Study of oil-water partitioning of a chemical dispersant using an acute bioassay with marine crustaceans

The toxicity of seawater dispersions of a chemical dispersant to two marine crustaceans was investigated in the presence and absence of various quantities of a non-toxic mineral oil. From the results and a physical-chemical partitioning analysis, a limiting value of the oil-water partition coefficient of the toxic compounds is deduced suggesting that essentially all of the toxic compounds in the dispersant will partition into solution in water following dispersant application to an oil spill. This conclusion simplifies interpretation and prediction of the toxic effects of a dispersed oil spill.The combined bioassay-partitioning procedure may have applications to the study of the toxicity of other complex mixtures such as industrial effluents.     

Halopriming imparts tolerance to salt and PEG induced drought stress in sugarcane

Sugarcane, a glycophyte grown in the tropical and subtropical regions, is frequently subjected to soil salinity, affecting the yield and quality of the harvest. The ameliorative efficiency of salt priming on emergence and plantlet growth was examined in sugarcane cultivars which are known to vary in salt tolerance under field conditions. Salt priming with NaCl (100 mM) improved both the percent and rate of germination of the sets of the tolerant (Co 62175) and moderately tolerant (CoM 265) varieties compared to sensitive (CoC 671) and test variety (Co 86032). Salt priming during germination also improved the growth performance of two-month-old sugarcane plants in terms of shoot length, shoot and root fresh weight when subjected to 15 day iso-osmotic (−0.7 MPa) NaCl (150 mM) or polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000; 20%, w/v) stress. The primed plants exhibited lower salt- and dehydration-induced leaf senescence. The results suggest salt priming as an efficient approach for imparting abiotic stress tolerance in sugarcane.     

Agent-based framework for modeling and simulation of resources in self-sustainable human settlements: a case study on water management in an eco-village community in Croatia

A newly developed agent-based framework for modeling, simulation, and evaluation of resource management in self-sustainable human settlements is presented, along with the ability of the framework to prolong the self-sustainability of the observed human settlement system in the simulation environment. In this study the focus is on the analysis of a conducted water management simulation based on observations of an existing eco-village in Croatia, in the context of producing, storing, and consuming water as a resource. The conducted research shows that the developed framework was able to prolong the self-sustainability of localized water production, storage, and consumption dynamics when managing the water allocation with the use of self-sustainability mechanisms, in comparison to water management without using such mechanisms, under the same initial conditions. The work is placed within the context of sustainable development, Internet of Things, as well as Environmental Internet of Things areas of research, analyzing the ambiguous relationship between the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘self-sustainability’.     

丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯塑料、四溴双酚A混合物的热解实验:含溴二噁英生成研究

模拟电子垃圾热回收处理过程,将丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯塑料(ABS)、四溴双酚A(TBBPA)分别与4种金属(Cu、Fe、Zn和Ni)进行混合,在自制的加热装置内开展了不同气氛、不同温度条件下热解实验研究。对产物溴代二噁英(PBDD/Fs)检测显示,2,3,7,8-TBDF、2,3,7,8-TBDD及1,2,3,4,7,8-与1,2,3,6,7,8-Hx BDD为主要产物,其中2,3,7,8-TBDF含量最高,约占总PBDD/Fs的12%~90%。反应生成的8种2,3,7,8-PBDD/Fs浓度范围为0.05~2 082 ng·g-1。在同等实验条件下,温度升高有利于ABS塑料混合物中PBDD/Fs的生成。Cu、Fe、Zn和Ni四种金属都具有催化效应。空气、氮气气氛下热解实验显示,空气气氛下PBDD/Fs的生成量大,2种条件下生成的二噁英总量比值在0.8~99.6之间变化。无金属催化条件下此比值变化范围较小,为0.8~1.5;在金属参与条件下,此比值变化范围加大,为1.2~99.6;其中,在Cu和Fe参与下,此比值较高。各种热解条件下形成的PBDD/Fs都具有PBDFsPBDDs的特征。研究结果说明,虽然无金属参与条件下含TBBPA的ABS热解生成溴代二噁英浓度较低,但金属(如Cu等)存在时,此类污染物的浓度显著增加。     

《名古屋议定书》政府间委员会(ICNP)议题谈判成效

《生物多样性公约》缔约方大会第10次会议(COP-10)决定设立名古屋议定书政府间委员会(ICNP),主要负责《关于遗传资源获取与惠益分享(ABS)的名古屋议定书》(简称《议定书》)缔约方大会第1次会议(COP/MOP-1)的筹备工作。2011年6月、2012年7月和2014年2月,分别在加拿大、印度和韩国共召开了3次会议。会议对《议定书》生效和执行将面临的问题开展了讨论。通过详细梳理不同缔约方与其它国家政府对两年期方案预算、COP/MOP议事规则、COP/MOP-1临时议程草案、全球多边惠益分享机制、ABS信息交换所、能力建设、意识提高、遵约程序和机制、监测与报告以及示范合同条款等主要议题所持观点,总结了会议的进展动态,综合分析了各议题的谈判成效,深入探讨了名古屋议定书委员会对《议定书》生效和执行的积极作用以及面临的挑战。     

车库出入口坡道噪声影响因素及预测

选取城市居住区中典型地下车库,在优化其出入口噪声采样点布置和同步采样点分组基础上,通过对噪声样本的声学分析,研究了车库出入口坡道噪声与坡道结构、坡度、线形、上下坡等相关因素的关系.通过对平直混凝土路面车库出入口噪声影响预测值的修正,建立了车库出入口坡道噪声影响预测模式.     

