Environment Burden Research Articles

Applying life cycle assessment to investigate the environmental impacts of a PV–CSP hybrid system

Photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (PV–CSP) hybrid systems have effectively solved the issues with the volatility and energy storage costs of PV electricity generation, and they have the potential to replace PV generation. However, the environmental impacts of PV–CSP have not been reported in the literature. In this research, a life cycle assessment method was adopted to investigate the potential environmental impacts of the PV–CSP hybrid system. The results showed that throughout the life cycle, the manufacturing stage had the largest adverse impact on the energy conservation and emission reduction targets of China's 13th Five-Year Plan (ECER-135), whereas the decommissioning stage significantly alleviated the environment burden through the recovery of main materials. Compared to standalone PV or CSP, the PV–CSP hybrid system exhibited significant comparative advantages, with carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions measuring 42 g CO2 and 45.92 g CO2 eq, respectively. During the manufacturing stage, PV modules, PV balance of system, solar field, and thermal energy storage system contributed significantly to the environmental impact. The sensitivities of different inventory materials in environmental indicators were different, and the same material had different sensitivities in different subsystems or stages.

Development and validation of the hospice professional coping scale among Chinese nurses

BackgroundHospice care professionals often experience trauma patient deaths and multiple patient deaths in a short period of time (more so than other nurses). This repeated exposure to the death process and the death of patients leads to greater psychological pressure on hospice care professionals. But at present, people pay more attention to the feelings and care burden of the family members of dying patients but pay less attention to medical staff. Thus, this study aimed to develop a scale on the burden of care for hospice care providers and assess the coping capacity of hospice professionals. Raising awareness of the psychological burden of hospice professionals.MethodsThrough a literature review, research group discussion, Delphi method and a pre-survey of professional coping skills among nurses, 200 hospice professionals who had received training in hospice care from pilot institutions engaged in or providing hospice care were selected for investigation. Cronbach’s α coefficient and split-half reliability were used to test the internal consistency of the scale, and content validity and explore factor analysis (EFA) were used to test the construct validity of the scale.ResultsTwo rounds of Delphi methods were carried out, and the effective recovery rate was 100%. The expert authority coefficients of the two rounds were 0.838 and 0.833, respectively. The Kendall’s W coefficient of experts in the first round was 0.121 ~ 0.200 (P < 0.05), and the Kendall’s W coefficient of the second round was 0.115–0.136 (P < 0.05), indicating a good level of expert coordination. The final survey scale for the care burden of hospice professionals included four dimensions—working environment (9 items), professional roles (8 items), clinical nursing (9 items) and psychological burden (7 items)—with a total of 33 items. The total Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.963, and the Cronbach’s α coefficients of the working environment, professional roles, clinical nursing and psychological burden dimensions were 0.920, 0.889, 0.936 and 0.910, respectively. The total split-half reliability of the scale was 0.927, and the split-half reliability of each dimension was 0.846, 0.817, 0.891, and 0.832. The content validity of the scale items ranged from 0.90 to 1.00. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 5 common factors, with a total cumulative contribution rate of 68.878%. The common degree of each item in the scale was > 0.4, and the factor loading of each item was also > 0.4.ConclusionThe scale is an open-access, short, easy-to-administer scale. And which for assessing hospice care burden among hospice professionals developed in this study demonstrated strong reliability and validity. This tool can serve as a dependable instrument for evaluating the burden of hospice care for terminally ill patients by professionals in the hospice setting.

Boosted Sacrificial-Agent-Free Selective Photoreduction of CO2 to CH3OH by Rhenium Atomically Dispersed on Indium Oxide.

