling washing system. The temperature effect of the washing systems was also evaluated; three different temperatures were set for the experiment, such as 22°C, 10°C and 4°C. Decreasing temperature from 22°C to 10°C shows a higher reduction in the case of washing with plasma and aerosolized plasma treated water, whereas an opposite trend was observed for the washing with chlorine water. Further temperature reduction from 10°C to 4°C does not show any significant reduction of pesticides, except for the washing with chlorine water. Chlorine water treatment shows lesser pesticide reduction with the decrease in temperature. The color changes of the treated sample were measured immediately and after one week to evaluate if there is any effect of washing with plasma treated water and with chlorine water. No significant color changes were observed for either of the washing systems, except for broccoli washing with chlorine water.

Keywords: chlorpyrifos, diazinone, pesticides, micro plasma

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Authors: Edwin O. Clarke, Akintade O. Adeboyejo

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Intensive use of pesticides resulted in dispersal of pollutants throughout the globe. This study was carried out to investigate persistent Organochlorine pesticides (POPs) in water, sediment and fin fishes, Schilbes mystus and Hemichromis fasciatus from two different sampling stations along River Ogun between the month of June 2012 and January 2013. The Organochlorine pesticides analyzed include DDT (pp’1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethane), DDD, DDE (pp1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethylene, HCH (gamma 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocylohexane, HCB hexachlorobenzene),Dieldrin (1,2,3,4,10,10-hexachloro-6,7-epoxy-1,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a octahydro- 1,4,5,8 dimethanonaphthalene). The analysis was done using Gas Chromatograph with Electron Capture Detector. In water sample, the result showed that PPDDT, Endrin aldehyde, Endrin ketone concentrations were high in both stations. The mean value of Organochlorine analyzed in water range from Beta BHC (0.50±0.10µg/l) to PP DDT (162.86±0.21µg/l) in Kara sample station and Beta BHC (0.20±0.07µg/l) to Endrin Aldehyde (76.47±0.02µg/l) in Odo-Ogun sample station. The levels of POPs obtained in sediments ranged from 0.40±0.23µg/g (Beta BHC) to 259.90 ± 1.00µg/kg (Endosulfan sulfate) in Kara sample station and 0.64±0.00µg/g (Beta BHC) to 379.77 ±0.15 µg/g (Endosulfan sulfate) in Odo-Ogun sample station. The levels of POPs obtained in fin fish samples ranged from 0.29±0.00µg/g (Delta BHC) to 197.87 ± 0.31µg/g (PP DDT) in Kara sample station and in Odo-Ogun sample station the mean value for fish samples range from 0.29 ± 0.00 µg/g (Delta BHC) to 197.87 ± 0.32 µg/g (PP DDT). The study showed that the accumulation of POPs affect the environment and reduce water quality. The results showed that the concentrations were found to exceed the maximum acceptable concentration of 0.10µg/l value set by the European Union for the protection of freshwater aquatic life and this can be hazardous if the trend is not checked.

Keywords: hazardous, persistent, pesticides, biomes

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Authors: Birtukan Atinkut Asmare, Bernhard Freyer, Jim Bingen

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Though it is possible to transform the farming system towards a healthy, sustainable, and toxic-free food system by reducing pesticide use both in the field and postharvest, pesticides, including those that have been banned or severely restricted from use in developed countries, are indiscriminately used in African agriculture. Drawing on social practice theory, this study is about pesticide use practices in smallholder farms and its adverse impacts on women’s health and the environment, with reference to Africa, with an empirical focus on Ethiopia. Data have been collected via integrating diverse quantitative and qualitative approaches such as household surveys (n= 318), focus group discussions (n=6), field observations (n=30), and key informant interviews (n=18), with people along the pesticide value chain, including sellers and extension workers up to women farmers. A binary logistic regression model was used to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of personal protective equipment among female headed households. The findings show that Female-headed households carried out risky and unsafe practices from pesticide purchasing up to disposal, largely motivated by material elements (such as labor, income, time, and the provisioning system) but were notably shaped by competences (skills and knowledge), and meanings (norms, values, rules, and shared ideas). The main meaning or material aspect for pesticide purchasing were the perceptions of efficacy on pests, diseases, and weeds (65%), cost and availability in smaller quantities (60.7%), and a woman’s available time and mobility (58.9%). Pesticide hazards to human health or the environment seem not to be relevant for most female headed households. Unsafe practices of pesticide use among women led to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation, let alone their and family’s health. As the regression results show, the significant factors that influenced PPE adoption among female headed households were age and retailer information (p < 0.05). In line with the empirical finding, in addition to changing individual competences through advisory services and training, a foundational shift is needed in the sociocultural environment (e.g., policy, advisory), or a change in the meanings (social norms), where women are living and working.

