Principles of Modelling Development Processes at Regional Level

The paper aims to be a general analysis material on the principles of modelling sustainable development processes at the regional level, by studying sustainable development of the economy of the regions by supporting regional socio-economic activities, i.e. those processes leading to a sustainable and harmonious development of the region and which do not result in adverse impacts on the human health or the environment. In this context, a regional development plan is proposed that sets out aspects structured on the following dimensions: economy, ecology, social. The plan analyzes all these areas but, what is very important, the adopted measures include elements common to the three spheres, as it is not advisable to prioritize the sectors.

The potential emission of personal care products derived plastic microbeads: a case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Plastic microbeads are commonly used in many personal care products and can cause adverse impacts to the environment and ecosystem. The toxicological problem with these pollutants are due to their non-biodegradable materials, which washed down the drain; end up accumulating in the aquatic system causing increased frequency and quantity of items ingested by biota. Several polymers (e.g. Polyethylene) especially those found in plastic microbeads have been reported to be in tandem with other toxic contaminants serving as a vector for their transports in the environment. Thus, the legislative ban for plastic microbeads is used in some developed countries, but many countries including Vietnam do not take any legal action. This present study aimed at potential microbead’s existence in the cosmetic market of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The list and ingredients of microbeads containing personal care products (toothpaste, facial cleanser/scrubs and body wash/scrubs) have been checked. The microbeads containing PCPs are common for all explored categories, especially in toothpaste. Data from the online questionnaire survey have shown that 98% of respondents have frequently used at least one microbead containing product. Four polymers (Polyethylene, Acrylates Copolymer Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer and Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer) have been observed in the product package of several facial cleansers and body scrubs. Thus, the potential negative impacts of this contaminant should not be ignored.

New Nosocomephobia? Changes in Hospitalizations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

While the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic directly caused millions of hospitalizations and deaths, its indirect impacts on people with other illnesses can be of equal importance. Using discharge records in a major Chinese megacity where there was a limited number of COVID-19 cases, we find significant declines in the number of hospital admissions for a whole spectrum of disease categories during the pandemic. The declines were larger in COVID-19 designated hospitals and top-grade hospitals. In-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) were higher for stroke, ischaemic heart diseases, and malignant neoplasms, while women delivering in hospitals had fewer C-sections and shorter LOS. Our results suggest that people avoided necessary hospitalization out of fear of being infected by COVID-19. To prevent the adverse impacts of delaying health care, policymakers should establish clear guidelines encouraging people to seek necessary care, especially during the reopening period.

Revealing the Toxicity of Chlorate Through the Analysis of Molecular Interaction using Viscosity Measurements and Apparent Molar Volumes

While chlorate has the ability to induce flowering in longan, it also has adverse impacts on the crop. Revealing the toxicity of chlorate in the environment is more than just about the environment and about human health, as well.Because of the large introduction of this chemical into the environment from the paper processing industry, there is indeed a lot of concern about its toxicity. Chlorate toxicology in the longan plant has been thoroughly investigated in solutions using viscosities and apparent molar volumes. The hydration of molecules and volume changes are involved in various chemical and biological processes in plant tissues, and their complete understanding demands a good idea for volumetric and viscometric study. It offers good data acquisition techniques for solute, solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. Multi-component systems containing KClO3+ water + ionic solid (ionic solids = KCl, KNO3 ,NH4NO3 and KH2PO4, are currently being worked out to study the dependence of transport properties of potassium chlorate in aqueous electrolyte solutions, with concentrations and temperature of solutions. The assessed kd values are used to predict whether the solvolysis of KClO3 in the presence of other electrolytes is a quick or slow process.

Gender and Disaster: The Impact of Natural Disasters on Violence Against Women in Nepal

In April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Gorkha district of Nepal. This was followed in May by a second earthquake. Nepal experienced another natural disaster in 2017. Floods affected large swathes of the country from east to west. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this article examines the impact of these climate disasters on violence against women. In doing so, it adds to a small but growing and fundamentally important body of literature that explores the intersections of gendered violence and natural disaster. It is well-established that 35% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. What we know much less about is how other events impact on these figures. Given the growing intensity of climate change and the reality that adverse impacts are here to stay, understanding the detrimental legacy of natural disasters is now more urgent than ever.

