Polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) are biodegradable polymers of biological origin, and the mixture of these polymers has been studied due to the desirable mechanical properties of PLA and the low processing cost of TPS. However, the TPS/PLA combination is thermodynamically immiscible due to the poor interfacial interaction between the hydrophilic starch granules and the hydrophobic PLA. To overcome these limitations, researchers studied the modification, processing, and properties of the mixtures as a strategy to increase the compatibility between phases. This review highlights recent developments, current results, and trends in the field of TPS/PLA-based compounds during the last two decades, with the main focus of improving the adhesion between the two components. The TPS/PLA blends were classified as plasticized, compatible, reinforced and with nanocomposites. This article presents, based on published research, TPS/PLA combinations, considering different methods with significant improvements in mechanical properties, with promising developments for applications in food packaging and biomedicine.
The sampling of carpeted surfaces to test for lead contamination primarily focuses upon vacuum techniques. Vacuum sampling techniques, however, require time-consuming, expensive laboratory analysis of the dusts obtained and are unable to determine total lead load on the carpet. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is an on-site, inexpensive, non-destructive, quick technique for predicting metals levels in a variety of media, such as water, soil, filter paper and painted surfaces. A 1992 study of the feasibility of XRF to analyze for lead and soil loadings on carpeted surfaces indicated that XRF can detect lead at a low enough level to warrant further study. This paper expands this earlier study and developes lead and soil loading calibration curves for three different carpet types based upon XRF lead L-beta peak areas and XRF iron and barium K-alpha peak and background areas. Results indicate that variation in the data can be reduced through modifications of the XRF analysis technique, thus reducing the statistically determined detection level, and that carpet type does affect the calibration. Detection levels of approximately 70 mg/m2 for lead and 5 g/m2 for soil were obtained. Overall, good agreement was found between results of this study and the earlier one. XRF shows excellent potential for quantitative analysis of lead on carpeted surfaces. 相似文献
Urban stream restoration continues to be used as an ecological management tool, despite uncertainty about the long‐term sustainability and resilience of restored systems. Evaluations of restoration success often focus on specific instream indicators, with limited attention to the wider basin or parallel hydrologic and geomorphic process. A comprehensive understanding of urban stream restoration progress is particularly important for comparisons with nonurban sites as urban streams can provide substantial secondary benefits to urban residents. Here, we utilize a wide range of indicators to retrospectively examine the restoration of Nine Mile Run, a multi‐million dollar stream restoration project in eastern Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA). Examination of available continuous hydrological data illustrates the high cost of failures to incorporate the data into planning and adaptive management. For example, persistent extreme flows drive geomorphic degradation threatening to reverse hydrologic connections created by the restoration and impact the improved instream biotic communities. In addition, human activities associated with restoration efforts suggest a positive feedback as the stream restoration has focused effort on the basin beyond the reach. Ultimately, urban stream restoration remains a potentially useful management tool, but continued improvements in post‐project assessment should include examination of a wider range of indicators. 相似文献
Amino acids, proteins, and peptides are found ubiquitously in waters. They can form harmful byproducts during water treatment by reaction with disinfectants. Chlorination and chloramination of water containing natural organic matter is known to result in the production of toxic substances, often referred to as disinfection byproducts. The main advantage of using chlorine dioxide (ClO2) over other known chlorine-containing disinfectants is the minimization of the formation of harmful trihalomethanes. Because ClO2 is a promising alternative to other chlorine-containing disinfectants, the chemistry of ClO2 interactions with amino acids, proteins, and peptides should be understood to ensure the safety of potable water supplies. Here, we present an overview of the aqueous chemistry of ClO2 and its reactivity with amino acids, peptides, and proteins. The kinetics and products of the reactions are reviewed. Only a few amino acids have been reported to be reactive with ClO2, and they have been found to follow second-order kinetics for the overall reaction. The rate constants vary from 10?2 to 107?M?1?s?1 and follow an order of reactivity: cysteine?>?tyrosine?>?tryptophan?>?histidine?>?proline. For reactions of histidine, tryptophan, and tyrosine with ClO2, products vary depending largely on the molar ratios of ClO2 with the specific amino acid. Products of ClO2 oxidation differ with the presence or absence of oxygen in the reaction mixture. Excess molar amounts of ClO2 relative to amino acids are associated with the production of low molecular weight compounds. The oxidation of the biochemically important compounds bovine serum albumin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by ClO2 suggests a denaturing of proteins by ClO2 by an attack on tryptophan and tyrosine residues and relates to the inactivation of microbes by ClO2. 相似文献
