Search

In the pursuit of higher food production and economic growth and increasing population, we have often jeopardized natural resources such as soil, water, vegetation, and biodiversity at an alarming rate. In this process, wider adoption of intensive farming practices, namely changes in land use, imbalanced fertilizer application, minimum addition of organic residue/manure, and non-adoption of site-specific conservation measures, has led to declining in soil health and land degradation in an irreversible manner. In addition, increasing use of pesticides, coupled with soil and water pollution, has led the researchers to search for an environmental-friendly and cost-effective alternatives to controlling soil-borne diseases that are difficult to control, and which significantly limit agricultural productivity. Since the 1960s, disease-suppressive soils (DSS) have been identified and studied around the world. Soil disease suppression is the reduction in the incidence of soil-borne diseases even in the presence of a host plant and inoculum in the soil. The disease-suppressive capacity is mainly attributed to diverse microbial communities present in the soil that could act against soil-borne pathogens in multifaceted ways. The beneficial microorganisms employ some specific functions such as antibiosis, parasitism, competition for resources, and predation. However, there has been increasing evidence on the role of soil abiotic factors that largely influence the disease suppression. The intricate interactions of the soil, plant, and environmental components in a disease triangle make this process complex yet crucial to study to reduce disease incidence. Increasing resistance of the pathogen to presently available chemicals has led to the shift from culturable microbes to unexplored and unculturable microbes. Agricultural management practices such as tillage, fertilization, manures, irrigation, and amendment applications significantly alter the soil physicochemical environment and influence the growth and behaviour of antagonistic microbes. Plant factors such as age, type of crop, and root behaviour of the plant could stimulate or limit the diversity and structure of soil microorganisms in the rhizosphere. Further, identification and in-depth of disease-suppressive soils could lead to the discovery of more beneficial microorganisms with novel anti-microbial and plant promoting traits. To date, several microbial species have been isolated and proposed as key contributors in disease suppression, but the complexities as well as the mechanisms of the microbial and abiotic interactions remain elusive for most of the disease-suppressive soils. Thus, this review critically explores disease-suppressive attributes in soils, mechanisms involved, and biotic and abiotic factors affecting DSS and also briefly reviewing soil microbiome for anti-microbial drugs, in fact, a consequence of DSS phenomenon.

The relationship between outdoor atmospheric pollution by particulate matter and the morbidity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections was recently disclosed, yet the role of indoor aerosols is poorly known . Since people spend most of their time indoor, indoor aerosols are closer to human occupants than outdoors, thus favoring airborne transmission of COVID-19. Therefore, here we review the characteristics of aerosol particles emitted from indoor sources, and how exposure to particles affects human respiratory infections and transport of airborne pathogens. We found that tobacco smoking, cooking, vacuum cleaning, laser printing, burning candles, mosquito coils and incenses generate large quantities of particles, mostly in the ultrafine range below 100 nm. These tiny particles stay airborne, are deposited in the deeper regions of human airways and are difficult to be removed by the respiratory system. As a consequence, adverse effects can be induced by inhaled aerosol particles via oxidative stress and inflammation. Early epidemiological evidence and animal studies have revealed the adverse effects of particle exposure in respiratory infections. In particular, inhaled particles can impair human respiratory systems and immune functions, and induce the upregulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, thus inducing higher vulnerability to COVID-19 infection. Moreover, co-production of inflammation mediators by COVID-19 infection and particle exposure magnifies the cytokine storm and aggravates symptoms in patients. We also discuss the role of indoor aerosol particles as virus carriers. Although many hypotheses were proposed, there is still few knowledge on interactions between aerosol articles and virus-laden droplets or droplet nuclei.

Background Suboptimal health status (SHS) is a reversible state between ideal health and illness and it can be effectively reversed by risk prediction, disease prevention, and personalized medicine under the global background of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM) concepts. More and more Chinese nurses have been troubled by psychological symptoms (PS). The correlation between PS and SHS is unclear in nurses. The purpose of current study is to investigate the prevalence of SHS and PS in Chinese nurses and the relationship between SHS and PS along with predisposing factors as well as to discuss the feasibility of improving health status and preventing diseases according to PPPM concepts in Chinese nurses. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with the cluster sampling method among 9793 registered nurses in Foshan city, China. SHS was evaluated with the Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaire-25 (SHSQ-25). Meanwhile, the PS of depression and anxiety were evaluated with Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) self-assessment questionnaires. The relationship between PS and SHS in Chinese nurses was subsequently analyzed. Results Among the 9793 participants, 6107 nurses were included in the final analysis. The prevalence of SHS in the participants was 74.21% (4532/6107) while the symptoms of depression and anxiety were 47.62% (2908/6107) and 24.59% (1502/6107) respectively. The prevalence of SHS in the participants with depression and anxiety was significantly higher than those without the symptoms of depression (83.3% vs 16.7%, P P P Conclusions There is a high prevalence of SHS and PS in Chinese nurses. PS in Chinese nurses are associated with SHS. Physical exercise is a protective factor for SHS and PS so that the exercise should be strongly recommended as a valuable preventive measure well in the agreement with PPPM philosophy. Along with SDS and SAS, SHSQ-25 should also be highly recommended and applied as a novel predictive/preventive tool for the health measures from the perspectives of PPPM in view of susceptible population and individual screening, the predisposition to chronic disease preventing, personalization of intervention, and the ideal health state restoring.

