Environmental Amelioration Through Nutrient Calibration: Maximizing Carbon Sequestration in Hydroponic Greenhouse Production of Lactuca Sativa in Lahore’s Spring

This study explores the applicability of internationally prescribed nutrient recipes to greenhouse hydroponic production in Lahore. Lactuca sativa was hydroponically grown at different nutrient concentrations to uncover optimum nutrition for maximum foliage cover. Conclusions were based on visual analysis of foliage cover, as laboratory analysis of trial plants was beyond the scope of this environmental study. Nutrient levels that displayed the best foliage cover in Lahore-based greenhouse during spring weather were different from concentrations kept in US- or Europe-based hydroponic greenhouses. Plant trials conducted for this article explain the adjustments that must be made to hydroponic recipes discussed in international literature; if they are to be used in polyhouse hydroponic production in Lahore’s warmer climate.

An Intra-Hindu Comparative Analysis of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism’s Eco-Theological Motifs

In the midst of the earth’s pressing climate catastrophe, the nexus between ecology and religion merits further investigation. In this article, I attempt to illuminate certain important aspects of this nexus by analyzing various Hindu eco-theological motifs, with a particular focus on those of the Hindu religious tradition known as Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism. I will compare and contrast the eco-theological motifs of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism with those of other notable Hindu religious traditions and texts. Ultimately, I attempt to demonstrate that certain Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological motifs can, when properly interpreted and applied, serve as valuable environmentally oriented conceptual resources. I also argue that these eco-theological motifs can offset some of the conceptual pitfalls that limit the effectiveness of various pan-Hindu eco-theological motifs as conceptual resources for environmental amelioration. Although the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological framework is not without conceptual hurdles, I nevertheless maintain that Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological motifs are worthy of further reflection.

Environmental amelioration in biofloc based rearing system of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in West Bengal, India

The potential of biofloc media in in-situ environmental amelioration mediated through the removal of nitrogenous metabolites, reduce the dominance of disease-causing Vibrio to beneficial Bacillus community and reduction of costly commercial feed was investigated in white leg shellfish (Litopenaeus vannamei) farming. Three treatments viz. biofloc without neem + commercial feed (B), biofloc with neem +commercial feed (NB), only commercial feed without biofloc (F)and, one control (C) withno biofloc and no feed in triplicate was applied with a stocking density of 60 PL-20 m−3 in outdoor earthen ponds (1000 m3). Two biofloc media (C:N = 15–10:1) with and without neem leave extract were applied with reduction of feed supplement from 50% to 100%. The significant difference was observed in final body weight (33.82 ± 0.18 g) in neem based biofloc media than the other tested shrimp with the survival percentage above 87%. Superiority of biofloc based rearing system over the traditional feed based one was established as live weight gain was 28.48–137% more with a reduction of feed conversion ratio by 7.60% to 8.18% in the former. Moreover, feed cost was reduced both in B (8.1%) and NB (8.77%) compared to conventional feed −based culture system (F). The nutrient profile of floc and shrimp also improved as higher protein content was recorded in floc (18.65–19.63%) and shrimp (24.58–26.29%). The development of biofloc within the culture system resulted in cumulative increase of Bacillus population with concomitant decrease of luminous Vibrio population. The findings of the study strongly indicated that biofloc technology could be a potential tool of ecosystem approach towards in-situ environmental amelioration in shrimp farming ponds with substantial reduction of cost towards feed, aqua chemicals used for disease and environmental health management and other operational cost like water exchange.

Supplementation of biofloc in carp (Cyprinus carpio ver. communis) culture as a potential tool of resource management in aquaculture

