The environmental attitudes inventory: A valid and reliable measure to assess the structure of environmental attitudes

Environmental attitudes (EA), a crucial construct in environmental psychology, are a psychological tendency expressed by evaluating the natural environment with some degree of favour or disfavour. There are hundreds of EA measures available based on different conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and most researchers prefer to generate new measures rather than organize those already available. The present research provides a cumulative and theoretical approach to the measurement of EA, in which the multidimensional and hierarchical nature of EA is considered. Reported are findings from three studies on the development of a psychometrically sound, multidimensional inventory to assess EA cross-culturally, the Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI). The EAI has twelve specific scales that capture the main facets measured by previous research. The twelve factors were established through confirmatory factor analyses, and the EAI scales are shown to be unidimensional scales with high internal consistency, homogeneity and high test-retest reliability, and also to be largely free from social desirability.     

Analysis of arable land loss and its impact on rural sustainability in Southern Jiangsu Province of China

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in southern Jiangsu Province have consumed a huge amount of arable land. Through comparative analysis of land cover maps derived from TM images in 1990, 2000 and 2006, we identified the trend of arable land loss. It is found that most arable land is lost to urbanization and rural settlements development. Urban settlements, rural settlements, and industrial park-mine-transport land increased, respectively, by 87 997 ha (174.65%), 81 041 ha (104.52%), and 12 692 ha (397.99%) from 1990 to 2006. Most of the source (e.g., change from) land covers are rice paddy fields and dryland. These two covers contributed to newly urbanized areas by 37.12% and 73.52% during 1990–2000, and 46.39% and 38.86% during 2000–2006. However, the loss of arable land is weakly correlated with ecological service value, per capita net income of farmers, but positively with grain yield for some counties. Most areas in the study site have a low arable land depletion rate and a high potential for sustainable development. More attention should be directed at those counties that have a high depletion rate but a low potential for sustainable development. Rural settlements should be controlled and rationalized through legislative measures to achieve harmonious development between urban and rural areas, and sustainable development for rural areas with a minimal impact on the ecoenvironment.     

Development of Thixotropic Coatings Using Dimerized Soybean Oil Fatty Acids: The Case of Polyamide of 1,2-Phenylene Diamine

Soybean oil (SBO) was dimerized and the crude dimer acid product reacted with 1,2-phenylene diamine at 210 ± 5 °C under inert atmosphere to obtain fatty polyamide (FPA). The FPA was used to modify a commercial alkyd resin by reacting a mixture of the alkyd resin with 5 wt% of FPA at 120 °C for 80 min under inert atmosphere. The FTIR spectrum of the FPA modified resin showed evidence of higher degree of H-bonding than was found for the unmodified alkyd. White gloss coatings of 15, 20, 25, and 30% solids were formulated from the modified and unmodified resins and examined for performance with respect to: leveling, sag resistance, drying time, pigment settling, skinning tendency and film hardness. Results showed that the unmodified alkyd coatings exhibited good leveling but poor sag resistance at all solid contents. In contrast, FPA modified alkyd coatings combined good leveling with high sag resistance indicating their thixotropic nature. A strong tendency to pigment settling was observed for unmodified alkyd coatings but was not observed in the FPA modified alkyd coatings. The modified alkyd coatings showed skinning while the unmodified alkyd coatings did not skin. A 30% solids coating formulation of the FPA modified resin showed shorter surface dry time but longer hard dry time than the unmodified alkyd resin coating.     

Block Copolymers Containing (R)-3-Hydroxybutyrate and Isosorbide Succinate or (S)-Lactic Acid Mers

A new aliphatic block copolyester was synthesized in bulk from transesterification techniques between poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(isosorbide succinate) (PIS). Additionally, other two block copolyesters were synthesized in bulk either from transesterification reactions involving PHB and poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) or from ring-opening copolymerization of l-lactide and hydroxyl-terminated PHB, as result of a previous transesterification reactions with isosorbide. Two-component blends of PHB and PIS or PLLA were also prepared as comparative systems. SEC, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, WAXD, solubility tests, and TG thermal analysis were used for characterization. The block copolymer structures of the products were evidenced by MALDI-TOFMS, ¹³C NMR, and WAXD data. The block copolymers and the corresponding binary blends presented different solubility properties, as revealed by solubility tests. Although the incorporation of PIS sequences into PHB main backbone did not enhance the thermal stability of the product, it reduced its crystallinity, which could be advantageous for faster biodegradation rate. These products, composed of PHB and PIS or PLLA sequences, are an interesting alternative in biomedical applications.     

