Enzymatic degradation of poly([R,S] β-hydroxybutyrate)

The synthetic analogue of a bacterially produced polyester, poly(-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was synthesized from racemic -butyrolactone using anin situ trimethyl aluminum-water catalyst. The polymer was fractionated into samples differing in molecular weight and isotactic diad content. The latter was closely related to degree of crystallinity. The biodegradation of these fractions were examined by monitoring mass loss over time in the presence of anAlcaligenes faecalis T1 extracellular bacterial poly(-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase. The fraction with high isotactic diad tacticity content showed little or no degradation over a 50 hour incubation period, whereas the fraction of intermediate isotactic diad content degraded in a continuous steady fashion at a rate that was less than that for bacterial PHB. The low isotactic diad fraction underwent a rapid initial degradation, followed by no further mass loss. The presence of stereoblocks in the polymer structure of the various fractions was an influence on the degree of susceptibility towards degradation and is related to sample crystallinity.     

Comparing Environmental Conditions Using Indicators of Pollution Hazard

/ Land use/land cover classifications for 1973 and 1991, derived from the interpretation of satellite imagery, are quantified on the basis of biophysical land units in a study area in southeastern Australia. Nutrient export potentials are estimated for each land unit based on their composition of land use/land cover classes. Spatial and temporal comparisons are made of the land units based on the calculated pollution hazard indicators to provide an insight into changes in the state of the environment and the regional significance of land use changes. For example, one ecosystem, unique to the study, showed a large increase in pollution hazard over the study period as a manifestation of an 11-fold rise in cleared area and an expansion of cropping activities. The benefits to environmental management in general are discussed.KEY WORDS: Land cover change; Nutrient export; Environmental condition; Pollution hazard; Agricultural pollution; Nonpoint source pollution; Diffuse pollution; Environmental degradation     

生态条件和瘤胃菌丛密度与纤维分解的关系

在自行设计装配的人工模拟瘤胃发酵装置内，用90523-1瘤胃菌丛进行瘤胃体外发酵试验，结果表明纤维素的分解与瘤胃细菌的密度及其类群变化有着密切关系，都受生态环境条件的制约。在发酵温度40℃，搅拌速度为60～70r／min的条件下搅动20min／h，C／N为10：1的生态条件环境中的细菌密度和纤维素分解率都高于相同生态条件的其它梯度组。     

太阳能光催化降解法去除水中罗丹明染料的研究

在太阳光的紫外线辐射下，应用载有ＴｉＯ２薄层的平板式光催化反应器，进行了光催化降解法去除水中罗丹明染料的试验，结果表明，当紫外线辐射强度平均为３３Ｗ／ｍ＾２，反应时间为１８ｍｉｎ时，水中罗丹明染料浓度由１０ｍｇ／Ｌ降至０．０１ｍｇ／Ｌ，在室国家排放标准，探讨了太阳能光催化反应系统的改进方向及工业化应用的有关问题。     

TiO2光催化氧化的研究进展

概述了TiO2光催化氧化降解水中污染物的原理及TiO2光催化剂的制备，提出了增强其活性的途径。TiO2光催化氧化可应用于印染、农药、造纸等工业废水及饮用水处理中，研制高效的负栽型纳米TiO2光催化剂、解决太阳能利用问题、开发多功能光催化反应器是今后TiO2光催化氧化的发展趋势。     

ZJR型涂料的制备及特性研究

利用溶胶凝胶法制备TiO2光催化剂,使用磷酸氢二钠、十水合四硼酸钠和氢氧化镁等制备了阻燃体系料,复合后制成ZJR涂料。利用热分析仪分析纳米TiO2和阻燃体系复合的防火涂料的温度与热失率关系,并得到热重与微商热重曲线。550~650℃之间,失重率约为11%,ZJR涂料在400~600℃有较好的阻燃效果。该涂料对污染气体的光催化降解研究结果表明:光照60 m in后,对二氧化硫的降解率为90.40%,紫外光照40 m in后,甲醛气体降解率为68.98%。进一步添加聚乙二醇和银离子使涂料改性,使涂料光催化甲醛的活性分别提高了11%和14%,效果显著。     

