Effects of Storage Time on Properties of Soybean Protein-Based Plastics

Soybean protein has been considered as a potential biodegradable polymer in the manufacture of plastics. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the effect of storage time on thermal and mechanical properties of soybean protein isolate (SPI) plastics. SPI was separated from defatted soy flour, modified with 1M or 2M urea, or plasticized with glycerol, and compression molded into plastics. Plastic made from SPI alone was used as a control. For all SPI plastics, glass transition temperatures and dynamic storage modulus increased and loss tangent decreased during storage. Excess enthalpy of relaxation of all SPI plastics had an exponential relationship with storage time, indicating a fast aging rate at the beginning of storage. All SPI plastics tended to be stiff and brittle during storage. The plastics with glycerol had the slowest aging rate and were fairly stable after 60 days, with about 8.8 MPa tensile strength and 168% strain at break. Plastics with the 2M urea-modification SPI also had a slow aging rate and became relative stable after 60 days, with about 10 MPa tensile strength and 72% elongation.     

Analysis of uranium removal capacity of anaerobic granular sludge bacterial communities under different initial pH conditions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The bacterial community of an anaerobic granular sludge associated with uranium depletion was investigated following its exposure to uranium under...     

Analysis of the influence of passenger vehicles front-end design on pedestrian lower extremity injuries by means of the LLMS model

Objective: This work aims at investigating the influence of some front-end design parameters of a passenger vehicle on the behavior and damage occurring in the human lower limbs when impacted in an accident.

Methods: The analysis is carried out by means of finite element analysis using a generic car model for the vehicle and the lower limbs model for safety (LLMS) for the purpose of pedestrian safety. Considering the pedestrian standardized impact procedure (as in the 2003/12/EC Directive), a parametric analysis, through a design of experiments plan, was performed. Various material properties, bumper thickness, position of the higher and lower bumper beams, and position of pedestrian, were made variable in order to identify how they influence the injury occurrence. The injury prediction was evaluated from the knee lateral flexion, ligament elongation, and state of stress in the bone structure.

Results: The results highlighted that the offset between the higher and lower bumper beams is the most influential parameter affecting the knee ligament response. The influence is smaller or absent considering the other responses and the other considered parameters. The stiffness characteristics of the bumper are, instead, more notable on the tibia. Even if an optimal value of the variables could not be identified trends were detected, with the potential of indicating strategies for improvement.

Conclusions: The behavior of a vehicle front end in the impact against a pedestrian can be improved optimizing its design. The work indicates potential strategies for improvement. In this work, each parameter was changed independently one at a time; in future works, the interaction between the design parameters could be also investigated. Moreover, a similar parametric analysis can be carried out using a standard mechanical legform model in order to understand potential diversities or correlations between standard tools and human models.     

Characterisation of early responses to cadmium in roots of Salix matsudana Koidz

This study deals with the characterisation of early responses of roots of Salix matsudana in respect to oxidative stress, subcellular distribution, and chemical forms when exposed to 50 μmol/L Cd. Within 12 h, the root length is reduced and the contents of O₂^??, H₂O₂, and malondialdehyde are increased by 49%, 43%, and 35%. Cd is mainly retained in the cell walls; small amounts are distributed into other cell organelles. The largest proportion of Cd is found in the NaCl extractable, pectate-, and protein-integrated fraction.     

Enhancing the Ability of a Soil Moisture‐based Index for Agricultural Drought Monitoring by Incorporating Root Distribution

Agricultural drought differs from meteorological, hydrological, and socioeconomic drought, being closely related to soil water availability in the root zone, specifically for crop and crop growth stage. In previous studies, several soil moisture indices (e.g., the soil moisture index, soil water deficit index) based on soil water availability have been developed for agricultural drought monitoring. However, when developing these indices, it was generally assumed that soil water availability to crops was equal throughout the root zone, and the effects of root distribution and crop growth stage on soil water uptake were ignored. This article aims to incorporate root distribution into a soil moisture‐based index and to evaluate the performance of the improved soil moisture index for agricultural drought monitoring. The Huang‐Huai‐Hai Plain of China was used as the study area. Overall, soil moisture indices were significantly correlated with the crop moisture index (CMI), and the improved root‐weighted soil moisture index (RSMI) was more closely related to the CMI than averaged soil moisture indices. The RSMI correctly identified most of the observed drought events and performed well in the detection of drought levels. Furthermore, the RSMI had a better performance than averaged soil moisture indices when compared to crop yield. In conclusion, soil moisture indices could improve agricultural drought monitoring by incorporating root distribution.     

