Toxicities, kinetics and degradation pathways investigation of ciprofloxacin degradation using iron-mediated H\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e based advanced oxidation processes

© 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a widespread emerging water pollutant and thus its removal from aquatic environment is vital. The use of Fe3+/H2O2 and Fe2+/H2O2 resulted in 38 and 64% removal of CIP (8.0 ppm), respectively, within 80 min reaction time (pH 5.8, [H2O2]0 = 80 ppm, and [iron]0 = 20 ppm). Low pH, high temperature, high dose of H2O2 and Fe2+, and low CIP concentration facilitated removal of CIP. The radical scavenger studies proved in situ generated [rad]OH to be involved primarily in the removal of CIP. The effect of temperature was used to estimate enthalpy and activation energies of the removal of CIP. At 800 min reaction time, the Fe2+/H2O2 resulted in 54% mineralization of CIP using 16.0 ppm [CIP]0, 320.0 ppm [H2O2]0, and 40.0 ppm [Fe2+]0. The potential degradation pathways of CIP established from the degradation of CIP by [rad]OH and products evolved was found to be initiated at C6 through the loss of fluoride ion. The acute and chronic toxicities of CIP and its degradation products were estimated with the final product found to be non-toxic. The results suggest that Fe2+/H2O2-mediated AOPs have high potential for degradation as well as toxicity elimination of CIP and its degradation products

Anisotropic compact star models in f (T) gravity with Tolman-Kuchowicz spacetime

© 2021 World Scientific Publishing Company.The purpose of this work is to present stellar models for anisotropic matter distribution in the framework of f(T) gravity with torsion scalar T. In this regard, we use the interior geometry of Tolman-Kuchowicz spacetime having the potential components of the form ψ = Br2 + 2ln C and χ =ln(1 + ar2 + br4), where a, b, B and C are constants which have been evaluated with the aid of matching conditions on the surface of interior and exterior spacetimes. Off-diagonal tetrad is used to obtain the modified Field Equations (FEs). We use power law of f(T) gravity to get all the physical parameters such as principal stresses, density. We discuss anisotropy of the system and its effects on the system. The physical analysis is also presented by measuring speeds of sound, equilibrium conditions, energy conditions and redshift, etc. We choose some compact star models to present graphical description of the solution

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of <i>Echinococcus granulosus</i> Sensu Lato Eggs among Stray Dogs in Sulaimani Province—Kurdistan, Iraq

The main goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus among stray dogs, as well as its potential impact on the environmental contamination in the Kurdistan-Iraq using microscopic examination and the Copro-PCR method. The presence of taeniid eggs was recorded in 400 dog faeces collected from the four different regions in the Sulaimani Governorate. The parasite eggs were recovered from fresh and aged faecal samples of the dogs using two isolation techniques, a flotation method (Sheather’s solution, modified; specific gravity: d = 1.27) and a sedimentation method (formal-ether) in which the sediments from dog faeces were collected. Both methods were used for Copro-PCR to detect the presence of Echinococcus species egg through DNA using common primers designed to amplify a partial gene of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COX1). The results of the microscopic examination showed a higher prevalence rate, i.e., 97 (24.25%) of E. granulosus among stray dogs generally in Sulaimani Governorate. The prevalence of E. granulosus among stray dogs according to the district area was 40, 24, 23, and 20.8% in Rzgari, Kalar, Sulaimani, and Halabja, respectively. The positive samples (n = 50) were selected for molecular confirmation, the DNA was extracted from the sediment of the positive samples and 40 (80%) samples were successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The sequences show that all samples belong to the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (G1–G3), with slight genetic variation. It was concluded that the sediment of dog faeces can be used for DNA extraction, which is a new method that increases the sensitivity of the test, and the amount of DNA yield would be higher than the routine method, which directly uses faeces of the dogs. In addition, the molecular diagnosis was more sensitive than the microscope examination for the presence of E. granulosus eggs. The prevalence of E. granulosus in both the final hosts and the intermediate hosts must be regularly monitored

The Land Snail, <i>Eobania vermiculata</i>, as a Bioindicator of the Heavy Metal Pollution in the Urban Areas of Sulaimani, Iraq

