Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been used globally to address water scarcity for various ecosystem uses, including crop irrigation requirements, and to meet the water resource needs of a growing world ...population. However, the costs, benefits and impacts of alternative crop types and irrigation practices is challenging to evaluate comprehensively. We present an assessment methodology to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural systems as applied to a southeastern U.S. river basin. We utilized detailed, crop-level cultivation information to calculate sustainability indicators (relative to well-water irrigation) at the basin scale (6-digit Hydrologic Unit Codes). 40 design configurations comprising crop types and irrigation practices were evaluated to demonstrate the methodology's robustness. Four RWH designs and four major crops (pasture-grass, soybeans, corn, and cotton) resembling current practices were evaluated, as well as six combined systems (combined RWH and well-water systems) with four globally representative crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, and quinoa). Sustainability scores were calculated by integrating seven life cycle impact indicators (cumulative energy demand, CO2 emission, blue water use, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, human health-cancer, and life cycle costs). At a basin-wide RWH adoption rate of 25%, the benefits, relative to 100% well-water, of the RWH systems irrigating soybeans and supported with well-water (0.4 well-water: 0.6 RWH) provided cumulative energy savings of 39 Peta Joule and reductions in CO2 emission, blue water use, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, and human health-cancer at 1.9 Mt CO2 eq., 6.9 Gm3, 5.7 MCTU, 6.6 kt N eq., and 0.07 CTU, respectively. These benefits increased linearly with RWH scaling variables including the adoption rates, system service life, crop area, and water needs. Our methodology integrates the three pillars of agricultural sustainability specific to rainwater harvesting into a single score. It is applicable to other locations worldwide facing water scarcity by modifying the RWH system design, selecting other crop types, and obtaining appropriate data.
Abstract
Process heating is an important step in manufacturing industries such as metal, cement, brick, food, etc., and accounts for a large share of the total energy consumption of those industries. ...In Nepal, process heating alone accounts for around 64% of the process energy of the manufacturing sector. Around 64% of Nepalese industries’ energy demand for process heating is supplied by high-carbon emitting fossil fuels such as coal, diesel, etc. The industrial sector is responsible for significant global greenhouse gas emissions. Nepalese manufacturing Industries emit around 0.002248 GT of CO
2
annually. The movement toward carbon neutrality has prompted many countries around the world to look for clean and sustainable fuel to meet their decarbonization goal. This study overviews Nepalese industries’ different industrial heating processes in terms of energy consumption, emissions, energy efficiency measures and interventions, and renewable options from a literature review and using data from secondary sources. Based on the data collected and the literature review of the industries, the potential low-carbon fuels which can be compatible with heating applications in Nepalese industries are reviewed. This paper concludes with recommendations for the future decarbonization of process heating in Nepalese industries.
Abstract The United States hydropower fleet has faced increasing environmental and regulatory pressures over the last half century, potentially constraining total generation. Here we show that annual ...capacity factor has declined at four fifths of United States hydropower plants since 1980, with two thirds of decreasing trends significant at p < 0.05. Results are based on an analysis of annual energy generation totals and nameplate capacities for 610 plants (>5 megawatt), representing 87% of total conventional hydropower capacity in the United States. On aggregate, changes in capacity factor imply a fleetwide, cumulative generation decrease of 23% since 1980 before factoring in capacity upgrades—akin to retiring a Hoover Dam once every two to three years. Changes in water availability explain energy decline in only 21% of plants, highlighting the importance of non-climatic drivers of generation, including deterioration of plant equipment as well as changes to dam operations in support of nonpower objectives.
Abstract
Nepal is seeking carbon-free alternative fuels due to environmental concerns and economic issues resulting from fossil fuel usage. Carbon-neutral SNG has the potential as an alternative to ...LPG gas in domestic cooking, but traditional LPG equipment may not be compatible with SNG. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to study the compatibility of traditional LPG equipment with SNG, and it was found that essential optimization is needed to obtain optimal cooking conditions by SNG combustion. Engineering Equation Solver (EES) was used to determine the optimum inlet pressure for varying nozzle sizes. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that the optimal nozzle size for the selected type of burner is 1.15 mm. This particular nozzle size was found to provide better uniformity of flame temperature and complete combustion, resulting in an average temperature of 1700 K at a fuel inlet pressure of 2.75 kPa. This makes it a potentially better option for cooking compared to LPG, as it could potentially provide faster cooking times. The results were verified using the Python CANTERA model. A 40-50% increase in the nozzle orifice size from the traditional LPG nozzle orifice size is suggested for such conversions.
Twenty three polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for citrus plant pathogenic fungus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and were used to analyze genetic diversity and population structure ...of 163 isolates from four different geographical regions of Ethiopia. These loci produced a total of 118 alleles with an average of 5.13 alleles per microsatellite marker. The polymorphic information content values ranged from 0.104 to 0.597 with an average of 0.371. The average observed heterozygosity across all loci varied from 0.046 to 0.058. The gene diversity among the loci ranged from 0.106 to 0.664. Unweighted Neighbor-joining and population structure analysis grouped these 163 isolates into three major groups. The clusters were not according to the geographic origin of the isolates. Analysis of molecular variance showed 85% of the total variation within populations and only 5% among populations. There was low genetic differentiation in the total populations (FST = 0.049) as evidenced by high level of gene flow estimate (Nm = 4.8 per generation) among populations. The results show that Ethiopian C. gloeosporioides populations are generally characterized by a low level of genetic diversity. The newly developed microsatellite markers were useful in analyzing the genetic diversity and population structure of the C. gloeosporioides populations. Information obtained from this study could be useful as a base to design strategies for better management of leaf and fruit spot disease of citrus in Ethiopia.
