Spatio-temporal variations in water quality of Nullah Aik-tributary of the river Chenab, Pakistan

This study reports the spatio-temporal changes in water quality of Nullah Aik, tributary of the Chenab River, Pakistan. Stream water samples were collected at seven sampling sites on seasonal basis from September 2004 to April 2006 and were analyzed for 24 water quality parameters. Most significant parameters which contributed in spatio-temporal variations were assessed by statistical techniques such as Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA), Factor Analysis/Principal Components Analysis (FA/PCA), and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). HACA identified three different classes of sites: Relatively Unimpaired, Impaired and Less Impaired Regions on the basis of similarity among different physicochemical characteristics and pollutant level between the sampling sites. DFA produced the best results for identification of main variables for temporal and spatial analysis and separated eight parameters (DO, hardness, sulphides, K, Fe, Pb, Cr and Zn) that accounted 89.7% of total variations of spatial analysis. Temporal analysis using DFA separated six parameters (E.C., TDS, salinity, hardness, chlorides and Pb) that showed more than 84.6% of total temporal variation. FA/PCA identified six significant factors (sources) which were responsible for major variations in water quality dataset of Nullah Aik. The results signify that parameters identified by statistical analyses were responsible for water quality change and suggest the possibility of industrial, municipal and agricultural runoff, parent rock material contamination. The results suggest dire need for proper management measures to restore the water quality of this tributary for a healthy and promising aquatic ecosystem and also highlights its importance for objective ecological policy and decision making process.     

Assessing tether anchor labeling and usability in pickup trucks

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate vehicle factors associated with child restraint tether use and misuse in pickup trucks and evaluate 4 labeling interventions designed to educate consumers on proper tether use.

Methods: Volunteer testing was performed with 24 subjects and 4 different pickup trucks. Each subject performed 8 child restraint installations among the 4 pickups using 2 forward-facing restraints: a Britax Marathon G4.1 and an Evenflo Triumph. Vehicles were selected to represent 4 different implementations of tether anchors among pickups: plastic loop routers (Chevrolet Silverado), webbing routers (Ram), back wall anchors (Nissan Frontier), and webbing routers plus metal anchors (Toyota Tundra). Interventions included a diagram label, Quick Response (QR) Code linked to video instruction, coordinating text label, and contrasting text tag.

Results: Subjects used the child restraint tether in 93% of trials. However, tether use was completely correct in only 9% of trials. An installation was considered functional if the subject attached the tether to a tether anchor and had a tight installation (ignoring routing and head restraint position); 28% of subjects achieved a functional installation. The most common installation error was attaching the tether hook to the anchor/router directly behind the child restraint (near the top of the seatback) rather than placing the tether through the router and attaching it to the anchor in the adjacent seating position. The Nissan Frontier, with the anchor located on the back wall of the cab, had the highest rate of correct installations but also had the highest rate of attaching the tether to components other than the tether anchor (seat adjustor, child restraint storage hook, around head restraint). None of the labeling interventions had a significant effect on correct installation; not a single subject scanned the QR Code to access the video instruction. Subjects with the most successful installations spent extensive time reviewing the vehicle manuals.

Conclusion: Current implementations of tether anchors among pickup trucks are not intuitive for child restraint installations, and alternate designs should be explored. Several different labeling interventions were ineffective at achieving correct tether use in pickup trucks.     

Mangrove forest decline: consequences for livelihoods and environment in South Sulawesi

Mangrove forests in the tropics and subtropics grow in saline sediments in coastal and estuarine environments. Preservation of mangrove forests is important for many reasons, including the prevention of coastal erosion and seawater intrusion; the provision of spawning, nursery, and feeding grounds of diverse marine biota; and for direct use (such as firewood, charcoal, and construction material)—all of which benefit the sustainability of local communities. However, for many mangrove areas of the world, unsustainable resource utilization and the profit orientation of communities have often led to rapid and severe mangrove loss with serious consequences. The mangrove forests of the Takalar District, South Sulawesi, are studied here as a case area that has suffered from degradation and declining spatial extent during recent decades. On the basis of a post-classification comparison of change detection from satellite imagery and a survey of households, we provide an estimate of the mangrove change in the Takalar District during 1979–2011 and the consequences of those changes. Mangrove forest areas were reduced by 66.05 % (3344 hectares) during the 33-year period of analysis, and the biggest annual negative change in dense mangrove forest cover (8.37 %) occurred during the period 2006–2011. The changes were caused mainly by the mangrove clearing and conversion to aquaculture, and consequences have been increasing forest degradation, coastal abrasion, seawater intrusion, a decline in fish capture, a reduction in juvenile shrimp and milkfish, and outbreaks of shrimp disease. On the other hand, the clearing and impoundment of mangrove forests for shrimp and seaweed culture have provided a source of foreign exchange and new opportunities for employment in the study area.     