Solar-energy-driven photoreduction of CO2 is promising in alleviating environment burden, but suffers from low efficiency and over-reliance on sacrificial agents. Herein, rhenium (Re) is atomically dispersed in In2O3 to fabricate a 2Re-In2O3 photocatalyst. In sacrificial-agent-free photoreduction of CO2 with H2O, 2Re-In2O3 shows a long-term stable efficiency which is enhanced by 3.5 times than that of pure In2O3 and is also higher than those on Au-In2O3, Ag-In2O3, Cu-In2O3, Ir-In2O3, Ru-In2O3, Rh-In2O3 and Pt-In2O3 photocatalysts. Moreover, carbon-based product of the photoreduction overturns from CO on pure In2O3 to CH3OH on 2Re-In2O3. Re promotes charge separation, H2O dissociation and CO2 activation, thus enhancing photoreduction efficiency of CO2 on 2Re-In2O3. During the photoreduction, CO is a key intermediate. CO prefers to desorption rather than hydrogenation on pure In2O3, as CO binds to pure In2O3 very weakly. Re strengthens the interaction of CO with 2Re-In2O3 by 5.0 times, thus limiting CO desorption but enhancing CO hydrogenation to CH3OH. This could be the origin for photoreduction product overturn from CO on pure In2O3 to CH3OH on 2Re-In2O3. The present work opens a new way to boost sacrificial-agent-free photoreduction of CO2.

Boosted Sacrificial‐Agent‐Free Selective Photoreduction of CO2 to CH3OH by Rhenium Atomically Dispersed on Indium Oxide

AbstractSolar‐energy‐driven photoreduction of CO2 is promising in alleviating environment burden, but suffers from low efficiency and over‐reliance on sacrificial agents. Herein, rhenium (Re) is atomically dispersed in In2O3 to fabricate a 2Re‐In2O3 photocatalyst. In sacrificial‐agent‐free photoreduction of CO2 with H2O, 2Re‐In2O3 shows a long‐term stable efficiency which is enhanced by 3.5 times than that of pure In2O3 and is also higher than those on Au‐In2O3, Ag‐In2O3, Cu‐In2O3, Ir‐In2O3, Ru‐In2O3, Rh‐In2O3 and Pt‐In2O3 photocatalysts. Moreover, carbon‐based product of the photoreduction overturns from CO on pure In2O3 to CH3OH on 2Re‐In2O3. Re promotes charge separation, H2O dissociation and CO2 activation, thus enhancing photoreduction efficiency of CO2 on 2Re‐In2O3. During the photoreduction, CO is a key intermediate. CO prefers to desorption rather than hydrogenation on pure In2O3, as CO binds to pure In2O3 very weakly. Re strengthens the interaction of CO with 2Re‐In2O3 by 5.0 times, thus limiting CO desorption but enhancing CO hydrogenation to CH3OH. This could be the origin for photoreduction product overturn from CO on pure In2O3 to CH3OH on 2Re‐In2O3. The present work opens a new way to boost sacrificial‐agent‐free photoreduction of CO2.

Emotional burden in social professions and its implications – presentation of own research results against a literature review

The article presents an overview of emotional burdens that are typical of social professions, along with their causes, protective factors, and health implications. Particular attention is given to the demands associated with social interactions occurring between those helping and those asking for help, which are expressed by interpersonal communication. The subject matter is discussed using examples from the work environment of health care workers and staff at emergency call centres. The results of own research are compared with the findings of other current studies. The introduction presents information on the sources of emotional burden experienced by health care employees, taking into account the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirements associated with interpersonal communication are discussed using the concept of emotional labour. In the following part, the adverse consequences of emotional labour ‒ such as occupational burnout syndrome and health problems ‒ are discussed. They are illustrated with the results of our own study. The problems identified fall within two main domains. First, relationships linking emotional labour to the levels of empathy, work engagement, and professional burnout are examined. The second issue encompasses the predictors of job burnout including the demands of the work environment, marital status, and childcare burden, as well as personal resources in the form of the levels of perceived stress, generalised self-efficacy, and active hobbies. Negative changes pertaining to the levels of helplessness, burnout, and overweight and obesity relating to work during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic are also presented. The final part includes a summary and conclusions.