Keywords: biodiversity, competences, ecosystems, ethiopia, female headed households, materials, meanings, pesticide purchasing, pesticide using, social practice theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 45

Authors: S. K. Kakraliya, H. S. Jat, Manish Kakraliya, P. C. Sharma, M. L. Jat

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The biggest challenge in agriculture is to produce more food for the continually increasing world population with in the limited land and water resources. Serious water deficits and reducing natural resources are some of the major threats to the agricultural sustainability in many regions of South Asia. Food and water security may be gained by bringing improvement in the crop water productivity and the amount produced per unit of water consumed. Improvement in the crop water productivity may be achieved by pursuing alternative modern agronomics approaches, which are more friendly and efficient in utilizing natural resources. Therefore, a research trial on conservation agriculture (CA) and precision water management (PWM) was conducted in 2018-19 at Karnal, India to evaluate the effect on crop productivity and irrigation in sodic soils under rice-wheat (RW) systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Eight scenarios were compared varied in the tillage, crop establishment, residue and irrigarion management i.e., {First four scenarios irrigated with flood irrigation method;Sc1-Conventional tillage (CT) without residue, Sc2-CT with residue, Sc3- Zero tillage (ZT) without residue, Sc4-ZT with residue}, and {last four scenarios irrigated with sub-surface drip irrigation method; Sc5-ZT without residue, Sc6- ZT with residue, Sc7-ZT inclusion legume without residue and Sc8- ZT inclusion legume with residue}. Results revealed that CA-flood irrigation (S3, Sc4) and CA-PWM system (Sc5, Sc6, Sc7 and Sc8) recorded about ~5% and ~15% higher wheat yield, respectively compared to Sc1. Similar, CA-PWM saved ~40% irrigation water compared to Sc1. Rice yield was not different under different scenarios in the first year (kharif 2019) but almost half irrigation water saved under CA-PWM system. Therefore, results of our study on modern agronomic practices including CA and precision water management (subsurface drip irrigation) for RW rotation would be addressed the existing and future challenges in the RW system.

Keywords: Sub-surface drip, Crop residue, Crop yield , Zero tillage

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Authors: A. El-Gendy, S. Al-Farraj, S. Al Kahtani, M. El-Hedeny

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Contaminations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and chlordane (CHLs) were examined in the edible mantle tissues of the commercial cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg 1831, collected from the marine water of the Arabian Gulf. The mean concentrations of DDT, CHLs and HCH were in the ranges of 29.4 - 56 ng/g, 47.4 - 100 ng/g and 1 - 4 ng/g, respectively. Among the POPs analyzed, HCH showed the lowest concentrations ranging between 1 to 5 ng/g lipid wt. However, concentrations of DDT, CHLs and HCH, detected in this study, were generally comparable or lower than those found in studies of similar cephalopod species from other areas subject to a high anthropogenic impact. Relationships between total body lengths and/or dorsal mantle lengths of the organisms and the concentration values of the studied POPs were also considered. Compared with recommendations of the international organizations, there are no potential risks associated with consuming the studied cuttlefish species.

Keywords: cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis, organochlorine, DDT, CHLs, HCH, Arabian Gulf

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Mihai-Alexandru Florea, Veronica Drumea, Roxana Nita, Cerasela Gird, Laura Olariu

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The aim of this study was to investigate the residues of pesticide found in tea water infusions. A multi-residues method to determine 147 pesticides has been developed using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) procedure and dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) for the cleanup the pesticides from complex matrices such as plants and tea. Sample preparation was carefully optimized for the efficient removal of coextracted matrix components by testing more solvent systems. Determination of pesticides was performed using GC-MS/MS (100 of pesticides) and LC-MS/MS (47 of pesticides). The selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode was chosen to achieve low detection limits and high compounds selectivity and sensitivity. Overall performance was evaluated and validated according to DG-SANTE Guidelines. To assess the pesticide residue transfer rate (qualitative) from dried tea in infusions the samples (tea) were spiked with a mixture of pesticides at the maximum residues level accepted for teas and herbal infusions. In order to investigate the release of the pesticides in tea preparations, the medicinal plants were prepared in four ways by variation of water temperature and the infusion time. The pesticides from infusions were extracted using two methods: QuEChERS versus solid-phase extraction (SPE). More that 90 % of the pesticides studied was identified in infusion.

