scholarly journals Lichens as Bio-Indicator for Air Pollution and Their Relevancy in Pokhara, Nepal

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-51
Author(s):  
Kalyan Panta
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbances ◽  
Vehicular Emission ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Potential Strategy ◽  
Health Of Environment ◽  
Lichen Flora

The use of naturally occuring lichens as a bioindicator to assess the health of environment is a well proved potential strategy to monitor any habitat without device/ instruments. The article clearly revealed that the quality of air pollution has been a major problems in city area and suburban areas. In this case, the lichens could be used as reliable indicators to trace the air polluted sites and It could be useful to combat the decreasing anthropogenic disturbances such as vehicular emission, constrution of civil works, etc. The essence of these studies provide an understanding of environmental impacts and can follow the policy makers to protect the Lichen flora and air pollution related problems.

EFFECT OF VEHICULAR EMMISSION ON SOME BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND STOMATA OF SELECTED TREES ALONG ZARIA-KADUNA HIGHWAY

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-277
Author(s):  
Usman Hassan ◽  
L. Upahi ◽  
M. B. Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Ascorbic Acid ◽  
Biochemical Parameters ◽  
Mangifera Indica ◽  
Tolerance Index ◽  
Total Chlorophyll ◽  
Vehicular Emission ◽  
Pollution Tolerance ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Polluted Sites

Biochemical and stomatal studies were conducted on selected trees along Zaria-Kaduna highway to determine their pollution tolerance level. The sites were chosen to emphasize exposure to vehicular emission pollution (VEP) and non-exposure to vehicular emission pollutants (NEP). Biochemical parameters analyzed where based on the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) which prioritizes four biochemical parameters, namely ascorbic acid, total chlorophyll, leaf extract pH and relative water content (RWC), for pollution tolerance. Ascorbic acid and RWC were higher in plants at the polluted site with Mangifera indica showing the highest increase of 1.2mg/g while total chlorophyll decreased most significantly in Ficus polita of about 4.1mg/g.   Results from stomata studies reveal a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in stomatal size and stomatal index for all the trees at the polluted sites. Stomata was generally found to significantly decrease in size or increase in density for plants at the polluted sites. Results computed for APTI show M. indica (24), Anarcardium occidentale (24.1), Eucalyptus cameldulensis (17.1) and Senna siamea (18.6) having the best APTI which indicate their possible tolerance to air pollution stress while Azadirachta indica (14.4),  Ficus polita (13), G. arborea (9.4), T. catapa (15.2), Parkia biglobosa (13.4), and Tamarindus  indica (9.9) were found to be sensitive. M. indica and A. occidentale had the best APTI indices which indicate that these plants could serve as sinks in absorbing air pollutants

scholarly journals Relapse in schizophrenia: costs, clinical outcomes and quality of life

2004 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Almond ◽  
Martin Knapp ◽  
Clement Francois ◽  
Mondher Toumi ◽  
Traolach Brugha
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Quality Of Life Measures ◽  
Relapse Group

BackgroundRelapse is one of the most costly aspects of schizophrenia.AimsTo compare costs, clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients who experienced relapse in schizophrenia with a control group who did not relapse.MethodPatients were randomly selected from current psychiatric case-loads drawn from urban and suburban areas of Leicester. Differences in costs and outcomes by relapse status in the previous 6 months were examined using parametric and non-parametric tests, and multivariate analysis was used to examine factors associated with relapse and costs.ResultsCosts for the patients who relapsed were over four times higher than those for the non-relapse group. There were few statistically significant differences in clinical and quality of life measures by relapse status. Multivariate analyses suggested some significant correlates of relapse and costs.ConclusionsThe higher costs associated with relapse will be of interest to policy-makers who face difficult choices concerning new but more expensive treatments for patients with schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Lichen as Bioindicator for Monitoring Environmental Status in Western Himalaya, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sugam Gupta ◽  
Roshni Khare ◽  
Omesh Bajpai ◽  
Himanshu Rai ◽  
Dalip Kumar Upreti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbances ◽  
Vehicular Emission ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Environmental Status ◽  
Low Degree

