Intergenerational aspects of ecotax reforms – An application to Germany

In a model of overlapping generations and majority voting, we analyze an ecotax reform consisting of the tax rate and the budgetary rule. Revenue can be recycled through a lump-sum transfer or a reduction in pension contributions. Our theoretical results as well as the calibration of our model to the German economy show that the median voter's preferred tax rate may exceed the efficient rate. This holds whenever income of the decisive voter is sufficiently high compared to the average income, as rich individuals benefit more from a reduction in pension contributions than they are harmed by an increase in ecotaxes. The calibration confirms that the median voter prefers the earmarking of tax revenue for reductions in pension contributions to the alternative lump-sum transfer. This is quite an accurate prediction of the situation in Germany. Aging of society as expected for Germany lowers the ecotax in the political equilibrium below its optimal level.     

OECD 236的鱼类胚胎实验(Fish Embryo Test, FET)是否足够敏感，能有效进行排水风险评价吗？

近年来,由于“动物友好”协议的广泛应用,鱼类胚胎实验(Fish Embryo Test, FET)成为了生态毒理学研究的主要方法。OECD 236 FET方法在REACH法规所辖范围内广泛应用,主要针对简单混合物暴露情况(simple mixture exposures),但其还在世界范围内被盲目地用于排放废水综合测试(Whole Effluent Test, WET),这是一种复杂混合物暴露情况。然而,评价FET方法用于WET的有效性的可靠数据几乎没有。本文将OECD 236 FET方法与其他国际通用的标准的和略作改进的生态毒理学研究方案进行了比较,得出了可用于WET的测试方法的总体评价结果。我们使用了未经处理的医院排水,通常认为该排水具有高毒性,且会进入市政污水处理系统。我们选择的毒性测试方法包括OECD 203 (juvenile), USEPA 2000.0 (larva) and OECD 236 (embryo)。值得一提的是,我们还额外测试了3个亚致死指标(不移动性、不孵化率、心包囊肿),这些指标可以提高OECD 236方法的敏感性。我们在所选的8种方法中考察了急性毒性数据,方法的敏感性均有提高且胚胎实验≤仔鱼实验<幼鱼实验(Embryo≤Juvenile 详情请见 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4215
     

Heavy metal recovery from the fine fraction of solid waste incineration bottom ash by wet density separation

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This work is aimed at exploring the recovery of heavy metals from the fine fraction of solid waste incineration bottom ash. For this study,...     

Relationship Between Crown Condition and Tree Diameter Growth in Southern Swedish Oaks

We studied correlation between crown conditions and tree-ring widths in 260 trees of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) growing on 33 sites in southern Sweden. The tree-ring increment over 1998-2002 was highest in trees with healthy crowns, intermediate in trees with moderately declined crowns, and lowest in trees with heavily declining crowns. The time period with significant correlation between crown status and tree-ring increment varied between 10 years (given autocorrelation in tree-ring chronologies preserved) and 4 years (autocorrelation removed). In pairwise comparisons of three crown classes, differences in tree-ring increment between trees with healthy crowns and trees with heavily declining crowns were the most pronounced, Fisher LSD P value staying below 0.05 over 13 years (autocorrelation preserved ) or 4 years (autocorrelation removed). Over two 5-year periods (1993-1997 vs. 1998-2002) the cumulative increment increased significantly for trees with healthy crowns, did not change in trees with moderately declining crowns, and significantly decreased in trees with heavily declining crowns. For trees with healthy crowns, this dynamics may represent growth recovery after 1992 drought. Instead, oaks with defoliation above 60% appear to reach a threshold in their ability to recover growth. At sites on nutrient-poor soils cumulative increments over 1998-2002 differed significantly among trees with different crown condition and no differences were observed at sites on nutrient-rich soils. Analyses and interpretation of the oak growth trends as recovered from tree-ring chronologies may be improved by controlling for the crown status of the trees sampled, e.g., by using sampling strategy that would represent the average crown and growth conditions of the sites.     

A protein signal triggers sexual reproduction in Brachionus plicatilis (Rotifera)

