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Synthetic fibers are widely used in daily life due to their durability, elasticity, low cost, and ease of use. The textile industry is the primary source of synthetic microfibers, as these materials are mostly used in production processes. Globally, plastic pollution has been identified as a major environmental threat in this era, since plastics are not degradable but break down into smaller particles such as mesoplastics, microplastics, and microfibers. Synthetic microfiber pollution is a significant issue in aquatic ecosystems, including oceans and rivers, with laundry wastewater being a major source. This problem is particularly pressing in cities like Galle, Sri Lanka, where numerous tourist hotels are located. Despite the urgency, there has been a lack of scientific and systematic analysis to fully understand the extent of the issue. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the generation of microfibers from laundry activities at a selected hotel and evaluating the efficiency of a laundry wastewater filtration system. This study focused on a fully automatic front-loading washing machine (23 kg capacity) with a load of 12 kg of polyester–cotton blend serviettes (black and red). Samples (1 L each) were taken from both treated and untreated wastewater during four wash cycles, with a total of 100 L of water used for the process. The samples were filtered through a 100 μm sieve and catalytic wet oxidation along with density separation were employed to extract the microfibers, which were then collected on a membrane filter paper (0.45 μm). Microfibers were observed and analyzed for shapes, colors and sizes under a stereo microscope. Results revealed that untreated laundry wastewater contained 10,028.7 ± 1420.8 microfibers per liter (n = 4), while treated wastewater samples recorded 191.5 ± 109.4 microfibers per liter (n = 4). Most of the microfibers observed were black and white/transparent colors. Further analysis revealed that 1 kg of polyester–cotton blend fabric can generate 336,833 microfibers per wash, which was reduced to 6367 microfibers after treatment. The filtration unit recorded an impressive efficiency of 98.09%, indicating a remarkably high capacity for removing microfibers from wastewater. These findings highlight the potential of such filtration techniques to significantly reduce microfiber emissions from laundry wastewater, presenting a promising approach to mitigating environmental pollution from microfibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising temperatures, a major global environmental challenge, negatively impact health, the environment, society, and the economy. Surface Urban Heat Islands (SUHI), exacerbated by urbanization and climate change, intensify vulnerabilities for urban areas and residents. Urban planning and design aime to reduce these vulnerabilities through large-scale and small-scale interventions. However, addressing the significance of the capillary effects resulting from small-scale interventions and bottom-up community engagement is important. Urban acupuncture (UA) is an emerging approach in contemporary urban planning and design that focuses on small-scale interventions to mitigate the effects of SUHIs at the community level. This study develops a framework for mitigating the impacts of SUHIs through UA implementation in urban design. The proposed framework consists of two key phases: diagnosis and prescription. During the diagnosis phase, we analyzed heat-vulnerable points to identify indicators contributing to the development and exacerbation of the SUHIs. Then, we employed the Matrix of Cross Impact Multiplications Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) technique to comprehensively assess 75 influential indicators related to urban structure across various aspects and scales, focusing on the mesoscale. Among them, 30 leading indicators were identified, of which environmental and morphological indicators emerged as significant catalysts. Moving on to the prescription phase, we developed a UA-based framework called the “5 Wh Question” which addresses five fundamental questions: why, who, what, how, and where. Our findings can provide comprehensive solutions for policymakers and urban planners to address the identified heat-vulnerable points.

