How can sports entrepreneurs achieve their corporate sustainable development goals under the COVID-19 epidemic?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study aimed to explore the opportunities for the sustainable development of professional sports enterprises and events from the...     

Leaching behavior and chemical stability of copper butyl xanthate complex under acidic conditions

Although xanthate addition can be used for treating copper-containing wastewater, a better understanding of the leaching toxicity and the stability characteristics of the copper xanthate complexes formed is essential. This work was undertaken to evaluate the leaching behavior of copper xanthate complex precipitates by means of toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) and semi-dynamic leaching test (SDLT) using 1 N acetic acid solution as the leachant. Also, the chemical stability of the copper xanthate complex during extraction has been examined with the studying of variation of chemical structure using UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS).Both TCLP and SDLT results showed that a negligible amount of copper ion was leached out from the copper xanthate complex precipitate, indicating that the complex exhibited a high degree of copper leaching stability under acidic conditions. Nevertheless, chemical structure of the copper xanthate complex precipitate varied during the leaching tests. XPS data suggested that the copper xanthate complex initially contained both cupric and cuprous xanthate, but the unstable cupric xanthate change to the cuprous form after acid extraction, indicating the cuprous xanthate to be the final stabilizing structure. Despite that, the changes of chemical structure did not induce the rapid leaching of copper from the copper xanthate complex.     

Ozonation of activated carbon and its effects on the adsorption of VOCs exemplified by methylethylketone and benzene

Ozonation can modify the surface property of an activated carbon such as specific surface area, pore volume, and functional group. Results indicate that ozonation can increase the specific surface area of an activated carbon from 783+/-51 to 851+/-25 m2/g due in part to increasing micropores (those below 15 A). However, there is no change in macropore and mesopore upon ozonation. The amount of oxygen functional group (OFG) increases from 197+/-4 to 240+/-4 microeq/g, mostly in hydroxyl and carboxyl groups upon ozone treatment. These oxygen-containing functional groups are stable in the temperature range 30-250 degrees C, but begin to decompose when temperature increases beyond 300 and 350 degrees C. When the temperature reaches 1200 degrees C, all OFGs virtually disappear. The effect of ozone treatment on the adsorption of volatile organic carbon (VOC) was exemplified by methylethylketone (MEK) and benzene. The adsorption density of MEK and benzene by ozone treated activated carbon (AC(O3)) are greater than that by the untreated (AC), with MEK being more adsorbable than benzene. Results of factorial analysis indicate that physical characteristics, namely, micropore, BET surface area, pore diameter (PD), micropore volume (MV) play an important role on benzene and MEK adsorption.     

Validation of in-situ measurements of volatile organic compounds through flask sampling and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis

Continuous monitoring of ambient non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) by automated gas chromatographs equipped with flame ionization detection (termed in-situ GC/FID) with hourly data resolution was instated in ozone non-attainment areas throughout Taiwan. Performance of these on-site in-situ GCs was validated by manual flask sampling, as well as by in-lab gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. More than 50 VOCs from C₂ to C₁₁ were analyzed by both methods. Ninety flask samples were collected in series near an in-situ GC monitoring station in order to closely compare with the in-situ measurements. Both time-series and scatter plots from the two methods are displayed and discussed. It was found that over-simplified, un-humidified single-point calibration leading to surface loss was responsible for the bias in the in-situ method, resulting in greater error in accuracy as VOC volatility decreased. Although this over-estimate of the concentrations was found across all target VOCs, both methods were able to consistently capture the variability of ambient VOCs, with R² values greater than 0.9 for most of the major VOCs.     

Carbonyl species characteristics during the evaporation of essential oils

Carbonyls emitted from essential oils can affect the air quality when they are used in indoors, especially under poor ventilation conditions. Lavender, lemon, rose, rosemary, and tea tree oils were selected as typical and popular essential oils to investigate in terms of composition, thermal characteristics and fifteen carbonyl constituents. Based on thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, the activation energy was 7.6–8.3 kcal mol^?1, the reaction order was in the range of 0.6–0.7 and the frequency factor was 360–2838 min^?1. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and propionaldehyde were the dominant carbonyl compounds, and their concentrations were 0.034–0.170 ppm. The emission factors of carbonyl compounds were 2.10–3.70 mg g^?1, and acetone, propionaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde accounted for a high portion of the emission factor of carbonyl compounds in essential oil exhaust. Some unhealthy carbonyl species such as formaldehyde and valeraldehyde, were measured at low-temperature during the vaporization of essential oils, indicating a potential effect on indoor air quality and human health.     

