Retention of trace elements in coal-fired flue gas by a novel heterogeneous agglomeration technology

Heterogeneous agglomeration (HA) is a very potential technology for coal-fired flue gas treatment.In this paper,the distribution and migration mechanisms of trace elements (TEs such as Se,As and Pb in CFPPs were studied on a 30,000 m³/hr pilot-scale experimental plat form.The influences of HA on the removal efficiency of gaseous and particulate TEs were well analyzed.The results showed that Se,As and Pb were enriched in fly ash,and their sen sitivity to particle size is quite differen...     

Ancillary impacts of energy-related climate change mitigation options in Africa’s least developed countries

This article analyses the debate associated with the ancillary impacts of climate change mitigation options in developing countries, with a particular focus upon Africa’s 34 least developed countries. While these countries’ emissions of greenhouse gases are relatively small (and they do not have emission limitation commitments in the current international regime), inattention to the mitigation agenda would mean that developing countries both miss potential funding opportunities and fail to ‘climate-proof’ their development strategies. A focus, therefore, upon the short-term, local, developmental impacts that serve to change the relative attractiveness of different mitigation options from the perspective of the developing country is in these countries’ current strategic interests. In this article, I examine three energy-related climate change mitigation options: improved cookstoves, carbon-free electricity and improved energy efficiency in industry. Key ancillary impacts are better indoor air quality, better outdoor air quality and job creation (respectively). Further work to strengthen the evidence base regarding these impacts needs to be undertaken, potentially drawing upon broader work that has already been completed. Thus, in conclusion, a call for cross-fertilisation of information between heretofore disparate research communities is made. Additionally, the development of an integrated research agenda, forging linkages among cookstoves, indoor air quality and climate change mitigation research communities in Africa’s least developed countries, is identified as a priority.     

Can long-path FTIR spectroscopy yield gas flux measurements through a variance technique?

Long-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is capable of measuring concentrations of many environmentally important trace gases in the atmospheric surface layer over horizontal averaging paths of up to 1 km. If the FTIR could also measure the variance in gas concentration, we could conceivably use it to estimate the path-averaged, vertical flux of any gas that the FTIR can detect. The problem in measuring variances, however, is that the large sampling volume—which allows the FTIR to measure concentrations with the best resolution—degrades its response to the high-wavenumber turbulent fluctuations that contribute to the variance. In this paper, we use a model for the three-dimensional scalar spectrum to look at the effects of this volume averaging on the FTIR's ability to measure gas concentration variance. Our modeling suggests that there is no realistic configuration or sampling rate that will let the FTIR measure gas concentration variance in the surface layer. Its sampling volume must simply be so large that all turbulent fluctuations with wavenumbers from the dissipation region down to the vicinity of the spectral peak are irrevocably degraded. Our analysis identifies experiments that can test these predictions. Despite the FTIR's predicted inability to measure gas fluxes through the variance technique, we lastly show that it can still yield these fluxes through other micrometeorological techniques.     

Honeybee combs: construction through a liquid equilibrium process?

Geometrical investigations of honeycombs and speculations on how honeybees measure and construct the hexagons and rhombi of their cells are centuries old. Here we show that honeybees neither have to measure nor construct the highly regular structures of a honeycomb, and that the observed pattern of combs can be parsimoniously explained by wax flowing in liquid equilibrium. The structure of the combs of honeybees results from wax as a thermoplastic building medium, which softens and hardens as a result of increasing and decreasing temperatures. It flows among an array of transient, close-packed cylinders which are actually the self-heated honeybees themselves. The three apparent rhomboids forming the base of each cell do not exist but arise as optical artefacts from looking through semi-transparent combs.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Contribution of industrial and developing countries to the atmospheric CO2 concentrations: — impact of the Kyoto protocol

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto protocol made under the Convention, aim at controlling the greenhouse gas emissions and their concentrations in the atmosphere. The contributions of fossil fuel use in industrial and developing countries to the atmospheric CO₂ concentration are calculated using estimates for emission developments and a simple carbon cycle model. The contribution of the industrial countries to the CO₂ concentration increase, above the preindustrial level, is estimated to be about 50 ppm in 1990 if only the emissions from fossil fuels are considered. The contribution from developing countries is about 15 ppm. The contribution from industrial countries would increase by about 20 ppm between 1990 and 2010 if no emission reductions were assumed and by about 15 ppm in the considered rather strict reduction scenario. According to the Kyoto protocol the emissions from industrial countries should be reduced by 5.2% from the 1990 level in about 20 years. This development of the emissions would cause a concentration increase of 18 ppm. The concentration increase due to developing countries between 1990 and 2010 would be about 15 ppm. In order that the present global increase rate of CO₂ concentration 1.5 ppm/a would not be exceeded, steeper reductions than those made in Kyoto should be agreed. Increasing global emissions and slow removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere makes it difficult to reach the ultimate objective of the Climate Convention, the stabilisation of the atmospheric concentration.     

