Modeling seasonal variations of long-term soil CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions in an orchard plantation in a semiarid area,SE Turkey

Emissions of soil CO₂ under different management systems have a significant effect on the carbon balance in the atmosphere. Soil CO₂ emissions were measured from an apricot orchard at two different locations: under the crown of trees (CO₂-UC) and between tree rows (CO₂-BR). For comparison, one other measurement was performed on bare soil (CO₂-BS) located next to the orchard field. Analytical data were obtained weekly during 8 years from April 2008 to December 2016. Various environmental parameters such as air temperature, soil temperature at different depths, soil moisture, rainfall, and relative humidity were used for modeling and estimating the long-term seasonal variations in soil CO₂ emissions using two different methods: generalized linear model (GLM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Before modeling, data were randomly split into two parts, one for calibration and the second for validation, with a varying number of samples in each part. Performances of the models were compared and evaluated using means absolute of estimations (MAE), square root of mean of prediction (RMSEP), and coefficient of determination (R²) values. CO₂-UC, CO₂-BR, and CO₂-BS values ranged from 11 to 3985, from 9 to 2365, and from 8 to 1722 kg ha^?1 week^?1, respectively. Soil CO₂ emissions were significantly correlated (p?<?0.05) with some environmental variables. The results showed that GLM and ANN models provided similar accuracies in modeling and estimating soil CO₂ emissions, as the number of samples in the validation data set increased. The ANN was more advantageous than GLM models by providing a better fit between actual observations and predictions and lower RMSEP and MAE values. The results suggested that the success of environmental variables for estimations of CO₂ emissions using the two methods was moderate.     

High yield room temperature synthesis of pyranochromenes in neutral cetyltrimethylammonium bromide micellar media

Pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives are heterocycles with a wide range of biological properties. There is actually a need for safer synthesis of heterocycles, using for instance water as a solvent. High selectivity can also be achieved by addition of surface-active reagents to form micelles. Indeed, it is presumed that water facilitates organic reactions by the hydrophobic effect, enhanced hydrogen bonding in the transition state and cohesive energy density. Here, a simple aqueous-mediated protocol is developed for the quantitative synthesis of medicinally relevant pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives by the tandem reaction of readily available reagents in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide micellar media. This new method is a modification of the three-component reaction involving Knoevenagel condensation, Michael addition and cyclization reaction. Yields of 3, 4-dihydropyrano[c]chromenes ranged from 85 to 99 % at room temperature.     

Abundance,spatial distribution,and physical characteristics of microplastics in stormwater detention ponds

Despite extensive research on microplastics (MP) in marine environments, little is known about MP abundance and transport in terrestrial systems. There is, therefore, still little understanding of the main mechanisms driving the substantial transport of MP across different environmental compartments. Storm events can transport MP beyond boundaries, such as from the land to groundwater or the ocean, as has already been discovered for organic carbon transport. Urban stormwater detention ponds are suitable environments to study the impact of stormwater on the environmental fate and transport of MP. Herein, we investigate the longitudinal and vertical distribution of MP within two detention ponds with different physical characteristics. Soil samples were collected at various locations and from multiple depths (surface and subsurface layers) for measuring MP concentrations using fluorescence microscopy. Our findings show that MP are retained more near the inlet of the ponds, and MP of larger sizes were found more abundantly near inlets than outlets. We also found that MP mass and sizes decrease from surface soil to subsurface soil. In the pond, where vegetation (grass root network) was more considerable, MP were found more evenly distributed along the depth. In terms of shape, the fragments were the most abundant MP shape.     

Managing Mediterranean soil resources under global change: expected trends and mitigation strategies

Regional Environmental Change - The soils of the Mediterranean Basin are the products of soil processes that have been governed by a unique convergence of highly differentiated natural and...     

Capacity and strategies of energy production from renewable sources in Arab countries until 2030: a review from renewable energy potentials to environmental issues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Slowing and reversing climate change and keeping energy prices at affordable levels are the main important achievements of the use of renewable...     