Land snails are crucial consumers in the terrestrial environment and beneficial significant bioindicators to evaluate the chemical impact in the ecosystem, especially on urban lands. The present study aimed to investigate the concentration of heavy metals such as As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn in urban soil and study whether Eobania vermiculata acts as a bioindicator for heavy metal contamination in an urban area. Thirty soil and snail samples in triplicate from each sampling site were taken from the urban areas of Suliamani. After a microwave-assisted digestion procedure, every sample was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of chromium (Cr) in each snail sample was significantly high. The maximum Cr concentration (15.87 mg kg−1) was recorded in the snail sample collected from Ali Kamal Park, which was adjacent to a very crowded traffic road. The As concentration in snail samples ranged from 0.08 to 1.004 mg kg−1, and it was below the permissible limits. However, the concentrations of heavy metals in urban soil locations were below their background measurements, except for nickel (Ni) which was above the permissible limits. The safest site in the study area was Chaviland 1, while the most contaminated site was the Ha-wary Shar Park. The snails bioaccumulated metals in their tissues in the following order, Cr > Zn > Ni, and this bioaccumulation occurred more on the main road locations, which represented potentially contaminated places due to anthropogenic activities. Moreover, there was no correlation among the heavy metals within the soil samples when compared to the similar metals in the snail samples, due to the low concentration of heavy metals in soil, excluding Ni, from where the snail samples were collected. Consequently, the land snail, E. vermiculata, is an appropriate sentinel organism for some metals, mainly for Cr, and the bioindicator monitoring with this snail should be extended to mixtures of heavy metals, since such relationships frequently occur in soil

Towards Parallel Selective Attention Using Psychophysiological States as the Basis for Functional Cognition

Attention is a complex cognitive process with innate resource management and information selection capabilities for maintaining a certain level of functional awareness in socio-cognitive service agents. The human-machine society depends on creating illusionary believable behaviors. These behaviors include processing sensory information based on contextual adaptation and focusing on specific aspects. The cognitive processes based on selective attention help the agent to efficiently utilize its computational resources by scheduling its intellectual tasks, which are not limited to decision-making, goal planning, action selection, and execution of actions. This study reports ongoing work on developing a cognitive architectural framework, a Nature-inspired Humanoid Cognitive Computing Platform for Self-aware and Conscious Agents (NiHA). The NiHA comprises cognitive theories, frameworks, and applications within machine consciousness (MC) and artificial general intelligence (AGI). The paper is focused on top-down and bottom-up attention mechanisms for service agents as a step towards machine consciousness. This study evaluates the behavioral impact of psychophysical states on attention. The proposed agent attains almost 90% accuracy in attention generation. In social interaction, contextual-based working is important, and the agent attains 89% accuracy in its attention by adding and checking the effect of psychophysical states on parallel selective attention. The addition of the emotions to attention process produced more contextual-based responses

Exogenous application of black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed extract improves maize growth under chromium (Cr) stress

Accumulation of non-essential heavy metals like chromium (Cr) is among major abiotic stresses, which adversely affect crop growth. Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is the most dangerous form negatively affecting the growth and productivity of crops. This study evaluated the role of black cumin extracts (BCE) in improving growth and productivity of maize genotypes under different concentrations of Cr(VI). Two maize genotypes (“Neelum” and “P1543”) were grown under 0, 4, 8 and 12 mg Cr(VI) kg−1 concentrations. The BCE was applied as foliar spray at three concentrations (0, 10 and 20%) at 25 and 45 days after sowing. Increasing Cr(VI) concentration significantly (p < 0.05) reduced seed germination, root and allometric traits, gas exchange attributes and relative water contents of tested genotypes. Hybrid maize genotype better tolerated tested Cr(VI) concentrations than synthetic genotype with lower Cr accumulation and better allometric and gas exchange traits. Exogenous application of 20% BCE proved effective in lowering the adverse effects of Cr(VI) toxicity on maize genotypes. It is concluded that 20% BCE could be used to improve maize performance through better allometric and gas exchange traits under different Cr(VI) concentrations. Nonetheless, actual mechanisms involved in improved Cr(VI)-tolerance of maize with BCE application must be explored

Impact of different sowing dates and irrigation levels on NPK absorption, yield and water use efficiency of maize