Keywords: tea, solid-phase extraction (SPE), selected reaction monitoring (SRM), QuEChERS

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Authors: Ahmad Latif Virk, Naeem Ahmad, Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani

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Amid the present environmental crises, developing environment-resilient and cost-effective conservation agriculture strategies to feed the world's ever-growing population is pertinent. Therefore, a field study was conducted to test the hypothesis that residue retention under no-till (NTR) would enhance energy productivity (EP) and energy use efficiency (EUE) while offsetting the carbon footprints (CF), water footprints (WF) and greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs) in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) double cropping system. Two tillage systems viz., conventional tillage (CT) and conservation tillage (no-till; NT), with or without residue retention, were combined into four treatments as CT0 (puddled rice, conventional wheat - residue); CTR (puddled rice, conventional wheat + residue); NT0 (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat - residue); NTR (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat + residue) were evaluated. Overall, results showed that the NT system had 34.2% lower energy consumption, 1.2 times more EP than CT system. Moreover, NTR had 19.8% higher EUE than CT0. The overall system grain yield ranged from 7.8 to 9.3 Mg ha−1 under NT0 and CTR, respectively. The NTR had 56.6% and 17.9% lesser CF and WF, respectively, than CT0. The net GHGs emissions (CO2-eq kg ha−1) under CT0 were the highest, while NTR had the lowest emissions. The NTR enhanced carbon sequestration in soil that can offset half of the system's CO2 emissions. The findings of this study might help develop a suitable strategy for resource/energy conservation and higher productivity while offsetting GHGs emissions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Keywords: residue, yield, indirect emissions, energy use efficiency, carbon sequestration

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Authors: Soomal Hamza, Uzma Imran

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Organochlorine pesticides bio-accumulate into the fat of fish, birds, and animals through which it enters the human food cycle. Due to their persistence and stability in the environment, many health impacts are associated with them, most of which are carcinogenic in nature. In this study, the level of organochlorine pesticides has been detected in Keenjhar Lake and remediated using Rhizoremediation technique. 14 OC pesticides namely, Aldrin, Deldrin, Heptachlor, Heptachlor epoxide, Endrin, Endosulfun I and II, DDT, DDE, DDD, Alpha, Beta, Gamma BHC and two plants namely, Water Hyacinth and Slvinia Molesta were used in the system using pot experiment which processed for 11 days. A consortium was inoculated in both plants to increase its efficiency. Water samples were processed using liquide-liquid extraction. Sediments and roots samples were processed using Soxhlet method followed by clean-up and Gas Chromatography. Delta-BHC was the predominantly found in all samples with mean concentration (ppb) and standard deviation of 0.02 ± 0.14, 0.52 ± 0.68, 0.61 ± 0.06, in Water, Sediments and Roots samples respectively. The highest levels were of Endosulfan II in the samples of water, sediments and roots. Water Hyacinth proved to be better bioaccumulaor as compared to Silvinia Molesta. The pattern of compounds reduction rate by the end of experiment was Delta-BHC>DDD > Alpha-BHC > DDT> Heptachlor> H.Epoxide> Deldrin> Aldrin> Endrin> DDE> Endosulfun I > Endosulfun II. Not much significant difference was observed between the pots with the consortium and pots without the consortium addition. Phytoremediation is a promising technique, but more studies are required to assess the bioremediation potential of different aquatic plants and plant-endophyte relationship.

Keywords: aquatic plant, bio remediation, gas chromatography, liquid liquid extraction

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Authors: Ryan Masoodi, Hossein Rostami

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Aluminum has been credited for the massive advancement of many industrial products, from aerospace and automotive to electronics and even household appliances. These developments have come with a cost, which is a toxic by-product. The rise of aluminum production has been accompanied by the rise of a waste material called Bauxite Residue or Red Mud. This toxic material has been proved to be harmful to the environment, yet, there is no proper way to dispose or recycle it. Herewith, a new experimental method to utilize this waste in the building material is proposed. A method to mix red mud, fly ash, and some other ingredients is explored to create a new construction material that can satisfy the minimum required strength for bricks. It concludes that it is possible to produce bricks with enough strength that is suitable for constriction in environments with low to moderate weather conditions.

