bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Test diagnostique à l’entrée de l’enseignement supérieur : validation et usages
Authors: Hublet Marie-Claude , Lontie Sabine , Arras Mohammed , Remacle Sophie , Bachy Sylviane
Published: December 2021

Dans le contexte de libre accès aux études supérieures en Belgique francophone et confronté à un taux d’échec important, le Service d’Accompagnement des Etudiants de la Haute Ecole Vinci-Site Parnasse-ISEI a mis en place de nombreux dispositifs d’aide à la réussite et à l’orientation. Parmi ceux-ci, des tests diagnostiques de rentrée adaptés aux publics diversifiés de ses sections paramédicales, pédagogiques et sociales ont été développés. Ils ont été validés par une analyse statistique et sur cette base, plusieurs usages d’accompagnement des étudiants et des enseignants sont proposés.
L’enseignement de la mécanique quantique grâce à un récit de fiction
Authors: Ferlin Fabrice , Lautesse Philippe , Tuaillon Juliette , Héraud Jean-Loup , Chaussard Lionel
Published: December 2021

Dans l’enseignement supérieur en France, en troisième année de licence de physique, l’enseignement de la mécanique quantique est essentiellement quantitatif et le formalisme est présenté dans le cadre de l’interprétation standard. Par ailleurs, certaines universités proposent également une introduction à la mécanique quantique en deuxième année avec un enseignement davantage conceptuel. Nous proposons dans cet article d’introduire un questionnement épistémologique sur les concepts physiques mis en jeu dans la mécanique quantique, au niveau de la deuxième année, en nous intéressant au délicat problème de la mesure. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que les enseignants pourraient s’emparer de ce questionnement au travers d’un récit de fiction réaliste, le roman Isolation de Greg Egan. Nous employons un cadre théorique, issu des travaux du philosophe David Lewis, en vue de montrer la pertinence de ce roman pour une utilisation dans un cours de mécanique quantique en deuxième année de licence.
Occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus in seafood
Authors: Stratev Deyan , Stoyanchev Todor , Bangieva Desislava
Published: December 2021

The objective of this study was to establish the occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus in several species of sea fish and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). The study included a total of 33 samples of frozen sea fish and 64 samples of fresh wild and farmed mussels purchased from the stores. V. parahaemolyticus was isolated and confirmed via PCR in 2 (6%) fish samples (Atlantic cod and Alaska pollock) and 20 (31%) mussel samples. S. aureus was also isolated and confirmed via PCR in 2 (6%) fish samples (Argentine hake and Atlantic cod). Significant differences were found in the total bacterial contamination between wild mussels (6.54 log cfu/g) and farmed mussels (6.69 log cfu/g). Total V. parahaemolyticus count did not show significant differences either between wild (4.45 log cfu/g) and farmed mussels (4.99 log cfu/g). In wild mussels the S. aureus count was found to be 4.50 log cfu/g, while in farmed mussels it was 3.14 log cfu/g. The occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus and S. aureus in fish and mussels presents a risk to the consumer’s health.
Food chain information systems in medium- and smallsized slaughterhouses of central Italy and organ and carcass condemnations: A five-year survey
Authors: Ranucci David , Di Giacomo Loredana , Raggi Martina , Branciari Raffaella , Miraglia Dino , Rea Stefano , Stocchi Roberta , Di Cerbo Alessandro , Roila Rossana , Budelli Luca , Fortugno Luca , D'Innocenzo Antonio , Cambiotti Fausto , Del  Zoppo Manlio , Capecci Elvio , Angellotti Antonio , Ferretti Ezio , Loschi Anna Rita
Published: December 2021

The flow of information between farms and slaughterhouses about animal health, is a fundamental process for modern meat inspection. The information provided by Food Chain Information (FCI) systems in medium-small sized slaughterhouses in central Italy, focusing on the data provided on the animal’s health status, was performed through a five-year survey together with the number of organ and carcass condemnation for bovine, swine and ovine. The annual prevalence of condemnation was higher in bovine (from 10.49% in 2015 to 17.16% in 2019) than swine (from 6.39% in 2015 to 12.64% in 2019) and ovine (from 8.05% in 2019 to 8.98% in 2017), and an overall prevalence increase was observed in bovine and swine, throughout the years. The frequent lack of Food Chain Information (FCI) from farms to slaughterhouses should be emphasised, taking into consideration that a poor implementation of the system by farmers, could lead to a persistent risk of disease at farm level for these two species.
Implementing an Evidence-Based Practice Change for Alcohol Withdrawal in an Acute Care Hospital
Authors:   , Carroll Theresa
Published: December 2021

