The data not collected on community forestry

Conservation and development practitioners increasingly promote community forestry as a way to conserve ecosystem services, consolidate resource rights, and reduce poverty. However, outcomes of community forestry have been mixed; many initiatives failed to achieve intended objectives. There is a rich literature on institutional arrangements of community forestry, but there has been little effort to examine the role of socioeconomic, market, and biophysical factors in shaping both land‐cover change dynamics and individual and collective livelihood outcomes. We systematically reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature on community forestry to examine and quantify existing knowledge gaps in the community‐forestry literature relative to these factors. In examining 697 cases of community forest management (CFM), extracted from 267 peer‐reviewed publications, we found 3 key trends that limit understanding of community forestry. First, we found substantial data gaps linking population dynamics, market forces, and biophysical characteristics to both environmental and livelihood outcomes. Second, most studies focused on environmental outcomes, and the majority of studies that assessed socioeconomic outcomes relied on qualitative data, making comparisons across cases difficult. Finally, there was a heavy bias toward studies on South Asian forests, indicating that the literature on community forestry may not be representative of decentralization policies and CFM globally.     

An assessment of the air pollution data from two monitoring stations in Kuwait

This article assesses the air pollution data from two monitoring stations in Kuwait. The measurements cover major pollutants, i.e., CO, CO₂, methanated and non-methanated hydrocarbons, NO _x , SO₂, O₃, and particulate matter (PM10). The data also includes meteorological parameters, i.e., solar intensity, temperature, wind speed, and wind direction, and has been collected over a period 4 years, from 2001 to 2004. Data analysis includes the assessment of annual hourly averages and 1-h maxima. Typical pollutant concentration trends, similar to those previously reported for Kuwait and for other locations around the world, are observed except for particulate matter measurements, which have higher values because of proximity to the desert. Emissions of nitrogen oxides show a consistent increase over the years. This is caused by the increase in the number of motor vehicles and the expansion in power generation and industrial activities. The data collected is a subset of the air quality criteria, as defined by the US EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency).     

Anti-kindling effect of Ginkgo biloba leaf extract and L-carnitine in the pentylenetetrazol model of epilepsy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Epilepsy is one of the most common serious brain disorders, affecting about 1% of the population all over the world. Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) and...     

Evaluation of Traffic Noise Pollution in Amman, Jordan

The City of Amman, Jordan, has been subjected to persistent increase in road traffic due to overall increase in prosperity, fast development and expansion of economy, travel and tourism. This study investigates traffic noise pollution in Amman. Road traffic noise index L ₁₀(1 h) was measured at 28 locations that cover most of the City of Amman. Noise measurements were carried out at these 28 locations two times a day for a period of one hour during the early morning and early evening rush hours, in the presence and absence of a barrier. The Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) prediction model was employed to predict noise levels at the locations chosen for the study. Data required for the model include traffic volume, speed, percentage of heavy vehicles, road surface, gradient, obstructions, distance, noise path, intervening ground, effect of shielding, and angle of view. The results of the investigation showed that the minimum and the maximum noise levels are 46 dB(A) and 81 dB(A) during day-time and 58 dB(A) and 71 dB(A) during night-time. The measured noise level exceeded the 62 dB(A) acceptable limit at most of the locations. The CTRN prediction model was successful in predicting noise levels at most of the locations chosen for this investigation, with more accurate predictions for night-time measurements.     

Start-up performance of a full-scale bioreactor landfill cell under cold-climate conditions

A 0.49-ha bioreactor landfill cell containing approximately 32,400 metric tons of municipal solid waste was constructed and operated at the Northern Oaks Recycling and Disposal Facility in Harrison, Michigan, USA. Design of this full-scale research cell included a network of 48 temperature and moisture sensors, leachate collection basins, and gas sampling ports, which provided for continuous temperature and moisture data and periodic measurements of both the quantity and composition of the leachate and gas produced. The data indicated that methane generation started approximately 3 months after filling in lifts that were placed during summer, but not until 8 months for those filled during the winter. Temperature data indicated that near-0 degrees C temperatures persisted within the lifts filled during winter for more than 6 months, and that gas production was minimal during this period. These results suggest that in addition to maintaining optimal moisture levels within the waste mass, temperature control must be a key design consideration in cold climates.     

Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: case studies from the Brazilian Amazon

Community forestry initiatives have been shown to reduce rural poverty while promoting the conservation and sustainable use of forests. However, a number of challenges face communities wanting to initiate or maintain formal, community-based forest management. Through a grounded theory approach, this paper uses three case studies of community forest management models in the eastern Amazon to create a framework showing challenges faced by communities at different phases of formal management. The framework shows that, in the development phase, four root problems (land ownership, knowledge acquisition, community organization, and adequate capital) need to be addressed to obtain legal management permission. With this permission in hand, further challenges to operationalization are presented (deterring illegal loggers, maintaining infrastructure, obtaining necessary managerial skills and accessing markets). The interrelatedness of these challenges emphasizes that all challenges need to be addressed in a holistic manner for communities to maintain a profitable and self-sufficient operation. This contradicts current development approaches that only address part of this framework. The framework proposed here can be used as a starting point for community forestry initiatives in other regions.     

The dangers of skin-lightening creams

Skin-lightening creams are extensively promoted online and in the media. They may contain a wide variety of active ingredients such as mercury, hydroquinone, and steroids that are highly toxic, especially after prolonged application. For more than a decade, we found high mercury content in many products sold on Saudi markets. Some of these products were later banned by the government. However, the presence of other ingredients has not been documented. We undertake this study on some of the most popular skin-lightening creams on the market to test for toxic ingredients such as mercury, titanium dioxide, hydroquinone, and corticosteroids. A total of 33 different brands were selected for the analysis of titanium (50 samples), hydroquinone (55 samples), and corticosteroids (56 samples) with the exception of mercury in which only 23 brands (34 samples) were tested. This study showed that 2 of 34 skin-lightening creams had mercury above the US FDA limit of 1?µg?g^?1. All products had titanium dioxide at less than 25% (w/w) of the EU and US FDA safety limits for personal products but 8 products from 7 different brands contained titanium dioxide above 1%, the permissible limit in cosmetics as color additives. In this study, we found 8 creams from 7 different brands had hydroquinone above 1.5% (w/w), the newly proposed FDA limit of hydroquinone in OTC skin-lightening drug products. Among the four tested corticosteroid compounds, the most frequently detected was cortisone and 18 products from 13 different brands were above 6?µg?g^?1 (MDL) with a maximum of up to 0.32% (w/w). Dexamethasone was found in 7 creams from 5 different brands with only 3 above the MDL of 9?µg?g^?1. Although one might argue that these corticosteroids are of mild or low potency, and they may be unlikely to have any adverse effects, these products are marketed as personal-care products on the assumption that they are safe and free of steroids. The overall results indicate that many of the skin-lightening creams sold in the Saudi market contained one or more toxic ingredients that in most cases were not listed on the packaging. Many of these ingredients are harmful and pose health risks if we take into account the frequency of application, the duration of practice, and area of the body applied, and their use during pregnancy and/or periods of lactation.     

Correction: Insight into the Adsorption Properties of Chitosan/Zeolite‑A Hybrid Structure for Effective Decontamination of Toxic Cd (II) and As (V) Ions from the Aqueous Environments

Journal of Polymers and the Environment -     

Utility of cefixime as a complexing reagent for the determination of Ni(II) in synthetic mixture and water samples

A simple, sensitive, and accurate UV spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of nickel in synthetic mixture and water samples. The method is based on the complexation reaction of nickel ion with cefixime, thus leading to the formation of Ni–cefixime complex in ethanol-distilled water medium at room temperature. The complex showed the maximum absorption wavelength at 332 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the working concentration range of 0.447–4.019 μg?mL^?1 with apparent molar absorptivity of 7.314?×?10³?L?mol^?1?cm^?1 and Sandell’s sensitivity of 0.008 μg/cm²/0.001 absorbance unit. The limits of detection and quantitation for the proposed method are 0.016 and 0.054 μg?mL^?1, respectively. The factors such as cefixime concentration and solvent affecting the complexation reaction were carefully studied and optimized. The method is validated as per the International Conference on Harmonisation guideline. The method is successfully applied to the determination of Ni(II) in synthetic mixture and wadi water samples collected from Al Rustaq. The same water samples are also analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Both methods determined the amount of Ni(II) in water sample and found to be approximately the same.