Characteristics of ambient C2–C11 non-methane hydrocarbons in metropolitan Nagoya,Japan

To understand the characteristics of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) abundance in an urban air of Nagoya, one of the metropolitan areas of Japan, 48 species of C₂–C₁₁ NMHCs were measured with a measurement system, developed in this study, by using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC/FID) continuously for one year from December 2003 to November 2004.Annual mean concentration of NMHCs in normal and propylene equivalent (PE) in Nagoya was compared with those in four urban areas of Seoul, London, Lille, and Dallas to extract characteristics of urban air. While the absolute values of the normal and PE concentrations of alkanes, alkenes, alkyne, and aromatics were significantly different among these urban areas, the proportions of each chemical group to the total NMHC were not so different.In Nagoya, the total normal concentration was high from November to February and low from June to August. The pattern of the seasonal variation was influenced mainly by that of alkanes. On the other hand, the total PE concentration was high from July to December and low from January to June. The pattern of the seasonal variation was influenced mainly by those of alkenes and aromatics. Particularly the normal concentration of isoprene was high from May to September because of large emission associated with activity of plants. As the results, in summer, the PE concentration of isoprene was especially high, and its contribution to the total NMHCs measured in this study was approximately 40%. The total PE concentrations were high in summer when the concentration of OH radicals is also high, suggesting that the productions of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) are likely to be promoted in summer of Nagoya.     

TEMPO-Mediated Oxidation of Hemp Bast Holocellulose to Prepare Cellulose Nanofibrils Dispersed in Water

Hemp bast holocellulose fiber (Cannabis sativa L. Subsp. Sativa) was oxidized by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical)-mediated oxidation at various NaClO addition levels in water at pH 10. When carboxylate contents of the oxidized products were 1.5–1.7 mmol/g, TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils almost completely dispersed at the individual nanofibril were obtained by mechanical disintegration of the TEMPO-oxidized hemp bast holocelluloses in water, where the nanofibrillation yields were 98–100 %. The sugar composition analysis revealed that most of hemicelluloses originally present in the hemp bast holocellulose were degraded and removed from the solid oxidized products, providing almost pure TEMPO-oxidized celluloses. X-ray diffraction patterns of all TEMPO-oxidized hemp bast holocelluloses had the same cellulose I crystal structure and similar crystallinity indices and crystal widths, indicating that carboxylate groups formed by the oxidation were selectively present on the crystalline cellulose microfibril surfaces in the holocellulose. However, the weight recovery ratios and viscosity-average degrees of polymerization of the TEMPO-oxidized hemp bast holocelluloses decreased to 69–59 % and 470–380, respectively, when their carboxylate contents increased to 1.5–1.7 mmol/g by the TEMPO-mediated oxidation. Atomic force microscopy height images showed that the nanofibril widths were 2.7–2.9 nm, and the average nanofibril lengths decreased from 590 to 400 nm as the NaClO addition level was increased from 7.5 to 12.5 mmol/g in the TEMPO-mediated oxidation.     

Hybrid-Type Electrostatic Precipitator

Three experiments were designed to determine the effects of SO₂ concentration on two Southeastern oat varieties—Caroiee and Coker 227. The plants were grown under uniform conditions prior to and after the experimental growth period. During the 7 to 14 day experimental growth period the plants were subjected to four growth temperatures (18/14, 22/18, 26/22 and 30/26° C day/night temperatures) and exposed 2 or 4 times to specific concentrations of SO₂ (from 0 to 4 ppm) for 1.5 or 3.0 hr periods. In the first two experiments, the exposure temperatures were varied (18° to 30° C). In the third design, the exposure temperatures remained constant and two exposure relative humidities (55 and 80%) were used. Injury and growth reductions were more severe in Coker 227 than in Caroiee. Root dry weight (RDW) was affected more than top dry weight (TDW). Plants were more sensitive at the higher growth temperatures. Exposure temperatures had little to variable effects. Plants were more sensitive at 80% than at 55% relative humidity. Biomass was reduced at 0.4 ppm SO₂ after four 3 hr exposures and at 0.75 ppm after two 1.5 hr exposures, but growth was also increased as often. These concentrations approached the accepted threshold for adverse effects to sensitive vegetation. Foliar injury was highly correlated with growth reductions.     