Arsenobetaine and thio-arsenic species in marine macroalgae and herbivorous animals: Accumulated through trophic transfer or produced in situ?

Arsenobetaine(AB) and thio-arsenoribosides were measured in common macroalgae species(8 phaeophyta, 4 rhodophyta and 2 chlorphyta), along the Australian south east coast line. As well, arsenic species profiles were measured for two common marine herbivores, the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii and the fish Odax cyanomelas that graze on these macroalgae to understand if trophic transfer of these species would account for their presence in marine herbivores. AB was found in seven of the fourteen macroalgae species investigated but does not contributed significantly to any of the macroalgae arsenic content(0.01-1.2 μg/g). AB was found in only two of the brown macroalgae and all the red and green macroalgae(with the exception of Corallina officinalis). Thio-arsenic species were found sporadically, but not in high concentrations in any of the macroalgae investigated.AB present in macroalgae is likely to be associated with epiphytic organisms while thio-arsenoribosides are likely to be produced by decaying parts of damaged macroalgae.A laboratory feeding experiment in which the herbivorous gastropod, Austrocochlea constricta, was fed macroalgae containing thio-arsenoribosides for a 24 hr period every three days showed that these are readily accumulated over a short period. Thio-arsenoribosides in herbivores are therefore probably obtained through trophic transfer. Some AB is also obtained through trophic transfer; however, the presence of trimethylated arsonioribosides,a hypothesized precursor of AB formation in herbivores, suggests that some AB is produced within herbivores from the transformation of arsenoribosides accumulated from their diet.     

Environmental activisms of firm’s neighboring residents: an empirical study in China

This paper develops an analytical framework based on the reasoned action theory and discusses the environmental activism (EA) of residents living close to the polluting companies. The data was collected by a questionnaire survey conducted in August of 2009 in Suzhou city of Jiangsu Province, China, which successfully obtained a total of 343 valid responses. The survey suggests that the residents are reluctant to act against their neighboring polluters. Nearly 10% respondents have never taken any action against the polluters, and the occasional EA participators account for 66.2% of the total. The items of EA, which require the residents to directly communicate with the governments or polluters, achieve very low ratios of participations (with a range of 5–25%). The path analysis confirms that there are large influences of certain attitudinal components on EA involvement. Understanding of corporate environmental information significantly determines the resident’s intention of EA practices. The residents have an obvious tendency to act collectively against the polluters. An essential message of this study is that the strategy of corporate environmental information disclosure may effectively increase the resident’s readiness of EA participation. The government shall responsively support the residents’ EA efforts since successful environmental protests will greatly convince them to jointly act against their neighboring polluters.     

Signaling hunger through aggression—the regulation of foraging in a primitively eusocial wasp

Primitively eusocial wasps are generally headed by behaviorally dominant queens who use their aggression to suppress worker reproduction. In contrast, queens in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata are strikingly docile and non-aggressive. However, workers exhibit dominance-subordinate interactions among themselves. These interactions do not appear to reflect reproductive competition because there is no correlation between the relative position of an individual in the dominance hierarchy of the colony and the likelihood that she will succeed a lost/removed queen. Based on the observation that foraging continues unaltered in the absence of the queen and the correlation between dominance behavior and foraging, we have previously suggested that dominance-subordinate interactions among workers in R. marginata have been co-opted to serve the function of decentralized, self-organized regulation of foraging. This idea has been supported by an earlier experimental study where it was found that a reduced demand for food led to a significant decrease in dominance behavior. In this study, we perform the converse experiment, demonstrate that dominance behavior increases under conditions of starvation, and thus provide further evidence in support of the hypothesis that intranidal workers signal hunger through aggression.     

Climate change adaptation,mitigation and livelihood benefits in coffee production: where are the synergies?

