• Fish by-products ( P. magdalenae scales/skeletons) were valorized into natural bio-coagulants (HAP/COL and COL). • High yields were achieved (HAP/COL over 50%), and the composite structure (hydroxyapatite and collagen) was confirmed by FTIR and XRD. • Both bio-coagulants demonstrated high turbidity removal efficiency (HAP/COL: 90–94%; COL: 95–99%). • A major drawback is that the final pH was too acidic (ranging from 4.1 to 5.1), falling below the minimum regulatory standard of 6.5. This study aimed to prepare a bio-coagulant using the scales and skeletons of Prochilodus magdalenae for application in turbidity removal from water. Hydroxyapatite/collagen (HAP/COL) and collagen in solution (COL) were extracted using the precipitation method and the ASH method, respectively. The obtained HAP/COL was dried and ground to a particle size of less than 1 mm. The resulting samples were characterised using FTIR, SEM-EDS, and XRD analyses. Yields of over 50% were achieved for HAP/COL and between 24% and 29% for COL. Following the confirmation of efficient production, the materials were applied as bio-coagulants and evaluated using the jar test method. Turbidity removal efficiency, pH, and conductivity were assessed according to the standards established in Resolution 2115 of 2007. The results demonstrated turbidity removal efficiencies ranging from 90% to 94% for HAP/COL and from 95% to 99% for COL. These removal rates were achieved within pH ranges of 4.1 to 5.1 for HAP/COL and 4.3 to 4.7 for COL, with conductivities ranging from 32 to 95 μS and 112 to 198 μS, respectively.

Landslide data and implementation of a hybrid clustering - neural network algorithm for landslide susceptibility assessment in Matlab.

Landslide data and implementation of a hybrid clustering - neural network algorithm for landslide susceptibility assessment in Matlab.

1. Plant functional traits, in particular specific leaf area (SLA), wood density and seed mass, are often good predictors of individual tree growth rates within communities. Individuals and species with high SLA, low wood density and small seeds tend to have faster growth rates. 2. If community-level relationships between traits and growth have general predictive value, then similar relationships should also be observed in analyses that integrate across taxa, biogeographic regions and environments. Such global consistency would imply that traits could serve as valuable proxies for the complex suite of factors that determine growth rate, and, therefore, could underpin anew generation of robust dynamic vegetation models. Alternatively, growth rates may depend more strongly on the local environment or growth-trait relationships may vary along environmental gradients. 3. We tested these alternative hypotheses using data on 27 352 juvenile trees, representing 278 species from 27 sites on all forested continents, and extensive functional trait data, 38% of which were obtained at the same sites at which growth was assessed. Data on potential evapotranspiration (PET), which summarizes the joint ecological effects of temperature and precipitation, were obtained from a global data base. 4. We estimated size-standardized relative height growth rates (SGR) for all species, then related them to functional traits and PET using mixed-effect models for the fastest growing species and for all species together. 5. Both the mean and 95th percentile SGR were more strongly associated with functional traits than with PET. PET was unrelated to SGR at the global scale. SGR increased with increasing SLA and decreased with increasing wood density and seed mass, but these traits explained only 3.1% of the variation in SGR. SGR-trait relationships were consistently weak across families and biogeographic zones, and over a range of tree statures. Thus, the most widely studied functional traits in plant ecology were poor predictors of tree growth over large scales. 6. Synthesis.We conclude that these functional traits alone may be unsuitable for predicting growth of trees over broad scales. Determining the functional traits that predict vital rates under specific environmental conditions may generate more insight than a monolithic global relationship can offer.

The Indus River Basin has undergone significant hydrological changes due to climate change, leading to increased flood frequency, posing a risk to agriculture-based food security. This study focused on rain-induced flood events from August to September 2022 across the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and Baluchistan using Google Earth Engine, Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, and Landcover datasets. Flooding caused considerable damage to agricultural land and communities, affecting 49,602.92 km2 of land. In Sindh, the total land inundated is 2,042.1 km2 with 915.9 km2 of agricultural land and 609.8 km2 of built-up areas affected. Hence, district-level damage assessment includes Sukkur (497.1 km2), Sanghar (565.2 km2), and Khairpur (979.9 km2). In Baluchistan province, the flooded area was 10,733.4 km2. The agricultural land affected was 674.8 km2, and 47.8 km2 of built-up land. Heavy rain further intensified flooding affected 1002.2 km2 in Jhal Magsi, 7,266.5 km2 in Khuzdar, and 2,464.7 km2 in Lasbella. In Punjab, 4001.3 km2 of land flooded including 297.6 km2 of built-up areas, and 776.9 km2 affected agricultural land. At the District-level affected areas were D.G. Khan (1,871.3 km2), Muzaffargarh (620 km2), and Rajanpur (1,509.7 km2). integration of remote sensing and GEE provided crucial flood insights and climate risk reduction strategies, especially in data-scarce regions.

