The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020, known as COVID-19, spread to more than 200 countries and negatively affected the global economic output. Financial activities were primarily depressed, and investors were reluctant to start new financial investments while ongoing projects further declined due to the global lockdown to curb the disease. This study analyzes the money supply reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic using a cross-sectional panel of 115 countries. The study used robust least square regression and innovation accounting techniques to get sound parameter estimates. The results show that COVID-19 infected cases are the main contributing factor that obstructs financial activities and decrease money supply. In contrast, an increasing number of recovered cases and COVID-19 testing capabilities gave investors confidence to increase stock trade across countries. The overall forecast trend shows that COVID-19 infected cases and recovered cases followed the U-shaped trend, while COVID-19 critical cases and reported deaths showed a decreasing trend. Finally, the money supply and testing capacity show a positive trend over a period. The study concludes that financial development can be expanded by increasing the testing capacity Gentaur Cellulose Stoppers and functional labs to identify suspected coronavirus cases globally.

Recovering metal(loids) and rare earth elements from closed landfill sites without excavation: Leachate recirculation opportunities and challenges

Metal (loids) and Rare Earth Elements (REE) (‘metals’) are used in a wide range of products, and therefore, the improvement of expectations for everyday comforts with demand continues to grow. Metal-bearing wastes are a secondary source of raw material that can meet this demand by providing a previously unconsidered low impact supply source. Total annual leachate production is 1,056,716 m3. Therefore, landfill leachate emerges as a significant potential resource as it contains high concentrations of metals. However, realising a profitable return on investment for leachate processing is a challenge due to relatively low recovery rates of approximately 0.02% of total heavy metals in a landfill being leached out in 30 years. Variation within the multi-element value and the effect of other chemicals in these complex mixtures. There is a need to better understand the mechanisms and potential applicability of extraction methods for optimising metals recovery from leachate. This paper addresses this need by providing a systematic review of the critical factors and environmental conditions that influence the behaviour of metals within the landfilled waste. The paper provides a synthesis of how the factors and conditions may affect leachate recirculation efficiency for recovery in the context of a range of opportunities and challenges facing circular economy practitioners. To approach feasibility metal recovery economically from landfill leachate without energy-intensive and environmentally destructive, future research actions need to be initiated in lab-based and later on semi-pilot to pilot studies, which the review can help achieve the challenges.

Amino acid pattern of rumen microorganisms in cattle fed mixed diets-An update

Rumen microorganisms turn small N-containing compounds into amino acids (AA) and contribute considerably to the supply of AA absorbed from the small intestine. Previous studies summarized the literature on microbial AA patterns, most recently in 2017 (Sok et al. Journal of Dairy Science, 100, 5241-5249). The present study intended to identify the microbial AA pattern typical when feeding Central European diets and a maximum proportion of concentrate (PCO; dry matter (DM) basis) of 0.60. Data sets were created from the literature for liquid (LAB)- and particle (PAB)-associated bacteria, total bacteria and protozoa, including 16, 9, 27 and 8 studies and 36, 21, 60 and 18 diets respectively. Because the only differences detected between LAB and PAB were slightly higher Phe and lower Thr percentages in PAB (p < 0.05), results for bacteria were pooled. A further data set evaluated AA-N (AAN) as a proportion of total N in microbial fractions and a final data set estimated protozoal contributions to total microbial N (TMN) flow to the duodenum, which were used to calculate weighted TMN AA patterns. Protozoa showed higher Lys, Asp, Glu, Ile and Phe and lower Ala, Arg, Gly, Met, Ser, Thr and Val proportions than bacteria (p < 0.05). The AAN percentage of total N in bacteria and protozoa showed large, unexplained variations, averaging 79.0% and 70.6% (p > 0.05) respectively. Estimation of protozoal contribution to TMN resulted in a cattle-specific mixed model including PCO and DM intake (DMI) per unit of metabolic body size (kg0.75 ) as fixed effects (RMSE = 3.77). With moderate PCO and DMI between 80 and 180 g/kg0.75 , which corresponds to a DMI of approximately 10 to 25 kg in a cow with 650 kg body weight, protozoal contribution ranged between 9% and 26% of TMN. Within this range, the estimated protozoal contribution to TMN resulted in minor effects on the total microbial AA pattern.

Sustainable phosphorus management in soil using bone apatite

Soil fertility and phosphorus management by bone apatite amendment are receiving increasing attention, yet further research is needed to integrate the physicochemical and mineralogical transformation of bone apatite and their impact on the supply and storage of phosphorus in soil. This study has examined bone transformation in the field over a span of 10-years using a set of synchrotron-based microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) observations reveal the in-situ deterioration of bone osteocyte-canaliculi system and sub-micron microbial tunneling within a year. Extensive organic decomposition, secondary mineral formation and re-mineralization of apatite are evident from the 3rd year. The relative ratio of (v1 + v3) PO43- to v3 CO32- and to amide I increase, and the v3c PO43- peak exhibits a blue-shift in less than 3 years. The carbonate substitution of bone hydroxyapatite (HAp) to AB-type CHAp, and phosphate crystallographic rearrangement become apparent after 10 years’ aging. The overall CO32- peak absorbance increases over time, contributing to a higher acid susceptibility in the aged bone. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) binding energies for Ca (2p), P (2p) and O (1s) exhibit a red-shift after 1 year because of organo-mineral interplay and a blue-shift starting from the 3rd year as a result of the de-coupling of mineral and organic components. Nutrient supply to soil occurs within months via organo-mineral decoupling and demineralization. More phosphorus has been released from the bones and enriched in the associated and adjacent soils over time. Lab incubation studies reveal prominent secondary mineral formation via re-precipitation at a pH similar to that in soil, which are highly amorphous and carbonate substituted and prone to further dissolution in an acidic environment. Our high-resolution observations reveal a stage-dependent microbial decomposition, phosphorus dissolution and immobilization via secondary mineral formation over time. The active cycling of phosphorus within the bone and its interplay with adjacent soil account for a sustainable supply and storage of phosphorus nutrients.

Chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter as disinfection byproduct precursors by UV/fluorescence and ESI FT-ICR MS after smoldering combustion of leaf needles and woody trunks of pine (Pinus jeffreyi) read more