Rural households in South Asia’s coastal deltas face numerous livelihood challenges, including risks posed by climatic variability and extreme weather events. This study examines major climate risks, ...farmers’ adaptation strategies, and the factors affecting the choice of those strategies using data collected from 630 households in southwestern coastal Bangladesh. Farmers identified cyclones, excessive rain and flooding, and salinity as direct climate risks. Increased crop diseases/pests and livestock diseases were perceived as indirect risks resulting from climatic variability. Farmers used multiple adaptation strategies against those risks such as modifications in farm management, use of savings and borrowing funds from family and neighbors, and periodically reducing household food consumption. Off-farm employment and seeking assistance from governmental as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also common adaptation strategies. The results show that male-headed households are more likely to change farming practices and reduce consumption compared with female-headed households that conversely tended to take assistance from NGOs as an adaptation strategy. Ownership of land and livestock, as well as farmers’ prior exposure to climate change and educational training, also had a significant effect on the choice of adaptation strategy. Therefore, development interventions and policies that aimed at improving resource endowment and training to farmers on climatic risks and their adaptation strategies can help minimize the impact of climatic risks.
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•rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite was prepared by simple hydrothermal preparation.•rGO reduces the band gap energy of TiO2 from 3.2 eV to 2.7 eV making rGO-TiO2 visible active.•Ciprofloxacin ...decomposition efficiency of rGO-TiO2 is much higher than TiO2 and TiO2-P25.•Antibacterial activity of rGO-TiO2 nanoparticles reveals that it is more active against S. aureus than E. coli.•rGO-TiO2 can be used as a multifunctional material for photodegradation and antibacterial applications.
The reduced Graphene Oxide based titanium dioxide (rGO-TiO2) nanocomposite was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal preparation and characterized by X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy (UV), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The XRD pattern of rGO-TiO2 indicates the presence of anatase TiO2 and average crystalline size of particles is 32 nm. The optical band gaps of TiO2, GO and rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite are 3.24 eV, 4.3 eV and 2.7 eV respectively. Comparison of efficiencies of three catalysts shows that ciprofloxacin degrades at a faster rate under visible light irradiation in the presence of rGO-TiO2 at 60 min than in presence of pure TiO2 and commercial TiO2-P25. Higher photocatalytic decomposition efficiency of rGO-TiO2 is explained by its reduced electron-hole recombination and visible light activity. The kinetics of photodecomposition reaction was analyzed. Antibacterial activity analysis of rGO-TiO2 nanoparticles reveals that it is more active against S. aureus than E. coli.
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•Visible active rGO-BiVO4-ZnO catalyst was fabricated by simple hydrothermal method.•TEM image of rGO-BiVO4-ZnO shows the pristine structure of BiVO4 on the rGO sheet.•Degradation ...activity is about 98.4% of CIP in 60 min with excellent reusability.•The ciprofloxacin decomposition pathway is proposed by GC-MS analysis.
A highly effective rGO-BiVO4-ZnO photocatalyst was synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, XPS, Photoluminescence, FT-Raman, FT-IR and Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The narrow peaks of rGO-BiVO4-ZnO reveal good crystallinity and strong diffraction peaks of GO at 11.30° and 42.43° correspond to the layered structure of GO. Average crystalline size of the rGO-BiVO4-ZnO was 35 nm. TEM images reveal the presence of nanorods of ZnO and pristine structure of BiVO4 on the rGO sheet. The band gap energy for rGO-BiVO4-ZnO is 2.35 eV. The reduced PL emission at 524.6 nm by rGO-BiVO4-ZnO relative to the synthesized ZnO, reveal a decrease of recombination of the photon-induced electron-hole pair by loading of BiVO4 on ZnO. Ternary nanocomposite rGO-BiVO4-ZnO exhibits highest photodecomposition activity, achieving 98.4% decomposition efficiency for ciprofloxacin in 60 min under visible light irradiation. Photogenerated holes play a major role in the photocatalytic decomposition of ciprofloxacin (CIP), Low cost rGO-BiVO4-ZnO is stable and recyclable for effective decomposition of ciprofloxacin. Based on the GC-MS analysis, the CIP decomposition pathway as well as decomposition mechanism of piperazine ring oxidation are proposed. The photodecomposition efficiency is mainly due to charge transfer and excellent electron hole separation by doping of rGO.