Supplementation of biofloc in rearing of common carp (Cyprinus carpio ver. Communis (0.84 ± 0.003 g) was tested in replacing costly feed and environmental amelioration. Neem (Azadirachta indica) leave extract in biofloc media has beenknown to be beneficial in controlling pathogenic Vibrio sp. in brackish water shrimp. Two studies were conducted for 120 days in outdoor experimental cisterns with reduction of feed from 50% to 100%, with two biofloc media; without (Experiment 1; E1) and with neem extract (Experiment 2; E2). The experimental groups were: biofloc with feeding at 6% body weight (T1E1 and T1E2), biofloc with feeding at 3% body weight (T2E1 and T2E2), biofloc without feeding (T3E1 and T3E2), feeding at 6% body weight (C1) and only biofloc (C2E1 and C2E2). Absolute weight gain in T2E1 (9.96 g) was 8.23% and in T2E2 (9.56 g) was 4.39% higher than C1 (9.14). In spite of 5.04% and 13.98% higher growth respectively in T1E1 (10.50 g) and T1E2 (11.66 g) than C1 (9.97 g), BFT could not compensate the total withdrawal of feed (T3E1 and T3E2) and resulted in 22.22% to 33.33% mortality in T3E2 and T3E1 respectively. Under identical feeding regime, FCR was improved by 52.57% to 53.76% in T2E1 (1.84) and 48.71% to 51.23% in T2E2 (1.99) compared to T1E1 (3.98) and T1E2 (4.08). Absolute weight gain in T2E1 was 8.97 times and in T2E2 was 4.63 times higher than C1. In spite of 18.54% and 7.26% higher growth respectively in T1E1 and T1E2 than C1, BFT could not compensate the total withdrawal of feed (T3E1 and T3E2) and resulted in 22.22% to 33.33% mortality in T3E2 and T3E1 respectively. Under identical feeding regime, FCR was improved by 52.57% to 53.76% in T2E1 and 48.71% to 51.23% in T2E2 compared to T1E1 and T1E2 respectively. Increased N: P ratio of water and soil in E2 favoured fish growth. Neem leave extract in biofloc media should be judicious as it may cause nitrification inhibition.

Title: Life after COVID-19: Understanding the environment for humanity's survival and sustenance

The severe restrictive measures imposed in dealing with Covid-19 have altered, among others, our environmental footprint. First reports are especially encouraging, showing reductions in CO2 emissions and improved air quality. In the present essay I shall investigate whether there is a “positive side” to a pandemic that leaves thousands of dead and causes world-wide economic crisis. I shall maintain – with great reservation- that the outcome might have been in the affirmative, while noting that blind approval of the environmental amelioration, due to the imposed restrictions, entails great risk, since it may be born of a dark eco-fascist ideology, promoting peremptory, fascist ideas towards improving the environment. Alongside I shall emphasize that a new Policy is necessary, i.e. a new Ethics, within the framework of rationalizing our relationship with the natural world. Besides, the rate of environmental deterioration does not allow retrospective re-contemplation of everything occurring in our socio-political reality. Consequently, I shall conclude it is required that world economies prosper again while the environment is protected, and that data collected during the quarantine period must serve as orientators for governments in the implementation of their recovery plans.

Quality-quantity tradeoffs drive functional trait evolution in a model microalgal “climate change winner”

Phytoplankton are the unicellular photosynthetic microbes that form the base of aquatic ecosystems, and their responses to global change will impact everything from food web dynamics to global nutrient cycles. Some taxa respond to environmental change by increasing population growth rates in the short-term, and, based on this, are projected to increase in frequency over decades. To gain insight into how functional traits in these projected “climate change winners” change over different timescales, we evolved populations of microalgae in ameliorated environments for several hundred generations. While populations initially responded to environmental amelioration by increasing photosynthesis and population growth rates as expected, this response was not sustained. Instead, most populations evolved to allocate a smaller proportion of carbon to growth while increasing their ability to tolerate and metabolise reactive oxygen species (ROS). This diversion of fixed carbon from growth to catabolism underlies a quality-quantity tradeoff in daughter cell production which drives the evolution of population growth rates and of functional traits that underlie the ecological and biogeochemical roles of phytoplankton. There is intraspecific variation in the trait combinations that evolve, but all are consistent with mitigating ROS production and accumulation in ameliorated environments over hundreds of generations. This offers both an evolutionary and a metabolic framework for understanding how functional traits can change in primary producers projected to be “climate change winners”, and suggests that short-term population booms and associated trait shifts have the potential to be dampened or reversed if environmental amelioration persists.

Green Areas and Outdoor Recreational Centres in Ibadan, Nigeria: An Appraisal

Aim: To investigate outdoor recreational potentials and constraints in relation to forestry in five recreational sites within Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Study design: The survey was purposively conducted in five (5) locations based on recreational potentials associated with forests and other green environments. Place and Duration of Study: Bower’s Tower; UI Zoological Gardens; Polo Club; Trans Amusement Park and Agodi Gardens between January and February, 2019. Methodology: Total enumeration of visitors who patronized the recreation sites during the course of the study was carried out. Structured questionnaires focused on demographic and perception of visitors on benefits and problems of the green recreational centres were sought. In all, 160 respondents were interviewed. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square to test for association between the demographic factors of respondents and their perceptions towards the benefits of green areas. Results: Most of the visitors were within 21- 40 years (57.5%) old; males (61.2%), unmarried/singles (48.8%) while 89.7% had a tertiary education. Recreational visitors spend between N500:00 and N2000:00 averagely per visit and were acquainted with environmental amelioration benefits such as shade, air purification and watershed protection. Visitors identified poor awareness as a major hindrance towards proper management of the centres. Age, marital status and academic qualifications had significant influence on how respondents spend their leisure using chi-square test at p = 0.01. Age (21–40years) is positively associated with outdoor recreation activities. Conclusion: Tourists in Ibadan are aware of multiple benefits associated with green space recreation. Also visitors of all ages and marital status visit green spaces for recreational activities. It is recommended that efforts should be made by owner agencies to improve recreational facilities in the existing urban green areas such as tree planting for improved landscape and engage trained professionals for improved management.

