Economic growth,energy consumption,and environmental quality nexus in Turkey: Evidence from simultaneous equation models

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present research article uses simultaneous equation modelling approach to investigate the three-way linkages between economic growth, energy...     

A comprehensive review on green buildings research: bibliometric analysis during 1998–2018

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Buildings account for nearly 2/5ths of global energy expenditure. Due to this figure, the 90s witnessed the rise of green buildings (GBs) that were...     

Preparation of Viscose Fibres Stripped of Reactive Dyes and Wrinkle-Free Crosslinked Cotton Textile Finish

The chemical recycling of cellulosic fibres may represent a next-generation fibre–fibre recycling system for cotton textiles, though remaining challenges include how to accommodate fibre blends, dyes, wrinkle-free finishes, and other impurities from finishing. These challenges may disrupt the regeneration process steps and reduce the fibre quality. This study examines the impact on regenerated viscose fibre properties of a novel alkaline/acid bleaching sequence to strip reactive dyes and dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneureas (DMDHEU) wrinkle-free finish from cotton textiles. Potentially, such a bleaching sequence could advantageously be integrated into the viscose process, reducing the costs and environmental impact of the product. The study investigates the spinning performance and mechanical properties (e.g., tenacity and elongation) of the regenerated viscose fibres. The alkaline/acid bleaching sequence was found to strip the reactive dye and DMDHEU wrinkle-free finish from the cotton fabric, so the resulting pulp could successfully be spun into viscose fibres, though the mechanical properties of these fibres were worse than those of commercial viscose fibres. This study finds that reactive dyes and DMDHEU wrinkle-free finish affect the viscose dope quality and the regeneration performance. The results might lead to progress in overcoming quality challenges in cellulosic chemical recycling.     

Improved desalination by polyamide membranes containing hydrophilic glutamine and glycine

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Water desalination and recycling of wastewater is a key challenge to meet water shortage issues. Thin film composite polyamide membranes are widely used for...     

Genetic Diversity of Lepilemur mustelinus ruficaudatus, a Nocturnal Lemur of Madagascar

The genetic polymorphism of natural populations of Lepilemur mustelinus ruficaudatus was studied by protein electrophoresis. We sampled blood from 72 individuals from four populations separated by geographic or anthropogenic barriers from southwestern Madagascar. Six out of 22 enzyme loci showed genetic variation with a degree of polymorphism of 0.273. The expected and observed degree of genetic heterozygosity over all loci is similar to that of other primates (H_e = 0.058, H_o = 0.036). The F-statistics revealed that the four subpopulations were similar with respect to gene structure (F_ST = 0.065, p = 0.016), but the genotypic structures within subpopulations were inconsistent with random mating. For the total of the four subpopulations the proportion of heterozygous individuals was significantly smaller than expected under random mating (F_IS = 0.373, F_IT = 0.414, p < 0.01). These results correspond closely to what is expected considering the low migration ability of individuals of L. m ruficaudatus leading to small and rather isolated inbred populations.     

Reversibility of stemflow-induced soil acidification in Swedish beech forest

Stemwater running down the trunks of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) has an acidifying effect on soil near the stem. The deposition of acidifying substances may be two to four times higher close to the stem compared to in the stand in general. To study reversibility of soil acidification, 72 stumps of beech trees were chosen from five different year classes of felling (3, 6, 9, 14-15, 25-30), representing the years when stemflow ceased to affect the soil. The H(+) concentration (pH KCl) in the topsoil (0-5 cm) differed between the distances 10-30 cm and 230-250 cm from the stumps, the soil close to the stem being more acid. The longer the time since felling the smaller the differences in H(+) concentration became. This reduction in soil acidity amounted to ca. 50% after 15 years, and only small further changes occurred over the next ten years. This indicates that soil may not recover fully from acidification, or does so at a rather slow rate after the initial 15 years of recovery.     

Effects of Sphagnum moss and urban runoff on bioavailability of lead and zinc from acidic wetlands of the New Jersey pinelands

The effects of Sphagnum and urban runoff on the bioavailability of metals were tested by adding PbCl2 and ZnCl2 to laboratory microcosms constructed of peat substrate with or without live Sphagnum spp. and planted with Acer rubrum L. seedlings or Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait. shoots. We hypothesized that Sphagnum would increase bioavailability through its acidifying action, while urban runoff would decrease availability through increases in alkalinity. Metals were more available to the test plants treated with acidic swampwater than with alkaline runoff. Sphagnum moss caused increases in tissue concentrations in V. macrocarpon, but not in A. rubrum. The latter species took up more metals when grown on substrate from sites receiving runoff, whereas the former took up more metals from substrate from undisturbed sites, despite the lower substrate metal concentrations. Differences in uptake by the two species may reflect differences in their ability to root in the Sphagnum mat. The results demonstrate that Sphagnum spp. exerts strong species-specific effects on the uptake of metals by vascular plants, and that plant species native to acidic wetlands vary widely in their response to metals in the substrate.     

Pesticide burden on some insects of economic importance in Lucknow (India)

Some insects of economic importance from Lucknow (India) have been investigated for their pesticide burden. Chlorinated pesticide residues of DDT, BHC and aldrin along with their metabolites and isomers have been detected in crop pollinating insects, honeybees (Apis indica) and butterflies (Danais chrysippus and Eurema sp.) and predators, dragonfly (Platythemis sp.) and wasps (Polistes herebreus). DDT and their metabolites were present in concentrations which varied from 231–796 ng g^–1, followed by BHC (10–60 ng g^–1), and aldrin (0.26–6.68 ng g^–1). This finding is likely to stimulate newer interest in the area of pesticide research and start meaningful investigation to find if bioaccumulated pesticides would have adverse impact on otherwise beneficial potentials of such insects in our ecosystems.