Photochemical behaviour of musk tibetene

BACKGROUND: Synthetic musk compounds are widely used as additives in personal care and household products. The photochemical degradation of musk tibetene in aqueous solutions or in acetonitrile/water mixtures under different conditions was studied in order to assess its environmental fate. METHODS: Musk tibetene dissolved (or suspended) in water and/or acetonitrile/water mixtures was irradiated at different times by UV-light and by solar light. The irradiation mixtures were analyzed by NMR and TLC. The photoproducts formed were identified by GC-MS and NMR data. RESULTS: The experimental results indicated that musk tibetene was photodegradable in water or acetonitrile/water mixtures with half-life reaction times close to 20 minutes. The irradiation mixtures were separated by chromatographic techniques yielding three photoproducts (3,3,5,6,7-pentamethyl-4-nitro-3H-indole, 3,3,5,6,7-pentamethyl-4-nitro-1H-indoline and 3,3,5,6,7-pentamethyl-4-nitro-3H-indolinone) identified by means of spectroscopic analysis. DISCUSSION: The numerical modelling of the photodegradation concentration-time profiles gave (8.13 +/- 0.15) x 10(-2) and (1.34 +/- 0.04) x 10(-2) mol/E for the overall primary quantum yield of direct photolysis for musk tibetene and the major intermediate (3,3,5,6,7-pentamethyl-4-nitro-3H-indolinone), respectively, in the wavelength range 305-366 nm. The half-life times of photodegradation of the both substances varied from 1-1.5 hours at 20 degrees N during the summer season to 6-10 hours for highest latitudes in winter. CONCLUSIONS: Under solar light, musk tibetene was photolabile in acetonitrile and acetonitrile/water 1/1, while it was slowly degraded when suspended in water. In all media, musk tibetene was photodegraded into three photoproducts. By using a kinetic model, the overall primary quantum yields of direct photolysis of musk tibetene and its main photoproduct, in the wavelength range 305-366 nm, were estimated, indicating that the photodegradation rate for musk tibetene is faster than the photolysis rate of the major by-product. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: The results indicate that, in order to assess the environmental impact of musk tibetene on the aquatic ecosystem, great attention should be focused on the major photoproduct which is proved to be more persistent than the parent compound under light irradiation. The predicted half-life times of direct photolysis for both substances ranged from 1-1.5 hours at 20 degrees N during the summer season to about 6-10 hours for highest latitudes in winter, indicating that, from a photochemical point of view, the environmental persistence of these substances increases by increasing the latitudes and during the cold seasons, making more realistic an intake of these xenobiotic molecules into the food chain of aquatic living organisms. Tanabe reports in his Editorial (Tanabe 2005) that "It is necessary to have knowledge of the global picture of synthetic musk pathways. So, it is conceivable that now is the time to study the transport, persistency, distribution, bioaccumulation and toxic potential of this new environmental menace on a global scale, especially in developing countries". Therefore, the future environmental analysis and investigations on the eco-toxicity of nitro musk compounds should take into account not only the presence of the parent compounds but also their photochemical intermediates or end-by-products.     

Environmental implications of planned obsolescence and product lifetime: a literature review

The aim of this paper was to explore the implications of planned obsolescence (PO) and the associated product lifetime on the environmental impact of products. To achieve this task, a literature review was performed to assess both the historical context and recent situation of planned obsolescence. A search in scholarly journals was performed to evaluate to what extent product lifetime and PO have been discussed in the recent literature. Based on the findings, selected cases of PO are discussed and trends in the practice of limiting product lifetime are identified. Factors considered to have a significant influence on product lifetime have been identified and discussed. The discussion of case studies made it possible to establish the links between product design, manufacturing and associated impacts of lifetime. The role of the actors along the value chain is also considered to propose a business scheme, where the influences of consumer behaviour and design choices are crucial. Finally, strategies to facilitate the definition of different scenarios are given. These strategies may serve to increase the reliability of environmental assessment throughout a product life cycle.     

