From Waste to Reuse: Manufacture of Ecological Composites Based on Biopolyethylene/wood Powder with PE-g-MA and Macaíba Oil

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - This work aimed to investigate the biopolyethylene (BioPE)/wood powder (WP) composites compatibilized with polyethylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA),...     

Encapsulation of Nerol Oil in Polycaprolactone Polymer and Stability Evaluation

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The objective of this study was to obtain and characterize Nerol essential oil encapsulated in PCL. The miniemulsion and solvent evaporation method was...     

Comparison of the performance of different methods to stabilize mercury-containing waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The work is devoted to the study of a possible technology for the immobilization of mercury in waste, based on the principles of converting mercury...     

Using historical spy satellite photographs and recent remote sensing data to identify high-conservation-value forests

High-conservation-value forests (HCVFs) are critically important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning, but they face many threats. Where systematic HCVF inventories are missing, such as in parts of Eastern Europe, these forests remain largely unacknowledged and therefore often unprotected. We devised a novel, transferable approach for detecting HCVFs based on integrating historical spy satellite images, contemporary remote sensing data (Landsat), and information on current potential anthropogenic pressures (e.g., road infrastructure, population density, demand for fire wood, terrain). We applied the method to the Romanian Carpathians, for which we mapped forest continuity (1955–2019), canopy structural complexity, and anthropogenic pressures. We identified 738,000 ha of HCVF. More than half of this area was identified as susceptible to current anthropogenic pressures and lacked formal protection. By providing a framework for broad-scale HCVF monitoring, our approach facilitates integration of HCVF into forest conservation and management. This is urgently needed to achieve the goals of the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy to maintain valuable forest ecosystems.     

Harnessing place attachment for local climate mitigation? Hypothesising connections between broadening representations of place and readiness for change

Public engagement in local environmental planning and decision-making is often advocated on various grounds, both instrumental and normative. Yet in developed countries in the context of renewable energy infrastructure deployment, place attachment, place identity and place-protective action continue to be implicated in public objection. We set out an interdisciplinary change readiness hypothesis of specifically how local participatory scenario or visioning processes that include climate mitigation measures may support the mobilisation of place attachment for climate mitigation, including renewable energy deployment. We hypothesise that local visioning may support movement towards change readiness by helping to anchor unfamiliar social representations of low carbon energy infrastructure and new patterns of urban form in existing, more positive representations of localities and associated attachments. To this end, seeking ways to modify threat perceptions relating to climate change and renewable energy infrastructure is advocated as a key direction for study.     

Radon variations during treatment in thermal spas of Lesvos Island (Greece)

The aim of this paper was to study the variations of radon and daughter nuclei during treatment in the thermal spas of Lesvos Island (Greece). For this purpose, in the thermal spas of Lesvos we have measured the radon concentrations of thermal waters, as well as indoor radon, daughter and coarse particle (>500 nm) concentrations. Various instruments and procedures were employed for measurements. Radon concentrations of thermal waters were found to lie in the range 10 Bq l(-1) and 304 Bq l(-1). Concentration peaks both for radon, radon daughter and coarse particle, were found to appear during filling of baths in the treatment process. The doses delivered to the bathers during treatment were in the range of 0.00670-0.1279 mSv per year, while the doses delivered to personnel were below 20 mSv per year.     

Contaminants in water: non-target UHPLC/MS analysis

Contamination of water resources is one of the major problems to be faced for environment preservation and sustainability. The monitoring of target compounds based on mass spectrometry and selected reaction monitoring mode is often insufficient to definitely assess the quality of surface water. Also potentially harmful non-target pollutants simultaneously present must be taken into account. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry is suitable to obtain complete information on water composition. Hybrid mass spectrometers such as triple quadrupole/linear ion trap, hybrid quadrupole/time-of-flight and linear ion trap/orbitrap analyzers should be used. Here, we review ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry methods developed for post-target and non-target screening analysis of water emerging contaminants, such as pesticides and their degradation products, pharmaceuticals and drug side-reaction products, surfactants and illicit drugs. The major points are the following: (1) the possibility of performing retrospective analysis only by high-resolution mass analyzer; (2) the compatibility of mass analyzer with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography; (3) the use of deconvolution software to detect unknowns; and (4) the limited availability of library database.     

