An environmental pressure index proposal for urban development planning based on the analytic network process

This paper introduces a new approach to prioritize urban planning projects according to their environmental pressure in an efficient and reliable way. It is based on the combination of three procedures: (i) the use of environmental pressure indicators, (ii) the aggregation of the indicators in an Environmental Pressure Index by means of the Analytic Network Process method (ANP) and (iii) the interpretation of the information obtained from the experts during the decision-making process.The method has been applied to a proposal for urban development of La Carlota airport in Caracas (Venezuela). There are three options which are currently under evaluation. They include a Health Club, a Residential Area and a Theme Park. After a selection process the experts chose the following environmental pressure indicators as ANP criteria for the project life cycle: used land area, population density, energy consumption, water consumption and waste generation. By using goal-oriented questionnaires designed by the authors, the experts determined the importance of the criteria, the relationships among criteria, and the relationships between the criteria and the urban development alternatives.The resulting data showed that water consumption is the most important environmental pressure factor, and the Theme Park project is by far the urban development alternative which exerts the least environmental pressure on the area. The participating experts coincided in appreciating the technique proposed in this paper is useful and, for ranking ordering these alternatives, an improvement from traditional techniques such as environmental impact studies, life-cycle analysis, etc.     

Prospective ecological risk assessment of sediment resuspension in an estuary

This study assesses potential ecological risk of resuspended sediment in the water column during the construction of a viaduct in the estuary of the Ulla river (Galicia, NW Iberian Peninsula), a shellfish production area. Chemical analyses and toxicity bioassays with elutriates were performed with sediments from the area where the three pillars of the viaduct will be located (CT1, CT2 and CT3) and a reference sediment (A2). Acute toxicity of the elutriate was evaluated in five species of three trophic levels (Isochrysis galbana, Paracentrotus lividus, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Venerupis pullastra and Siriella armata). The sediments of the pillars showed moderate levels of contamination by trace elements (Cu, Cr). Clam and sea urchin embryo-larval toxicity tests showed slightly higher sensitivity than mussel embryo tests, and toxicity was not detected for phytoplankton and mysid bioassays. The predicted no-effect environmental concentration (PNEC) was calculated from the arithmetic mean of the lowest calculated EC(50)s for each sampling site. The predicted environmental concentration (PEC) was estimated from a simple dilution model and the PEC/PNEC ratio was calculated according to different scenarios of resuspension. Negligible ecological risk in the water column is expected during construction of the pillars.     

Auramine dyes induce toxic effects to aquatic organisms from different trophic levels: an application of predicted non-effect concentration (PNEC)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The dyes Auramine and Auramine O are used in several industrial products, despite the scarce information regarding their ecotoxicity. The aim of the...     

Thermo-Chemical Decomposition Study of Polyurethane Elastomer Through Glycerolysis Route with Using Crude and Refined Glycerine as a Transesterification Agent

Due to the increasing amount of polyurethane waste, chemical recycling of these materials is a topic of growing interest for many researchers. The primary purpose of polyurethane feedstock recycling is to recover the starting polyol. In this study glycerolysis using glycerine from two sources and two purity grades is proposed as a method of chemical recycling. The main effort of this paper focuses on the employment of commercial glycerine of analytical grade and waste glycerine without purification derived from the biodiesel production, as a decomposing agent for polyurethane recycling. In this study, the influence of polyurethane to glycerine mass ratio (PU/GL) and the type of decomposing agent on the chemical structure by FTIR, ¹H NMR and GPC was examined. FTIR analysis of the glycerolysates showed absorption peaks similar to the virgin polyol. Those results are in compliance with GPC chromatograms, which showed for all samples, well-defined peak at ca. 13 min of retention time. The molecular weight of glycerolysates was ranging from 800 to 1300 g mol^?1 depending on PU/GL mass ratio. The novel decomposition agent, namely waste glycerine derived from biodiesel production was successfully used in glycerolysis process.     

