Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyvalerate)/Polylactide Blends: Thermal Stability,Flammability and Thermo-Mechanical Behavior

Blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and polylactide (PLA) with different PHBV/PLA weight ratios (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, 0/100) were prepared by melt compounding. Their mutual contributions in terms of thermal stability, flammability resistance, mechanical properties and rheological behavior were investigated. The study showed that the increase in PLA content in PHBV/PLA blends leads to enhanced properties. Consequently, thermal stability and flammability resistance were improved. Further, the rheological measurements indicated an increase in storage modulus and loss modulus of PHBV matrix by addition of PLA.     

Development of Hybrid Film Based on Carboxymethyl Chitosan-Gum Arabic Incorporated Citric Acid and Polyphenols from Cinnamomum camphora Seeds for Active Food Packaging

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, carboxymethyl chitosan with gum Arabic (CG) based novel functional films containing Cinnamomum camphora seeds extract (CCSE) at varying...     

Driver Workload Response to In-Vehicle Device Operations

A central concern of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is the effect of in-vehicle devices (e.g., cell phones, navigation systems, radios, etc.) on driver performance and safety. As diverse and innovative technologies are designed and implemented for in-vehicle use, questions regarding the presence and use of these devices assume progressively greater importance. Further concerns for advanced driver training require us to develop and validate reliable and effective procedures for assessing such effects. This work examines a number of candidate procedures, in particular the evaluation of change in cognitive workload as a strategy by which such goals might be achieved.     

Ethnobotanical survey about medicinal plants used in traditional treatment of insomnia,asthenia, and oral and gum infections in the region Fez-Meknes,Morocco

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among herbalists in the north-central region of Morocco using a questionnaire in order to highlight knowledge...     

Intriguing olfactory proteins from the yellow fever mosquito,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aedes aegypti</Emphasis>

Four antennae-specific proteins (AaegOBP1, AaegOBP2, AaegOBP3, and AaegASP1) were isolated from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti and their full-length cDNAs were cloned. RT-PCR indicated that they are expressed in female and, to a lesser extent, in male antennae, but not in control tissues (legs). AaegOBP1 and AaegOBP3 showed significant similarity to previously identified mosquito odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in cysteine spacing pattern and sequence. Two of the isolated proteins have a total of eight cysteine residues. The similarity of the spacing pattern of the cysteine residues and amino acid sequence to those of previously identified olfactory proteins suggests that one of the cysteine-rich proteins (AaegOBP2) is an OBP. The other (AaegASP1) did not belong to any group of known OBPs. Structural analyses indicate that six of the cysteine residues in AaegOBP2 are linked in a similar pattern to the previously known cysteine pairing in OBPs, i.e., Cys-24–Cys-55, Cys-51–Cys-104, Cys-95–Cys-113. The additional disulfide bridge, Cys-38–Cys-125, knits the extended C-terminal segment of the protein to a predicted 2-helix. As indicated by circular dichroism (CD) spectra, the extra rigidity seems to prevent the predicted formation of a C-terminal -helix at low pH.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Leachate recirculation: moisture content assessment by means of a geophysical technique

Bioreactor technology is a waste treatment concept consisting in speeding up the biodegradation of landfilled waste by optimizing its moisture content through leachate recirculation. The measurement of variations in waste moisture content is critical in the design and control of bioreactors. Conventional methods such as direct physical sampling of waste reach their limits due to the interference with the waste matrix. This paper reviews geophysical measurements such as electrical direct current and electromagnetic slingram methods for measuring the electrical conductivity. Electrical conductivity is a property, which is linked to both moisture and temperature and can provide useful indications on the biodegradation environment in the waste mass. The study reviews three site experiments: a first experimentation shows the advantages (correlation between conductive anomaly and water seepage) but also the limits of geophysical interpretation; the two other sites allow the leachate recirculation to be tracked by studying the relative resistivity variation versus time from electrical 2D imaging. Even if some improvements are necessary to consider geophysical measurements as a real bioreactor monitoring tool, results are promising and could lead to the use of electrical 2D imaging in bioreactor designing.     

