Assessment of the impacts of climate change and variability on water resources and use,food security,and economic welfare in Iran

Climate change influences the agricultural sector by reducing available water resources, thereby influencing income, consumer and producer surplus, and crop prices. So, it is necessary to have a comprehensive integrated method to measure the effects of these changes on natural resources and social conditions. The present study aims to use the positive mathematical programming method to discover the trend and conditions of groundwater resources, agricultural water use, food security, and economic welfare of the agricultural sector in Iran. To this end, data for the period 2000–2015 was used under four different scenarios of normal climate change, climate change, climate variability, and concurrent climate change The results showed that the mean agricultural water use will amount to 35,103.6, 26,533.8, 35,216, and 26,510.7 million m³ and the mean decline in the reserves of aquifers will amount to 4422.22, 11,165.6, 4438.25, and 11,267.4 million m³ under the scenarios, respectively. With respect to food security, the net farm revenue will be 314,560, 248,753, 315,427, and 248,574 billion IRR, respectively. The mean crop price per ton will reach 905.3, 1141.8, 904, and 1142.8 million IRR, respectively. The mean consumer surplus will be 172,107.7, 166,450, 172,024, and 166,403 billion IRR and the mean producer surplus will be 419,959.2, 395,380, 419,751, and 395,204 billion IRR, respectively. Based on the results, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on different studied aspects, it is necessary to change policymaking in the water and agricultural sectors, especially regarding the shift from traditional agricultural water allocation to its market-based allocation and to change planting pattern.

     

Antimony induces oxidative stress and cell death in normal hepatocytes

Antimony (Sb) accumulates in the liver which is one of the target organs for metal-mediated toxicity. Although toxicity of Sb was previously investigated, the precise mechanism of Sb-induced hepatotoxicity remains to be determined. The aim of this study was to examine the role of oxidative stress, and mitochondria in the induction of cell death by Sb. Our results showed that liver cell lysis induced by Sb is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, lipid peroxidation and decline of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Antimony-induced ROS formation, lipid peroxidation and reduction of MMP were significantly diminished by antioxidants and ROS scavengers such as dimethyl sulfoxide and mannitol; mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) pore sealing agents such as carnitine and trifluoperazine; and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generator, L-glutamine. Antimony-induced ROS formation, lipid peroxidation and fall in MMP were potentiated by glutathione (GSH) depletion via n-bromoheptane. MPT pore sealing agents and ATP generator inhibited hepatotoxicity, indicating Sb-activated cell death via mitochondrial pathway. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with antioxidants and ROS scavengers also blocked cell death induced by Sb, whereas GSH depletion enhances Sb-induced cell death, suggesting that oxidative stress may be directly involved in the reduction of MMP. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that mediate Sb-induced cell death in isolated rat hepatocytes.     

New bacterial strain of the genus Ochrobactrum with glyphosate-degrading activity

Thirty bacterial strains with various abilities to utilize glyphosate as the sole phosphorus source were isolated from farm soils using the glyphosate enrichment cultivation technique. Among them, a strain showing a remarkable glyphosate-degrading activity was identified by biochemical features and 16S rRNA sequence analysis as Ochrobactrum sp. (GDOS). Herbicide (3 mM) degradation was induced by phosphate starvation, and was completed within 60 h. Aminomethylphosphonic acid was detected in the exhausted medium, suggesting glyphosate oxidoreductase as the enzyme responsible for herbicide breakdown. As it grew even in the presence of glyphosate concentrations as high as 200 mM, Ochrobactrum sp. could be used for bioremediation purposes and treatment of heavily contaminated soils.     

Asparagus ploidy distribution related to climates adaptation in Iran

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Asparagus basic chromosome number is 2n?=?2x?=?20. The high rate of polyploidy in wild asparagus has been found in natural...     

Shade trees reduce building energy use and CO2 emissions from power plants

Urban shade trees offer significant benefits in reducing building air-conditioning demand and improving urban air quality by reducing smog. The savings associated with these benefits vary by climate region and can be up to $200 per tree. The cost of planting trees and maintaining them can vary from $10 to $500 per tree. Tree-planting programs can be designed to have lower costs so that they offer potential savings to communities that plant trees. Our calculations suggest that urban trees play a major role in sequestering CO2 and thereby delay global warming. We estimate that a tree planted in Los Angeles avoids the combustion of 18 kg of carbon annually, even though it sequesters only 4.5-11 kg (as it would if growing in a forest). In this sense, one shade tree in Los Angeles is equivalent to three to five forest trees. In a recent analysis for Baton Rouge, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City, we estimated that planting an average of four shade trees per house (each with a top view cross section of 50 m2) would lead to an annual reduction in carbon emissions from power plants of 16,000, 41,000, and 9000 t, respectively (the per-tree reduction in carbon emissions is about 10-11 kg per year). These reductions only account for the direct reduction in the net cooling- and heating-energy use of buildings. Once the impact of the community cooling is included, these savings are increased by at least 25%.     