Energy-efficient fluorine-free electro-refining of crude lead in a green methanesulfonic acid system

Conventional crude lead electro-refining based on fluosilicic acid (H2SiF6) system is suffering unwelcome environment burden due to the high volatility and instability of H2SiF6. Recycling secondary lead (Pb) resource resulted in high-content antimony (Sb) in the crude lead. Herein, we proposed a green, efficient and safe methanesulfonic acid (MSA) system for fluorine-free electro-refining process of Sb-rich crude Pb. Influencing mechanism of MSA concentration, additive content, Pb ion concentration, cathodic current density, solution temperature on morphology control and energy performance was investigated. Electro-refining simulation and verification in the MSA system achieved an energy consumption of 119.9 kWhe/t Pb and a current efficiency of 99.23%, which were competitive with 145 kWhe/t Pb and 97.99% in the H2SiF6 system. The Pb purity of the deposit sample was as high as 99.99%. The MSA system had favorable Sb tolerance (4–5% Sb), which was higher than the H2SiF6 system (≤0.8% Sb). Current research provided a technically- and economically-feasible solution for the electro-refining of crude lead with high Sb content.

Villagers' travel burden and the built environment in rural China: Evidence from a national level survey

Travel burden on rural residents is an important theme in transport geography. However, the empirical evidence for this remains scarce. This paper aims to shed light on rural travel burden by examining the relationship between the rural built environment and villagers' travel burden, as measured by the time and money spent on essential and regional trips. A national survey of rural residents in 287 villages across China is analysed. The results show that residents living in rural areas are more likely to be faced with travel burden than are urban residents when accessing livelihood opportunities in local rural settlements and regional urban centres. The built environment attributes are significantly correlated with residents' travel burden. Specifically, the distance from the village to the destination has the strongest relationship with essential trips compared with other built environment variables. Villagers tend to incur higher time costs for an essential or regional trip when paved roads, bus stations and high-quality roads are less accessible. Bus transfer times from the village to the town centre, the population density, and the accessibility of local facilities also show significantly correlation with villagers' travel cost. Moreover, those residents who are elderly, low-income, or have a physical disability are more likely to suffer from high travel burden. The findings will enhance our understanding of the role of land use and transport policies in releasing villagers' travel burden to achieve sustainable transport development in rural contexts.

Role of potassium, magnesium, sulphur and copper nutrients on groundnut late leaf spot disease dynamics

Plant protection strategies need an effective alternative mode that reduces chemical load on environment and financial burden on farmers. Mineral nutrition, an integral part of crop production has long since proven to be a promising management strategy. Due to high specificity of host-pathogen-nutrient relationship, precise investigation has to be taken before recommendation. Among the various methods to screen infection frequency and disease tolerance with respect to applied treatments, components of resistance (incubation period, latent period, number of leaf spots, and lesion diameter) studied in hydroponically grown plants under greenhouse conditions are more appropriate than detached leaf assay as disease development of late leaf spot caused by the hemibiotroph., Phaeoisariopsis personata is more akin to the disease development under field conditions. Role of four nutrients i.e., Potassium, Magnesium, Sulphur and Copper deficient conditions as well as supplementation alone and in combination on groundnut late leaf spot disease incidence was compared with fungicidal check (Tebuconazole seed treatment) in terms of components of resistance and anti-oxidant enzyme activities using sand culture. Deficiency of nutrients showed higher disease incidence than control suggesting the role of nutrients in offering resistance to infection. Further it is revealed that CuSO4 and combination of four nutrients were effective in delaying incubation (11.67 days, 12.33days) and latent period (16.67 days, 17.00 days) while MgSO4 followed by combination of four nutrients were effective in reducing lesion number (17.65/leaf, 22.15/leaf) and diameter (0.20 and 0.27 mm) thus lowered AUDPC which showed similar antioxidant enzyme activity as fungicidal check. Nutrient supplementation though inferior to fungicidal check (14 days incubation period, 18.33 dayslatent period, 1.95 lesions/leaf with 0.22mm diameter), wassignificantlysuperior to control (10.33 daysincubation period, 13.67 days latent period, 70.15lesions/leaf with 0.33mm diameter). Hence, application of adequate amount of nutrients improves plants growth as well as resistance to LLS infection.