Regulatory Off-Gas Analysis from the Evaporation of Hanford Simulated Waste Spiked with Organic Compounds

Abstract

After strontium/transuranics removal by precipitation followed by cesium/technetium removal by ion exchange, the remaining low-activity waste in the Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant is to be concentrated by evaporation before being mixed with glass formers and vitrified. To provide a technical basis to permit the waste treatment facility, a relatively organic-rich Hanford Tank 241-AN-107 waste simulant was spiked with 14 target volatile, semi-volatile, and pesticide compounds and evaporated under vacuum in a bench-scale natural circulation evaporator fitted with an industrial stack off-gas sampler at the Savannah River National Laboratory. An evaporator material balance for the target organics was calculated by combining liquid stream mass and analytical data with off-gas emissions estimates obtained using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SW-846 Methods. Volatile and light semi-volatile organic compounds (<220 °C BP, >1 mm Hg vapor pressure) in the waste simulant were found to largely exit through the condenser vent, while heavier semi-volatiles and pesticides generally remain in the evaporator concentrate. An OLI Environmental Simulation Program (licensed by OLI Systems, Inc.) evaporator model successfully predicted operating conditions and the experimental distribution of the fed target organics exiting in the concentrate, condensate, and off-gas streams, with the exception of a few semi-volatile and pesticide compounds. Comparison with Henry's Law predictions suggests the OLI Environmental Simulation Program model is constrained by available literature data.     

Two clinal trends in male-male aggressiveness in a subsocial spider mite (Schizotetranychus miscanthi)

We studied the correlation between male-male aggressive behavior of the spider mite, Schizotetranychus miscanthi and winter coldness, a factor hypothesized to correlate with the degree of relatedness of the interacting males through the frequent occurrence of mother-son mating in the spring. Thirty-one samples from various populations throughout Japan were added to previous data. A cluster analysis revealed two clinal trends for male-male aggression in S. miscanthi in regions of light or no snowfall. The two clines may represent a dimorphism within the species, each having a similar clinal trend within Japan. Further support for the hypothesis that male overwintering survival affects male-male aggressiveness came from a comparison between regions of heavy snowfall and those of light or no snowfall. In regions with heavy snow insulation, overwintering survival may not be as high as in other areas, and there was no correlation between male aggressiveness and the minimum winter temperature. However, there was a significant correlation in regions of light snow. Received: 26 May 1998 / Received in revised form: 16 December 1998 / Accepted: 30 December 1998     

Sex-specific maternal effect on egg mass,laying order,and sibling competition in the Bengalese finch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lonchura striata</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">domestica</Emphasis>)

Maternal effects, such as investment in eggs, have profound effects on offspring fitness. Mothers are expected to skew their investment depending on the laying order and sex when unequal sibling competition occurs within a brood because of sex-specific vulnerability and age hierarchy caused by asynchronous hatching. The Bengalese finch hatches asynchronously and shows a moderate reversed sexual size dimorphism. However, contrary to commonly accepted assumptions of size-dependent vulnerability, the smaller sex (male) is more vulnerable to developmental stress caused by sibling competition. We investigated whether maternal investment would be biased by the position in laying order and the sex of eggs, and also explored the possible differences in growth patterns depending on sex, laying order, and age hierarchy by observing chicks fostered to experimentally manipulated broods where brood composition was controlled and age hierarchy was more enhanced than in natural breeding conditions. We found that overall patterns of maternal investment favored the disadvantageous sectors of sibling competition, i.e., eggs of later laying order and sons over those of early laying order and daughters. We also examined the effect of laying order on adult body size and sex differences in growth patterns. When reared in the subordinate age hierarchy, females could compensate for the deficit of decreased growth rate by taking longer to mature, whereas males could not. We suggest that this sex-specific growth pattern could be the cause of sex differences in vulnerability to early developmental stress.