Spatial and temporal rainfall variability and its controlling factors under an arid climate condition: case of Gabes Catchment,Southern Tunisia

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Precipitation is the principal component of the hydrologic cycle. This study examines the spatial and temporal rainfall variability in Gabes Catchment...     

Gas permeability and tortuosity for packed layers of processed municipal solid wastes and incinerator residue.

To make a proper evaluation of gas component movement inside a landfill site, it is important to investigate the different parameters related to gas flow. In this work gas-filled porosity, intrinsic permeability, tortuosity and equivalent pore radius were determined for various packed wastes, such as incineration ash, shredded bulky waste and shredded incombustible waste. These parameters were measured/inferred for samples packed in a column and exposed to a controlled gas flow. The effect of waste conditions, especially the moisture content, on these parameters was also investigated. The intrinsic permeability of such packed wastes was generally in the order of 10(-10) to 10(-9) m2, except for some ash that was one to two orders lower. The tortuosity of waste layer was greater than that of a particulate material and ranged between 2 and 10. The equivalent pore radius was generally in the order of 10(-4) m, which means that gas diffusion is still ordinary in such packed waste layer. The obtained results will be utilized when simulating gas flow inside a landfill site for biogas extraction or site aeration.     

Developing new approaches and strategies to promote sustainability and environmental integration in the Mediterranean region

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Biomass and nutrient concentration of sweet corn roots and shoots under organic amendments application

Two field experiments were conducted at the Waimanalo research station on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii to study the effect of chicken (CM) and dairy (DM) manures on biomass and nutrient concentration in sweet corn roots and shoots. Sweet corn (super sweet 10, Zea Mays L. subsp. mays) was grown for two consecutive growing seasons under four rates of application (0, 168, 337, and 672 kg ha^{? 1} total N equivalent) and one time (OTA) or two time (TTA) applications of organic manure types and rates. There were significant effects of types, rates, and number of manure applications on dry biomass and macro- and micro-nutrient concentration in roots and shoots tissues. Results of root tissue indicated a significant accumulation of N and C under CM and DM treatments compared with the control treatment. Manure application rates significantly increased the accumulation of N and C in root tissue. Dry weight of roots and shoots and both macro- and micro-nutrient contents in the plant tissues significantly increased under TTA treatment compared with OTA treatment. There was a significant correlation (r² = 0.46 to 0.81) between root biomass, macro-, and micro-nutrient contents during both growing seasons. The results of the study indicates that amending soils with CM at the highest application rate provided the best crop performance in terms of root and shoot biomass, crop N, C, and other macro- and micro-nutrients.     

Antioxidant properties and instrumental quality characteristics of spray dried Pangasius visceral protein hydrolysate prepared by chemical and enzymatic methods

Fish protein hydrolysates are digested form of protein with various bioactive properties where, the cleavages of molecular bonds of proteins can be broken by the enzymatic and chemical process. In this study, antioxidant properties of spray dried protein hydrolysate prepared from Pangasius viscera by using enzymatic (papain and pepsin), and chemical methods (hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide) were evaluated. Among the different treatments, pepsin-derived visceral protein hydrolysate showed the maximum antioxidant activity when used at higher concentrations. Essential amino acids (EAA) and hydrophobic amino acids are higher in papain-derived visceral protein hydrolysate. In pepsin-derived visceral protein hydrolysate, major proportion was contributed by glycine (Gly), glutamine (Glu), proline (Pro), and asparagine (Asp). Higher amount of aromatic amino acids are found in alkali-derived FVPH. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of pepsin fish visceral protein hydrolysate showed better globular structure than the other treatments. It can be concluded that among the different treatments, the visceral protein hydrolysate prepared with pepsin had better overall quality regarding antioxidant properties and papain in nutritional point of view.

     

Endocrine disrupting pesticides in soil and their health risk through ingestion of vegetables grown in Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A comprehensive study was conducted to appraise the concentrations of 30 endocrine disrupting pesticides (EDPs) in soil and vegetable samples...     

Dietary intake assessment of pyrethroid residues from okra and eggplant grown in peri-urban areas of Punjab,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study was designed to assess the gradual increase in the use of insecticides on vegetables and to familiarize the consumers regarding the...     

An empirical nexus between economic growth,energy utilization,trade policy,and ecological footprint: a continent-wise comparison in upper-middle-income countries

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study investigates the causal connection between economic growth, foreign direct investment, primary and renewable energy utilization, trade...     

A global health problem caused by arsenic from natural sources

Arsenic is a carcinogen to both humans and animals. Arsenicals have been associated with cancers of the skin, lung, and bladder. Clinical manifestations of chronic arsenic poisoning include non-cancer end point of hyper- and hypo-pigmentation, keratosis, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Epidemiological evidence indicates that arsenic concentration exceeding 50 microg l(-1) in the drinking water is not public health protective. The current WHO recommended guideline value for arsenic in drinking water is 10 microg l(-1), whereas many developing countries are still having a value of 50 microg l(-1). It has been estimated that tens of millions of people are at risk exposing to excessive levels of arsenic from both contaminated water and arsenic-bearing coal from natural sources. The global health implication and possible intervention strategies were also discussed in this review article.     

Dental clinics: a point pollution source, not only of mercury but also of other amalgam constituents

Current literature suggests that amalgam waste from dental clinics is a point-source of mercury pollution in the environment. However, apart from mercury, other amalgam constituents (e.g. Ag, Sn, Cu, and Zn) in dental clinics’ wastewater have not been reported in the literature before. The objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of mercury and other metals in the wastewater of some dental clinics and the influent of a wastewater treatment plant in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah (KSA). Samples were collected over a 2-month period from three dental clinics and analyzed for metals using ICP-MS. The mean concentrations of Hg, Ag, Sn, Cu, and Zn in the samples were 5.3 ± 11.1, 0.49 ± 0.96, 3.0 ± 10.7, 10.0 ± 14.5, and 76.7 ± 106 mg L⁻¹, respectively. Additionally, high concentrations of other metals such as Mg (14.4 ± 15.2 mg L⁻¹), Mn (3.0 ± 4.6 mg L⁻¹), Fe (3.0 ± 4.5 mg L⁻¹), Sr (1.6 ± 2.4 mg L⁻¹), and Ba (6.9 ± 10.3 mg L⁻¹) were also found. These values are much higher than the local permissible limits. Most of the metals of interest were also detected in the influent of the wastewater treatment plant. This renders dental clinics wastewater a hazardous waste which should be properly treated before it is discharged into the environment.