Built environment as interface: a relation-based framework for the intersections between built, biotic, social, and health processes during COVID-19 and beyond

By broadening disciplinary perspectives to architecture and design, philosophy of science, and systems biology, this paper aims to explore the interconnections between built, social, biotic, and health processes with key attention to the moderating roles of the built environment. The focus is part diagnostic and part prescriptive. Initially, we specify failures in COVID-19 representational infrastructure and practice in accounting for built environment and social process impacts on public health factors. By presenting three intertwined problems with scientific representation in COVID-19 modeling and data-gathering, we examine to what extent current scientific practices fail to robustly account for the complex intersections between built, biotic, social, and health processes. We suggest that resolving the presented problems requires the development of new conceptual precedents for the analysis of causal relations in changing contexts. The second focal point is prescriptive. By discussing conceptual developments that spotlight relations—e.g., ‘context’, ‘nudge’, ‘affordance’, and ‘interface’—we organize the numerous moderating roles of built environment contexts, and we suggest practical applications to ongoing public health practices—such as, cautioning against nudge policies. Ultimately, we argue that the built environment can be represented not only as a single variable (or handful of discrete variables) but also as an interface that reorganizes multiple causal landscapes—concurrently, deregulating factors and leaving others unaffected. Because of the difficulty of representing emergent properties, relevant to differential built environment burden and inequitable health outcomes, we provide ways to visualize the built environment as interface in multidimensional form. We conclude that adequately representing the various moderating roles of the built environment goes a step beyond how to represent complexity, and it requires asking a deeper normative question: who ought to be involved in representing complexity.

A multi-dimensional assessment of sustainable foods and the influence of stakeholder perceptions during nutrition interventions

In addressing the growing challenge of malnutrition, many governments, donors, and international organizations have committed to supporting large-scale programs to speed up global nutrition targets. However, food systems differ in size and structure from one country to another and between rural and urban areas, which might affect nutrition program success, especially in developing countries. In this study, we developed and tested an integrated field and model-based framework to assess nutrition, health, environment, and time burden to support the sustainable implementation of interventions within a local food system. Then, we examined the influence of stakeholder priorities in harmony with SDGs 2 and 12 on contextual drivers for selecting an optimal food processing method to introduce into meal preparation. The framework was designed considering nutrient profiling, environmental impact assessment, and multicriteria modeling and executed on the “Strengthening Capacity of Local Actors in the Nutrition-Sensitive Agri-food Value Chain” project in Zambia and Malawi. The results suggest that stakeholders' priorities substantially influence the method adopted in a local food system. Additionally, there are inevitable trade-offs, such as time burden/gain, fuel and water consumption, and lower/greater micronutrient levels during food processing and meal preparation that compete with nutrition program objectives; nonetheless, these trade-offs must be embraced to achieve sustainable food systems. Furthermore, nutrient leakages observed due to varying local processing and preparation raise concerns about the sustained efforts by international organizations. If confirmed in other regions, implies that investments during nutrition programs are wasted somewhere in the system due to inefficiencies at the household level.

A study of stressors, family environment, coping patterns, and family burden in persons with dissociative disorder.

Dissociative disorder is a stress-related disorder usually present in adolescents and younger age groups. It is also accompanied by significant impairment in activity of daily living and family relations. Family environment and use of dysfunctional coping strategies play important roles in the initiation and maintenance of symptoms and this puts a considerable burden on the family. This study aims to study the presence of stressors, the role of family environment, the role of family burden, and the use of coping mechanisms in persons with dissociative disorder. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study in which 100 persons with a dissociative disorder were included after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria from the outpatient department (OPD) of psychiatry. In this study, the major part of the sample were women (87%), most were educated up to 12th standard or less than 12 years of formal education. According to stressors, 44% had family stress/problems. 77% (mostly women) had dissociative stupor. The dissociative disorder caused a considerable degree of burden on the other family members. There was a significant difference in financial burden among caregivers of persons who were married, belonging to rural areas, joint families, and from lower socio-economic classes. There was a significant difference in disruption of routine family activities, and burden in persons having a longer duration of illness. There was a significant difference found in conflict, achievement orientation, and dimensions of family environment between males and females. A significant difference in the venting of emotions, behavioral disengagement, and restraint as a coping strategy between males and females was found. Present study showed dissociative disorder patients cause a considerable degree of burden on family members in terms of leisure, physical, mental, financial, and routine family interrelationship domains. In personal growth and relationship dimensions, the use of dysfunctional coping strategies in the family environment has a causal effect on the symptoms of dissociative disorder patients.

