Effect of chromium on growth attributes in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Heavy metal soil pollution takes place when the metal concentration of soil exceeds natural background level and causes ecological destruction and deterioration of the environment.In the present study,a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of chromium-contaminated soil in sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.)growth attributes.Three different levels of chromium(Cr)i.e.,20, 40,and 60 mg/kg were applied to three varieties of sunflower(G-3,G-9,and G-59).The results of morphological,chemical,and yield p...     

Molecular Detection of Indigenous Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) from Tibetan Pigs in Tibet,China

Hepatitis E is an important public health concern throughout the world. Many molecular and serological surveys have reported the prevalence and genotypic characteristics of HEV in humans and animals worldwide. However, the genotypic characterization of this virus is very limited in Tibetan pigs. Hence, we aimed to explore the genotype of HEV, prevailing among Tibetan pigs in China. For this purpose, 253 bile samples of Tibetan pigs (free-range animals) were collected from different slaughterhouses during 2017–2018 and subsequently tested for HEV RNA by RT-nPCR. A total of 11 out of 253 (4.35%) samples tested were positive for HEV RNA. Based on the sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, all the isolated HEV strains belonged to genotype 4 and clustered into subtype 4b by sharing more than 84.8–95.2% identities with other reported strains. Our results concluded that HEV genotype 4 is prevailing among Tibetan pigs in Tibet, China.     

Lead Content of Petrol and Diesel and its Assessment in an Urban Environment

Pakistan is one of the few countries in Asia thatcontinues to use only leaded-petrol as vehicular fuel. Theconcentration of Pb in its petrol reported in 1991 was thehighest (1.5 – 2.0 g Pb L^-1) of all produced by the various Asiancountries and far exceeded the WHOs guideline of 0.15 g Pb L^-1. We have undertaken a study to trace and quantify this toxicelement in the environs of Karachi, Pakistans major metropolis,having more than 30% of the nations total number of vehicles.In this article we report the Pb contents of petrol and dieselcurrently manufactured and marketed in the city. Samples of`Regular petrol collected in 1999 was found to contain 0.363 gPb L^-1 (range: 0.335 – 0.390 g Pb L^-1), a factor of 5 lower than thatmarketed prior to 1991. Its concentration in diesel fuel was muchlower (0.017 g Pb L^-1). Based on the available statistical data onthe type and volume of vehicular traffic, we assessed that thecurrent lead emission from vehicular traffic into the atmosphereis 391 metric tons a year, which is a factor of 2.7 lower thanthat estimated for 1989.     

Yield and quality of charcoals from olive mill residues and its stone and pulp fractions: An enhanced comparative study

Pyrolysis is a promising way to upgrade large amounts of residues from olive oil processing into charcoal. Pyrolysis of the stone and pulp fractions needed to be investigated before conclusions could be drawn. We subjected the olive stone fraction, the pulp fraction, and a mixture of the two to dynamic pyrolysis and isothermal pyrolysis at 360°C. We characterized the charcoals resulting from isothermal pyrolysis at 360°C for different durations in terms of the fixed-carbon content (FCC), carbon content (CC), and high heating value (HHV). We found that charcoal yield from the pulp was higher than that from the stones, which were 38.1% and 32.9%, respectively, after pyrolysis for 360 min. This seemingly unexpected result was due to the high contents of ash (6.22%) and extractives (13%) in the pulp, which remained completely and partially undecomposed, respectively, in the charcoals and are accounted for when calculating yields. However, charcoals obtained from the stones were of higher quality than charcoals from the pulp, with lower ash content and higher FCC, CC, and HHV. In particular, the FCC, CC, and HHV after pyrolysis for 360 min were 73.2%, 74.4%, and 30.2 MJ/kg for the stones and only 61.8%, 63.2%, and 25.9 MJ/kg for the pulp, respectively. Depending on the required quality of the final charcoal, our results help decide whether to pyrolyse the entire olive residues or only one of the two fractions, more likely the stones.     

Predictors of poor outcomes among patients of acute methanol intoxication with particular reference to Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Methanol intoxication is a global problem with serious morbidities and mortalities. Apart from the lifelong disabilities experienced by methanol...     

Optimization of alkaline extraction of natural dye from Henna leaves and its dyeing on cotton by exhaust method

The alkaline conditions for extraction of natural dye from Henna leaves were optimized and the resulting extract was used to further optimize its dyeing conditions on cotton by exhaust method. Dyeings without any mordant were compared with those obtained with premordanting and postmordanting with alum and iron. It was found that dyeings produced with alkaline extracts of Henna leaves have better colour strength than the dye extracts obtained in distilled water. Furthermore, dyeings with alkaline extracts have moderate to good fastness properties and that mordanting did not result in any significant improvement in fastness properties. Finally, in comparative studies between synthetic and this natural dye, it was inferred that natural dye has good potential to act as co-partner with synthetic dye.     

Industrialization,Freight Transport and Environmental Quality: Evidence from Belt and Road Initiative Economies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Belt and Road initiative has been proposed by China to initiate the cooperation among relevant countries in sector of energy and Trade. The...     

Unrevealing arsenic and lead toxicity and antioxidant response in spinach: a human health perspective

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) are highly toxic and carcinogenic metal(loid)s. The present study evaluated the human exposure risk via estimating As and Pb...     

Do BRI policy and institutional quality influence economic growth and environmental quality? An empirical analysis from South Asian countries affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of quality institutions on growth-environmental nexus is a generally ignored topic, especially in South Asia economies affiliated with the...