The defining feature of the life cycle in monogonont rotifers such as Brachionus plicatilis (Muller) is alternation of asexual and sexual reproduction (mixis). Why sex is maintained in such life cycles is an important unsolved evolutionary question and one especially amenable to experimental analysis. Mixis is induced by a chemical signal produced by the rotifers which accumulates to threshold levels at high population densities. The chemical features of this signal were characterized using size exclusion, enzymatic degradation, protease protection assays, selective binding to anion ion exchange and C3 reversed phase HPLC columns, and the sequence of 17 N-terminal amino acids. These studies were carried out over two years beginning in 2003 using B. plicatilis Russian strain. When rotifer-conditioned medium was treated with proteinase K, its mixis-inducing ability was reduced by 70%. Proteinase K was added to medium auto-conditioned by 1 female ml⁻¹ where typically 17% of daughters became mictic and mixis was reduced to 1%. A cocktail of protease inhibitors added to conditioned medium significantly reduced degradation of the mixis signal by natural proteases. Conditioned medium subjected to ultrafiltration retained mixis-inducing activity in the >10 kDa fraction, but the <10 kDa fraction had no significant activity. The putative mixis signal bound to an anion exchange column, eluting off at 0.72 M NaCl. These fractions were further separated on a C3 reversed phase HPLC column and mixis-inducing activity was associated with a 39 kDa protein. Seventeen amino acids from the N-terminus have strong similarity to a steroidogenesis-inducing protein isolated from human ovarian follicular fluid. The 39 kDa protein is an excellent candidate for the rotifer mixis induction signal.     

Evaluation of sequentially-coupled POP fluxes estimated from simultaneous measurements in multiple compartments of an air-water-sediment system

Bulk atmospheric deposition fluxes, air-water exchange fluxes, particle settling fluxes out of the upper water column, sediment trap fluxes in deep waters, and sediment burial fluxes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were simultaneously measured in the Koster Fjord, eastern Skagerak, on the Swedish west coast. The aim of the study was to compare the magnitude and direction of the compound fluxes in the system in order to diagnose key fate processes. The PCB and PAH fluxes via net atmospheric deposition, settling particles out of the surface and through deep waters, as well as into the accreting underlying sediments were shown to be remarkably similar, agreeing within a factor of a few for any given target compound. Fluxes of all PCB and PAH target compounds remained fairly constant with water column depth. Thus there was no evidence for net desorption from sinking particles. The net unidirectional and near balancing of vertical fluxes suggests a net transport of PCBs and PAHs from the atmosphere to the continental shelf sediments in the Koster Fjord, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the shelf sediments are important sinks for these compounds.     

Whole effluent assessment of industrial wastewater for determination of bat compliance

Background, aim and scope  

The applicability of the Whole Effluent Assessment concept for the proof of compliance with the “best available techniques” has been analysed with paper mill wastewater from Germany by considering its persistency (P), potentially bio-accumulative substances (B) and toxicity (T).     

Effect of Compatibilizing Agent on the Properties of Highly Crystalline Composites Based on Poly(lactic acid) and Wood Flour and/or Mica

This article contains a concept of the mechanical properties improvement of the highly crystalline poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and filled composites. PLA as a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer was plasticized with poly(ethylene glycol) and filled with 30 vol% of organic and/or inorganic filler. The degree of crytallinity was intentionally increased by annealing. The filler/polymer matrix interphase was modified with the addition of 4, 4′-Methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). The effect of compatibilizing as well as plasticizing agent on the thermal and mechanical properties, the water-absorption behaviour and crystallization characteristics were studied. The results indicated that high content of filler and crystallites have a strong influence on the composite′s mechanical properties despite of the plasticizer content, showing a high Young modulus. The MDI seems to react in preference easy with plasticizing agent and then alternatively with filler due to the low functionality of commercial PLA grade.     

Evaluating and expanding the European Union's protected-area network toward potential post-2020 coverage targets

The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) strategic plan will expire in 2020, but biodiversity loss is ongoing. Scientists call for more ambitious targets in the next agreement. The nature-needs-half movement, for example, has advocated conserving half of Earth to solve the biodiversity crisis, which has been translated to protecting 50% of each ecoregion. We evaluated current protection levels of ecoregions in the territory of one of the CBD's signatories, the European Union (EU). We also explored the possible enlargement of the Natura 2000 network to implement 30% or 50% ecoregion coverage in the EU member states’ protected area (PA) network. Based on the most recent land-use data, we examined whether ecoregions have enough natural area left to reach such high coverage targets. We used a spatially explicit mixed integer programing model to estimate the least-cost expansion of the PA network based on 3 scenarios that put different emphasis on total conservation cost, ecological representation of ecosystems, or emphasize an equal share of the burden among member states. To realize 30% and 50% ecoregion coverage, the EU would need to add 6.6% and 24.2%, respectively, of its terrestrial area to its PA network. For all 3 scenarios, the EU would need to designate most recommended new PAs in seminatural forests and other semi- or natural ecosystems. Because 15 ecoregions did not have enough natural area left to implement the ecoregion-coverage targets, some member states would also need to establish new PAs on productive land, allocating the largest share to arable land. Thirty percent ecoregion coverage was met by protecting remaining natural areas in all ecoregions except 3, where productive land would also need to be included. Our results support discussions of higher ecoregions protection targets for post-2020 biodiversity frameworks.