Environment polluting conventional chemical control compared to an environmentally friendly IPM approach for control of diamondback moth, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plutella xylostella</Emphasis> (L.), in China: a review

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is recognized as a widely distributed destructive insect pest of Brassica worldwide. The management of this pest is a serious issue, and an estimated annual cost of its management has reached approximately US$4 billion. Despite the fact that chemicals are a serious threat to the environment, lots of chemicals are applied for controlling various insect pests especially P. xylostella. An overreliance on chemical control has not only led to the evolution of resistance to insecticides and to a reduction of natural enemies but also has polluted various components of water, air, and soil ecosystem. In the present scenario, there is a need to implement an environmentally friendly integrated pest management (IPM) approach with new management tactics (microbial control, biological control, cultural control, mating disruption, insecticide rotation strategies, and plant resistance) for an alternative to chemical control. The IPM approach is not only economically beneficial but also reduces the environmental and health risks. The present review synthesizes published information on the insecticide resistance against P. xylostella and emphasizes on adopting an alternative environmentally friendly IPM approach for controlling P. xylostella in China.     

Climate changes and tree stand dynamics at the upper limit of their growth in the North Ural mountains

The composition and structure of tree stands near the timberline have been studied on different slopes and at different elevations in the Tylaisko-Konzhakovsko-Serebryanskii Massif, the North Urals. It has been found that the upper limits of tree stands with different degrees of canopy closure have risen considerably (by about 100 m of elevation) since the mid-19th century, although the formation of these stands started as early as the late 18th century. Woodless areas in the eastern part of the massif started to be colonized by Larix sibirica in the late 18th to early 19th centuries; those in the western part, by Picea obovata in the mid-19th century; and in the southern part, by Betula tortuosa in the late 19th century. Analysis of meteorological data provides evidence for warming and increasing humidity of the climate since the late 19th century. Favorable climatic changes that facilitated the expansion of the forest have taken place both in the summer (prolongation of the growing period) and in winter seasons (increase of air temperature and precipitation). The observed differences in the composition and dynamics of tree stands between the studied areas of the mountain range are most probably explained by different requirements of tree species for the depth of snow cover and the degree of soil freezing.     

Pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics in livestock manure and manure-amended soils in Jiangsu province,China

The aim of this study was to investigate the pollution characteristics of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil of livestock farms in Jiangsu province. This investigation employed solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). A total of 53 manure and 50 amended soil samples from 16 livestock farms in Jiangsu province were collected for analysis. In the manure samples, the highest detected frequencies and concentrations were those of tetracyclines (TCs, 54.1 ± 5775.6 μgkg^?1), followed by fluoroquinolones (FQs, 8.4 ± 435.6 μgkg^?1), sulphonamides (SAs, 3.2 ± 5.2 μgkg^?1) and macrolides (MACs, 0.4 ± 110.5 μgkg^?1). Statistical analysis was used to illuminate the pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics for various animal types and different regions in Jiangsu province. The results showed that the pollution level in cow manure was relatively lower compared with pig and chicken manure due to the relative restriction of medication. Furthermore, contamination was serious in amended soil from chicken farms. The pollution level in manure among different regions was higher to the south and north compared with the centre of the region. The same outcome was found for soil. Antibiotic residues in organic fertilizer were also investigated in this study. We found that although the detected concentration was lower in organic fertilizer than in fresh manure, detection frequencies (10–90%) were high, especially for roxithromycin (90%) in MACs (30–90%). This finding suggests attention should be paid to the pollution levels in organic fertilizer. This study is the first extensive investigation of the occurrence and distribution of many kinds of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil from livestock farms of Jiangsu province. This investigation systematically assesses veterinary antibiotics usage and related emissions in southeast China.     

Review of LCA studies of solid waste management systems – Part II: Methodological guidance for a better practice

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used in waste management to identify strategies that prevent or minimise negative impacts on ecosystems, human health or natural resources. However, the quality of the provided support to decision- and policy-makers is strongly dependent on a proper conduct of the LCA. How has LCA been applied until now? Are there any inconsistencies in the past practice? To answer these questions, we draw on a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of solid waste management systems. We analyse the past practice against the ISO standard requirements and the ILCD Handbook guidelines for each major step within the goal definition, scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation phases of the methodology. Results show that malpractices exist in several aspects of the LCA with large differences across studies. Examples are a frequent neglect of the goal definition, a frequent lack of transparency and precision in the definition of the scope of the study, e.g. an unclear delimitation of the system boundaries, a truncated impact coverage, difficulties in capturing influential local specificities such as representative waste compositions into the inventory, and a frequent lack of essential sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Many of these aspects are important for the reliability of the results. For each of them, we therefore provide detailed recommendations to practitioners of waste management LCAs.     

Government Regulations of Shechita (Jewish Religious Slaughter) in the Twenty-First Century: Are They Ethical?

