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.     

Cytotoxic, phytotoxic, and mutagenic appraisal to ascertain toxicological potential of particulate matter emitted from automobiles

Vehicular air pollution is a mounting health issue of the modern age, particularly in urban populations of the developing nations. Auto-rickshaws are not considered eco-friendly as to their inefficient engines producing large amount of particulate matter (PM), thus posing significant environmental threat. The present study was conducted to ascertain the cytotoxic, phytotoxic, and mutagenic potential of PM from gasoline-powered two-stroke auto-rickshaws (TSA) and compressed natural gas-powered four-stroke auto-rickshaws (FSA). Based on the increased amount of aluminum quantified during proton-induced X-ray emission analysis of PM from TSA and FSA, different concentrations of aluminum sulfate were also tested to determine its eco-toxicological potential. The MTT assay demonstrated significant (p?<?0.001) dose-dependent cytotoxic effects of different concentrations of TSA, FSA, and aluminum sulfate on BHK-21 cell line. LC₅₀ of TSA, FSA, and aluminum sulfate was quantified at 16, 11, and 23.8 μg/ml, respectively, establishing PM from FSA, a highly cytotoxic material. In case of phytotoxicity screening using Zea mays, the results demonstrated that all three tested materials were equally phytotoxic at higher concentrations producing significant reduction (p?<?0.001) in seed germination. Aluminum sulfate proved to be a highly phytotoxic agent even at its lowest concentration. Mutagenicity was assessed by fluctuation Salmonella reverse mutation assay adopting TA100 and TA98 mutant strains with (+S9) and without (?S9) metabolic activation. Despite the fact that different concentrations of PM from both sources, i.e., TSA and FSA were highly mutagenic (p?<?0.001) even at lower concentrations, the mutagenic index was higher in TSA. Data advocate that all tested materials are equally ecotoxic, and if the existing trend of atmospheric pollution by auto-rickshaws is continued, airborne heavy metals will seriously affect the normal growth of local inhabitants and increased contamination of agricultural products, which will amplify the dietary intake of the toxic elements and could result in genetic mutation or long-term health implications.     

Energy, environment and growth nexus in South Asia

The present study investigates the energy, environment and growth nexus for a panel of South Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The simultaneous analysis of real GDP, energy consumption and CO₂ emissions is conducted for the period 1980–2010. Levin panel unit root test and Im test panel unit root both indicate that all the variables are I (1). In addition, Kao’s panel Cointegration test specifies a stable long-term relationship between all these variables. Empirical findings show that a 1 % increase in energy consumption increases output by 0.81 % in long run whereas for the same increase in CO₂ emission output falls by 0.17 % in long run. Panel Granger causality tests report short-run causality running from energy consumption to CO₂ emissions and from CO₂ emissions to GDP.     

Does energy consumption contribute to environmental pollutants? evidence from SAARC countries

The objective of the study is to examine the causal relationship between energy consumption and environmental pollutants in selected South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Srilanka, over the period of 1975–2011. The results indicate that energy consumption acts as an important driver to increase environmental pollutants in SAARC countries. Granger causality runs from energy consumption to environmental pollutants, but not vice versa, except carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Nepal where there exists a bidirectional causality between CO₂ and energy consumption. Methane emissions in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Srilanka and extreme temperature in India and Srilanka do not Granger cause energy consumption via both routes, which holds neutrality hypothesis. Variance decomposition analysis shows that among all the environmental indicators, CO₂ in Bangladesh and Nepal exerts the largest contribution to changes in electric power consumption. Average precipitation in India, methane emissions in Pakistan, and extreme temperature in Srilanka exert the largest contribution.     

Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating effects of creative self‐efficacy,reward importance,and locus of control

The effects of extrinsic rewards on creative performance have been controversial, and scholars have called for the examination of the boundary conditions of such effects. Drawing upon expectancy theory, we attend to both reinforcement and self‐determination pathways that reveal the informational and controlling functions of creativity‐related extrinsic rewards. We further identify the individual dispositions that moderate these two pathways. Specifically, we propose that extrinsic rewards for creativity positively predict creative performance only when employees have high creative self‐efficacy and regard such rewards as important. We likewise propose that extrinsic rewards positively affect the intrinsic motivation of employees with an internal locus of control, thus enhancing their creative performance. Results based on a sample of 181 employee–supervisor dyads largely supported these expectations. The current analysis enriches the creativity literature by combining different perspectives in a coherent framework, by demonstrating the positive effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation, and by demonstrating that the rewards–creativity relationship varies across employees depending on their individual differences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cobalt and sulfur co-doped nano-size TiO2 for photodegradation of various dyes and phenol

Various compositions of cobalt and sulfur co-doped titania nano-photocatalyst are synthesized via sol–gel method. A number of techniques including X-ray diffraction(XRD), ultraviolet–visible(UV–Vis), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry(RBS), thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA)Raman, N2 sorption, electron microscopy are used to examine composition, crystalline phase, morphology, distribution of dopants, surface area and optical properties o synthesized materials. The synthesized materials consisted of quasispherical nanoparticles of anatase phase exhibiting a high surface area and homogeneous distribution o dopants. Cobalt and sulfur co-doped titania demonstrated remarkable structural and optical properties leading to an efficient photocatalytic activity for degradation of dyes and phenol under visible light irradiations. Moreover, the effect of dye concentration catalyst dose and p H on photodegradation behavior of environmental pollutants and recyclability of the catalyst is also examined to optimize the activity of nano-photocatalys and gain a better understanding of the process.     