Practice Problem: Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) affects a significant portion of the population in the United States. When AUD is either unrecognized or inadequately treated in the acute care setting it can lead to medical complications, increased length or stay (LOS), increased healthcare expense, and increased patient mortality. PICOT: In a population of adult patients admitted to an acute care hospital progressive care unit (P), how does applying an initial evidence-based screening tool to detect risk for moderate to severe alcohol withdrawal, the PAWSS (I), compare to no standard screening or assessment for potential alcohol withdrawal symptoms (C) affect the occurrence of patient deterioration for acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms (O) within an eight week timeframe (T)? Intervention: The PAWSS tool was utilized to screen all patients admitted to the progressive care unit. Patients identified at moderate to severe risk by a score of ≥4 were treated according to the standard facility practice with included CIWA-Ar monitoring and medication management with benzodiazepine medication. Outcome: The project was able to demonstrate a significant decrease in the mean LOS for those patients identified at risk and treated for AWS, with an average decrease of 50 hours in length of stay for those patients treated during the project implementation. Conclusion: Early recognition of patients at risk for AWS is an important component of effective management and treatment. Further study is needed into best practices for treatment of patients at risk, and internal compliance measures within the organization.
Vegetation Community Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Eco-restoration Techniques at Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station
Authors: Zhao B.Q. , Gao R.Z. , Xia D. , Xia L. , Zhu W.Q. , Xu W.N.
Published: December 2021

The objective of this study is to understand the characteristics of vegetation communities under different vegetation eco-restoration models (vegetation concrete eco-restoration technique, frame beam filling soil technique, thick layer base material spraying technique, and external soil spray seeding technique). Vegetation coverage, dominant species, species composition, and species diversity of vegetation community under different vegetation eco-restoration modes were analyzed by field survey. The vegetation community of the abandoned slag slope was unstable due to the simple vegetation community structure. The species and number of the thick layer base material spraying slope were low and fail to form a healthy multilayer community structure due to invade of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. Studying the allelopathy of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit and seeking the best species composition that can coexist with it is significant to promote the positive succession of the vegetation community. The frame beam filling soil technique, external-soil spray seeding technique, and vegetation concrete eco-restoration technique can effectively promote the succession process of the vegetation community and have well water and soil conservation capacity. These findings suggest that artificial vegetation eco-restoration measures can effectively promote vegetation eco-restoration and the positive succession of vegetation community of disturbed slopes. The research results can provide scientific advice for vegetation eco-restoration and subsequent control and management of disturbed slopes in the Xiangjiaba project, and also can be helpful to other similar projects.
Impact of Wetting and Drying Cycles on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Vegetation-growing Concrete
Authors: Huang Xiaole , Xu Wennian , Ding Yu , Xia Dong , Xiong Shiyuan , Liu Daxiang , Pan Bo
Published: December 2021

Vegetation-growing Concrete (VC), as a new type of cemented soil, is usually used for plants growing on the surface of high and steep rocky slopes. With the widespread application of VC substrate, a pressing problem arises to ensure its durability under wetting and drying conditions. To explore the greatest possible impact on the mechanical properties and microstructure features of VC substrate, an experimental program including triaxial test, SEM analysis, and ultrasonic testing was implemented. The results showed that wetting and drying cycles can significantly decrease more than 40-percent of peak strength, 60-percent of residual strength, and 50-percent of cohesion for VC substrate under ultimate conditions. The fundamental cause of reduction in mechanical performance was found to be the weakening of the bond between soil particles. And it was discovered that structural damage increased as the number of wetting and drying cycles increased but at a slower rate. Based on the tested results, linear functions between the loss extent parameters of mechanical performance and the structural damage variable were established for the VC substrate. Finally, the action mechanisms of wetting and drying cycles for VC substrate were discussed, and the main influential factors were proposed.
Treatment and Disposal Methods of Concentrate Stream of Seawater Reverse Osmosis- A Review
Authors: Tabassum Zakiya , Mudbidre Rajalakshmi
Published: December 2021

The exponentially multiplying population of the world demands increasing freshwater resources. Thelimited resources comprising less than 3% of the earth’s water resources are getting polluted at an alarming rate. To deal with this situation, seawater reverse osmosis is being carried out at large scales across the globe. The concentrate generated in return is two times more concentrated in terms of total dissolved solids when compared to the feed. The adverse effects of the concentrate stream on the marine ecosystem and further pollution of water cause an immediate need to treat the concentrate. In this review, the harm caused by the direct discharge of concentrate stream has been discussed and therefore volume minimization using treatment methods has been addressed. The treatment methods are mainly classified into four types; membrane-based, thermal-based, electricity-based, and chemical-based methods. Integrated methods, which have been mainly tested on a pilot scale for zero liquid discharge, have also been discussed. The treatment methods that are probable for seawater concentrate treatment falling under the above categories for other concentrate sources have also been attended to. Finally, the disposal methods employed for the discharge of the leftover concentrate have been addressed. Thermal methods are well established but require a lot of energy compared to other methods whereas chemical methods can be economic due to the profit obtained from recovered chemicals, but they are mostly employed for pretreatment. Electricity-based and membrane-based methods are emerging technologies. It was also found that seawater reverse osmosis concentrate is usually discharged directly and therefore integrated methods based on zero liquid discharge are to be implemented. To compensate for the intensive research required for zero liquid discharge to become a reality, innovative and environmentally-friendly disposal methods are available to cut the resultant footprint.
Geochemical Characterization and Saturation Index (Si) in the Montebello Lagunar System Liquidamber Lagoon, Chiapas Mexico
Authors: Reyes-Santiago J. R. , García-Villanueva L. A. , Fernández-Villagómez G. , Guzmán-Guadarrama P.
Published: December 2021

