A metric-based assessment of climate and tourism in major cities of Pakistan

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Tourism plays an essential role in the economic development of a country and has become a growing phenomenon of global importance. The climate change...     

Environmental factors affecting the frequency of road traffic accidents: a case study of sub-urban area of Pakistan

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are among the life-threatening issues facing rural as well as sub-/urban communities. Several factors contribute to RTAs ranging from human to technical and natural/environmental impacts. Anthropogenic air pollution and corresponding environmental factors also increase the probability of RTAs. Current study reports the relationship of the weather conditions to RTAs. The study establishes the relevancy of different weather conditions like rainfall, temperature, fog, and wind storm with the incidences of RTAs in rural and urban settings of Vehari, Punjab—Pakistan. The results of the study showed that rainfall, severe coldness, fog, and heat conditions were directly related with the occurrence of RTAs. The percentage of RTAs which occurred due to fog, rainfall, temperature, and other weather-related factors was 34, 25, 21, and 20%, respectively. The age of the driver significantly correlated (R²?=?0.60) with RTAs; the drivers in the age group 40–60 years caused the least RTAs during their drive. Since the smaller vehicles were involved in maximum RTAs, it relates negatively (R²?=?0.82) to vehicles power. Among different vehicles motor bikes were involved in most (42%) of the reported RTAs. Therefore, during severe weather conditions, vehicles with smaller size and young drivers must be dealt with carefully while interacting (crossing, overtaking, and maneuvering) on the roads regardless of rural or urban conditions. Factors including civic sense, traffic education, vehicle size, drivers’ maturity, road conditions, and environmental impacts may be considered while designing traffic rules and traffic aware campaigns specific for developing countries such as Pakistan.

     

Immunostimulating effects of Ginkgo biloba extract against toxicity induced by organophosphate pesticide,diazinon in rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss: innate immunity components and immune-related genes

The immunostimulating and therapeutic properties of Ginkgo biloba (GB) have always been the focus of traditional medicine over thousands of years. During last decade, special attentions were paid to use of GB in aquaculture to enhance fish health and survival. In the present study, we investigated for the first time the immunogenic effects of dietary GB against oxidative and toxicity induced by organophosphate pesticide, diazinon. In non-diazinon-exposed fish, the plasma total immunoglobulin, lysozyme activity, and peroxidase activity significantly elevated after 60-day experiment in fish supplemented with 1 and 2 g GB/kg diet (p < 0.05). The respiratory burst activity and complement activity significantly increased only in groups supplemented with 0.5 g GB/kg diet (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the peroxidase activity, total immunoglobulin, and lysozyme activity significantly declined in groups supplemented with 4 g GB/kg diet during feeding trial (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in expression of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) genes in kidney between control group (non-GB-supplemented fish) and GB-supplemented fish (p > 0.05). In diazinon-exposed fish, all immunity components significantly decreased during exposure in control and those fed 0.5 and 4 g GB/kg diet (p < 0.05). In fish fed 1 and 2 g GB/kg diet, no alternations were found in immunity components during exposure period (p > 0.05). In addition, diazinon induced the expression of IL-1β and TGF-β1 genes in control and fish fed 0.5 and 4 g GB/kg diet (p < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in expression of IL-1β and TGF-β1 genes in fish supplemented with 1 and 2 g GB/kg (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest an immunogenic role for dietary GB at optimum dietary levels (1–2 g GB/kg diet) against toxicity induced by diazinon. Nevertheless, GB at high dietary levels (4 g GB/kg diet) showed immunosuppressive effects, which makes it necessary to optimize its levels in diet.

     

Preparation and Characterization of Gamma Irradiated Sugar Containing Starch/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)-Based Blend Films

Blends based on different ratios of starch (35–20%) and plasticizer (sugar; 0–15%) keeping the amount of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) constant, were prepared in the form of thin films by casting solutions. The effects of gamma-irradiation on thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties were investigated. The studies of mechanical properties showed improved tensile strength (TS) (9.61 MPa) and elongation at break (EB) (409%) of the starch-PVA-sugar blend film containing 10% sugar. The mechanical testing of the irradiated film (irradiated at 200 Krad radiation dose) showed higher TS but lower EB than that of the non-radiated film. FTIR spectroscopy studies supported the molecular interactions among starch, PVA, and sugar in the blend films, that was improved by irradiation. Thermal properties of the film were also improved due to irradiation and confirmed by thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA), differential thermo-gravimetric analysis (DTG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Surface of the films were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) image that supported the evidence of crosslinking obtained after gamma irradiation on the film. The water up-take and degradation test in soil of the film were also evaluated. In this study, sugar acted as a good plasticizing agent in starch/PVA blend films, which was significantly improved by gamma radiation and the prepared starch-PVA-sugar blend film could be used as biodegradable packaging materials.     

