Municipal solid waste management in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka: problems, issues and challenges

This paper describes the problems, issues and challenges faced by Sri Lanka based on the outcome of a recent study conducted in the country's Southern Province. The study consists of a public survey, discussions with local authority staff involved in waste management, discussions with Provincial Council and Government officials, dialogue with local politicians, review of documents and field observations. The study revealed that only 24% of the households have access to waste collection and that in rural areas it was less than 2%. A substantial number of households in areas without waste collection expect local authorities to collect their waste. The study also showed that most sites in the province are under capacity to handle any increased demand. Urgent and immediate improvement of the waste disposal sites is necessary to meet the current demand for improved waste collection. The study also revealed that there is a high willingness of people for home composting.     

Nitrogen fertility and abiotic stresses management in cotton crop: a review

This review outlines nitrogen (N) responses in crop production and potential management decisions to ameliorate abiotic stresses for better crop production. N is a primary constituent of the nucleotides and proteins that are essential for life. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment. Therefore, increasing plant N use efficiency (NUE) is important for the development of sustainable agriculture. NUE has a key role in crop yield and can be enhanced by controlling loss of fertilizers by application of humic acid and natural polymers (hydrogels), having high water-holding capacity which can improve plant performance under field conditions. Abiotic stresses such as waterlogging, drought, heat, and salinity are the major limitations for successful crop production. Therefore, integrated management approaches such as addition of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), the film antitranspirant (di-1-p-menthene and pinolene) nutrients, hydrogels, and phytohormones may provide novel approaches to improve plant tolerance against abiotic stress-induced damage. Moreover, for plant breeders and molecular biologists, it is a challenge to develop cotton cultivars that can tolerate plant abiotic stresses while having high potential NUE for the future.     

赤子爱胜蚓(Eisenia foetida)对三种土壤Zn、Pb有效态含量的影响

以褐土(Cinnamonsoil)、潮棕壤(Aquicbrownsoil)和酸性棕壤(Acidbrownsoil)为供试土壤,通过培养实验,研究了土壤中重金属Zn、Pb对赤子爱胜蚓(Eiseniafoetida)生长率的影响,赤子爱胜蚓(Eiseniafoetida)对不同土壤中有效态Zn、Pb含量的影响,并与野生环境中生长的灰暗异唇蚓(Allolobaphoracaliginosa)进行比较。结果表明:重金属的污染明显抑制了赤子爱胜蚓的生长;赤子爱胜蚓可以显著提高潮棕壤中DTPA-Pb的含量,对DTPA-Zn的含量影响不大;加赤子爱胜蚓,褐土中DTPA-Zn和Pb的含量显著高于加灰暗异唇蚓,潮棕壤中DTPA-Zn的含量和酸性棕壤中大DTPA-Pb的含量则相反。     

Reconstruction of crashes involving injured child occupants: the risk of serious injuries associated with sub-optimal restraint use may be reduced by better controlling occupant kinematics

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether injuries to sub-optimally restrained child occupants in real-world crashes were likely to be preventable by alternative restraint usage practices and to assess the usefulness of crash reconstruction for exploring injury mechanisms in child occupants. METHODS: Real-world crashes in which child occupants sustained significant injuries were reconstructed on a laboratory crash sled using the Hybrid III family of child dummies. Alternative restraint scenarios and cases in which children were not seriously injured were also simulated to compare dummy kinematics and dynamic responses in optimal restraint configurations. RESULTS: Restraint misuse was associated with greater motion of the dummy torso and head during crashes, often allowing contact between the child and the vehicle interior, resulting in injury. Poor pre-crash posture for a child inappropriately restrained in an adult belt appeared to worsen the geometry of the sash (shoulder) belt, resulting in a cervical injury due to direct interaction with the belt. Dynamic dummy data did not appear to discriminate between injury and non-injury cases. CONCLUSIONS: Dummy kinematics suggest that injuries in which inappropriate use and misuse were a factor were less likely if the most appropriate restraint was used correctly. Adequately controlling the head and upper body of the child occupant was seen to prevent undesirable interactions with the vehicle interior and restraint system, which were associated with injury in the real world. Neck forces and moments and injury criteria calculated from these did not predict injury reliably.     

Life cycle inventory of the commercial production of compost from oil palm biomass: a case study

This paper compared the life cycle inventory (LCI) obtained from three commercial oil palm biomass composting projects in Malaysia which use the open windrow composting system. The LCI was obtained and calculated based on the functional unit of 1 t of compost produced. The input of the inventory are the feed materials such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME); and utilities which include electricity generated at palm oil mill and diesel used. Composting 2.0–2.5 t of EFB and 5.0–7.5 t of POME required diesel from 218.7 to 270.2 MJ and electricity from 0 to 6.8 MJ. It is estimated that the composting emitted from 0.01 to 0.02 t CO_2eq/t_compost mainly from diesel used to operate machineries. Composting saved 65 % of time required for a complete degradation of POME when compared to ponding system, and 89 % of time required for a complete degradation of EFB compared to mulching. In terms of land required, it required 36 % less land as compared to ponding for POME and 99 % less land as compared to mulching for EFB. Based on the case study, diesel was found to be the main contributor to the environmental impact. There is a potential of upgrading the process to be more economical and environmental friendly. Using electricity as the source of energy has a lower footprint for the composting process. Instead of using raw POME, studies had reported that using treated POME either from anaerobic ponding or digested tank can accelerate the composting process.     