There are worldwide approximately 4.3 million coffee (Coffea arabica) producing smallholders generating a large share of tropical developing countries’ gross domestic product, notably in Central America. Their livelihoods and coffee production are facing major challenges due to projected climate change, requiring adaptation decisions that may range from changes in management practices to changes in crops or migration. Since management practices such as shade use and reforestation influence both climate vulnerability and carbon stocks in coffee, there may be synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation that could make it advantageous to jointly pursue both objectives. In some cases, carbon accounting for mitigation actions might even be used to incentivize and subsidize adaptation actions. To assess potential synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation in smallholder coffee production systems, we quantified (i) the potential of changes in coffee production and processing practices as well as other livelihood activities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) coffee farmers’ climate change vulnerability and need for adaptation, including the possibility of carbon markets subsidizing adaptation. We worked with smallholder organic coffee farmers in Northern Nicaragua, using workshops, interviews, farm visits and the Cool Farm Tool software to calculate greenhouse gas balances of coffee farms. From the 12 activities found to be relevant for adaptation, two showed strong and five showed modest synergies with mitigation. Afforestation of degraded areas with coffee agroforestry systems and boundary tree plantings resulted in the highest synergies between adaptation and mitigation. Financing possibilities for joint adaptation-mitigation activities could arise through carbon offsetting, carbon insetting, and carbon footprint reductions. Non-monetary benefits such as technical assistance and capacity building could be effective in promoting such synergies at low transaction costs.     

Remediation of saline–sodic soil with flue gas desulfurization gypsum in a reclaimed tidal flat of southeast China

Salinization and sodicity are obstacles for vegetation reconstruction of coastal tidal flat soils. A study was conducted with flue gas desulfurization(FGD)-gypsum applied at rates of 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 Mg/ha to remediate tidal flat soils of the Yangtze River estuary.Exchangeable sodium percentage(ESP), exchangeable sodium(ExNa), p H, soluble salt concentration, and composition of soluble salts were measured in 10 cm increments from the surface to 30 cm depth after 6 and 18 months. The results indicated that the effect of FGD-gypsum is greatest in the 0–10 cm mixing soil layer and 60 Mg/ha was the optimal rate that can reduce the ESP to below 6% and decrease soil p H to neutral(7.0). The improvement effect was reached after 6 months, and remained after 18 months. The composition of soluble salts was transformed from sodic salt ions mainly containing Na~+, HCO_3~-+ CO_3~(2-)and Cl-to neutral salt ions mainly containing Ca~(2+)and SO_4~(2-). Non-halophyte plants were survived at 90%. The study demonstrates that the use of FGD-gypsum for remediating tidal flat soils is promising.     

Effect of sodium arsenite on adrenocortical activity in immature female rats: evidence of dose dependent response

ｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＡｒｓｅｎｉｃ，ａｍｅｔａｌｌｏｉｄ，ｉｓａｎｏｎｅｓｓｅｎｔｉａｌｔｒａｃｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔ，ｈａｓｂｅｅｎｃｌａｉｍｅｄｔｏｂｅｏｆｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｂｅｎｅｆｉｔｉｎｔｈｅｔｒｅａｔｍｅｎｔｏｆｓｙｐｈｉｌｉｓ，ａｍｏｅｂｉａｓｉｓａｎｄｏｔｈｅｒｔｒｏｐｉｃａｌｄｉｓｅａｓｅｓ（Ｋｌａａｓｓｅｎ，１９９０；Ｋｏｗａｇｕｃｈｉ，１９８１）．Ｂｅｓｉｄｅｉｔｓｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｃｅ，ａｒｓｅｎｉｃｉｓｒｅｐｏｒｔｅｄｔｏｂｅａｎｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｗａｔｅｒｐｏ…     

Prenatal detection of aortic coarctation in a well-organized screening setting: Are we there yet?

Objective

We aimed to assess current prenatal detection rate (DR) of aortic coarctation (CoA) and its impact on neonatal outcome in the Netherlands to evaluate the efficacy of the Dutch screening protocol in which the cardiac four-chamber view, outflow tracts and three-vessel view are compulsory.

Methods

All prenatally and postnatally diagnosed CoA cases between 2012 and 2021 were extracted from our PRECOR-registry. Annual DRs were calculated with a focus on the trend over time and attributing factors for detection. Postnatal outcome was compared between prenatally detected and undetected cases.

Results

49/116 cases (42.2%) were detected prenatally. A higher chance of detection was found for cases with extracardiac malformations (71.4%; p = 0.001) and the more severe cases with an aortic arch hypoplasia and/or ventricular septal defect (63.2%; p = 0.001). Time-trend analysis showed no improvement in DR over time (p = 0.33). Undetected cases presented with acute circulatory shock in 20.9% and were more likely to have severe lactic acidosis (p = 0.02) and impaired cardiac function (p < 0.001) before surgery.

Conclusion

Even in a well-organized screening program, the DR of CoA still requires improvement, especially in isolated cases. The increased risk of severe lactic acidosis in undetected cases stresses the need for urgent additions to the current screening program, such as implementation of the three-vessel trachea view and measurement of outflow tracts.     

Pharmacological analysis of feeding in a caterpillar: different transduction pathways for umami and saccharin?