基于层次分析法的危废渣库选址的环境经济适宜性分析

环境经济适宜性是以实现保护环境的同时通过选择场址降低渣库或填埋场投资、提高经济效益为目的。利用层次分析法对危废渣库选址的各限制因素逐层分析并构造判断矩阵,计算理论权重同时进行检验,结合各比选场址的实际情况确定实际权重,并对选址的环境经济适宜性进行综合评定,最终确定环境经济最适宜场址。该方法适用于多个渣库或填埋场场址的初步选址判断,将渣库或填埋场的环境经济适宜性选址由定性分析转为定量评定,增强了环境经济选址的科学性和合理性,为后续渣库或填埋场多个比选场址的初步选址提供参考。     

Optimization of the recovery of plastics for recycling by density media separation cyclones

Material recovery processes are presented as the optimum option for recycling plastic wastes as a means of recovering hydrocarbon resources. There exist a large variety of automated material recovery processes for recycling of such wastes but each with significant limitations. Of these, the separation based on differences in densities is advocated as the optimum process either for producing recycled products or preparing wastes for subsequent recovery processing.Density separation processes based on cyclone type density media separation (DMS) is presented as an important, potential method for increasing plastics recycling process capacities. It is demonstrated to have the capacity to separate a significantly larger range of particle sizes than those presently processed industrially. The mathematical relationship for the prediction of quality of typical LARCODEMS type density media separations by particle size and density as expressed by the Ecart Probable is presented.A proposed device configuration is presented for density media separation to optimize the recovery and purity of both density fractions produced. It is also suggested that to be economically viable, a large scale of operation is required for industrial plastics recycling operations recovering and producing a number of different plastics with a purity to be used as a substitute for virgin material.     

Integrating soil carbon cycling with that of nitrogen and phosphorus in the watershed model SWAT: Theory and model testing

In this paper we describe and test a sub-model that integrates the cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model. The core of the sub-model is a multi-layer, one-pool soil organic carbon (S_C) algorithm, in which the decomposition rate of S_C and input rate to S_C (through decomposition and humification of residues) depend on the current size of S_C. The organic N and P fluxes are coupled to that of C and depend on the available mineral N and P, and the C:N and N:P ratios of the decomposing pools. Tillage explicitly affects the soil organic matter turnover rate through tool-specific coefficients. Unlike most models, the turnover of soil organic matter does not follow first order kinetics. Each soil layer has a specific maximum capacity to accumulate C or C saturation (S_x) that depends on texture and controls the turnover rate. It is shown in an analytical solution that S_x is a parameter with major influence in the model C dynamics. Testing with a 65-yr data set from the dryland wheat growing region in Oregon shows that the model adequately simulates the S_C dynamics in the topsoil (top 0.3 m) for three different treatments. Three key model parameters, the optimal decomposition and humification rates and a factor controlling the effect of soil moisture and temperature on the decomposition rate, showed low uncertainty as determined by generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation. Nonetheless, the parameter set that provided accurate simulations in the topsoil tended to overestimate S_C in the subsoil, suggesting that a mechanism that expresses at depth might not be represented in the current sub-model structure. The explicit integration of C, N, and P fluxes allows for a more cohesive simulation of nutrient cycling in the SWAT model. The sub-model has to be tested in forestland and rangeland in addition to agricultural land, and in diverse soils with extreme properties such high or low pH, an organic horizon, or volcanic soils.     

Overview of motorcycling in the United States: a national telephone survey

Objectives

Motorcycle registrations have risen in recent years. Although motorcyclist crash fatalities in 2009 were 16% lower than in 2008, they were double the number of deaths in 1997. The present study examined current motorcyclists’ travel patterns and views of motorcycle helmets and other safety topics.

Methods

Motorcycle drivers were interviewed in a national telephone survey conducted in 2009. A weighted sample of 1,606 motorcyclists resulted from adjusting for the oversampling of those younger than 40 and those in the three states without a motorcycle helmet use law (Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire). All analyses were based on the weighted sample, which was intended to result in a nationally representative sample of motorcyclists.

Results

About one-quarter of respondents said they did not always wear helmets. Of these respondents, 57% said a law requiring helmet use would persuade them to do so, and 27% said nothing would. Ninety-four percent of respondents in states with universal helmet laws said they always ride helmeted, compared with about half of respondents in other states. About half of all respondents favored these laws. About three-quarters said they believe helmets keep riders safer, including two-thirds of respondents who oppose universal laws and almost half of drivers who rarely/never wear helmets. Drivers ages 18–29 and drivers of sport/unclad sport, sport touring, and super sport motorcycles were more likely to always wear helmets, support universal helmet laws, and believe helmets keep riders safer. About half of respondents said antilock braking systems (ABS) enhance safety and that they would get ABS on their next motorcycle. Less than one-quarter thought an airbag would protect a motorcyclist in a crash, and even fewer would consider getting one on their next motorcycle. Forty-three percent of motorcyclists said they had crashed at least once; 62% of the most recent crashes involved no vehicles besides the motorcycle. Respondents reported riding their motorcycles about 5,400 miles, on average, during the past year. Drivers ages 18–29 reported riding fewer miles, on average, than older drivers and more often rode at night and to/from work or school. Drivers of touring and sport touring motorcycles traveled more miles and took more long trips.

Conclusions

Motorcyclists’ travel patterns and views vary widely, but there are distinct patterns by driver age and motorcycle type. Drivers who believe helmets keep riders safer are more likely to always wear them, but this belief appears insufficient to motivate some drivers to wear them. However, universal helmet laws appear effective in increasing helmet use. Many drivers are receptive to purchasing ABS on their next motorcycle.

Impact on industry

States should be encouraged to enact universal helmet laws, and motorcycle manufacturers should be encouraged to offer ABS.