The inadequate and indiscriminate disposal of sugarcane vinasse in soils and water bodies has received much attention since decades ago, due to environmental problems associated to this practice. Vinasse is the final by-product of the biomass distillation, mainly for the production of ethanol, from sugar crops (beet and sugarcane), starch crops (corn, wheat, rice, and cassava), or cellulosic material (harvesting crop residues, sugarcane bagasse, and wood). Because of the large quantities of vinasse produced, alternative treatments and uses have been developed, such as recycling of vinasse in fermentation, fertirrigation, concentration by evaporation, and yeast and energy production. This review was aimed at examining the available data on the subject as a contribution to update the information on sugarcane vinasse, from its characteristics and chemical composition to alternatives uses in Brazil: fertirrigation, concentration by evaporation, energy production; the effects on soil physical, chemical and biological properties; its influence on seed germination, its use as biostimulant and environmental contaminant. The low pH, electric conductivity, and chemical elements present in sugarcane vinasse may cause changes in the chemical and physical–chemical properties of soils, rivers, and lakes with frequent discharges over a long period of time, and also have adverse effects on agricultural soils and biota in general. Thus, new studies and green methods need to be developed aiming at sugarcane vinasse recycling and disposal. 相似文献
Increasing levels of Heracleum persicum (golpar) in drinking water were studied in broilers. Two hundred and forty-one-day-old male chickens were allocated to one of six treatments: control, without added phytogenics nor probiotics in drinking water, and probiotics at recommended manufacturer’s level (P) or 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 ml/l of golpar extract solution (G1, G1.5, G2, and G2.5 treatments, respectively) in drinking water. As a result of this study, no linear or quadratic trends in the feed intake (FI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) due to golpar supplementation were found. Body weight gain, final body weight, and relative carcass weight showed a positive linear response with increasing levels of golpar supplementation. Neither golpar nor probiotics had effects on the percentages of edible parts of the carcass. Golpar supplementation levels caused a linear negative response of the albumin content in blood plasma, whereas both abdominal fat as percentage of carcass weight and uric acid levels in blood plasma linearly increased. The effects on Ig responses were only observed at 42 days of age and were similar in probiotics and the highest level of golpar supplementation. Based on our results, both probiotics and golpar supplementation could improve broiler performance and immune function. 相似文献
Moving and spatial learning are two intertwined processes: (a) changes in movement behavior determine the learning of the
spatial environment, and (b) information plays a crucial role in several animal decision-making processes like movement decisions.
A useful way to explore the interactions between movement decisions and learning of the spatial environment is by comparing
individual behaviors during the different phases of natal dispersal (when individuals move across more or less unknown habitats)
with movements and choices of breeders (who repeatedly move within fixed home ranges), that is, by comparing behaviors between
individuals who are still acquiring information vs. individuals with a more complete knowledge of their surroundings. When
analyzing movement patterns of eagle owls, Bubo bubo, belonging to three status classes (floaters wandering across unknown environments, floaters already settled in temporary
settlement areas, and territory owners with a well-established home range), we found that: (1) wandering individuals move
faster than when established in a more stable or fixed settlement area, traveling larger and straighter paths with longer
move steps; and (2) when floaters settle in a permanent area, then they show movement behavior similar to territory owners.
Thus, movement patterns show a transition from exploratory strategies, when animals have incomplete environmental information,
to a more familiar way to exploit their activity areas as they get to know the environment better. 相似文献
The environmental problem posed by construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) is derived not only from the high volume produced, but also from its treatment and disposal. Treatment plants receive C&D waste which is then transformed into a recycled mixed aggregate. The byproduct is mainly used for low-value-added applications such as land escape restoration, despite the high quality of the aggregate. In the present work, the chemical composition properties and grading curve properties of these aggregates are defined. Furthermore, the resulting recycled concrete with a high proportion of recycled composition, from 20% to 100% replacement of fine and coarse aggregate, is characterized physically and mechanically. An environmental study of the new construction material when all aggregates are substituted by C&D waste shows a low toxicity level, similar to that of other construction materials. The new material also has improved properties with respect to standard concrete such as high fire resistance, good heat insulation, and acoustic insulation. 相似文献
Phylogenetic relationships near the origin of extant crocodylians are weakly supported, and this lack of resolution makes for poor estimates of taxonomic and morphological diversity. Previously known taxa are found throughout the Cretaceous in Laurasia and at a few sites from Brazil, Australia, and northern Africa. Here, we report Batrachomimus pastosbonensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Jurassic of northeastern Brazil, which is deeply nested within Neosuchia and associated to the Cretaceous Asian paralligatorids. The new taxon predates all other members of Paralligatoridae and its immediate sister group (including Eusuchia) by 30 million years. A nearly complete skull, osteoderms, and limb bones were recovered, and autapomorphies of B. pastosbonensis include a scalloped lateral margin of the rostrum in dorsal view, unsculpted alveolar margin at the caudalmost portion of the maxilla, blunt lateral prongs on the jugal at the base of the postorbital bar, hourglass shaped choanae, and pterygoid choanal septum extended between the palatal shelves of the palatines. The crocodyloid-like skull proportions and the slender, conical teeth suggest an amphibious and piscivorous life history to this 1 m long animal.
Using information on a basic or “lifeline” level of domestic water use obtained from a water demand function based on a Stone–Geary utility function, a minimum water threshold of 128 m3 per household per year was estimated in a sample of municipalities in Southern Spain. As a second objective, water affordability indexes were then calculated that relate the cost of such lifeline to average municipal income levels. The analysis of the factors behind the differences in that ratio across Andalusian municipalities shows that the relative cost of purchasing the lifeline appears inversely related to average income levels, revealing an element of regressivity in the component of water tariffs affecting the least superfluous part of the household’s consumption. The main policy recommendation would involve redesigning water tariffs in order to improve access for lower income households to an amount of water sufficient to cover their basic needs. The proposed methodology could be applied to other geographical areas, both from developed and from developing countries, in order to analyze the degree of progressivity of the water tariffs currently in effect and in order to guide the design of more equitable regulatory policies. 相似文献
Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - To test if tax return can effectively and efficiently increase the acceptance of externality taxation, a laboratory experiment with a negative... 相似文献
Industrial emissions can raise urban background levels of inhalable Mn particles in an order of magnitude above normal, eclipsing
the contribution made by natural sources and traffic. 相似文献
In general, bivalves are not affected by exposure to toxic dinoflagellates that produce paralyzing shellfish poisons (PSP).
After injection with PSP extracted from the Gymnodinium catenatum, Nodipecten subnodosus is paralyzed, indicating that PSP provokes effects similar to what is observed in vertebrates, including paralysis and metabolic
stress. To investigate the processes involved in poisoning by PSP, lions-paw scallops were injected with gonyautoxin (GTX)
2/3 epimers in the adductor muscle. Mild doses provoked adductor muscle contractions and paralysis, mantle retraction, and
incapacity of shell closure, but scallops gradually recovered in a clear, dose-time recovery pattern. With high doses of GTX
2/3, scallops were permanently paralyzed, and hemocytes in hemolymph were reduced. Surprisingly, under these conditions, scallops
continued normal feeding and did not show any microscopic defect in intestine or gills, but hemocytes infiltrated the adductor
muscle and abnormal vitellogenesis and mantle melanization occurred. Paralysis stress was accompanied by negative scallop
responses, based on visible effects, generation of nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation, and changes in antioxidant and hydrolytic
enzymes in hemocytes and tissues. These data can be used to understand potential side effects of PSP in bivalves. 相似文献