The conventional understanding of spray formation when liquid leaves the nozzle is based on the analysis of the following stages: development of a jet, conversion of a jet into liquid sheets and ligaments, disintegration of ligaments into relatively large droplets (primary break-up) and break-up of large droplets into smaller ones (secondary break-up). The following stages of spray formation are considered in this chapter: instability of a jet emerging from the nozzle, break-up of droplets, and spray penetration, taking and not taking into account the effect of turbulence. In the case of gasoline direct injection engines the development of sprays is typically accompanied by the formation of vortex ring-like structures. Some new approaches to modelling these structures are discussed. The predicted velocities of displacement of the regions of maximal vorticity in typical gasoline engines are compared with available experimental data where possible.

The long-term effects of biostimulation and bioaugmentation on the ecotoxicity and biological properties of oil-contaminated soil were studied. The dynamics of the soil chemical characteristics, petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation, toxicity to plants and crustaceans, microbial respiration and enzymatic activity were evaluated in a long-term field experiment. The highest toxicity of soils exposed to both biostimulation and bioaugmentation was found during the first year after contamination. Toxicity to plants had decreased gradually in remediated soils three years into the experiment, while the enzymatic activity of soil was strongly affected even after nine years. Both biostimulation and bioaugmentation had a positive effect on the ecotoxicity and biological activity of soil. However, much of the decontamination can be related to degradation activities of indigenous microbiota. Bioaugmentation demonstrated higher efficiency compared to activity of native microorganisms at the initial stages of remediation, while no difference between biostimulation and bioaugmentation were found later. Our results indicate that stimulating the indigenous soil microbiota by nutrients is sufficient to achieve successful bioremediation of podzolic soil.

Soils, the thin skin of the earth, a living body, are the basis of all highly developed life and have ensured human existence and culture since millennia. Their functions and ecosystem services are crucial for the survival of humanity. Increasing pressure on soils through overuse and mismanagement has exceeded their capacity to perform, which is considered as soil degradation. To meet the mission of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, soil degradation must be stopped and reversed. We reviewed framework conditions of soil degradation, scientific concepts of research and status and trends of their operationalization. Soil performance and degradation processes must be understood, monitored, mitigated and combated in the context of different categories and scales such as ecosystems, land and landscapes. Approaches to the assessment and monitoring of soil dynamics, degradation and desertification show inconsistencies and knowledge gaps at several levels. Concepts of soil health and ecosystem services of soil should be backed by “hard data” based on field and landscape indicators and measurements. Participatory approaches to mediate conflicting demands of stakeholders are crucial for a broad understanding of soil and its long-term sustainable use. This requires an advanced field diagnostic system of soil performance based on reliable on-site measurement technology in combination with expert-based knowledge and assessment methodologies. Strengthening field soil science is essential for progress in reducing and reversing soil degradation.

Detailed studies of snow and soil contamination within the influence zone of the Irkutsk Aluminium Metallurgical Plant were carried out for the period of 1996–2015. The main types of atmospheric and soil pollution and the amounts and distribution area of the pollutants were described. The study revealed that within 1 km of the aluminium smelter, the maximum fluoride concentration in the snow meltwater reached 66 mg dm−3. The relationship between technogenic soil and snowpack pollution was assessed, and their effect on some soil parameters was revealed. A standard determination of technogenic loads was carried out in relation to the significant and sensitive soil parameters. The maximum level of technogenic load was obtained by determining critical points on the “load vs. effect” curve. The values of the “dose–effect” relationship can be used to determine the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) and maximum impermissible concentration (MIC) of the potentially toxic elements in the soil. The amounts of the total forms of fluoride, aluminium and sodium were, respectively, 0.66 and 0.84 g kg−1, 82 and 93 g kg−1, and 24 and 26 g kg−1 for the upper (MPC) and lower (MIC) limits. This highlights how the soil environment is polluted with these substances emitted from the Irkutsk aluminium smelter.

