Biodegradable composites can be produced by the combination of biodegradable polymers (BP) as matrix and vegetal fibers as
reinforcement. Composites of a commercial biodegradable polymer blend and curauá fibers (loaded at 5, 15 and 20 wt%) were
prepared by melt mixing in a twin-screw extruder. Chemical treatments such as alkali treatment of the fiber and addition of
maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) as coupling agent were performed to promote polymer/fiber interfacial adhesion so that mechanical performance can be
improved. The resulting composites were evaluated through hardness, melt flow index and tensile, flexural and impact strengths
as well as water absorption. Thermal analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were also employed to characterize
the composites. The polymer/fiber interface was investigated through scanning electron microscopy analysis. The biodegradability
of composites was evaluated by compost-soil burial test. The addition of curauá fiber promoted an increase in the mechanical
strengths and composites treated with 2 wt% MA-g-PP with 20 wt% curauá fiber showed an increase of nearly 75% in tensile and 56% in flexural strengths besides an improvement
in impact strength with respect to neat polymer blend. Nevertheless, treated composites showed an increase in water absorption
and biodegradation tests showed that the addition of fiber retards degradation time. The retained mass of BP/20 wt% fiber
composite with MA-g-PP and neat BP was 68 and 26%, respectively, after 210 days of degradation test. 相似文献
Within the framework of an interregional project in the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy, the coupled MACRO-SOILN model was chosen to estimate soil protective capacity against pollutants. The aim of our study was to evaluate the model to better identify key parameters and processes that influence N losses in agricultural soils. Nitrate N content was monitored in soil under corn (Zea mays L.) fertilized with urea and/or pig slurry, in two field experiments performed on four different soils: a Fienili clay, a Barco-like silt, a Sant'Omobono silt loam, and a La Boaria silty clay soil. Measurements were compared with model predictions. For all soils, nitrate content was underestimated on average by 24 to 88% at lower N rates; it was overestimated by 1 to 104% at higher N rates. The root mean square error (RMSE) was equal to 81.1%. Simulation of crop N uptake and soil water flow, estimation of the ammonia losses at pig slurry spreading, and N transformation parameter setting were considered as possible error sources. The calibration of crop N uptake gave rise to good model efficiency index values. The RMSE for the simulation of soil water content varied between 9.8 and 20.2%. A more accurate setting of the ammonia losses and of the feces transformation parameter values could allow the RMSE for the simulation of soil nitrate content to be reduced by no more than 10 to 15%. It is possible for the model not to include the simulation of processes that could have relevant effects on the soil N dynamics. 相似文献
To evaluate the impact of harvesting and packinghouse operation on the contamination of green bell pepper (GBP) with viruses
and enteric bacteria. Hands of 97 workers plus 40 GBP were sampled from field and packinghouse areas. RT-nested PCR were used
for the identification of Noroviruses (NV) and Chromogenic agar for the quantification of coliforms and Escherichia coli. NV was found in 30.9 and 23.7% of workers’ hands, before and after 3 h of work, respectively, while 45 and 30% of field
and packed GBP was positive for NV. Fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli were present in 68 and 57.3% and 12.4 and 11.1% of workers’ hands before and after 3 h of work, respectively. Fecal coliforms
were detected in 85 and 15% of field and packed GBP, respectively, while E. coli was absent. There was no significant correlation between bacterial indicator and NV in the analyzed samples (P > 0.05). Handling of fresh produce by workers during harvesting and packing operations has negative impacts on fresh produce
safety. 相似文献
We manipulated parental work load without changing brood size in a population of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca by removing two primaries (7 and 9) from each wing of females, thus reducing wing area and increasing flight costs. At other
nests, we offered supplementary food in the form of live mealworms (10–20 g daily from hatching) to reduce brood demand and
thus parental foraging costs. Other nests were left as controls. The daily energy expenditure of females feeding 12-day-old
nestlings was measured with doubly labelled water D218O. Females in both treatments expended the same amount of energy, fed at the same rate and had similar body masses to birds
in the control group. No effect of treatment on male mass and feeding effort was detected. More nestlings, however, died in
nests of handicapped females. Nestlings of handicapped females had significantly lower body mass and haematocrit values than
nestlings in food-supplemented nests, with nestlings in control nests occupying an intermediate position. The effects of both
treatments on nestling mass, haematocrit values and mortality rates were only noticeable in nests infested with mites. Maternal
energy expenditure is apparently constrained and offspring pay the costs imposed by reduced provisioning rate or increased
demand caused by ectoparasites, while receiving benefits when food supply improves. The presumption that avian reproductive
costs derive from changes in a flexible energy output may not be met in many cases.
