Vegaviidae,a new clade of southern diving birds that survived the K/T boundary

The fossil record of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene modern birds in the Southern Hemisphere includes the Maastrichtian Neogaeornis wetzeli from Chile, Polarornis gregorii and Vegavis iaai from Antarctica, and Australornis lovei from the Paleogene of New Zealand. The recent finding of a new and nearly complete Vegavis skeleton constitutes the most informative source for anatomical comparisons among Australornis, Polarornis, and Vegavis. The present contribution includes, for the first time, Vegavis, Polarornis, and Australornis in a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis. This analysis resulted in the recognition of these taxa as a clade of basal Anseriformes that we call Vegaviidae. Vegaviids share a combination of characters related to diving adaptations, including compact and thickened cortex of hindlimb bones, femur with anteroposteriorly compressed and bowed shaft, deep and wide popliteal fossa delimited by a medial ridge, tibiotarsus showing notably proximally expanded cnemial crests, expanded fibular crest, anteroposterior compression of the tibial shaft, and a tarsometatarsus with a strong transverse compression of the shaft. Isolated bones coming from the Cretaceous and Paleogene of South America, Antarctica, and New Zealand are also referred to here to Vegaviidae and support the view that these basal anseriforms were abundant and diverse at high southern latitudes. Moreover, vegaviids represent the first avian lineage to have definitely crossed the K–Pg boundary, supporting the idea that some avian clades were not affected by the end Mesozoic mass extinction event, countering previous interpretations. Recognition of Vegaviidae indicates that modern birds were diversified in southern continents by the Cretaceous and reinforces the hypothesis indicating the important role of Gondwana for the evolutionary history of Anseriformes and Neornithes as a whole.     

Visible light driven instantaneous photocatalytic degradation of aniline blue (AB) and methyl violet (MV) by strontium ferrite nanoparticles

Toxic organic dyes released into aquatic sources as a result of industrial activities pose a significant threat to the environment. The removal of such dyes from water sources is a challenging task in the context of environmental emergencies. In this present effort, the strontium ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by coprecipitation followed by a calcination method and is applied for photocatalytic degradation of such organic dyes. The ferrite nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, VSM, SEM-EDX, TEM, and HR-TEM studies. In the existence of H₂O₂ under visible light, the catalyst performs efficient degradation of aniline blue (AB) and methyl violet (MV) dyes in a remarkably short interval of time. The superparamagnetic performance of the catalyst was confirmed by VSM, and thus it can be easily recovered from the degraded dye by applying an external magnet. The Fenton mechanism justifies the elevated rate of photo degradation, which generates hydroxyl and perhydroxyl radicals in the progress of the reaction.     

Self-preserving characteristics in wall-wake flow downstream of an isolated bedform

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The results of an experimental study on the turbulence characteristics in flow over and downstream of an isolated bedform are presented. The vertical profiles of...     

Effect of Solvent Composition on Porosity,Surface Morphology and Thermal Behavior of Metal Alginate Prepared from Algae (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Undaria pinnatifida</Emphasis>)

Alginates, extracted from algae are linear unbranched polymers containing β-(1→4)-linked d-mannuronic acid (M) and α-(1→4)-linked l-guluronic acid (G) residues. The conversion of alginic acid into the metal alginate is confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. Asymmetric and symmetric stretching of free carboxyl group present in metal alginate occurs almost at the same position in various solvent compositions. Total intrusion volume of metal alginate prepared in propanol (0.0742 mL/g) is greater compared to those in ethanol (0.0648 mL/g) and methanol (0.0393 mL/g) as solvent. Surface morphology as well as porosity and pore size distribution of metal alginate are greatly influenced by solvent. It can be seen from thermal analysis results that calcium alginate prepared using different solvent compositions started decomposing at 100 °C, but rapid degradation started around 200 °C. The results showed a stepwise weight loss during thermal sweep, indicating different types of reactions during degradation. First and second step of rapid degradation was situated around 200–300 and 300–550 °C, respectively; whereas the final step is situated around 550–650 °C. The trend of degradation was similar for all the solvents, although the amount of final residue varied from one solvent to another. At the same time, lower thermal stability was also observed with higher heating rates. Additionally, a kinetic analysis was performed to fit with TGA data, where the entire degradation process has been considered as three consecutive first order reactions.     

Electrical and electronic equipment consumption pattern and e-waste disposal behaviour of individuals and households in India

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Despite electronic waste (e-waste) rules in force, there is still a huge gap in awareness among communities about the handling of discarded...     

Efficient photocatalytic degradation of aniline blue under solar irradiation by ternary cobalt ferrite/graphitic carbon nitride/bentonite nanocomposite

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current research describes the synthesis, characterization and application of CoFe2O4/g-C3N4/bentonite as a novel nanocomposite for the efficient...