In the modern technology of beet-sugar production for purification of diffusion juices, the primary reagent use lime is given in juice as water-lime suspension (water-lime suspension). The cost of lime for purification of diffusion juice is 2–3% by weight of beets, while the effect of purification from non-sugars does not exceed 30%, often falling to 25%. It is known that freshly prepared water-lime suspension contains up to 30% of impurities, which contain 80–85% of potentially active lime, which is discharged into the dump, making irreversible losses of lime for beet-sugar production. Disposal of these impurities by activating free but inactive and bound lime would reduce its losses during the purification of the aqueous-lime suspension. In this regard, and in order to economically use exhaustive deposits of limestone, increase the degree of utilization of potentially active lime, which is excreted with impurities, increase the effect of purification of beet-sugar production juices and reduce sugar costs, there is a need to find new ways. Today, the technologies of many industries use various electrophysical methods to increase the activity of chemical reagents, particularly a method of creating an electric discharge in a liquid, which results in an electrohydraulic effect. This work is devoted to developing a method of electrohydraulic treatment of water-lime suspension in beet-sugar production to increase its activity and reduce losses of active lime with impurities, which will reduce lime costs for juice purification and increase the effect of purification and sugar yield.

In this chapter, the mechanisms of reactions during methane-assisted biofuel conversion process will be presented. First, the main constituents of biofuel resources will be mainly classified into several groups, including carboxylic acids, alcohols/phenols, esters, aldehydes, and ketones, despite the varied composition. It can be seen that one of the most important characteristics of biofuel molecules is the presence of oxygen atoms, whose evolution deserves extra attention in the mechanism study. Then, the reaction processes of specific model compounds including alcohols, carbonyls, phenolics/lignin, cellulose, and furans will be discussed as case studies. During the discussion, the reaction pathway will be given, followed by investigations regarding the function of methane and the property-performance relationship of the charged catalysts. Finally, the most important characteristics of biofuel conversion under methane environment, the specific challenges for real applications, and possible solutions will be summarized. It should be noted that although no mature industry practice of methane-assisted biofuel conversion is currently reported, this economically and environmentally friendly process is expected to attract more and more attention for sustainable development.

In order to expand the range of products made of elastomeric materials, increase their operational stability and areas of application, new components are being sought. One of the promising directions for solving this problem is the use of microspheres. Many technical problems where weight reduction is required with low thermal conductivity, high strength and volume savings, increased resistance to erosion and corrosive environments can be solved with the use of microspheres. The influence of hollow corundum microspheres grades HCM-S and HCM-L on the rheometric properties of rubbers and the physical and mechanical properties of vulcanizates based on ethylene-propylene diene rubber is considered, and also studies of vulcanizates containing corundum microspheres on the fire and heat-shielding properties based on EPDM rubber are given. -40. It is shown that the investigated microdispersed additives increase the wear resistance of the composites and decrease the specific density of the material. The addition of corundum microspheres to rubber compounds enhances the heat and fire retardant properties of rubbers based on ethylene propylene diene rubber. The degree of influence on the complex of the investigated properties of the introduced corundum microspheres depends on their fractional composition and the nature of the rubber used.

Dumped munitions contain various harmful substances which can affect marine biota like fish. One of them is mercury (Hg), included in the common explosive primer Hg fulminate. There is still a lack of knowledge whether dumped munitions impact the Hg concentrations in the Baltic Sea environment. This study aims to answer the question if dab caught at the dump site Kolberger Heide show higher Hg concentrations released from munition sources and whether Hg in fish is a usable marker for munition exposure. Therefore, a total of 251 individual dab (Limanda limanda) were analysed including 99 fish from the dump site. In fish from the Kolberger Heide, no elevated Hg concentrations were found compared to reference sites when age-dependent bioaccumulation of mercury was considered. Therefore we conclude that Hg in fish is no suitable indicator for exposure to munition dumping, e.g. in the frame of possible future monitoring studies as Hg exposure originating from dumped munition is only a small contributor to overall Hg exposure of fish.

Sneezing and coughing of a patient are especially dangerous when, together with a jet of air moving at a high speed, droplets of liquid containing viruses fly out. There is a lack of experimental data to create model, describing these processes and calculate the concentration of aerosol particles. The paper describes an installation for assessing the time-varying distribution of velocities and changes in the shape of the aerosol cloud that occurs during coughing and sneezing. The proposed experimental method allows obtaining data on the distribution of relative velocity in a single act of air release. This data is then calibrated against absolute velocity measurements with a low sensitivity sensor installed near the source. The purpose of these studies is to determine the direction and velocity of the cloud carrying the droplets with the virus, as well as the time of its passage past potential recipients. Based on these data, it will be possible to estimate the received dose of infection and the dependence of this dose on the distance between the source and a person near it.