The COVID-19 pandemic, often referred to as the geropandemic, has put immense pressure on global healthcare systems worldwide, leading to a rush in the development and approval of medications for the treatment of the viral infection. Clinical trials on efficacy and safety had a limited spectrum on inclusion and endpoints because of the urgent need for fast results. The chronologically and biologically aged population is especially at risk for severe or lethal disease, as well as treatment-associated toxicity. In China, the growing elderly population segment has been a focus in public health measurements of COVID-19, guiding towards herd immunity with a mild variant, thus minimizing overall deaths and morbidity. While the COVID-19 pandemic has now been reclassified and the virus weakened, there is a clear need for novel therapies to protect the elderly. This paper reviews the current safety and efficacy of available COVID-19 medications in China, with a specific focus on 3CL protease inhibitors and the aging population. The current COVID wave in China has demonstrated a significant impact on the elderly and the need for new drugs that are effective at low doses and can be used alone, without harmful side effects, generation of viral resistance, and drug-drug interactions. The rush to develop and approve COVID-19 medications has brought up important questions about the balance between speed and caution, resulting in a pipeline of novel therapies now moving through clinical trials, including third-generation 3CL protease inhibitors. A majority of those therapeutics are being developed in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovariohysterectomy (OVH) is a routine surgical procedure in small animal practices for sterilization and management of several uterine diseases, namely pyometra, cystic endometrial hyperplasia, uterine tumors, rupture, and torsion. Ovariohysterectomy (OVH) offers numerous clinical advantages, but post-operative complications could pose financial challenges for veterinarians due to the inherent risk of malpractice suits and clients owing to the extended recovery period for their pets. The authors reviewed about two dozen peer-reviewed English language articles from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases to identify risks and avoidance strategies following OVH. These may include the ones arising from celiotomy (infection, incisional hernias, wound dehiscence, inadvertent injury to organs and adhesions) or affections, such as intraoperative hemorrhage, stump pyometra, ovarian remnant syndrome, ureteral ligation, urinary incontinence, granulomas, fistulous tracts, post-surgery weight gain, and eunuchoid syndrome. This review emphasizes prevention and management methods for each of these complications. Effective surgical techniques play a vital role in preventing hemorrhage, while meticulous resection, ligation, and omentalization of uterine stump reduce the risk of stump pyometra. Complete removal of ovarian tissue and systematic exploration prevent ovarian remnant syndrome. The use of advanced imaging methods, such as ultrasound, fluoroscopy, or CT scans, can greatly aid in identifying and preserving ureters during surgical procedures, thus minimizing the risk of ureteral complications. Strategies to address urinary incontinence, granulomas, and postsurgery weight gain might encompass the use of hormonal therapy involving estradiol analogs or the application of precise surgical techniques involving ureteral reimplantation. Innovative strategies such as auto-transplantation of ovaries are suggested for managing eunuchoid syndrome, while inadvertent prostatectomy and bowel obstruction may simply be avoided by better tissue handling and dissection. In summary, optimizing surgical protocols, incorporating CT scans, using appropriate drug therapies, and continuous education within the veterinary community are crucial for reducing complications associated with OVH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The present study focuses on mitigative measurements adopted to manage ozone (O3) stress by application of different doses of nutrient (N, P, K) treatments. Two cultivars of maize (Zea mays L. var HHM-1 and Malviya hybrid- 2) growing under ambient O3 stress conditions were treated with three doses of nutrients (NPK); recommended (N1), 1.5x recommended (N2) and 2x recommended (N3) in near natural condition. The antioxidant pool, secondary metabolites, photosynthetic efficiency and gas conductance parameters were assessed. Results of our experiment suggest that the plants treated with nutrients responded better than the plants without nutrient, which served as control. Increased antioxidant activities in both the maize cultivars upon nutrient treatment resulted in decline of O3 generated superoxide radicals and H2O2 contents, indicating a reduction in O3 stress. It was observed that the antioxidant response upon treatment was more prominent in HHM-1, as compared to MH-2, in which major proportions of antioxidant stimulations were observed during the vegetative period only. SOD and CAT played an important role in defining the plant's defense and regulating the SOR and H2O2 contents in both the maize cultivars at both vegetative and reproductive stages. The results of the present experiment clearly suggest that nutrient amendments can be effectively used in partially mitigating ambient ozone stress, however more experimentation with different crop varieties is required to prove the expediency of nutrient amendments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated the mitigating effects of two probiotics on blood parameters of ISA Brown chicks inoculated with a very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV). Two hundred chicks were assigned into four groups of 50 birds each. Groups A and B were administered Antox® in water and Bactofort® in feed daily from 1 to 42 days of age and inoculated with a vvIBDV at 28 days and C and D served as positive and negative controls, respectively. Blood samples were examined for changes in packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), total white blood cell (TWBC), heterophil and lymphocyte counts seven days post inoculation. The PCV between groups A and C differed (P < 0.05) and in group B it was higher (P < 0.05) than that of group C. The Hb concentration between groups A, B and C differed (P < 0.05). There was a difference (P < 0.05) in RBC counts between groups A, B, C. Differences in TWBC between group A and C were significant (P < 0.05) and TWBC in group B was higher (P < 0.05) than that of group C. There was a significant difference in heterophil (P < 