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Environmental problems are inevitable phenomena for worldwide. Nowadays in multidisciplinary research era, integrated geophysical techniques are commonly applied for environmental monitoring and assessment along with other techniques. Waste disposal is an alarming problem and causes a lot of environmental issue. In Jeddah City, residential and industrial waste was deposited without treatment et al. Misk (Buraiman) Lake. Geophysical and hydrological investigations were carried out to identify and monitor extent of the contamination in the subsurface. Geophysical techniques comprised of electromagnetic induction and electrical resistivity methods. The hydrogeological investigations included water sample analysis. High electrical conductivity values were observed along the plume compared to the surroundings. The results of the electromagnetic survey, electrical resistivity and water samples were correlated and found in good agreement. The contamination was found in most of the areas with varying concentration levels. The study revives that integrating geophysical techniques with hydrogeological studies eases to map the groundwater contamination.

Surface water, one of the most vulnerable components of the environment, plays an essential role in domestic, agricultural and industrial applications. However, rapid urbanization and industrialization have significantly altered the concentrations of physical, chemical and toxic metal parameters in water resources. This study focuses on the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a unique ecosystem sustained by wastewater, offering numerous environmental and economic benefits. The primary objectives of this study are to assess the pollution load, including physico-chemical parameters and toxic metal contamination, and to analyze its spatial variation across the EKW. For this investigation, 13 water samples were collected from various points across the study area during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Concentrations of the physico-chemical parameters and toxic metals of the samples were analyzed following the APHA (American Public Health Association) standardized methods. Additionally, inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation, heavy metal pollution index (HPI), and water quality index (WQI) were used to identify suitable sites for domestic use. The findings indicate that the water in EKW ranges from neutral to alkaline, with TDS levels exceeding permissible limits, while concentrations of toxic metals, including arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg), generally fall within the permissible limits and lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) exceed in some areas limits set by WHO and BIS standards. Areas near the Leather Complex and Dhapa dumping ground exhibit significant contamination from toxic metals and overall pollution. In contrast, other parts of the study area meet the criteria for domestic water use. The findings have broader implications for wetland management practices in other urban areas where wastewater-fed systems are prevalent, aligning with global priorities on water quality and sustainable urban development.

The selection of an appropriate fertilizer type is crucial for enhancing nitrogen utilization in crops and mitigating agricultural non-point source pollution. Research has demonstrated that organic fertilizers can significantly improve crop yields and enhance soil fertility by supplying a balanced array of nutrients, thereby addressing the pressing need to recycle agricultural waste. Recently, biochar-based fertilizers have garnered considerable attention due to their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon in biochar. Both organic and biochar-based fertilizers are recognized as environmentally sustainable options worthy of broader adoption. However, the question remains as to which of these fertilizers is more strongly recommended for agricultural practitioners. A six-month monitoring study was carried out in a long-term field trial to investigate the effects of different treatments, including chemical fertilizer, biochar-based fertilizer, organic fertilizer as a substitute for 50% of chemical fertilizer and a control group, on rice yield, nitrogen use efficiency, soil physicochemical properties, nitrogen losses, duckweed biomass, soil microbial functional genes and community. The results indicated that organic fertilizer significantly increased rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency, while reducing ammonia volatilization and nitrogen runoff losses, attributed to the higher plant uptake by rice and duckweed during the growing season. Additionally, higher α-diversity of bacterial communities was observed under organic fertilizer treatment. Biochar-based fertilizer promoted the transformation of the soil N cycle into the pathway for efficient plant N use but had limited improvement in rice production and pollution mitigation owing to the high pH of biochar, leading to more ammonia volatilization losses. Therefore, organic fertilizer as a substitute for chemical fertilizer is optimal fertilization for rice cultivation.