Neonate larvae of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), modify their behavior in the presence of saccharin, monosodium glutamate (MSG), or L(+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4) by commencing their feeding earlier. Previously published pharmacological analysis demonstrated that phagostimulatory effects of MSG and L-AP4 (which elicit umami taste sensation in humans) are reversed by adenylate cyclase activator and phosphodiesterase inhibitor. In this study, by measuring the time needed to start ingestion of foliage treated with mixtures of phagostimulants and signal transduction modulators, we show that phagostimulatory effects of l-aspartate (the third hallmark umami substance) are also abolished by both adenylate cyclase activator and phosphodiesterase inhibitor, but not by phospholipase C inhibitor. However, stimulatory effects of hemicalcium saccharin were affected only by phospholipase C inhibitor. The results suggest that codling moth neonates use different transduction pathways for perception of hemicalcium saccharin and umami.     

Understanding the use of science in decision-making on cockle fisheries and gas mining in the Dutch Wadden Sea: Putting the science–policy interface in a wider perspective

The use of science to inform and underpin decision-making on natural resources is not self-evident as stakeholders often use science in a selective and strategic way. Scientific analyses of science utilisation often focus on how the science–policy interface is organised and from this perspective provide recommendations to scientists about how they can increase their contribution to decision-making. Yet in this paper we argue that a wider perspective on the science–policy interface, in particular by analysing the roles and interactions of actors other than those directly involved, provides both additional explanations and new points of application for strategies aimed at enhancing science utilisation. We illustrate our claim by means of an analysis of decision-making on cockle fisheries and gas mining in the Dutch Wadden Sea between the 1990s and 2004. For many years, scientific studies addressing the ecological effects of these activities were not used to meaningfully contribute to decision-making. In 2004 this situation changed radically. Explanations include the role of intermediaries between scientists, stakeholders and decision-makers and new legislation. Scientists could enhance the chances of knowledge utilisation both by creating a more open science–policy interface and by reframing the policy problems at issue.     

A secondary copulatory structure in a female insect: a clasp for a nuptial meal?

Secondary copulatory structures are well-known in male dragonflies and spiders. Here I report a secondary copulatory organ in female ground weta, Hemiandrus pallitarsis (Ensifera, Orthoptera - crickets and allies). The organ, located on the underside of the abdomen, appears to secure the male's genitalia during the transfer of a spermatophylax nuptial meal to this location, an area quite separate from the female's primary copulatory structures, where the sperm ampulla is attached.     

Triple tracks in CR-39 as the result of Pd–D Co-deposition: evidence of energetic neutrons

Since the announcement by Fleischmann and Pons that the excess enthalpy generated in the negatively polarized Pd–D-D₂O system was attributable to nuclear reactions occurring inside the Pd lattice, there have been reports of other manifestations of nuclear activities in this system. In particular, there have been reports of tritium and helium-4 production; emission of energetic particles, gamma or X-rays, and neutrons; as well as the transmutation of elements. In this communication, the results of Pd–D co-deposition experiments conducted with the cathode in close contact with CR-39, a solid-state nuclear etch detector, are reported. Among the solitary tracks due to individual energetic particles, triple tracks are observed. Microscopic examination of the bottom of the triple track pit shows that the three lobes of the track are splitting apart from a center point. The presence of three α-particle tracks outgoing from a single point is diagnostic of the ¹²C(n,n′)3α carbon breakup reaction and suggests that DT reactions that produce ≥9.6 MeV neutrons are occurring inside the Pd lattice. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the production of energetic (≥9.6 MeV) neutrons in the Pd–D system. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Evolution of disaster relief law under multiple transformations: Progressive learning or walking in a circle?

The aim of this paper is to examine the association between double-loop disaster learning and transformations of political systems. The particular question is how disasters increase the rapidity and complexity, with which the transforming regimes face the unsuitability and inadequacy of the past forms and processes of disaster governance. The centennial evolution of the disaster relief law at a country scale (Czech Republic, resp. Czechoslovakia, 1918-present) is used as an example. The thorough search in digital repository of Czech and Slovak Parliamentary Library was performed to obtain legislative norms and protocols from parliamentary debates, whereas major disasters that induced new laws (1927 flash flood, 1947 drought, 1997 and 2002 floods) were identified from existing databases and from detailed reconstructions of historical disastrous events. The described cases enabled to add new empirical evidence contesting (i) the process scheme of disaster politics during critical junctures and institutional transformations, and (ii) the progressive nature of the double-loop learning approach related to disasters. It is shown that the double-loop learning from disasters and its benefits should be considered as time-dependent and related to permissive and productive conditions that facilitated the adoption of the new disaster relief law (i.e. the learning process). Finally, the implications for the research agenda (historical disaster research) and for disaster policy (evaluation of disaster relief effectiveness) are summarized.