Level of sustainability reporting of Malaysian IPO companies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper aims to determine the level of sustainability reporting (SR) among Malaysian initial public offering (IPO) companies. Due to a lack of...     

Release of salts from municipal solid waste combustion residues

Residues from fluidized bed combustion of municipal solid waste were investigated with respect to their leaching behavior and possible extraction of salts. The total water extractable amounts of Na, K, Ca, Cl(-), Br(-), F(-) and SO(4)(2-) along with the total dissolved solids of bottom, hopper, cyclone and bag house filter ashes were determined. A simple multistage washing process (using water as the extraction medium) was tested in lab scale experiments. The effect of variations in parameters, such as water to ash weight ratio, contact time, temperature and number of extraction steps was investigated. The leaching behavior of untreated and washed cyclone and bag house filter ashes was evaluated by a two-step batch-leaching test, i.e. the CEN test. The ashes investigated in this study can be arranged according to their decreasing water extractable contents and total dissolved solids as follows: filter ash > cyclone ash > hopper ash > bottom ash. A triple extraction with water at liquid to solid ratio 2 and extraction time 5 min gave the best results for the extraction of Ca, Na, K, Cl(-) and SO(4)(2-) from the cyclone as well as from the filter ashes. The leached amounts of salts in the CEN test performed on the washed cyclone ash were considerably lower than the corresponding amounts released from the unwashed ash. Thus, the washed cyclone ash was made more stable with respect to salt leachability. On the other hand, large amounts of salts were leached from the washed filter ashes as well as from unwashed filter ashes. Therefore, it can be concluded that three stage water extraction is not a suitable stabilization method for this type of filter ashes.     

Dynamic interactive links among sustainable energy investment,air pollution,and sustainable development in regional China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research investigates the dynamic interactive associations among sustainable investment in the energy sector, air pollution, and sustainable...     

Simultaneous monitoring of SARS-CoV-2, bacteria,and fungi in indoor air of hospital: a study on Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord,Iran

The novel SARS-CoV-2 outbreak was declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Understanding the airborne route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is essential for infection prevention and control. In this study, a total of 107 indoor air samples (45 SARS-CoV-2, 62 bacteria, and fungi) were collected from different wards of the Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran. Simultaneously, bacterial and fungal samples were also collected from the ambient air of hospital yard. Overall, 6 positive air samples were detected in the infectious 1 and infectious 2 wards, intensive care unit (ICU), computed tomography (CT) scan, respiratory patients’ clinic, and personal protective equipment (PPE) room. Also, airborne bacteria and fungi were simultaneously detected in the various wards of the hospital with concentrations ranging from 14 to 106 CFU m^?3 and 18 to 141 CFU m^?3, respectively. The highest mean concentrations of bacteria and fungi were observed in respiratory patients’ clinics and ICU wards, respectively. Significant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between airborne bacterial concentration and the presence of SARS-CoV-2, while no significant correlation was found between fungi concentration and the virus presence. This study provided an additional evidence about the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the indoor air of a hospital that admitted COVID-19 patients. Moreover, it was revealed that the monitoring of microbial quality of indoor air in such hospitals is very important, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, for controlling the nosocomial infections.

     

Arzneimittelwirkstoffe in der Umwelt

During the last decade, the impact of chemical pollution and environmental chemistry has focused almost exclusively on the conventional ‘priority’ pollutants which are regulated in different environmental laws. This spectrum of chemicals, however, is only one piece in the larger puzzle of ‘holistic’ risk assessment. The pharmacentical drugs are a diverse group of bioactive chemicals receiving comparatively little attention as potential environmental pollutants. The aim of the literature review is to describe the most important exposition scenarios for human and veterinary pharmacenticals in different environmental compartments (soil, surface, waste water, ground water, table water, etc.)     

Biological control of broad-leaved dock infestation in wheat using plant antagonistic bacteria under field conditions

Conventional weed management systems have produced many harmful effects on weed ecology, human health and environment. Biological control of invasive weeds may be helpful to minimize these harmful effects and economic losses incurred to crops by weeds. In our earlier studies, plant antagonistic bacteria were obtained after screening a large number of rhizobacteria for production of phytotoxic substances and effects on wheat and its associated weeds under laboratory conditions. In this study, five efficient strains inhibitory to broad-leaved dock and non-inhibitory to wheat were selected and applied to broad-leaved dock co-seeded with wheat both in pot trial and chronically infested field trial. Effects of plant antagonistic bacteria on the weed and infested wheat were studied at tillering, booting and harvesting stage of wheat. The applied strains significantly inhibited the germination and growth of the weed to variable extent. Similarly, variable recovery in losses of grain and straw yield of infested wheat from 11.6 to 68 and 13 to 72.6% was obtained in pot trial while from 17.3 to 62.9 and 22.4 to 71.3% was obtained in field trial, respectively. Effects of plant antagonistic bacteria were also evident from the improvement in physiology and nutrient contents of infested wheat. This study suggests the use of these plant antagonistic bacteria to biologically control infestation of broad-leaved dock in wheat under field conditions.

     

Advantages and prospective challenges of nanotechnology applications in fish cultures: a comparative review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Applications of nanotechnology in fish cultures have participated in getting over various difficulties that hinder fish productivity. They can achieve...     

Sustainable Water Purification and Energy Generation Over Crystalline Chitosan Grafted Polyaniline Composite

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The present research demonstrates the design and development of a dual-compartment water purification proto-plant for microbial degradation of organic...     

Quantitative structure-retention relationship for retention behavior of organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate in LC-APCI-MS

Introduction  

A quantitative structure-retention relation (QSRR) study was conducted on the retention times of organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate which was obtained by liquid chromatography-reversed phase-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry.     

Assessment of temporal and spatial water quality in international Gomishan Lagoon,Iran, using multivariate analysis

Coastal lagoon ecosystems are vulnerable to eutrophication, which leads to the accumulation of nutrients from the surrounding watershed over the long term. However, there is a lack of information about methods that could accurate quantify this problem in rapidly developed countries. Therefore, various statistical methods such as cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), and ordinary least squares regression (OLS) were used in this study to estimate total organic matter content in sediments (TOM) using other parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), nitrite (NO₂), nitrate (NO₃), biological oxygen demand (BOD), phosphate (PO₄), total phosphorus (TP), salinity, and water depth along a 3-km transect in the Gomishan Lagoon (Iran). Results indicated that nutrient concentration and the dissolved oxygen gradient were the most significant parameters in the lagoon water quality heterogeneity. Additionally, anoxia at the bottom of the lagoon in sediments and re-suspension of the sediments were the main factors affecting internal nutrient loading. To validate the models, R², RMSECV, and RPDCV were used. The PLS model was stronger than the other models. Also, classification analysis of the Gomishan Lagoon identified two hydrological zones: (i) a North Zone characterized by higher water exchange, higher dissolved oxygen and lower salinity and nutrients, and (ii) a Central and South Zone with high residence time, higher nutrient concentrations, lower dissolved oxygen, and higher salinity. A recommendation for the management of coastal lagoons, specifically the Gomishan Lagoon, to decrease or eliminate nutrient loadings is discussed and should be transferred to policy makers, the scientific community, and local inhabitants.