Previous studies revealed that superphosphate fertilizer (SSP) as an additive in compost can reduce the nitrogen loss and improve the effectiveness of phosphorus during composting. However, few studies have explored the influence of adding SSP with high levels on ammonia and greenhouse gas emission and the suitable amount for SSP addition according to a combined assessment of the composting process and product. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of SSP with high additive amounts on NH₃, CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O emission and organic carbon loss. All piles were mixtures of pig manure and cornstalks with different levels of SSP addition including 10%, 14%, 18%, 22%, 26%, and 30% dry weight basis of raw materials. Compared with the control without SSP, the amount of NH₃ cumulative emissions was decreased by 23.8–48.1% for the treatments with 10–30% SSP addition, and the emission of greenhouse gas including CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O by 20.9–35.5% (CO₂ equivalent) was reduced by 20.9–35.5%. Adding SSP with the amount exceeding 14% to compost could reduce CO₂ emissions by 32.0–38.4% and more than 30% carbon loss at the end of composting but exceeding 26% had an adverse impact on maturity of the composts. Therefore, considering the maturity and safety of compost and gas emission reduction, 14–26% SSP was the optimum amount for composting addition, which is an effective and economical way to increase the nutrient level of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in compost and reduce environmental risks.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are a more persistent and lipophilic group of insecticides. The present study aims to evaluate the residues of OCPs in meat, liver, and kidney of the cattle and sheep. A total of 54 samples were obtained from butcheries and local markets in Birjand, east of Iran. The residual contents of aldrin; dieldrin; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; and its metabolites (DDTs), endosulfan isomers, endrin, hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, chlordans, methoxychlor, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), were analyzed in all samples. OCP residues were extracted by using the QuEChERS technique and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). All of the analyzed OCPs were lower than the detection limit. The findings showed that meat and edible organs marketed in this region enjoyed a good status in terms of the residues of OCP. Monitoring of pesticide residues in meat and edible organs is necessary from the public health point of view.

Government has implemented various scattered and un-quantified control actions in Delhi city to reduce the air pollution levels; however, it still exceeds the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The present study has been designed to assess the air quality status, identify Air Quality Control Region (AQCR), and evaluate control strategies in the city. Out of eight selected locations, ambient PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, and NO₂ concentrations were found exceeding the daily as well as annual standards at selected AQCR with peak levels during post-monsoon than winter and summer. Anand Vihar was found to be most polluted and thus, selected as an AQCR. AERMOD performed satisfactorily in predicting pollutant concentration during winter and summer having an index of agreement in the range 0.54–0.80. PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ can be reduced substantially by increasing frequency of efficient mechanized cleaning of roads and sprinkling of water on the roads. Progressive decrease in NO₂ concentrations can be achieved by restricting entry of truck in the study area through alternate path. The cumulative impact of all selected control strategies indicates a substantial decrease in air pollution within AQCR. The study also suggests a policy framework to manage the urban air quality through local scale air quality guidelines.

Ground-based ambient air monitoring was conducted to assess the contribution of crop residue burning of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oriza sativa) at different locations in three districts (Kaithal, Kurukshetra, and Karnal) of the agricultural state of Haryana in India for two successive years (2016 and 2017). The Air Quality Index (AQI) and concentration of primary pollutants (SOₓ, NOₓ, and PM₂.₅) were determined in rice and wheat crop season, for burning and non-burning periods. During crop residue burning periods, concentrations of SOₓ, NOₓ, and PM₂.₅ were exceeded the NAAQS values by 78%, 71%, and 53%, respectively. A significant increase in SOₓ (4.5 times), NOₓ (3.8 times), and PM₂.₅ concentration (3.5 times) was observed in stubble burning periods as compared to pre-burning (p < 0.05). A positive and significant correlation among the three pollutant concentrations was observed (p < 0.01). The AQI of KA site in Karnal district fell in severely polluted category during 2016 for rice as well as wheat residue burning period, and of KK site in Kaithal during wheat residue burning in year 2017. Results of present study indicate a remarkable increase in pollutant concentration (SOₓ, NOₓ, and PM₂.₅) during the crop residue burning periods. To the best of our knowledge, the outcomes of present study in this region have not been reported in earlier reports. Hence, there is an urgent need to curb air pollution by adopting sustainable harvesting technologies and management of residues.

In this experimental study, the feasibility of using the oil obtained from waste fishing net as a substitute for diesel fuel was investigated. Waste fishing net oil (WFNO) was obtained through pyrolysis process on a laboratory scale setup and used as a fuel in diesel engine. The properties of oil obtained from waste fishing net were examined and compared with conventional diesel fuel. Results indicated that the WFNO possesses excellent fuel properties. The calorific value of WFNO is 44,450 kJ/kg, which is higher than diesel by 1.48%. In order to study the possibility of using WFNO and its blends (WFNO 25%, WFNO 50%, WFNO 75% and WFNO 100%) with diesel as a fuel, an experimental investigation was carried out on a single-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine. Experimental results proved that WFNO works satisfactorily on a diesel engine without any engine modifications. Brake thermal efficiency was decreased and brake-specific fuel consumption was increased while using WFNO and its blends. Moreover, there was a slight increase in engine emissions like CO, UHC, NO with WFNO and its blends.

