A Multilevel Approach to Manual Lifting in Manufacturing Industries

Musculoskeletal injuries are often the consequences of wrong postural configurations used during Manual Materials Handling (MMH). This eventually leads to a large payout of worker’s compensation and loss of production time. A simulated study of back injury risks has been carried out on seven selected manufacturing industries to identify and evaluate harmful working postures. For each MMH task, Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System (OWAS) codes have been identified with the help of motion study pictures. Also, Chaffin's biomechanical model was used to calculate L5/S1 load compression values on the spine during MMH activities. The multilevel approach adopted was a combination of OWAS and Chaffin’s biomechanical model. The application of a digitizer enabled us to identify the coordinates and it made a subsequent evaluation of the angles of each body link possible.     

Thermally induced formation of PCDD and PCDF from tri- and tetrachlorobenzene in dielectric fluids

The thermal behavior of dilute (5000-50 ppm) solutions of tri- and tetrachlorobenzene in mineral oil, silicone oil, and tetrachloroethylene (TCE) has been investigated. Although pyrolyses or combustion of neat chlorobenzenes readily forms significant yields of PCDDs/PCDFs, corresponding treatment of dilute solutions was generally non-productive. This result is consistent with the proposition that, under the conditions studied, the rate-limiting step for PCDD/PCDF formation is bimolecular in chlorobenzene. In contrast, earlier studies of PCBs implied a rate-limiting step that was unimolecular in chloroaromatics. Combustion of dilute solutions of chlorobenzenes in tetrachloroethylene did produce detectable concentrations of PCDF; this result reflects combination of chlorobenzene and TCE- or TCE-derived species.     

Impact of climatic conditions on irrigation water requirements and hydraulic characteristics of modern irrigation systems

Irrigation system performance regards as a function of climatic conditions. The present study was carried out to study this phenomenon. Sugar beet and sesame corps were cultivated during two agricultural seasons of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 irrigated with drip and sprinkler systems. The drip and sprinkler systems performance was evaluated in terms of hydraulic characteristics added to irrigation water requirements. The recorded monthly values were compared to the traditional estimation method. The results revealed that irrigation system efficiency was increased by increasing ambient temperature for the drip irrigation system, and vice versa was noticed with the sprinkler irrigation system. Emission uniformity and application efficiency of emitters were increased by increasing ambient temperature. While the sprinkler flow rate and distribution uniformity were decreased by increasing ambient temperature. For drip irrigation system, the average total amount of irrigation water requirements using traditional estimation for sugar beet (2372 m³/fed) was less than the actual calculated (2439 m³/fed), while for sesame crop, the traditional estimation method (2556 m³/fed) was higher than actual calculated (2477 m³/fed). Using a sprinkler system, the average total amount of irrigation water requirements by the traditional estimation (2689 and 2897 m³/fed) was less than the actual calculated (2709 and 3044 m³/fed) for sugar beet and sesame crops, respectively. So, it is important to consider the effects of climatic conditions through the agricultural season.

     

Evidence for contact sex recognition pheromone of the Asian longhorned beetle,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Anoplophora glabripennis</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Field observations of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) mating behavior in China suggested that a female-produced contact pheromone was almost certainly involved in sex recognition. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of A. glabripennis adults' whole body cuticular extracts indicates that a series of long-chain hydrocarbons comprise the cuticular waxes of both sexes. Although for the most part the GC profiles are similar for the two sexes, five monounsaturated compounds were consistently more abundant in samples from females than in those from males. These compounds were identified as (Z)-9-tricosene, (Z)-9-pentacosene, (Z)-7-pentacosene, (Z)-9-heptacosene, and (Z)-7-heptacosene in the approximate ratio of 1:2:2:8:1, respectively. Antennal and palpi contact to a polypropylene micro-centrifuge tube coated with a synthetic mixture of the five compounds stimulated copulatory behavior in males.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Comparison of a Subjective and a Physical Approach for Identification of Priority Areas for Soil and Water Management in a Watershed – A Case Study of Nagwan Watershed in Hazaribagh District of Jharkhand, India

