Recent trends of the emission characteristics from the road construction industry

Bitumen is a black, thermoplastic, hydrocarbon material derived from the processing of crude oil. At ambient temperature, bitumen is solid and does not present any health/environmental risks. This is one of the main reasons that bitumen is widely used for road construction all over the world. But during manufacturing/modification according to its application, storage, transportation, and use of bitumen is heated giving off various hydrocarbons emissions. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in investigating the potential of bitumen emissions to cause health effects. This is mainly because of the reason that bitumen has small amount of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, along with some other volatiles like benzene, toluene, etc., which are known to be carcinogenic in nature. Thus, assessment of the emission characteristics and health hazards of bitumen fumes may have far reaching industrial economic and public health implications. In this review, we will discuss about the emission characteristics from bitumen, asphalts, or road construction, which is mainly contributed by bitumen fumes. Sampling strategies and analytical methods employed are also described briefly.     

Strength and durability assessment of concrete containing dolomite quarry waste as fine aggregate

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The present study focuses on utilizing stockpiled dolomite quarry waste for sustainable and cleaner production of concrete. Natural river sand is...     

Synthesizing habitat connectivity analyses of a globally important human-dominated tiger-conservation landscape

As ecological data and associated analyses become more widely available, synthesizing results for effective communication with stakeholders is essential. In the case of wildlife corridors, managers in human-dominated landscapes need to identify both the locations of corridors and multiple stakeholders for effective oversight. We synthesized five independent studies of tiger (Panthera tigris) connectivity in central India, a global priority landscape for tiger conservation, to quantify agreement on landscape permeability for tiger movement and potential movement pathways. We used the latter analysis to identify connectivity areas on which studies agreed and stakeholders associated with these areas to determine relevant participants in corridor management. Three or more of the five studies’ resistance layers agreed in 63% of the study area. Areas in which all studies agree on resistance were of primarily low (66%, e.g., forest) and high (24%, e.g., urban) resistance. Agreement was lower in intermediate resistance areas (e.g., agriculture). Despite these differences, the studies largely agreed on areas with high levels of potential movement: >40% of high average (top 20%) current-flow pixels were also in the top 20% of current-flow agreement pixels (measured by low variation), indicating consensus connectivity areas (CCAs) as conservation priorities. Roughly 70% of the CCAs fell within village administrative boundaries, and 100% overlapped forest department management boundaries, suggesting that people live and use forests within these priority areas. Over 16% of total CCAs’ area was within 1 km of linear infrastructure (437 road, 170 railway, 179 transmission line, and 339 canal crossings; 105 mines within 1 km of CCAs). In 2019, 78% of forest land diversions for infrastructure and mining in Madhya Pradesh (which comprises most of the study region) took place in districts with CCAs. Acute competition for land in this landscape with globally important wildlife corridors calls for an effective comanagement strategy involving local communities, forest departments, and infrastructure planners.     

Targeting natural products against SARS-CoV-2

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The human coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by a novel coronavirus; the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)....     

A composite polyphenol-rich extract improved growth performance,ruminal fermentation and immunity,while decreasing methanogenesis and excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus in growing buffaloes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effects of a composite polyphenolic-rich extract (CPRE) on ruminal fermentation, nutrient utilisation, growth performance, excretion of nitrogen...     

Anticipated pharmacological role of Aviptadil on COVID-19

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide that is produced by the lymphoid cells and plays a major role in immunological functions for...     

Exploration of potential role of Rho GTPase in nicotine dependence-induced withdrawal syndrome in mice

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The RhoA gene showed an important genotypic association with nicotine dependence and smoking initiation. The current study aims to investigate the...     

Unboxing the molecular modalities of mutagens in cancer

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The etiology of the majority of human cancers is associated with a myriad of environmental causes, including physical, chemical, and biological...     

Isolation and screening of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from coast of Bhavnagar,India, and formulation of consortium for bioremediation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Reduced sulfur compounds are a nuisance in coastal industries causing heavy economical as well as ecological loss. One such compound, hydrogen...     

Frequency distribution of pollutant concentrations over Indian megacities impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The megacities experience poor air quality frequently due to stronger anthropogenic emissions. India had one of the longest lockdowns in 2020 to curb...