Effect of preparation method of noble metal supported catalyts on formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature: Gas or liquid phase reduction

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is toxic to the human body and is one of the main threats to the indoor air quality (IAQ). As such, the removal of HCHO is imperative to improving the IAQ, whereby the most useful method to effectively remove HCHO at room temperature is catalytic oxidation. This review discusses catalysts for HCHO room-temperature oxidation, which are categorized according to their preparation methods, i.e., gas-phase reduction and liquid-phase reduction methods. The HCHO oxidation performances, structural features, and reaction mechanisms of the different catalysts are discussed, and directions for future research on catalytic oxidation are reviewed.     

Diurnal vertical migration of Cochlodinium polykrikoides during the red tide in Korean coastal sea waters

The diurnal vertical migration of Cochlodinium polykrikoides (C. polykrikoides), which caused a red tide in the Korean coastal waters of the East Sea/Sea of Japan in September 2003, was examined by determining the time-dependent changes in the density of living cells in relation to the depth of the water column. The ascent of this species into the surface layer (depth of water 2 m) occurred during 1400-1500. The descent started at 1600 and a high distribution rate (86%) at 15-20 m was observed at 0300. During the ascent, the cells were widely distributed at each depth level from 0600 hr and at 0800-1100, the cells were primarily distributed in the middle layer (0-6 m). The concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was generally < or = 2.86 micromol l(-1), but at 1400-1500, the concentration in the surface layer reduced to < or = 0.14 micromol l(-1). Moreover, the concentration gradually increased as the depth increased to > or = 5 m. These results showed that the nutrient-consumption rate associated with the proliferation of C. polykrikoides during a red tide is more influenced by the inorganic-nitrogen resources ratherthan the inorganic-phosphorus compounds.     

Assessment of Young Dong tributary and Imgok Creek impacted by Young Dong coal mine, South Korea

An initial reclamation of the Young Dong coal mine site, located in northeastern South Korea, was completed in 1995. Despite the filling of the adit with limestone, acid rock drainage (ARD) enters Young Dong tributary and is then discharged to Imgok Creek. This ARD carries an average of 500 mg CaCO(3)/l of mineral acidity, primarily as Fe(II) and Al. Before spring runoff, the flow of Imgok Creek is 3.3-4 times greater than that of the tributary and has an alkalinity of 100 mg CaCO(3)/l, which is sufficient to eliminate the mineral acidity and raise the pH to about 6.5. From April through September 2008, there were at least two periods of high surface flow that affects the flow of ARD from the adit. Flow of ARD reaches 2.8 m(3)/min during spring runoff. This raised the concentrations of Fe and Al in the confluence with Imgok Creek. However, by 2 km downstream the pH of the Imgok Creek is 6.5 and only dissolved Fe is above the Korean drinking water criteria (0.30 mg/l). This suggests only a minor impact of Young Dong Creek water on Imgok Creek. Acid digestion of the sediments in Imgok Creek and Young Dong Tributary reveals considerable abundances of heavy metals, which could have a long-term impact on water quality. However, several water-based leaching tests, which better simulate the bioavailable metals pool, released only Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn at concentrations exceeding the criteria for drinking water or aquatic life.     

Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations

The present study examines the effects of training and development on organizational innovation. We specifically suggest that the training and development investments of an organization affect its innovative performance by promoting various learning practices. We empirically tested our hypothesis by using time‐lagged, multi‐source data collected from 260 Korean companies that represent diverse industries. Our analysis showed that corporate expenditure for internal training predicts interpersonal and organizational learning practices, which, in turn, increase innovative performance. The data also revealed that the positive relationship between interpersonal and organizational learning practices and innovative performance is stronger within organizations that have stronger innovative climates. By contrast, investment in employee development through financial support for education outside an organization poses a significant negative effect on its innovative performance and no significant effect on learning practices. The present study provides a plausible explanation for a mechanism through which the investment of an organization in employees enhances its innovative performance. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Organizational Behavior published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AUTOMATED WEB GIS BASED HYDROGRAPH ANALYSIS TOOL,WHAT1