Screening of human health risk to infants associated with the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in human milk from Punjab Province,Pakistan

This study assessed the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in human milk and its associated health risk to infants from rural and urban settings of five districts of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The ∑₃₄PCB concentrations ranged from 30.9 to 68.3 ng g^?1 on lipid weight (l.w.) basis. The ∑₈DL-PCB concentrations were ranged from 0.29 to 1.35 ng g^?1 l.w., (mean 6.2 ± 8.7 ng g^?1 l.w.), with toxicity equivalent to polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) ranging from 8.58 × 10^?6 to 0.05 ng TEQ g^?1 l.w. The spatial trend of PCB levels in human milk revealed higher bioaccumulative levels for urban mothers as compared with rural counterparts. The estimated daily intake (EDI) values of DL-PCBs to infants through trans-mammary transfer were considerably higher than tolerable daily intake limits established by WHO (i.e., 1–4 pg TEQ kg^?1 bw) and other globally recognized organizations. Similarly, the hazard quotient values for TEQ ∑₈DL-PCBs (range 1.21 to 79.87) were far above the benchmark value of 1 at all the sampling sites, indicating the high levels of adverse health risks to infants in the region through breast milk consumption. The ∑₃₄PCB levels were found to be negatively correlated with mother’ age (r = ?0.31; p = 0.02), parity (r = ? 0.85; p = 0.001), and infant’ birth weight (r = ? 0.73; p = 0.01). The present study suggests undertaking comprehensive public health risk assessment studies and firm regulatory measures to safeguard human health risks.

     

Jettability of reactive nylon materials for additive manufacturing applications

An inkjet printing process has been suggested for producing nylon 6 in an additive manufacturing approach and this paper reports on the jettability of molten reactive materials made by caprolactam with activator and catalyst to study the feasibility of the approach in an inkjet system. The materials physical properties which are important for jetting were characterized and then the melt supply behaviour in the system was studied and finally jetting trials were monitored to investigate the effect of parameter settings on the stability of the jet array. It was found that the surface tension and viscosity of all materials were within the suitable range. However, with the catalyst mixtures, microcrystals of the undissolved salt of the catalyst complex were found to influence the melt supply behaviour considerably. The mixtures had a narrower range of parameters where stability occurred compared with caprolactam. Monitoring the jet stability recommended a suitable range of jetting parameters for the deposition stage of researching the new approach. A higher level of instability was observed with the catalyst mixture especially when jetting with multiple nozzles due to the microcrystals.     

Setting up an early warning system for epidemic-prone diseases in Darfur: a participative approach

In April-May 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) implemented, with local authorities, United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), an early warning system (EWS) in Darfur, West Sudan, for internally displaced persons (IDPs). The number of consultations and deaths per week for 12 health events is recorded for two age groups (less than five years and five years and above). Thresholds are used to detect potential outbreaks. Ten weeks after the introduction of the system, NGOs were covering 54 camps, and 924,281 people (IDPs and the host population). Of these 54 camps, 41 (76%) were reporting regularly under the EWS. Between 22 May and 30 July, 179,795 consultations were reported: 18.7% for acute respiratory infections; 15% for malaria; 8.4% for bloody diarrhoea; and 1% for severe acute malnutrition. The EWS is useful for detecting outbreaks and monitoring the number of consultations required to trigger actions, but not for estimating mortality.     

Ag nanoparticle-decorated chitosan/SrSnO3 nanocomposite for ultrafast elimination of antibiotic linezolid and methylene blue

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Effective design of ultrafast new-generation photocatalysts is a challenging task that requires highly dedicated efforts. This research focused on the...     

The impact of mucormycosis (black fungus) on SARS-CoV-2-infected patients: at a glance

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The emergence of various diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic made health workers more attentive, and one of the new pathogens is the black fungus...     

Biosorption characteristics of unicellular green alga Chlorella sorokiniana immobilized in loofa sponge for removal of Cr（Ⅲ）

Loofa sponge （LS） immobilized biomass of Chlorella sorokiniana （LSIBCS）, isolated from industrial wastewater, was investigated as a new biosorbent for the removal of Cr（Ⅲ） from aqueous solution. A comparison of the biosorption of Cr（Ⅲ） by LSIBCS and free biomass of C. sorokiniana （FBCS） from 10-300 mg Cr（Ⅲ）/L aqueous solutions showed an increase in uptake of 17.79% when the microalgal biomass was immobilized onto loofa sponge. Maximum biosorption capacity for LSIBCS and FBCS was found to be 69.26 and 58.80 mg Cr（Ⅲ）/g biosorbent, respectively, whereas the amount of Cr（Ⅲ） ions adsorbed onto naked LS was 4.97 mg/g. The kinetics of Cr（Ⅲ） biosorption was extremely rapid and equilibrium was established in about 15 and 20 min by LSIBCS and FBCS, respectively. The biosorption equilibrium was well defined by Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The biosorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The biosorption was found to be pH dependent and the maximum sorption occurred at the solution pH 4.0. Desorption studies showed that 98% of the adsorbed Cr（Ⅲ） could be desorbed with 0.1 mol/L HNO3, while other desorbing agents were less effective in the order： EDTA 〉 H2SO4 〉 CH3COOH 〉 HCl. The regenerated LSIBCS retained 92.68% of the initial Cr（Ⅲ） binding capacity up to five cycles of reuse in continuous flow-fixed bed columns. The study revealed that LSIBCS could be used as an effective biosorbent for the removal of Cr（Ⅲ） from wastewater.