Microplastics are small plastic fragments, flakes, or beads of size less than 5 mm diameter. Due to the anthropogenic activities, these persist ubiquitously in the environment. The high surface area and functionalized surface due to aging and weathering persuade the sorption of toxic contaminants to the microplastics. The microplastics with the adsorbed chemicals are ingested and accumulated by the terrestrial and aquatic organisms. The ingested microplastics and the adsorbed chemicals cause endocrine disruption, reproductive failure, and other developmental disorders. When humans are exposed to these microplastics through food chain, inhalation, and dermal contact, this exposure can lead to an array of health impacts, including inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis. This chapter highlights the interaction mechanisms of the sorption process between the microplastics and the toxic chemicals, factors influencing the sorption process, and the combined toxic effects of microplastics and their adsorbed chemicals on ecosystem.

Since clay soils have a negative charge on their surface they are often used as a natural material in many industries. In recent years, in order to improve clays’ energy and sorption properties various methods of activating clay soils have been developed and widely spread. The study considers the complex effect of chemical and mechanical activation of clays on the change in its energy properties estimated by measuring the adhesion force of the particle surface. Chemical activation of clays was carried out by a solution of hydrochloric acid with a concentration of 0.1 M. Mechanical activation was carried out by exposing the soil to high pressures ranging from 25 to 800 MPa. Energy properties of particle surface of clays were evaluated using an atomic force microscope NT MDT NTEGRA Prima (Russia). The results of the studies have showed that when treating clay soils with a hydrochloric acid solution and stress pressure, the adhesion forces do not change significantly. Meanwhile, there has not been revealed any influence of treatment on the adhesion force in montmorillonite clays, while for soils of the kaolinite group a pattern was found that with increasing pressure, the adhesion forces decrease. The results obtained can be used to form clay soils with desired energy properties.

An important source of suspended particles PM in urban air is the resuspension of road dust. The aim of the described study was to collect road dust at sampling points and to determine its size distribution by a classical screening test. Grains of road dust passed through a 0.125 mm sieve (sub-sieve fraction) are subjected to X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition. At the measuring station, measurements of particulate matter PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 were performed by the gravimetric method (sampling of particulate matter on filters). In addition, measurements were performed with SMPS and APS particle size spectrometers, which monitored the distribution of aerosol in the range of 12 nm to 20 µm. The amount of selected chemical elements in the particulate samples obtained by the gravimetric method was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Based on chemical analyzes of collected road dust and particulate matter collected from the air, the concept of the possible contribution of road dust resuspension to the concentration of particulate matter in the air was determined.

The remediation of Pb, Cd, and Zn contaminated soil by ex situ EDTA washing was investigated in two pot experiments. We tested the influence of (i) 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%wt zero-valent iron (ZVI) and (ii) a combination of 5%wt vermicompost, 2%wt biochar, and 1%wt ZVI on the metal availability in EDTA-washed soil using different soil extracts (Aqua regia, NH4NO3) and plant concentrations. We found that EDTA soil washing significantly reduced the total concentration of Pb, Cd, and Zn and significantly reduced the Cd and Zn plant uptake. Residual EDTA was detected in water extracts causing the formation of highly available Pb-EDTA complexes. While organic amendments had no significant effect on Pb behavior in washed soils, an amendment of ≥ 1%wt ZVI successfully reduced EDTA concentrations, Pb bioavailability, and plant uptake. Our results suggest that Pb-EDTA complexes adsorb to a Fe oxyhydroxide layer, quickly developing on the ZVI surface. The increase in ZVI application strongly decreases Zn concentrations in plant tissue, whereas the uptake of Cd was not reduced, but even slightly increased. Soil washing did not affect plant productivity and organic amendments improved biomass production. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11270-021-05356-0.