The Lhasa River basin is the economic and population center of Tibet and has abundant resources. Due to its harsh weather condition, high elevation, and inconvenient accessibility, few studies have focused on heavy metal distributions in this region. In the present study, to investigate the dissolved trace metal pollution and its controlling factors, 57 water samples from the Lhasa River and its tributaries were collected during three water flow regimes in 2016. The data on the dissolved fraction revealed that the Lhasa River basin appeared to have no to low pollution levels. However, the Lhasa River water showed alkaline characteristics which may affect the presence of heavy metal elements in a dissolved fraction. The concentration of heavy metal elements in colloidal or particulate matter therefore needs attention. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the significant relationship between the data and to identify controlling factors for dissolved heavy metals in the study area. The results suggested that Mn, Cd, Cu, and Zn originated from a natural geological background, whereas Pb originated from mining drainage and As was influenced by geothermal flows. The concentration of dissolved heavy metals in the Meldromarchu tributary was greatly affected by the mining drainage water, while that in the Tölungchu tributary was greatly influenced by the geothermal water sources. This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of dissolved heavy metal pollution characteristics and the controlling factors of pollution during the three different water flow regimes of the Lhasa River basin.

Duck/fish polyculture farming is a typical farming model in the Pearl River delta in southern China. We examined soil, water, and sediment samples from three duck-fish farms in Guangdong Province in September and December 2014. We determined the abundance of three metal resistance genes, 16S rDNA, and 23 antibiotic resistance genes encoding resistance to tetracycline, sulfonamides, quinolones, chloramphenicol, and β-lactamases. Microbial community structure was quantified by Illumina high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA genes. We found a prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes and the sul1, sul2, tetA, tetM, aac(6′)-Ib, and floR genes were the most abundant. Levels of Cu and Zn were significantly correlated with numerous ARG types and sul2, floR, and tetM were identified as potential antibiotic resistance gene indicators. Cu levels were significantly and positively correlated with the relative abundance of sul3, tetT, tetW, qnrB, qnrS, fexB, sul1, sul2, tetM, and qnrA. Zn was significantly correlated to relative abundance of sul2, sul3, tetM, tetA, tetT, tetW, qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, aac(6′)-Ib, qepA, blaSHV, cmlA, floR, fexA, cfr, and fexB. The levels of Acinetobacter, Brevibacillus, and Wautersiella showed significant positive correlations with metal resistance genes as well as qnrB, oqxA, oqxB, and blaSHV (p > 0.8). Sphingobacterium, Flavobacterium, Acidothermus, and Corynebacterium had significant correlations with abundance of tetracycline resistance genes, sulfonamide resistance genes, blaTEM, blaCTX, and cfr (p > 0.8). Sphingobacterium, Flavobacterium, Acidothermus, and Corynebacterium were most abundant in soil samples while Acinetobacter, Brevibacillus, and Wautersiella were most abundant in water samples. Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in aquaculture environments is extensive and tracing their origins is necessary to establish risk assessment methods required for aquatic environmental protection.

This paper focuses on the heterogeneity of renewable energy consumption and economic growth and emissions by using panel quantile regression models and based on the data from 33 countries during the period of 1990–2016. The approach in this paper is to consider the heterogeneity of the distribution, and results reveal a long-term equilibrium relationship among renewable energy consumption, economic growth and emissions. The role of renewable energy consumption in economic growth and emissions is heterogeneous, and the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth is W-shaped. The relationship between renewable energy consumption and emissions has an inverted N-shape, and the relationship between non-renewable energy consumption and emission is a √-shaped curve. This paper supports the growth hypothesis and EKC. In addition, the energy consumption structure should be changed, and the use of renewable energy should be encouraged. This policy not only meets energy and economic growth demands but also improves environmental quality. In addition, countries with different levels of economic growth and emissions should adopt different policies instead of using the same policy.

External morphology and internal carbonaceous compositions are important characteristics for the source recognition of atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The fractal dimension of morphology and carbon components of diesel PM with different sizes both at high and low load were studied through fractal theory and thermal optical reflection method. It is revealed that small-size PM absorbs more soluble organic fractions and correspondingly has greater box dimension. Due to heavy aggregation, PM collected at low load has greater box dimension than that at high load because of heavy aggregation. OC1, which is the most volatile among organic carbons, is remarkably increased at low load or for small-size PM, absorbing more unburned hydrocarbons. At low load, a large amount of EC1 (char-EC) is generated and the ratio of OC/EC is more than 10, while, at high load, the EC is mainly composed of EC2 (soot-EC) and the ratio of OC/EC is less than 1. Apparently, the box dimension from the morphology of diesel PM presents a positive correlation with the ratio of OC/EC. Via above external and internal characteristics, particulates exhausted from motor vehicles in the atmosphere can be beneficially identified.

This paper studies the optimization mode of the spatial organization of rural settlements based on the two-way interactive mechanism between the space of rural settlements and quality-of-life theory. It examines three main aspects: the integration of spatial function, the optimization of spatial structure, and the regulation of spatial scale. In this paper, we built an optimization mode and framework of spatial organization, called the road-oriented mode of rural settlements, based on quality-of-life theory. We systematically analyzed the mode’s conceptual connotation, construction principles, frame, type, and spatial scale. At the same time, this paper realized the reasonable proportion and optimized combination of internal spatial type in settlements and focused on a reasonably sized scale of a single settlement and the distance scale between settlements. Our findings can be used as insight into the theoretical development of the spatial structure of rural areas. Results also provide a scientific basis for future spatial optimization and integration of rural settlements to improve quality of life.