Evaluation of Multi-level Social Learning for Sustainable Landscapes: Perspective of a Development Initiative in Bergslagen, Sweden

To implement policies about sustainable landscapes and rural development necessitates social learning about states and trends of sustainability indicators, norms that define sustainability, and adaptive multi-level governance. We evaluate the extent to which social learning at multiple governance levels for sustainable landscapes occur in 18 local development initiatives in the network of Sustainable Bergslagen in Sweden. We mapped activities over time, and interviewed key actors in the network about social learning. While activities resulted in exchange of experiences and some local solutions, a major challenge was to secure systematic social learning and make new knowledge explicit at multiple levels. None of the development initiatives used a systematic approach to secure social learning, and sustainability assessments were not made systematically. We discuss how social learning can be improved, and how a learning network of development initiatives could be realized.     

Laccase activity in soils: considerations for the measurement of enzyme activity

Laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductases, EC 1.10.3.2) are copper-containing enzymes that catalyze the oxidative conversion of a variety of chemicals, such as mono-, oligo-, and polyphenols and aromatic amines. Laccases have been proposed to participate in the transformation of organic matter and xenobiotics as well as microbial interactions. Several laccase assays have been proposed and used in soils. Here, we show that the optimal pH conditions for the laccase substrates 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS, pH 3-5), 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (4-5.5), L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA; 4-6), guaiacol (3.5-5), 4-methylcatechol (3.5-5), and syringaldazine (5.5-7.0) are similar between purified laccases from Trametes versicolor and Pyricularia sp. and soil extracts; the substrate affinities of purified enzymes (K(M)) and soil extracts were also similar. The laccase assays showed specificity overlap with tyrosinase and ligninolytic peroxidases when hydrogen peroxide is present. The ABTS oxidation assay is able to reliably detect the presence of 13.5 pg mL(-1) or 0.199×10(-12) mol mL(-1) of T. versicolor laccase, which is three times more sensitive than the 2,6-dimethoxyphenol-based assay and more than 40 times more sensitive than any of the other assays. The low molecular mass soil-derived compounds and the isolated fulvic and humic acids influence the laccase assays and should be removed from the soil extracts before measurements of the enzyme activity are performed.     

Status of nanoremediation and its potential for future deployment: Risk‐benefit and benchmarking appraisals

NanoRem (Taking Nanotechnological Remediation Processes from Lab Scale to End User Applications for the Restoration of a Clean Environment) was a research project, funded through the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme, which focuses on facilitating practical, safe, economic, and exploitable nanotechnology for in situ remediation of polluted soil and groundwater, which closed in January 2017. This article describes the status of the nanoremediation implementation and future opportunities for deployment based on risk‐benefit appraisal and benchmarking undertaken in the NanoRem Project. As of November 2016, NanoRem identified 100 deployments of nanoremediation in the field. While the majority of these are pilot‐scale deployments, there are a number of large scale deployments over the last five to 10 years. Most applications have been for plume control (i.e., pathway management in groundwater), but a number of source control measures appear to have taken place. Nanoremediation has been most frequently applied to problems of chlorinated solvents and metals (such as chromium VI). The perception of risk‐benefit balance for nanoremediation has shifted as the NanoRem Project has proceeded. Niche benefits are now more strongly recognized, and some (if not most) of the concerns, for example, relating to environmental risks of nanoremediation deployment, prevalent when the project was proposed and initiated, have been addressed. Indeed, these now appear overstated. However, it appears to remain the case that in some jurisdictions the use of nanoparticles remains less attractive owing to regulatory concerns and/or a lack of awareness, meaning that regulators may demand additional verification measures compared to technologies with which they have a greater level of comfort.     

Contribution to advances in waste-to-energy technologies

This paper presents a number of recent advances in technologies and improvements in units for the thermal processing of municipal solid waste (MSW) and various other types of waste. The focus is on the ‘waste-to-energy’ approach; various criteria for this approach are discussed, as well as the inconsistent attitudes about waste management approaches that are present in various countries in the European Union. The presented achievements include low-NO_x burners, improved efficiency, heat exchangers, waste heat recovery systems, newly developed equipment for wet scrubbing, dioxin filters and systems for the treatment of sewage sludge.A new concept for a regional Waste-to-Energy Centre (WTEC) is outlined, the design of which is based on a combination of experience, know-how and a sophisticated approach. The proposed WTEC will use up-to-date technologies and will provide an adequate response to the growing population and rising standards of living as well to increasingly stringent environmental regulatory standards.Utilization of computational methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for design optimisation and/or for troubleshooting is demonstrated with examples (flue gas duct, burner, combustion chamber). Several examples from industrial applications are summarized.     

