Brominated aromatics from combustion

The production of brominated aromatics from combustion was shown to be influenced by the operating conditions. Brominated aromatics also showed high yields compared to their chlorinated analogues.     

Source-separated municipal solid waste compost application to Swiss chard and basil

A growth room experiment was conducted to evaluate the bioavailability of Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, S, As, B, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, and Se from a sandy loam soil amended with source-separated municipal solid waste (SSMSW) compost. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) were amended with 0, 20, 40, and 60% SSMSW compost to soil (by volume) mixture. Soils and compost were sequentially extracted to fractionate Cu, Pb, and Zn into exchangeable (EXCH), iron- and manganese-oxide-bound (FeMnOX), organic-matter (OM), and structurally bound (SB) forms. Overall, in both species, the proportion of Cu, Pb, and Zn levels in different fractions followed the sequence: SB > OM > FeMnOX > EXCH for Cu; FeMnOX = SB > OM > EXCH for Pb; and FeMnOX > SB = EXCH > OM for Zn. Application of SSMSW compost increased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC), and increased the concentration of Cu, Pb, and Zn in all fractions, but not EXCH Pb. Basil yields were greatest in the 20% treatment, but Swiss chard yields were greater in all compost-amended soils relative to the unamended soil. Basil plants in 20 or 40% compost treatments reached flowering earlier than plants from other treatments. Additions of SSMSW compost to soil altered basil essential oil, but basil oil was free of metals. The results from this study suggest that mature SSMSW compost with concentrations of Cu, Pb, Mo, and Zn of 311, 223, 17, and 767 mg/kg, respectively, could be used as a soil conditioner without phytotoxic effects on agricultural crops and without increasing the normal range of Cu, Pb, and Zn in crop tissue. However, the long-term effect of the accumulation of heavy metals in soils needs to be carefully considered.     

Difference in Particle Transport Between Two Coastal Areas in the Baltic Sea Investigated with High-Resolution Trajectory Modeling

A particle-tracking model based on high-resolution ocean flow data was used to investigate particle residence times and spatial distribution of settling sediment for two geo-morphologically different Swedish coastal areas. The study was a part of a safety assessment for the location of a future nuclear-waste repository, and information about the particle-transport patterns can contribute to predictions of the fate of a possible leakage. It is also, to our knowledge, the first time particle-transport differences between two coastal areas have been quantified in this manner. In Forsmark, a funnel-shaped bay shielded by a number of islands, the average residence time for clay particles was 5 times longer than in the modeled part of Simpevarp, which is open to the Baltic Sea. In Forsmark, <10 % of the released particles left the domain compared to 60–80 % in Simpevarp. These site-specific differences will increase over time with the differences in land uplift between the areas.     

Vertical swimming in wave-induced currents as a control mechanism of intertidal migration by a sand-beach isopod

Both the vertical and horizontal distributions ofEurydice pulchra (Leach) within the water column of the surf zone were recorded throughout complete tidal cycles on a sandy beach in North Wales during the summer of 1989. Upon emerging from the sand, the isopods tended to swim up in the water column, where transport onshore would be facilitated by the wave-induced, onshore currents which laboratory wave-tank experiments have confirmed to occur near the water surface. This combination of active and passive transport to the water's edge results in high numbers of individuals in the narrow swash zone. At and just after the time of high tide, individuals swim to the water/sediment interface where, as again confirmed by wave-tank experiments, the predominant water movement is offshore. Continued swimming near the bottom during the ebb tide before reburrowing in the sand ensures transport downshore and avoidance of stranding above the characteristic level of zonation on the shore. Vertical migrations ofE. pulchra in the water column permit differential exploitation of up and downshore currents to achieve horizontal migration.     

Social support and occupational stress: Effects of talking to others

Employees' social support was examined using both the traditional global measures of emotional/instrumental support and more focused measures based on the contents (positive, negative, and non-job) of verbally transmitted support. Contents were more closely related to global emotional support than to global instrumental support, with non-job and positive communications especially strongly associated with emotional support, and they accounted for more variance in strains than did the global measures.     

使用罗斯比中心海洋模型检测波罗的海次盆地的周转时间

尤其在判断气候变化可能带来的影响时,事实证明有必要对受到显著的外部影响的有限海域的水更新速度进行评估.随SWECLIM项目一起,上述工作已在波罗的海的两个生态敏感的次盆地(即里加湾和格但斯克湾)中开展.为此目的,我们已分别以质量平衡收支和拉格朗日轨迹线为基础,采用了两种方法上不同的做法.与采用拉格朗日技术获取的结果相比,事实证明,在作为一个在形态上受到极大约束的盆地的里加湾中,使用这种箱状模型方法非常合适,而在将它用于以更加开阔的地形条件为特点的格但斯克湾时却表现出一些不足.     

Phytoavailability and fractionation of copper, manganese, and zinc in soil following application of two composts to four crops

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of compost addition to soil on fractionation and bioavailability of Cu, Mn, and Zn to four crops. Soils growing Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) were amended (by volume) with 0, 20, 40, and 60% Source-Separated Municipal Solid Waste (SS-MSW) compost, and dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and peppermint (Mentha X piperita L.) were amended with 0, 20, 40, and 60% of high-Cu manure compost (by volume). The SS-MSW compost applications increased the concentration of Cu and Zn in all fractions, increased Mn in acid extractable (ACID), iron and manganese oxides (FeMnOX), and organic matter (OM) fractions, but decreased slightly exchangeable-Mn. Addition of 60% high-Cu manure compost to the soil increased Cu EXCH, ACID, FeMnOX, and OM fractions, but decreased EXCH-Mn, and did not change EXCH-Zn. Addition of both composts to soil reduced bioavailability and transfer factors for Cu and Zn. Our results suggest that mature SS-MSW and manure composts with excess Cu and Zn could be safely used as soil conditioners for agricultural crops.     

Chela loss in the shore crab Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Brachyura) and its effect on mating success

Field and experimental studies were conducted to determine the incidence of chela loss and its effect on mating success in a population of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) inhabiting the Menai Straits, North Wales. The study was performed between 1989 and 1993. Male crabs showed a higher degree of chela loss (12.5%) than females (7.9%). In males, frequencies ranged from 10% at sizes 50 mm CW (carapace width) up to 30% in the largest crabs of 70 to 80 mm CW. The percentage of females with missing chelae appears to be unrelated to size. The most common type of chela loss in the population studied was of a missing crusher chela of right-handed crabs. Red crabs, which are assumed to be in prolonged intermoult, had a much higher degree of chela loss (20.5%) than the green, early intermoult crabs (9.7%). The proportion of red crabs with chela losses increased with size, possibly reflecting an increase in intermoult duration with size. In green crabs, there was no such increase. The proportion of male crabs with missing chelae found in mating pairs in the field was much lower than that found in the adult unpaired population, suggesting that the loss of a chela constitutes a handicap to a male crab when trying to mate. Also, by studying the relative frequencies of different categories of chela loss, it is suggested that the loss of a crusher chela exerts a more deleterious effect than the loss of a cutter. Experiments were performed in the laboratory where pairs in pre-copula were confronted with an additional single male in various combinations of sizes and patten of chela loss. These showed that the loss of a chela constitutes a handicap for a male crab when either competing for or defending a paired pre-moult female. This handicap was estimated to be equivalent to a reduction in size of 7 to 8 mm CW relative to the size of the competitor.