This book focuses on challenges that have arisen because of trash discharges and their potential causes and provides long-term sustainable solutions. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense devastation, leading to numerous fatalities as well as substantial economic losses and health issues. With the rise in COVID-19 cases, the amount of biomedical waste has multiplied, exposing more people to the epidemic. For developing countries, waste management is already a problem, and the waste generated during this pandemic situation has made things worse. If improper waste management techniques are not changed, the world will face a new crisis that could be referred to as a "garbage crisis." The increased quantity of COVID-19-associated waste (CAW) and their presence in the environment make them more vulnerable, potentially increasing the danger of food chain contamination.

This book presents recent developments and fascinating attributes of electronic-nose (E-nose) technology based on advanced nanostructured materials that are compatible with modern semiconductor fabrication technology. The new trend in these nanostructured materials includes metal oxide nanostructures, 2D materials, graphene, and other carbon-based nanostructures. These versatile materials with remarkable electronic, mechanical, electrical, thermal properties, and potential e-nose in a wide range of fields are discussed in the book. Close attention is given to problems connected with stability, selectivity, and functionalizing of e-nose devices and deposited materials. The field of sensors is indeed in fast and consistent growth. This book consolidates information on each and every aspect of these novel materials, their gas sensing mechanisms, engineering, and e-nose devices covering the entire spectrum of up-to-date literature citations, current market, and patents in a very detailed manner. Moreover, in the past few years, tremendous advances have been made in experimental and theoretical studies on various properties of these materials. In summary, this book makes an attempt to provide in-depth study of recent advances and focuses on current problems related to selectivity and stability of sensor devices. The book is interesting to all materials professionals and researchers from universities and national laboratories working in the field of nanostructured materials-based gas sensors.

This book presents a brief history of papermaking followed by comments regarding wood as a source of fibers, including its chemical and anatomical characteristics and the influence of these aspects on the quality of the pulp produced. In addition, the author describes the effects of the pulping process, mainly a chemical process, on pulp quality and how these wood characteristics influence both the refining process as the quality of the final paper. The book further provides a broad discussion, based on experimental results, on the contribution of the main operating refining variables and the main strategies that can be used industrially to optimize the operating results. From this evaluation, the parameter that complements the specific edge load theory is identified. This parameter is related to the retention time of the fiber flocs inside the refiner.

This book addressed an in-depth comprehension of the classifications and characterizations of POPs, which have become global issues due to bioaccumulation, persistency, and toxicity. It represents the milestones of the development of pesticide application, industry, and management. Banned SC-POPs have special investigations. It discusses air-sea exchange, ocean currents, phase distribution, speciation, adsorption, desorption, and degradation as the key processes that control POP's fate. The book explores several aspects of POP chemistry that have a direct influence on their biochemical and toxicological consequences. The book illustrates the dynamic equilibriums influencing the proportion of a POP's gaseous, liquid, and solid phases.

The book focuses on atmospheric processes that directly influence human environments within the lower 100–1000 meters of the atmosphere, spanning regions of only a few kilometers in size. It represents the English translation of the fourth edition of the German work titled "Applied Meteorology – Micrometeorological Methods". It provides a fundamental understanding of micrometeorology as applied to various disciplines, including biometeorology, agrometeorology, hydrometeorology, technical meteorology, environmental meteorology, and biogeosciences, through carefully selected examples.

This book covers novel techniques and materials for removing inclusions in metallic melts, resulting in significant improvements to the purity, quality, and materials properties of the cast metal product. It looks at an entirely new generation of intelligent filter materials and filter systems with functionalized surfaces for removing solid and liquid inclusions such as deoxidation products, sulfides, and nitrides carbide from metallic melts. This collection of contributed chapters addresses the overarching goal of the production of lightweight structures and high-demand construction materials within an overall substantially cleaner and more sustainable global supply chain. The chapters cover a diverse array of topics ranging in scope from the development of ceramic foam filters, to in-situ x-ray and optical characterization techniques, as well as advanced modelling of 3D-printed filter structures. Additionally, the book features a number of contributions directly transferable to industrial applications related to the clean metal casting technologies of aluminium and steel alloys.