Are barnacle larvae able to escape from the threat of UV?

Earlier laboratory experiments suggested that environmental levels of UV-B radiation can damage the eyes of barnacle naupliar larvae and impair their phototactic behaviors. However, since barnacle larvae may avoid UV by migrating to deeper waters, it is not known whether such impairment would actually occur under field conditions. For the first time, this study provides both field and laboratory evidences to show that prevailing UV-B in the natural habitat of barnacle larvae could be an important environmental factor affecting natural barnacle populations. We here showed that although barnacle nauplii may avoid UV-B irradiation by downward migration, the amount of UV energy (9.8 × 10⁻⁶ J) received by a naupliar eye during downward migration in the natural water column is within the same order of magnitude as the total energy (7.5 × 10⁻⁶ J) sufficient to cause damages to naupliar eye and impair their phototactic responses. It is possible that solar UV-B prevailing at shallow waters would pose a similar threat to other zooplankton species over large geographic scale.     

Reproductive biology of the spiny lobster, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Panulirus Penicillatus</Emphasis>, in the southeastern coastal waters off Taiwan

The reproductive biology of spiny lobster, Panulirus penicillatus, was studied based on 2,068 lobsters, ranging from 34.28 to 131.60 mm carapace length (CL), sampled in Taitung coastal waters from September 2003 to December 2004. The overall sex ratio approximated 1:1 (χ² = 0.02, P > 0.05), but the monthly sex ratios in 2004 showed significant differences and males were predominant in sizes larger than 80 mm CL. Reproductive activity, assessed using histology, a gonadosomatic index and percentage of ovigerous females, indicated that the mature females could be found in every month and that the major spawning occurred from May to September. The presence of re-developing/re-ripe ovaries by month and size-specific spawning time suggest that larger mature females (>60 mm CL) spawn at least three times a year while smaller new mature females spawn at least once a year. For females, the estimated sizes at 50% physiological and functional maturity were (mean ± SE) 56.46 ± 0.56 mm CL and 66.63 ± 1.07 mm CL. The estimated sizes at functional maturity were between 72 and 74 mm CL for males. The number of eggs per spawning event (brood size, BS) was related to CL by the equation Y _BS = 2.4 × 10^-3CL^4.18 (r ² = 0.902, n = 12). Female lobsters with CL ranging from 60 to 80 mm made the greatest contributions to egg production because of their high brood size and active reproductive activity. A minimum legal size should be established for the fishery to protect egg production potential of lobster population in the southeastern coastal waters off Taiwan.     

Temperature and nutrients are significant drivers of seasonal shift in phytoplankton community from a drinking water reservoir,subtropical China

Reservoirs are an important source of water supply in many densely populated areas in southeast China. Phytoplankton plays an important role in maintaining the structure and function of these reservoir ecosystems. Understanding of seasonal succession in phytoplankton communities and its driving factors is essential for effective water quality management in drinking-water reservoirs. In this study, water samples were collected monthly at the surface layers of riverine, transitional, and lacustrine zones from May 2010 to April 2011 in Tingxi Reservoir, southeast China. The phytoplankton showed distinct seasonal shifts in community structure at both taxonomic and functional levels. Cyanophyta was the dominant group in summer, especially species of Raphidiopsis in May and Aphanizomenon in June, and cyanobacterial dominance was promoted by both warmer conditions and excessive nutrients loading. Cyanophyta was gradually replaced by Cryptophyta (e.g., Chroomonas caudata) in abundance and by Bacillariophyta (Fragilaria sp. or Synedra sp. and Melosira sp.) in biomass with decreasing temperature. It appeared that seasonal shifts in phytoplankton composition were closely related to climate, nutrient status, and hydrology in this reservoir. Our partial RDA results clearly showed that water temperature and nutrients (TN and TP) were the most critical factors driving phytoplankton community shift in the abundance and biomass data, respectively. Further, with the global warming, cyanobacterial blooms may increase in distribution, duration, and intensity. In our study, the abundance and biomass of cyanobacteria had significant and positive correlations with temperature and phosphorus. Therefore, a stricter limit on nutrient input should be a priority in watershed management to protect drinking water from the effects of cyanobacterial blooms, especially in high-temperature period.