Possible human health risk of some heavy metals from consumption of tilapia fish from Lake Mariut,Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Lake Mariut Main Basin (MB) is not only one of the three basins composing Lake Mariut (LM) but is also the main source of the popular tilapia fish to...     

Characterization of Urea Encapsulated by Biodegradable Starch-PVA-Glycerol

The influence of the blending ratio of biodegradable starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/glycerol in encapsulating urea has been investigated. It is found that water absorption capacity increased approximately 135 % as the amounts of starch, PVA and glycerol in the composite film increase. Therefore, the swell ability of the composite film is increased and the urea is released from the composite film in the wet environment. The FTIR shows that the urea had been encapsulated successfully in the composite films. Moreover, the soil burial biodegradation results indicated that the biodegradability of the starch/PVA/glycerol/urea composite film strongly depended on the PVA proportion in the composite film matrix. The DSC results show that the higher the amount of PVA in the composite film, the less change of the melting enthalpy value. The crystalline region of PVA remains after biodegradation.     

鄂南棕红壤区不同植茶年限茶园CH4通量特征

于2014年3月—2015年12月,采用静态箱-气相色谱法测定了鄂南棕红壤丘陵区茶园和樟树林地土壤CH_4通量,研究了不同植茶年限茶园及临近林地土壤CH_4通量特征.结果表明,不同植茶年限对茶园土壤CH_4通量有显著影响,中、低龄茶园土壤CH_4以排放为主,植茶20 a和植茶8 a茶园土壤CH_4累积排放量分别为0.26和0.27 kg·hm~(-2),高龄茶园和对照林地土壤CH_4以吸收为主,植茶50 a茶园和林地土壤CH_4累积吸收量分别为0.39和1.95 kg·hm~(-2).降雨促进了鄂南棕红壤丘陵区茶园和林地土壤CH_4排放,除了植茶8 a茶园外,高、中龄茶园和樟树林地土壤CH_4通量均与7 d累积降雨量呈显著的正相关关系.施肥造成了茶园土壤CH_4排放量增加,同时土壤中矿质氮类型对该地区茶园和林地土壤CH_4通量有不同影响,CH_4排放通量与土壤硝态氮含量呈显著正相关关系,而与铵态氮含量相关关系不显著.研究表明,降雨量是影响鄂南红壤丘陵区茶园和林地土壤甲烷通量的主要因素;随着茶园种植年限的延长,土壤CH_4排放通量呈降低的趋势,高龄茶园土壤为大气CH_4汇.     

Assessing the impact of converting roundabouts to traffic signals on vehicle emissions along an urban arterial corridor in Qatar

The type of control at intersections has a major effect on the operation of any urban corridor. Different predefined procedures are available to calculate some of the main operational characteristics, such as capacity, delay, and level of service, in order to select the best type of control. However, there are other important factors that affect major arterials operational characteristics, factors that are not fully addressed, such as the impact of emissions. In this study, a microscopic simulation approach using VISSIM and MOVES was developed to assess the environmental effect of converting four three-lane roundabouts to signalized intersections along a heavily congested urban corridor in Qatar. A decision was made to switch all roundabouts to traffic signals for better operations. Preliminary results indicated that the signal control outperformed the roundabout in the range of 37% to 43% reduction in emissions. A more detailed analysis revealed that roundabout corridor operations’ effects on emission rates are divergent from those of signalized corridors, particularly upstream and downstream of the intersections. Immediate roundabout upstream approaches are driver behavior dependent, characterized by substantial coasting at lower speeds and subsequent re-accelerating with less idling, described as acceleration events, which resulted in high emission rates, while signalized corridors are signal timing dependent, characterized by ample idling with less coasting and re-acceleration, resulting in reduced emission rates. The results also revealed that there was no significant difference between emission rates in the vicinity of the two types of control. Both recorded nearly the same emission rate.

Implications: A microscopic simulation approach using VISSIM and MOVES was developed to assess the environmental effect of converting four three-lane roundabouts to signalized intersections along a heavily congested urban corridor in Doha, Qatar. Intersection geometries along with the control type have significant impact on emission rates and play a major role in assessing environmental impacts. US EPA MOVES was calibrated to Qatar conditions which can be used to estimate emission factors and quantify vehicular emissions along other corridors in the country. The results can also be beneficial for other countries within the region.