Simultaneous removal of potent cyanotoxins from water using magnetophoretic nanoparticle of polypyrrole: adsorption kinetic and isotherm study

Cyanotoxins, microcystins and cylindrospermopsin, are potent toxins produced by cyanobacteria in potable water supplies. This study investigated the removal of cyanotoxins from aqueous media by magnetophoretic nanoparticle of polypyrrole adsorbent. The adsorption process was pH dependent with maximum adsorption occurring at pH 7 for microcystin-LA, LR, and YR and at pH 9 for microcystin-RR and cylindrospermopsin (CYN). Kinetic studies and adsorption isotherms reflected better fit for pseudo-second-order rate and Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the cyanotoxin adsorption process is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The regenerated adsorbent can be successfully reused without appreciable loss of its original capacity.     

The possible role of the seaweed Ulva fasciata on ameliorating hyperthyroidism-associated heart inflammations in a rat model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cardiovascular diseases are key complications primarily associated with hyperthyroidism disorders. The present study sought to ameliorate...     

Hematology and Some Biochemical Parameters of Wild Rodents in Pistachio Gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran

Wild rodents were collected using live snap traps in pistachio gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran from 2007 to 2009, then some physiological parameters of them were measured. The samples were identified as follow: Nesokia indica, Meriones persicus, Meriones lybicus and Tatera indica. Blood samples were obtained from the heart, then the blood parameters (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, HDL, red and white blood cell number) in wild species of rodents and laboratory rat were compared. The results showed that there were no significant differences in serum glucose, triglyceride, HDL and total protein levels among different experimental groups. The concentration of cholesterol in T. indica was more than that in N. indica (P < 0.01). The total numbers of red blood cells also showed significant difference between wild garden rodent species and laboratory rat (P < 0.01), while the numbers of white blood cells showed no significant difference.     

Household solid waste characteristics and management in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Solid waste management (SWM) is a multidimensional challenge faced by urban authorities, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. We investigated per capita waste generation by residents, its composition, and the households' attitudes towards waste management at Rahman Nagar Residential Area, Chittagong, Bangladesh. The study involved a structured questionnaire and encompassed 75 households from five different socioeconomic groups (SEGs): low (LSEG), lower middle (LMSEG), middle (MSEG), upper middle (UMSEG) and high (HSEG). Wastes, collected from all of the groups of households, were segregated and weighed. Waste generation was 1.3kg/household/day and 0.25kg/person/day. Household solid waste (HSW) was comprised of nine categories of wastes with vegetable/food waste being the largest component (62%). Vegetable/food waste generation increased from the HSEG (47%) to the LSEG (88%). By weight, 66% of the waste was compostable in nature. The generation of HSW was positively correlated with family size (r(xy)=0.236, p<0.05), education level (r(xy)=0.244, p<0.05) and monthly income (r(xy)=0.671, p<0.01) of the households. Municipal authorities are usually the responsible agencies for solid waste collection and disposal, but the magnitude of the problem is well beyond the ability of any municipal government to tackle. Hence dwellers were found to take the service from the local waste management initiative. Of the respondents, an impressive 44% were willing to pay US$0.3 to US$0.4 per month to waste collectors and it is recommended that service charge be based on the volume of waste generated by households. Almost a quarter (22.7%) of the respondents preferred 12-1pm as the time period for their waste to be collected. This study adequately shows that household solid waste can be converted from burden to resource through segregation at the source, since people are aware of their role in this direction provided a mechanism to assist them in this pursuit exists and the burden is distributed according to the amount of waste generated.     

Autonomous mobile platform for monitoring air emissions from industrial and municipal wastewater ponds

Significant amounts of volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases are generated from wastewater lagoons and tailings ponds in Alberta, Canada. Accurate measurements of these air pollutants and greenhouse gases are needed to support management and regulatory decisions. A mobile platform was developed to measure air emissions from tailings pond in the oil sands region of Alberta. The mobile platform was tested in 2015 in a municipal wastewater treatment lagoon. With a flux chamber and a CO₂/CH₄ sensor on board, the mobile platform was able to measure CO₂ and CH₄ emissions over two days at two different locations in the pond. Flux emission rates of CO₂ and CH₄ that were measured over the study period suggest the presence of aerobic and anaerobic zones in the wastewater treatment lagoon. The study demonstrated the capabilities of the mobile platform in measuring fugitive air emissions and identified the potential for the applications in air and water quality monitoring programs.