A Study Of Consumer Behaviour Towards Products Promoting Health And Sustainability

Background: Recent years have seen a transition in consumer’s buying behaviour for foods having better nutrition, transparent claims with more clean processes and ingredients. Objective: This paper aims at understanding the factors that influence consumers’ food buying behaviour, perceptions and healthy food choices. Methodology: Quantitative research was done in restricted cities of India through online media. Information was collected (targeting21-40 years age group) from 470 respondents (64.4% males and 35.6% females). Responses were recorded through an online circulated questionnaire containing 15 close-ended questions, which were statistically analyzed through MS-excel using graphical representations. Results: A greater inclination was seen towards healthier options in staples such as multigrain flour. The survey findings reported that around 34.5% of consumers are taking the product quality claims and source of ingredients seriously, and also consumers do care about the environmental impact of the products, with 83.62% respondents preferring products which are environment friendly and socially responsible. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there has been a considerable shift towards healthier food choices. Companies should focus on strategies to promote healthier choices, clean labels, more transparency and reduce their environment and social burden. Marketing strategies may also be geared towards promotion of products through online platforms since millennia’s, who compromise 48% of work force spend their major time online.

Studying the potential microbial risk of construction cementitious materials in the urban environment

The presented work aimed at analysis of elements in the soil and cementitious materials from the selected locations to study the presence of various microorganisms on the surface of buildings. The methodology of the sampling was focused on the interface of the construction containing cement and the soil around the construction in foundation. The chemical analysis by performing X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed leaching of the element cations of the clinkers. During the carrying out the investigation of the soil, the results additionally showed exceeded limited values of some of the metals elements in the soil which is considered as an environment burden. Moreover, in this research some of the cultivated microorganisms swabbed from the surfaces of the buildings from 14 selected locations are mentioned. These outputs gradually generate the image of the environmental conditions for cementitious materials of selected location in Košice.

Green Electrorefining of Crude Lead with High-Quality Deposits in an Additive-Assisted Methanesulfonic Acid System

The conventional electrorefining process of crude lead (Pb)─employing a bone glue (BG)- and calcium lignosulfonate (CL)-synergistically assisted fluosilicic acid (H2SiF6) system─suffers the undesired environment burden caused by the high saturated vapor pressure and low stability of H2SiF6. Herein, we propose an additive-assisted methanesulfonic acid (MSA) system for green and efficient electrorefining of crude Pb based on the low volatility and high stability of MSA. Combinations of MSA with additives are evaluated and screened using photographic images, SEM observations, XRD, white light interference, etc. The electrochemical analysis of cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry elucidates the Pb deposition behavior in the Lugalvan BNO12-assisted MSA system, in which a three-dimensional nucleation model is applicable. Using MSA as the solvent and β-naphthol ethoxylate (Lugalvan BNO12) as the assisted additive, the bench-scale operation of crude Pb electrorefining experimentally achieves an electric energy requirement (W) of 87 kWhe/t Pb and a cathodic current efficiency (η) of 99.6%. This is very competitive with the W of 120 kWhe/t Pb and η of 95.0% for the BG-CL-assisted H2SiF6 system. Also, the bench-scale operation obtains a plat and dense deposit sample with a Pb purity of >99.99%. The distribution behavior of elements shows that most of the Pb element is recovered in the form of the cathodic Pb, elements Sn, Zn, and Fe mainly accumulate in the electrolyte, and elements As, Sb, Bi, Ag, and Cu remain in the anode slime. This work opens new directions for more technically and economically feasible Pb electrorefining.

