Catalytic upgrading of higher 1-alkenes from polyethylene thermal cracking by modified Wacker oxidation

The economic success of feedstock recycling procedures for plastic wastes is increasingly demanding the conversion of the starting residue into more valuable chemicals. Thermal cracking of polyethylenes leads to the preparation of equimolar mixtures of n-paraffins and 1-alkenes within the C₂–C₁₀₀ range. These 1-olefins can be catalytically upgraded by selective oxidation processes to more valuable products (e.g., ketones and fatty acids) with different uses such as polar waxes, cetane improvers, varnishes, and printer inks. The results obtained on oxidation in a modified Wacker system of a model 1-olefin (1-dodecene) as well as of a distillate cut (C₁₀–C₂₅) of the product from the thermal cracking of urban polyethylene waste are described.     

Long overlooked historical information on agent orange and TCDD following massive applications of 2,4,5-t-containing herbicides,eglin air force base,sFlorida

BACKGROUND: From 1961-1971, The Air Development Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, developed, tested, and calibrated the aerial spray systems used in support of Operation RANCH HAND and the US Army Chemical Corps in Vietnam. Twenty major test and evaluation projects of aerial spray equipment were conducted on four fully instrumented test grids, each uniquely arrayed to match the needs of fixed-wing, helicopter, or jet aircraft. Each of the grids was established within the boundary of Test Area 52A of the Eglin Reservation. METHODS: The tests, conducted under climatic and environmental conditions similar to those in Vietnam, included the use of the military herbicides (Agents) Orange, Purple, White, and Blue. Approximately 75,000 kg of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and 76,000 kg of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were aerially disseminated on an area of less than 3 km2 during the period 1962-1970. Data from the analysis of archived samples suggested that an estimated 3.1 kg of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), present as a contaminant, were aerially released in the test area. Because most of the vegetation had been removed before establishing the test site in 1961, there was an opportunity to follow ground-based residues independent of canopy interception, and the resulting high solar exposure of initial residues. Studies of the soils, fauna, flora, and aquatic ecosystems of the test grids and associated perimeters of Test Area C-52A (an area totally more than 8 km2) were initiated in 1969 and concluded in 1984. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Data from soil samples collected from 1974 through 1984 suggested that less than one percent of the TCDD that was present in soil when sampling began persisted through the ten-year period of sampling. More than 340 species of organisms were observed and identified within the test area. More than 300 biological samples were analyzed for TCDD and detectable residues were found in 16 of 45 species examined. Examination of the ecological niches of the species containing TCDD residues suggested each was in close contact with contaminated soil. Indepth field studies, including anatomical, histological and ultrastructural examinations, spanning more than 50 generations of the Beachmouse, Peromyscus polionotus, demonstrated that continual exposure to soil concentrations of 0.1 to 1.5 parts-per-billion (ng/g) of TCDD, had minimal effects upon the health and reproduction of this species. CONCLUSIONS: Since Agent Orange with its associated TCDD contaminant was aerially disseminated on the test grids, Test Area C-52A provided a 'field laboratory' for what may have happened in Vietnam, had there been no intercepting forest cover. However, in Vietnam a 'typical' mission would have disseminated 14.8 kg of 2,4,5-T/ha, most of which was intercepted by the forest canopy, versus the 876 kg 2,4,5-T/ha on the test grid at Eglin. Moreover, each hectare on the Eglin test grid received at least 1,300 times more TCDD than a hectare sprayed with Agent Orange in Vietnam. The disappearance or persistence of TCDD is dependent upon how it enters the ecosystem. Spray equipment test and evaluations missions at Eglin were generally scheduled and conducted with environmental conditions that were optimal for spray operations. This suggests that conditions favorable for dissemination of herbicide were the same conditions favorable for photodegradation of TCDD. It was likely that 99 percent of the TCDD never persisted beyond the day of application. No long-term adverse ecological effects were documented in these studies despite the massive quantities of herbicides and TCDD that were applied to the site. Reviews by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine did not address the fate of Agent Orange and TCDD as described in these studies from Eglin AFB, Florida.     

Possible influence of lipid content on levels of organochlorine compounds in mussels from Galicia coast (Northwestern, Spain). Spatial and temporal distribution patterns

Influence of lipid content of mussel on levels of organochlorine compounds (polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] and OC pesticides) has been studied. Mussel samples coming from three sites in Galicia coast (Northwestern, Spain), Moa?a and Cangas C from Ría de Vigo and Barallobre from Ría de Ferrol, collected monthly in the period from November 2000 to October 2001, have been analysed. Organochlorine compounds, PCBs (IUPAC nos. 31, 28, 52, 101, 118, 153, 105, 138, 156 and 180) and OC pesticides (pp'-DDE, op'-DDT, pp'-DDT, aldrin, isodrin and endrin) have been extracted by means of Soxhlet and determined by using gas chromatography (electron capture detector [ECD]) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis has been performed using the SPSS statistical package. Few compounds were correlated with lipid content (Pearson product-moment correlation); for samples coming from Barallobre, only the individual PCBs 31, 28, 52 (tri- and tetrachlorinated biphenyls) and 180 (heptachlorinated biphenyl) presented a significant correlation; for Moa?a samples, two cyclodiene pesticides, endrin and isodrin, presented a slight significant correlation with lipid content. From these results, it is deduced that the normalization of the concentration of organochlorine compounds to the lipid content is not necessary, in this way, avoiding possible error sources associated to the analytical determination of the lipid contentor reproductive status of mussel. Multivariate techniques (PCA) have been employed in order to study spatial and temporal distribution patterns of organochlorine compounds. The great differences found in studied samples are mainly related to spatial distribution: separations between estuarine bays (samples coming from Ría de Vigo and Ría de Ferrol) and between rural and urban zones (samples coming from Moa?a and Cangas C and samples from Barallobre, respectively).     