The use of bioindicator communities (lichen) to assess the environmental status of an area is a well-proved strategy to monitor any habitat without any logistic and instrumental facilities. In the present study, 13 bioindicator communities of lichen have been used to assess the environmental status of holy pilgrimage (Badrinath), western Himalaya, India. Three sites (i.e. Badrinath, Mana & pilgrimage route from Bhimpul to Vasudhara) have been comparatively assessed. The results of the study reveals that Badrinath site is less polluted and experiences low degree of anthropogenic disturbances compared to Mana, and pilgrimage route (Bhimpul to Vasudhara). Human settlements, construction of civil works, vehicular emission, and trampling and trekking by tourists are the major threats on these habitats, which ultimately decrease the quality of vegetation and adjacent environment. Controlled vehicular use, promotion of modern way of cooking and managed trekking in these pilgrimage routes could be helpful to combat the decreasing vegetation and environmental quality therein.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTVolume-5, Issue-2, Mar-May 2016 page: 1-15

VALORIZATION OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT OF SOUTH SERBIA FROM THE AIR QUALITY ASPECT

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1329-1333
Author(s):  
Miodrag Šmelcerović
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Pollution Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Cause And Effect ◽  
Sources Of Pollution

The protection of the environment and people’s health from negative influences of the pollution of air as a medium of the environment requires constant observing of the air quality in accordance with international standards, the analysis of emission and imission of polluting matters in the air, and their connection with the sources of pollution. Having in mind the series of laws and delegated legislations which define the field of air pollution, it is necessary to closely observe these long-term processes, discovering cause-and-effect relationships between the activities of anthropogenic sources of emission of polluting matters and the level of air degradation. The relevant evaluation of the air quality of a certain area can be conducted if the level of concentration of polluting matters characteristic for the pollution sources of this area is observed in a longer period of time. The data obtained by the observation of the air pollution are the basis for creation of the recovery program of a certain area. Vranje is a town in South Serbia where there is a bigger number of anthropogenic pollution sources that can significantly diminish the air quality. The cause-and-effect relationship of the anthropogenic sources of pollution is conducted related to the analysis of systematized data which are in the relevant data base of the authorized institution The Institute of Public Health Vranje, for the time period between the year of 2012. and 2017. By the analysis of data of imission concentrations of typical polluting matters, the dominant polluting matters were determined on the territory of the town of Vranje, the ones that are the causers of the biggest air pollution and the risk for people’s health. Analysis of the concentration of soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides indicates their presence in the air of Vranje town area in concentrations that do not exceed the permitted limit values annually. The greatest pollution is caused by the soot content in the air, especially in the winter period when the highest number of days with the values above the limit was registered. By perceiving the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, it is clear that the concentration of polluting matters can be decreased only by establishing control over anthropogenic sources of pollution, and thus it can be contributed to the improvement of the air quality of this urban environment.

Effect of transport measures and curfew against COVID-19 spread on air pollution (TSP) in Ecuador’s three most populous cities

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
State Level ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Traffic Emission ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Total Suspended Particulates ◽  
Level Ii ◽  
Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽  
Future Consequences

Although current circumstances pose challenges to foretelling the future consequences of coronavirus spread, we consider environmental load-related researches became more and more important nowadays perhaps as never before. Many experts believe that the increasingly dire public health emergency situation, policy makers and word leaders should make it possible that the COVID-19 outbreak contributes to a transition of sustainable consumption. With the purpose of contributing to rethink the importance of sustainability efforts, here we present total suspended particulates (TSP) results which represent traffic emission caused air pollution in the three most populous cities of Ecuador obtained before, during, and after the: (i) the traffic measures entered into force on state level; (ii) curfew entered into force on state level; (iii) and quarantine entered into force (in Guayaquil, and whole Guayas province). We documented significant decrease in TSP emissions (PM2.5 and PM10) compared to normal traffic operation obtained from some four lanes roads in Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. The most remarkable fall in suspended particulate values (96.47% decrease in PM2.5) compared to emission observed before traffic measures occurred in Cuenca.

