Spatial distribution of heavy metals content in soils of Amik Plain (Hatay, Turkey)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the total and bio-available contents of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Ni, and Pb) and to determine their spatial variability in the Amik Plain, Turkey. Samples of surface and subsurface soil were collected at 132 sites in the research area. All of the total metal concentrations except Ni were considerably lower than their maximum allowable concentrations. Mean available Pb concentrations at both depths were above the permissible limits, while the other metal concentrations were within the proposed limits. Semivariograms of all the total metal contents, pH, and available Ni and Pb content were best fitted to spherical models, while available Cd and Co contents were best fitted to exponential models. Block kriging was used to interpolate values at unmeasured locations, generating maps of spatial variation for each heavy metal and pH.     

Dynamics of medicinal plants knowledge and commerce in an urban ecosystem (Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil)

Given the importance of markets and fairs for the commerce of medicinal plants, an ethnobotanical study was undertaken at the Caruaru Fair (Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil) to compare the richness of species sold and their values of relative importance (RI) using two datasets collected with a 4-year interval. The seasonality of these plants?? supplies was also analyzed. The Caruaru Fair is located in the 18 de Maio Park. It covers an area 40,000?m² and is used by merchants who sell several types of products, such as supplies, handicrafts, clay and aluminum utensils, shoes, clothes and medicinal plants. Semistructured interviews were carried out with the vendors who agreed to take part in the study in order to record which plants were sold and their respective indications. The plants were collected, and the species were determined. The information was analyzed with quantitative tools. A total of 169 plants were identified from both surveys, which were significantly different with regard to species richness (p?<?0.05) but did not vary in relation to species?? Relative Importance (p?>?0.05). In relation to the seasonality of the plant supply, habit may explain the lack of some species during certain periods of the year, as most of the absent plants are herbaceous. In terms of the species most sold locally, it was found that spontaneous tree species are well known and extensively commercialized.     

不同气团对嘉兴市大气污染物变化特征的影响

利用嘉兴2012年10月—2013年9月污染气体和PM2.5的连续观测资料,结合HYSPLIT_4轨迹模式计算得到的观测期间嘉兴不同季节的主导气团,分析了嘉兴市大气污染物的变化特征及不同季节下不同气团类型对该地污染物的影响.结果表明,嘉兴市CO、SO2、NO2和PM2.5日变化为双峰型分布,峰值位于07∶00—09∶00和16∶00—18∶00;O3呈单峰分布,峰值位于14∶00,这与人为活动和大气边界层变化密切相关.大气污染物具有显著的季节变化特征,SO2、CO和PM2.5冬季高(43.5,950.3,79.8μg·m-3),夏季低(21.5、522.4、38.0μg·m-3);NO2在春季最高(49.9μg·m-3),夏季最低(30.4μg·m-3);O3夏季最高(88.9μg·m-3),冬季最低(17.2μg·m-3).影响嘉兴的主导气团的来源和路径存在显著季节变化,不同气团对大气污染物的分布影响较大,局地气团下SO2的浓度显著降低;大陆气团下污染物浓度普遍偏高,SO2、CO、NO2和PM2.5分别是海洋性气团的1.6—3.0、1.5—1.6、1.6—2.0和1.5—2.3倍;海洋性气团下污染物浓度普遍较低;混合性气团对应的污染物水平介于海洋性气团和大陆气团之间.     

二氧化钛/石墨烯复合光催化剂的制备及其对水中双酚A的降解

双酚A污染问题日益严峻,已经威胁到人类的健康.半导体光催化技术可以有效去除水体中双酚A污染.近年来,二氧化钛/石墨烯复合材料,因其优越的光催化性能受到广泛关注.尤其石墨烯等新型纳米碳基材料,有较大的比表面积和丰富的官能团,为二氧化钛的负载创造了良好的条件,其表面可以形成化学键,为双酚A的吸附降解提供了更多的活性位点.本文重点介绍了国内外二氧化钛/石墨烯复合材料的制备方法及各种制备方法的优缺点;讨论了二氧化钛/石墨烯复合材料对双酚A的降解效果及其降解机理;分析了二氧化钛/石墨烯复合材料的再生性能.最后总结这种材料在实际应用中存在的问题及其前景展望.     

电除尘器及其电离荷电机制的研究新进展

详细介绍了电除尘技术研究现状、现存问题及其研究趋势.目前电除尘技术的理论尚不完备,属于经验工程的学科,电除尘器的技术性能优劣取决于设计命中率.为此,论述烟尘荷电凝聚机制并研究电离放电通道中的带电粒子复合问题及其输运特性等,以便解决除尘电场中的电离占空比、输运项甚低等问题;研究了烟尘荷电、凝聚的物理过程,以便进一步提高电除尘器的性能.     

Off-Target Herbicide Deposition Associated with Treating Individual Trees

There are a wide variety of different herbicide treatment methods used to remove single trees. Each method (cut-stump, basal, foliar) has a unique amount of off-target disturbance that should be considered in selecting a treatment for use in management. We quantified the amount of off-target deposition that resulted from four conventional herbicide application methods: 1) basal, 2) cut-stump, 3) high-volume, hydraulic foliar, and 4) low-volume, backpack foliar. Basal and cut-stump herbicide treatments deposited up to 200 and 4000 times more herbicide (a.i. per unit area) at groundline than the low-volume and high-volume foliar treatments, respectively. On a per tree basis, basal and cut-stump treatments deposited nearly six times more total herbicide than high-volume foliar, and 68 times more than low-volume foliar. All of the herbicide deposited off-target landed within 0.6 m of the basal and cut-stump treatments, 3.7 m with the low-volume foliar, and 7.3 m with high-volume foliar methods. Off-target herbicide deposition resulted in affected areas with killed or damaged vegetation ranging in size from 0.36 m² (cut stump) to 7.08 m² (high-volume foliar). Deposition amounts and affected areas were greater with larger trees, compared to smaller ones. We observed that 48% of the total amount of herbicide applied per plot was deposited off-target with cut-stump treatment, compared to only 4% to 11% for the other treatments. We suspect this difference is due to applicator error with the cut-stump treatment, likely related to the type of spray device used to apply the treatment.     

The artistic three-spined stickleback (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gasterosteous aculeatus</Emphasis>)

We investigated whether female three-spined sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus) are more attracted to a male whose nest contains colourful artificial material than to a nest that only contains algae. The purpose was to examine whether nest characters are of importance for female choice in the three-spined stickleback. Most studies on female preference in this species have focused on male morphological traits. In our study, on a marine population of three-spined stickleback on the West coast of Sweden, we found that males marked their nests' entrance with a deviant colour of algae — an apparent decoration. Moreover, males also decorated their nests with shiny and colourful foil sticks and spangles when provided with such, thereby apparently reducing the nest camouflage. In a mate choice experiment, females were more attracted to males with nests containing sticks and spangles than to males with undecorated nests. Nest decoration may be important for the evolution of paternal care in this species: if males advertise their paternal skills by ornamenting their nest they will receive more matings than males with dull nests.