Synthese und biochemisches Verhalten von Idebenon und verwandten Verbindungen

Syntheses of some metabolites of ubiquinone and of related compounds are described. Idebenone (QSA-10), a methyl-dimethoxy-benzoquinone bearing an omega-hydroxydecyl side chain in 3-position, restored the oxidation of succinate and of NADH in ubiquinone-depleted mitochondrial preparations and showed a stabilizing effect on lysosomal membranes and an inhibitory effect on cAMP-phosphodiesterase. It inhibited lipid peroxidation in canine brain mitochondria and in microsomes from canine brain and rat liver. Administered orally to rats, it increased the respiratory control index for glutamate and succinate oxidation but had no effect on the ADP/O2 ratio. Pharmacological effects of idebenon are also briefly discussed.     

EMF effects on microcirculatory system

Authors review the importance of studying the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on microcirculatory system, especially in respect of possibility that vasculature may have direct and indirect role in interaction of static magnetic fields (SMF). We outline the physiological importance of microcirculation and relatively new methods of evaluation technique in vivo and explain in details the local and/or whole body exposure effects of SMF with␣range of 0.3–180 mT, power frequency EMF with range of 0.1–30 mT and microwaves at 1.5 GHz with range 0.08–8 W/kg brain average specific absorption rate (SAR) on microcirculatory systems in different tissues in experimental animals.     

Electrical and electronic waste management in China: progress and the barriers to overcome.

Serious adverse impacts on the environment and human health from e-waste recycling have occurred in the past and continue to occur in China today, due to a lack of national management strategies. China has made great efforts to face the challenges of the approaching peak increase in the domestic generation of e-waste and the illegal shipment of e-waste from other countries. This study examined recent progress and analysed the main problems associated with this issue in China. It was found that the material and the financial flows of e-waste in China had their own specific characteristics. Nearly 60% of the generated e-wastes were sold to private individual collectors and passed into informal recycling processes. More than 90% of Chinese citizens are reluctant to pay for the recycling of their e-waste. This is due to their traditional understanding that there remained value in these end-of-life products. Regulations concerning e-waste in China have been drafted but their deficiencies are obvious. The extended producer responsibilities (EPR) have been introduced but are not well defined. Eight formal facilities have been planned and are under construction or are in operation along the eastern coast of China but it will be difficult for them to compete with the informal processes for the reasons identified during the study.     

Japanese carbon storage in materials

The NEAT model (Nonenergy-use Emission Accounting Tables) has been developed in order to estimate CO2 emissions caused by so-called nonenergy use of fossil fuels. The model is based on material flow accounting. The model has been applied to a number of countries in order to validate and improve its use. This paper discusses the case study for Japan. The NEAT analysis suggests that emissions in 1996 were 23 Mt higher than previously estimated based on the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This quantity equals 1.9% of the total Japanese greenhouse gas emission. It is recommended to adjust the Japanese emission accounting practice and to apply more detailed emission estimation methods in future years. Given similar results for other countries it is also recommended to improve the IPCC guidelines.     

Investing in safety an analytical precautionary principle

PROBLEM: Governments and businesses must respond to increasing safety requirements and balance the associated costs with productivity and competing pressures. METHOD: A real options approach has been introduced for decision making in the private sector; this approach is adapted for regulatory decisions that can involve irreversible and uncertain safety impacts, social costs that differ from private costs, and differences in perception among the stakeholders. RESULT AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT: The outcome is an economic decision gage that determines if it is optimal to invest in safety even if the estimated costs significantly exceed the estimated benefits. Applications potentially include safety decisions related to aviation, ground transportation, pipelines, nuclear facilities, natural disaster planning, and terrorism, among others.     

Evaluation of different algal species sensitivity to mercury and metolachlor by PAM-fluorometry.

In this study, the pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM)-fluorometric method was used to evaluate the difference in the sensitivity to mercury (Hg) and metolachlor of six algal species: Ankistrodesmus falcatus, Selenastrum capricornutum, Chlorella vulgaris, Nannoplankton (PLS), Microcystis aeruginosa and Pediastrum biwae. We found that the fluorescence parameters (phiM, the maximal photosystem II (PSII) quantum yield, phi'M, the operational PSII quantum yield at steady state of electron transport, Q(P), the photochemical quenching value, and Q(N), the non-photochemical quenching value) were appropriate indicators for inhibitory effects of mercury but only phi'M and Q(N) were useful for metolachlor. The examined algal species showed very different levels of sensitivity to the effect of Hg and of metolachlor. The most sensitive species to Hg and metolachlor were respectively M. aeruginosa and A. falcatus, while the least sensitive were C. vulgaris and P. biwae. We interpreted these differences by the action mode of pollutants and by the different metabolism properties and morphological characteristics between algal species. These results related to fluorescence parameters may offer useful tool to be used in bioassay for different pollutants. Heterogeneous algal sensitivity to the same pollutant suggests the need to use a battery of species to evaluate the effects of mixtures of pollutants in aquatic systems.     

壬基酚聚氧乙烯醚在MBR 与CASR 中的行为

对比研究了壬基酚聚氧乙烯醚(NPnEO, n 为1~4)在膜-生物反应器(MBR)和传统活性污泥反应器(CASR)中的去除效果和迁移行为.结果表明,在相同NPnEO 污泥负荷的条件下,采用不主动排泥的运行模式,2 种反应器均能有效去除NPnEO,去除率分别为99.2%和97.1%,MBR 的去除效果更稳定.前21d 中,2 种反应器中混合液NPnEO 浓度均呈现先增大后减小的趋势,但MBR 出水NPnEO 浓度小于其混合液浓度,而CASR 出水浓度则高于其混合液浓度;21d 后,2 种反应器混合液与出水浓度均趋于一致.活性污泥对NPnEO 具有吸附作用,但对去除NPnEO 的贡献很小;推测生物降解是去除NPnEO 的主导作用.     

Efficient depolymerization and chemical conversion of polyamide 66 to 1,6-hexanediol

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Polyamide 66 was efficiently depolymerized and chemically converted by treatment with supercritical MeOH in the presence of glycolic acid. The...     

Highly efficient polishing technology for glass substrates using tribo-chemical polishing with electrically controlled slurry

The outstanding advantage of the novel polishing technology developed by the authors is a considerable reduction in cerium oxide consumption for polishing of glass substrates. This has been realized by introducing tribo-chemical polishing method along with a technique to control the movement of abrasives using an AC electric field. In this paper, we have analyzed the characteristics of the new polishing technique from the viewpoint of slurry distribution in the polishing area under various electric field conditions using a digital image processing and its influence on polishing performance using the experimental setup consisting of high speed polishing method under AC electric field. The results confirmed the increase of slurry distribution in the polishing area under appropriate AC electric field conditions and consequently led to enhanced removal rate, which was 2.5 times higher than that of the conventional CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) method. Furthermore, in spite of enhanced removal rate the surface roughness was comparable to CMP method.