The “Lagunas de Montebello” National Park located in Chiapas, Mexico, is well known for its crystal blue water bodies, some of which, in 2003, started to change color from crystalline to cloudy brown, and occasionally emit a foul smell, contains white-yellowish supernatant debris and dead fish. To determine the causes of the changes in the water characteristics of the “Liquidambar” lagoon of the Montebello lagoon system, a physicochemical characterization was carried out over the first six meters of the water column, together with geochemical speciation analysis and the saturation index calculation for different minerals. Water was classified as calcium-sulfated and the main mechanism that controlled its chemistry was rocks dissolution. Sulfide was found at all sampled depths in the range of 0.11 to 1.13 mg.L-1. The concentration of sulfate in the water column ranged from 249.21 to 298.7 mg.L-1, carbonate ranged from 140.5 to 261.4 mg.L-1, calcium and magnesium ranged from 94.5 to 146.9 mg.L-1 and 34.2 to 38.3 mg.L-1, respectively. Likewise, oxygen was also found to be oversaturated on the surface with a value of 9.32 mg.L-1. The speciation results and SI indicated that the mineral phases calcite, aragonite, and dolomite were oversaturated, being greater on the surface. The results suggested the possibility that the turbidity, the coloration change, and the whitish supernatant were due to the precipitation of carbonate minerals, microbiologically influenced by the photosynthetic activity in the upper layer of the lagoon water.
Hydrochemical Characteristics, Quality Assessment and Solute Source Identification of Coal Bearing Fractured Aquifer in Dingji Coal Mine, Huainan Coalfield, China
Authors: Ma Jie , Wang Jianghong , Chen Song , Dai Hongbao , Zhao Jingyu , Zhang Haitao , Li Zhichun
Published: December 2021

Coal-bearing fractured aquifer is regarded as one of the most dynamic mine water inrush sources, and after pumping and treating, it can be used as a water supply for coal mine production, coal preparation plant, rural irrigation, and even reserved drinking water source. Hence, this study focuses on the hydrochemical characteristics, ion source, and water quality evaluation with respect to drinking and irrigation of the coal-bearing fractured aquifer in Dingji coal mine, Huainan coalfield, China. Descriptive statistics and hydrochemical classification diagrams including the Piper diagram and Chadha rectangular diagram were carried out to depict the hydrochemical characteristics and facies. The water quality of the aquifer was assessed for irrigation and drinking purposes using the WHO threshold value, water quality index (WQI), SAR, % Na and RSC. Hydrochemical formation mechanism and solute origin of major ions were explained by Gibbs diagram, bivariate diagrams, and multivariate statistical analysis. The results show that the dominant hydrochemical facies are the Cl-Na type and the HCO3-Na type. The sequence of ions is Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ for cations, and HCO3? > Cl- > SO42- > CO32- for anions. The main solute sources are controlled by various factors including the dissolution of halite, sulfate, and carbonate rocks, the weathering of silicate, and cation exchange. Water quality assessment based on WQI suggests that none of the samples fall under the excellent category, even 32.5% is not suitable for direct drinking. Meanwhile, the samples of the aquifer are generally unsuitable for irrigation. Before utilization for irrigation and even drinking, appropriate water treatment should be applied to guarantee its security during usage.
Bioremoval of Different Heavy Metals in Industrial Effluent by the Resistant Fungal Strain Aspergillus niger
Authors: Naveen Kumar K. J. , Prakash J.
Published: December 2021

Developing countries are increasingly concerned with pollution due to toxic heavy metals in the environment. Unlike most organic pollutants which can be destroyed, toxic metal ions released into the environment often persist indefinitely circulating and eventually accumulating throughout the food chain thus posing a serious threat to mankind. The use of biological materials for heavy metal removal or recovery has gained importance in recent years due to their good performance and low cost. Among the various sources, both live and inactivated biomass of organisms exhibits interesting metal binding capacities. Their complex cell walls contain high content of functional groups like amino, amide, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and phosphate which have been implicated in metals binding. In the present study, Aspergillus niger was used to analyze the metal uptake from an aqueous solution. The determination of Cu+2, Pb+2, Cd+2, Zn+2, Co-2 and Ni+2 in samples was carried out by differential Pulse Anodic Voltammetry (DPASV) and the Voltammograms. Production of oxalic acid was carried out by submerged fermentation. The organism used in the present study has the ideal properties to sequester toxic metals and grow faster.
Surface Water Pollution Risk From Vietnam Water Quality Index (VN-WQI) in the Ca Mau City, Mekong Delta
Authors: Ngan Ha Nguyen , Huong Tran Thi Thu , Vinh Pham The , Van Tran Thi
Published: December 2021

