Impact of green trust and green perceived quality on green purchase intentions: a moderation study

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The current study explores the role of green trust, green perceived risk and green perceived quality in changing green purchase intention....     

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) photodegradation on WO3-TiO2-SBA-15 nanostructured composite

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A current environmental problem is the uncontrolled use of various pesticides that are harmful to the environment and public health. The herbicide...     

Dynamics of Tree and Shrub Vegetation in the Eastern Sayan Mountain Tundra

Russian Journal of Ecology - Climate change entails shifts in the ranges of woody plants along both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in the boreal forest biome. In this study,...     

Institutional quality,financial development and sustainable economic growth among lower income countries

This article postulates strong endogenous relationships in lower income countries between institutional quality, financial development and sustained economic growth. These associations were investigated using the vector-error correction model (VECM) and Granger causality method for a sample of 79 countries from 2005 to 2022. The findings show that (1) these variables reinforce each other in the short run. (2) In the long run, both institutional quality and financial development can fuel economic growth. (3) The positive effect of institutional quality on economic growth is greater than that of financial development. Policy implications of these findings are that careful attention should be paid to co-development policies to enhance the institutional quality and the financial system in these economies. Policies should also consider economic growth strategies to enable sustainable economic growth rates.     

Catalytic degradation of toxic organic dye using an aluminum-doped Cu0.4Zn0.6-xAlxFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) spinel ferrite in a photo-Fenton system

Catalytic activity of spinel ferrite in breaking down toxic dye materials are promising due to their uniqueness. In this study, aluminum-doped copper zinc ferrite, Cu_0.4Zn_0.6-xAl_xFe₂O₄ (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6), a catalyst for toxic dye degradation is synthesized through chemical co-precipitation route. The formation of the spinel ferrite catalyst is initially confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra, which shows the frequency of metal-oxygen bond vibration at 539 and 427 cm⁻¹ attributed to the tetrahedral and octahedral sites respectively. Higher intensity sharp peak of X-ray diffraction for (311) plane is the evidence for the phase purity and the formation of spinel ferrite. The crystallite size is found to decrease with the increase of Al³⁺ ion. The surface structure of the obtained particles is investigated using a scanning electron microscope. Analyses of the material's magnetic characteristics using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) revealed that it is, in fact, a soft magnet, as evidenced by the loop of its hysteresis, which is narrow. The catalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under the mechanism of the photo-Fenton process is studied with the obtained spinel ferrites and the result is found to be as high as 96.5%. The process follows pseudo-second order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm.     

Can nuclear aquatic environmental DNA be a genetic marker for the accurate estimation of species abundance?

The Science of Nature - We present the first study that compares phenological variation in parasite load and inflammatory response in a lizard with asynchronous male and female gonadal cycles....     

Injection-Molded Bioblends from Lignin and Biodegradable Polymers: Processing and Performance Evaluation

This paper investigates the effects of the incorporation of lignin and small quantities of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) as an impact modifying agent on blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The addition of lignin resulted in a slight improvement of flexural strength and modulus of the ternary blending system. Incorporation of ENR into the blend resulted in an increase in notched Izod impact strength from 40 to 135% depending on the concentration of ENR. The addition of lignin into the blend resulted in an improvement of thermal stability of the ternary blend system. Morphological analysis showed a good dispersion of PHBV phases and lignin within the PCL matrix. Rheological characterization revealed that the presence of lignin resulted in increased storage modulus of the bioblend.     

Modelling and Optimization of Uranium (VI) Ions Adsorption Onto Nano-ZnO/Chitosan Bio-composite Beads with Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Nano-ZnO-chitosan bio-composite beads were prepared for the sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) from aqueous media. The resulting nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads were characterized by TEM, XRD etc. The sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) by bio-composite beads was optimized using RSM. The correlation between four variables was modelled and studied. According to RSM data, correlation coefficients (R²?=?0.99) and probability F-values (F?=?2.24?×?10^??10) show that the model fits the experimental data well. Adsorption capacity for nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads was obtained at 148.7 mg/g under optimum conditions. The results indicate that nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads are appropriate for the adsorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) ions from aqueous media. Also, the suitability of adsorption values to adsorption isotherms was researched and thermodynamic data were calculated.     

A Microscopic Study of Paper Decayed by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichoderma harzianum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paecilomyces variotii</Emphasis>

The current study is interested in evaluating the decay of cotton, Whatman and chemical pulp caused by Trichoderma harzianum and Paecilomyces variotii. The structural changes of the paper were evaluated by Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The SEM results show differences in hyphae colonization and paper decay patterns between studied species under the current study; P. variotii caused an eroded structure in the cotton (cavity forming), whereas the initial T. harzianum colonization produced rupture and erosion (soft-rot decay type II) for the three types of paper ,the gaps were elongated with sharp pointed ends, which consisted either of individual cavities or in chains. Moreover, FTIR results confirmed that there a relationship could be observed between fungal decay and crystalline cellulose content because the intensity of peaks at 1335 and 1111 cm^?1 significantly decreased due to the fungal decay. Furthermore, the intensity of O–H stretching absorption slightly decreased, and this may be attributed to hydrolysis of cellulose molecules.