Seasonal decline of offspring quality in the European starling Sturnus vulgaris: an immune challenge experiment

In seasonally fluctuating environments, timing of reproduction is a crucial determinant of fitness. Studies of birds show that late breeding attempts generally result in offspring of lower reproductive value, with lower recruitment and long-term survival prospects. Several proximate mechanisms, including a seasonal decline of immune system functioning, may lead to a seasonal decline of offspring fitness. We investigated seasonal variation in offspring quality by subjecting first- and second-brood chicks of a sexually size dimorphic species, the European starling Sturnus vulgaris, to an immune challenge with a bacterial endotoxin (LPS), and evaluated their growth and physiological response in terms of total plasma antioxidant capacity (TAC), concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites and hematocrit. LPS challenge did not affect chick growth or oxidative status. However, hematocrit of second-brood chicks was higher in LPS chicks compared to controls. Body mass halfway through the rearing period (days?8–9 post-hatching), TAC and hematocrit were lower among second- vs. first-brood chicks. Interestingly, sexual dimorphism in body mass at days?8–9 post-hatching markedly differed between broods, first-brood males being 4.7% and second-brood males 22.7% heavier than their sisters, respectively. Pre-fledging mortality occurred among second-brood chicks only and was strongly female-biased. Our findings suggest that starling chicks, even if in poor conditions, are little affected by a bacterial challenge, at least in the short-term. Moreover, our study indicates that sex differences in body size, possibly mediated by sex-specific maternal investment in egg size, may heavily impact on pre-fledging survival in a different way in the course of the breeding season, resulting in sex-specific seasonal decline of offspring fitness. Finally, we suggest that levels of circulating antioxidants should be regarded among the proximate causes of the association between timing of fledging and long-term survival in avian species.     

Can fear of going to jail reduce the number of road fatalities? The Spanish experience

The goal of this article is to evaluate the impact of the drastic Spanish Penal Code reform on the number of road deaths in Spain and the time that the effects might last. This is achieved by means of multivariate unobserved component models set up in a state space framework estimated using maximum likelihood. In short, with this reform Spain might be considered to be closing the final gap that kept it apart from other developed countries as far as the road accident rate is concerned. We have found two different types of effects on Spanish road traffic fatalities. Initially, a month before the reform was passed there was a 24.7 percent fall in Spanish road deaths. After the Bill had been passed and for the following thirteen months, the reduction stayed at a constant sixteen percent. This reform has reduced Spanish road fatalities by 534 in all between November 2007 and December 2008 and the effects will foreseeably continue during 2009.     

Forecasting turbine problems by means of the state space framework

A forecasting system is set up to improve the diagnosis in a Condition Monitoring Programme of a critical turbine placed at an industrial plant. The system is based on a statistical model in a State Space framework, such that the local mean level of the vibration state of the equipment is estimated directly from the data, based on a continuous-time set up. This model is combined with a cost model in Conditioned Monitoring, by which the time of preventive replacement is produced when the minimum of the expected cost per unit of time is reached into the future. Such measure is a combination of the costs of failure, the costs of a preventive replacement and the probabilities of reaching the alarm levels fixed by some criteria. The system is estimated by Maximum Likelihood and thoroughly tested on the equipment. The main tests relate to statistical properties of the model residuals and a comprehensive comparison with an alternative system, namely a linear trend regression model in continuous time. The system produced a reasonable forecasting performance and sensible time of preventive replacement prediction and outperformed the alternative forecasting system.     

Changes in Environmental Conditions Modify Infection Kinetics of Dairy Phages

Latent period, burst time, and burst size, kinetic parameters of phage infection characteristic of a given phage/host system, have been measured for a wide variety of lactic acid bacteria. However, most studies to date were conducted in optimal growth conditions of host bacteria and did not consider variations due to changes in external factors. In this work, we determined the effect of temperature, pH, and starvation on kinetic parameters of phages infecting Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. For kinetics assessment, one-step growth curves were carried out in MRS broth at optimal conditions (control), lower temperature, pH 6.0 and 5.0 (MRS₆ and MRS₅, respectively), or in medium lacking carbon (MRS_N) or nitrogen (MRS_C) sources. Phage infection was progressively impaired as environmental conditions were modified from optimal. At lower temperature or pH, infection was delayed, as perceived by longer latent and burst times. Burst size, however, was lower, equal or higher than for controls, but this effect was highly dependent on the particular phage–host system studied. Phage infection was strongly inhibited in MRS_C, but only mildly impaired in MRS_N. Nevertheless, growth of all the bacterial strains tested was severely compromised by starvation, without significant differences between MRS_C and MRS_N, indicating that nitrogen compounds are specifically required for a successful phage infection, beyond their influence on bacterial growth.     

Ecotoxicity of oil sludges and residuals from their washing with surfactants: soil dehydrogenase and ryegrass germination tests

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Oil sludge washing (OSW) with surfactants and co-solvents is used to recover the oil, and this process leaves some residuals (sediments and surfactant...