Received: 24 October 1998 / Received in revised form: 15 March 1999 / Accepted: 26 April 1999 相似文献
The chrome (Cr) is a metal utilized in various industrial sectors and its investigation in the environment is necessary, for the Cr (III) contain aessential micronutrients in the human nourishment and the Cr (VI), on the other hand, is toxic. In the present work soil contamination with Cr was realized in drainagelysimetersset in concentrations of 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mg kg−1 of total Cr, with the intuition to determine the total Cr and Cr (VI) flux in leached water, in soil and in plants of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). In the lysimeters were cultivated four plants, in three cultivation circles. In the end of the cultivations was observed, that the total applied Cr leached in the soil, evidencing the Cr mobility in latossoil with simulant characteristics to the ones utilized in this paper. The Cr (VI) concentrations in the soil increased soon after the treatment applications, but tend to decrees in the time elapse, the same tendences were observed for the total Cr concentrations in the leached water. The Cr absorption by plants was related to the Cr disponibility in the soil, for the soil concentration and the plants decreased with time passing. The Cr mobility in the soil possibilitated the groundwater contamination presenting risks to the water quality and, consequently to public health. 相似文献
Many factors, including climate, resource availability, and habitat diversity, have been proposed as determinants of global diversity, but the links among them have rarely been studied. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we investigated direct and indirect effects of climate variables, host-plant richness, and habitat diversity on butterfly species richness across Britain, at 20-km grid resolution. These factors were all important determinants of butterfly diversity, but their relative contributions differed between habitat generalists and specialists, and whether the effects were direct or indirect. Climate variables had strong effects on habitat generalists, whereas host-plant richness and habitat diversity contributed relatively more for habitat specialists. Considering total effects (direct and indirect together), climate variables had the strongest link to butterfly species richness for all groups of species. The results suggest that different mechanistic hypotheses to explain species richness may be more appropriate for habitat generalists and specialists, with generalists hypothesized to show direct physiological limitations and specialists additionally being constrained by trophic interactions (climate affecting host-plant richness). 相似文献
This research aims to compare the disinfection and degradation effectiveness in water of a commercial suspension of nano-TiO2 (TiO2Levenger) with the standard TiO2Degussa P25. Photo-inactivation and photo-degradation experiments were conducted with UVA-vis light. Concerning the disinfection, the effects of TiO2 dose (0–2 g/l), water matrix, bacterium type (Gram-positive or Gram-negative), and bacterial regrowth after the photo-treatments were studied for each catalyst. The experimental results show that Enterococcus sp. (Gram-positive) was more resistant to the photo-treatments than Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) for both catalyst; however, postirradiation trends showed similar behavior for both bacteria, favoring regrowth for short-treated cells and decay for longer-treated ones. Caffeine was selected as a model substance of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. In terms of caffeine removal, the effects of TiO2 dose (0–2 g/l) and water matrix were analyzed. Besides, the comparison between mechanical coagulation-flocculation-decantation and simple decantation of TiO2 was carried out. The results show that simple decantation allowed the recovery of 97.5% of TiO2 Degussa P25 and TiO2 Levenger within 1 day of simple decantation, while applying the proposed mechanical coagulation-flocculation decantation 99.7% of recovery of both catalysts was achieved in 2 hours. Finally, the subsequent reuse of both catalysts was proved with little loss of efficiency in terms of photo-disinfection during the four cycles. Nevertheless, the standard TiO2 Degussa P25 photo-degradation efficiency of caffeine decreases considerably as compared to commercial suspension of TiO2 Levenger concerning the reutilization.