Asuu Strike and the Nigerian Governments: Implications on Students and Society in a Changing World

The impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the governments in Nigeria (state and federal) manifested in a repeated ASUU strikes, having implications on students and society in the contemporary changing world. Hence the study examines the adverse impacts of the strikes on university students and the society that embodies the stakeholders. The study discovered that the strikes are orchestrated largely by the union quest to protect its members’ welfare and swift greeting of any perceived unfriendly steps by the government with strike actions while the government fell short in funding and entrenching a right legal milieu for negotiation and regulation of ASUU. With the secondary sourced data from journals, newspapers, journals, books and the internet while underpinning the research with the social contract theory, the study concludes that the public university students are exposed and tempted to indulge in social vices, have a sense of being disadvantaged unlike their private colleagues, and the society developmental agenda is threatened because of the poor quality of graduates produced from the Ivory Tower. It recommends that government and ASUU should renegotiate their agreements while the former should also ramp up the budgetary funding allocation to the University amongst others.

Pesticide residues analysis in farm gate vegetables of agricultural areas in Tumakuru district, Karnataka, India

The main purpose of this experiment was to understand pesticide residues persistence and their toxicity level in vegetables. In the present study pesticide residues in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and capsicum (Capsium annuum L.) vegetables cultivated in Tumakuru, Gubbi, Kunigal and Pavagada taluks in Tumkur district were analysed. In methodology, samples of 1 kg each were collected, cut into small pieces, macerated in a grinder and used for the analysis. Pesticides were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results showed tomato samples of Pavagada recorded acephate (0.346 mg/kg), dichlorvos (0.189 mg/kg), fenvalerate (0.057 mg/kg) and Tumakuru samples recorded phorate (0.072 mg/kg) residues higher than MRLs (Maximum residue levels). Chlorpyrifos, cyhalothrin-g and cypermethrin were below detection level (BDL) in all the samples. Cyfluthrin-β recorded highest in Kunigal samples (0.294 mg/kg), Tumakuru and Gubbi samples showed BDL. Deltamethrin was highest in Pavagada (0.296 mg/kg) samples and Tumakuru and Kunigal samples revealed BDL. Pavagada samples (0.026 mg/kg) showed monocrotophos residues higher than MRLs. In capsicum samples, acephate residue was highest in Tumakuru samples (0.333 mg/kg), highest chlorpyrifos (0.153 mg/kg) in Kunigal samples, deltamethrin (0.381 mg/kg), fenvalerate (0.168 mg/kg) and phorate (0.089 mg/kg) residues were higher than MRLs in Pavagada samples. Cyfluthrin-β (0.045 mg/kg) was high in Tumakuru and dichlorvos (0.042 mg/kg) high in Pavagada samples. Cyhalothrin-g, cypermethrin and monocrotophos were BDL in all the samples. An attempt has been made to assess the different pesticides usage and their adverse impacts on vegetables, which are backbone to afford assistance for an extensive array of investigators.

Public Emotional and Coping Responses to the COVID-19 Infodemic: A Review and Recommendations

Since its onset in early 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected not only the physical but also the mental health of people worldwide. Healthcare professionals and laypersons have sought to learn more about this novel and highly transmissible disease to better understand its etiology, treatment, and prevention. However, information overload and misinformation related to COVID-19 have elicited considerable public anxiety and created additional health threats. Collectively, these problems have been recognized by the World Health Organization as an “infodemic.” This review provides an overview of the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 infodemic, and used the psychological entropy model as a guiding framework to explicate the potential causes of the infodemic and identify potential solutions to mitigate impacts on public health. We first examine the role of anxiety in information processing and then delineate the adverse impacts of the infodemic. Finally, we propose strategies to combat the infodemic at the public, community, and individual levels.

Histidine Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Screening Aminoglycosides and Nanomolar Level Detection of Streptomycin in Water, Milk, and Whey

Aminoglycoside (AMG) antibiotics are being applied to treat infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, mainly in livestock, and are prescribed only in severe cases because of their adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Monitoring antibiotic residues in dairy products relies on the accessibility of portable and efficient analytical techniques. Presently, high-throughput screening techniques have been proposed to detect several antimicrobial drugs having identical structural and functional features. The L-histidine functionalized gold nanoparticles (His@AuNPs) do not form a complex with other tested antibiotic classes but show high selectivity for AMG antibiotics. We used ligand-induced aggregation of His@AuNPs as a rapid and sensitive localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) assay for AMG antibiotics, producing longitudinal extinction shifts at 660 nm. Herein, we explore the practical application of His@AuNPs to detect streptomycin spiked in water, milk, and whey fraction of milk with nanomolar level sensitivity. The ability of the analytical method to recognize target analytes sensitively and rapidly is of great significance to perform monitoring, thus would certainly reassure widespread use of AMG antibiotics. The biosynthesis of hybrid organic–inorganic metal nanoparticles like His@AuNPs with desired size distribution, stability, and specific host–guest recognition proficiency, would further facilitate applications in various other fields.