The present investigation was an attempt to compare the within-watershed prioritization capabilities of a physical model based SDSS with the SYI and RPI model based subjective-SDSS, conventionally devised for between-watershed prioritizations, by All India Soil Survey and Land Use Planning Division of Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Application of these two approaches on a test watershed situated in Damodar-Barakar catchment in India, the second most seriously eroded area in the world, demonstrated that the proposed physical model based SDSS was capable of realistically and logically mimicking the sub-watershed-scaled water and soil losses thereby suggesting its immense application potential for priority area identification within the test watershed. In contrast to the proposed physical method, the subjective approaches, which assigned totally reverse priorities to about 67–93% of the test-sub-watersheds, were observed to be incapable of realistically assessing the impact of topography and varied land use and soil types in the test watershed on their sub-watershed scaled run-off and soil loss generating potential. Besides, the physical approach could be used for assessing the annual dynamics of the total water and sediment yields, under prevailing resource management systems in the test watershed with good to moderately good correlation coefficients of 0.83 and 0.65; model efficiency coefficients of 0.54 and 0.70; mean relative errors of –4.28% and –17.97% and root mean square prediction errors of 71.8 mm and 9.63 t/ha, respectively.     

Sequestration of toxic Pb(Ⅱ) ions by chemically treated rubber(Hevea brasiliensis) leaf powder

Rubber leaf powder(an agricultural waste) was treated with potassium permanganate followed by sodium carbonate and its performance in the removal of Pb(Ⅱ) ions from aqueous solution was evaluated.The interactions between Pb(Ⅱ) ions and functional groups on the adsorbent surface were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy(SEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDX).The effects of several important parameters which can affect adsorption capacity such as pH,adsorbent dosage,initial lead concentration and contact time were studied.The optimum pH range for lead adsorption was 4-5.Even at very low adsorbent dosage of 0.02 g,almost 100% of Pb(Ⅱ) ions(23 mg/L) could be removed.The adsorption capacity was also dependent on lead concentration and contact time,and relatively a short period of time(60-90 min) was required to reach equilibrium.The equilibrium data were analyzed with Langmuir,Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms.Based on Langmuir model,the maximum adsorption capacity of lead was 95.3 mg/g.Three kinetic models including pseudo first-order,pseudo second-order and Boyd were used to analyze the lead adsorption process,and the results showed that the pseudo second-order fitted well with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99.     

Techno-economic analysis for the electrocoagulation of fluoride-contaminated drinking water

Electrocoagulation (EC) technique was adopted for the treatment of fluoride-containing drinking water in a 3?L capacity batch reactor. Experimental investigation was carried out to observe the effect of different operating parameters, such as initial fluoride concentration, current density, inter-electrode distance, on the removal of fluoride from the fluoride-rich drinking water. Aluminum flat sheet was used as the electrode material. It was observed that with an increase in current density, percentage removal of fluoride increased. It was seen that at electrode distance of 0.005?m, removal of fluoride attained its maximum compared to the other performances obtained at different inter-electrode distances. Life time of the aluminum electrodes was estimated from the electrode corrosion observed during the experiment. Total operating cost was estimated as a combination of energy cost and electrode cost. The total operating cost was evaluated as 0.38?US$?m^?3 to remove fluoride from the solution with an initial fluoride concentration 10?mg?L^?1. Characterizations of the electrochemically generated by-products were carried out by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy image and corresponding elemental analysis.     

People’s dependency on forest resources and contributions of forests to the livelihoods: a case study in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to investigate people’s forest dependency and contributions of forests to the livelihoods in the three hill districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. The study revealed that forest resources contribute significantly to rural community’s livelihoods and economic well-being. Using generalized logistic regressions, this study has also investigated the socioeconomic factors that affect people’s dependency on forest resources of CHT. The study revealed that people’s income from forest and forest-related occupation was positively aligned with their forest dependency. However, their education level significantly reduced their dependency on forest resources. Thus, educating the forest-dependent people and supporting alternative income generation activities should be appreciated for effective forest management in CHT. This study will be helpful to forest and environmental policy makers for CHT.     

Vertical distribution and contamination assessment of heavy metals in sediment cores of ship breaking area of Bangladesh

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Vertical heavy metal profiling reflects the history of the deposition of metals and helps to understand the characteristics of accumulation in various layers...     

Atmospheric deposition of major and trace elements in Amman, Jordan

Wet and dry deposition samples were collected in the capital of Jordan, Amman. Concentrations of Al, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, Zn, Fe, Sr, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻, along with pH were determined in collected samples. Mean trace metal concentrations were similar or less than those reported for other urban regions worldwide, while concentrations of Ca²⁺ and SO₄ ²⁻ were among the highest. High Ca²⁺ concentrations were attributed to the calcareous nature of the local soil and to the influence of the Saharan dust. However, high SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations were attributed to the influence of both anthropogenic and natural sources. Except for Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻ and Cu, monthly dry deposition fluxes of all measured species were higher than wet deposition fluxes. The annual wet deposition fluxes of trace metals were much lower than those reported for other urban areas worldwide.