Extraction of the metagenomic DNA and assessment of the bacterial diversity from the petroleum-polluted sites

The assessment of the microbial diversity of the entire community of a given habitat requires the extraction of the total environmental DNA. Metagenomic investigations of a petroleum-polluted habitat have its unique challenges. The specific methods were developed for the extraction of high-quality metagenome in good quantity from the petroleum-polluted saline and non-saline sites in Gujarat (India). The soil samples were washed to remove the toxic, hazardous organic pollutants which might interfere with the recovery of the metagenomic DNA. The metagenomic DNA extraction results were encouraging with the mechanical bead beating, soft lysis, and combination of both. The extracted DNA was assessed for its purity and yield followed by its application in the amplification of the 16S rRNA region. The amplicons were used for judging the molecular diversity by the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The microbial diversity was also analyzed statistically by calculating various diversity indices and principal component analysis (PCA). The results on the metagenomic diversity of the bacterial population among the three cohorts based on the culture-independent technique exhibited significant difference among the PAH sites and Okha–Madhi and Porbandar Madhavpur habitats.     

Monitoring of trace amounts of heavy metals in different food and water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer after preconcentration by amine-functionalized graphene nanosheet

We are introducing graphene oxide modified with amine groups as a new solid phase for extraction of heavy metal ions including cadmium(II), copper(II), nickel(II), zinc(II), and lead(II). Effects of pH value, flow rates, type, concentration, and volume of the eluent, breakthrough volume, and the effect of potentially interfering ions were studied. Under optimized conditions, the extraction efficiency is >97 %, the limit of detections are 0.03, 0.05, 0.2, 0.1, and 1 μg L^?1 for the ions of cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc, and lead, respectively, and the adsorption capacities for these ions are 178, 142, 110, 125, and 210 mg g^?1. The amino-functionalized graphene oxide was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The proposed method was successfully applied in the analysis of environmental water and food samples. Good spiked recoveries over the range of 95.8–100.0 % were obtained. This work not only proposes a useful method for sample preconcentration but also reveals the great potential of modified graphene as an excellent sorbent material in analytical processes.     

Effects of soiling and cleaning on the reflectance and solar heat gain of a light-colored roofing membrane

A roof with high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance (e.g., a white roof) stays cool in the sun, reducing cooling power demand in a conditioned building and increasing summertime comfort in an unconditioned building. The high initial solar reflectance of a white membrane roof (circa 0.8) can be lowered by deposition of soot, dust, and/or biomass (e.g., fungi or algae) to about 0.6; degraded solar reflectances range from 0.3 to 0.8, depending on exposure. We investigate the effects of soiling and cleaning on the solar spectral reflectances and solar absorptances of 15 initially white or light-gray polyvinyl chloride membrane samples taken from roofs across the United States. Black carbon and organic carbon were the two identifiable strongly absorbing contaminants on the membranes. Wiping was effective at removing black carbon, and less so at removing organic carbon. Rinsing and/or washing removed nearly all of the remaining soil layer, with the exception of (a) thin layers of organic carbon and (b) isolated dark spots of biomass. Bleach was required to clear these last two features. At the most soiled location on each membrane, the ratio of solar reflectance to unsoiled solar reflectance (a measure of cleanliness) ranged from 0.41 to 0.89 for the soiled samples; 0.53 to 0.95 for the wiped samples; 0.74 to 0.98 for the rinsed samples; 0.79 to 1.00 for the washed samples; and 0.94 to 1.02 for the bleached samples. However, the influences of membrane soiling and cleaning on roof heat gain are better gauged by fractional variations in solar absorptance. Solar absorptance ratios (indicating solar heat gain relative to that of an unsoiled membrane) ranged from 1.4 to 3.5 for the soiled samples; 1.1 to 3.1 for the wiped samples; 1.0 to 2.0 for the rinsed samples; 1.0 to 1.9 for the washed samples; and 0.9 to 1.3 for the bleached samples.     

Combined UV-C/H2O2-VUV processes for the treatment of an actual slaughterhouse wastewater

In this study, a three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design with response surface methodology were used to maximize the TOC removal and minimize the H₂O₂ residual in the effluent of the combined UV-C/H₂O₂-VUV system for the treatment of an actual slaughterhouse wastewater (SWW) collected from one of the meat processing plants in Ontario, Canada. The irradiation time and the initial concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC_o) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O_2o) were the three predictors, as independent variables, studied in the design of experiments. The multiple response approach was used to obtain desirability response surfaces at the optimum factor settings. Subsequently, the optimum conditions to achieve the maximum percentage TOC removal of 46.19% and minimum H₂O₂ residual of 1.05% were TOC_o of 213 mg L^?1, H₂O_2o of 450 mg L^?1, and irradiation time of 9 min. The attained optimal operating conditions were validated with a complementary test. Consequently, the TOC removal of 45.68% and H₂O₂ residual of 1.03% were achieved experimentally, confirming the statistical model reliability. Three individual processes, VUV alone, VUV/H₂O₂, and UV-C/H₂O₂, were also evaluated to compare their performance for the treatment of the actual SWW using the optimum parameters obtained in combined UV-C/H₂O₂-VUV processes. Results confirmed that an adequate combination of the UV-C/H₂O₂-VUV processes is essential for an optimized TOC removal and H₂O₂ residual. Finally, respirometry analyses were also performed to evaluate the biodegradability of the SWW and the BOD removal efficiency of the combined UV-C/H₂O₂-VUV processes.