Trade,equilibrium prices and rents in European auctions for emission allowances

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - This paper analyzes the price behavior of Phase III (2013–2020) EU-ETS emission allowances of CO2 by focusing on the dynamics of daily auction...     

Do wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus L.) use food selection as a means to reduce heavy metal intake?

Food preference of wood mice from two with heavy metals polluted sites and two unpolluted sites was tested under laboratory and field conditions with two-way choice experiments. In the laboratory, wood mice preferred to eat acorns from unpolluted sites over acorns from polluted sites. Previous experience with polluted food had no influence on food choice. Preference was negatively related to acorn metal content. Furthermore, the nutrient content of the acorn endosperm was consistently lower in polluted sites. We therefore conclude that wood mice used absolute metal concentration in the acorn, nutrient content, or both as a food selection cue. The results of the laboratory experiment could not be confirmed under field conditions. We hypothesized that search time constraints due to the presence of predators, competitors and/or other stress factors in the field have prevented the mice to forage selectively.     

Exposure assessment of French women and their newborn to brominated flame retardants: determination of tri- to deca- polybromodiphenylethers (PBDE) in maternal adipose tissue, serum, breast milk and cord serum

In the frame of a French monitoring program, tri- to deca- polybromodiphenylethers (PBDE) have been measured in maternal and cord serum, adipose tissue, and breast milk samples, collected from 93 volunteer women during caesarean deliveries. The seven major tri- to heptaBDE (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183) were detected in adipose tissue and breast milk with cumulated median values of 2.59 and 2.51 ng g⁻¹ l w. Nine highly brominated octa- to decaBDE (BDE-196, 197, 201, 202, 203, 206, 207, 208 and 209) was performed in the same samples, with cumulated median values of 2.73 and 3.39 ng g⁻¹ l w in adipose tissue and breast milk, respectively. At this opposite, median levels of octa- to decaBDE in maternal and cord serum appeared significantly higher than the levels of tri- to heptaBDE in the same matrices, i.e. 8.85 and 12.34 versus 0.98 and 0.69 ng g⁻¹ l w, respectively.     

Fractional calculus applied to the analysis of spectral electrical conductivity of clay-water system

The analysis of the low-frequency conductivity spectra of the clay-water mixtures is presented. The frequency dependence of the conductivity is shown to follow the power-law with the exponent n=0.67 before reaching the frequency-independent part. When scaled with the value of the frequency-independent part of the spectrum the conductivity spectra for samples at different water content values are shown to fit to a single master curve. It is argued that the observed conductivity dispersion is a consequence of the anomalously diffusing ions in the clay-water system. The fractional Langevin equation is then used to describe the stochastic dynamics of the single ion. The results indicate that the experimentally observed dielectric properties originate in anomalous ion transport in clay-water system characterized with time-dependent diffusion coefficient.     

Knowledge-based Journalism in Science and Environmental Reporting: Opportunities and Obstacles

Recent calls for knowledge-based journalism advocate a new level of formal knowledge in news reporting to meet the professional challenges caused by rapid change in the news industry. Scientifically knowledgeable journalism has the potential to redefine the existing science–media relationship. However, the audience for such journalism is unclear, nor is it known how this new journalism would function within rapidly changing newsroom practices. Implementing knowledge-based journalism requires theory-based propositions to show the actual benefits of improved scientific understanding for news consumers and an understanding, from research into professional cultures, of why new practices in journalism are adopted or abandoned. This paper develops that theoretical basis by examining knowledge-based journalism’s potential and some of the intellectual and institutional barriers to it.     

Development of intensified flat-plate packed-bed solar reactors for heterogeneous photocatalysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Solar-driven photocatalysis is a promising water-cleaning and energy-producing technology that addresses some of the most urgent engineering problems...     

