Supervised neural computing solutions for fluorescence identification of benzimidazole fungicides. Data and decision fusion strategies

Benzimidazole fungicides (BFs) are a type of pesticide of high environmental interest characterized by a heavy fluorescence spectral overlap which complicates its detection in mixtures. In this paper, we present a computational study based on supervised neural networks for a multi-label classification problem. Specifically, backpropagation networks (BPNs) with data fusion and ensemble schemes are used for the simultaneous resolution of difficult multi-fungicide mixtures. We designed, optimized and compared simple BPNs, BPNs with data fusion and BPNs ensembles. The information environment used is made up of synchronous and conventional BF fluorescence spectra. The mixture spectra are not used in the training nor the validation stage. This study allows us to determine the convenience of fusioning the labels of carbendazim and benomyl for the identification of BFs in complex multi-fungicide mixtures.     

Multiple exposure pathways and health risk assessment of selenium for children in a coal mining area

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Selenium (Se) presents a dual role to human body, harmful or beneficial, depending on its concentration. The exposure to this element has been...     

The potential conflict between traditional perceptions and environmental behavior: compost use by Muslim farmers

Although traditional societies often have a deep understanding of ecological relationships, traditional or religious values might be in conflict with current environmental values. According to Islamic Law, some compost sources used for agricultural purposes are impure, especially human and pig excreta. This study examined how Muslim farmers perceive the issue of impurity of compost sources and the extent to which the conflict between traditional and modern values affects compost use. Questionnaires were distributed to 77 Muslim and 11 Christian farmers in Israel, examining their personal characteristics, attitudes toward compost use, awareness of its sources and advantages, and the influence of traditional perceptions on the tendency to use compost. Interviews were conducted with agricultural consultants and Muslim clergy. Although the use of compost was limited, a higher level of awareness was found among the younger and/or more educated Muslim farmers. Varied attitudes were expressed regarding the degree of purity/impurity; 52 % of the respondents expressed willingness to use compost if derived from pure materials. The agricultural consultants were acquainted with Muslim farmers who recoiled from the use of compost. The Muslim religious leaders stated that impure substances can be purified through biochemical reactions during the composting process and noted that the use of compost is preferable if chemical fertilizers are harmful to the environment. Although Muslim farmers expressed willingness to use compost if it was proved to be pure according to Islam, this paper addresses how, in practical terms, universal environmental policies may give rise to value conflicts in traditional communities.     

Linkage of a geographical information system with the gleams model to assess nitrate leaching in agricultural areas

The GLEAMS (Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems, Version 2.10) model was linked with a Geographical Information System (GIS) to evaluate the risk of nitrate pollution in an area of 230 km2 near Valencia (Spain). Under Mediterranean conditions, GLEAMS was calibrated and validated using results from field experiments on citrus orchards and vegetables grown in that area. A graphical user interface (GUI) was implemented in the GIS-model system to allow a non-specialist to run the model, and to represent simulation results as a thematic map. In order to execute the GLEAMS model, data must be grouped in five basic layers: four layers correspond to the base maps (soils, climate, land use, NO3 content in irrigation water), and the fifth layer corresponds to agricultural management practices, introduced in the system interacting to the GUI. To illustrate system capabilities. two rotations with crops in the vegetable area (potato/lettuce/onion/cauliflower, and artichoke/artichoke in 2 years rotation each), and orange trees in the citrus area, were simulated to determine the N leached in the study area. Pollution risk maps show that vegetable crops and areas irrigated with groundwater have the highest potential risk of groundwater nitrate pollution. Further analysis identified potato and artichoke (in the first year) to be the crops with the higher risk.     

Monitoring the fall of large atmospheric ice conglomerations: a multianalytical approach to the study of the Mejorada del Campo megacryometeor

Certain local atmospheric anomalies, such as the formation of unusually large ice conglomerations (megacryometeors), have been proposed to be a potential natural hazard for people and aviation, as well as geoindicators for fingerprinting larger-scale atmospheric environmental changes. On March 13th 2007, at approximately 10:15 am, an ice chunk weighing about 10 kg fell from the clear-sky and crashed through the roof (around 15 m) of an industrial storage house in Mejorada del Campo, a town located 20 km east from Madrid. The megacryometeor monitoring follow-up and the original investigation presented here includes, for the first time, both logistic and scientific collaboration between the Laboratory of the Environment, Criminalistic Service (SECRIM, the Spanish "Guardia Civil") and academic and scientific institutions (universities and the Spanish National Research Council). We propose that the management procedure of the incident, along with the detailed scientific research and combination of analytical methodologies in different laboratories, can serve as a protocol model for other similar events.     

Gas phase reactions of unsaturated esters with Cl atoms

Background, aim, and scope  

Acrylate and methacrylate esters are α,β-unsaturated esters that contain vinyl groups directly attached to the carbonyl carbon (CH₂=CHCOO– and CH₂=CCH₃COO–, respectively) and are widely used in the polymer plastic and resin production. Rate coefficients for Cl reactions for most of the unsaturated esters have not been previously determined, and a good understanding is needed of all the atmospheric oxidation processes of these compounds in order to determine lifetimes in the atmosphere and to evaluate the impact of these reactions on the formation of photo-oxidants and therefore on health and environment.     

The anuric preterm newborn infant with a normal renal ultrasound: a diagnostic and ethical challenge

Diagnosis and treatment of an anuric premature infant with severe respiratory compromise and a normal renal ultrasound (US), is a difficult task that requires a multidisciplinary approach. A 29-week gestation premature male infant, born after 5 weeks of worsening oligohydramnios, was ventilated for respiratory distress and remained anuric. Intensive clinical investigations and pediatric nephrology consultation that predicted very poor prognosis were followed by progressive renal failure, electrolyte imbalance, respiratory failure, ventricular arrhythmia, and finally cardiac arrest and death on day 5. In view of the predicted poor outcome, and after discussion with the parents, a decision was made not to start peritoneal dialysis (PD), and to offer only palliative therapy, with comfort care alone. Pre and postnatal diagnosis lead, in this case, to an ethical challenge that focuses on the question of futility. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Costs of the electrochemical oxidation of wastewaters: a comparison with ozonation and Fenton oxidation processes

In the work described here the technical and economic feasibilities of three Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have been studied: Conductive-Diamond Electrochemical Oxidation (CDEO), Ozonation and Fenton oxidation. The comparison was made by assessing the three technologies with synthetic wastewaters polluted with different types of organic compounds and also with actual wastes (from olive oil mills and from a fine-chemical manufacturing plant). All three technologies were able to treat the wastes, but very different results were obtained in terms of efficiency and mineralization. Only CDEO could achieve complete mineralization of the pollutants for all the wastes. However, the efficiencies were found to depend on the concentration of pollutant (mass transfer control of the oxidation rate). Results obtained in the oxidation with ozone (at pH 12) or by Fenton's reagent were found to depend on the nature of the pollutants, and significant concentrations of oxidation-refractory compounds were usually accumulated during the treatment. Within the discharge limits that all of the technologies can reach, the economic analysis shows that the operating cost of Fenton oxidation is lower than either CDEO or ozonation, although CD\EO can compete satisfactorily with the Fenton process in the treatment of several kinds of wastes. Likewise, the investment cost for the ozonation process seems to be higher than either CDEO or Fenton oxidation, regardless of the pollutant treated.