The socio-economic development of Souk Ahras province has led to significant demographic growth over the last two decades, but it has also caused continuous environmental degradation. This study aims to enhance understanding of water pollution by specific pollutants in the Wadi Djedra watershed from a spatial and temporal perspective. Seven sampling points were selected along the Djedra Wadi and its tributaries, with physicochemical analyses conducted on 26 parameters. Partial triadic analysis reveals distinct pollution levels and eutrophication patterns between stations in Wadi Hammam and those in Wadi Akiba and Djedra. Additionally, there's a gradient indicating two pollution scenarios characterized by different trace metal elements. Station 6 downstream of Wadi Akiba exhibits pollution primarily from Cr, Fe, and Mn, while stations 5 and 7, situated within Wadi Akiba and downstream of Wadi Djedra, respectively, show pollution primarily from Cd and Pb. These findings confirm the presence of significant pollutant concentrations in the water of Akiba and Djedra Wadis, attributable to industrial, agricultural, and domestic wastewater inputs.

The single-stage light gas gun has been employed to drive the T2 copper welding on Q235 carbon steel. The effect of the Zn interlayer on the microstructure at the interface of impact welded the T2 copper/Q235 carbon steel composite has been studied by both experiment and numerical simulation. The simulation results are mainly consistent with the results of the experiment. The 100 µm Zn interlayer can broaden the lower limit of the T2/Q235 weld window, resulting in a 3.11% reduction in energy dissipation during the impact welding. While the 25 µm Zn interlayer achieves a reduction of up to 11.6%. As the thickness of the Zn interlayer diminishes, the plastic strain, pressure, and temperature of the flyer plate gradually increase, allowing for the modulation of welding parameters through varying Zn interlayer thicknesses.

An ultra-fast, easy-to-use and non-amplification electrochemical detection platform was constructed for microRNA (miRNA) detection. A set of label-free hairpin probes and capture probes were introduced to form a ternary complex, which could enhance the selectivity and stability of miRNA detection due to the ability of reducing non-specific bind with non-target and enhancing accessibility of target to probes. Moreover, the capture probe immobilization and hybridization process were accelerated by the external electric field, shortening the detection time from 2 h to 5 min. The platform showed a detection limit of 1.28 fM under ideal experimental control conditions and had ability to identify 1- or 2-nucleotide (nt) difference. In addition, the designed sensor achieved the sensitive determination of miRNA-21 in serum samples. The excellent anti-interference capability of this detection method indicated its potential for clinical application. Its simplicity and high specificity made this method a promising tool for detecting different miRNA to assist the diagnosis of diverse cancers.

Graphical Abstract

Applying a time-periodic magnetic field to the standard ferromagnetic Curie–Weiss model brings the spin system in a steady out-of-equilibrium condition. We recall how the hysteresis gets influenced by the amplitude and the frequency of that field, and how an amplitude- and frequency-dependent (dynamical) critical temperature can be discerned. The dissipated power measures the area of the hysteresis loop and changes with temperature. The excess heat determines a nonequilibrium specific heat giving the quasistatic thermal response. We compute that specific heat, which appears to diverge at the critical temperature, quite different from the equilibrium case.

We investigate the propagation characteristics of apertured Gaussian and Bessel beams in a nontrivial spacetime background characterized by a constant 4-vector. Such 4-vector introduces a privileged direction in spacetime, thus breaking Lorentz invariance. The scalar beam is modeled by a massless scalar field theory, which corresponds to the scalar sector of the standard model extension. Assuming an axially symmetric Lorentz-violating background, we employ the Green’s function method to investigate the propagated field for particular input fields. We investigate the impact of the Lorentz-violating parameter upon the intensity and focalization of the beams. Finally, we discuss possible realizations in optically transparent multiferroic materials.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) plays a vital role in various aspects of daily life, such as food, health, and the environment. Foods containing excessive quantities of H₂O₂ residue may have harmful impacts on human health. In this work, tin dioxide nanoparticles (SnO₂NPs) were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and subsequently characterized using an X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). An electrochemical sensor for analyzing hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was developed by immobilizing tin dioxide nanoparticles onto a graphite electrode (SnO₂/GE). The electrocatalytic behavior of the developed electrochemical sensor was studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results indicated that the SnO₂/GE exhibits notable electrocatalytic oxidation and reduction capabilities for detecting and quantifying H₂O₂. The DPV technique determined parameters included linear range of 1–5 μM, a detection limit is 0.196 μM, and a qualification limit is 2.38 μM for the reduction peak with correlation coefficient R² is 0.98. The stability of the sensor is measured for five days and has 98.7% of stability. The highest current is measured at pH 7. The developed sensor was successfully used to detect trace levels of H₂O₂.