Understanding major climate risks, adaptation strategies, and factors influencing the choice of those strategies is crucial to reduce farmers' vulnerability. Employing comprehensive data from 2822 ...farm households in Ethiopia and Kenya (East Africa; EA) and 1902 farm households in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal (South Asia; SA), this study investigates the main climate risks that farmers faced and the adaptation strategies they used. Among others, excessive rainfall and heightened crop pest/disease incidence are commonly observed climate-induced risks in all study areas, while cyclones and salinity are unique to Bangladesh. Drought is prevalent in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nepal. Farmers in those countries responded with strategies that include change in farming practices, sustainable land management, reduce consumption, sell assets, use savings and borrowings, seek alternative employment and assistance from government or NGO. In general, farmers faced several multiple climate risks simultaneously and they responded with multiple adaptation strategies. Therefore, this study used a multivariate probit (MVP) approach to examine the factors influencing the adoption of adaptation strategies. Unlike other studies, we also tested and corrected for possible endogeneity in model estimation. All the countries mentioned have low adaptive capacity to address climate change, which is further weakened by inadequate governance and inefficient institutions. We observed significant differences in the choice of adaptation strategies between male-headed households (MHHs) and female-headed households (FHHs), as well as across countries. Generally, MHHs are more likely to seek additional employment and change agricultural practices, while FHHs and households headed by older persons tend to reduce consumption and rely on savings and borrowings. Institutional support for adaptation is much less in EA compared to SA. Training on alternative farming practices, enhancing non-farm employment options, better institutional support, and social security for older farmers are crucial for climate change adaptation in both regions.
Sustainably feeding the next generation is often described as one of the most pressing "grand challenges" facing the 21st century. Generally, scholars propose addressing this problem by increasing ...agricultural production, investing in technology to boost yields, changing diets, or reducing food waste. In this paper, we explore whether global food production is nutritionally balanced by comparing the diet that nutritionists recommend versus global agricultural production statistics. Results show that the global agricultural system currently overproduces grains, fats, and sugars while production of fruits and vegetables and protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. Correcting this imbalance could reduce the amount of arable land used by agriculture by 51 million ha globally but would increase total land used for agriculture by 407 million ha and increase greenhouse gas emissions. For a growing population, our calculations suggest that the only way to eat a nutritionally balanced diet, save land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to consume and produce more fruits and vegetables as well as transition to diets higher in plant-based protein. Such a move will help protect habitats and help meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
Increasing human population and changing climate, which have given rise to frequent drought spells, pose a serious threat to global food security, while identification of high yielding drought ...tolerant genotypes remains a proficient approach to cope with these challenges. To offer a methodology for the evaluation of the drought-tolerant wheat genotypes based on the pheno-physiological traits, a field experiment was executed, entailing four wheat genotypes viz. BARI Gom 26, BAW 1158, BAW 1167, and BAW 1169 and two water conditions viz. control treatment (three times irrigation at 20, 50, and 70 DAS, i.e., 100% field capacity) and stressed treatment (no irrigation during the entire growing season). The results revealed that drought stress drastically reduced the days to booting, heading, anthesis and physiological maturity, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, canopy temperature depression (CTD), and photo-assimilates-spike dry matter (SDM), grains spike−1 and grain yield of all wheat genotypes. In addition, the genotypes BAW 1167 and BARI Gom 26 remained more prone to adverse effects of drought as compared to BAW 1169 and BAW 1158. Furthermore, DS induced biosynthesis of compatible solutes such as proline, especially in BAW 1169, which enabled plants to defend against oxidative stress. It was inferred that BAW 1169 remained superior by exhibiting the best adaptation as indicated by the maximum relative values of RWC, total chlorophyll, CTD, proline content, SDM, grains spike−1, and grain yield of wheat. Thus, based on our findings, BAW 1169 may be recommended for general adoption and utilization in future wheat breeding programs aimed at developing potent drought-tolerant wheat genotypes to ensure food security on a sustainable basis.