This paper presents the study of integrating the remote sensing technology with in-situ ground observation for assessing the status of water quality in Ca Mau city through the Vietnam Water Quality Index (VN-WQI). The Sentinel-2 image and in-situ surface water samples were collected on 20 February 2020 for this study. The sample results were then specified by samples’ coordination. Besides, Sentinel-2 imaging was processed by radiometric and atmospheric correction, geometric registration, and extracted pixel spectral values from the sample locations. The multiple linear regressions of seven water quality parameters including BOD5, COD, NH4, PO4, TSS, pH, Coliform with surface water’s pixel spectral values from the satellite images were calculated and used to simulate water quality parameters on the satellite image. They were integrated into the VN-WQI to estimate, classify, and evaluate the general surface water quality of the Ca Mau city. The results show that there is a regressive correlation between measured data and image spectral values, and the simulation also well fits with the data with an acceptable error. The surface water quality of Ca Mau city is heavily polluted with almost all water quality parameters recognized at B1 to above B2 level according to the QCVN08-MT:2015/BTNMT. In terms of VN-WQI, the results also illustrate the low quality of surface water and heavy pollution only used for water transportation, not for domestic use. This approach can be a powerful method in spatially monitoring water quality and supporting environment management.
The Construction of Magnetic MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 Composite Materials and the Adsorption Removal Performance of Organic Pollutants in Solution
Authors: Wang Shuai , Wang Huifang , Hu Luzeng , Lu Zhipeng , Qiu Muqing , Zhong Xin
Published: December 2021

MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 adsorbent was developed by co-precipitation and solvothermal method, using ?-ketoenamine linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs, TpPa-1) as supporting material to alleviate the aggregation of MnFe2O4. The properties were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, VSM, pHpzc, and N2 adsorption-desorption. The experimental results showed that the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir model best described the adsorption process, suggesting that the adsorption process was chemisorption and spontaneous endothermic reaction, and the maximum adsorption capacity of Bisphenol A (BPA) was 926.65 mg.g-1. The main adsorption mechanism of BPA was hydrogen bonding and ?-? conjugation between active functional groups in the TpPa-1 skeleton and BPA. Furthermore, the magnetic MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 showed good regeneration ability, indicating that MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 could be used in water treatment.
Seasonal Variation of Zooplankton Communities and the Effects of Environmental Factors in the Seawater Near Taishan Nuclear Power Station
Authors: He R. , Jiao H.P. , He N. , Chang Y.Y. , Jiang H.Y. , Zhang Y. , Li Y.Q. , Jiang R.
Published: December 2021

In the seawater near Taishan Nuclear Power Station, Zooplankton community composition and abundance, the biomass of major taxa, vertical distribution pattern, together with several environmental factors were investigated to evaluate the variation tendency as the seasons change. The structure characteristics of the zooplankton community were analyzed by Margalef species richness (d), Shannon-wiener species diversity index (H’), Pielou evenness index(J’), zooplankton dominant (Y), and dominant species replacement rate (R). There are 48 species within 11 classes of zooplankton identified, including 32 species of copepods. Zooplankton species richness changed obviously in the four seasons, Spring saw the highest (8010.00 ind.m-3), followed by winter (5100.00 ind.m-3), autumn (1713.75 ind.m-3), and summer (1196.25 ind.m-3). Similar trends were observed for the wet biomass, which was highest in spring (215.90 mg.m-3), followed by winter (181.70 mg.m-3), summer (78.56 mg.m-3), and autumn (24.69 mg.m-3), which gave an annual average of 125.21 mg.m-3. The results indicate that the abundance and biomass in spring were significantly higher than those in other seasons. Altogether 8 dominant species were identified along the whole year: Acrocalanmus gibber, Bestiolina amoyensis, Paracalanus parvus, Acartia danae, Mesocyclops leuckarti, Noctiluca scientillans, Penilla avirostris, and Lucifer penicilliger. The annual average Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Margalef diversity index, Pielou evenness index were 1.75, 1.83, and 0.74, respectively. The effects of environmental factors on the zooplankton community were studied by R and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). According to Pearson correlation analysis and canonical correspondence analysis, the most important environmental factors influencing the changes of zooplankton species composition, abundance and distribution were water temperature, salinity, and pH in the whole year.
A Review on Rice Straw Management Strategies
Authors: Singh Lakhvir , Brar Balraj Singh
Published: December 2021

