Public perceptions and attitudes to biological risks: Saudi Arabia and regional perspectives

Saudi Arabia has experienced frequent occurrences of biological disasters due to a wide range of generator factors, including natural disasters and epidemics. A national survey (n=1,164) was conducted across 13 regions of Saudi Arabia to examine public perceptions to the risk of a biological disaster. The primary results reveal: (a) a degree of knowledge about biological threats such as SARS and H5N1 flu, despite the lack of individual experience with disasters; (b) age, gender, education and faith are positively related to the perception of biological risk; and (c) a number of important community resilience factors exist, including faith, education and willingness. This study concludes that the development of adapted resilience strategies in disaster management can be achieved through public education and training involving cooperation with official organisations and religious authorities in the country to increase public awareness, knowledge and skills in mitigating biological threats.     

Gini coefficient to assess equity in domestic water supply in the Yellow River

Yellow River, is designated as “the cradle of Chinese civilization” and played a key role not only in the country’s economic development but also in the historic and cultural identity of the Chinese people. With the rapid economic development and population growth, water demand for industry and households has increased significantly in the Yellow River basin; this has caused an increasing gap between water supply and demand. Competing water demands triggered conflicts between disparate water users on different scales such as the rich and the poor, or between different sectors and regions, such as domestic and agriculture, agriculture and industry, upstream and downstream, rural and urban areas, etc. Ensuring equity in water supply for conflicting water users is one of the major challenges that facing water managers and in particular water management in the Yellow River basin. In this paper, a method has been developed to calculate the Gini coefficient of water use as an indicator to measure the equality in domestic water supply. A dual domestic water use structure model is employed for this purpose. The developed method is subsequently applied to assess the equality in domestic water supply in the Yellow River. Data of population growth, domestic water use and economic development over the time period 1999-2006 are used to calculate the Gini coefficient of water use over the same length of period. The result shows a decreasing trend in Gini coefficient of domestic water use in the Yellow River basin after 2001 which means domestic water use is becoming more and more equitable in the basin. The study justifies that the Gini coefficient of water use can be used and recommended as a useful tool for the water management especially in the context of global change.     

EDTA-nSiO2纳米颗粒对Cd2+的吸附

nSiO_2纳米颗粒是一种广泛应用的工程纳米材料,为增加其对水溶液中Cd~(2+)的吸附性能,采用接枝改性的方法制备出乙二胺四乙酸(EDTA)改性nSiO_2纳米颗粒(EDTA-nSiO_2),并用透射电镜、氮气吸附-解吸、红外光谱和差热分析等手段对其进行了结构表征,同时以其为吸附剂,通过批处理实验法探讨了体系pH、吸附时间、温度、离子强度等因素对Cd~(2+)吸附的影响,并结合X射线能谱(XPS)分析对其吸附机制进行了分析.结果表明,以EDTA为改性剂,可以成功制备出稳定性良好的EDTA-nSiO_2纳米颗粒,其对Cd~(2+)的吸附受体系p H控制;nSiO_2对Cd~(2+)的吸附量较小,EDTA改性可增加nSiO_2对Cd~(2+)的吸附作用,随着p H的升高,Cd~(2+)的吸附效果逐渐增强,在p H大于4.0后逐渐趋于稳定.EDTA-nSiO_2对Cd~(2+)的吸附速率较快,可在1 h内达到吸附平衡.EDTA-nSiO_2对Cd~(2+)的吸附为吸热的自发过程,吸附等温线可用Langmuir模型描述.NaCl浓度增加会导致Cd~(2+)的吸附量下降,当体系Na Cl浓度从0增加到100 mmol·L~(-1),Cd~(2+)的最大吸附量从0.433 mmol·g-1降低至0.294mmol·g-1.0.1 mol·L~(-1)HCl是较为合适的吸附剂再生液,Cd~(2+)洗脱率约94.36%.结合pH、温度、离子强度、再生和XPS分析结果,可以推测出EDTA-nSiO_2对Cd~(2+)的吸附是包含有简单的物理吸附和离子交换过程,并以化学络合为主的吸附过程.EDTA-nSiO_2是一种对水体Cd~(2+)具有较好吸附能力的工程纳米材料吸附剂.     

Separation and remediation of environmental pollutants using metal–organic framework-based tailored materials

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a polymer hybrid family of compounds comprising metal ions that have been deliberately incorporated in...     

Assessment of algal biomass towards removal of Cr(VI) from tannery effluent: a sustainable approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current investigation focuses on a systematic study of application of two dried algal biomass (i.e., Nostoc sp. and Turbinaria vulgaris) in...     

Exploring the potential effect of Achnatherum splendens L.–derived biochar treated with phosphoric acid on bioavailability of cadmium and wheat growth in contaminated soil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biochar remediation efficiency could be enhanced through numerous treatments such as acids treatment. Still, there has little work done on...     

Renewable and non-renewable energy consumption driven sustainable development in ASEAN countries: do financial development and institutional quality matter?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy consumption for sustainable development has become a crucial issue in recent years. The anthropogenic effects of traditional energy sources...     

Identifying impact of international trade and renewable energy consumption on environmental quality improvement and their role in global warming

There is a lack of proper research that highlights the impact of institutional quality (IQ) and renewable energy consumption (REC) on the carbon emission (CE). The significance of IQ and REC in the achievement of zero CE is highlighted in this research. The current research reports the effects of these important factors on the consumption-based carbon emissions in the G-7 countries from 1995 to 2018. Based on the outcome of the cointegration test, the long-run connection is recognized between IQ, REC, GDP, exports, imports, and consumption-based CE. The findings also validated that there exist significant decrease and increase in the CE in both the short and long run; for instance, IQ, REC, and exports decrease the CE, while imports and GDP increase the CE. The estimates of causality test showed that policies aimed at improving IQ, REC, GDP, exports, and imports have a significant impact on the CE. Consequently, based on these results, policymakers in the G-7 must prioritize IQ and REC to enhance environmental quality and attain carbon neutrality.

     

Deciphering the immunoboosting potential of macro and micronutrients in COVID support therapy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The immune system protects human health from the effects of pathogenic organisms; however, its activity is affected when individuals become infected....     

Capacity and strategies of energy production from renewable sources in Arab countries until 2030: a review from renewable energy potentials to environmental issues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Slowing and reversing climate change and keeping energy prices at affordable levels are the main important achievements of the use of renewable...