Evaluating the effectiveness of fingerling stocking and ecological perspectives in enhancing fish harvest in a large tropical reservoir of Northern India

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The present study evaluated the effectiveness of stocking the Gangetic carps, viz. Labeo catla, Labeo rohita, and Cirrhinus mrigala, in a large...     

Size fraction of hazardous particulate matter governing the respiratory deposition and inhalation risk in the highly polluted city Delhi

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Delhi has been identified as one of the highly polluted cities in the world and recently associated with the highest population weighted PM2.5...     

Valorization of potato peel waste: Recovery of p-hydroxy benzoic acid (antioxidant) through molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Solid waste management of the potato peels, generated during the processing of potatoes, can be done sustainably by adding value to the peel waste....     

Biodegradability of Starch Based Self-Supporting Antimicrobial Film and Its Effect on Soil Quality

Alarming environmental pollution from petroleum based non-biodegradable disposable packaging films has generated concern for development of alternatives from natural polymers such as starch. In the present work, the biodegradability of a self-supporting film made from starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (starch:PVA?=?9:1 as the polymer) together with glutaraldehyde as crosslinker and sodium propionate (SP) as antimicrobial was investigated by soil burial method. The changes in soil composition namely pH, organic carbon, available and total nitrogen, and water holding capacity as a result of biodegradation were also estimated. The film underwent ≈?90% biodegradation within a period of 28 days, with simultaneous increase in soil nutrients. Moreover, the pH remained in the accepted limit for plant growth. Thus, antimicrobial in the film did not hamper its biodegradation, rather disposal of the film in soil might facilitate plant growth.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of state of health of Li-ion battery

ABSTRACT

Estimation of State of Health (SoH) of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is essential to predict the lifespan of batteries of an electric vehicle (EV). The efficient prediction of battery health indicates to the effective and safe operation of EV. However, delivering an effective and accurate method for the estimation of SoH in the real condition is truly a challenging task. The present study proposed a holistic procedure of combining both experimental and numerical investigations to conduct the fundamental study on coupled mechanical-electrochemical behavior of Li-ion battery. The proposed investigation highlighted the effect of stress on the capacity of the battery, considering capacity fade as an equivalent parameter to its health for real-time estimation of SoH. Finally, a simple model of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is provided, which shows the linear dependency of stress with the SoH. The results obtained from the ANN model are validated with a Linear Regression (LR) model for a better understanding of the inspection. The predicted value of mean Square Error (MSE) and R square error in the ANN training model are found to be 0.000309 and 0.849687, respectively. Whereas for the test model, these predicted values are found to be 0.000438 and 0.819347, respectively.     

Soil application of dinitroaniline and arylphenoxy propionic herbicides influences the activities of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms in soil

An experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions to investigate the effect of two systemic herbicides, viz. pendimethalin (a dinitroaniline) and quizalofop (an arylphenoxy propionic acid) at their recommended field application rates (1.0?kg and 50?g active ingredient per hectare, respectively), either separately or in a combination, on growth and activities of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms in relation to their effects on biochemical transformations and availability of organic carbon, total and available phosphorus in a Typic Haplustept soil of West Bengal, India. Application of herbicides, in general, significantly stimulated the growth and activities of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms which increased microbial biomass resulting in higher accumulation of oxidizable organic carbon, total and available phosphorus in soil as compared to untreated control. The combined application of both the herbicides highly stimulated the proliferations of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms, while pendimethalin alone significantly accentuated phosphate-solubilizing capacities 36.4% as compared to untreated control and retained highest amount of total phosphorus due to greater microbial activities in soil. The separate application of quizalofop also manifested an induced effect on the proliferations of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms and accounted significant amounts of organic carbon and available phosphorus in the soil system. The results of the present study thus indicated that the cited herbicides at their field application rates can be safely used to eradicate weeds in the crop fields.     

Adaptive nitrogen and integrated weed management in conservation agriculture: impacts on agronomic productivity,greenhouse gas emissions,and herbicide residues

Increasing nitrogen (N) immobilization and weed interference in the early phase of implementation of conservation agriculture (CA) affects crop yields. Yet, higher fertilizer and herbicide use to improve productivity influences greenhouse gase emissions and herbicide residues. These tradeoffs precipitated a need for adaptive N and integrated weed management in CA-based maize (Zea mays L.)—wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.) emend Fiori & Paol] cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) to optimize N availability and reduce weed proliferation. Adaptive N fertilization was based on soil test value and normalized difference vegetation index measurement (NDVM) by GreenSeeker? technology, while integrated weed management included brown manuring (Sesbania aculeata L. co-culture, killed at 25 days after sowing), herbicide mixture, and weedy check (control, i.e., without weed management). Results indicated that the ‘best-adaptive N rate’ (i.e., 50% basal + 25% broadcast at 25 days after sowing + supplementary N guided by NDVM) increased maize and wheat grain yields by 20 and 14% (averaged for 2 years), respectively, compared with whole recommended N applied at sowing. Weed management by brown manuring (during maize) and herbicide mixture (during wheat) resulted in 10 and 21% higher grain yields (averaged for 2 years), respectively, over the weedy check. The NDVM in-season N fertilization and brown manuring affected N₂O and CO₂ emissions, but resulted in improved carbon storage efficiency, while herbicide residuals in soil were significantly lower in the maize season than in wheat cropping. This study concludes that adaptive N and integrated weed management enhance synergy between agronomic productivity, fertilizer and herbicide efficiency, and greenhouse gas mitigation.     

Effect of vermicomposting on calcium, sulphur and some heavy metal content of different biodegradable organic wastes under liming and microbial inoculation

A study was conducted to evaluate the changes in total calcium and sulphur and some heavy metal (Zn, Cu, and Pb) concentration of different organic wastes affected by liming and microorganism inoculation. Vermicomposting was an effective technology for disposal of organic substrates like municipal solid wastes (MSW), possessing comparatively higher concentration of heavy metals. The addition of lime in initial organic substrates significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased total calcium and total sulphur content of vermicomposts. Inoculation of microorganisms significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the heavy metal content of final products as compared to control. Fungal strains were comparatively more effective in detoxification of heavy metals than B. polymyxa.