Reconnecting nature,farming and society: environmental cooperatives in the Netherlands as institutional arrangements for creating coherence

An important implication of agricultural modernization has been the break-down of interlinkages between farming, ecology and society. Historically, farming systems evolved from the specific responses of farming communities to local ecological conditions. The totality of regionalized farming systems arising out of this co-production moulded the countryside into an ‘archipelago’ of differentiated ruralities. During the period of agricultural modernization, the nature of co-production changed thoroughly. The natural elements in co-production were increasingly artificialized or replaced by industrial artefacts. This paper analyses the emergence of environmental cooperatives in the Netherlands as a movement towards a renewed embedding of farming in its local environment. Environmental cooperatives are local farmers associations that promote activities related to sustainable agriculture and rural development and claim to be actively involved in effectuating rural policies in their locale. Since the foundation of the first cooperative in 1992, numbers have rapidly grown to over 100. This paper examines the genesis and practices of environmental cooperatives and assesses their socio-economic and ecological impact. The importance lies most of all, so the authors contend, in that they represent valuable ‘field laboratories’ for building stimulating and supportive institutional contexts for remodelling Dutch farming along the lines of environmental and economic sustainability. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sorption of PAHs and PCBs to activated carbon: coal versus biomass-based quality

The addition of activated carbon (AC) is an increasingly popular method for pollutant immobilization, and the AC material can be made of biomass or coal/fossil feedstock. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there are differences between pollutant sorption to biomass and coal-based AC in the presence and absence of sediment. Through N₂ and CO₂ adsorption to probe surface area and pore size it was shown that the biomass-based AC had a stronger dominance of narrow pores in the size range 3.5-15 Å than the anthracite-based material. In the absence of sediment, sorption isotherms for the probe compounds pyrene and PCB-101 showed stronger sorption for the biomass-based AC (logarithmic Freundlich coefficients 8.15 for pyrene; 9.91 for PCB-101) than for the anthracite-based one (logarithmic Freundlich coefficients 7.20 and 9.70, respectively). In the presence of sediment, the opposite trend was observed, with the stronger sorption for anthracite-based AC. Thus, the presence of competing and/or pore-blocking sediment constituents reduces sorption to a larger extent for biomass-derived AC (factor of 5 for pyrene to almost 100 for PCB-101) than for anthracite-based AC (no reduction for pyrene to factor of 5 for PCB-101). This difference is tentatively attributed to the difference in pore size distribution, narrow pores being more prone to clogging, and could have implications for remediation feasibility with AC from different sources.     

Visualization and localization of bromotoluene distribution in Hedera helix using NanoSIMS

Some plants are known as indoor air purifiers. A large number of studies report kinetic purification results for an extensive panel of plants, i.e. the pollutant concentration (volatile organic compounds, as known as VOC, most of the time) is continuously monitored by gas chromatography. However, only a few papers describe the mechanisms involved in such processes. This study deals with the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging as an efficient tool to locate atmospheric pollutant as bromotoluene within the Hedera helix plant (leaf, roots) and the substrate on which it was previously grown. Hedera helix plants have been placed in a pollution chamber with control of the exposure parameters. Plant and soil samples excised were transferred into a fixative solution of glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde for a few days, were dehydrated using ethanol and were embedded with resin. Cross sections were made from the pale brown solids obtained. Then, a device using a cathodic pulverization device capable of depositing a few nanometers of gold atoms over the sample was used to make the surface electronically conductive for the NanoSIMS. Hence, polluted and unpolluted samples of Hedera helix and substrates were obtained following a careful procedure that allowed for the discrimination between polluted and nonpolluted ones. Nanoscale spatial resolution was an invaluable tool (NanoSIMS) to achieve this, and proved that VOCs, such as bromotoluene, were actually trapped by plants such as Hedera helix.     

Subcellular distribution and toxicity of cadmium in Potamogeton crispus L

The submerged macrophyte Potamogeton crispus L. was subjected to varying doses of cadmium (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 μM) for 7 d, and the plants were analyzed for subcellular distribution of Cd, accumulation of mineral nutrients, photosynthesis, oxidative stress, protein content, and ultrastructural distribution of calcium (Ca). Leaf fractionation by differential centrifugation indicated that 48-69% of Cd was accumulated in the cell wall. At all doses of Cd, the levels of Ca and B rose and the level of Mn fell; the levels of Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mo, and P rose initially only to decline later. Exposure to Cd caused oxidative stress as evident by increased content of malondialdehyde and decreased contents of chlorophyll and protein. Photosynthetic efficiency, as indicated by the quenching of chlorophyll a fluorescence (Fv/Fm, Fo and Fm), decreased significantly, the extent of decrease being directly proportional to the concentration of Cd. Increased amounts of precipitates of calcium were noticed in the treated plants, located either outside the cell membrane or in chloroplasts, mitochondria, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm whereas control plants showed small deposits of the precipitates around surface of the vacuole membrane and in the intercellular space but rarely in the cytoplasm. Photosynthetic efficiency and oxidative stress could be used as indicators of physiological end-points in determining the extent of Cd phytotoxicity.     

