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  • Freedman Welsh posted an update 6 days, 4 hours ago

    Epiphytes on Posidonia oceanica play a crucial role for determination of the ecological status of marine environment in time and space besides the seagrasses alone. The study was aimed to estimate the spatiotemporal ecological status linked to variation in biometry of an epiphytic micro-calcareous red alga, Hydrolithon boreale, found on leaves of the meadow with the exclusive environmental parameters along the entire Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Collection of Posidonia oceanica samples was conducted at 64 stations in winter (December 2018-January 2019) and 112 stations in summer (June-July 2019) by SCUBA (0.4 × 0.4 m of a quadrate frame) in the infralittoral zone along the entire Turkish Mediterranean coast surrounded by the siliciclastic Taurus Mountain Range which favor growth of epiphytic micro-calcareous red algae. Percent occurrence of the epiphyte changed seasonally-lower in winter (25%) than in summer (44%). The epiphyte which is an indicator and sensitive to undisturbed marine area grew up density than the other soft bottoms in contrast to the size of the epiphyte. Future studies could be based on the present study for determination of the ecological status regarding two dominant epiphytes on leaves of two seagrasses (H. boreale on P. oceanica and partly Pneophyllum fragile on Cymodocea nodosa) found in the different environments and substrates in space and time.An indoor environment in a hospital building requires a high indoor air quality (IAQ) to overcome patients’ risks of getting wound infections without interrupting the recovery process. However, several problems arose in obtaining a satisfactory IAQ, such as poor ventilation design strategies, insufficient air exchange, improper medical equipment placement and high door opening frequency. This paper presents an overview of various methods used for assessing the IAQ in hospital facilities, especially in an operating room, isolation room, anteroom, postoperative room, inpatient room and dentistry room. This review shows that both experimental and numerical methods demonstrated their advantages in the IAQ assessment. It was revealed that both airflow and particle tracking models could result in different particle dispersion predictions. The model selection should depend on the compatibility of the simulated result with the experimental measurement data. The primary and secondary forces affecting the characteristics of particle dispersion were also discussed in detail. The main contributing forces to the trajectory characteristics of a particle could be attributed to the gravitational force and drag force regardless of particle size. Meanwhile, the additional forces could be considered when there involves temperature gradient, intense light source, submicron particle, etc. The particle size concerned in a healthcare facility should be less than 20 μm as this particle size range showed a closer relationship with the virus load and a higher tendency to remain airborne. Also, further research opportunities that reflect a more realistic approach and improvement in the current assessment approach were proposed.In conventional research, the suspended sediment distribution in a channel under the action of floating canopy has been rarely studied. In this study, experiments on sediment transport in flume with fixed suspended vegetation were carried out under different velocity conditions. It was performed to examine the suspended sediment transport and distribution law as impacted by the floating canopy. The vertical distribution formula of velocity impacted by the floating canopy was derived based on improved two-layer theory. Combined with the random displacement model (RDM), a Lagrangian method was developed to simulate the suspended sediment transport under the action of the floating canopy. Compared with the experimental data, the R2 of vertical velocity simulation was higher than 0.96, and the vertical distribution of suspended sediment concentration varied significantly (4.64 to 19.83 g/L) following the vertical coordinate. Subsequently, the numerical model of sandy flow with the floating canopy was established by complying with the stratified sediment turbulence diffusion coefficient to predict the suspended sediment transport. Besides, the established numerical model can lay a theory basis for sediment transport in such channels (floating canopy channels).Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is a capital economic circle for the future. Promoting the coordinated development of its population, economy, resources and environment is a major national strategy. And as towns and cities continue to expand, the volume of construction waste is gradually expanding, posing a major challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry. see more In order to solve this problem, this paper used portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to realize the on-site rapid monitoring of heavy metals in construction waste, and the correlation analysis result was R2 = 0.9908. The visualization of enrichment factor evaluation results was realized through ArcGIS. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is mainly polluted by heavy metal elements Cr, Zn, Pb and Hg, showing regional pollution characteristics, and the results of mercury morphology analysis show that all are inorganic mercury pollution, and methylmercury is not detected, and the cause can be traced to heavy industrial production in Tangshan City, which is consistent with industrial ecology. The results of leaching toxicity and cation anion analysis showed that the construction waste in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region had environmental risks to the surrounding surface water and groundwater. The resource treatment and disposal path were determined by means of XRD, ternary phase diagram and oxide composition analysis to avoid secondary pollution. This study explores the environmental properties and resource utilization pathways of construction waste in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, laying the foundation for research work on construction waste in the development of national urban agglomerations, effectively solving regional environmental pollution problems and promoting the sustainable development of the construction industry.Microcystins (MCs) are toxins produced by cyanobacteria commonly found in harmful algal blooms (HABs). Due to their toxicity to humans and other organisms, the World Health Organization (WHO) sets a guideline of 1 μg L-1 for microcystin-leucine-arginine (MC-LR) in drinking water. However, current analytical techniques for the detection of MC-LR such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and ELISA are costly, bulky, time-consuming, and mostly conducted in a laboratory, requiring highly trained personnel. An analytical method that can be used in the field for rapid determination is essential. In this study, an anti-MC-LR/MC-LR/cysteamine-coated screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) biosensor was newly developed to detect MC-LR, bioelectrochemically, in water. The functionalization of the electrode surface was confirmed with surface characterization methods. The sensor performance was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), obtaining a linear working range of MC-LR concentrations between 0.1 and 100 μg L-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.69 ng L-1. Natural water samples experiencing HABs were collected and analyzed using the developed biosensor, demonstrating the excellent performance of the biosensor with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.65%. The interference tests showed minimal error and RSD values against other common MCs and possible coexisting ions found in water. The biosensor showed acceptable functionality with a shelf life of up to 12 weeks. Overall, the anti-MC-LR/MC-LR/cysteamine/SPCE biosensors can be an innovative solution with characteristics that allow for in situ, low-cost, and easy-to-use capabilities which are essential for developing an overarching and integrated “smart” environmental management system.Open burning of crop residue is a hot issue in Asia and has attracted widespread attention. However, this attention rarely extends to the complex interactions between multi-stakeholders in the governance process, which is precisely the focus of today’s environmental governance dilemma. Harbin is a major grain-producing area in China, the annual air pollution caused by the open burning of crop straw is more prominent than in other parts of China, and the conflicting relationships among multi-stakeholders are also typical. Taking Harbin as a case, this study quantifies the complex relationships among stakeholders through value demands conflicts and constructs a value conflict network in the context of straw governance. Through the analysis of the network nodes and relationships, we found that grassroots governments and farmers are the core of the conflict, while public and higher-level governments, as supervisory subjects, are marginalized. The multiple identities and value demands of the grassroots government, as well as cost and technology constraints, are the main reasons for the governance dilemma. In addition, the grassroots government in different scenario dimensions has different conflict resolution strategies, and it has a strong self-adaptation ability in the embedded value conflict network and can influence and reshape other stakeholders. These findings highlight the critical role of the grassroots government in crop residue governance, add to the research paradigm on grassroots environmental management from a multiple-stakeholder participation perspective, and provide a theoretical and methodological basis to formulate effective strategies.Pears are an important income source in China, and unreasonable management practices have had a negative impact on the sustainability of pear orchards. However, multi-objective synergistic strategies are unclear on a farmer scale. In this study, we quantified indicators of soil fertility (soil organic matter (SOM)), environmental impact (global warming potentials (GWP)), and economic benefit (ratio of benefit and cost (BCR)) and analysed the synergetic strategies based on survey data from 230 smallholders in the Yangtze River Basin (Shanghai City, Chongqing City, Zhejiang province, and Jiangxi province). The average SOM, GWP, and BCR were 28.9 g kg-1, 17.3 t CO2-eq ha-1, and 3.63, respectively. Furthermore, optimised solutions using the Pareto multiple-objective optimisation model can reduce the GWP by 44.6% and improve the SOM and BCR by 34.4% and 43.9%, respectively, when fertiliser N rate and density are both decreased and the ratio of organic fertiliser application is increased compared to farmer management practices. The structural equation model indicated that planting density and fertiliser N rate can directly influence GWP and indirectly increase SOM and BCR; organic fertiliser application directly affects the GWP, SOM, and BCR. Our research provides a bottom-up approach based on the farmer scale, which can improve the sustainability of pear systems, and these findings can be used as guidelines for policymakers and pear orchard managers.In most cities, stormwater systems are part of the invisible and expensive urban infrastructure that plays a vital role in the urban environment but depends on weak institutional and organizational structures. Based on the evidence that solving the issues only from a technological point of view is not sufficient for the provision of stormwater services, in several countries, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) structures are being implemented, but a new paradigm shift involving a new socio-institutional mentality that meets not only the old but also the new demands of climate and territorial changes, migratory issues, and participatory management is required.