Slope length gradient (LS) is one of the crucial factors in the Universal Soil Loss Equations (USLE, RUSLE). This study aimed at estimating the slope-length and slope-steepness (LS) factor for the entire watersheds of Afghanistan by using three different methods, namely; (1) LS-TOOL_MFD (Method 1); (2) The Method of Equations (Method 2); and (3) The approach of Moore and Burch (Method 3). The first method uses the digital elevation model (DEM) in the ASCII format, and the other two methods use the DEM in the spatial domain. The results show that the LS-factor of the study area ranges from 0.01 to 44.31, with a mean of 5.24 and standard deviation of 6.95, according to Method 1; 0.03 to 163.49, with a mean of 9.6 and standard deviation of 13.58, according to Method 2; and 0 to 3985, with a mean of 7.16 and standard deviation of 29.7, according to Method 3. The study reveals that Methods 1 and 2 are more appropriate than Method 3 because Method 3 yields high LS-factor values close to or at streamlines located near mountainous regions. The highest LS values are found to be in the northeast, north, and central regions of Afghanistan, which is consistent with the high mountains and deep valley geomorphology, indicating that these regions are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion by rainfall-runoff processes. The sediment delivery ratio (SDR) for the Upper-Helmand River Basin (Upper-HRB) is also estimated by the RUSLE, employing the LS factors produced by the three methods. The results revealed that the average annual soil loss is found to be, respectively, 9.3, 18.2, and 11.1 (ton/ha/year) by using the three methods, corresponding to SDR of 23.5%, 12.1%, and 19.9%. Abbreviations: ABD: Asian Development Bank; ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange; Bsh: cold semiarid steppes; Bsk: cold semiarid steppes; Bwh: warm and cold deserts; Bwk: warm and cold deserts; CMS: Convention on Migratory Species; Csa: humid subtropical; Csb: Mediterranean; D: humid continental; DEM: Digital Elevation Model; ET: extreme tundra; GCS: Geographical Coordinate System; GIS: Geographic Information System; GUI: Graphically User Interface; Ha: Hectare; HMRB: Harirod-Murghab River Basin; HRB: Helmand River Basin; KRB: Kabul River Basin; LS: Slope–Length and Slope–Steepness; Masl: meters above sea level; MFD: Multiple-Flow Direction; NRB: Northern River Basin; PARB: Panj-Amu Darya River Basin; RUSLE: Revised Universal Soil Loss Equations; SDR: Sediment Delivery Ratio; SFD: Single–Flow Direction; SRTM: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission; SY: Sediment Yield; UCA: Unit Contributing Area; USGS: United States Geological-Survey; USLE: Universal Soil Loss Equations

Pharmaceuticals such as acetaminophen are increasingly detected in the aquatic environment and represent a persistent risk to ecosystems and human health. This study reports the fabrication of nano-iron-loaded pomegranate peel powder (NIL-PP)and its application as a low-cost, magnetically separable adsorbent for the removal of acetaminophen (ACT) from aqueous solutions. Successful loading of nanoscale iron species onto the bio-char matrix was confirmed by SEM-EDS, XRD (average crystallite size is 14 nm), FTIR, BET, TGA, and VSM (18.5 emu/g), indicating a heterogeneous, porous, and magnetically responsive adsorbent. Batch adsorption results indicated that the kinetic data are best described by the pseudo-second-order model, while the equilibrium data fit well with the Freundlich isotherm, suggesting that the adsorption process is predominantly governed by chemisorption occurring as multilayer coverage on energetically heterogeneous surface sites. The optimal removal was observed at an adsorbent dosage of 1 g/L, near neutral pH, an initial ACT concentration of 15 mg/L. The removal rate of ACT exceeded 95.29% within 180 min. Thermodynamic analysis indicates the adsorption is exothermic (ΔH° ≈ −47.13 kJ/mol) and proceeds with overall spontaneous behaviour under test conditions. The NIL-PP material retained a substantial fraction of its capacity (64.33%), even after four consecutive cycles and can be readily separated from water by magnetic collection. This result from this work emphasize the potential of NIL-PP as a suitable adsorbent to be used on a large scale for the environmental remediation of pharmaceutical pollutants in an environmentally sustainable and economically viable manner.

The controlled permeable formwork (CPF) liner is an innovative approach to enhance the quality of the concrete cover zone. This novel technique facilitates the drain of excess water and entrapped air from the freshly laid concrete’s near-surface region, while retaining tiny particles like cement and other fine constituents. Therefore, the concrete becomes denser and less porous as a result of a decrease in the water-to-cement ratio at the surface zone. This strategic manipulation of the concrete’s surface composition yields more robust and durable cover zone, enhancing the overall performance and longevity of the structural element. The effect of incorporating glass fiber (GF) into concrete with a CPF liner was investigated in this research. Different percentages of glass fiber (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0) were added to the CPF concrete mix to prepare the samples, and tested at various ages. The Rockwell hardness, rebound number, dynamic hardness, split tensile, flexural strength, compressive strength, and superficial pore measurement tests were conducted. The results indicated that the dynamic and rebound hardness, split, and flexural strength of the CPF liner concrete with 1.5% of GF were significantly enhanced at a range of 74, 69, 49, and 47% correspondingly.

Pharmaceutical residues in the water have become a growing environmental concern because of their potential ecological and human health effects and their persistence. The Zn-Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (LDH) were prepared by the co-precipitation method, and their efficiency was tested as an adsorbent for the elimination of fusidic acid (FA) from aqueous solution. Characterization of the synthesized material was done by FTIR, SEM, XRD, EDS, BET, and TGA. The parameters affecting adsorption performance, such as pH, dosage of the adsorbent, contact time, initial concentration of FA and temperature, were investigated by batch adsorption experiments. The most efficient removal was obtained in 210 min at the optimum conditions of FA adsorbent dosage (1.25 g/L), agitation speed (250 rpm), concentration (20 mg/L), pH 5, and temperature (20 ± 1 °C), and showed the best agreement with the PSO model. Kinetic analysis suggested the PSO model best fitted the experimental data, while isotherm studies showed good agreement with the Freundlich model, indicating a heterogeneous adsorption behavior. Thermodynamic analysis shows that adsorption process was thermodynamically favorable. Besides, the reusability and structural stability of the adsorbent improved after calcination treatment, whereas the adsorption rate was slightly decreased. The results indicated that the Zn-Mg-Al LDH is a promising and economical adsorbent for the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants from aqueous stream.