0.05) and lymphocyte (P < 0.05) count between group A and C, and B and C. Heterophil/lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in positive control compared to groups A, B, C. Antox® and Bactofort® mitigated the deleterious effects of vvIBDV on blood parameters and can assist in cases of IBD outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities have lead to the accumulation of toxic and hazardous waste materials, such as dyes and heavy metals, into the environment. The entry of these waste materials into the food chain have emerged as a threat to food and health security. As a result, several conventional physical and chemical-based systems were developed to remove these toxic dyes and heavy metals from wastewater. However, because the conventional methods were costly, energy intensive, and ineffective, microbe-based bioremediation systems gained attention of the scientific community. Among several bioremediations approaches, the microbial electrochemical system (MES) has shown promising results in the selective removal of dyes and heavy metals from wastewater. The chemical energy of the biodegradable substrates is converted to electrical energy using the inherited electrochemical system of the electroactive microorganisms. This is collectively termed a "microbial electrochemical/bioelectrochemical system" (MES/BES). The MES in presence of electroactive microbes can remediate the toxic compounds from a wide range of wastewaters. Thus, the present review provides detailed insight into the principle, mechanisms, electrochemistry, and biochemical capabilities of electroactive microbes during bioremediation of heavy metals and dyes. In addition, the paper discusses the challenges faced in designing large-scale MES and its implementation/commercialization. The future prospect and strategies for the development of a self-sustainable multipurpose MES for bioremediation and recovery of toxic and value-added compounds, respectively, have also been elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is an attempt to develop understanding of the phenomenon of Honour Killing (HK) which is pervasive all over the Punjab. This practice persists which cuts across almost all the social groups nationwide. Every year hundreds of women are killed in the name of honour in Pakistan. Certain social sections recognize HK, as justified practice, entailing various forms with regard to particular milieu of four provinces. In spite of the rising awareness, this practice is well-entrenched even in Pakistan's most developed province i.e. Punjab. Over the years, the laws regarding HK are passed to improve efficacy of judicial system of Pakistan, but certain lacunas provide sufficient room to the offenders to misuse them. This study is an attempt to illustrate the overall mind set of the society and understand the reasons behind the murder in the name of Honour. This research will be descriptive as well as exploratory in nature. In this study, qualitative methods will be adopted. This research will help to identify the root causes of HK and also give direction to ascertain the authenticity of this practice in Punjab. Some recommendations will also be suggested in the light of the above mentioned analysis to eradicate this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the abiotic stress factors, drought is one of the most critical stressors which could be in coaction with plant diseases and other stressors. Mitigating the impact of drought on plants will assist in managing the control of plant diseases with an indirect approach. Seed priming is recently one of the preferred techniques to combat with biotic and abiotic stress factors. This study is aimed at assessing the effects of seed priming with H2O2 on pepper seedlings for decreasing effect of water stress under controlled conditions. Pre-sowing seed treatment was performed as four different applications including three concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (at 1 %, 2% and 3%) and sterile, distilled water. The seeds were, afterwards, sown in pots that had three types of irrigation regimes (100%, 50%, and 25% of field capacity) applied following the initial life water of sown seeds. Besides, the effects of treatments on seed germination potentials were simply determined through blotting paper test. Seed priming with hydrogen peroxide at % 1 was the most effective concentration for plants watered at 100% of field capacity (FC) in terms of all physiological parameters taken in the study. The seed treatment promoted the growth of pepper plants nicely at full FC by enabling it to obtain the maximum plant length (11.00 cm), root length (11.08 cm), fresh plant weight (9.45 g) and number of leaves (10.33). Besides, 1 % H2O2 was followed with 2% concentration for promoting the plants with good performance under the water deficit at 50 and 25% of FC. However, the study revealed that seed pre-treatment with H2O2 at 3% had a negative effect on the growth of pepper plants. The germination percentage of the treated seeds were 76.67, 65.83, 40.00, and 30.83, treated with sterile distilled water, 1 %, 2%, and 3% concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The results concluded that seed priming with lower concentration (1 %) hydrogen peroxide might be used to improve growth for pepper plants under water deficit conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a global reality and a major concern of many countries of the world. Its average impacts are the same globally but with some regional peculiarities. This paper reviewed the global events of climate change and its reality in Nigeria. It observed that the world's climatic elements have been undergoing changing pattern for a long period. Its reality in Nigeria was seen in changing rain pattern, relative humidity, atmospheric temperature, rising sea level, coastal flooding, erosion, desertification and drought among other indicators of climate change. These events were viewed vis-à-vis their impacts on nutrition security. The paper related these events to such drivers of food insecurity as food shortages; increase in crop and animal diseases; shortage of portable water; poor sanitation; loss of rural livelihood and different forms of pollution-related diseases. Measures were suggested for integration into government programmes and policy that will help in mitigating and adapting to the impact of climate change on nutrition security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat stress is an environmental factor that challenges livestock by disturbing animal homeostasis. Despite the broad detrimental effects of heat stress on reproductive