Supporting conservationists’ mental health through better working conditions

Biodiversity conservation work can be challenging but rewarding, and both aspects have potential consequences for conservationists’ mental health. Yet, little is known about patterns of mental health among conservationists and its associated workplace protective and risk factors. A better understanding might help improve working conditions, supporting conservationists’ job satisfaction, productivity, and engagement, while reducing costs from staff turnover, absenteeism, and presenteeism. We surveyed 2311 conservation professionals working in 122 countries through an internet survey shared via mailing lists, social media, and other channels. We asked them about experiences of psychological distress, working conditions, and personal characteristics. Over half were from and worked in Europe and North America, and most had a university-level education, were in desk-based academic and practitioner roles, and responded in English. Heavy workload, job demands, and organizational instability were linked to higher distress, but job stability and satisfaction with one's contributions to conservation were associated with lower distress. Respondents with low dispositional and conservation-specific optimism, poor physical health, and limited social support, women, and early-career professionals were most at risk of distress in our sample. Our results flag important risk factors that employers could consider, although further research is needed among groups underrepresented in our sample. Drawing on evidence-based occupational health interventions, we suggest measures that could promote better working conditions and thus may improve conservationists’ mental health and abilities to protect nature.     

Efficient control of air pollution through plants, a cost-effective alternative: studies on Dalbergia sissoo Roxb

Plants can be used as both passive biomonitors and biomitigators in urban and industrial environments to indicate the environmental quality and to ameliorate pollution level in a locality. Many studies reveal that plants are negatively affected by the ambient levels of air pollutants. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of air pollution on comparative basis with reference to changes in photosynthetic pigments, plant height, leaves, as well as, biochemical parameters of plants of different sites around Udaipur city receiving varying levels of pollution load. The investigated tree species Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Family: Fabaceae) exhibited a reduction in various physiological and biochemical growth parameters that correspond with air pollution levels at different sites. The tree species growing in polluted and control areas were compared with respect to foliar dust load, leaf area, and chlorophyll and total carbohydrate and total protein concentration in the leaves. Our studies suggest that D. sissoo Roxb. can successfully be grown in an area for monitoring air pollution, where it is mild and droughts are common. It will prove as an ideal tree species to control pollution effectively beside acting as a shade tree and being a source of food for birds and animals. By plantation of D. sissoo Roxb., mitigative measure at the polluted sites to control generation of particulate matter and the air quality required can be ensured. Our results also confirm that industrial and vehicular air pollution level in Udaipur city is shifting beyond limits.     

Physiological responses,tolerance, and remediation strategies in plants exposed to metalloids

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Metalloids are a subset of particular concern to risk assessors and toxicologists because of their well-documented potential hazards to plant system....     

Effect of fluid concentration in titanium machining with an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) spray system

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of metal-working fluid (MWF) concentration on the machining responses including tool life and wear, cutting force, friction coefficient, chip morphology, and surface roughness during the machining of titanium with the use of the ACF spray system. Five different concentrations from 5 to 15% of a water-soluble metalworking fluid (MWF) were applied during turning of a titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V. The thermo-physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension and thermal conductivity of these concentrations were also measured. The test results demonstrate that the tool life first extends with the increase in MWF concentration and then drops with further increase. At low concentration (e.g., 5%), a lack of the lubrication effect causes to increase in a higher friction at the tool–chip interface resulting in severe chipping and tool nose/flank wear within a short machining time. On the other hand, at high concentration, the cooling effect is less. This increases cutting temperature and a faster thermal softening/chipping/notching of the tool material and higher friction at the tool–chip–workpiece interaction zones resulting in early tool failure. A good balance between the cooling and the lubrication effects seems to be found at the 10% MWF concentration as it offers the best machining performance. However, machining with flood coolant is observed to perform the best in the range of 5–7%.     

Towards participatory environmental management?

While the mainstream approach to environmental management (EM) has tended to be centralized, adopting a narrow conception of 'environment', there is a growing body of literature supporting a participatory approach which is decentralized, community oriented and holistic in its view of the environment. This paper examines the main principles underlying this development and assesses the opportunities and constraints associated with it. It concludes that, while participation is conducive to a localized and inclusive approach to EM, many questions remain about the extent to which it is meaningful in practice or can be institutionalized.     

Lab-on-a-chip technologies for food safety,processing, and packaging applications: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The advent of microfluidic systems has led to significant developments in lab-on-a-chip devices integrating several functions onto a single platform. Over the...