Risk of Hunger Under Climate Change, Social Disparity, and Agroproductivity Scenarios

Considering the projected population growth in the twenty-first century, some studies have indicated that global warming may have negative impacts on the risk of hunger. These conclusions were derived based on assumptions related to social and technological scenarios that involve substantial and influential uncertainties. In this paper, focusing on agrotechnology and food access disparity, we analyzed food availability and risk of hunger under the combined scenarios of food demands and agroproductivity with and without climate change by 2100 for the B2 scenario in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. The results of this study suggest that (1) future food demand can be satisfied globally under all assumed combined scenarios, and (2) a reduction of food access disparity and increased progress in productivity are just as important as climate change mitigation for reducing the risk of hunger.     

Removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated soil by electrokinetic remediation

A new process for the removal of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] contaminated soil is described. The process provides for an efficient removal of anionic chemicals from contaminated soils. Chromate anions were removed from the soil to the anodic reservoir by the moving force of electromigration. In this process, the chromate anions that accumulate in the anodic reservoir are simultaneously eliminated by using a column packed adsorbent. The adsorbent (immobilized tannin) used was chemically incorporated into cellulose. Cr(VI) was found to be adsorbed to this adsorbent efficiently. In the electrokinetic process, the pH of the aqueous solution in the anodic reservoir was decreased by the electrolysis of water. In the present study, the pH of the solution in the anodic reservoir is maintained at pH 6 by the addition of an aqueous alkaline solution during the electrokinetic process. The advantage of pH control is that it promotes the release of Cr(VI) from the soil by electromigration, thus permitting the maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) on the immobilized tannin. Simultaneous collection of Cr(VI) from the anodic reservoir leads to the protection from secondary contamination with Cr(VI).     

Finite element analysis of knee injury risks in car-to-pedestrian impacts

In vehicle-pedestrian collisions, lower extremities of pedestrians are frequently injured by vehicle front structures. In this study, a finite element (FE) model of THUMS (total human model for safety) was modified in order to assess injuries to a pedestrian lower extremity. Dynamic impact responses of the knee joint of the FE model were validated on the basis of data from the literature. Since in real-world accidents, the vehicle bumper can impact the lower extremities in various situations, the relations between lower extremity injury risk and impact conditions, such as between impact location, angle, and impactor stiffness, were analyzed. The FE simulation demonstrated that the motion of the lower extremity may be classified into a contact effect of the impactor and an inertia effect from a thigh or leg. In the contact phase, the stress of the bone is high in the area contacted by the impactor, which can cause fracture. Thus, in this phase the impactor stiffness affects the fracture risk of bone. In the inertia phase, the behavior of the lower extremity depends on the impact locations and angles, and the knee ligament forces become high according to the lower extremity behavior. The force of the collateral ligament is high compared with other knee ligaments, due to knee valgus motions in vehicle-pedestrian collisions.     

Mitigation of peroxidative stress for barley exposed to cadmium in the presence of water-extractable organic matter from compost-like materials

The effects of water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) from compost-like materials on peroxidative stress were investigated for hydroponic culture of barley exposed to Cd. In the presence of WEOM, lipoxygenase activity and malondialdehyde, indices of peroxidative stress in barley, were significantly reduced, compared to those with Cd alone (5 μM) for a 30-d culture (p < 0.05). In addition, Cd uptake in the presence of WEOM samples was significantly lower than that in their absence (p < 0.05). These results indicate that the addition of WEOM can be effective in mitigating the peroxidative stress in barley exposed to Cd. Of the total Cd in the solution, 7–8% was complexed with WEOM, indicating that the complexation of Cd with WEOM is a minor factor in reducing Cd-induced stress in barley. The WEOM sample was purified by cation-exchange column and ultrafiltration to remove the nutrient minerals, such as Ca, Mg and Fe. When the purified WEOM was employed for hydroponic culture in the presence of Cd, significant decreases in peroxidative stress and Cd uptake were observed (p < 0.05). These results show that the organic components in WEOM contribute to the mitigation of peroxidative stress in barley exposed to Cd.     

Consistent assessments of pathways toward sustainable development and climate stabilization

Many of the numerous difficult issues facing the world today involve relationships entailing trade‐offs and synergies. This study quantitatively assesses some alternative scenarios using integrated assessment models, and provides several indicators relating to sustainable development and climate change, such as indicators of income (per capita GDP), poverty, water stress, food access, sustainable energy use, energy security, and ocean acidification, with high consistencies among the indicators within a scenario. According to the analyses, economic growth helps improve many of the indicators for sustainable development. On the other hand, climate change will induce some severe impacts such as ocean acidification under a non‐climate intervention scenario (baseline scenario). Deep emission reductions, such as to 2°C above the pre‐industrial level, could cause some sustainable development indicators to worsen. There are complex trade‐offs between climate change mitigation levels and several sustainable development indicators. A delicately balanced approach to economic growth will be necessary for sustainable development and responses to climate change.     

Formation of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in foods treated with sodium hypochlorite

The formation of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride during the treatment of fresh vegetable homogenate with sodium hypochlorite was studied.When a n-hexane extract of the reaction mixture of fresh vegetables and sodium hypochlorite was analysed by gas chromatography, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride were detected, and many unidentified peaks were also observed. The formation conditions of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride were studied. The mechanism of chloroform formation may be different from that of carbon tetrachloride according to the study of pH on the formation of both compounds. The formation of chloroform is much greater than that of carbon tetrachoride.     

Influence of chemical characteristics of humic substances on the partition coefficient of a chlorinated dioxin

The partition coefficients (Koc) of 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (HpCDD) with respect to a variety of humic substances (HSs) were evaluated by a method involving solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-electron capture detection. The log Koc values for each of the HS samples were in the range of 6.4-7.7. The log Koc values for HAs from tropical peat, brown forest and ando soils were in the range of 7.3-7.6, similar to the calculated value for the octanol-water partition coefficient (log Koc=7.56). In contrast, the log Koc values for FAs and peat HAs were 0.5-1 unit lower than the calculated value. The parameters for the polarity of HSs, as calculated from (N+O)/C, O/C atomic ratios and the carboxyl group content, were numerically similar related to the log Koc for HpCDD. These results show that the Koc values for HpCDD are significantly influenced by the polarity of HSs.     

A laboratory study on migration of K+ in a two-layer landfill liner system.

Contaminant transport through the clay liner and the underIying secondary leachate drain layer (SLDL) in landfills was studied through a laboratory test, and analysis method on the transport of K+ in a two-layer soil system. The soils used for this study were Ariake clay and the underlying layer, Shirasu soil from the Kyushu region of Japan, representing the clay liner material and SLDL material, respectively. The effective diffusion coefficients (De) of the selected target chemical species, potassium (K+) for the Ariake clay and Shirasu soil were back-calculated using a computer program, and it was found that values of De derived from this study were consistent with those previously published. The hypothesis that the mechanical dispersion process can be negligible has been proved to be reasonable based on both the observation that the predicted values fit the experimental data and the analyses of two dimensionless parameters. Parametric analysis showed the transport of K+ through the soils is controlled by advection-diffusion rather than diffusion only, whereas at low Darcy velocity (i.e. < or = 10(-9) m s(-1)), transport of K+ would be controlled by diffusion. The test results and parametric analysis may be applied in design of landfill liners and SLDLs, particularly in coastal areas.