Attraction of entomopathogenic nematodes to sugarcane root volatiles under herbivory by a sap-sucking insect

Few systems have been described in which herbivore-induced root volatiles mediate attraction of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), and they only concern root damage inflicted by chewing insects. EPNs, especially Heterorhabditis indica and Steinernema carpocapsae, are potential biological control agents of sugarcane spittlebug (Mahanarva fimbriolata) populations. Here, we investigated the response of these two species of EPNs to sugarcane root volatiles damaged by M. fimbriolata nymphs in a belowground six-arm olfactometer. We also examined changes on root volatile profile in response to herbivory of sugarcane spittlebug nymphs. Results showed that both EPN species did not discriminate between odors of undamaged sugarcane and moistened sand (blank). However, when EPNs were exposed to odors of spittlebug-damaged and undamaged sugarcane roots, both species significantly preferred odors of spittlebug-damaged roots. Headspace collection followed by GC–MS analyses showed no qualitative difference (total of 11 compounds) between volatile profiles of spittlebug-damaged and undamaged sugarcane roots. In contrast to the previous studies involving feeding by root chewing insects, our root volatile analysis did not reveal any up-regulation resulting from sugarcane spittlebug damage, but the down-regulation of the terpenes dihydromyrcenol and β-isomethyl ionone when compared with the profile of undamaged sugarcane roots. Here, we propose alternative explanations for the EPN attraction to spittlebug-damaged roots as it is unlikely that reduced concentrations of the volatiles play a role in this interaction. Further studies are necessary to determine the key compounds of the root volatile emission to enhance biological control efficacy with EPNs against M. fimbriolata in sugarcane.     

Phytotoxic effects of phenolic acids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Merostachys riedeliana,</Emphasis> a native and overabundant Brazilian bamboo

Merostachys riedeliana Rupr. is a native and overabundant bamboo species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Moderate to strong allelopathic activity may be one mechanism that explains this super-dominance and the changes in structure and composition of forest areas occupied by bamboo. This study evaluated the phytotoxic effect of M. riedeliana extracts and fractions and identified their putative allelochemicals. We investigated the presence of allelochemicals in soil collected from stands occupied by M. riedeliana. Furthermore, we evaluated the putative effect of tree allelochemicals, individually and combined, on germination and growth. The aqueous extract of leaves and its ethyl acetate fraction presented the highest inhibitory effects on seed germination and seedling growth. The effect of the extracts and fractions on the target species was species-specific. Neither the individual nor the combined phenolic acids significantly inhibited seed germination; however, a pronounced growth inhibition was observed in M. bimucronata seedlings treated with vanillic acid and in E. verna and M. bimucronata seedlings treated with combined phenolic acids. Isovitexin, vitexin, isoorientin, orientin, and their O-glycoside derivatives, the lactonic dimer of the p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 3,4-methylenedioxymandelic acid were identified in the aqueous extracts and ethyl acetate fraction by Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Dectector/Electrospray Ionization/Mass Spectrometry (LC-DAD/ESI–MS/MS). The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC–MS) profile of the same extract and fraction showed the presence of benzoic, benzeneacetic, salicylic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-hydroxyphenylacetic, vanillic, p-coumaric, protocatechuic, syringic, gallic, m-coumaric vanillylmandelic, 4-methylmandelic, 3,4-methylenedioxymandelic and trans-ferulic acids. The p-benzoic acid and the apigenin 6-C-glucoside (isovitexin) were identified in the soil extract collected from under bamboo-growing areas. Even though laboratory bioassays are not completely predictive of the allelopathic effects that occur in nature, the results of this study provide preliminary evidence of allelopathy as a possible species-specific inhibition mechanism of native species that explain the impoverishment of floristic richness and the functional groups in areas where M. riedeliana is overabundant.