Fresh evidence on connectedness between prominent markets during COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Various empirical studies have examined the nexus between financial markets, but this study focused on the comovement among prominent markets. Our...     

Cattle egrets as a biosentinels of persistent organic pollutants exposure

We investigated selected chlorinated pollutants (β-HCH, γ-HCH, DDDs, DDEs, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDT, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, and endrin) in the Lahore and the Sialkot districts of Pakistan, using eggs of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) collected during May and June 2007. The pollutant with highest level and frequency was ΣDDT, followed by β-HCH, γ-HCH, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, and endrin in descending order. The concentration(s) were significantly higher in Sialkot heronry for all the pollutants (except p,p′-DDT) than in Lahore. The values for DDTs, β-HCH, γ-HCH, and heptachlor were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the egg(s) than in sediment(s) and in the chicks’ diet, due to biomagnification. Among DDTs analogues, p,p′-DDD was the major contaminant with >60 % of total DDT burden, reflecting the widespread aged as well as recent use of DDT as well as anaerobic degradation (DDD/DDE > 1 in many cases) in the nearby paddy soils. In few samples, p,p′-DDT/(DDD + DDE) > 0.5 suggested the recent emission patterns from surrounding contaminated areas of demolished DDT units and obsolete pesticide stores. The higher levels of HCHs (i.e., β-HCH) in the samples collected from Sialkot indicate exposure from long-term agricultural use. Overall, concentrations of all studied POPs were less than the threshold levels known to affect reproduction. Nevertheless, total DDTs and/or HCHs burdens in some eggs contained concentrations of greater than what would educe adverse effects on birds. This is among few studies on OCPs exposure to avian species, which provide the evidence of Pakistan’s contribution toward the Global POPs emission.     

Sol-gel immobilisation of methyl parathion degrading bacteria isolated from agricultural areas of Pakistan

The following areas are discussed in this paper: immobilisation of bacterial consortium in sol-gel; methyl parathion degradation and bioremediation applications; evaluation of indigenous bacterial isolates of contaminated soils. Bacterial strains were isolated from agricultural areas of Pakistan which were contaminated with methyl parathion. A bacterial consortium of seven (out of 64) Enterobacteriaceae isolates including Citrobacter, Enterobacter and Proteus vulgaris capable of degrading methyl parathion (enzyme activity ranging 410–675 mU mL^?1 for individual isolates and 982 mU/mL for consortium) was selected and subsequently immobilised in tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and sodium-silicate-based sol-gel matrices. Cell viability of suspended and immobilised bacterial consortium was monitored using a minimal salt medium supplemented with methyl parathion. The results indicate that sol-gel immobilisation can be helpful to increase the shelf life of methyl parathion degrading bacterial strains along with preservation of biological activity for bioremediation applications in field.     

Mercury contamination in selected foodstuffs and potential health risk assessment along the artisanal gold mining,Gilgit-Baltistan,Pakistan

This study investigates the mercury (Hg) contaminations in soil and foodstuffs along the artisanal gold mining areas, Gilgit-Baltistan Province, Pakistan. For this purpose, soils were analyzed for Hg concentrations and evaluated for the enrichment/contamination using enrichment factor or contamination factors (CF). The CF values ranged from 18.9 to 153 showed multifold higher levels of Hg contamination as compared to background or reference site. Foodstuffs including vegetables, seeds or grains and fish muscles showed Hg accumulation. Results revealed that Hg concentrations in foodstuffs were higher than the critical human health value set by European Union. The Hg in foodstuffs was consumed and, therefore, evaluated for the risk assessment indices using the daily intake (DI) and health risk index (HRI) for the exposed human population both children and adults. Results of this study revealed that cumulative HRI values through foodstuffs consumption were <1 (within safe limit), but if the current practices continued, then the Hg contamination could pose potential threat to exposed population in near future.     

Elements of fishing community resilience to climate change in the coastal zone of Bangladesh

Resilience has been conceptualized in various ways by anthropologists, ecologists, systems scientists and engineers; the boundaries of resilience are subjective and context dependent. Consequently, choosing the standards and metrics for assessing resilience remains key challenges for policy makers. In this study, using multicriteria evaluation of 40 basic criteria of human, physical, financial, natural and social assets, we have identified several elements, such as experienced fishermen, natural abundance of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), ability to assert decision on fish selling, nets and boats ownership, social harmony and capacity of buying food as essential livelihood assets for the fishermen at Hatiya Island, Bangladesh. These assets may enhance the relative resilience of the fishing community of the island to climate change by as much as 20–40%. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the elements that lead to resilience at the community level.     

