French responses to the Prague Spring: connections, (mis)perception and appropriation

Looking at the vast literature on the events of 1968 in various European countries, it is striking that the histories of '1968' of the Western and Eastern halves of the continent are largely still written separately.1 Nevertheless, despite the very different political and socio-economic contexts, the protest movements on both sides of the Iron Curtain shared a number of characteristics. The 1968 events in Czechoslovakia and Western Europe were, reduced to the basics, investigations into the possibility of marrying social justice with liberty, and thus reflected a tension within European Marxism. This essay provides an analysis specifically of the responses by the French left—the Communist Party, the student movements and the gauchistes—to the Prague Spring, characterised by misunderstandings and strategic appropriation. The Prague Spring was seen by both the reformist and the radical left in France as a moderate movement. This limited interpretation of the Prague Spring as a liberal democratic project continues to inform our memory of it

The electrokinetic impact on heavy metals remediation of Tasik Chini iron ore mine tailings, at Pahang state, Peninsular Malaysia

The improper disposal of mining tailings is a severe threat to the surrounding environment because it comprises high concentrations of heavy metals contamination. Any precious metal extraction (mining) produces millions of tons of waste; iron ore extraction is common globally, unlike other metals extraction. The iron ore tailings contain heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn). This study focuses on extracting hazardous metals such as As, V, and Zn from the disposed waste and improving its geotechnical properties. Nine samples were collected from Tasik Chini Iron ore mine, Pekan district, Pahang State, Malaysia. The initial data were prepared for elemental analysis by following ICP-OES analysis. The results showed that As, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, and Zn concentrations exceeded the standard guidelines. In recent years, sustainable remediations techniques (EKR) have attracted extensive attention, including the electrokinetic remediation technique. The (EKR) method was applied to extract these metals from iron ore tailings specimens. A comprehensive approach of EKR shows an outstanding result where the highest removal efficiency of As was 68.4 %, Co 64.5%, Mn 67.8%, Pb 67.1%, and Cu was 64.1% and Zn 64.9% with the voltage gradient of 100 and 150 V for 4 and 8 hours constantly. Increasing the voltage gradient could be a cost-effective long-term solution for the remediation of iron ore tailings. The existing method was experienced as an effective and green technique for extracting heavy metals and recycling the mining waste materials

Effects of prenatal food and micronutrient supplementation on child growth from birth to 54 months of age: a randomized trial in Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a lack of information on the optimal timing of food supplementation to malnourished pregnant women and possible combined effects of food and multiple micronutrient supplementations (MMS) on their offspring's growth. We evaluated the effects of prenatal food and micronutrient interventions on postnatal child growth. The hypothesis was that prenatal MMS and early invitation to food supplementation would increase physical growth in the offspring during 0-54 months and a combination of these interventions would further improve these outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the large, randomized MINIMat trial (Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions in Matlab), Bangladesh, 4436 pregnant women were enrolled between November 2001 and October 2003 and their children were followed until March 2009. Participants were randomized into six groups comprising 30 mg Fe and 400 μg folic acid (Fe30F), 60 mg Fe and 400 μg folic acid (Fe60F) or MMS combined with either an early (immediately after identification of pregnancy) or a later usual (at the time of their choosing, i.e., usual care in this community) program invitation to food supplementation. The anthropometry of 3267 children was followed from birth to 54 months, and 2735 children were available for analysis at 54 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no differences in characteristics of mothers and households among the different intervention groups. The average birth weight was 2694 g and birth length was 47.7 cm, with no difference among intervention groups. Early invitation to food supplementation (in comparison with usual invitation) reduced the proportion of stunting from early infancy up to 54 months for boys (p = 0.01), but not for girls (p = 0.31). MMS resulted in more stunting than standard Fe60F (p = 0.02). There was no interaction between the food and micronutrient supplementation on the growth outcome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Early food supplementation in pregnancy reduced the occurrence of stunting during 0-54 months in boys, but not in girls, and prenatal MMS increased the proportion of stunting in boys. These effects on postnatal growth suggest programming effects in early fetal life.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN16581394">ISRCTN16581394</a></p

Water quality monitoring for heavy metal contamination associated with acid mine drainage at abandoned and active mining sites in Pahang

Acid mine drainage is typically resulted from mining activities through mineral interactions with atmospheric oxygen and water. This study investigates the heavy metal concentrations and also occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD) in active and abandoned mining sites in Pahang. Three sites were investigated within Kuantan (active bauxite mining), Kuala Lipis (active iron mining) and Bukit Ibam (abandoned iron mine). In-situ parameters were measured and surface water and sediment were also collected and analysed for heavy metals. Based on the investigations, there are sites that have acidic pH values indicating the occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD) which has been a major concern of this study. Based on the heavy metal analysis, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Al and Pb in water and sediment of few sites have exceeded the allowable standard limits for treated and raw water by the Malaysian Ministry of Health. The study concludes that there is an urgent need for appropriate treatment of the affected sites to prevent further environmental deterioration

River water quality treatment using phytoremediation of vetiver grass

Phytoremediation technique is one the cost-effective technique in removing contaminants and toxic chemicals from polluted river. The key objective of this project is to study the effectiveness of vetiver grass in removing pollutants and improving water quality at polluted river using phytoremediation system. Guideline for field installation of passive vetiver treatment system for running water also has been develop in this project. In the study, vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) was used in the phytoremediation treatment due to its ability in absorbing large amount of pollutants and nutrients content for purification of polluted sites. The vetiver grass has been evaluated for their capability of removing pollutants in laboratory experiments (controlled environment) and in the field (uncontrolled environment). Findings indicated that iron (Fe) showed the highest removal efficiency (98%) of heavy metal, while Water Quality Index (WQI) showed 10% improvement after installation of vetiver system. Overall, it has been shown that vetiver grass can be effectively used in phytoremediation of pollutants such as for heavy metals, organic constituents and nutrients in static and flowing water

Floating Vetiver Island (FVI) and implication for treatment system design of polluted running water

Floating Vetiver Island (FVI) system has been investigated in this study as a relatively new technology of artificial wetland treatment. Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) was used as the treatment vegetation in the FVI owing to its high tolerance to various types of contaminants. Performance of the FVI was tested on actual polluted running water having characterized by a Class III-Class IV river according to water quality index (WQI) classification. Field trial of FVI over a six-week installation demonstrated an improved water quality with significant increase (92%) of dissolved oxygen and great removals of chemical oxygen demand (77%) and nitrate (73%), resulting in 14% increase of the overall WQI. It was proposed that treatment system performance for FVI can be reflected by the number of pontoons (FVIs) and treatment distance required to achieve desired water quality improvement. The calculated pollutant removal rates were incorporated into the estimation of treatment system requirements. Field installation guide for FVI system is also presented along with treatment system maintenance. For such an FVI system, vetiver grass pruning (trimming) at 2-month intervals is recommended for promoting the growth of the plant and for medium- to long-term FVI performance