Improved photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 by doping with tungsten and synthesizing in ionic liquid: precise kinetics-mechanism and effect of oxidizing agents

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The degradation of nitroaromatics/toxic energetic compounds contaminated water is a major cause of concern. W-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were...     

Conservation resource allocation,small population resiliency,and the fallacy of conservation triage

Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on those species in the group with the best survival prospects and reduced or denied to those in the group with no survival prospects and to those in the group not needing special efforts for their conservation) is necessary to guide resource allocation. We argue that this decision-making strategy is not appropriate because resources are not as limited as often assumed, and it is not evident that there are species that cannot be conserved. Small population size alone, for example, does not doom a species to extinction; plants, reptiles, birds, and mammals offer examples. Although resources dedicated to conserving all threatened species are insufficient at present, the world's economic resources are vast, and greater resources could be dedicated toward species conservation. The political framework for species conservation has improved, with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international agreements, funding mechanisms such as The Global Environment Facility, and the rise of many nongovernmental organizations with nimble, rapid-response small grants programs. For a prioritization system to allow no extinctions, zero extinctions must be an explicit goal of the system. Extinction is not inevitable, and should not be acceptable. A goal of no human-induced extinctions is imperative given the irreversibility of species loss.     

Early sonographic diagnosis of body stalk anomaly

Ultrasonographic features of a fetus at 18 weeks of gestation suggesting a body stalk anomaly are presented. These included a large abdominal anterior wall defect in apparent continuity with the placenta, severe kyphoscoliosis of the lower spine, the absence of one kidney, and a very short umbilical cord with only one umbilical artery. The amniotic fluid was reduced and the fetus was almost immobile at short-interval ultrasound examinations. The pregnancy was terminated and autopsy of the fetus showed abnormalities compatible with maldevelopment of both cephalic and caudal embryonic folds.     

Visitor impacts on trails in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal

This study summarizes findings of a visitor impact study conducted in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. The effect of visitor use, and the influence of environmental characteristics on trail conditions are investigated. Seven trails divided into 208 trail segments, and with a total length of 90 kilometers were included in the assessment. A four-class rating system has been used for the assessment of trail conditions. Arc/Info and Arc/View geographic information system (GIS) are used to analyze spatial patterns of impacts. The study indicates a strong correlation between visitor use and trail degradation. However, locational and environmental factors are equally important variables. The study concludes that more systematic, and experimental studies are needed that can make a clear distinction between human-induced trail damage and the effects of natural factors.     

Exploitation of iron ore tailing for the development of ceramic tiles

India ranks as the sixth largest producer of iron ore in the world. The current practice of washing iron ore in India generates as high as 18 million tonnes of tailings per year. These tailings are stored in massive ponds and pose environmental hazards. Safe disposal or utilisation of these materials thus remains a challenging task for the iron ore industry in India. The present paper describes a new development in managing these tailings by converting them into value added products such as ceramic floor and wall tiles for building application. These tiles have high strength and hardness compared to conventional tiles and conform to most of the EN standards. Energy economy and lower production costs are some other benefits.     

Comparison of vegetation conditions along two backcountry trails in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia (Canada)

Vegetation conditions, i.e., plant cover, species richness, and the presence of exotic species, are compared along a high-use trail (Berg Lake Trail--BLT) and a low use trail (Mt. Fitzwilliam Trail--FWT) in Canada's Mt. Robson Provincial Park. We established 71 paired quadrats (1 m x 1 m), and assessed the amount of vegetation cover and species richness by four main lifeforms, i.e., woody species, herbaceous species, ferns, and moss, lichen and fungi. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) differences exist between control and trailside quadrats in vegetation cover, species richness and floristic diversity, and (2) differences exist between the high and low-use trails in the above-mentioned three parameters. Results show that for the majority of variables the differences between the control and trailside quadrats are statistically not significant. Variables showing significant differences are relative vegetation cover (for BLT only), exposed soil (BLT and FWT), herbaceous cover (FWT), moss, lichen and fungi cover (BLT), overall species richness (BLT), and herbaceous species richness (BLT). Ruderal and exotic species are present but only on trailside quadrats of the high-use trail. Results indicate that the Park administration's strategy to disperse use in the Mt. Robson Provincial Park should be examined critically, and some guidelines for acceptability of changes should be developed.     

Catalytic degradation of methylene blue by Fenton like system: model to the environmental reaction

To develop more efficient chemical methods for the demineralization of organic pollutants from water bodies, which one was also mimic to the nature, a degradation of methylene blue by Fe( Ⅲ ) and H2O2 in the absence of light instead of Fe( Ⅱ ) and H2O2 was studied. Results showed that use of Fe ( Ⅲ ) is more promising than Fe( Ⅱ ). The present study reflects that Fenton reaction is more efficient, in the presence of a small amount of salicylic acid is added which is a one of the priority pollutant.     

Assessment of habitat quality with relation to fish assemblages in an impacted river of the Ganges basin, northern India

In this work, we examined water-quality assessment in relation to fish assemblage of Gomti River, a large tributary of the Ganges River basin in northern India. Principal component analysis was performed for 18 environmental variables which produced three axes that cumulatively explained 60.23% of the environmental variation in sites. Fifteen variables (fine substrate fine gravel, coarse gravel, cobble, sand substrate water flow, conductivity, TDS, total hardness, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and overhanging vegetation) had high loadings on at least one of the principal component axes interpreted. The canonical correspondence analysis was used to establish the relationship between important fish species and environmental variables. Species were distributed within four groups with respect to the significant habitat characteristics. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the water-quality parameters. We concluded that the level of species richness is mostly dependent on abiotic factors like temperature, dissolved oxygen, TDS, conductivity, depth, pH, and water current in the Gomti River, of the Ganges basin.