What is an explosion? A case history of an investigation for the insurance industry

After a large property loss, the insured and insurers of a hydroelectric power plant in North America became embroiled in subrogation to determine if the event could be characterized as an explosion. The subject insurance policy provided coverage for explosions, but excluded mechanical breakdowns. Analysis by Exponent Failure Analysis Associates indicated that a consistent, cross-disciplinary definition for explosions can be extracted from published scientific literature, and that this incident was not an explosion because certain key requirements were missing during the accident. However, this investigation has highlighted the necessity for insurance companies and their insureds to better understand this term and thereby minimize future coverage disputes. This paper presents an analysis of this incident and describes the necessary characteristics of an explosion.     

Determination of antimony in human blood with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

A method is presented for the determination of antimony in whole human blood samples with an ICP-MS instrument using a quadrupole mass analyzer. A nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide open digestion procedure was employed for the blood sample treatment and preparation for analysis. The precision and accuracy of the method were evaluated by analyzing several Seronorm trace elements whole blood reference materials. The precision of the method at various antimony levels was better than 4% RSD and the recovery was greater than 92% at all levels. The detection limit, calculated as three times the standard deviation of the blank (3sigma, n= 12), was 0.03 microg L(-1). The method was successfully applied for the determination of antimony in blood samples from school children in rural areas of Kwazulu/Natal, South Africa and adults from Dearborn, Michigan. Blood antimony levels ranged from <0.03 to 3.82 microg L(-1) in children and 1.40 to 4.35 microg L(-1) for adults.     

Physiopathology and effectiveness of therapeutic vaccines against human papillomavirus

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-known sexually transmitted disorder globally. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the 3rd most common cancer that...     

REAL-TIME SOIL WATER MONITORING FOR OPTIMUM WATER MANAGEMENT1

Abstract: Efficient water resource management is one of the most important policy issues facing agriculture in Hawaii in the years ahead. Soil water sensors, multisensor capacitance probes (MCP), have been successfully used for different water management projects. These MCPs monitor water content at multiple depths and at various locations in real-time. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of water content on field soil bulk density of Wahiawa silty clay tropical soil; measure field saturated hydraulic conductivity of this tropical soil: calibrate MCP system for this soil: and monitor and evaluate real-time soil water content variations under a tomato crop using the calibrated MCP system. Sensor calibration was conducted under laboratory conditions. Soil bulk density at different water contents and saturated hydraulic conductivity were measured on the field. Bulk density increased with increasing water content: there was a 30 percent bulk density increase as a result of 0.25 cm³ cm^-3 water content variation. Compared with the manufacturer's calibration, site specific laboratory calibration of MCP gave a more accurate determination of soil water. Field determined saturated hydraulic conductivity was higher than laboratory determined values reported in the literature for the same soil type. Real-time soil water content monitoring within the root zone showed substantial variations due to water input (irrigation and rainfall) and water output (evapotranspiration and deep percolations). However, water content variations were much further reduced in the soil layer below the root zone.     

Chemical aspects of mass spawning in corals. I. Sperm-attractant molecules in the eggs of the scleractinian coral Montipora digitata

This paper provides the first evidence for sperm chemotaxis in the Scleractinia. Montipora digitata Dana, 1845 (Scleractinia: Coelenterata) is a hermaphroditic coral which reproduces bi-annually, releasing egg-sperm bundles during the mass spawning at Magnetic Island (19°10S; 146°52E) in late spring-early summer, and autumn each year. The buoyant egg-sperm bundles float to the surface where they break apart, releasing eggs and sperm into the ocean. Fertilisation occurs after 30 min. Unfertilized eggs were collected, washed free of sperm, and freeze-dried. The eggs were extracted with dichloromethane, fractionated by chromatography on silica gel, and the fractions assayed for their ability to attract M. digitata sperm. The active fraction was further fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography, resulting in the isolation of three highly unsaturated fatty alcohols: (1) dodeca-2,4-diynol; (2) tetradec-13-ene-2,4-diynol; (3) (14Z)-heptadeca-14,16-diene-2,4-diynol. Of these three compounds, only Compound 1 attracted sperm of M. digitata. Synthetic Compound 1, produced from simple precursors by known reactions, possessed sperm-attracting activity comparable to the naturally derived attractant. Preliminary experiments suggest that the natural mixture of Compounds 1, 2 and 3 in the ratio 1:4:9 is more effective in attracting sperm from M. digitata than sperm from other Montipora species. Sperm attractants may act to reduce the incidence of hybridisation between different species of Montipora.