Fe-pillared clay as a Fenton-type heterogeneous catalyst for cinnamic acid degradation

Fe-pillared montmorillonite has been used as a Fenton-type heterogeneous catalyst for the removal of cinnamic acid in water. The influences of the cinnamic acid, catalyst and H2O2 concentrations and pH on the removal rate of cinnamic acid have been studied. The results show that the efficiency of Fe-pillared montmorillonite is higher than that of the Fe ions in the homogeneous phase, and less sensitive to pH.     

Potential of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ranunculus acris</Emphasis> L. for biomonitoring trace element contamination of riverbank soils: photosystem II activity and phenotypic responses for two soil series

Foliar ionome, photosystem II activity, and leaf growth parameters of Ranunculus acris L., a potential biomonitor of trace element (TE) contamination and phytoavailability, were assessed using two riverbank soil series. R. acris was cultivated on two potted soil series obtained by mixing a TE (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn)-contaminated technosol with either an uncontaminated sandy riverbank soil (A) or a silty clay one slightly contaminated by TE (B). Trace elements concentrations in the soil-pore water and the leaves, leaf dry weight (DW) yield, total leaf area (TLA), specific leaf area (SLA), and photosystem II activity were measured for both soil series after a 50-day growth period. As soil contamination increased, changes in soluble TE concentrations depended on soil texture. Increase in total soil TE did not affect the leaf DW yield, the TLA, the SLA, and the photosystem II activity of R. acris over the 50-day exposure. The foliar ionome did not reflect the total and soluble TE concentrations in both soil series. Foliar ionome of R. acris was only effective to biomonitor total and soluble soil Na concentrations in both soil series and total and soluble soil Mo concentrations in the soil series B.     

Integrated spatial health assessment of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from the St. Lawrence River (QC,Canada), part B: cellular and transcriptomic effects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Multi-biological level assessments have become great tools to evaluate the health of aquatic ecosystems. Using this approach, a complementary study...     

The influence of the level of definition of functional specifications on the environmental performances of a complex system. EcoCSP approach

The tendency towards a homogenous mode of development modelled on that of Western countries means that sustainable development has become increasingly urgent. It is necessary to thoroughly redefine products and their expected performances in such a way that the consequences are compatible with sustainable development. In the domain of product design, this means that it is no longer sufficient to use assessment tools “after the fact” to check the impact of products whose functional unit (FU) was defined prior to production; it is now necessary to rethink the definition of the FU itself. This article aims to present an approach based on a combination of life cycle analysis methods and problem-solving by constraint satisfaction. This original approach makes it possible to vary the design of the different dimensions of the FUs of a complex system and thus to make it easier to identify the best architecture along with the best functional definition of the system. In this study, the EcoCSP approach is applied to define the functional performances of an ecological passenger ferry. The complexity of couplings between subsystems and the sheer number of those subsystems mean that the designer has to use “intelligent” tools. These simulate a great number of scenarios and help him/her to fine-tune the system and make the right technological choices with regard to the right functional specifications.     

Teachers' conceptions of nature and environment in 16 countries

By using an original framework involving complementary statistical approaches, we investigated the environmental attitudes of 6379 pre-service and in-service teachers in 16 countries of Europe and its neighbourhood. To test hypotheses about the nature of environmental attitudes, we examined the variation across groups of individuals (between-class analysis), investigated the independent effects of several candidate explanatory factors (orthogonal analysis), and finally inspected potential relationships between conceptions on a variety of topics (co-inertia analysis).     

Linking stress with macroscopic and microscopic leaf response in trees: new diagnostic perspectives

Visible symptoms in tree foliage can be used for stress diagnosis once validated with microscopical analyses. This paper reviews and illustrates macroscopical and microscopical markers of stress with a biotic (bacteria, fungi, insects) or abiotic (frost, drought, mineral deficiency, heavy metal pollution in the soil, acidic deposition and ozone) origin helpful for the validation of symptoms in broadleaved and conifer trees. Differentiation of changes in the leaf or needle physiology, through ageing, senescence, accelerated cell senescence, programmed cell death and oxidative stress, provides additional clues raising diagnosis efficiency, especially in combination with information about the target of the stress agent at the tree, leaf/needle, tissue, cell and ultrastructural level. Given the increasing stress in a changing environment, this review discusses how integrated diagnostic approaches lead to better causal analysis to be applied for specific monitoring of stress factors affecting forest ecosystems.     

Challenges in quantifying biosphere-atmosphere exchange of nitrogen species

Recent research in nitrogen exchange with the atmosphere has separated research communities according to N form. The integrated perspective needed to quantify the net effect of N on greenhouse-gas balance is being addressed by the NitroEurope Integrated Project (NEU). Recent advances have depended on improved methodologies, while ongoing challenges include gas-aerosol interactions, organic nitrogen and N(2) fluxes. The NEU strategy applies a 3-tier Flux Network together with a Manipulation Network of global-change experiments, linked by common protocols to facilitate model application. Substantial progress has been made in modelling N fluxes, especially for N(2)O, NO and bi-directional NH(3) exchange. Landscape analysis represents an emerging challenge to address the spatial interactions between farms, fields, ecosystems, catchments and air dispersion/deposition. European up-scaling of N fluxes is highly uncertain and a key priority is for better data on agricultural practices. Finally, attention is needed to develop N flux verification procedures to assess compliance with international protocols.     

Exposure assessment and associated lung deposition calculations for vehicular exhaust in four metropolitan cities of Pakistan

Ambient aerosol concentrations along the roadside of metropolitan cities of Pakistan were measured using a Grimm 1.109 dust monitor. Considering the high ambient aerosol concentrations, regional lung deposition of aerosol particles in the human respiratory tract was calculated to assess extent of exposure. Lung deposition was computed in terms of mass concentration and the associated surface area for 12 male traffic wardens using the latest version of the stochastic lung deposition code Inhalation, Deposition, and Exhalation of Aerosols in the Lung. The results have revealed 4 to 10 times higher concentrations than recommended by WHO guidelines. The deposition results derived from the model disclose that extrathoracic deposition is in the range of 22 to 28 % with total lung deposition ranging from 40 to 44 % for the scanned particle window of 0.25–10 μm. Considering an average 8-h shift per day and an average breathing rate of 1.3 m³?h^?1, it is approximated that in a worker, up to 1.6 mg of inhalable particle mass can deposit per day.