Keywords: bauxite residue, brick, red mud, recycling

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Authors: Pallavi Moudgil, J. S. Bedi, R. S. Aulakh, J. P. S. Gill

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Mycotoxins in milk are of major public health concern. The present study was envisaged with an aim to monitor the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxin A in raw milk samples collected from individual animals from dairy farms located in Punjab (India). A total of 168 raw milk samples were collected and analysed using competitive ELISA kits. Out of these, 9 (5.4%) samples were found positive for aflatoxin M1 with the mean concentration of 0.006-0.13 ng/ml and 2 (1.2%) samples exceeded the established maximum residue limit of 0.05 ng/ml established by the European Union. For ochratoxin A, 2 (0.1%) samples were found positive with the mean concentration of 0.61-0.83 ng/ml with both the samples below the established maximum residue limit of 2 ng/ml. The results showed that the milk of dairy cattle is safe with respect to ochratoxin A contamination but occurrence of aflatoxin M1 above maximum residue limit suggested that feed contaminated with mycotoxins might have been offered to dairy cattle that can pose serious health risks to consumers.

Keywords: Aflatoxin M1, health risks, maximum residue limit, milk, Ochratoxin A

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Authors: Mayank, Navneet Kaur, Narinder Singh

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The V599 mutations in the BRAF protein are extremely oncogenic, responsible for countless of malignant conditions. Along with wild type, V599E, V599D, and V599R are the important mutated variants of the BRAF proteins. The BRAF inhibitory anticancer agents are continuously developing, and sorafenib is a BRAF inhibitor that is under clinical use. The crystal structure of sorafenib bounded to wild type, and V599 is known, showing a similar interaction pattern in both the case. The mutated 599th residue, in both the case, is also found not interacting directly with the co-crystallized sorafenib molecule. However, the IC50 value of sorafenib was found extremely different in both the case, i.e., 22 nmol/L for wild and 38 nmol/L for V599E protein. Molecular docking study and MMGBSA binding energy results also revealed a significant difference in the binding pattern of sorafenib in both the case. Therefore, to explore the role of distinctively situated 599th residue, we have further conducted comprehensive computational studies. The molecular dynamics simulation, residue interaction network (RIN) analysis, and residue correlation study results revealed the importance of the 599th residue on the therapeutic outcome and overall dynamic of the BRAF protein. Therefore, although the position of 599th residue is very much distinctive from the ligand-binding cavity of BRAF, still it has exceptional control over the overall functional outcome of the protein. The insight obtained here may seem extremely important and guide us while designing ideal BRAF inhibitory anticancer molecules.

Keywords: BRAF, oncogenic, sorafenib, computational studies

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Authors: M. G. Tanga, P. B. Telefo, D. N. Tarla

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Even though the WHO, the EPA and other regulatory bodies have recognized the effects of acute pesticide poisoning little data exists on health effects after long-term low-dose exposures especially in Africa and Cameroon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of pesticides on the hepatic functions of market gardeners in the Western Region of Cameroon by studying some biochemical parameters. Sixty six male market gardeners in Foumbot, Massangam, and Bantoum were interviewed on their health status, habits and pesticide use in agriculture, including the spray frequency, application method, and pesticide dosage. Thirty men with no history of pesticide exposure were recruited as control group. Thereafter, their blood samples were collected for assessment of hepatic function biomarkers (ALT, AST, and albumin). The results showed that 56 pesticides containing 25 active ingredients were currently used by market gardeners enrolled in our study and most of their symptoms (headache, fatigue, skin rashes, eye irritation, and nausea) were related to the use of these chemicals. Compared to the control subjects market gardeners’ ALT levels (32.9 ± 7.19 UL-1 vs. 82.11 ± 35.40 UL-1; P < 0.001) and, AST levels (40.63 ± 6.52 UL-1 vs. 112.11 UL-1 ± 47.15 UL-1; P < 0.001) were significantly increased. These results suggest that liver function tests can be used as biomarkers to indicate toxicity before overt clinical signs occur. The market gardeners’ chronic exposure to pesticides due to poor application measures could lead to hepatic function impairment. Further research on larger scale is needed to confirm these findings and to establish a mechanism of toxicity.

