Fast simultaneous determination of traces of Cu(II) and Co(II) in soils and sediments with the luminol/perborate chemiluminescent system

A flow injection analysis method based on ion chromatography and luminol chemiluminescence detection was used for the simultaneous determination of copper (II) and cobalt (II) trace levels in soils and sediments following microwave-assisted acid digestion. Detection was based on chemiluminescence (CL) of the luminol–perborate system in an alkaline medium, which is catalyzed by both transition metals. The concentration and pH of the eluent (oxalic acid) was found to affect CL intensities and retention times, both of which were inversely proportional to the oxalic acid concentration. The calibration curves for both metal ions were linear and allowed a limit of detection of 0.003 μg l^?1 for cobalt (II) and 0.014 μg l^?1 for cooper (II) to be calculated. The proposed method was successfully used to determine both metal ions in certified reference materials of stream and river sediments and soil samples. Based on the results, the determination is free of interferences from the usual concomitant ions.     

Adsorption–desorption of metolachlor and atrazine in Indian soils: effect of fly ash amendment

The effect of two fly ashes as soil amendment on the adsorption–desorption of metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylphenyl)] and atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine) was studied in alluvial and laterite soils. The adsorption data for both the herbicides fitted well the Freundlich equation, and Freundlich adsorption coefficient (K _f) increased with an increase of fly ash amount. Both the fly ashes differed in their extent to increase herbicide sorption, and the effect was different in different soils. Atrazine was sorbed more in the soils/soils?+?fly ash mixtures than the metolachlor. The K _f values showed significant correlation with the amount of fly ash amendment (correlation coefficient, R?>?0.982). The desorption isotherms also fitted the Freundlich equation, and desorption showed hysteresis which increased with an increase in the content of fly ash amendment. The free energy change (ΔG) indicated that the sorption process is exothermic, spontaneous, and physical in nature. The study has shown that fly ash as soil amendment significantly increased the sorption of metolachlor and atrazine, but the effect is soil- and fly ash-specific.     

Multivariate analysis of potentially toxic metals in sediments of a tropical coastal lagoon

Surface sediments collected from the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria, and three adjoining rivers were analysed for their physicochemical properties and pseudo-total concentration of the potentially toxic metals (PTM) Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The concentration of the PTM varied seasonally and spatially. Odo-Iyaalaro was observed to be the most polluted river, with highest concentrations of 42.1 mg kg^?1, 102 mg kg^?1, 185 mg kg^?1, 154 mg kg^?1 and 1040 mg kg^?1 of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, respectively, while Ibeshe River was the least contaminated, apart from a site affected by Cu from the textile industry. Some of the sediments were found to be above the consensus-based probable effect concentrations and Dutch sediment guideline for metals. Overall metal concentrations were similar to those reported for other tropical lagoon and estuarine systems affected by anthropogenic inputs as a result of rapid urbanisation. Due to the large number of samples, principal component analysis was used to examine relationships within the data set. Generally, sediments collected during the dry season were observed to have higher concentration of PTM than those collected during the rainy season. This means that PTM could accumulate over a prolonged period and then be released relatively rapidly, on an annual basis, into tropical lagoon systems.     

Evaluation of concentration efficiency of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage PP7 in various water matrixes by different methods

Enteric viruses monitoring in surface waters requires the concentration of viruses before detection assays. The aim of this study was to evaluate different methods in terms of recovery efficiencies of bacteriophage PP7 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, measured by real-time PCR, using it as a viral control process in water analysis. Different nucleic acid extraction methods (silica–guanidinium thiocyanate, a commercial kit (Qiagen Viral RNA Kit) and phenol–chloroform with alcohol precipitation) exhibited very low recovery efficiencies (0.08–4.18 %), being the most efficient the commercial kit used for subsequent experiments. To evaluate the efficiency of three concentration methods, PBS (as model for clean water) and water samples from rivers were seeded to reach high (HC, 10⁶ pfu ml^?1) and low concentrations (LC, 10⁴ pfu ml^?1) of PP7. Tangential ultrafiltration proved to be more efficient (50.36?±?12.91, 17.21?±?9.22 and 12.58?±?2.35 % for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively) than adsorption–elution with negatively charged membranes (1.00?±?1.34, 2.79?±?2.62 and 0.05?±?0.08 % for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively) and polyethylene glycol precipitation (15.95?±?7.43, 4.01?±?1.12 and 3.91?±?0.54 %, for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively), being 3.2–50.4 times more efficient than the others for PBS and 2.7–252 times for river samples. Efficiencies also depended on the initial virus concentration and aqueous matrixes composition. In consequence, the incorporation of an internal standard like PP7 along the process is useful as a control of the water concentration procedure, the nucleic acid extraction, the presence of inhibitors and the variability of the recovery among replicas, and for the calculation of the sample limit of detection. Thus, the use of a process control, as presented here, is crucial for the accurate quantification of viral contamination.     

