In the absence of the detailed COVID-19 epidemiological data or large benchmark studies, an effort has been made to explore and correlate the relation of parameters like environment, economic indicators, and the large scale exposure of different prevalent diseases, with COVID-19 spread and severity amongst the different countries affected by COVID-19. Data for environmental, socio-economic and others important infectious diseases were collected from reliable and open source resources like World Health Organization, World Bank, etc. Further, this large data set is utilized to understand the COVID-19 worldwide spread using simple statistical tools. Important observations that are made in this study are the high degree of resemblance in the pattern of temperature and humidity distribution among the cities severely affected by COVID-19. Further, It is surprising to see that in spite of the presence of many environmental parameters that are considered favorable (like clean air, clean water, EPI, etc.), many countries are suffering with the severe consequences of this disease. Lastly a noticeable segregation among the locations affected by different prevalent diseases (like Malaria, HIV, Tuberculosis, and Cholera) was also observed. Among the considered environmental factors, temperature, humidity and EPI should be an important parameter in understanding and modelling COVID-19 spreads. Further, contrary to intuition, countries with strong economies, good health infrastructure and cleaner environment suffered disproportionately higher with the severity of this disease. Therefore, policymaker should sincerely review their country preparedness toward the potential future contagious diseases, weather natural or manmade.
{"title":"Influence of important environmental parameters on the spread and severity of COVID-19: Part 1","authors":"V. Tiwari, N. Sharma","doi":"10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v1","url":null,"abstract":"In the absence of the detailed COVID-19 epidemiological data or large benchmark studies, an effort has been made to explore and correlate the relation of parameters like environment, economic indicators, and the large scale exposure of different prevalent diseases, with COVID-19 spread and severity amongst the different countries affected by COVID-19. Data for environmental, socio-economic and others important infectious diseases were collected from reliable and open source resources like World Health Organization, World Bank, etc. Further, this large data set is utilized to understand the COVID-19 worldwide spread using simple statistical tools. Important observations that are made in this study are the high degree of resemblance in the pattern of temperature and humidity distribution among the cities severely affected by COVID-19. Further, It is surprising to see that in spite of the presence of many environmental parameters that are considered favorable (like clean air, clean water, EPI, etc.), many countries are suffering with the severe consequences of this disease. Lastly a noticeable segregation among the locations affected by different prevalent diseases (like Malaria, HIV, Tuberculosis, and Cholera) was also observed. Among the considered environmental factors, temperature, humidity and EPI should be an important parameter in understanding and modelling COVID-19 spreads. Further, contrary to intuition, countries with strong economies, good health infrastructure and cleaner environment suffered disproportionately higher with the severity of this disease. Therefore, policymaker should sincerely review their country preparedness toward the potential future contagious diseases, weather natural or manmade.","PeriodicalId":431284,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Environmental Biology","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127745350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The adsorption of Hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] from aqueous solution by raw baggase was studied as a function of initial pH, contact time, dose, concentration and temperature. The optimum initial pH for Cr (VI) uptake was 2.0. At the optimal conditions, Cr (VI) uptake was increased as the dose of adsorbent; the initial metal ion concentration and temperature were increased. Adsorption was fast initially and within the first 30 minutes of contact, the adsorption of Cr (VI) on baggase showed a total uptake of 84.4%. The adsorption data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption of baggase was found to be 9.4 mg/g. The kinetics of the adsorption was found to be pseudo-second-order. Thermodynamic parameters like activation energy, Gibbs free energy change, enthalpy and entropy were also evaluated. The values for activation energy and enthalpy were found to be 13.4 and 10.7 kJ/mol. Adsorption was found to be endothermic.
{"title":"Profile of parameters affecting adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium on low-cost adsorbent- The raw baggase","authors":"N. Tewari, P. Vasudevan","doi":"10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v4","url":null,"abstract":"The adsorption of Hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] from aqueous solution by raw baggase was studied as a function of initial pH, contact time, dose, concentration and temperature. The optimum initial pH for Cr (VI) uptake was 2.0. At the optimal conditions, Cr (VI) uptake was increased as the dose of adsorbent; the initial metal ion concentration and temperature were increased. Adsorption was fast initially and within the first 30 minutes of contact, the adsorption of Cr (VI) on baggase showed a total uptake of 84.4%. The adsorption data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption of baggase was found to be 9.4 mg/g. The kinetics of the adsorption was found to be pseudo-second-order. Thermodynamic parameters like activation energy, Gibbs free energy change, enthalpy and entropy were also evaluated. The values for activation energy and enthalpy were found to be 13.4 and 10.7 kJ/mol. Adsorption was found to be endothermic.","PeriodicalId":431284,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Environmental Biology","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126369003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The petrochemical-based plastics are causing a strong challenge for the natural ecosystem leading to global environmental pollution due to their non-biodegradable nature. Hence, the requirement of alternative materials possessing environmental advantages received attention and leads to the development of bioplastics. Definition of bioplastics is not universal but broadly it can be defined as biodegradable plastic derived from biodegradable substances. Although, all types of bioplastics are not biodegradable, still their many advantages towards the environment cannot be ruled out and hence, their applications in varied areas have increased many-folds world-wide. Bioplastics are being used in rigid and flexible packaging materials, food and drinks containers, dining utensils, electronic devices, automotive and airplane parts, cable sheaths and casings, noise and thermal insulation panels and many more. The list is growing up. Bioplastics have shown their potential for a sustainable society and presents some advantages such as lower carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and eco-safety. This article discusses the basic information, sources, biodegradability, and applications of bioplastics.
{"title":"Bioplastics: requirement for sustainability","authors":"R. Srivastava, Ram Singh","doi":"10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47610/ajeb-2020-a1v5","url":null,"abstract":"The petrochemical-based plastics are causing a strong challenge for the natural ecosystem leading to global environmental pollution due to their non-biodegradable nature. Hence, the requirement of alternative materials possessing environmental advantages received attention and leads to the development of bioplastics. Definition of bioplastics is not universal but broadly it can be defined as biodegradable plastic derived from biodegradable substances. Although, all types of bioplastics are not biodegradable, still their many advantages towards the environment cannot be ruled out and hence, their applications in varied areas have increased many-folds world-wide. Bioplastics are being used in rigid and flexible packaging materials, food and drinks containers, dining utensils, electronic devices, automotive and airplane parts, cable sheaths and casings, noise and thermal insulation panels and many more. The list is growing up. Bioplastics have shown their potential for a sustainable society and presents some advantages such as lower carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and eco-safety. This article discusses the basic information, sources, biodegradability, and applications of bioplastics.","PeriodicalId":431284,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Environmental Biology","volume":"410 1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123109686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}