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The excessive use of pesticides has led to the harmful contamination of water reservoirs. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is one of the suitable methods for the removal of pesticides from water. Herein, the development of CBO (Co3O4-Bi2O3) as a heterogeneous catalyst for the visible light-assisted degradation of Fipronil and Acetochlor pesticides is reported. After synthesis via coprecipitation using cobalt (II) nitrate hexahydrate (Co(NO3)2·6H2O), bismuth (III) nitrate pentahydrate (Bi(NO3)3·5H2O) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as precursor materials, the prepared CBO was characterized using advanced techniques including XRD, EDS, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and surface area and pore size analysis. Then, it was employed as a photocatalyst for the degradation of Fipronil and Acetochlor pesticides under visible light irradiation. The complete removal of Fipronil and Acetochlor pesticides was observed over CBO photocatalyst using 50 mL (100 mg/L) of each pesticide separately within 120 min of reaction. The reaction kinetics was investigated using a non-linear method of analysis using the Solver add-in. The prepared CBO exhibited a 2.8-fold and 2-fold catalytic performance in the photodegradation of selected pesticides than Co3O4 and Bi2O3 did, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is essential to human well‐being and sustains a variety of aquatic ecosystems in both urban and rural settings. Yet, it is commonly overlooked in these contexts. As a result, groundwater may be very important to the development and well‐being of many nations if it is properly evaluated and utilized. Although the possibility for sustainable groundwater resource development is still debated in the literature, these issues still lack quantitative understanding. In order to assess groundwater potential in two different urbanized regions of "Northern Kerala, Southern India," this research uses the "Enhanced Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (E‐Fuzzy AHP) based Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)‐Geospatial Framework employing Improved Particle Swarm Optimization (IPSO)". The study area is a coastal region that is quickly becoming urbanized and relies on groundwater resources to meet its basic needs. By incorporating both spatial and non‐spatial data into the Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, a groundwater potential zone map with an accurate integer value was created, known as the "groundwater potential index (GWPI)". The very excellent potential zone occupies 35% and 11%, respectively, of the "urban and peri‐urban zones," according to the final groundwater potential map, which employed the quantile technique to split the research territory into four zones. The statistical effectiveness and dependability of results in the overall decision‐making phase were examined in the validation study using the data on mean water depth level, and it was found that the reliability was well within the tolerance threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The likelihood of fire following a natural or man-made event is comparatively high, such as a fire occurring after a terrorist attack or any natural disaster such as a tornado, lightning strike or earthquake. A structure is the one element that is consistent throughout all these different hazard–fire interactions. In this work, the response of a three-dimensional monolithic reinforced concrete (RC) dome structure under explosion loading followed by a fire event was analysed using detailed finite-element (FE) analysis in LS-Dyna. The analysis was divided into three stages. Since an explosion is a dynamic event and gravity loads and fire are considered quasi-static events, explicit and implicit solvers were alternately employed. Material data and equations governing the thermal and non-linear behaviour of RC structures from BS EN 1992-1-2:2004 were used. A blast load was applied to the dome structure through Load_Blast_Enhanced in LS-Dyna. Fire load was applied as per ISO 834-10:2014. The results showed that an explosion followed by fire significantly increases structural damage. The major aim of this work was to understand the behaviour of a dome structure under combined blast and fire loading and to show the capabilities of FE analyses in such investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the development of visible-light-responsive catalysts for the photodegradation of organic pollutants has captured the attention of researchers globally. The ineffectiveness and high costs associated with conventional methods and techniques used for the abatement of water pollution have forced researchers to develop effective and low-cost innovative techniques for this purpose. Photocatalysis is considered an effective protocol for this purpose. Therefore, this study was conducted for the development of the Bi2O3-NiO heterojunction as a visible-light-responsive photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl orange. Ni(NO3)2∙6H2O (Fluka) and Bi(NO3)3∙5H2O (Merck) were used as precursor materials for the synthesis of NiO-Bi2O3. After fabrication, the Bi2O3-NiO heterojunction was characterized using XRD, EDX, SEM, FTIR, and TGA techniques. Then, it was employed as a catalyst for the photodegradation of methyl orange under sunlight irradiation. The fabricated Bi2O3-NiO showed higher photocatalytic activity than Bi2O3 and NiO with 100, 67, and 46% degradation of methyl orange, respectively. The rate constant determined by the non-linear method of analysis for the photodegradation of MO in the presence of Bi2O3-NiO was 3.2-fold and 1.7-fold of the rate constant with NiO and Bi2O3, respectively. The higher photocatalytic activity of Bi2O3-NiO than of its individual components in the present study is also attributed to the separation and transfer of positive holes and electrons. The recycling of spent Bi2O3-NiO under similar