OBJECTIVES: Use of traditional herbal medicines especially by those affected by chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus is important. The objective of this study was to assess trend and Pattern of using traditional herbal medicines by diabetic population in Iran. METHODS: The results of this study are extracted from the National Stepwise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance (STEPs), conducted in 2005- 2016 in Iran. A total of 3095 Iranian diabetic individuals, aged more than 25 years in 2005, 1470 diabetics in 2006, 1633 diabetics in 2007, 1652 diabetics in 2008, 1563 diabetics in 2009, and 1005 diabetics in 2011 were included in this study. We couldn’t use data in 2016 because in 2016, traditional herbal use has not been questioned. First, a descriptive analysis of the study variables and prevalence of herbal use for each year, was performed. Thereafter, to determine which variables were independent predictors of adherence to herbal use, we performed multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Using traditional herbal medicines among Iranian adult population was increased from 11.1 (9.98–12.20) in 2005 to 23.5 (20.87–26.25) in 2011. The results show increase in herbal medicine use in all age groups, both urban and rural areas, and both male and female over time. Also, we found that using traditional herbal medicines was more common among female compared with male (24.2% versus 21.8%), older than middle-aged people (24.4% versus 15.9%), and people living in urban areas compared with rural area (24.13% versus 20.95%) in 2011. CONCLUSION: The use of traditional herbs for treatment, alone or in combination with other therapies by the patients who have diabetes has increased over the time. Considering the high level of using traditional herbal medicines in treatment of diabetes and because of the possible herb–drug interactions, policymakers need to take appropriate interventions to control herb store and increase people's knowledge about the herbal usage.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a major pathogen in cattle herds. Considering the epidemiological importance of pestiviruses and the process of wild boar invasion in Brazil, this study aimed to investigate the presence of BVDV in free-living boars. Forty-nine free-living wild boars were collected by exotic wildlife controller agents in 2017 and 2018. The presence of BVDV antibodies was evaluated in 42 serum samples using the virus neutralization test, and the detection of BVDV RNA was performed from the 5′UTR genomic region by RT-PCR assay in 49 lung tissue samples followed by sequencing of amplicons. BVDV neutralizing antibodies in serum were not identified in any of the evaluated samples. However, 3/49 (6.12%) lung samples were positive for BVDV RNA and classified one as BVDV-1a and two as 1d subgenotype. This report identified BVDV RNA in free-living wild boars and these results should be considered in BVDV control programs, especially in extensive beef cattle rearing systems.

Gun violence persists as a devastating public health crisis in the United States. Each year, an estimated 1,600 children die from gun violence, another 6,200 survive gunshot injuries, and thousands more are indirectly impacted (e.g., children who have witnessed gunfire, heard gunshots, or know a friend or family member who has been shot). Though there is notably little research in the area of gun violence prevention in comparison to other public health issues of this magnitude, the existing research underscores the breadth of childhood exposure to gun violence and its direct relationship to poor mental health outcomes. This section ends with a discussion of the implications of this relationship for clinicians and educators: individuals engaged in the prevention of and response to gun violence exposure and, by extension, the promotion of the mental health and well-being of children.

Here the regularities of formation uranium mineralization (on the scale of deposits) in the region of hypergenesis are considered. Three types of uranium-ore accumulations in the hypergenesis region (have been identified by L.N. Belova) was described. Examples of typical uranium mineral zones manifestation in nature (at known U-deposits) are shown in the table. Processes of hypergenic zonality formation by uranium minerals have been looked and schematized. At the scheme of stages redox mineral zoning formation on U-deposits shows all types of uranium concentration in the hypergenesis region and united by common regularities of mineral formation. Stadiality in mineral-forming process development is associated with changes in environment (Eh, pH) in direction of oxygen waters infiltration. Examples of uranium deposits with commercial black U-ores are provided. Summarized results of our mineralogical ATEM-studies of loose black U-mineralization show that uranium black’s composition can be represented by at least three different mineral forms: oxide (uraninite of different degrees of crystallinity), silicate (coffinite) and phosphate (ningyoite).

In this study, we applied a current method following the European guidelines for the demonstration and subtraction of PM10 excess attributable to natural sources under the Directive 2008/50/EC. The calculation of the Saharan dust contribution to the daily PM10 concentration in the considered stations has been obtained in several steps. First, we have determined the daily PM10 concentration measured in each station during the events as well as the regional background represented by 50 percentiles of the PM10 series measured 15 days before and 15 days after the Saharan dust event recommended by the European guidance of the natural source contribution. Then, we have quantified the contribution of Saharan dust to PM10 concentration in the considered sites by the subtraction of these two terms. The anthropogenic daily PM10 concentration in each considered station has been determined by subtracting the Saharan dust contribution from the daily concentration registered during the intrusion

Aquatic vertebrate animals—in particular, fish—present a series of traumatic and/or toxic defenses to survive in their environment. A large number of fish species produce toxins. Some have specialized structures to inoculate these substances, and this feature characterizes them as venomous animals. Fish of commercial value (such as catfish) can be venomous, and encounters with rays and many other fish capable of envenomations are common. These injuries occur mainly in professional fishermen. In addition to fish, there are venomous sea snakes and even venomous mammals, which are also discussed in this chapter. The chapter also addresses treatment measures and ways to try and prevent traumatic injuries and envenomations by fish and reptiles.

