Property rights integrity,tenure security and forestland rental market participation: Evidence from Jiangxi Province,China

The decentralization of property rights is the focus of the forest tenure reforms in several developing countries. In China, it was achieved by the launch of a new round of collective forest tenure reform beginning in 2003, which provided farmers with more integrated and secure forestland rights. Drawing on household data collected in Jiangxi province in 2011 and 2013, this paper examines the impacts of households’ recognition of property rights and improved tenure security on forestland rental activities. Our empirical results show that households with higher perceptions of more complete use rights and mortgage rights have a lower probability and intensity of renting‐in land, while households with lower expectations of future forestland redistribution or expropriation are more likely to rent in forestland and more of it. These results imply that the development of a forestland rental market leading to better forest management requires an integrated forestland management approach consisting of decentralization of property rights and village governance. In particular, the central government may further clarify the rights and obligations affiliated to forestland ownership, contractual rights, and management rights; while the village collective may shift from direct intervention in the integrity and security of forestland rights to the supervision and protection of decentralized forestland rights to increase efficiency from the decentralization of property rights.     

Oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent for the removal of manganese from aqueous solution

A batch adsorption process was applied to investigate the removal of manganese from aqueous solution by oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). In doing so, the thermodynamic, adsorption isotherm, and kinetic studies were also carried out. MWCNT with 5–10-nm outer diameter, surface area of 40–600 m²/g, and purity above 95 % was used as an adsorbent. A systematic study of the adsorption process was performed by varying pH, ionic strength, and temperature. Manganese-adsorbed MWCNT was characterized by Raman, FTIR, X-ray diffraction, XPS, SEM, and TEM. The adsorption efficiency could reach 96.82 %, suggesting that MWCNT is an excellent adsorbent for manganese removal from water. The results indicate that second-order kinetics model was well suitable to model the kinetic adsorption of manganese. Equilibrium data were well described by the typical Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption reaction was spontaneous and endothermic process. The experimental results showed that MWCNT is an excellent manganese adsorbent. The MWCNTs removed the manganese present in the water and reduced it to a permissible level making it drinkable.     

Catalytic co-pyrolysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pterospermum acerifolium</Emphasis> and plastic waste

The continuous increase in generation of solid wastes and gradual declining of fossil fuels necessities the development of sustainable conversion technologies. Recent studies have shown that the addition of biomass with hydrogen-rich co-reactants (plastics) altogether enhances the quality of bio-fuels using pyrolysis process. It was observed that red mud (which is produced as by-product in Bayer process) was used as a catalyst in few conversion process. In this study, pyrolysis of biomass (Pterospermum acerifolium) and waste plastic mixture with activated red-mud catalyst was investigated using thermo-gravimetric analysis. The kinetic parameters (activation energy and pre-exponential factor) of this process were determined using distributed activation energy model (DAEM). The DAEM was effectively applied to decide the activation energy (E) and pre-exponential factor (A) for each sample at various conversions during the catalytic co-pyrolysis. The biomass, plastic, biomass–plastic, and biomass–plastic–catalyst exhibited activation energies in the ranges of 78–268, 172–218, 67–307, and 202–292 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Structural insights on bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using microalgae: a modelling-based computational study

Research on bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has established that several remediating microbial species are capable of degrading only low molecular weight (LMW)-PAHs, whereas high molecular weight (HMW)-PAHs are hardly degradable. In the present study, the efficiency of degradation of both LMW and HMW-PAHs by cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) of microalgae was studied. CYP have a key role in the detoxification of xenobiotics. So far, the structure of CYP in microalgae is not predicted; the protein structure was constructed by molecular modelling in the current study using the available template of microalgal CYP. Modelled microalgae 3D structures were docked against 38 different PAH compounds, and the information regarding the interaction between protein and PAHs viz. binding sites along with mode of interactions was investigated. We report that CYP from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis and Parachlorella kessleri was found to possess broad oxidising capability towards both LMW and HMW-PAHs. P. kessleri showed a least value with extra precision glide score of ? 10.23 and glide energy of ? 23.48 kcal/mol. PAHs bind to CYP active sites at Lys ⁶⁹, Trp ⁹⁶, Gln ³⁹⁷ and Arg ³⁹⁸ through intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Also, study revealed that PAHs interacted with CYP active sites through intermolecular hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic bonding, π–π interactions and van der waals interactions. Thus, structural elucidation study confirms that microalgae Parachlorella kessleri have the capacity to remediate HMW more efficiently than other microorganisms. Our results provide a framework in understanding the structure and the possible binding sites of CYP protein for degradation of PAH and that could be a screening tool in identifying the phycoremediation potential.     