Rice straw is one of the organic materials and natural residue of rice crop or paddy material and is the third-largest residue from agriculture after sugarcane bagasse and maize straw. Southeast Asian countries produce approximately 80% of rice production in the world. It leads to a large quantity of rice straw as a by-product every year. Surplus rice straw is a focal issue associated with storage of rice straw, removal of entire straw from the field, and very little time between the cultivation of the crop. Stubble burning is a quick, cheap, and efficient way to prepare the soil bed for wheat, the next crop. Rice straw has both nutrient and calorific values. Straw is the only organic material available in significant quantities to most rice farmers. About 40 percent of the nitrogen (N), 30 to 35 percent of the phosphorus (P), 80 to 85 percent of the potassium (K), and 40 to 50 percent of the sulfur (S) taken up by rice remains in vegetative plant parts at crop maturity. Straw is either removed from the field, burned in situ, piled or spread in the field, or incorporated in the soil. Open burning of the crop residue kills useful microflora of soil, leads to soil degradation, and contributes to harmful greenhouse gases such as SO2, NO2, CH4, N2O, carbon monoxide in the atmosphere including the hydrocarbon and particulate matter. Therefore, rice straw burning is a serious creator of environmental pollution. The study investigated environment-friendly options of rice straw such as bedding material for cattle, mushroom cultivation, nutrition in the soil, power generation, combustion material, pellet making, bio-gas, bio-ethanol, bio-char, acoustic material, 3D objects, cardboard and composite board, packaging materials, production of bio-composite, cement bricks, and handmade paper. The key purpose of this paper is to provide environmentally friendly alternatives to rice straw instead of open field burning.
On the Issue of Establishing the Stages of Coal Metamorphism for Predicting the Hazardous Properties of Coal Seams
Authors: Antoshchenko M.I. , Tarasov V.Y. , Rudniev Ye.S. , Zakharova O.I.
Published: December 2021

The characteristic stages of metamorphic transformations of mines are established according to the increase in the elemental content of carbon and changes in other components of organic matter. Stages of metamorphism transformations with an average carbon content of more than 93.6% can significantly differ in properties due to the unpredictability of the ratio between the components of organic matter. At these stages, even a minimal difference between the components can be the reason for the emergence of new properties of the coal seams. As the influence of the processes of metamorphism increases, the boundaries of the stages, determined by the percentage of carbon, narrow. The established stages of the transformation of reservoirs in terms of the individual proportion of the components in carbonization practically do not differ from the boundaries of the stages determined by the elemental composition of organic matter. It is noted that the average carbon content at the stages of seam metamorphism, determined by the yield of coke, in most cases does not coincide with the ranges of changes in the average carbon content, established by the individual content of the components or their share in carbonization. The inconsistency of the boundaries in the stages of seam metamorphism makes it unacceptable to use the coke yield as the main criterion for assessing the conversion of coal and even more so the manifestation of hazardous properties of coal seams.
An Assessment of Machine Learning Integrated Autonomous Waste Detection and Sorting of Municipal Solid Waste
Authors: Chaturvedi Sonam , Yadav Bikarama Prasad , Siddiqui Nihal Anwar
Published: December 2021

Municipal solid waste deposition in metropolitan areas has become a major concern that, if not addressed, can lead to environmental degradation and possibly endanger human health. It is important to adopt a smart waste management system in place to cope with a range of waste materials. This research aims to develop a smart modelling method that could accurately predict and forecast the production of municipal solid waste. An integrated convolution neural network and air-jet system-based framework developed for pre-processing and data integration were developed. The results showed that machine learning algorithms could be used to detect different types of waste with high accuracy. The best performers were obtained from neural network models, which captured 72% of the information variation. The method proposed in this study demonstrates the feasibility of developing tools to assist urban waste through the supply, pre-processing, integration, and modelling of data accessible to the public from a variety of sources.
Adsorption Behavior of Hydroquinone by Diatomite-based Porous Ceramsite
Authors: Gao Ruqin , Pan Lu , Huang Yingrui , Wu Zhaoyang , Liu Bingtao
Published: December 2021

Diatomite-based porous ceramsite is a new kind of environmental material. In this study, ceramsite was prepared by wet grinding, a rolling-ball method, and high temperature-calcination using diatomite as the main raw material with the addition of a pore-forming agent and sintering assistant. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and mercury injection, were used to analyze the structure and characteristics of the prepared materials. Using hydroquinone as the target pollutant, the adsorption behavior of diatomite-based porous ceramsite was investigated. Results indicated that the diatomite-based porous ceramsite had a pore size ranging from 500 to 3000 nm, a specific surface area of 6.14 m2.g-1, and a porosity of 47.8%. When pH was 7, the removal rate and adsorption capacity of the hydroquinone by the diatomite-based porous ceramsite was 91.2% and 4.56 m2.g-1, respectively. In the adsorption process of hydroquinone by diatomite-based porous ceramsite, the diffusion of a liquid membrane was dominant, which could be better described by the quasi-first-order kinetic equation. The Langmuir and Koble-Corrigan equations had a higher fitting degree of data for the adsorption isotherms. The adsorption characteristics of the diatomite-based porous ceramsite are in accordance with the fixed-point adsorption of a single molecular layer and belong to a heterogeneous composite adsorption system. The correlation coefficient R2 and k value of hydroquinone adsorption by the diatomite-based porous ceramsite determined by the liquid film diffusion model were 0.848 and 0.0417, respectively.
Spatiotemporal Evolution and Pattern Differences of Environmental Sanitation Facilities in Rural China: Taking the Improvement of Water and Latrines as an Example
Authors: Deng Xinjie
Published: December 2021