Human beings have engaged in animal husbandry and have slaughtered animals for food for thousands of years. During the majority of that time most societies had no animal welfare regulations that governed the care or slaughter of animals. Judaism is a notable exception in that from its earliest days it has included such rules. Among the Jewish dietary laws is a prohibition to consume meat from an animal that dies in any manner other than through the rigorously defined method of slaughter known as shechita. In recent decades more and more attempts have been initiated by governments around the world to either outright ban or to control and modify the practice of shechita. This paper presents the requisite background about shechita and then analyzes the ethics of some of the recent legislation. The analysis includes a rebuttal of the assertion that shechita is an inhumane method of slaughter. It further presents the consequences on the Jewish community of legislation to impose pre-slaughter stunning and explains why such legislation is unethical. The actual effect of labeling laws is discussed and it is shown why such laws are also un-ethical.     

Concentrations and distributions of 18 organochlorine pesticides listed in the Stockholm Convention in surface sediments from the Liaohe River basin,China

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were analyzed in 26 surface sediment samples from the Liaohe River basin, and the distributions of and potential environmental risks posed by OCPs in the basin were evaluated. Eighteen OCPs listed in the Stockholm Convention were determined using isotope-dilution gas chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry. This is the first study of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in the Liaohe River basin sediments. The total OCP concentrations were 0.39–68.06 ng g^?1 dry weight. The total α-, β-, γ-, and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), the total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT – p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), o,p^'-DDT, and p,p′-DDT), and the HCB concentrations in the sediment samples were 0.1–28.48 ng g^?1 (mean 4.01 ng g^?1), 0.08–6.52 ng g^?1 (mean 3.07 ng g^?1), and 0.18–24.8 ng g^?1 (mean 4.38 ng g^?1), respectively. The HCB concentrations were higher than the concentrations of the other OCPs, and the HCHs and HCB together were the dominant OCPs. β-HCH was the most abundant HCH isomer. The concentrations of DDTs and other OCPs were relatively low, and the (DDE+DDD)/DDT ratios (>0.5) and DDD/DDE ratios (<1) indicated that no recent DDT inputs had occurred in the Liaohe River system. The main sources of HCHs were probably the historical production and agricultural use of HCH in the study area. The DDT and HCH concentrations were generally below or similar to the concentrations that have been found in other parts of the world. An ecotoxicological evaluation indicated that HCHs in surface sediments pose slight risks to human and ecological health in the Liaohe River basin.     

Study of heavy metals in some environmental samples

Fuels like coal and rubber are frequently used for brick burning. However, both coal and rubber contain heavy metals. These heavy metals may elutriate in the wake of fly ash or may adsorb or absorb in the product. The present work deals with the analysis of heavy metals in some samples collected from brick burning industries located in the vicinity of a metropolitan city, Peshawar, Pakistan. Samples from raw clay, product, chimney scale and fossil fuel & rubber were collected and leached with acid mixture. The leachates were concentrated and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer for the determination of chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and antimony (Sb). It was observed that heavy metals are present in clay, brick and chimney scale. However, significant amount of these metals was observed in chimney scale. It is inferred that such emanations laden with heavy metals are accompanying the stack gases which are being dumped in to the environment. In order to avoid environmental problems, strict environmental regulations shall be enforced and a constant check on these emanations to the environment must be made to ensure clean air act.     

The Properties of Poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Lactide) Prepared by Different Synthesis Procedure

Different synthesis methods were applied to determine optimal conditions for polymerization of (3S)-cis-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione (l-lactide), in order to obtain poly(l-lactide) (PLLA). Bulk polymerizations (in vacuum sealed vessel, high pressure reactor and in microwave field) were performed with tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate as the initiator. Synthesis in the vacuum sealed vessel was carried out at the temperature of 150 °C. To reduce the reaction time second polymerization process was carried out in the high pressure reactor at 100 °C and at the pressure of 138 kPa. The third type of rapid synthesis was done in the microwave reactor at 100 °C, using frequency of 2.45 GHz and power of 150 W at the temperature of 100 °C. The temperature in this method was controlled via infrared system for in-bulk measuring. The solution polymerization (with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid as initiator) was possible even at the temperature of 40 °C, yielding PLLA with narrow molecular weight distribution in a very short period of time (less than 6 h). The obtained polymers had the number-average molecular weights ranging from 43,000 to 178,000 g mol⁻¹ (polydispersity index ranging from 1 to 3) according to the gel permeation chromatography measurements. The polymer structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the obtained polymers were investigated using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Asymmetric investigation to track the effect of urbanization,energy utilization,fossil fuel energy and CO2 emission on economic efficiency in China: another outlook

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The accelerated urbanization in China was already coupled with a steadily increasing demand for energy usage. The present study major aim was to...