Hasil untuk "Environmental effects of industries and plants"

Nicolás Depetris-Chauvin, Antoine Pinède, Heber Rodrigues

Product packaging is a critical tool influencing consumer perceptions. This study examines how the perceived personality of disruptive products like canned wine links to social stereotypes of their drinkers. Surveying 1307 consumers in Italy, Switzerland, and the UK, we found a significant association between product perception and judgments of the user. Specifically, product Sincerity and Excitement correlated with highly positive views of the drinker, while Ruggedness was associated with negative traits. Theoretically, we propose a ‘product-to-person’ trait transfer mechanism, extending brand personality theory by showing how product traits act as a heuristic for forming social stereotypes. Practically, our findings identify Sincerity and Competence as key traits for fostering a positive social image. Communication strategies focusing on these perceptions can mitigate negative stereotypes, enhancing the acceptance of sustainable packaging and benefiting consumer social identity.

Kavya P. Siddeshwar, Rajeev Joseph D., Prashanthi Devi M. and Shivaraju H. P.

Efficient management of municipal solid waste is essential to fostering sustainable urban growth, especially in rapidly urbanizing countries such as India. This study conducts a comparative analysis of waste collection patterns in Mysuru and Tiruchirappalli, two major cities in India. The study specifically examines temporal shifts and seasonal variations. A study of daily waste collection data over six years indicates apparent differences among the cities. Mysuru has a greater average daily waste collection of 481.82 tons compared to Tiruchirappalli’s 445.68 tons. A two-sample t-test assuming unequal variances indicates that this difference is statistically significant with a p-value of 0.0423. However, a more thorough analysis of seasonal patterns uncovers significant deviations. Mysuru exhibits elevated waste generation during the dry summer and wet winter seasons, whereas Tiruchirappalli encounters a surge in waste generation during the wet summer and wet winter periods. The seasonal variations highlight the impact of climate-related factors and consumption habits on waste generation. This study offers valuable insights into the intricacies of urban waste management in India, highlighting the importance of customized strategies that consider both temporal and seasonal fluctuations to improve the sustainability and resilience of waste management systems in rapidly developing urban areas.

Sapta Suhardono, Muhammad Amin Sunarhadi, Iva Yenis Septiariva, Hening Triandika Rachman and I. Wayan Koko Suryawan

The quantity of contaminants being released into rivers is rising in direct correlation with the growth of the human population. Bedog River is a tributary located in the vicinity of Mount Merapi. This river flows through agricultural, residential, and cattle sectors, making it easier to detect river contamination. The objective of this study is to evaluate the water quality of the Bedog River. The research employs a methodology that evaluates water quality by considering biological indicators, specifically the existence of dragonfly species, with the analysis of other chemical and physical properties in river water. The water quality research findings indicate that the physical and chemical characteristics remain satisfactory, with the water falling into the moderately polluted category. It also meets the water quality criteria outlined in PPRI No. 82 of 2001, specifically the class 2 threshold. A total of 23 Odonata species were identified. The upstream section, as indicated by the presence of Neurobasis chinensis florida and Heliocypha fenestrata, which are endemic, along with Macrogomphus parallelogramma, which is rare, is considered an optimal habitat capable of supporting sensitive dragonfly species. The dragonfly variety index in the Bedog River is relatively high, with values of 2.08, 2.79, and 1.47 for the upstream, middle, and downstream sections, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient indicates a strong positive correlation of 0.961, while the significance level of 0.179 suggests a statistically meaningful association. The findings highlight the potential of using dragonflies as bioindicators for long-term monitoring of river health and pollution levels. This study contributes to the understanding of how water quality impacts biodiversity and provides a basis for future research and river management practices. This research fills a gap by integrating biological indicators with traditional water quality assessments in a specific regional context. It provides new insights into the relationship between water quality and dragonfly diversity, offering valuable information for environmental monitoring and conservation efforts.