Effect of mercury and arsenic from industrial effluents on the drinking water and comparison of the water quality of polluted and non-polluted areas: a case study of Peshawar and Lower Dir

The purpose of the present study was to find out the sources of mercury and arsenic pollution of water in the industrial area of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Samples of effluents, mud, and water were collected from the target area (industrial area of Peshawar), the area of water supply source, and from the less polluted area, the Lower Dir district, as the control. Hg was determined by the cold vapor generation technique, while arsenic was determined using the electrothermal atomic absorption technique. Data of the water from the industrial area were compared with that of the source area, control area, as well as with the WHO and some international drinking water quality standards. The results show that some parameters, i.e., TDS, DO, pH, and hardness, were more than the permissible limits. Textile and glass industries were found to be the major sources of Hg and As pollution. Downstream dilution of these contaminants was also observed.     

Monitoring the effects of chelating agents and electrical fields on active forms of Pb and Zn in contaminated soil

The application of electrical fields and chelating agents is an innovative hybrid technology used for the decontamination of soil polluted by heavy metals. The effects of four center-oriented electrical fields and chelating agents on active fractions of lead and zinc were investigated in this pot experiment. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a synthetic chelator and cow manure extract (CME) and poultry manure extract (PME) as natural chelators were applied to the pots (2 g kg^?1) 30 days after the first irrigation. Two weeks later, four center-oriented electrical fields were applied in each pot (in three levels of 0, 10, and 30 V) for 1 h each day for 14 days. The soil near the cathode and anodes was collected and analyzed as cathodic and anodic soil, respectively. Results indicated that the soluble–exchangeable fraction of lead and zinc were decreased in the cathodic soil, while the carbonate-bound fractions were increased. In the anodic soil, however, the opposite result was observed. EDTA enhanced the soluble–exchangeable form of the metals in both anodic and cathodic soils. Furthermore, the amounts of carbonate-bound heavy metals were increased by the application of CME in both soils. The organic-bound fraction of the metals was increased by the application of natural chelators, while electrical fields had no significant impacts on this fraction.     

Levels,profile and distribution of Dechloran Plus (DP) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the environment of Pakistan

No scientific data is available on emerging contaminants including Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Dechloran Plus (DP) levels in the environment in Pakistan. Levels of PBDEs and DP were determined in the soil, sediment and atmospheric samples along the stretch of River Ravi in Punjab Province. Average concentrations of ΣPBDEs in atmosphere, soils and sediments were 36 pg m⁻³, 40 ng g⁻¹ and 640 ng g⁻¹. BDE-209 was the most abundant PBDE congener, showing that deca-BDE accounts for most of the total PBDE emitted in the environment of Pakistan. Total DP levels were calculated as 88 pg m⁻³, 0.8 ng g⁻¹ and 1.9 ng g⁻¹ in air, soil and sediment samples, respectively. The lower average fractions of anti-DP showed significant differences to those of the technical mixtures, indicating the lack of DP production source in Pakistan.     

Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating effects of creative self‐efficacy,reward importance,and locus of control

The effects of extrinsic rewards on creative performance have been controversial, and scholars have called for the examination of the boundary conditions of such effects. Drawing upon expectancy theory, we attend to both reinforcement and self‐determination pathways that reveal the informational and controlling functions of creativity‐related extrinsic rewards. We further identify the individual dispositions that moderate these two pathways. Specifically, we propose that extrinsic rewards for creativity positively predict creative performance only when employees have high creative self‐efficacy and regard such rewards as important. We likewise propose that extrinsic rewards positively affect the intrinsic motivation of employees with an internal locus of control, thus enhancing their creative performance. Results based on a sample of 181 employee–supervisor dyads largely supported these expectations. The current analysis enriches the creativity literature by combining different perspectives in a coherent framework, by demonstrating the positive effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation, and by demonstrating that the rewards–creativity relationship varies across employees depending on their individual differences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of gross alpha, gross beta activities and beryllium-7 concentrations in surface air: their variations and statistical prediction model

