The impact of global change on economic values of water for Public Irrigation Schemes at the São Francisco River Basin in Brazil

Economic values of water for the main Public Irrigation Schemes in the sub-middle region of the São Francisco River Basin, in northeastern Brazil, are determined in this study using an integration of a global agro-economic land and water use (MAgPIE) with a local economic model (Positive Mathematical Programming). As in the latter, the water values depend on the crops grown, and as Brazilian agriculture is strongly influenced by the global market, we used a regionalized version of the global model adapted to the region in order to simulate the crop land use, which is in turn determined by changes in global demand, trade barriers, and climate. The allocation of sugarcane and fruit crops projected with climate change by the global model, showed an impact on the average yields and on the water costs in the main schemes resulting in changes in the water values locally. The economic values for all schemes in the baseline year were higher than the water prices established for agricultural use in the basin. In the future, these water values will be higher in all the schemes. The highest water values currently and in the future were identified in municipalities with a significant proportion of area growing irrigated sugarcane. Being aware of current water values of each user in a baseline year and in a projected future under global climate and socioeconomic changes, decision makers should improve water allocation policies at local scale, in order to avoid conflicts and unsustainable development in the future.     

Ovariectomy predisposes female rats to fine particulate matter exposure’s effects by altering metabolic,oxidative, pro-inflammatory,and heat-shock protein levels

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The reduction of estrogen levels, as a result of menopause, is associated with the development of metabolic diseases caused by alterations in...     

Microplastic distribution in surface sediments along the Spanish Mediterranean continental shelf

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastics (MPs) are widely recognised as a contaminant of emerging concern in the marine environment. This work provides original data of the...     

Assessing ecological function in the context of species recovery

Species interactions matter to conservation. Setting an ambitious recovery target for a species requires considering the size, density, and demographic structure of its populations such that they fulfill the interactions, roles, and functions of the species in the ecosystems in which they are embedded. A recently proposed framework for an International Union for Conservation of Nature Green List of Species formalizes this requirement by defining a fully recovered species in terms of representation, viability, and functionality. Defining and quantifying ecological function from the viewpoint of species recovery is challenging in concept and application, but also an opportunity to insert ecological theory into conservation practice. We propose 2 complementary approaches to assessing a species’ ecological functions: confirmation (listing interactions of the species, identifying ecological processes and other species involved in these interactions, and quantifying the extent to which the species contributes to the identified ecological process) and elimination (inferring functionality by ruling out symptoms of reduced functionality, analogous to the red-list approach that focuses on symptoms of reduced viability). Despite the challenges, incorporation of functionality into species recovery planning is possible in most cases and it is essential to a conservation vision that goes beyond preventing extinctions and aims to restore a species to levels beyond what is required for its viability. This vision focuses on conservation and recovery at the species level and sees species as embedded in ecosystems, influencing and being influenced by the processes in those ecosystems. Thus, it connects and integrates conservation at the species and ecosystem levels.     

Baked Foams Based on Cassava Starch Coated with Polyvinyl Alcohol with a Higher Degree of Hydrolysis

The aims of this work were to produce trays based on cassava starch, coated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with a higher degree of hydrolysis (98%), and to study the effects of the coating on the mechanical and water sorption properties of the trays. Two types of PVA were tested: SELVOL? 325 (degree of polymerization?=?1000–1500) and SELVOL? 107 (degree of polymerization?=?350–650). A decrease in the water absorption capacity of 50% was observed when the coated samples were compared with the control sample after 30 min of immersion in water. It was observed in both coated samples a reduction of the initial rate of water adsorption sorption and a decrease in hydrophilicity compared with the control sample. Tensile strength and elongation were increased with application of the coatings. The use of the two types of PVA resulted in materials with similar mechanical and water sorption properties.     

One-Component Spray Polyurethane Foam from Liquefied Pinewood Polyols: Pursuing Eco-Friendly Materials

The use of petroleum-derived products should be avoided regarding the principles of green and sustainable chemistry. The work reported herein, is aimed at the liquefaction of pine shavings for the production of an environmentally-friendly polyol suitable to be used in the formulations of sprayable polyurethane foams. The biopolyols were obtained in high yield and were used to replace those derived from fossil sources, to produce more “greener” polyurethane foams and therefore, less dependent on petroleum sources, since the polyol component was substituted by products resulting from biomass liquefaction. The partial and fully exchange of the polyols was accomplished, and the results compared with a reference foam. The foams were afterward, chemical, physical, morphological, and mechanically characterized. The complete replacement of polyether polyol and polyol polyester has presented some similar characteristics as that used as a reference, validating that the path chosen for the development of more sustainable materials is on the right track for the contribution to a cleaner world.     

Chemical characterization of fine aerosols in respect to water-soluble ions at the eastern Middle Adriatic coast

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations at the Middle Adriatic coastal site of Croatia were affected by different air-mass inflows and/or local sources and meteorological conditions, and peaked in summer. More polluted continental air-mass inflows mostly affected the area in the winter period, while southern marine pathways had higher impact in spring and summer. Chemical characterization of the water-soluble inorganic and organic ionic constituents is discussed with respect to seasonal trends, possible sources, and air-mass inputs. The largest contributors to the PM2.5 mass were sea salts modified by the presence of secondary sulfate-rich aerosols indicated also by principal component analysis. SO42− was the prevailing anion, while the anthropogenic SO42− (anth-nssSO42−) dominantly constituted the major non-sea-salt SO42− (nssSO42−) fraction. Being influenced by the marine origin, its biogenic fraction (bio-nssSO42−) increased particularly in the spring. During the investigated period, aerosols were generally acidic. High Cl− deficit was observed at Middle Adriatic location for which the acid displacement is primarily responsible. With nssSO42− being dominant in Cl− depletion, sulfur-containing species from anthropogenic pollution emissions may have profound impact on atmospheric composition through altering chlorine chemistry in this region. However, when accounting for the neutralization of H2SO4 by NH3, the potential of HNO3 and organic acids to considerably influence Cl− depletion is shown to increase. Intensive open-fire events substantially increased the PM2.5 concentrations and changed the water-soluble ion composition and aerosol acidity in summer of 2015. To our knowledge, this work presents the first time-resolved data evaluating the seasonal composition of water-soluble ions and their possible sources in PM2.5 at the Middle Adriatic area. This study contributes towards a better understanding of atmospheric composition in the coastal Adriatic area and serves as a basis for the comparison with future studies related to the air quality at the coastal Adriatic and/or Mediterranean regions.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity using GO/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> catalyst for the removal of DCA solutions

This work aimed to optimize high-performance photocatalysts based on graphene oxide/titanium dioxide (GO/TiO₂) nanocomposites for the effective degradation of aqueous pollutants. The catalytic activity was tested against the degradation of dichloroacetic acid (DCA), a by-product of disinfection processes that is present in many industrial wastewaters and effluents. GO/TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared using three different methods, hydrothermal, solvothermal, and mechanical, and varying the GO/TiO₂ ratio in the range of 1 to 10%. Several techniques were applied to characterize the catalysts, and better coupling of GO and TiO₂ was observed in the thermally synthesized composites. Although the results obtained for DCA degradation showed a coupled influence of the composite preparation method and its composition, promising results were obtained with the photocatalysts compared to the limited activity of conventional TiO₂. In the best case, corresponding to the composite synthesized via hydrothermal method with 5% of GO/TiO₂ weight ratio, an enhancement of 2.5 times of the photocatalytic degradation yield of DCA was obtained compared to bare TiO₂, thus opening more efficient ways to promote the application of photocatalytic remediation technologies.