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Sorghum (sorghum bicolor) Production, Storage and Disposal in Ilorin, Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the major producers of sorghum grains in the world. The production and storage of the crop consumed resources, both biotic and abiotic and this could lead to some environment burden in form of emissions and pollutions. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the environmental life cycle of sorghum, from production to storage and packaging for market using life cycle assessment model (LCA).The life cycle inventory data was collected for production, and storage operations of three scenarios of sorghum namely: storage in jute bags and fumigation in Warehouse (FW), usage of Bio-pesticide (BP) and NSPRIDUST (ND) as protectant. The inventory data collected was based on a functional unit of one hectare of land for production, and one ton of grains for storage operations respectively. The data were analyzed using “Ganzheitliche Bilanz” (GaBi) 8.7 software. Environmental impact categories generated were Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Human Toxicity Potential (HTP).The GWP values obtained for sorghum scenario using FW, BP, and ND were 6.850, 7.930 and 6.890 kg CO 2, respectively. The AP values for FW, BP and ND were 0.009, 0.012 and 0.009 kg SO 2, respectively, while EP values obtained for FW, BP and ND were 2.180, 3.010 and 2.070 E-3 kg Phosphate, respectively. The ODP values using FW, BP and ND were 8.96, 8.96, and 8.96 E-13 kg R11 respectively, while the HTP values obtained using FW, BP and ND were 4.150, 4.150 and 4.150 kg DCB, respectively.The research showed that the impact values of FW, BP and NS for sorghum scenario had not much difference. The research finding is recommended for environmentalists, grain producers and handlers. Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment, global warming, acidification, eutrophication, ozone layer depletion DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-8-01 Publication date: August 31 st 2022

Upcycling of waste concrete powder into a functionalized host for nano-TiO2 photocatalyst: Binding mechanism and enhanced photocatalytic efficiency

Recycled concrete powder (RCP) is not reutilized well and thus causes a huge environmental issue. In this paper, to improve the added value of RCP and mitigate the environment burden, RCP is recycled to replace natural mineral as carrier for nano-TiO2. RCP/TiO2 composites are prepared by a mechanical chemical method and applied in photocatalytic degradation of dye wastewater as an eco-friendly material. The microstructure of RCP/TiO2 composites and binding mechanism are revealed by microscopic characterizations. The results show that nano-TiO2 particles are homogenously immobilized on RCP surface by chemical bonds and physical adsorption, confirming the feasibility of RCP as the carrier for TiO2. The photocatalytic degradation experiment result shows that the photocatalytic efficiency of net TiO2 is significantly improved by the form of RCP/TiO2 composites, as the apparent rate constant of RCP/TiO2 composites (A24RCPT20) is 43.9% of that of TiO2 (P25), while the TiO2 content of A24RCPT20 is only 20% by mass of P25. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency is caused by surface hydroxylation. RCP/TiO2 composites also have excellent reusability and high stability in cyclic tests. Thus, RCP is proved to be a valuable carrier for nano-TiO2 in terms of cost and photocatalytic efficiency. The implementation of RCP/TiO2 composites leads to huge ecological benefit by reducing the consumption of natural mineral resource and improving the added value of RCP. Our work has developed a new application field for RCP, which can promote the upward circulation of RCP.

Application of Green Technologies in Design-Based Extraction of Celastrus paniculatus (Jyotishmati) Seeds, SEM, GC-MS Analysis, and Evaluation for Memory Enhancing Potential.

BackgroundThe Celastrus paniculatus (CP), commonly known as Jyotishmati, is considered as “elixir of life” by Indian people for the prevention or management of many ailments. The seed powder and its extract have widely used commercially for the preparation of various Ayurvedic formulations for the improvement of memory. CP seeds were generally extracted by conventional extraction methods (CEMs) which are assumed to impact environment burden and also produce low extract yield. Green extraction with possible improvement in extract yield has always been the need of hour for selected medicinal plant.ObjectiveIn the present research, we aimed to optimize the different extraction factors in microwave and ultrasound-based extraction. The various extracts obtained in conventional and green methods are also evaluated for the possible improvement in memory enhancing potential.Materials and MethodsThe selected medicinal herb was extracted by CEM (maceration and percolation). In green methods such microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound assisted-extraction (UAE), various parameters were optimized using Box-Behnken design coupled with response surface methodology. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analyses were also done to confirm the possible improvement in concentration of plant actives. The Swiss albino mice were used to evaluate memory enhancing potential of different extracts.ResultsAt the optimized conditions MAE and UAE the extraction yield, total phenolic content (TPC) and Total flavonoid content (TFC) are significantly improved. The GC-MS analysis further confirms the improvement in concentration of certain fatty acid esters, pilocarpine, and steroidal compounds in optimized extracts. The optimized extracts also exhibited the significant improvement in behavioral parameters, oxidative stress-induced parameters, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory potential.Discussion and ConclusionFrom the results, we can say that the application of green technologies in design-based extraction of selected herb not only significantly reduces the extraction time but also improves the extract yield and concentration of plant actives. In nutshell, it can be concluded that the green approaches for extraction of seeds of Celastrus paniculatus could be scale up at a commercial level to meet the rising demand for herbal extract.