Impact of Boundary Removal Project on Residents’ Perceptions: Cases in Taiwan

Boundary removal project (BRP) aims to eliminate barriers between two sites and activate the grey residual space in-between. School campus in Taiwan is often surrounded by walls, which blocks its connection to communities and often creates security concerns. School campus has become the most popular target for BRP, which tries to turn it into a functional and aesthetic space. This study intends to explore the impact of campus BRP within a community, especially its relationships with neighborhood safety, perceived change and place attachment. The result shows that the improvement of boundary environment has a significant impact on all three perceptions.Keywords: Environmental amelioration; Neighborhood safety; Perceived change; Place attachmenteISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i9.1532

Environmental amelioration through enhanced heat transfer with nanofluids

Η μελέτη του φαινομένου της επαύξησης της φαινόμενης θερμικής αγωγιμότητας ενός συμβατικού ρευστού, με την προσθήκη σε αυτό στερεών σωματιδίων (ένα δεύτερο συστατικό και μια δεύτερη θερμοδυναμική φάση), υπήρξε ελκυστική για περισσότερο από έναν αιώνα. Η διασπορά, όμως, στερεών σωματιδίων σε διαστάσεις της τάξεως των νανομέτρων (νανοσωματίδια), γνωστό και ως «νανορευστό», εξετάστηκε σοβαρά σε εφαρμογές μεταφοράς θερμότητας από το 1995 και έπειτα, όταν οι Choi et al.[1] υποστήριξαν ότι η χρήση νανορευστών με αιωρούμενα νανοσωματίδια χαλκού, προκαλεί «δραματική μείωση της ισχύος άντλησης ενός εναλλάκτη θερμότητας». Η παρουσίαση αυτή, αναφέρονταν ακόμη και σε νανορευστά με θερμική αγωγιμότητα «3 φορές μεγαλύτερης από αυτήν του συμβατικού ρευστού»! Το 2001 οι Choi et al.[2] επέκτειναν τον ισχυρισμό τους, δημοσιεύοντας την «ανώμαλη επαύξηση της θερμικής αγωγιμότητας νανοσωλήνων», με τον όρο «ανώμαλη» να σημαίνει ότι η φαινόμενη θερμική αγωγιμότητα του συστήματος δύο φάσεων είναι σημαντικά διαφορετική από εκείνη που υπολογίζονταν με βάση τις τότε γνωστές θεωρίες μεταφοράς θερμότητας. Αν και έχουν περάσει περισσότερα από είκοσι χρόνια από τότε, τα αποδεικτικά στοιχεία υπέρ ή κατά της ύπαρξης μιας τέτοιας «ανώμαλης» συμπεριφοράς είναι, στην καλύτερη περίπτωση, όπως θα αποδείξουμε, συγκεχυμένα. Στην παρούσα μελέτη, εξετάζονται διεξοδικά τα πειραματικά δεδομένα μετρήσεων μεταφοράς θερμότητας που αναφέρονται σε συστήματα δύο ή και τριών συστατικών. Η μελέτη αυτή, διακρίνεται σε δύο κύρια τμήματα: -Στο τμήμα Α (που αποτελείται από τα κεφάλαια 1 έως 5), μελετάται διεξοδικά η επαύξηση της θερμικής αγωγιμότητας των νανορευστών.-Στο τμήμα Β (που αποτελείται από κεφάλαια 6 έως 8), διερευνάται η επίδραση τόσο της επαυξημένης θερμικής αγωγιμότητας όσο και του επαυξημένου ιξώδους των νανορευστών, στην μεταφορά θερμότητας. