QScience Connect - Volume 2013, Issue 1

This paper presents a summary of the results of a one-year student-faculty research project on environmental sustainability in Qatar's prime knowledge economy vehicle, the Qatar Foundation (QF), and its home, Education City (EC), in Doha. The project's main objective was to produce new information on the emergence of environmental sustainability policy and practice on the QF's agenda from a number of angles. The research team adopted a multi-level, multi-method approach to the topic, analyzing developments on three hierarchically interlinked levels: (i) strategic priorities of the State of Qatar and QF; (ii) initiatives and projects in EC; and (iii) individual attitudes and self-reported behavior of EC undergraduate students. A variety of research methods were employed, including document-based analysis, semi-structured interviews and survey research. The survey, administered in November 2012-February 2013, yielded a sample of 114 responses. Highlights of the survey analysis are presented in this summary paper.

The study is believed to have been the first comprehensive look at the evolution of QF's ambitious agenda to investigate, implement and promote environmental sustainability in EC. In addition to understanding the rationale underpinning the QF's commitment, the study also explored how the QF's goals are implemented by QF divisions and university administrations. Also, how EC's different sustainability programs are understood and received by its core constituency, the students. QF's commitment to environmental sustainability is both a key contributor to Qatar's national development and a significant component of its global brand. Therefore, understanding the achievements and challenges in translating ideals of environmental sustainability into practice in EC not only provides a useful basis upon which programs and initiatives may be strengthened and expanded, but also offers important lessons for other institutions in the country and the region. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations, based on the results of the research, relating to improving the effectiveness of sustainability policy in Education City.

The project was funded through the Qatar National Research Fund's Undergraduate Research Experience Program.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of treatment of whole barley grain (WBG) with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on in vitro rumen gas production parameters and microbial protein synthesis. Experimental treatments included untreated whole barley grain (BControl) and treated barley grain with NaOH+water (35 g+220 ml/kg DM WBG) for 30 days (BNaOH). In vitro gas production technique was used to determine the gas production parameters of the samples. Furthermore, gas volume, apparent substrate degradability of barley grain (ASD), true substrate degradability of barley grain (TSD) and microbial N at t1/2 for two treatments were measured. The amount of produced gas at each time of incubation in each glass serum bottle was taken as the gas production parameter. Results of the in vitro technique revealed that alkali treatment of WBG caused a significant increase in the asymptotic gas volume (b) versus BControl (113.71 and 162.86 ml, respectively). Constant rate of gas production (c) significantly decreased by BNaOH compared with BControl (0.018 and 0.034 ml/h, respectively). No effects of NaOH treatment were observed on ASD and TSD of whole barley grain. However, rumen microbial-N yield considerably (p < 0.05) built up (from 1.922 to 4.087 mg) from the treatment of barley with NaOH. The finding of the present study leads us to conclude that treatment of WBG with NaOH improved in vitro gas production parameters and microbial protein synthesis.

The objective of this study is to evaluate sand encroached degradation in arid-land, with a predominantly agricultural ecosystem, using geospatial technologies. The study primarily involves the assessment of land degradation severity, severity change dynamics and temporal land-use change patterns, such as growth or shrinkage. Land use/land cover (LULC) change dynamics were analyzed for eight featured classes, derived using a K-means supervised classification method. Overall accuracy and kappa statistics obtained were 91.68% and 0.904 for the year 2001, while 90.85% and 0.896 for year the 2006. The analysis revealed that change dynamic patterns were highest for sand-affected areas and built-up classes, showing positive trend and an overall change of 8.92% and 5.34%, respectively. Degradation severity change dynamics and change patterns clearly showed an increasing trend in highly severe degradation areas (dynamic change 5.55 km²/change pattern 0.093%), followed by severe degradation (dynamic change 31.22 km²/change pattern 0.52%). However, the maximum change was observed in moderately severe zones.

The sweetpotato weevil, Cylas puncticollis Boheman, constitutes a major constraint to sweet potato production and utilization in Africa. Host plant resistance/tolerance, mulching and varying harvesting dates could provide an approach that fits well into an integrated pest management programme of this insect pest. In this study, a trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of host plant, mulching with freshly harvested, dried and chopped up aerial parts of elephant grass (Panicum maximum), and the manipulation of harvesting date, on crop damage by the sweetpotato weevil. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete split-split plot design with three replications. Four sweet potato varieties (improved variety- kabbia, slipot 2, slipot 3 and slipot 4), four harvesting dates (90, 104, 118 and 132 days after planting (DAP)) and four mulching levels (0t/ha, 1t/ha, 3t/ha and 5t/ha) were used. Data analysis revealed significant differences in C. puncticollis tuber damage and number of tubers produced with respect to mulching. Cylas puncticollis incidence was observed to decrease with increase in mulching level. Also, significant cultivar variation with respect to C. puncticollis tuber damage and the total number of tubers produced were recorded. Slipot 3 and slipot 4 were observed to be significantly less susceptible to the sweetpotato weevil. Harvesting date was also significantly different, with respect to the number of damaged tubers. More tubers were damaged when harvesting was delayed. Hence, using slipot 3 or slipot 4, coupled with mulching at the rate of 3-5t/ha and harvesting at 104 DAP resulted in increased number of tubers and reduced sweetpotato weevil infestation in the field.

A maximum of 8.75 wt% hydrogen adsorption was observed by carbon fibers which were obtained by the pyrolysis of cotton. Cotton was pyrolysed at 750°C for 3 h in argon atmosphere. Carbon fiber was soaked with 0.1M Ni(NO3)2. This was filtered and dried at 100°C. Finally, metal nitrate treated carbon fibers were heated at 850°C for 3 h in argon atmosphere. Carbon fibers thus obtained were found to absorb hydrogen to the extent of 8.75 wt%. Taguchi optimization technique was adopted to find out the best parameters responsible to give highest hydrogen adsorption. Carbon fibers that showed 8.75 wt% hydrogen adsorption were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, and Raman analysis.

A new chromium(III) salt (C3H5N2)[Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2].2H2O, trans-diaquabis(oxalato) chromate(III) imidazolium dihydrate, has been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. This compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system, C2/c space group with a = 10.836(1)Å, b = 7.541(1)Å, c = 16.349(3)Å and β = 93.52(1)°. The structure of the title compound consists of [Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]⁻  mononuclear anions, imidazolium cations and uncoordinated water molecules. The crystal structure data indicates that the Cr ^+III ion is six coordinated in a distorted octahedral geometry, with four equatorial O atoms of two oxalate anions acting as chelating ligands and two axial O atoms from two water molecules. Structural cohesion is established by intermolecular O–H…O hydrogen bonds connecting the ionic entities and water molecules. In fact, both coordinated and uncoordinated water molecules play an important role in the hydrogen-bonded system, stabilizing the structure. Magnetic susceptibility measurements of the title compound in the range 2-300K exhibit paramagnetic behavior at high temperature. However, at low temperature, the magnetic data show the occurrence of weak antiferromagnetic intermolecular interactions between the local spin.