Keywords: biomarkers, liver, pesticides, occupational exposure

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Authors: T. Varazi, M. Pruidze, M. Kurashvili, N. Gagelidze, M. Sutton

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The complex phytoremediation approach given in the presented work implies joint application of natural sorbents, microorganisms, natural biosurfactants and plants. The approach is based on using the natural mineral composites, microorganism strains with high detoxification abilities, plants-phytoremediators and natural biosurfactants for enhancing the uptake of intermediates of pollutants by plant roots. In this complex strategy of phytoremediation technology, the sorbent serves to uptake and trap the pollutants and thus restrain their emission in the environment. The role of microorganisms is to accomplish the first stage biodegradation of organic contaminants. This is followed by application of a phytoremediation technology through purposeful planting of selected plants. Thus, using of different tools will provide restoration of polluted environment and prevention of toxic compounds’ dissemination from hotbeds of pollution for a considerable length of time. The main idea and novelty of the carried out work is the development of a new approach for the ecological safety. The wide spectrum of contaminants: Organochlorine pesticide – DDT, heavy metal –Cu, oil hydrocarbon (hexadecane) and wax have been used in this work. The presented complex biotechnology is important from the viewpoint of prevention, providing total rehabilitation of soil. It is unique to chemical pollutants, ecologically friendly and provides the control of erosion of soils.

Keywords: bioremediation, phytoremediation, pollutants, soil contamination

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Authors: D. Pranav

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Pesticides are a class of Biocide, whose use in agriculture has led to a momentous increase in the yield of crops, fruits and vegetables all over the word and its effective use has also been the pillars of success for the Green Revolution. However, the incessant use of pesticides has now reached alarming levels. In 2007 alone, the world used an estimated 2.4 million tons of pesticides. Despite its tremendous benefits for agriculture, pesticide has been one of the major reasons for degradation of the natural environment and undesirable effects on human beings. It has not only caused damage to human health, but has also threatened the survival of few birds and animal species. In India, the sale and usage of banned pesticide, increased usage of pesticides and its inadequate labeling has caused Bio magnification, which is causing deleterious effects on child development, resulting in stunted mental and physical growth. This paper aims to bring to shed light on major loopholes in the current pesticide regulations such as the Insecticide Act of 1968. It further discusses loopholes in the yet to be tabled Pesticides Management Bill of 2008. It discusses and arrives at potential amendments to the laws and regulations concerning pesticides; that cannot only be applied to the Indian subcontinent but other developing countries as well.

Keywords: pesticides, India, human health, environment, regulations, reform

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Authors: Sopana Wongtawee

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Purpose: Adequate bowel cleansing is essential for a high quality, effective and safe colonoscopy. The aims of this study were to compare the efficacy of bowel preparation based on a low-residue diet before 8:00 followed by a clear-liquid diet, and a low-residue diet until 16:00 one day before colonoscopy using sodium phosphate solution (Xubil ®), the side effects of the two protocols and the patient satisfaction with them. Method: This was an endoscopist-blinded, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 224 patients (112 in each group) scheduled for outpatient colonoscopy met the criteria.They were randomized to either a low-residue diet consisting of white rice porridge with either fish, chicken or eggs before 8:00 followed by a clear-liquid diet (Group 1) or a low-residue diet consisting of the same food and drink, until 16:00 the day before colonoscopy(Group 2). All of them received 45 ml of sodium phosphate solution (Xubil ®) and three glasses of water (300 ml/glass) the evening before and the morning of the procedure. The cleansing efficacy of bowel preparation was rated according to the modified Rajawithi hospital bowel preparation score scale, patient satisfaction with bowel preparation was rated using Likert scale, and side effects of the 2 protocols was assessed using a patient questionnaire. Results: The cleansing efficacy between the two groups was significantly different (p=0.02). Satisfaction with bowel preparation and side effects were not different, except for the feeling of hunger in the first group (p=0.001). Conclusion: The low-residue diet consisting of white rice porridge with fish, chicken or eggs until 16:00 one day before colonoscopy achieved a better bowel-cleansing efficacy than the protocol consisting of clear liquid all day and rice porridge only before 8:00 one day before colonoscopy.

Keywords: bowel preparation, colonoscopy, sodium phosphate solution, nursing management

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