Air Pollution Potential: Regional Study in Argentina

/ Air pollution potential is a measure of the atmospheric conditions that are unable to transport and dilute pollutants into the air, independently of the existence of sources. This potential can be determined from two atmospheric parameters: mixing height and transport wind. In this paper a statistical analysis of the mixing height and transport wind, in order to determine the areas with high or poor atmospheric ventilation in Argentina, is presented. In order to achieve this, meteorological data registered during 1979-1982 at eight meteorological stations were used. Daily values of the maximum mixing height were calculated from observations of daily temperatures at different heights and maximum surface temperature. At the same time as the maximum mixing height, the values of the transport wind were determined from the surface windspeed and the characteristics of the ground in the surroundings of each meteorological station. The mean seasonal values for both parameters were obtained. Isopleths of the mean seasonal of the maximum mixing heights were drawn. The percentage of seasonal frequencies of poor ventilation conditions were calculated and the frequency isopleths were also drawn to determine areas with minor and major relative frequencies. It was found that the northeastern and central-eastern regions of Argentina had a high air pollution potential during the whole year. Unfavorable atmospheric ventilation conditions were also found in the central-western side of the country during the cold seasons (37.5% in autumn and 56.9% in winter). The region with the greatest atmospheric ventilation is located south of 40 degrees S, where the frequency of poor ventilation varies between 8.0% in summer and 10.8% in winter.     

泥石流在两河交汇处堵江后坝体渗流模型的研究

采用重正化群方法算出三维自由渗流模型的渗流阀值 ,在此基础上提出三维具有自相似性质的渗流模型。并在此模型下分析了在实际观测中坝体对岸处易溃坝的原因以及从泥石流堵江后坝体衍化的角度探讨了它崩溃的机理     

Why the Use of Adenoviruses as Water Quality Virologic Marker?

Adenovirus is the virus that contains the highest amount of features favorable to its use as a virologic marker for water quality. Those pathogens are resistant on the environment, abundant, easily detected by molecular methods and are of great importance in public health.     

The ornament�Ccondition relationship varies with parasite abundance at population level in a female bird

Environmental heterogeneity is expected to create variation in the ornament-condition relationship. This topic has been studied in males with less attention being given to females. Here, we explore inter-population variation in the relationship between the size of a male-like trait, supra-orbital combs, and body mass in female red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. We used the abundance of the nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis, a parasite with strong negative effects on this species, as a proxy of environmental conditions. We studied six populations over 5?years and showed that the comb size-body mass relationship varied with mean parasite abundance, with stronger ornament-condition relationships in populations with higher parasite infection levels. Our study supports the idea that environmental conditions, and in particular parasite infection levels, may affect the reliability of female ornaments as condition indicators.     

Organisational behaviour and strategies in the adoption of certified management systems: an analysis of the Spanish hotel industry

While the literature over the last ten years has dealt with the implementation of quality, environmental and other management systems in terms of the interest aroused and results obtained, little has been written about organisational behaviour and the extent to which such standards have been adopted in the service sector. The present article explores these variables in the hotel industry, based on information collected from 403 hotels. The empirical analysis conducted evinces significant differences in behaviour and penetration between the service and manufacturing sectors, as well as between the implementation of management systems and the introduction of other business practices in the hotel industry. The results shed light on the importance of implementing certified management systems for conducting the hotel business.     

Honeybees learn floral odors while receiving nectar from foragers within the hive

Recent studies showed that nectar odors brought back by honeybee foragers can be learned associatively inside the hive. In the present study, we focused on the learning abilities of bees, which directly interact via trophallaxis with the incoming nectar foragers: the workers that perform nectar-receiving tasks inside the hive. Workers that have received food directly from foragers coming back from a feeder offering either unscented or scented sugar solution [phenylacetaldehyde (PHE) or nonanal diluted] were captured from two observational hives, and their olfactory memories were tested using the proboscis extension response paradigm. Bees that have received scented solution from incoming foragers showed significantly increased response frequencies for the corresponding solution odor in comparison with those that have received unscented solution. No differences in the response frequencies were found between food odors and colonies. The results indicate that first-order receivers learn via trophallaxis the association between the scent and the sugar solution transferred by incoming foragers. The implications of these results should be considered at three levels: the operational cohesion of bees involved in foraging-related tasks, the information propagation inside the hive related to the floral type exploited, and the putative effect of these memories on future preferences for resources.     

Methylmercury genotoxicity: a novel effect in human cell lines of the central nervous system

Methylmercury is an important source of environmental contamination and the central nervous system (CNS) is one of the main target organs. Methylmercury genotoxicity was already demonstrated in peripherical tissues but was never detected in the brain. Thus, the objective of this work was to verify its genotoxic effect using brain cell lines. Glioblastoma (U373) and neuroblastoma (B103) human cell lines were exposed to methylmercury (0-10 microM). By measuring cellular viability, concentrations inducing <20% of cellular death (P<0.05) were selected: 1 and 0.1 microM. To detect micronuclei, 200,000 cells were treated with methylmercury for 24 h, and then incubated with cytochalasin B (2 microg/ml) for 72 h (U373) or 48 h (B103). The binucleation index, frequency of micronucleated cells, micronucleation index, metaphasic index and index of nucleoplasmic bridges were determined. Statistical analysis showed indices and percentages significantly higher (P<0.05) in methylmercury-treated cells. Each cell line was shown to be differently sensitive to each biomarker of genotoxic damage, which seems to indicate the existence of different mechanisms of toxicity. This work demonstrates, for the first time, MeHg ability to provoke genotoxicity in cells of brain origin with relatively low levels of exposure.