Occurrence of the heavy metals and PCBs in Accumulation Lake Modrac

The accumulation Lake Modrac is a particularly important source of drinking water for inhabitants of the Tuzla region and few local settlements. The most significant point sources of organic contaminants in the accumulation Lake Modrac are waste water from households and industry. In this area, most of the settlements have neither sewage systems nor facilities for waste water treatment. Other potential point sources of pollutants are industrial plants. The most prominent are coal mines (Banovići and Đurđevik), metal and wood industry, plant for plastic production, and oil and oil derivatives warehouse. Few previously conducted surveys in the region showed the presence of the persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in large extent. The objective of this study was to conduct a water quality survey targeting selected inorganic (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and As) and organic pollutants in the accumulation Lake Modrac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The content of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) determined with ELISA test, ranging from 3.23 to 6.19 µg/L (sum of 7PCBs).The most abundant metals (analyzed by graphite furnace AAS and mercury analyzer) at all five sampling locations were Pb (6.79-36.58 µg/L); Ni (5.81-10.43 µg/L) and Hg (1.08-6.10 µg/L).

Emerging prospects of macro- and microalgae as prebiotic

Macro- and microalgae-based foods are becoming popular due to their high nutritious value. The algal biomass is enriched with polysaccharides, protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamins and minerals. However, the most promising fraction is polysaccharides (PS) or their derivatives (as dietary fibers) which are not entirely fermented by colonic bacteria hence act as potential prebiotic. Primarily, algae become famous as prominent protein sources. Recently, these are widely adopted as functional food (e.g., desserts, dairy products, oil-derivatives, pastas etc.) or animal feed (for poultry, cattle, fish etc.). Besides prebiotic and balanced amino acids source, algae derived compounds implied as therapeutics due to comprising bioactive properties to elicit immunomodulatory, antioxidative, anticancerous, anticoagulant, hepato-protective, and antihypertensive responses. Despite the above potentials, broader research determinations are inevitable to explore these algal compounds until microalgae become a business reality for broader and specific applications in all health domains. However, scale up of algal bioprocess remains a major challenge until commercial affordability is accomplished which can be possible by discovering their hidden potentials and increasing their value and application prospects. This review provides an overview of the significance of algae consumption for several health benefits in humans and animals mainly as prebiotics, however their functional food and animal feed potential are briefly covered. Moreover, their potential to develop an algal-based food industry to meet the people's requirements not only as a sustainable food solution with several health benefits but also as therapeutics is inevitable.

Automotive industry ecologization: advantages and challenges of alternative fuel vehicles implication

In this research we investigate the ecologization process of automotive market. It is a replacement of internal combustion engine (ICE) working on oil derivatives with hybrid or electric vehicles and automobiles on methane, hydrogen or biofuel. Growing demand for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) should trigger technology and infrastructure development, alternative energy elaboration and more environment- friendly means of hydrogen production. Besides, AFVs expansion should be an incentive to decrease hydrocarbons dependence in automotive industry, to diminish anthropogenic influence on environment, as well as to generate eco-friendly lifestyle and driving habits. In Russia’s climate and economic conditions, expansion of methane fuel automobiles maybe a priority. At an initial stage it will insignificantly reduce greenhouse gas emission, but later on will lower particulate matters emissions and raise public awareness of AFVs.

An investigation on fuel carrier’s price rise impacts on the consumer price inflation in Iran

Introduction: Oil is one of the primary commodities of all countries globally and is, in essence, the energy base of all that we know as transportation. Therefore, price fluctuations of derivatives, especially fuel and oil derivatives, are the policymakers’ main concerns because they can cause serious problems, such as inflation in commodity prices. Objective: The impact of fuel carriers’ prices on the consumer price index remains a subject of debate and research. This paper aims to develop a model to define the inflation regime in Iran and then investigate the impact of gasoline and diesel price on the total inflation rate. Method: In this study, using the central bank time series and available data on energy balance and World Bank data banks, a non-linear distributed online delay regression modeling is developed to analyze the relationship between fuel price and essential commodity inflation. Results: The results show that there is an impact of gasoline price on inflation. It does not have much effect in the long term, but diesel can somewhat influence raising prices, which can exacerbate poverty in the community that needs special attention. Conclusion: It was also found that diesel’s price is harmful to the economy because it can stimulate inflation in the long term. However, in the short term, diesel does not cause any significant inflation in the prices. While gasoline prices can have many short-term social effects, this paper suggests that the Iranian government control diesel fuel prices prevent long-term inflation in inflation and consumer price rate.