Implications: The Mobile Platform demonstrated in this study has the ability to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fugitive sources such as municipal wastewater lagoons. This technology can be used to measure emission fluxes from tailings ponds with better detection of spatial and temporal variations of fugitive emissions. Additional air and water sampling equipment could be added to the mobile platform for a broad range of air and water quality studies in the oil sands region of Alberta.     

Report: Healthcare waste characterization in Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh

Healthcare waste management (HCWM) options are inconsistent in Bangladesh. One of the first critical steps in the process of developing a reliable waste management plan requires a comprehensive understanding of the quantities and characteristics of the waste that needs to be managed. This study took into consideration both the quantity and quality of the generated waste to determine the generation rates and physical properties of healthcare waste (HCW) in Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and also to estimate the amount of infectious and non-infectious waste generated in different wards. CMCH, the second largest hospital in Bangladesh, comprises 34 wards, 12 of which were selected randomly. Waste materials were collected from these wards and then segregated and weighed. Waste generation per day was found to be 73.22 kg/ward, 1.28 kg/bed and 0.57 kg/patient. A total of 2490 kg of HCW was produced each day in CMCH (37% being infectious and the rest being non-infectious waste). Infectious waste was 27.07 kg per ward, 0.47 kg per bed and 0.21 kg per patient and the non-infectious waste was 46.15 kg per ward, 0.81 kg per bed and 0.36 kg per patient per day. HCW comprised eight categories of waste materials with vegetable/food waste being the largest component (50.21%) and varied significantly (P < 0.05) among the 12 different wards studied. The greatest amount of HCW was recorded (154 kg) in Orthopaedics followed by 96.66 kg in the Medicine Unit-3 and the smallest amount was recorded in Casualty (8.79 kg). The amount of HCW was positively correlated with the number of occupied beds (rxy = 0.79, P < 0.01). There is no structured form of medical waste treatment in CMCH and most waste materials are dumped in open areas for natural degradation or re-sold by scavengers. It is essential to develop a national policy and implement a comprehensive action plan for HCWM that will provide environmentally sound technological measures to improve HCWM in Bangladesh.     

Feather Fiber Reinforced Light-Weight Composites with Good Acoustic Properties

Three to four billion pounds of chicken feathers are wasted in the United States annually. These feathers pose an environmental challenge. In order to find a commercial application of these otherwise wasted feathers, composites have been prepared from feathers. Flexural, impact resistance, and sound dampening properties of composites from chicken feather fiber (FF) and High Density Polyethylene/Polypropylene (HDPE/PP) fiber have been investigated and compared with pulverized chicken quill-HDPE/PP, and jute-HDPE/PP composites. Sound dampening by FF composites was 125% higher than jute and similar to quill although mechanical properties were inferior to the latter two. In ground form, FF and jute composite properties were similar except for 34% higher modulus of jute; under the same formulation and processing conditions, ground FF composites had nearly 50% lower mechanical properties compared with ground quill composites. It was found that voids and density of composites have effect on mechanical and sound dampening properties; however, no direct relationship was found between mechanical properties and sound dampening.     

High-Solid Loading Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Waste Office Paper for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Production Through Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Waste paper holds great potential as a substrate for the microbial production of bioplastic (Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)). This study aimed to produce PHB...     

A microbiological study of the self-cleaning potential of oily Arabian Gulf coasts

Background, aim, and scope  

Due to the active production and transport of crude oil in the Arabian Gulf region, the Arabian Gulf coasts are routinely polluted with oil. Therefore, such coasts have been subject of studies aiming at assessing the roles of indigenous microbial consortia in cleaning these environments. In the present study, epilithic microbial communities along Kuwait coasts were studied for their oil degradation potential.