Environmental monitoring model for a drainage basin obtained through spectral analysis of time series

The quality of results of an environmental monitoring plan is limited to the weakest component, which could be the analytical approach or sampling method. Considering both the possibilities and the fragility that sampling methods offer, this environmental monitoring study focused on the uncertainties caused by the time component. Four time series of nutrient concentration at two sampling points (PB1 and PB2) in the Ribeir?o Garcia basin in Blumenau, Brazil, which were significantly correlated to the spatial component, were considered with a 2-hour resolution to develop efficient sampling models. These models were based on the time at which there was the highest tendency toward adverse environmental effects. Fourier spectral analysis was used to evaluated the time series and resulted in two sampling models: (1) the SMCP (sampling model for critical period) that operated with 100% efficiency for registering the highest concentration of nutrients and was valid for 83% of the studied parameters; and (2) the SMGCP (sampling model for global critical period) that operated with 83 and 50% efficiency for PB1 and PB2, respectively.     

Bacterial stimulation of copper phytoaccumulation by bioaugmentation with rhizosphere bacteria

Copper contaminated areas pose environmental health risk to living organisms. Remediation processes are thus required for both crop production and industrial activities. This study employed bioaugmentation with copper resistant bacteria to improve phytoremediation of vineyard soils and copper mining waste contaminated with high copper concentrations. Oatmeal plant (Avena sativa L.) was used for copper phytoextraction. Three copper resistant bacterial isolates from oatmeal rhizosphere (Pseudomonas putida A1; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia A2 and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus A6) were used for the stimulation of copper phytoextraction. Two long-term copper contaminated vineyard soils (Mollisol and Inceptisol) and copper mining waste from Southern Brazil were evaluated. Oatmeal plants substantially extracted copper from vineyard soils and copper mining waste. As much as 1549 mg of Cu kg?1 dry mass was extracted from plants grown in Inceptisol soil. The vineyard Mollisol copper uptake (55 mg Cu kg?1 of dry mass) in the shoots was significantly improved upon inoculation of oatmeal plants with isolate A2 (128 mg of Cu kg?1 of shoot dry mass). Overall oatmeal plant biomass displayed higher potential of copper phytoextraction with inoculation of rhizosphere bacteria in vineyard soil to the extent that 404 and 327 g ha?1 of copper removal were respectively observed in vineyard Mollisol bioaugmented with isolate A2 (S. maltophilia) and isolate A6 (A. calcoaceticus). Results suggest potential application of bacterial stimulation of phytoaccumulation of copper for biological removal of copper from contaminated areas.     

Treatment of residual lubricating oil using rice husk-based material as ecological adsorbent

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - One of the most significant environmental problems the world population faces is the inadequate disposal of petroleum derivatives. Lubricant oil is...     

Altered physiology, cell structure, and gene expression of Theobroma cacao seedlings subjected to Cu toxicity

Seedlings of Theobroma cacao CCN 51 genotype were grown under greenhouse conditions and exposed to increasing concentrations of Cu (0.005, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 mg Cu L^?1) in nutrient solution. When doses were equal or higher than 8 mg Cu L^?1, after 24 h of treatment application, leaf gas exchange was highly affected and changes in chloroplasts thylakoids of leaf mesophyll cells and plasmolysis of cells from the root cortical region were observed. In addition, cell membranes of roots and leaves were damaged. In leaves, 96 h after treatments started, increases in the percentage of electrolyte leakage through membranes were observed with increases of Cu in the nutrient solution. Moreover, there was an increase in the concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in roots due to lipid peroxidation of membranes. Chemical analysis showed that increases in Cu concentrations in vegetative organs of T. cacao increased with the increase of the metal in the nutrient solution, but there was a greater accumulation of Cu in roots than in shoots. The excess of Cu interfered in the levels of Mn, Zn, Fe, Mg, K, and Ca in different organs of T. cacao. Analysis of gene expression via RTq-PCR showed increased levels of MT2b, SODCyt, and PER-1 expression in roots and of MT2b, PSBA, PSBO, SODCyt, and SODChI in leaves. Hence, it was concluded that Cu in nutrient solution at doses equal or above 8 mg L^?1 significantly affected leaf gas exchange, cell ultrastructure, and transport of mineral nutrients in seedlings of this T. cacao genotype.     

Reaction kinetics formulation with explicit radiation absorption effects of the photo-Fenton degradation of paracetamol under natural pH conditions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The degradation of paracetamol (PCT) in an aqueous medium using the Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions was investigated. The aim of this research was...     