An expert system for environmental data management

In this paper we show the possibility of using expert system tools for environmental data management. We describe the domain indenpendent expert system shell SAK and Knowledge EXplorer, a system which learns rules from data. We show the functionality of Knowledge EXplorer on an example of water quality evaluation.     

环丙沙星(CIP)对鲤鱼早期生长阶段的影响

我们依据经济合作与发展组织的210指导性文件,利用鲤鱼受精卵,进行环丙沙星(CIP)的毒性试验。测试浓度设置为1、100、500、1 000和3 000 μg?L^L-1。我们发现在所有测试组中,暴露于CIP会加速孵化,但在暴露于最高浓度CIP(3000 μg?L^L-1)的测试组,出现了显著的生长下降的现象。在实验的第6天(孵化之后),可以观察到大量增加的肉眼可见的形态异常现象。最高数量肉眼可见的形态异常现象是在自由胚胎和幼虫CIP暴露浓度为100、500、1 000和3 000 μg?L^L-1的测试组中产生的(测试样本的20%~23%)。在所有CIP暴露试验组中,均检测出GST活性的呈逐步降低趋势,但是在CIP浓度为500和3 000 μg?L^L-1的测试组中出现了显著差异(p < 0.01)。其中在大多数测试浓度下,谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶和过氧化氢酶的活性增加(p < 0.01,p < 0.05),而在CIP暴露浓度为500和3 000 μg?L^L-1的测试组,谷胱甘肽还原酶出现活性降低的现象(p < 0.05)。在所有的CIP暴露组中,硫代巴比妥酸活性物质的浓度明显降低(p < 0.01)。可测的CIP最低有效浓度(LOEC)是1 μg?L^L-1。\这些结果表明,孵化过程,早期的个体发育,形态异常的产生,以及鱼类体内的抗氧化和生物转化酶活性和脂质过氧化反应,都会受到CIP影响。
精选自Dana Zivna, Lucie Plhalova, Lucie Chromcova, Jana Blahova, Miroslav Prokes, Misa Skoric, Petr Marsalek, Eva Praskova, Stanislava Stepanova, Zdenka Svobodova. The effects of ciprofloxacin on early life stages of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Volume 35, Issue 7, pages 1733–1740, July 2016. DOI: 10.1002/etc.3317
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3317/full
     

Low NOx burners--prediction of emissions concentration based on design,measurements and modelling

This paper describes possible ways of prediction of nitrogen oxides formation during combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. Mathematical model based on experimental data acquired from the testing facility has been developed. The model enables to predict--at a high probability measure--the extent of nitrogen oxides emissions. The mathematical model of nitrogen oxide formation relies on the application of simplified kinetic equations describing the formation of nitrogen oxides at so-called equivalent temperature. It is a semi-empirical model that comes out of experimental knowledge. An important role played by the burner design itself has been emphasized and therefore an important supplementary parameter of the model is the characteristic of the burner design. It has been established that there was a good agreement between experimental data and those calculated by the application of the model to various conditions marked out by different combustion parameters in the combustion chamber. The results obtained by application of the model respect the influence of parameters validated by industrial practice that control the formation of nitrogen oxides in the course of fuel combustion. Such parameters-first of all-tare the temperature in the combustion chamber and the concentration of the substances taking part in the reaction. By application of the model, it is possible to assess the consequence of, for example the surplus of combustion air, the increase of temperature of combustion air, the supply of inert gas, etc. on the nitrogen oxides emissions of the operating burner under evaluation. Efficient combining of experience and sophisticated approach together with importance of thus access for an improved design are shown.     

A long-term survey of heavy metals and specific organic compounds in biofilms, sediments, and surface water in a heavily affected river in the Czech Republic

To assess the long-term anthropogenic load of the Bílina River (Czech Republic), the concentrations of heavy metals and specific organic compounds in different river ecosystem matrices (water, biofilms, and sediments) were determined. Although the current concentrations of pollutants in surface water are low, frequently below the limits of the quantitative analytical methods used, the river ecosystem is still heavily loaded by anthropogenic pollution, mainly from the chemical and mining industries. This was demonstrated by analyzing biofilms and sediments. These matrices are more accurate representatives of the actual situation in the river and do not depend on hydrological conditions or random variability in water quality. The results indicate that the middle and the lower parts of the river are heavily polluted by mercury, arsenic, vanadium, polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane. As a tributary of the Elbe River, the Bílina River represents a significant risk for the development of quality in this major European river.