Nonideal transport of contaminants in heterogeneous porous media: 10. Impact of co-solutes on sorption by porous media with low organic-carbon contents

The impact of co-solutes on sorption of tetrachloroethene (PCE) by two porous media with low organic-carbon contents was examined by conducting batch experiments. The two media (Borden and Eustis) have similar physical properties, but significantly different organic-carbon (OC) contents. Sorption of PCE was nonlinear for both media, and well-described by the Freundlich equation. For the Borden aquifer material (OC = 0.03%), the isotherms measured with a suite of co-solutes present (1,2-dichlorobenzene, bromoform, carbon tetrachloride, and hexachloroethane) were identical to the isotherms measured for PCE alone. These results indicate that there was no measurable impact of the co-solutes on PCE sorption for this system. In contrast to the Borden results, there was a measurable reduction in sorption of PCE by the Eustis soil (OC = 0.38%) in the presence of the co-solutes. The organic-carbon fractions of both media contain hard-carbon components, which have been associated with the manifestation of nonideal sorption phenomena. The disparity in results observed for the two media may relate to relative differences in the magnitude and geochemical nature of these hard-carbon components.     

Degradation of paracetamol by advance oxidation processes using modified reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes with TiO2 and CuO/TiO2/Al2O3

The degradation of paracetamol in aqueous solutions in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was carried out by photochemistry, electrolysis and photoelectrolysis using modified 100 pores per inch reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes. The electrodes were coated with catalysts such as TiO₂ and CuO/TiO₂/Al₂O₃ by electrophoresis followed by heat treatment. The results of the electrolysis with bare reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes show that 90% paracetamol degradation occurs in 4 h at 1.3 V vs. SCE, forming intermediates such as benzoquinone and carboxylic acids followed by their complete mineralisation. When the electrolysis was carried out with the modified electrodes such as TiO₂/RVC, 90% degradation was achieved in 2 h while with CuO/TiO₂/Al₂O₃/RVC, 98% degradation took only 1 h. The degradation was also carried out in the presence of UV reaching 95% degradation with TiO₂/RVC/UV and 99% with CuO/TiO₂/Al₂O₃/RVC/UV in 1 h. The reactions were followed by spectroscopy UV-Vis, HPLC and total organic carbon analysis. These studies show that the degradation of paracetamol follows a pseudo-first order reaction kinetics.     

Telomere length in workers was effected by omethoate exposure and interaction between smoking and p21 polymorphisms

Abstract

Omethoate is an organophosphorus pesticide that poses a major health hazard, especially DNA damage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting telomere length in workers exposed to omethoate by analyzing the interaction between cell cycle gene polymorphism and environmental factors. The exposure group consisted of 118 workers exposed to omethoate for 8–10?years, the control group comprised 115 healthy people without occupational toxicant exposure history. The telomere length of genomic DNA from peripheral blood leucocyte was determined with real-time PCR. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to detect the polymorphisms in p53, p21 and MDM2 gene. The telomere length in the (CA?+?AA) genotypes for p21 rs1801270 polymorphism was longer than that in the CC genotype in control group (P?=?0.015). The generalized linear model analysis indicated the interaction of the p21 rs1801270 polymorphic (CA?+?AA) genotypes and smoking has a significant effect on telomere length (β = ?0.258, P?=?0.085). The prolongation of telomere length in omethoate-exposed workers was associated with genotypes (CA?+?AA) of p21 rs1801270, and interactions of (CA?+?AA) genotypes and smoking factor.     

改性多壁碳纳米管对水中Cd~（2＋）的去除

为了增加多壁碳纳米管（multiwall carbon nanotubers,MWNTs）对水中Cd2＋的吸附量,使用混酸对多壁碳纳米管进行氧化处理,采用红外光谱进行结果表征,并探讨了吸附时间、pH值和MWNTs的使用量、Cd2＋的浓度及干扰离子对镉离子吸附的影响。结果表明,吸附时间为1.5 h、pH为5.3、吸附效果最佳,随MWNTs量的增加Cd2＋去除量增加,共存的阳离子会降低对Cd2＋的吸附效果,对Cd2＋的吸附符合Longmuir吸附定律。研究同时表明,pH小于2时Cd2＋能容易从碳纳米管上解吸。初步探讨了Cd2＋吸附机制。     

几种不同处理方法对活性炭表面化学性质的影响

活性炭表面官能团的种类和数量决定了活性炭的表面化学性质,而化学性质决定了活性炭的表面吸附特性。使用5种常见的处理方法处理活性炭,采用Boehm滴定法,XPS对活性炭进行表征,通过单因素实验系统地考察了活性炭表面含氧官能团及碱度随处理条件的变化,同时通过碱度变化讨论了部分处理方法对于原活性炭表面灰分的去除。结果表明:在处理液150 mL、20℃、200 r/min条件下:50 g活性炭经0.01～5 mol/L HCl处理4 h,活性炭表面碱度降低范围63.2%～76.5%,灰分去除效果好,低浓度的盐酸就能达到较好的灰分去除效果,活性炭表面没有形成大量的含氧官能团;在HNO3浓度1～12 mol/L、处理时间1～8 h、活性炭量25～75 g条件下处理后总碱度降低显著,灰分去除效果优于HCl处理,HNO3氧化作用使活性炭表面形成了大量含氧官能团,总酸度、羧基、内酯基、酚羟基含量均相对于原活性炭增加明显;在H2O2质量浓度5%～20%、处理时间0.5～4 h、活性炭量25～75 g条件下处理后碱性灰分去除不好,活性炭表面没有形成大量含氧官能团,H2O2处理引起活性炭表面化学性质变化较小;在NaOH浓度0.1～2 mol/L、处理时间1～8 h、活性炭量25～75 g条件下处理后碱度增加明显,酸度减小明显,羧基、酚羟基含量降低。50 g活性炭在微波功率100～500 W、处理时间2～10 min、载气流量600～1 400 mL/min条件下经微波处理后,微波热效应导致含氧官能团分解,总碱度增加,总酸度下降,羧基含量、内酯基含量降低,酚羟基含量因条件的不同而变现出不同的变化。