A hybrid statistical decision-making optimization approach for groundwater vulnerability considering uncertainty

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Recognizing the vulnerable areas for contamination is a feasible way to protect groundwater resources. The main contribution of the paper is...     

Phosphorus removal and recovery: state of the science and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phosphorus is one of the main nutrients required for all life. Phosphorus as phosphate form plays an important role in different cellular processes....     

A multi-criteria GIS-based model for wind farm site selection with the least impact on environmental pollution using the OWA-ANP method

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Wind energy is considered one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to generate electricity, since it has a low environmental impact. So, it...     

The ameliorative effect of kaempferol against CdCl2- mediated renal damage entails activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NF-kB

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study evaluated the nephroprotective effect of kaempferol against cadmium chloride (CdCl2) -induced nephropathy in rats. It also investigated if...     

Increased Levels of serum Pentraxin 3 in Critical Coronavirus Disease-2019 Patients

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and ficolin are the plasma phase of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and can activate complement through classical and lectin...     

The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in indoor air of dental clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the indoor environment of dental clinics, dental personnel and patients are exposed to a risk of infection because of the transmission of...     

Identification of the Meteorological Variables Influencing Evapotranspiration Variability Over Florida

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Evapotranspiration (ET) plays an important role in agricultural water management and crop modeling. The highest mean annual ET values (889–1016 mm)...     

Modeling carbon sequestration under zero tillage at the regional scale. I. The effect of soil erosion

Zero tillage is recognized as a potential measure to sequester carbon dioxide in soils and to reduce CO₂ emissions from arable lands. An up-scaling approach of the output of the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model with the information system SLISYS-BW has been used to estimate the CO₂-mitigation potential in the state of Baden-Württemberg (SW-Germany). The state territory of 35,742 km² is subdivided into eight agro-ecological zones (AEZ), which have been further subdivided into a total of 3976 spatial response units. Annual CO₂-mitigation rates where estimated from the changes in soil organic carbon content comparing 30 years simulations under conventional and zero tillage. Special attention was given to the influence of tillage practices on the losses of organic carbon through soil erosion, and consequently on the calculation of CO₂-mitigation rates. Under conventional tillage, mean carbon losses through erosion in the AEZ were estimated to be up to 0.45 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. The apparent CO₂-mitigation rate for the conversion from conventional to zero tillage ranges from 0.08 to 1.82 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ in the eight AEZ, if the carbon losses through soil erosion are included in the calculations. However, the higher carbon losses under conventional tillage compared to zero tillage are composed of both, losses through enhanced CO₂ emissions, and losses through intensified soil erosion. The adjusted net CO₂-mitigation rates of zero tillage, subtracting the reduced carbon losses through soil erosion, are between 0.07 and 1.27 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ and the estimated net mitigation rate for the entire state amounts to 285 Gg C a⁻¹. This equals to 1045 Gg CO₂-equivalents per year with the cropping patterns in the reference year 2000. The results call attention to the necessity to revise those estimation methods for CO₂-mitigation which are exclusively or predominantly based on the measurements of differential changes in total soil organic carbon without taking into account the tillage effects on carbon losses through soil erosion.     

Protective role of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) against the genotoxic damage induced by ethynodiol diacetate in human lymphocytes in vitro

Antioxidants and plant products are reported to reduce the genotoxic damage of steroids. In our present study we have tested different dosages of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) against the genotoxic damage induced by ethynodiol diacetate in the presence of S9 mix. Treatments with nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) results in the reduction of the genotoxic damage. A significant decrease was observed at all the tested doses of NDGA in sister chromatic exchanges of number of abnormal cells. The results suggest a protective role of NDGA against the genotoxic damage.     

Household solid waste characteristics and management in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Solid waste management (SWM) is a multidimensional challenge faced by urban authorities, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. We investigated per capita waste generation by residents, its composition, and the households' attitudes towards waste management at Rahman Nagar Residential Area, Chittagong, Bangladesh. The study involved a structured questionnaire and encompassed 75 households from five different socioeconomic groups (SEGs): low (LSEG), lower middle (LMSEG), middle (MSEG), upper middle (UMSEG) and high (HSEG). Wastes, collected from all of the groups of households, were segregated and weighed. Waste generation was 1.3kg/household/day and 0.25kg/person/day. Household solid waste (HSW) was comprised of nine categories of wastes with vegetable/food waste being the largest component (62%). Vegetable/food waste generation increased from the HSEG (47%) to the LSEG (88%). By weight, 66% of the waste was compostable in nature. The generation of HSW was positively correlated with family size (r(xy)=0.236, p<0.05), education level (r(xy)=0.244, p<0.05) and monthly income (r(xy)=0.671, p<0.01) of the households. Municipal authorities are usually the responsible agencies for solid waste collection and disposal, but the magnitude of the problem is well beyond the ability of any municipal government to tackle. Hence dwellers were found to take the service from the local waste management initiative. Of the respondents, an impressive 44% were willing to pay US$0.3 to US$0.4 per month to waste collectors and it is recommended that service charge be based on the volume of waste generated by households. Almost a quarter (22.7%) of the respondents preferred 12-1pm as the time period for their waste to be collected. This study adequately shows that household solid waste can be converted from burden to resource through segregation at the source, since people are aware of their role in this direction provided a mechanism to assist them in this pursuit exists and the burden is distributed according to the amount of waste generated.