Solid polymer electrolytes used in energy storage devices based on Cornstarch and Poly (vinyl Pyrrolidone) blend incorporated with lithium acetate was prepared using the solution casting method. XRD ...results confirmed that the amorphous nature of the as-prepared polymer electrolyte was increased by addition of salt. 80 wt % Cornstarch/20 wt % PVP/60 wt % lithium acetate added polymer blend system attains better amorphous nature than others. At ambient temperature, 60 wt % of lithium acetate added system has better bulk conductivity of 3.52 × 10−5Scm−1 over the frequency range of 42 Hz to 1 MHz using AC impedance spectroscopy studies. The dielectric analysis is confirmed that the higher conducting sample was having high dielectric constant and low relaxation time for enhancing ions dynamic behaviour. The conduction mechanism of the higher conducting polymer electrolyte is explained by small polaron hopping and overlapping large polaron tunnelling conduction mechanism. From the argand plot, it is confirmed that higher conducting sample has low relaxation time.
An efficient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent with a high R2 relaxivity value is achieved by controlling the shape of iron oxide to rod like morphology with a length of 30-70 nm and ...diameter of 4-12 nm. Fe3O4 nanorods of 70 nm length, encapsulated with polyethyleneimine show a very high R2 relaxivity value of 608 mM(-1) s(-1). The enhanced MRI contrast of nanorods is attributed to their higher surface area and anisotropic morphology. The higher surface area induces a stronger magnetic field perturbation over a larger volume more effectively for the outer sphere protons. The shape anisotropy contribution is understood by calculating the local magnetic field of nanorods and spherical nanoparticles under an applied magnetic field (3 Tesla). As compared to spherical geometry, the induced magnetic field of a rod is stronger and hence the stronger magnetic field over a large volume leads to a higher R2 relaxivity of nanorods.
Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) backed Alexa, Siri and Google Assistants are examples of Voice-based digital assistants (VBDA) that are ubiquitously occupying our living spaces. While ...they gather an enormous amount of personal information to provide bespoke user experience, they also evoke serious privacy concerns regarding the collection, use and storage of personal data of the consumers. The objective of this research is to examine the perception of the consumers towards the privacy concerns and in turn its influence on the adoption of VBDA. We extend the celebrated UTAUT2 model with perceived privacy concerns, perceived privacy risk and perceived trust. With the assistance of survey data collected from tech-savvy respondents, we show that trust in technology and the service provider plays an important role in the adoption of VBDA. In addition, we notice that consumers showcase a trade-off between privacy risks and benefits associated with VBDA while adopting the VBDA such technologies, reiterating their calculus behaviour. Contrary to the extant literature, our results indicate that consumers' perceived privacy risk does not influence adoption intention directly. It is mediated through perceived privacy concerns and consumers’ trust. Then, we propose theoretical and managerial implications to conclude the paper.
•Voice-based digital assistants (VBDC) pose the biggest concern for the privacy.•We examine the influence of privacy concerns related constructs on the adoption of VBDA.•Trust in technology and the service provider plays an important role in the adoption of VBDA.•The study also shows privacy calculus behaviour regarding VBDA adoption.•There is a mediated influence of perceived privacy risk on adoption intention.
The highly infectious and pathogenic novel coronavirus (CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2, has emerged causing a global pandemic. Although COVID-19 predominantly affects the ...respiratory system, evidence indicates a multisystem disease which is frequently severe and often results in death. Long-term sequelae of COVID-19 are unknown, but evidence from previous CoV outbreaks demonstrates impaired pulmonary and physical function, reduced quality of life and emotional distress. Many COVID-19 survivors who require critical care may develop psychological, physical and cognitive impairments. There is a clear need for guidance on the rehabilitation of COVID-19 survivors. This consensus statement was developed by an expert panel in the fields of rehabilitation, sport and exercise medicine (SEM), rheumatology, psychiatry, general practice, psychology and specialist pain, working at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Stanford Hall, UK. Seven teams appraised evidence for the following domains relating to COVID-19 rehabilitation requirements: pulmonary, cardiac, SEM, psychological, musculoskeletal, neurorehabilitation and general medical. A chair combined recommendations generated within teams. A writing committee prepared the consensus statement in accordance with the appraisal of guidelines research and evaluation criteria, grading all recommendations with levels of evidence. Authors scored their level of agreement with each recommendation on a scale of 0-10. Substantial agreement (range 7.5-10) was reached for 36 recommendations following a chaired agreement meeting that was attended by all authors. This consensus statement provides an overarching framework assimilating evidence and likely requirements of multidisciplinary rehabilitation post COVID-19 illness, for a target population of active individuals, including military personnel and athletes.
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