Ergonomic Aspects of a Virtual Environment

A virtual environment is an interactive graphic system mediated through computer technology that allows a certain level of reality or a sense of presence to access virtual information. To create reality in a virtual environment, ergonomics issues are explored in this paper, aiming to develop the design of presentation formats with related information, that is possible to attain and to maintain user-friendly application.     

Solar radiation prediction using boosted decision tree regression model: A case study in Malaysia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Reliable and accurate prediction model capturing the changes in solar radiation is essential in the power generation and renewable carbon-free energy...     

Recent spatial gradients and time trends in Dhaka,Bangladesh, air pollution and their human health implications

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is among the most polluted cities in the world. This research evaluates seasonal patterns, day-of-week patterns, spatial gradients, and trends in PM_2.5 (<2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter), PM₁₀ (<10 µm in aerodynamic diameter), and gaseous pollutants concentrations (SO₂, NO₂, CO, and O₃) monitored in Dhaka from 2013 to 2017. It expands on past work by considering multiple monitoring sites and air pollutants. Except for ozone, the average concentrations of these pollutants showed strong seasonal variation, with maximum during winter and minimum during monsoon, with the pollution concentration of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ being roughly five- to sixfold higher during winter versus monsoon. Our comparisons of the pollutant concentrations with Bangladesh NAAQS and U.S. NAAQS limits analysis indicate particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) as the air pollutants of greatest concern, as they frequently exceeded the Bangladesh NAAQS and U.S. NAAQS, especially during nonmonsoon time. In contrast, gaseous pollutants reported far fewer exceedances throughout the study period. During the study period, the highest number of exceedances of NAAQS limits in Dhaka City (Darus-Salam site) were found for PM_2.5 (72% of total study days), followed by PM₁₀ (40% of total study days), O₃ (1.7% of total study days), SO₂ (0.38% of total study days), and CO (0.25% of total study days). The trend analyses results showed statistically significant positive slopes over time for SO₂ (5.6 ppb yr^?1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.7, 10.5) and CO (0.32 ppm yr^?1, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.56), which suggest increase in brick kilns operation and high-sulfur diesel use. Though statistically nonsignificant annual decreasing slopes for PM_2.5 (?4.6 µg/m³ yr^?1, 95% CI: ?12.7, 3.6) and PM₁₀ (?2.7 µg/m³ yr^?1, 95% CI: ?7.9, 2.5) were observed during this study period, the PM_2.5 concentration is still too high (~ 82.0 µg/m³) and can cause severe impact on human health.

Implications: This study revealed key insights into air quality challenges across Dhaka, Bangladesh, indicating particulate matter (PM) as Dhaka’s most serious air pollutant threat to human health. The results of these analyses indicate that there is a need for immediate further investigations, and action based on those investigations, including the conduct local epidemiological PM exposure-human health effects studies for this city, in order to determine the most public health effective interventions.     

Water,sanitation, hygiene and waste disposal practices as COVID-19 response strategy: insights from Bangladesh

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global emergence, and the absence of a proven vaccine or medicine has led to the implementation of measures to...     

Do credit constraints affect the technical efficiency of Boro rice growers? Evidence from the District Pabna in Bangladesh

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study analyzes the effects of credit constraints on technical efficiency of Boro rice growers in the district of Pabna in Bangladesh. Using a...     

5-fluorouracil and curcumin with pectin coating as a treatment regimen for titanium dioxide with dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Colorectal cancer was inducted in Wister rats using titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) and dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and treatment using...     

The roles of nuclear energy,renewable energy,and economic growth in the abatement of carbon dioxide emissions in the G7 countries

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the current century, the G7 countries have attached more importance to energy security, and have prioritized low-carbon sources which have...     

Waste battery disposal and recycling behavior: a study on the Australian perspective

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Consumer behavior is a critical consideration for the development of sustainable waste management systems, including waste batteries, which pose a...     

The individual and cumulative effect of brominated flame retardant and polyvinylchloride (PVC) on thermal degradation of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymers without and with a polybrominated epoxy type flame retardant were thermally degraded at 450 degrees C alone (10 g) and mixed with polyvinylchloride (PVC) (8 g/2 g). Gaseous and liquid products of degradation were analysed by various gas chromatographic methods (GC with TCD, FID, AED, MSD) in order to determine the individual and cumulative effect of bromine and chlorine on the quality and quantity of degradation compounds. It was found that nitrogen, chlorine, bromine and oxygen are present as organic compounds in liquid products, their quantity depends on the pyrolysed polymer or polymer mixture. Bromophenol and dibromophenols were the main brominated compounds that come from the flame retardant. 1-Chloroethylbenzene was the main chlorine compound observed in liquid products. It was also determined that interactions appear at high temperatures during decomposition between the flame retardant, PVC and the ABS copolymer.     

Potential sources and meteorological factors affecting PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript>-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in six main cities of northeastern Italy: an assessment of the related carcinogenic and mutagenic risks

A yearlong sampling campaign (2012–2013) was conducted in six major cities of the Veneto region to investigate the spatial-temporal trends and the factors affecting the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) variations and identify the local sources. Sixty samples per city were collected for analyses in every alternate month (April, June, August, October, December, and February): 10 samples per sampling site in 10 consecutive days of the months selected. Samples were ultrasonically extracted with acetonitrile and processed through high-performance liquid chromatography. Total Σ-PAH concentrations ranged from 0.19 to 70.4 ng m^?3 with a mean concentration of 11.5 ng m^?3. The mean benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) concentration reached 2.0 ng m^?3, which is two-times higher than the limit set by the European Union. BaP contributed for 17.4% to the total concentration of PAHs, which showed the same pattern across the region with maxima during cold months and minima in the warm period. In this study, PAHs showed an inverse relationship with temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, and ozone. According to this study, biomass burning for household heating and cooking, followed by gaseous PAHs absorption on particles due to low atmospheric temperature, were the main reasons for increasing PAHs concentration in winter. Health risk, evaluated as lifetime lung cancer risk (LCR), showed a potential carcinogenic risk from the airborne BaP_TEQ six-fold higher in the cold season than in the warm one. Diagnostic ratios and conditional probability functions were used to locate the sources, and results confirmed that local emission, overall domestic heating, and road transport exhausts were responsible for higher concentration rates of PAHs as well as of PM_2.5.