The separation of the base flow component from a varying streamflow hydrograph is called “hydrograph analysis.” In this study, two digital filter based separation modules, the BFLOW and Eckhardt filters, were incorporated into the Web based Hydrograph Analysis Tool (WHAT) system. A statistical component was also developed to provide fundamental information for flow frequency analysis and time series analysis. The Web Geographic Information System (GIS) version of the WHAT system accesses and uses U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) daily streamflow data from the USGS web server. The results from the Eckhardt filter method were compared with the results from the BFLOW filter method that was previously validated, since measured base flow data were not available for this study. Following validation, the two digital filter methods in the WHAT system were run for 50 Indiana gaging stations. The Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficient values comparing the results of the two digital filter methods were over 0.91 for all 50 gaging stations, suggesting the filtered base flow using the Eckhardt filter method will typically match measured base flow. Manual separation of base flow from streamflow can lead to inconsistency in the results, while the WHAT system provides consistent results in less than a minute. Although base flow separation algorithms in the WHAT system cannot consider reservoir release and snowmelt that can affect stream hydrographs, the Web based WHAT system provides an efficient tool for hydrologic model calibration and validation. The base flow information from the WHAT system can also play an important role for sustainable ground water and surface water exploitation, including irrigation and industrial uses, and estimation of pollutant loading from both base flow and direct runoff. Thus, best management practices can be appropriately applied to reduce and intercept pollutant leaching if base flow contributes significant amounts of pollutants to the stream. This Web GIS based system also demonstrates how remote, distributed resources can be shared through the Internet using Web programming.     

Effect of a seasonal diffuse pollution migration on natural organic matter behavior in a stratified dam reservoir

This article aims to describe the influence of diffuse pollution on the temporal and spatial characteristics of natural organic matter (NOM) in a stratified dam reservoir, the Daecheong Dam, on the basis of intensive observation results and the dynamic water quality simulation using CE-QUAL-W2. Turbidity is regarded as a comprehensive representation of allochothonous organic matter from diffuse sources in storm season because the turbidity concentration showed reasonable significance in a statistical correlation with the UV absorbance at 254 nm and total phosphorus. CE-QUAL-W2 simulation results showed good consistency with the observed data in terms of dissolved organic matter (DOM) including refractory dissolved organic carbon (RDOC) and labile DOC and also well explained the internal movement of constituents and stratification phenomenon in the reservoir. Instead turbidity and NOM were related well in the upper region of the reservoir according to flow distance, gradually as changing to dissolved form of organic matter, RDOM affected organic matter concentration of reservoir water quality compared to turbidity. To control the increase of soluble organic matters in the dam reservoir, appropriate dam water discharge gate operation provided effective measurement. Because of the gate operation let avoid the accumulation of organic matter within a dam reservoir by shorten of turbid regime retention time.     

Daily intake of 4-nonylphenol in Taiwanese

Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEO), alkylphenols combined with ethylene oxide, are a class of nonionic surfactants. APEO have been widely used for industrial, agricultural and household applications, and are biodegraded to more persistent and estrogen-active products, namely, nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), butylphenol (BP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP(1)EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP(2)EO). This study determined NP levels in commonly consumed foodstuffs to assess daily intake of NP in a Taiwanese population. This study analyzes 318 of samples from 25 types of commonly consumed foodstuffs in northern, central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan and estimates daily intake of NP in 466 subjects. Moreover, daily NP intake for 3915 additional subjects was estimated by analyzing data from the Nutrition and health survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT). The foodstuff samples were analyzed for five alkylphenol compounds simultaneously by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Additionally, the average compositions of typical foods consumed in Taiwan were investigated. In combination with alkylphenol levels in these foodstuffs, daily intake of NP in Taiwanese was calculated. The average daily intake of NP for the 466 subjects was 28.04+/-25.32 microg/day. Estimated daily intake of NP, based on NP levels in this study as well as the NAHSIT data, was 31.40 microg/day. Rice was the most commonly consumed source of NP, the proportion was 21.46% among daily intake of NP and the following were aquatic products and livestock, which percentage were 17.97% and 17.38%, respectively. Additionally, oysters had the highest NP levels (235.8+/-90.7 ng/g) in four regions of Taiwan, followed by salmon (123.8+/-116.2 ng/g). This study suggested that the average daily NP intake in Taiwan is 4-fold and 8.5-fold higher than daily intake in Germany and New Zealand, respectively and rice was the major source of NP intake.     