Based on the panel data of water and latrine improvement in rural China from 2003 to 2016, this paper explores the spatiotemporal evolution pattern of rural sanitation facilities and analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of influencing factors of rural sanitation facilities by using the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The conclusions are as follows: the gap between the western and the eastern regions of China is gradually narrowing; the spatial differences of rural environmental sanitation facilities in provinces were obvious, showing high-high and low-low agglomeration types. Additionally, years of education per capita, population density, and government investment all have a significant positive impact on the improvement of water and latrines. And the proportion of the minority population has a significant negative impact on the improvement of water. The net income per capita, traffic density, and residential investment per capita are significantly positively correlated with the improvement of water and latrines. But the difference is that the impact on the improvement of water is an obviously east-west band and decreases successively, and the impact on the improvement of latrines shows a dual pattern of polarization between north and south.
Strategies and Approaches Towards Environmental Biomonitoring of Freshwater Ecosystems in Philippines
Authors: Berame J. S. , Hojilla M. B. , Trinidad E. , Lawsin N. L. , Orozco J. A. , Arevalo I. J. , Alam Zeba F.
Published: December 2021

The Philippines, like many other Asian countries, is struggling to combat the current widespread aquatic pollution levels caused by anthropogenic activities. Environmental biomonitoring is an efficient tool to detect and monitor the fluctuating toxicity levels in a dynamic ecosystem using bioindicators like algae, macrophytes, zooplankton, insect, bivalve mollusks, gastropod, fish, amphibians, and others to assess the extent and levels of pollution in aquatic ecosystems. The present review deliberates on the biomonitoring techniques such as bioaccumulation, biochemical alterations, population, and community-level approaches to evaluate the current status with respect to the extent and levels of pollution in the aquatic ecosystems in the Philippines which also is one of the biodiversity hotspots. Therefore, the potential applications for biomonitoring are proposed to mainly include evaluation of actual aquatic pollutions, bioremediation, toxicology prediction, and research on toxicological mechanisms. The purpose of such evaluations is to critically analyze and help stakeholders to come up with a strategic action plan with recommendations on a low-cost, sensitive, and effective bioindicator for rapid and efficient environmental biomonitoring.
Investigation on Microbial Fuel Cells Fabricated from Recyclable Materials for Energy Generation and Wastewater Treatment
Authors: Thakur Somil , Das Bhaskar
Published: December 2021

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) have gained focus due to their diversity in operating conditions & substrates for the generation of sustainable green energy. In the present study, novel MFC has been fabricated using the recyclable aluminum can as air-cathode and graphite rod as anode for the treatment of domestic wastewater and simultaneous power generation. Three different substrate (COD) concentrations, high (>800 mg.L-1), medium (250 mg.L-1 - 800 mg.L-1) and low (<250 mg.L-1) were used. The maximum COD removal efficiencies, voltage generation, power densities were found to be 80%, 0.71 V, and 304.46 mW.m-2 respectively in high strength wastewater setup. In both medium and low strength wastewater setups, after 288 hours, the COD was reduced below 50 mg.L-1 thus limiting the electricity generation substantially. Setup with low-strength wastewater produced a maximum CE (%) of 13.80. Overall results showed that although high-strength wastewater produced better and maximum power densities, medium and low-strength wastewater setups were more consistent in energy generation throughout the experiment.
Cell Death Induction Potential in Seed Extracts- Hidden and Bioactive Phytochemical Treasures
Authors: Rajasekaran R. , Suresh P. K.
Published: December 2021

Seeds have been known to possess bioactive components with anti-cancer properties. This study aims to demonstrate the processes by which seed extracts from various sources induce cell death. Several assays have been employed to demonstrate the induction of cell death by the respective seed extracts. This review also underscores the importance of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins (GSPs) in terms of inducing the aforesaid physiological form of seed extract-induced cell death. Furthermore, this review highlights the critical and pressing need to conduct comparative HTS-based strategies (with a battery of cell lines representing different cancers) to identify the major seed extracts that can reproducibly serve to augment the cell death induction capabilities of the existing battery of chemotherapeutic drugs/natural alternatives.
Estimation of Biomass Availability in Panglao Island Using SENTINEL-2 MSI
Authors: Galang W.N. , Tabañag I.D.F. , Loretero M.E.
Published: December 2021