Importance of legislation for maintaining forests on private properties in the Brazilian Cerrado

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper evaluates compliance with environmental laws in the municipality of Sorriso and the impact of changing legislation on vegetation. To verify...     

Resistant weeds were controlled by the combined use of herbicides and bioherbicides

The intensive and abundant use of synthetic herbicides has been questioned in recent decades due to the strong dependence and also the resistance effects that are identified in weeds. Several grain crops suffer from the weed control system because many of the weeds are already resistant to the main herbicides that are used. In recent years, there has been a large gap in the market without the addition of new synthetic herbicides with mechanisms of action that differ from those already existing. The objective of this short piece is to address and overcome this challenge and bring an innovative and alternative solution that proposes a synergistic action system between bioherbicides produced by the fungus Trichoderma koningiopsis and synthetic herbicides (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, glyphosate, and ammonium glufosinate). The plants included in this study were Bidens pilosa (amor seco, or in the United States, beggar ticks or Spanish needle), Euphorbia heterophylla (adeus‐brasil), and Conyza bonariensis (margaridinha‐do‐campo, or, in the United States, hairy fleabane or asthmaweed). It was verified that, in the application of the biocomposites in the presence of chemical herbicides, potentiation of the phytotoxic action (100%) occurred under the target plants, emphasizing phytotoxicity to the weed, C. bonariensis, which is currently resistant to available herbicides. The bioherbicides studied have promising characteristics to be explored in the biocontrol of weeds.     

Effect of lanthanum loading on nanosized CeO2-ZnO solid catalysts supported on cordierite for diesel soot oxidation

We report the application of a solid lanthanum–ceria–zinc catalyst in the catalytic regeneration of diesel particulate filters(DPF) in diesel engines.We synthesized a CeO_2–ZnO–La_2O_3(Ce–Zn–La) mixed oxide by a lactic acid-mediated sol–gel method,which efficiently coated cordierite substrates for soot capture and combustion.We studied the effects of La loading on the physicochemical and catalytic properties of Ce–Zn mixed oxide during lowtemperature soot combustion processes.We characterized the synthesized catalysts by X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),N2 adsorption,Raman spectroscopy,oxygen storage capacity(OSC),and scanning and transmission electron microscopy(SEM and TEM).Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis(TGA/DTA)confirmed that the catalysts effectively reduced the soot oxidation temperature.The ternary Ce–Zn–La mixed oxide catalyst with Ce/Zn/La atomic ratio of 2:1:0.5 had the highest catalytic activity and promoted soot oxidation at temperatures below 390°C.This indicated that the large number of oxygen vacancies in the catalyst structure generated oxygen species at low temperatures.Raman spectroscopy measurements revealed the presence of oxygen vacancies and lattice defects in Ce–Zn–La samples,which were key parameters concerning the stability and redox properties of the prepared catalysts.     

Growth and development of nauplii and copepodites of the estuarine copepod Acartia tonsa from southern Europe (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal) under saturating food conditions

A temperature-dependent growth model is presented for nauplii and copepodites of the estuarine calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa from southern Europe (Portugal). Development was followed from egg to adult in the laboratory at four temperatures (10, 15, 18 and 22°C) and under saturating food conditions (>1,000 μg C l⁻¹). Development times versus incubation temperature were fitted to a Belehradek’s function, showing that development times decreased with increasing incubation temperature: at 10°C, A. tonsa need 40.3 days to reach adult stage, decreasing to 8.9 days when reared at 22°C. ANCOVA (homogeneity of slopes) showed that temperature (P<0.001) and growth phase (P<0.01) had a significant effect on the growth rate. Over the range of temperatures tested in this study, highest weight-specific growth rates were found during naupliar development (NI–NVI) and varied from 0.185 day⁻¹ (10°C) to 0.880 day⁻¹ (22°C) with a Q ₁₀ equal to 3.66. During copepodite growth (CI–CV), the weight-specific growth rates ranged from 0.125 day⁻¹ (10°C) to 0.488 day⁻¹ (22°C) with a Q ₁₀ equal to 3.12. The weight-specific growth rates (g) followed temperature (T) by a linear relationship and described as ln g=−2.962+0.130 T (r ²=0.99, P<0.001) for naupliar stages and ln g=−3.134+0.114T (r ²=0.97, P<0.001) for copepodite stages. By comparing in situ growth rates (juvenile growth and fecundity) for A. tonsa taken from the literature with the temperature-dependent growth model defined here we suggest that the adult females of A. tonsa are more frequently food limited than juveniles.