Adsorptive removal of phosphate by the bimetallic hydroxide nanocomposites embedded in pomegranate peel

This study aimed to fabricate new and effective material for the efficiency of phosphate adsorption.Two types of adsorbent materials,the zirconium hydroxides embedded in pomegranate peel(Zr/Peel) and zirconium-lanthanum hydroxides embedded in pomegranate peel(Zr-La/Peel) were developed.Scanning electronic microscopy(SEM),x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and x-ray diffraction(XRD) were evaluated to give insight into the physicochemical properties of these adsorbents.Zr-La/Peel exceeded the a...     

Field Evaluation of DRAINMOD 5.1 Under a Cold Climate: Simulation of Daily Midspan Water Table Depths and Drain Outflows1

Abstract: The hydrologic performance of DRAINMOD 5.1 was assessed for the southern Quebec region considering freezing/thawing conditions. A tile drained agricultural field in the Pike River watershed was instrumented to measure tile drainage volumes. The model was calibrated using water table depth and subsurface flow data over a two‐year period, while another two‐year dataset served to validate the model. DRAINMOD 5.1 accurately simulated the timing and magnitude of subsurface drainage events. The model also simulated the pattern of water table fluctuations with a good degree of accuracy. The R² between the observed and simulated daily WTD for calibration was >0.78, and that for validation was 0.93. The corresponding coefficients of efficiency (E) were >0.74 and 0.31. The R² and E values for calibration/validation of subsurface flow were 0.73/0.48 and 0.72/0.40, respectively. DRAINMOD simulated monthly subsurface flow quite accurately (E > 0.82 and R² > 0.84). The model precisely simulated daily/monthly drain flow over the entire year, including the winter months. Thus DRAINMOD 5.1 performed well in simulating the hydrology of a cold region.     

Exposure assessment and associated lung deposition calculations for vehicular exhaust in four metropolitan cities of Pakistan

Ambient aerosol concentrations along the roadside of metropolitan cities of Pakistan were measured using a Grimm 1.109 dust monitor. Considering the high ambient aerosol concentrations, regional lung deposition of aerosol particles in the human respiratory tract was calculated to assess extent of exposure. Lung deposition was computed in terms of mass concentration and the associated surface area for 12 male traffic wardens using the latest version of the stochastic lung deposition code Inhalation, Deposition, and Exhalation of Aerosols in the Lung. The results have revealed 4 to 10 times higher concentrations than recommended by WHO guidelines. The deposition results derived from the model disclose that extrathoracic deposition is in the range of 22 to 28 % with total lung deposition ranging from 40 to 44 % for the scanned particle window of 0.25–10 μm. Considering an average 8-h shift per day and an average breathing rate of 1.3 m³?h^?1, it is approximated that in a worker, up to 1.6 mg of inhalable particle mass can deposit per day.     

Assessment of the impacts of climate change and variability on water resources and use,food security,and economic welfare in Iran

Climate change influences the agricultural sector by reducing available water resources, thereby influencing income, consumer and producer surplus, and crop prices. So, it is necessary to have a comprehensive integrated method to measure the effects of these changes on natural resources and social conditions. The present study aims to use the positive mathematical programming method to discover the trend and conditions of groundwater resources, agricultural water use, food security, and economic welfare of the agricultural sector in Iran. To this end, data for the period 2000–2015 was used under four different scenarios of normal climate change, climate change, climate variability, and concurrent climate change The results showed that the mean agricultural water use will amount to 35,103.6, 26,533.8, 35,216, and 26,510.7 million m³ and the mean decline in the reserves of aquifers will amount to 4422.22, 11,165.6, 4438.25, and 11,267.4 million m³ under the scenarios, respectively. With respect to food security, the net farm revenue will be 314,560, 248,753, 315,427, and 248,574 billion IRR, respectively. The mean crop price per ton will reach 905.3, 1141.8, 904, and 1142.8 million IRR, respectively. The mean consumer surplus will be 172,107.7, 166,450, 172,024, and 166,403 billion IRR and the mean producer surplus will be 419,959.2, 395,380, 419,751, and 395,204 billion IRR, respectively. Based on the results, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on different studied aspects, it is necessary to change policymaking in the water and agricultural sectors, especially regarding the shift from traditional agricultural water allocation to its market-based allocation and to change planting pattern.

     

Evaluating public open spaces through the lively planning integrative perspective: a developing country context

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Public open spaces (POSs) provide a forum for social gathering, health, leisure, and recreation opportunities for city dwellers. POSs are considered...     

Evaluation and selection strategy for green supply chain using interval-valued q-rung orthopair fuzzy combinative distance-based assessment

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Environmental deterioration and global warming has created a substantial impact on international companies to incorporate eco-friendly, green supply...     

Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC)-based prenatal diagnosis for tuberous sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is a frequent autosomal-dominant condition (affecting 1 in 6000 individuals) caused by various mutations in either the hamartin (TSC1) or the tuberin gene (TSC2). This allelic and non-allelic heterogeneity makes genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis difficult, especially as a significant proportion of TSC cases are due to de novo mutations. For this reason the identification of the disease causing mutation is mandatory for accurate counseling, yet current mutation detection methods such as single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) or denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) are labor intensive with limited detection efficiency. Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) is a high-throughput, semi-automated mutation detection system with a reported mutation detection rate close to 100% for PCR fragments of up to 800 bp. We used a recently described DHPLC assay allowing the efficient detection of mutations in TSC1 to analyze the DNA extracted from a chorion villus sample in order to perform a prenatal diagnosis for TSC. The fetus was found not to have inherited the deleterious mutation and the DHPLC diagnosis was confirmed by haplotype analysis. This represents the first DHPLC-based prenatal diagnosis of a genetic disease. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spore inhibition-based enzyme substrate assay for monitoring of aflatoxin M1 in milk

A spore germination-based concept and its transformation into a field level prototype for monitoring aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) in milk was developed. Initially, 15 strains of Bacillus spp. procured from different culture collection were screened for AFM₁ sensitivity using spot assay and marker strain showing inhibition at 0.5 ppb was selected based upon maximum zone of inhibition. The selected strain B. megaterium 2949 was further screened for different enzymes activities and subsequently its spores were produced to an extent of 73.13% ± 3.197% in newly developed sporulation medium containing beef extract (0.0075% ± 0.0004%), yeast extract (0.015% ± 0.001%), peptone (0.0375% ± 0.0016%), and sodium chloride (0.0375% ± 0.0018%). A spore germination-based concept/ assay was optimized by immobilizing spores in eppendorf with pretreated milk (80°C/15 min) containing germinant and chromogenic substrate followed by incubation at 37°C. The appearance of sky blue color within real time of 45 min indicated spores germination and release of specific marker enzyme such as acetyl esterase and its specific action on chromogenic substrate which demonstrates absence of AFM₁ in milk. However, if there was no color change, presence of AFM₁ at 0.5 ppb MRL was denoted by Codex. The developed concept on AFM₁ detection was validated and a correlation of 0.97 was established with AOAC approved Charm 6602 and ELISA at Codex MRL with minimal false positive and negative results. The cost effective test has potential application in dairy farms, manufacturing, and R&D units for routine monitoring of AFM₁ in milk.