Nutrient environment of red tide- infested waters off south-west coast of India

The bloom-infested waters along the southwest coast of India were assessed to bring about the probable cause related to the excessive algal production. Low nitrate and silicate concentrations were concomitant with slightly higher levels of phosphate. The silicate depletion in the bloom area is possibly an indication of community succession (diatom to dinoflagellate), since it was completely utilized by the preceding diatom blooms. The dinoflagellates in this region could have been advected from the northern regions where it was noticed during the previous months.     

Application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis for determination of monensin in environmental samples

There is growing concern that antibiotic use in livestock production is contributing to contamination of soil and aquatic environments. Monensin, a polyether ionophore antibiotic, accounts for approximately 13% of total subtherapeutic livestock antibiotic usage in the USA and has been widely detected in aquatic environments. Due to insufficient ultraviolet absorbance, liquid chromatography analysis of monensin in environmental samples is limited to equipment with mass spectrometry (e.g., liquid chomatography-mass spectrometry [LC-MS]). However, LC-MS equipment is costly, and extensive sample preparation and clean-up is often required. Rapid, low-cost analytical techniques are needed to monitor for monensin residues in the environment. In this study, a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting monensin in animal feed extracts was evaluated for determination of monensin in water, soil, and manure. The monensin ELISA was highly sensitive, with limits of detection and quantification at 1.5 and 3.0 microg L(-1), respectively. Recovery of monensin in spiked water samples was approximately 100%. Cross-reactivity was not observed with similar polyether ionophores, tetracyclines, macrolides, or sulfonamides. Concentrations of monensin using ELISA were greater than concentrations measured with LC-MS. This is attributed to cross-reactivity of the monensin ELISA toward structurally similar monensin compounds, such as factors (slight naturally produced structural variants) and metabolites. Results from this study showed that ELISA can be a reliable, rapid, and low-cost alternative to LC-MS analysis of environmental samples.     

Characteristics of worker accidents on NYSDOT construction projects

INTRODUCTION: This paper aims at providing cost-effective safety measures to protect construction workers in highway work zones, based on real data. Two types of accidents that occur in work zones were: (a) construction work area accidents, and (b) traffic accidents involving construction worker(s). METHODOLOGY/RESULTS: A detailed analysis of work zone accidents involving 36 fatalities and 3,055 severe injuries to construction workers on New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) construction projects from 1990 to 2001 established that five accident types: (a) Struck/Pinned by Large Equipment, (b) Trip or Fall (elevated), (c) Contact w/Electrical or Gas Utility, (d) Struck-by Moving/Falling Load, and (e) Crane/Lift Device Failure accounted for nearly 96% of the fatal accidents, nearly 63% of the hospital-level injury accidents, and nearly 91% of the total costs. These construction work area accidents had a total cost of $133.8 million. Traffic accidents that involve contractors' employees were also examined. Statistical analyses of the traffic accidents established that five traffic accident types: (a) Work Space Intrusion, (b) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space, (c) Flagger Struck-by Vehicle, (d) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Entering/Exiting Work Space, and (e) Construction Equipment Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space accounted for nearly 86% of the fatal, nearly 70% of the hospital-level injury and minor injury traffic accidents, and $45.4 million (79.4%) of the total traffic accident costs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this paper provide real statistics on construction worker related accidents reported on construction work zones. Potential preventions based on real statistics have also been suggested. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The ranking of accident types, both within the work area as well as in traffic, will guide the heavy highway contractor and owner agencies in identifying the most cost effective safety preventions.     

Transformation of food in the fish Megalops cyprinoides

A Megalops cyprinoides of 60 g wet weight is able to consume daily a maximum amount of food (the prawn, Metapenaeus monoceros) equivalent to 5% of its own body weight. This amount of food is absorbed at the same efficiency as by an individual consuming daily the equivalent of 2% of its body weight. Hence the quantity of total food absorbed and converted per day must increase as a function of feeding rate. However, the increase in conversion efficiency showed a diminishing trend at a feeding level of 4% body weight per day.This paper formed part of the author's Ph.D. thesis submitted to the University of Madras, India.Present address of the author.     

Computational analysis of turbulence enhancement in a compression ignition engine with modified inlet design

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aims to enhance the turbulence of direct injection (DI) diesel engine by modifying the inlet manifold design with an inclined nozzle-like...     

Isolation,mass cultivation,and biodiesel production potential of marine microalgae identified from Bay of Bengal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, marine microalgae were isolated from the Bay of Bengal, and their biodiesel production potential was investigated. Five different...