Impacts of Changes in Precipitation Amount and Distribution on Water Resources Studied Using a Model Rainwater Harvesting System

Water supply reliability is expected to be affected by both precipitation amount and distribution changes under recent and future climate change. We compare historical (1951‐2010) changes in annual‐mean and annual‐maximum daily precipitation in the global set of station observations from Global Historical Climatology Network and climate models from the Inter‐Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI‐MIP), and develop the study to 2011‐2099 for model projections under high radiative forcing scenario (RCP8.5). We develop a simple rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) model and drive it with observational and modeled precipitation. We study the changes in mean and maximum precipitation along with changes in the reliability of the model RWHS as tools to assess the impact of changes in precipitation amount and distribution on reliability of precipitation‐fed water supplies. Results show faster increase in observed maximum precipitation (10.14% per K global warming) than mean precipitation (7.64% per K), and increased reliability of the model RWHS driven by observed precipitation by an average of 0.2% per decade. The ISI‐MIP models show even faster increase in maximum precipitation compared to mean precipitation. However, they imply decreases in mean reliability, for an average 0.15% per decade. Compared to observations, climate models underestimate the increasing trends in mean and maximum precipitation and show the opposite direction of change in reliability of a model water supply system.     

Robustness of Meteorological Droughts in Dynamically Downscaled Climate Simulations

We examine the robustness of a suite of regional climate models (RCMs) in simulating meteorological droughts and associated metrics in present‐day climate (1971‐2003) over the conterminous United States (U.S.). The RCMs that are part of North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) simulations are compared with multiple observations over the climatologically homogeneous regions of the U.S. The seasonal precipitation, climatology, drought attributes, and trends have been assessed. The reanalysis‐based multi‐model median RCM reasonably simulates observed statistical attributes of drought and the regional detail due to topographic forcing. However, models fail to simulate significant drying trend over the Southwest and West. Further, reanalysis‐based NARCCAP runs underestimate the observed drought frequency overall, with the exception of the Southwest; whereas they underestimate persistence in the drought‐affected areas over the Southwest and West‐North Central regions. However, global climate model‐driven NARCCAP ensembles tend to overestimate regional drought frequencies. Models exhibit considerable uncertainties while reproducing meteorological drought statistics, as evidenced by a general lack of agreement in the Hurst exponent, which in turn controls drought persistence. Water resources managers need to be aware of the limitations of current climate models, while regional climate modelers may want to fine‐tune their parameters to address impact‐relevant metrics.     

Ce(Ⅲ)对UV-B辐射胁迫下大豆幼苗光化学反应的影响

用水培法研究Ce(Ⅲ)对UV-B辐射胁迫下大豆幼苗光化学反应的影响.结果表明, 20 mg·L^-1 CeCl₃使大豆幼苗净光合速率(Pn)、Hill反应、Mg²⁺-ATPase活性与光合磷酸化活力4项指标较对照提高23.2%～14.3%; 有效抑制UV-B辐射(T₁=0.15 W·m^-2和T₂=0.45 W·m^-2)胁迫下4项指标下降, 4项指标降幅［Ce(Ⅲ)+T₁为36.6%～15.9%,Ce(Ⅲ)+T₂为65.6%～33.2%］小于对应的UV-B辐射组(T₁为50.9%～23.3%,T₂为77.3%～51.4%). 动态变化显示, Ce(Ⅲ)减缓了胁迫期4项指标的下降趋势,促进了恢复期4项指标上升幅度. 说明Ce(Ⅲ)通过减轻UV-B辐射对大豆幼苗光化学反应的伤害, 遏制UV-B辐射胁迫下大豆幼苗Pn下降.     

