Efficiency of pentafluorobenzyl derivative for the simultaneous determination of MCPA and its metabolites in soil

The fresh and long preservation of the stock solution of the pentafluorobenzyl bromide were applied to determine the recovery yield of MCPA, 4-chloro-o-cresol and 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol from and preserved samples. Both fresh and preserved solution of the pentafluorobenzyl bromide confirmed almost the similar effect on the derivative yield of the compounds treated with fresh/preserved samples. The overall results differed significantly within different treatments. The yield decreased only 2 % with 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol.     

Experimental investigation of tribological characteristics and emissions with nonedible sunflower oil as a biolubricant

Plant (vegetable) oil has been evaluated as a substitute for mineral oil–based lubricants because of its natural and environmentally friendly characteristics. Availability of vegetable oil makes it a renewable source of bio-oils. Additionally, vegetable oil–based lubricants have shown potential for reducing hydrocarbon and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions when utilized in internal combustion (IC) engines and industrial operations. In this study, sunflower oil was investigated to study its lubricant characteristics under different loads using the four-ball tribometer and the exhaust emissions were tested using a four-stroke, single-cylinder diesel engine. All experimental works conformed to American Society for Testing and Materials standard (ASTM D4172-B). Under low loads, sunflower oil showed adequate tribological characteristics (antifriction and antiwear) compared with petroleum oil samples. The results also demonstrated that the sunflower oil–based lubricant was more effective in reducing the emission levels of carbon monoxide (CO), CO₂, and hydrocarbons under different test conditions. Therefore, sunflower oil has the potential to be used as lubricant of mating components.

Implications: An experimental investigation of the characteristics of nonedible sunflower oil tribological behaviors and potential as a renewable source for biofluids alternative to the petroleum oils was carried out. The level of emissions of a four–stroke, single-cylinder diesel engine using sunflower oil as a biolubricant was evaluated.     

The effect of age on cognitive performance under the impact of vibration in a driving environment.

The effect of organismic variable age on human cognitive performance was studied under the impact of vibration in different automobile driving environments, namely city streets, rural roads and highways. Reaction time was measured in milliseconds through a human response measurement system specifically designed for the purpose. Results of the study showed that age had a significant effect in city street and rural road conditions. It was also found that the level of equivalent acceleration of vibration and a difficulty index significantly affected cognitive performance in all driving conditions. The organismic variable age observed to have a significant effect on task performance implied that youngsters and older people are stressed differently in specific environments of driving so proper stress management strategies should be evolved for them in order to minimize the number of accidents.     

控制卡塔尔居民生活用水量:评价

卡塔尔由于社会经济高速发展,人口大量增加,水资源存在严重问题.市政给水依靠高成本和不可持续的海水淡化,而对用水几乎没有限制,卡塔尔本国居民不用付水费,外国移居者付补助性的水费--大约1/3的成本费用,因此人们很少意识到水的真正成本,用水极其浪费.这篇文章讨论的是卡塔尔的用水趋势及与可持续用水有关的问题.一个针对卡塔尔社会各阶层的问卷调查了人们对水的意识和态度,结果显示,原有为了控制用水量而做的努力,如提高意识宣传活动、法律上的限制及水费是无效的.问卷评价了对限制用水可采取的措施的反应,其中有提高公众意识、使用法律措施和提高水费,从中提出一系列改变政策的建议,促使卡塔尔给水工业进入可持续发展阶段.     

Comparison between Hansen-Hurwitz and Horvitz-Thompson estimators for adaptive cluster sampling

Thompson (1990) introduced the adaptive cluster sampling design. This sampling design has been shown to be a useful sampling method for parameter estimation of a clustered and scattered population (Roesch, 1993; Smith et al., 1995; Thompson and Seber, 1996). Two estimators, the modified Hansen-Hurwitz (HH) and Horvitz-Thompson (HT) estimators, are available to estimate the mean or total of a population. Empirical results from previous researches indicate that the modified HT estimator has smaller variance than the modified HH estimator. We analytically compare the properties of these two estimators. Some results are obtained in favor of the modified HT estimator so that practitioners are strongly recommended to use the HT estimator despite easiness of computations for the HH estimator.     

Potential Fluoride Contamination in the Drinking Water of Naranji Area, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan

The drinking water of Naranji village and surrounding areas of the NorthWest Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan, was analyzed for its fluoride content. The fluoride content of water samples from the springs in the Naranji village goes up to 13.52 mg kg(-1), which exceeds the permissible limit (1.5 mg kg(-1)) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This study explores the source of fluoride contamination and attributes it to the alkaline rocks of the Ambela granitic complex and the Koga complex. The low-lying areas towards the south have a fluoride content within the permissible limit. The Naranji area therefore needs urgent remedial measures.     

博斯腾湖流域地下水重金属污染的人体健康风险评估

在新疆博斯腾湖流域绿洲灌区采集67个浅层地下水样品,测定其中Cu、Mn、Cd、Cr、Ni和Zn等6种重金属元素的含量,采用Nemerow综合污染指数对地下水中重金属污染程度进行评价,借助US EPA健康风险评价模型对地下水中重金属污染的潜在健康风险进行评价。结果表明:(1)地下水中各元素平均含量大小顺序依次为:MnZnCuNi CrCd,各元素平均含量均未超出国家标准的限值;(2)研究区地下水中各重金属元素单项污染指数平均值从大到小依次为:Cd(2.04)、Mn(0.69)、Ni(0.45)、Cr(0.24)、Zn(0.07)、Cu(0.03)。综合污染指数的变化范围在0.23～2.22之间,平均值为0.73,呈现轻微污染;(3)健康风险评价结果表明,地下水中6种重金属对成人的潜在非致癌健康风险HI为7.83E-011,表明暴露的个体不太可能有明显的不良健康影响;对儿童的潜在非致癌健康风险HI为1.05E+011,表明研究区地下水重金属可能对当地儿童的健康产生不利影响,有进一步研究的必要性。