Benthic macroinvertebrate communities in streams adjacent to cornfields, streams where cows had unrestricted access, and reference locations without agriculture were compared to examine the effects of local land use and land use/land cover in the watershed. At each local site, macroinvertebrates and a variety of habitat parameters were measured upstream, adjacent, downstream, and farther downstream of the local land use. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to calculate drainage basin area, land use/land cover percentages in each basin, and the distance from sample sites to the stream source. Three‐way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tests with date, site type, and sampling location as main effects were used to explore differences in macroinvertebrate metrics using median substrate size, percent hay/pasture area, and stream depth as covariates. The covariates significantly improved model fit and showed that multiple contributing factors influence community composition. Local impacts were greatest at sites where cows had access, probably because of sedimentation and embeddedness in the substrate. Differences between the upstream and the adjacent and downstream locations were not as great as expected, perhaps because upstream recolonization was reduced by agricultural impacts or because of differences in the intensity or proximity of agriculture to riparian areas in the watershed. The results underscore the importance of both local and watershed factors in controlling stream community composition. 相似文献
An amniocentesis was performed at 13.3 weeks' gestation for advanced maternal age. A mosaic sex chromosome pattern was found: of 50 cells examined, 34 had a 45,X karyotype. In 14 cells with a modal number of 46, a recognizable Y was substituted by a small non-fluorescent marker. C-banding identified the marker as an isodicentric in 12 cells. In two cells, the non-fluorescent marker appeared to be monocentric and looked like a non-fluorescent del (Yq), but could have been an isodicentric Y with inactivation of one of the centromeres. Two cells with a modal number of 47 showed two copies of the monocentric marker. Fluorescent in situ hybridization with an alpha satellite Y-specific centromeric probe confirmed the Y-chromosome origin of the markers and allowed for more accurate prenatal diagnostic information. 相似文献
We sampled 92 wetlands from four different basins in the United States to quantify observer repeatability in rapid wetland
condition assessment using the Delaware Rapid Assessment Protocol (DERAP). In the Inland Bays basin of Delaware, 58 wetland
sites were sampled by multiple observers with varying levels of experience (novice to expert) following a thorough training
workshop. In the Nanticoke (Delaware/Maryland), Cuyahoga (Ohio), and John Day (Oregon) basins, 34 wetlands were sampled by
two expert teams of observers with minimal protocol training. The variance in observer to observer scoring at each site was
used to calculate pooled standard deviations (SDpool), coefficients of variation, and signal-to-noise ratios for each survey. The results showed that the experience level of
the observer had little impact on the repeatability of the final rapid assessment score. Training, however, had a large impact
on observer to observer repeatability. The SDpool in the Inland Bay survey with training (2.2 points out of a 0–30 score) was about half that observed in the other three basins
where observers had minimal training (SDpool = 4.2 points). Using the results from the survey with training, we would expect that two sites assessed by different, trained
observers who obtain DERAP scores differing by more than 4 points are highly likely to differ in ecological condition, and
that sites with scores that differ by 2 or fewer points are within variability that can be attributed to observer differences. 相似文献
ABSTRACT: The climate of Southern Arizona is dominated by summer precipitation, which accounts for over 60 percent of the annual total. Summer and non‐summer precipitation data from the USDA‐ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed are analyzed to identify trends in precipitation characteristics from 1956 to 1996. During this period, annual precipitation increased. The annual precipitation increase can be attributed to an increase in precipitation during non‐summer months, and is paralleled by an increase in the proportion of annual precipitation contributed during non‐summer months. This finding is consistent with previously reported increases in non‐summer precipitation in the southwestern United States. Detailed event data were analyzed to provide insight into the characteristics of precipitation events during this time period. Precipitation event data were characterized based on the number of events, event precipitation amount, 30‐minute event intensity, and event duration. The trend in non‐summer precipitation appears to be a result of increased event frequency since the number of events increased during nonsummer months, although the average amount per event, average event intensity, and average event duration did not. During the summer “monsoon” season, the frequency of recorded precipitation events increased but the average precipitation amount per event decreased. Knowledge of precipitation trends and the characteristics of events that make up a precipitation time series is a critical first step in understanding and managing water resources in semiarid ecosystems. 相似文献