Renu Bala, Rajesh Dhankhar and Sunil Kumar Chhikara

The removal of pollutants from water bodies has emerged as a pressing global concern. Discharging untreated wastewater into the environment poses a significant threat due to the presence of hazardous substances like nitrate and phosphate, contributing to the widespread issue of eutrophication. This study focused on investigating the adsorption of phosphate from a synthetic solution using fly ash, an industrial by-product. To enhance the efficiency of coal fly ash, acid treatment was employed. Batch experiments were conducted to examine the influence of different factors, including pH, adsorbent dosage, initial phosphate ion concentration, contact time, and temperature. Surface electron microscopy (SEM) explained the morphology of the adsorbent, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was performed to analyze the adsorbent pre and post-adsorption, allowing for the identification of functional groups tangled in the adsorption process. The major functional groups observed were hydroxyl, carboxylic acid, amines, and nitrile groups, all contributing to the adsorption process. Acid-modified fly ash (AMFA) demonstrated favorable results in terms of phosphate removal, particularly at a pH of 5.0 and an initial phosphate concentration of 50 ppm. Equilibrium in adsorption was achieved within 30 min at a temperature of 15°C with constant stirring of 100 rpm, resulting in a high phosphate removal rate of 91%. Freundlich isotherm was found to contribute a better fit for the adsorption data compared to the Langmuir isotherm. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with a high R2 value of 0.998, exhibited excellent agreement with the adsorption data for acid-modified fly ash. Thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption process was heat absorbing (endothermic) and non-spontaneous at low temperatures. Overall, the results of the experimental study highlighted the promising adsorption potential of acid-modified fly ash as an effective adsorbent for phosphate removal in water treatment applications.

Cheng Luo, Zhiyan Wu, Lingmei Shao et al.

Iris japonica, an evergreen ornamental species known for its beautiful flowers and year-round evergreen foliage, is difficult to genetically manipulate due to the lack of an efficient genetic transformation system. This limitation hinders the functional verification of key genes in I. japonica. To address this, a Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) system based on Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) was developed, enabling efficient, transient gene silencing in I. japonica. In this system, the phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene, a common reporter gene used for VIGS, was selected to assess the silencing efficiency. The recombinant vector pTRV2-IjPDS was used to infect I. japonica plants. The PDS gene silencing resulted in distinct photobleaching symptoms, demonstrating the successful silencing of the target gene. The presence of the TRV vector was verified by using a GFP-tagged pTRV2-GFP vector, and GFP expression was detected using fluorescence visualization under ultraviolet (UV) light and confirmed by laser confocal microscopy. Real-time PCR was used to quantify the reduction in IjPDS gene expression, confirming the successful silencing. The study further optimized the VIGS system by evaluating the impact of seedling ages on silencing efficiency, identifying one-year-old seedlings as the most effective for gene silencing (36.67%). This TRV-based VIGS system provides a robust tool for functional gene analysis in I. japonica and offers a new approach to studying the rules of key genes in its biological processes, with potential applications in ornamental plant breeding and genomics research.

Hongjiang Guo, Yanpeng Cai, Zixuan Qi et al.

Accurate modeling of urban spatial dynamics is crucial for regional land resource allocation and sustainable development. However, most existing studies lack spatiotemporal collaborative considerations of historical development processes when mining transition rules for cellular automata (CA)-based modeling. Traditional pixel-based spatial units also tend to produce fragmented simulation results that are inconsistent with reality. To address these gaps, this study proposed a novel spatiotemporal collaborative convolutional and patch-based multilevel CA (SC-Pb-CA) model and applied it to simulate urban growth in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration. The results revealed that the SC-Pb-CA model outperformed the other traditional hybrid models in terms of simulation accuracy, with the kappa and figure of merit (FoM) indices increasing by 0.011–0.049 and 3.9 ​%–28 ​%, respectively. Multiscenario simulations indicated that the urban expansion trend in the PRD region remains significant in the future, particularly under the economic development priority (EDP) scenario, with projected increases reaching 17.86 ​× ​104 ​ha, 30.23 ​× ​104 ​ha, and 48.12 ​× ​104 ​ha by 2025, 2035, and 2050, respectively. The integrated economic–ecological development (IEED) scenario resulted in an urban land area of 80.34 ​× ​104 ​ha by 2035, which does not exceed the 1.3-fold upper limit stipulated in regional planning, making it more aligned with future sustainable development requirements. These findings emphasize the need for coordinated regional ecological and economic development. They also revealed the importance of strategies such as infilling development, cross-regional coordination, and ecological reflux for promoting sustainable urban spatial development in the PRD. This study provides new theoretical support for urban expansion simulation research and offers scientific guidance for regional urban spatial planning.