Remote Sensing (RS) technology using SENTINEL-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) imagery was used in the estimation of residual biomass’ available energy potential. The estimation was done in Panglao Island, within the province of Bohol, Philippines. Estimation of biomass availability was processed using Geographical Information System (GIS) software incorporating the calculation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to extract information on land resources and its spatial distribution. It was found that the majority of vegetation cover on the island is in the form of perennial woody plants and coconut trees. Coconut production on the island of Panglao contributed 1.26% of the total cultivation area for the province based on processed captures of Sentinel-2 imagery. The residue concentration amounted to 2,865 tons of coconut residues based on the RPR method. This amount of residues can be translated to 52.92 TJ of theoretical energy potential. The result of this study may serve as a baseline for the locality to consider the utilization of agricultural residues such as coming from coconut trees to support the use of indigenous resources for energy generation.
Water Quality Evaluation of Wenyu River in Beijing by Matter Element Model
Authors: Shuangqing Ren , Baohui Men , Yaoduo Shen
Published: December 2021

River water quality is an important indicator for identifying river changes and analyzing river health, and has an important impact on the ecological environment of the river basin. In this paper, the matter-element analysis method based on the coupling weight method is used to evaluate the water environment of the water quality measured data of Wenyu River in 2019, which provides a reference for water quality management and protection. Through the establishment of the object element to be evaluated, the classical domain, the section domain, the normalization of the evaluation standard, and the measured data, three representative indicators such as DO, NH3-N, and CODcr are selected as the object element to be evaluated. The standard value corresponding to the water quality standards of Grade I to V is the classic domain. The weight of river indicators is determined by the coupling of the ordinary objective weighting method and the multiple super-scale weighting method. After the weight is determined, the correlation degree is calculated and the matter-element analysis model for water quality evaluation is established. The results showed that the water quality of the Wenyu River in May 2019 was still mainly Grade V water, which was in line with the actual water quality situation. It shows that the method meets the feasibility and practicability in water quality evaluation and is relatively reliable.
Impact of Drying and Wetting Cycles on Vegetation Cement-soil Physical and Mechanical Properties
Authors: Hu Xudong , Gao Jiazhen , Zhou Mingtao , Peng Songtao , Xu Wennian , Wang Chenyuan
Published: December 2021

The physical and mechanical properties of the ecological slope protection substrate will be affected by long-term variation of the meteorological condition, resulting in the stability of the substrate being reduced. So an artificial substrate of vegetation cement-soil was selected as the research object to prepare specimens with the different initial moisture content of 13%, 19%, 25%, 31%, 37%, and 43%. And a series of tests are conducted to investigate the evolution of the physical and mechanical properties under drying-wetting cycling conditions. Typical results of the vegetation cement-soil evolution can be divided into three stages: cement hydration stage, shrinkage stage, and stabilization stage. In terms of different initial moisture content, the shrinkage cracks number, cracks length, crack width, and cracks surface area are increased first and then stabilize with the increase of the number of drying-wetting cycles. In contrast, the cohesion and internal friction angle of the vegetation cement-soil is reduced with the increase of the number of cycles. Comprehensive analysis shows that the initial moisture content of vegetation cement soil ranges from 25% to 31% is the optimal choice to ensure substrate stability in production practice.
Advances in Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration Technology for Greywater Treatment: A Review
Authors: Ortiz Joaquin
Published: December 2021

Advances in microfiltration and ultrafiltration technology for the treatment of greywater are important today because everything surrounding the use and preservation of water is an issue that increases in importance over the decades, and our planet will be seriously affected by the consequences of climate change, making water availability uncertain. Hence, wastewater recycling and its cyclical use have become a major topic in the scientific and engineering communities. The objective of this research is focused on compiling and updating all the advances in wastewater treatment, with emphasis on Greywater, in which components have a lower pollutant load than the rest of wastewater. In addition, microfiltration and ultrafiltration technologies were the technology selected to investigate in this investigation because they have the local potential for a second use of the wastewater before the discharge of contaminated water to the sanitation network. This research was carried out using words related to the exposed topic, such as “microfiltration”, “ultrafiltration”, “cleaning wastewater” and “greywater” in the search for documents in scientific search engines, selecting those that covered the topic and could be used to create this document. The results that were developed in this investigation, indicate that there is no generalized consensus on how to treat this greywater, nor how to qualify it. Additionally, it is important to note that despite the fact that urban greywater treatments have given good results, with the widespread use of bioreactors for this task, and the existence of various treatment alternatives for liquid waste that have shown good price-value ratio, studies related to greywater treatments using porosities are still in the incipient stages.
Toxic Effect of Antibiotics on Freshwater Algal Systems and the Mechanisms of Toxicity: A Review
Authors: Roy Barsha , Suresh P. K.
Published: December 2021

