Socioecology Research Today

A literature survey of studies reporting nitrous oxide uptake in the soils of natural ecosystems is used to suggest that the median uptake potential is 4 μg m−2 hr−1. The highest values are nearly all associated with soils of wetland and peatland ecosystems. Globally, the consumption of nitrous oxide in soils is not likely to [...]

► Soot deteriorates appearance of architectural building materials. ► Photocatalytic soot removal was obtained on TiO2 coated mortar. ► P25 coating gave the highest soot degradation rate. ► Complete mineralisation of soot was obtained as CO2 was the sole oxidation product. ► Important step towards self-cleaning building materials was established. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2013.02.089

The causal relationship between happiness and air pollution is examined using a sample of 14 European countries. Two sets of results are presented using the notion of Granger causality. For individual countries, the existence of a unidirectional or bidirectional causal structure for almost half of the countries can be observed. The panel approach, on the [...]

This paper reports the findings of an investigation done on bricks made using fly ash (FA), quarry dust (QD), and billet scale (BS) by non conventional method. The procedure for producing the bricks includes mixing the constituents along with cement and water, and then forming the bricks within moulds without applying pressure over them. Unlike [...]

Although wood smoke pollution has been linked to health problems, wood burning remains a popular form of domestic heating in many countries across the world. In this paper, we describe the rhetoric of resistance to wood heater regulation amongst citizens in the regional Australian town of Armidale, where wood smoke levels regularly exceed national health [...]

The experimental data suggest the presence of a more resistant, highly radiogenic silicate phase that survives the combustion process and is leached after the more soluble minerals are removed. Strontium isotopic homogenization of minerals in coal does not always occur during the combustion process, despite the high temperatures encountered in the boiler. Early-released Sr tends [...]

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the largest known remaining anthropogenic threat to the stratospheric ozone layer. However, it is currently only regulated under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol because of its simultaneous ability to warm the climate. The threat N2O poses to the stratospheric ozone layer, coupled with the uncertain future of the international climate regime, motivates [...]

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is an important environmental toxin. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on As2O3-induced lung injury in rats is evaluated. The results showed that pre-treament with resveratrol protected As2O3-induced lung injury by the maintaintion of glutathione redox system and decrease in arsenic retention. These suggest supplement with resveratrol may alleviate lung injury [...]

Studies have shown that socioeconomic and environmental factors have direct/indirect influences on TB. This research focuses on TB prevalence of Hong Kong in relation to its compact urban development comprising of high-rise and high-density residential dwellings caused by rapid population growth and limited land resources. It has been postulated that occupants living on higher levels [...]

Deterioration of air quality in Indian megacities (Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata) is much more significant than that observed in the megacities of developed countries. Densely packed high-rise buildings restrict the self-cleaning capabilities of Indian megacities. Also, the ever growing number of on-road vehicles, resuspension of the dust, and anthropogenic activities exacerbate the levels of ambient [...]