Measurement of gross α, gross β activities and cosmogenic beryllium-7 (⁷Be) concentrations were made both daily and weekly during the years 2001–2004 from samples of atmospheric aerosols filtered from the air at Tehran Nuclear Research Center (35 41′ N) and Zahedan (28 29′ N). Weekly aerosol samples collected with the high-volume air samplers on cellulose filters were used to determine the ⁷Be contents of samples, using a semiconductor gamma spectrometer. Airborne dust samples were collected daily on fiber glass filters and used to determine the gross β and gross α activities with automatic beta analyzer and a ZnS(Ag) counter, respectively. In this work, the concentration and meteorological data were used to determine models for gross α, gross β and ⁷Be. The air concentrations of gross β and gross α activities and ⁷Be concentrations displayed lognormal distributions during the study period. Both β and ⁷Be have maximum activity concentrations during warm mid-year months.     

Vertical characterization of soil contamination using multi-way modeling – A case study

This study describes application of chemometric multi-way modeling approach to analyze the dataset pertaining to soils of industrial area with a view to assess the soil/sub-soil contamination, accumulation pathways and mobility of contaminants in the soil profiles. The three-way (sampling depths, chemical variables, sampling sites) dataset on heavy metals in soil samples collected from three different sites in an industrial area, up to a depth of 60 m each was analyzed using three-way Tucker3 model validated for stability and goodness of fit. A two component Tucker3 model, explaining 66.6% of data variance, allowed interpretation of the data information in all the three modes. The interpretation of core elements revealing interactions among the components of different modes (depth, variables, sites) allowed inferring more realistic information about the contamination pattern of soils both along the horizontal and vertical coordinates, contamination pathways, and mobility of contaminants through soil profiles, as compared to the traditional data analysis techniques. It concluded that soils at site-1 and site-2 are relatively more contaminated with heavy metals of both the natural as well as anthropogenic origins, as compared to the soil of site-3. Moreover, the accumulation pathways of metals for upper shallow layers and deeper layers of soils in the area were differentiated. The information generated would be helpful in developing strategies for remediation of the contaminated soils for reducing the subsequent risk of ground-water contamination in the study region.     

Evaluating levels and health risk of heavy metals in exposed workers from surgical instrument manufacturing industries of Sialkot,Pakistan

The study aimed to monitor heavy metal (chromium, Cr; cadmium, Cd; nickel, Ni; copper, Cu; lead, Pb; iron, Fe; manganese, Mn; and zinc, Zn) footprints in biological matrices (urine, whole blood, saliva, and hair), as well as in indoor industrial dust samples, and their toxic effects on oxidative stress and health risks in exposed workers. Overall, blood, urine, and saliva samples exhibited significantly higher concentrations of toxic metals in exposed workers (Cr; blood 16.30 μg/L, urine 58.15 μg/L, saliva 5.28 μg/L) than the control samples (Cr; blood 5.48 μg/L, urine 4.47 μg/L, saliva 2.46 μg/L). Indoor industrial dust samples also reported to have elevated heavy metal concentrations, as an example, Cr quantified with concentration of 299 mg/kg of dust, i.e., more than twice the level of Cr in household dust (136 mg/kg). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) level presented significant positive correlation (p?≤?0.01) with Cr, Zn, and Cd (Cr?>?Zn?>?Cd) which is an indication of heavy metal’s associated raised oxidative stress in exposed workers. Elevated average daily intake (ADI) of heavy metals resulted in cumulative hazard quotient (HQ) range of 2.97–18.88 in workers of different surgical units; this is an alarming situation of health risk implications. Principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR)-based pie charts represent that polishing and cutting sections exhibited highest metal inputs to the biological and environmental matrices than other sources. Heavy metal concentrations in biological matrices and dust samples showed a significant positive correlation between Cr in dust, urine, and saliva samples. Current study will help to generate comprehensive base line data of heavy metal status in biomatrices and dust from scientifically ignored industrial sector. Our findings can play vital role for health departments and industrial environmental management system (EMS) authorities in policy making and implementation.