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals and also act as a growth promoter for poultry. Due to incomplete metabolism, these antibiotics are excreted in the environment in their parental forms and accumulates in the aquatic ecosystem. Besides the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, these drugs can damage non-target organisms. Green algae are highly sensitive to different antibiotics. Damage in the algal population will cause imbalances in the ecosystems. Till now, the mechanisms of antibiotic toxicity towards algae have not been completely elucidated. It was observed that antibiotics mainly affected the photosynthetic machinery and decreased the carbon fixation process, finally resulting in algal growth inhibition. This present review deals with antibiotics classification, various routes of antibiotics exposure to the freshwater environment, sensitivity towards the different classes of antibiotics, possible Mode-of-Action (MOA) on algal systems, and gaps that need to be filled. Significant gaps include the unavailability of proper eco-toxicological data for antibiotics. Moreover, they exist in nature as complex mixtures, and their behavior in the ecosystem may vastly differ from the parent molecules. To improve our understanding of antibiotic responses mechanism in real-life scenarios, mixture toxicity studies may be the first step.
The Importance of Public Awareness in Environmental Protection: A Case Study in Paktika, Afghanistan
Authors: Rahmani Hizbullah , Wafa Wafaurahman , Mazloum Yar Fayaz Gul
Published: December 2021

Public awareness and knowledge of environmental protection are crucial to avoid environmental pollutions. Lack of relevant scientific principles and lack of public awareness of environmental or other projects are hindrances to controlling environmental pollution. The objective of the study was to identify the importance of public awareness in environmental pollution management. Environmental education and public awareness are crucial to avoid environmental pollutions. The study aims to analyze public awareness of environmental protection. The study was conducted in Sharana, the center of Paktika province, and was attended by 71 students from the Paktika Higher Education Institute’s Education Faculty. Questionnaires and field observations have been selected as methodologies for this research. The results of the study show that 59.2 percent of survey participants consider public awareness and 35.2 percent think that enforcement of environmental laws is important. People in Paktika do not take part in environmental activities due to a lack of public awareness and throw away pollutants everywhere. If this situation continues, it is not far off that it will turn into a disaster.
Environmental Efficiency of Construction Industry with onsiderations to Carbon Emission: A Case Study in Henan, China
Authors: Youyang Xin , Xiuzhong Li , Li Shang
Published: December 2021

Low energy utilization is observed in China due to the extensive economic growth mode, which further leads to considerable energy wastes and environmental pollution. The construction industry plays an important role in the national economic development of China and consumes tremendous materials; thus, this industry discharges abundant CO2. The energy consumption growth rate of the construction industry in China is far higher than the national energy consumption growth rate, resulting in the prominent situation of high energy consumption and low yield. A case study based on Henan Province, China, was conducted to further analyze the environmental efficiency of the construction industry. An index system was established by using the Super-slack-based model (Super-SBM). This system chooses the following: labor, energy, capital, and technology of the construction industry as the input variables, economic output as the output variable, and carbon emissions as the unexpected output. This system was also used to investigate the energy efficiency of the construction industry in Henan Province from 2008 to 2019. Results demonstrated that the construction industry in Henan Province has failed to eliminate the extensive development mode thus far. The environmental efficiency of the construction industry presents a fluctuating growth with a mean of 1.048, which generally remains at a relatively low level. The numbers of construction machines and enterprises in the construction industry have redundancy in approximately 50% of the years. Thus, this study can provide some positive references to enrich the evaluation index system and estimation model of energy efficiency of the construction industry, which includes unexpected output. Moreover, the current study can provide a comprehensive understanding of the environmental efficiency of the construction industry in a province in China and realize reasonable allocation of construction industrial resources.
Analysis and Evaluation on Characteristics of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Farmland Soil along the Wuma River
Authors: Cai Xiongfei , Xu Die , Zhao Shijie , Lei Li , Wang Ji , Xuan Bin
Published: December 2021

The thesis is aimed to provide a reference for the sustainable utilization of farmland soils along the Wuma River, an upstream tributary of the Chishui River in Guizhou Province. Geo accumulation index method, Nemero comprehensive pollution index method, and potential ecological hazard index method were used based on the experimental data for analyzing and evaluating the heavy metal pollution status of farmland soil along Wuma River. The results showed that: (1) The contents of heavy metals Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in farmland soil exceeded the soil background values of 9.82%, 47.80%, 13.72% and 76.06% in Guizhou Province, respectively, but did not exceed the standard limit class II based on the environmental quality. (2). The pollutants of Pb and Zn in the research area mainly come from mineral exploitation, waste residue accumulation, and transportation. The enrichment of Cr and Cu may originate from the domestic garbage dumping and incinerated waste by residents along the coast and irrational agricultural activities. The main contents of Cd, As and Hg come from soil geochemistry. (3) The ranking of accumulations of eight heavy metals was IPb>IHg>ICu>INi>IZn>ICr>IAs>ICd, among which Pb was non-moderately polluted and the remaining heavy metals were at the clean level; Nemero comprehensive pollution index showed that As, Cr, Zn, and Ni were mildly polluted, while Pb, Hg, and Cu were moderately polluted. The ranking of potential ecological risk levels for the eight heavy metals was Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, As, Cd, Cr, Zn. The overall ecological risk level is mild.