Proposed formulation of surface water quality and modelling using gene expression,machine learning,and regression techniques

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The rising water pollution from anthropogenic factors motivates further research in developing water quality predicting models. The available models...     

Introducing artificial intelligence to the radiation early warning system

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Although radiation level is a serious concern which requires continuous monitoring, many existing systems are designed to perform this task. Radiation...     

Photocatalytic demulsification of oil/water emulsions containing nonionic surfactant

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Separation of oil-water (OW) emulsions is investigated using a photocatalytic demulsification approach. Experiments were conducted using two types of...     

The effects of different sewage sludge amendment rates on the heavy metal bioaccumulation,growth and biomass of cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.)

When sewage sludge is incorrectly applied, it may adversely impact agro-system productivity. Thus, this study addresses the reaction of Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber) to different amendment rates (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g kg^?1) of sewage sludge in a greenhouse pot experiment, in which the plant growth, heavy metal uptake and biomass were evaluated. A randomized complete block design with six treatments and six replications was used as the experimental design. The soil electrical conductivity, organic matter and Cr, Fe, Zn and Ni concentrations increased, but the soil pH decreased in response to the sewage sludge applications. As approved by the Council of European Communities, all of the heavy metal concentrations in the sewage sludge were less than the permitted limit for applying sewage sludge to land. Generally, applications of sewage sludge of up to 40 g kg^?1 resulted in a considerable increase in all of the morphometric parameters and biomass of cucumbers in contrast to plants grown on the control soil. Nevertheless, the cucumber shoot height; root length; number of leaves, internodes and fruits; leaf area; absolute growth rate and biomass decreased in response to 50 g kg^?1 of sewage sludge. All of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cu, Zn and Ni in the roots, Mn in the fruits and Pb in the stems) in different cucumber tissues increased with increasing sewage sludge application rates. However, all of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cr and Fe in the roots, Fe in the leaves and Cu in the fruits) were within the normal range and did not reach phytotoxic levels. A characteristic of these cucumbers was that all of the heavy metals had a bioaccumulation factor <1.0. All of the heavy metals (except Cd, Cu and Zn) had translocation factors that were <1.0. As a result, the sewage sludge used in this study could be considered for use as a fertilizer in cucumber production systems in Saudi Arabia and can also serve as a substitute method of sewage sludge disposal.

The effects of different sewage sludge amendment rates on the heavy metal bioaccumulation, growth and biomass of cucumbers

     

α-Amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitor effects and pancreatic response to diabetes mellitus on Wistar rats of Ephedra alata areal part decoction with immunohistochemical analyses

Ephedra alata, known as a medicinal plant in China, was used in this study as aqueous extract from aerial parts, for diabetes mellitus treatment. This study was carried out on two parts, in vitro, we tested the effect of the studied extract on the inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities, and in vivo on Wistar male rats receiving alloxan intraperitoneally at a rate of 125 mg/kg. Extract (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg of body weight) was administrated for 28 days by oral gavage. Blood glucose, amylase, lipase, and lipid profile level were determined. Oxidative stress was evaluated by enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and by estimation of lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl (PC) level. Histopathological changes in pancreas were investigated under photonic microscopy using immunohistochemical procedure. Our findings showed that aqueous extract inhibited in vitro both α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities and its use in vivo at 300 mg/kg of body weight restored pancreas weight and weight gain, ameliorated significantly (p ? 0.05) biochemical parameters; it prevented the increase in lipid and protein oxidation and the decrease in enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense system. Histological study of treated animals showed a comparable healed regeneration of beta cells.

     

The effects of anthracene on biochemical responses of Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis

Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis is among the most widely used bioindicators, and anthracene (AN) is one of the most commonly found hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment. M. galloprovincialis were exposed to nominal concentrations of 0.05, 0.15 and 0.4?μg/L AN. Chemical analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography revealed the uptake of AN in the whole soft body and digestive gland at different amounts. After a short exposure (2, 4 and 8 days), the results revealed that AN induced malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in digestive gland. Our findings demonstrated also that AN reduced the filtration rates in a concentration-dependent manner. Increase in lipid peroxidation (MDA content) in digestive gland (p?M. galloprovincialis, where digestive gland constitutes a valuable organ for investigating AN biotransformation and toxicity.     

Radioactivities related to coal mining

Natural radioactivity concentrations due to the coal mining in Gabal El-Maghara, North Sinai, Egypt, were determined using gamma-ray spectroscopy. Coal, water and soil samples were investigated in this study. The (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K activity concentrations in coal before extraction were 18.5 +/- 0.5, 29.5 +/- 1.2 and 149.0 +/- 8.4 Bq kg(-1), respectively. These concentrations were reduced to 18-22% after extraction due to the clay removal of the coal ore. The activity contents of the water and soil samples collected from the surrounding area did not show any evidence of enhancement due to the mining activities. Absorbed dose rate and effective dose equivalent in the mine environment were 29.4 nGy h(-1) and 128.0 microSv a(-1), respectively. The measured activity concentrations in the mine environment and the surrounding areas (5 km away from the mine) are similar to that found in other regions in North and South Sinai. Based on the measurements of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides, the mine activity does not lead to any enhancement in the local area nor represents any human risk.     

Dye removal by activated carbon produced from Agave americana fibers: stochastic isotherm and fractal kinetic studies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present work investigates the use of Agave americana fibers (AGF) as a precursor for activated carbon (AC) preparation via chemical activation...     

Application of nanoclay for preconcentration of ultra trace amounts of palladium in environmental samples prior to its determination by ETAAS

In the present work, a batch preconcentration technique using nanoclay with 5-(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)rhodanine coupled with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry was developed for the separation and determination of trace amounts of palladium. In this method, the sample solution was stirred with nanoclay as an adsorbent. Then, adsorbed palladium was subsequently eluted with HCl in acetone (1.5 mol L^?1) and, finally, this eluate was injected to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Under the optimum conditions, the limit of detection and linear dynamic range were found to be 2.6 and 10.0–133 ng L^?1 (in original solution), respectively. Furthermore, the enrichment factor and relative standard deviation of seven replicate determinations were 148 and ±5.1 %, respectively. This suggested method is simple, selective and sensitive and can be applied to the extraction and determination of palladium in water, tea leaves, synthetic sample and certified reference material with satisfactory results.