This study aims to determine the composition and the weight of individual single-use items (SUIs) generated in the selected fast-food restaurants (FFRs) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data of SUIs consumed per day from 126 FFRs covering six popular fast food companies (FFCs). At the same time, waste from 30 FFRs was collected, and its composition and weight were determined. Consequently, the amount and composition of the waste varied among the studied FFCs and is dependent on the food menu, the number of franchises for each FFC, customer number, size, and the type of SUIs used at these restaurants. Total waste collected across the six FFCs was 6 t.d-1 and was equivalent to 1560 t.yr-1 in HCMC. Of which, single-use plastic items (SUPIs) waste and single-use paper items (SUPaIs) waste accounted for 39% and 28%, respectively. The total weight of unnecessary SUPIs (condiment containers, straws, and forks) generated was about 44 t.yr-1. The results suggest that the necessity of standardizing the type and size of the SUIs used at the FFRs, phasing out the use of unnecessary SUPIs, improving the local waste management practices through material recovery and recycling.

Fencing for grazing exclusion and grazing are common land-use methods in the semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau in China, which have been widely found to change grassland soil organic carbon (SOC); however empirical studies that evaluated driving factors of soil carbon (C) stocks under the different land use are still weak. In this study, we investigated soil physicochemical and soil respiration (Rs) in the fenced and grazed grassland, to study the soil C stock variations and the main driving mechanism of soil C accumulation. The results showed that bulk density (BD), soil moisture content (SMC), and soil porosity (SP) had no significant difference between fenced and grazed grassland. Fencing increased the SOC, total nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio, and significantly increased the aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), and the amount of soil large macro-aggregates in the topsoil layer (0-10 cm), and the soil stability was improved. Meanwhile, grazing increased soil temperature (ST) and Rs. The soil C stock in the topsoil layer (0-10 cm) of fenced grassland was significantly higher than that of grazed grassland. The soil C/N ratio, BD, and MWD explained large proportions of the variations in soil C stocks. Our results indicate that fencing can improve the stability of soil structure, and reduce Rs, then increase soil C stocks, which is an effective way to improve soil C stocks of grassland ecological in semi-arid areas of northwest China.

Sal (Shorea robusta) forest is found in an extensive array of conditions in Western Himalaya. It has been heavily used for commercial purposes. Thus, we did a study to gather the information on sal forests occupying a broad range of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve which spans across an extensive range in the Western Himalaya. We tested the species diversity, soil nutrients status, and regeneration potential of the Sal forest. Vegetation was sampled in 10 transects zone of 20?20 m2 plots covering an area of 10.0 ha area. Trees, saplings, seedlings, shrubs, and herbs were sampled along the transects in the Chilla forest division of the tiger reserve. Samplings were done every 200 m along the transect with the help of the Nested quadrat method. Altogether 64 species were recorded: 24 trees, 12 shrubs, and 28 herbs. Environmental variables like pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorous, and soil texture were also recorded to observe the effects of these environmental variables into diversity attributes. The Shannon Weiner index for trees was 1.350, for saplings 1.774, for seedlings 1.679. For shrub species, it was1.96. The Shannon Weiner index for herbaceous species in the rainy season was 2.8, in winter it was 2.36 whereas in summer it was 2.46. We concluded that the management of sal has enhanced the diversity and soil nutrients dynamics in the study area. Sal diversity also has enhanced the growth of co-dominant species like Mallotus philippensis, Aegle marmelos, Listea chinensis, Naringi crenulata, Ehretia laevis, Cassia fistula, etc. in the study area. Although we did not find any seedlings of the sal during the present study, the regeneration potential of sal forest increasing with a greater number of associated species provide a favorable environment for sal species.

Wenyu River is the ?mother river? in Beijing. In recent years, the research on the water quality of the Wenyu River has increased gradually. In this paper, the monitoring data at Shahe Reservoir, Lu Tuan Gate, Xin Bao Gate, and Ma Fang sections for each month in 2019 were adopted. The single-factor evaluation method and the comprehensive pollution index method were selected to analyze the current situation of the water quality of Wenyu River in the Chang Ping section and its temporal and spatial variation trend. The single factor evaluation method showed that the dissolved oxygen exceeded the standard seriously in all other months of the year except that the situation was better in May, June, and July. The ammonia nitrogen content reached the highest level in January, followed by a month-by-month decreasing trend. After June, each section basically met the requirements of Class v water quality. The comprehensive pollution index method shows that the water quality of Shahe reservoir varies greatly throughout the year, and it is in grade v for 6 months. The evaluation results of both methods show that the water quality of all sections of Wenyu River in 2019 was mostly in category v.

Various ecological problems have become increasingly prominent due to the accelerated growth of urbanization. Ecological security and ecological conservation have become an important topics in the current scenario. This study took southern Anhui as an example, constructing comprehensive assessment models to conduct source identification from three perspectives, i.e. ecosystem services, ecological sensitivity and residents? ecological needs. Landscape resistance surface was built based on the reciprocal of habitat quality and night-time light data. According to the circuit theory, the ecological process in the heterogeneous landscape was simulated to identify ecological corridors, extract pinch points and divide barriers that need improvement, thereby to construct the southern Anhui ecological security pattern (ESP). The pattern comprised 20 ecological sources, 37 ecological corridors, 9 pinch points and 2 levels of improvement areas. Specifically, ecological sources were mainly distributed within the area of Huangshan city and Xuancheng city, mostly covered with trees; ecological corridors were mostly located in the northern part of the research area; pinch points were mainly farmland or beside construction land; the primary improvement area was mainly in Chaohu city and Maanshan city, while the secondary improvement area was distributed around the primary area. The study discussed the diversified improvement strategies of different barriers and introduced the optimization scheme ?one centre, two wings, one belt?, providing planning advice for decision-makers. The study expanded the construction of regional ESP, and partly guided the steady development of ESP of southern Anhui.