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, Στο Κεφάλαιο 1 δείχνεται ότι, οι βιβλιογραφικές πειραματικές μετρήσεις της φαινόμενης θερμικής αγωγιμότητας ενός ρευστού όταν προστίθενται σε αυτό νανοσωματίδια, παρουσιάζουν αποκλίσεις μεταξύ τους που υπερβαίνουν κατά πολύ τις αμοιβαίες αβεβαιότητες τους. Αποδεικνύεται επιπλέον, για πρώτη φορά ότι, αυτό οφείλεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό στο γεγονός ότι πολλοί ερευνητές είτε δεν εφάρμοζαν σωστά την μέθοδο του θερμαινόμενου σύρματος σε μη μόνιμη κατάσταση ή ότι εφάρμοζαν λανθασμένα άλλες τεχνικές. Για το λόγο αυτό, στο Κεφάλαιο 2 παρουσιάζεται αναλυτικά το θεμελιώδες θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο που απαιτείται, για την λήψη ορθών μετρήσεων θερμικής αγωγιμότητας με την μέθοδο του θερμαινόμενου σύρματος σε μη μόνιμη κατάσταση. Σύμφωνα με τα κριτήρια ορθής λειτουργίας του, όπως παρουσιάζονται στον Κεφαλαίο 2, σχεδιάστηκε, κατασκευάστηκε και πιστοποιήθηκε η ακριβής λειτουργία ενός νέου αισθητήρα (Κεφάλαιο 3), ο οποίος χρησιμοποιήθηκε στην παρούσα μελέτη για την απόλυτη μέτρηση της θερμικής αγωγιμότητας με τη μέθοδο του θερμαινόμενου σύρματος σε μη μόνιμη κατάσταση. Στο Κεφάλαιο 4 παρουσιάζονται οι υψηλής ακρίβειας, απόλυτες πειραματικές μετρήσεις -οι οποίες πραγματοποιήθηκαν με την χρήση του νέου αισθητήρα- των παρακάτω συστημάτων: α) αιθυλενογλυκόλης, με την προσθήκη νανοσωματιδίων CuO, TiO2 ή Al2O3 και β) νερού, με την προσθήκη νανοσωματιδίων TiO2, Al2O3 ή πολυστρωματικών νανοσωλήνων άνθρακα (MWCNT). Τα αποτελέσματα αυτών των νέων πειραματικών μετρήσεων επιβεβαίωσαν τα προγενέστερα ευρήματά μας -τα οποία βασίζονταν αποκλειστικά σε μια κριτική αξιολόγηση των χρησιμοποιούμενων τεχνικών μέτρησης- σύμφωνα με τα οποία, υπάρχουν σημαντικά λάθη στην πλειονότητα της αναφερόμενης βιβλιογραφίας όσον αφορά την μέτρηση της φαινόμενης θερμικής αγωγιμότητας των συγκεκριμένων νανορευστών και κατά συνέπεια και πολλών άλλων συστημάτων. Στο Κεφάλαιο 5 παρουσιάζονται τα υφιστάμενα μοντέλα για την πρόβλεψη της επαύξησης της θερμικής αγωγιμότητας, ενώ επίσης συζητούνται οι λόγοι για τους οποίους τα περισσότερα από αυτά είναι μη αποδεκτά. Ακολούθως, εξετάζονται και συγκρίνονται οι πειραματικές μετρήσεις ακριβείας της παρούσας διατριβής ως προς τις προβλέψεις δυο μοντέλων θερμικής αγωγιμότητας, το μοντέλο των Hamilton και Crosser [3] του 1962 και το μοντέλο του Shukla et al.[4] του 2016. Για να διερευνηθεί η χρήση των νανορευστών ως εναλλακτικά ρευστά μεταφοράς θερμότητας, απαιτείται εκτός της θερμικής τους αγωγιμότητας να μετρηθεί και το ιξώδες τους, καθώς η ιδιότητα αυτή επηρεάζει σημαντικά τη μεταφορά θερμότητας. Στο Κεφάλαιο 6, λοιπόν, διερευνάται η ρεολογική συμπεριφορά των προαναφερθέντων συστημάτων νανορευστών και μετράται το ιξώδες τους. Η ποσοστιαία επαύξηση του ιξώδους των νανορευστών είναι σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη από την επαύξηση της θερμικής αγωγιμότητάς τους, με αποτέλεσμα η συνδυαστική επίδραση των φυσικών αυτών ιδιοτήτων να σημαίνει ότι τα πιθανά οφέλη μεταφοράς θερμότητας από την χρήση των νανορευστών σε εναλλάκτη θερμότητας να είναι μάλλον μέτρια (Κεφάλαιο 7). Τέλος, στο Κεφάλαιο 8, εξετάζεται εάν η χρήση νανορευστών μπορεί να επιφέρει τελικά βελτίωση στη μεταφορά θερμότητας και γίνονται προτάσεις για περαιτέρω έρευνα.