UV/O3复合降解水中2,4-二氯酚的试验研究

以紫外光源为主要依托,变换反应器中的不同工艺条件,分别对紫外光、臭氧和紫外/臭氧三种不同于工艺条件对水中污染物2,4-二氯酚(2 ,4-DCP)的降解规律进行研究.结果表明,UV/O3复合对2,4-DCP的降解较UV、O3单独作用效果好;溶液的酸碱度影响UV/O3对2 ,4-DCP的降解;此外,溶液中含有细菌时,E. coli的杀灭效果仍表现为UV/O3＞O3＞UV.细菌的杀灭和2,4-DCP的降解均消耗羟基自由基,形成竞争反应,从而影响到2,4-DCP的降解效果.     

生物降解高分子材料的研究现状及应用前景

目前,处理高分子材料的一些传统方法,如焚烧法、掩埋法、熔融共混挤出法、回收利用等都存在一定的缺陷和局限性,给环境保护带来严重的困难。因此,开发环境可接受的降解性高分子材料是解决环境污染的重要途径。生物降解高分子是指通过自然界或添加的微生物的化学作用,将高分子物质分解成小分子化合物,再进入自然的循环过程。论述了生物降解高分子材料的研究现状,并对生物降解高分子材料的降解机理、影响因素及其在医学、农业、包装业和其他领域的潜在应用前景进行了探讨。     

Resource Use Dynamics and Land-Cover Change in Ang Nhai Village and Phou Phanang National Reserve Forest, Lao PDR

This study integrated aerial photographs from 1952, 1981, and 1998, and a satellite image from 2000 with oral histories and socioeconomic surveys to assess changes in forest and land cover in Ang Nhai village, Laos. The study documents the history of resource use and changes in household access to resources in the village. Three distinctive trends were observed in terms of forest and land cover—forest degradation, deforestation, and regeneration. Project results suggest that land and forest cover change dynamically under different circumstances. The case study also points out that integration into the market economy can induce intensification of unused lowland areas, while removing pressures from upland areas previously used for supplementing agricultural production. In addition, the creation of a national reserve forest to restrict local access and forest use was an ineffective tool for regulating encroachment and logging activities.     

Conservation implications of anthropogenic impacts on visual communication and camouflage

Anthropogenic environmental impacts can disrupt the sensory environment of animals and affect important processes from mate choice to predator avoidance. Currently, these effects are best understood for auditory and chemosensory modalities, and recent reviews highlight their importance for conservation. We examined how anthropogenic changes to the visual environment (ambient light, transmission, and backgrounds) affect visual communication and camouflage and considered the implications of these effects for conservation. Human changes to the visual environment can increase predation risk by affecting camouflage effectiveness, lead to maladaptive patterns of mate choice, and disrupt mutualistic interactions between pollinators and plants. Implications for conservation are particularly evident for disrupted camouflage due to its tight links with survival. The conservation importance of impaired visual communication is less documented. The effects of anthropogenic changes on visual communication and camouflage may be severe when they affect critical processes such as pollination or species recognition. However, when impaired mate choice does not lead to hybridization, the conservation consequences are less clear. We suggest that the demographic effects of human impacts on visual communication and camouflage will be particularly strong when human‐induced modifications to the visual environment are evolutionarily novel (i.e., very different from natural variation); affected species and populations have low levels of intraspecific (genotypic and phenotypic) variation and behavioral, sensory, or physiological plasticity; and the processes affected are directly related to survival (camouflage), species recognition, or number of offspring produced, rather than offspring quality or attractiveness. Our findings suggest that anthropogenic effects on the visual environment may be of similar importance relative to conservation as anthropogenic effects on other sensory modalities.