Expert System for Terrestrial Vegetation Distribution, Potential Impact and Mitigation Abatement Measures

The tropical rainforest of Malaysia holds one of the richest flora in the world. The favourable climate has produced flora of amazing richness and variety. Terrestrial vegetation of tropical rainforests is an important feature of the environment. Plants play a major role in the environment and conservation of a particular environment depends fundamentally on the maintenance of existing plants and their communities and hierarchies. Interference in the balance of the ecosystem may produce radical changes that lead to progressive deviations from the original situation. Therefore, the application of a computer technology in the form of an expert system (ES) will be able to help in the analysis and management of the EIA information. The ES is named VEGEVIC. Application of the system will lead to greater consistency in the application of EIA through implementation of a standard approach.     

Characterization of municipal and dairy wastewaters with 30 quality parameters and potential wastewater treatment by biological trickling filters

This study aimed to characterize raw municipal and dairy wastewaters. The quality of the collected wastewaters was determined by measuring 30 quality parameters, such as phenols, oxidation-reduction potential, oil and grease, total organic carbon (TOC), manganese, total viable count of bacteria (TVC), salinity, and biodegradability. Results were compared with wastewater disposal standards. This study also aimed to describe the potential application and performance of biological trickling filters (BTFs) in municipal and dairy wastewater treatment. Detailed reviews of trickling filter models were explained. Results revealed that two wastewater samples exceeded standard limits. The raw municipal and dairy wastewaters need treatment prior to disposal to the natural environment. Additionally, BTFs are efficient municipal and dairy wastewater treatments.     

Landfill leachate treatment by electrochemical oxidation

This study investigated the electrochemical oxidation of stabilized leachate from Pulau Burung semi-aerobic sanitary landfill by conducting laboratory experiments with sodium sulfate Na₂SO₄ (as electrolyte) and graphite carbon electrodes. The control parameters were influent COD, current density and reaction time, while the responses were BOD removal, COD removal, BOD:COD ratio, color and pH. Na₂SO₄ concentration was 1 g/L. Experiments were conducted based on a three-level factorial design and response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the results. The optimum conditions were obtained as 1414 mg/L influent COD concentration, 79.9 mA/cm² current density and 4 h reaction time. This resulted in 70% BOD removal, 68% COD removal, 84% color removal, 0.04 BOD/COD ratio and 9.1 pH. Electrochemical treatment using graphite carbon electrode was found to be effective in BOD, COD and color removal but was not effective in increasing the BOD/COD ratio or enhancing biodegradability of the leachate. The color intensity of the treated samples increased at low influent COD and high current density due to corrosion of electrode material.     

Photocatalytic degradation of Chicago Sky Blue 6B and Benzopurpurin 4B using titanium dioxide thin film

Aqueous solutions of azo dyes undergo degradation to form harmless intermediates and colorless products following irradiation by visible light in the presence of titanium dioxide thin films. The dyes that were studied in this work are： Chicago Sky Blue 6B and Benzopurpurin 4B. Results obtained indicated that complete mineralization of the dyes took place under the experimental conditions. There was an increase in conductivity after the complete mineralization experiments possibly indicating the formation of ions such as NO3^- and SO4^2-. Chemical oxygen demand（COD） measurements show a decrease in organic matter for both dyes following complete degradation. The effect of how changing experimental conditions such as pH, temperature and starting concentrations of dyes affected the rate of dye degradation was measured. There was an increase in the rate of disappearance of the dye color at lower pH. High concentrations of dye solutions reauired Iona dearadation time.     

Exploitation of new approach to control of environmental pathogenic bacteria causing bovine clinical mastitis using novel anti-biofilm nanocomposite

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - New approaches are required for prevention and control of biofilm-producing bacteria and consequently mitigating the health problems of bovine...     

Pharmacological evaluation of crude methanolic extract of Kalanchoe pinnata leaves

Medicinal plants play a crucial role in maintaining human health. Kalanchoe pinnata has been used for treatment of different ailments like infections, rheumatism, and inflammation. Data showed that Kalancho pinnata methanolic extract (100 or 1000 μg/ml) significantly inhibited growth of shoots (hypocotyls) and roots (radicals) of rice compared to control after 3 or 7 days treatment. Further, the Kalancho pinnata methanolic extract (50–1000 μg/ml) exhibited antioxidant properties and scavenged free radicals in dose-dependent manner compared with a standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid). Kalancho pinnata methanolic extract also possesses antifungal property that inhibited approximately 76% and 51% growth of Aspergillus flavous and Aspergillus niger, respectively, using the extract at 200 μg/ml.     

How green our future would be? An investigation of the determinants of green purchasing behavior of young citizens in a developing Country

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Research on green purchasing behavior (GPB) has demonstrated significant progress in the past few years. However, there are still several influential...     

The impact of Local Authorities’ interventions on household waste collection: A case study approach using time series modelling

At a local Government level there have been many interventions and changes made to household waste collection services to meet new regulatory requirements. These changes include separate collection of recyclable and organic materials. This paper has used a time series model to quantify the success of interventions introduced by a LA.The case study was a medium sized UK LA, Charnwood Borough Council (CBC), the research analyses monthly data of quantities of recyclates, garden waste for composting and residual waste for landfill disposal. The time series model was validated with a five year data set and used to measure the impacts of the various changes to identify which intervention was the most successful, while controlling for season and number of working days. The results show the interventions analysed both had abrupt and permanent positive impacts on the yield of recyclable materials, and a corresponding negative impact on the residual waste.The model could be added to the National data base to help LAs to compare interventions and to understand which schemes encourage householder participation and improve recycling performance.     

Visual disturbances with cholinesterase depletion due to exposure of agricultural pesticides among farm workers

In this study, risk assessment for visual disturbances among farm workers spraying agricultural pesticides in farms have been assessed. A cross-sectional study for the assessment of visual disturbances was undertaken using questionnaire survey and clinical examination among agricultural workers exposed to pesticides. Two hundred and thirty nine pesticide sprayers participated in the study. The study was compared to 110 controls not occupationally exposed to pesticides with similar socio-economic status. The prevalence of ocular morbidity was found to be 40% among pesticide sprayers which was significantly higher (p?p?相似文献