Jeanine Ammann, Sara Visco, Manika Rödiger

Vast quantities of food are lost along the food value chain. Although much is known about losses at the consumer level, relatively little is known about the producer level. Using a qualitative approach, this study examines farmers' views on vegetable losses in potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 farmers in Switzerland to find out 1) during which operations losses occur, 2) what quantities are lost, 3) drivers and barriers for the reduction of losses, 4) farmers’ strategies to reduce the losses and 5) how losses are disposed of. Only one farmer in our sample indicated that they recorded losses. Consequently, the quantification of losses is mostly based on estimates and subject to great uncertainty. Farmers identified various reasons for losses along the food value chain (e.g. quality deficiencies, standards of retailers or wholesalers, and market demand). Their reduction efforts were largely influenced by regulatory frameworks and market dynamics, both as drivers and barriers. Further, we found that some farmers understand vegetable food losses as intrinsic to farming, positively picturing the use of losses as feed or compost as a circular use of resources. Some farmers identified food losses as an economic issue and described strategies they use to reduce losses, again covering different stages from production to processing and market (e.g. multiple sales channels and good cultivation practices). Our study contributes to both research and practice by offering a foundation for policy development and industry initiatives aimed at reducing vegetable losses.

Suhartini, A. K. Prodjosantoso, Bernadetta Octavia and Isana Supiah Yosephine Louise

This study explores the potential of indigenous bacteria in bioremediating batik dye wastewater, a major environmental pollutant that threatens aquatic ecosystems and human health. The research aimed to identify and characterize bacterial isolates capable of degrading natural dyes (Indigofera tinctoria L., Caesalpinia sappan L.) and synthetic dyes (methyl, naphthol, remazol, indigosol). The variable investigated in this study is the degradation rate of batik dye wastewater by bacteria, both individually and in bacterial consortia. Using isolation, purification, and 16S rRNA sequencing, 15 bacterial isolates were identified, with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (D), Stutzerimonas stutzeri (H, I), Micrococcus sp. (J), and Pseudomonas sp. (N) exhibiting high effectiveness. Micrococcus sp. (J) achieved degradation rates of 99.62% for Indigofera, 85.74% for red remazol, and 83.05% for blue naphthol, while Pseudomonas sp. (N) degraded remazol red at 94.72%. A bacterial consortium (INJ: Stutzerimonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas sp., and Micrococcus sp.) efficiently degraded indigosol blue at 90.29%. Statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in decolorization between natural and synthetic dyes or dye colors. These bacteria demonstrated strong enzymatic activity under diverse environmental conditions, such as differences in pH, temperature, dye concentration, and chemical composition, providing an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution for batik dye waste bioremediation. The findings support SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by improving wastewater quality and promoting sustainable waste management in the batik industry.

Chinmay Bera, K. N. Deepthi, Rukmani Mohanta

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a proposed long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that will project an on-axis wide-band neutrino beam over a distance of 1300 km to determine the unknowns in the neutrino sector. Given the baseline of 1300 km and the intense beam facility, DUNE is a promising experiment to study the sub-leading effects such as environmental decoherence, matter induced non-standard interactions (NSIs), neutrino decay, etc. In this study, we investigate how NSI and environmental decoherence affect the neutrino oscillation probabilities simultaneously. Considering the modified probabilities we obtain the updated mass hierarchy (MH) and CP violation (CPV) sensitivities of DUNE. Furthermore, we demonstrate the sensitivity of DUNE to distinguish between the effects of NSI and environmental decoherence.

Henri Gouin

Since Charles Darwin's time, the study of climbing plants on a cylindrical stake has been the subject of numerous articles in plant biology. One of the main ideas for studying the coiling of an elastic plant stem is to consider the growth of the plant stem in terms of evolution over time. However, as this development takes place over a long time scale, the static study alone has not been studied independently. Our static approach requires us to take into account elasticity, turgor pressure and gravity forces in a first analysis. The aim of this article is to present a simplified model demonstrating why plant stems climb mainly on their circular helix-shaped stakes, with the diameter of the stake playing an important role in plant stem ascent, as does the fineness of the stem. To perform this calculation, for a given mass density, we consider the variational principle of minimum energy. For thin plant stems, we can see, in first approximation, that the effect of gravity and turgor pressure can be neglected with respect to the energy of elasticity, and that the bulk of the calculation concerns elasticity terms.

Hidemichi Fujii, Jeremy Webb, Sagadevan Mundree et al.

Voluntary carbon offset markets play an important role in climate change mitigation by deploying technologies in order of lowest abatement cost. The objective of this study is to identify the key drivers of changes in the volume of carbon credits issued in voluntary registry offset markets from 2006 to 2020 using a decomposition analysis framework. The results show that the volume of issued carbon credits related to forestry and land use increased from 2006 to 2015 due to priority increases and scale expansions in REDD+ projects. In addition, the reasons for the priority changes in carbon credits issued varied according to the scale of carbon offset programs in each region. The comparison of scale effect and carbon offset program priority is a useful tool for understanding changes in carbon credits issued according to project technology and region. The very rapid increase in forestry carbon credits issued does however pose important policy implications given it has been accompanied by widespread indications of poor governance and questionable outcomes in terms of CO2 reduction. In light of the IPCC's reliance on carbon credits the need for thoroughgoing policy reform is underlined.