function, the germline and the early preimplantation embryo are particularly prone. There is extensive evidence that elevated temperature reduces oocyte developmental competence through a series of cellular and molecular damages. Further research revealed that the oocyte respond to stress by activating cellular mechanisms such as heat shock response, unfolded protein response and autophagy to improve survival under heat shock. Such knowledge paved the way for the identification of thermoprotective molecules that alleviate heat-induced oocyte oxidative stress, organelle damage, and apoptosis. Therefore, this review depicts the deleterious effects of heat shock on oocyte developmental competence, heat-induced cellular and molecular changes, outlines pro-survival cellular mechanisms and explores thermoprotective molecules to improve oocyte competence. Image 1 • Heat stress diminishes oocyte developmental competence. • Cellular adaptative mechanisms contribute to oocyte survival under heat stress. • Understanding heat stress effects on oocytes led to thermoprotective approaches. • Thermoprotective molecules ensure oocyte competence under heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted at Kohima district of Nagaland state in north eastern part of India. The state is vulnerable and sensitive to all the climate change related issues. Kohima district has been administratively divided into four Rural Development blocks, out of which one block was selected purposively for study area. A well structured and pre-tested interview schedule was developed to collect data from 300 respondents. The selection of the respondents was done based on proportional random sampling technique. This study aimed to know the problems perceived by farmers in adopting improved agricultural practices for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. The results revealed that more numbers of farmers perceived problems like "lack of knowledge to avail the loan, monetary support and subsidies from banks and development departments", "poor economic condition of the farmers", "lack of knowledge about suitable environmental friendly technologies", lack of farm machineries suited for hilly terrain", "high cost involved in improved agricultural practices" etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presurgical psychological evaluations (PPEs) are becoming an established component of the surgical process, though methods of conducting PPEs are variable. There is a lack of clarity about the goals of PPEs, the types of information that should be included, and the process for integrating information and making recommendations to the referring physicians/surgeons. This review proposes an empirically supported model for PPEs that is systematic, but flexible enough to be utilized across the broad range of surgical evaluations. This five-step method is termed the Risk Identification and Mitigation (RIM) model and is discussed in detail. The RIM model presented in this review can both serve as a structure to be utilized in under-researched PPE areas and as a stimulus for future empirical investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of modal particles in spoken Dutch imperatives. Two types of particles are differentiated: mitigating, which are often used as a politeness strategy, and reinforcing, which add extra force to the utterance (Vismans 1994). Our findings show that in Netherlandic Dutch, the use of mitigating particles is determined by the type of occupation that the speaker has: Speakers in service-oriented occupations use mitigating particles significantly more often than speakers in nonservice-oriented occupations, and it is argued that this is a function of their need to be more polite in their role as a service provider. Since the data do not come from the speakers' workplace interactions but from informal conversations with friends and family, it is suggested that speech patterns of speakers' professional and private language practices influence each other. The effect of occupation is not observed in Belgian Dutch, however, where mitigating particles are significantly less frequent. Moreover, an important methodological consideration arises from this analysis: There is the need for researchers to examine the data beyond the standard sociolinguistic categorizations made available by large corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crosslinked ionomers containing clusters of alkyl ammonium group at side chain was synthesized by attaching an unique amine (tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine) on poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) polymer backbone. These molecular structures show a dramatic enhancement in water resistance (low water uptake (9–13%) and dimensional swelling (4–6%) in water at room temperature) compared with non-cluster-shaped PPOs. Moreover, the temperature had less of an influence on the water uptake and swelling ratio of the membranes. The resulting anion exchange membranes exhibit good ionic (OH - ) conductivities in water (up to 25.4 mS cm −1 at 25 °C) and represent a new class of anion exchange membranes. A test of the alkaline stability of membranes (in 1 M KOH at 60 °C for 480 h) showed hydroxide conductivity about 51% of the original conductivity and indicated that these membranes are good candidates for application in alkaline fuel cells (AFCs). Membrane electrode assembly made from the as-fabricated membrane showed moderate fuel cell performance reaching peak power density 77 mW cm −2 at 60 °C in a H 2 /O 2 alkaline fuel cell. This simplistic synthetic tactic enables the preparation of densely functionalized materials with the potential to meet the demands of AFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) from various sources into the atmosphere causes rise in air temperature. This addition of GHGs has a great impact on the environment. Among the GHGs, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major contributor. A variety of options exists for mitigation of GHGs emissions in agriculture. The most prominent options are improved soil management practices viz. integrated plant nutrient management, precision agriculture (variable rate fertilizer technology), use of nitrification inhibitors, crop residue management, moisture restoration and restoration of crop productivity of degraded lands, which increase crop production per unit area, enhancing crop production and withdraw atmospheric CO2 through enhanced photosynthesis. This paper shows that such improved soil management practices can restore the crop productivity of marginal lands and purify the air by withdrawing atmospheric CO2.

