Global warming and environmental production efficiency ranking of the Kyoto Protocol nations

This paper analyzes the United Nations Organization's Kyoto Protocol nations to address two questions. First, what are the environmental production efficiency rankings of these nations? Second, is there a relationship between a nation's ratification status and its environmental production efficiency ranking? Our findings suggest that the nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol are more likely to be environmentally production efficient as compared to the nations that have not ratified the Protocol.     

Age- and sex-based comparative distribution of selected metals in the scalp hair of an urban population from two cities in Pakistan

Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni in the scalp hair of male and female donors, with an age range of 6-60 years, were determined by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy. The donors were drawn from the densely populated city of Lahore and the relatively less-populated capital city of Islamabad for comparative evaluation of the metal levels in relation to age, sex and location. Linear regression analyses and correlation between paired metals indicated a positive correlation between Cu and Zn for both sexes ( [Formula: see text] ) and between Pb and Ni ( [Formula: see text] ) for males and females of Lahore. Metal concentrations varied between the two cities and the two sexes. The highest mean concentration was found for Zn at 180.5 microg g(-1) for males and 202.4 microg g(-1) for females from Lahore, while for counterparts from Islamabad the values were 105.2 microg g(-1) and 206.6 microg g(-1). Copper showed an identical mean concentration (20.8 microg g(-1)) in the hair of both males and females from Lahore; however, relatively lower mean concentrations (7.7 and 10.8 microg g(-1)) were observed for donors from Islamabad. Mean Pb concentrations in hair of male donors from Lahore and Islamabad were 9.4 and 7.0 microg g(-1), respectively; in female groups the concentrations were 14.3 and 5.7 microg g(-1), respectively. Ni showed the lowest concentration range (4.3-4.5 microg g(-1)) of all the four metals for subjects from Lahore, and this was higher than the corresponding range (2.0-3.2 microg g(-1)) for subjects from Islamabad. The findings are discussed in relation to the available data from the literature.     

Preparation and investigation of poly(methylmethacrylate) nano-capsules containing haloxyfop-R-methyl and their release behavior

Abstract

In this study, the preparation and characterization of haloxyfop-R-methyl herbicide loaded in poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) nano-capsules by emulsion polymerization and its release behavior were investigated. The chemical characterizations of PMMA/haloxyfop-R-methyl nano-capsules were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy method, and the surface morphology was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Also, the herbicide loading and encapsulation efficiency were analyzed for the herbicide-loaded nano-capsules. The release rate of PMMA/haloxyfop-R-methyl nano-capsules was determined by UV-visible spectroscopy. The thermal properties and thermal stability of nano-capsules were explored by the thermal gravimetric analysis method. The diameter of the nano-capsules was in the range of 100–300?nm. Increasing the amount of herbicide in nano-formulations significantly affected the surface of the nano-capsules and reduced their surface smoothness. Triton-X100 was identified as the best surfactant for the preparation of nano-capsules, and the sample containing the lowest herbicide content showed the best performance in terms of encapsulation and loading efficiency. This sample showed a steady-state release rate during the six days.     

Evaluation of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Satellite Rainfall Products over the Lower Colorado River Basin,Texas

Quality of precipitation products from the Integrated Multi‐satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement mission (IMERG) was evaluated over the Lower Colorado River Basin of Texas. Observations of several rainfall events of a wide range of magnitudes during May 2015 by a very dense network of 241 rain gauges over the basin were used as a reference. The impact of temporal and spatial downscaling of different satellite products (near/post‐real‐time) on their accuracy was studied. Generally, all IMERG products perform better when the temporal and spatial resolutions are downscaled. The Final product shows relatively better performance compared to the near‐real‐time products in terms of basic performance measures; however, regarding rainfall detection, all products show nearly similar performance. When considering rainfall detection, IMERG adequately captures the precipitation events; however, in terms of spatial patterns and accuracy, more improvements are needed. IMERG products analysis results may help developers gain insight into the regional performance of the product, improve the product algorithms, and provide information to end users on the products’ suitability for potential hydrometeorological applications. Overall, the IMERG products, even the uncalibrated product at its finest resolution, showed reasonable performance indicating their great potential for applications such as water resources management, prevention of natural disasters, and flood forecasting.     