B. Yang, Q. H. Xue, C. T. Qu, C. Lu, F. F. Liu, H. Zhang, L. T. Ma, L. Qi and Y. T. Wang

Petroleum hydrocarbon is one of the dangerous substances in the process of petroleum development, refining, processing, transportation, and production. In the related activities of the petroleum industry, the output is large, and improper treatment will cause pollution to the surrounding environment. It is an urgent problem to conduct harmless and resource treatment of petroleum hydrocarbon polluted soil. Plant enrichment, as an environmentally friendly and pollution-free technical means, has the advantages of low cost and small change to the soil environment and effectively solves the problems of excessive heavy metals in petroleum hydrocarbons through plant enrichment. In this paper, the development process of plant enrichment, remediation methods, and plant enrichment of typical heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Zn) in petroleum hydrocarbon-polluted soil were systematically introduced. Through investigation, the mechanism and influencing factors of plant enrichment of heavy metals in the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons were summarized and analyzed, and the possible development direction of plant enrichment technology in the future was prospected.

Giulia Chiaraluce, Deborah Bentivoglio, Alessia Del Conte et al.

One of the challenges that Europe has undertaken is the transition from a linear economic system to a circular economy, where waste and resources are recovered and regenerated. The practice of upcycling in the agri-food sector represents one of the most promising solutions to the enormous problem of food waste. However, the information available to consumers about foods made with upcycled ingredients is still scarce, limiting their acceptance and creating a critical barrier to their success in the market. The objective of this study is to determine the factors that affect Italian consumers’ intention to purchase and willingness to pay for a specific upcycled food enriched with a high-value vegetable by-product by applying a logit model, an interval regression, and a contingent valuation. Results show that knowledge about upcycling and the circular economy is still limited. Innovative consumers who are already aware of upcycling, who are not food neophobic, and who have a positive opinion of recycling are more willing to purchase upcycled products. At the same time, women who are already aware that the food industry produces considerable quantities of waste and who have a positive image of recycling are more willing to pay for a specific upcycled food. Finally, our sample proved to be willing to pay a premium price for an upcycled frozen margherita pizza. An informed consumer, aware of the environmental and health benefits of upcycled products, may become more willing to purchase them and to pay more compared to the same conventional products.

Julian Talbot, Pascal Viot, David Colliaux

The adoption of agroecological practices will be crucial to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Such practices favor the cultivation of plants in complex mixtures with layouts differing from the monoculture approach of conventional agriculture. Inspired by random sequential adsorption processes, we propose a one-dimensional model in which the plants are represented as line segments that start as points and grow at a constant rate until they reach length $σ$ after a time interval $τ$. The planting positions and times are randomly chosen with the constraint that plant overlap is forbidden. We apply an exact, event-driven simulation to investigate the resulting spatiotemporal patterns and yields in both mono- and duocultures. After a transient period, with oscillations in the density and coverage, the field reaches a steady state in which the mean age of plants is one half of the time to maturity. The structure of the active plants is characterized by correlation functions between the fluctuation of the age of a plant and its $k$th neighbour. Nearest neighbours are negatively correlated, while next nearest neighbours tend to have similar ages. The steady state yield increases with the planting rate and approaches a maximum value of 4/3 plants per unit length per unit time. For two species with the same size at maturity but different growth rates, the more slowly growing species is enriched in the harvest compared to the seed mix composition. If two species have the same time to maturity but different sizes, the smaller one is enriched in the harvest and, at a sufficiently high planting rate, the larger species may be completely absent. For two species with the same ratio of $σ/τ$ the selectivity is insensitive to the planting rate. The model may be extended to higher dimensions, more species and other planting strategies.

Niklas Becker

In this dissertation, we look at environmental effects in extreme and intermediate mass ratio inspirals into massive black holes. In these systems, stellar mass compact objects orbit massive black holes and lose orbital energy due to gravitational wave emission and other dissipative forces. We explore environmental interactions with dark matter spikes, stellar distributions, accretion disks, and combine and compare them. We discuss the existence and properties of dark matter spikes in the presence of these environmental effects. The signatures of the environmental effects, such as the phase space flow, dephasing, deshifting of the periapse, and alignment with accretion disks, are examined. These signatures are quantified in isolated spike systems, in dry, and in wet inspirals. We generally find dark matter effects to be subdominant to the other environmental effects, but their impact on the waveform is still observable and identifiable. Lastly, the rates of inspirals and the impact of spikes are estimated. All of these results are obtained with the help of a code imripy that is published alongside. If dark matter spikes exist, they should be observable with space-based gravitational wave observatories