生物质炭对农田土壤中抗生素消减和潜在风险的影响

本研究采用农业废弃物玉米轴、玉米秸秆和核桃壳分别于250、400和600℃下缺氧热解制备生物质炭,并通过土壤培养实验考察了生物质炭对灭菌和未灭菌农田土壤中四环素类、磺胺类和喹诺酮类抗生素消减和潜在风险的影响.对照和生物质炭处理组均是未灭菌土壤中抗生素的消减率通常高于灭菌土壤,这是因为灭菌土壤中的抗生素以非生物消减为主,而未灭菌土壤中同时存在抗生素的非生物消减和微生物降解.250℃制备的核桃壳生物质炭促进了灭菌和未灭菌土壤中抗生素的消减.灭菌和未灭菌土壤中抗生素表观分配系数（K_app）变化趋势均是喹诺酮类>四环素类>磺胺类.与灭菌土壤相比,未灭菌土壤中抗生素的K_app值通常较低,说明微生物可以促进土壤中抗生素从轻结合态甚至紧密结合态向着交换态或者水溶态转变.多数生物质炭降低了灭菌和未灭菌土壤中四环素类和喹诺酮类的K_app值,这将增大抗生素的迁移性和传播抗性基因的风险.     

Open burning and open detonation PM10 mass emission factor measurements with optical remote sensing

Emission factors (EFs) of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM₁₀) from the open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) of energetic materials were measured using a hybrid-optical remote sensing (hybrid-ORS) method. This method is based on the measurement of range-resolved PM backscattering values with a micropulse light detection and ranging (LIDAR; MPL) device. Field measurements were completed during March 2010 at Tooele Army Depot, Utah, which is an arid continental site. PM₁₀ EFs were quantified for OB of M1 propellant and OD of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). EFs from this study are compared with previous OB/OD measurements reported in the literature that have been determined with point measurements either in enclosed or ambient environments, and with concurrent airborne point measurements. PM₁₀ mass EFs, determined with the hybrid-ORS method, were 7.8?×?10^?3 kg PM₁₀/kg M1 from OB of M1 propellant, and 0.20 kg PM₁₀/kg TNT from OD of TNT. Compared with previous results reported in the literature, the hybrid-ORS method EFs were 13% larger for OB and 174% larger for OD. Compared with the concurrent airborne measurements, EF values from the hybrid-ORS method were 37% larger for OB and 54% larger for OD. For TNT, no statistically significant differences were observed for the EFs measured during the detonation of 22.7 and 45.4 kg of TNT, supporting that the total amount of detonated mass in this mass range does not have an effect on the EFs for OD of TNT.

Implications: Particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere affects the health of humans and ecosystems, visibility, and climate. Fugitive PM emissions are not well characterized because of spatial and temporal ubiquity and heterogeneity. The hybrid-ORS method is appropriate for quantifying fugitive PM emission factors (EFs) because it captures the spatial and temporal dispersion of ground level and elevated plumes in real time, without requiring numerous point measurement devices. The method can be applied to provide an opportunity to reduce the uncertainty of fugitive PM EFs and readily update PM emissions in National Emission Inventories for a range of fugitive PM sources.     

城市路口差异对行道树叶片叶绿素含量的影响研究

为明确城市道路路口差异对行道树叶片叶绿素的影响,研究选取太原市平阳路和长风街2条城市主干道为采样点,采摘春、秋季大十字路口、小十字路口、丁字路口和非路口绿化植株叶片,测定叶片叶绿素a含量、叶绿素b含量及叶绿素总量。结果表明:(1)城市交通对行道树叶片叶绿素总量影响为冬青卫矛(EuonymusjaponicusThunb)国槐(Sophora japonica)毛白杨(Populusto mentosa)。冬青卫矛适宜作指示物种。(2)与清洁对照区相比,污染区国槐和毛白杨叶片的叶绿素a、叶绿素b的含量及两者比值总体呈增加态势,冬青卫矛叶片叶绿素a、叶绿素b含量则以减少为主。(3)冬青卫矛叶片的叶绿素a含量相对叶绿素b含量影响明显,表现出了较好的相关性,建议用叶绿素a含量作为污染指示指标。(4)路口差异对不同种类行道树叶片叶绿素影响未显现一致性,表明路口差异受街道走向、交通流量、扩散能力、植株株高等多因素影响。在道路不畅、车流量大的区域,应在吸尘抑毒和降低绿化高度、增加扩散能力间寻求一种最佳平衡。