The tiny organism of soil, known as soil microbes have several functional annotations like nutrients cycling and their fixation, mineralization and solubilization, alleviation of biotic caused by pest-insects, microbial pathogens as well as abiotic stresses by harsh environmental conditions, degradation of polluting elements in the environment. Their functional abilities can be utilized in the different fields of biotechnology i.e. environment and agriculture because these are one the best sustainable technique over others like conventional methods as already environment is heavily polluted by the activities of mankind. In agriculture, soil microbes can be used as a biofertilizer and biopesticides. Soil microbes as biofertilizers help in providing nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron. Along with nutrients, these microbes also help in releasing plant growth regulators that help in increasing plant development. These use various mechanisms like fixation, solubilization and scavenging (of iron) for providing nutrients. Soil microbes also help in alleviating biotic stress by releasing antibiotics, siderophores and hydrogen cyanide to kill unwanted or pathogenic pest and microbes. Such microbes can also be applied in the environment for various applications like alleviation stress, pollution which cannot be degraded naturally. The present chapter deals with the functional annotation and biotechnological applications of beneficial soil microbiomes for agricultural sustainability.

Food security and safety depend on soil quality as plants and animals rely on soils for sustenance. With increasing human population, industrialization and climate change, food insecurity remains a serious issue in African societies. Crop production, yield, and nutritional value in Nigeria have declined significantly due to poor soil quality which contributes >40% to the current food crisis. The productivity of Nigerian soils has reduced as a result of inadequate fertilizer application and soil nutrient mining. This has affected food security, quality, and safety.

The evaluation method for pulverized coal injection in blast furnace including parameters of blast volume, pressure difference, gas dust production, quality, etc. was developed in this work. Indexes for smooth operation of blast furnace and utilization of PCI (pulverized coal injection) coal (named carbon content index) were also proposed. The evaluation method can reflect the effect of type of pulverized coal on the utilization ratio of pulverized coal and the blast furnace performances. The industrial trial showed that when 10% Coal B was used, smooth operation index reduced by more than 0.05 and carbon content index increased by over 1.0, which indicated that coal B could not be used too much in PCI. When coal A was used up to 35%, smooth operation index increased 0.08 and carbon content index reduced by over 0.22 with blast furnace output and coal ratio increasing, which meant that Coal A was suitable for PCI.

Rapid decline in soil fertility is a crux challenge facing soil sustainability and food security across the globe. Microbial biotechnology has proven to be a veritable tool in proffering solutions to soil infertility challenges, hence it is herein perceived and explicated as a viable tool to boost soil fertility in Africa. This review brings into light the inseparable romance between soil and microorganisms, as means provided by nature to maintain soil fertility. Some microorganisms are involved in soil formation, geochemical cycles, organic matter decomposition, humification, redox reactions, soil pH changes and reactions, reclamations and bioremediations, all as means of maintaining soil fertility. In microbial biotechnology application in soil, soil beneficial microorganisms are manipulated, stimulated and engineered into soil inoculants, and soil-plant associations that enhance soil nutrient availability. Thus, these beneficial microorganisms are nitrogen fixers, phosphate and micronutrient solubilizers, and bioremediators for polluted fields. Genomic sequence and expression of traits techniques provide insight into linking microbial communities with known structural characteristics to specific functional diversity. This offers unprecedented and innovative approach in the development of ‘microbe-based strategies’ for the management of cultivated soils as well as incorporation of same in predictive ecological models for climate change impacts particularly in Africa.

Aerosol delivery to the lung could be achieved with several devices which differ in their operating mechanism and efficacy of aerosol delivery. There are several methods for measuring aerosol delivery and deposition to the subject’s lung for assessment of aerosol generators efficacy or the impact of certain drug formulae.

This chapter provides a critical overview of the methods of biodiesel production from waste oily by-products from edible oil refinery, waste fats, and waste cooking oils with emphasis on factors that impact the synthesis of fatty acids alkyl esters. The aim is to show exploitation possibilities of the mentioned waste materials for making biodiesel. Various technologies such as chemical (homogeneous and heterogeneous) and enzyme catalysis as well as non-catalytic processes have been applied in biodiesel production from waste oils, fats, and cooking oils. The future commercial process of biodiesel production will be a choice among solid catalysts, lipases, and non-catalytic processes.