Strength, microstructure and nanomechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete containing waste glass powder and steel slag powder

The reuse of construction and demolition wastes for producing recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is an effective way to improve building materials sustainability and reduce the environment burden. In this study, the synergistic effect of steel slag powder (SSP) and waste glass powder (GP) on the compressive strength, microstructure and nanoscale characteristics of RAC are investigated. The results indicate that SSP and GP have a significant synergistic effect in improving the performance of RACs. RAC with 10% GP and 20% SSP has the highest compressive strength, and its 28-day and 120-day compressive strengths have increased by 28.3% and 22.8% respectively relative to plain concrete. Meanwhile, the RAC with SSP and GP has a lower porosity and a high-volume fraction of high-density C–S–H, which are beneficial to improving the internal microstructure of the RAC. In addition, the incorporation of SSP and GP not only improves the microstructure of the matrix, but also reduces the width of the interface transition zone (ITZ) between the recycled aggregate and the new matrix. When 10% GP and 20% SSP are incorporated, the width of the new ITZ of RAC is reduced by 36.36%, and the average elastic modulus is increased by 64.6% compared to plain concrete. This research not only improves the performance of RAC, but also provides an effective way for the comprehensive utilization of the multiple solid wastes in concrete material.

Regulatory impediments to carbon emission mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: the impact of a hostile business environment and high tax burden.

Sub-Saharan Africa's regulatory environment ranks amongst the least business friendly in the world. The difficulty of starting and operating businesses and the high tax burden are amongst the major conditions that make the regulatory environment hostile. This study examines how these business regulatory conditions explain the growing challenges in mitigating CO2 emissions in the sub-region. For this purpose, data from 1997 to 2018 are used to analyse an extended environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) equation for thirty (30) Sub-Saharan African countries. The results of the Method of Moments Quantile Regression analysis show that the inverted U-shaped curve of the EKC hypothesis is statistically not valid across the entire quantile distributions. The impact of increasing tax burden on CO2 emissions is positive and increases across the entire quantile distributions. Business regulatory efficiency has a negative (i.e. decreasing) impact on CO2 emissions across the entire quantile distributions and shows a stronger impact in countries at the upper quantiles, such as in South Africa, Botswana, Gabon, and Nigeria. Conclusively, policy choices that seek to reduce tax burden on households and firms and foster greater economic freedom for businesses are needed to break the growing trend in Sub-Saharan Africa's CO2 emissions.

Power Grid Enterprise Cost Rationality Evaluation Based on Meta-frontier and Super-efficient DEA

Evaluation of transmission and distribution cost rationality of power grid enterprises enables governments to scientifically approve power transmission and distribution prices. To depict the impact of environmental differences of power grid enterprises on the evaluation of operational efficiency, we measured and calculated meta-frontier efficiency and group-frontier efficiency of 25 provincial-level grid enterprises in China, from 2016 to 2019, by building a meta-frontier-based super-efficiency DEA model, and ranked them based on meta-frontier efficiency, in this paper. The measurement results show that there are pronounced differences in the operational efficiency levels of power grid enterprises, which are not only related to objective differences in economic development level, geographical environment, and historical burden, but also related to technology and management levels of individual enterprises. The cost rationality evaluation method proposed in this paper lays a foundation for introducing "cost benchmarking" in future power transmission and distribution pricing, providing reference for perfecting the transmission and distribution prices regulatory mechanism.