模拟可见光下土壤表面石油的光化学降解研究

在模拟可见光照射下,分析了土壤中的初始含油量、土壤类型和土壤pH值对石油在土壤表面光降解过程的影响,并利用紫外-可见分光光度法(UV-Vis)、气相色谱-氢火焰离子化检测器(GC-FID)和傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)等方法对石油在光降解过程中的演变规律进行研究.结果表明,石油在土壤表面上的光化学降解行为符合准一级反应动力学,实验测得石油的光解速率常数为0.002 6～0.017 2 h^-1,半衰期为40～267 h.GC-FID分析结果表明,在光降解50 h后,石油的饱和烃组分中高碳数的烷烃相对含量降低,低碳数的烷烃相对含量提高;芳香烃组分的大部分色谱峰有明显地降低或消失.红外光谱分析发现,光照60 h后土壤萃取液中可能产生了羰基类化合物,说明石油在光降解过程中逐渐发生氧化.     

Determination of Frequency for Remeasuring Ground and Vegetation Cover Factor Needed for Soil Erosion Modeling

Determining a remeasurement frequency of variables over time is required in monitoring environmental systems. This article demonstrates methods based on regression modeling and spatio-temporal variability to determine the time interval to remeasure the ground and vegetation cover factor on permanent plots for monitoring a soil erosion system. The spatio-temporal variability methods include use of historical data to predict semivariograms, modeling average temporal variability, and temporal interpolation by two-step kriging. The results show that for the cover factor, the relative errors of the prediction increase with an increased length of time interval between remeasurements when using the regression and semivariogram models. Given precision or accuracy requirements, appropriate time intervals can be determined. However, the remeasurement frequency also varies depending on the prediction interval time. As an alternative method, the range parameter of a semivariogram model can be used to quantify average temporal variability that approximates the maximum time interval between remeasurements. This method is simpler than regression and semivariogram modeling, but it requires a long-term dataset based on permanent plots. In addition, the temporal interpolation by two-step kriging is also used to determine the time interval. This method is applicable when remeasurements in time are not sufficient. If spatial and temporal remeasurements are sufficient, it can be expanded and applied to design spatial and temporal sampling simultaneously.     

大跨结构多维多点输入抗震研究进展

对于大跨度结构来说,应该考虑地震动的多维多点效应。从国内外发展现状及取得的主要研究进展和近期的发展动向等角度,对大跨度结构多维多点输入抗震的研究现状进行了系统的综述和总结。首先论述了多维地震动及其相关性,从地震动的各个分量之间的强度比、频率、持时及相关性等方面说明地震动分量的特性;然后论述地震动时空模型,侧重于反映地震动空间变化的相关函数模型的研究现状;最后比较了大跨度结构考虑多维多点输入的抗震计算方法,包括反应谱法、时程分析法以及随机振动分析法。对今后关于这一问题所应开展的研究提出了建议。     

Perceptions of safety on a shared road: Driving,cycling, or walking near an autonomous vehicle

Introduction: While improved safety is a highly cited potential benefit of autonomous vehicles (AVs), at the same time a frequently cited concern is the new safety challenges that AVs introduce. The literature lacks a rigorous exploration of the safety perceptions of road users who will interact with AVs, including vulnerable road users. Addressing this gap is essential because the successful integration of AVs into transportation systems hinges on an understanding of how all road users will react to their presence. Methods: A stated preference survey of the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan statistical area (Phoenix MSA) was conducted in July 2018. A series of ordered probit models was estimated to analyze the survey responses and identify differences between various population groups with respect to the perceived safety of driving, cycling, and walking near AVs. Results: Greater exposure to and awareness of AVs are not uniformly associated with increases in perceived safety. Various attitudinal factors, level of AV automation, and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors are related to safety perceptions of driving, walking, and cycling near AVs. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, income, employment, and automobile usage and ownership, have various relationships with perceived safety. Conclusions: Cycling near an AV was perceived as the least safe activity, followed by walking and then driving near an AV. Both similarities and differences were observed among the factors associated with the perceived safety of different travel alternatives. Practical Applications: Public perception will guide the development and adoption of AVs directly and indirectly. To help maintain control of public perception, transportation planners, decision makers, and other stakeholders should consider more deliberate and targeted messaging to address the concerns of different road users. In addition, more careful pilot testing and more direct attention to vulnerable road users may help avoid a backlash that could delay the rollout of this technology.