The effects of economic growth and innovation on CO2 emissions in different regions

Economic growth and economic energy consumption have received greater attention due to its contribution to global CO₂ emissions in recent decades. The literature on CO₂ emissions and innovation for regional differences is very scanty as there is not enough study that considered different regions in a single analysis. We adopt a holistic approach by incorporating different regions so as to assess how innovation contributes to emission reduction. The study, therefore, examined the effects of innovation and economic growth on CO₂ emissions for 18 developed and developing countries over the period of 1990 to 2016. The study used panel technique capable of dealing with cross-section dependence effects: panel cross-sectional augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root to determine the order of integration, Westerlund cointegration tests confirmed that the variables are co-integrated. We employed panel fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and panel dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) to estimate the long-run relationship. The results show that energy consumption increases CO₂ emissions at all panel levels. However, innovation reduces CO₂ emissions in G6 while it increases emissions in the MENA and the BRICS countries. Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid for the BRICS. The pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) and pollution halo effect were confirmed at different panel levels. Based on the findings different policy recommendations are proposed.

     

Modeling the relationship between carbon emissions and environmental sustainability during COVID-19: a new evidence from asymmetric ARDL cointegration approach

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The study aims to examine the CO2 emissions by considering the implication of COVID-19 under strict lockdown in India. The nonlinear (asymmetric)...     

Switching behaviors toward green brands: evidence from emerging economy

The aim of the current research was to recognize consumer attitude gap toward green brand by studying role of green consumer value and green brand equity toward the switching intention and purchase intention of consumers toward green brands. The current research employed quantitative research design and collected data through questionnaire from 331 respondents. The PLS-structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the structured relationships. The findings suggest green customer value is product of the three important factors namely green brand experiential risk, green brand experiential quality and green brand experience. Hence, these act as the main drivers of switching consumer behavioral intention toward the green products through consumer green brand equity. The research attempts to study the attitude–behavior gap in the green marketing literature by investigating the role which includes, green brand experiential risk, green brand experiential quality and green brand experience on customer value leading to green brand equity. The research provide an in-depth understating of attitude–behavior gaps and role of green customer value and brand equity that plays vital role in marketing campaigns and policy making to increase purchase intention of green eco-conscious products.

     

Nickel stressed responses of rice in Ni subcellular distribution,antioxidant production,and osmolyte accumulation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nickel has been found a key pollutant in farmlands of central and south China, and understanding of Ni toxicity in rice is of great significance in...     

Suicide bombings: process of care of mass casualties in the developing world

In recent times Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, has witnessed numerous terrorist attacks. The city does not have an emergency response system and only one of the three public sector hospitals has a trauma centre. We describe the pattern of injuries and management of two terror-related mass casualty incidents involving suicide bombers in a developing nation with limited resources. The first incident occurred in May 2002 with 36 casualties, of whom 13 (36%) died immediately and 11 (30.5%) died at the primary receiving hospitals. The second incident was targeted against the local population in May 2004. The blast resulted in 104 casualties, of which 14 (13.46%) died at the site. All patients had their initial assessment and treatment based on Advanced Trauma and Life Support principles and documented on a trauma form.     

Effect of industrial by-products containing electron acceptors on mitigating methane emission during rice cultivation

Three industrial by-products (fly ash, phosphogypsum and blast furnace slag), were evaluated for their potential re-use as soil amendments to reduce methane (CH₄) emission resulting from rice cultivation. In laboratory incubations, CH₄ production rates from anoxic soil slurries were significantly reduced at amendment levels of 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 5% (wt wt⁻¹), while observed CO₂ production rates were enhanced. The level of suppression in methane production was the highest for phosphogypsum, followed by blast slag and then fly ash. In the greenhouse experiment, CH₄ emission rates from the rice planted potted soils significantly decreased with the increasing levels (2–20 Mg ha⁻¹) of the selected amendments applied, while rice yield simultaneously increased compared to the control treatment. At 10 Mg ha⁻¹ application level of the amendments, total seasonal CH₄ emissions were reduced by 20%, 27% and 25%, while rice grain yields were increased by 17%, 15% and 23% over the control with fly ash, phosphogypsum, and blast slag amendments, respectively. The suppression of CH₄ production rates as well as total seasonal CH₄ flux could be due to the increased concentrations of active iron, free iron, manganese oxides, and sulfate in the amended soil, which acted as electron acceptors and controlled methanogens’ activity by limiting substrates availability. Among the amendments, blast furnace slag and fly ash contributed mainly to improve the soil nutrients balance and increased the soil pH level towards neutral point, but soil acidity was developed with phosphogypsum application. Conclusively, blast slag among the selected amendments would be a suitable soil amendment for reducing CH₄ emissions as well as sustaining rice productivity.     

Electronic-property dependent interactions between tetracycline and graphene nanomaterials in aqueous solution

Understanding the interactions between graphene nanomaterials(GNMs) and antibiotics in aqueous solution is critical to both the engineering applications of GNMs and the assessment of their potential impact on the fate and transport of antibiotics in the aquatic environment. In this study, adsorption of one common antibiotic, tetracycline, by graphene oxide(GO) and reduced graphene oxide(RGO) was examined with multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) and graphite as comparison. The results showed that the tetracycline adsorption capacity by the four selected carbonaceous materials on the unit mass basis followed an order of GO RGO MWCNTs graphite. Upon normalization by surface area,graphite, RGO and MWCNTs had almost the same high tetracycline adsorption affinity while GO exhibited the lowest. We proposed π-electron-property dependent interaction mechanisms to explain the observed different adsorption behaviors. Density functional theory(DFT) calculations suggested that the oxygen-containing functional groups on GO surface reduced its π-electron-donating ability, and thus decreased the π-based interactions between tetracycline and GO surface. Comparison of adsorption efficiency at different p H indicated that electrostatic interaction also played an important role in tetracycline-GO interactions. Site energy analysis confirmed a highly heterogeneous distribution of the binding sites and strong tetracycline binding affinity of GO surface.     

The antioxidative response system in Glycine max (L.) Merr. exposed to Deltamethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide

Forty-five-day-old plants of Glycine max (soybean) were exposed to several Deltamethrin (synthetic pyrethroid insecticide) concentrations (0.00%, 0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15% and 0.20%) through foliar spray in the field conditions. In the treated plants, as observed at the pre-flowering (10 DAT), flowering (45 DAT) and post-flowering (70 DAT) stages, lipid peroxidation, proline content and total glutathione content increased, whereas the total ascorbate content decreased, as compared with the control. Among the enzymatic antioxidants, activity of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase increased significantly whereas that of catalase declined markedly in relation to increasing concentration of Deltamethrin applied. The changes observed were dose-dependent, showing a strong correlation with the degree of treatment.     

Green purchase behavior towards green housing: an investigation of Bangladeshi consumers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Worldwide green products are getting popularity and acceptance due to energy crisis, climate change, and other environmental degradations which reveal...