•Distribution of hydropower projects in biodiverse areas of Nepal studied.•Existing projects lie in the Hills, the future moving northward in the Himalayas.•Hydropower is located in more than half of ...the biodiverse areas.•More than five thousand megawatts inside the biodiverse areas.•Future projects are more interacted with biodiverse areas.
Hydropower project construction is increasing, which can affect the terrestrial environment. Hydropower projects located in environmentally sensitive areas have higher environmental impacts, so we analyzed the spatiotemporal interaction between hydropower project locations and terrestrial environmentally sensitive areas of Nepal to visualize the probable environmental impacts. Most existing projects lie on the Hills (Middle Mountains); however, future projects are moving northward toward the Himalayas. Among the 12 eco-regions of Nepal, hydropower projects are located in 10 eco-regions. Hydropower projects were found to interact with more than half of the biodiverse areas of the country (28 out of 45), and more than five thousand megawatts of hydropower projects are located completely inside these biodiverse areas. The study suggests that the interaction between hydropower projects and environmentally sensitive areas might increase in the future. Hydropower projects should avoid environmentally sensitive areas such as biodiverse areas and protected areas as much as possible to minimize the impacts. Rapid hydropower development is necessary for countries such as Nepal, so further studies on the effects of hydropower projects on environmentally sensitive areas as well as improvement of the quality of the environmental assessment of the projects are necessary for environmentally friendly development.
Insect pests pose a serious threat to global food production. Pod borer (
(Hübner)) is one of the most destructive pests of leguminous crops. The use of host resistance has been an effective, ...environmentally friendly and sustainable approach for controlling several agricultural pests. The exploitation of natural variations in crop wild relatives could yield pest-resistant crop varieties. In this study, we used a high-throughput transcriptome profiling approach to investigate the defense mechanisms of susceptible cultivated and tolerant wild pigeonpea genotypes against
infestation. The wild genotype displayed elevated pest-induced gene expression, including the enhanced induction of phytohormone and calcium/calmodulin signaling, transcription factors, plant volatiles and secondary metabolite genes compared to the cultivated control. The biosynthetic and regulatory processes associated with flavonoids, terpenes and glucosinolate secondary metabolites showed higher accumulations in the wild genotype, suggesting the existence of distinct tolerance mechanisms. This study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying insect resistance in the wild pigeonpea genotype. This information highlights the indispensable role of crop wild relatives as a source of crucial genetic resources that could be important in devising strategies for crop improvement with enhanced pest resistance.
IntroductionInternet use has become integral part of daily living in current world; at the same time its misuse is likely to cause addiction and negative impact in mental health. Internet addiction ...is similar to other substance addiction and has been associated with different psychiatric comorbidities.ObjectivesTo study prevalence of internet use disorder in youth patients,to find the association of psychiatric comorbidities with pattern of internet use and to study socio-demographic variables.MethodsAn institutional based cross-sectionalstudy was carried out in psychiatric out-patientdepartment of tertiary hospital. A total of 146 youth patients (15-24 years) who consented for the study were enrolled. Psychiatric diagnosis was made by the consultant psychiatrist using ICD-10/DSR criteria.ResultsOut of total 146 patients with mean age 19.99 years, internet use was found in 89.7% of youth patients out of which 63.7% used in single device and 26.3% in multiple devices. Internet addiction was found in 67.8% youth patients and internet gaming in 33.6% patients. Higher level of internet addiction was found in adolescent (15-19 years) than adult (20-24 years) with statistically significant p value 0.014; patients from middle and higher socio-economic condition than low socio-economic conditionwith statistically significant p value 0.024; patients from uran region compared to semi-urban and rural with statistically significant p value 0.000; and patient using internet gaming with statistically significant p vallue 0.000. Among psychiatric diagnosis, ANxiety, depression and subtance use disorders were associated with internet use disorder however were statistically insignificant.ConclusionsInternet addiction is high in youth patients; adolescent (15-19 years) compared to adults (20-24 years). Anxiety, Depression and substance use disorders had higher association with internet use disorder.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Abstract
Urochloa
(syn.
Brachiaria
) is the most popular fodder of livestock farmers in Cameroon for hay and seed productions. Farmers in Cameroon have been producing
Brachiaria
seeds for decades for ...own uses and surplus are sold to neighbours, and to traders from Cameroon and neighbouring countries. However, there is no information available about qualities of these seeds. Fifteen
Urochloa
seeds samples were collected from farmers and/or government stations in five regions (Adamaoua, East, North, North West, and West) and analysed for major seed quality parameters along with seeds of improved
Urochloa
cultivar Basilisk imported from Brazil as a check. Study showed significant differences among treatments for various seed quality parameters tested (
P
< 0.0001). The highest thousand grains weight was recorded in Basilisk (5.685 g), followed by W12 (3.555 g), A05 (3.153 g) and N01 (2.655 g). Caryopsis number and caryopsis weight were highest in Basilisk followed by E09, A06, and W12. Of three conditions tested for seed germination, mean germination was the highest in greenhouse (7.39%) where Basilisk had the highest germination (25.5%) followed by N01 (18.50%), A05 (14.50%) and W12 (12.75%). The seed viability ranged from 18% (E09) to 81% (N01), and there were a positive and highly significant relationships between seed germination and viability traits (r = 0.883;
P
< 0.0001). This study showed a marked difference in seed quality parameters of
Urochloa
grass seeds produced in Cameroon, and the potential of developing
Urochloa
grass seed business in the Northern, Adamaoua and Western regions of Cameroon.
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