PurposeWe examined how different narrative aspects related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced unvaccinated individuals' willingness to vaccinate (WTV) against a future virus. We tested whether the stories focused on the perspective of the actor (who chose to vaccinate or not) versus the affected (affected by that decision), framing the outcome as death versus survival, and presenting an identified individual versus an unidentified group.MethodsA total of 1,545 respondents read scenarios depicting individuals' (actors') decisions to either vaccinate against COVID-19 or refuse vaccination, alongside the framing of the consequences for the affected individuals: death versus survival. The protagonists were either identified by name and photo or described as a group of unidentified people. Participants reported their emotions, perceived risk from the virus and the vaccine, and their future WTV against a new virus. They also reported their past vaccination decisions.ResultsWhen the narrative focused on affected individuals, framing outcomes in terms of death increased WTV by heightening the perceived threat of the virus. Conversely, when the focus was on the actor, the lifesaving frame was more effective, especially when the actor was identified. A concrete case of someone vaccinated who saved others evoked positive emotions, boosting WTV.LimitationsOur hypothetical scenarios and the cross-sectional methodology might limit understanding of the long-term effects.ConclusionsScenarios highlighting a person who died increase the perceived threat of the virus and enhance WTV. Conversely, information about a person who was vaccinated and saved others boosts positive emotions and increases WTV.ImplicationsPublic health campaigns can boost vaccination by sharing stories of vaccinated individuals who saved lives, evoking positive emotions. Highlighting the virus's dangers can also raise the perceived threat and motivate uptake.HighlightsVariations in narratives influence unvaccinated individuals' willingness to vaccinate.Emphasizing the death of those affected evokes greater threat perception of the virus, enhancing vaccine intent.Personal stories of vaccinated individuals saving others can boost positive emotions and vaccination willingness.

Abstract We urgently need to restore degraded tropical forests to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crises, but how to do so rapidly and cost-effectively remains an open question. Here we provide a long-term, landscape-scale assessment of the effectiveness of enrichment tree planting and liana cutting, the two most common restoration interventions used across many tropical regions. Leveraging one of the world’s largest and longest running forest restoration experiments, we used repeat airborne laser scanning to track the 3D structural recovery of 500 ha of selectively logged rainforest in Borneo. Over an 18-year period, enrichment planting increased mean canopy height by 1.6 m relative to unplanted controls. Remarkably, liana cutting increased canopy height more than four times faster (3.7 m over just 9 years). This recovery was jointly driven by accelerated canopy gap closure, enhanced tree growth, and a 50% reduction in tree mortality. Given that liana cutting is around 10 times cheaper to implement than enrichment planting, our results suggest it provides a cost-effective, scalable solution to accelerate the structural recovery of logged tropical forests.

The apparently premature corrosion of steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete structures exposed to marine environments continues to be a matter of concern in practice despite decades of research effort and much research funding expenditure and despite much practical experience. Herein results are reported of a long-term (10 year) study of the influence of alkalis on the corrosion initiation and progression of 6mm diam. reinforcing bars centrally embedded in 40x40x160mm concrete specimens. These were made with seawater as mixing water and with a variety of mix proportions including some with added alkalis. All were equally well compacted by vibration. After 10 years continuous exposure in a fog-room only a limited amount of corrosion initiation was observed. These results are in stark contrast with those reported in the famous paper by Shalon & Raphael (1959) who found serious corrosion of reinforcement after only 1-2 years exposure for all mixes. It is shown herein that the corrosion loss trends in those tests are similar to those of steel exposed directly to seawater. This indicates that in the 1959 tests the concrete provided little protection against reinforcement corrosion. The reasons for this are considered herein and the practical implications discussed.