• Biochar mitigated the PE-NPs inhibition on methane production by AGS;. • Biochar enhanced AGS integrity and cell viability by stimulating EPS secretion;. • Biochar maintained key acidogens and methanogens in AGS with PE-NPs;. • Biochar adsorbed PE-NPs from AGS competitively for mitigating inhibition. The extensive application of anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) to wastewater treatment for methane recovery has drawn considerable attention to the system performances affected by the presence of emerging contaminants in wastewater such as nanoplastics. However, effective strategies on how to mitigate the inhibition caused by nanoplastics remained unavailable. In this study, a novel strategy using biochar to mitigate the inhibition on the AGS performances caused by polyethylene nanoplastics (PE-NPs) was proposed and the corresponding mitigating mechanisms involved were explored. The PE-NPs solely decreased the level of methane recovery of AGS to 71.3 ± 2.7% of control, which was subsequently increased to 85.6 ± 0.8% of control with the presences of both biochar and PE-NPs, although biochar solely showed no obvious effect on methane production. The addition of biochar also elevated the granule size of AGS, along with AGS integrity based on the morphological observation. Moreover, the distributions of live cells and functional microbes related to acidification and methanation increased with biochar addition compared to sole PE-NPs exposure. More extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was secreted when biochar was involved in AGS systems, with more protein being detected to maintain the granule structure of AGS. Evaluation of adsorption tests indicated that biochar possessed stronger affinity for PE-NPs than AGS, thus capturing the PE-NPs that would originally contact AGS and posing less toxicity to microorganisms. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has been operating for nearly two decades now and has sentenced over sixty defendants. While the sentencing guidelines from the official Tribunal statute and rules of procedure are vague and indefinite, the court has established a sentencing jurisprudence of its own, especially when it comes to aggravating and mitigating factors. The use of these factors in sen-tencing have been questioned, so an exploratory analysis of what factors the court has considered and how they have done so was constructed. The results show a wide rang-ing list of both aggravating and mitigating factors without providing a strict sentencing structure. These sentencing factors may set a standard for future international courts sentencing defendants for the most heinous of crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) from various sources into the atmosphere causes rise in air temperature. This addition of GHGs has a great impact on the environment. Among the GHGs, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the major contributor. A variety of options exists for mitigation of GHGs emissions in agriculture. The most prominent options are improved soil management practices viz. integrated plant nutrient management, precision agriculture (variable rate fertilizer technology), use of nitrification inhibitors, crop residue management, moisture restoration and restoration of crop productivity of degraded lands, which increase crop production per unit area, enhancing crop production and withdraw atmospheric CO₂ through enhanced photosynthesis. This paper shows that such improved soil management practices can restore the crop productivity of marginal lands and purify the air by withdrawing atmospheric CO₂. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was growing interest in designing healthier neighbourhoods. Adopting this perspective brings attention to how conditions in neighbourhoods (directly and indirectly) affect their inhabitants' physical health and mental wellbeing. However, considerably less attention has been paid to how to alleviate such conditions through integrated interventions designed to operate specifically at the neighbourhood scale. To address this gap, this paper introduces the term "unhealthy neighbourhood syndrome" (UNS). The conceptual clarity and practical utility offered by using this term are critically examined. The paper contains a rigorous review and critical analysis of academic and grey literature on what are held to be the relationships between key features of the built environment and people's health and wellbeing. It also examines literature offering advice on how urban designers should make neighbourhoods healthier. It illustrates the complexity of the range of issues involved and the complicated web of top down, bottom up and middling out actors that need to be involved in making decisions about them. Despite having inherent weaknesses, the term "unhealthy neighbourhood syndrome" is judged to be useful. It illustrates how seemingly separate issues operate in urban design, promoted for tackling specific symptoms of ill health, need to be addressed jointly through an integrated programme of parallel work streams operating at the neighbourhood scale. The paper is innovative in identifying the wide cluster of symptoms used to describe unhealthy neighbourhoods in the literature as being a "syndrome". Its significance lies in its injunction that this syndrome needs to be tackled through integrated streams of remedial action drawing on experience and expertise that lie beyond those offered by the traditional membership of urban design teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]