This volume contributes to the construction of a multi-voice mosaic on the theme of Nature and the relationship between Man (understood as designer) and Nature by emphasizing the innovative and sustainable proposals coming from the discipline of design, in its many facets and interdisciplinary contributions. Since it isn’t discussed the creative and economic effort that designers, institutions and companies have been leading for years to improve human living conditions, preference will be given to scientific contributions (unpublished or not yet fully known case studies, projects of strategies, products, systems and services, theoretical contributions, communication) that are an expression of a new approach to Nature, seen as our ally and object of an ethics of care. The focus is the design both in its role as innovation driver and interpreter of social evolution, that must be considered within the human-nature relationship. The topics identify some of the most relevant fields of development in which "Design Driven Innovation" can be developed in the respect of perspective of a new relationship with nature.

This book is the second volume of a selection of the best papers presented at the XXX National Conference of Commodity Science held in Bari, Italy on 27–28th October, 2022. It is designed to help advance the knowledge and application of Commodity Science in innovation, quality, and sustainability principles and goals. Furthermore, it provides support in confronting the current environmental and socioeconomic challenges and contributes to addressing and solving those concerns in a circular economy context.

This book studies mountains with a global perspective, like a complex topographic and topoclimatic mosaic organized in altitudinal belts that are influenced by a huge variability in slopes, soils, lithology and insolation. Furthermore, the presence of lower temperatures, higher precipitation and the seasonal presence of snow create conditions conductive to supporting various life forms and natural geomorphological and hydrological processes. The integration of environmental and human aspects highlights the impacts of human activities and climate fluctuations on soil hydrology, soil erosion, water resources, and landscape/landforms evolution. After presenting the way in which humans (from Prehistory to Alexander von Humboldt) discovered the mountains, subsequent chapters try to underline the importance of mountains in generating water resources and hydropower for lowlands, serving as biodiversity hotspots, and contributing to cultural diversity. The book delves into the role ofhuman actives in transforming the natural landscapes and creating new cultural landscapes. This exploration considers the significance of altitudinal belts in shaping the spatial and temporal organization of land uses which, in turn, have been determined by population growth and the development of regional and national markets.

This book is intended to shed light on the computational modeling and experimental techniques that are used in the characterization of various polymer based composite materials. It covers mechanisms, salient features, formulations, important aspects, and case studies of polymer composite materials utilized for various applications. The latest research in this area as well as possible avenues of future research is also highlighted to encourage the researchers.

This volume uses aerosol optical depth (AOD) analysis through mapping and remote sensing techniques to derive the relationship between aerosols and hazardous precipitation events, primarily in the form of flooding. Attention is also given to pollution caused by an abundance of particulate matter in the atmosphere and its impacts on human health, which is also assessed via the study of AOD. Background is given on how AOD is retrieved, and why it is a useful tool for estimating atmospheric particle concentration, but also the challenges associated with using this approach. Different aerosol types are introduced to perform a comparative analysis of the most common associations between pollution impacts on temperature and resulting precipitation events. These analyses will help to provide an overview of the best strategies to make informed and sustainable disaster risk management practices and policies. The target audience for the work is students, researchers, and scientists working witha vision towards sustainability, public health safety and air pollution mitigation measures. It will also be a useful text for climate change policy makers, environmental engineers and stakeholders in social development sectors.