Rheological Investigation of Wood-Polypropylene Composites in Rotational Plate Rheometer

In this research work, the rheological properties of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) with some selected compositions are investigated. WPC is being recognized as a green composite that, in the past 20?years, has emerged to a commercial product. A study on rheological properties of these materials can give insight into the proper selection of composition and processing condition. Two grades of polypropylene (PP) with two different melt flow indexes (MFI) were selected to prepare WPCs with three different wood contents (50, 60 and 70?% wt.). Four types of rheological experiments were performed utilizing a rotational plate rheometer: (1) strain sweep, (2) frequency sweep, (3) temperature sweep and (4) steady shear rate sweep. The independent variables were chosen as wood content, MFI of polymer (two types), melt temperature, frequency or shear rate, the gap between the plates, and strain percentage. The strain sweep tests specified the linear and non-linear viscoelastic zones of each experiment. The results of frequency sweep experiments indicated that increasing the wood content and frequency and also decreasing the strain percentage and the gap distance, lead to an increase in the storage modulus. Regarding the loss modulus, wood percentage and the gap distance presented positive effects and strain percentage showed a negative effect. The behavior of complex viscosity was almost similar to that of the storage modulus but increasing the frequency caused a decrease in the complex viscosity. In case of temperature sweep experiments, it was observed that the rheological properties exhibit a rapid change near to a temperature of 160?°C. The results also showed that beyond this point, increasing the wood content and also MFI of polypropylene caused an increase in the storage modulus. The results of steady shear rate sweep experiments specified that increasing wood content and also decreasing the MFI of PP, the gap distance and shear rate lead to an increase in both viscosity and shear stress.     

Estimates of total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds in soils/sediments by hydrogenolysis to dicyclohexyl

A method to determine the total PCB content by hydrogenolysis (hydrodechlorination and hydrogenation) of chlorinated biphenyl compounds was extended to natural particulate matrices (soil and sediment). The contaminated soil was suspended in hexane in the presence of Pd/gamma-Al2O3 in a hydrogen atmosphere then permitted to react for one hour at 65 degrees C. Dicyclohexyl, recovered in the hexane, was quantified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The reaction was very efficient for soil/sediment in hexane suspension and virtually complete provided that excess catalyst was added to samples that were burdened with higher PCB loadings prior to reaction otherwise some partial hydrogenation of biphenyl was also observed. The proposed method was validated with the analysis of five certified reference materials.     

Evolution of spatial–temporal characteristics and financial development as an influencing factor of green ecology

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study aims to determine the impact of financial development on green ecology to promote cleaner production. Particularly, it estimates the...     

The use of wastewater in livestock production and its socioeconomic and welfare implications

Although epidemiological studies have found a significant amount of toxins in surface water, a complex link between animals’ access to wastewater and associated animal and human welfare losses needs to be explored. The scarcity of safe water has put stress on the utilization of wastewater for crops and livestock production. The access of animals to wastewater is related to the emergence of dangerous animal’s diseases, hampering productivity, increasing economic losses, and risking human health along the food chain. This review explores use of wastewater for agriculture, epidemiological evidence of microbial contamination in wastewater, and animal and human welfare disruption due to the use of wastewater for crop and livestock production. More specifically, the review delves into animals exposure to wastewater for bathing, drinking, or grazing on a pasture irrigated with contaminated water and related animal and human welfare losses. We included some scientific articles and reviews published from 1970 to 2017 to support our rational discussions. The selected articles dealt exclusively with animals direct access to wastewater via bathing and indirect access via grazing on pasture irrigated with contaminated wastewater and their implication for animal and human welfare losses. The study also identified that some policy options such as wastewater treatments, constructing wastewater stabilization ponds, controlling animal access to wastewater, and dissemination of necessary information to ultimate consumers related to the source of agricultural produce and wastewater use in animal and crop production are required to protect the human and animal health and welfare.     

Application of vibration in the laser powder deposition process

Laser powder deposition (LPD) has been used for a few decades as a technique that is unique in the application of complex geometry part manufacturing, high-value parts repairing, and surface modification. However, improving the buildup quality of LPD process is still a challenge because of the presence of defects. In this paper, the effect of in-process vibration frequency on the buildup properties of LPD is studied. Experimental results show that the vibratory energy has a significant effect on reducing porosity. Up to an 80% reduction in the porosity and the maximum defect size can be obtained by choosing the appropriate vibration parameters. In addition, a more homogeneous microstructure is achieved that results in less deviation in hardness throughout the buildup.