Abstract Upper Egypt experiences high temperatures during summer and low temperatures during winter, which significantly impacts the sowing dates of maize in this region. The productivity of maize crops and water use efficiency can be greatly affected by water stress and sowing dates (SDs). Therefore, it is crucial to determine the optimal irrigation level and SDs based on local conditions. To assess the effects, two irrigation levels were employed: (1) control (full irrigation water applied) and (2) 70% of irrigation water. Field experiments were conducted at the National Water Research Center's water studies and research complex station in Toshka. The aim was to evaluate two irrigation levels (full and limited irrigation) across five SDs (early: mid-February and March, normal: mid-June, and late: mid-August and September) in both 2019 and 2020, in order to identify the ideal sowing date (SD) and irrigation level. The normal SD resulted in an increased the growth season length between plant emergence and maturity. Conversely, the late SD reduced the number of days until plant maturity, resulting in higher grain yields and water use efficiency (WUE). Notably, the SD in September, coupled with the 70% irrigation level, yielded the highest productivity and WUE, with a productivity of 7014 kg ha−1 and a WUE of 0. 9 kg m−3. Based on the findings, it is recommended that regions with similar conditions consider cultivating maize seeds in September, adopting a 70% irrigation level, to achieve optimal N uptake, growth traits (plant height, ear length, ear weight, number of rows per ear, and grain index weight), yield, and WUE

Diminishing Heavy Metal Hazards of Contaminated Soil via Biochar Supplementation

Depending on the geochemical forms, heavy metal (HM) accumulation is one of the most serious environmental problems in the world and poses negative impacts on soil, plants, animals, and humans. Although the use of biochar to remediate contaminated soils is well known, the huge quantities of waste used and its recycling technique to sustain soil in addition to its use conditions are determinant factors for its characteristics and uses. A pot experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design to evaluate metal forms and their availability under the application of garden waste biochar (GB) pyrolyzed at different temperatures, and a sequential extraction procedure was designed to fractionate Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu of the contaminated soil. The results show that the TCLP-extractable Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu were significantly decreased depending on the biochar addition rate, pyrolysis temperature, and tested metal. The acid extractable fraction was significantly decreased by 51.54, 26.42, 16.01, and 74.13% for Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu, respectively, at the highest application level of GB400 compared to untreated pots. On the other hand, the organic matter bound fraction increased by 76.10, 54.69, 23.72, and 43.87% for the corresponding metals. The Fe/Mn oxide bound fraction was the predominant portion of lead (57.25–62.84%), whereas the acid fraction was major in the case of Cd (58.06–77.05%). The availability of these metals varied according to the application rate, pyrolysis temperature, and examined metals. Therefore, the GB is a nominee as a promising practice to reduce HM risks, especially pyrolyzed at 400 °C by converting the available fraction into unavailable ones

Subtropical broad-leaved urban forests as the foremost dynamic and complex habitats for a wide range of bird species

Broad-leaved subtropical forests are the most productive, diversified, and complex ecosystems on the planet. Unfortunately, they are currently under severe threat from anthropogenic activities, such as. deforestation, housing settlements, and agricultural expansion. In response to these severe effects, the present study was conducted to explore the current conservation status and population structure of a wide range of bird species inhabiting different subtropical broad-leaved urban forests of Pakistan. In total, 2879 individuals comprising 53 species and 28 families were detected between December 2017 and November 2018 as revealed through the distance sampling line transect method. The habitat selection among bird species varied according to vegetation structure and composition, food resources, adjoining habitats, and human settlements. According to IUCN Red List data, one species was deemed vulnerable out of 53 bird species, while the remaining 52 species were ranked as ofleast concern. The findings of the density analysis revealed that bird density varied between six subtropical broad-leaved forests. Palamar (3.954 ± 0.221 birds/ha) and Kityari (3.138 ± 0.162 birds/ha) were densely populated, whereas Kamal Khan (1.102 ± 0.178 birds/ha) was of the least concern. Likewise, the diversity analysis showed that Kamal Khan was a more diverse habitat (Shannon–Wiener Index; H’ = 3.581 ± 0.021). Shahabad was richer (Margalef Richness Index; R1 = 8.007 ± 0.053) and Dob Ghar was evenly distributed (Pielou J Evenness Index; E = 0.940 ± 0.005) compared to other urban habitats studied. Eight foraging guilds were identified among the bird species. Insectivores were the most abundant bird species utilizing the urban dwelling habitats. carnivores/piscivores/insectivores utilized Dob Ghar forest, while more frugivores utilized Kamal Khan and Dob Ghar. Based on the data, it was concluded that subtropical broad-leaved urban forests are dynamic, complex, and of vital significance for a diverse range of bird species