Assessment and monitoring of long-term forest cover changes in Odisha, India using remote sensing and GIS

Deforestation and fragmentation are important concerns in managing and conserving tropical forests and have global significance. In the Indian context, in the last one century, the forests have undergone significant changes due to several policies undertaken by government as well as increased population pressure. The present study has brought out spatiotemporal changes in forest cover and variation in forest type in the state of Odisha (Orissa), India, during the last 75 years period. The mapping for the period of 1924–1935, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2010 indicates that the forest cover accounts for 81,785.6 km² (52.5 %), 56,661.1 km² (36.4 %), 51,642.3 km² (33.2 %), 49,773 km² (32 %) and 48,669.4 km² (31.3 %) of the study area, respectively. The study found the net forest cover decline as 40.5 % of the total forest and mean annual rate of deforestation as 0.69 %?year^?1 during 1935 to 2010. There is a decline in annual rate of deforestation during 1995 to 2010 which was estimated as 0.15 %. Forest type-wise quantitative loss of forest cover reveals large scale deforestation of dry deciduous forests. The landscape analysis shows that the number of forest patches (per 1,000) are 2.463 in 1935, 10.390 in 1975, 11.899 in 1985, 12.193 in 1995 and 15.102 in 2010, which indicates high anthropogenic pressure on the forests. The mean patch size (km²) of forest decreased from 33.2 in 1935 to 5.5 in 1975 and reached to 3.2 by 2010. The study demonstrated that monitoring of long term forest changes, quantitative loss of forest types and landscape metrics provides critical inputs for management of forest resources.     

Shoreline change analysis of Vedaranyam coast, Tamil Nadu, India

The coastal zone is one of the nation’s greatest environmental and economic assets. The present research aims at studying the shoreline changes along Vedaranyam coast using conventional and modern techniques including field sampling, remote sensing, and geographical information system (GIS). The study area was divided into three zones. Dynamic Land/Sea polygon analysis was performed to obtain the shore line changes at different time periods between 1930 and 2005. From the multidate shoreline maps, the rate of shoreline change was computed using linear regression rate and end point rate. Further, the shoreline was classified into eroding, accreting, and stable regions through GIS analysis. The eroding, accreting, and stable coastal stretch along Vedaranyam is observed as 18 %, 80.5 %, and 1.5 %, respectively. Net shoreline movement is seaward, i.e., the coast is progressive with an average rate of 5 m/year. A maximum shoreline displacement of 1.3 km towards the sea is observed near Point Calimere. During the Asian Tsunami 2004, the eastern part of the study area showed high erosion. Sediment transport paths derived from the grain size analysis of beach sediments collected during different seasons help to identify the major sediment source and sinks. Point Calimere acts as the major sink for sediments whereas Agastiyampalli and Kodiakkarai are found to be the major sources for the sediment supply along the Vedaranyam coast. Shoreline change study from field and satellite data using GIS analysis confirms that Vedaranyam coast is accreting in nature.     

Receptor model-based source apportionment of particulate pollution in Hyderabad, India

Air quality in Hyderabad, India, often exceeds the national ambient air quality standards, especially for particulate matter (PM), which, in 2010, averaged 82.2?±?24.6, 96.2?±?12.1, and 64.3?±?21.2 μg/m³ of PM₁₀, at commercial, industrial, and residential monitoring stations, respectively, exceeding the national ambient standard of 60 μg/m³. In 2005, following an ordinance passed by the Supreme Court of India, a source apportionment study was conducted to quantify source contributions to PM pollution in Hyderabad, using the chemical mass balance (version 8.2) receptor model for 180 ambient samples collected at three stations for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 size fractions for three seasons. The receptor modeling results indicated that the PM₁₀ pollution is dominated by the direct vehicular exhaust and road dust (more than 60 %). PM_2.5 with higher propensity to enter the human respiratory tracks, has mixed sources of vehicle exhaust, industrial coal combustion, garbage burning, and secondary PM. In order to improve the air quality in the city, these findings demonstrate the need to control emissions from all known sources and particularly focus on the low-hanging fruits like road dust and waste burning, while the technological and institutional advancements in the transport and industrial sectors are bound to enhance efficiencies. Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board utilized these results to prepare an air pollution control action plan for the city.     