The objective of this book is to present protocols, methodologies, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) used for the identification of sources, transport, and fate of agro-contaminants and illustrate them with several case studies of successful applications. The Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition (SWMCN) Subprogramme of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, through a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) in partnership with national and international research institutes, developed and evaluated a set of analytical techniques (the toolbox). The toolbox integrates multiple isotope tracers that provide information on the origins and pathways of multiple pollutants through agro-ecosystems, thereby providing more accurate guidance on mitigations. However, land management strategies to address and control the transport of pollutants from soil to water bodies remain the shared responsibility of farm and aquaculture operators, agro-chemical manufacturers, and policymakers in food and agriculture as well as the mining sectors. This book is structured into eight chapters covering (i) an overview of the book’s content, (ii) guidelines for designing water sampling programmes, (iii) the use of mixing models applicable to tracers for water pollution studies, (iv) compound-specific isotope analyses to investigate pesticide degradation in agricultural catchments, (v) the use of stable oxygen isotope composition of phosphate to investigate phosphorous in soil-plant continuum, (vi) the use of stable sulphur isotopes to disentangle agro-pollutants from other contaminants, (vii) nuclear tools used in sediment source apportionment, and (viii) the conclusions and perspectives forward. The book offers up-to-date information, and we hope it is a great source of information for students, researchers, and policymakers. The SWMCN subprogramme thanks all the contributors involved in the preparation of this publication.

This book aims to formulate recommendations for achieving a healthy neighborhood living environment for the middle-income people in China‘s suburbs. In China, the expeditious urbanization triggers the prosperous commodity housing development, which further grows with the spatial restructuring and socioeconomic transition. Residential suburbanization is generated, accompanied with the emergence of new-middle class and the change of lifestyle. However, the health effects of suburbanization in China are overlooked. This book investigates the health performance of suburban residents and the effects of suburban living on residents‘ health. This book also examines the resident-environment transaction modes to unfold the underlying mechanism of suburban living affecting residents’ health. Suburban residents had to passively adapt to their residential environment, which is the obstacle for achieving a health-promoting environment. The institutional dynamics determining the health performance of suburban living environment were addressed with the roles of governments, developers, planners, housing managers, residents‘ committee, and ordinary residents in commodity housing development. The book found no institutional support for the creation of health-promoting environments, especially with default of governments and excessive dependence on developers for public service facilities and the absence of civil society. Thus, the book proposes that institutional innovations are necessary in term of embedding the health dimension in all sectors of the society, enlisting collaboration between public and private sectors, and between health and non-health sectors, and thus cultivating the optimization of residents-environment transactions to create health-promoting environments.

Carbon nanomaterials have several applications, which is driving up scientific research into them. The book showcases the most recent advancements and research discoveries rather than just providing an overview. Each chapter offers authoritative insights into the ever-changing field of carbon-based nanomaterials, as written by top authorities in their respective domains. The book stands out for its persistent focus on real-world application. It is devoted to practical applications and is divided into four sections. The intriguing promise of carbon nanomaterials, their synthesis, and their possible uses set the stage for the adventure. Subsequently, the emphasis shifts to agriculture, where nanomaterials have been shown to improve plant health, fend against illnesses, promote growth and development, and even help detect and remove herbicides. The biomedical part explores the potential toxicological ramifications of these materials while introducing the reader to their ground-breaking role in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and the fight against fungal diseases. Overall, the book provides valuable insights and serves as a comprehensive resource for researchers and scientists across various interdisciplinary subjects.

This 2-volume book is an up-to-date overview of current progress in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) technique development, inoculum production and its quality regulations, application in agriculture, horticulture, agroforestry, and other ecosystems, along with nutrient management for sustainable food production. It contains the current advancement in basic and molecular techniques, challenges, opportunities, and determinates of various AMF production methods and major tools and techniques for their field application. Production and development of AMF is rapidly evolving and requires a multidisciplinary approach with up-to-date knowledge to broaden and strengthen the perspective of researchers involved in this domain. The volumes offer new insight and cutting-edge information for novices and experts such as students, academicians, researchers, environmentalists, industrialists, and others interested in mycorrhiza. The first volume covers some basic isolation techniques, enumeration,and molecular studies with recent advances in various in-vitro and in-vivo production technologies, regulatory issues, and application methodologies for field inoculation. It also discusses AMF application in various agroecosystems for sustainable agricultural production and a healthier planet.