Differential global profiling as a new analytical strategy for revealing micropollutant treatment by-products: application to ethinylestradiol and chlorination water treatment

The detection and structural elucidation of micropollutants treatment by-products are major issues to estimate efficiencies of the processes employed for drinking water production versus endocrine disruptive compounds contamination. This issue was mainly investigated at the laboratory scale and in high concentration conditions. However, potential by-products generated after chlorination can be influenced by the dilution factor employed in real conditions. The present study proposes a new methodology borrowed to the metabolomic science, using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry, in order to reveal potential chlorination by-products of ethinylestradiol in spiked real water samples at the part-per-billion level (5 μg L⁻¹). Conventional targeted measurements first demonstrated that chlorination with sodium hypochlorite (0.8 mg L⁻¹) led to removals of ethinylestradiol over 97%. Then, the developed differential global profiling approach permitted to reveal eight chlorination by-products of EE2, six of them being described for the first time. Among these eight halogenated compounds, five have been structurally identified, demonstrating the potential capabilities of this new methodology applied to environmental samples.     

PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in sediment and biota from the Mondego estuary (Portugal)

The concentrations of 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs), and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) were measured in sediment and key species as an initial investigation on PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs contamination in the Mondego estuary (Portugal). The results demonstrated that the values of the total PCDD/Fs (∑PCDD/Fs) concentrations were considerably lower than those of the sum of dl-PCBs (∑dl-PCBs) in all the studied samples. Regarding the contribution of individual congeners, OCDD was the predominant PCDD/F and the mono-ortho PCB 118 and PCB 105 were the dominant PCBs in the majority of the samples. Our results suggest that PCDD/Fs and PCBs behave quite differently along the aquatic food web: ∑PCDD/Fs concentrations were lower in higher trophic-level organisms with fish presenting a distinct PCDD/Fs congeners profile; on the contrary, the higher ∑dl-PCBs values were found in upper-level biota, although not exclusively, and quite similar dl-PCBs congener profiles were observed in nearly all the studied species.     

Development of an analytical strategy based on liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry for measuring perfluorinated compounds in human breast milk: application to the generation of preliminary data regarding perinatal exposure in France

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are man-made chemicals for which endocrine disrupting properties and related possible side effects on human health have been reported, particularly in the case of an exposure during the early stages of development, (notably the perinatal period). Existing analytical methods dedicated to PFCs monitoring in food and/or human fluids are currently based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, and were recently demonstrated to present some limitations in terms of sensitivity and/or specificity. An alternative strategy dedicated to the analysis of fourteen PFCs in human breast milk was proposed, based on an effective sample preparation followed by a liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry measurement (LC-HRMS). This methodology confirmed the high interest for HRMS after negative ionization for such halogenated substances, and finally permitted to reach detection limits around the pg mL(-1) range with an outstanding signal specificity compared to LC-MS/MS. The proposed method was applied to a first set of 30 breast milk samples from French women. The main PFCs detected in all these samples were PFOS and PFOA with respective median values of 74 (range from 24 to 171) and 57 (range from 18 to 102) pg mL(-1), respectively. These exposure data appeared in the same range as other reported values for European countries.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi differentially affect the response to high zinc concentrations of two registered poplar clones

The effects of a high concentration of zinc on two registered clones of poplar (Populus alba Villafranca and Populus nigra Jean Pourtet), inoculated or not with two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae or Glomus intraradices) before transplanting them into polluted soil, were investigated, with special regard to the extent of root colonization by the fungi, plant growth, metal accumulation in the different plant organs, and leaf polyamine concentration. Zinc accumulation was lower in Jean Pourtet than in Villafranca poplars, and it was mainly translocated to the leaves; the metal inhibited mycorrhizal colonization, compromised plant growth, and, in Villafranca, altered the putrescine profile in the leaves. Most of these effects were reversed or reduced in plants pre-inoculated with G. mosseae. Results indicate that poplars are suitable for phytoremediation purposes, confirming that mycorrhizal fungi can be useful for phytoremediation, and underscore the importance of appropriate combinations of plant genotypes and fungal symbionts.