Soil properties and crop productivity as influenced by flyash incorporation in soil

Field experiments were carried out during 1996–97at Gulawathi, Muthiani and Salarpur Villages, IARI Farm, NewDelhi and NCPP Campus, Dadri to evaluate changes in soilcharacteristics and growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.),mustard (Brassica juncea L.), lentil (Lence esculentaMoench.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) byvarying amounts of flyash addition (up to 50t ha^-1) in soils atsowing/transplanting time of crops. Flyash addition in areasadjoining NCPP Thermal Power Plant, Dadri, Ghaziabad, U.P.ranged from 5–12 t ha^-1 yr^-1 in 1995–96. Shoot and root growthand yield of test crops at different locations after flyashincorporation resulted in beneficial effects of flyashaddition in most cases. The silt dominant texture of flyashimproved loamy sand to sandy loam textures of the surfacesoils at the farmers' fields. The increased growth in yield ofcrops with flyash incorporation was possibly due tomodifications in soil moisture retention and transmissioncharacteristics, bulk density, physico-chemical characterssuch as pH and EC and organic carbon content. The response offlyash addition in the soil on soil health and cropproductivity needs to be evaluated on long-term sustainableaspects.     

The interaction between physical and social-psychological factors in indoor environmental health

Indoor environmental health is now recognized as an important factor in preventing respiratory health problems in the United States. It is also a concern in Canada due to the amount of time that Canadians spend indoors because of cold weather and the potential for increased time indoors during the summer if theclimate warms. The negative health effects are often labeled assick building syndrome, but diagnosing a building or itsoccupants as sick is complicated by the variety of symptoms, thepresence of chronic versus acute symptoms and social andpsychological (socio-psychological) factors that may reduce theeffectiveness of an engineering solution. As a case study, thecontribution of various factors to indoor environmental health,in three buildings at the University of Toronto, was examinedusing five different methods. The results indicate that theinhabitants of the buildings consider features other than airquality in considering building health such as design,maintenance, funding cuts and socio-psychological factors.     

Using improved neural network model to analyze RSP,NOx and NO2 levels in urban air in Mong Kok,Hong Kong

As the health impact of air pollutants existing in ambient addresses much attention in recent years, forecasting of airpollutant parameters becomes an important and popular topic inenvironmental science. Airborne pollution is a serious, and willbe a major problem in Hong Kong within the next few years. InHong Kong, Respirable Suspended Particulate (RSP) and NitrogenOxides NO_x and NO₂ are major air pollutants due to thedominant diesel fuel usage by public transportation and heavyvehicles. Hence, the investigation and prediction of the influence and the tendency of these pollutants are ofsignificance to public and the city image. The multi-layerperceptron (MLP) neural network is regarded as a reliable andcost-effective method to achieve such tasks. The works presentedhere involve developing an improved neural network model, whichcombines the principal component analysis (PCA) technique and theradial basis function (RBF) network, and forecasting thepollutant levels and tendencies based in the recorded data. Inthe study, the PCA is firstly used to reduce and orthogonalizethe original input variables (data), these treated variables arethen used as new input vectors in RBF neural network modelestablished for forecasting the pollutant tendencies. Comparingwith the general neural network models, the proposed modelpossesses simpler network architecture, faster training speed,and more satisfactory predicting performance. This improvedmodel is evaluated by using hourly time series of RSP, NO_x and NO₂ concentrations collected at Mong Kok Roadside Gaseous Monitory Station in Hong Kong during the year 2000. By comparing the predicted RSP, NO_x and NO₂ concentrationswith the actual data of these pollutants recorded at the monitorystation, the effectiveness of the proposed model has been proven.Therefore, in authors' opinion, the model presented in the paper is a potential tool in forecasting air quality parameters and hasadvantages over the traditional neural network methods.