Enhanced anaerobic fermentation with azo dye as electron acceptor： Simultaneous acceleration of organics decomposition and azo decolorization

Accumulation of hydrogen during anaerobic processes usually results in low decomposition of volatile organic acids（VFAs）. On the other hand, hydrogen is a good electron donor for dye reduction, which would help the acetogenic conversion in keeping low hydrogen concentration. The main objective of the study was to accelerate VFA composition through using azo dye as electron acceptor. The results indicated that the azo dye serving as an electron acceptor could avoid H2 accumulation and accelerate anaerobic digestion of VFAs. After adding the azo dye, propionate decreased from 2400.0 to 689.5 mg/L and acetate production increased from 180.0 to 519.5 mg/L. It meant that the conversion of propionate into acetate was enhanced. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the abundance of propionate-utilizing acetogens with the presence of azo dye was greater than that in a reference without azo dye. The experiments via using glucose as the substrate further demonstrated that the VFA decomposition and the chemical oxygen demand（COD） removal increased by 319.7 mg/L and 23.3% respectively after adding the azo dye. Therefore, adding moderate azo dye might be a way to recover anaerobic system from deterioration due to the accumulation of H2 or VFAs.     

Low carbon emission development strategies for Jambi,Indonesia: simulation and trade-off analysis using the FALLOW model

Economic growth in rural areas has to align with preservation of land uses that optimise environmental services. This means that trade-offs between economic and ecological priorities need to be understood, quantified and managed. We aimed to estimate the trade-off in the Tanjung Jabung Barat district of Jambi province Indonesia, where traditional agroforestry systems on both peat and mineral soils and logged-over forests give way to monocultural plantations of pulpwood and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Simulations of a 30-year time period of four scenarios using the FALLOW (Forests, Agroforests, Low-value-Landscape, Or, Wastelands) model show that a business-as-usual scenario of economic growth unhindered by the application of conservation scenarios will lead to high carbon dioxide CO₂ emissions. The forest and agroforest protection scenario, with moderate assumptions for peat-based emissions, had opportunity costs of 3–100 USD/t CO₂e. This occurred especially when the establishment of oil palm plantations, which are currently the most profitable land use option in the area, is directed solely to under utilized mineral soils. The high trade-off values are difficult to reconcile when relying only on C trading mechanism to offset economic opportunity costs of not converting forests and/or agroforests to plantations. We conclude that law-based protection of existing forests, investment in intermediate intensity agroforestry options that utilize locally adapted trees and do not require drainage of peatlands, and re-introduction of tapping Jelutung (Dyera sp) latex as non-timber peat forest product, are needed in the Tanjabar district to provide options that are sustainable from both ecological and economic perspectives.     

Analysis and prediction of flow from local source in a river basin using a Neuro-fuzzy modeling tool

Traditionally, the multiple linear regression technique has been one of the most widely used models in simulating hydrological time series. However, when the nonlinear phenomenon is significant, the multiple linear will fail to develop an appropriate predictive model. Recently, neuro-fuzzy systems have gained much popularity for calibrating the nonlinear relationships. This study evaluated the potential of a neuro-fuzzy system as an alternative to the traditional statistical regression technique for the purpose of predicting flow from a local source in a river basin. The effectiveness of the proposed identification technique was demonstrated through a simulation study of the river flow time series of the Citarum River in Indonesia. Furthermore, in order to provide the uncertainty associated with the estimation of river flow, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed. As a comparison, a multiple linear regression analysis that was being used by the Citarum River Authority was also examined using various statistical indices. The simulation results using 95% confidence intervals indicated that the neuro-fuzzy model consistently underestimated the magnitude of high flow while the low and medium flow magnitudes were estimated closer to the observed data. The comparison of the prediction accuracy of the neuro-fuzzy and linear regression methods indicated that the neuro-fuzzy approach was more accurate in predicting river flow dynamics. The neuro-fuzzy model was able to improve the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values of the multiple linear regression forecasts by about 13.52% and 10.73%, respectively. Considering its simplicity and efficiency, the neuro-fuzzy model is recommended as an alternative tool for modeling of flow dynamics in the study area.