The problem of E-waste has forced Environmental agencies of many countries to innovate, develop and adopt environmentally sound options and strategies for E-waste management, with a view to mitigate ...and control the ever growing threat of E-waste to the environment and human health. E-waste management is given the top priority in many developed countries, but in rapid developing countries like India, it is difficult to completely adopt or replicate the E-waste management system in developed countries due to many country specific issues
viz. socio-economic conditions, lack of infrastructure, absence of appropriate legislations for E-waste, approach and commitments of the concerned, etc. This paper presents a review and assessment of the E-waste management system of developed as well as developing countries with a special emphasis on Switzerland, which is the first country in the world to have established and implemented a formal E-waste management system and has recycled 11
kg/capita of WEEE against the target of 4
kg/capita set by EU. And based on the discussions of various approaches, laws, legislations, practices of different countries, a road map for the development of sustainable and effective E-waste management system in India for ensuring environment, as well as, occupational safety and health, is proposed.
Amazing conductivity, perfect honeycomb sp(2) arrangement and the high theoretical surface area make pristine graphene as one of the best materials suited for application as catalyst supports. ...Unfortunately, the low reactivity of the material makes the formation of nanocomposite with inorganic materials difficult. Here we report an easy approach to synthesize nanocomposites of pristine graphene with palladium (Pd-G) using swollen liquid crystals (SLCs) as a soft template. The SLC template gives the control to deposit very small Pd particles of uniform size on G as well as RGO. The synthesized nanocomposite (Pd-G) exhibited exceptionally better catalytic activity compared with Pd-RGO nanocomposite in the hydrogenation of nitrophenols and microwave assisted C-C coupling reactions. The catalytic activity of Pd-G nanocomposite during nitrophenol reduction reaction was sixteen times higher than Pd nanoparticles and more than double than Pd-RGO nanocomposite. The exceptionally high activity of pristine graphene supported catalysts in the organic reactions is explained on the basis of its better pi interacting property compared to partially reduced RGO. The Pd-G nanocomposite showed exceptional stability under the reaction conditions as it could be recycled upto a minimum of 15 cycles for the C-C coupling reactions without any loss in activity.
Infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has reached pandemic proportions. A number of effective vaccines have ...been produced, including mRNA vaccines and viral vector vaccines, which are now being implemented on a large scale in order to control the pandemic. The mRNA vaccines are composed of viral Spike S1 protein encoding mRNA incorporated in a lipid nanoparticle and stabilized by polyethylene glycol (PEG). The mRNA vaccines are novel in many respects, including cellular uptake and the intracellular routing, processing, and secretion of the viral protein. Viral vector vaccines have incorporated DNA sequences, encoding the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein into (attenuated) adenoviruses. The antigen presentation routes in MHC class I and class II, in relation to the induction of virus-neutralizing antibodies and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, will be reviewed. In rare cases, mRNA vaccines induce unwanted immune mediated side effects. The mRNA-based vaccines may lead to an anaphylactic reaction. This reaction may be triggered by PEG. The intracellular routing of PEG and potential presentation in the context of CD1 will be discussed. Adenovirus vector-based vaccines have been associated with thrombocytopenic thrombosis events. The anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies found in these patients could be generated due to conformational changes of relevant epitopes presented to the immune system.
Wide‐ranging multi‐platform data from a major field campaign conducted over Indian region was used to estimate the energy absorbed in ten layers of the atmosphere. We found that during pre‐monsoon ...season, most of Indian region is characterized by elevated aerosol layers. Three‐fold increase in aerosol extinction coefficient was observed at higher atmospheric layers (>2 km) compared to that near the surface and a substantial fraction (as much as 50 to 70%) of aerosol optical depth was found contributed by aerosols above (reflecting) clouds. Consequent absorption and hence strong warming above clouds was found larger by several degrees (K) compared to that near the surface. The aerosol‐induced elevated warming was mostly confined below 2 km over northern Indian Ocean while found up to 4 km over central India, thus exhibiting strong meridional gradients (∼4 K) at atmospheric levels above 2 km. Climate implications of the large elevated warming are discussed.
SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the globe, causing millions of deaths worldwide. Though most survive, many experience symptoms of COVID-19 for months after acute infection. Successful prevention and ...treatment of acute COVID-19 infection and its associated sequelae is dependent on in-depth knowledge of viral pathology across the spectrum of patient phenotypes and physiologic responses. Longitudinal biobanking provides a valuable resource of clinically integrated, easily accessed, and quality-controlled samples for researchers to study differential multi-organ system responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), and vaccination. Adults with a history of a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal PCR are actively recruited from the community or hospital settings to enroll in the Northern Colorado SARS-CoV-2 Biorepository (NoCo-COBIO). Blood, saliva, stool, nasopharyngeal specimens, and extensive clinical and demographic data are collected at 4 time points over 6 months. Patients are assessed for PASC during longitudinal follow-up by physician led symptom questionnaires and physical exams. This clinical trial registration is NCT04603677. We have enrolled and collected samples from 119 adults since July 2020, with 66% follow-up rate. Forty-nine percent of participants assessed with a symptom surveillance questionnaire (N = 37 of 75) had PASC at any time during follow-up (up to 8 months post infection). Ninety-three percent of hospitalized participants developed PASC, while 23% of those not requiring hospitalization developed PASC. At 90-174 days post SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, 67% of all participants had persistent symptoms (N = 37 of 55), and 85% percent of participants who required hospitalization during initial infection (N = 20) still had symptoms. The most common symptoms reported after 15 days of infection were fatigue, loss of smell, loss of taste, exercise intolerance, and cognitive dysfunction.
Nanotechnology has the potential to change the entire agriculture sector but there might be several risks which may affect the environment. Raw materials such as heavy metals used to synthesize metal ...nanoparticles have significant negative effect on various growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants. The present study was carried out to assess the effect of zinc nanoparticles on some metabolic activities of potato plants. Potato plants were grown in growth chambers. Two foliar sprays of zinc nanoparticles of 100,300 and 500 ppm were given on potato plants. First spray was given after 25 days and the second after 45 days of planting. Enzymatic antioxidants (catalase and peroxidase), non enzymatic antioxidants (total phenolics and anthocyanins) and carbohydrates (starch and total soluble sugars) were analysed. The activity of enzymes was high in zinc nanoparticle treated plants compared to control plants. There were 142,109 and 212% increase in catalase activity in plants treated with 100, 300 and 500 ppm concentration of nanoparticles, respectively. Increase in peroxidase activity was significant at 500 ppm concentration. Treatment with zinc nanoparticles increased the total phenolics and anthocyanin content significantly at 300 and 500 ppm concentrations. There were 15, 29 and 259% increase in the starch contentdue to 100,300 and 500 ppm concentration of nanoparticles, respectively. The increase in enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants clearly indicated that the zinc nanoparticles lead to oxidative stress and caused toxicity to potato plants.
Electronic waste or E-waste comprises of old, end-of-life electronic appliances such as computers, laptops, TVs, DVD players, refrigerators, freezers, mobile phones, MP3 players, etc., which have ...been disposed of by their original users. E-waste contains many hazardous constituents that may negatively impact the environment and affect human health if not properly managed. Various organizations, bodies, and governments of many countries have adopted and/or developed the environmentally sound options and strategies for E-waste management to tackle the ever growing threat of E-waste to the environment and human health. This paper presents E-waste composition, categorization, Global and Indian E-waste scenarios, prospects of recoverable, recyclable, and hazardous materials found in the E-waste, Best Available Practices, recycling, and recovery processes followed, and their environmental and occupational hazards. Based on the discussion, various challenges for E-waste management particularly in India are delineated, and needed policy interventions were discussed.
PurposeA continuous issue which plagues all service businesses is the process of handling complaints. Whilst the topic has been relatively well explored, extant literature has failed to fully explore ...how staff demographics influence the methods in which they manage complaints.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was adopted with semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sample was selected, inviting managers from hotels in Dubai to share their views on factors affecting the complaint management process, including the impact of staff demographics.FindingsStaff demographics were found to have an impact on staff's approach to handle complaints. However, participants generally felt that, with sufficient experience, the impact of many of these influences would be negated.Originality/valueLiterature on complaint management has considered numerous mitigating factors affecting the complaint management process. The impact of staff demographics on how they receive and respond to complaints has not been thoroughly explored.
Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) naturally harbor a wide range of viruses of human relevance. These infections are typically mild in bats, suggesting unique features of their immune system. ...To better understand the immune response to viral infections in bats, we infected male Jamaican fruit bats with the bat-derived influenza A virus (IAV) H18N11. Using comparative single-cell RNA sequencing, we generated single-cell atlases of the Jamaican fruit bat intestine and mesentery. Gene expression profiling showed that H18N11 infection resulted in a moderate induction of interferon-stimulated genes and transcriptional activation of immune cells. H18N11 infection was predominant in various leukocytes, including macrophages, B cells, and NK/T cells. Confirming these findings, human leukocytes, particularly macrophages, were also susceptible to H18N11, highlighting the zoonotic potential of this bat-derived IAV. Our study provides insight into a natural virus-host relationship and thus serves as a fundamental resource for future in-depth characterization of bat immunology.
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