Residential solid waste generation and classification study of ten headquarter cities of Azad Jammu & Kashmir,Pakistan

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Effective municipal solid waste collection and disposal system is not possible without reliable solid waste generation and classification data...     

Attitudes of women of childbearing age towards prenatal diagnosis in Southeastern France

The objective of this study was to explore women's attitudes towards prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 and to examine some of the factors possibly responsible for these attitudes before implementing in real practice serological screening of pregnant women at risk for trisomy 21. We carried out a telephone survey on a representative sample of women who had recently had a normal livebirth delivery in the Marseille district in 1990. The participation rate was 80 per cent and the average age of the mothers was 28-9 years. Among the 514 women interviewed, 78 per cent stated that they would ask for an amniocentesis for a 1 per cent risk of trisomy 21 at their next pregnancy. When adjusting for confounding factors, the decision to have or not to have an amniocentesis was found to depend not only on the women's attitude towards induced abortion, but also on their understanding of the risk involved and on the social context (knowing a handicapped child, discussion with the father). It also depended on the women's age and on what they knew about amniocentesis from the medical point of view. The risk of miscarriage can influence a woman's choice but this objection was not found to affect the women's decisions significantly in our survey. The data showed the existence of a high potential demand for fetal karyotyping.     

Adsorptive removal of phosphate by the bimetallic hydroxide nanocomposites embedded in pomegranate peel

This study aimed to fabricate new and effective material for the efficiency of phosphate adsorption. Two types of adsorbent materials, the zirconium hydroxides embedded in pomegranate peel (Zr/Peel) and zirconium-lanthanum hydroxides embedded in pomegranate peel (Zr–La/Peel) were developed. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were evaluated to give insight into the physicochemical properties of these adsorbents. Zr–La/Peel exceeded the adsorption efficiency of Zr/Peel adsorbents in batch adsorption experiments at the same pH level. The peel as a host can strive to have a strong “shielding effect” to increase the steadiness of the entrenched Zr and La elements. La and Zr are hydroxide metals that emit many hydrogen ions during the hydrolysis reaction, which contribute to protonation and electrostatic attraction. The highest adsorption capacity of La–Zr/Peel for phosphate was calculated to be 40.21 mg/g, and pseudo second-order equation is very well fitted for kinetic adsorption. Phosphate adsorption efficiency was reduced by an increase of pH. With the background of coexisting Cl^?, little effect on adsorption efficiency was observed, while adsorption capacities were reduced by almost 20–30% with the coexistence of ${{\text{SO}}_4}^{2?}$, ${{\text{NO}}_3}^{?}$ and humic acid (HA).     

Water and soil pollution by Spent lubricating oils

This paper shows that spent lubricating oils from automobile engines generate carboxylic acids on environmental exposure. Samples of exposed oils, isolated from polluted river water and shore muds obtained from various locations, showed a direct proportionality between carboxylic acid content and time of exposure. Carboxylic acids were isolated by solvent extraction and studied by infrared spectroscopy.     

Towards a model of safety climate measurement.

In this study, a survey instrument was developed to measure safety climate. A review of the scientific literature as well as consultation with an expert panel was used to determine the survey's dimensions. Next, the survey was administered, first as a pilot study (n = 15) and then as a full scale study (n = 229), to employees of the City of Cincinnati Department of Public Works. The psychometric integrity of the survey was assessed according to validity, reliability and utility criteria. Results are presented and discussed.     

Leaching of copper and zinc from the tailings sample obtained from a porcelain stone mine: feasibility,modeling, and optimization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research was aimed to investigate the leaching behavior of zinc and copper from a porcelain stone tailings sample using RSM-CCD modeling. The...