Preparation and Characterization of Hydrogel Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Cross-Linked by Different Cross-Linkers Used to Dry Organic Solvents

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were chemically cross-linked with/without different cross-linkers such as glutaraldehyde and epichlorohydrin, in the presence of a catalyst, or activator (potassium hydroxide) to produce three types of hydrogels. The structures of PVA and the prepared gel types were determined by FTIR spectroscopy, the mechanical and thermal properties, of these hydrogels were examined. The effects of different pH values and temperatures on the swelling properties of the prepared gels were examined. From the obtained results, it was found that, the low concentration of the cross-linker produced hydrogel with moderate properties, but in absence of the cross-linker, the obtained hydrogel exhibited good properties and can be used as friendly environmentally moisture absorbents from the organic solvents. The insolubility and swelling properties of gels were tested in these solvents. The results indicated that these hydrogels can be used as moisture absorbents and solvent dryers.     

Purification and Properties of Extracellular Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Depolymerase Produced by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus fumigatus</Emphasis> 202

An extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerase produced by a thermotolerant fungal soil isolate, Aspergillus fumigatus 202, was purified and characterized. Maximum PHB depolymerase production was obtained at the end of 48 h with initial medium pH 7.0 and 45 °C in Bushnell Haas Minerals medium containing PHB as sole source of carbon. The PHB depolymerase was purified using size exclusion chromatography to a fold purification of 20.62 and 61.62% yield. SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing revealed the molecular weight and pI of the purified enzyme as 63,744 Da and 4.2, respectively. N-terminal amino acid sequence of purified enzyme was HAXDAYLVK. This non-glycosylated enzyme was most active at pH 9.0 and 45 °C. Purified enzyme was inactivated by N-bromosuccinimide and dithiothreitol suggesting the involvement of tryptophan residues and disulfide bonds at its active site. Nonionic detergents like Tween 20, Tween 80 and Triton X-100 inhibited the enzyme activity. Ions like Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² (5 mM) increased the enzyme activity 1.5 times. Fe⁺² effectively inhibited the enzyme activity to 88% whereas Hg⁺² completely inhibited the enzyme.     

Electrical resistance heating of volatile organic compounds in Sedimentary rock

Electrical resistance heating (ERH) has become a common method of remediation for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in unconsolidated soils, both above and below the water table. Recently, use of ERH has expanded to include treatment of contaminated sedimentary bedrock. This article describes the implementation issues for rock remediation and provides case studies of three sites remediated by ERH in Maryland, New Jersey, and Indiana. With proper design, remediation of bedrock can be as effectively completed as remediation of overburden materials. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff1

Arora, Kapil, Steven K. Mickelson, Matthew J. Helmers, and James L. Baker, 2010. Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):618-647. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00438.x Abstract: Review of the published results shows that the retention of the two pesticide carrier phases (runoff volume and sediment mass) influences pesticide mass transport through buffer strips. Data averaged across different studies showed that the buffer strips retained 45% of runoff volume (ranging between 0 and 100%) and 76% of sediment mass (ranging between 2 and 100%). Sorption (soil sorption coefficient, K_oc) is one key pesticide property affecting its transport with the two carrier phases through buffer strips. Data from different studies for pesticide mass retention for weakly (K_oc < 100), moderately (100 < K_oc < 1,000), and strongly sorbed pesticides (K_oc > 1,000) averaged (with ranges) 61 (0-100), 63 (0-100), and 76 (53-100) %, respectively. Because there are more data for runoff volume and sediment mass retention, the average retentions of both carrier phases were used to calculate that the buffer strips would retain 45% of weakly to moderately sorbed and 70% of strongly sorbed pesticides on an average basis. As pesticide mass retention presented is only an average across several studies with different experimental setups, the application of these results to actual field conditions should be carefully examined.