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Estradiol is known as the indicator of the presence of hormones as Endocrine Disruptor Compounds (EDCs) in water and wastewater. The entrance of these compounds into water resources through daily liquid wastes of societies as well as pharmaceutical industries, ranching, and pathology laboratories leads to an increase in their concentrations in these resources. Consequently, due to the metabolic properties of these substances they can cause adverse effects on consumers and aquatics. The main purpose of this research is to determine the occurrence and the fate of estradiol as indicator of endocrine-disrupting compounds in drinking water, surface water, and wastewater in Ahvaz, Iran. 17β-estradiol was detected in 37.5% of samples obtained from drinking water and 68.75% of samples from the Karun River. In the urban drinking water and Karun River, the mean concentrations of 17β-estradiol were 2.96 and 13.66
ng l-1, respectively.

In the domestic and industrial wastewater, the concentrations of 17β-estradiol were higher than that detected in the drinking and surface waters. The mean concentrations of this hormone in these wastewaters were 57.46 and 70.6 ng l-1, respectively. The highest amount of 17β-estradiol was measured in the hospital wastewater. The fate of 17β-estradiol in the slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant, in which a septic tank, an anaerobic pond, and an aerobic tank were used for wastewater treatment, was higher than 75%. The highest level of removal in the aerobic stage was also obtained by breaking estradiol down to other metabolites.

During the last century, the European Alps have faced intense socio-economic changes, which have led to respective land-use changes with immediate impact on ecosystem services (ESs). The aim of the study is to present the land-use changes and their effects on the economical contribution of ESs in the alpine environment of Ledro Valley, in Northern Italy. Data were collected through historical cartography and photographic material from 1859, 1973 and 2011. The analysis of landscape evolution highlighted the forest expansion, and partially the urban expansion, at the expense of grasslands and croplands due to a transition from a rural to a touristic and handcrafting economy. The land-use changes led to an overall reduction of the economical contribution of ESs, while further analysis on individual services identified advantages and disadvantages caused by the re-naturalization process of forest expansion. The results suggested that the profit maximization of ESs under the pressure of such land-use changes can be achieved by a) a respective profit maximization from services related to recreation activities (tourism) which have an immediate economical impact on local economies and b) the maintenance and sustainable management of the typical rural landscape and grasslands in order to preserve some of their economical benefits.

Pyrolysis properties of fresh ficus lacor leaves with moisture content of 70wt. % was investigated in a TGA setup. The effects of different operating parameters on pyrolysis of biomass were studied in a fixed-bed reactor system. With addition of CaO, there showed an additional decrease in weight at temperature range of 382~490 oC, but 12wt. % weight was recovered in the first stage (40~220 oC). Fresh biomass pyrolysis was calculated to be first order reaction with activation energy about 29.8 kJ mol-1. Activation energy was lowered to 20.4 kJ mol-1 by addition of CaO. With scope of temperature studied, higher temperature was found always favor hydrogen production during pyrolysis of fresh biomass. Carbonation and hydration of CaO enhanced water gas shift reaction (WGS) which led to hydrogen yield increasing. The highest hydrogen content (around 70vol. %) of hydrogen concentration and hydrogen yield (23.2 ml g-1-biomass) were achieved when CaO/biomass mass ratio increased to 0.3. Pyrolysis of fresh biomass without pre-drying showed the potential of hydrogen production.

The aim of this study is to achieve a greater insight regarding quiet areas in agglomerations and contribute to their identification. The small urban setting of Mytilene located in the island of Lesvos (North Aegean, Greece), was the case study of this research. The need to control and manage environmental noise has led to the implementation of legislation that in many cases overlooks the acoustic perception of individuals. Due to the fact that noise management efforts along with the promotion of quietness in agglomerations, concerns primarily the residents of the city under consideration, it was essential to practically involve them in the decision making process.  Based on citizen science contribution, a number of “places” were highlighted. The “places” mentioned from this procedure were checked by means of acoustic measurements, concerning the noise levels that occurred within the 24h period. A novel method regarding the duration, repetition, check spot and the positioning of measurement was used, in order to calculate the day, evening and night period’s noise levels (Lden). A performance matrix was then created in order to compare the results, in relation to acoustical, functional and visual criteria. Furthermore, in order to evaluate all the potential Quiet Areas in pairwise comparisons, an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was implemented. The provision of quietness, as a direct ecosystem service, is a major indicator of environmental quality. Additionally, the way that city inhabitants perceive their acoustic surroundings could determine the character of the landscape along with the quality of the soundscape and define the meaning of quietness that still remains vague.