The oldest African bat from the early Eocene of El Kohol (Algeria)

The Afro-Arabian Paleogene fossil record of Chiroptera is very poor. In North Africa and Arabia, this record is limited, thus far, to a few localities mainly in Tunisia (Chambi, late early Eocene), Egypt (Fayum, late Eocene to early Oligocene), and Sultanate of Oman (Taqah, early Oligocene). It consists primarily of isolated teeth or mandible fragments. Interestingly, these African fossil bats document two modern groups (Vespertilionoidea and Rhinolophoidea) from the early Eocene, while the bat fossil record of the same epoch of North America, Eurasia, and Australia principally includes members of the ??Eochiroptera.?? This paraphyletic group contains all primitive microbats excluding modern families. In Algeria, the region of Brezina, southeast of the Atlas Mountains, is famous for the early Eocene El Kohol Formation, which has yielded one of the earliest mammalian faunas of the African landmass. Recent fieldwork in the same area has led to the discovery of a new vertebrate locality, including isolated teeth of Chiroptera. These fossils represent the oldest occurrence of Chiroptera in Africa, thus extending back the record of the group to the middle early Eocene (Ypresian) on that continent. The material consists of an upper molar and two fragments of lower molars. The dental character association matches that of ??Eochiroptera.?? As such, although very fragmentary, the material testifies to the first occurrence of ??Eochiroptera?? in Algeria, and by extension in Africa. This discovery demonstrates that this basal group of Chiroptera had a worldwide distribution during the early Paleogene.     

An insight into the current oil spills and on-site bioremediation approaches to contaminated sites in Nigeria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Land oil spills in Nigeria have a long history of contaminating the soil, groundwater, vegetation, and streams with spill extension being the primary...     

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Nigeria and its economic and environmental implications

An assessment of potential biomass resources in Nigeria for the production of methane and power generation is presented in this paper. Nigeria, as an underdeveloped and populous country, needs an uninterrupted source of energy. The country's energy problems have crippled large sectors of the economy. The percentage of people connected to the national grid is 40%. These 40% experience electricity supply failure on average 10–12 hours daily. Energy generation from municipal solid waste (MSW) is an effective MSW management strategy. Yearly waste generation has increased from 6,471 gigagrams (Gg) in 1959 to 26,600 Gg in 2015. This amount is projected to reach 36,250 Gg per year by 2030. Methane emission for 2015 was 491 Gg, and it is projected to reach 669 Gg in 2030. These values translate to 3.48 × 10⁹ kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity for 2015, with a projected 4.74 × 10⁹ kWh by 2030. The revenue to be derived from the electricity that is generated could have been US$365.04 × 10⁶ for 2015, and it is estimated that it will reach US$473.82 × 10⁶ by 2030. It was found that methane emissions from MSW increased with time, and capturing this gas for energy production will lead to a sustainable waste management.     

Preliminary Report on Radon Concentration in Drinking Water and Indoor Air in Kenya

A screening survey has been carried out to determine activity concentrations of radon (²²²Rn) in drinking water and indoor air in various locations in Kenya. The concentration of ²²²Rn in water was measured using a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). Three different passive integrating devices were used in the measurements of ²²²Rn in air. In the short-term measurements, radon is absorbed in activated charcoal and the analyses were carried out using either LSC or gamma ray spectrometry. The long-term measurements were carried out using solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD). The mean and maximum values of ²²²Rn concentrations in water are 37 and 410 Bq L^–1 and 100 and 1160 Bq m^–3, respectively, in air. The highest values were obtained from groundwater sources and in the basements of buildings. When these values are compared with the internationally recommended reference levels, there are indications of existence of radon problems in some of the water sources and the dwellings tested in this survey.