Serge Kernbach

This work demonstrates biological detection of a low concentration of O3 by measuring electrochemical impedances of tissues in tobacco and tomato plants located indoor and outdoor. The lower range of generated ozone in the O3-air mix is about 30 ug/m3 over the atmospheric level, which allows phytosensors to be considered as biodetectors of environmental pollutants. The ozone stress affects stomatal regulation that in turn influences the hydrodynamics of fluid transport system in plants. Sensors utilize electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to measure ionic fluid content at several positions on the plant stem and calculate a variation of fluid distribution in control and experimental cases indoors. Outdoor setup uses the same methodology and sensors but different analysis due to uncontrolled nature of ozone pollution and the overlap of various stressors. The measurement results indicate a qualitative and quantitative reaction of hydrodynamic system to changes in O3 concentration in the upper part of stem with a delay of 10-20 minutes between the onset of exposure and biological response. The probability of false-negative responses from a single plant is about 0.15 +/-0.06. Pooling data from at least three plants allows for 92% confidence in detecting excess O3. Measurements on days with low and high ozone levels of 80 ug/m3 to 130 ug/m3 result in a 2.33-fold difference in sensor values and thus demonstrate biological detection of high O3 also outdoors. Statistically significant data include 948 sensor-plant attempts during 51 days with 9 plants and about 10E7 samples collected in automated experiments. Long-term measurements have demonstrated the high reliability of electrochemical sensors, especially in harsh outdoor conditions with rain, heat and UV/IR radiations. The described approach has applications in environmental monitoring, biological pollution detection and biosensing.

Fatih E. Bilgen, Ozgur B. Akan

Biological entities in nature have developed sophisticated communication methods over millennia to facilitate cooperation. Among these entities, plants are some of the most intricate communicators. They interact with each other through various communication modalities, creating networks that enable the exchange of information and nutrients. In this paper, we explore this collective behavior and its components. We then introduce the concept of agent plants, outlining their architecture and detailing the tasks of each unit. Additionally, we investigate the mycorrhizal fungi-plant symbiosis to extract glucose for energy harvesting. We propose an architecture that converts the chemical energy stored in these glucose molecules into electrical energy. We conduct comprehensive analyses of the proposed architecture to validate its effectiveness.

H. Okoro, Sikirat M. Alao, S. Pandey et al.

Environmental contamination by heavy metals has continued to be a source of serious concerns to researchers because of its far-reaching implications on the earth as we know it. This is because environmental pollution occasioned by heavy metals (HMs) which are non-biodegradable pose direct or indirect negative effects on environmental health, including that of plants, animals, and humans owing to their increased bioaccumulation in environmental matrices. Wastewater from industries producing chemicals is disposed of directly without proper treatment into the environment. However, HMs enter the food chains and food webs via the air, water, and soil, thereby inducing several diseases and disorders in both humans and animals. The features of rice husk (RH) as novel adsorbent are because it is chemically stable as well as being insoluble in water in addition to its large surface area relative to other agricultural waste products. There is an increasingly high awareness of the roles played by RH in environmental uses or applications for the sequestration of environmentally harmful chemical substances This review summarizes some recent developments in the use of RH and its derivatives as an environmentally friendly adsorbent that is highly suitable for the removal of heavy metal.

Monika Liugė, D. Paliulis

In recent years there has been an interest in the study of new methods for the removal of textile dyes from water due to its large-scale use in different industries. For example, paper printing, textile, leather, pharmaceutical, food or technological applications. It is estimated that more than 700 thousand tons of about 10 000 different types of dyes are produced annually. Most of them are of synthetic origin and can generate adverse effects, for example, teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic action. Dyes are mainly applied in the textile industry, and they are usually classified into anionic (acid dyes), cationic (basic dyes) and non-ionic (disperse dyes) dyes. The direct discharge of dyes into the environment can cause various damages to plants and animals: dyes can block the penetration of sunlight, reduce the photosynthetic efficiency of aquatic plants and ultimately destroy the ecological balance of the aquatic ecosystem. This study determines the adsorption efficiency of congo red, methylene blue, rhodamine B and naphthol green B dyes used in textile industry by using the aerogel. To achieve the aim, the effects of adsorbent dosage, pH, dyes concentration, adsorption contact time and temperature of solutions were studied. Kinetic data, equilibrium isotherms and thermodynamic parameters were determined.

Pei-Yuan Chen, Xiang-Feng Hong, Wei-Hsuan Lo