Soil fertility is soil’s inherent ability to provide adequate amounts of the essential plant nutrients and adequate proportions for plant growth. There is an enormous possibility of improving soil fertility through microorganisms, as microorganisms have regulators and catalysts that help in the recycling of nutrient in the soil and convert it into accessible inorganic forms increasing the fertility of the soil and improving soil health and function which decrease input costs for agriculture and grow crop profitability. Certain gatherings of soil organisms build the measure of supplements in the soil, for example, nitrogen-fixing microorganisms that convert nitrogen gas present in the air into solvent nitrogenous mixes and help plant its development and advancement and mycorrhizal parasites increment the accessibility of mineral supplements like phosphorus to plants. Such sort of soil advantageous organisms colonize the plant roots, improve the ripeness distinction of the soil, and eventually help in plant development and advancement and are named as biofertilizers which are constantly increasing high consideration regarding their utilization as productive microbial inoculants in the field of horticulture. Another gathering of soil microorganism that has been known to create mixes including nutrients and plant development hormones that help in keeping up plant wellbeing and advancing yield efficiency is called phytostimulators. The plants and microorganisms rely upon soil for their nourishment prompting a change in soil attributes through organic litter deposition and different metabolic processes. Phosphorus (P) is a fundamental supplement in plant advancement and development, and its inadequacy is one of the main considerations restricting harvest yields around the world. Although soils, for the most part, have a lot of all-out P, just a little proportion is promptly accessible for take-up of plants since 75–90% of included P is accelerated by metal–cation (calcium, iron, and aluminum) edifices and rapidly gets fixed in soils. Hence, ranchers have included a lot of these synthetic composts to the developed land to accomplish the ideal outcome consistently. Low-use proficiency of the P composts and their ceaseless long-time use have prompted natural contamination. The utilization of synthetic P composts can’t be excluded as of now without strongly lessening food creation. Regardless, it is understood that the compound use of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs) and substance P excrements can lessen the negative impacts of maltreatment of these manures and improve phosphorus use efficiency in a capable and normally sensible manner.

Due to the unprecedented shock, COVID-19 has led to a worsening debt situation for CFA economies. This has increased debt service costs.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng) genome has been difficult to unlock its genomics due to its size, high repeat content, and polyploidy nature. Although chromosome-scale genome assembly for ginseng holds numerous challenges, a draft gene space assembly can open many avenues for ginseng crop improvements. This chapter provides an overview of the current ginseng genomic status, evolution, gene annotation of novel genes associated with repeat evolution, and environmental adaptations.

In 2050, the population of the world is expected to be 9 billion, which means we have to produce six times more food. With this population explosion and increase in food demand, the agricultural land is depleting at an alarming rate, jeopardizing future progress. In order to overcome this problem, the soil organic matter plays a dynamic role in the maintenance and improvement of soil properties. Organic matter determines larger part of soil and has tremendous ecological significance; it influences ecosystem productivity, soil health, and climate quality. The soil organic matter maintains and improves many physical, chemical, and biological properties. This chapter explicates the effect of organic matter on physical, chemical, and biological properties, including soil structure, water retention, available water capacity, thermal conductivity, erodibility, infiltration, soil aggregate formation, soil color, soil compaction, soil aeration, pH, buffering capacity, CEC, base saturation, zeta potential, exchangeable cations, soil fertility and nutrient release, microbial population, soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen transformation, mycorrhizal population, root length and root growth, and soil enzymes. It was concluded that increase in the organic matter enhanced these properties, while reduction in organic matter had a detrimental impact on these properties.

The potassium status of different types of soils with various textures, and the content and distribution of forms of soil potassium, were studied in long-term experiments in various agrolandscapes. It was shown that the content of forms of soil potassium naturally increased from soils of the non-chernozem zone to soils of the forest-steppe and the steppe, and within a zone when the texture was fine. The profile distribution of forms of potassium in the explored soils was unequal. It was found that under agro-depleting conditions (long-term agricultural use of soils without fertilization) as a result of uncompensated removal of soil potassium by plants, a minimum level of exchangeable potassium (K2Omin) was reached. The part played by exchangeable and non-exchangeable soil potassium in crop formation under agro-depleting conditions was determined in various agricultural landscapes. It was shown that without the application of fertilizers, potassium removal with a harvest significantly exceeded the decrease in the amount of exchangeable potassium from soils, and a harvest formed due to the mobilization of the natural non-exchangeable potassium under the influence of plants. The annual mobilization of potassium from stocks of sod-podsolic soils and gray forest soils was 40–62 kg/ha of K2O, while that from chernozem and light chestnut soils was 57–130 kg/ha. To ensure that plants receive the optimal level of potassium and to prevent the soil from being depleted of potassium, the regular use of potash fertilizers is necessary.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a specialized software robot widely used for facilitating repeated tasks. The RPA can augment medical staff in data gathering, analysis, and reporting process. This chapter presents an RPA framework for a mobile glaucoma screening system. With the RPA, fundus images and clinical history of patients are gathered and submitted to the machine learning-based glaucoma diagnosis. If the preliminary diagnosis results in a severe condition, the application directly prompts the eye specialists for timely verification and treatments. The application facilitates the specialists in adjusting clinical parameters, making final diagnosis decision remotely, gathering and reporting information and decision, and scheduling the next hospital visit or re-imaging. The integration of the RPA framework within the eye screening system significantly reduces costs and time of operations, allows timely treatments, improves customer experiences, and promotes feasibility in large-scale population glaucoma screening.

Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schltdl. is a tree that - at maturity - can reach up to 25 m in height. It has a straight trunk that can reach 0.8–1 m in diameter. It is commonly known as “quebracho blanco” and widely used in the Chaco region as medicine to treat fever, malaria, swellings, stomach upsets, cough, headaches, syphilis, impotence, benign prostatic hypertrophy and asthma related dyspnea. The stem bark of A. quebracho-blanco is the most frequently used plant part in medicinal preparations. Terpenoid indole alkaloids, the main biologically active principles of the plant are associated with the medicinal properties of the tree. The bark is rich in aspidospermine, yohimbine, deacetyl-aspidospermine and quebrachamine. Other alkaloids also were isolated. Several of these terpenoid indole alkaloids showed in vitro and sometimes in vivo pharmacological activities that support the medicinal effects traditionally attributed to A. quebracho-blanco. Aspidospermine showed in vitro antiplasmodial activity. Aspidospermine, yohimbine and quebrachime had adrenergic blocking activities on a variety of urogenital tissues. Rhazinilam showed mild analgesic activity in mice. The high tannin levels found in the bark, leaves and woods are believed to contribute to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Recent research suggests that bark preparations have a potential for the development of antiviral and larvicidal agents. However, further investigations are needed with especial emphasis on the in vivo effects, in order to understand the real therapeutic significance of the alkaloids and other compounds of A. quebracho-blanco.

The CFA zone remains important and interesting for several reasons as it is at the heart of development challenges—poverty traps, climate change, terrorism, and food security, among others. A rich CFA zone is Europe’s interest as it can stem the flow of migration to Europe.

In the CFA zones in West and Central Africa, the COVID-19 shocks are amplifying existing competitiveness challenges, reducing growth prospects, and worsening poverty. The CFA zone has fewer policy tools at its disposal to cope with shocks.

A field study for the soil of Date Palm trees farm in Al-Uja area was carried out in order to determine nutrients composition and concentrations of the soils from different four points along the farm. Soil samples were collected from two depths of each point (0–40, 40–80 cm). Soils nutrients were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) in to determine K+, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, Fe+3, Mn+2, Cu+, and, Zn+2. Total N was determined using Kjeldahl method and total P was determined using Olsen method. The results of soil analysis showed that there is a deficiency of micro-nutrients and for macro-nutrients in all points of soil. They also showed that the total content of nitrogen in both soil types is considered medium, that the total phosphorous (TP) decreases eastward, that the potassium content of both soil depths is considered high, and that magnesium and calcium contents are low. In general there is no significant difference for macro-nutrients content when depth increases. It is recommended not only to add adequate weight of micro-nutrients, but also to find methods to mobilize Ca+2 and Mg+2. Following the results on the study area, it was clear that the applied fertilizers are not site-specific and not finely tuned to local soil chemical conditions. Therefore information needs to be collected on soil nutrients on the one hand and soil fertility needs to be improved using agro forestry techniques.

Another important challenge during the post-recovery in the CFA zone will be to address the rising debt levels. These have accelerated since the pandemic.

Gaseous, liquid, and solid substances containing elements such as carbon and hydrogen can chemically react with oxygen in the air and release energy.

Soils influence human health in many ways, both positive and negative. These include the supply of nutrients; exposure to heavy metals, organic chemicals, and pathogens; the supply of antibiotics and other medicines; and soils may even support mental health. Soils can impact all aspects of the human system, from the skin to the respiratory tract, digestive and nervous systems, and beyond. Human management of the soil system can have a major impact on these influences. In particular, any management that supports soil health also supports human health. Establishing the health of a soil involves the measurement of soil biological, chemical, and physical properties. Future needs in the area of soil and human health include well-designed scientific studies that investigate the links between soil abiotic and biotic properties and human health as well as soil science links to soils and human health.

Increasing population means increased food production and that requires good agricultural practices, which eventually means healthy soil. Restoration of soil health by remediation methods is the answer to the present population rise. Soil remediation by biological means is a sustainable way of achieving soil fertility and increased crop yield. Bioremediation has been used for detoxification of polluted soils and water bodies. Mycoremediation, i.e. bioremediation using fungal cultures, is gaining attention for improvement of soil protection, recovery and the prevention of soil contamination. A further step in making the process of bioremediation more eco-friendly, feasible and economical is by the application of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles prepared using fungal biomasses have shown promising results when applied to environmental contaminants. This chapter focuses on the status and future challenges of myconanoparticles in bioremediation.