experimental conditions exhibited the same photocatalytic activity suggesting the stability of the fabricated Bi2O3-NiO photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil fertilizers have the potential to significantly increase crop yields and improve plant health by providing essential nutrients to the soil. The use of fertilizers can also help to improve soil structure and fertility, leading to more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems. However, overuse or improper use of fertilizers can lead to soil degradation, which can reduce soil fertility, decrease crop yields, and damage ecosystems. Thus, several attempts have been made to overcome the issues related to the drawbacks of fertilizers, including the development of an advanced fertilizer delivery system. Biopolymer aerogels show promise as an innovative solution to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of soil-fertilizer delivery systems. Further research and development in this area could lead to the widespread adoption of biopolymer aerogels in agriculture, promoting sustainable farming practices and helping to address global food-security challenges. This review discusses for the first time the potential of biopolymer-based aerogels in soil-fertilizer delivery, going through the types of soil fertilizer and the advert health and environmental effects of overuse or misuse of soil fertilizers. Different types of biopolymer-based aerogels were discussed in terms of their potential in fertilizer delivery and, finally, the review addresses the challenges and future directions of biopolymer aerogels in soil-fertilizer delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of water with organic pollutants, such as dyes, has become a serious threat to the environment. Therefore, the development of a cost-effective, eco-friendly, proficient, and visible-light-driven catalyst for the treatment of organic dye-contaminated wastewater has been a burning issue recently. Photocatalysis is suggested as a potential treatment technique for the eradication of organic pollutants. The 1D tunnel-structured manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS) is a suitable substance to be tested as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the degradation of organic contaminants. However, the fast recombination of photoinduced charges (h+/e−) limits its photocatalytic application. The development of heterojunctions between OMS and other metals, such as Ag, is a suitable technique for improving the photocatalytic performance of OMS. In this study, Ag-OMS with plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic activity is reported for the photodegradation of crystal violet dye. Manganese oxide OMS was prepared by an acidic precipitation method using potassium permanganate, manganese acetate, and nitric acid as precursor materials. Ag nanoparticles were deposited on OMS using leaf extracts of Calotropis gigantea. The deposition of Ag enhanced the photocatalytic performance of OMS from 68 to 95%. The effects of Ag contents, catalyst dosage, and concentration of crystal violet dye on catalytic performance were explored as well. Approximately 100, 95, and 75% photodegradation of 50, 100, and 150 mg/L crystal violet dye was observed in 90, 120, and 120 min in the presence of 10% Ag-OMS, respectively. Excellent photocatalytic performance, low dose utilization, and reusability proved that Ag-OMS might have practical environmental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an attempt to interpret the Arjuna’s state in battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna showed an impression of depression due to approach-avoidance conflict. It has been tried to explain how he feels during the psychological state of depression and how he logically tries to defend his denial for not fighting for the sake of Dharma. The cognitive analysis was used to interpret the symptoms sighted by Arjuna. The article provides a new perspective for the cognitive interpretation of Arjuna Vishad Yoga given in Bhagwat Gita. Lastly, the paper highlighted depression, antecedents, conflict, and the psychological state of Arjuna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyse the potential of geographical information system (GIS) in decision making in rail route planning process. The various parameters affecting the alignment of rail route are considered in this study and a feasibility map is prepared considering the cumulative effect of these factors. The factors considered in this study are road network, slope, topographical characteristics and drainage characteristics of study area. Each parameter is given weights according to analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in GIS environment. The layers of parameters affecting the feasibility of route are overlaid in GIS environment to find a feasibility map. Feasibility map is divided into five categories i.e. very low, low, moderate, high and extremely feasible on the basis of feasibility index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health problems are an important public health concern for all age groups, but especially for married professionals. The objective of the present study was to explore the role of mental health and depression in suicidal ideation among married professionals. The sample consisted of200 married professionals in the age range of 25 to 40 years. Symptom check list-90 (Derogatis, et al., 1973), Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1996), and Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (Reynolds, 1991) were administered to the respondents. Results of the Pearson product moment correlation revealed that depression and mental health found to be positively correlated with suicidal ideation among married professionals. Stepwise regression analysis revealed two potent predictors of suicidal ideation i.e. Depression and phobic anxiety which account 29% of the variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]