灭幼脲Ⅲ号杀虫剂在大白菜和土壤中持久性及残留的研究

本文报道灭幼脲Ⅲ号杀虫剂在大白菜和土壤中的残留试验结果.经在南北两地连续两年的田间试验表明,灭幼脲Ⅲ号属非持久性农药,在作物和土壤中都较快地消失,在大白菜上的半衰期为3.8—14.0d,在土壤中为8.8—27.0d.用25％灭幼脲Ⅲ号胶悬剂稀释2500倍,每亩每次按常规用药10g或加倍药量20g(有效成分)施药,喷施2或3次,距最后一次施药三周时,灭幼脲Ⅲ号杀虫剂在大白菜的最大残留量为2.67ppm,在土壤中为13.81ppm.建议该农药在大白菜上的最高允许残留量(MRL)为3ppm,安全间隔期为21d.     

重庆地下热水径流特征研究

重庆地下热水资源丰富,但对其径流特征缺乏研究,盲目开采致使许多温泉泉流量减小、水温降低,甚至断流、枯竭。为指导地下热水的科学开采,文章对重庆地下热水的常规化学组分及同位素组分特征进行了研究,分析了地下热水补给、径流条件,指出大气降水为其补给源,补给区在重庆以北大巴山及华莹山背斜华莹山和铜锣峡背斜北端的岩溶露头区,嘉陵江组(T1j)为其储水层,地下热水主要沿背斜T1j地层由北往南流,同一背斜地下热水由北到南为一个统一的热水系统。     

Analysis of gas flow behavior in an annular fluidized-bed reactor for polystyrene waste treatment

The characteristics of bubble properties and the chaotic flow behavior of gas were investigated in an annular fluidized bed (0.102 m in inner diameter and 2 m in height) because the behavior of gas flow in such a reactor is one of the important factors governing reactor operation, reactor performance, and the reaction itself. Pressure fluctuations as a state variable for the analysis of gas flow behavior were measured and analyzed. Bubble properties were determined by adopting the cross-correlation function of pressure fluctuations. The resultant chaotic flow behavior of gas was interpreted by means of chaotic parameters such as the Kolmogorov entropy. It was found that the Kolmogorov entropy could be utilized effectively to explain the nonlinear dynamic behavior of gas-solid flow in the annular fluidized bed. The pierced length and rising velocity of bubbles increased with increasing gas velocity, bed temperature, and particle size of the bed material. The bubble frequency increased with increasing gas velocity and bed temperature, while it decreased with increasing particle size of the bed material. Correlations to predict the bubble properties in annular fluidized-bed reactors were suggested.     

湖南长株潭城市群灾害应急管理能力评价

以城市应急管理能力及其内涵为基础,运用层次分析法,对湖南长株潭城市群灾害应急管理能力进行综合评价.结果表明:①从时间上看,长株潭灾害应急管理能力综合评分值由2005年的5.67、3.66、3.34分别增加到2006年的5.82、4.20、3.98,说明长株潭灾害应急管理能力均有所增强,这是因为应急管理能力是随城市社会经济的发展而增强的;②从空间上看,长株潭灾害应急管理能力存在一定的区域差异;③从整体上看,长株潭的灾害应急管理能力排名为长沙市＞株洲市＞湘潭市,其主要是由城市化水平及经济实力的差异所致.     

Photocatalytic purification of volatile organic compounds in indoor air: A literature review

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are prevalent components of indoor air pollution. Among the approaches to remove VOCs from indoor air, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is regarded as a promising method. This paper is a review of the status of research on PCO purification of VOCs in indoor air. The review and discussion concentrate on the preparation and coating of various photocatalytic catalysts; different kinetic experiments and models; novel methods for measuring kinetic parameters; reaction pathways; intermediates generated by PCO; and an overview of various PCO reactors and their models described in the literature. Some recommendations are made for future work to evaluate the performance of photocatalytic catalysts, to reduce the generation of harmful intermediates and to design new PCO reactors with integrated UV source and reaction surface.