Nanoscience in food and agriculture: research,industries and patents

High population rise and climate changes are increasing issues of agricultural production and food safety. Nanotechnology is finding revolutionary applications to improve agricultural and food systems, notably for better crop production and food preservation. Here we review research, industrial and patent trends of nanoscience in food and agriculture. In a literature survey, we found 44.6% publications in the nano-food research area during the years 2013–2015 and 59.09% publications in the nano-agriculture research area during 2012–2015. USA is leading in the development of nanotechnology firms with a maximum share of 75.5% of the total firms, followed by Germany and France with 8.10 and 4.74%, respectively. USA is leading in the nano-food research with 22 granted patents, whereas China is placed first in nano-agriculture research with 28 granted patents during assessment years 2011–2015. Nano-food research focused mainly on nano-food packaging with 76.84% contributions, whereas in nano-agriculture research, focus has been on nano-fertilizers with 90% contributions. Germany, France, Korea, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovak republic have more than 20% of dedicated nanotechnology firms. A growth of about 45% in nano-food patents has been observed for USA during 2011–2015, and China is leading in the nano-agriculture patents with an increase of 60.7% during 2012–2015.     

采用在线SPE技术的UPLC,用于分析饮用水中的农药和药物

水中的目标污染物通常为痕量水平(低于ppb级).为了使分析物的最终浓度在所选检测器(如UV,EISD,MS)的可检测范围内,必须进行预富集处理.富集因子通过原始样品体积和最终萃取体积进行计算.例如,将原始样品体积500 ml浓缩至最终体积1 ml,则为500:1的富集.通常的方法是将较大的初始体积(如1L)浓缩为尽可能低的最终体积(如500μl).这样的方法需要进行大量的手动操作,涉及加载、蒸发和重构等步骤,有时会花上好几个小时.采用在线SPE技术的UPLC用于此类分析时具有诸多优点:无需繁琐的蒸发和重构步骤;可管理多种方法,无需操作员干预;可以管理需要不同条件的方法;可以降低所需的样品体积;最大限度地降低了样品的转移和处理.     

Physico‐mechanical and Flammability Properties of Cyrtostachys renda Fibers Reinforced Phenolic Resin Bio-composites

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of fiber length and loading on physico-mechanical and flammability properties of Cyrtostachys renda (CR)...     

Effects of NO,NO<Subscript>2</Subscript>, CO and SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on NO oxidation over Pt/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> for hybrid fast SCR process

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) rate of NO with N-containing reducing agents can be enhanced considerably by converting part of NO into NO₂. The enhanced reaction rate is more pronounced even at lower temperatures by using an equimolar mixture of NO and NO₂ (fast SCR reaction). The oxidation characteristics of NO over catalyst Pt/TiO₂ have been determined in a fixed bed reactor (8 mm-ID) with different concentrations of oxygen, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide in the presence of 8% water. The conversion of NO to NO₂ increases with increasing oxygen (O₂) concentration from 3 to 12%, but it levels off at higher O₂ concentrations. The NO conversion to NO₂ decreases with increasing NO concentration and it also decreases by an addition of NO₂ in the feed stream. Therefore, the oxidation of NO over Pt/TiO₂ catalyst could be auto-inhibited by the reaction product of NO₂. The effects of CO and SO₂ on NO oxidation characteristics have also been determined. In fact, the presence of SO₂ significantly suppresses oxidation of NO but due to the less stability of sulfate on anatase structure in TiO₂, it becomes less significant. On the other hand, the presence of CO increases NO oxidation significantly due to the auto-inhibition effect by CO. Moreover, the effect of SO₂/CO on NO oxidation has also been determined and it was observed that NO oxidation decreases with the increase in SO₂/CO ratio.     

Sustainable options of post treatment of UASB effluent treating sewage: A review

The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process is reported to be a sustainable technology for domestic wastewaters treatment in developing countries and for small communities. However, the inability of UASB process to meet the desired disposal standards has given enough impetus for subsequent post treatment. In order to upgrade the UASB based sewage treatment plants (STPs) to achieve desired effluent quality for disposal or for reuse, various technological options are available and broadly differentiated as primary post-treatment for the removal of organic and inorganic compounds and suspended matter; secondary post-treatment for the removal of hardly degradable soluble matter, colloidal and nutrients; and polishing systems for removals of pathogens. Hence, this paper discusses the different systems for the treatment of UASB reactor effluent treating sewage. Additionally, a comparative review, an economic evaluation of some of the emerging options was conducted and based on the extensive review of different integrated combination, i.e. UASB-different aerobic systems, a treatment concept based on natural biological mineralization route recognized as an advanced technology to meet all practical aspects to make it a sustainable for environmental protection, resource preservation and recovering maximum resources.