Kilicmeier8152

The extensive use of synthetic fertilizers is increasing continuously to meet the growing demand of food worldwide. This excessive use of fertilizer not only pose a threat to the sustainability but also cause negative externalities in form of hidden social cost to the society The present study estimated social costs and benefits associated with excessive use of chemical fertilizers at tea farms and also evaluated eco-efficiency of tea growers in Rize Province of Turkey. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used in this study. Tea growers are 68% eco-efficient in the locality. They can reduce their average fertilizer use from 115.45 to 66.45 kg and labor from 9.88 to 8 days per decare. The overuse of fertilizers at tea farms emits 289.3 kg/hectare of greenhouse gases. Therefore, by applying the eco-efficient fertilizer target level, 1574.48 tons of gas emissions only in Rize Province and 23,997.57 tons in whole Turkey can be reduced. The cost of 1 kg gas emissions was calculated as 0.3316 TL. The optimal level of fertilizers (social costs = social benefits) was also similar to the target level. The fertilizer use efficiency analysis showed that the tea growers cannot only reduce their fertilizer quantity by 49.03 kg/decare without compromising the crop yield, but can also contribute to the healthy environment with a low level of greenhouse gas emissions. Tea growers should replace their older tea orchards with new ones in order to achieve social and eco-efficient levels as well as to maintain viable yield level.With the rapid development in nanoscience and nanotechnology, rare earth oxide nanomaterials (REO-NMs) have been increasingly used due to their unique physical and chemical characteristics. Despite the increasing applications of REO NPs, scarce information is available on their detrimental effects. In the current study, we investigate the toxic effect of ytterbium oxide nanoparticles (Yb2O3 NPs) in mouse model by using various techniques including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis over 30 days of exposure. Furthermore, we elucidated lung lavage fluid of mice for biochemical and cytological analysis, and lung tissues for histopathology to interpret the NP side effects. We observed a significant concentration of Yb2O3 NPs accumulated in the lung, liver, kidney, and heart tissues. Similarly, increased bioaccumulation of Yb content was found in the olfactory bulb compared to other reigns of brain. The cytological analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed a significant elevation in the percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Biochemical analysis showed an instilled Yb2O3 NPs, showing signs of oxidative damage through up-regulation of 60-87% of MDA while down-regulation of 20-40% of GSH-PX and GSH content. The toxicity pattern was more evident from histopathological observations. These interpretations provide enough evidence of bioaccumulation of Yb2O3 NPs in mice tissues. Overall, our findings reveal that acute exposure of Yb2O3 NPs through intranasal inhalation may cause toxicity via oxidative stress, which leads to a chronic inflammatory response. Graphical abstract Graphical illustrations of experimental findings.Due to the implementation of "electrical energy substitution" strategy in China, the proportion of electrical energy in terminal energy consumption is increasing. The improvement of electrical energy efficiency could increase overall energy efficiency. Thus, a special attention should be paid on electrical energy efficiency. An input-oriented epsilon-based measure-DEA (data envelopment analysis) model was used to measure electrical energy efficiency from the perspective of total factor, and the spatial-temporal variability of electrical energy efficiency was investigated. Results draw that the overall electrical energy efficiency is relatively low and shows a downward trend. The eastern region has the best scores of electrical energy efficiency, followed by the central region and then the western region. Furthermore, the main associated determinants were investigated by panel Tobit regression model. It was found that the effect of industrial structure and economic opening degree on electrical energy efficiency is positive on the whole country level, whereas the effect of government intervention and urbanization is negative. From a regional perspective, there are great differences in the effect of each influencing factors. Some corresponding policy recommendations are given.Metals are widely released and distributed in soil and may have a negative impact on terrestrial organisms. Over the past years, a series of criteria or standards for assessing the ecological risks and toxicity of metals have been published in many countries; however, few studies have investigated their metal ionic properties and toxicity. In the present study, the ecological risk assessment screening values (ERASV) recommended by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality were selected to investigate the correlation between metal toxicity and their ionic characters based on the hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) concept. The results showed that more ionic characters were significantly correlated with ERASV using the HSAB theory, while only one metal ionic characteristic was correlated with ERASV in organisms. For borderline metal ions, maximum complex stability constants (log βn) and the softness (δp) of borderline ions were correlated with ERASV, while log βn and electronegativity (Xm) were significantype, organic matter, and pH. Overall, the QICAR models were able to determine the relationships between metal ionic properties and their toxicity and will be useful for assessing toxicity data on unknown toxic metals and will provide a basis for ecological assessment.The gut microbiota is closely related to health and disease. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is an important food fish in China. We aimed to investigate the effect of a chicken faeces diet on the gut microbiota composition of grass carp reared in an integrated farming system in China. Gut microbiota compositions of grass carps fed chicken faeces, a commercial diet, and grass were compared based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The major intestinal phyla in grass carps fed chicken faeces were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. The untreated chicken faeces diet altered the gut microbiota composition and increased the number of potential pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the gut to varying degrees. To reduce the risk of diseases, it is necessary to remove residual antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in chicken faeces by fermentation or other techniques, before it can be used as a fish feed for grass carp.The presence of emerging pollutants such as hazardous chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water sources is a serious concern to the environment and human health. Thus, this study focused on exploring the interaction mechanisms between ciprofloxacin (CIP) (antibiotic) and clay (a low-cost adsorbent) during sorption process. Acid activation technique was opted for modifying natural bentonite (NB) to enhance the adsorptive removal of CIP from water. The BET surface area analysis revealed that acid-activated bentonite (AAB) possessed more than two fold higher surface area as compared to NB. Combining pHzpc measurements, effect of solution pH and CIP speciation revealed that CIP sorption onto bentonite is highly dependent on solution pH. Kinetic studies confirmed that CIP sorption mechanism was chemisorption which included ion-exchange and surface complexation mechanisms. The mechanism of CIP sorption onto AAB was successfully explored with the assistance of characterization techniques. TAK-779 Maximal monolayer sorption capacity of AAB was found to be 305.20 mg/g, compared to 126.56 mg/g for NB. Reusability studies demonstrated that AAB could be reused successfully up to 5 cycles. Furthermore, column studies showed satisfactory results confirming that AAB can be successfully used in continuous mode for practical applications.The source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are extremely important water resources and ecological functional areas in China, and the ecological environment is fragile and sensitive to climate change. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important component that plays a crucial role in the biogeochemical cycle in aquatic ecosystems. However, knowledge of the distribution characteristics of CDOM in this area is limited. In this study, the optical properties, possible sources of CDOM, and their relationships with environmental variables were investigated in the two regions. The results indicated that the CDOM absorption spectra of these two source regions had a high degree of consistency, and the absorption coefficient aCDOM(355) was small, with a mean of 2.07 ± 1.10 m-1. Two fluorescence components (C1 and C2) were identified and grouped into the humic-like component with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), which exhibited highly similar (excitations/emission)max positions between each pair of components in the two regions. Comprehensive CDOM spectral absorption and fluorescence parameters suggested that CDOM was mainly derived from externally input humus, and the source region of the Yellow River showed stronger allochthonous sources. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) gradients in the water affected the fluorescence intensity and indicated that the humic-like component was an important component of DOC. Water temperature (WT) and turbidity (Turb) positively affected the concentration of CDOM and the ability to absorb light in the aquatic ecosystems. Due to global warming, the rising temperature may lead to an increase in meltwater inflow in the source area and will also bring more external inputs through the runoff.The correct name of the 2nd Author is presented in this paper.Acid pretreated biomass Lemna minor (BM-H3PO4) was used as support for CuO nanoparticles loading, to investigate the dye biosorption capacity and the photocatalytic performance under artificial visible light. The surface morphology, crystal structure, elemental composition, and the bandgap of modified biomass have been determined using FE-SEM, XRD, EDX, XPS, FTIR, and UV-DR analysis. The results showed that NH2 and P-O functional groups of (BM-H3PO4) can attract the copper ions (Cu2+), which can facilitate the loading of CuO nanoparticles hence, smaller nanoparticles with an average diameter of 21 nm was obtained. It was also found that when the CuO was incorporated in BM-H3PO4 in a proper mass ratio of 0.4, the biosorption efficiency was enhanced to 3 times compared with BM-H3PO4 and reached a maximum of 91%, at a dye concentration of 20 mg/L, solution pH equal to 5, and an ambient temperature of 25 °C. Furthermore, CuO-modified BM-H3PO4 exhibits a better photocatalytic activity than pure CuO in the presence of H2O2 and visible light irradiation, where the dye was completely removed and mineralized after 240 min, evidenced by COD measurement. The photocatalytic regeneration also shows that the biosorption efficiency was maintained at 91% over 3 cycles, indicating the significant self-regenerative capacity of the biosorbent.