Robust Prioritization of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Using the VIKOR Method with Objective Weights

This study proposes a robust prioritization framework for climate change adaptation strategies under uncertain climate change scenarios, using the VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method, a multi‐criteria decision‐making approach, together with the Shannon entropy‐based weights. The VIKOR method allows us to find a compromise solution between two decision strategies of maximizing group utility and minimizing individual regret, and the Shannon entropy is used to determine objective weights among multiple climate change scenarios. The proposed methodology was applied to the problem of selecting locations of subwatersheds for reusing treated wastewater (TWW) in a Korean urban watershed. Selected based on the sustainability concept, hydro‐environmental and socioeconomic indicators were used to evaluate the sustainability of TWW reuse under multiple climate change scenarios, using the hydrologic simulation model results and statistical data. Finally, sustainability scores under multiple scenarios were aggregated using the VIKOR together with the Shannon entropy‐based weights for the robust prioritization of adaptation strategies. According to the different levels of regret aversion or affinity, our results for water quality showed different sets of adaptation strategies as the best options, suggesting that our framework would help stakeholders seeking the robust options considering both the utility and regret.     

Fenton oxidation of 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene and acetone inhibition

The performances and kinetic parameters of Fenton oxidation of 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (DNT) in water-acetone mixtures and explosive contaminated soil washing-out solutions were investigated at a laboratory scale. The experimental results show that acetone can be a significant hydroxyl radical scavenger and result in serious inhibition of Fenton oxidation of 2,4- and 2,6-DNT. Although no serious inhibition was found in contaminated soil washing-out solutions, longer reaction time was needed to remove 2,4- and 2,6-DNT completely, mainly due to the competition of hydroxyl radicals. Fenton oxidation of 2,4- and 2,6-DNT fit well with the first-order kinetics and the presence of acetone also reduced DNT’s degradation kinetics. Based on the comparison and matching of retention time and ultraviolet (UV) spectra between high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and standards, the following reaction pathway for 2,4-DNT primary degradation was proposed: 2,4-DNT → 2,4-dinitro-benzaldehyde → 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid → 1,3-dinitrobenzene → 3-nitrophenol.     

Solubilization of water-insoluble beta-glucan isolated from Ganoderma lucidum

The fungal beta-D-glucan is a biological response modifier (BRM), but a major obstacle to the clinical utilization of beta-glucan BRMs is thei relative lack of solubility in aqueous media. Water insoluble fungal glucans extracted by alkali from the mycelia of Ganoderma lucidum were sulfated to yield their corresponding water-soluble derivatives. Insoluble glucan is dissolved in methyl sulfoxide and urea, and is partially sulfated with sulfuric acid. The sulfated glucan (SGL) yield prepared from insoluble glucan (IGL) was 85%, the sulfation degree of SGL was about 14.9%, and the solubility of SGL was above 95% in water. The monosugar SGL content was 34.9% alpha-glucose and 35.9% beta-glucose. The mean molecular weight (MW) of SGL was shown as a single peak on Sepharose CL-4B column chromatography, and their MW was approximately 9.3 kDa. The 13C NMR spectrum analysis shows that SGL has a high similarity with the beta-(1-->3)-linked triple-helical control.