Amylase enzymes are starch degrading enzymes and have received a great deal of attention due to their perceived technology importance and economic benefit. Amylase enzymes are considered important enzymes used in starch processing industries for the hydrolysis of polysaccharides like starch into simple sugar constituents. This enzyme is also involved in the commercial production of glucose. Solid-state cultivation and submerged cultivation have tremendous potentials for enzyme amylase production by using different solid substrates like rice bran, wheat bran, coconut oil cake, and groundnut oil cake which are rich in starch. These agro-industrial wastes are considered cheap raw materials for the production of amylase. Wastewater from the industry like brewery can also be used as a liquid substrate for submerged cultivation. It may have the possibility of depurination of wastewater. In the present study, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium species were isolated and their amylase activity was determined by the starch hydrolysis method. Enzyme production was done by using coconut oil cake as a substrate for solid-state fermentation and brewery wastewater as a substrate for submerged fermentation. The enzyme produced by the organisms was extracted and enzyme assay was done by the Dinitrisalicilic method (DNS method). The protein estimation was done by Lowry Folin?s method. The qualitative assay was carried out by performing Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS).

To understand the features and best preparation of sludge activated carbon (SAC), and the pore structure, component, adsorption characteristics, and the yield rate of SAC, many tests have been carried out. The study illustrated that the pore structure was mostly mesopore and amorphous pore such as the ink bottle hole. In terms of different preparations to obtain SAC, the yield of SAC in sample No.1 achieved 88.09%. Using the preparation of ZnCl2 as an activator, the iodine adsorption value was significantly higher than other preparations. However, the content of quartz in sample No.1 achieved a maximum of 52.51%. Charcoal was detected in all samples except sample nos 9-12. The adsorption capacity of Cu(II) and Cd(II) reached a maximum of 600.02 mg.kg-1 and 383.2 mg.kg-1. The results showed an optimum preparation condition, which was by using the ZnCl2 as an activator, 2:1 as the impregnated ratio, 40% concentration in activator and at 400?C reaction temperature could create rich pore structure and charcoal inside.

The edible milky mushroom is the most widely cultivated mushroom in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Studies were conducted on the cultivation and nutritional analysis of this mushroom. The pure culture of Calocybe indica was carried out in the laboratory. The culture was maintained on potato dextrose agar slant and sub-cultured at a regular monthly interval to sustain their fruiting vigor. The above stock culture was used in studies. Wheat grain spawn of C. indica was prepared in glass bottles. The filled paddy grain spawn of C. indica was used at 6% level to the wet weight of the substrate and the beds were spawned. After harvest, the mushrooms were dried at 40?C under the hot air oven to make it powered for further analysis. The collected fresh mushrooms were dried in shade and coarse powder was analyzed for nutrients namely moisture, crude protein, lipid, ash, crude fiber, and minerals. It shows the dominant compounds of protein, fiber, and carbohydrate and the contents are 14.11%, 8.30% and 5.62% respectively. Lipid, ash, ether extract and pH contents are 4.06%, 7.04%, 3.15% and 5.4% respectively. The carbon and nitrogen contents are 33.60% and 3.56% respectively. In the estimation of saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids present in C. indica, totally, 17 fatty acids were recorded. In the estimation of essential and non-essential amino acids present in C. indica, totally, 15 amino acids were recorded. In the estimation of minerals composition present in C. indica, it was recorded that the species had a good resource of mineral composition. Totally, 6 macro minerals and 8 micro minerals were recorded. This investigation may provide that the paddy straw substrates can be recommended for the commercial cultivation of C. indica to obtain highly nutritious mushrooms.

The acidizing and fracturing waste fluid in a wellsite in northern Shaanxi was treated by catalytic oxidation and flocculation precipitation. It investigated the effect of different coagulants and their dosage and the wastewater pH on coagulation precipitation. As for chemical oxidation experiment, it investigated the effect of oxidant dosage and reaction time on its treatment effect. The results showed that when 30% hydrogen peroxide (volume percentage) was added at the dosage of 0.3% and oxidized for 50 min, the pH was adjusted to 7.5 and 350 mg/L polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and 4 mg/L polyacrylamide were added (PAM); after processing the waste liquid, total iron, chemical oxygen demand (COD), chromaticity, and average corrosion rate were reduced from 252.75 mg/L, 3427.50 mg/L, 624.15?, and 0.1226 mm/a to 0.12 mg/L, 275.18 mg/L, 125? and 0.0217 mm/a, respectively; effective removal of iron and color, reduced COD, and controlled corrosion was achieved.

In recent years, the generation of Electronic waste (E-waste) has increased to a greater extent worldwide. The use of electronic devices has proliferated in recent decades and proportionality, and the quantity of electronic devices that are disposed of is growing rapidly throughout the world. Electronic waste (E-waste) typically includes general household electronics, discarded electronic gadgets, and circuit boards. With the growing use of consumer electronics, there is a huge generation of E-waste every day. Reuse of E-waste plastics as aggregates or filler in some or other forms of in construction industry may be considered as economical and technically viable for solving the disposal of a large amount of waste and this can be used as aggregates and fine filler in concrete or the construction of flexible pavement. The idea was to determine whether E-waste plastic components can be used as an alternative to conventional material like bitumen, filler in the bituminous mix in a flexible pavement structure. This is an effective alternative solution to reduce the growing quantity of E-waste.