Current trends in diagnosis and treatment strategies of COVID-19 infection

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coronaviruses are terrifically precise and adapted towards specialized respiratory epithelial cells, observed in organ culture and human volunteers...     

Spatiotemporal changes of geomorphic environment in the Muriganga–Saptamukhi estuarine interfluve of Indian Sundarban in the context of climate change: a case study

The surface of the earth has been continuously sculptured by the exogenetic processes primarily by the climatic hydrological attributes. Over the sequential phases of evolution of earth, the climatic attributes have altered. The alternative processes such as glaciation and declaciation, fluctuations of sea level and variability in rainfall pattern have changed the surface configuration through maneuvering the operations of the geographical processes. The issue of climate change has become a matter of scientific concern all over the world as the human communities are facing severe problems manifested in the form of flood, drought and submergence of low-lying coastal regions, estuaries and deltas. The present study is an attempt to understand the nature and extent of climate change (1890–2012) and related sea level rise (1970s–2010) in the deltaic Sundarban region of India since the last century and how far they are impacting the erosion–depositional processes (1925, 1926–2014). The changing trend of mean annual temperature, rainfall pattern and frequencies of tropical cyclones has been studied in detail, and spatiotemporal changes of geomorphic environment in different reaches of the study area have also been monitored with available multi-temporal geospatial data. The observation reveals that the flat sandy coastal belt and low-lying island in the extreme southern part have been severely affected by wave dash and seasonal storm surges which are mostly responsible for vigorous erosion. On the other hand, high tidal velocity is observed along the exposed concave bank in the upper–middle reaches of the Muriganga estuary and exposed outer bank in lower–middle reaches of Saptamukhi estuary. The thalweg line, which is very close to the river bank in those reaches of estuary, intensifies the hydraulic pressure along marginal parts of river bank which leads to erosion. Depositional activities are mostly observed along the sheltered inner reaches and convex river banks of the estuaries due to less effective tidal rushes, shallow channel depth, marginal flow velocity and gentle channel slope. Therefore, erosional and depositional processes cannot be explain by the relative mean sea level rise, because increasing mean sea level will affect the erosional processes uniformly in the entire estuary. In this present study area, both the erosional and depositional processes are simultaneously active depending on geographical exposure, sinuous channel pattern, channel depth and lithological compositions.     

Using conditional inference forests to identify the factors affecting crash severity on arterial corridors

Introduction

The study aims at identifying traffic/highway design/driver-vehicle information significantly related with fatal/severe crashes on urban arterials for different crash types. Since the data used in this study are observational (i.e., collected outside the purview of a designed experiment), an information discovery approach is adopted for this study.

Method

Random Forests, which are ensembles of individual trees grown by CART (Classification and Regression Tree) algorithm, are applied in numerous applications for this purpose. Specifically, conditional inference forests have been implemented. In each tree of the conditional inference forest, splits are based on how good the association is. Chi-square test statistics are used to measure the association. Apart from identifying the variables that improve classification accuracy, the methodology also clearly identifies the variables that are neutral to accuracy, and also those that decrease it.

Results

The methodology is quite insightful in identifying the variables of interest in the database (e.g., alcohol/ drug use and higher posted speed limits contribute to severe crashes). Failure to use safety equipment by all passengers and presence of driver/passenger in the vulnerable age group (more than 55 years or less than 3 years) increased the severity of injuries given a crash had occurred. A new variable, ‘element’ has been used in this study, which assigns crashes to segments, intersections, or access points based on the information from site location, traffic control, and presence of signals.

Impact

The authors were able to identify roadway locations where severe crashes tend to occur. For example, segments and access points were found to be riskier for single vehicle crashes. Higher skid resistance and k-factor also contributed toward increased severity of injuries in crashes.     

Effect of Metal Oxide Catalysts on Degradation of Waste Polystyrene in Hydrogen at Elevated Temperature and Pressure in Benzene Solution

Degradation of waste polystyrene is carried out in presence of hydrogen using several metal oxide catalysts at elevated temperature and pressure for recycling. Benzene is used as a solvent for degradation. Initial hydrogen pressure in the autoclave is kept at 7.0 kg/cm² (g) and polystyrene degradation is carried out at 240 °C. After degradation, degraded polystyrene residue is separated and analyzed by Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) spectroscopy whereas filtrate is analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) for finding the degradation mechanism of polystyrene. Degradation rate is enhanced in presence of hydrogen and time dependent weight average molecular weight of degraded polystyrene is determined using viscosity method. Degradation rate constants for the different catalysts are calculated based on the proposed degradation mechanism. Alkali metal oxide catalyst shows higher reactivity towards polystyrene degradation as compare to the transition metal oxide catalyst i.e., degradation rate constant decreases with the increase in electro negativity of metal element of the catalyst. Though manganese (IV) oxide is a transition metal catalyst, but shows higher reactivity due to its reduction towards stable manganese (II) oxide under degradation environment. Finally, degradation rate constant of polystyrene is correlated with the catalyst activity i.e., electro negativity of metal element in the catalyst.     

Applications of natural polysaccharide-based beads for slow release herbicide formulation

This work deals with the use of polysaccharide-based beads for controlled release of the herbicide atrazine. This article discusses the release of the herbicide atrazine from neem-alginate-clay-based beads. Formulation characteristics such as entrapment efficiency, bead size, and diffusion mechanism for release of atrazine have been evaluated.     

Influence of a botanical pesticide,azadirachtin, on ultimobranchial gland of the freshwater catfish Heteropneustes fossilis

Freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, were subjected to 42 mg L^?1 of azadirachtin for short-term exposure (96 h) and to 10.5 mg L^?1 for long-term exposure (28 days). Six fishes were sacrificed on each time interval from control and experimental groups after 24, 48, 72, and 96 h in the short-term exposure and after 7, 14, 21, and 28 days in the long-term experiment. The calcium regulating endocrine gland, viz. the ultimobranchial gland, was fixed for histological studies. Up to 72 h of azadirachtin treatment, there was no histological alteration in the UBG (ultimobranchial gland) of H. fossilis. After 96 h exposure, the ultimobranchial cells stain feebly and the nuclear volume of these cells were slightly decreased. No histological alterations have been observed in the UBG cells up to 14 days following azadirachtin exposure. After 21 days, the cytoplasm of ultimobranchial cells was feebly stained and the nuclear volume exhibits a decrease. The nuclear volume of these cells was further decreased and the gland shows vacuolization and degeneration at certain places after 28 days azadirachtin treatment. Hence, it can be concluded that azadirachtin severely affects the physiology of calcium homeostasis in H. fossilis. Therefore, the botanical pesticides should be used carefully near aquatic reservoirs.     

A comprehensive review on space solar power satellite: an idiosyncratic approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Space solar power satellite (SSPS) is a prodigious energy system that collects and converts solar power to electric power in space, and then transmits...     

Solar cooking innovations,their appropriateness,and viability

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The successful use of solar energy for cooking requires the systems adopted not only to have technical attributes that conveniently address specific...