The thermal stability of organic peroxides (cumene hydroperoxide 80 wt% and dicumyl peroxide) was studied by means of calorimetric measurement (DSC, TA Q1000) in an isotherm mode and a dynamic mode. Analysis of power profiles released in the isothermal mode was combined with the analysis of the decomposed compounds by a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) to determine the reaction mechanisms corresponding to each of the two reactions. In this work, a methodology for estimating kinetic parameters was based on the comparison of the power profile (dynamic mode) given by the model to that obtained experimentally by changing the parameters values. Parameter estimation is achieved using the mixed estimation method where a genetic algorithm is combined with a locally convergent method. 相似文献
The environment is profoundly important in shaping many aspects of animal phenotype, including courtship and mating behaviours.
Courtship displays rely upon the transmission of visual information from the signaller to the receiver, which means they are
likely to be less effective in visually poor conditions such as at low light or in turbid ecosystems. One might therefore
predict that in visually poor environments it would be beneficial for individuals to plastically adjust their mating behaviour
to maximise mating success. Here, we investigate the impact of the developmental and current visual environment (light intensity)
upon male mating behaviour in the Trinidadian guppy Poecilia reticulata. Male guppies have two different mating tactics: They can court females with a visual sigmoid display or attempt to circumvent
female choice by attempting a non-consensual copulation (gonapodium thrust). We reared juvenile guppies in low light and relatively
high light intensities for 5 months before observing individual males for mating behaviour in both light conditions. We found
that the current light environment is important in determining the frequency of both sigmoidal courtship displays and non-consensual
copulation attempts. Males increase the frequency of sigmoidal displays at relatively high light and increase non-consensual
mating attempts at low light, suggesting that males compensate for poor visual conditions via an adjustment in tactics. We
also find a significant correlation in courtship effort between the different light environments, suggesting that there is
individual consistency across time and context for this trait. Developmental environment was less important. However, we found
that fish reared at lower light intensities continued to employ sigmoidal displays despite the poor current visual environment.
Our data show that male mating behaviour is phenotypically plastic in response to recent light environment. This may have
implications for understanding how animals cope with anthropogenic environmental change. 相似文献
Bats alter their echolocation in response to changes in ecological and behavioral conditions, but little is known about how
they adjust call structure in response to changes in altitude. We examined altitudinal variation in the echolocation of Brazilian
free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis, a species known to fly to altitudes of 3,000 m above the ground. From 50.2 h of recordings, we analyzed 113 high-quality
echolocation call sequences recorded from 0 to 862 m above ground level. Bats flying near the ground used shorter, higher-frequency,
broader-bandwidth calls compared to bats at higher altitudes, an effect likely due to the greater levels of echo-producing
clutter (i.e., vegetation, buildings) found near the ground. When ground-level recordings are excluded, bats continue to shift
towards the use of longer-duration, lower-frequency, narrower-bandwidth calls with increasing altitude. We propose that the
observed high-altitude changes in call structure are a response to changing acoustic attenuation rates and/or decreasing insect
densities at higher altitudes. 相似文献
Due to the lack of data on hydraulic-jump dynamics in very large channels, the present paper describes the main characteristics
of the velocity field and turbulence in a large rectangular channel with a width of 4 m. Although a hydraulic jump is always
treated as a wave that is transversal to the channel wall, in the case of this study it has a trapezoidal front shape, first
starting from a point at the sidewalls and then developing downstream in an oblique manner, finally giving rise to a trapezoidal
shape. The oblique wave front may be regarded as a lateral shockwave that arises from a perturbation at a certain point of
the lateral wall and travels obliquely toward the centreline of the channel. The experimental work was carried out at the
Coastal Engineering Laboratory of the Water Engineering and Chemistry Department of the Technical University of Bari (Italy).
In addition to the hydraulic jump formation, a large recirculating flow zone starts to develop from the separating point of
the lateral shock wave and a separate boundary layer occurs. Intensive measurements of the streamwise and spanwise flow velocity
components along one-half width of the channel were taken using a bidimensional Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV). The water
surface elevation was obtained by means of an ultrasonic profiler. Velocity vectors, transversal velocity profiles, turbulence
intensities and Reynolds shear stresses were all investigated. The experimental results of the separated boundary layer were
compared with numerical predictions and related work presented in literature and showed good agreement. The transversal velocity
profiles indicated the presence of adverse pressure gradient zones and the law of the wall appears to govern the region around
the separated boundary layer. 相似文献
Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - The report by the IPPC (2007) estimated that 20% of all climate change effects will have an impact on the agricultural sector. While climate change has... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - α-Cypermethrin (CYP) is a pyrethroid insecticide-like environmental pollutant, widely found in the environment. New research links exposure to... 相似文献
Knowledge of pesticide distribution and persistence in nursery recycling pond water and sediment is critical for preventing phytotoxicity of pesticides during water reuse and to assess their impacts to the environment. In this study, sorption and degradation of four commonly used pesticides (diazinon, chlorpyrifos, chlorothalonil, and pendimethalin) in sediments from two nursery recycling ponds was investigated. Results showed that diazinon and chlorothalonil were moderately sorbed [K(OC) (soil organic carbon distribution coefficient) from 732 to 2.45 x 10(3) mL g(-1)] to the sediments, and their sorption was mainly attributable to organic matter content, whereas chlorpyrifos and pendimethalin were strongly sorbed (K(OC) > or = 7.43 x 10(3) mL g(-1)) to the sediments, and their sorption was related to both organic matter content and sediment texture. The persistence of diazinon and chlorpyrifos was moderate under aerobic conditions (half-lives = 8 to 32 d), and increased under anaerobic conditions (half-lives = 12 to 53 d). In contrast, chlorothalonil and pendimethalin were quickly degraded under aerobic conditions with half-lives < 2.8 d, and their degradation was further enhanced under anaerobic conditions (half-lives < 1.9 d). The strong sorption of chlorpyrifos and pendimethalin by the sediments suggests that the practice of recycling nursery runoff would effectively retain these compounds in the recycling pond, minimizing their offsite movement. The prolonged persistence of diazinon and chlorpyrifos, however, implies that incidental spills, such as overflows caused by storm events, may contribute significant loads of such pesticides into downstream surface water bodies. 相似文献
This paper aims to empirically examine the presence of nonlinear behavior in residential water demand for the case of Tunisia. We specifically explore the existence of nonlinearity with respect to the magnitude of water price changes through a logistic smooth transition regression (LSTR) framework and an increasing multi-step water pricing scheme. Using quarterly time series for the period 1980–2007 which describes residential water consumption and its main determinants, our results provide strong evidence that water consumption responds nonlinearly to the extent of price changes for the two consumption blocks considered. Water price elasticities are found to be higher when variation in tariffs surpasses a given threshold. More precisely, we find a unit elastic water demand for lower block consumers (low-income households) when price changes exceed a threshold of roughly 5%. For the upper block consumers (high-income households), water consumption is less elastic in comparison to low-income households, but still significant when the price variation exceeds a threshold of 2.6%. Our findings imply that increasing the length of the lower block of consumption may help achieve goals of social equity, while increasing tariff progressivity, at least for upper block consumers, helps promote water saving.