scholarly journals Quantity and quality of childcare and children’s educational outcomes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Blanden ◽  
Emilia Del Bono ◽  
Kirstine Hansen ◽  
Birgitta Rabe
Keyword(s):  
School Achievement ◽  
Additional Term ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Quality Rating ◽  
Quality Of Childcare ◽  
The Impact ◽  
School Records

AbstractPolicy-makers wanting to support child development can choose to adjust the quantity or quality of publicly funded universal pre-school. To assess the impact of such changes, we estimate the effects of an increase in free pre-school education in England of about 3.5 months at age 3 on children’s school achievement at age 5. We exploit date-of-birth discontinuities that create variation in the length and starting age of free pre-school using administrative school records linked to nursery characteristics. Estimated effects are small overall, but the impact of the additional term is substantially larger in settings with the highest inspection quality rating but not in settings with highly qualified staff. Estimated effects fade out by age 7.

scholarly journals Introduction to the special issue: multiple jobholding in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-147
Author(s):  
Wieteke Conen ◽  
Karin Schulze Buschoff
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Clear Trend ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
Employment Situation ◽  
Over Time

In a number of European countries there is a clear trend towards increased multiple jobholding. As things stand, however, little is known about the structure and the potential consequences of this increase, notably in terms of quality of work and social protection. This special issue focuses on contemporary forms of multiple jobholding in Europe. Have the structure, nature and dynamics of multiple jobholding changed over time? What are the roles of labour market flexibility, technological change and work fragmentation in the development of multiple jobholding? And do multiple jobholders benefit from similar and adequate employment terms, conditions and protections compared with single jobholders, or are they worse off as a consequence of their (fragmented) employment situation? What implications do these findings have for unions, policy-makers and the regulation of work? The collection of articles in this special issue adds to the literature on emerging forms of employment in the digital age and challenges for social protection, also in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This introduction initiates a discussion of central debates on multiple jobholding and presents a synopsis of the articles in this issue.

scholarly journals Analysis on the Effect of the Mobility of Combustion Vehicles in the Environment of Cities and the Improvement in Air Pollution in Europe: A Vision for the Awareness of Citizens and Policy Makers

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Javier Cárcel-Carrasco ◽  
Manuel Pascual-Guillamón ◽  
Fidel Salas-Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Combustion Gases ◽  
Short Time

Today, the design and remodeling of urban environments is being sought in order to achieve green, healthy, and sustainable cities. The effect of air pollution in cities due to vehicle combustion gases is an important part of the problem. Due to the indirect effect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, political powers in Europe have imposed confinement measures for citizens by imposing movement restrictions in large cities. This indirect measure has given us a laboratory to show how the reduction in vehicle circulation affects in a short time the levels of air pollution in cities. Therefore, this article analyzes the effect in different European cities such as Milan, Prague, Madrid, Paris, and London. These cities have been chosen due to their large amount of daily road traffic that generates high levels of pollution; therefore, it can clearly show the fall in these pollutants in the air in the analyzed period. The results shown through this study indicate that the reduction in combustion vehicles greatly affects the levels of pollution in different cities. In these periods of confinement, there was an improvement in air quality where pollutant values dropped to 80% compared to the previous year. This should serve to raise awareness among citizens and political powers to adopt measures that induce sustainable transport systems.

Robust Environmental Sensing Using UAVs

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ahmed Boubrima ◽  
Edward W. Knightly
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
Pollution Monitoring ◽  
Compound Pollution ◽  
Planning Algorithm

In this article, we first investigate the quality of aerial air pollution measurements and characterize the main error sources of drone-mounted gas sensors. To that end, we build ASTRO+, an aerial-ground pollution monitoring platform, and use it to collect a comprehensive dataset of both aerial and reference air pollution measurements. We show that the dynamic airflow caused by drones affects temperature and humidity levels of the ambient air, which then affect the measurement quality of gas sensors. Then, in the second part of this article, we leverage the effects of weather conditions on pollution measurements’ quality in order to design an unmanned aerial vehicle mission planning algorithm that adapts the trajectory of the drones while taking into account the quality of aerial measurements. We evaluate our mission planning approach based on a Volatile Organic Compound pollution dataset and show a high-performance improvement that is maintained even when pollution dynamics are high.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document